The trio of mercenaries, the raider and the old man arrived at the rundown pit stop and found that it was once a Poseidon Energy gas station, one of the only ones in the Midwest. They all sat inside the garage on random assortments of junk for seating. The old man sat down on a rusty chair and took a much needed rest for his old bones.
"So, they made it to Arroyo." Courtney said, fanning herself with her hat. "What'd they find there?"
The old man leaned forward on his cane. "Just what they were told." He answered, then remained silent.
"...Are you gonna tell us?" Jr. said.
"That depends." The old man remarked. "Are you willing to dispense your disbelief a bit further?"
Kelly looked to the old man from atop the barrel she was sitting on. "What's that suppose to mean?" She asked.
"There's more to the story than just Arroyo." The old man replied. "What if I told you something happened to Michael that would seem like science fiction?"
Rodger scoffed. "That's pretty much all ya been telling us." He said. "Still find it hard to believe any of that shit you told us."
The old man rose his head. "Even after all this time, everyone believes what they see rather than what they're told." He said. "But, I suppose that's fair. You can't trust everything anybody says, even if it's one hundred percent fact. That's just human nature at that point."
Courtney interrupted. "Hey, old man. I've got a question for ya." She said. "How do you know all this? It seems like you know every little detail."
The old man pouted. "I'm..." He stuttered. "I'm not exactly proud of how I learned about Michael's story, let alone what's left of it." He leaned back in his chair. "Let's just say, I was a different person when I was young." The group fell into silence.
Jr. spoke up and broke the awkward silence. "So, what were you gonna tell us?" He said. "I'd like to know what happened next."
The old man perked up. "Very well." He said. "But, I'm gonna throw you all a curve ball and go back on a part I didn't tell." He leaned forward once more. "Very far back."
2242
The bright sun reigned over the Californian desert. The rough sand stretched on for miles with mountains on the horizon and the calm clouds moved slowly as they rotated the earth. All appeared to be peaceful, but the Wasteland is never truly at peace. In the middle of the desert, a fight had broken out between these new Enclave soldiers in power armor and a lowly tribal in a Vault 13 jumpsuit with a Highwayman and his companions. Among the companions were a fellow tribal, Sulik, a faithful canine, Dogmeat, a desert ranger, John Cassidy, and a very special breed of intelligent albino deathclaw, otherwise known as Goris. Unfortunately, even with the strength they had, they were next to no match for the Enclave soldiers dawned in advanced X-01 power armor and wielding plasma weaponry.
"It's mutants like you that ruined this land!" One of the Enclave soldiers shouted, firing at the group taking cover behind their car. The side of the car had scorched marks and hot plasma oozing off the body. Goris was keeping the soldiers distracted, but was taking heavy hits. The group behind the car were taking potshots at the soldiers.
"What the hell's the plan?" John shouted.
"I don't know!" The Vault 13 tribal shouted back.
"Aren't you suppose to be The Chosen One?!" John shot back. "If this is what you were chosen for, I don't know if it was worth it!"
Dogmeat was trying to run out of cover and attack the soldiers, but Sulik was holding him back, so he wouldn't be decimated into a green pile of goop. The Chosen One peaked out and saw that Goris was getting sluggish and was soon gonna collapse to his injuries. The Chosen One reached into the trunk of the Highwayman, grabbed an FN FAL Rifle and started blasting at the soldiers.
"Why did the car have to run out of juice here?" John said. Just then, an Enclave soldier wielding a plasma caster walked around the front, surprising the group and holding them at gunpoint. Soon, more soldiers came around and aimed their weapons at them. Some soldiers were holding Goris at gunpoint as he laid on the ground, near the brink of death. "Well...fuck." John muttered.
"We have you surrounded, muties." One of the soldiers said. "Any last words?" The soldiers all revved their weapons, ready to decimate the travelers.
"Yeah." The Chosen One spoke up. "That armor makes your ass look big."
The soldiers charged their weapons and were about to destroy them, but were immediately stopped when three of them were rammed down by something that appeared out of thin air. Everyone jumped in surprise, but soon discovered that the object that ran over the soldiers was another car, another Highwayman car. The soldiers started firing at the second Highwayman, but the group they were about to kill jumped them. John tackled one soldier, ripped off their helmet and started bludgeoning their skull with it. Sulik let go of Dogmeat, allowing the mutt to grab hold of the soldiers weapon, giving Sulik the opportunity to attack. As his companions were attacking the soldiers, The Chosen One ran off to help Goris. As the tribal ran toward his companion, he was smacked to the ground by a soldier.
"You're not getting away this time, mutant freak!" The soldier shouted at The Chosen One. Just as the soldier was ready to shoot, the other Highwayman came back and ran them over. The soldier slid over the car, breaking the latch on their helmet. The helmet fell off and landed in the trunk of the other Highwayman. When the soldier fell to the ground, The Chosen One got on top of them and started caving their skull in with the stock of their FN FAL. The second Highwayman swerved and stopped, hitting another soldier to the dirt. The person driving the car jumped out and hastily looked around the area as if they didn't know where they were. The soldier stood up and lunged at the stranger. The mysterious driver jumped out of the way and unsheathed a sword from their hip.
"A sword isn't going to save you." The soldier said. The stranger pulled a lever on the handle and the sword ignited into flames. The soldier lunged at the driver again, but the driver plunged out of the way and stabbed the sword through the fan in the back of the soldiers armor. The sword went in deep and flames seeped out from under the soldiers helmet, turning the advanced power armor into a bronze bull. The soldier fell to the dirt, still alive and gasping. The stranger ripped off their helmet and the soldier saw the red eyes that looked down at them. The stranger upholstered the shotgun from their back and promptly blasted the soldiers head away, leaving only a mixture of red mush, destroyed bone and splattered gray matter.
The Chosen One finally stood up, shaking the dizziness from being hit so hard in the head. He saw that most of the Enclave Soldiers laid dead in the dirt and the remaining troops had turned tail and retreated out into the Wasteland. He looked over and saw that Goris had regained some of his health and was standing up. He also saw that his other companions were busy celebrating their victory and wiping the blood off of them. The Chosen One turned his attention toward their savior and immediately noticed the damaged vault jumpsuit he was wearing and the golden number 25 on their back. He scanned the stranger and saw the flaming sword in their hand, the device on his left arm, the red bandana tied on their head and the red eyes that were slowly turning back to white. The stranger composed himself and began scanning his surroundings, eventually noticing the other people next to him.
"Hey! Thanks for the help." The Chosen One said, approaching the stranger. "We really needed it." The Chosen One stuck their hand out, wanting to shake the strangers hand. The stranger looked to him and eventually returned the gesture.
"No problem." The stranger said as they stepped off the corpse. The Chosen One noticed that the stranger was shorter than him and appeared to be a bit underdeveloped, most likely a teenager. But, that didn't change the fact that this teenager just saved their asses.
"Where did you come from?" The Chosen One asked. "I didn't even hear your engine get closer." He looked over at the other Highwayman. "You have a Highwayman too? Shit, I guess you must've repaired that one in Klamath. And upgraded it, by the looks of it."
"Huh? Oh. No, I got the car in Nebraska." The stranger replied, realizing what the other person had said. "C-Can you tell me where I am?"
John walked over to the two. "You're deep in California, kid. Welcome to hell." He said.
"Okay. Good. I'm still in California." The stranger muttered. "Where in California?"
"Well, the closest place I can think of is either Redding or Modoc." John answered.
"What?" The stranger looked confused. "No, I was just in Broken Hills. Or, at least what's left of it."
"What? What happened to Broken Hills?" The Chosen One interrogated. "Are the mutants and humans fighting?"
"No. Broken Hills is a ghost town." The stranger answered with a confused expression on his face. "Me and my companions were staying the night there. Speaking of which, why is it day?"
The rest of the companions came over to meet the stranger. "Not when we were there." Goris said as he put his robe back on. "It was a thriving community. I thought we had settled the dispute with the settlers." Normally, a person would run off in fear when they saw Goris without his robe, but the stranger just looked at the giant deathclaw, seeming even more confused.
"Goris?" The stranger said. "Is that you?"
It was Goris' time to be confused. "Have we met before?" The deathclaw asked. "I apologize, but I don't seem to have memory of you in particular."
"What the hell do you mean? You're the one who gave me the car." The stranger replied. "You're the one who told me to go find Arroyo."
The Chosen One shot their head toward the stranger. "Arroyo? Why do you want to go there?" He asked.
"I'm suppose to go there to find a Garden of Eden Creation Kit." The stranger answered. "Or, at least that's what I've been told."
The Chosen One was silent for a bit. "You're a vault dweller, right?" He eventually asked.
"Yeah. Vault 25." The stranger answered. "You a vault dweller as well?"
"Me? No." The Chosen One replied. "I'm from Arroyo." This caught the strangers attention. "I was sent out of my village to also find a Garden of Eden Creation Kit."
The stranger pondered for a second. "Do you have one?" He asked.
"Yes, we do have one." The Chosen One answered. "I need it to save my people from the heavy drought that's killing us off. Why do you need it?"
"My people have been exposed to a very dangerous chemical, turning them into blood thirsty monsters." The stranger said. "The G.E.C.K. could give me a chance to create an antidote, or a vaccine, or something to save my people."
The Chosen One thought to himself. "Then, it would appear both of our causes are just." He said. "I wish I could help, but I've been through Hell to get this G.E.C.K.." The stranger stared at him. "Though, I think I can possibly help you. I heard tale of another G.E.C.K. somewhere in California, but I don't know where it is."
"I heard one was in Arroyo." The stranger said.
"Well, there's none in Arroyo. That's for sure." The Chosen One replied. "You can stick with us if you want. I'm heading back to Arroyo with the kit and, if there's enough, I can let you poke around at it."
The stranger was silent for a bit, but eventually stuck their hand out for a handshake. "Michael Becker, but most people just call me The Prodigy." He said.
Just as The Chosen One was about to shake Michael's hand and introduce himself, The Prodigy blinked out of existence in front of their eyes. Both Michael and the other Highwayman were gone, leaving the group confused and baffled at what they had just witnessed. They all looked around, but there was nothing of him. It was almost like a ghost. The others were confused for sure, but decided it was best not to dwell on such things and move on. However, The Chosen One thought about this encounter for a bit longer. That kid seemed to be a person of extreme interest. Was this a holy vision? Was it a vision from the jet fumes he inhaled by helping Myron create the damned chem? He didn't know. But, he did know that this would be an encounter he would have to talk about.
2280
"My God...It's real." Bonnie whispered in disbelief.
"We made it." Michael said in silent joy and relief. They had finally reached the legendary city of Arroyo under a mask of a holographic mountain. The buildings resembled those made in Italy during the renaissance, the streets were lined in concrete and street lamps and the sun shined upon the holy oasis. The holographic mountain appeared to be one way, showing the blue sky to the people of the city and the rocky mountain to the people outside.
"It's...incredible." Jenkins muttered.
"It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." Phyllis said. "I can't believe they were able to hide all of this."
Michael shook himself out of his trance. "Guys, we have a mission to do." He reminded. The others shook themselves out of their trance as well and agreed. The gang walked toward the city and passed through the extravagant front gate, almost like stepping through the pearly gates of Heaven. They walked through the streets of Arroyo, admiring the architecture of the buildings. The place was an oasis in the California desert, but something was a bit odd: the whole city seemed to be empty. "Where is everyone?" Michael muttered to himself.
The crew continued walking and eventually found themselves in what appeared to be a central market with some buildings around it. Stands of fresh grown food, water, useless nick-knacks; the place was a flea market of a sort. But, it was still empty. There was still food roasting on open fires and such, but there was no one around. It looked as if they just abandoned the place recently.
"I don't like this." Bonnie said.
Unbeknownst to them, Dogmeat wandered off to go get some of that fresh meat left behind. Michael eventually noticed and gave chase after his canine once again. The others were about to follow suit, but something stopped them. Just they were about to run, Jenkins fell to his knee and sparks irradiated from him like an open fire.
"Jenkins!" Phyllis called out. The ranger was about to go help his ally, but a sack was thrown over his head and something pulled him into the stands. Bonnie eventually took notice of both Phyllis and Jenkins missing behind her. Just as she was about to go investigate, a pair of hands from underneath one of the clothed tables reached out, grabbed her boots and made her fall to the ground. Bonnie tried to fight back, but she was unable to prevent the hands from pulling her under the table and out of sight.
"Dogmeat!" Michael called to his dog. He called again, but no answer. He traversed through the alley's of the market to try and find his canine friend, but was receiving no luck thus far. Just as he was about to call again, Becker noticed something on the dirt ground: Dogmeat's red bandana. Michael picked the bandana up and his worries grew. He stood up and took notice of his missing companions, which only made him more worried. He began to backtrack where the rest were, but they weren't present. Michael noticed drag marks that lead to under one of the tables and began to speculate. He knelt down to analyze the drag marks. After a few seconds of analyzing, Michael began to feel a familiar feeling; the same feeling he had in Freeside when that thug almost jumped Bonnie. He felt as though something was close, and getting closer. He felt as though there was something to his right, but it appeared that nothing was there. He took a better look and noticed that there were subtle footprints being made in the dirt, almost as if there was a ghost. Michael picked up a fistful of dirt and waited a bit. When the feeling was just strong enough, The Prodigy chucked the dirt toward the direction he felt it. The dirt hit something and the particles landed on what appeared to be something invisible.
"Gotcha!" Michael said. The young vault boy upholstered his hunting shotgun and aimed it at the dirt particles.
"Woah woah woah! Hold on." A voice called out from nowhere. The invisible man pressed a button and flickered back into sight. "Calm down, stranger." The man said.
"First an invisible bridge. Now invisible people?" Michael said, gun still aimed at the man. "What will science think of next?" He gloated. "Where are my friends?"
The man put his arms up. "They're safe. We just incarcerated them." He said.
"We?" Michael questioned. Becker was about to ask more questions, but something metal struck him on the back of the head, hard. As the metal object made a load bang, Michael soon dropped to the ground, unconscious.
Michael jolted awake, breathing heavily, but he wasn't in Arroyo anymore. Michael had found himself back in the dark void in his subconscious.
"You've really got a knack for ending up in horrible situations." The voice gloated at him.
"Fuck you too." Michael responded. The Prodigy staggered himself up and looked around. He saw his forcefully added inner counterpart sitting at a table playing poker with what appeared to be a man in full winterized combat armor and a bear. The voice had the appearance of a much cleaner Michael again.
"Look, Mikey, I'm just saying that you should take better care of yourself." The voice said as he pulled a card from the deck. "Otherwise I may have to take over."
"Hey, I don't need any help from you right now." Michael responded. "I can recover from this."
"I'd like to see you try. You got hit pretty good." The voice mocked as he rearranged his cards.
"What was I hit with anyway?" Michael asked.
"How the Hell should I know? I wasn't watching." The voice replied.
"You are utterly useless." Michael said.
Meanwhile, in the real world, the two attackers had brought the Highwayman into the city and dumped Michael in the trunk.
"Damn outsiders." One of them said. "Nothing but trouble."
"We captured all of them." The other said. "It's only this one left." The two stared at their unconscious intruder. "Vault suit. Reckon this ones a vault dweller?"
"I don't know." The other guard answered. "Could've just stole it off a vault dweller." Just then, a large bang could be heard just across the street from them. The two guards shot up and brought their attention toward the noise.
"The fuck was that?" One guard asked.
"Don't know. Let's check it out." The two guards went toward the source of the sound, leaving Michael in the trunk. But, unbeknownst to them, the cars sprang to life and the wheels began to turn. The car began to drive off further into the city of Arroyo with Michael as it's cargo. Someone had just stole both the car and the intruder.
Meanwhile, Michael's entourage weren't in a great situation. The group were taken to a fenced off area of the Eastern wing of the city. Bonnie fluttered her eyes open from her catatonic state and took notice of her surroundings: multiple tents lined up, hordes of people cutting wood, tables of food and supplies, armed guards in some strange armor and hordes of what looked to be citizens. She looked to her side and saw both Phyllis and Jenkins tied up on the same pole as she was.
"Why do we always end up in this situation?" Bonnie grunted.
"That's a question I'd very much like the answer to." Jenkins said. Bonnie looked over to Jenkins and saw that he was out of his armor. He wasn't particularly built like a truck, but just your average amount of muscular. His uniform was black with navy blue highlights, his black hair was short and he had a trimmed goatee.
"Oh shit. This is the first time I've ever seen you out of that tin can." Bonnie said.
"Don't get used to it." Jenkins said in reply.
"If you two are done asking questions, I think I might be able to loosen these restraints." Phyllis said.
"Anyone see Michael?" Bonnie asked.
"I got a visual on the entrance, but no Michael." Jenkins said.
"I think I saw them take our weapons and Dogmeat into one of the tents." Phyllis informed.
"Hold up. Shut up for a second. Someone's coming." Bonnie said. A guard approached the tied up trio and looked down at them. The guard scoffed and kicked dust in Bonnie's face, making her cough.
"Damn outsiders." The guard muttered as he shuffled off.
"Why does Michael never end up in these situations?" Bonnie coughed.
Meanwhile, Michael was propped up in a wooden chair, still unconscious. He laid in his sleeping state until something was put under his nose. Someone had held a tin can with some concoction that wreaked a foul and potent stench under The Prodigy's nose. After a few seconds, Michael began to twitch and his face began to shrivel up in disgust. Michael's eyes opened wide and he began to cough in response to the foul odor. The person holding the can pulled the can back and let Michael compose himself. The young Vault Dweller gained a hold of his senses and shook his head. He looked up and saw a young boy in some makeshift clothing holding a tin can in front of him. The two locked eyes for a moment and sat in silence. Michael glanced around at his surroundings and found that he was in a house, a fairly good one by the looks of it. The walls weren't corroded, the air wasn't musty, and the furniture wasn't destroyed.
"Where am I?" Michael broke the silence. The boy didn't respond. Instead, he stood up and ran out of the room. Michael didn't bother to try and stop him, but he would have to chase after him. Michael saw that the boy had left the tin can full of whatever the Hell was in it. He picked it up, took one quick sniff of it and immediately recoiled in disgust. He placed the can on the small table next to him and went after the boy. Becker walked out of the room and found himself in a hallway with multiple doors. He went to the left and ended up in what appeared to be a living area/dining room. Michael saw the boy, a baby in a crib, two middle-aged adults and a Mr. Handy bot doing the chores. The boy hid behind the middle-aged woman and the woman looked up from her book to see The Prodigy standing in their hallway.
"Ah! You're finally awake." The woman said. "How's your head?" The middle-aged male looked over and saw the lad in the jumpsuit.
"It's...fine, I guess." Michael responded. "Where am I?"
"Somewhere safe." The man said. "Somewhere away from those people in uniform."
"People in..uniform?" Michael began to remember. "Wait...My friends! They need my help."
"Woah. Easy, cowboy." The man said and walked over to Michael. "One step at a time. What's your name?"
"Becker. Michael Becker." The young Vault Dweller responded.
"Nice to meet ya, Becker. I'm Owen." The man responded. "That's my wife, Skylar, my son, Leon, my baby daughter, Annie, and our robot butler, Pinsworth."
"Nice to meet you all." Michael said. "Look. I really need to help my friends. They were captured by those invisible guys."
"Gillian's men. I know." Owen responded. "I was watching from an alley. When they put you in that car of yours, I caused a distraction and drove off with both you and the car."
"Who are those people?" Michael asked.
"Some of Gillian's guards. Sent out to capture the intruders." Owen answered. "It's most certain that you don't know this, but Arroyo is currently in the middle of a civil war."
"A civil war?" Michael repeated.
"People like Gillian believe that Arroyo should remain isolated and away from the rest of The Wasteland. People like us believe that Arroyo should be open to outsiders and become a thriving metropolis once again." Owen said. "It's been hard and it's only getting harder."
"...So, what are you guys doing about it?" Michael asked.
"Our people hide in the shadows and only come out if necessary." Owen replied. "It's the only way to combat their stealth technology." Michael didn't respond. "But, enough about us. What brings you to Arroyo?" He asked.
"I, uh, I was told I could find a G.E.C.K. here." Michael answered.
"A G.E.C.K.?" The man of the house chuckled. "Sorry. There are no G.E.C.K.'s here, my friend."
"Oh c'mon. I didn't come all this way for nothing." Michael said. "What...There's got to be someone that knows...What about The Chosen One? He still around?" The room fell silent.
"No ones heard from The Chosen One in years." Owen explained. "Look. It's best that you get some rest right now. We'll take care of getting your friends." Owen ushered Michael over to the kitchen. "Pitsworth, get this man something to eat."
"Sir, yes sir." The Mr. Handy reluctantly said, clearly not enjoying his purpose in this world. Owen sat Michael down at the table and went back to his family. Michael pondered in his own head for a little bit, thinking about his situation. There had to be something here. Michael reached into his pouch and pulled out the map of Arroyo Goris had given him. He rolled it out on the wooden table and stared at it. With this new found evidence, this was clearly a very old map of Arroyo and not at all a tribal community anymore. Michael thoroughly scanned the map for every inch of detail and noticed something on the map: there were stiches sewed into one spot of the map, making a square shape and appeared that the leather used in that spot was fairly new. Something was removed from the map.
Michael stared at that spot, pondering on what that spot could have been. It looked as if it connected the canyon wall further beyond the town, but it didn't look natural. Becker tried to think, but couldn't come up with anything. While Michael was left pondering about the map, he started to flip through his little book. He flipped through some of the old pages and found a page that looks like it was covered in sketches. One sketch appeared to be some cargo ship, another looked to be some weird portal thing, similar to what he had drove into what he thinks was last night. However, one drawing stuck out: a strange structure in what appeared to be a side of a mountain. Michael stared at this drawing and back to the map. He tore that specific sketch out of the book and put it on the map. Michael put the tore piece of paper on the spot of the new leather and lined it up. The drawing lined up perfectly with the lines of the canyon wall, so this is what must've been taken out. The sketch even had a title written on the side.
"Temple of Trials..." Michael read. Becker stood up, grabbed the map and book and walked out back into the living area. Owen and Skylar were sitting on the couch reading while Leon was playing with his baby sister. Owen looked up and noticed Michael.
"Michael? I thought you were relaxi-" Owen tried to say.
"What's the Temple of Trials?" Michael interrupted. The room fell silent once again. Skylar and Owen looked at each other and back to Michael. Owen got up and pulled Michael aside.
"How do you know about the Temple of Trials?" Owen whispered.
"Your map told me." Michael said. He held the map up in his hand and showed Owen just what he was referring to. While this was happening, the trio of companions were still in a rough spot.
"How's those restraints coming?" Bonnie whispered to Phyllis.
"Just a few more knots." The ranger answered back. "These guys really don't want us to leave." Jenkins and Bonnie were lookout in case any more guards decided to come and insult them.
"Someone's coming." Jenkins whispered. Phyllis immediately stopped untying when warned. A man and two guards approached the tied up trio and the one man was in a black robe with leather padding. His face was chiseled with gray hair that was slicked back with a ponytail and a big, bushy Fu Manchu moustache. The man looked down at them and smirked.
"Interesting group of people." He said. "A mercenary, Brotherhood, and an NCR ranger." He squatted down to their level in front of Bonnie. "Do you have any idea where you are?" He said with a cold tone.
"Your fantasy kingdom?" Bonnie joked.
"A poor mans attempt at civilization?" Phyllis said.
"More like a poor man's attempt of a secure lifestyle." Jenkins remarked. The man squinted his eyes and smiled.
"Funny lot, you are." He said. The man stood up and stood next to his guards. "I am Gillian Buchanan, the leader of this fine side of paradise. And you have trespassed into Arroyo grounds."
"So, what are you? The mayor?" Bonnie said.
"I will be soon." Gillian said. "But, those rebels are quite the conundrum." He walked back over to them and began to slowly circle them. "Once I take care of you three, I'll get back to my business." Just then, one guard came running up to them.
"Sir!" They said, trying to catch their breath.
"Soldier, can't you see I'm in the middle of something?" Gillian said, not facing his guard.
"I'm sorry, sir, but our scouts report that two of our men have been found dead near Main Street and there appears to be a fourth intruder." The guard informed. Gillian turned around and his brows were furrowed, showing that he was frustrated.
"A fourth intruder." Gillian repeated. He took a second to sigh in anger and looked down at the captured intruders. "I'm not done with you lot." He said. He stormed off back toward the tents and his guards followed, leaving the trio back to their business.
"What do you think he was talking about?" Bonnie asked.
"Don't know, but I assume that Arroyo is separated for some reason." Jenkins said. "And I think we're currently on the wrong side."
"Just...One...More...Got it!" Phyllis said, finally untying their restraints. They felt the rope fall from their wrists and concluded they were free. The trio looked around to see if any guards were around. When they made sure the coast was clear, the trio snuck away toward the tents and his behind the stands and tables of food and supplies.
"What's the plan?" Jenkins whispered.
"You see that tent?" Phyllis pointed toward one of the larger tents further down the street. "That's where they took our weapons."
"That's pretty far. And I don't think we can keep hiding behind tables." Bonnie said. Jenkins poked his head up and saw what was on the stand they were hiding behind.
"I have an idea." He said. Jenkins reached over and pulled over a large coat and bandana. He threw the attire on and disguised himself. The other two caught on and grabbed some clothing from the stand. Bonnie grabbed an old suit jacket and a black desperado hat while Phyllis grabbed a poncho and a scarf that he wrapped around his helmet, concealing his NCR attribution. The trio snuck around and hid amongst the crowd. They cautiously walked toward the tent and snuck inside while no one was watching. They closed the tarp behind them and took off their disguises. Bonnie kept the desperado hat on because she liked it. The trio looked around and saw an arsenal of heavy weaponry, but they also found both Jenkins T-51 armor and Dogmeat locked in a cage. When Dogmeat saw them, he immediately stood up and wagged his tail in happiness.
"Hey, boy." Bonnie said to the mutt. She knelt down and unlocked the cage, releasing Dogmeat from his captivity. Jenkins went over to his armor and saw that there were pouches and straps made of leather on the torso. They were trying to use his armor as some kind of pack mule. He didn't have time to remove it, so he hopped back into his armor and scanned around for his weapons.
"This is some serious shit they got here." Phyllis announced. "They could level a small town with this much firepower."
"Yeah? Well, we're gonna level them first." Bonnie said. She found her rifle and holstered it over her shoulder, but she also decided to take a grenade launcher and a 10mm pistol. Jenkins found that they had scrapped his weapon, so he decided to take something else. He found an M72 Gauss Rifle and decided to take that. He also grabbed a super sledge in case he need to go close combat. Luckily, these new pouches allowed him to carry the super sledge on his back. Phyllis found his Anti-Material rifle and holstered it on his back. He also grabbed a short, double-barreled shotgun with some buckshot and slug rounds, some explosives, and a serrated combat knife. As they were arming themselves, two people came into the tent: a male guard and a female citizen. The two were currently licking the inside of each others mouths, so they didn't notice the people inside.
"Should we do it here?" The woman said. "Don't they usually do routinely checks on the armory?"
"Honey, that's where the fun comes in." The guard said. "What's more fun than the danger of being caught?" The two embraced one more and the guard picked the woman up and sat her on one of the side tables, still making out. The two went on for a couple more seconds, until they heard the sound on a gun cocking to right of them. The two looked over and saw a merc with an grenade launcher, a ranger with a double-barrel, a power-armored goliath with a super sledge and a mangy mutt all staring at them, ready to fight.
"Hi." Bonnie said with a smirk. The guard and woman came running out, but were still in the blast zone of Bonnie's grenade, so they went tumbling forward from the impact. All the guards were alerted and the denizens on the streets started panicking. Gillian and his guard heard the panic and immediately went outside to see what was happening. The quartet of companions ran out of the tent and into the chaos. Phyllis grabbed a lantern and threw it into the armory tent, making it light up and damn near impossible to get any of the weapons at the current moment. Guards came storming in and shot at the intruders, but Bonnie launched another grenade into the group of guards, killing a few and making the rest go flying.
"Damn savages." Gillian grunted. "GIVE ME THAT!" He grabbed one of his guards weapons and started firing at Bonnie. She ran behind cover and started firing back. He marched closer while firing, but he didn't see Dogmeat running toward him. The canine grabbed his arm and held him in place. "Get off me, you mangy mutt!" He shouted. Just as he was about to fight back, Jenkins came in and socked Gillian square in his cheek with his metal fist. Buchanan fell to the ground, unconscious from the sheer force of that impact. Phyllis ran to Jenkins side.
"Hey! We need to get out of here!" He said. "I can blow the gate wide open." He left Jenkins and ran toward the front entrance. Jenkins followed suit and Bonnie and Dogmeat followed shortly. They mowed down any guard standing in the way and eventually made it to the front gate. The guards closed it and locked it up, so the only way was to blow it open.
"INCOMING!" Jenkins called out as more guards started to overwhelm them. Bonnie and Jenkins took care of the guards as Phyllis set the plastic explosive on the gate. He set the timer of ten seconds.
"RUN!" Phyllis called out. He bolted to a safe distance and the others did the same. After ten seconds of onslaught, the bomb exploded and sent shrapnel everywhere. Some of the shrapnel hit some guards, injuring them. When the smoke cleared, the gate was wide open and the companions immediately bolted out of the camp, firing behind them incase anyone tried to follow them. The group ran for awhile until they ended up back in the Town Square.
"Alright. We need to find Michael." Jenkins said. "But how are we gonna do that?" Just then, Dogmeat started barking.
"You find something, boy?" Bonnie called out. Dogmeat ran into the market place and stopped near the same spot they were captured. Bonnie followed the dog and saw what he was trying to lead her to. On the ground was a strip of red fabric.
"What's this?" She knelt down and picked up the fabric. She didn't know what it was at first, but it quickly dawned on her just what this was. This piece of fabric was Michael's headband. "Must've fallen off when he was captured." She concluded.
"You find something?" Phyllis walked over to her and Jenkins did as well.
"Yeah. Michael's headband." She said. "This might help us." She held the headband out to Dogmeat, letting him get a whiff of the fabric. "Come on, boy. Find Michael." Dogmeat took a few good whiffs and then ran off to the North.
"A boy and his dog, the most strongest relationship in The Wasteland." Jenkins remarked. The trio began to chase after the dog, following him to his master. The chase for Michael was on.
Meanwhile, Owen and Michael had taken the Highwayman through the city toward the North, where the canyon wall was. The Highwayman drove on the dirt and through the rocky terrain. Michael kept driving until he reached a large opening in the canyon and was shocked to see what was hidden out of sight from the public: a large, sandstone structure with two egg-like statues on either side with a firepit in front of each and a large stone face between them, just above what appeared to be the entrance. The place looked old and dilapidated, but still stood strong. This place looked like some ancient ruins you would find on the other side of the world.
"Here we are." Owen said. "The Temple of Trials." Michael parked the car just outside the entrance. Both of them stepped out of the car and looked up at the structure.
"You're telling me a bunch of tribal's built this?" Michael said.
"For the most part. Yes." Owen replied. "It took years of manual labor to get it done, but it still remains ever standing."
"Why don't you guys use it anymore?" Michael asked.
"We have long since moved past our tribal roots and have modernized our society." Owen answered. "We don't need such an ancient tradition to choose if we are worthy or not."
"...Alright." Michael said. He took another look at the structure and began to walk toward it. He climbed up the steps and noticed that Owen stayed behind. "You coming?" He asked.
"No, no, no. Hell no." Owen said. "We might have moved on from our tribal days, but I'm not going to go digging around in ancient structures." Owen reached into the car and grabbed his hat. "I wish you the best Michael." He said. "And I pray that you make it out alive." He closed the car door and walked off back where they came and out of the canyon. Michael watched him walk away. When he was out of sight, Michael looked up to the stone face above him and turned his attention to the pitch black entrance.
"Jesus, what did I get myself into?" Michael asked himself. He swallowed his fear and slowly walked into the dark cavern. The light from the outside illuminated some of the pillars and the four small tiny rooms on the inside, but the next room was damn near impossible to see in. He hesitated to go through and was thinking of backing out. Just then, the wind came through the entrance behind him and whooshed past him. As the wind whistled through the cavern, Michael could have sworn he heard a voice. It was ever so quiet, but he could make out what the voice was. It sounded scratchy and light, like an old woman.
"Come in, Chosen One." The voice said. The voice felt like an echo of someone talking to someone else, but it was clearly trying to tell Michael to go in. Michael shook his feeling of dread and marched into the dark hallway. He turned on his PIP-Boy light and looked at his surroundings. The walls appeared to be stone bricks and the floor seemed to be the same. To his right was a hallway, but he decided it probably wasn't best to go that way. He continued forward and saw a doorway that led to a room on his left, but decided against it to go in and continued down the corridor. When he reached the end, he saw a corridor on his right and an area that only had a stone door on his left. Michael concluded that the left was the way to go. He went to the stone door and tried to figure out how to open it. He saw a circular engraving in the center of the stone door and he put his finger on it. After putting pressure on it, the stone engraving pushed back and something from within the door clicked. Michael had just pushed the button to open the stone door. The door separated into three parts and all of them retracted into the walls, revealing the next room.
"Automatic stone door. Nice." Michael remarked. He continued forward and walked toward a large room with a corridor on the other side. Michael walked forward and felt his foot sink. He heard something from his right and a spiked pole came launching at him, but hit the floor right in front of him. Michael looked down, raised his foot and saw the panel of the floor he was standing on rise ever so slightly. "Traps." Michael concluded. He thought about how he would go about this. He knelt down at the panel he stepped on and analyzed it to try and find anything that would help him. He held his hand out to it and felt a little bit of a breeze seeping through the crevices of the panel. He did the same for the floor panel next to it and didn't feel a breeze. Michael had an idea.
The Prodigy took off his boots and socks and was now standing barefoot on the cold, stone tiles. He took out a bottlecap and placed it on the fake panel, to signify it was boobytrapped. He held his boots and socks in his hand as he carefully traversed the boobytrapped corridor, making sure to put his foot above each crevice to make sure it was real or not. After almost walking onto two more panels and putting a cap on each, he reached the end of the trap safe and unharmed. After a sigh of relief, he put his socks and boots back on and continued his trek. He walked down the corridor and came to another crosswalk. He decided to go right, but only found it to be a dead end with a chest, two stone benches and four big holes in the wall that Michael found were air ducts. As Michael turned around, he felt the breeze again and heard another echo.
"We have little left in both time and essence. Hurry. Hurry..." The voice sounded weak, but urgent. It sounded like a man, but he was clearly on the brink of death. Michael looked around and found no one was around him, so he was a little creeped out that this is the second time this has happened. He shook the feeling again and continued on his merry way. He went left this time and found a large pit with a spiky structure and some sort of drain. Michael carefully walked along the sides of it and went into the next room. He found a large, smashed pot in the middle of the small corridor, but didn't pay any mind to it. He walked forward and saw a large hole in a wall to his left and another corridor to his right. He decided to go left and saw that the hole was actually once a door that had been blown open for what appeared to be decades ago. Michael stepped through the exploded door and felt another breeze hit him with an echo.
"You're rides over, mutie. Time to die." This sounded deep, threatening, and almost mechanical in some way, like it was through a mask or something. Michael was really beginning to feel uncomfortable from these echoes. It doesn't feel like they're addressed to him, but more like he's listening on a conversation between two different people. He couldn't make sense of it. Michael continued on and found he could go either left or right again. He decided again to take the left route and entered a room with two smaller walls, two pillars, and another stone door. Michael walked into the room and felt one last breeze with an echo.
"There is hope, however. A slim hope that few know of." It was the first voice he heard once again. "The old discs speak of an item called the Garden of Eden Creation Kit. It is said that it can bring life to The Wasteland." Michael listened closely to the voice and felt the breeze blow toward the stone door in front of him. Michael approached the door, pressed the button and the door opened. The young dweller could see a lit firepit further on down the corridor. Michael turned off his PIP-Boy light and slowly approached the firepit.
As The Prodigy got closer, he noticed something on the other side of the fire: a hooded figure sitting on the ground by the looks of it. As Michael got closer, the figure looked up, revealing their face. They were old by the looks of it, very old, and very malnourished. They had a long, white beard, but no hair on their head, deep wrinkles, and their eyes sagged from tiredness. They looked up and a warm smile formed on their face.
"You came.." They said in a weak, but happy voice. The man stood up, but had some trouble. Once he could stand, he had to be supported by a wooden cane and was slouched. "You finally made it.." They seemed to be overjoyed of Michael's arrival.
"...I made it." Michael didn't know what to say to this.
"Yes. Yes, that you did." The old man weakly said. "How-How did you find this place?"
"This book and map showed me." Michael took out both the book and the map.
"Ah! I see..I see you found my book.." He said as he slowly walked over to Michael and took the book out of his hands.
"That book belongs to you?" Michael asked.
"Yes. I had thought.." The old man swallowed saliva. "I had thought I had lost it. Years ago."
"So, you're the one who drew everything in this." Michael stated the obvious. "I've been using this book to help me with stuff, like building my sword and upgrading my car. They're some alright blueprints, I guess."
"Blueprints?" The old man looked to him in confusion. "These aren't blueprints. They're just drawings of what I saw. I don't know how to build your sword or upgrade your car." He walked back over to the other side of the firepit.
"You saw someone wielding a Shishkebab and an upgraded Highwayman?" Michael was confused.
"Yes. I saw you." The old man answered.
"What?" Michael was even more confused.
The old man chuckled. "It happened back in 2242..Me and my companions were gonna be executed by Enclave soldiers, but you came along and saved us, Michael Becker." Michael was caught off guard that he knew his name. Michael thought for a moment and came to a realization.
"Wait...No..Who are you?" Michael asked. The old man smiled and removed his robe, revealing the torn and dirty Vault 13 jumpsuit underneath. But, he also revealed just how pale and skinny he was, almost like a skeleton. This man was extremely unhealthy by the looks of it.
"I..am the Chosen One." The old man said.
"I..I don't.." Michael tried to say something, but couldn't find the words.
"It's okay. Take your time." The Chosen One said.
"How..How is this possible? How could you have met me decades ago? How could I have met you decades ago? What?" Michael had a million questions in his head.
"I didn't understand it at first either, but I believe it had something to do with a stone archway in the middle of nowhere." The Chosen One claimed. "But, that doesn't matter now. The Temple of Trials requires a final challenge. And I..am...the onl..only thing that..." The old man went stiff for a second and eventually grabbed his chest in pain. He fell to the ground, but Michael was quick to prop him up against one of the pillars. The Chosen One started breathing heavily and raspy.
"What happened to you?" Michael asked. The old man didn't respond at first, but soon locked eyes with Michael.
"I am an old man." He said, weakly. "Once I saved my people from the Enclave oil rig, a part of me loved the chaos and pursuit...I started getting an urge to go back, but I couldn't.." He took a deep breath. "After ten years of fighting this urge, I couldn't fight it anymore...To keep myself from venturing out, I hid myself away in this temple." The old man coughed. "I stayed here for years, only going so far as the front entrance in hopes to hunt some food." He looked at Michael. "It is an extreme temptation, to go out there, no rules or expectations of you, only yourself and what you make of it. You'll try to fight it, but the call is never-ending. The call of The Wasteland." His voice soon turned into whispers and short breaths. "But, I had to stay. To make sure I kept my promise."
"What promise?" The Prodigy questioned. The Chosen One took another deep breath.
"I promised that if I found another one, you could have it." The old man said and pointed to the stone door to their right. "Go..Claim your prize.." Michael looked to him and slowly stood up. He swallowed the saliva in his mouth and slowly approached the door. He looked back at the Chosen One, who simply nodded to him. Michael pressed the button and the door slid open, revealing a chamber with a platform, two lit pillars, and a podium with something on it. He moved slowly toward the podium and his eyes were locked on what was on it. He stood right in front of the podium and stared at the item. He couldn't believe his eyes, but they weren't lying. On the podium laid a metal case with a faded symbol of an E with stars around it. Michael opened the case and saw it full of wires, tubes, batteries, small computer screens, lights, all connected to form what it could do. Michael slowly closed the case and picked it up. He held the case in his hands and just stared at it. Tears began to roll down his face and fall onto the metal case. Tears of joy, disbelief, a whole range of emotions. A wide smile formed on his face and he began to chuckle out of happiness. He did it. He went above and beyond and achieved what was near impossible. Finally, after all the pain, mud, dust, bruises, scrapes, cuts, and blood, he finally had it in his hands. He had found a Garden of Eden Creation Kit. The glee was short lived though as he came back to reality and remembered why he did this. He held the handle of the case and walked out of the chamber and back into the room with the Chosen One still leaning against the pillar. Michael stood over the old legend.
"Where did you get this?" Michael asked.
"It was on the Enclave oil rig." The Chosen One answered. Michael stood in place for a few seconds and eventually knelt down to the old mans level and looked him in the face.
"Thank you." Michael softly said. The Prodigy stood up and walked toward the way he came in.
"Michael.." The Chosen One called him.
"..Yeah?" The Prodigy answered.
"...I have..one last request.." The old tribal said. "Would you be so kind as to make it come true?"
"Yeah." The young vault dweller accepted.
"..I don't want to die in this cave.." The Chosen One said. Meanwhile, on the outside, the companions had followed Dogmeat to the canyon wall to the North and through a crevice.
"We're really deep in Arroyo territory." Phyllis said.
"It's nothing we can't handle." Bonnie replied. "We just need to get Michael and get out of here."
"What about the G.E.C.K.?" Jenkins asked.
"If they have one, I doubt they'll want to share it." Phyllis remarked. Dogmeat started to bark at something and the others soon joined him.
"Whatcha find, boy?" Bonnie called to him. Just then, the trio saw a massive temple with two egg-like statues with a firepit in front of each and a massive stone face between them, just above the entrance.
"My God." Jenkins said.
"What is this place?" Bonnie said in amazement. The trio all stared at the mysterious structure.
"Hey!" Phyllis snapped them out of their trance. "Look." He pointed toward a parked car in front of the structure. "It's the Highwayman." The trio walked toward the parked car and saw no Michael.
"You reckon he's in there?" Jenkins suggested.
"Oh come on. He wouldn't be that stupid to walk in there." Bonnie said. The other two looked at her and said nothing. "Oh fuck. He is that stupid." She sighed. The trio took one last look at the temple and were about to enter.
"I don't think you should be doing that." The group turned around and saw Gillian standing the center of the canyon with hundreds of guards in armor and guns behind him.
"How the Hell did you find us?" Bonnie questioned him.
"I've got spies all around this city. And I have to say, you lot are quite impressive with your handiwork." He said. "But, I think our time is up." All the guards aimed their weapons at the group, ready to obliterate them where they stand.
"Well shit." Bonnie stated. Just as they were about to fire, hundreds of rebels hiding amongst the rocks, foliage, and hidden among the temple structure came out of hiding and took aim at Gillian and his men. The guards took aim at the rebels and they were now in at a standoff.
"You've taken it too far, Gillian!" Owen had assembled the rebels and led them to the temple to set a trap for Gillian. "Not only do you threaten to break Arroyo national law by killing outsiders, you and your men threatened to fire upon an ancient structure all to kill some outsiders!"
"Arroyo needs to look toward the future and move past our tribal ways!" Gillian shot back.
"You're a hypocrite, Gillian." Owen shouted back. "You say you want to move on, but you try to isolate Arroyo from the rest of the world. You are just as bad as the Enclave!"
"What the Hell is going on?" Bonnie asked her entourage.
"Classic civil war stuff. You wouldn't understand." Phyllis said to which Jenkins agreed.
"My beliefs are from your primitive moves in this game of chess!" Gillian shouted.
"Then you will die with those beliefs!" Owen and Gillian ordered their men to take aim and fire when ready.
"Oh shit." Phyllis said. The trio readied their weapons, waiting for the worst to happen. Just as the fighting was about to begin, everyone heard something echo from inside the temple. It sounded like coughing. Everyone looked toward the temple and saw something emerging from the shadows. Once the figure had reached the light, it was revealed to be Michael carrying an old, frail man in a torn vault jumpsuit and a metal case. Michael walked slowly into the light and the old man put his hand above his face, the light being blinding to him at first, but soon adjusted to it. Michael saw his companions, but paid them no mind and walked past them. He walked toward the car and placed the old man on the hood of the Highwayman. Everyone soon surrounded the Highwayman and watched the old man. Michael's companions joined his side.
"Who is that?" Bonnie asked.
"...The Chosen One." Michael softly answered. Everyone was silent.
"Chosen One!" Gillian had shoved through the crowd and ran up to the front. "Chosen One, thank God you're here. Maybe you can settle this petty debate. Arroyo should obviously be isolated from the rest of the world, so that it may strive on it's own and become the great powerhouse it was always meant to be, right? These outsiders are mere pests compared to u-"
"These outsiders.." The Chosen One cut him off. "Are good people who have come a long way to get here." He took a deep breath. "You are no judge, jury, or executioner. You do not get to decide the fate of our people and the ones who follow you are rats in your game of destruction." The old man began to cough violently, but Michael was able to help him control his breath. "Now...Leave." The old legend ordered. Gillian hesitated for a moment, but obliged and rejoined the crowd. "I guess politics will never change." The Chosen One said.
The Chosen One smiled and looked at Michael. "You did it, boy. You got what you came for." He weakly said. "The fate of your people are in your hands...and you still have a long way to go.." His breathing began to slow down. "You could be the next hero of The Wasteland...or you could be it's destroyer.." He let his body relax. "But, I guess..you're called The Prodigy...for a reason..." He smiled one last time. His face began to sink, his smile now a droop, his eyes losing their color, his life leaving his mortal chains.
There, atop the hood of the Highwayman, laid the body of the greatest man to ever walk The Wasteland. A God among men and a devil toward the crooked, the man who fought Frank Horrigan and won, the legend from the tribal village of Arroyo, The Chosen One, dead at the hands of time. The man who had come so far only to die right where he began his journey. And Michael wondered if he too would suffer the same fate.