Disclaimer – I don't own Fallout 3 or any of its extensive insane or confusing content.

Chapter 13

Kylar woke up in the morning, to the sounds of rummaging around in the kitchen. Half-asleep, he drew the blade, and stalked into the kitchen. A shadow crossed the doorway, and he grabbed the shape in a headlock with the knife at it's neck.

"How did you get in here?" He snarled. "Kylar," Marisa gasped. "Kylar it's me!" His eyes opened in shock, and he let her go. Sheathing the knife, he smiled. "Sorry. Still half-asleep."

"What the hell Kylar!" She half shouted. He took a step back. Hell hath no fury like a scorned woman…or something. And Marisa was definitely scorned. "What!" He asked, backing up farther and farther. "What was all that last night?!"

It was at this point that Micheal walked into the kitchen. Obviously having heard and seen what the two were talking about, he placed a hand on Marisa's shoulder, and whispered into her ear as he passed by, "Drop it. Read the plaques from a distance."

"Plaques?" She asked out loud, turning to him. "Damn." Kylar muttered. "I need a drink." He headed through the door, and grabbed some scotch from the shelf. "Mike?" He asked, offering him a glass. "Why not?" He said simply. "This is gonna be painful." Kylar said quietly.

Minutes later, Marisa walked in. "Kylar?" She said slowly, confused. "Who…who are these people?" He motioned for her to sit down, and sighed heavily. "I have quite a dark past, Marisa."

The three were quiet for a while before he continued. "You recall asking me about the Assassins when we were leaving the Washington Monument, don't you?" Marisa nodded. "Yeah, you stormed off."

"They were Phantom Co. A division and main branch of Talon Co. I know, I know, not very original names. Fellana Pangbourn, or Fell, as she preferred to be called. I grew up with her. Like my sister." He stopped there, and blinked furiously for a few seconds. "Phantoms destroyed our hometown seven ago. We lived apart, unknowing that the other was alive, until five years ago. We stayed together as partners for three, when they found us."

Micheal and Marisa were watching in rapt attention, awed. "Tortured, raped, and then cut to death. By…a relative of mine, you could say." The next few minutes passed in silence, and then Kylar let out a short breath. "I don't know who I want to not tell you about less."

Time went on. And they waited. "Mariella Snow…." He began. "Was my partner. She helped me get over the death of Fell and Farell. We grew close. Too close."

"You two are new to the Wastes, and what's more have never been to the Eastern Shores. There are different creatures and horrors all along the landscape. You've never seen a Deathclaw, I know. Imagine a ten foot monster, with huge teeth, long, long claws, devilish speed, and sunken eyes. You have a Deathclaw." Kylar took a breath.

"You have to see them to appreciate them. Now imagine a fourteen foot tall version, with an amazing sense of smell, legs that can bound halfway up the walls of Megaton, with the strength to claw their ways up the rest of the way. Add to that an intelligence greater than a Super Mutants, but less than a Human's, and the knowledge on how to communicate, you have the Devils of the Eastern Shores."

Kylar gave the two a few minutes to imagine such a thing, and then continued in a shaky voice. "When Mariella and I neared Fort McHenry, we saw a terrible sight. Hundreds of people being slaughtered by around ten Devils. Later, I found out that there were around two-fifty citizens of Fort McHenry."

"Mariella wasn't going to take that. She unslung her damned sniper, and started helping out everyone she could see. I didn't have a choice but to help her, and I charged into the masses to do what I could. I dragged the wounded out of there, shooting at one of the hulking monsters when I could."

He stopped there. "And then it came." He said slowly, almost not speaking at all. "The Black Death. Now, according to the people of McHenry, a historian stopped by, and witnessed a previous massacre. After the battle, he whispered, 'The Black Death.' Apparently it was a disease that killed off a tens of millions of people."

He stopped, and laughed harshly. "I think the bombs did a bit more than that. Anyways, this thing was so deadly, people just started calling it that. The Reaper, or Death, or Night."

"The Reaper was a big sonnovabitch. Taller than the others by at least two feet, longer claws, sharper teeth. And this one quality that set him apart, so you would always know him just from looking."

"He was fucking black. Like a moonless night, fucking dark." Kylar swore. "He was right next to me. About to take a chunk out of me. I jumped, and crawled on my back away. He kept coming. Slowly. Taking his time, the bastard."

"He should have just killed me. It's his damned fault." Kylar took a deep breath, and went on. "In the time that he was coming for me, that Mariella crossed the distance to get to me. The townsfolk were keeping the others occupied. She pulled the pins from a grenade when she neared the thing."

Kylar's eyes glazed over, and he let all of the energy and strength out of his muscles, slumping over against the wall. "She climbed the spikes on it's back. She jumped around, hanging from a horn on it's head. Jammed the grenade in it's mouth. She…was bleeding. Horribly. Then the jaws snapped down."

"She looked at me, and smiled." Kylar stopped talking, gazing off into his past.

"Mariella, get out of here! Run!" Kylar shouted, as he was weaving between the Reaper's claws. "Go!" Mariella kept running, and Kylar saw her pulling the pins with the crazy glint in her eyes. "No!" He was so distracted, he half tripped, half jumped over someone lying dead on the ground. "Don't you dare come closer!" He roared.

"That's not my style." Mariella shouted back. She dodged around one Devil, and ran up the back of another. Jumping from it's head onto the Reaper's back, she scaled the behemoth. "It's been wonderful knowing you Kylar." She panted, shoving the explosive in the beast's mouth. "I'll miss you."

And Kylar's vision turned to red, then black. His face became spattered with blood. Silence for a few minutes. And then his hands and arms ran red with the blood of the Devils.

Kylar slapped himself, and refocused his eyes. "Farell Blackheart." He smiled, and shook his head. "He was the most amoral person I've ever met. Kindof." He cocked his head, and thought on how to explain. "Kylar?" Marisa asked. "Go on."

"Mm? Right." He took a deep breath. "I…am, no, was, schizophrenic. Farell was a figment of my imagination that I unconsciously created after the Ridgefield Incident."

"He kept me alive, warned me of dangers. We had a number of conversations. And in the headquarters of the Phantoms, he possessed me, and saved my life."

"I underwent….trauma, after killing Occam, their leader." Kylar's eyes lost his happy gleam, and again fell into the depths of greif. "I was in shock. I wandered this area for a while, when someone, or something, shot at me."

"I figured out how a real bullet could kill Farell." He looked up at Marisa and Micheal. "To everybody, a bullet piercing a person in a vital area will kill them. Right?"

The two nodded.

"Well, I saw a bullet pass near me. I suppose that it would've passed through Farell, and I guess that to me that meant he was dead. But he's not. He's a figment of my imagination, and I know he still exists. Technically."

He stood up abruptly, and walked towards the locked door. "I'll be back. Micheal, what do you prefer to fight with?"

"Huh?" He mumbled. "Oh, um, I guess something blunt, heavy, but easy to carry, and some kind of shotgun." He nodded. "Oh, and a pistol with that. Which I have." He added. "Right." Kylar said.

He walked into the next room, and the doors locked behind him. Marisa looked at Micheal, Micheal looked at Marisa. "Holy shit." They said unanimously. They took the next few minutes to take in what Kylar had said, before Micheal asked Marisa an inevitable question. Or two.

"What do we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he's obviously insane. We can't trust him."

"He never showed any signs of insanity when we were traveling D.C!" Marisa protested.

"So?"

"So, if I trusted him then, and he didn't do anything to hurt or betray me, then I can trust him now."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Marisa wondered.

"Okay!" He confirmed.

"Okay."

They took the next few minutes to enjoy their breakfast, which was some pre-war cereal with regular beer, some kind called Ja K Da i ls, instead of milk.

"Do you like him?" Micheal blurted out. Marisa swallowed some cereal. "How do you mean?"

"Do you like him? Like how I like you?" He asked again. He took another bite of cereal. Between most unmarried or people not in a relationship together, this would be very awkward, and the guy would most probably be beaten to near death with a purse. But, Micheal and Marisa acknowledged that he loved her, and that he would be patient.

When Marisa understood the question, she accidentally spewed the alcohol out of her nose. "Excuse m- aaaah!!" Her hands flew up to her nose. "Oh, god! Fuck!" Micheal jumped up, and ran over to her. "Are you alright?"
Marisa had gotten up as well, and was bent over the table. "Christ! It stings!!" Micheal understood what had happened. The alcohol coming up through her nose had burned, and she was in pain. "It's all right." He said, comfortingly, placing his hands on her sides. "It'll feel better soon."

It was a few moments ago when Kylar walked in, and he took in the sight. Micheal and Marisa didn't register him being there until after a few moments. The both looked up at him, and then realized what it looked like they were doing. Both of them muttered half-excuses, explinations, and gibberish until Kylar tossed Micheal the things he requested.

Shaking his head and sighing, he headed for the kitchen. "Tourists."

That's the chapter.

Apathyninjs - Don't worry, the mysterious wanderer from Season One plays a big roll, and will become a major plot device.

JohnLink – I'm sorry, I had a typo in the last chapter when they arrived at Kylar's home. It was supposed to be Vault 99, not 77. I'm figuring that since the other Vaults in the D.C area are near the hundred area, I should do the same. I fixed that up, so no worries. And I will have some kind of puppet reference. No worries.

-- Peace

Frost