The Courier had done the impossible. He had made Vegas free from various threats to its sovereignty both foreign and domestic. He had kept the three families in line, stopping any treachery from taking place. He killed Mr House to secure his goal of a truly free nation that could begin again, untouched from any Old World relics of the past.
He brought peace to Freeside, and the surrounding areas around New Vegas. He convinced the Great Khans to leave the Mojave for Wyoming, to start anew away from their ghosts in the desert. The Brotherhood of Steel came out of its shell due to the Courier's words and actions. Now the metallic monks have become roamed the wastes again, keeping dangerous technology away from the bear and inept wastelanders.
The bear was driven back by the Courier with the help of his various tribal alliances with people such as the Boomers, Brotherhood of Steel and the people of Vegas. With its General killed at Hoover Dam, with his corpse floating among the water of the Colorado River. The oligarchs in Shady Sands thought the Mojave was too costly, in money and blood.
The bull was less cowardly and more straightforward. It had to be whipped and humiliated at the Hoover Dam, with its most skilled and knowledgeable centurions and legionaries put to rest at the Dam. Their red uniforms with the bears brown created a pseudo icon of death around the mass grave that was Hoover Dam.
The Monster of the East, Legate Lanius was no more, found himself among the dead in his own encampment, with his head cut clean off from his monstrous body. To make sure he wouldn't come back from the dead like his predecessor, to take his vengeance upon those who wronged him.
The crusade led by the Burned Man and his tribal friends made it so that the trade routes were free of any White Legs or Eighties, which were either all exterminated or on the run further North. The Courier had good relations with the Sorrows and Dead Horses, with the tribes treating him with nearly the same reverence as an old survivalist.
The Sierra Madre's secrets and treasures would stay guarded by the army of Old World Ghosts and specters behind its walls. The red cloud kept any wandering prospectors away, since the old voice of Vera Keyes on the radio was put to rest. The Courier had hoped and prayed that the man who couldn't let go was still there in the vault hadn't escaped and tried to make his ramblings a reality.
The Divide was conquered by the indomitable spirit of the Courier. None of the Marked Men or Tunnelers could have killed him. Nor could the recently irradiated troops of the bear or bull, or the hulking deathclaws. He then reached the temple of the wise men of a long dead tribe, holding onto the name of a long dead man. Spoke in tongues and circles, asked the Courier what made Vegas truly unique in its nature.
The Courier told the man that he was Vegas, the will of man, to keep progressing until the people could live in peace, free from fear, free from the burdens of the Old World and all of its complications.
The wise man saw the man's conviction in his words, but warned that words that weren't backed by strength can make his nation's tomb, much like the bear. Courier Six saw through the Divide and conquered the past life he didn't remember, through Ashton and Hopeville.
The Courier arrived at Big Mountain much like he did at Zion, the Sierra Madre or Divide. But he saw so much potential wasted in the petty rivalry between the scientists living there. He made friends with the Think Tank scientists. He grew accustomed to their quirks and mended the division between Doctor Mobius and the Think Tank.
However, even though Courier Six achieved his dream of an independent Vegas, free from various threats. One thing stayed certain throughout all of it, that war doesn't change.
But through retrospective look at the past, one could look past their old world blues and achieve something greater than themselves. To truly alter the course of history forever.
Not even the Courier knew on that day what he was going to do and how important the power of discovery was.
Xxx
He woke up in his queen sized bed in the Lucky 38 with a feeling of content. The Courier knew that he could focus more about the inner workings of his new nation than the larger than life geopolitics of the region itself.
Ever since the securitrons have been upgraded to his needs, the Strip and the surrounding areas saw a large decline in crime. The people were starting to know proper safety and luxury of Vegas was starting to pour itself into Freeside. Ever since he had approved of Kings keeping their rule in their ghetto, things have gotten better for the citizens of the area.
The King's members, along with his mark II securitrons make it nearly impossible to cause trouble in the area. New construction projects in Freeside along with the Followers of the Apocalypse helping the downtrodden could make Freeside into a proper outer Vegas area. Maybe in its wake making the Kings the fourth family of Vegas.
The Courier got out of his bed, and quickly changed out of his pajamas for his checkered suit that once belonged to a man that tried to kill him. It almost felt like ancient history to him now, a man more concerned about a petty vengeance against a gangster than building anew.
He then walked out of his room to the bathroom to quickly relieve himself before checking his hair in the mirror. His black hair only existed on top of his head, with it shaved off the sides of his head. His eyes were a symptom of his partial heterochromia, as Doctor Mitchell put it. One eye was blue, while the other was partially brown and blue.
His pale skin was also normal, according to Doc Mitchell, even though compared to other people that also had pale skin it was absurdly white in comparison. Although his physical appearance was very different and odd compared to everyone else he had met in his life, it did add to his legend and legacy.
The man that was the powder ganger grim reaper. The man who made people fear the iron birds in the sky through the Boomers and Devil's brigade. The man who took control of Vegas from Mr House and Benny. The Courier who survived two gunshots to the head changed the history of the Mojave, forever.
So he entered the elevator and took it to the floor where Yes Man currently resided. Before he went to his room to sleep, the advisor had asked to talk to him about upcoming events relating to various areas in the wasteland. He seemed different, more worried, anxious in his programmed joyful tone of voice.
The elevator made its usual ding noise when it reached the floor and the Courier entered the penthouse floor. He walked to the massive complex computer which was Yes Man's current stomping ground within the Lucky 38.
"Wow, you finally came! I was getting worried that you would wake up late…again." Yes Man stated in his usual cheery voice.
"Well, when you're awake all night studying House's plans for New Vegas, you're going to have to stay up late." The Courier said, standing in front of Yes Man's monitor.
"Six, you don't have to do that! I could! That was the purpose Benny created me for. Focus on other things like the Brotherhood of Steel or those Scientists you found." Yes Man stated, with his face on the screen flickering a bit.
"What's there to discuss about the Brotherhood of Steel and the Think Tank?" The Courier asked.
"Well uh Six you haven't heard about what the Brotherhood's mission is? It's to hoard technology essentially and our little nation here is pretty advanced." Yes Man answered.
"You think they will turn against us?" The Courier asked, while looking through his pip-boy for something.
"Possibly, after this new elder dies, a more traditional paladin may become elder and not listen to us normal people! They do want to hoard technology after all, why would they stop at laser rifles and plasma pistols?" Yes Man implied.
"I don't think the Brotherhood is dumb enough to attack Vegas just for having somewhat advanced technology," The Courier said, getting the Big Mountain transportalponder out of his pip-boy. "If they ever attack Vegas, the Boomers will have new target practice in Hidden Valley with their bomber."
"Well uh I hate to tell you boss but the Brotherhood is also in Helios One now, they took it back from the NCR during the battle of Hoover Dam," Yes Man informed, with his face flickering on the screen once again. "House's predictions have told me, and by proxy you, that they would become our largest threat. But you're the boss, you know what's best for this place!"
The Courier rolled his eyes at Yes Man's remark. "The Brotherhood is a bulwark against potential threats to Vegas. Why would the NCR or Legion invade again when a more open and more successful Brotherhood chapter exists?"
Yes Man seemed not to like his passive aggressive comments about his opinions, but he couldn't voice them to the Courier anyway!
"Well, if that's what you think, then consider this potential situation and hypothetical forgotten! But there are also those old coots in Big Mountain to talk about. What's going on with them?"
"Nothing that I know of as of right now," The Courier answered. "Why ask about them though? They have promised to keep to themselves and not experiment in our lands."
"Well, uh I don't know how to put this in a very… nice way. But your friends have contacted me." Yes Man revealed.
The Courier had a small chill go down his spine. Why would the minds at Big Mountain contact him through Yes Man? Various thoughts and ideas swirled in his head, making him space out to think about the possibilities.
"Six are you there? Wow these guys must have left quite the impression on you! But they specifically want to talk about two projects they were working on now that we're now." Yes Man said, interrupting the Courier's train of thought.
"Did they tell you anything about those projects specifically?" The Courier asked, running his hand through his hair.
"They didn't actually say what, and if they did it was lost in their RobCo code of theirs." Yes Man explained.
"Well, before I go and meet with them can you run a quick prediction on what this will be about?" The Courier requested his advisor.
"Of Course Six! Let me run a quick program with House's various other statistics and predictions." Yes Man said, complying with the Courier's request. His face completely disappeared from the screen.
Now with Yes Man gone for a few minutes, the Courier can think of what man made horrors beyond his comprehension that the Think Tank made while he was securing Vegas from various threats. Could they have started to reproduce securitrons in their reconstruction plant? No that can't be it, Doctor Zero has too big of a grudge against House to do that.
Could it be some old project from their past that they have reignited? Maybe some new ways to vaporize people with new ammunition types for artillery? Maybe Doctor Borous created a new mutated animal. He has talked about hawks and tarantulas in the past, hopefully that wasn't the case.
In the worst case scenario not including them breaking their promise with him, nothing that serious could appear. New deadly creatures, toxins and weapons could be dealt with in time. With himself, Yes Man and the Think Tank, nothing could be irreversible or unknown to them for a long time. A solution could be found for all problems if you searched hard enough.
"Okay boss, I have finished my first prediction. We are making history here!" Yes Man stated cheerfully, with the computer's screen roaring back to life with the artificial intelligence's bright smile.
"What did you find out?" The Courier asked, with his artificial heart pumping his blood quicker and quicker in anticipation of the results.
"Thirty percent chance that they created some sort of soil that has been genetically modified to resist radiation, twenty percent chance that they domesticated night stalkers." Yes Man said, rattling off statistics.
This in the Courier's opinion, has been good so far. Farming and agricultural advancements are very important to a nation's survival and success. To become self-reliant and not rely on the NCR to keep the brahmin beef and steak flowing would be beneficial.
Taming night stalkers seemed like a pet project Borous would have created to right his wrongs, weird since he was rather stubborn in the fact that they were sterile in the first place.
"Fifty percent chance, unknown." Yes Man stated, with certainty.
The Courier was at a loss for words. Fifty percent of the predicted projects told to him by Yes Man were unknown or couldn't be calculated. A sign for things to come, hopefully not. He didn't want to run around Big Mountain anytime soon.
"Mr House didn't even know these guys existed, so there is very little data that could be processed about them. Besides your tales about your travels." Yes Man explained.
The Courier pinched his nose and sighed before making his way up the staircase leading to the elevator. He took one last look at Yes Man before telling him the obvious in his eyes.
"Yes Man, make it harder for people to hack into while I am gone. Can't have something like that happen when it's something more serious."
Yes Man gave a quick and easy affirmative answer back to Courier. But this one didn't hold any passive aggressiveness that Yes Man usually has, nor his sass. It seemed like Doctor 8's message disturbed the cheerful robot. Not that the Courier could blame him, the scientists at Big Mountain can be a bit much at times, most of the time.
All of the time
The Courier wasted no time and entered the elevator and pressed the button on the inside that would lead him to the Casino floor, the bottom floor of his new living space. Just a few months ago he was taking a dirt nap in an empty grave outside of a ghost town. Now he had slept and lived in the jewel of the Mojave.
With the ding of the elevator admitting to him that he was at the bottom floor he nearly ran out his skin to leave his new house. He opened the door to the Great outdoors of New Vegas with its shining neon lights and casinos.
He moved to the front of the Lucky 38, and with the dexterity of a trained professional, pointed the Big Mountain transportalponder into the sky, and had the familiar blue light consume him without a problem.
He found himself on the Sink's balcony overlooking the inside of the crater that was Big Mountain. The various testing grounds and false towns were shells of their former selves, compared to what they were back in their glory days.
Before he entered into the Sink, he mentally prepared himself for what the various personalities in the room would say to him and to each other. He then entered into his old residency that was the Sink.
"It seems like the young patriot has returned! Do you have any books that need to be cleaned of their seditious ideas?" The Bookchute shouted in glee at the homeowner returning to the Sink.
One such personality that was more exciting than the rest was his very small securitron with an unhealthy cleaning obsession. Who scurried over to the Courier to do his life's purpose. The robots screen with a cartoonish mug on it flickering excitedly at his arrival.
"Do you have many mugs to give to me to clean? Please do, I have cleaned everything in this place and it's driving me crazy!" Muggy said, almost screaming at the end of sentence out of frustration.
"I don't have any mugs on me, Muggy," The Courier said, shooting down the robot's hopes and dreams. "But I could-"
"Of Course the one time you came back you just so happened not to have. Any. Fucking. Mugs. There has to be SOMETHING I can clean that you have!" Muggy exclaimed in frustration.
"I brought the minimal amount of things I could bring here, Muggy. Maybe clean the Toaster or the Biological Research Station." The Courier reasoned, trying to calm down the neutronic robot.
"You're crazy if you think I am going to be that close to them. The Toaster tried to KILL me, and that..thing planted…his seed in meeeeeee!" Muggy shouted in a mixture of disgust and fear, before rolling away towards the bedroom.
The Courier inhaled and exhaled, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. The memories of staying at the Sink during his first visit to Big Mountain after collecting all of the personalities for the Sink. All of the fighting, arguing and general rowdiness he wasn't used to.
Nobody in their lives ever expects to be a peace negotiator between two lightswitches in their lives. Or be constantly told by a toaster that they bring about the world's destruction. Or a literal sink begging you not to wash your hands due to it being a germaphobe.
"May I ask sir what he is here for,sir?" The Sink Central Intelligence asked, from the center of the main room that connected all of the others. The Courier made his way over to the intelligence unit in the hexagonal room.
"Yes Man told me that the Think Tank messaged him about two new projects they are working on. Can you tell me what they are working on?" The Courier simultaneously answered and asked, putting his hands in his suit pockets.
"Well sir…I am afraid I can't tell you even if I wanted to, sir." The Sink Central Intelligence answered, with some worries present in his tone. The Courier made a slightly peeved hand gesture, having his arms go up in the air and fall down back to his sides.
"Why can't you tell me then? You were never barred from telling me anything beforehand."
"Well sir, Doctor Mobius has tinkered with my programming to make sure I wouldn't, and I quote, 'ruin the surprise'." The Intel unit revealed.
"Of Course Mobius would do something like this," Courier Six murmured under his breath. "Well I am going to see the Think Tank, you know the protocol if I am not back in three days right?"
"Of Course, sir, I would lockdown the Sink until further notice. Then if a breach were to occur I would allow the Toaster to activate his death ray." The Sink unit answered in his posh accent.
The Courier then gave a polite wave goodbye to the unit displaying holographic images and made his way to the door that leads to the Think Tank itself. Only God himself knows what potential monstrosities lie ahead from that door.
Courier Six took another deep breath, but took his time with it, and prepared himself for the worst news possible. He then placed his hand on the center circle of the door, which opened it, and walked in.
The Think Tank itself didn't change much in appearance. It still had its dome shaped ceiling and hexagonal walls and futuristic look and feel to it. But there was one tiny, miniscule change to what was in it however.
There was some sort of strange build in the previously unoccupied central area of the Think Tank. It was clearly some sort of prototype, the appearance of the prototype was clearly somewhat new. The lack of rust and new looking parts, the platform at the bottom being porcelain white and having the Big Mountain logo on it.
To top it all off, there was some sort of bulb connecting two white metallic arms to the platform, almost forming a top of the machine. There was what seemed to be an old TV antenna on the bulb shaped roof of the machine connecting it to the various computers of the Think Tank.
"The Lobomite returns! No doubt to see the marvelous breakthrough in SCIENCE we have worked on while you were away." Doctor Borous said, with his monitors lighting up each time he spoke a word. The Courier had never really taken account how odd the scientists of the Think Tank looked until now. Floating brains in jars supported by three skinny metal limbs which support three monitors, two for the eyes, and one for the mouth.
"Well Doctor Borous, one of you hacked into Yes Man, so I hope it was important enough to warrant such an action." The Courier said inching closer to the invention in the middle of the room. Doctor Borous stopped him from getting closer however.
"I wouldn't get too close to this right now. It might make your atoms do the HAPPY dance, which would lead to us cleaning your mess. Ew."
"Can you at least tell me what it's supposed to do? I mean I came all the way here just to learn about it." The Courier asked in a somewhat serious tone. Doctor Borous had his monitors slouch down as a sign of disappointment.
"I don't know lobotomite, I am-or was a head researcher at X-8, not at some other place, unlike X-8. If you want to know, talk to DOCTOR MOBIUS or Klein about it."
"WHY WASN'T MY NAME EMPHASIZED LIKE MOBIUS BOROUS! AND IS THAT THE LOBOTOMITE? WE HAVE THE MOST GOODEST NEWS TO GIVE YOU." Klein said in his usual over the top and loud tone of voice.
"Uh, Doctor Klein sir, it's actually good news, not the goodest-"
"QUIET DOCTOR O. I WASN'T ADDRESSING YOU, BUT MY CLOSE COLLEAGUE THE LOBOTOMITE!" Klein shouted at his close colleague, Doctor O.
"It's not O you imbecile! It's ZERO, not O. Even besides that, I have been your friend since the 21st century!" Doctor O-Zero argued fruitlessly against the bull headed head scientist.
"FRIEND? YOU WERE MERELY ANOTHER SCIENTIST HERE AT BIG MOUNTAIN!" Klein announced to the gasps of Borous, and Zero. The Courier facepalmed both mentally and physically with his fingers almost digging in his skin.
"What is the raisin for all of the arguing, both of you are valued members of this think tank." The former mad scientist, Doctor Mobius said never taking his monitors off the computer left of the machine. His look has gotten better after becoming friendly with Think Tank again, although the grime was still visible on his monitors, with cracks on his left monitor still visible.
"@@@${[}[!!%)()($$*!!!$%#.%$#@!" Doctor 8 stated, helping Mobius in trying to bring an end to Klein's and Doctor Zero's argument. At least there were two reasonable…somewhat reasonable adults in this place in the Courier's mind.
"Well are you two done yet? I still don't know what you guys are planning to do with this machine of yours." The Courier said, his large tank of patience slowly running out.
Doctor Klein stammered and stuttered out of anger and disgust against his colleagues. He calmed himself before answering Courier Six's question.
"WELL, THE DEVICE IS A TELEPORTER….IN A WAY."
"What do you mean in a way Klein? Don't tell me you broke various laws of science in the pursuit of science."
"WE BROKE THE VARIOUS RULES OF SCIENCE. I WOULD HARDLY CALL THEM RULES, MORE LIKE RESTRICTIONS THAT ARE MILDLY INCONVENIENT."
"What rules did you break?" The Courier asked in an exacerbated tone. Doctor Borous, Doctor 8, Doctor Zero, Doctor Mobius and Klein all looked at each other for a moment before Klein continued on.
"WE HAVE PROVED STRING THEORY WRONG AND OBSOLETE. BUT WE MAY HAVE COMPLICATED THINGS FOR YOU MY FRIEND." Doctor Klein revealed, boasting their achievements in science.
"What does string theory even mean Klein? I am not a scientist like you, can you explain it?" The Courier asked, crossing his arms waiting for an answer from Klein.
"WELL UM.. YOU SEE…UH…" Klein stammered out, looking for an answer. "IT'S TOO COMPLICATED FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND."
The Courier sighed and turned to Doctor 8 to explain what Doctor Klein was talking about. Doctor 8 looked up from the computer right of the teleportation machine.
"@#$ $%(@*@,@!!!!!(;:')" Doctor 8 explained with experience and expert level knowledge of science and the topics surrounding it.
"So this string theory suggests that there is one universe due to having strings inside each and every particle in the known universe?" The Courier said, repeating what Doctor 8 told him.
"Precisely said 8. We tested the machine on one of the smaller eye bots. Of course the bot was connected to the Think Tank so we saw what it was seeing. We saw some spectacular things." Doctor Zero interjected, elaborating on what Klein and 8 have said beforehand.
"We saw a world that looked like ours before the Great War. It was how I remembered the old country I grew up in. Remarkable really…" Zero said, quieter than the Courier has ever heard the man talk before.
"Did you find anything else out about this other place? Like radiation levels in the area or maybe something about culture?" The Courier asked Zero.
"It didn't detect any radiation in the air," Zero said, moving himself up to the computer just above Mobius on the left side of the teleportation device. "But it didn't get far. Some homeless man stepped on it. Funny how that works."
"Well Courier, we gave you the raisins for this device. We as a collective would like you to visit this place and collect samples for us to study." Mobius revealed.
"This is…amazing work, the possibilities are endless if you guys' device works again. Of course I will. This will help the people of the Mojave greatly." Courier Six said, agreeing with Mobius and by proxy the Think Tank.
"That's great! The popsicles of this would benefit your nation that you are building. But I would like to tell you about our second project we finished before this one." Mobius said joyfully, his screens on his monitors flickering in happiness.
"WE DIDN'T INFORM YOU ABOUT THE FIRST PROJECT DUE TO ASKING ABOUT OUR FINDINGS WITH THE TELEPORTER. ASK BOROUS ABOUT IT." Klein revealed to the Courier.
The Courier did remember that Yes Man did tell him that they were working on two projects. But why wouldn't Klein tell him about it, certainly it wasn't more important than a device that debunked various scientific theories and laws.
Courier Six walked over to where Borous was. He was behind Doctor 8, looking at another computer linked to the machine.
"Hey Doctor Borous, could you tell me about the first project you guys worked on?"
"Well lobotomite, I have created ARTIFICIAL life with the help of Doctor Zero. It was a rather tedious process, unlike my skills with sterilization, creating new life without DNA splicing is rather DIFFICULT." Borous stated, not taking his eyes off the computer monitor.
"Wait, what do you mean artificial life? Don't you specialize in biology? What's that have to do with Zero's speciality in robotics?"
"We created a synthetic skinvenlope. Meaning we have created a HUMAN from scratch. N-not in the hormonal way, the test tube and SCIENCE way." Borous informed the Courier on the first project.
"You created synthetic lifeforms? You didn't do anything strange to it?" The Courier asked, getting closer to Borous. Borous noticed this and quickly answered his question.
"No, we didn't do anything like that! We didn't POKE it or make it SQUIRM. It was merely a VESSEL, yes a vessel for Dala."
"What do you mean by vessel?" The Courier asked in nearly a whisper. Borous, proud of his creation, answered his question.
"It wasn't actually alive, it was a synthetic body without a brain. We didn't know how to truly replicate the HUMAN brain, it's very complex. So Dala volunteered for her brain to be put into it."
The Courier was at a loss for words. Dala was back in a somewhat bipedal form. Not that it was the worst scenario ever to brace himself. He really did overthink the prediction Yes Man gave him.
"Where is she right now?" He asked Borous.
"She is in her lab room right now, probably sleeping in. Let me take you to her right now." Borous replied, starting to float away from the computer and up the stairs to Dala's lab room. The Courier followed in tow until they reached the room.
Borous reached the door and used one of his eye monitors to knock on the door.
"Dala, me and the lobotomite are going to enter, just wanted to tell you so we don't interrupt your SCIENCE research." Borous announced to the person on the other side of the door.
"Come in, you two aren't interrupting anything." Dala said, inviting the two inside of her room. The Courier braced himself mentally to see whatever is beyond that door.
Borous opened the door, and revealed Dala in her new body. However to call it a new body would be disingenuous. The synthetic body resembled her old body before putting her brain into the robotic body designed by the Think Tank.
She had her white skin, although it wasn't the deadly pale like the Courier's. She had black hair that was tied into a bun, which matched her black eyes. She was wearing a light purple version of the scientist's scrubs, which surprised the Courier. He only found Mobius's and Klein's scrubs, he didn't know the other scientists still had them.
"Ain't she a beauty? Not Dala, my work on the SYNTHETIC body she is currently residing in!" Borous boasted proudly. Dala frowned lightly but not at comment by Borous, but at the implication on why the Courier was here.
"So my teddy bear, did they tell you about the inner workings of the device downstairs?" She asked, walking and getting very close to the Courier.
"They did, and they want me to enter a new dimension. World? Timeline? Borous, what exactly am I entering?" The Courier asked, turning to the other scientists in the room.
"Klein believes that it's another dimension, MOBIUS believes it to be an alternate timeline. Only in time will we know, through the SCIENTIFIC method." Borous said.
"Well if the lobotomite is going, can I join him?" Dala asked her colleague. The Courier was going to say no, but Borous answered before him
"Great idea Dala, I am sure having a true THINK TANK mind with him surely he will get the samples needed quicker he was alone. I will tell Klein about this." He then left the room quickly, going to tell Klein about the bright idea.
The Courier turned back to find Dala very close, too close for comfort. He stared at her in awkward silence for a few seconds before speaking.
"Dala, I don't think this trip will be that long. But if you do want to come with me, you're going to have to leave your…formography behind." The Courier said in an uncompromising tone.
Dala got closer to the Courier, running her pointer finger down his chest almost reaching his waist before stopping.
"Fine by me, I get to come with you instead of staying here with everyone else." Dala said, chuckling lightly at her innuendo.
Courier Six sighed at Dala's actions and words but accepted it as it was. He wasn't some prude or naive man, after all he was the one that brought her out of her shell.
The Courier walked out of her room, with Dala following him closing behind. He walked down the stairs to Doctor Klein who was manning and supporting the computer directly on the teleportation machine.
"I am ready to go to this new place you guys discovered." The Courier said to Klein. Klein seemed happy at his acceptance of going into the new place.
"GOOD, JUST STEP ON THE PLATFORM AND SO WE CAN START THE MACHINE. BOROUS HAS INFORMED ME THAT DALA WISHES TO JOIN YOU. IS THIS CORRECT?" Klein stated to the Courier.
Courier Six wanted to say no, that Dala wasn't going to go with him. But Borous made a good point, Dala was a very intelligent lady. She could help him in various ways with his new job given to him.
"Yes Dala is going to be coming with me." Courier Six told the head scientist. Dala seemed happy with his answer, but Klein was even more happy at the answer than her.
"GOOD, I DON'T WISH TO SEE HER PENISES ON HER FEET ANY LONGER. IF I SAW THEM ONE MORE TIME, I WOULD HAVE SCRUBBED MY OWN BRAIN." Klein stated with clear disgust evident in his voice.
"@#$% %*!/….=#,!@$$*" Doctor 8 said, informing Doctor Klein and the Courier about something important relating to Dala.
"YOU, ZERO AND BOROUS WORKED ON A CHIP AND IMPLANTED IT INTO HER SKULL SO WE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH HER AT ANYTIME? SIMPLY MARVELOUS 8! WE COULD TALK TO THEM ANY TIME WHILE THEY ARE AWAY." Klein stated, making Dala curious, and intriguing Courier Six.
"How would that work in practice? The Courier asked. Klein looked at the computer, setting it up to transport them to the new place.
"Like an internal monologue or thought. It is one of my prides and joys.Besides deconstructing securitrons that is." Doctor Zero informed Dala and the Courier.
"Seems like an invasion of her privacy though, even though this is very good for both of us in this situation." The Courier stated his hands in his pockets.
Dala seemed happy that the Courier was speaking up for her, even though she didn't mind the chip in her skull. Since it was all for science.
"Well it's not like we could read her mind like a telepath. It's more like-who am I kidding with that it's like telepathy in a way. We would deliver radio waves or sonic waves to the chip and deliver it to her brain and make it self into internal thought.But that doesn't mean that we or Dala could read minds or something silly like that." Zero explained.
"YES TELEPATHY, AN UNPOSSIBLE CONCEPT TO US MEN OF SCIENCE." Klein stated proudly.
"Please step on the platform with you two and no hand holding or touching during the teleportation! We don't want a mixing of atoms during teleport." Mobius urged. The Courier and Dala did what they were told to do and were on the platform.
The scientists of Big Mountain were hard working at trying to teleport the two of them to the new place. The bulb on the top of the machine started spinning, and the computer's connected to the TV antenna started to make sporadic beeping noises.
Then finally a yellow light consumed both Dala and Courier Six. After the yellow light disappeared, it revealed that they weren't on the platform anymore. The teleporter worked, much to the liking of the scientist's of Big Mountain.
"It worked as expected. Klein, did you prepare them to come back by giving them 8's upgraded Big Mountain transportalponder? So that they can come back?" Zero said.
"UM, NO…" Klein revealed. "I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THAT. DOES THAT MEAN THAT THEY ARE STUCK IN THE OTHER DIMENSION?"
"Oh my Bohr Klein, they're stuck in some unknown place with dangerous things potentially because you didn't tell them about the UPGRADED TRANSPORTALPODNER!" Zero shouted at his colleague. Klein's monitors shook at his mistake.
"LOOK I FORGOT TO OKAY! IT'S FINE, THE LOBOTOMITE CAN HANDLE HIMSELF AND DALA IS VERY SMART YOU KNOW." Klein defended himself.
"Let's trust in them, the lobotomite is very intelligent and so is Dala. We can contact them about it through the chip Borous installed." Mobius said to Zero and Klein.
"FINE…I WILL, NOT BECAUSE I WAS ORDERED TO BY YOU, MOBIUS." Klein stated.
And so the members of Think Tank crowded around the computer near Doctor 8, to contact the Courier and Dala.
Xxx
The Courier found himself in an unfamiliar place. He found himself in an alleyway, full with the usual objects found in gross areas. Trash bags and plastic bottles were plotted all along the ground. Grease and other liquid were found along the floor as well.
He looked around for Dala and found her standing next to him, taking in the new environment that they found themselves in.
"Well my teddy bear, it seems like this place doesn't clean up much." Dala observed, feeling the brick wall's texture with her hand. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.
"We should probably leave this alleyway right now, nothing of interest here." The Courier suggested it to his companion. Dala simply nodded to him in approval.
They began to walk out the dirty alleyway until they heard a banging noise behind them. Which prompted them to look behind them, which revealed a rusted dumpster. The closed hatch opened and revealed a middle aged man wearing baggy clothing. A loose fitting black jacket and loose jeans. He threw himself out of the dumpster and landed face first onto the paved floor of the alley.
He stumbled a bit before getting up, coughing up his lung as he did so. He looked into his jacket pocket and clumsily took out a pocket knife and pointed it at the pair.
"Youuuuu richhhhh ppricks took my friennds away from me durrring the war." The homeless man raved against the unlikely pair.
The Courier merely rolled his eyes and walked towards the man. The homeless man gave the mailman a dry chuckle in response to his action.
"Stay pack-back! I can cut youuu up really good. I did that to some prisoners of war during the offensive." The homeless man slurred and stumbled over his words. Courier Six ignored him and kept moving forward.
The homeless man launched himself towards Courier Six. The mailman simply pivoted to his left and held his foot out, tripping the man onto the ground. The man's nose made a cracking noise , then he whimpered in pain.
The Courier then picked him up and repeatedly smashed his head into the dumpster's side. It made metallic thumping noise each and every time the man's head connected to the dumpster. Eventually after a few minutes, he went limp, and then he searched through the man's pocket for valuables.
He found a few coins and a sliver metal with a griffin emblazoned onto it. If the Courier had to guess, it was given to the man for his contributions during the war he was a part of.
He quickly picked the corpse up of the man and dumped him into the dumpster. Shutting the hatch to contain and hide the smell of death among the smell of filth. He turned to Dala to see how she reacted, but it seemed like she didn't care about the dead man.
"My teddy bear, are you finished? What did you find on him?" Dala asked, walking towards Courier Six. The Courier turned to Dala and showed her the coins in his hand.
"Just these little coins and a silver war medal. You don't seem too concerned about that bum, why?"
Dala laid her head on the Courier's chest, much to the confusion of the man. She took her head off his chest after a minute or so.
"Well I know that you can handle yourself, you help us in our time of need when we were still fighting Mobius," Dala explained. "Also your heart beat brings me happiness in my new body. You should have seen yourself fight that homeless man."
The Courier knew what Dala was referring to by happiness. "Please don't do it in public Dala, that would make us look very…bad."
Dala simply let a sly smirk form onto her face before replying.
"Well my teddy bear, we should try to keep up appearances. If Zero was correct in his assumption about this place, it would be a lot like the time when I was still a child. Paranoia about the Chinese and Communism were at an all time high. People would get reported to the police for the smallest things."
"So you're saying we fake being a couple to not draw suspicion to ourselves?" The Courier asked, knowing the answer in his heart of hearts.
"Correct," Dala confirmed his suspicion. "However if I am wrong we can pretend to be colleagues instead."
Then the pair left the alleyway and saw something they both thought they wouldn't see again in their lifetimes. Paved roads with moving vehicles in them. Proper store fronts, with the doors that jingle when you open them.
The men wore suits and the women wore dresses. Even those who can be considered poor wore suits and dresses. Children were running free without a care in the world. It seemed like a recreation of the Old World, like the old nation that bore the eagle on its seal.
The Courier felt someone shake his shoulder. He looked to his side and saw Dala look at him with some concern in her eyes. It has appeared that the Courier was indulging in Old World blues, finding himself at home in a country he had never lived in. It was a strange feeling to feel.
"I am fine Dala, it was just a passing feeling. Y'know I want to recreate all of this back on the reservation back home, safety and freedom for all" Courier Six revealed to his scientist friend.
Dala narrowed her eyes at Courier's nonsensical comment. But then her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree in a realization that he was speaking in code.
"My teddy bear of course your reservation will be happy with the advancements you put into it for them," Dala said, taking his hand squeezing it. "But now we should find out which street we are on right now."
The Courier simply nodded in agreement and held her hand while they walked down the street to keep up appearances. Dala seemed content with his physical contact with her, but not happy enough to woo in public. Which was good since it kept up the appearance of a happy couple around the unknowing public. But if Dala would be proven wrong, he would drop this act faster than a corpse falling down at the Hoover Dam.
They kept walking and started to learn about this new place they were in. Ostania was the country they were currently in, and they were in its capital city of Berlint. Other people in the street were talking about various other things than basic facts however. The locals talked about smoke shops, apartments, their families and various other things that seemed trivial to the pair from another world.
It was currently shaping up to be another world in a different dimension in both of their eyes. So once in their petty rivalry, Klein would come up on top of Mobius. No old books referenced the country of Ostania that was for sure back home. So they kept walking until Courier Six made people's pockets lighter by 'accidently' bumping into them, and had enough money for survival in this New World.
The Courier saw a smoke shop in the distance, it seemed like they didn't just have cartons of cigarettes to sell, but other things such as newspapers and small bags of snacks.
"We should stop there and ask about apartments to stay in temporarily. Also we could get some food for the two of us." Courier Six stated. Dala looked at the Courier in a surprised fashion.
"You smoke? I didn't take you for a chem addict."
"Well, it's not really an addiction. It just helps me relax in ways sleep and alcohol can't." The Courier elaborated. Dala looked at him like he was walking without a head on his shoulders.
"Really now? Well when you smoke, don't do it on the inside. You will make a place smell like smoke." Dala informed. The Courier gave a small salute with his free hand. As they walked closer they saw the front of the store which was green and had the word tobacco written upon it in red. The store was built into the brick building rather beautifully in the Courier's eyes.
The Courier walked up to the store front, and waited for the shopkeeper so he could make his transaction with them. He waited a couple of minutes until the shopkeeper arrived in the area he was supposed to be in. The man had perm-like black hair and a short goatee. He was wearing a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up with black suspenders and a red tie. He also wore thick red framed glasses to top off his look.
"What can I help you with?" The man said to the Courier, scratching the side of his face. Courier Six put down some of the money he pickpocketed onto the table to pay for what he wanted.
"Can I have a pack of cigarettes and two twelve packs of water." The Shopkeeper went into his store to find what he wanted, and got his goods out, and took the Courier's money and put it into the register. In turn, Courier Six took the goods on the counter. He put the pack of cigarettes into his suit pocket and carried the two twelve packs by the ends of their plastics.
"Well before we go, my…friend and I want to know if there are places around here where we can stay in the long term." Dala asked the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper poked his head out of his little shop and pointed to the right of the group.
"If you walk down a few blocks there is an apartment complex on 128 Park Avenue that still is looking for tenants."
"Thank you alot sir. Me and my teddy bear appreciate you helping us. We were quite lost in this place." Dala said from behind Courier Six. The Courier seemed a little rigid at the fact Dala called him that in front of a stranger
The shopkeeper scratched the back of his neck at Dala's words of gratitude. The Courier looked somewhat scandalized at the comment. Dala seemed happy to hear her friend's breaths become more erratic, even if it was nearly the same as before.
The Courier gave his thanks to the shopkeeper and walked off in the direction that the apartment complex was in. Dala noticed he stormed off, and caught up with him.
"You didn't have to call me that infront of someone we didn't know. We could have just played it off like we're friends or co-workers." The Courier said, slightly embarrassed by the encounter.
Dala shot him a look of inquiry in response to his statement.
"Well, if I were in your position I would be happy that your significant other has a pet name for you." She countered in a way that wouldn't look suspicious to the crowd of citizens if they were listening in.
"Well I would rather not tell people the story of how we met Dala. If you understand what I am saying." The Courier explained, letting some, if all of his anger out with a single breath.
"I see." Dala said quieter than she portrayed herself normally. After that quick interaction between the two, they didn't talk to each other for a while. They just let the vast sounds and echoes of the Old World vehicles and lights guide them to their destination.
Finally they arrived at the apartment complex on the street that the shopkeeper mentioned. It was a rather beautiful building in the way it looked. Even the buildings that weren't holy or run by the government were made with passion here. The Courier looked to his side to his surprise that Dala wasn't walking beside him, but in fact walking in front of him.
She walked up the stairs of the building to properly enter it. The Courier saw the look on her face before she entered. It seems that he had made her upset in a way. He would have to fix this due to the fact that Borous and the others in a way trusted him to keep her safe in his hands. He would talk to her later about it.
Both him and Dala entered the building to find a rather nice looking receptionist counter with an old lady manning the counter. She wore the stereotypical uniform a person could imagine a receptionist to wear. The Courier walked up the counter to talk to the old lady.
"Can we rent a room here for a few months?" He asked the employee. The old lady gave him a small smile in response.
"Of course dear, do you want to pay up front or at the end of the month?" She asked in a polite tone.
"At the end of the month please." The Courier politely requested. The old lady simply nodded and went to get a key on the massive key holder behind her. She grabbed one on the top shelf of the key holder and handed it to the Courier.
"The both of you are in room 153 on the third floor, just take the stairway up there." The old lady explained. The Courier gave her his thanks, and started to walk down the hallway to the stairwell.
Dala followed him all the way to the stairwell and motioned to the Courier to follow her. Courier Six did so, carrying the two twelve packs of water on his shoulder. Eventually the pair do reach the third floor, with both of them searching for their door.
I should probably ask her what's bothering her. The Courier thought to himself, he walked closer to Dala. She noticed what he was doing and slowed down so he could catch up with her since he was actually carrying things.
"What's wrong? You seem a little upset," The Courier said. "I am sorry if I came off rude about what I said to you know.."
"It's fine, I shouldn't cross that line you didn't want me to cross. I just misinterpreted what you meant by what you said. It was just heat of the moment anger, I shouldn't reacted like tha-"
Dala was suddenly stopped by a very sloppy hug done by the Courier. Her face was pressed against his tie on his chest. The Courier leaned his head towards Dala's ear, and spoke in a very quiet tone. Almost unhearable, and whisper-like.
"I didn't mean in the way where I regret ever meeting you in the first place. I just didn't want to make a rushed story for this place, right?" He explained.
Dala looked up at the Courier and nodded, with a look in her eyes the Courier didn't understand. She started to feel his pockets on his suit, looking for something of importance. Courier felt his breath disappear for a few seconds at Dala's action.
Due to this the Courier stopped his rather sloppy hug. Not that Dala minded it however, since she found the object of interest that was on the Courier.
She then jingle said object in front of the city state leader. The key needed to get their temporary home.
"I am sure that our room is somewhere close by at this point and since you're carrying things I thought I would unlock the door for you." Dala said, explaining her actions. The Courier simply regained what little composure he had lost and nodded at her.
They walked down the hallway until they saw their room's number on the golden plate on the door leading into the room itself. Dala walked up to the door and jigged the keys into the lock and unlocked it.
But before she could open the door, she grabbed her head in slight pain, making her grab the door for support. The Courier dropped the two packs of water and made his way quickly to his friend.
"What's wrong?" He asked, holding her in support. Dala lightly laughed at his reaction.
"It's just that I remembered Doctor Klein didn't buy us a train ticket back home." She said, straightening her posture to how it was before.
The Courier didn't seem to understand what she was talking about at first. But then it hit him like a Deathclaw's warm embrace. His eyes widened at the implication if what she said was true.
"Well…when we get back home, I will give Klein a very stern talk." The Courier said, his teeth grinding nearly into a fine powder in anger.
"It can't be all that bad, we still have each other," Dala reasoned. She opened the door to the new place they were now indefinitely staying in. "We could discuss more inside, I think we did enough walking and talking today."
The Courier agreed with her and picked up the plastic cases of water and followed his scientific colleague into the new living space. He shut the door behind him with his foot, leaving room 153 and the hallway they walked quiet and peaceful.
However unknown to both the perverted scientist and the mailman, a person was eavesdropping and heard their conversation. Across from room 153, was room 154, where a young girl sat and watched her spy cartoons.
But what was more exciting to the girl than the hero Bondman saving the day was her new neighbors across the hall from her and her new family.
She couldn't help but feel excited at the fact that her neighbors were aliens from another planet!