**Nota Bene- Be prepared for an utter spamming of horizontal lines... maybe. I can't really see them, so I don't know if they're there or not.
Chapter 22
Souvenirs
"You don't have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body."
-C. S. Lewis
So it was that the Lone Wanderer successfully carried out that which she promised herself not a year earlier. Caesar's Legion, having lost its leader and Legate, was irreversibly disgraced and lost its power. Legionary killed Legionary; brother killed brother. As predicted by more than one person, Caesar's Legion destroyed itself.
A few months after her mission's success, Milly started a relationship with Veronica. The couple stayed in Freeside for the remainder of Milly's term, and she eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She named him "Cord".
Though she left the Capital Wasteland with only Dogmeat and Fortitude, she would return with three new faces.
Cord the Deathclaw's remains were cremated and brought back to his parents...
...His parents, once kind and caring individuals, were never the same upon Cord's death, and Milly's confession letter explaining who the deathclaw really was to them. They swore revenge upon the Lone Wanderer, but quickly give up the desire. Cord's parents would die a few years later as bitter, angry people.
Kastine, though she never saw the Lone Wanderer or her dog again, eventually became a mother. It is unknown who fathered the children, but Kastine would never again murder a human without cause, for whenever she saw a human, she remembered, and when she remembered... she fled.
Sergei Yoblonovich was betrayed by one of his clients and captured by Andrei Faustin. He was brought back to Russia, where he endured torture for three days before Faustin finally entered the chamber he was held in. It was then that Yoblonovich triggered an explosive device he'd managed to smuggle in, though to this day, it is unknown how he did so. Andrei and Sergei were both believed dead, though some report sightings of Sergei Yoblonovich in D.C and Moscow- at the same time.
His true fate remains unknown.
Dimitri Petrov is eventually captured by the Brotherhood of Steel and executed for his affiliation with known Brotherhood terrorists. His death in 2284 leads to an attack on The Citadel by an unknown sniper, resulting in the death of Elder Lyons. It is unknown just who committed the murder. Some suspected Petrov's former brothers-in-arms, but a few Brotherhood Paladins suspected Milly of Vault 101.
Larry Sizemore continues to terrify all states up and down the East and West Coasts for another ten years before he was allegedly shot and killed by Sarah Lyons, the now-Elder of the Brotherhood of Steel, D.C Chapter. Not two weeks after his "death", however, Sarah Lyons was poisoned while eating dinner among those under her chain of command. Her dead body was found in her room the next morning by a Scribe, and in her hand was an empty vial of one of Larry's favorite poisons. In spite of this event, or perhaps because of it, Larry Sizemore continues to be listed as "KIA" in the Brotherhood's Archives.
Argutus passed on his genes, and talking deathclaws began to fill the land again, causing many to believe that what was originally considered an Enclave victory (the intelligent deathclaw massacre of Vault 13) was ultimately a failed operation. The simple observation of intelligent deathclaws and even the befriending of some such creatures only weakened any remaining influence the Enclave may have had in the states further.
In a way, Argutus helped avenge his father's herd.
In the year 2300, Milly of Vault 101, better known as the Lone Wanderer, was shot three times in the chest during a surprise attack by remnants of the Enclave. She was dead before she hit the ground. Dogmeat fought valiantly, and he managed to kill the attackers quickly while sustaining no fatal injuries.
He thought that she was just knocked down by the attack, as had happened before. He approached her side, expecting her hand to come up to rest on his head, but no such action took place. He saw three holes in her chest, and he fell beside her with a whine. With tears in his eyes, he curled up close to her body. He rested his head on her stomach, and cried, and cried, and cried.
Dogmeat, though he was a cyberdog and expected to live for at least one hundred years, died not hours after Milly did. He'd made a pact with himself many years before, and that was to always be there for her. He died with his head on her stomach, choosing to forever walk with his master both in life and in death.
So ends the story of the Lone Wanderer, who stepped out of Vault 101 and onto the aspirations of two major factions. However, though her story ended prematurely, was it right to think that the basic premise would never repeat? Whether it's a fight between human factions or a deathclaw attempting to save his human friend from a Super Mutant camp, there will always be war, and physically...
...war always changes.
"So... did you meet him?" I asked. She tilted her head and they both stared blankly.
"Him? Meet who?" I snorted and wandered off, beckoning them to follow.
"Nobody, never mind."
End of Chapter
Al La Fin to the Max.
884 words. As I mentioned, this chapter was meant to tie up loose ends. As a plot, the story is complete.
You know, I learned something from this whole thing: Never commit to writing a story for which your desire dwindles. I mean, I got there, but... I hated writing this. What was a lot of fun in Beneath This Gruff Exterior had since become stale, banal, done already... but I promised, and so I delivered... because that's just the kind of sweetheart I am.
If you haven't already, please go to my profile and vote for one or two favorite characters in this story. I need at least three more people to vote, or the results will be inconclusive, and I won't have my answer. Then I will cry. You don't want me to cry, do you?
Also, if anybody here has read thus far because they enjoyed Sacred Hearts and Fallen Angels, or if you simply enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, I've got a story for it under consideration. No, you won't see Jack, but you'll see the same Link, and you'll meet a new character. If you're interested in a Majora's Mask story I may or may not write, let me know in a message. I don't have a working title and I'm still banging out the outline for it, but I'd appreciate a heads up from anyone who might be interested in it.
Next chapter is trivia. If you want to know why I did what I did, or didn't do what I didn't do in this story, keep your eyes peeled for "The Stuff You May Have Missed". Keep in mind, however, that it requires me to thoroughly re-read everything I wrote for this story. It may take a little while.