Ash watched in helpless horror as the Prydwyn came crashing down from the air.
"Does anybody have eyes on the Commander?" Dusk's voice asked as her vertibird hovered above.
"That's a negative." A new voice announced in the radio.
"Who is this?!" Dusk asked. Ash turned and faced an army of synths. "How did you patch into this frequency?"
Ash raised his rifle as the synths silently began to surround him and four other Enclave troopers. All had their weapons raised.
"I am Father. I am here to save you." The voice spoke once more as the synths fired in unison.
James groaned as he attempted to pull himself free from the fallen girder. The Prydwyn had smashed into the border of the Boston Airport leaving the majority on land while the rest half rested in water. The water slowly began filling the Command Center.
"I do hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it would seem your armor has been breached." Eden's voice filled James's head.
"That's just great." James grunted as he inched the girder off his body.
"Uncle James!" The voice of a little girl echoed off the walls. James paused to listen, no longer caring about his imminent demise.
"Marie?" He whispered.
"Uncle James we're here to help!" Marie's voice once again echoed against the metal halls.
"No, it can't be." James muttered pushing off the girder as the experimental suit of power armor creaked and groaned from the immense weight of the girder. James stumbled to his feet and reached for his pistol, which he discovered was missing. He unsheathed his knife and twisted it in his hand for the blade to face downward. "Marie! Where are you?" James called out.
"Come to me, Uncle James! We're here to help!"
"Who's we?" James asked as he stumbled forward. Suddenly a body slammed into him. James fell to the ground, dropping his knife. His attacker was dressed in black and wore a red ballistic mask. The attacker slammed his fist down, James moved his head, the intended blow smashed into the ground and dented the steel beneath him. James twisted his legs up against his attacker's chest and kicked out as hard as possible. His attacker flew back and slammed against the ceiling of the corridor, denying it as well. The attacked grabbed onto a pipe on the ceiling and reached into one of his pockets. James reached for his knife before a grenade fell in front of him. James stated st the grenade noting that it did not look like a normal grenade.
Light. Then darkness. Then light again.
James woke kneeling on a blue floor with a gun pressed to his head. His power armor gone, his old trusty Vault 101 suit the only article of clothing he was left with.
"Target acquired." The courser said. James reasoned that he was now in the Institute itself. He looked up into the face of an old man.
"Yes, excellent work TR-8R. That will be all." The man spoke.
"Affirmative" the courser spoke again.
James eyed the room, it was clean, sterile. Befitting a scientific research installation.
"Do you know why I have brought you here?" The man asked.
"Where's Marie?" James growled. The gun pressed harder against his temple.
"You're persistent. You will do." A shock tan through James body before he collapsed. The room began to fade as he lapsed into being unconscious. Little girl ran towards him, fighting off her courser guards. She knelt beside him shaking him surely with all the strength she could muster. James felt none of it.
"Marie…" he tried to speak, but the words wouldn't come out. "You're okay." His vision blurred to darkness. And the darkness remained.
-Katherine-
"Where am I?" Katherine shouted. She had been trying for what seemed like hours. Her hands were bonded behind her back and the room was kept pitch dark. Katherine writhed her wrists against her restraints, hoping to find a way to escape. She thought back to James, Nate, all those who had been lost to get her here.
"It won't be for nothing, James. I promise you." Katherine gritted her teeth and prepared herself mentally for the pain that would come from escaping her handcuffs.
But it would seem fate had something else in mind for her.
The lights flashed on, momentarily blinding Katherine.
"Agh!" Katherine grunted as her eyes struggled to adjust to the new light.
A man stood in front of her. Shaun. Katherine rose to her feet, ignoring the pain and the screams of pain that resonates throughout her body. All signs of the fatigue and her injuries from the previous battle.
"Director…" Katherine spat, mustering up as much strength as she could manage. Shaun looked visibly upset, he placed his hand on an unseen glass that separated the two.
"Mother…" Shaun grunted. It seemed he was affected more than his pride would allow him. "You chose to forego your family for these… savages. Your own son…"
"You're not my son." Katherine hissed. "My son was stolen from me years ago."
"I'm right here, Mother." Shaun moaned, clearly upset. The room shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Katherine looked up while Shaun kept his eyes glued to his mother's face.
"What did you do with my friends?" Katherine asked, less aggressively in an attempt to lure Shaun out of his normal arrogant and protected self.
"As if that mattered how. They're coming for me. Humanity's last best hope now will soon be gone." Shaun sighed. He coughed into his hand violently before grabbing a handkerchief from an unseen pocket. He quickly hid it away but Katherine managed to spot a few red spots on the once white cloth. "I hope you're proud of yourself." Shaun grunted inbetween coughs.
"Shaun… that blood." Katherine whispered. "Are you sick?"
"It doesn't matter anymore. I have no reason to live anyways." Shaun sighed, he suddenly began to stumble as if he struggled to even stand.
"Shaun!" Katherine shouted slamming both hands against the glass. "Help! Somebody help!"
"Stop." Shaun gasped. "It's too late for me now. But it's not too late for you."
"Shaun what are you talking about? It's never too late, just let me out. James is a doctor he can-"
"No!" Shaun roared. "I will never let his kind touch me."
"His kind? Shaun?"
"It's not worth the time nor the effort." Shaun slammed a button on the table he leaned on and a small helmet shot down from the ceiling while a seat materialized from the floor.
"What are you-"
"No time." Shaun wheezed before hacking and coughing once more. "Get in. Now."
"Shaun…"
"Now…" Shaun's voice was barely audible. Katherine nodded and leapt into the machine a small laser cut the bonds off her wrists so she could rest her wrists on the seat.
"What now?" Katherine asked. Shaun looked deeply into her eyes.
"You survive." Shaun slammed his hand into the table once more. Suddenly the helmet smashed onto Katherine's head as an electric shock rippled throughout her body. The pain was unbearable as it traveled from her head to her feet. Katherine felt like she was about to die. Then darkness.
Authors note:
I have included the first chapter of the sequel story Crimson Dragon for sake of flow regarding the timing of the two stories. There will be an epilogue chapter that will be released soon but please check out Crimson Dragon to learn more about what the Institute has planned for our Lone Wanderer and Sole Survivor.