First 2 chapters have been tweaked a bit, those who've read them before may want to reread, granted the plot hasn't changed too much.
Templar Hall, City of Kirkwall
"I'm telling you! I'm not undead! I'm alive, a living, breathing human being." Thrask had recently been found by his fellow templars.
"Ser Thrask, even if I could believe that, you still attempted to start an uprising, and should be punished for that. For the time being, we will only lock you up. If we need to we will not hesitate to kill you again. Good day." Knight-Captain Cullen had his hands full, between that bizarre creature's call out to his fellow templars, insisting Meredith was with them, another who he saw die, he just didn't know what to believe. The last days events seemed to vanish, were they even real?
He stepped out to address the templars, "As long as Meredith is gone, I command the templars, and I won't have them entering uncharted territory to chase ghosts. For the time being, we will peacefully coexist with this 'New Vegas." He then thought to himself, "But what was that thing? A golem maybe? It spoke like a man, and even changed its voice and face. And still no viscount to control this nonsense."
It seemed among the alleged returning dead, Viscount Dumar was not one of them, nor anyone who wasn't recently killed. The fact that Grace was nowhere to be found left Cullen wary. A dangerous blood mage with a taste for revenge was not someone he wanted missing. Orsino had been locked up as well until the situation could be determined, and his existence kept in secret. "As much as I hate to admit it, I may need the Champion's help."
Hightown, City of Kirkwall
"What the hell are you doing?" Arcade shouted, unexpectedly at the lone paladin, "You're marching in here in full power armor, terrorizing the populace the whole way, I bet."
"I'd mind my tongue if I were you, we know about your history with the Enclave. Your friendship with Veronica and the Courier is the only reason we don't shoot you on sight."
"Once again, city full of confused civilians who don't know what firearms are."
"Would you two quit waving your dicks around?" Cass felt the need to interject, "Arcade, I walked in here with a super mutant, and you with Raul, I don't think we've got room to talk. I think we should leave, people are staring."
"Now, now, stop fighting dearies, we should listen to the nice Paladin." Lily added in.
"That thing can talk?" Varric took a step back, his eyes wide, "Now I've seen everything."
Isabela worked to calm the crowd, "Um…uh, rehearsing for a play! Don't mind us, some pretty silly costumes, huh? Yes, yes, about a kindly grandmotherly ogre and her templar grandson…from the future!"
"Let's…let's just leave."
Outside of Kirkwall, the group began to see what had become of the world at large. Kirkwall had landed somewhere east of Vegas, the ocean replacing the land up until the Colorado River, and the streets outside of the walls of Freeside clashing with the fields and mountains around Kirkwall.
Anders could hardly believe his eyes "By the Maker, what happened here? It's like the world has ended, like the blight has taken the land itself."
"It's an improvement for us, if you can believe that." Cass responded
"An improvement? The land itself has died!"
"Actually it's just a desert, we don't get too many plants in the Mojave, and I think it was like that even before the bombs dropped. Still, it's nice to see some greenery somewhere besides Jacobstown. I'm curious as to how the two biomes can be interwoven like that." Arcade added. Carrying ED-E under his arm.
"I've seen deserts before, they don't look this grim!"
"Before the bombs dropped? Is that some sort of saying from your world?" Isabela asked.
"Well, like I said, the Mojave has really been just a wasteland for a long time. But Vegas itself used to be even more lively than it is now. A city of vice and debauchery mostly."
"My two favorite things!"
"Well, in our world, unlike yours, technology advanced to the point where man could make explosives that could destroy a city and could be dropped from the sky."
"You expect me to believe this nonsense? I've been taking you all at your word for some time, but who would be evil enough to build something like that?" Aveline asked, shocked.
"I was alive at the time," Raul said, "Lost my family because of it, it wasn't about good or evil, just a matter of necessity. Our enemies had them, so did our country. We all thought it would keep everyone in check."
"Anyway, sometime about 200 years ago in our world's time, a war broke out that pretty much laid waste to most of civilization as we know it. Leading to the stunning 'scorched earth' look you see before you."
"I'm sorry, back up, 200 years?" Isabela asked, "Then how was Raul even there?"
"That's a story for another time, señorita"
"Well, I've got to say Lucky, given the circumstances, you look good for your age." Varric added.
"Lucky? Oh I get it, it's ironic."
"Exactly. Also, I'm actually curious now, I'm assuming your country doesn't have an ocean in the middle of it. What do you think became of the rest of it?"
"I don't know actually." Arcade responded. "We're at the western edge of things, everything before what was once a river was only the westernmost edge, less than a quarter of the total landmass, not to mention other parts of the continent that we don't know about."
"I think I need to sit and think for a moment." Aveline said, "This whole thing is getting to be too much to fathom. I needed to put on a strong face for my guardsmen, but this world is just too horrible."
"I might have to disagree, big girl, this is a world with no rules, and very little government, a world where everyone is truly free to choose what they do." Isabela said, "Plus that whole vice and debauchery thing. When it's all said and done, I might take my chances with their world instead."
"If we have time, I'll take you up to Gomorrah and we'll have us a good time."
"Cass, you are too kind!"
Aveline rubbed her eyes, "Great, now there's two of them."
The paladin, who hadn't said a word up to this point, stopped and spoke "We've got trouble!" Energy from a plasma caster rained down on them.
"What the hell!" Cass shouted. As they dived out of the way
A Man shouted from nearby, "It's about time we settled things, Cassidy!"
"Cutting! You sadistic son of a bitch! Me and the Courier each put a bullet in your brain. We settled things weeks ago!"
"And now I'm back! I don't know how, but now I'm gonna finish my job and McLafferty will pay me what she owes! Alright boys, do what you do best!"
Men wielding energy weapons, wearing combat armor approached, "What's the plan?" Raul asked, "They've all got energy weapons, and half of our guys have just seen guns for the first time."
"It's pretty simple." Anders said.
"How so?" Arcade asked.
"You showed us what makes your world unique," He began to give off a blue glow, "Now we show what does for us."
A wave of his staff and lightning began to rain down on the Van Graff thugs, injuring some, killing others. It distracted the enemy, the heroes saving their awe for later got a chance to charge in. Isabela tossed a miasmic flask, stunning a group of stragglers and letting Raul get off 3 headshots. Lily charged a lone thug, unfazed by his plasma rifle. One of the others, still cowering from the lightning, met his end at Aveline's blade.
"Alright guys, nice work!" Cass shouted, "Show these punks a thing or—argh!" A blast from Cutting's plasma caster hit her hard, "Looks like this is-" but not hard enough, Cass turned and blasted him with her shotgun three times. "And stay dead this time!" With that, Cass fell to the ground, the pain was a bit too much.
"Cass!" Arcade shouted, frantically searching the pockets of his lab coat, "No good, all my stimpaks are back at the Lucky 38."
"She got hit pretty bad, boss. I don't know if we can get her very far."
"Well, Blondie, time to show them what you can do."
"Exactly what can you do?" Arcade asked
"Just watch." Anders kneeled down and placed his hands over Cass' burns, light came from his hands and the burns disappeared in seconds.
Raul and Arcade watched in awe, "That was the single most amazing thing I've ever seen," Arcade said, "The Followers could benefit from something like that. Where did you learn that?"
"No 'learning' about it, a lot of training, but magic is something you're born with."
"There's that magic thing again." Cass said weakly, "This has got to be the weirdest shit I've ever seen. Care to help me up, 'Blondie'?" Anders lifted Cass up, afterwards she could walk on her own.
"You know, you can't just go throwing my nicknames around, that's my job."
"Right, I'll remember that."
Hidden Valley Bunker
"Hey Merrill, you okay in there?" Merrill hadn't left her new bed in the barracks since they got there, Veronica began to worry.
Merrill was sitting on the bed, staring into space, she looked up on reaction to Veronica's voice, "Oh, hello Veronica, do you need anything?"
"Just checking in, got worried about you." Veronica sat down next to Merrill, "You haven't left this room since we got here."
Merrill laughed, "A kindness for a complete stranger, you're too nice. Sorry for worrying you, this has all just been too much to take."
"I know what you mean, I still can't get my head around it, and the elder's just as lost. And I can't even imagine what you're going through."
"I haven't spoken to Keeper Marethari since we returned. What could I say? I could apologize all day and it wouldn't be enough."
"Well, what happened? How did she die?"
"Well…let me ask you this, does your Brotherhood ever do things you find yourself questioning? Not, in any morally reprehensible way of course…I mean, unless they do, then…I'll shut up now."
"Actually, it's like you're reading my mind! Well, except the morally reprehensible part. The Brotherhood is that 'family' I told you about. They want to make sure no one gets their hands on technology, because of what became of our world. But I think we should embrace it, we can't just let go of the past."
"We really do speak the same language. I thought the same thing, I had been working to repair a mirror, the Eluvian. It was important to our history, I'd made deals with a demon to fix it."
"Demons too, huh? This world's got everything."
"Our magic and your technology have the same consequences if one is not careful enough. But I didn't care, I was foolish and tried to help the demon into our world, and the keeper chose to take it into herself to save me." Tears began to well up in Merrill's eyes, it was hard to relive it, "She sacrificed herself, all for me, to kill the demon we had to kill her. It was all for me, the one who abandoned her clan. It was a price I was willing to pay and she took it instead." Merrill stopped and just sat there for a while, "And now she's back, like it never happened, but it did. We all know what happened, and how can I face her after that? And if she is to return to the Fade, I cannot just wait until she does and not say a word."
Veronica put a hand on Merrill's shoulder, "Hey, look, what's done is done. I mean, it's not too often you have to say 'sorry I killed you,' but after apologizing, what more can you do? Your Keeper seems nice enough, I'm sure you can talk to her. You made some poor choices, but why dwell on them?"
"Well, I guess that helps, Thanks Veronica. I really wish Hawke were here though. They always knew what to say to help me through tough times."
"Oh! So Hawke's someone special to you?"
"Well, you could say that."
"Well, I'll ask for juicy details later. Hopefully you can find your way." Veronica made her way to the door, "And Merrill, just a tip, it never hurts to question the rules, but don't let it consume you. Someone close to me lost himself in an obsession like that, it cost him his life."
"Believe me, I won't be doing it again. I made sure of that."
"Oooh! Cryptic!" With that, Veronica made her way out of the barracks, and ran into Paladin Ramos, "Veronica, I think your friends are here."
Outside the bunker, the other group was carrying on, "Rose of Sharon? That sounds too complicated, like you couldn't settle on either Rose or Sharon." Varric said.
"See, that's why I go by Cass, because of people like you."
"Now now Rosy, you don't need to get in my face about it."
"Of course not, I'd have to bend over."
"You wouldn't hear me complaining." Isabela added.
"I'm sure Cass would oblige you after enough drinks." Arcade replied.
"Hey, cut the crap, Arcade." Cass said.
"I'd know that voice anywhere! Cass!" Veronica said, surprising Cass with a hug.
"So that's why you've ignored my advances, who's this little cutie?"
"Oh for the love of…forget it, nice to see you too Veronica."
"I'm so glad you're all alive! And I'm guessing the people dressed like they belong in Taeles of Chivalrie are some of Merrill's friends?"
"This one's pretty sharp, assuming she's talking about us." Varric said.
"Alright, then we can…where's the Courier?"
"Well…we really don't know." Arcade replied, "Can't find Rex either, I'm hoping they're together. And looks like ED-E got a little banged up too."
"We'll just have to fix him up then, everyone inside, we've got a lot to talk about."