Sup guys, how have you been? Hope the answer is good. I can finally put this chapter out, I don't know if somebody noticed, but I edited the first 2 chapters to fix the grammar, and I'm going to do the same with chapters 3 and 4, I plan to do this while also wring the next chapters.
Hope you like this one, and because I liked the idea, I'm putting a small recap to help you all remember what's going on.
*Epic dragon ball music*
Last time on this fic; our two travelers got medical help in the town of Embrace, now, with their bodies mostly healed, they decided to get some directions and maybe even a map from the library/records management of the town.
Meanwhile, Qrow continues his investigation and just got his hands on new information, provided by the dirty merchant who made a deal with him in order to get off the hook and back to Atlas.
"I know it's not the time." *Grunt* "But I just won the bet, so you all owe me some caps!"
"Jericho! Shut the fuck up and hold him!"
"I'm trying! Woman!"
The male ex-raider and the female cyborg of the group are trying to prevent a murder on the ship at the hands of a very (VERY) pissed-off ghoul.
"Charon! Calm yourself, *Grunt* damn it! That's an order! Listen to me!"
"He got no ears! Or any good parts for that matter-! Hmpf!"
The ex-vault dweller shouts back, but the big green meta-human who holds him covers his mouth.
"Please, shut up! You're just worsening the situation." Fawkes tells Butch.
To be completely honest, everybody on the ship knew this day was coming, but they expected their "Captain" to hammer in some sense into the duo before somebody got hurt (and by somebody, they all meant Butch).
"Listen, Freak!" Says Jericho.
"NOT helping!"
"We all want to punch the brat now and then, but I know you! You're too much of a goody-two-shoes to actually kill him for just being annoying! So stop already! You big rotten baby!"
I follow Julius as he walks out of the clinic. For some reason, he seems uncomfortable, not that I linger much on that analysis, as my mind centers on the things around me.
As we took the first step outside the building, the sun's light nearly blinded us for half a second before revealing our new environment. I got a glimpse of the place when I stood in front of the room's window (before I "lost" my strength and nearly fell), but now I can see it from a closer point of view.
As we started walking thru the town, the architecture of the place seemed odd to me. Some parts of it look like things I've seen back in DC, mainly the stone buildings, I believe such characteristics were called "Gothic architecture" before the fall. I'm not that knowledgeable about said topic, no more than any other wastelander, however, I'm more aware of the second type of architecture they seemed to use while constructing the town, thanks to my studies on Chinese language and culture.
The Asian inspiration was clear, bilateral symmetry, use of enclosed open spaces, and feng shui, all mixed with western architecture, an odd pair, but they made it work, as functionally speaking, it looks efficient.
If we take in the architecture, the writing on the map we took from the raiders, plus the fact that the last name of our doctor was Purple in Chinese (Zĭ), then I would normally conclude we are somewhere near Asia. Teleportation is a fascinating topic, and knowing all the things the GOAC is capable of, is not out of the question, however, this is not a normal situation, I know that's not the case thanks to a very (very) essential fact.
I look at the skies, begging for the sun to go down as fast as possible.
"You okay back there?"
Julius keeps being too perceptive of my actions. I accidentally started to fall back in our walk.
"I'm fine."
I accelerate my pace to get next to him.
"Thanks." I say to him, not wanting to seem rude or ungrateful.
We keep walking. The street is large enough for two caravans to walk thru together while people walk on the sidelines, and it interjects with other smaller streets. The place is full of life, of not only plants like back in the woods, but also people, so many people, moving from one place to another. It's like taking the population of 3 large settlements and putting them together. Their chit-chat fills the air as we walk by what appears to be some form of market, the smells of different and colorful shops overwhelm us.
"Since when is the toll for alcohol 500 Lien?!"
"You've been way too much time in Vacuo, friend."
"Any news on that new Atlesian Knight model?"
"Not yet. All news from Atlas are focusing on that new taxation they just got."
"Oh, yeah, poor bastards."
Multiple voices and talks are all I can hear, and this market looks like it has no end. This place must be a big trading hub for merchants to come and go.
There're different kinds of people; men, women, old, young, Caucasian, Asian, humans, and Meta-Humans. Every so often, I would see someone with a tail, or another with two pairs of ears (one human and the other of an animal), things like that.
I saw a man's tail move on command and a lady taking a bite off her apple and showing her serpent-like tongue and fangs.
Mutations are another interesting topic, one most people think is chaotic and unpredictable, and it is, but at the same time, comprehensible. After a while, you start seeing certain characteristics mutated people share, or certain mutations that appear more than others.
There's a reason there are so many ghouls in the wasteland, it's one of the most common reactions human cells have against radiation. Why? nobody knows, plenty of theories, but none have been proven correct. There must be a share component in people's cells that causes it, and other common mutations must be caused by other shared components.
I've seen people with "animalistic" mutations before, but it's not a "common" mutation, and here we have several people with it.
Focus.
I let my mind wander off again. I tell myself to remain focused, a force of habit I do whenever I start to overthink things, but how can I focus on a task I can only do at night?
Please, I need to see it again.
I beg to nobody in particular.
"Hey! Can you move?!"
I turn around to see a wagon pulled by two big animals, with brown fur, long faces and only one head.
Horses?
I move out of the way, and the wagon passes us. I stop walking and stare at the animals. Weren't they extinct? I've seemed horses in drawings and books (flashes of memories come to my mind, of when I was a child, and Me and Amata played pretend, imagining I was a sheriff and rode one to sunset).
We both stopped and look at the animals, until they disappear from our sight.
"Well, another surprise to add to the list." Julius mutters to himself as he resumes his walk. It seems I'm not the only one who thought those animals were long gone from existence.
His uncomfortable demeanor seems to get worse. Understandable, this is too much information all at once, anybody could feel their senses overwhelmed by this. I would be as tired as him if not for the lingering reminder on top of us; the sky.
Speaking of overwhelming senses.
*Boom**Boom**Boom*
Explosions, not sure from where, but this made us react and draw our weapons.
I took out a 10 mm pistol and my trench knife from my clothes and instinctively try to take a battle stance, or, well, the best I could with my leg trapped in the plaster cast.
"Again?" I hear someone talk. "Didn't they use the cannons yesterday?"
Huh?
"Yeah, I heard the Grimm are growing their numbers in the woods."
Is this a regular occurrence?
"That's why nobody should take southern routes for now."
"Shouldn't the Forth bomb the area by now?"
"They haven't, not sure why."
Everybody reacted upon hearing the explosions, flinching and surprised, but it wasn't long before they continued with their daily activities.
They didn't even mind that Julius and I unsheathed our weapons. Some gave us a couple of looks, but nothing incriminatory.
We calm ourselves and continue walking, this is seriously too much for people who just woke up here (but in all honestly, I'm partially accustomed to the feeling of getting overwelled by new information all at once, doesn't mean I'm not going to react in some way). Julius takes a glance at me once or twice but surprisingly doesn't say anything. The market finally ends and gives way to a plaza, a round place with different buildings. At the center of the plaza, there's a big stone building, four stories high, colorful, with a lot of windows and what seems to be a dome on the roof.
A big white dome, something I've seen before, back in Appalachia, the observatory Grahm showed us when we helped him get back home.
Wait.
I look closely, and see the shimmer of a lens, a telescope lens.
And then I look at the sky.
Perfect.
"Your coffee, Sir."
The guy puts my special order on the table. I take my eyes out of the papers to thank him and take a looooong sip out of the glass.
"Thanks, pal."
The law doesn't let most establishments sell alcoholic beverages until 3 in the afternoon, and even if we are in the outer lands, this portion of land must follow the law and order the Kingdoms created. However, they tend to be more flexible if you have the right amount of Lien.
You just need to be discrete, and nothing is more discrete than a good glass of coffee (I blame Jimmy for the idea).
"You're welcome, I'll bring you another one."
After the much-needed drink, I keep reading the papers I got from the merchant.
The transfer of assets was paid on Blablablablabla, two months ago.
The assets must be kept apart from one another for safety, Blablablablabla and under no circumstances they shall be tamper in any way.
Most papers had nothing to do with what I was searching for. Took me a while to discern what document was useful and what was not.
After reading and re-reading the documents several times, I paid close attention to an invoice, and noticed there's no mention whatsoever of what these "assets" are, how many of them exist, nor who asked and paid for their transfer from the outlands to the Kingdoms.
There you are.
I take a picture of this invoice and other documents and add them to my list of evidence.
Whoever planned this, used multiple carriers to transport these assets along with the typical supplies you can get from any merchant. They used an anonymous line between the vendors and the client, so that nobody knew who was who, and nobody needed to provide real names.
Smart.
That way, even if someone got caught, nobody else would.
I stretch my legs, take another sip of my coffee, and look up to the ceiling, thinking. I know where the things we're going to, and I know their route, but I still don't know where they came from. I thought Embrace was the place, but it turns out it was just another point on the map.
*Sigh*
After a little incident, I started searching for the origins of these packages, and every time I follow what seems to be the final lead, I end up with three more.
There are only four safe ways you can get thru Embrace; the northwest road that leads to Vale, the northeastern road that leads to Stone Harbor (and from there, Mistral), the southwest roads (where I came from), and an aircraft, that can take you anywhere. And then we have the unsafest option, the south routes, filled to the brim with bandits and Grimm.
The packages must come from one of these points.
Vale is out of the question, same as the southwest, and it would be next to impossible to get contraband in any aircraft vehicle from Embrace (trust me, I've tried). That leaves me with two possible search points: either Mistral or the wild lands.
Either deal with dangerous tribes or one of the world's most corrupt governments. What a treat.
"What are you doing here?"
Something tells me I should go to the wildlands, a big blind bandit, to be precise. I doubt they are the ones behind this, and if I must guess, they are probably searching for the same people I'm looking for.
Someone whispers the word "Maiden" and she is already moving the tribe across a continent.
Damn it, Raven, what are you planning now?
I take my scroll, I need to send my report, and Embrace is the safest place to do it without somebody trying to spy on me.
*Ring* *Ring*
I met with old family friends.
I'll need more time to find our provider.
I send the message, and not long after, I get a new one.
Another incident.
Shit.
Bigger and somewhat different than the last one.
Oz sends me an image, a news headline; Catastrofe on Atlas's power plant, total failure of the facility left half the city in the dark.
Atlas?
I send the picture I took of the invoice.
Got new info, and our provider didn't send any packages up north.
Oz doesn't respond for a minute before sending his last message.
More than one provider? Or something else?
The loud ringing is heard throughout the establishment. The owner of the place got a call.
"Hello?" The older woman asks. She frowns once she hears the caller's voice. "You better be calling to say you have my Lien."
I was about to resume my thinking, but the owner called out to me.
"Qrow Branwen?!"
I look back at her.
"Yes?!"
"You have a call."
I get up, slightly confused, and walk to the bar.
"Tell him he better not call again until he has my money."
She gives me the cordless mounted scroll and walks away.
"Hello?"
"We need you to come to the Fort."
Took me a moment to recognize the voice.
"Shiro?"
"Yes."
"Is there a bartender you don't owe money to?"
"Never been to Atlas, probably there."
"How did you know I was here?"
"I figure you should be at one of the few places in Embrace where they serve special orders in the morning."
"Fair enough."
"Come here, now, and answer your damn scroll."
"I'm busy right now."
"Yeah, I read the document you send us, and we can help each other, but I need you to come here today, it's important."
"I'll go tomorrow, I first need to -."
"Heater knows what you did her cat, what happened to the poor thing, but does she know what happened to her dog?"
"…"
"I'll see you later."
The moment Michael put his eyes on the building, they pretty much lit up. During our whole walk here he kept his unconcentrated attitude, looking at everything arounds us, but without real interest, more like a force of habit.
But now? He has that strength in his gaze again, like he got a new purpose. What happened? Why is he shifting so abruptly from the most uninterested attitude to a dead-focused one? It's been a while since the last time I traveled with someone so bipolar.
Should I sleep with a gun under my pillow now? You know, for safety.
We open the two big double doors of the place and booooooy! The place is much bigger on the inside.
[Perk deactivated: Solar Powered]
I can feel the regeneration of my cells stop once we get inside the building and away from the sunlight. Thanks to some time under the sun, I already feel better than when I woke up, my head and body are clear of pain, and I have more energy, maybe I should just take off the arm casts and let the sun do its magic.
This little ability of mine won't help me grow another arm if I lose one, but minor damage and general pain are almost none when it's activated.
But back to the place.
We entered a big room; at the sides of it are multiple people, waiting in line in front of windows on the walls, at the other side of the windows seems to be the workers, attending to the people one by one.
In the center, there's a large round reception desk, with two more workers helping people and a big sign that reads Reception.
As we walk forward, I start to hear some of the conversations around me.
"Hello, I'm here to renew my sales permit."
"Of course. Do you have a copy of all your documents?"
"Excuse me, now what do I need to do?"
"You need to line up in this next line and pay. After that, your papers will be returned to you, and you may leave."
It reminds me of all the paperwork Cass had to do to establish the new and improved Cassy Caravans (paperwork that I had to help with since I was the one who convinced her to sell the old Cassy Caravans, and it was a pain in the ass).
Can we let bureaucracy burn and die already? Why do we keep trying to bring it back? Nobody likes it anyway.
We get in front of the desk, and the lady on the other side greets us.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen."
"Good afternoon." We return the greeting.
"How may I help you?"
"We are new here." I start to explain. "And we were hoping to find a map or directions to help us get to our destination."
"Sure thing." She says with a smile. "You can connect your scrolls directly to the CCT in here."
…
"And if we don't have scrolls?" Michael asks her.
She gives us a confused look.
"You don't have a scroll?"
I was about to ask what's a "Scroll" (I'm actually surprised Michael didn't ask about that first), but Michael talks first.
"No."
She seems a bit frightened by him.
"Did you lose it?" She asks Michael.
"I've never owned one."
She gives us another confused look.
Why do you have to be so direct?
"Can I see your identifications?"
We give her the papers we got at the hospital.
"Oh! You're outlanders." She gives us back the papers. "Well, on the second floor, we have the library, there you may find several maps and computer terminals you can use."
Behind her, there's a big staircase that should take us to the second floor.
"Thank you."
Michael says his thanks and walks towards the staircase. I was conflicted about following with or staying and asking more questions, but I end up catching up to him.
"Hey! Why the rush? We could just ask her directly for indications."
I really wanted to ask her, I really want to know where we are.
My question doesn't get an answer. Michael walks up the stairs, ignoring me, and with that serious determination on his face.
Alright, now, I'm worried.
We get to the second floor, and I've never seen so many books in my life. The place is fill with shelves upon shelves of books, all of them reaching the ceiling, there are some wooden tables with terminals on them, and at the center of it all, what seems to be a gigantic glass table.
Arcade told me about the institute the Followers have back in California, with their own library, and I wonder if it's as big as this one. Ignoring my own thoughts, I turn around, intending to confront my partner.
Something was up, and I didn't want to be kept in the dark.
"Hey, what's going on with yo-."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand I was talking to an empty space.
…
Where the fuck did he go?!
*Click*
"Dr. Aqua, archiving my report on case No. 457."
The doctor of Fort Vox pauses before continuing her recording.
"Two unidentified males, ages around 20 and 30, subject A died by head trauma that caused an acute subdural hematoma, subject B died from blood loss."
*Click* *Click*
"There were signs of struggle and enough evidence to believe this was a double homicide."
*Click* *Click*
"The bodies also presented several wounds postmortem, claw and bite marks of different animals, however, the most intriguing part of this case is the state of their internal organs."
The guy was next to me, how did I lose him?!
"Michael?"
I look around the room and see no one.
"Snake?"
I walk thru the aisle of books, trying to find him.
"Any other name I can use on you?!"
I lost him, I really did, damn.
And I thought I was sneaky.
I end up in front of another glass table.
"Michael?!" I shout, trying again, but nothing, no response, at least not from my partner.
"Please, do not raise your voice in the library."
The glass table lights up with blue, red, and green lights. The image of a holographic man forms and a formal voice speaks to me. It was a pale blue man, with no hair, blue eyes, and a formal black suit.
"Please obey the rules of the establishment, failing to uphold them can result in a fine or expulsion from the library of the town of Embrace."
…
"Uhm, howdy?"
"Good afternoon, sir, how may I help you?"
I wasn't expecting a hologram here. Technology like this wasn't reserved for high research institutions like Big MT. or fancy places like the Sierra Madre?
"Good afternoon, sir, how may I help you?"
It repeats the greeting, similar to how protectrons on the Strip do the same when you ignore them for long enough, and they start following you to get an answer. At least this one doesn't look like it will shoot me if I don't comply.
"Hello." I say with hesitation. "I was looking for someone, have you seen a pale man with armor around here?"
"I'm sorry, I'm not able to follow with your request, may I call the personnel? Or can I help you with something else?"
[Science Check: Pass]
Seems like this is just a standard IA program, only capable of answering questions with the information in its database and nothing else.
I take another glance at my surroundings.
"Hmmm."
What a pain. Why is he acting so rude all of the sudden? I could go and keep searching for him, or I can leave him be. It took me a couple of minutes to choose the former option, I mean, we are trapped together, it's not like he can escape this conversation forever. I'll let him do whatever he has to do.
I have my own list of things to figure out, anyway.
"Hey, computer." The table lights up again, and the holographic man turns to me.
"Good afternoon, sir, how may I help you?"
"Do you have a name?"
"I'm a Holographic Assistant, from the ZZ model, from the EL line, you may call me; HA-ZZ-EL."
Heh, of course, its name had to be an acronym.
"Well, Hazel, I'm looking for information about this town, can you help me with that?"
"Most certainly, what type of information are you searching for?"
Let's start simple.
"Embrace, where's it located?"
"The town of Embrace, located in the continent of Saunus, established in the shared lands of the kingdom of Vale and the kingdom of Mistral."
As the robotic voice tells me, its image disappears, and now over the table, a map of the peninsula (similar to the one I got) and different photos of the area are displayed.
"The continent of Saunus?"
"Correct."
… Okay.
I was aware we had to be somewhere far away and that I never had a proper education (or, well, as far as I can remember, I didn't have one), but I'm sure there is no continent with that name.
Did they rename the places after the war? Hmmm, they wouldn't be the first ones to do something like this (Looking at you, Tucson, Tusán, Two sun, or whatever name you have now). Is that why they have kingdoms now? Did they follow the same steps as Caesar did? That thing about choosing a previous form of civilization our species once had and hoping humanity can flourish again.
I just reeeeeeeeeeally hope they didn't get the same results as the Legion did.
I already thought about the idea that we were somewhere near Europe and Asia, thanks to some of the raiders who had Asian and European features, and the writing on the Bandit map, and the architecture, decoration, and people of the town just reinforced this idea.
I'm not new to the subject of teleportation; the Think tanks perfect it, and since they helped build the GOAC, it's not that farfetched of an explanation.
Although, if I'm correct, this is the farthest teleportation ever made. Even with all their technology, the farthest teleportation ever accomplished by the Tanks was 108 miles, and that poor Brahmin came back with only one head.
"What else can you tell me?"
"The town of Embrace was formally established after the end of the great war, in the year -."
"I meant about Saunus."
"The continent of Saunus, the larger one in the world, has different environments and biodiversity, from deserts to forests. In this continent resides the Kingdoms of Vale and Vacuo."
The scale of the map changes, now showing what I can identify as the whole continent. Two points are highlighted, a place in the desert area, west of the continent, and another in the northeast area, surrounded by forests.
This ... doesn't look like any landmass I've ever seen.
"Hold up! Let me see that map."
I take out a small map from my bags. I got this from that ruined schoolhouse in Goodsprings a long time ago, it's small, no larger than any books in here, encased in a hard plastic that protected it from the environment, it shows all the continents without names, and what the computer was showing me, didn't line up at all.
Maybe if I squint really hard, this Saunus could be ... What was the name of that place again? This giant part of land in the middle of the water? Australia? Austria? Maybe? I think it was Austria.
Did they get mega screw with thousands of nukes and that's why the continent looks different?
That's the best theory I have right now.
"Uhmm, how far is the continent of America from Saunus?"
The voice takes a couple of seconds to respond.
"I'm sorry, can you please repeat the question?"
"How far is the continent of America?"
Another silent moment, but this one was longer than the last.
"I'm sorry, but your search for; the continent of America, did not match any records."
Huh?
"Perhaps you were searching for; the continent of Saunus, the continent of Anima, or the continent of Solitas."
No, I was not.
"Search for the United States."
"I'm sorry, but your search for; United States, did not match any records."
What?
"Search for Mexico."
"I'm sorry, but your search for; -."
"Canada."
"I'm sorry, -."
"China!"
"I'm sorry, but your search for; China, did not match any records."
Give me a break!
I throw the map on the table, blocking the image of the hologram.
How much information did they lose during the war? Their technology seems fine, no, scratch that, it's better than just fine. Did they seclude themselves so much they don't know anything from the rest of the world?
The table starts making more noises before talking again.
"I'm sorry, but I do not recognize this document, may you please readjust it."
"What?"
I look at the table and see a red square next to where I threw the map.
"Please, readjust the document."
I look back at the table, pick up my map, and follow its instructions.
"Identifying, loading, identifying, image, identifying, map, searching."
It shows me new images, hundreds in a blink of an eye, other maps, pictures of different lands, and other stuff I can't identify quickly enough. After a couple of minutes, the program stops doing, well, whatever it was doing and shows me one final map.
"I'm sorry, but I am unable to identify this image. Can you please confirm the nature of this type of document?"
"Nature?"
"Please choose one of the following, the document is a; Map, Image, Picture, Diagram, -."
It lists several categories. I interrupt it with an answer.
"Map."
Several images come up, just like before, and like before, finishing with that map again.
"I'm sorry, but this map does not match any on my records, perhaps you may be interested in the global map to be able to search freely for what you're looking for."
"World map?!"
Did I hear right?
Several names start appearing in this grant map. Some cover whole lands (Saunus, Anima, Solitas, Menagerie), while others just cover specific points (Embrace, Vale, Vytal, Patch, Mistral, Vacuo, Atlas, Mantle, among many others).
This is wrong.
"What's the scale of this map?"
"Approximately, 1:100,000,000."
…
A memory comes to mind, one of me and Arcade peacefully talking about maps.
Six! Stop, I already told you! The regular world map was made on a scale of 1:100,000,000, you lost the bet, so, please, may god help me! Put that man down! The guy doesn't have any teeth left!
"Yeah, I would like it if you called the staff now, please."
*Click*
"A standard blood test gave me 3 different types of blood on one body, while the other had several bones missing."
*Click**Click*
"They were later found by Task Force Jiā mǎ inside a dead dog, 1 kilometer away from the dead human bodies."
*Click**Click*
"How did they get there, or how was the man capable of fighting without them, is still unknown."
*Click**Click*
"And this is just scratching the surface."
"Michael!"
We are royalty fuuuuuuckeeeeeeeed.
"Michael!"
"Please, do not scream in the library."
More holograms light up as I ran thru the place. I searched the entirety of the second floor and didn't find him, so now I'm running around the third floor.
I'm sorry, Sir, but where did you get this map?
They didn't know anything about my map, Rojo, Texas, and they even looked at me weirdly when I asked for America.
"Micheal!"
We are in big trouble. We must be in one of the most secluded places on the planet! How can we get back if not even the people here know where we are?!
"Micheal!"
Europe was the safes bet (right? There were some islands in the north, and everybody here speaks English, maybe we are there); Northern Africa is a close second, that peninsula that looked like a shoe. Some books I borrowed from the Followers mentioned salty waters near the east of those continents, that "dead sea" could be the ocean we saw (?).
Wait, we are getting too away from Asia, maybe the Chinese invaded Europe after the war? Either way, how am I going to get back to Vegas if we don't know where we are?!
My pip-boy has a signal again, but it doesn't tell me anything apart from the name of the Town, and I can't send a message back to Big Mountain! I took a look at it and found out that it didn't connect to a satellite, it somehow connected to this CCT signal. I try to find any other signals, and there's nothing! How is that possible?!
Is something blocking the signals of the satellites? Is something or someone truly capable of doing that? Pip-boys aren't perfect, yes, but I've never seen one lose TOTAL connection before! And it should be especially impossible for my Pip-boy. This isn't a standard variant; this thing was upgraded by both House and the Think Tanks!
"MICHEALl!"
I saw his Pip-boy, and it wasn't a standard model, either. Maybe his computer can connect.
Luckily, there's nobody else on this floor (now that I think about it). The only ones calling me out for the noise are the holograms.
I go to the next floor thru more stairs, this next floor isn't open to the public, but it's not like a single metal chain will stop me. I hop over the red stop sign and continue going upwards.
The fourth floor it's smaller, filled with metal cabinets and dust. I noticed some people, workers, talking and moving documents from one cabinet to another. I lower my voice and move quietly; I keep searching and get nothing.
Where are you, pal?
I dodge every worker I find and go thru each corridor. I see a metal door as I walk thru one of the last corridors.
[Perception check: Pass]
And I noticed how the doorknob isn't covered in dust like the rest of the door.
Did he?
I open the door and find another staircase. It's dark, there aren't any light sources like on the other floors. I enter, close the door behind me, and walk carefully to the top. I walked in total darkness for a solid minute, I almost activated my pip-boy's light, but as I got closer, I saw some small rays of light.
I get to the top and find a circular room with a big telescope on the ceiling, and I finally find Michael, standing in the middle of the room, using said telescope.
"There you are."
I get no reaction out of him.
"What are you doing here-? Actually, forget that."
He can act as weirdly as much as he wants right now.
"Whatever, we have a problem."
I get closer to him.
"Is your pip-boy connected to a satellite?"
He takes his eyes away from the telescope to see his computer.
"No."
"Can you connect to a satellite?"
He follows thru with my request and moves some buttons on his computer.
"No."
Crap.
"Why?"
"Listen, we may be in-." I stop mid-sentence. "Uhm, well."
Oh, crap, I just fucked up.
If I want to explain my theory, then I must explain him a lot of stuff I doubt he'll believe. And I just realize that not everybody has as crazy life as I have, fuck. Why did I just realize that?! I guess I was too focused on the problem that I forgot this isn't normal for everybody else. Damn it, I should have thought this one through.
What words can I use to explain that a bunch of crazy brains in jars created teleportation and that they help create the GOAC without sounding crazy myself?
Of course, I don't have to tell him everything, but even the most "normal" parts of my story are, well, hard to believe, and I remember how some of my most trusted friends were skeptical of my story, and this guy is just a forced ally that could kill me in any moment.
The last thing I need is for him to believe me crazy. Can I tell him we are on a different continent without explaining how? I would have questions, anybody would.
Quick! Think something up! Any lie we can come up with will be more believable than reality. Maybe the GOAC sent us flying thru the air until we crash-landed on this place? No, that sounds stupid, is it better if he thinks I'm crazy or stupid?
I was about to lie (as all ways) but ...
Can I trust you?
No, can I trust you?
That is just going to bring me more problems in the long run.
That little voice in my head tells me to tell the truth, I mean, that's why we continued with this little truce, because we decided to be honest with our intentions.
It's hard, but ignoring my better judgment, I shall speak the truth, what can I say? I've always been the kind of guy that follows his gut more than his head, why stop now? (My brain hates me for a reason).
Okay, I can do this, I've done it before, just that, well, it took Arcade and Boone a week to believe I wasn't crazy, Raul, Veronica, and Cass 3 Days. Lily believed me right away, but, eh, well, Leo didn't.
Oh, boy, this is going to be hard.
Why didn't I think about this before?! Damn it. It couldn't be that bad, right? I mean, back at the forest, the guy agreed we probably weren't in Texas anymore, so he surely can understand this concept, right?
"Have you ever heard or know something about teleportation?"
He stops looking thru the telescope (Apparently, I stopped talking for enough time for him to decide to get back at that) and opens a book.
"The hypothetical transfer of matter or energy from one point to another without traversing the physical space between them."
He answers me and then keeps reading the book. He's acting like a robot again. Usanagi would have a field day studying his head.
"Yeah, well, this may sound crazy, but delete the "hypothetical" from that sentence."
He takes his eyes off the book and centers them on me.
I tell him everything, how I suspect we are in a far and secluded part of the planet (possibly Europe), my reasons for thinking this, and that a government facility that helped create the GOAC was able to accomplish teleportation (I know all of this because of some government papers, the facility was destroyed during the war, nobody should go and search for it, and I'm 100% telling the truth, wink, wink).
His face doesn't change at all during my whole explanation. I know I called this his "bad poker face" back in the forest, because he still showed concern and other stuff, but when he shows no emotion whatsoever, it's actually a good one. But I mean, no emotion, at all; he shows nothing, no seriousness, no interest, no uninterest, a completely blank expression that doesn't show any good or bad emotions, nothing.
A bit disturbing, it's like I'm looking at an alive manikin that doesn't comprehend expressions.
Does he think me crazy? What do I say now?
"I know this may sound unbelievable, however –."
"Australia."
"What?"
"Australia it's surrounded by ocean from all sides, their official language was English, and they were near Chinese-speaking countries/colonies in Asia."
…
…
"Australia is a more viable option than Europe."
…
…
"Australia was a country on-."
"I know what Austria was."
"Australia."
"Not important right now." I take a step forward. "That's all you have to say?"
"Yes."
"You're sure? Do you have no questions whatsoever about this? Nor you're going to dispute my claim?"
That is a first for me.
"It's a good theory."
"It's an insane theory!" I unconsciously raised my voice.
"Still a possible one, knowing what we know about the GOAC."
He turns around and walks towards a console.
I was expecting a totally different reaction. Is he still in auto-mode?
"However, a wrong one."
Oh! Now you're debating me.
That thought almost leaves my lips, but with a push of a button, a bunch of monitors are activated on the ceiling, covering the dark room with a bit more light.
"How much do you know about the stars?"
The monitors show a map of the stars.
"Enough to use them as a guide while traveling."
A neat trick a learn from some merchants.
"Why?"
"Can you tell me where the northern star is?"
I play along with him and turn left to face the north. Surely enough, there it was, as bright as always.
"Do you know the constellations?"
"Yes?"
Where is he going with this?
"Tell me, where's the little dipper?"
...
I keep looking at him, expecting a reason.
"Please, humor me."
"It should be here-."
...
...
...
"Wait, what?"
The rest of the stars that form the little dipper aren't there, actually, now that I look closely at the rest of the map, well …
"This is wrong."
"What you are looking at right now." Michael tells me. "Is a live feed of the sky."
Now, it was my turn to explain my findings, the stars, the state of the moon, and the fact that every record I found about it mentions it being shattered for as long as the kingdoms can remember.
I also explained to him the GOAC's full capabilities (that I learned from the Enclave) and pointed out what the doctor told us about the machine.
Essentially, it terraforms time and space.
After 40 minutes of total silence (I didn't want to interrupt his thinking), he speaks again.
"You're telling me that you think the GOAC terraformed reality?"
"It's a working theory."
Manipulating time and space should be impossible. I can understand his reaction and skepticism, however, the GOAC was created using Alien technology, and something I know for certain about the Zetans is that their technology is much more powerful than anybody can imagine.
"Oh! A working theory! HA." He puts his hands on his face. "And here was I trying not to sound crazy."
"I understand your-."
"No, shut up, not in the mood for that."
Neither of us talks for some more minutes.
Best case; he must be confused and frightened, that's completely understandable. Worst case; he believes me crazy, it took me some time to get enough evidence to support my theory, but with enough time, he should at least understand my thinking.
"Anyway." I try to speak again. "Whatever the GOAC did, we don't have a direct way to go back to the wasteland, but if those Gunners came here with us, then maybe the GOAC did as well."
He takes his hands off his face and looks at me with an incredulous look.
"Are you for real making a plan right now?"
Yes.
"Yes."
He keeps looking at me. Was I not clear? Did I say something wrong?
"Alright, let me rephrase my question. Are you for real making a plan after you explained to me that you think we destroyed our previous reality and created a new one?"
Uhm.
I didn't think of it that way.
"Not exactly that, but yes."
…
…
"Eres un puto robot."
"Excuse me?"
"Tell me, how do you feel right now?"
"What?"
"How do you feel right now?"
His gaze is one of inquiry. He's focusing his entire train of thought on the matter.
"That's not important."
"I beg to differ."
He takes one step forward.
"How does this situation makes you feel? Are you mad? Happy? Disgusted? Scared?"
"I fail to see why this is important."
"Come on, man, just humor me."
What is the purpose of this line of questioning? Maybe he's confused? I need to calm him down and not sound rude.
"We don't have time for this."
[Charisma check: Failed]
That definitely sounded rude, didn't it? His look, well, I don't know if I can describe it, but it's beyond amusement and surprise. He lets out a long and heavy sigh.
"Why don't you care?! Are you a robot or something?!"
I keep trying to be reasonable. "This is unproductive."
"I don't care! Act like a normal person! Damn it! You just told me with a straight face and total confidence, that we may be in the most crazy-ass situation, and you are acting like it's just another Thursday!"
If he gets shouting, people will hear us.
"You need to lower your voice."
"In any other moment, I would call you a nut job, but you know what's worst? That I can believe you, fuck! You have real unquestionable evidence! That I can back up with my own evidence!"
I need to shut him up, now!
"For real, buddy, how can you not care? At all!"
"I care, but acting in this manner won't get us anywhere- Wait, are you acting like this because you're freaking out and I'm not?"
"Don't you DARE psychoanalyze me!"
What is going on?
"Do I have to put a gun in your face to make you act properly?"
"Uhm."
I truly don't know what to do now. Reason and logic don't seem to work. I've never been that good with people, I can use logic to make them understand, but my charisma has never been the best.
We can't fight, we need each other. Maybe I should explain my objectives and how this will help both of us.
"Listen-."
"No! I don't want to, not until you become a normal person, read the room, I don't want to hear reason right now, what? Were you about to explain to me your plan and try to convince me with it?"
"…"
"OH MY! You were, weren't you?"
"... No."
"…"
"…"
"…"
"Yes."
*Click*
*Click*
"Please, put the gun down."
Both of us pulled our guns out. This is getting out of hand.
"I must remind you that we need each other." I cried out.
"Not even this did it, huh."
"What do you want from me?"
I'm begging him.
"Trust me, I'm not sure myself, but I know this isn't it! This situation shouldn't be real, and your reaction shouldn't be like this either! I feel like it's just one big ass joke I'm not aware of! Do I have to tell you something so farfetched, something so stupid like that the GOAC was made with alien technology for you to understand how fucking crazy this situation is?!"
…
"You knew the GOAC was made with alien technology?"
I spit out without having the proper time to think about my words.
Are those watery eyes?
Alright, NOW, I cannot describe his look, not matter how much I try, there are no words. Our standoff lasts for only a couple of minutes, luckily no shots are fired, as Julius sheathes his weapon, walks to a wall, sits on the floor while holding his head with his hands, and softly throws his head back and hits the wall a number of times.
I do the same with my pistol (sheath it, not hit me with it) and stand there in silence. I honestly don't know what to do next.
I think of Fawkes and Amata, both of them gave me the same advice once, in different circumstances, but was about the same person, my ... father, in times when I didn't know how to talk to him after a fight.
Just start with sorry and then let the other words flow.
"I'm sorry for causing you distress."
No reaction.
"If - If it makes you feel better, other people have as well shown discomfort with the way I sometimes act."
Something about me getting (*mental sigh*) snake vision, and not focusing on how my actions make other people feel unease about me.
"I hate this." He starts talking with a broken voice. "This, this is my punishment for everything wrong I've ever done."
I look down on my guns.
"You are probably not going to believe me, but it's probably my punishment as well."
He tiredly drops his hands and faces me.
We don't say anything, we don't need to or have to. Words are just not enough for us to understand each other, but maybe, just maybe, this moment, this precise moment, this quiet moment, where our eyes meet, and there's nothing else but true honesty, can be (not enough, but) a start.
"Sorry for pulling guns on you."
"You won't be the last to do it."
"Heh, funny." He looks at me. "Well, one funny remark is a start."
That wasn't a remark, but better not tell him that.
"So, what now? Is this the part where we start talking about what to do next?"
I carefully think about my next words.
"I believe that would be the best for us, yes, do you agree?"
"Nop, not entirely, but I guess this is somewhat better than you believing I was crazy."
I decide to sit on the floor, and I start talking once I'm comfortable enough.
"You're right, this is crazy, it's utter madness, and maybe we are wrong or worst, crazy." I continue. "We don't know where we are, and we don't need to know, all we need is just the GOAC, and we'll get back home."
"If it didn't blow up and destroyed itself, where do you think we can find it?"
"The forest."
That's where they found us, maybe that's where everything else that got sucked into the GOAC's light ended as well.
"Yeah, makes sense, but I remember that light engulfing the whole town, and yet when we woke up, we only found some burned wagon and 2 dumbasses."
"It's still our best bet, for now."
"I guess, well, we are going to need some serious firepower if we are going to roam these woods."
"We should also seek some guidance."
"That Crow fellow?"
"Correct."
"He did say he wanted more information from us."
"Let's hope that's enough to convince him,
"Just, uhm, can I give you some advice?"
"Go ahead."
"Please, do us a favor and stop being so direct."
Ah.
Yeah, I've heard that one before.
"I'll ... try."
"Better than nothing, I suppose, let's get out of here before someone notices we are here."
[Quest updated: The long road ahead. Find a way back home.]
[New Quest: Wastelanders. Keep an alliance with your fellow wastelander.]
[Quest Updated: Wastelanders.] [Optional: Form a companionship.]
We get up, turn everting off and walk towards the stairs.
"By the way." Julius tells me. "Did you always have brown eyes?"
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing, sorry, I'm always talking, I know, it's just, well, I was sure I saw you having black eyes back in Texas."
"I have black eyes."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do."
"Well, then I have green eyes." He says sarcastic.
"You have."
"What?"
*Click*
"Different organs seem to be degraded by old age, I could explain that by suggesting a prolonged use or exposure to deadly compounds, but then there were other organs that didn't seem to be part of grown adults, more like they belong to children."
*Click**Click*
"How were these men alive? It doesn't make sense, it's like ..."
*Click**Click*
"Like."
*Click*
She can't say it, it's crazy.
"Like they were made with old and new parts of their own and of other people."
Both wastelanders went back up the stairs and activated their pip-boy's light to see their reflections in the cold surfaces of the monitors.
Brown eyes (almost a soft orange) and dark green eyes.
Six takes out a small mirror, and both men look at it, only to see, once again, those eyes, that aren't theirs. And they also realized that their faces didn't look like they used to, small changes, things others would see, but they did. A cut that didn't exist anymore, a mole in the wrong side of their face, some parts of their skin looked more youthful, firm, and paler, while other parts of their skin (specifically, their injuries, such as the soldier's burn marks and the messenger's sunken skull) looked worse than before (like when an injury in the skin gets darker with time).
They knew what to do. They turn the light off and walk back to the staircase.
"Are we not going to address this?" Asks the wanderer.
"Do you want another standoff?" Answers the courier.
"Fair enough."
I don't know what you think, but if we somehow manage to create a gateway between realities, the first-ever successful travel, would be messy at best. I watch and read a lot of stories where teleportation and time travel are so ... clean, nobody gets hurt most of the time, but something as complicated as that should come with deadly consequences if you mess up even a little bit.
And thru out my story I wanted to explore that idea. I've seen other fics where this dimensional travel caused the people to look younger, but I wanted to take it a step further. Matter merging with one another, getting older and younger, changing atoms for others, etc.
What do you think about the idea?
Now, a special shout out to the people how leave reviews:
- Rio Skyron
Thanks for the suggestion, it's actually a good idea, since I take forever to update, so you guys are probably going to forget where we left the story last chapter.
- Maglad
Yeah, Qrow has his own things going on, and about them not realizing they are in a different universe, well, they still don't know it, I guess is just not something most people would believe or go like "Huh, I don't know were we are, we must be in a new planet!", I feel most people who accepts such reality would go a bit crazy in the best scenario , that's why they know the are not in the wasteland anymore, but they don't need to know where EXACLY they are, they just need the GOAC to get back home (basically, their way of thinking right now is; this is too crazy and I prefer to keep my sanity by not thinking too hard about it).
- JawsOnYou67
Thanks for the review buddy, about the gateway and how will affect the two worlds, well, you will have to wait and see 😉.
- Adamcer
I'm so glad you like my story! I'm trying not to bring my story to a fast-paced to have time and explore the characters and the world, but at the same time I worried that going in a slow-paced would bored most of my readers (I mean, like you said the intro was basically 5 chapters), I'm trying to learn when and how to determine what is the bast pace for every chapter. Hope you liked this new chapter.
- p6lishb6kser
Thanks for giving my story a chance, I'll try my best to keep you and the rest of my readers entertained.
And that's all for now folks, thank you all for reading and for leaving reviews, see you next time!