The chain chugged along the lonely mountain trail. Ash wondered when was the last time it was ever used. He slowly patrolled the open train car. Two large flak turrets chugged as they swerved left and right, searching for new targets.

"Alright, squad check in." James's voice squawked over the radio.

"Dusk, all clear in the weapons bay."

"Glade, arm cart looks okay."

"Colvin here. Lead car chugging away with no problems."

"Kodiak. VIP is secure."

"Ash here. Flak turrets 3 and four still operational."

"Even in this cold?"

"Looks that way." Ash responded.

"What'd I tell you?" Nathan's voice cut into what was supposed to be a secure channel.

"What the—"

"I paid good money for quality security features."

"Does this guy ever stop gloating about his money?" Dusk asked.

"You know I can hear you."

"Your point?"

Ash shivered as the train exited a tunnel and re-entered the snowy Appalachian mountains.

"Looks like we'll arrive in about three hours." Arcade's voice said from the vertibird hovering above. "Right on schedule. I wonder how things are back home?"

"Charge!" Preston shouted, hoping that he and his voice would rally the remaining Minutemen. He vaulted over the sandbag fighting positions and fired with his laser musket. A stray round had destroyed his plasma rifle the day earlier so Preston was relying on old kit. Better this way. An old Minutemen stood beside Preston, ducking under laser fire while returning fire with his revolver.

"Been a while, eh boy?" the man asked. Ducking his head to the side and narrowly dodging a laser round.

"Do I know you, old timer?" Preston asked. He tossed a baseball grenade into the Brotherhood lines. The ball exploded throwing dirt into the air. A Field Scribe flew into the air, spinning. Preston drew his pipe pistol and fired the pistol in one hand while the other fired his last laser musket round. He tossed the musket aside and backed into the Castle's broken walls. The old man approached Preston once more.

"Just a stranger, sir. Here to help in any way I can." He said. A Brotherhood Initiate rushed forward, clutching a primed frag grenade in his hand.

"Grenad-!" Preston shouted. A shot rang out and the grenade exploded. Preston whistled. "Nice shot old timer." He turned to his left, where the man was, but he had disappeared. "Where- What?" He looked back and saw that smoke now enveloped the tree line. The Brotherhood were withdrawing.

"They're running!" A Minutemen shouted.

"We won!" The crowd cheered. Preston leaned against the rubble of the old Castle walls and sighed. He frowned as he thought of the Brotherhood's tactics. Brotherhood has air superiority and equipment. Why don't they use it?

A siren rang over the cheers.

"Incoming from the south!" Piper shouted from one of the artillery cannons. Preston ran up to the second story, he saw that many Minutemen did the same. Preston's heart sank at what he saw.

A fleet of vertibirds flying straight for the Castle were the beginning of Preston's worries. The Prydwyn itself maneuvered over the Castle.

"Artillery open fire-!" Preston shouted. It was too late. The first suits began to land within the Castle's walls. One landed directly on top of a Minuteman. The man made no sound, dead on impact. The armor whirred to life and the eyeports lit up before the suit hefted a minigun up to fire. Preston quickly turned to Piper. "Where are our reinforcements?"

Katherine stood over the dead Brotherhood scribe. She fired another round from her 1911 into the man's head, ensuring he was dead. Nate stood next to her, hefting a military-standard issue assault rifle. Katherine, clad in Institute Uniform and armor, found herself to be unrecognizable. Just weeks ago she would never have considered associating herself with the Institute. But she soon learned that the Institute was family. Correction, it is family. Katherine looked up at Nate, who wore a ballistic mask that covered his entire head and only left two coverings meant to be eyeports. They lit up bright red in the dark atmosphere of the Mass Fusion building. He nodded to her indicating that all threats had been taken care of.

Katherine couldn't believe it. The Institute, long believed to be an evil underground empire of the Commonwealth, was in fact a beautiful city that could even bring the dead back to life. It brought her family back to life. And Katherine will do anything to protect her family.

"Looks like this is the way to go." Nate's voice sparked over his mask's microphone. It projected itself more like a voice on a Protectron. Shaun assured her it was render his voice to be unrecognizable when he worked out in the field. However, Katherine had her doubts. Then why didn't Kellogg have stuff like that? Katherine took a long look at Nate. He stood a stark opposite to her pristine white, field operator uniform. He wore modified combat armor that was colored jet black with red highlights in a few areas. He was ever farther away, somewhere deep down, Katherine wondered if this Nate was the same man she knew, loved, and married.

Nate turned back and saw her hesitation. He stepped through the hole in the wall and offered his hand to her, which surprised Katherine.

"Don't worry. I'll keep you safe. I promise." Nate said soothingly. Katherine couldn't help but smile at the thought of her husband here with her and by her side. Then James popped into her mind and she frowned. Nate angled his head slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked, Katherine knew he was frowning.

"Nothing." She said. "Just go, I'll catch up." Nate nodded before moving through the building, clearing it with military precision. Katherine sighed and wondered what had become of James. It had been six months since the Battle of Quincy. She hadn't seen him once or even heard of him. It was as if he didn't exist. Like his alter ego, the Lone Wanderer. Katherine waved the thought aside and followed Nate into the Mass Fusion building. He's probably long gone, right?

James stepped onto the freshly laid snow. The Pride cleaved a perimeter around the train, killing off the native feral ghoul infestation.

"Area clear, sir." Kodiak's voice said.

"Affirmative." James responded. He snapped off his helmet and took a deep breath. "We're home." He said.