I just want to thank you all and for reading and hope you enjoy!
Also to Login to postNO: I planned putting the anti-material rifle in from the start. It's my personal favorite. Have you ever been dressed in elite riot gear, with the rifle and had a deathclaw charge at you only to send it flying off a cliff with a cinematic shot courtesy of VATS. Yes the happened and it was just as awesome as it sounds.
Just to let you guys know I had a LOT of fun writing this chapter.
Chapter 4: Arc of the Covenant
The hill was almost covered in blood and body parts, both NCR and Legion. And there I stood bruised and battered.
My helmet and mask were missing, a cut above my let eye was bleeding and make it hard to see, and my left arm was dislocated. Numerous cuts and scratches adorned my body, yet I didn't care. Walking over to an armored man on his knees I decided to get a better look at him.
He was massive, wore the bronze looking armor still held strong, and his helmet still more the look of rage. However, his heavy breathing and posture told me everything I needed to know. He was defeated. Underneath that armor was a broken and dying body.
Those deep dark eye sockets glared up at me. "So it seems a pathetic child shall be my end. No matter the Legion shall still live and we will conquer all that is before us." That gravelly voice of his said.
"No it won't. What I can never understand is why the legion and the NCR can't see why you will both fail. You both tried to raise empires from the history books. They were both destroyed. They both failed, and so has the legion."
That seemed to anger the Monster of the East, and with a roar of absolute anger, he grasped his large blade and swung. I was faster.
With a swipe of Crocea Mors, the Legates armored head fell off his massive body.
Looking around, I could faintly make out a group of rangers through the smoke. It looked like they were escorting someone.
I started my way back down towards the gate, smirking ever so slightly. "It's about time the great general was introduced to Yes Man."
...
The first thought to go through my head was why am I sleeping on a stone floor? My second thought was why does it feel like I got sucker punched by a super mutant? Opening my eyes, I could make out a large bright hole that was highlighted by morning light. Suddenly I remembered where I was and what happened.
"Stupid old house." Sitting up, I heard a few cracks from my where my spine once was. I didn't even know that could pop. I took a look around me only to find the room bathed in darkness.
"And let there be light." I said turning on the pipboy light. I was greeted with a sight of red brick walls and a hall way that seemed to go on forever. Having no other way of getting out, I decided to try my luck and follow the dark ominous hallway. What's wort that could happen?
…
I hate my life.
I had just walked over a bridge that was almost impossible to see AND it was over what looked like a bottomless pit. Before that was a saw trap, some stepping stone puzzle, Ceiling with spikes that tries to crush you and out ran a GIANT BOULDER! HOW THE HELL IS THIS STUFF UNDER THE HOUSE!
Feeling rather frustrated with my situation, my mood slightly improved when I came to a large, but rusty iron door. On was what looked like a puzzle where you slide the squares around to form some puzzle. Off on its right hand. Above it was what looked like a poem chiseled into the stone.
"For the door to open one must find, the strength of heart to be kind. For the heroes life is full of strife and only through blah blah blah blah." One button and amber light later and a beautiful pistol was in my hand.
The pistol was made of a black steel with golden accents. The wooden grip had a golden two headed bear on it and the words "Against All Tyrants" engraved on the barrel. The ranger sequoia was a gift from Chief Hanlon right before he and the ranger's left. I always liked him and he always knew the NCR would only hurt the Mojave.
Without a second glance at the poem I aim it at the spot just above the handle where I thought the locking mechanism was, I pulled the trigger. Unlike the military grade doors or the petrified wooden doors that were as hard as stone, the armor-piercing bullet tore through the aged metal like it was nothing.
With a few clangs and aloud thunk, the door swung open. Kinda feel bad since whoever made this thing put a lot of effort into making it. Then again they did just make my life hell just now, so screw them! Walking into the next room, I was getting my self-prepared for whatever lay beyond.
I wasn't.
Walking into the room, the place seemed to sense me and came alive. The walls were the same red brick that I became used to; however there was marble stands all around. Crystals light up the darkness in a warm yellow glow and cast the stands in a bright spotlight. However, it was what was on the stands that truly captured my attention.
The first thing I saw was a small statue of a women giving birth. Disgusting, but did I mention the thing was made of GOLD! The room must have been the treasure room because everything looked like a priceless artifact! There were a few shiny stones that looked like amber, a golden cross decorated with gems, an old and oddly simple clay cup that seemed to glow on the inside and the solid gold box with two angels on top! Although the weird looking crystal skull seemed stupid somehow. And there was more but I just couldn't take it all in.
My head was spinning. All this was just sitting here underneath this house and no one had any clue! This was more gold here than in the Sierra Madre! I needed to find someplace to sit and think.
At the end of the hall of treasures was a rather simple but comfortable looking chair. The only problem was the skeleton that currently occupied it.
Its clothes were in tatter and its leather jacket seemed to have been put through every situation imaginable if the rips and stains were anything to go by. It did however have a nice brown fedora. It kind of reminded me of the one I found on the skeleton in the fridge back in the Mojave. On the floor by it side was a paper which was obviously a letter since it was covered in fine cursive words.
Deciding to pick it up I read what I'm guessing was this man's final words.
To whoever finds this,
I have to say congratulations. It takes a lot to get past all the traps and proves that you must be man of great knowledge and wisdom to get past the puzzle door.
That is why this land and all that it has now belongs to you. There are no more Arcs left in this world and I am all that remains. My idiot of a son went and became a hero in The Great War. That's great, but the kid also went and got himself married to a women who couldn't have children. Now I love the girl, she's a great women, but now the Arc lineage is going to come to an end.
All the treasure here, it's either too dangerous or too powerful for regular people to have. And here's hoping you're a good person, you may wield the pride of the Arc family. It will also serve as the documentation to officially own the estate. Take it to the First Bank of Vale, hopefully whoever is in charge will still have my old will. You can find the damn thing hanging on the door leading back up.
Good luck
Signed, Indiana Jonas Arc
I blinked a couple more times before coherent thought came back to me. All this stuff is now mine….."AWESOME!" I know it's stupid but I couldn't help but do a little victory dance.
After about ten minutes of dancing I was able to calm myself. Getting my priorities straight I decided to look for the exit. It really wasn't that hard to find. Off to the side was a simple iron gate. It didn't even look like it was locked. It was the object hanging in the middle.
It wasn't what I was expecting. It was a white shield. It looked like something a knight would have used. It had gold trim at the top and in the center, proudly on display was the gold double arcs of the families crest. One weird thing I found was how well of a condition it was in.
No rust, scratches, dents or anything that shows what it had gone through. Picking it up I was surprised that it was made from extremlystrong metal, which mean the thing wasn't just a fancy piece of equipment to hang above the fireplace. I saw a single hand hold but nothing else to keep the thing on my arm.
Suddenly, the shield moved by itself and somehow attached itself to my pipboy. After letting out a rather embarrassing 'eep', I tried to pull the thing off but to no success. Then I noticed a hidden button on the handle where my left hand rested. It was hidden well enough that you couldn't press it by accident.
With the push of the button, the shield seemed to collapse into itself. When it was just a slim bar, it detached from my pipboy and hit the ground with a loud *clang*!
Ok, what the hell?!
Reaching down I picked up what was once a shield. It still weighed the same, yet it more compact and seemed to have a hole on the top. I had seen enough of these when fighting the Legion o know that it had turned itself into a sheath.
A duel sheath shield, that's just cool! And apparently it's magnetized to stay on the users arm while in shield mode, not bad at all. Too bad I can't….Wait a minute.
Reatomizing Crocea Mors, I held the blade up to the sheath and compared their dimension. They look about the right size. Not wasting anymore time, I slid in the blade without any problems. Huh, fits like a glove.
Putting the sword and shield into my pipboy, I pushed open the gate and walked up a series of stone steps. It came to a sudden stop when a wall of brown wood blocked my path. With a shove, the wall swung outwards like a door. Walking into the next room, I was greeted with the smell of old paper and leather bound books.
It was a rather large library and the entrance to the treasure room was hidden behind a book case. When it swung back into place, the green book on the end shifted and no doubt relocked it. Looking around the place, it seemed to be very much intact, except for the dust covering everything that is. My older sister Alexis would have loved this place.
Sitting down in a somewhat old, yet nowhere near as old as I'm used to, chair to relax. The mansion wasn't a bad place to wait for the brains to figure out how to get me back. Although I would have to legally own this place so people don't try to arrest me for squatting. Man that would be stupid.
Alright Jaune, just sit back for a few days and explore the place. Then it's off to Vale we go.
…
About two weeks later, I was just coming over a hill and wanted to take a quick breather.
The Arc mansion didn't have any other secrets that I could find, except for a stash of old porn magazines under a bed. Things would have been worth a small fortune back home. Also deciding to not take any chances of another person poking around while I was gone, I set a few traps.
Unlike other assholes in the wastelands that seemed to set deadly traps for the fun of it, mine were non-lethal. A rigged shot gun with a blank instead of a real round, some flash-bang bouquets, and several weak bear traps with rounded off points. All were bark and no bite and could scare off most anyone trying to get in. It wouldn't have stopped me though, us Arcs tend to be very stubborn people.
After a quick water brake, the people here don't know how lucky they are to have good water; I got back on the road. I was still wearing the plain duster with white shirt. It was comfortable for traveling and I hadn't needed my armor yet. I was listening to Aint That a Kick in the Head, one of my personal favorites.
That's when I saw it.
A walled in city. No not a city, a sprawling metropolis. Larger than any and all settlements back home that dared call it's self a city. Buildings for a far as the eye can see. It was something that hadn't been seen on Earth since before the Great War. It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen.
For some reason my eyes got really blurry and my cheeks felt wet. Quickly wiping the tears from my face, I couldn't help but smile.
Watch out Vale, Jaune Arc is here and he has one more road to walk.
I started walking towards the city, towards another adventure. The wind was blowing my duster and Dean Martin singing on the breeze.
~She's telling me we'll be wed
She's picked out a king size bed
I couldn't feel any better or I'd be sick
Tell me quick, oh, ain't love a kick?
Tell me quick, ain't love a kick in the heeeeeaaaadd?~
…
I told you I had fun writing this. :) So he finally gets to vale, about time right?
I gave Jaune his shield, and I will use that as a plot device. Jaune has never used a shield before and won't know how to properly use it. I wonder who would be willing to teach him, hmm?
Also I still would like weapon ideas. I have a few that I've chosen from when first started writing this, however I would like to include your guy's favorites if I can. Anyways, thanks for reading!
Shaneman17, signing off!