Chapter 11: An Honest Heart in a Dishonest World

"And that about covers the Badlands part of the story. For now at least.." The old man said, biting into the last piece of the cooked rodent from the campfire.

An hour has passed since the old wanderer started babbling on about an old story. The rest of the group listened, but the mercenaries also had their attention of Kelly, the raider. Every time Kelly moved or stood up, the mercenaries would hover their hands over their guns in case she tried anything. To say the merc's were irritated that Kelly was set free would be an understatement.

"What ever happened to those 'Fallen Angels'? Are they still around?" Kelly asked, sitting on the ground with her legs crossed like a child.

"Mostly." The old man answered. "I'll get around to that part soon. For now, we should get moving. I may be blind, but I can see that sitting around isn't getting us anywhere." The old stranger pushed himself off the ground with his cane, cracked his back, pulled his hood back up and was ready to continue their journey. The mercenaries were next to stand and Kelly got up last. When she stood on her feet, the merc's kept staring daggers into her, watching her every move. Rodger stomped out the fire while the rest collected their belongings and readied themselves. As they all were about to continue the walk through the desert, Courtney stopped Kelly.

"You walk in front." She ordered.

"Why? I have no weapons. What can I do?" The raider argued.

"Just walk in front of us." Courtney ordered again. Kelly, not wanting to argue, obliged and walked in front of the four other party members. As they all traversed through the desert sand, no one spoke. The only sound being the desert wind and the occasional gunshot from miles away. Eventually, after a few minutes of silence, the old man started to whistle a tune. It started with three high notes, a pause, six high notes, two low notes and eight high notes. It sounded like a song.

"What you whistling there, old timer?" Rodger asked.

"Hm? Oh. It's a song I heard awhile ago:'Jingle Jangle Jingle' by Kay Kyser." The old wanderer answered. "That songs very popular in New Vegas, but that's mostly because its one of the only songs that plays on the radio."

Rodger smirked. "Yeah. Gotta feel bad for the DJ's. But, it's better than having no music. Some places are complete dead spots. Like Utah." He said.

"Yes. Well, Utah does technically have music. If you count banging bearskin drums and chanting to the skies at some kind of god, then it does have music." The old man replied.

"Why'd you gloss over Utah anyway?" Jr. joined in, asking why the old man didn't go into more detail about what Micheal saw in Utah.

"Micheal didn't really see much of Utah." The old man said. "Besides, there's not much to talk about in the first place. It's was claimed by the Legion, yes, but they never really went out there. So, it was mostly just animals, old religious people, raiders and tribals. Salt Lake City was hit pretty bad during the war; place looks like the moon with all it's craters. The occasional settlement, a couple old neighborhoods and that's about it really."

"But you did say he went to Zion Canyon, right?" Jr. asked.

"Yes, The Prodigy did end up in Zion. But, he didn't stay there for long." The old man answered. "Honestly, who would want to stay in Zion Valley anyway? Place is tribal central. Or, at least it was."

"What happened? Did Micheal do something?" Rodger asked.

"No, The Prodigy wasn't the reason all the tribes left Zion. That chapter belongs to somebody else." The old man said.

"Well, what did Micheal do in Zion anyway?" Jr. asked.

"He kicked a nest, that's for sure." The old man began to continue the story.

Micheal had been following the old, cracked road that went through a crest in the mountains. There wasn't much to see besides orange rock and the occasional destroyed vehicle on the road. Night had fallen just a few minutes ago, revealing the bright stars in the sky. Becker was no longer anywhere near Wyoming or Salt Lake City, so the dark clouds had disappeared and his geiger counter could finally stop ticking. He drove the bike further down the road and found a destroyed car in the middle of the road and a large shadow covering it. Micheal looked up and saw a massive part of the mountain that looked like it was about to fall, but it wasn't. But, it did look as if something were to hit it with enough force it would come crashing down.

"The world works in mysterious ways." Micheal said. He swerved past the broken car and went on. He reached an opening to the mountain's not too far, revealing him to be in a large canyon. Becker parked the bike, turned on his Pip-Boy light and looked at his surroundings. To his right was a small, wooden booth, an outhouse, a couple picnic tables scattered about and a burnt out campfire further up. The young vault dweller kicked the kickstand on the motorcycle and got off it to check the area. He walked up to the booth and his Pip-Boy light lit up a wooden sign just barely hanging onto a pillar sticking out of the wooden shack that read 'Zion National Park'.

"Must've been a welcoming booth." Micheal deducted. He went around the other side of the booth and found three chalk-white handprint's outline with what looked like blood. From his experience, Micheal assumed it was a tribal symbol of a sort, but he thought nothing of it. He stepped inside the booth, only to find junk and a ranger hat. Micheal exited the booth and was alerted by a hissing sound in the darkness. He unsheathed his Shishkebab, pulled the ignition nozzle and readied himself. The air was quiet, the only sound being the flames of his sword. Micheal scanned the area for any sign of threats. His sword illuminated the area, only to reveal that the source of the hissing was a giant mantis. Well, as big as a small dog or a big house cat. The mantis hissed again and charged at Micheal, so the young vault dweller rose his leg and promptly stomped on the insect when it got close enough.

"Damn bugs. Are the mosquito's the size of shopping carts too?" He said. "Although, never really seen a real insect before. Maybe I have enough time to dissect this thing and see what's inside." He looked down at the dead bug and was about to pick it up.

"Must I remind you that we're crunched for time?" The voice in his head said. Micheal jumped in surprise and fell ass-first on the ground.

"How the fuck?" He muttered. "How are you talking? I'm not knocked out."

"Well, I just thought that you needed someone to talk to." The voice sarcastically replied. "That, and I got tired of waiting around doing nothing. Really. Your mind is incredible, but it's fucking boring inside."

"Have you been watching me? This entire time?" Micheal had a lot of questions and barely any answers.

"Look. We can sit here and talk for the entire night, or we can get going and catch up with the team." The voice said. "What will it be, Benedetto?"

Micheal's eyebrows sunk in irritation. "Don't call me that." He ordered, standing up and walking toward his bike.

"Why not? That is your name, ain't it? Well, technically our name." The voice jokingly asked.

"'Benedetto' is my middle name. And I prefer not being called it." Micheal answered, hopping onto the motorcycle.

"Alright... I'll just call you 'Benny', Benny." The voice said.

Micheal sighed. "I fucking hate you."

"If Mom heard you say that, she'd make you eat soap. That's what she did to Natalie when she first swore." Said the voice.

"Why do you exist?" Micheal asked.

"Mostly to spite you. But, I also make sure we don't die so easily. Now shut up and drive." The voice said. Micheal didn't feel like bickering any further, so he kicked up the stand, revved his engine and headed on down the road.

The Prodigy drove for about an hour and was grateful not to have met any more of the local wildlife or tribes on his search. The search was going pretty smoothly, up until his bike started to make a weird noise, shuttered and slowed down. He was out of gas.

"You gotta be kidding me." Micheal muttered under his breath. He rode the bike a little further down a dirt path and stopped just outside of an old wooden building. The words 'General Store' were written in big, bold, black letters just above the roof of the patio. Micheal hopped off his bike and decided to go inside to see if he can find any fuel. That, and it could be shelter for the night if he was lucky. He stepped up onto the patio and his light revealed three symbols painted onto the wall and door, the same symbols that were on the welcoming booth. Upon entering the store, Micheal was met with an assortment of shelves, a counter, a couple knickknacks and toys and a musty odor that must've came from the various assortments of two hundred and three year mold growing in place.

Micheal walked behind the counter and found both a snow globe and a Vault Boy bobblehead. He picked up the bobblehead and analyzed it. Vault Boy's arms were being shown off, like he was flexing, so it must've been the 'strength' bobblehead variant. Micheal was mostly surprised by the number on the back: 25. Micheal thought the bobblehead was interesting, so he decided to take it. He plopped the little trinket in his pouch, right next to his black book and Vault 13 canteen, and continued to look around. After a few minutes of searching, he eventually found a gas canister under some wooden boxes. Micheal picked up the canister, shook it and heard the gas shake inside. He had found some fuel, so he didn't have to stay in the general store anymore.

He was about to walk out the door until something made him stop in his tracks. Laying dormant on the seat of his bike was a giant, black bug about the size of the bike with bright, orange wings; a giant cazador had decided that Micheal's bike was the best place to land on. Micheal stared at the thing that was in possession of his vehicle. He eventually just turned around, went back into the store and shut the door behind him.

"Guess I'm staying here for the night." He'd never seen a cazador before and he doesn't want to meet one now.

Morning had risen and the sun illuminated the canyon, revealing the green leaves rustling in the wind, the fresh waters shining from the lakes, and that same fucking cazador still on the bike. Micheal had sat in that store all night, waiting for that thing to go away, but it never did.

"Jesus H. Christ." Micheal said in frustration. He had bags under his eyes from not having slept. He was debating if he should actually just shoot the thing and be done with it, but he didn't want to track attention to himself in case anyone was nearby. Still, he had to get rid of this thing. He thought what he could do. He could try and make a distraction, but he didn't know what could distract a giant bug. Micheal peered out the window again and saw that a miracle had occurred: that cazador had finally left. However, so was his motorcycle. Turns out that freak of nature liked that bike so much it decided to take the fucking thing with it.

"You have quite possibly the most shittiest luck ever in the history of mankind." The voice remarked.

Micheal couldn't even be bothered to be angry; he just gave up at that point. He exited the store and just stared at where his bike used to be. He sat down at the step of the patio and pondered his situation. He took off his headgear and let the sun touch his skin. He just figured that he should just give up on trying to get to California. It's not like he has any chance to get there now, let alone trying to catch up with his team. His mind was so blank that he hadn't realized that somebody had showed up and sat next to him.

"You seem..hopeless." The stranger said, bringing Micheal back to reality. Becker looked over to the stranger. It was a man in some old, dirty, beige trench coat and fedora with what appeared to be a suit underneath. He wasn't looking at Micheal, but he was talking to him. "What troubles you?"

"Do I know you?" Micheal asked.

"Not personally." The man said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Becker said.

"Something troubles you. Do you want to talk about it?" The man changed the subject.

Micheal stroked his hand through his hair, feeling how stiff and greasy it was. He sighed. "I don't know." He said. "This whole thing was stupid from the start."

"Leaving the vault?" The man said, earning him a questioning gaze from Micheal. "You have a vault suit on and you're wearing a Pip-Boy. You don't usually see that around here."

"Okay...I mean, I didn't do it by choice. I was forced to leave." Micheal explained. "But..maybe I should've just stayed in Kansas. I'm never gonna get to California and back. Not now at least."

"Why's that?" The man asked.

"My whole team thinks I'm dead, they took the car and a giant bug stole my bike." Becker said in defeat. "What the fuck am I suppose to do now?" Micheal threw his helmet to the ground in anger.

"A car you say?" The man said.

"Yeah. A Highwayman. But, I don't know how I'm going to catch up with them now. They're probably miles ahead of me." Micheal was feeling the same way he felt when he was behind that saloon back in Danbury.

The man was silent. "...You said you were from Kansas, right?" The man asked.

"Yeah. What of it?" Micheal replied.

The man finally looked at Micheal. "You're from Kansas. You're in Utah. Do you understand how incredible of an achievement that is?" He said. "Not only have you traveled this far, you've survived everything the Wasteland has thrown at you so far and came out in one piece. People will say that is impossible, but you proved them wrong." Micheal listened closely to his words. "And you want to go further."

"Well..yeah, I guess." Micheal muttered.

"I've been around a long time. I've seen almost everything the Wasteland has to offer." The man said. "But I rarely ever get to see a vault dweller come so far. And it would be a shame to call it quits when you're so close." The man stood up, looked down at the young vault dweller while he looked up at him. "Men give up when they've done all they could. Bigger men give up when they've reached the top. But, men who have been through hell...they stop when they're dead. Remember those words."

Micheal looked down. "Hey, thanks. I needed th-" Micheal looked up only to find the man had vanished like he was never there. Micheal shot up and spun his head around to try and see where he went...but nothing. That mysterious stranger was just vanished like magic. "I'm seeing some weird shit." Micheal whispered to himself. The Prodigy looked around and saw an old pair of binoculars sitting where that stranger sat. He picked up the binoculars and decided to scan the surrounding area. He looked through the binoculars and saw something in the distance. He had to double check to see if what he saw was real. It was a miracle, like a gift from God. In the distance, laying dormant on the broken road across the land was an old, functioning Highwayman car. His Highwayman.

The young vault dweller dropped the binoculars, quickly grabbed his helmet from the dirt and bolted toward where he saw his car. He ran down the path, almost tripping on a couple rock. He ran past trees, climb rocks and jumped over gaps. Finally, he had reached his car. Micheal gathered his breath and put his hand on the hood, grateful of his luck finally turning around. After a few seconds of basking in this glorious moment, Micheal finally noticed that no one else was at the car. If the car was here, where's his team? Micheal opened the passenger side door, looked in the back seat and saw an NCR Ranger's helmet in the back seat, Phyllis' helmet, his 9mm on the dashboard and Bonnie's rifle.

"This can't be good." Micheal remarked. Just then, he heard a click from a gun behind him. He sighed, knowing what he was about to face.

"Getting a little nosy, are we?" The person said. Micheal turned around and was met with three people holding him at gunpoint: a ghoulified man, a woman covered in muck and somebody in a suit of T-45 power armor. They all wore road signs that read 'Interstate 80' on them, as well as some drags. They appeared to be some sort of raider gang.

"Nice armor, little man." The woman said, insulting Micheal's height. "I'll look good wearing it."

"I assume you lot have something to do with the previous owners of this car." Micheal said. "What did you do with them?"

"And why should we tell you?" The person in power armor said.

"You could tell me...or I'll make you tell me." Micheal threatened. The raiders looked at each other and began to laugh.

"You've got balls kid. Too bad you're about to lose them." The ghoul said, aiming his gun at Micheal.

"Come and take them." Micheal said. Meanwhile, the other members were having a grand old time somewhere else.

"Where is it?" A raider woman said, hitting a tied up Bonnie with a pipe.

"...I don't know..." Bonnie muttered through the blood dripping out her mouth. "Have you tried looking up your ass?" That insult earned Bonnie another hit with the pipe.

These raiders had captured the others and were interrogating them. Phyllis was tied to a pole with a bag over his head, Jenkins was being cooked alive in his suit, Dogmeat was in a cage and Bonnie was being beaten down with a pipe from their leader.

"I'm gonna ask you one more time." The leader said. "Where is the car?"

Bonnie looked up at her, woozy from being beat to death with a lead pipe. "..What car?" She said.

The leader raised the pipe and swung it down, hitting Bonnie hard in the face and knocking her to the ground. They were currently in an outpost set up by the raiders just a little ways West of the river. The outpost had at least fifteen people, some working vehicles, some captured Yao Guai in cages, a few Brahmin and some bedding spread about.

"Ginova." One of the other raiders called to their leader. "We've gotten nothing out of the others and we haven't heard from the scout team. Although we do know that the car is still in Zion."

"Thank you. Hey, could you come over here for a second?" Ginova requested, an innocent tone masking her usual attitude.

"Sure. What do you nee-" The raider couldn't even finish their sentence before Ginova slogged their face with the pipe, knocking them to the dirt.

"You. Don't EVER call me by my name. You call me 'boss, ma'am, or leader'. Got it?" Ginova said to them.

"Y-yes, boss. I'm sorry, boss.." The raider squealed.

"Good. Now get out of here." Ginova ordered.

"Yes, boss.." The raider said, then stumbled away from them. The raider boss sighed and looked back at the battered mercenary soaking a puddle of blood. She walked over to her and squatted down in front of Bonnie.

"You see, Bonbon, we're gonna find that car with or without your help. I mean, after all, it's fair. You take something of mine, so I take something of yours." She said.

Bonnie didn't respond with words, instead, she spat blood in her face.

Ginova wiped the blood off her face. "Such a shame, Bon's. You could've made such a good 80's raider." She said, stood up and left Bonnie to her injuries. Ginova walked over to her vehicle, an old military jeep with her throne bolted to the trunk. She doesn't drive it personally, but it demands respect. She climbed up into the jeep, sat in her throne and looked over to her other captives. That Paladin didn't have a fusion core, so he was stuck in the fire pit and that Ranger was still tied to the wooden pole while other raiders threw rocks at him. That dog wasn't doing much, besides sulking in fear, which he should. They needed more war-dogs and a happy pup would not make a good pack member. She also got a pretty good hunting shotgun off the Ranger. This was all well and good, but what she really wanted was that Highwayman. A Highwayman is the type of car that doesn't just demand respect, but also enforces it. That's the type of car that a leader should have.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the rest of the raiders yelling and flocking to one area. She looked over to where they were gathering and saw something coming down the road. She jumped off her throne, bolted out of the jeep and ran over to the where Bonnie was. When she reached the mercenary, the raider leader grabbed her by the jacket collar and dragged her over to the others to show her. The leader pushed past all the raiders, reached the front and forced Bonnie to her knees.

"Take a good look, Bon's. Told ya we'd get it." Ginova mocked. It was a Chrysalis Highwayman.

The Highwayman pulled up in front of the raiders and stopped. Ginova smiled as she finally saw her soon to be pride and joy. She could already imagine being behind that wheel and mowing down her enemies with it. Truly, that car was a thing of beauty.

"Take a good look, ya sacks of shit!" She called out to her subjects. "With this, the road is ours!" The raiders cheered and clapped in response.

Just as Ginova was about to take a step forward to her new car, the driver's door opened. A boot met the ground and a hand grabbed the top of the door. She assumed it was one of her men, but she was met with a surprise. A figure rose from the seat and out the door, wielding a revolver in their left hand and an Anti-Material Rifle strapped to their back. They dawned white combat armor and what appeared to be a vault jumpsuit underneath. Their face was hidden by a bloodied T-45 helmet, one that appeared to have belonged to a raider. Their armor was coated in splashes of fresh blood, but the vault suit remained untouched. As he was stepping out, that dog in the cage started howling and the Yao Guai started rattling their cage. This wasn't one of her men.

Micheal looked around him and saw at least twelve raiders all together in front of him. He also saw that one raider in particular had his friend on her knees and covered in wounds, two of his other friends being tortured and his dog in a cage. He tightened his fist which was still holding onto the top of the door. He got out the car, slowly shut the car door and walked forward. The raiders all pulled out their weapons and awaited for the moment to strike. Micheal slowly took off the T-45 helmet, revealing his bloodied face and dropped the helmet onto the ground. His eyes were rose red, ready to dig in to somebody. Bonnie looked up at the reveal and smiled as she saw a familiar face.

"Micheal.." Bonnie whispered in disbelief.

"Hey! I don't know who you are, but I'll let you live if you leave the car." Ginova called out to Micheal. The Prodigy didn't respond. "Hey! Did you hear me?" Ginova called out again.

"...My death is optional. Yours is not." Micheal eventually spoke in his alternate voice. He fired his gun, to which all the raiders ducked in response. None of them were hit.

"You missed, ass-face!" One of the raiders yelled out. That insult would have weight if Micheal hadn't missed. The sound of rattling could be heard behind the raiders. The group looked behind them and found the lock on the Yao Guai cage had been shot.

"Oh shit." Ginova said. The doors to the cage burst open, letting free seven Yao Guai to ravage the ones that captured them.

All the raiders scattered in fear, but the bears were quicker. Some had tried to fight the Yao Guai, but they were quickly clawed away or scooping their organs back into the massive hole in their gut. The air was filled with screams of terror and futile gunshots. The bears roared and ate away at the moving meat, attacking anything in sight. All except Micheal. This was probably because of what happened back with the Yao Guai tribe, but that's besides the point. The Prodigy ran over to Bonnie and quickly freed her.

"Can you stand?" Micheal asked.

"Yeah..Kind of. I'll be fine." Bonnie said, staggering to stand on her own two feet.

"I highly doubt that. Go back to the car. There are guns in there." He ordered, not wanting to have an argument.

Micheal ran off to go help his comrades while Bonnie went back to the car. Becker ran through the chaos up to the cage his faithful canine was stuck in. Dogmeat whined loudly in the cage, the feeling of urgency to be with his master again taking over him. Micheal broke the lock with a rock on the ground and Dogmeat came running out, jumping up on his master and licking his face.

"I missed you too, boy." Micheal said in a cheeky tone to his mutt. "But I need you to go find a fusion core. You know what one of those are, right?" Dogmeat barked and ran off to go fetch a fusion core. Micheal bolted over to Jenkins and heard gasps of air from inside. Micheal grabbed a bucket of milk from the Brahmin pen and splashed it onto the fire pit, putting out the fire. He ran over to the nearby lake bed, filled the bucket with cold water and ran back to Jenkins. Micheal grabbed hold of the valve on Jenkins' back and turned it, opening the armor and revealing Jenkins' black, skin-tight uniform. The Paladin was so woozy from the heat, he didn't even realize what was happening. Micheal splashed the water on Jenkins' back, cooling him down and making him come back to reality. Jenkins screamed at the frozen water hitting his skin, but was grateful for it. Once the Paladin gathered himself, the armor closed, encasing him once again. Dogmeat returned with a fusion core in his mouth. "Good boy!" Micheal said, grabbing the fusion core. Micheal slammed the core into the armor slot and Jenkins could finally move again.

"What happened? Where am I?" Jenkins said. He turned around and saw a person he never thought he would see again. "Micheal?" He said in disbelief.

"Howdy." The Prodigy greeted his friend.

"How-How are you alive?" Jenkins was confused. A raider fired a gun and Micheal just barely dodged it.

"We'll talk later. Go get Phyllis. I need to get back to the car." Micheal ordered, to which Jenkins complied.

A raider put a gun up to Phyllis' head. "I've been wanting to do this for a long time. And if I die, I die having killed a Ranger!" The raider screamed. Just before they could pull the trigger, Jenkins slammed his giant, metal fist into the head of them, shattering their skull.

"You alright, Ranger?" Jenkins asked as he untied Phyllis.

"Jenkins? Is that you?" Phyllis said, still with the sack over his head. "What's going on? Why do I hear bears?" A bullet whizzed by, hit a nearby gas canister and it blew up near them.

"Hold tight." Jenkins said.

"Hold tight? Hold tight to what?" Phyllis asked. Jenkins lifted Phyllis off the ground and carried him over to the car. Micheal came by with the car as fast as he could.

"Let's go!" Micheal yelled out from the car. Jenkins tossed Phyllis through the backseat window and jumped into the trunk. Becker slammed on the accelerator, spun the car around and got out of there as fast as the car can go. Just as they got out, the remaining raiders, including Ginova, got in their vehicles and chased after them.

"We've got company!" Jenkins called out.

Phyllis fiddled in the back and eventually got his helmet back on. He sat up and was confused as ever. He looked over to the driver.

"Micheal?!" He said.

"What's good, fool?!" Micheal said, trying not to crash the car while driving at maximum speed.

"What the hell is going on?!" Phyllis shouted.

"Just shut up and take this!" Micheal ordered, handing Phyllis back his rifle. Bullets started flying past and some hitting the car. "Start shooting!"

Phyllis looked at his Anti-Material Rifle, looked back to Micheal and did what he said to do and started shooting through the hole Jenkins made awhile ago Dogmeat hid below the seat, which was a very smart idea. Bonnie was trying her best to shoot with the 9mm pistol, but she was still a bit woozy.

"I'm useless back here!" Jenkins shouted, bullets flying off his armor. Just then, one of the cars got close enough and slammed into the back of the Highwayman, flinging the poorly mounted .50 cal machine gun into the trunk of the Highwayman. "Never mind! I'm no longer useless." Jenkins picked up the machine gun and started unloading upon the raiders behind them, forcing the raiders to take evasive maneuvers.

The cars swerved throughout the road of the canyon, filling the air with the sounds of engines. Micheal swiveled and spun the car, trying not to crash it while dodging incoming bullets and explosives. One of the cars got to the driver's side and pulled Micheal out through the window. Phyllis and Bonnie tried to keep Micheal in, but couldn't. Bonnie grabbed the wheel and swerved away. Micheal didn't have time to think, so he pulled the passenger out of their seat, climbed up and unsheathed his Shishkebab. He was about to slash his sword at the driver, but his weapon was stopped by another sword. Micheal looked up and saw the leader of the 80's raiders. Turns out, this was Ginova's car. And she had a Chinese officer's sword.

"A little lamb in a wolf den. How cute." She said. "Too bad a lamb can't fight wolves."

"Yeah? Well, maybe I'm just wearing sheep's clothing." Micheal said, igniting the flames of his sword, surprising Ginova. Micheal took this opportunity to strike. He pushed the raider leader back and kicked the driver in the face. Micheal climbed into the back and readied himself to fight the raider leader.

"You're a brave little man. I can admire that." She said. "But you're also an extreme amount of trouble. I'll enjoy putting a slave collar around your neck."

"I'll enjoy putting a wall between us." Micheal replied. The two clashed their swords together, trying their hardest to fight while parrying.

"You're good, kid." She said, then kicked Micheal in the leg and put him in a headlock. "But you ain't perfect." Micheal responded to this by biting into her arm. After a few seconds, she let go in pain. A prominent bite mark was present on her arm.

"You little shit!" She said.

"Now you're talking like a raider." Becker mocked. Ginova rose her sword which gave Micheal enough space to attack her torso. He was about to strike, but they both fell over from the drive getting intense.

"Keep it straight, you idiot!" Ginova barked at the driver.

"I'm sorry, boss!" The driver said back.

The hunting shotgun rattled around the back. Ginova grabbed it, but before she could fire it, Micheal slashed her face with his sword, leaving a sizeable scar on her right cheek. She grabbed her face in pain and Micheal took his shotgun back. The Highwayman came back around and got close enough to the jeep.

"Micheal! Get on!" Jenkins called out. Micheal jumped off the jeep onto the roof of the Highwayman. Micheal looked in front of them and saw the way he came into the valley.

"Go through there! I have an idea." He called out to Bonnie. She listened and swerved toward the area Micheal said. The other cars didn't react to the Highwayman swerving at first, so the gang had a lead on them for a bit. Bonnie drove through the passage in the valley, past the welcoming booth, and swerved past a destroyed car in the road.. "Stop here!" Micheal ordered. Bonnie stopped the car.

"Why are we stopping?!" Jenkins asked. Micheal jumped off the car and pulled out the grenade he'd been saving since Broken Heart. He pulled the pin, placed the explosive on the stone wall of the valley and bolted back to the car.

"Go! Go! Go!" He said and he jumped in the trunk. Bonnie slammed her foot on the accelerator and the car flew off down the road. Just as they could get a sight of the raiders around the corner, the grenade went off and a massive crack went up the valley. The crack went up all the way to the weak top and broke the only part that was keeping it in place. The large mountain top came crashing down and shook the ground when it hit. The road from Zion Valley and the rest of Utah had been cut off. But, more importantly, the raiders were on the opposite side of that rock. "I TOLD YOU I"D PUT A WALL BETWEEN US!" Becker yelled out to Ginova on the other side. Micheal and Jenkins cheered in victory in the trunk of the car, Phyllis took a deep breath, finally able to relax, and Bonnie finally managed to get a hold of herself to focus on the road.

"Glad that's over." Jenkins said, lowering his new machine gun. It wasn't his Gatling laser, but it'll have to do. Micheal crawled over the roof of the car and climbed into the front passenger seat.

"That was fun. Let's never do that again." Micheal said. Dogmeat climbed over the front armrest and started licking Micheal's face. "Bah! Calm down, boy." Micheal said through laughs.

"Micheal-fucking-Becker." Phyllis said in a jovial tone. "You son of a bitch."

"Good to see you too, Phyllis." Micheal replied.

"How in the goddamn are you alive?" The ranger asked.

"By sheer will-power, determination, and a pile of dead ghouls." Micheal answered.

Phyllis shook his head. "Well, in any case, it's good to see you're still around." He said.

"Likewise, my dusty amigo." Micheal said. "We still heading to California?"

The crew drove for a bit longer and eventually stopped at an old Poseidon Energy gas station on I-80. Bonnie swerved the car off the road and parked it near one of the tanks. There were a couple battered cars, but the place looked nearly untouched by human hands. Micheal, Phyllis and Dogmeat got out of the car, but Bonnie had some trouble. Micheal went over to her and helped her stand up. Even though Bonnie was taller than him, he still managed to be enough of support for her to walk. Micheal took Bonnie inside the gas station and sat her down on a box of crates. He sat next to her and inspected her injuries.

"you guys got yourselves in a lot of trouble without me. Lucky I came rolling in." He said through a small chuckle.

"Yeah..." Bonnie simply said. "...This would be...the second time you've cheated death."

"Yeah. Yeah, I suppose so." Micheal replied. "But that's what you get when you have a pile of dead ghouls to break your fall." Bonnie didn't say anything. Micheal pulled out a stimpak and injected it into Bonnie's arm.

"This should help stop the bleeding and numb the pain, but the bruises will take a bit longer to heal." He said. The two fell silent for a bit. "...So, what was with those raider's anyway? They didn't seem like any normal raider gang."

"Those were the 80's raiders, a raider gang that inhabits Interstate 80. That woman you fought was their leader, Ginova Castello." Bonnie informed. "Once a feared mercenary, now a ruthless raider queen."

"How do you know all this?" Micheal asked.

Bonnie looked away. "..I don't wanna talk about it." She said.

"Bonnie, we've been working together for awhile." Micheal said. "If we want to stay together for a bit longer, we should at least open up to each other a bit more."

If Bonnie was met with this statement from someone else, she would usually yell at the person and tell them that they're just co-workers. Nothing more. But, she felt as though she could trust Micheal more than others. Bonnie sighed.

"I don't remember if I told you, but Marcy was the one who trained most mercenaries in the Midwest. She even trained me...and Ginova." Bonnie said. "However, we were all put in pairs. I was unlucky enough to get Ginova." She paused for a second. "A couple years after we finished our training, me and Ginova decided to team up and take on the Wasteland. It was all going well...but..." She paused again. "Her tactics were more brutal than mine, and I saw that. That's why it was stupid of her to have a child."

"A child?" Micheal repeated.

"Yep." She said. "She kept putting that kid in harms way, but I sat idly by and kept my mouth shut. But...then she got a few people together and formed a small raider gang..." She paused once more. "I couldn't let that kid grow up like her mother, so I took the kid and ran away...I took the kid out East, all the way to Boston. Found a good home for her. Needless to say, Ginova was more than pissed. She hunted me down for years, but I managed to keep my distance. Well, up until recently that is. I'm just upset that she cares more about a stupid car than her own kid." Bonnie hung her head.

Micheal pondered on what to say. "I can't really say I know if you did the right thing or not...It doesn't really seem that there was a right or wrong in that situation." He started. Bonnie looked to him. "But, I can say that what you did was a good thing. Who knows what Ginova would've done to that kid. Nice to know you ain't just some leather-skinned mercenary who doesn't care about others but herself." Bonnie gave a warm smile.

"You're a lot more wiser than most people your age." She joked. "...Thanks." They fell into a silence again. "Now you tell me something."

"What?" Micheal asked.

"I told you something. Now you have to tell me something. There's gotta be something your holding back." Bonnie said.

"Um..Well, I.." Micheal was about to say something, but was cut off by the sound of something hitting the roof of the gas station multiple times. Micheal looked up, confused about what had hit the ceiling. Bonnie looked out the window and saw the once blue sky now covered in a layer of gray clouds.

"It's raining." Bonnie said.

"Rain?" Micheal said. "I've never seen rain before."

"Oh, right. You're from underground." She said in a chuckle. "Come on. I'll show you." She stood up, walked to the front door and stepped outside.

Micheal followed her, but stopped at the frame of the door. He saw what appeared to be water falling from the sky in droplets, hitting the ground and making small puddles around them. He saw his dog trying to catch the droplets in his mouth and his other two companions standing under cover. Jenkins and Phyllis stopped their conversation and began to watch the two.

"Come on, Mikey. It's fine." Bonnie urged.

Micheal hesitated to step out of the building, unsure of what would happen. But, eventually he took one step forward out the door, took another step and eventually another. He was now completely outside. He looked up at the clouds and held his hand out. Cold rain landed on his skin, and it didn't do anything to him. This was the first time Micheal had ever experienced rain...and he liked it. The rain was beautiful to him. This whole world was oddly beautiful to him in a way. Spending all his life underground in a steel-walled vault, a big metal door blocking him from the outside. They always said the outside was a horrific place full of terrors and copious amounts of radiation, and, for the most part that was true, but it also had it moments where it was beautiful. He didn't know what to make of it...and that was okay.

"I hate to ruin this moment, but we should probably get going." Jenkins called out. "We're on the clock." Micheal shook out of his trance.

"Yeah. Yeah, we should go." Micheal said, remembering why he's out here. The group got back in the car, Micheal in the drivers seat.

"I should probably tell you that most of the roads leading West are either destroyed or blocked." Phyllis said. "But, we can probably take the railroad. That's if you want to avoid Reno."

"Fuck Reno. I ain't going to that shit-pit." Bonnie said.

"Railroad it is then." Micheal said. "Just gotta find one first."

"I know of a track South from here. We can probably take that." Phyllis said.

The group left the gas station and continued their journey. Micheal followed where Phyllis told him to go and eventually found an old railroad track. The Prodigy drove onto the tracks and followed them West. The ride was bumpy, long and uncomfortable. But, after a few hours of riding the railroad, they eventually managed to escape the borders of Utah and ride into the post-apocalyptic wild west. Or, as it was once called before the Great War, Nevada. It was all that stood between them and California.