3 - First Customer!

["Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest touch."]

["Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today."]

["Time is the only true purgatory."]

Humming to himself as he floated over Fallout's California, Zeref used the landscape from the first fallout game and made some slight edits to show that time had passed.

With a flick of his hand, he could change the entire world.

He felt like he was a God looking over his domain, changing it however he pleased.

Due to having already finished the landscape within the first couple of hours, Zeref was left with removing the content from Fallout 1 and then starting to create the towns and cities of Fallout 2.

When he was working on Fallout 1, he recreated all of California, and while he did create all of North America, everywhere but California was currently a blank slate, flat land with no life.

Just like with the first game, the players would be limited in where they could go, such as going to Vault 13 and Vault 15, like the protagonist in Fallout 1, but couldn't go much further south of the two vaults and Shady Sands, which has become the capital of the NCR.

You could think of the two games as squares, with the two Vaults as the border separating the two maps.

While Fallout 1 encompassed a large area south of the two vaults along the coast, Fallout 2 encompassed north of the two vaults along the Californian coast, giving the players new places to explore and new challenges to face.

This game would also introduce a new technologically advanced faction to contend with the Brotherhood of Steel, the Enclave, remnants of the U.S. Government.

And the player could also travel through the Ruins of San Francisco.

The only noticeable difference that Zeref could see between the first two Fallout games was that Fallout 2 had a more story-driven plot and cultural references to the first game.

And, what made these two games different from most of the other Fallout games was that they had more...adult content.

For example, the player can become a Porn Star in Fallout 2...

The later fallout games were much more kid-friendly, though they still had some adult content if the player knew what they were doing.

Although now that he thinks about it, if he were still human, this would be concerning, but now that he's not, he doesn't really care.

'Hmmm, perhaps I should put up a board warning the customers of the dangers of the VR services. That way, it would be their own fault and the consequences of their actions. After all, it would not be my fault if they get PTSD from their actions.' Zeref thought in his head, happily humming to himself as he worked on the various NPCs of Vault City before moving on to the next city or town to do the same thing all over again.

While the two games from his past world could be described as old video games, with the first published in 1997 and the second a year later, both still had decent stories but were considered Retro and too old-fashioned. While many didn't find themselves enjoying the two games in his past life, he planned on making those of this world enjoy them, or well, those that could handle it, and enjoy the 'second life.'

As Zeref was lost in thought and old memories, a chime rang out in the store as the doors slid open.

Exiting the mental realm, Zeref was happy to see yet another potential customer before him, although the young man before him seemed to have frozen in fear, shock, or surprise upon looking at Zeref's form.

"Welcome to the New World Cafe. Would you like to hear about our services and unique products?" Zeref asked the customer.

"W-What are you?" The young man asked, finally snapping out of it.

"Just a simple cafe owner, can I perhaps interest you in some of my wares?" Zeref replied, beckoning the man to come closer.

Taking hesitant steps forward, the young man forced his eyes to look away from Zeref and down to the glass display case that made up part of the counter and could see a couple of items.

Several large yet strange syringes filled with red liquid and a gauge at the top, measuring the status of the contents within the syringe, next to these syringes was a strange container with a pin with green highlights along the container, then to the right of several of those containers, was what seemed to be a huge red canister with a white cross.

Just above those syringes was a label that read 'Stimpak - Stimulation Delivery Package'

Under the label was a description that read, 'A Medical Stimulant that rapidly mends wounds and helps sets broken bones, will prevent most cases of scaring and has been noted to last centuries before complete expiration.

Above the strange containers were another label and description, 'Stimpak Diffuser - A small canister that, upon pulling the pin, will release a large cloud of green gas that can be inhaled by those with injuries or those exposed to the gas, rapidly healing most minor injuries.'

And then next to the Stimpak Diffuser, was 'Health Dispenser - A large container containing a large volume of a slightly more potent Stimpak fluid that could be used to refill empty stimpaks or, directly delivered into the body by using the attached hosed syringe.'

Just next to the tags of all these medicines, was a price tag or bundle deal. '$250 Per Stimpak, 5-Stimpak Bundle for $1,000, Super Stimpak $500 Per Stimpak, Stimpak Diffuser $1,000, Health Dispenser $2,500'

And on the lower shelf of the glass display, various bottles could be seen.

'Nuka Cola [ $10 ] - The most popular soft drink by the Nuka Cola Corporation.'

Nuka Cola Cherry [ $15 ] - A variant of Nuka Cola that gives off a nice cherry flavor.'

'Nuka Cola Quantum [ $25 ] - A variant of Nuka Cola that will help you feel more energetic throughout the day, noted for its glowing blue.'

'Sierra Madre Martini [ $100 ] - A wonderful alcoholic beverage from the legendary Sierra Madre Casino created by Dean Domino that's been known to, for a time, increase the health, strength, and endurance of the user.'

'Battle Brew [ $250 ] - A medical brew that heals minor injuries and helps set bones back in place, while granting strength and stamina at the cost of increased anger, and a decrease in analytical functions and critical thinking.'

Looking at all of the items for sale, the young man obviously would have thought this was all a scam, if, IF, there was not currently an entity floating behind the counter in front of him, something he could not possibly begin to explain.

"A-Are t-they real?" the young man asked Zeref.

"Yes, and if I have caught your attention, this Cafe also provides a unique VR experience, one which I recommend all my customers to try, think of it as a...second life, if you will," Zeref answered.

Looking towards the computers and back to the items in the display case, the young man asked, "How much would it cost to try the VR?"

"A one-hour session costs $50."

After seemingly thinking for a minute, the young man looked back to Zeref and asked, "C-Can I get a Stimpack and a one-hour session?"

"Would you like to purchase a Stimpak once you are done with your session?" Zeref asked, knowing that for the next hour, he would be quite occupied and might forget about purchasing a stimpak after going in.

"Uh...S-Sure?" The young man replied, unsure.

"Don't worry young human, I will remind you once your session ends, in case you forget."

Once Zeref was paid, the young man walked over to one of the computers, and sat down.

Looking back to Zeref, resulted in the alien entity waving for the young man to continue.

Shifting his vision back to the computer, the Young man found that it seemed to turn on as soon as he sat down.

On the screen of the computer was a page that read 'Username Creation.'

Inputting Tyke, the screen moved on to another page.

On this page was a simple website.

On the lefthand of the screen were several tabs, with the order being News, Games, Forum, Freinds, and Settings.

And at the top right of the website was a small profile tab that was a black circle with a bold 'T.'

Clicking on the profile, opened a small window in which the young man could change his profile picture, banner, profile page, and bio.

Exiting the small window, he looked upon the games tab, only to see a single option and a line of statistics underneath.

[ 'Fallout 1 - Warning, this game depicts great violence and many inhumane acts and is not recommended for children, proceed at your own discretion.'

Completed Achievements: None

Kills: 0

Deaths: 0

Completions: 0

Total number of Caps collected: 0

Max Level Reached: N/A

Longest Run: 0 Days ]

Giving a brief glance over all the stats on the page, he shook his head and clicked the glowing green [ Play ] button.

A spinning green circle appeared on the screen, and the young man felt his body go limp and his consciousness fade.

---

[POV of the young man, Kyle]

Feeling an uncomfortable groggily feeling as I opened my eyes, I froze in place.

I was no longer in the cafe with that alien...I was floating in a dark room looking at a floating screen before me.

[Select Name]

'This...is this really VR...?'

'H-How?'

"Kyle?" I asked out loud, watching as my name appeared on the list.

[Please select 2 Traits]

[Ambidexterous - The ability to use both of your hands equally well]

[Heavy-Handed - Your melee and unarmed attacks do more damage, but less critical damage]

[Good Natured - Grants +5 to all non-combat skills at the cost of -5 to all combat skills]

[Skilled - +5 to every skill at the cost of 10% less experience]

[Small Frame - +1 Agility at the cost of 25% more damage to limb condition]

[Cat's Eyes - Provides low-level nighvision]

[Desensitized - You won't panic in even the most dangerous of situations]

[Four Eyes - +1 Perception when wearing glasses but -1 Perception when not]

[Built To Destroy - All weapons have an increased chance(3%) to cause a Critical Hit but at the cost of higher maintenance(+15%)]

[Hot Blooded - +15% damage when your health is below 50% at the cost of -2 Perception and Agility when at 50% or lower health]

[Wild Wasteland - Adds additional "wacky" content. Note that some Supernatural Elements will be added to the wasteland if this trait is chosen]

[Sex Appeal - Opposite sex reacts more favorably at the cost of sometimes annoying members of the same sex]

'Traits?'

Looking over each and everyone, I noticed several that spoke out to me.

[Ambidextrous], [Skilled], [Desensitized], and [Sex Appeal].

The first three seemed to be useful, but the last one was more for vanity and personal reasons than anything else.

After some thought, I ended up choosing Ambidextrous and Desensitized.

The first, because it would be handy and useful, and the second because I had no idea what I was going into, and if these 'Traits' would even work.

[S.P.E.C.I.A.L]

[Strength: 5 (Average Joe)] [+] [-]

[Perception: 5 (Warry Trout)] [+] [-]

[Endurance: 5 (Stain-Resistant)] [+] [-]

[Charisma: 5 (Substitute Teacher)] [+] [-]

[Intelligence: 5 (Knowledgable)] [+] [-]

[Agility: 5 (Under control)] [+] [-]

[Luck: 5 (Coin Flip)] [+] [-]

[You have five free SPECIAL points to distribute, SPECIAL Stats cannot go below 1, and each SPECIAL Stat will physically and mentally affect your character during the playthrough]

Not understanding much of it, I simply put two points into endurance and strength and the last into intelligence.

[Select Three Tag Skills]

[Combat: Bladed Weapons (0), Blunt Weapons (0), Throwing Weapons (0), Pole Arms (0), Small Guns (0), Big Guns (0), Energy Weapons (0), Explosives (0), Unarmed (0), Stealth (0), and Guerrilla Tactics (0)]

[Technical: Engineering (0), Robotics (0), Biology (0), Computers (0), Construction (0), Tailoring (0), First Aid (0), Surgery (0), Hacking (0), Lockpicking (0), Repair (0), Barter (0), and Persuasion (0)]

[Survival: Foraging (0), Butchering (0), Cooking(0), Trapping(0), Farming(0), and Husbandry(0)]

Looking over them, I tagged Small Guns, First Aid, and Foraging.

I had no idea what I was going into, so a combat skill and a survival skill would do me well while the First Aid may help in patching myself up.

Once I confirmed my tagged skills, I felt a little dizziness and blackness shrouded my vision.

Suddenly the sound of a projector entered my ears and an animation of a strange vault door with the number 13 appeared along with the animation of a small man waving at me before the vault door rolled over and shut.

Strange ads appeared before me as an old song whispered in my ear.

"Maybe...You'll think of me...When you are allll alooonneeee."

"Mabye the one who is waiting for you will prove..."

As the song continued to play, and ads continued to appear on the TV before me, my view panned out and pulled away from a box TV that gave me a view of a dilapidated city with destroyed skyscrapers, torn apart building, and brown skies.

My vision faded into black again, as a man's voice spoke into my ear.

"War...War never changes."

"The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire, for its lust for gold and territory."

"Hitler shaped a battered Germany, into an economic superpower, but war, war never changes."

"In the 21st century, war was still waged over the resources that could be acquired, only this time, the spoils of war, were also its weapons. Petroleum and Uranium. For these resources, China would invade Alaska, the US would annex Canada, and the European Commonwealth would dissolve into quarreling, bickering nation-states bent on controlling the last remaining resources on earth."

"In 2077 the storm of world war would come again. In two brief hours, most of the planet was reduced to cinders, and from the ashes of nuclear devastation, a new civilization would struggle to arise, a few were able to reach the relative safety of the Vaults. Your family was a part of that group that entered Vault 13, imprisoned safely behind the vault door under a mountain of stone, a generation has lived without knowledge of the outside world. Life in the vaults is about to change."

When the voice became silent, and the images stopped flashing in my mind, I found myself standing in a long hallway with an old man with white hair wearing a blue and yellow jumpsuit and a strange device on his wrist, and a bag in his hands before me.

"Ah, your here, good. We've got a problem, a big one. The controller chip for our water purification system is given up the ghost. Can't make another one and the process is too complicated to work around the system, simply put, we're running out of drinking water, no water, no vault. This is crucial to our survival, and frankly, I think you are the only hope we have...You need to go find us another Controller Chip, we estimate we have four to five months, or one hundred and fifty-five days before the vault runs out of water, we need that chip, we marked your map with the location of another vault, not a bad place to start, I think. Look, just be safe, okay?" The man told me, as he handed me a bag with a few stimpaks, bandages, food and water, a knife, a gun, and several ammo clips.

Walking over to a console, the man tapped a large red button, and a strange device came down from the ceiling and unlocked the vault door before moving it out of the way, opening the vault to the outside world, to a cave where I could see multiple skeletons laying in front of the vault.

"Just remember, we are counting on you, be safe, and get that water chip as fast as you can...before we die from dehydration..."

And as the vault door closed behind me, I heard the rather loud sound of squeaking, turning around, I was horrified to see a group of nine rather large rats charging toward me.