Secrets of Nuka World

Note: Happy New Year, everyone! Sorry this is so late...


The Shroud limped into his small apartment in Goodneighbor, and after locking the door he sat down in a small chair in the kitchen. A grunt escaped from him as he examined his left leg. 'Just a flesh wound', he thought, but the bullet was still in there. Despite the additional armor on the inside of the Silver Shroud costume, one of AJ's goons managed a lucky hit.

After injecting himself with a stimpak and med-x, the Shroud removed his costume and opened his med kit. Once he'd removed the items required, The Shroud placed a metal rod onto a hot plate and turned it on high. After waiting a few minutes he placed a stick in his mouth, took a few deep breaths, and began to dig the bullet out of his leg with a pair of surgical tweezers. Even though the med-x helped with the pain the Shroud was grateful for the stick he was biting down on to muffle his cries. After what seemed like an eternity the bullet was yanked out, and the pain was momentarily replaced with a feeling of relief.

Taking a moment to catch his breath and clean out the wound, the Shroud braced himself for the next step. Seeing that the tip of the metal rod was glowing red hot, the costumed hero bit down on the stick once again, then quickly placed the rod onto his wound. The pain shot through his leg and the smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils. Fighting through the pain, he held the rod in place a few more seconds, nearly breaking the stick between his jaw. Finally he pulled the rod away, and collapsed into the seat.

After dressing his now cauterized wound, the Shroud made his way into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Relieved that the dirt and grime was now removed, he took a moment to stare at himself in the mirror. The African-American face staring back at him looked older than he truly was, and there were days he felt older as well.

"What the hell are you doing?" He said to the image. There was a time when he knew the answer to that question….but these last couple of years it was becoming harder and harder to find a reason to put on that costume and head out into the mean streets of Goodneighbor. It seemed no matter what he did, no matter how many bad guys he put into the ground, the battle against evil was never ending. Shaking the thoughts from his head, the Shroud walked inside his small living room and plopped down on the old, ripped couch. He felt like he could sleep for a hundred years, but he knew sleep would not come easy. Looking to his left, he noticed the one picture he bothered to display in his run down dwelling. As the Shroud stared at the faded picture a flood of memories came back. A younger, less scared version of himself stood proudly holding an AK-47. Surrounding him was a group of people from all walks of life: scavengers, mercenaries, soldiers….even a few in Brotherhood power armor.

But there were two people in the photo that his attention was focused on. On his left side was a female, young and beautiful with brown eyes and long black hair. She is….was, the love of his life. And to the right was the person who once inspired him to make a difference in the world: The Vault Dweller from Vault 1….

The sound of someone outside his door caused the Shroud to jump to his feet and he drew his silver .45 pistol. A moment later a small piece of paper was slid under the door, and the Shroud could hear footsteps moving away from his apartment. The Shroud carefully made his way over to the door and stood off to the side. The cryptic message could be a trap made to lure him to the front of the door, and the Shroud had no intention of catching a shotgun or plasma blast through it. He pressed his ear to the wall and listened for any indication of someone waiting in the hallway outside, but there was nothing but silence. Quickly he reached down and snatched the paper and returned to cover. When he unfolded it the small item inside caused his mouth to drop open. It was a Silver Shroud calling card.

"Fuck!" He whispered. This meant that someone knew he was the Shroud….but who? And how did they manage to find out? As he examined the calling card closer he noticed something written on the back:

"Come to the Old State House at noon tomorrow. We have something to discuss."

John H.

The Shroud sighed. John H. could only be Hancock, the supposed "mayor" of Goodneighbor. 'Of course he would know I'm the Shroud, which means he's probably going to ask me to take care of something for him.'

Lying down on the couch with his pistol by his side, the Shroud could only wonder what that something could be.


Nuka World….

Both Lisa and Cito made their way inside the triangle shaped structure, and the first thing that greeted them was another of the scaled abominations. Luckily for them it was on the lower floor below the balcony they were on, which gave the two companions the high ground. As soon as the creature saw them it stomped it's feet and roared, and Lisa responded by firing her thirst zapper. The powerful blue beam struck the creature in it's left arm, blowing it off. It roared in pain, but it continued its charge and Lisa fired again.

Click.

Panic filled Lisa as she realized the strange pistol was out of ammo and what was worse, she didn't have anymore rounds. The creature turned and headed for the stairs on their right when Cito leaped into the air and brought his sledge hammer down on its head. Lisa heard a sickening crunch and the creature staggered back, but as Cito moved in for the kill the creature's tail slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

"Cito!" Lisa leaped down off the balcony and charged at the creature, and just as it was about to strike, she grabbed it's massive tail and pulled with all her might. The abomination struggled to reach Cito but the unusually strong human kept it out of reach. Lisa gritted her teeth and strained with all her might until finally she threw the creature across the room, slamming it so hard into the wall that the creature's skull was fractured.

Once she was certain the creature was not getting up, Lisa ran over to Cito. "Are you alright?"

Cito was shaking his head. "Cito okay." He stared at the dead creature in awe, then looked at his companion. "Lisa saved Cito. Lisa smaller - more tiny than Cito….yet Lisa stronger than Cito. How?"

Lisa stared at the dead creature, then her eyes fell on her trembling hands. 'How was all of this possible?' Finally, she looked to her companion. "I don't know. I….can't remember where I'm from….or how I became….like this."

Cito stared at her for several minutes, until finally a smile appeared on his face. "That's okay. Cito not remember things from his past. Here…." he removed a rather brutal looking weapon that was strapped to his back…."friend need new weapon. Cito make this long ago. Friend use it to fight monsters."

Lisa took the weapon. It was an aluminum baseball bat with several spikes attached to the end of it. She began to test it out, and found that it was surprisingly well balanced, and there was a small rocket booster on the end that gave the user more power when brining the weapon down. "Thank you, Cito."

The primitive man smiled. "We find shiny thing that will help us beat monsters, yes?"

'Right', Lisa thought, have to focus on the task at hand. "There must be a computer in here somewhere. Come on."

It didn't take them long to find a working computer monitor mounted on the wall near a security door with a sign that read: Nuka-World Research Center .

"Cito never been through this door."

Lisa placed the holotape into the computer and found a single audio log on it. She pressed play, and a haggard sounding voice began to speak.

"This is….doctor Darren McDermot….last known survivor {cough} at the Safari Adventure….Replication Facility. This is….my final recording. I've done something horrible….{cough}...the thing I created….the thing I called the Gatorclaw….{cough}...they must be destroyed! They can't be….tamed, they can't be controlled….{cough}...their sheer ferocity is like nothing I've ever seen. And now the Nuka-Gen….{cough}...Replicator is out of control. It's producing them at….an alarming rate. Please, somebody. Anybody! Find my passcode….or Dr. Hein's….{cough}. Shut down the Replicator before it's….{cough}...before it's too late!

"And if this recording should reach Dr….Hein. Please….{cough} tell him to….to forgive me."

The recording ended and Lisa stood in silence as she pondered what she had just heard. It seemed this Dr. McDermot used something called a Replicator to create and then clone these….Gatorclaws….and that he had lost control of them and the machine. Lisa found it strange that a machine like this Replicator would be in a theme park….but then she remembered the Vault that she herself had awoken in, and her thoughts returned to the Gatorclaw she'd crushed with her bare hands. Was she the product of some mad scientist….a failed experiment that needed to be destroyed?

"Friend okay?"

Cito's question knocked Lisa out of her train of thought. "Yes….I'm, I'm fine. I'm going to see if there's anything else on this computer." The first file she opened was a security report, stating that the lab had been locked down due to security concerns of an animal rights group called the A.F.A.D. There was little doubt in Lisa's mind that this Replicator was somewhere through that door, but only Dr. Hein and Dr. McDermot had the access codes….and McDermot had taken his to the grave.

Lisa continued to search through the files and came across one titled "ransom note". It was apparently from members of this AFAD group claiming they had kidnapped Dr. Hein and were holding him hostage near the sight of something called The Angry Anaconda. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was something.

Lisa read the last file, most of which was encrypted, but it mentioned something called "Project Cobalt". She wondered if it had something to do with these Gatorclaws.

Or maybe….it was about her.

Just as she was about to shut down the terminal, Lisa began to remember something. An eight digit code consisting of letters and numbers began flashing in her mind. She wasn't sure what this code was, only that it was very important and it was vital that she remember it. For some reason she felt compelled to enter this code into the terminal and began typing.

Xx04f646.

She pressed enter and suddenly there was a loud mechanical sound which came from the door. 'Did it just unlock?' A moment later a new message appeared on the monitor:

CEO's override code accepted. Lockdown disengaged. Welcome Mr. Bradberton.

Bradberton. Lisa knew that name….but from where, she wasn't certain. Regardless of how she did it, the door to the lab was open, which meant she and Cito could shut down this Replicator. "Whatever's making these monsters is through this door. Are you ready?"

Cito tightened the grip on his sledge hammer and nodded. "Yes. Cito ready to end monsters!"

Lisa readied her own weapon, took a deep breath, and they both entered the lab.


Goodneighbor….

The Shroud knocked on the door at the Old State House at exactly 12:00 pm. Two men wearing black suits, fedora hats and armed with thompson submachine guns opened the door and escorted him inside. As he climbed the spiral steps to the State House's top floor, the Shroud noticed more of the thompson wielding guards on every level. When he finally reached the top a rather serious looking woman with a scared face was waiting for him in front of two closed double doors. The Shroud knew this woman could only be the infamous Fahrenheit, Hancock's personal bodyguard and the leader of the "Neighborhood Watch"; which was the closest thing to a police force in Goodneighbor. One look on Fahrenheit's face and the Shroud knew she didn't like him. Maybe it was a general distrust of people, or maybe the "Police Chief" for lack of a better term was upset that someone else was cleaning up the streets of Goodneighbor.

"Listen up pale, I'm only gonna say this once. When you're in the presence of the mayor you show him respect. If you draw a weapon, you die. If you threaten him, you die. Got it?"

The Shroud nodded.

Fahrenheit looked him over one more time. "Man of few words….I like that." She turned and opened the doors and motioned for the Shroud to step inside. The room itself wasn't much: a couple of old couches, a few tables, a computer and what looked like a chemical bench against the opposite wall. Standing at that bench, with his back to the Shroud and wearing his trademark red coat and revolutionary war hat, was the mayor of Goodneighbor John Hancock. The Shroud kept a respectable distance from the mayor, yet he positioned himself so that he would know if anyone else entered the room behind him. Fahrenheit calmly sat down on one of the couches, and an awkward silence filled the room.

Hancock seemed to place a glass pipe to his lips, took a long breath, then slowly exhaled a long puff of smoke. "Guess what someone tells me?" The ghoul began, with his low gravelly voice. "Some costume freak is operating in Goodneighbor." He turned around and faced the Shroud. "And the kicker is it ain't me. How should I feel about this?"

"This neighborhood is ill. I am the cure."

From the corner of his eye, the Shroud saw Fahrenheit roll her eyes, and Hancock has to suppress the smile. "You're priceless. Like the Silver Shroud himself walked out of a comic book and into my den. Priceless. But for now, you can drop the act, okay. I know who you are….and before you ask, no - it wasn't your friend Kent Connolly."

Kent was the ghoul who ran the Silver Shroud radio show in Goodneighbor….and he was the one that convinced him to become the Shroud. Taking a deep breath, the costumed hero stepped out of character and used his regular voice. "If you've called me here to tell me to stop cleaning up these streets….I'm afraid we're going to have a problem."

"On the contrary," Hancock responded, "I respect what you've been doing. So far. But I gotta ask, one freak to another, why the get up?"

The Shroud took a moment to consider his answer. "I like to use theatricality as a weapon."

Hancock laughed. "I heard that….hell, that's why I wear this old suit. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me….but there's trouble heading your way, omigo. Those low-lives you took out all belong to the same asshole, and that asshole's planning some old-fashioned revenge on you. You dig? Fortunately for you, I want Sinjin to take a dirt nap. He's taken two bit Raider outfits and made them….scary. Small fish now, but if left alone…." He let the sentence tail off.

"Where can I find this Sinjin?"

"I'm glad you asked." Hancock took another hit from his glass pipe. "Got a lead on two of his own: Smiling Kate and Northy. Smiley is gathering a posse to take you out, but Northy is just running scared. He's hired a few goons and is hold up in Prospect. You take them out, and there's a good chance you'll find a lead on the big guy himself. Take care of Sinjin, and I'll be inclined to show you some gratitude. You feel me?"

The Shroud considered his options. He didn't like the idea of being someone's errand boy, but if Hancock was right, and this Sinjin was the man responsible for most of the crime in Goodneighbor, then it was his obligation to take him down.

That, and it was always better to hit your enemy first when he least expected it.

"I will take care of them….but for Goodneighbor…..not for you."

Hancock shrugged. "Hey, I respect that. Good luck."

WIthout saying another word, the Shroud turned and left Fahrenheit and Hancock alone in the office. "You know I've never questioned your judgement boss…."

Hancock sighed as he laid down on the couch. "Something tells me you're about to."

"...but are you sure we should trust this….nut job?"

The ghoul took another hit. "Listen babe…..I don't have to tell you that since the war with the Institute things haven't exactly been sunshine and rainbows around here. We can't count on the Minutemen. The Brotherhood's gone. And the Railroad…..well, we know what happened with them. So if that 'nut job' as you call him can help us to clean up some of this mess we're in…..then I consider that a good day."

Hancock closed his eyes and placed his hat over his face. Frustrated, Fahrenheit turned on her heels and left.

Note: I wanted to establish the Silver Shrouds character in this chapter. Next chapter I will go back to focusing more on Nuka-Girl and her back story. All feedback is welcome.