The Mist

Zion Canyon, Sorrow's Camp:

Alexander approaches Rufus, who was still lying in a bed made of hay.

"Rufus" he said "You feeling alright now?"

"I guess so" he replied "Headache's gone. So where to next?"

"Southeast. A small party of tribesmen went missing there… The courier included"

"When do we move out?"

"You really sure you're ok to move? We'll be exposed to the white noise and some kind of fog"

"You kidding? I've had my limbs crippled, exposed to God knows how much radiation. Hell I was exposed to Vault 106's hallucinogens! This is nothing!"

Alexander sighs as he hears several tribesmen ringing bells around the camp.

"What's going on?" Rufus wondered as the two notice the natives frantically running around the camp.

"The entrance" Alexander said

"Let's go then!"

The Narrows:

"Close the gates!" a tribesman shouts as the other natives take up battle positions around the narrows.

"What's going on?" Alexander asked

"The fog! It is coming!"

"Lock and load, Rufus. This'll be a good way to see if you're really well enough to fight"

"Please" Rufus replied cocking his service rifle "I managed to fend off raiders and super mutants while either addicted or hallucinating"

The two soldiers then take up positions just outside the gate as a thick fog covers the entrance to the Narrows, taking cover behind some makeshift barricades.

The fog rests just at the Narrows' entrance.

Almost immediately, loud cries and roars echoed throughout the area.

The natives and soldiers took aim as hordes of feral ghouls emerged from the fog.

"Those aren't regular ferals!" Rufus said noticing the extra appendages on the ghouls' backs

"Well shit!" Alexander replied as they open fire.

A couple of ghouls go down as the natives rain .45 rounds onto the horde while the two soldiers land headshots.

But the ghouls were dangerously getting close to the gates.

"This is not looking good!" Rufus shouts as several natives, armed with wooden shields and spears, run past them "What?"

They quickly form a shield wall.

As the ghouls were within range, the natives stop shooting and the ones in the shield wall engage the ghouls in melee combat, while holding the horde back with their shields.

The tall shields helped prevent the ghouls' appendages from the reaching the natives.

They slowly but surely decimated the ghoul horde.

Within a few minutes the horde was eliminated and the natives cheer.

Rufus and Alexander stand up.

"Well. Well. Well" Alexander said "I guess they didn't survive for 3 months thanks to blind luck"

"Yeah" Rufus replied looking at the fog

"What's wrong, Rufus?"

"I don't know… I just have a bad feeling at the pit of my stomach"

In a split second, Rufus notices movement within the fog.

"Oh shit… IT'S NOT OVER!"

But his cries come too late as several sharp spines fly from the fog.

The spines pierce several natives in several parts of their bodies.

Taken by surprise, the natives once again get into formation while the others drag the dead and injured out of the battle.

Seconds later, 4 creatures emerge from the fog.

"What the fuck are those?!" Rufus said with his eyes wide open

"I have no fucking clue" Alexander replied "

3 feet tall body that barely resembles a slug with scythe-like 'arms'.

Despite their looks, the creatures quickly reach the shield wall formation.

But the wooden shields could hardly do anything to stop the sharp arms of these creatures, who easily pierce through.

The formation quickly crumbles as the natives frantically retreat.

With the frontal forces retreating, the other natives and the two soldiers open fire on the creatures.

2 go down but it required so much ammo while the other 2 reach the gates.

With no time to reload his rifle, Rufus charges towards the two creatures, dodging a swipe from one of the creatures.

He picks up a fallen spear and stabs one in its chest.

The creature hardy flinches and Rufus barely evades another swipe.

"Feels similar to ant carapace" he remarked as one of the creatures fires several spines

He then runs around the creature, dodging another strike as he flicks his right wrist and counters.

He strikes the creature's 'face'.

It swings violently.

Rufus then stabs his left blade onto the creature's head.

It still wasn't dead.

Frustrated, Rufus brings out his Ranger Sequoia and unloads all 5 rounds onto the creature.

It swings around violently before finally falling to the ground.

Rufus then sets his sights on the other creature.

He charges towards it but the creature suddenly burrows underground.

Everyone stops firing.

Rufus reloads his revolver while still searching for the creature.

Suddenly, the creature bursts from the ground behind him.

It attacks him with its arms.

Rufus dodges one attack but fails to dodge the other.

He quickly grabs the arm.

It was sharp as his hands immediately start bleeding all the while struggling to keep the blade away from his face.

The creature attacks with its other arm.

Rufus quickly drops his revolver and grabs the other arm.

"You're a rare sight" he said "Not many creatures are as heavy as you!"

He turns his head to Alexander.

Rufus makes a sucking gesture with his mouth.

The NCR general nods as he grabs something from his pocket.

Rufus then quickly lets go of the creature's arms and steps back.

The arms land on the ground as Alexander throws an inhaler.

Rufus grabs it.

He inhales the drug inside as time quickly slows down.

He rushes towards the creature as it prepares for another attack.

Rufus jumps forward, rolling to the ground before grabbing his revolver.

He fires several shots to the creature's stomach then uses the rest of the rounds on its face.

He then uses both of his hidden blades to stab the creature multiple times in the face and chest.

When time finally normalized for Rufus, the creature collapsed to the ground.

Exhausted, Rufus sits down for a moment.

2117:

Wyoming

A Caucasian young man walks inside a cave.

He looks back, seeing a metallic door.

He takes a deep breath and continues to move forward.

After a few minutes, he exits the cave.

Momentarily blinded by the sun, he covers his face.

"You took your time, Zeke!" an Asian young woman said

"Give me a break, Helen" the young man replied "You two were so excited about the mission that you dashed off and my name is Ezekiel, not Zeke!"

"Ezekiel is a mouthful! Zeke sounds shorter and better!"

"You're not excited?" a Hispanic young man said "We hardly see the outside world"

"I don't know about you… But there's a fine line between excitement and recklessness" Ezekiel replied

"Come on, Zeke! Don't pretend like you're not excited" Helen argued "Didn't you have fun when you and me snuck out of the shelter all those years ago? You even admitted to having fun"

"Having fun and trying to stay out of trouble are two different things"

Helen chuckles. "In denial as always. I wonder when you'll be honest with yourself"

Ezekiel sighs. "Let's just get on with the mission and get back. I don't want the mentor punishing us… again"

"Hehehe. Sure"

After a brief moment, Ezekiel takes a glimpse of the ruins of an old pre-war city from their elevated position before the three teenagers began to trek down.

A few minutes later:

The three teenagers reach the outskirts of the old city.

Most of the buildings have crumbled but a few continue to stand tall. One could still see old Halloween and celebratory decorations all over the town.

"Could you just imagine what this place looked like when the bombs fell…?" Helen said "All these decorations… They were celebrating something before it all went to hell"

"Yeah…" Ezekiel responded "Poor souls…"

"A sad sight yeah…" the Hispanic added "… Welp. No use being gloomy about it. We all know why all this happened"

"Yeah…" Helen said "Alright! Let's get this started, everyone has their weapons locked and loaded?"

"Yeah" Ezekiel replied cocking his MP5k

"Of course" the Hispanic responded brandishing his 10mm SMG

Helen then switches to a more serious tone in her voice. "Ok. Scout the city and keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. You know what to do when shit hits the fan. All's good?"

"Yes" the two teenagers answered

"Ok. We split up. Miguel you search the super duper mart. Ezekiel, the office buildings in the center of town are yours. I'll cover the police and fire stations. If you find anything wrong, radio it in. Got it?"

"Got it!"

As Helen and Miguel move to their objectives, Ezekiel stands there for a moment as his eyes suddenly widen.

"Wait" he thought checking his chest "Did I forget to- Oh wait no. Pendant's here"

After a brief moment, Ezekiel checks his hidden blades and slings his MP5 before approaching a nearby wall.

He climbs to the 3rd floor of the building, beginning his search.

But as the young man reaches the 3rd floor, several glitches begin to appear around the area as everything begins to flash blue and red.

Seconds later, everything is engulfed in a bright white light

Ezekiel then finds himself in what appears to be a white empty space with lines and blocks constantly moving around the 'world'.

A voice of a young man echoes in this empty white world. "What? What happened?"

"I was afraid of that" an elderly German voice replied "The animus ejected you"

"What does that mean?"

"It seems we skipped too much. I was worried when the synchronization was less than 60% when we began accessing Ezekiel's memories"

"So what do we do?"

"I guess this means there are still some memories from Raven we must witness"

"What else is there to see? They already found the weapons caches and are preparing an assault against Vault-Tec"

"We won't know until we witness these memories ourselves. Now rest for a bit while I reconfigure the animus"

2312

East fork bridge, Zion Canyon:

A few hours later:

"Rufus" Alexander said turning to his friend "You still ok?"

"I can barely see what's front of me. Don't worry" he answered "We took mentats remember?"

"Mentats will only help us remain level-headed not prevent the hallucinations"

"I know… But believe it or not, I have encountered something like this before"

"You have? Where?"

"Dunwich"

"That creepy place? I've heard reports of supernatural events happening there. Spooked a lot of my men years ago"

"Yep… You won't believe anything I say about that place until you see it for yourself…"

"Riight… I'll just take your word on that"

As the two neared the other end, a horde of 'feral' ghouls emerged from the fog.

"Great…" Rufus said aiming his rifle "All this shit reminds me of an old pre-war movie I watched back in the vault"

"Yeah great" Alexander replied "Tell more about it after we're done with this shit!"

The ghouls quickly notice the two and charges forward.

Rufus and Alexander open fire, taking a few ghouls down.

Reaching melee range, the two sling their rifles with Rufus engaging the ghouls with his hidden blades while Alexander brings out a combat knife and his revolver.

Rufus makes quick swipes and stabs in the ghouls' necks and head.

Alexander dodges one attack from a ghoul and stabs its head.

He pulls the ghoul to the side and fires his revolver point blank at another's head before shooting the other ghoul's head.

Within a few minutes, the area was clear.

"Goddamn it. These creatures just keep coming!" Rufus said checking his Pip-boy map "Damn it. Still far away…"

"No use bitching about it" Alexander said as the ground begins to shake a bit

The two soldiers stop and stare at one another as the shaking continues.

Rufus stares a nearby bucket of water.

For each shake, there was a ripple in the bucket.

He closes his eyes and exhales. "Goddamn it…"

Suddenly, two gigantic 'hands' grab the bridge's ledge.

A creature pulls itself up.

Rufus raises his eyebrows. "You have got to be shitting me…"

It looked like a red large creature made of flesh that seemed to be fused together like a centaur with a barely recognizable human head.

It had a posture similar to a gorilla.

Its arms, hands, head, and back are covered in a whitish spiky carapace.

One could hardly recognize the creature it mutated from…

"Hey Alex" Rufus said nervously "Please tell me you know how to kill this thing…"

Alexander replies with a nervous laugh.

"Great… Suddenly I miss centaurs…"

The creature roars and charges towards the two men.

They open fire but the creatures barely flinches.

Both men roll to the side, barely evading the creature.

Rufus quickly crouches and fires several shots to the creature's 'head'.

The creature roars and spits a yellowish liquid.

"Oh shit!" Rufus said rolling out of the way "Alex! It spits acid!"

The two men continue laying fire, all the while evading the creature's attacks.

But the creature showed no signs of slowing down…

"We're gonna run out of ammo before this thing starts getting tired!" Rufus said

Alexander then looks around and barely sees the shallow river below.

He looks at the creature, who was preparing for another charge.

"Hey Rufus" he said "You think we can make this jump?"

"Do you really want to ask that? Do we even have any other choice?"

"Point taken"

Alexander quickly slings his rifle and throws a flashbang.

The two men shield their eyes as the grenade detonates, disorienting the creature.

Both men quickly jump the bridge as the creature recovers.

They hide right under the bridge as the creature searches for them.

The fog made it hard for the two men to know exactly where the creature was but the shaking ground was enough to say it was still close.

As the minutes go by, the shaking slowly subsides and eventually stops.

The two men exhale as Alexander hold his head.

"How much experimentation did Vault-Tec do?" Rufus said in frustration

"The better question is how much experimentation Vault-Tec, the old US government, the Master, and a lot of research centers have done… I don't think Vault-Tec has enough resources to build vaults, conduct experiments, create abominations, make an entire fucking army, develop and supply weapons to said army, and manipulate post-war politics"

"So we're still haunted by our pre-war and post-war sins…"

"Unfortunately so… But we're gonna correct that"

"Too right man…"

After a few more minutes of hiding, the two men decided to walk through the river, headed to the Eastern Virgin.

Back in the animus, Ezekiel's character model changes to that of Raven's.

"Hey doc" a young voice said "How far are we going back?"

"Just a few hours it seems…" an old man with a German accent replied "The simulation should finish loading soon"

2117:

Raven opens his eyes, staring into his right palm, before exhaling.

He was sitting down in an infirmary and in front of the him was a middle-aged Caucasian doctor

The doctor checks a chart and several files before turning to the commando.

"These tests confirm it…" the doctor said putting the files down "Your brain is deteriorating"

"Damn it… Any reason as to why?"

"We're not entirely sure but we suspect it has something to do with decades of radiation exposure"

"But I was wearing the sneaking suit the entire time. It should have protected me from the radiation"

"I guess some trace amounts managed to seep through and given you've been operating in highly irradiated areas for decades now, this is no surprise. Not to mention that weird mutation you and your team underwent over the years"

"Goddamn it… So what's gonna happen to me and how soon is it going to happen?"

"I don't know… Pre-war medicine never encountered something like this before… But based on these results, I say you'll lose a lot of cognitive functions… Worst I can think of is Alzheimer's"

Raven gives a disappointed sigh. "Thank you, doctor"

He then leaves the room.

He sighs again as he walks through a narrow metallic hallway

"Alzheimer's huh…" he thought with a worried look on his face "Just when I was about to attain justice… Nice goddamn timing…"

He then runs into a middle-aged Asian woman in the halls.

She was wearing a master assassin's robes with the hood down, showing her short brown hair.

"Ah, Raven" she said "I'm glad I ran into you"

"Mentor Rian" he responded "What can I do for you?"

"Please, no need to call me 'mentor'. You're not one of my apprentices"

"Alright. So what do you need?"

"I have something to share with you. Let's go to the training area"

"Ok. After you"

After a couple of minutes, the two reached the training area.

It was filled with teenagers, all practicing various techniques in hand-to-hand combat, parkour, marksmanship, and other essential skills.

"Raven" the mentor said opening a door to a small room "Step right in"

Raven obliges as the mentor closes the door behind her.

They sit down across one another.

"I'll get straight to the point" the mentor said "While you were away, we lost the base in Seattle"

"We lost the Seattle base? Ho- Vault-Tec"

"Yes… They found the base somehow. I sent every available assassin I could to evacuate any survivors… We managed to rescue a few but the rest…"

"Damn it…"

"As a precaution, I've sent all of my best assassins to inspect every base in the country. Anyway, I'll be sending 3 initiates to scout the nearby city for any suspicious activity, your grandson is among them"

"Ezekiel? But it's only been a year since his training. Will he be ok?"

"I understand your concern but don't worry. Your grandson has demonstrated great potential. That and I would like to test his skills on the field. These initiates have yet to test their skills in an actual scenario and with our current situation, it is better they at least have some experience"

"I understand but they're not ready to take on Vault-Tec's squads. Why not send my team? We're ready to deploy"

"You guys would stand out. Vault-Tec knows you already and just spotting you is enough for them to narrow their search"

"Right… Damn it. So who are the other 2 initiates?"

"Here. Both of them are around your grandson's age"

The mentor then hands over two dossiers.

"Helen Ruz and Miguel Villapol… An Asian and a Hispanic. I know Helen. She's been Ezekiel's friend since childhood. But who is this Miguel person?"

"Miguel is one of the few survivors from the Seattle base. He was training at our Seattle Bureau for some time now"

"So am I to assume that these three are your best initiates?"

"Yes. Don't worry. I'll only send them to conduct recon. Nothing more, nothing less"

Raven ponders for a moment. "I guess we don't have many options and time. Go ahead. I'll start planning our assault on the island"

"Ok"

"By the way. I'd like a report on the attack on the Seattle base"

"Of course. We prepared that for you actually"

The mentor then stands up and searches through her files and brings out a folder.

She hands it over to the commando.

"Read it privately though" she advised

Raven nods and grabs the folder.

The two stand up and leave the room.

Raven then looks at the training area.

He sees Kira providing firearms training to some of the initiates.

After a short while, he makes his way to his quarters.

Along the way, he sees Charles and Paul playing dodgeball with some of the kids.

As he walks through the hallway, Raven begins to think about his pre-war days.

His time at the CIA, the period he began to hunt down Alec Oppenheim.

The panic he felt during the opening hours of the Great War.

"Dad?"

The relief he felt after finding his family.

"Dad"

The ruins that he searched during the first few years after the war.

"Dad"

He was finally close to attaining the justice that he failed to achieved all those years ago.

"Dad!"

Raven goes back to reality as he sees his daughter in front of him.

"Oh" he said "What's up, sunshine?"

The woman sighs. "You ok, dad? You seem to be deep in thought"

"It's nothing… Just remembering… uh… old memories"

"Ok… Anyway, it's nice to see you again. You've been gone longer now"

"Oh yeah… Sorry… I hope you understand why I go out into the wastes"

"Don't worry. I had so many years to get over the loneliness. And I understand what you're doing. Those scavenging missions are to find parts, items, etc. etc. that can help improve and maintain this shelter, right?"

"O-Oh right. You remembered. I thought you forgot cuz you were such a rowdy girl years back"

"Oh come on dad! I was a teenager! And that was a long, LONG time ago"

"Hehehe. Well as a parent, it still feels like yesterday. Don't you feel the same way with Ezekiel?"

"Yeah that's true. Kids do grow up fast, huh?"

"Hehe. Well I'm glad you're understanding. Normally, a child wouldn't forgive their parent for doing something like this"

"Yeah well you and mom raised me well enough. Besides, you've been home a couple of times and stayed long enough to spend time with me"

"Hahaha! Ah… That takes me back…"

"Anyway, dad. I need to ask. Will you be in Ezekiel's 21st birthday? He really idolizes his grandpa"

"Does he now… I guess all those pre-war stories I told him and his friend, really stuck to him. When's his birthday again?"

"September 11"

Raven ponders for a moment. "Well… I got no plans at the moment so yeah I think I can go"

"That's great. Ezekiel is gonna be happy to hear that"

"Right. Anyway, I gotta go to my room to rest. You take care of yourself now"

"I will. See you later, dad!"

Raven waves goodbye to his daughter as she turns in the next corner.

He sighs just as she was out of sight.

The commando then enters his room.

In an office table, he looks at a picture of his late wife.

He looks at her with sorrow. "Justice is within reach, honey… It's too bad you didn't live long enough to see Oppenheim brought to justice…"

He then opens the folder and begins reading the report.

"July 6th, 2117. Scavengers report all areas they went to have been looted dry. Some find it suspicious as there was no human settlement nearby… Officials theorized nomads to be the cause and do not conduct further recon.

July 11th. Sentries report movement within the city ruins. Assassin initiates were sent to investigate. All reported to have found nothing… Wait. One of these initiates… was this Miguel person…

July 14th. Some weapons and supplies have been reported missing after a morning inquiry. An investigation was conducted but found nothing…

July 18th. Around 3am, Vault-Tec personnel entered the shelter through the front door and took the occupants by surprise. The occupants quickly organized a defense and alerted the Wyoming base of the attack.

July 19th. Holding out for a day, the occupants prepared to evacuate as reinforcements arrived. Vault-Tec retaliated with anti-air missiles and jets. Many vertibirds lost… All files were purged before evacuation"

Raven stops reading for a while and focuses on the first few days of the report.

2312

Dead Horse's Camp:

Rufus and Alexander finally reach the last known location of the missing natives but the find an empty camp.

With their guard up, the two men investigate each tent.

Nothing.

Rufus notices spent casings on the ground while Alexander notices slashed pieces of cloth.

They eventually come across a cave.

Inside, they find another encampment with a lit fire at the center.

"Hey" Rufus said pointing to a native sitting down in front of the fire "I see someone"

The native has his back turned to the two men.

Alexander nods before calling the native. "Hey. Are you with the sorrows?"

The native raises his head, still having his turned.

"Are you with the sorrow?" Alexander calls again as they slowly walk closer

No response but the two men could hear frantic breathing.

"Hey" Alexander said "Are you alright?"

The man screams, grabs a war club, and turns around. His eyes were bloodshot, his hands were shaking, and he was sweating… a lot.

"Whoah there" Rufus said "Stay calm. We're not gonna kill you"

The native spoke in a frantic tone but the two men did not understand him.

The two men look at one another.

Alexander walks closer but the man screams and swings his club.

Alexander steps back.

"Shit…" he said "This guy's paranoid… Maybe we should have brought one of the natives with us… I can't understand what he's saying"

Meanwhile, Rufus notices something on Alexander's right.

He squints his eyes, trying to see what it is.

"Rufus?" Alexander said as Rufus walks past him

Rufus doesn't reply as he looks at some cave drawings.

It was a crude drawing of a 2 stick figures. One was standing behind the other, ready to stab it.

Rufus exhales and quickly swings his rifle. He hits an invisible target as a bowie knife drops to the floor.

"Alex!" Rufus shouted "Invisible target!"

The invisible assailant then attacks again.

Rufus slings his rifle and defensively engages the target.

With little means to see his target, Rufus was on the defensive as he slowly walks back towards the cave's entrance.

Eventually, the hostile's stealth boy expires, revealing a woman wearing a sleeveless black coat with a US commonwealth flag on the back.

Only her eyes can be seen as she is also wearing a breathing mask and she has short brown hair.

With his target finally in sight, Rufus goes on the offensive using his hidden blades.

The hostile parries both attacks with her dual combat knives, holding them backhand.

Rufus attempts to kick his adversary's stomach but the woman blocks the attack with her left leg.

The wanderer quickly draws his Ranger Sequoia but the woman grabs his right hand and raises the gun, causing him to miss his shots.

The woman then grabs Rufus' other hand as he attempts another attack with his hidden blade, ending in a deadlock.

The two stare at one another as they use all their strength to gain the upper hand but both are equally matched.

Rufus then flicks his right wrist. The hidden blade pierces through the woman's hand.

But his adversary hardly flinched and maintained her grip.

"Hey!" Alexander shouted aiming his rifle "Hands up! Now!"

The woman turns to the NCR general, leering at him.

She then knees Rufus in the stomach.

"What?!" Rufus said in shock as he recoils from the attack "How?!"

The woman then let's go of Rufus' left arm and punches him in the face.

She quickly turns to the NCR general, who opens fire.

He hits her in the shoulders and, eventually, the head.

She recoils a bit after the headshot but quickly recovers.

She cracks her neck before proceeding to briskly walk towards her target.

She throws one knife, hitting the general's left shoulder.

Rufus charges towards her.

His adversary turns around and counters with a punch.

Rufus grabs the fist and throws her to the ground.

The woman quickly rolls to the side and sweeps through Rufus' legs.

Rufus falls to the ground.

His adversary stands up and attempts to stab Rufus' head.

The wanderer quickly uses both hidden blades to stop the adversary from stabbing him with her knife.

The blade was just near his right eye as he struggles to keep it away.

Meanwhile, Alexander brings out his pistol but notices some rope tied around the crazy native's ankles.

"This guy's tied up…" he remarked as the native tries to move.

He then goes deeper into the cave, finding more crazed natives with their ankles tied by some rope.

Realizing something, the NCR general quickly makes his way back to the two fighters as he notices the ground shake.

He goes back to the cave entrance but the two fighters aren't there.

He goes outside, finding them standing and facing one another, waiting for one to attack first…

Rufus readies his hidden blades and readies himself as his adversary brings out her 9mm pistol, wielding it in tandem with her knife.

Before Alexander could say anything, the large creature from East Fork Bridge emerges from the cliffs.

The two fighters quickly jump out of the way, both landing just in front of Alexander.

Rufus and his adversary look at one another.

Rufus nods.

His adversary's response is the same.

The two quickly rush the creature who swings its massive arms.

Rufus slides down while his adversary fires several shots onto the creature's 'head'.

The creature attempts to crush her but she quickly jumps out of the way and climbs onto the creature's back.

She unloads the rest of her magazine onto the creature's back.

The creature thrashes about, trying to shake her off.

Rufus takes the opportunity to get near the creature's stomach.

Using his Ranger Sequoia he unloads onto the creature's stomach.

The creature responds by attempting to crush the wanderer.

He jumps out of the way as it grabs the adversary.

It slams her to the ground with tremendous force and throws her into the cave's wall.

The creature then turns to Rufus, who stands up and reloads his revolver.

The creature charges towards him.

Rufus unloads his revolver and jumps out of the way.

The creature prepares to charge again as Rufus withdraws his hidden blade.

He inhales some jet.

Time slows around him as he brings out a small reddish tin can with a blue and red wire sticking out of it.

He shakes the can as he stares at the creature.

He exhales as the creature begins its charge.

Rufus throws the tin can and quickly takes aim.

He holds his breath as the can drops past the creature's 'head'.

The second the can was near its 'stomach', the wanderer fires a single shot.

The bullet hits the can, erupting into a blue and orange fireball.

The explosions causes the creature to recoil as the force destroys the 'armor' around its chest and stomach area, revealing a huge pulsating yellow sac.

Rufus quickly unloads the rest of his ammo but the creature quickly curls into a ball, trying to protect its exposed weakness.

With the jet's effects wearing off, Rufus reloads his revolver and continues to fire but the creature remains immobile and hardly flinched.

Rufus then grabs another one of those grenades but someone grabs his left arm.

It was his adversary.

She was bleeding from the head but amazingly, she could still move as if the beating she endured minutes ago was nothing.

The woman briskly walks to the creature and jumps on its back.

With just her bare hands, the woman forcefully pulls the creature back, exposing its weakness.

The creature tries to resist but the woman hardly broke a sweat.

Seeing the opportunity, Rufus quickly grabs his rifle and unloads upon the creature, all the while walking closer and closer upon his target.

The creature roars and flails but the woman keeps it from curling back up.

Eventually, Rufus' rifle runs out of ammo, prompting him to switch to his revolver.

He fires with only his right hand while his left was holding the rifle.

The yellow sac eventually erupts.

The creature releases one final roar before finally falling to the ground, dead.

The area was finally cleared as Rufus and the woman stare at one another.

Their eyes squint as Rufus flicks his wrists and the woman reaches for her knife.

"Hey!" Alexander said before the two fighters could do anything "Are you the courier?"

The woman leers at the general.

"Look. We may have gone off the wrong foot here. We were sent by Chief Waking Cloud to find some missing natives"

The woman inhales and exhales, making an ominous sound as she does.

"You're the courier, aren't you? The one who paved the way to an independent New Vegas?"

The woman does not reply.

"We're not your enemies. Please believe us"

The woman stands up and walks a bit closer to the general with Rufus not letting his guard down.

"And why should I believe you?" the woman replied

Alexander then brings out his NCR badge. "I'm with the NCR. I think you know what's been happening lately and-"

The woman quickly points her 9mm pistol at Alexander's face.

Rufus quickly aims his revolver.

"Rufus wait" Alexander said signaling the wanderer to lower his gun

"Yes. I've heard about the NCR's recent activities these days… You know. Invading other territories just because they couldn't take New Vegas. Harassing New Vegas from the border. Heh… I'm no stranger from NCR's dirty tactics. I should know. You tried to have me do your dirty work all those years ago. So what are you really after?"

"Ah yes… I know that the NCR did some horrible shit but you have got to believe me, there is a much bigger enemy out there and we need to unite every single faction in the wasteland to defeat this threat"

"Really now? You're saying all this without bullshit?"

"Yes. No bullshit. The old conflicts we all had is over. You won your independence. No use continuing the animosity…"

The woman squints her eyes.

For the next few minutes, the three individuals stood there, not knowing what will happen next…

"Ok" the woman said lowering her gun "I'll hear your story but under the condition that we destroy the source for this fog and white noise"

"So you know that these aren't natural"

"Of course. Who do you think I am?"

"Fair enough. You ok with those terms, Rufus?"

"Sounds good to me" Rufus replied "We were running out of mentats anyway"

"You got a deal"

Alexander then extends his right hand.

The woman leers at him.

"My name is Alexander" he said "Pleased to finally meet the courier who defeated Oliver"

"The name's Laura" the woman replies shaking Alexander's hand "Let's go. Day's not gonna last forever"