I bet some of you thought I wasn't going to post another chapter.
You're wrong~
I'm serious about this.
This was meant to be released yesterday, but I had to do something incredibly taxing that day and as a result slept for the rest of the day.
Sorry. Here you go, enjoy.
I promised more than 2000 words, so here's 6000+ words for you to feast your eyes on.
Not sure if this will be the norm yet, so don't get your hopes up. Will probably do time skips or short summaries of events in the future. It will erode my sanity if I have to write down EVERYTHING I do.
Chapter 2 – It's modded
As I departed from what I guess is now my hobo hut, I walked up to the Yatze- er, the Yaguhatze- no that's not right. Fuck it, the giant white prewar cross thing that sits near Goodsprings. I'm just going to call it the Yang memorial.
There's no radscorpions here, so that's good. Be kinda pathetic if I got poisoned minutes after stepping outside. Luckily all the radscorpions hang out near the far left of the water tower.
The air itself is humid, dry, and kind at suffocating at first. I've always been an indoors person so I'm likely going to have a hard time getting used to this. And there's sand flying everywhere. I need goggles.
Now if I remember correctly there's a hollowed out rock nearby…
Here it is. The white hippie peace sign marks the spot.
How do I open it? Maybe there's a loose stone. Nah wouldn't be that simple- oh never mind, there was a loose stone.
Sticking my hand inside I grasped for anything that might have value. I found a fork.
Pfft.
Maybe I'll be useful if I stab someone in the eye with it. Tossed.
That said I look at the white stone of the quarry, wondering if I'll live long enough and grow tough enough to kill a deathclaw. Seems like a pipe dream, but as Mr. New Vegas says- "Hey, you never know."
Would have to be wearing power armor and take a fuck ton of drugs if I want to fight it with a melee weapon. Or I invest in explosives and get myself a missile launcher. That sounds safer actually.
Ah, the two graves are here too. I don't have a shovel nor am I willing to sink to the level of being a grave robber.
Not yet, anyway. Depends on how desperate I get.
Continuing onward, I head towards Devil's Gullet, where I come across a coyote. It looks similar as it did in the game. Grey coat, a half-starved appearance. It's eyes are bugged out, it might have rabies.
I could take it.
If I want to level up I'm going to need experience points.
Sorry buddy, it's for the greater good. As in my greater good.
The coyote growls at me as I move closer. Now comparing my size to the coyote, I can see I'm a lot taller that it.
It's crouched slightly now, looks ready to lunge. Better be ready.
Oh, hello there Adrenalin, I was wondering when you would show up.
Readying my machete I look for an opening and- oh god it lunged and I swung my machete really fast- and now…
That's a dead coyote. How do I know, you ask?
My machete's become best friends with its forehead.
Visceral matter looks really nasty.
I'd go into detail, but I'm going to spare myself and anybody who might be watching their breakfast, lunch, and dinner by saying that Fallout New Vegas censored gory deaths more than you know. I think I'll skip Bloody Mess. I don't think my stomach could handle enemies exploding into bits when I kill them. It'd be bad for my sanity too.
This is really graphic. And disgusting. I'd puke, but whoever had this body before I stole their body didn't eat anything today, so I'm left gacking instead.
I resist the urge to get on my hands and knees in the sand and politely ask the coyote if I can have my machete back.
Oh black comedy how I love you. Man, it hasn't even been thirty minutes in fallout land yet and my sanity is already questionable.
We're off to a great start. It's probably just a coping mechanism.
I get the feeling that's going to eventually be my excuse for all the weird shit I do during my time here.
It's probably just a coping mechanism.
Getting a head start I see. Hats off to you, myself.
Enough being weird, I need my machete back.
Hesitantly I reach for my machete, grabbing the handle. It won't come out.
Damn, looks like I'll need to…ugh…
I look around. Doesn't look like PETA is watching, because what I'm going to do next would piss them off. Taking my metal boot I reluctantly place it on the dead coyote's neck and get a firm grip on the handle.
Then I pull.
Slowly, the machete is pulled out of the coyote's mangled head. It makes a cringe worthy squelching noise as it comes out. Where the weapon used to be is now a crack exposing what is probably brain matter and with nothing blocking the wound anymore, a lot, lot, of blood comes pouring out.
I don't look at it any more than I have to.
I better have gotten experience from that, because if I commit genocide on the Goodsprings coyotes for nothing, it'll have been a big fat waste of my time.
Also, they would have died for nothing. Poor coyotes. Wiping the blood and god knows what that's on my machete on the dead coyote's fur, I continue onwards to Devil's mouth. Or was it gullet? I think it was gullet actually. Devil's gullet.
On the way there I kill two more coyotes. They go down easily, with two head blows or rather, slashes for each one. Thankfully my machete didn't get stuck this time.
It seems that this body is used to combat at least, which kinda makes me feel guilty.
I feel like I'm cheating.
No really, wasn't I supposed to freeze up during my first fight? Instead I easily killed that thing, with only mild panic. Wasn't it supposed to knock me on the ground, resulting in me fighting for my life desperately?
That's usually how the first fight in any SI fanfic usually goes. Hooray for me breaking the standard.
Yaaaaayyy…
Enough monologuing , I've arrived at Devil's Gullet. I carefully slide down the metal makeshift bridge. Don't have a backpack, but I want to grab the Hydra that I remember spawns down here. It should be in a bathtub, which I see.
That's new. There's what looks like a cave entrance in the wall over there. That wasn't in the vanilla version of Fallout New Vegas, which can only mean one thing…
A World of Pain is apparently canon here, which only makes my earlier comment about being in for a world of pain ironic.
For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, let me elaborate. A World of Pain is a Nexus mod for Fallout New Vegas. The short and simplified version is that it adds a whole lot of new locations and makes the game harder.
Great. Loot destruction was the bane of my existence in that mod. Stupid collars lagged my game due to the smoke effect when they activated.
I don't feel like getting gang banged by Golden Geckos so I'm just going to climb back up the hot metal pile of crap right there and make myself scarce.
Until I get stronger. Then I'll come back and that'll probably be my dinner that night.
Oh, and I also did find the Hydra. I'll just carry it with me for now in my unoccupied hand. I go over the hill, making my way to Goodsprings Cave. I arrive at the drop-off and get on my hands and lay down on the ground. The ground is of course sand and probably I am going to regret doing this later but who cares?
You certainly don't, you just want to see me kill things. I peer over the edge and spy with my little eye two adult coyotes and one little runt.
Now, time to kill these ones too. So, leaving the hydra close by, I make my way down and do just that.
Coyotes are pretty pathetic actually. No wonder they barely give you any xp in the game. Me in my old body, given I was wearing this armor, could probably kill them with relative ease too.
The little coyote pup is ferociously biting my foot. Too bad for it my foot is currently protected by a layer of metal, though that sure isn't stopping it from trying. I'm shaking in my boots. Bending over, I pick the little ball of fur by the scruff of its neck and hold the I-can't-believe-it's-not-a-puppy away from my face.
It's squirming, actually more of a panicked thrashing really. Now am I gonna be that one asshole guy and kill what is essentially a baby desert doggo?
Nope.
Here you go little one, go mourn your parents and become a coyote version of batman or something.
The not-puppy lets out a little growl, which might have been intimidating if it weren't for the fact that it's really small.
Ignoring it, I go into the cave.
It's actually somewhat cool in here. And dark, though the light from the outside makes me able to see what I'm doing. Now, if only it weren't inhabited by coyotes and full of corpses. There's another coyote by the pillar, which receives a quick death. If there was a damage bonus perk against coyotes, I would have it by now.
I'm sneaking now. My legs aren't fond of it. Too bad legs, you'll have to get used to it.
There's the little opening where a group of coyotes hang out. I'm not going to be stupid and take them on with my machete, it's time for the grenade rifle to shine.
Now time to do something that's really stupid if I didn't have an aoe weapon. Cupping my hands around my mouth I holler "Hey!"
Holly sheet my voice is deep. And raspy. No time to ponder my new voice because here they come.
About three adult wolves- I mean coyotes come out from around the corner. Raising the grenade rifle, I pull the trigger. And fall over backwards from the resulting explosion.
I probably fired it a little too close to me. D'oh.
Luckily I didn't explode myself or my limbs.
My ears are ringing. At least when the smoke clears, the coyotes are dead. Really dead, as there's bits of them strewn everywhere.
Gross.
Walking around the corner I see a dead guy.
Actually it's a dead ghoul.
They don't look very pretty, but my stomach isn't threatening to revolt at the sight of them so I guess Raul and I can become friends after all.
Snarky bastard. My second favorite character in New Vegas, right after Doctor Mobius.
Doctor Mobius was a really hilarious character. Especially all the announcements he would make as you wandered Big Mountain.
Though I'll sadly probably want to stay away from Big Mountain this time, since I don't have a convenient bullet wound in my brain and will just be lobotomized instead. Pity. Well I could shoot myself in the head just before I touch the satellite, but that's a really bad idea.
Alright, there's two other corpses. Human corpses this time. They've been a bit chewed on by the coyotes. Pointedly not looking too closely, I remove a backpack from one of the corpses, a man. This will be useful. Raiding their caravan sack I find ammo, medical tools, useless crap like a clipboard, and ammo casings.
There's also a 9mm pistol. What's my skill with a gun like?
Spotting a baby coyote growling at me in the corner, I take aim with both my hands holding the gun. I fire, and miss by a mile. The shot goes into the cave wall, missing the baby desert dog by like five feet. Guess guns are not for me. I almost toss the 9mm, but I remember I can sell it for caps.
Taking my newly acquired backpack, I grab the ammo and medical tools (I can make a doctors bag if I get enough). Ammo casings aren't worth anything, and I'm not going to be using guns apparently.
I also liberate a baseball bat from the woman and swap it out for my machete, putting my previous weapon in the backpack. Better range.
I am now The Batter. Time to purify the wastes of raiders, mutants, and commie ghosts.
Off reference. You casuals wouldn't get it. I never did get around to posting the next chapter of that fanfic I wrote…
The chapter was half finished, delayed by real life problems and school. Guess I'll never finish it now. Damn. I had a really intricate plot line planned out and everything…
I'd say oh well, but I'm actually really bummed out by this. Wonder if fanfiction exists here?
Also pillaged a laser pistol from the dead guy and a plasma pistol from the Bright follower. Energy cells look cool. Too bad I won't be using them either. Explosives shall remain my only other attacking method besides hitting people and mutated horrors with a big wooden stick.
Not really wanting to, I take two dirty waters I found in the caravan sack. In this place, dehydration is a very real threat, and since I'm tromping around in something that conducts heat really well, any water will be useful.
All my glorious loot secured in the backpack, I leave the cave, waving a farewell to the three coyote puppies I just orphaned. Sorry, I guess.
They'll get over it.
With that, I trek back to the spot I left the Hydra, nabbing it. And then back to my shack, where I take everything of value that isn't nailed down and stuff it into my backpack.
I also black out for a second and repair my machete with another machete. I say black out, because for one moment I was holding two machetes, the next part's a blur, and now there's one really shiny broad machete.
Look, I can see my face.
It's not my face.
The brown hair looks a bit like my old hair (shaggy suave) but the facial hair is all different (rough beard). The rest of my new face is nothing special, I don't look hideously ugly, just plain. Fine by me. My eyes are still blue though.
Neat.
Guess it's time to go to Goodsprings. At this thought a feeling of… distaste? Is felt. By me.
What? Why?
Does whoever this body belongs to have a bad reputation with Goodsprings? I hope not. I don't want to get shot at by angry settlers.
Looks like we will just have to find out. As I'm walking towards Goodsprings, I'm finally starting to feel the heat which is pretty annoying actually. Must have high Endurance if it took this long for me to notice it wearing metal armor. I think that's how it works, right?
I see Goodsprings off in the distance. Cautiously, I approach, trying to look casual but secretly I'm tense and ready to make a run for it if the need arises.
With the sense of distaste that isn't mine growing stronger, I notice there's a lot more residents than there was in the original game. Either this is real life making itself known, or their all A World of Pain characters.
Either way, it's really setting me on edge for some inexplicable reason.
I walk to the saloon. Haven't been shot at yet or given unfriendly looks by the inhabitants, just curious looks. Guess I'm just not a people person. There's the door. Easy Pete's giving me a look and for some reason I want to flip him off, which I thankfully don't.
Inside the saloon it's cooler than the outside, though not as cool as that cave. Some settlers are playing a game of pool, which actually looks neat. Wish they implemented that in the actual game.
But I'm not here to be sociable, I'm here for answers. That mind in thought, I walk to the bar section. Trudy, who looks exactly like she does in the game, is dutifully cleaning a shot glass with a moderately dirty looking rag. Her radio works too, which could mean Benny and his group of thugs haven't been here yet, or the Courier's fixed her radio.
"Like the one they call… Johnny Guitar…"
Hopefully real life Fallout New Vegas has more songs than the game did. Seriously, only twelve songs in the original game, not counting the one from Big Mountain?
I hate the song the radio is playing too. That is without a doubt, the worst song ever in a Fallout game period.
Stuck up prewar bitch needs to get over Johnny Guitar.
Trudy looks up from cleaning the shot glass.
"Howdy."
I respond in the most eloquent manner possible, a gruff "Hey."
Sitting down at a stool I decide a whisky, as Trudy will be more likely to share rumors with me if I buy something.
"One whisky."
Trudy smiles. That strange feeling of hostility is back. "Sure thing. Do you prefer it in a glass, or do you want the bottle?"
"Bottle." Comes my unfriendly response. Seriously, why am I being so unfriendly? It's like what I'm thinking in my mind can't convert to what I show on the outside. I'm not trying to be an asshole, but my demeanor's having none of that.
Trudy hands me the bottle. Giving her the caps, which I had on me in a pocket, I uncork the top and take a swig.
Here's a life lesson kids. Alcohol tastes like shit. There's a reason people only drink it for the buzz, and not the taste.
My mouth is full of bitter, smoky fire. I swallow. Ugh. This tastes terrible. I don't see the appeal.
While I've been drinking, Trudy's been pretending to go back to cleaning the glass, but she's actually scrutinizing my face.
Perception is actually being useful for once. As I put the bottle of eye catching orange down, Trudy asks me a question.
"You that hermit that lives near the Yangtze Memorial?"
Ah, god dammit. I really did steal a person's body.
Sorry hermit guy. Blame the R.O.B.
"I guess so." Which is not an answer, and it seems that Trudy isn't satisfied.
"Why come here? From what I remember the few times you've been in town, it's always to buy supplies. You're not exactly a friendly sort."
Is she insulting me?
"Got bored. Tired of sitting in my shack all day." It's not exactly a lie, but it isn't the truth either.
"Huh." Trudy does not look convinced, but she can't prove shit. "So, mysterious hermit, what's your name?"
I open my mouth to tell her my actual name, but what comes out instead is-
"Rick."
That's not my name. Though it's probably the guy who originally owned this body.
Did I and "Rick" merge minds or something? Probably some crazy shit like that, given I'm acting out of character here. I wasn't a social butterfly back on my Earth, but surely I was better than this.
Trudy makes a noise of acknowledgment. Taking another swig of whisky, more for show really, as I prepare to try and make my next question as subtle as possible.
"Any courier's come through lately? Got a package I want to deliver. Don't trust the mailbox." This comes out as a growl filled with spite, loathing, and implies that conversing is the last thing I want to be doing. My raspy voice doesn't help either.
Damn, the hell is my Charisma stat?
Trudy's smile falters a little, but to her credit, she recovers fairly gracefully.
"Sorry. No couriers lately. Though if you don't trust the mailbox, Primm isn't far from here. You could give your package to Jonathan Nash. Decent fellow."
I've got a head start on the Courier. This excites and terrifies me.
"Any news on Hoover Dam?" At this, Trudy grows more solemn.
"Nothing's changed. The NCR and Caesar's Legion are still in a deadlock, though I've heard rumors that the Legion's mobilizing on the other side of the river."
I've got what I came for. Putting my hands on the counter, I rise. Trudy quirks an eyebrow.
"Leaving so soon?"
"I've got errands to run." And with that, I leave the saloon before Trudy can get another word in.
Next I go to Chet's. He's a little surprised at first, but doesn't ask many questions. I sell him assorted junk like ammo and guns and then leave as soon as I came.
Now, I need a legitimate reason to go see Doc Mitchell. I can't just walk up there without a good reason.
So while I'm thinking of a good reason, I'm going to relieve the town's mailboxes of their magazines. And "borrow" that sneak skill book in Trudy's house.
It goes off without a hitch, and I've got myself a Chinese Army: Special Ops Training Manual.
She wasn't using it anyway.
Then I make my way to the schoolhouse, and kill a lot of overgrown mantises. Or is it manti?
I accidentally poke an ootheca, and regret my entire existence. So. Many. Baby. Mantises. The bottom of my boot is now stained green with mantis innards.
Now that that horrifying event is over, let's see if I can pillage the safe. I have a bobby pin, but no screwdriver.
I always wondered where the Courier got a screwdriver. Does it just materialize in their han-
A screwdriver materialized in my hand.
Oh.
Okay.
I'm going to say this once, just need to get this out of my system.
I take a deep breath.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
I feel a bit better now. Also, I sound intimidating when I yell.
Alright, so apparently Fallout New Vegas didn't get the memo that a self-insert needed to be real life.
I can work with this. Magical wasteland magician, no worries.
I'm going to pointedly ignore the fact that a magical screwdriver from nowhere came into the existence into the palm of my hand.
Surprisingly, I can pick the lock. Bunch of caps, chems, and even a stealth boy as a reward, but that's not what got my interest.
A certain book labeled Cybernetic Surgery: Standard Edition does. Project Nevada is here as well. Of course it is.
At least I have a valid reason for going to Doc Mitchell now. But first…
A lot of wandering around the outskirts of Goodsprings later and I find myself being bugged by one persistent Barton Thorn.
"Please man, you gotta save my girl."
"Piss off. Do it yourself."
I'd save my self the trouble and run him off, or at least knock him out, but a Goodsprings resident has decided this is the perfect time to get some water, and I can't just attack the guy without being provoked.
I agree to "save his girl" if only so I can deal with him with no witnesses. So making my way up the hill, I came across my first mutant gecko.
It's a baby. And like that coyote earlier, it's attempting to bite my foot off. Unfortunately, it isn't having much luck. Metal is surprisingly effective at keeping it off my tasty foot. I shake it off my leg and teach it the meaning of blunt force trauma with my bat.
Splat.
Sorry, you're not cute enough to be spared. I kill three more geckos, the first one being an adult.
I sorta just hit it until it dies. The other two are younger and smaller, so I amusingly punt one off a ridge and kill the other by hitting it really hard. Downside of the bat. It doesn't have a graceful style. You just hit things until they stop moving.
Works for me.
There's a cluster of geckos near the destination of Baron's "girl" but a well-placed frag grenade I bought from Franks (A World of Pain merchant. He's essentially a budget Gun Runners.) takes care of them.
I also bought a Medicine skill book from him, which has joined the Sneak book.
Ah, here comes Baron Thorn's backstabbing ass now.
"Sorry I tricked you, but thanks for clearing out the Geckos. Now I can get to that stash up there… after I deal with you."
That's what you think buddy. While Mutfucker Mcgee is flapping his lips over there, I'm already walking towards him, intending on beating the crap out of him.
This plan goes slightly awry as he pulls out a single shotgun and proceeds to shoot me.
I'm not going to write anything in caps, but I've just been shot.
It really hurts. My armor didn't do shit to stop the twelve gauge. I am also rather pissed. Like really pissed. I can't think about anything else than smashing his face in.
So with a battle cry, I shoulder check the fuck, knocking him to the ground. He tries to shoot me again, but I knock the shotgun out of the way, causing it to go off harmlessly. Pinning him down, I begin smashing his face in with my bat.
Again.
And again.
And again.
I don't know how long I do this for, only that I feel nothing as Thorn's face starts resembling a mushy tomato. It's mechanical almost. Routine.
Finally I stop, and look at my handiwork.
Baron's face can't really be called a face anymore.
I don't feel any guilt. I just killed a human being and I don't really feel anything.
Maybe I'm still treating this like a video game, and it just hasn't set in fully for me yet.
Or Rick might have been a sociopath as well as a misanthrope and I inherited it somehow on the way of transitioning into his body.
Well, this guy did just try to kill me. It's not like he didn't deserve it. I get up from his corpse and give it a good kick.
Then, the level up sound plays, and the world freezes.
Damn, isn't this convenient.
…
The fuck is this shit.
Really fallout world, you're going to pull shit like this?
I thought this was going to be the most realistic fallout experience I ever got.
Not going to complain much however. This is extremely convenient for me.
And I'm still mildly disturbed I killed a guy in cold blood, granted he deserved it, but still.
But while time has frozen, my bullet wound has stopped hurting. A screen pops up in front of me. Look, it's my skills.
This surreal situation has gotten even more surreal. At this point I'm just going to roll with it.
My stats are pretty low. Though that's to be expected as the screen tells me I am now level 2.
Tagged stats are Melee weapons, Repair, and Lockpicking. Can tell because they're higher than everything else.
Hmm… I'll focus on leveling my tags to good levels.
Put a couple of points in melee weapons, some in repair, and lastly in lockpicking. I have one point left over, so I'll put it in speech.
Going to need speech for the Gomorrah quest after all.
Now, time to pick my perk.
Usually I pick Confirmed Bachelor for strategic reasons as most of the enemies in this game are male and you get a ten percent damage bonus, but since this is kinda real life now I don't want to set off every homosexual man's gaydar.
There's nothing wrong with being gay of course, no matter what religion tells you. It's just that I prefer women. Sorry Arcade, you'll have to look elsewhere, unless the Courier is male and he happens to be gay. If so, know I'll be rooting for you two. You go gir- er, guys.
Lady Killers a no-no. I have better things to pick, and it doesn't fit my own personality either.
Swift Learners a waste of a perk and I'm not interested in Retention.
I guess its Intensive Training then. I would have picked Endurance as a stat to raise, but it's just been revealed to me as an eight.
Wow.
If I live to level thirty I am so getting implant GRX.
Non addictive Turbo for the win. Fast times indeed.
Right, what else is there?
Strength's an eight, Perception's a six, Charisma's…
Oh dear. My Charisma's a one. I guess it was a good thing I didn't pick Lady Killer.
Well, Trudy did imply Rick (Which is now me) was/is a hermit. More accurately, he was probably a misanthrope. As in, he hated people. Especially the action of speaking to people. Guess that explains why I got so uncharacteristically pissed at everyone. My throat was scratchy from disuse.
Before I contemplate the advantages of raising my Charisma, let's look at the other options first.
Intelligence's a seven, which is pretty good, and Agility and Luck are both five.
Let's see… I think I know what I want to do.
For now, I'll raise my Perception to a seven, because why not and then work on my Intelligence. If I get the Finesse perk, I won't need to raise Luck and maybe I'll raise Agility a little.
Then Charisma. Being able to properly gossip with people isn't very high on my list of priorities.
Perception is now seven and a notification has popped in my face.
Intensive Training (PER +1) – somehow, through the touch of a totally not magical holographic panel floating in midair, your Perception has improved by 1
What.
Dear god, did the perk description system just get sarcastic?
And why did I read it in the narrator's voice from the Persona 4 hiimdaisy comic?
Whatever mod this is, I kinda like it.
Then it disappeared. And time started moving again. Baron's face has started "leaking". It doesn't disturb me as much as it should.
Carefully, I prod the place where he shot me and hiss as the wound throbs in response. I think the bullet went through. Unclasping the back panel of my armor I gently touch my lower back and yup there's a hole there and the wound is bleeding. A lot actually.
How am I not curled up in a ball right now screaming in pain? I just got shot.
Guess high Endurance also makes you one tough cookie. Wonder if I could do a Joshua Gram with this Endurance.
You know, be covered in pitch, set on fire, and get kicked off a cliff into the Grand Canyon.
Oh shit, I'm still bleeding while my mind is internally monologuing. I grab an article of the guys clothing or whatever and hack a sleeve to ribbons with my machete which I take and put on my back applying pressure. This isn't a fix, but I'm not planning to bandage myself.
Now I get to stab myself with a fancy syringe containing miracle fluid.
Where should I stab myself? My stomach probably. Right in the wound.
And thus, I did. Spoiler alert. It hurt. A lot. I admit to letting out a pained noise. Pride is likely to be a hindrance here anyway.
But it's ok, I thought as I was putting my armor back on, I'm no longer bleeding everywhere.
His face has started "leaking" more.
Damn, who knew that neck wounds were so bloody? Seriously I've stood here for a minute and there's still blood coming out. Probably because I cut, well hacked, an artery.
And now I've just realized I've been staring intently at a dead guy for a minute. Without feeling anything.
I'm likely some kind of sociopath now. I say "kind of" because I understand emotions.
I'm just not feeling the ones I should when I look at this guy I killed.
…
Got something new for my bucket list.
Priority four: Go to the New Vegas Medical Clinic to make sure I'm mentally sound and safe to be around humans. If not, find someone with morals, maybe pull a Paarthurnax and meditate on top of a mountain or something.
That bullet wound still really fucking hurts. Didn't help that I shoved a needle in my stomach to fix it. Thankfully, the bullet went through, so I don't have to hire the good doc to dig it out of my rib cage, but still, fuck.
I put a hand on the spot where Baron shot me. Its weird feeling skin and flesh knitting itself back up.
Tingly.
Sighing, I walk up the cliff to a little outlook where some crazy bastard decided it was a good idea to put a fridge up there. Taking that asshole Barton's single shotgun I set off the bear traps, though I nearly stepped in the first one.
Dead guy, probably killed by the geckos, laying on the ground near the chair.
I think I see maggots wriggling in the guy's face.
Fuck that shit. Using my newly acquired shotgun, I push the decaying body off the ridge, causing it to tumble ungracefully down the mini cliff, ending with a muffled crunch on top of the Sunnytime Cigar factory roof.
There's a chair here. I think I'll have a seat. Taking my backpack off, I set it next to the chair and sit down. I let out a breath of relief. Sure it's hot, I'm wearing crap metal armor in a desert (This is gonna bite me in the ass sometime I swear) and I've been dimensionally displaced and body snatched a body (sorry Rick), but at least I'm not standing anymore. I adopt a thinker pose, you know, the one of that naked statue guy.
I'm going to have to kill a bunch of mutants if I want to do the Paarthurnax thing though. Black Mountain would also need to be unTabithaed. Or is it Unutobiphaed? Dunno. Fixing Rhonda should be easy because from what I remember, I think it's essentially flipping the on switch.
Why am I actually seriously thinking about this?
Because you have no idea how much it's disturbing me at not being disturbed for killing a guy.
Disturbception.
That's not a word, but it is now.
Well if I do turn out to have become a sociopath, I'll just have to be a high functioning sociopath. Should be pretty easy, as I wasn't a sociopath before I was dropped in Rick's body.
And I've got the Intelligence~
A decent amount actually. I don't feel smart, but maybe it'll reveal itself later.
Hey, I wonder if there's anything in that fridge.
Getting up I walk to said fridge, dropping the single shotgun. Guns are useless for me anyway, I have a grenade rifle.
Also, Rick (And by that extension, now me) couldn't/can't shoot a gun for shit.
Thankfully with explosives you don't have to be pinpoint accurate.
It would be nice if I had VATS though.
At this point I've opened the fridge revealing… drumroll please… a gecko steak!
Oh boy. I've always wanted to know what overgrown mutant gecko tastes like.
Please note my sarcasm, you might miss it if you blink.
Hmm. There doesn't seem to be anything growing on it, thought I as I turned it over under my watchful appraising eye. Poetic. Maybe.
Is this safe to eat? I mean I don't see anything nasty on it so maybe…
Yes me, you should totally eat a dodgy steak you found in an unpowered refrigerator in the middle of the desert.
Well if I do get food poisoning there's a doctor only a couple hundred feet away. It's not like I've eaten anything since I woke up, and I want to save that maize I found in my hobo shack for a situation where I'm about to starve to death.
Here goes.
Crunch Crunch
Huh.
Tastes like chicken.
Profile:
Name: "Rick"
Level: 2
Title: Renegade
Karma: Neutral
Perks:
Built to Destroy
Hot Blooded
Intensive Training (Rank 1)
S.P.E.C.I.A.L.
Strength – 8
Perception – 7
Endurance – 8
Charisma – 1
Intelligence – 7
Agility – 5
Luck – 5
Skills
Barter - 7
Energy Weapons - 19
Guns - 15
Explosives - 15
Lockpick - 35
Medicine - 19
Melee Weapons - 40
Repair - 35
Science - 19
Sneak - 15
Speech - 8
Survival - 21
Unarmed - 21
Mods Loaded (2/5/2019: at the original release of this chapter these were the only mods featured, but I've added a couple others which will be explained in a future chapter, probably chapter 11)
Project Nevada
A World of Pain
P.S. If anyone from Purifying Brockton Bay is reading this, I haven't abandoned that story. It's just being put on the back burner for now. I do intend on writing more of it.
Edited 2/5/2019.
