Victoria didn't know what to expect when she punched in the code for her father's purifier. The room had enough radiation to kill a man three times over, if it weren't for her power armor she would be dead the moment she walked in. Activating the machine would only make those levels increase, right? So naturally one would assume that a quick death would have awaited. She was certain that she would die. It was a sacrifice Victoria was willing to make.
She did not expect to find herself in a bright grassy field under a beautiful blue sky.
Victoria looked down at herself. She still had her armor, her Pip-Boy, and all her items. A quick look at her status showed no injury. She felt no pain. Her confusion was easily summed up in one simple phrase, a phrase that held meaning and emotion behind it.
"What….the fuck?" She whispered to herself.
This was either the after-life, a weird dream, or radiation induced hysteria. Victoria had no idea which was more likely.
She didn't have much time to mull over her new situation when she heard a shrill screech in the distance. A ways down the packed dirt path was a burning town, being ravaged by what looked to be raiders. Odd raiders, but definitely raiders.
The one in the center interested her most, he seemed to be the leader of the bunch. Taking him out first would be the best course of action. Without leadership they scatter like radroaches, making them easier to pick off.
Before she could approach, an odd collection of people came running into the town. The leader was probably the man with blue hair, given he was in the front. He was followed by a young blonde girl, a man in heavy armor, and a cloaked man carrying a book. They didn't look like raiders, but Victoria couldn't be sure whether or not to trust them yet.
She moved into the town proper, still out of range of the odd group. These raiders were obviously not expecting opposition, they were poorly armored, poorly equipped, and were few in number. This would be a quick engagement.
One of the raiders decided to be brave and charged at Victoria with an axe, which slid off the side of her chestplate. Was that the best he had?
Using her guns would be a waste of bullets, she thought, so her knife would have to do. Victoria grabbed the man's head, and forced it to expose his neck before plunging the knife in. He squealed like a pig.
The other two were obviously shaken, but decided to charge in a group. Victoria held her ground but widened her stance. As the man brought his weapon up to strike, he left his midsection open. His chest and stomach were almost entirely bare, he had only pelts to cover his shoulders. It wasn't hard to thrust the blade into the man. He coughed and sputtered before falling to the ground.
The remaining raider got a good hit in, that strike to her head certainly hurt, but she's had much worse. She came at him with her knife, but he was expecting this and he kicked it right out of her hand. It surprised her, but not as much as the raider would have hoped.
Power armor was not only good at taking hits, but it also increased the strength of the user. A skilled power armor user could effectively use this to cause maximum damage to their opponent with minimal damage to themselves. Victoria had not perfected this, but she would say she wasn't half bad at it. Using the power armor's strength, she punched the man right in his gut, making him keel over and gag. Taking advantage of this moment of weakness, Victoria took the raider's blade and skewered him.
Now that they were all dead, she was finally able to shift her attention to the leader, who was holding a woman hostage.
"Take one step closer and the lass dies!" The man screamed. It was a threat from a man who had run out of options, pathetic.
"Damn you!" The blue haired man yelled.
In this situation sneaking around would be the best option, but her armor was not made for stealth. It was clunky and noisy, the raider would notice in an instant. But she had to do something!
Seeing no other option, Victoria pulled out her hunting rifle – which she had more than enough ammo for- and lined up her shot.
"Here, sheepy sheepy! Come to the slaughter!"
Before the blue haired man could even lift his blade, a loud crack accompanied the raider collapsing with a hole right between his eyes. The woman was shaken, but safe. Good.
Victoria was, however, discovered by the odd group.
"Milord, the sound came from over here." His horse trotted over to her in no time.
He eyed her suspiciously, and she returned his gaze. Not that he would have noticed, seeing that she was wearing a helmet.
"That was amazing! How did you do that?!" The young blonde girl was jumping in excitement, as if she didn't just watch a man die.
"Milady, stand back! We have no idea where this man came from or what his motives are!"
"Aw come on, Frederick! He saved the villager, so he can't be bad!" She pouted.
The blue haired man spoke up, "I have to agree, Frederick. He killed the bandit without harming the villager. That's enough for me."
The armored man, Frederick, retorted "We already took a risk accepting Robin, I'd rather not test our luck."
"But Robin turned out to be helpful in battle. I have no doubt that this man's skill will come to good use." He finally turned to face Victoria.
"What's your name, stranger?" He smiled
Usually she was cautious when it came to telling people her name, but at this point what was the worst that could happen?
"Victoria" Her voice was a little altered by the helmet, but was still easily understood.
Frederick scowled, "Take that gods damned helmet off, I cannot trust someone who does not show their face."
The blonde haired girl was scolding him for being "rude" but Victoria honestly couldn't care less. If taking off her helmet would get this Frederick person off her ass then she'd do it in a heartbeat. There was a slight hissing noise from the air escaping as she removed the helmet. Victoria's dark brown hair was disheveled and tied back messily. It framed her face nicely. Her piercing green eyes stared at the group's shocked faces, waiting for their response.
"Y-you're a woman. Forgive me for not noticing sooner." The blue haired man stuttered.
"I don't really care. Now tell me who you people are." She answered.
"I'm Lissa! Nice to have another girl here." The blonde haired girl began.
The blue haired man laughed, "We have many other female Shepherds, Lissa. I'm Chrom and my stern knight over there is Frederick."
Said knight huffed, "If only one of us shows some caution then it may as well be me. Someone has to keep everyone safe."
The cloaked man introduced himself politely, "I'm Robin, looks like we're both new here."
Finally past introductions, Chrom spoke with a friendliness Victoria hasn't heard since Vault 101, "Robin, Victoria. Both of you showed bravery and skill here today. The Shepherds would benefit with you two on our side. So, what do you say? Will you two join the Shepherds?"
Robin spoke first, "I would be honored."
Chrom's gaze fell on her, waiting for her response.
There really was no other option, Victoria had no idea where she was or how to even begin investigating. These Shepherds were her best bet at getting home.
"I accept" She finally answered.
Chrom's face lit up, "Wonderful! Let's get moving then, we only have a few hours of daylight left.
Despite being offered a chance to rest at what remained of the town, they decided to camp in the forest for the night. Lissa was not very happy about that, seeing as she pouted the entire time they were looking for a place to camp.
Now that the battle was over, Victoria finally allowed herself to stare in awe at the scenery around her. Real living trees, green grass, healthy animals, and rivers of clean water. It was like a dream, no it was much better than that.
"You look like you've never seen a tree before." Chrom chuckled.
That was because she hasn't, not in person at least. Would they find that strange she wondered...? She could not help the bitter feeling that arose in her. These people had everything people in the wasteland could only dream of having. She watched a group kill each other over some water.
"There aren't many where I come from." She finally replied. It wasn't a complete lie, she has seen a tree before...sort of?
"Whaat, really? Where did you come from, Victoria?" Lissa asked, almost jumping with excitement.
"Far away, you wouldn't know it."
"Aw you're no fun!"
"Come on, Lissa, we need to get supplies for the camp." Chrom said.
As they spoke about how to divide the labor, Victoria wandered off into the forest. If she knew how to do anything it was killing animals. She couldn't count the number of times she'd been walking and minding her own business until suddenly a yao guai came charging at her. The animals here were much less vicious, she noted. She almost felt bad about killing them, but they needed to eat and she didn't know much about plants.
Victoria pulled out her hunting rifle and took aim at a boar, firing and hitting it right below the ear. The boar squealed and twitched wildly before going limp as the rest of the boars fled. Victoria quickly gathered her kill and made her way back to camp.
"All I'm saying is that bear tastes like an old boot! We're not eating bear!" Lissa huffed.
"Would you prefer this?" Victoria asked before dropping the boar by the campfire.
Lissa smiled, "Thank Naga, Victoria knows what meat is actually good to eat!"
Robin chuckled from the campfire, "I honestly couldn't care what we eat as long as we eat. I'm famished!"
Frederick made quick work of the boar, looking almost grateful for some reason. During this time Victoria and Robin set up areas to sleep.
"So, do you always wear that big armor?" Robin asked, likely just to make some conversation in this uncomfortable silence.
"Usually, unless I'm in my house. It's very dangerous where I come from, it's good to always be prepared." She answered.
"Seems uncomfortable, I don't know how you could sleep like that."
She shrugged, "You get used to it."
Around this point the shepherds ate and turned in for the night, unaware as to what would transpire in only a few hours.
Author's Note: Hey, I hope y'all enjoyed. Thank you so much for reading this far it really means a lot to me. Please let me know what you thought! I really enjoyed RedRat8's "A Wildcard's Awakening" and KillTheLou's "The Courier of Fates" and I wanted to try my hand at writing a crossover story of my own. I thought it'd be interesting if I had a male Robin instead of a female Robin and to use Fallout 3 instead of Fallout New Vegas. I love both Fallout games, even if Fallout 3 is really clunky. I think the main pairing in this story will be between Robin and Victoria, and I will have Morgan in this eventually. Again thank you so much for reading, please let me know if I need to make any corrections or if you have ideas and suggestions. Thank you again!