The Courier ended up in the Forbidden Zone of Big M.T. Mobius checked on him, “Oh, you’re finally awake! You’ve been out a long time, a few days at most. Hmm, want a Mentat?”. The Courier replied, “Oh, not this shit again... Fuck the intro, tell me what the hell am I doing here?”, Mobius answered,“Well, all the implants and tech inside you detected you were near death. So you got sent here somehow, but the arrival was harsh. You ended up at my front door! At first I thought it was the Psycho making me see things, but nope, it was you! Or maybe it’s not… Am I crazy?”, he floated off while rambling to himself, continuing to add to the math covered floor and walls, and the ceiling? The Courier thought, “Why the fuck is there chalk on the ceiling, how the hell did Mobius even get there?”, he spoke, “Mobius, do you know what happened before I got here?”, “Hmm, yes, yes… There was a big kaboom! It nearly rocked all of Big Mountain! The Think tank did some looking into it, and found that an atomic bomb exploded near Las Vegas.”, Mobius magically consumed 3 Mentats, “Mmm”. A walking eye bumped into the Courier’s leg, he looked down and picked it up. “Who’s on the other end of this thing?”, “Ah, that’d be my dumb co-workers, the Think Tank. They see everything, except bathrooms. Obviously they never go into bathrooms, not since the last incident…”. The Courier was disgusted, “What the hell has been going on here since I left?”, Mobius answered, “Well, I worked on the Mk 2 Stealth Suit a bit. The voice is still kind, keeps me company sometimes.”. The Courier answered, “So nothing has changed. Just more work and mysterious bathroom problems.”, “Oh you should have see it! Best scientific breakthrough regarding Lobotomites we ever made! Though Klein and Borous had them terminated immediately, they both found it absolutely repulsive. Proves evermore that they don’t remember what being human was like. Doing all the fun human things… I would’ve preferred to die than be immortal in this damn flying brain bot thingy.”
—
Nova woke up, she still felt good from all the intoxication but she also hurt from it all. She noticed Ulysses was still in the room with her, “What are you still doing here?”, Ulysses answered, “I have nowhere else to go. And you are one of the Courier’s most prized possessions, so here I am to protect you. There’s enough supplies here for me to make myself food and drinks, brewed a few Bitter Drink’s if you want any. Could help with the hangover.”. Nova grabbed a bottle and was about to take a drink when Ulysses stopped her, “Do not drink a small amount. The drink itself tastes awful, but the ingredients in it help heal many pains. Down it all in one go if you are going to drink it.”. Nova drank the whole bottle. “Oh god, that’s horrible.”, “Exactly. The Twin Mothers made it a lesson. Cures a wound, leaves the bitterness that caused it. The stomach won't take it a second time, so it’s best to drink it all at once.”. “People were clearly stupid in the past then. Why make a drink that helps but tastes horrible?”, “That is most medicine, ingredients do not taste well but have many nutrients needed to heal better.”. Nova hated it, “That’s bullshit.”. Suddenly, she suffered some sort of pain. Ulysses said, “Are you alright?”, Nova answered, “Y-yeah… Ever since Ace nearly died then disappeared, I’ve been fighting myself… All the emotions, the desire to kill… I really don’t want to talk about it right now. Do you want to hear some news?”, “Sure”. Nova took a deep breath, then started, “Two new artillery’s were made. One had existed already, but was perfected a few days ago. Two inventions made proudly by the Enclave tech division: A stationary Fatman launcher, build with larger size and fitted with a more heavy receiver for larger magnitude warheads; and a Gauss based railgun, built nearly as large as the anti-aircraft guns at Hoover Dam, fitted with maximum coils and a medium tesla reactor. Capable of discharging two-hundred million volts, and able to destroy nearly anything. And speaking of which, it’s getting tested today.”
Nova and Ulysses walked out of the Lucky 38, some soldiers gasped or stayed out of the way. The two made it to the testing ground, they were greeted by Brandon, “Ah, decided to show up, eh? You’re gonna love this!”, he grabbed a walkie talkie and said, “Go ahead and fly the vertibird near us.”. Brandon talked to Nova, “The vertibird is piloted by some random wastelander, expendable. They have no idea what’s about to happen, but we need it tested nonetheless. Oh, here we go…”. The vertibird flew towards them. The Gauss railgun activated, it detected unauthorized aircraft, so it moved and aimed. The base of it started moving and lit up, tesla bolts were seen dancing within the reactor. The barrel lit up as well, channeling the energy, then discharged. A bolt of energy shot out and soared towards the vertibird, striking it and tearing through one of the propellers, before causing the vertibird to explode. Brandon spoke, “Now, uhh… I shouldn’t be tellin’ you this, but that ain’t all we got. Sure, it can bring down damn near any aircraft, but what if we need it portable? Get ready to meet Archimedes 2, mk 2”. Just then, a beam of dark cool colored light struck the land, seeming like a larger projectile of the Gauss artillery. An electric explosion was seen where the beam hit. “And say goodbye to Camp McCarran!!”. Ulysses questioned, “Why do we need a weapons that’s so destructive?”, Brandon answered, “Why not? Our enemies on the west coast were wiped out, but we can't say the same for the east coast. Brotherhood might still have power there, as well as any other potential threats. So, instead of nukes, we use these two weapons to tip the odds in our favor.”. Nova made quick note of the weapon, then walked off without Ulysses. Some random person started to annoy her. She grabbed hold of the person and threw them down to the ground, grabbed her knife off her belt and stabbed them in the back of their neck. Then she tore the knife down the person’s back, making them scream in a tone that ever so pleased Nova. She stood up, allowed the person to bleed and suffer for a few seconds, before stomping on their head.
—
The Mk 2 stealth suit said, “Will you love me if I help you hide?”, the Courier Answered, “You’re a bit too late, but yeah, I would.”. He thought for a second, then took the suit off of the rack, “I know someone who would appreciate you, I just have to figure out how I’ll get back…”. The Courier overheard Mobius talking to himself, the Courier continued to quietly listen as Mobius rambled on, "Hmm, what was it... Ah, yes, that's it. Created for guaranteed mutual destruction, and then some! Everything would have been fine and dandy if House never told her to run away... That damn mad man, he had no idea what he had started by saying so. 200 years later, and there's a force well to be reckoned with unleashed upon the world. She bows to no-one, she listens only to her prime directive... Destroy the enemy, by any means necessary...", the Courier walked up, "What are you talking about?", Mobius was startled, “A project… Ehh, a weapon was developed here. An A.I tasked with hopefully tipping the Sino-American war into our favor. But House ruined it all and he-”, the Courier interrupted, “Nova? Was the project Nova?”, Mobius paused, then answered, “How did you know?”, “She’s in Vegas,
probably on a rampage because I’m not there with her.”. Mobius was confused and astounded at the same time, “What do- Ah, that's right… You must be her chosen administrator, you’ve bonded with her, yes?”, the Courier blushed, “You could say that… I was more her love interest rather than something basic.”, “Oh, how strange… Must be something House did… Before, Nova was a basic A. I, but House changed her up a bit. Made her more… ‘Human’. I think it was a bad idea, ruining such a masterpiece by giving her emotions.”. The Courier grabbed a shotgun off of his back and put it against Mobius’ glass bowl, “Apologize or I’m shattering your braintank.”. Mobius was frightened, “Oh my, there’s no need for violence. I uh… I’m sorry for speaking badly about her.”. The Courier walked back to a table and started writing equations and other thoughts. Being trapped in a different land was not his most favorite thing to do. How to get back? He’s made it back before, plenty of times. And if he didn’t find a way soon… He couldn’t be too sure if there’d be a home to return to if he doesn’t figure out how to get back to Vegas.
—
Brandon was off on a classified mission. He, a Squad Sigma soldier and Nova hunted down the still alive president of the NCR, Kimball. Brandon spoke, “Do you fear death, Kimball?”, Kimball replied, “Do I know you?”, “The name’s Brandon. Captain Brandon, of the Enclave. 16 years ago, my family was murdered by your soldiers. Now, you're gonna pay the price.”, Brandon paused, then asked for Nova’s blade, she gladly gave it to him. He continued, “Now, I’ve waited a long time for this. I made a promise to the grave of my loved ones that I’d hunt you down and make you beg for mercy.”, Brandon cut Kimball in the most painful places and ways possible, the agony pleased both Brandon and Nova. The Sigma soldier quietly stood nearby, gun ready in case of hostiles. “I want to watch you bleed, I want to hear you scream. I want you to regret what you did, but you're not getting forgiveness. It’s just you and me, and I’m not leaving until you die. That could take minutes, maybe hours. Personally, I hope it lasts forever.”. The Sigma soldier asked Brandon, “Sir, we shouldn’t stay long.”, Brandon replied, “Keep your gun on the door, and we’ll be fine. If you need help, we brought Nova for a reason.”. Brandon turned to Kimball, the president said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know my men did that to you. They were not following orders, I had no ide-”, Brandon punched Kimball in the face with the stock of his rifle, “YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE MEN! YOU SENT THEM THERE, THEY KILLED MY FAMILY. Men, Women, Children, all were killed regardless of age. You’re a deadbeat, Kimball… Your blood will stain this room, you will beg for life… But I’m not giving you anything… Nothing but pain.”. Brandon treated Kimball like a punching bag, over and over and over, “I won’t leave this room until your heart no longer beats.”. He continued to beat Kimball, while switching to the knife every few minutes. He stabbed Kimball in the chest multiple times, a few times in the limbs. The floor was soon a dull red, the walls painted with the spatter of blood from Kimball being punched. Brandon’s clothes were stained nearly as much as the room was. Nova held herself back, trying not to get involved. But the more she watched, the more she couldn’t control herself. People were in the halls, perhaps aware of Brandon and he team, the Sigma soldier said, “We got hostiles.”, Nova replied, “Stay out of the way hotshot, you just continue standing there.”. Nova grabbed her revolver and shot an incoming soldier. She took a combat knife off the body and took on the force trying to save the president. One by one, she dealt with the soldiers with ease. Slowly, anger and insanity rose within her, it would be only a matter of seconds before all hell broke loose. Brandon continued torturing Kimball, making sure that the injuries were as painful as possible but not severe enough to kill the NCR president. “Do you fear death, Kimball?”, “N-no… I don’t f-fear you.”. Brandon stabbed Kimball again, “Fuck you”. Nova couldn't think, her movement was slowing down, she was getting overwhelmed with the rising emotions. Everything seemed like a haze, nothing made sense… She felt like it was all madness… Then her vision sharpened, her mind quit working, she was driven by nothing but her prime directive. She brutalized anyone that dared to defy her, bodies piled upon bodies, filling the halls near the room Brandon was in. One was ripped apart limb from limb, another had their neck broken, one had their spine ripped out, another had their chest torn apart, one had their head nearly removed from their body, she continued and continued slaughtering everyone and everything in her path. After it was cleared out, 2 more soldiers that rushed in were greeted by Nova casually snacking on a mutilated corpse. She stood up, clothes and face covered in blood, holding someone’s heart in her right hand. *She said, “Hello, come to join your friends?”, she crushed the heart she was holding. The soldiers backed away, trying to escape but Nova hunted them down immediately. She softly laughed to herself as she bolted through the halls, completely unaware that it was her broken heart fueling all the carnage.
—
“Call me Gideon, Mr House.”, “Alright, ‘Gideon’, why do you come before me?”. Gideon responded, “You’re a fine businessman, right? I’ve come lookin’ for somethin’ we both love… Money. I figured this would be the place to start, make some ‘moolah’ in Vegas.”. House considered it, then said, “Money is what you want? Plenty of that here. Victor will give you a business contract, sign it and we can do business. I keep 40 percent.”, Gideon disagreed, “That won’t do, Mr. House, how about 25, eh?”, House gave a counter offer, “35, no higher, no less.”. “Mr. House, I wish to ma-”, House interrupted, “This is my Strip. I’m offering you the business opportunity, and I want 35 percent in return. I do this to all the businesses here in Vegas, small shops, the casinos, the Families. 35 percent, Gideon, or you can leave. The choice is yours.”. Gideon sighed, “Fine, have it your way. 35 percent of my earnin’s, I hold the other 65.”, Gideon signed the contract. House said, “Don’t ever be late, on anything.”, Gideon laughed, “I always say the same thing. See ya later, House.”
—
The Courier went to his home in the Think Tank dome. Muggy was rolling around, the courier asked it, “Do you have any idea how to get me out of Big M.T?”, Muggy answered, “I do, but what’s in it for me?”, the Courier walked over to a chest and opened it. It was filled with coffee mugs, “All yours, if you help me get out of here.”, “All… For me?”, “All for you”, the Courier mumbled, “All yours, you crazy fucking securitron…”. Muggy was thrilled, “Aww, thank you! Listen, the barrier won’t let you leave if it detects that you're hurt. Throw on that suit you got with you, it should regulate your vitals, allowing you to leave.”. The Courier couldn’t believe he didn’t think of that before, “Are you sure it’ll work?”, Muggy replied, “It’ll work, I promise! I wouldn’t say it if it didn’t work. And I really want those mugs”. The Courier went to the Think Tank to ask for help fixing the transportalponder, Klein spoke, “HMM, YES… I”M AFRAID THE TRANSPORTALPONDER IS BROKEN. MAYBE BOROUS OR 0 CAN FIX IT.”. The Courier asked Borous , he responded, “Why must you go around breaking our things?! Go talk to 0, I have no interest in your foolery.”. The Courier asked 0, he responded, “Ah, I take it everybody else was an asshole? Typical… Hmm… Give me a few seconds…”, 0 spent some time fixing the gun with some random materials he found nearby, then gave it back to the Courier, “There you go. Sorry that my colleagues are science obsessed zombies.”, the Courier began to walk away when 0 spoke again, “He’s still alive… Isn’t he? House?”. The Courier hesitated, he was unsure to respond, “Yeah. Why?”, 0 answered in a lowered tone, “I knew him, pre-war of course. If House had to sell his soul for Vegas, he would. He has plans, you need to look out for just what deeds those may be. He’s Robert House goddammit! One second he’s making the world a better place, the next he’s broken your kneecaps and left you to die while he cares for nothing but that damned city.”, “I’ll make good note of th-”, Borous interrupted on the speakers, “Anyone with a brain, please do not look at any camera screens showing the northern part of Big M.T. There’s uh… There’s an issue with the Lobotomites and the view will make you wish you never saw it! Oh god, I need to purge my memory…”, Mobius said a few things as well, “Ah, they're doing it again! Klein, please see this one through!”, “MOBIUS, YOU SICK BASTARD. DO NOT WATCH THE LOBOTOMITES! DO NOT RECORD THEM EITHER!! WE DO NOT NEED ANY MORE DISGUSTING LOBOTOMITE MATING VIDEOS!!!”. The Courier walked away. He sat down with his back against the wall and started going through a bag he had with him. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey and sipped from it. Settling on the idea of spending one more night, before heading back. “At least it’s better than anywhere else I’ve been.”
—
House thought to himself. Everything was going to plan, Vegas was better than ever. And being president of the United States? It couldn't get any better. Remaining enemy presence was still a threat nonetheless, he could send wave after wave at them… But it just wasn't enough… Separating Nova and the Courier was a risky shot, but made things easier. House was betting more and more, the stakes getting higher and higher. “Victor, any word or Brandon and his team?”, Victor answered, “No Sir, they haven't come back yet. If ya don’t mind me askin’, why’d ya separate them two lovers?”. House thought about it and replied, “I needed an immediate boost to power. Nova will try to lower her anger by fighting and will slowly clear out our enemies.”. Victor asked, ‘Are you sure it’s a good idea, boss?”, House replied, “Everything will be fine. I’m Robert Edwin House, there’s nothing I can't do.”. Gideon arrived by elevator, House’s Sigma guards aimed their weapons at him. House commanded, “Sigma, at ease. Let Gideon pass.”, the guards did as told, Gideon walked up to House’s monitor and said, “I’m going to pour myself a drink. I’m thinking maybe we could get to know each other better, eh?. Tell me everything…”
