I thank all of those who did review. I also got some people asking me where the Outcasts got 5,000 soldiers, well that question won't be answered until the end of Chapter 5.

Chapter 2: Broken Steel

GNR: June 8, 2279. 1 Hour Prior.

More than 200 Outcasts were now entering Chevy Chase and were heading straight for Galaxy News. The outside was guarded by several Brotherhood Sentry Bots and Mister Gutsies while Knight Dillon and the other Brotherhood Soldiers were setting up explosives throughout the building's interior. Knight Sergeant Wilkes was making sure everyone was ready to evac once the Outcasts were at their front door. One Sentry Bot appeared. "Sir, hostiles have entered the school and are closing in." The Sentry warned Wilkes. "Orders?"

Wilkes put his power helmet back on and started giving the Sentry orders. "Hold the Outcasts off for as long as you can! We need time to get everyone out! Have the other Sentries lay down suppressing fire and once you've got them pinned, send the Gutsies in to start flushing them out!" Wilkes saw Dillon approach.

"Understood sir." The Sentry Bot turned and proceeded back outside.

Wilkes turned to face Dillon. "Have the charges been set?" He asked.

"Yes sir, here's the trigger." Dillon said as he handed Wilkes the detonator.

"Good, have the Initiates start evacuating the civilians to the Vertibirds then start reinforcing the lobby!" Wilkes wanted to give the Outcasts an ass kicking they wouldn't soon forget.

Dillon nodded. "What about you?" The Knight asked his commander.

"I'm going to get Three Dog out of here. Tell Knight Finley and his squad to start powering up the Vertibirds!" The Sergeant said. Without arguing, Dillon turned back to the others and began preparing for the attack while Wilkes ran up to the studio to get Three Dog.

As Wilkes entered Three Dog's room the sounds of laser and plasma fire started to fill the plaza. The Sergeant peered out a window to see the Sentries and Gutsies engage the Outcasts. Wilkes then ran to see Three Dog in his studio booth giving his last broadcast.

"Hello Capital Wasteland." Three Dog wasn't speaking in his usual spirit lifting mood. He was being nothing but serious. "I wish I had some good news to give you, but I don't. Those bastards that broke off from the Brotherhood and formed the Outcasts have declared war on the wasteland and have begun attacking GNR. This will be the very last broadcast that I send out to all of you. I just wanted to thank everyone across the wastes for helping me fight "The Good Fight." Three Dog paused for a moment wiping a tear from his eye. He sniffed as he resumed talking. "And I want to give a special thanks to our Wasteland Messiah, the Lone Wanderer. Eric if you can hear me, I want to say thank you. Thank you for being the protector of the Capital Wastes and for being the greatest of friends." Three Dog couldn't hold himself together anymore as he began to sob. "I want you all to listen to what I'm about to say. The Outcasts aren't going to stop here. They're just like Eden and the Enclave. They'll keep attacking us until they've wiped us all out and I know that you'll want to fight them, but I'm gonna ask you not to. The time to fight will come, but for now, do whatever you have to do to survive. Live to fight another day… I received a notice from the Brotherhood saying that all settlements should evacuate to the safety of the Jefferson Memorial. Anyone that tries to stay and fight won't stand a chance." Three Dog and Wilkes could hear the explosions enter the building lobby. Wilkes ran to the window to see that the Sentries and Gutsies have been reduced to piles of scrap and the Outcasts were now entering GNR. Wilkes signaled for Three Dog to speed the broadcast up. "Well everyone, the choice is up to you. You can stay and fight, or you can make your way to the Purifier and live to fight another day. It looks like that's it, thanks for making GNR the greatest radio station in the Capital Wasteland. This is Three Dog signing off with one last OOOWWWWWWWW! Goodbye and God bless." And just like that, GNR permanently went silent.

Wilkes walked into the booth and took off his power helmet looking at Three Dog with sympathy. "Three Dog." The upset radio DJ looked up at the Sergeant. "We have to go. The Outcasts will be up here any second now." The sounds of gunfire could still be heard.

Three Dog stood up. "Right, you should get goin' then." Wilkes looked at him like he'd gone mad, but before he could object, Three Dog walked past him to open a small floor safe. He handed him a set of keys and an enclosed file. "Get those to Eric, I'm staying put." Three Dog then grabbed a chair and set it at the top of the staircase, pulling out a 10mm pistol and loading it with armored piercing bullets as he sat down.

"But Three Dog…" Three Dog held his hand up before Wilkes could finish.

"Like I told Eric, GNR is my baby, and you never abandon your baby Wilkes. I want you to get those to him. What you're holding in your hands may be the only key to stopping the Outcasts and no one but Eric is allowed to see that file. Don't lose any of those keys. Do you understand?"

Wilkes nodded and saluted Three Dog with the highest of respect. "It's been an honor sir."

Three Dog smiled. "The honor is mine, now hurry and leave the detonator here!"

Without saying another word, Wilkes handed him the detonator and stormed out the back door heading towards the already activated Vertibirds.

"Move your asses dammit!" Knight Finley was waving Wilkes and the remainder of Dillon's squad over to Vertibird One. As Finley opened the hatch to let the squad in, he asked his CO, "Where's Three Dog?"

"He's staying behind. He told us to get out of here." Wilkes said as he stepped into the Vertibird. Finley couldn't believe that Three Dog was going to stay, but he wasn't about to go against his orders. He followed the Sergeant into the bird. Three minutes later the Vertibirds were in the air and en-route to the Jefferson Memorial.

Three Dog lit up a cigar and put it in his mouth as he aimed the pistol down the stairs. An explosion blew the door clean off its hinges. Seconds later, a team of Outcasts started pouring into the room and Three Dog began shooting. Aiming for the head the soldiers started to fall one by one. He was up to six Outcasts until one of them landed a lucky shot in his arm causing him to let out a shriek of pain, but Three Dog refused to give in. He continued shooting his gun until the mag was empty. A second laser beam nailed him in the upper torso as he reloaded, causing him to fall to the floor. Three Dog crawled over to the table and grabbed the detonator. He turned to see several Outcasts surround him with their laser rifles pointed directly at his head. One of them spoke up. "Any last words?"

Three Dog did nothing except smile as he pulled the trigger sending him out with a BANG! The building began to fall apart around the Outcasts sending them all flying across the rooms until finally, the building collapsed to the ground killing everyone inside.

The Outcasts outside looked at the devastation in complete shock as most of their force was dead. The Outcast in charge looked to his communications officer and walked over to him. He grabbed the radio and smiled as he spoke, "Sir, we've accomplished our mission. GNR is down."

There was a moment of silence before he got a reply. "Excellent, report back to base for further orders."

"Yes sir, heading back now." The commander handed the radio back to his officer. "Move out!"

The Washington Monument Outpost: June 8, 2279. 45 minutes prior.

The Paladins in charge of guarding the outpost were ready to take on the Outcasts as they listened to Three Dog's final broadcast. "Do you think we should head for the Jefferson Memorial?" One Paladin asked.

"No, the Outcasts aren't going to take this outpost." The other replied. Before the other could reply, a missile landed in front of the sand bag barriers, "Contact two o Clock High!" The Paladins began firing their gatling lasers at an Outcast Missile Squad attacking from a building rooftop. Two more Paladin Guards came up from behind the monument, but before they could engage, they were immediately ripped to shreds by over a dozen Outcasts wielding miniguns coming out of the subway. Several other Outcasts began climbing out of the trenches and unloaded several volleys of laser fire on the Paladins guarding the entrance, vaporizing one and decapitating the other. A Death Squad formed up at the entrance terminal and entered in the password. The Outcasts raised their rifles down towards the elevator and were cut down by three Sentry Bots guarding the inside of the outpost. Their victory was cut short when a mini nuke detonated behind the Sentries. Moments later, the Outcasts looked around only to find the Sentries were nothing more than molten puddles of metal. After scanning the rest of the compound, the Outcasts took down the Brotherhood flag and raised their flag up high as a sign of victory.

An Outcast Officer pulled out his radio and reported in. "The Washington Monument is ours, setting up shop."

A reply came through. "Good, your first set of orders is to exterminate those brainless zombies at Underworld."

"Excuse me?" A raspy voice came out of nowhere. The Outcasts turned to see Willow, the Sentry for Underworld. "What the hell are you idiot tourists gah!" Willow became a mere stain of blood as a minigunner sprayed her with a storm of bullets.

When the minigun's motor ceased the Outcasts let out a laugh of conceit. The Commander appeared. "You all know what to do." She said pointing to the Museum of History. They all made their way towards the building and began to purge the city of ghouls.

On the roof of the Museum of Technology a group of soldiers wearing forest green combat armor saw what just unveiled. The leader stood and looked to the others. "We better warn Reilly. Let's go!" The group of soldiers got up and headed for the Ranger Compound.

Super Duper Mart: June 8, 2279. 15 minutes prior.

A month after Vault 87 was destroyed; the Brotherhood cleaned the raiders out of the Super-Duper Mart and turned it into a fortress. The building was fortified by concrete walls at least ten feet high with four guard towers on all four sides. The rooftop was patrolled by more than a dozen snipers and missile launchers. Four Paladins stood guard at the entrances and the outside of the base was patrolled by Sentry Bots. A field hospital was set up in the South section of the parking lot and a group of Initiates were doing physical training along the Northern section. No hostiles ever traveled near the base because of the two Howitzers the Brotherhood set up. Until now.

"HOLY SHIT!" A Brotherhood Scout shouted as he spotted a massive wave of Outcasts to the North and Northeast. He looked down to one of the guards. "Get Paladin Bael up here stat!" The guard ran into the building and came back out two minutes later with Paladin Bael. "Sir we've got a situation, you better get up here and see this."

Bael ran over to a ladder and climbed to the roof, immediately running for his scout. "Alright, what's the fucking problem?" The scout quickly passed his binoculars to Bael. When he saw what the scout was talking about, the binoculars fell out of his hands and he felt like his heart fell to his feet. "Jesus Christ!" Bael heavily breathed as he yelled out to the gun crews. "Get those Howitzers ready to fire!" As the gunners were loading shells into the barrels they all heard a whistling sound. Bael turned over to the rest of the snipers who heard the same thing. "Do you hear that?"

"CANNON FIRE!" One of the snipers shouted as he dropped to the floor. The rest of the group went prone as a shell hit the ground less than five feet away from the base, followed by another. The Initiates scrambled for their weapons and ran for the ramparts on the wall to combat the Outcasts.

Bael got back to his feet. "RETURN FIRE!" An artillery shell wiped out the first Howitzer while the second one managed to fire off a shell of its own before being destroyed. "CHRIST!" He looked over the edge of the building to see his second in command, Paladin Hoss. "Get on the radio and alert the Citadel! We need air support!"

"INCOMING!" A sniper yelled as one of the shells struck the roof and sent Bael flying to the ground. His power armor managed to absorb most of the impact, but his left leg was shattered. Several Knights and Paladins were sprinting out of the store and one of them stopped to assist Paladin Hoss in helping a barely conscious Bael to his feet and towards the base entrance. The Outcasts were less than a hundred feet away from the compound.

The Knights and Paladins were scoring direct hits on the Outcasts, but there was no way that they could hold them off. The guard tower overlooking the Chryslus Building was blown apart by a hail of rockets. Knight Artemis staggered through the main entrance with his left arm missing. He was one of the guards posted in the tower. As he fell to the floor blood started spewing out of his shoulder. One of the Paladins hopped down from the south guard tower and picked him up over his shoulders. He turned to see a barrage of artillery slam into the Super-Duper Mart reducing it to a pile of debris and knocking a lot of soldiers off their feet.

"Hoss, what do we do now?" The Paladin asked.

"Fall back to Wilhelm's Wharf!" Hoss ordered as he and the other Paladin started moving a now unconscious Bael. The Paladin carrying Artemis made a break for the trader's shack tailing behind Hoss. The rest of the Knights, Paladins, and Initiates tried to retreat, but didn't make it far as the Outcasts opened fire on them with .50 caliber machine guns.

The Outcasts lead by Protector Mullen; all wore Advanced Power Armor Mk II painted in red and black and were marching towards the Citadel. The ground was rumbling as massive metal treads rolled over the deceased Brotherhood Soldiers, crushing their already lifeless bodies.

Although they didn't know it, the Outcasts were being watched by two snipers in power armor. Knight Captains' Colvin and Dusk were aiming through the scope of their rifles. Dusk shook her head in disbelief as she just saw the Outcasts had walked over one of their most fortified bases in the region. "Where the hell did the reinforcements come from?" She asked Colvin.

"I'm more concerned about where they got their armor from. As long as they have all that firepower in their possession we don't stand a chance." Colvin replied as he pulled out his radio. "Edwards come in!"

Operations Officer Edwards was in charge of monitoring the status of all bases and scouts on patrol. "Go ahead Colvin." The Officer replied.

"I need to speak with Rothchild right fucking now!" Colvin said as he removed his power helmet.

"Roger that, give me five minutes!"

"You better make it three, we don't have much time!"

Dusk spoke up, "Have you heard anything from the others?"

Colvin shook his head. "Not since we escaped the Capital Building, but I'm not so worried about them. After all Gallows knows how to handle himself and since Kodiak's with him, they'll be fine. I'm more concerned about the Sentinel, Glade, and Vargas."

A voice came through the radio, but it wasn't Rothchild. "Colvin, Dusk? I'm gonna kick your asses for breaking off from the rest of us." Dusk smirked as she recognized who the voice it belonged to.

"Nice to hear from you too Sentinel." Colvin said. Their concentration was interrupted by the sound of gunfire going off in the East. "Listen you don't have much time, but there's a large number of Outcasts heading for the Citadel. If I were you, I would start the evacuation."

"The evacuation started 10 minutes ago, after the Washington Monument was overrun." Sarah told them. The two didn't know about the Monument or GNR. "The Outcasts are killing every Brotherhood Soldier they come across; anyone that gets in their way will suffer the same fate. Listen, I want both of you to stay out of sight and try to find Eric. He might be in Megaton. If you can, get to the Purifier and wait for him there."

Dusk grabbed the radio. "What about the others Sentinel? Where are they?"

They could hear Sarah sigh on the other end. "Vargas is dead, Glade's assisting Jensen at the Purifier, and Gallows and Kodiak are scouting outside of Springvale…Guys I have to get the Scribes to the Vertibirds. Be careful. Find Eric. Stay Alive!" Sarah ordered.

Colvin replied, "Yes ma'am." The radio let off static signaling that communications went offline. Colvin slid his helmet back on and turned to Dusk. "We better go." Dusk nodded and they both darted off towards Megaton.

Paladin Hoss and his team made their way to the collapsed bridge hoping to get to the Jefferson Memorial. Even though they were a good distance away from the Outcasts, they knew that they wouldn't make it far once they caught up to them at the ramp of the intact part of the bridge. When Hoss and the others reached the top, they were surprised to be met by a bunch of friendly faces. A team of 20 Rivet City Security Officers armed with missile launchers, miniguns, and fatmen motioned for them to get behind the sand bag barriers they set up.

As Hoss and the rest of the Paladins joined the security team, the Outcasts opened fire on the overpass. The three Officers carrying the fatmen aimed at the hostile force and catapulted the mini nukes at the building that gave them cover. The resulting explosions caused chunks of concrete to fall on some of the soldiers. They reloaded and fired another set of nukes at the Outcasts that ran out in the open, practically cremating them. Four medics came over with stretchers in their hand and asked for Hoss to set Bael down on one stretcher, and Artemis on the other. The Medics hauled the wounded off to their field hospital with Hoss and the two Paladins in tow, while the minigunners fired on the Outcasts to keep them as the others escaped. A few Outcasts went down, thinking they could take the Officers out alone.

After 2 minutes, one of the Security Guards raised the helmet's visor. Officer Lepelletier was in charge of Rivet City's Elite Guard. They were considered Harkness' toughest soldiers. Lepelletier wasn't going to stand around another second as she faced the others. "Run!" They immediately took off across the bridge, running as fast as they could until something caused them to lose their balance and fall to the ground.

The Guard's all turned to see plumes of smoke rise from the side of the bridge. Officer Davis ran over to the edge of the overpass and pulled out his binoculars to get a better view of what was attacking. A mixture of cannon and artillery fire slammed into the bridge's support beams causing it to buckle beneath him. Davis lost his equilibrium and plunged over to meet a pile of boulders at the bottom with a sickening thud. The rest of the guards got back to their feet and ran like hell. Without looking back, the bridge was completely destroyed as the rest of it fell to the water.

Paladin Jensen, Commander of the Purifier Security Force made sure Lepelletier and her squad was across the bridge before activating the Enclave pylons that surrounded the Jefferson Memorial. The energy barrier activated immediately to keep the Outcasts out. In order to prevent any damage to the clean water, additional pylons were set up around the tidal basin. One Paladin raised a 10mm pistol and fired a round at the energy field to see if it worked. The zap it gave off filled the Brotherhood officers with satisfaction.

Jensen smirked as he looked to Harkness. "I fucking told you so! There's no way in hell those fucks will get in here now. The only way in or out is now by Vertibird."

"Alright, you were right." Harkness said as he raised his hands in defeat.

Scribe Bigsley came up from behind them and barked at them with his usual tone of resentment. "Yeah! Woohoo, yay, alright! Woo fucking hoo!" Bigsley's tone turned into full-fledged hate. No one understood why the man hated his life so much. Just because he was bitter didn't mean he had to take it out on others. "Have you idiots forgotten that the Outcasts have artillery? It's obvious you have, because you all lack the capacity to fucking think properly. Bigsley was really starting to piss Harkness and Jensen off. Bigsley started mocking Jensen's voice. "Oh hey, I'm Paladin Jensen and maybe instead of killing things for once, I should start thinking of strategy…" The Scribe went back to his normal shouting voice. "God you are so pathetic. How you managed to become a member of the Brotherhood I'll ne-" Bigsley was cut off as Jensen's hand violently wrapped ahold of his neck. If looks could kill, Bigsley would've had a heart attack from Jensen's venomous glare.

"Will you shut your goddamn mouth already? I swear, toddlers don't bitch and complain as much as you!" Jensen wasn't going to put up with Bigsley's attitude any longer. He released his grip on the Scribe's neck and pulled out a remote and hit a red button. Out of nowhere, a small central pylon emanated from the top of the Memorial and an energy field linked with the rest of the pylons. It formed a dome shaped barrier over the Jefferson Memorial, keeping it safe from artillery fire. Everyone inside was astonished at the sight of the energy dome. Jensen looked back over to Bigsley and gave him a hard shove. "Unlike a certain fucking crybaby," Jensen spat. "I always plan one step ahead." He hit the green button on the remote deactivating the dome and walked over to the field hospital Rivet City set up, leaving an angry Bigsley.

Everyone froze in their tracks as explosions began to echo in the air. Harkness's eyes were platters when he turned to look at the Citadel. He nudged at Jensen to focus his attention at the Brotherhood Headquarters. Paladin Glade walked out of a tent and took a sharp intake of breath as he saw what was transpiring at the former Pentagon.

The Citadel: June 8, 2279. 10:33 A.M.

The Outcasts had mopped up all Brotherhood bases in the region and their final targets were the Citadel and Purifier. The energy fields made it impossible to launch an offensive against the Purifier so every Outcast was making their way for the Citadel. The outer defenses consisted of 2 Sentries and 4 Paladins at the main gate. The upper defenses consisted of several snipers, a .50 caliber machine gun emplacement, and a few operational laser turrets.

Paladin Stein, a Brotherhood Soldier presumed dead then declared Honorable Death in Combat, was actually forced into slavery at the Pitt. When Ashur was talking with the Lone Wanderer after winning his fights in arena, he told him that he captured him from the Grisly Diner, forcing him to do the hardest of labor in the refinery. After Eric began the purge of Uptown, Eric got Stein out and escorted him back to the Citadel.

When Stein saw the Outcasts on the bridge overpass, he ran to the intercom to alert Elder Lyons'. "Outcasts closing in, prepare for combat!" He didn't know that the base was starting the evacuation. Three Vertibirds were powering up and preparing to fly the Elder out of D.C. as far as they could go. The main gate opened and more than 50 Paladins came running out finding cover behind the boulders and steel ramparts aiming their gauss rifles at the overpass.

Paladin Gunny approached Stein wielding a missile launcher over his shoulder. Before he could say anything one of the Sentry Turrets in the Citadel parking lot exploded. Gunny grunted. "I was gonna say they're also coming from behind us, but never mind now!" The rest of the Paladins came out and joined their brothers and sisters on the northern line, followed by a dozen Gutsies moving to reinforce the South.

There were over a hundred Outcasts coming from the Arlington Library Outpost. Scribe Yearling and her Brotherhood guards were almost at the Citadel with more than 800 pre-war books that were given to them by the Lone Wanderer. They were gunned down by an Outcast Gatling Squad before they could reach safety.

"What do we do sir?" Stein asked Gunny.

"Hold them off until Elder Lyons' can escape." Gunny replied. "Then we're on our own from there.

Stein couldn't believe his ears, before he could protest a missile slammed into one of the balcony guards, literally blowing him apart. The battle for the Citadel had begun! All Paladins opened up a volley of Gauss fire on the Outcasts behind the boulders across the way. The .50 caliber machine gun and the laser turrets opened up on the overpass trying to keep them from firing on the Paladins while the snipers started taking potshots at the Defenders on the ground.

The Brotherhood's defensive strategy was going their way for the first 10 minutes of the battle. The few remaining Knights and Gutsies on the South side of the building however, didn't last more than three minutes. The Outcasts slowly moved up behind the Paladins waiting for their opportunity of surprise. It came when the Outcasts from the front started pouring out of the abandoned raider camp underneath the overpass by the hundreds. They charged for the main gates but stopped at the bridge and ceased fire. The Brotherhood immediately ceased fire as well with the looks of confusion behind their power helmets. The Outcasts all turned around to see one of their main weapons drive onto the field. Paladin Gunny's jaw hit the floor at the sight of the metal monster but wasn't going to let it get a shot off. Gunny fired his missile at it, taking out its cannon.

He smiled with glee before he and several other Paladins, including Stein were torn apart by the gatling lasers from behind them. One Paladin's insides fell to the ground as he turned to try and fight back; his liver was completely disemboweled as the laser bursts melted through his flesh. The .50 caliber machine gunner began firing again on the Outcasts coming over the bridge and taking limbs off of the assaulting soldiers and blasting hunks of armor and organs to pieces. The Outcasts fired a volley of missiles on the gunner's nest, blowing him apart. The snipers quickly suffered the same fate. Body's from both sides plagued the outside of the Citadel.

As the Outcasts were about to storm the inside of the building they heard the sounds of rotors off in the distance. The Brotherhood had dispatched every operable Vertibird that escaped the Outcasts. They were flying in from the Jefferson Memorial and Rockland. There was a total of 20 Vertibirds.

One of the Vertibirds emptied an entire rocket salvo on the Outcasts as he communicated with the other pilots. "Alright ladies, we got the enemy in our sights. Get ready for some fireworks." The other birds opened up with their rockets and gatling laser turrets, wiping whole squads out of existence. The pilot got on his radio. "Sentinel Lyons' you better get the Elder out of here while you still can! We don't know how much longer we'll be able to keep them from getting inside."

"Roger, good luck to you." Sarah said as she and the other two pilots got their birds off the ground.

"Good luck to you too Sentinel, Steel be with you!" The pilot responded.

The Elder's Vertibirds were within sight of the Outcasts and that was just what they were hoping for. A squad of Outcasts wielding tesla cannons released several beams of energy on the airborne squadron.

The Elder's escort bird shouted on the radio. "IT'S AN AMBUSH! ALL BIRDS BREAK RIGH-" The pilot was silenced when his Vertibird exploded into a massive fireball and fell from the sky. All the other birds tried to break off, but it was no use. They were all doomed, including Elder Lyons' personal Vertibird. The right engine took a direct hit and swirled out of control before crashing into the building, landing on its side in the Bailey. Elder Lyons' tried crawling out of the wreckage but couldn't move any further. Sarah climbed out of the cockpit of the downed aircraft, blood falling down the side of her face. Her left arm was dislocated and she tried her best to stay conscious. The Outcasts started charging through the Bailey and surrounded the area; Sarah pulled out a laser pistol and shot at an Outcast that took off his helmet, burning a hole through his temple. All Outcasts focused their attention to her and before they fired off a round, a blue bolt of fire hit right in the chest knocking her to the ground.

The Elder screamed in anguish. "SARAH!" He tried his hardest to hold back the tears, but he couldn't. He was kicked to his back and saw a familiar grin that had the look of evil in his eyes.

"Awwww, such a shame isn't it Owyn? Because of you, your daughter, your own flesh and blood is dead. It didn't have to come to this you know. You brought this on yourself." He said no more and raised his blaster to Owyn's head and discharged it. The great Owyn Lyons' had died at the hands of Protector Casdin. The Outcasts started moving down into the Citadel Laboratory and their hopes had risen.

Protector Mullen had run back out of the lab and over to Casdin. "Sir, it's still here. We can use it to break through the energy barriers at the Memorial."

Casdin smiled. "Good, Liberty Prime is ours now ou-" He was interrupted by Sarah, surprisingly still alive from the charge of an alien blaster.

"I don't think so traitor." She pulled out a detonator and squeezed the trigger before falling over dead. The trigger detonated several C-4 Charges set up on Liberty Prime's fusion core and throughout the rest of the lab. Seconds later the entire section of the Citadel collapsed and sent Casdin and several others flying off of their feet.

An unknown figure in what appeared to be modified Advanced Power Amor Mk II walked over and helped Casdin up off the hard concrete. "What are you going to do now Protector? Your only chance to destroy the Purifier is no longer an option." The power armored Warrior said.

Casdin retrieved his helmet and slid it back on. "The Purifier will have to wait…for now. Now we focus on the rest of the region. Get your men some R&R! They deserve it after all. Tomorrow we make our move against the settlements and we make the Capital Wasteland ours." Casdin looked over to the soldier. "I still can't thank you enough. What did you say your name was?" He asked.

The soldier took off his helmet and revealed a massive scar running down from the left side of his face. "I didn't."

Ferry Docks: June 8, 2279. 8:47 P.M.

The night was dark and foggy when Eric arrived back at the docks in the Coast Guard patrol boat he took from the Outcasts. He found Nadine's mother floating face down in the water. Eric dove in and dragged her body to the shore; her throat was sliced wide open and by the looks of it, she died before she even hit the water. He looked over to see a dead Brotherhood Initiate lying next to three dead Outcasts. Out of respect, Eric shut both of their eyes and said a small prayer for them. Not many people knew that he believed in God seeing as how he's killed more people and mutants than almost everyone combined out it in the wastes.

His heart dropped to floor when the fog cleared and he saw the massive columns of fire rising over the Citadel walls. He took off in a dead sprint towards the now destroyed Brotherhood HQ. He ran past the bodies of Scribe Yearling and her bodyguards, seeing most of the pre-war books were piles of ashes. He made it past the piles of destroyed Mr. Gutsies and dead Knights. When he got to the main gate he became physically ill at the sight of the butchered Paladins and Outcasts. The stench of death didn't make things any better. Burned-out Brotherhood Vertibirds were scattered throughout the landscape and chunks of the Citadel were still falling from the balcony guard posts.

Eric prepared for the worst as he walked through the doors into the Bailey and saw dead Initiates and Knights in the training area. What really caught his attention was the body of an elderly man wearing a blue robe. Eric ran over to Elder Lyons to find a burn mark covering most of his face. He knew it was hopeless, but he still checked to see if the man had a pulse. There wasn't any to be found. Eric suddenly felt a surge of panic and started shouting one name. "Sarah? Sarah? SARAH? SARAH? SARAH?" After three minutes of shouting, his worst fears had been realized. He slowly walked over to the blonde-haired Sentinel and fell to his knees. Eric's eyes began to water, lifting her lifeless body into his arms and gently shaking her as if she were asleep.

"Sarah…Sarah?" Eric tried to fight the reality with denial, but reality finally won. The tears began to fall freely down his face as he held Sarah really close to him. He sobbed into her hair. "No, no, no, no, not her. Please…not her. Please don't do this to me, Please!" He was breathing like he couldn't catch his breath. Eric hadn't cried since the death of his father. He was shaking with a mixture of anger and sadness. Eric looked around at the devastation that had been caused by the Outcasts. He grinded his teeth and let out a loud cry of anguish that echoed throughout the air. Breathing heavily, he slowly composed himself before gently laying Sarah back down.

"I'm sorry Sarah. I promise I won't stop until they pay for this." Eric said as he planted a small kiss on her forehead. He got up and walked out of the Citadel, making his way back outside the walls.

Off in the distance, he could hear someone call his name. "Eric…Eric…Eric!" He could hear the shouts getting closer until he saw someone through the smoke. 'Butch?' He thought. He wasn't alone either as he saw Harkness, and five former Outcasts, two of them being McGraw and Morril.

"What the fuck are you guys doing here? It's not safe to be out in the open…Wait, how'd you know I was here?" Eric asked them.

Harkness came up. "We watched you arrive in that boat of yours and we wanted to see if you were alright. The Outcasts have been fucking the whole wasteland up. I had to order Butch and the other guards to evacuate Rivet City when some of my guys came under fire from a few scouts coming out of Anacostia."

Butch was next to speak. "Those bastards came in a bombed the shit out of the caravan stop. Rivet City's now under their control." He looked around at the carnage that was left behind. The former Tunnel Snake felt ill as he saw the upper half of a Paladin missing its lower half.

"What I want to know is how the fuck did Casdin get so many people to help with his whole wasteland takeover plan?" He was staring specifically at McGraw.

"Eric, believe me when I tell you that even we don't know how he managed to get this much support. We told Casdin to go fuck himself when we deserted the Outcasts; you were there when we said it." McGraw said in his defense.

"Yeah, I remember that. The look on Casdin's face was priceless." Eric said with a smirk. "Look we don't have much time guys. The Outcasts will be back and I need to get all the holotags off the dead Brotherhood. I've already got everyone's tags inside and at the parking lot, just help me with these guys. After that we head to Megaton and start evacuating them." Everyone just nodded and went around collecting the tags before leaving.

Vault 101 Overseers Office: June 8, 2279. 9:03 P.M.

Amata was finished typing some reports into her personal terminal when she heard the office door open. She turned to see Allen Mack, his son, and three Vault Security Guards walk in. "Oh my God, what the hell did they do now?" Amata asked the Officers.

Allen smiled bitterly. "It's not what I've done, it's what I'm about to do." He pulled out a 9mm pistol and pointed it at Amata. "Taylor, take her into custody." Officer Taylor appeared from behind him and placed Amata under arrest. "You are relieved from your duties as Overseer. I will be taking over from now on." Mack said venomously.

Amata couldn't believe what was transpiring. "This is mutiny you fucking asshole!" She received a hard smack across the face from Wally Mack.

"Shut up bitch and respect your rightful Overseer!" Wally spat as tears filled Amata's eyes.

"Rightful?" Everyone saw Amata's father Alphonse walk in the room with handcuffs on. "You're taking everyone in the vault hostage! What are you going to do now? Use that as leverage to bring the boy back?" Alphonse knew that Allen still carried a vengeful hate against Eric for the death of his son.

Mack sat down in the Overseer's chair as he started talking. "No, as much as I would love to get my hands on that little shit, no. I intend to close the vault door for good."

Officer Wilkins turned and looked at Mack disbelievingly. "I thought that was the plan? I even got some people from the outside to help."

Mack shot up with anger. "You brought in OUTSIDERS?" Mack spat at that word like it was a disease. "HOW FUCKING STUPID ARE YOU? BRINGING OUTSIDERS INTO MY HOME! IF YOU WANT TO KILL HIM YOU GO OUT THERE AND DO IT YOURSELF!"

"Sorry Allen, but that'd take too long." He pulled out his 10mm pistol and shot Mack right between the eyes then Wally. Amata let a scream of both shock and fear. The two fell over dead as Wilkins ordered the other guards to throw Amata and Alphonse to the holding cells.

A few minutes later a man wearing black combat armor with a white symbol on his chest plate walked into the room. "Now that's one good looking broad. You think that my men could have her as a bonus when we kill her boyfriend."

"I don't care what you do with her, just as long as you bring me that son of a bitch so I can put a bullet in him!" Wilkins told the man.

"Alright, but how does this benefit us? We're mercenaries you know? We expect payment." The man said rubbing his fingers together asking for money.

Wilkins walked over and looked out the window into the atrium. "It's simple really. You told me that there's a bounty on his head. So, we use the hostages to draw him back. Your men capture him and bring him to me. I kill him and you take his body back to whoever put the contract on his head and you get paid. Sound good enough?"

The man just smiled as he lit a cigarette in his mouth and pulled out a radio. "Mission is a go." Suddenly more than 30 Talon Company mercenaries stormed into the atrium and started setting up a trap for the Lone Wanderer. Wilkins smiled at the sight. 'There's no way he's getting out of this alive.'

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