"I myself have no existence; I am but a dream--your dream, a creature of your imagination. In a moment you will have realized this, then you will banish me from your visions and I shall dissolve into the nothingness out of which you made me."
—Satan's nephew by the same name, The Mysterious Stranger, Mark Twain
***
My power armored boot crushed a skull to powder as I crossed the abandoned streets. The town was quiet, but far from dead. Tension between the three factions was about to explode like the bombs of the Great War. And what of the chaos? The power vacuum? I will fill it.
Turns out I already had the Nuclear Physicist perk to the second or third level. Or some weird equivalent. I just jumped into the power armor and the weird "training" kicked in and info for preserving energy on my power core started going.
"You can't be serious!" The Gunner said.
"I am, your team wiped the floor with these Raiders right?"
"But we-"
I just gave her a look and added, "I did more in nothing more than a speedo. Go to Greentop Nursery if you aren't coming with."
She sighed, "Hell, let's blow something up I guess."
"Aim a gun at me or look at me funny." I threatened.
"Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on."
I wore my metal helmet I looted from earlier. My set was still mismatched but I couldn't wait until I could make a shadowed set. In fact, I didn't even take the time to clean up the blood inside my vault suit. I just hopped in my new "cherry" T-45 power armor like I woke up and chose violence or something.
My weapons felt like sticks in my hands. My AR-10 and shotgun felt so light… or this armor just made me feel so strong. I gave my Gunner "friend" a duffel with the guns and had my robot watch her closely. All of us will be pack mules after this but I tried to split the weight evenly so we could move more smoothly.
My weapons of choice was a fiery automatic laser pistol, combat knife and a shock baton. However we can't forget the most important weapon I have: my power armor. We arrived at the metro and my nerves started getting to me. This was real life, not a game right now, but here I am honestly doing the least smartest thing.
A normal wastelander would have ran to civilization. Become a civilian and never leave again. I knew that wasn't for me and I wasn't a normal wastelander. I came from a Vault and that put a target on my back in some ways.
I also wondered if the medical facilities nearby might have information on these genetic experiments that gave birth to this new me. First thing I needed was more guns and ammo cause greenies are spongy ole' brutes. Much stronger than the normal human and better equipped with more strategies. Like c'mon, they may be dumb but Raiders never have rocket launchers and never run up to you with a bloody nuke in hand ready to send you to Atom. They're bigger, stronger and faster but dumber canonically in Fallout lore.
"Esperanza," I stood in front of the door, "give me some Jet. Save your ammo."
"What's the plan?" The Gunner asked as the robot silently complied.
I didn't answer though.
I just took the hit, accidentally sending some down the wrong pipe. Never having asthma or done drugs in my old life I coughed a little, the world slowing down. I could feel my iris' enlarge and a smile growing on my face.
Ho boy, I am a god.
I kicked the door and kicked it one more time to bust it open.
Raiders were caught in 4K chilling at the post drinking beer and snorting something before getting up and hastily running to weapons. I surged forward, the darkness swallowing me before I jumped over a barrier to them.
If only I had Doom music on right now.
In one hand I blasted a Raider in his back with my laser pistol and he rolled on the ground in flames coming from the hole in his chest. The other Raider swung a pool cue around and broke it on me to no effect. I kicked her into the wall and gripped her head in my Iron Fist. The sick crunch of her neck followed a twist of my wrist.
Thirty-eight caliber (.38) rounds pinged along the back of my armor. Curses screamed in slow motion as I whirled around and batted a Raider through the door he just opened. Two more had raised their guns and were blasting me. Both were automatic but the rounds were too weak to penetrate. My laser pistol blew one's brains out. The heat somehow ballooning his head into pieces. The other faces the same fate but had a laser remove an eye before he collapsed. Finally I raised my boot and spread the downed Raider's eyes across the floor.
I sprinted forward, passing maybe a dozen cubicles with nothing but dirty mattresses, trash and duffles with belongings as a living quarters. Along the walls were the pinned bodies of long dead Raiders. Words like 'traitor' or 'thief' written next to them in what I guessed to be their own blood. The hall stank with death, puke and other substances that seemed like drugs or supplements like that. I was never involved in that sort of thing but I knew that even white board markers could get people high. I'd imagine that those fetishes of the smell of gasoline or hairspray were rampant in this dark underworld. Could they even become addicted to the smell of rot? Surely they grew noseblind eventually to the bodies and filth.
I pushed onward to what seemed like the lieutenants' quarters. One large room with the bodies of men, women, and children with signs of… abuse before death, on their bodies. Large beds had Raider's scrambling up as I shot two of the six in the room. One lit a Molotov as his friend's bodies began to burn from the inside out.
Now, now, surely they wouldn't be so stupid as to throw a Molotov in their own base. Right?
Yep… they were that stupid.
It hit me from the side, some of the burning liquid splashing onto my laser pistol. The plastics and electronics melted so I cupped my head protectively, trusting my armor, and rammed the one who threw it. Bones crunched but the drugged maniac started getting up. I picked him up instead and pressed my metal thumb until it popped his aorta like a can. Holding him up, I used his body to spay blood on the flames and partially put them out or wash them off.
Under fire, I cast him aside and charged at the next. There were three enemies left in this room. Reaching the next she sent me back a step with a shotgun to the chest. I pushed the double barrel away and pressed her into the wall, flames still kindling on me. Hitting her in the chest once broke ribs. Hitting her again with an open palm broke the skin and I ripped out her heart. Caught up in the violence, I spitefully punched her jaw and sent her flying to the side like a doll.
The last two looked at each other and the one closest to the door leading to the main tunnel ran deeper into the metro. As the one left behind screamed curses onto his teammate I picked him up and dropped him onto my knee. Flopping the body off, I glanced over the chaos I caused, the flames dying out on my armor.
Patting the flames out, I grabbed a sledgehammer from the corner. Pushing on I came to a nondescript hallway. No bodies on the wall of this one. Just a toolbox and locked door off to the side. Did look like the Raiders were having trouble getting in there though. However, the second open door cast an ominous orange light into the hall.
Getting closer the sound of a scream echoed down to me. I rounded the corner and emerged in a locked off train car. He had jammed the car's doors shut with a tire iron but there were ample windows.
This had to be the chief's quarters. A patchwork throne of wood and red carpet was adorned with human skulls and heads. Each of the junk steps up to the throne had heads on pikes on each side. A bonfire had a human tied to it with metal wires. It was as if they were spinning the body like one would do a spit. Whether or not that was a telltale sign of cannibalism or torture I didn't know. Not far from the fire was the body of the Raider that ran from me and something covered with a tarp; about as tall as me.
The Raider chief was older by Wasteland standards; easily in his forties with graying hair. He had two collared, nude women next to him with two hits of Psycho. Palms up on his throne they injected him the rage inducing substance and he let out an erotic gasp.
Trying not to waste time I kicked at the blocked door.
"He was a coward!" The chief roared as he shot up from his throne. "Unworthy!"
He came down the steps and ripped away the tarp hiding a full set of Raider power armor with special modifications. The most eye-catching, however, was the aesthetic on the head and shoulders: a Yao Guai head and hide.
I kicked at the door again, almost breaking through.
Once he opened up the suit and got inside he grabbed the two bumper swords stabbed into the ground next to it. His two women were chained up and unable to escape as he turned and impaled both of the slaves on his swords; holding them in the air as he screamed.
Finally I kicked my way in, he plopped the bodies next to him and turned to me. Leaping down the steps, he howled and I saw the tribal-like blood paintings on his armor and the Jack-o-lantern-esque design on his helmet reflecting in the bonfire's flames. It reminded me of the wiki*, in Mandarin, yāo guài translates as "monster" or "demon." In Chinese mythology, "yao guai" are usually physical manifestations of the spirits of mistreated animals or fallen divine animals. This guy? A demon befitting the spirit of a bear. He roared,
"Come! Let us dance the dance of death!"
We circled around one another; the fire between us. I had no high powered weapons. A .44, .308. or maybe a 12 gauge in a gap of his armor at close range might do the trick but I pushed so hard I didn't have time to loot anything. Sure, in the game you could crit hit Overboss Colter to death with V.A.T.S or Overdrive but this was different.
Also, my Jet wore off so I wasn't as high as a kite anymore.
I did, however, have V.A.T.S. It was different than the game and triggered the Blitz perk. It operated like a subconscious targeting system that I could control in my body that slowed down time. With Blitz active, I ran, leapt and twirled with my sledgehammer in one hand and bashed him in the face. Being hit so hard that half the visor broke off his drugged and deranged face didn't deter him though.
He swiped at me and I dodged under it, sweeping his leg out from under him. However, he fell on the hammer and ripped the head off. Now all I had was a wooden stake against a drugged madman with two 59' Chrysler Imperial front bumpers beaten out into swords coming at me in an exosuit. I bunny hopped over his return swing and kicked him away.
(The Chrysler Imperial is more popularly known as the Green Hornet's car. It is also infamous for being so unbeatable in demo derbies that it's banned all thanks to that front bumper.)
My adrenaline was pumping now. I felt like I couldn't use V.A.T.S again for a second. I just needed to hold out till then!
He did a double overhead strike and I wasn't thinking in the moment and tried to block it using a cross block. It was so powerful that my guard broke, barely redirecting the blades and cutting deeply into my armor. If he does that again he will hit flesh and then another full powered swing could remove my hand.
Before I could retaliate he back-hand slashed at me and forced me to step back. Then he brought his other arm around and I dodged to the side. Desperate to slow him down, I stabbed the stake in his exposed armpit, trying for his heart or other organs.
He didn't even yelp, and I drew quite a bit of blood.
The man simply brought his giant swords around again and I ducked. My body started going into hyperdrive, my V.A.T.S returning. I ducked again, punched straight and uppercut him before my V.A.T.S ran out again. A blade was coming to my right and I was forced to block. My armor cracked, pain arced along my arm and I heard a piano chord.
No.
No way.
I know that noise!
This bloody quirky game.
I love you!
A female in a black trench coat and fedora appeared behind the Raider Chief with a huge S&W Model 29 .44 revolver. (Dirty Harry's Gun.) Blasting him in the back there was a hissing noise and the disappearing piano chord. He twirled around and I noted the fire building where his power core should be. I shoved him away and dived away as his power armor exploded violently after the power core ruptured. After the dust settled, I looked around and for lack of a better term: he was now everywhere. Obliterated, only parts of his armor remained and his Yao Guai cloak that landed next to me. Taking it up, I was relieved to have finished the Raiders.
However, after a loud and low howl echoed down to me I knew the battle has just begun.
The super mutants were coming.