Snowflake in the sand

Chapter 29

Midnight Science Fiction Feature! Part 2

"You completed it; this is Borous by the way. Congratulations are in order none of us thought you would make it this far" the smug doctor said as Six picked the teeth of Nighstalkers off his arm and Winter grumbled as she fixed the vault suit she was wearing "But there is no way that you can pass this next test, Gabe? You there boy? Aww look at him, all fired up and ready to kill no no down boy, wait until your new chew toy comes around"

Six gritted his teeth "This is some bullshit, the advanced test and then the different species test only to deal with his stupid dog" as he walked in the now familiar corridors with his upgraded Sonic Emitter, Six looked at the windows to the interior of the facility Six took time to chuckle at the dogs.

"Do you think they would be willing to share a smoke Winter?" the courier commented making her roll her eyes "For the last time Six, there's nothing there only dogs training… too much betting has rotted your brain gambling man"

Six chuckled once more as he saw one of the dogs move the cigar, but now it was not the time for that the kennel as it was called awaited. Winter had insisted in doing not only the advanced test but the different species test aswell. Part of him was glad that the update to the emitter was easy to get but he was really pissed that he still did no understand the purpouse behind this tests. The mad doctor rambled on and on about how communism and country, the importance of America and high school. The only problem was that the Doctor never explained what it was or how the fuck did it affect the wasteland, America was gone and communism was… not here from what he could tell.

So every time that the computer at the end did its survey on him, he answered that he did not know what communism was. But now the final test was ahead as Winter worked with the terminal Six wondered back to his short time on Higgs Village "…Gabe?"

Winter stopped for a brief second "Something wrong?"

Six looked at every pocket on his person "I stabbed myself with something in Higgs Village, there was this little reptile that fucked and I tried to hit it with a thing I found it had a name… here it is!" There was a small pause as Winter wondered how he had managed to fit the food bowl on his person but her curiosity died when she saw the name. "Gabe, just like the name of his… this village has population Six?"

The Courier shook his head "Nothing, I need to go back and check what the place was all about but there was not a single living being there… other than asshole Stripe"

Winter raised an eyebrow "Stripe"

Six grinned "When we go back you'll meet him, barely managed to escape with my ass intact" the specialist rolled her eyes, but there was a something bothering her. "Do you think that he would experiment on his own pet?" there was a pause as Six looked at the teeth of the nightstalker he had been playing with and then back at her. Winter let out a sigh as the answer became obvious "Poor thing… then let's just put it out of its misery"

The village or housing area was not what they where expeting, Six whistle as he looked around "Not what was I expecting when they called it the kennel" there was a growl from behind one of the houses Six prepared his weapon and Winter twirled her axe. A giant dog jumped from a destroyed house, pieces of wood flew everywhere as Six let out a curse "What do you think of your new chew toy Gabe, no Gabe down we wouldn't want to hurt our new friends… would we? Please just le him pick " the voice of Borous was heard as the speakers came to life, thick with sarcasm and disinterest.

Winter tried to jump on its back but Gabe was too fast and jumped towards Six, the courier tried to pierce its skull with Lucky and M.M but it hardly did any damage, Gabe opened its large mouth and bit Six in the torse. "FUCK LET ME GO!" Six yelled as the dog shook him from side to side. Winter infused her weapon with ice, for more damage, jumping into the air she brought down her axe with all her might towards its neck.

A loud whine was heard as Gabe jumped away from then, Winter helped Six up "Why does it have to make noises, it make me feel like the bad guy" Six dusted himself off. "Easy for you to say, those teeth punched a hole through me. Ok new plan, I will use the emitter while you cut off his head… let's make this as painless as we can" a nod was exchanged as they jumped to action, the emitter burned some off the fur off Gabe making it fully focus on him. Winter sneaked behind him as the dog ran towards Six who slammed his fist towards the dog, burning its fur. "Easy there fido, it will all be over soon"

The dog blinked as the courier spoke to him, there was a small pause as the pain failed to register. Gabe fell to the ground and its head rolled to the side "And now sit" he muttered.

"Oh no Gabe! Well whatever, it doesn't matter as the bomb that I put in his head as a safety measuare will explode in TEN seconds!"

Six cursed as he looked at his pipboy "Look at the dig sites we got to find it!" Witner nodded as she used the axe to search for the thin "Is not here!" the doctors had all joined in on the countdown, the brains all having fun as they counted down their impeding doom.

Six picked up the data "Got it! Run to the exit!"

"FIVE! As in… I got nothing for this but now that MY ROBOSCORPIONSSS will tear you apart!" a new voice joined the doctors as static filled the air, Winter gasped as the door opened and the mechanical, intelligence zapping machines, ran towards them. Six prepared a grenade "Ignore them, run to the exit!" as the explosion shook the place Winter jumped towards the exit followed by Six. As they took some time to catch their breath Six heard the mechanical clicking of the machines "Shit we will have to fight our way out, stick close to me"

Winter nodded as she prepared her weapon.

The fight to the exit was surprisingly brutal, pieces of metal flew everywhere as the machines fired their laser weapons at them, Winter yelled as she split a roboscorpion in half "Stop that, you'll damage the hull!" Doctor Mobius cried. Six grabbed one of the tiny scorpions by the tail and smashed it against the larger one sparks flew everywhere as they finally reached the exit to X-8. Kicking the doors open Six got some time to breathe as Winter fell to her knees her aura sparkling "That… was not… what I expected… of Doctor Mobius" Six said panting for breath. Winter for her part simply shook her head "The next objective better be closer"

Six looked down at his PipBoy and chuckled "Best if we go back to the Sink and rest for a bit, the other objectives are on the other side of the Big MT and opposite to eachother, is going to take us some time to reach them" Winter let out a disappointed sigh "Of course, nothing is ever easy here. Why is everyone here so allergic to transport"

Six shrugged "Don't know, I think the main problem was that not everyone could afford it. There are some legends that cars used to run on something like the nukes and that if you hit them they would explode" Six said excitedly as they began their walk back to the Sink. Winter let out a sigh "Why on earth where they using something so volatile for transport, imagine a car crash"

As they walked in the big MT Winter chuckled as she realized that she missed the sand of the Mojave, the sand on this place felt synthetic. Knowing the doctors she would not be surprised if they had also modified the ground itself, but it was not like she wanted to check. The rumblings that shook the ground from time to time made her shudder, thinking what was under the ground she walked was not good for her mind, since her arrival on the Mojave she had been jumping at shadows and it got even worse after her time on the Sierra Madre.

It bothered her, constantly thinking that even the ground itself would split open to attack her. I wasn't like she wasn't cautious back home but now every noise and every shadow was a potential threat. The lucky thirty eight the only relative safe place that she had, maybe the Sink too, their house at Novac was… nice, but it really did not give any protection.

"Welcome back Sir is there anything you need?" the sink said as they entered, the multiple AI's saying hello one way or another. "Yeah need more ammo, fire up the trade subroutine" Six grumbled as Muggy rolled next to him.

"Hi!"

"Don't have mugs bud"

"FUCK!"

Winter saw the tiny robot roll away faster than a bullet and crashed onto the wall "… I'm ok, but I hope I wasn't"

Six rolled his eyes at him, his weapons with enough ammo to last him for a while. Winter for her part tilted her head to the side "Do you think he's ok?" the courier raised his eyes and looked at the robot who was sulking next to the Toaster "Yeah, he's just spoiled. All right anything you need, I think I have some weapon repair kits or if you want I can look at your vault suit" his eye had a mischievous stare making Winter cross her arms over her chest as her face turned red "I will kick your ass… from the balcony!"

"I'm joking, I'm joking… but seriously you should get anything you need ready. Come take a look at the map" he said as many of red dots showed up on the map, Winter still mad punched his shoulder making the courier laugh as he wrapped one arm around her waist. Winter grumbled a bit but rested her head on his shoulder as more red dots showed up on the map "Robo-scorpions I assume, they are tracking us down"

There was a small nod "Worse, they are tracking the technologies Klein wants. Mobius does not strike as someone who does things randomly and we still have two more facilities to check" there was a pause as Winter looked down at the names. "X-2, the transmitter array? The big antenna in the distance right?" another nod was her answer. As her set on the other objective she let out a sigh "Too many robo-scorpions near X-13… what could be there?"

Six shook his head "Don't think it matters honestly… you thinking what I am thinking?" Winter smiled "Each one tackles a facility each, I will explore X-2 maybe there's some information there about anything tele transportation. X-13 is more likely to be a weapon, I know you like your toys" a grin was shared.

"Ah you know how to tempt me, besides I don't feel like being a nerd. I will leave that to you and Sarah… I hope she's ok I left her near Vegas" Six said as he went towards the auto-doc, the old machine chuckled as it picked the teeth out of the courier. "She's fine Six, the NCR is all over that area. They might be… complicated, but they re no legion"

The auto-doc hummed catching the attention of both of them "Something wrong?" the doc let out a sigh, making Winter wonder why someone bothered to program irritation and worry in a machine "You're fine, but I need to check your lady friend. I hope I'm wrong but my sensor are detecting an anomaly"

Winter swallowed slightly as the auto-doc opened its doors for a more thorough examination. Six placed a hand on her shoulder "Don't worry, the old doc will take good care of you, I will make my way to X-13 and hopefully drawn all the attention" a small kiss on her lips and a smile made her anxiety dissipate a little. "Besides… you can't be more fucked up than me and I am walking around just fine!"

And with that the courier set off into the big MT alone once again, Winter turned to the machine and gave it a nod hoping it could see her "Let's proceed doctor" the auto-doc opened its doors and made room for Winter, as the machine began a full scan Winter felt a small injection. "How in the world you have not died of one of our many diseases is beyond me, I have not treated may patients. In fact I have only treated one patient but he seems to have already created a natural immunity for most of them"

Winter hummed "I am not from around here. I guess nuclear radiation mutates even viruses" the auto-doc chuckled "No, its worse than that. Back when the war really kicked into gear, both sides developed new technologies to fight one of them was biological warfare. While the doctors here really did not care for the most part but there where some samples that where sent Mobius, my creator" the auto-doc explained as he applied some gel to the bruises that Winter had.

"They really wanted to kill one another huh?" the specialist commented as she felt another needle pierce her skin "Not necessarily, most of the things they created where meant to weaken the population, could you imagine if people started dying of an unknown virus? It would be the excuse they needed to simply press the big red button and wipe them off the map… not that it mattered in the end I guess" the machine commented as it opened its door "There all done, you should rest for a bit before heading out again, an hour should do"

Winter nodded as she moved to the bed, Muggy darting to the other side of the room with a dinner plate on its paws. "Do you mind waking me up in a hour lighswitch?" she asked to the Ai as she turned off the light.

"I guess… but only if you let me give my special light to your boyfriend" the ai replied and Winter had to turn around so that it could not see her snicker, all of the AI where insane in her humble opinion. But they all made her laugh one way or another "Sure sure, just wake me up when the time is right ok?" and with that Winter drifted off to sleep her mind at ease and her body free of the grasp of the old world.

There was a weird air as Six walked on the big MT, the sand barely moving as a soft breeze passed all over the facilities. He did not like when it was too quiet so turning on his PipBoy he looked for a radio signal or something to get his mind off the quiet "Come on… there has to be something out there" as static greeted him, Six lowered his hand and started to fiddle around with communications.

"Slow fucking piece of… what even is…" Six stopped walking as a couple of menus caught his attention. Mr. House had upgraded their PipBoy's but had not specified how, Six assumed that he had planted a tracking device or something but it seems that it went a bit deeper than that, with all the old world antennas around, the machine worked faster and caught signal from places far away. "Man, I should have listened to Winter's explanation on how the PioBoys work… aha! There we go" as new option came to view, Six was surprised when the familiar Vault Boy changed to a new animation. "Connecting to satellite?"

A grin made its way onto his face as he stared at the new options, data on the PipBoys all across America on his wrist. "Vault 101, 111, man there really are a shit-ton of vaults huh" he said to the skeleton that was standing next to him…

"HOLY FUCK!" Six jumped away as the trauma harness raised his arm towards him, the courier punched the skeleton away the bones cracking a bit but the red suit snapped them back into place. Displeased the not alive not dead thing pulled out a plasma caster from its back, Six's eyes widened as he stared at quite probably one of the weapons with the most damage in the wasteland, used by the veterans in the war. How he knew that was not really his priority, as he launched a grende at the bony foe Six watched in amusement as he flew away crashing into the wall the plasma caster slipping from its hands.

Never one to waste the opportunity to claim a weapon, he grabbed the weapon and pointed it at the (literal) skull of his foe. The skeleton simply stared, its decayed flesh mummified and instead of organs inside spilling out a black ooze fell to the floor. Six fired, disintegrating everything until there was only green plasma on the floor, letting out a sigh Six tried to return to where he was sitting but a small glimmer in the sand caught his eye, a dog tag with the flag of the old world. "Jesus, they experimented on their own citizens" he said shaking his head. The PipBoy had not moved still displaying data from the still active or at least not destroyed PipBoys. There was something that clicked on his brain as he searched by vault, 18 the number he stopped.

Every single PipBoy on the list was inactive, save for one. Six felt something squeeze his throat, as his eye began to blur and for the first time in a long while it was not because of the drugs. He did not get why but it saddened him, the data uploaded to network was old and if he remembered correctly someone had fucked up by accessing the weider network "…Kira, I remember. She made a mistake, that's how the enclave… but how she was only like thirteen" he muttered as the past Courier tried its best to piece the things together. With no other option, he tried to track down the last PipBoy.

The location surprised him "Fort Daggerpoint" he muttered, there was a name that made him feel discomfort, so trying to distract himself from that feeling, he decided it would be best if he tried to access the information on the PipBoy, the machine took some time to flicker alive but once it did it threw a password at him.

Six felt a sad smile make its way to his face "Star Player" was the answer and the machine opened all of its information to him. Six took some time to read everything, there where some things that sounded like absolute bullshit. But others made felt faintly familiar, the adventures there seemed to be too fantastical to be true and he sure as shit did not have regenerative abilities now.

But it seems like past him really liked Vault 18, as the paragraphs upon paragraphs that he had written detailed. It sounded like it was good place to live, specially with his family. Six looked at the media stored on the machine and gasped as he stared at a couple of photos, he felt his eye finally water as the picture of a small girl with a guitar smiled at him, there he was.

Young, with two eyes and hugging the one person that he remembered loving. Six stood up and shook his head "No… it doesn't matter" he looked at the machine and then with a couple of prompts he activated a self-destruct on the PipBoy from the Star Player, that was not who he was. Whatever happened in the past, whoever he was before was dead, the bullets had done him in. Courier Six was the one that walked the earth and he was more than done with all those things from the past, he had things he wanted and people he loved.

With a big weigh lifted off his shoulder, Courier Six walked towards X-13 lighter of step, his mind no longer assaulted by blurry visions of the past, but memories of the adventures in the Mojave and a pair of beautiful blue eyes. The artificial lights on the Big MT showing him the path he had to take.

Back in California the PipBoy threw sparks everywhere as it died, the only ones who were there to witness its dead where the irradiated creatures on the abandoned Wasteland.

A/N: Felt fitting to end the chapter here. The finale to Old World Blues next upload but I wanted to end the chapter with the death of the Star Player. I loved the DLC size mod and wanted to include it one way or another, so what better way to do it than as mysterious backstory. However, it is only that, backstory. New California characters all have the same fate as Six, a big ol' memory loss. And even if they remember the past, what they do in the Mojave far eclipses everything else, so if you wish you can ignore the backstory.

After all, it is all Six from now on.