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Dakota Michelson

A Fallout 4 Fan Fiction

Chapter 12: Atom

"You approach Atom's holy ground. Why? State your purpose, or be divided in his sight."

I turn around to see who is speaking. A woman with dark brown and green tinted skin stands still at the opposite entrance of the shack. Her face is covered is grime, the whites of her eyes are bloodshot, and her unkempt hair is wavering in the wind.

"What?" is all that escapes my mouth. "Atom reached out and touched this world, bringing his Glow to us," she says. "It remains to this day, a reminder of his promise. Infinite worlds through division." "O..Okay then." I stutter. "We mean you no harm. We are looking for someone. Doctor Virgil?"

"Few make the effort to travel so far," the woman says. "What is it that you want from him?" "It doesn't concern you," Danse interjects. I look at Danse and look back at the woman. "He isn't one of your people, as far as I know," I say. "True, he is not a Child of Atom," she says. "But he has sought refuge in Atom's Glow, and Atom granted it. I would not question the will of Atom. So again, what do you want with him?"

"I just need some information from him," I say, hoping that she doesn't continue to pry. "I see…" she says. "In truth, this Virgil has caused some concern. Some believe his presences is an affront to Atom. Though he came to trade with us on a few occasions, we have had little other contact with him. It was quite clear he wanted to be left alone. You can find him southwest of the crater, living in a cave. I would approach cautiously, were I you."

"Thank you." I say to her and we leave. As we walk back in the direction we came in from, we look around the crater and see no easier way but to go around it. The ring is too high and too steep to climb. Danse says to me, "It's places like this that make me wonder about the future of humanity."

"You're telling me," I say. "They are really worshipping the radiation? How can they possibly survive living in there? The rads are ridiculous!" Danse says, "After living in radiation for over two centuries, their DNA has been mutated in such a way that it is resistant to radiation." I look over at Danse, surprised. "The question has been asked before," he clarifies.

As we walk around the ring, we can see a radstorm approaching in the distance. It looks much worse than the one we were in near Diamond City. "We need to hurry and find this cave," I tell Danse as I point out to the distance.

Within minutes, the storm hits, my Geiger-counter goes crazy and my vision is even more obscured than it was before. We keep walking downhill, but we don't see any cave. All of a sudden, a large bug flies around me. It's fast and from the small glimpse I saw, it's almost my size. It has a huge stinger too!

I grab my laser rifle and look around. I hear it on my right and look over. It's charging right at me and it tries to sting me. The power armor is too strong for the stinger though and it flies off. I look around for the bug and for Danse, but I don't see either. "Danse!?" I yell out. "Danse, where are you!?"

I walk around to try to find him, but I don't see him anywhere. The lightning gets louder and more frequent. "Danse!?" I yell again, but I hear nothing in return. I turn around and another flash of lightning hits. "Huh?" I say. I think I see something. I try to focus in on the spot, but it's too dark. Lightning strikes again and it lights up my view. "The cave! Danse, I found the cave!" I still don't hear anything and I am getting extremely worried. My gut is telling me something is very wrong. "Danse!?" I try once more. Through the rain and thunder, I think I can hear loud footsteps. It could be my ears playing tricks on me though, making me hear what I want to hear. I look all around me, hoping that the noise is real. I look over the hill behind me and I see him running towards me. "Danse!" I yell. Then I see why he is running.

A swarm of those bugs. They are all around him. "Run, Dakota! Run!" he yells. And I listen. "The cave is this way!" I yell back. With any luck, they won't follow us in there.

We make it in the cave, but they are still coming. We run in and I see a white light at the end of the rocky hallway. I turn the corner and see two turrets. Danse is right behind me and the turrets beep. I dive forward on the ground. The turrets shoot at the bugs, but I can still hear the buzzing. I turn over so I can see behind me. Danse and I fire at the bugs as well and thanks to the turrets, we make quick work of them. Then everything is quiet.

"What the hell is going on?" a deep voice shouts. We both turn around and stand up. It's a super mutant. But he looks different than the other Super Mutants I've seen. He has strange clothes and glasses on. Danse walks forward and asks, "Are you Doctor Virgil?"

"You know damn well I am. I know you're from the Institute. So where's Kellogg? Huh? Trying to sneak up on me while you distract me?" "Take it easy," I say. "We aren't with the Institute and we aren't here to hurt you."

"Yeah. Right. Like I'm supposed to believe that," he says. "You're working with Kellogg!" he yells. I say, "Of course not. Kellogg is dead." Virgil's eyes widen. "Dead? He's… dead?" I nod. "I know it's probably difficult to believe, given all of the horrible things he's done."

"There's no question it's difficult to believe," Virgil says. "Kellogg was ruthless. There's a reason the Institute used him to do their dirty work for so many years. I knew they'd send him after me; tried to prepare for it. But I still wasn't sure I'd make it. What do you want with me then?"

Danse says, "I am Paladin Danse of the Brotherhood of Steel. This is Scribe Michelson." Virgil looks at us carefully. "That explains the power armor," he says. Danse continues, "We know you were part of the Institute, and you escaped. We need to get in." Virgil looks at Danse and says, "You really aren't from the Institute, are you? That is absurd. Never mind how nearly impossible that is, even if you were to succeed, it'd almost certainly end in your immediate death."

"You don't need to worry about that. We can take care of ourselves," Danse says. Virgil sighs. "I can help, but… I'm going to need something in return. Before I had to escape, I was working on a serum that would serve as a cure for my… condition. I wasn't able to bring it with me. It's still in my lab, and… Well, look at me. I need it! I need you to find it for me, if you manage to get inside the Institute."

"Deal," I quickly say. Danse look over at me, then back at Virgil. "All right. Let's talk details," Virgil says.

He explains about the Molecular Relay, how it de-materializes you in one place, re-materializes you in another and that the Relay is the only way in and out of the Institute. He hands me a chip.

"This is a Courser chip. I forgot I had it on me when I escaped, until I got here. If you see Doctor Li, you can thank her for giving it to me. If you can wait here, I will draw up some schematics you will need to build your own Relay. You're going to need some advanced equipment and supplies. Do you think you can do that?"

I look over at Danse for an answer. He says, "if it's the only way in, we will do whatever it takes to build the Relay." Virgil chuckles and walks towards a table and starts writing. "Damn hands. These things are massive."