As Mason finished up the plans for walls and towers at Abernathy, he had to consider the size of the place. Probably would only have a wall around the main farming area but would put some defenses outside of it. When he's finished, Mason rolled the plans up and tied them with a string, leaving them on the workbench for Blake.

"Sir, perhaps now is a good time?" Mason heard Codsworth ask as he walked out the door to start collecting fruits and vegetables. A good time for what? A talk? He guessed it was since they weren't heading anywhere anytime soon.

"Sure Cods. What's up?"

"Oh, just a little something I'd like to get off the old proverbial chest." He paused before saying, "I just want to say what an honor it is for me to accompany you. You've no idea the horror these past two centuries have wrought." No, he could not. "The initial destruction, not knowing if you and your family were all right. It was a relief to find the entrance intact!"

"Codsworth, I never knew. I can't imagine it was easy."

"Not a single worry, sir, as I shared your priorities completely. Family safety first above all else." That somehow made it hurt more. They had considered Codsworth family, but the vault wouldn't let him in. "And yes, while it was hard at first, I was able to eventually move on. At first, it was the work, busying myself day and night, and believe me, there was plenty of it. But eventually, the work became light chores." How does all that become light chores? "What truly saved me was my memories, sir. Memories of you and the missus, young Shaun. Of your love and kindness. I soldiered on, fueled by the hope that one day, if not you or the missus, that Shaun, or perhaps Shaun's children would one day emerge."

Mason took a deep breath before saying, "Sorry it took so long. I only wish we could have all gotten out… as a family."

"As do I, sir, as do I. It is unfortunate. I just wanted you to know how much I consider you family. I may be a mere robot to some, but I do hope you've come to see me as more."

"I consider you to be family too, Codsworth. We're in this world together for the long haul… together," Mason said, finally letting him know how he felt that he was still around.

"Mister Black, you don't know how wonderful it is for me to hear that! I feel completely recharged. Well, enough blither-blather from me. Let's get back to it, shall we?"

When they finish the conversation, Mason grabs a basket and gloves off the porch and goes around to collect the tatos. After three hours, he had gathered all the tatos and left them in the basket by the door. Writing a note for Heather, he left it on the table inside, letting her know he'd be heading to Red Rocket to set up a supply line between there and Abernathy and that he'd be back by noon. Needed to collect some supplies as well to repair the Abernathy's fridge.

When he headed out, Mason didn't take the road and ran into two bloatflies. Taking care of them with Codsworth, Mason continued to Red Rocket and noticed a settler he hadn't seen before. When he studied the man as they approached each other, Mason took notice of the rifle in the man's hands. Something far better than the average raider or settler would have.

"Checking out Aria?" the man questioned, and Mason noticed the height of the man for the first time. Mason was already above average height, being six-five. The man in front of him was only a few inches shorter. "Don't blame ya. She's a beauty. Now if you're looking for a place to settle down, we can set you up with a job. Just don't slack off."

Mason was about to open his mouth when a man came up. Well, man was subjective. Reminded him of the ferals he'd fought with Heather back at Corvega.

"Hey, you're the General, correct?"

"Yes, how'd you know?"

"Sturges, the mechanic over in Sanctuary, gave us a vague description and that you cleared the place. Buff man, red armor. I mean, I was just getting up yesterday morning, but I saw you and your… companions, leaving. Left us with better weapons and a new one while doing so. It's the only reason we didn't wake you up when we first saw you yesterday."

"I appreciate that," Mason remarked as he took his helmet off. "Is this man new?"

"Nah, he was out hunting yesterday. Brought back a radstag. You left a suit of power armor here by the way."

"Figured it'd make more sense to save power on that core and take it to Sanctuary when I came back through. By the way, can I get your names?"

"Edward Walker. I was the first one to show up, so the other three made me their leader of sorts. No official chain of command, but we don't have many people. Gonna work that out down the line."

"Lucas Falsir," Rifleman said. "Got a sister, but she's on guard duty right now."

"Well, Falsir. Gonna need you to go between here and Abernathy," Mason said, looking the man up and down. One of the first things noticeable about the man, besides his height, was his leather jacket. Not something he saw a lot of people wear even before the bombs fell.

"Got something better," Falsir remarked. "Seems like a waste of my skills."

"Never seen your skills myself," Mason pointed out, sensing the man was an arrogant dick from that one statement. "Besides, you'll be bringing food between settlements. Seems pretty important."

After audibly groaning, Lucas snarled, "Fine. Any chance I can trade places with the one between here and Sanctuary? I'd rather stay near here."

"I don't give two hoots who goes between here and Abernathy. As long as we got a supply line set up."

Leaving the men to figure out the provision situation, Mason walked back to the workbench and opened his bag to collect supplies. After putting some of the supplies in his bag, he picked the metal that'd be needed for the tower of the beacon and got to walking. After half an hour, Mason got back to Abernathy and noticed Heather waiting for him on the porch.

"Hey, Heather. Get ready. Once I get these materials to the roof, and get a change of clothes, we'll be going to your bunker."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," Mason heard her remark as he entered the doors, having to adjust a bit to fit through the frame. Setting down some of the materials by the stairs, he carried the rest of it to the roof, having to use both hands to keep the beams steady. While it took him a bit, he managed to get all the parts up the stairs, with it taking him about thirteen to sixteen minutes in all to do. He left the small parts in a small box for Mr. Abernathy with instructions on how to put it together if he felt up to the task. After changing out of his armor and putting a flannel on, Mr. Abernathy came up to Mason, holding out a rain jacket. Looking at the man with a questioning look while buttoning up his shirt, Mr. Abernathy explained.

"It'll help keep dry," Mr. Abernathy said while Mason looked at him in confusion. "Keep water and snow from sticking. Mostly water."

"Fair enough," Mason remarked as he took the jacket, and after looking at it, folded it and put it away in his bag. "I'll keep it on me on the off chance I need it." After putting his bag on, he grabbed his helmet and armor and walked out to Heather.

"Ready to head out," Mason said as he looked at her

"Yep."

"Hey, Codsworth! Let's move, we're heading out!" Mason yelled to Codsworth, who was over by Clarabell.

"Of course, sir."

They began walking, and Mason set for his destination on the Pip-Boy to be Heather's bunker. They passed through Concord without trouble, picking up junk along the way, and kept on until they came to the Bedford Station nearby.

"Merde," Mason muttered as he took his bag off. "Heather and Cods, get ready."

"Problems, Mr. Black?" Codsworth asked as he picked his armor back up.

"Ferals, get ready for a fight," Mason remarked as he looked ahead, not taking his eyes off the pack ahead. Grabbing his helmet, he turned to Heather. "I probably don't need to say this, but if you can, go for the legs." After making sure the 10mm was loaded, Mason turned back to the ferals, a shit-eating grin on his face. "Time to get to work."

Running forward, Mason fired a round into a ferals leg before it could run at him. Turning left, he fired another into the head of one, blowing it off. Zooming in front of him, Codsworth took care of a feral in a boxcar in front of Mason, while Heather moved forward and took care of two further down.

"Don't let them overwhelm ya," Mason remarked as he shot a feral he kicked down in the head. Stomping on the head of the one he had shot in the head, he ran over to the area the boxcars were usually unloaded and saw five ferals; two outside and three inside. Noticing a barrel that looked sealed, Mason fired a round into it, causing it to explode. Putting the pistol away, he pulled out a Molotov and grabbed the handle.

"This ones gonna be a scorcher!" Mason yelled as he threw the Molotov in, slamming the door shut in front of him to avoid getting burned. Pulling out his 10mm, he aimed through the window in the door and fired. One of the ferals had burned to a crisp, while the other two were limping as their legs were too burnt for them to move effectively. Quickly putting them out of their misery, Mason looked to see the rest had been taken care of, making him sigh. Pulling out some water, he turned to Heather.

"Don't forget to drink up," Mason remarked as he handed her a bottle. "It'd be insulting if we passed out from dehydration."

"Fair enough," Heather stated as Mason walked by her. While he searched through the boxcars, he found something that looked like a rifle but shot something that wasn't a bullet.

"Hey, Heather," Mason asked as he held it up for her. "What is this thing?"

Heather looked at it for a minute before saying, "That's a railway rifle. It shoots railway spikes and uses steam to shoot them."

"So pretty useless right now," Mason remarked as he handed it to her. "How valuable are one of these things?"

"About two hundred ninety caps," Heather said happily. "I'd buy it off you, but I don't have that many caps."

"Sweet," Mason beamed. "Well, let's get going. We're going to have to stay at your bunker for the night. By the time we get there, it's most likely going to be dark out, and another snowstorm is coming. I won't let a storm stop me during the day, but low visibility with it being dark and a snowstorm is a no-no without goggles. Unless you've got a pair, we'll be staying there for the nig

ht."

"Alright," she said as she adjusted her bag.

Adjusting their bags into comfortable positions, they began to head towards the bunker again. The only resistance they ran into was some mole rats at the Rotten Landfill, though they had been disposed of quickly. It was a good thing too, due to the snow storming as they reached it. After making sure Codsworth was in a spot he wouldn't get damaged, he climbed down to Heather and Dogmeat and shut the hatch above him.

"Home sweet home," he heard Heather say before taking a look around the place.

Smiling, he noticed a two-headed albino deer head on the wall and asked, "What's the story with the deer heads?"

"We were near the road to Lexington when that radstag came out of nowhere and charged my mom. She jumped up, grabbed it by the neck, and stabbed it through the heart with a combat knife. Woman was a fucking badass," Heather told him, smiling as she remembered her mother.

"You must've loved her a lot," Mason told her.

"I did," Heather told him. "And I still do."

That's good. Family is important.

"So do you have anything on your mind you want to talk about?" Mason asked her as he sat on her couch with his arms stretched over the back of it while she sat next to him.

"You can never trust a synth. If you run into one, kill it. And if it looks human and you aren't sure? Kill it anyway."

"Okay, I'll try to remember that," Mason told her, though he wouldn't necessarily take it at face value. Doubted all synths were as bad as she said they were.

"So what's your story," she asked him. "You know mine, but I don't know yours. What is it?"

"Besides being frozen for two hundred and ten years, that's a hard one."

Heather looked amazed for a minute before saying, "That's awesome. So you were alive before the war?"

"Yeah," he told her with a ghost of a smile. "Had a wife and kid. But then all this crap happened."

"So where are they now?" Heather asked curiously.

Should've known she would ask that.

"My wife was… murdered, and my son taken while we were in the vault. I'm making sure I'm strong enough to be able to fight the bastard who did it. He won't get to live to see the next day when I find him," he informed her with a bit of malice in his voice, clearly aimed towards the bastard.

"I can tell what you're going through," she said. "Sorry about your family."

"Don't be," Mason said as he patted her shoulder. "You couldn't have known. Anyway, it's nearly time for lights out. Tomorrow we're heading east. Going to see if anyone's made a home out the old communal settlement." After taking his bag and armor off, he leaned back and closed his eyes for the night.

Looking through his bag the following day, he realized he'd have to make a stop by Red Rocket due to leaving some food there by mistake. Something he'd have to make sure he didn't do in the future. Peering out the hatch, it was worse than yesterday, and they had a few inches of snow now, so after closing the hatch again, he grabbed the rain jacket Abernathy had given him and his armor. Putting the jacket and armor on, he grabbed some paper from the bag and sat down. While he waited for Heather to wake up, he thought about what they would be doing next week. Today they'd be heading to that communal settlement after stopping by Red Rocket. While he was busy writing, Heather came out of her room, her hair framing her face.

"What?" Heather questioned as he stared at her, not used to her hair down.

"Not used to your hair down," Mason remarked as he stood up and grabbed his helmet. "Be ready to leave in fifteen minutes. It's worse than yesterday so you'll have to stay near."

"On it," she said as she walked to her fridge and grabbed some food before walking back to her room. He didn't know what she did in those fifteen minutes, just that he was relieved when her hair was put up. Something about it being down just didn't feel natural to him.

"Let's go," Mason said as he held Dogmeat in one arm, using the other to climb the ladder. After getting Dogmeat up, he helped Heather and closed the hatch behind them, and they got moving after Mason called for Codsworth. The only time they had to stop was at Bedford, and that was just to make sure they hadn't lost anyone.

Walking through Concord, they got to Red Rocket soon. Grabbing the food he'd left, they backtracked a bit before heading west, stopping by Abernathy farm. Running into a new settler, a tall woman who looked like she could crack bullets with her arms, he asked her to be the provisioner between there and the communal place he was going to make sure was habitable, to which she agreed. After making sure she had a decent weapon, they headed in that direction, finding a bus on the way there. After finding a teddy bear and taking care of a bloatfly and giant crab, they collected some meat which Mason commented on.

"Bloatflies. Never expected them to get this large from radiation," Mason remarked. "May have fought 'em a few times, but it's still surprising."

After walking around the lake and climbing up due to someone in green armor guarding the bridge, they got to the place, finding a Mr. Handy called Mr. Goodfeels, saying "Far out" as if it were high on drugs. After finding the terminal to shut him down, they began to look through the place for ferals, noticing the body of one in the barn. Keeping his 10mm at the ready, Mason began to clear the area with Heather backing him up, having Codsworth start collecting the junk. By the time they were done, there were seven dead ferals and two roaches. After drawing up some plans and placing them in a dresser, Mason left a note explaining what they were for the provisioner. Mason saw a sign on the barn giving one, looking around for a name. Sunshine Tidings Co-op

After marking it on his Pip-Boy, he notices Heather thinking about something.

"What's on your mind?"

"This is working for me. I like traveling with you."

"Got no problems here."

"Turns out, you're the best kind of partner. I'm still alive. I've got no new scars, and you never whine. It's perfect," she chirped, making Mason rub his arm. "And fun! I haven't had this much fun in a long time."

We're friends. No thanks necessary," he told her calmly.

"It's meant a lot to me. I've done some shifting around, so I can carry more stuff for you. Probably twenty-five pounds or so, and I'm going to increase your discount. Seems like the right thing to do. I probably shouldn't price gouge a friend."

"Alright. Before you get any plans, we're headed to a drive-in after making a stop by Abernathy. May take a day or two to get there."

After they got done helping Codsworth collect all the junk, taking about twelve hours to do so, Mason picked a survival book from one of the houses and looked at it. Although the drawings were horrid, they did help with finding out how to get more meat off animals. Which was nice.

When they finished, they put together some bunks in one of the houses. Four to be exact, so enough for eight people. When they were done, they started to walk down the road. After crossing the bridge, Mason was prepared to fight someone, but what he saw wasn't even a person. They could have been before all… this happened, but now it was a giant of a man with mutated green skin. Guess what he saw wasn't a man in green armor, but this… thing. The question is, what killed him? While they were walking, they came across an old toy store with a note attached to the door leading down. Mason tried to open it but found it locked, so he read the message.

Tweet,

If you're reading this, then you're an idiot. This is the last time I'm telling you, we're locking this door. Use the entrance in the sewer pipe. Next time you forget I'm locking your ass out permanently.

Walter

"That's interesting," Mason said, pocketing the note away. Pulling the knife from the wall, he studied it for a bit before grinning. "This can replace the switch," he remarked as he took the switchblade and put it in his bag, pulling out a sheathe for the combat knife that he'd found while clearing out Sunshine. Climbing down the hill to the drainage pipe, Mason stepped into the thing, crouching down to draw less attention as he walked.

Pulling out his rifle, Mason moved forward, coming to a bend where there was an opening. Gesturing for the others to stay back, he looked to see how many there were and saw only two people in the room. Then, with a quick movement of his hand, Heather came behind him.

"I'll get Tweedledum, you get Tweedledee," Mason whispered, making her give him a questioning look. "I'll get the one on the left, you get the one on the right."

"On it," She said, and after getting ready, Mason pulled the trigger, shooting a man in the head, with Heather disintegrating the other. Backing behind a corner in the pipe, they wait for a minute in silence, and after realizing no one was coming, search the room. There isn't much there, just a magazine showing him how to get better prices from vendors. Collecting the ammunition off the body and duffel bag, they walk through the cave hallway and find two more people in the room it leads to.

"Son of a-" one of them begins to yell before Mason tosses a grenade at his feet. Jumping behind the wall, Mason hears silence, letting him know he got both of them. Walking over to the one who looked like the boss, and after finding a key on him, walks over to a safe. Using the key to unlock it, he finds a combat rifle and some ammunition for it.

Mason had an enthusiastic grin as he put the gun away, breaking up into laughter. Was gonna have to fix that up later.

"Are you alright, Mason?" Heather questioned as he continued to laugh.

"Gonna make this gun standard equipment for the Minutemen eventually," Mason told her. "Pretty putain de useful."

After they get done searching the place, they walk out the door, locking it behind them. Forgetting which direction the road is in, Mason decides to follow the highway instead.

Big mistake.

While walking, they came upon a formation of cars. Mason almost went to check it out when he saw something that would've made his younger self crap his pants. A giant green man, standing nearly 14 feet tall. Immediately backing away, he crouches and slowly walks around the area, keeping an ear out to make sure it doesn't find them. After getting away and finding the road, they run into more trouble, finding three people wearing dark green armor. These guys were human, though, so something he knew how to fight. Looking around, he realized they had a turret nearby and muttered something under his breath.

Pulling out the pipe rifle he had, Mason kneeled and aimed for the turret. Mason fired eight times, holding his breath, hitting the turret with each bullet. When the three people notice, they start to look around for them, yelling to each other. Turning to Heather, he points to her before indicating for her to take care of the other woman.

Nodding her head to let him know he understood, he turns to Codsworth and gestures for him to take care of the man under the bridge.

"I'll get right to it, sir," Codsworth said, not really going for subtlety.

Turning towards the end of the bridge, Mason's eyes lock on the leader, and pulls out the knife he got at the store.

As the giant of a creature began to barrel towards him, the Gunner leader aimed his rifle at it and pulled the trigger. Out of the four shots he had fired, he managed to hit the thing's arm before it got close.

"Die asshole!" he yelled as he tried to smash the helmet it was wearing. When it pushed the gun to the side, he pulled his fist back and tried to punch it. When he felt his hand get grabbed, he looked at the thing in disgust.

"You're kidding, right?" the giant questioned as it stared down at the man. Before he could say anything, it slashed his chest, making him yell in pain as he went to grab his chest before feeling something hit the side of his head.

As Mason dropped the man to the ground, he turned to the others. Heather had turned the woman to ash, while Codsworth had burnt his target to a crisp. Leaving Dogmeat sniffing around, Mason yelled for them to check for anything useful before walking up to the checkpoint. Putting some of the equipment and armor in his bag, he meets up with the others, and they start walking,

"Find anything useful, sir?" Codsworth asked as they walked.

"Some ammunition for the combat rifle and a laser pistol. Took the armor off the man I took out."

Walking down the road, they see the drive-in, not even half an hour later. Though the sun was setting, so he didn't want to see if there was anything to fight with even more limited vision than he already had. Noticing a diner behind it and walks up to it before hearing some people.

"We had a deal, Trudy! Hand over the goods you owe us," A man yelled, irritating Mason.

"I ain't giving you poison-shilling chem pushers anything! Do you know what that junk has done to my boy?" A woman yelled, someone Mason assumed was Trudy.

"He bought them fair and square, Trudy! Ain't our fault he's strung out," the man said." Now don't make me come in there and shoot up that little trading post of yours!"

Mason walked up to the man, who decided it was a good idea to jam his gun into Mason's face.

"Woah, woah! Easy there, scavver. This doesn't involve you," the man said as he aimed the barrel at Mason's helmet.

"I'm calling it right here, this world can officially bite my cul," Mason remarked in sarcasm.

"Hey, we all got problems, all right? I'm just trying to collect on what's owed to me," the man stated, lowering the rifle to his chest. "Don't suppose you feel like helping us out? Could use an extra gun, or maybe you can talk some sense into Trudy over there?"

"Look, I'll go talk to her. You stay here, and you may not get hurt," Mason remarked, and the man went to raise the gun again before he continued. "Before you try anything stupid, you are outnumbered two to one. A Mr. Handy who can turn you into barbecue, a merchant who's a better shot than mercenaries, and a dog who has no problems holding someone down. I don't think I need to point out why it'd be a bad idea for you to annoy myself."

Mason turned to leave before feeling his shoulder getting grabbed. Swinging back, Mason elbowed whoever grabbed him. Grabbing them by the arm, he pulled them forward while planting his feet. Turning as he pulled, he slammed them to the ground after rolling them off his hip, knocking the wind out of them as he put a hand around his throat.

"Unless you want to be in the same position, hold," Mason snarled at the man's partner, making her take a step back. Leaning down to the man's ear, Mason growled, "Now, unless you want to get hurt, stay here, and I'll go see about getting what's owed."

Standing up, Mason dusted off his pants and walked over to Trudy, who looked annoyed.

"I saw you and the poison-seller talking. Well, he ain't getting his money. Period."

"Poison-seller? So he's a drug dealer?" Mason questioned, which annoyed him. Never cared for drugs unless they were needed for medical reasons.

"Yeah, so what?"

Taking a deep breath before releasing it, he turned to Heather.

"Keep your gun trained on the woman if she tries anything," Mason told her, gesturing to the poison-seller's partner. "I'm gonna go have a little 'chat' with our friend over there."

Walking back out, Mason stormed over to the drug dealer, who was about to point his weapon at him before Mason put a hand on his shoulder.

"Here's what you're gonna do," Mason remarked, holding the man down, his partner looking at him fearfully. "You're gonna leave these people. And you're gonna forget about what's owed."

"And what if I don't?"

"Then you'll find a bullet in your chest, and your partner dead."

"That's it, you're dead!" the man yelled as he swung at Mason. Blocking the man's arm, he used his free hand to punch the man in the stomach before pulling out his own rifle. Knocking the man onto his back, Mason aimed his weapon before pulling the trigger twice, releasing two bullets into the man's chest, before turning to find the woman dead.

"Hahaha! Can't wait to see the crows feedin' on that scumbag," Trudy yelled in delight, surprising Mason. "Here, this is for you. Now if you ever need tro trade, my shops open."

Pocketing the hundred caps she gave him, Mason turned to her. "Well, I suppose I've got a few minutes to browse."

While looking through what she has in stock, he notices a Chinese sword and looks at its name.

General Chao's Revenge. Would be useful for fighting robots, but not that much since blunt weapons and bullets would do better.

"How much is this sword?" Mason questioned as he looked at it.

"One thousand three hundred forty eight caps," Trudy told him, making Mason sigh.

"Gonna pass on it for the time bein'," Mason remarked. "A bit much, but might come back for it later." Seeing that the sun hadn't set, he decided to check out the drive-in for any creatures. Was going against what he thought earlier, but he thought it'd be darker by the time he got to it.

While looking around, he found a radroach in the back of the build that the movies would be projected onto. While relatively easy to take care of, the molerats in the parking lot weren't. There were six of them, and he stabbed and took care of three of them while Heather and Codsworth got the other three. Finding a mattress at the top of the diner, he let Heather get some rest, and after five hours, it was his turn.

After eating breakfast the next day, Mason, Heather, and Codsworth started scrapping anything they could, with Codsworth helping with the barrels in the pool of water in the middle of the parking lot. It took them about three hours, but soon everything was clear.

"Everything alright," Heather questioned as Mason stood on the roof of the diner.

"Just thinking," Mason said, looking at the map on the Pip-Boy, then back to the drive-in. "It's pretty central in the Commonwealth. At least compared to other places. Not many are this big either. We could turn it into a trading outpost of sorts for the Minutemen when we have more support."

"What would you guys sell, putting me out of business?" Heather said, laughing when she saw Mason's confused look.

"Wouldn't think of that. Besides, before meeting me, you went to where people were. Setting up here, people would have to come. But I can only think of five different types of stores off the top of my head. Armor, weapons, a bar, medical services, and a general goods store," Mason remarked. "Couldn't sell the stuff we'd equip soldiers with, but stuff good enough they'd feel safe. Same with guns, would have to sell the second best instead of what our men will have." After releasing his breath, Mason turned to leave the roof. "Well, standing around talking about it ain't gonna do anything. Let's cover Lexington before the end of the day."

Grabbing his bag and making sure they had all their supplies, they took the road south to Lexington. Getting there, Mason noticed the Super Duper Mart and figured there'd be some supplies there.

Walking in, the first thing Mason noticed was how quiet it was. Like the silence in a horror film before something goes terribly wrong.

"Get ready," Mason said as he pulled out his pistol. "There's… something here. Don't know what exactly."

Turning into the section where fruits and vegetables would be displayed, they ran into three ferals. Knocking two to the side, Mason shot a third in the head, while Heather took out the other two he knocked away before he could turn to them.

"Thanks," Mason said. "You're would be dead right now if it weren't for you."

As they moved through the place, they took out more ferals, two of which had some items that'd be helpful in a fight if they weren't relatively weak compared to what he had. While looking through the place, they found two dead Minutemen, one that three ferals had been surrounding, and the other in a room with two. Collecting the uniforms, he grabbed their laser muskets before breaking the capacitor, with Heather looking at him, stunned.

"What are you doing?" She questioned, surprised at him breaking the weapons.

"Making sure the weapons can't be used," Mason remarked as he strapped the broken weapons to his bag before going to hoist one of the bodies onto his shoulder. "You'll see why soon."

Leaving the place, with Mason carrying the bodies of the Minutemen, they had found a fusion core, the uniforms, a magazine, and a bit of Nuka Cola.

Finding an area with a dirt field, Mason set the bodies down and looked around for a shovel, and after finding one, got to work digging. Codworth looked like he wanted to help but didn't know how, while Heather understood what he was doing now but still didn't understand why he broke the muskets. After spending about three hours digging the holes deep enough for the bodies, Mason picked one up and put it in the first grave before putting the other Minuteman in the other. Throwing the dirt back in the holes and packing it back down, Mason grabbed the muskets before slamming the stocks in the dirt and used some more to keep them standing. After making sure it was stable, Mason kneeled and began to pray. When he was done, Mason stood up and grabbed his helmet.

"I didn't know you were religious," Heather said, making Mason turn to her.

"I don't believe in that stuff," Mason said as he put the helmet on. "But if there is a god out there, I hope these two went somewhere they won't suffer for eternity. They gave their lives for the people at Sanctuary. If that stuff is real, they don't deserve to suffer anymore."

Making sure the helmet was secure, they headed towards the apartments Mason knew were in Lexington. Entering the building, Mason crouched, not wanting to set off any traps. Disarming a mine, he also stopped a tripwire from going off, grabbing the grenade it was connected to as he walked up. Had to be raiders since ferals couldn't do this. And they definitely wouldn't want him there. Pulling out his knife as he got to the top, Mason saw a raider behind the corner and snuck up behind him. Slitting the man's throat, Mason saw there was a woman he hadn't seen before and threw the knife between her eyes before she could do anything.

"Check her for anything useful," Mason told Heather, already searching the man for ammunition.

"On it," Heather said as Mason found some .38 rounds. Guess these were common bullets.

Collecting all the good stuff, Mason walked over to the woman, pulling his knife from her head, using the rags the raider had been wearing to wipe the blood off. Putting away the knife for the time being, they began to walk back to Starlight. As they approached the place, they ran into a giant lizard. Crouching down, Mason began to rack his mind for ways to fight it. Last time they fought one, he had a suit of power armor and a minigun.

"Fucking deathclaw," Heather muttered, letting Mason know what they were called. While looking at it, he got an idea.

"Heather, stay here with Dogmeat and fire at it from here," Mason said before turning to Codsworth. "Codsworth, help me keep its attention off of her."

"Okay, sir," Codsworth responded, making Mason smile. Walking around it, Mason pulls out his pipe rifle and shoots it in the head. When it roars, Mason sighs. Should've gone for the stomach. Turning its attention to Mason he yells, "Come for me, Monsieur visage baisé!"

Seeing Heather waiting, Mason fires more rounds into it as Codsworth goes up and attacks with his flamer.

"Go for its stomach!" Mason yells to Heather as he keeps pulling the trigger, each bullet hitting its mark. He kept firing, making a mental note that the stomach hurts it more than the head, probably due to it being softer there.

It begins to charge at Mason as he fires bullets, and when it tries to claw at him, Mason ducks under its swing before slamming his head face-first into the deathclaws face. Not relenting, Mason keeps pulling the trigger before kneeing it in the stomach. He was fortunate gravity forced it to hunch over; otherwise, he would not be able to reach it. It roared before Mason put the barrel of the gun to the roof of its mouth and pulled the trigger. It reeled back, somehow not dying, before a few shots from Heather and some flames from Codsworth put it down. Breathing heavily, Mason dropped to his knees, out of breath as Heather came up to him and began to patch a scratch on his arm he hadn't noticed.

"Th… thanks," Mason said between breaths. "Didn't… notice that."

"I can tell," Heather said, wrapping his arm. "Just remember to use a stimpak tonight. "That's to keep the wound from getting infected."

"Of course," Mason said as he got his breath back. "Let's get moving again."

"Hold up," she said before pushing him onto his rear end, and that's when he noticed it had gotten one of his legs as well. When she was done, she helped him up, giving him a shoulder to lean on to keep some weight off his leg. After collecting some meat and leather from the creature, they walked back to the drive-in, where Mason wrote down on a piece of paper that the stomach was the weak point of a deathclaw.

"We're heading back to Sunshine," Mason tells Heather and Codsworth as she helps him up. "We're gonna leave what we don't need here. That's everything except clothing, weapons, food, or armor."

"Okay," They say before heading over to the workbench. While Mason's sitting on the bench and going through his bag, he notices Heather staring at him, making him give her a questioning look.

"Do I have something on my face?" Mason questions, zipping up his bag with his helmet as he finishes taking out the junk.

"No," Heather said. "Keep forgetting you're probably not much older than I am."

"Well, I wouldn't know since I don't know your age," Mason remarked and shouldered his bag before waiting for Heather to finish.

"Twenty-four," Heather tells him, making him look at her. "We've been through some stuff. Besides, it's just a number."

"You're only a year younger than I am then," Mason remarked as they got moving. "Only twenty-five."

Leaning onto Heather for support, they began walking. Stopping by the diner, they bought some ammunition from Trudy. Mason noticed that while it had taken them six hours previously to get there, it took them only half an hour, though it probably would've taken less time if his leg wasn't wounded. As they're crossing the bridge, they walk past the body of the giant green man, and three people walk by them, a trader and her bodyguards. They offered some chems, though Mason didn't give them a second glance as they walked by, finding them annoying. He didn't care for other people using drugs, but he wasn't going to use them. Walking into the settlement, Mason was surprised to see the gate to the place already built, along with two guard towers.

"Who are you people," one of the settlers questioned as they came.

"Just looking for a place to stop for the night," Mason said. "The names Mason Black."

"General?" the woman questioned, making Mason look at her confused. "Garvey told me about you, sent me here to train any new settlers how to defend themselves. Sorry for not recognizing you at first.

Walking into one of the bunkhouses, Heather makes sure Mason's comfortable before giving him a stimpak and water.

"Okay? We're gonna go to the bunkhouse. We have anyone new?"

"Just one," the woman said. "He's currently in the mess hall, but I can bring him to you if you want."

"It's fine. I need to rest up. I'll talk to them tomorrow."

Walking to the bunkhouse, Heather set him on the bed before giving him a stimpak and water. "I'd rather use alternatives, but you're heavier than you look," Heather remarked, making Mason laugh.

"I do have a Hercules Gene," Mason laughed, making her look at him. "Basically my body doesn't produce enough of the stuff to halt muscle growth. Enough to keep me from dying, but not enough to stop me from looking like I exercise even if I don't."

Injecting the stimpak into his leg, he took his bag off, setting it beside the bed. After making sure no one could grab it and drinking some water, he laid his head on a pillow before resting.

Waking up the next day, he stood up and stretched, a bit of pain still lingering from the claws the previous day, but the wounds were mostly healed now. Grabbing his bag, he took the armor out and put it on, leaving the helmet on top. When he stepped outside, he found the woman talking to a man he hadn't seen before the previous day. When she saw him, she turned to him and saluted him.

"General."

"At ease," Mason said before speaking up. "How did you know who I was?"

"Garvey gave me a vague description. 'More than likely he'll be wearing red armor if you see him, and if he isn't his body will do more than give him away.' Then proceeded to say you'd have muscles that'd make a Super Mutant jealous," she answered, making Mason sigh.

"Imma have to work on that description," Mason remarked, confusing the two. "For the time being, tell leaders and guards that I'm tall, and generally traveling with a woman, dog, and one other person." Seeing the questioning look on her face, "Yes, the Mr. Handy counts as a person. His name is Codsworth, and you'll treat him like everyone else." Turning to the man, he approached him. "Gonna need you to be the provisioner between here and Starlight Drive-In," Mason told him. "Gonna have beacon parts brought here so you can take them there."

"Understood, sir."

"Never got your name," Mason told the woman as he looked at her.

"Maria Owens," she responded.

"Well, Miss Owens. You'll be running this place now. At least until we have more people."

Looking at the time on the Pip-Boy, Mason decides to do a bit more exploring, knowing Heather would probably just be waking up by the time he got back. Finding a chapel nearby, he found someone wearing something like a ranger would wear in a desert and figured it'd be a good idea for this for specially trained people, so it'd have to be stored for the time being. With no name for the place, he marks the place as Lonely Chapel before going back to Sunshine.

"Let's get going," Mason says as he sees Heather by the gate, Codworth, and Dogmeat already following him. "We're heading back to Sanctuary a day early.."

"Isn't it two days, sir?" Codsworth asked politely. "We've only been gone for five, and you told Mr. Sturges you'd be gone for seven."

"It's going to take the rest of the day to get to the truck stop. I want to explore the sewer the deathclaw came out of to see if there's anything worth it in there," Mason explained to him. "There may be some creatures down there."

"All right then," Codsworth says as they start walking. On the way, they take a slight detour and stop by the Abernathy's.

"Blake," Mason says as he climbs the steps to the guard tower he's in.

"How can I help you, Mason?"

"If there's anyone not assigned to any tasks, assign one more to guard duty. You can't be the only guard."

"All right."

"If there's anyone else, assign them to farming. If they run out of plants to assign to, give them some tato seeds."

"Okay," he said before following him down the stairs. Going off to find some people, Mason turns to leave, knowing the place was in safe hands.

Heading to Concord, Mason finds the sewer the first deathclaw he fought came out. Walking in, and he's wondering if they could shrink since there was no other way it should've been down there. He really hoped they couldn't, though. Searching for any creatures, they find six molerats, three radroaches, and one giant crab. The crab he killed with a fragmentation grenade, knowing I couldn't take it on in a fight, despite what I've already fought. Killing the molerats with his pistol and the roaches with the combat knife. Collecting the meat off them and the teeth from the molerats, he found a metal chest piece for a human that could light the attacker on fire on a radroach. Why would a radroach need one? After searching the rest of the area, he found a tattoo magazine that showed an eagle. Would be nice, but he doesn't like tattoos. Tattoos are permanent, and while they do fade away, he didn't want one when he grew old. Leaving the place after searching it, they soon got to the Red Rocket. Seeing more people here, Mason starts to build a terminal to keep track of everyone and their jobs. When he's done, he assigns everyone to guard duty. It matters more about this place being guarded than scavenging. Can't scavenge if you're not safe. After that, he made some clothing for the guards and fixed their guns up for them. Pipe weapons are all they have, so he made them like the last ones. After he was done, he noticed it was getting late, so he crawled into one of the beds and closed his eyes for the night.