The Blood That Binds Us

As we enter the house it dawns on me how crappy the choices Fallout 3 gave you. It's either here or Ten Pennies, and that's it. There are no other player homes from which you can choose. Fallout 4 wasn't much better either. Oh look, you can build your own home. No need for any input from us except how much you can build. Where you can build and how much we're going to make you suffer in trying to find the resources you need to build.

I can feel a tug on my arm so I look down. Emma has wrapped her arms around my one. I'm not even sure why I'm bitching. This is the life I happily choose and yet I'm pissed at all the options. One step at a time, first let's take care of the girl. "Welcome home Emma. This is where you and I will be staying for the foreseeable future. So let's make the most out of it shall we."

Emma smiles and nods her head. I reach over with my free arm and pat her on top of the head. Then I hear a deep rumble come from the little girl. She buries her face in my arm, I chuckle at her cuteness. Waving my arm I bring out some furnishings I have stored in my inventory. God, I love the Vault, but they throw away a lot of shit.

I put a round table in the middle of the room and placed 4 chairs across from each other. I then place down plates and cutlery in front of each chair. Setting a plate in the middle I place a stack of Sweet rolls, there are fourteen stacked up like a pyramid. I also take out gallons of purified water as well as some other foodstuffs. I proportion some out for Emma, Josie, and I. Then place the rest in the fridge, which I make brand spankin new with my inventory.

Emma's eyes light up at seeing so much food. She looks up at me and flashs a brilliant smile. It would have been heartwarming if not for the discoloration and crooked teeth of hers. Dental care in the Wasteland is a much bigger problem than I thought it was. Actually everything about the Waste sucks. You know what that changes today, I had plans to build up the settlements around the D.C. area, but why not just make my own settlement. No I don't mean multiple, just one big town, no, better yet a city. I've got the ability to do so. So what's stopping me? What is hindering me from being able to accomplish this?

The Brotherhood, The Outcasts, Aliens, Talon Company, Raiders, Super Mutants, Slavers. These are just the beings I have to be careful of. There's also the ground that is irradiated, but Cortana can help me with that. Building the actual city, but I already have the means to do that as well. Resources will be easy too. I just need to use the bots to tear down buildings and I'm set. People will be harder to obtain, keeping them however should be simple. Running hot water and flushable toilets will do wonders. Laws to abide by and a force to enforce compliance. In other words I need bodies to keep the peace. I've got the Laws covered and If I pop on over to the Institute and take what I need, then the bodies problem will be solved as well as the population problem.

I'll build it where Springvale is now and try getting the Megatoners to move over. Plus if Lucas hasn't told anyone about me disarming the Bomb, I could use that as a selling point as well. At least for here.

While I'm lost in thought Emma lets go of my arm and sits down in one of the chairs. She then goes to town on the food. Hearing a *clink* I look over at Emma and see her plate demolished. Looking around I don't see Josie or her huge Outcast Power Armor. Considering I wasn't even gone for all too long, where the hell could a 7ft tall walking piece of metal wander off to? I hand Emma Josie's plate and a huge grin makes its way onto her face.

Taking a look at the local map on my PipBoy, I look around for Josie and can see she is outside of Megaton at the Red Rocket in Springvale. Hmm...curious. Let's go see what she's up to in a minute.

A *clink* and a small sigh of happiness clues me in to Emma being done. She's mostly focused on Wadsworth, which I guess is a good thing. What kid doesn't like robots? "Hey Emma, I've got something I need to take care of outside. Do you mind keeping Wadsworth some company until I get back?"

She freezes for a moment before reaching for my hand. "(You promise to come back?)" I smile over at her and lift up my pinky finger. "Yep, I pinky promise." She grabs my pinky with her own and smiles back at me. Damn dental issues, just let her smile be cute and wholesome.

Letting go of my hand, she walks over to Wadsworth and shows off her new teddy bear she got from Doc. "Wadsworth, babysitter mode. Make sure you tell Emma some jokes while I'm away, and some stories as well." Wadsworth turns one of his optics towards me. "Will there be anything else Sir?" I shake my head and Wadsworth brings his full attention back to Emma.

Looking back at the table, I take one of the sweet rolls and eat it. Emma is now staring at the sweet rolls in awe. How she missed them when they were in the middle of the table, I'll never know. She reaches to grab one only to pull back her hand. She seems surprised by how warm they are. She reaches for one again, takes it and tears a bite out of the glazed top scone. A look of utter bliss settles on her face as she slowly chews on the roll until she bites into thin air.

With a look of surprise and a bit of sadness. She looks at the other twelve rolls and smiles brightly again. I think I just created a sweet roll addict. Good thing I have over 30,000 left. Probably should start making some more when I readily have the ingredients available.

Shaking my head and chuckling to myself, I turn around and head out the door. Where I find Miss Lucy West walking past my door… again… for the fourth time. Seriously, can't people just knock, or am I just that intimidating.

Thankfully she waits till I close and lock the door before approaching me. "Hi, Jacob. My name is Lucy West. I'm your next door neighbor here in Megaton. It's nice to meet you." She holds out her hand. I grab her hand and give it a few shakes. Never hurts to be formal. "Hello Miss Lucy, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well."

Letting go of her hand, I take a step back. I'm pretty sure I know why she's here, but it doesn't hurt anyone to make sure. "What can I do for you, Ma'am?"

I see her take a moment to gather herself before she speaks. "I know this is our first time meeting, but I was wondering if you could help me out with a job I have? You see I'm not originally from Megaton, I'm from a small settlement to the northwest called Arefu. Not too long ago, I talked to some traders, and they told me about how my old town was being attacked."

She pauses for a moment to reach into one of her pockets, pulling out an envelope. She glances down at it then back up to me. "I was wondering if you'd take this letter to my family there. Also, they might ask you to do some things after they've read it. I'll pay you 100 caps to deliver the letter and if you can do what they ask you, I'll throw in 200 more. Sound like a fair deal?" She holds out the letter towards me.

*Ping* New Quest - Blood Ties.

"Lucy West wants you to deliver a letter to her family as well as accomplish the task the Wests might give you. If you arrive before nightfall, you might be able to save them from their son's bloodlust."

Right, both of them die when Ian can't control himself any longer and give in. The Family helped him cover it up after.. "Sure, If you toss in an extra 50 caps, I'll get it there before it gets dark." Gotta make that money. Lucy bites her bottom lip, but eventually nods. "Deal, you get the letter there by tonight and I'll toss in an extra 50 caps." She holds out her hand, and I give it a shake to seal the deal.

Lucy tells me where Arefu is located (Which is kinda useless with my Explorer perk) and Ibegin to head out. Walking through the gates I pop my helmet on and head towards Springvale. I'll get my reward from Lucas later, I gotta get to Arefu in a hurry.

Before that though, I stop by the Red Rocket where Josie's map marker is at, and see what she's up to. I don't spot her anywhere, but I do see some indents made by P.A. Boots by the dumpsters. Feeling around I find a bottom panel hidden under the bottom of one of the dumpsters. Pushing it to the side I can feel a switch inside.

Flipping the switch, the dumpster rises up exposing an access way big enough for a person in power armor to easily walk down with room to spare on each side. Going down, I walk up to a door that slides open when I get close enough. Inside is Josie pointing a Tri-Beam Laser Rifle my way.

Maybe I should just point my gun at everyone, seems like the hip thing to do.

Crossing my arms, I stand there and wait till she lowers her gun, she doesn't. "Are you going to put the Laser down or do I have to take it out of your hands Josie?" Josie relaxs once she hears my voice. "Just making sure it's you Jacob. Could be anyone under that helmet."

She rests the weapon and sets it back into a gun rack that holds 10 others like it. Walking around I can see parts of power armor and weapon mods strewn about on different tables. "So what's with the mini bunker here, is it Brotherhood or Outcasts?"

Josie leans back on one of the tables and crosses her arms. "Neither, found the location for this place when I was still with the Brotherhood right before I turned "traitor". Kinda forgot about it when I left. I remembered when I came through last night. Figured it makes a decent base to work out of."

Just you wait. I'll knock your socks off with New Springvale, unoriginal, yes. Do I care, no. Besides, people of the local waste know where Springvale is so it'll be easier just to tack new in front of it and let it be.

Picking up a Tri-Beam I shoulder it and feel my body fix slight problems in my stance and the way I actually hold the weapon. I look over at Josie. "Do you mind if I take one? You'd still have quite a few left."

She shrugs her shoulders. "Do whatever, what's mine is yours. I'm relying on you to help me and my brother. So anything that can be of assistance to you helps in the process." She turns around and fiddles with a Power armor Leg component that's sitting on the table. I'm kinda dreading the conversation that's about to follow.

"Hey Josie, I've got to head out for a while, and won't be back till tomorrow... probably. So I was wondering if you can do me a favor? You see before I met you I saved this little girl. She's about 12 and unfortunately everyone she knew was killed by Raiders. For now she's staying with me at my place for the foreseeable future. Could you keep an eye on her until I get back? I trust Wadsworth, especially after I gave his system a good cleaning, but she just went through hell and could use a shoulder to cry on. Plus I think she might be more comfortable with you instead of me."

Josie turns back around to face me. "I feel like there's something you're leaving out Jacob." I'm sorry. what was her perception again. Cause there should be no way in hell she can tell that. Fuck it she'll find out anyway. Hopefully she won't overreact.

Glaring at her from underneath my helmet, I shake my head and sigh. "She's a Phyker. She lost her voice due to the trauma she went through and now she's able to talk to others with her mind. However It requires her to be in physical contact for her to speak with you."

Josie stares at me blankly then marches over and stands right in front of me. "You're telling me you have a Phyker in your house right now. Jacob, this is very serious, how many other people know about her and her ability?"

I cross my arms and lean back on one of the tables. "Right now. Just me, you, and Doc Church. She only woke up about 30 minutes ago and I took her back to the house right after." Josie starts pacing back and forth.

She stops in front of me once more. "You can't let anyone else know. Any big group that gets word of her will come after you hard." She grabs her hair and starts pacing again. "Not much is known about Phykers so any that pop up are ruthlessly snatched and opened up until whoever has them learns something."

In that case would I technically be considered one as well. No, but that wouldn't stop people from trying to capture me. I'd honestly like to see them try just to see their faces when I shred them apart. Emma on the other hand doesn't have any experience dealing with people other than the raiders. Just another reason for me to hurry along with my plans, and build New Springvale. Let's see them try to fuck with me then.

Grabbing Josie's shoulders I give her my best "I got this smile" which I realize she can't see due to my helmet. Chuckling, I take my helmet off and give her the smile again. "Don't worry, anyone that goes after you or her will have to go through me, and nothing goes through me." Giving her shoulders a squeeze, I give her the key to my house and make my way outside.

I have to wait a moment for the dumpster to rise up, which gives me enough time to put my helmet back on, then I'm outside and ready to go. Have you ever had a stupid stray thought pass through your head after being totally serious about something and you can't get it out of your brain. Yeah, well mine is if I would be faster than Soundwave if we had a race.

*Ping* New Quest - Running from Sound.

"You want to race a robot with your fleshy body? Good luck. Stay in front of Soundwave for 30 seconds straight.

Reward: Advance Sentry Bot schematics. T-51 power armor blueprints. N7 track pants and sneakers."

Which leads me to another hidden feature of the system. It's almost as if the instruction manual I got with it is useless. I do get to complete my N7 outfit though. Plus if I win then I can do some upgrades to Soundwave. Old boy could use some new toys to play with.

I bring out Soundwave from my inventory. It's so odd how it works. One moment nothing's there and then the next "Bam'' there it is. Makes me wanna do a double take every time I do it. Looking up at my Robo companion I consider if I should start the race now or later. After a moment of thought I believe now would be the best time. "Soundwave, you are to race me to the settlement of Arefu. Race will end once 30 seconds have elapsed while I'm in the lead." Soundwave clanks his legs. "Order confirmed, commencing operation in 3..2..1."

Soundwave takes off and I'm right behind him. I slowly overtake him and then push myself into the lead. I can hear his legs clink on the ground right behind me, trying to catch up.

Cars litter the road ahead, so I plot out a course to parkour in between them. While I move around the cars, Soundwave simply leapfrogs over most, once again taking the lead. Not to be outdone I bend my knees and push off the ground, easily soaring 20ft high in the air.

As gravity brings me back down, I land on the roof of a bus and continue to sprint. Reaching the edge I leap, but put too much power into it. The edge of the roof caves in a bit and I go sailing past Soundwave.

Tucking in my knees, I land in a roll on top of a car's hood, keeping the momentum, I attempt to keep myself upright and sprinting, I move forward and look back where Soundwave has just cleared the last car and is now skittering towards me on his four legs. I'm glad the big guy is on my side, cause seeing a huge ass robot jumping at you would scare the shit out of anyone.

Moving along, the stretch of road in front of me had nothing on it for a good minute. I stay in front long enough to win and complete the quest. Slowing down a bit, Soundwave catches up and I swing myself up into my seat. While kinda fun, the last stretch of the race was boring. That just means I'll have to give Soundwave some cooler upgrades.

Patting the top of his head I instruct Soundwave to move to Arefu as fast as possible while also keeping an eye out for hostiles.

Leaning back into my chair I check my notices.

*Ping* Quest Complete - Running from Sound

"Congratulations flesh-bag! You have outran your modified Sentry-Bot. Rewards have been sent to your Inventory."

*Ping* New Quest - Robotic Upgrade

"Soundwave is in need of new upgrades in order to be of greater use for you. Upgrade Soundwaves movement speed. (Optional: Upgrade weapons and armor as well.)

That'll be easy enough after I set up New Springville. For now let's just focus on Blood Ties and worry about everything else later. Now it's time to try my luck.

"Cortana I wanna use 5 lucky draws."

"Congratulations you've received Ricos Wingsuit."

"Congratulations you've received Death Star blueprints.(You might want to fix the gaping hole)"

"Congratulations you've received all types of LEGO's. (Be careful where you step barefoot)"

"Lego's are life."

"Congratulations you've received a complete collection of Barbie Doll products."

"I'm not above playing Barbie, especially now that I have someone to play with."

(Emma shudders in the background)

"Congratulations you've received 500 pounds of Deathwish Coffee. (Who needs sleep)"

"Mwahahahahahaha, fear me mortal! For now I have become sleepless."

"*Ping* Remaining Lucky Draws are 69."

"Thank you C, that'll be enough for now."

Checking all the goodies I got from my draws. I equip Boba Fett's Jetpack and Grappling Hook plus Ricos Wingsuit (Now I just need a parachute).

*Ping* "Congratulations Jacob, you have broken the tyrant hold gravity had on you. Now you can soar through the skies to your heart's content."

Before I can fiddle more with the system, Soundwave starts up his mini-gun and showers some poor fool in lead. "Hmm, hey Cortana, can I auto loot anything I, or any companions of mine kill?"

*Ping* "I'm sorry Jacob, but no. While the system does have reality warping capabilities they are only to be used to help obscure the existence of the system. Auto looting would be considered 'going out of our way' for no reason."

*Sigh* I tap Soundwave on the head once to make him stop. I jump off and go over to the remains of what was once a human. Have you ever looked at something deeply disturbing and thought "Huh, neat". Then you question yourself if you're alright in head and your answer is just a straight up "Nope".

Anyway, I loot the body for what it's worth, which isn't much, then pop back on Soundwave and tap his head twice to continue onward. Nothing of note really happens for the rest of the ride except Soundwave and I demolishing a few raider outposts along the way. We managed to sneak into the middle of their camps and shoot first before they even realized we were there. Madara skill for the win.

Soon enough I see the overpass Arefu is located on. Tapping Soundwave once, I get off and stretch out. I tap Soundwave three times to make him follow me. First I check out the little farm\shack beside the town and find all the Brahmin are dead and rotting. The shack is closed up tight just like the game. I could muscle my way in if I wanted to, but my guts telling me it's a waste of time, and nobody knows better than the guts.

I make my way to the wooden boards that make up the pathway to Arefu and get about 3/4 of the way to the top before I'm shot at. Have I mentioned how much I'm starting to hate the way people of the Wasteland say hello. Because it bares repeating. I don't even slow my stride and continue to walk up the rest of the way. Several potshots later and I'm standing in front of Evan King.

With a look of surprise Evan lowers his gun. "Hang on, you're not one of them. I nearly filled you full of holes! Get over here before they spot you." I'm not sure if it's me, but I don't think Evan's very smart, or all that good with a gun. Then again I am a supernatural being. It would be kinda weird if he had managed to hit me.

Evan waves me over to his sandbag cover. Once there he crosses his arms over his torso. "Now, what the hell are you doin' all the way out here stranger?" he asks. Pressing down the urge to headbutt the idiot. I manage to respond. "I've got a letter for the West family. Their daughter heard tales of Arefu being attacked and was worried."

Evan for the most part doesn't seem to really care why I'm here. Seems like he cares more about acting like an alpha. "That's great, but I got bigger problems than being the town post office right now. The shit's about to hit the fan in this cesspool, and I don't think I can stop them."

I already know what he's talking about, but still it's uncanny how similar his dialogue is with his game counterpart. Then again fate is a funny thing. "What kind of trouble?" I ask.

Evan is shifting from foot to foot, constantly looking down at the bottom of the overpass. "Well at first they'd do typical gang bullshit. You know, break stuff and make lots of noise, but they always kept their distance." The more Evan spoke the angrier he seemed to get. "But this last time, they went to far. They killed all of our Brahmin! I mean, that's our lifeblood out here you know!" Evan shouted while throwing his hands in the air.

Evan walks over to the edge of the overpass and I follow, leaning on the edge to the left of him. He takes a moment to calm down, but he's constantly keeping an eye on the overpass's end. Maybe the guy isn't so much an alpha, but more like a very pissed off and frightened old man. I look down at the murky, radiated water below and can make out the body of a submerged car.

Time to use that skill check. "What's got you so spooked?" I ask the old man. Knowing full well that it's a gang of cannibals turned vampire. If only because they drink blood to stave off their "cravings".

He sighs. " Look... you can call me crazy if you want but there's just something odd about those creeps. I mean, they got the guns and they got the muscle. Why don't they just bust down our doors and take us out already?" He takes a moment and just sags down. In a barely audible voice he speaks. "We're really in a bad way, and if I'm honest with you, me and the folks here could use some serious help stranger." He looks at me for a moment before looking back down the overpass, ever vigilant.

Evan might be a shoot first, ask questions later type of guy, but for the Wasteland that's kinda a given for everyone. One moment of hesitation and your something or someone's next meal. Don't get me wrong, I'm still pissed about being shot at, but I can see where the man was coming from. An unknown person with a giant robot walking up out of nowhere has caused men more experienced than him to panic the same way.

Sighing myself, I respond. "I'd be glad to help. Tell me what you need done, and I'll see to it." Evan steps back from the edge and walks back to the sandbags where he first saw me. "I don't want to take my eyes off the ramp here. There's no telling when the Family will return. Can you start out by checking in on the other folk's houses here? You know, make sure they're doing okay. Speak with Davis, Karen, and Ken. I'm going to keep watch here, not as young as I used to be."

Taking that as my Que to leave, I walk over to the first house. I knock on the door and hear a very... housewivie voice, if that makes any sense. "Hello? Is this the mailman? Oh I do hope my fall catalog has arrived!" Huh, wonder if she's from Vault 111. "No ma'am, Mr. King sent me to check if everything is alright." I hear a bit of static then. "Oh! Evan! He's such a gentleman. Please, do come inside. Let me unlock the door for you!"

Before the door opens, I hear a man's voice yelling at the woman. "Brailee! What the fuck are you doing! Get away from the door this instant." "Ken, it's just the mailman dropping off the fall catalog that I ordered. No need to be so rude." After a moment I heard Ken's Voice again. "You! The person outside. What the fuck do you want?" I know the guy was a dick in the game, but it never crossed my mind that he was the reason for his wife's mental delusions.

"Hello there, Evan sent me to check in on everyone in town. So... are you doing alright?" I can hear the man grumble under his breath through the door. Now that's a skill. "We're great. Just Peachy. I love sitting in my house with my thumb up my ass. Tell King that sitting here all day everyday isn't going to make us any safer. We need to take action!"

Ken's pretty useless right now but after I deal with The Family He should be of some use. "Okay, I'll let him know what you said." "Good, now get the fuck away from my door." I hear him walk away from the door. One down two to go, fun. I walk around the concrete dividers and round the corner to knock on Karen's door. "Yes? Who is it?" I hear come over the intercom. "Hello, Evan sent me to check up on everyone. Are you doing okay in there?"

"It's about damn time that old bastard did something, and yes I'm doing just fine. Other than going stir crazy. Come on in, I'll unlock the door." I hear a few deadbolts click out of place from where they once resided and see the door open up. A lady stands in the doorway and motions me to come on in.

I head inside and The woman shuts the door behind me. She walks over to a table in the middle of the room and sits down. "It's nice to see a friendly new face around here. It's been a long time. The name's Karen Schenzy." I reach my hand out and introduce myself. "Hi, I'm Jacob Cross, Nice to meet you Karen." She shakes my hand and let's go soon after. She pulls out a cigarette from a pack of prewar smokes that are sitting on the table. I pull out a Lighter from my Inventory and light it for her. She takes a deep draw and lets out a plume of smoke.

Waving the smoke away from my face I ask. "You okay?" She draws again from the cigarette before blowing into the air. "I'm scared out of my god damn mind. I'm glad he has someone checking on us, but until someone nips the problem in the bud, we may as well stay inside forever. King is a spineless wimp that's got everyone so worked up about the Family, that no one wants to step outside. If I knew King had my back I wouldn't mind showing those thugs a lesson." She draws on the cigarette. Karen's a feisty one, that's for sure. She does her cultural namesake good.

Seeing that she's okay, if not a bit frustrated, I move to leave. "Thank you for your time Karen. I've to check on the West residence now." She puts out her cigarette. "Sure. Go. Just like everyone else." I walked outside and closed the door behind me. A moment later I hear the locks move back into place.

Cortana hinted at the fact that the Wests might still be alive so here goes nothing. I knock on the door and hear the voice of a man. "Hello, who's out there?" Neat. "Hello Mr. West. My name's Jacob Cross. I've got a letter from your daughter Lucy. I'm also checking on everyone in Arefu for Evan. Are you folks okay in there?" I ask. Not a moment later all the locks are being turned and I see a man in his late 40's opening the door. The man is bald with grey eyes and weathered tan skin. His wife, who is right behind him, is shorter in stature with dirty blonde hair and blueish, greenish eyes. She holds onto Davis's arm. I can see Ian curled up on a bed holding onto his stomach. The kid doesn't look too hot.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by Davis. "You said you have a letter that my little Lucy sent?" Reaching into one of the pockets inside my trench coat, I pull the letter out of my inventory. I hand it over and Davis doesn't wait to open it. Matilda reads the letter from his side and then looks back at Ian. Maybe Lucy told them about Ians "needs". If so then I should be able to help. If not, well my charisma isn't just for show.

Matilda releases Davis's arm and walks over to Ians' bed. My senses are screaming at me that something's wrong. Then I hear it. Ian is growling like a beast out for blood. Quite literally in this case. I push past Davis and pull Matilda out of Ians' reach right before he could attack. Ian leaps at me instead. I easily out muscle him and lock him in a Sleeper Hold. Slowly but surely his erratic movements are slowing down as he's getting less oxygen in his lungs and then night, night, boy's back to sleeping. I lay him back in his bed.

Davis is holding Matilda in his arms as she cries. He simply strokes her hair and just stares at Ian with a blank look on his face. I can sense the sorrow and guilt rolling off of them. I give them a minute to collect themselves before I interject. "Mr. and Mrs. West, I believe I know a way to help your son." It seems that grabbed their attention. I go on to explain how the Family is actually just like Ian and they can help him. They're sceptical at first, but the more I explain the situation the Family is in the more their eyes clear up.

"You're telling me that Ian has a genetic disposition that makes it to were he needs to eat human flesh or else he'll only get worse until he becomes insane, and it just so happens that the group of people terrorizing our town are the exact same as Ian, but have figured out a way to curb this... urge?"

When put into terms like that it does sound odd. "Yes Sir, and I promise you if you let me talk with the Family I can make sure Ian can get the help he needs before it's too late. Just think, if I hadn't delivered Lucy's letter when I did, you and Matilda would be goners." Davis looks down at the floor then over at Matilda, who is stroking Ians hair, then back to me. He nods his head. "Alright Kid, I'll trust you with my boy's life. However if anything is to happen to him, I'll have your hide." He gets up and stands by his wife. He places a hand on her shoulder and she places her free hand on his hand.

Walking out I head over to where Evan is. The sun has almost dipped over the horizon casting the Wasteland in a mix of green and orange light. "Evan, I talked with everyone. Ken's a dick and Brailee seems to have a few screws loose. Karen is being a Karen. The West family seemed to be doing alright." Evan nods his head at the news and pulls out 20 caps and hands it to me. "Thanks kid. It's almost night time, the Family Will be here any moment now. You can bunk at my place tonight and head out in the morning."

Evan's not nearly as much of a dick as he was in the game. "Sorry Evan, I appreciate the offer, but the Wests said I could bunk with them tonight." Evan Just waves me off. "Do whatever Young'en. These old bones need to lay down after standing all day. Night whipper snapper." I chuckle a bit at his old man routine and head towards the West's home. Instead of heading inside I use my Madara skill and become one with the shadows. Waiting for the Family to show themselves.

While waiting I make a game plan on how I'll get the Family to talk. Vance is most likely to be hostile, however if I intimidate him and the others I might not have to make an example out of anyone. While I'd like to think that the Family are good people, I can't take that chance not knowing what their past deeds were.

F.L.

Several hours have passed and it is well into the night while also piss pouring rain. I can make out several figures slowly moving up the ramp. Vance is leading everyone with his wife Holly to his right, it looks like everyone is here. I wait for them to get closer and then I begin.

Arefu is completely dark at the moment with only the occasional lightning flashing across the sky. The Family get half-way up the ramp before Flood Lights spark to life illuminating everything in front of them. Soundwave moves into his position at the bottom of the ramp, while keeping his minigun revved up and ready to go. The Eye-Bot I found yesterday and Soundwave will act as my mouthpieces until I'm ready to reveal myself.

The Family pull out their weapons, SMGs, Assault Rifles, and Vances Shishkebab. This sort of weather really makes the shishkebab worthless. Though I guess it's still a sword. They form up a circle with Vance keeping his eyes on the Eye-Bot. "These paltry tricks will help no one human! Come out and no one will have to face any harm!" Vance yells. He loves his dramatics, but so do I. It's my turn now. Cue evil laughter. (Just Imagine Master Chief doing a slow evil laugh.) "You know, I found some interesting reading material the other day. It went on and on about these laws that didn't make any sense .Here, let me recite them for you."

The Family is looking befuddled about what's happening, however they keep their guns up. A wise choice in the Wastelands, but not against me. "The First Law "Feast not on the flesh; consume only the blood. This is our strength."

We do not eat the flesh of those we kill for food. We will only drink of their blood and leave the body intact. The consumption of flesh is filthy and unclean. This action is what causes the humans to treat us like animals. We are not animals, we are the Family.

The Second Law "Bear not the child; welcome only the exile. This is our fate."

Because we carry the stain of our past in our bodies, we can never let it pass to our offspring who would in turn carry out those foul actions beginning the cycle anew. The Family must seek the Wasteland for others of its kind in order to maintain itself. That is our fate.

The Third Law "Feed not for pleasure; partake only to nourish. This is our dignity."

We only kill the humans when we are hungry or when we must defend ourselves, we never hunt for sport or pleasure. We do not prey on children for they are not yet tainted by society's view of us. The Family will not tolerate murder.

The Fourth Law "Seek not the sun's light; embrace only the shadows. This is our refuge."

Because we are creatures of the night, we must not set foot in daylight. We move silently across the ground only under the watchful eye of the moon above. At the rising of the sun, we must seek the embrace of the shadows and never again gaze at its brilliance. The Family seeks the dark as its refuge.

The Fifth Law "Kill not our kindred; slay only the enemy. This is our justice."

Above all, no member of the Family will ever take the life of another member without the consent of the current leader. Anyone disobeying this action, the most heinous of all our crimes, will be exiled from this place forever. We must not let our own inner demons cause us to fight amongst ourselves. We number only in the few, and we cannot risk extinction."

"Like I said, a very interesting read. Since I know all about you, let me introduce myself." The flood lights die out and then return, but with a less intense light. There I am. Standing in all of my badassery in front of everyone. My trench coat flapping noiselessly in the wind, my hands on my hips, and my head tilted towards the ground. Slowly I look up, staring straight into Vances eyes. "The names Cross, Jacob Cross." Lightning strikes in the background.

-For Fun-

As the lighting strikes the earth, time seems to stand still and the figures of three giants could be seen floating around a round table.

"What the hell was with that ambiance Bu. Did you roll a nat 20 on the environment?" Bu rubs the bridge of his nose while staring down at the scene below. Sighing Bu picks up a 20-sided die that is constantly changing how it looks, off the table. "What a waste of a good roll. His protagonist skill would have made that happen regardless of what I'd roll. Alright Nal, that's a wrap. We got souls to judge tomorrow and Tri's already passed out on the table." Nal looks at Tri and sighs. He walks over and shakes Tri awake. "Hm, what.. Did I finally get to ride sovereign?" Tri looks around confused. Nal shakes his head. "No brother, you didn't. That campaign is still far off from now. We've only just started the Fallout campaign." Tri slumps his shoulders. "I really wanted to ride the cuttlefish though." Nal pats his back then vanishes. Bu nods at Tri and vanishes, taking the table with him. Tri looks out at the irradiated world before focusing on Jacob. "Grow strong young Jacob, for only then can you ride the robot cuttlefish." Tri vanishes.

An unspecified amount of time later a figure shows up completely shrouded in black. He looks around the world then snaps his fingers. "Damn kids forgot to turn time back on. Triple the amount of judging tomorrow." As he leaves, time begins to start again.

-For Fun-