*five years ago*
Col. Autumn was tapping his foot, waiting for James to finish with the console. "My patience wears thin…"
"Just another minute and I'll be done." James replied. James entered a series of numbers into the keypad in front of him. He reached for a button on the side, and just as he pressed it, a blast shoved James, Col. Autumn, and the soldiers away from the rotunda. The Wanderer could feel the radiation flowing from the chamber, but just a slight amount. He pounded on the door, yelling to the other side.
"Dad!! What the hell are you doing!?!?" He looked franticly for a way to open the door, but found none.
James just scuffled over to the door, and leaned on it. "Run… RUN!" James started to lose his strength, and fell to the ground.
"Li, don't just stand there with your thumbs up your ass, find a way to open this door!"
"I… I don't know…"
"Ahhg! Get out of the way!" He said as he pushed her out from in front of a large switch. He pulled out a combat knife from a sheath on his boot, and pried open the metal casing with it. Using the blade he cut some of the wires in it then grabbed four of those wires and twisted them into two separate electrical circuits. The door opened immediately. "Hold on, Dad!" He said as he dove into the chamber, feeling a large amount of radiation flowing through his organs. It was very painful, but he managed through it, dragging his father out of the chamber. "Dad, stay with me…" He bent over his father and held his head, checking for his pulse. It was just barely there. Then James started to open his eyes. He opened his mouth and spoke out with a weakened voice.
"Here we are… where it all began… Remember your mother's favorite passage? Revelation 21:6, 'I am the Alfa and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give unto him athirst of the fountain of the water of life, freely.'" He grabbed his son's arm. "Don't you see? This is what it all means. The water, the purifier, THIS is the water of life, your mother's dream!" James coughed out blood, and winced in pain.
"No, please don't leave me father, I don't think I can go any further without you… You mean too much to me!" His face was wet with tears, crying as he wiped the blood from his father's face.
"I know there's a lot going on right now, this is all very sudden. But I just wanted to say…" James smiled and looked his son right in the eyes, "…I wanted to say I'm proud of you. You're a good person, and it shows…"
The Wanderer sniffed and wiped the tears from his eyes, "I'm just trying to find a place for myself out here…"
James nodded his head weakly. "Life out here is so different from the Vault; you know it's something I never wanted you to face. I'm glad to see it hasn't changed who you are. There aren't many who can say that about themselves."
"Thanks Dad…" He wiped the tears from his eyes again, and when he opened them, his father's eyes were starting to droop. "Dad, no! Stay with me, we can still get out of here!"
James opened his eyes, which were shaking and loosing focus, and looked towards his son. "Be careful, my son…" His eyes slowly closed, and he went limp. The Wanderer pounded his fists against the ground.
"No! Why did it have to be him! No…" The Wanderer stood up, and turned around. Then he raised his head and yelled out to the world. "I swear on my life, my soul, and souls of my family and my ancestors… I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!! I WILL SMASH AND CRUSH EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU BASTARDS UNTIL YOU ARE NOTHING BUT A BLOODY STAIN ON THE WALLS OF HISTORY! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF YOU!!! THERE IS NOWHERE YOU CAN HIDE, NO FORTRESS YOU CAN PROTECT, AND NO LIFE YOU CAN KEEP ME FROM TAKING!!!" He grabbed his large Warblade, which was fit snugly in a specially fitted Brahmin hide sheath on his back, swung it around, then raised it up high. "I WILL CUT THROUGH YOUR TROOPS, I WILL CUT THROUGH YOUR COMMANDERS, AND I WILL CUT THROUGH YOUR PRESIDENT!!! NOTHING WILL STOP ME, NOT MAN, MACHINE, NOR MUTANT!!! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!!"
Dr. Li stood at the bottom of the stairs, feeling both threatened and empowered by his oath of revenge, and could feel that what she was witnessing was a dawn of a new age.