Legend of the Radiation Shield
Chapter 1: Prepared for the Future
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The Capital Wasteland, the charred husk of Washington D.C. While the world burned the District of Columbia was set ablaze like nowhere else, bustling suburbs were turned into lifeless desert, historic monuments and buildings remade as piles of rubble, and the crisp autumn air of October replaced with a radioactive miasma. Even to this day, two hundred years after the Great War, the sky still holds a green tinge. Despite being bombed to hell twice over however, humanity still clung to life in America's former capital. In fact in recent times things have gotten better for the average wastelander. Threats such as the various raider gangs and super mutants have been forced from the region, trade and contact between settlements has become more prevalent, and most importantly everyone now had access to clean unirradiated water. While most acknowledge the Brotherhood of Steel's hand in improving their lives there is only one person they all agree to be their true savior. The Lone Wanderer.
"Agh, papercut!" Speaking of said savior, meet Daniel Neeson. Former dweller of Vault 101, most recent knight of the Brotherhood, and as of now sucking on his index finger thanks to an over two-hundred-year-old tome. Ever since he left the Vault Daniel has walked to the ends of the wasteland, discovering a plethora of artifacts, weapons, locations, and people in his travels. Today he hit the jackpot however, while places like the Smithsonian's and the National Archive held vast amounts of prewar knowledge, they paled in comparison to the treasure trove of literature that was the Library of Congress. After navigating a harrowing maze of debris, the jumpsuit wearing explorer found a way inside and was awestruck. The interior of the library was completely intact, almost like the war had never happened. The only evidence betraying this notion were the thick layers of dust and scattered skeletons. One corpse in particular had caught Daniel's eye, it was slumped against one of the bookshelves clutching a book in its arms. After recovering from his cut, he flipped the book over to the cover and read the title. "Records of the Four Holy Weapons?" from the looks of it this was your standard fantasy novel, world in peril, heroes with magical weapons, etcetera. "Man, Grognak had better plots than this. Oh well, I could use some down time. What the...?" Past the introduction there was nothing but blank pages. Chalking it up to some sort of printing error Daniel placed the book on a nearby shelf, resuming his exploration. The second he did however the shelf creaked loudly and with an even greater groan it began to fall over. "OH CRAP!"
"O brave heroes, please save our world!"
"Huh?" Rather than the crushing embrace of literature the wanderer was greeted by a group of robed men. Looking around he noticed a shield strapped to his arm and the three other people standing next to him. The one to his left stood a head taller than he did with a mop of blond hair, wearing an open red shirt, a white undershirt, and tan slacks. The person on the other side of the lanky blond had straight black hair and wore a blue jacket with black jeans. Finally, the guy at the end had curly, dirty blond hair and was dressed in a green suit. Each one held a weapon in their hand, a spear, a sword, and a bow respectively.
"What do you mean by that?" The green one asked.
"It would take a while to fill you in on all the details. Just know that we used an ancient ritual to bring you, the Four Cardinal Heroes, to our world." The lead man explained before continuing. "Our world teeters on the brink of ruin so we beg you, O brave heroes! Help us!"
"I refuse."
"Likewise."
"We can go back to our world, right?" the other three said in quick succession, stunning both the wastelander and the robed men.
"Don't you guys feel any guilt at all for bringing us here without our consent?" the middle one argued, raising his sword at them.
"And if you send us home as soon as peace is restored, we'd have worked for nothing." the one with the bow added.
"How willing are you to accommodate us? Depending on your answer, we might end up becoming your enemies instead." The tall one threatened, tapping his spear against his shoulder.
"F-first we'd like you to have an audience with the king of our country, Melromarc. You can negotiate your reward after that, so please…" the priest explained while approaching the four. Satisfied with his answer the other three made to leave the room. Following them up a flight of stairs Daniel stopped at a window, looking outside he felt as if he had stepped into some old prewar vacation brochure. Rather than the greenish glow of D.C. or the stifling smog of the Pitt he saw, for the first time in his life, a clear blue sky. The city below was buzzing with life unlike the carcasses of the ones back home. Lastly, instead of the ever-present hot air of the wasteland he greedily took in a refreshing breeze.
"Hey! Hurry up!" one of the other three called to him, this snapped Daniel out of his trance, and he picked up the pace. Eventually the group was led into the audience chamber of the castle. There sat upon a golden throne was who they presumed to be the king.
"So, these men are the four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend?" the man asked himself before continuing. "I am the King of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc the 32nd. Heroes, name yourselves."
First up was the blue one "Ren Amaki, sixteen years old, High schooler."
Next was the red one "I'm Motoyasu Kitamura. Twenty-one, and a college student."
"I suppose I'm up next." the green one said. "Itsuki Kawasumi, seventeen years old, and a high schooler as well." seeing this as his cue Daniel stepped forward to present himself. Before he could however the king cut him off.
"I see. Ren, Motoyasu, and Itsuki, huh?" he said. With a cough the wastelander gained the king's attention.
"Excuse me, your Highness? I'm sorry but I never introduced myself." Daniel explained.
"Hmm? Oh, forgive me." Aultcray apologised.
"Thank you. My name is Daniel Neeson, I'm twenty years old and an explorer so to say." he answered. The king didn't even give him a second glance before addressing them all.
"My country, Melromarc, and the entire world is heading towards destruction as you already know. Here there is a prophecy, every one hundred years Waves of death and destruction shall wash over the land, if the Waves are not repelled the world will end. While we have the means to keep track of and prepare for them, we do not have what it takes to fight them on our own. Just before you all were summoned the first wave came and with our armies and adventurers, we managed to quash it, if barely. This is where you come in, the weapons you wield are the keys to our salvation." Aultcray explained. "In a month's time the second wave will arrive. Before then you all must train and muster your courage to fight. We have no time to lose!" from the sound of it this world was the same one as described in the introduction of the book Daniel read. Before he could think more on the topic the blue one, Ren, clashed his sword against the marble floor.
"We get the gist of it now. Anyway, surely you didn't summon us expecting us to save you for free?" He argued.
"Of course." An advisor of some sort began. "Once you repel all of the waves, we shall reward you handsomely."
"Will you now? Well, as long as we have your word." Motoyasu said, liking what he heard.
"We'll work for you provided you don't turn on us. But don't think for a moment that you can tame us." Ren answered.
"Exactly we can't have you looking down on us." Itsuki added. Daniel just nodded along to what they had to say. While they were a bit rude being kidnapped and forced to fight is a valid reason to be.
"I trust we have an agreement. Then, heroes, you should all check your statuses." the king stated. Everyone, save for Ren, seemed confused by what he meant.
"What's wrong with you guys? It should have been the first thing you noticed in this world." He chided. "Don't you see an icon in the corner of your field of vision?" looking around the edge of his sight Daniel could not find said icon.
"Where is it?" he added. This caused the blue teen to sigh and pinch his nose.
"I said it in the cor-" Whatever the boy had to say was cut off when the wastelander raised his left arm and found his face suddenly glued to the screen of his Pip-Boy.
"What the hell?" he said to himself as he glanced over the wrist mounted computer. Looking up he could see that the other three heroes stood frozen in place, he would have looked around to see if everyone else was like this but found he was physically stuck as well. "Did you do this?" he questioned before scrolling through the tabs on the device. The status tab had changed somehow, rather than just showing his health it displayed three new things as well. "Daniel Neeson, Level 30, Karma: Good, Title: Hero of the Shield?" not bothering with any other hidden changes in his Pip-Boy he moved it away from his face, causing time to resume.
"-ner of your vision." Ren exasperatedly finished.
"O-oh, yeah. Now I see it." Daniel said, choosing to not reveal what just happened.
"Level 1? That's worrying." Itsuki said to the others.
"Yeah. no telling if we can fight life this. What's all of this anyway?" Motoyasu asked for the four of them.
"It is called Status Magic, a power exclusive to the four of you." the advisor answered. That answer didn't help the wanderer in the slightest but seeing how the others accepted this he just nodded along.
"What are we supposed to do now?" Ren asked. Just like the King had said the advisor told them that they were to set out and train. They were to do so separately however as being together would negatively affect their growth, whatever that meant. Seeing that the day was almost over the four were dismissed and led to rooms prepared beforehand. Later in the evening they all met up in Motoyasu's room to talk. The spear wielder sat on the edge of his bed, Itsuki and Daniel were seated across from one another by the room's coffee table, and Ren had opted to lean against the it's armory.
"I guess you get special treatment when you're a hero of legend, eh?" the tall blond said while laying down. "The girl who showed us here was a cutie, too."
"And our dinner was sumptuous, though it did taste unusual." itsuki stated before turning to the wastelander in front of him. "I assume you're from America, Right Daniel-san?"
"Yeah, you guys are from Japan, right? Your names sound Japanese at least." Daniel returned.
"That is correct. Have you ever been to our country?" the bow wielder questioned.
"No, I've only ever read about the place." he confessed.
I see, that is pretty surprising. Your fluency is quite excellent." the boy complimented.
"My fluency?" Daniel said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm speaking plain English. Is what I'm saying being translated?"
"Hmm, seems that's the case. Here I was assuming everyone here spoke our language." Itsuki laughed sheepishly. "I do have another question for you though, What's with the jumpsuit and that strange device on your arm?"
"Oh, this? This is a RobCo Pip-Boy 3000, model A. It has several functions such as displaying my condition, regional maps, and digitizing my inventory. As for my attire this is one of my old vault jumpsuits. While I do have other clothes I feel the most comfortable in this." Daniel explained.
"Digitize? Do you mean it keeps track of what you have on you?" Motoyasu questioned, getting up from his bed.
"No, I can put stuff in and pull stuff out of it." the wastelander elaborated. To demonstrate what he meant he materialized a bottle of Nuka-Cola, popped the cap off, and guzzled it down.
"That's amazing! When we go back after helping the people here do you think I could get one of those?" Itsuki asked, starry eyed.
"Not unless you somehow find a way overseas and go looking for vaults or through the old RobCo factories." Daniel stated.
"You keep mentioning vaults, what are they anyway?" Ren said, finally joining the conversation.
"The vaults where fallout shelters built before the Great War." the wanderer answered, not registering the strange looks he received.
"Shelters? Great War? What are you talking about?" Motoyasu questioned. This time around it was Daniel's turn to be confused.
"You know, the Great War. Billions killed in an instant, atomic annihilation. Armageddon?" the wastelander finished, waving his hands to emphasize his point. The three heroes before him were silent like the dead and looked like it too.
"WHAT!?" the three shouted in unison.
"When did the world end!?"
"Are you serious!?"
"That's ridiculous, no one's dumb enough to use their nukes!"
"Calm down, that was a long time ago." Daniel said to try and pacify them.
"WHEN!?" they cried again.
"The bombs dropped on October 27th, 2077." he explained. Suddenly it dawned on him. "What was the current year when you guys were brought here?"
"The year was 2016, I got hit by a truck before I woke up here." Itsuki confessed.
"It was 2035 for me." Motoyasu said. "If we're sharing how we got here now I guess I'll spill the beans. I was dating two girls at the time and they eventually found out about one another, suffice to say things got a little... testy."
"So, they killed you then?" Ren deadpanned, causing the the lanky blond to look away in guilt. "For me, the new year had just passed, making it 2054. As for how I got here a friend of mine and I were attacked while walking home. I thought I was fine when the police arrived but when I closed my eyes to rest, I found myself with the rest of you." once he was finished the three had turned back to Daniel.
"It's been over two hundred years since the war. The current year is 2278." he stated as they collectively slumped back into their seats. "I can confidently say that my arrival here was less traumatic than all of yours, I got crushed by a bookshelf." the wastelander joked, trying to lighten the mood. the others simply stared at him.
"What happened? They knew the risks so why go through with it and destroy the world?" Itsuki said with a sad sigh.
"It all came down to resources. Just before the bombs fell America and China had fought over Alaska and it's oil reserves." Daniel said.
"China? That can't be right, they've been allies with the U.S. since the second world war." Ren rebuked.
"What? That is a load of crap. China's allies with Russia and if anything, they're the ones who'd go to war with the U.S." Motoyasu returned.
"Are you telling me that Russia and America are enemies in the future? They just built a bridge between Siberia and Alaska." Itsuki stated. Taking in what the other's said the four realize something.
"We're from different timelines!" they said in unison.
"Whew, am I glad for that! Ah, no offense Daniel-san..." Motoyasu said sheepishly.
"None taken. Besides if you three were from the same world as me you all would have had front row seats to the apocalypse." Daniel said, this time earning nervous laughs form two of them and a huff from the third. The rest of the night was filled with endless questioning, tales of the wastes, and debate on who had the second worst world. The following morning the four heroes were summoned back to the king's audience chamber and unlike before the room was packed. Several noble looking people stared down form the second floor balconies and lined up in front of the king were a number of armed individuals.
"We have gathered brave warriors who will fight the Waves alongside you Legendary Heroes." the King announced and with a flourish he cast his hand out to the four. "Now, our future champions! Time to begin your journey!" As one the warriors moved towards Daniel and the others, lining up behind them. Ren possessed the biggest group with five. Motoyasu, like a true lady's man, had a group full of woman numbering at four. Itsuki's group was the smallest of the three with only three people in it. Finally, for Daniel, his group consisted of...
"No one?" The wastelander said aloud, surprised by the outcome.
"Oh man, are you going to be ok by yourself?" Motoyasu asked. "If you want, I'm willing to split my group with you. I mean, if that's alright with you ladies?" Daniel just gave him a rueful smile and a bump on his shoulder.
"No, it's fine, besides Motoyasu I'm used to going it alone." Daniel reassured. out of the corner of his eye however a hand rose from behind the spearman, belonging to the last member of his team. She had fiery red hair, emerald green eyes, and an angelic smile on her lips.
"Excuse me, Sir Spear Hero! Would you allow me to join the Shield Hero?" she asked Motoyasu. the Casanova looked between her and the wastelander before nodding in agreement.
"Thanks, Motoyasu and thank you Miss...?" Daniel began.
"Myne, Myne Suphia." she said with a smile.
"Ahem! is there anyone else wiling to join the Shield Hero? Anyone at all?" King Aultcray asked. seeing that no one was willing he made to speak again. "It seems you will have to recruit fighters on your own Sir Daniel. To do so you will require funding. Funding we are willing to provide." with that the four heroes were given a purse of silver coins each, with Daniel's being the largest. Now that their parties had been formed it was time for them to set off into the world outside of Castle Melromarc. beyond the city limits lied rolling hills and meadows, scenery the wasteland could have only dreamt of. This was no dream however as he and his new companion Myne were set upon by an ungodly horde of... living balloons.
"you know for terrifying monsters these things are sort of a joke." The wastelander told his companion, popping one of the creatures in the process.
"While these creatures aren't exactly what you had in mind, I can assure you they are only the tip of the iceberg." She reassured from a distance.
"Can I at least get a hand fighting these things? We've been here for almost an hour and you've Just been hanging out." Daniel said, causing Myne to puff her cheeks in indignation.
"I'd love to help you Sir Hero but seeing that your only weapon is your shield and that you need the experience I decided that it was in your best interest that you level up alone for now." She answered professionally.
"Is that what the bar supposed to mean...?" Daniel said to himself. every time he'd killed one of the balloons a scale in the corner of his vision would slide to the right little by little. maybe this is what she meant by experience? if so then he needed to find a faster way of getting it. "Is there any way for me to level up faster than, Myne?" the girl gave him a questioning glance before leading him to the middle of a thick forest.
"We best be on our guard Sir Daniel; powerful beasts occasionally roam these woods." she began. No sooner she said that did a giant porcupine come barreling out of the brush. With a vicious snarl it set eyes on the girl and charged at her, seeing this Daniel jumped between the two. Instead of slamming into and impaling him the porcupine stopped dead in its tracks and cocked its head at him. The creature then began to approach the wastelander, stopping at his feet. This action compelled something deep within Daniel to crouch down and extend his palm to the monster. the second he did it began to nuzzle him.
"How... how are you doing that?! That thing's a monster!" Myne said, astonishment hanging off every word.
"I have no idea. I've always been good with animals, but I never expected to be good with those from another world." The wastelander replied, scratching the porcupine's chin. Once the creature scurried off, he turned to his partner with an expression matching hers. "Come on, I think I've gained enough experience for one day." without another word the duo made their way back into the city.
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Hello everyone, this is the redux of the first chapter for my story Legend of the Radiation Shield. for those of you who read what I had written before hand and were wondering why I deleted it here are my reasons why.
1. Unfamiliar terrain. I had only watched half of season one when I began to write it and there for only had that much to write about.
2. poor writing. since I was writing it from some weird First person / Third person perspective my writing felt stunted to me. not to mention the fact that it made the story come off as more of a self-insert then a crossover.
3. unoriginal. Sure, I added things from the fallout franchise but that was just me sprinkling it on top of The Rising of The Shield Hero rather than actually mixing it in.
Anyways I hope you enjoy what I've done so far and that you remember to review your TechManuel.
P.S. Happy new year's everyone.
