Example 1

Nadia cautiously examines the limp corpse of the monster known as Kellogg, the man who took away her family. She had finally defeated the monster who had killed her family with only a few bullets to spare. However that wasn’t enough, he had to suffer more, for everything he’d done to her and her family and to anyone that’s crossed his path, he had to be unrecognizable.

Taking his own pistol out of his limp hands, she examines it briefly, it's one hell of a gun and packed a fair punch in the means of small arms. After this, she was definitely going to keep it for herself. She was sure any day now the old hunk of junk she’d be carrying since she left the vault was going to fall to pieces or jam and end up getting her killed.

Popping the pistols wheel out, she empties the three remaining bullets on the floor for safety and to assure she wouldn’t accidentally shoot herself in the face, then almost periodically, she takes the barrel of the gun into her hands, and muttering something to herself, roughly and full of force, she brings the grip of the gun down directly into Kellogg’s face, and begins the notion of mutilating what was once his face.

After several minutes of non-stop bashing and with a face full of  splatters of another man's blood, she finally manages to completely cave in his skull, and stops. Heavily breathing from the non-stop motion, she throws the pistol weakly across the floor before returning her attention to her handiwork. She thinks briefly for a moment, What would Nate think of me if he saw me now, would he be proud of how far I've come, or be horrified of what I've become.

Shaking the thought away, she directs her attention to what remains of Kellogg's brain out of pure curiosity and interest, as it wasn’t every day you got to examine a brain up close, begins cautiously prodding the pile of gelatinous goo until she notices a part too out of place to just be a coincidence and picks it up. Examining what seemed to be a piece of technology, she quickly and carelessly wipes it on her pants before shoving it in her pocket, she knew it would be useful later, if not worth a few caps somewhere.

She felt a sick sense of relief that Kellogg would never torment or hurt anyone else in the wasteland. But something else was bothering her, she should be happy that she had finally killed the man that had destroyed her entire life, but she just felt disgusted with herself, and it really made her think. Was she not just as bad as Kellogg if not worse? Had she not done countless acts of cruelty only to find him and then proceed to crush his skull with the grip of his own pistol?

Maybe she was a monster just like him, a person settlers in the Commonwealth, traders and caravans would talk about around the campfire and exchange wives tales and ghost stories about. Maybe she was the reason, despite all the potential and everything she’s done in the few months with the Minutemen, that nothing in the Commonwealth was changing, and maybe even becoming a bit worse. Maybe all the months she’d spent in the unforgiving Commonwealth, fighting her way and surviving had finally turned the once sweet, loving small time lawyer who wouldn’t even think of picking up a gun into a murderous, merciless unstoppable monster, and there was nothing she could do about it. Sure her intentions were pure, But the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and if there was one thing she knew for certain, it was the fact she’d been laying bricks down since the day she exited Vault 111.

-

After what seemed like eternity, Nadia finally stood from crouching in silence over Kellogg’s body, and stretched her legs without a word. Effortlessly, she walked over to where she had discarded the same pistol she used to bash his skull in, and acting as if it wasn’t covered in sticky, now dried blood and pieces of flesh, she quickly wipes it clean on her pants. Knowing she wouldn’t have space for it anymore, and there comes a time in everyone's lives where they must replace their first pistol, she carelessly removes the old 10mm from its harness hanging off the side of her leg, and discards it.

Placing the 44’ in its place, she then figures she might as well check out the terminal in the room that Valentine had seemed to preoccupy himself with while she had her merry way with the pistol grip. Moving over to it, without a word, he removes himself from the seat, and walks over to a wall before pulling out a cigarette, and lighting it.

It didn’t take a rocket scientist to know Valentine didn’t approve of what Nadia had done, hell he was probably sickened by the act, but he couldn’t judge her, no one could judge her, for haven’t they done such heinous acts of cruelty themselves, and wouldn’t they in her shoes, do the same if not worse to such a man?

Inputting the password she’d gained off the body of Kellogg, she is unpleasantly surprised with the fact that there was absolutely nothing on the computer, only a single message which could only of been from the institute. Opening it up, hoping to whatever gods may still be alive that it was a lead on where she might find her Shaun, she finds...Absolutely nothing.

She was astonished, she couldn’t believe after all this time, after all the effort she went through to track down and kill the monster that completely destroyed her life, that it would lead to dead fucking end. She would now have to live with the fact that she had failed her family, hell she failed everyone that helped her along the way, and failed the Commonwealth as a whole, as she was currently the only person with strong connections to the Institute who wasn’t a member of them, and she couldn’t find anything to stop them.

She felt a cocktail of emotions rather suddenly, anger, rage, frustration, sadness. She felt as if she might just exploded at any moment from everything happening around her. However, she remained completely silent. She felt as if the world was completely against her, and that nothing she did would ever matter. She felt completely alone, until a metal hand gently touched her shoulder.

Valentine, as much as he didn’t want to speak to her at the moment, and definitely needed to have a talk to her in the future about everything that happened today, knew that Nadia needed him now more than anything, and he knew better than anyone else in the world how it felt to be completely out of place and alone.

“Listen kid, I know this isn’t how you expected this to go, and that we’re at a bit of a dead end here, but I want you to know, whatever happens from here on, I’ve got your back, I won’t rest until we save your son.” He spoke, turning Nadia around slowly so he could ensure her he was sincere with every word.

“I know the night just got a whole lot darker kid, but it won’t last forever. There's always something we can do, and these bastards aren’t going to get away with what they’ve done.” He gently smiled, trying his hardest to be strong for her, but in reality, it pained him to see her this way, and to see the almost uncomfortable level of despair on her face.

Without a word between them, Nadia completely broke down, and became a crying mess in his arms. He did whatever he could to try and soothe her heartache, but he knew it would take time for her to get over this, he couldn’t image how it would feel to be in her shoes, feeling hopeless for the future.

Almost instinctively, he ran his flesh hand gently through the mess of hair that resided on her hair in an attempt to soothe her exhausted soul, and out of sheer luck, it had actually worked, and after what seemed like an eternity of silence, Nadia finally pulled away from Nick, and wiping away any renegade tears on her face, she smiled.

She really needed that, and really appreciated what Nick had just done for her, and everything he had done to help her. It was an unmentioned appreciation, but she knew he was aware of it. Sure, she hadn’t found her son, but she had found something just as worthwhile. She had found friends, and hope for the future, she would see her son again, and she knew it, she would just have to be patient for it.

“Hey, how about we get out of here, this place doesn’t seem like the best for either of us to be in, and it is about time for us to return home.” Nick broke the silence, trying to sound as optimistic and enthusiastic as he could in an attempt to coax Nadia in leaving the place.

Standing up straight, Nadia simply smiled. “I’d thought you’d never ask.”

-

The elevator up to the rooftop of Fort Hagen was far longer than either of them had anticipated, and only further built up the tensity between them. Remaining silent, Nadia and Nick simply stood there, off in their own worlds. At least the elevator ride was better than having to go through and climb all those pointless stairs.

When they finally reached the top floor, the two of them were greeted by a mag-locked door and a computer. Making the first move, Nadia approaches the terminal, and to her surprise, is greeted with a welcome message and an option to unlock the door. Doing so, she hears the click of the mag-lock, and makes a beeline through the door and into the cool night of the Commonwealth.

Taking a moment to breathe in the fresh crisp air, she feels a sense of relief briefly wash over her, that is before, she tunes back into the world around her, and hears a very loud hum, followed by the familiar sound of a small aircraft. Looking up, her jaw drops in shock at what she sees.

Above Valentine and herself, is a massive airship, accompanied by more Vertibirds than she probably saw before the war. How anyone could come across working Vertibirds, nevermind still have them up and running two hundred years after the war is nothing less of a miracle, what's even more astounding is the massive airship that seems to be escorted by the Vertibirds, who are these people.

“People of the Commonwealth. Do not interfere. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Brotherhood of Steel.” The voice echos through the speakers as the massive airship passes by them. Nadia, in a mixture of awe and shock, can do nothing but stare up at the monstrosity of steel and wonder how anything this complex could still exist and be in working order.

Finally snapping out of her daze, she turns to face Nick in the hopes he at least knows what's going on, only to see an expression which definitely signaled he wasn’t to excited and enthusiastic about the arrival of a new team in the Commonwealth.

“Deep into that darkness peering. Long I stood there, wondering, fearing.” He spoke in a half whisper, loud enough for only himself and Nadia to hear, before closing his eyes. He knew in the clockwork calamity that was his heart that the Brotherhood claiming to be here peacefully was bullshit, however, finally looking at his companion, he knew nothing good could come of this situation.

“Kid, please don’t tell me you intend on paying the good men and women of the Brotherhood of Steel a visit.” Valentine spoke voice laced with sarcasm, trying to rather obviously signal he wasn’t going to approve of her actions if she did so.

A small smile appeared on Nadia’s face, and an idea popped into her head, one of hope. “I mean, a group of people calling themselves the Brotherhood of Steel turn up flying pre-war Vertibirds and a massive airship... I wasn’t going to originally, but come on Valentine, it would be a crime not to investigate this, plus-” She paused, looking around. “Plus, Piper would kill me if I didn’t help her get the scoop on this.

Nick groaned in response, and for a moment, Nadia swore she saw pain in his expression. “I forget you’re not from this time kid, The Brotherhood of Steel aren’t- They’re not the best people to befriend kid, trust me when I say this, it would be better for everyone if you were to just avoid them completely, it would save a lot of people from suffering.”

Confused by his distrust in them, Nadia pouted and looked away to think, she knew Valentine wouldn’t warn her without reason, but she also couldn’t let a possibility like this pass, because if these people have working Airships, they gotta know more than the average Joe about the Institute and their advance technology, or at least have a lead.

“Valentine, I see what you’re getting at, but these people could be the answer i’m looking for. To me, they’re a light shining in the darkness, and this is just too big of an opportunity to pass up.” She paused, taking a step close to Nick, “I promise I won’t get too involved though, and I’ll be remembering what you said about them, but I need this.”

Valentine sighed, he knew she was making a mistake, but at the same time, she had a very good point. As xenophobic and backwards as the Brotherhood was, if anyone could help Nadia in finding the Institute, it would probably be them. He just hoped her naivety wouldn’t be her downfall.

-

After a solid day of trekking back through the Commonwealth, and feeling exhausted, Nadia and Nick had finally made it back to the comfort and safety of Diamond City. Close to passing out in the middle of the marketplace, Valentine suggests they just go back to his office for the night, and talk to Piper about everything that happened in the morning. However, Piper certainly had different ideas.

The moment they entered Valentine’s office, they were greeted by none other than Piper Wright, with a notebook in her hand and determined look in her eyes, it was obvious neither of them were going to get any rest until they answered her questions and indulged in her curiosity.

“Well if it ain’t Blue and Nicky’ Valentine, You two leave for five days and the damn Brotherhood of Steel turn up in a massive Airship,” She talks as she speaks per usual, and gestures to the sky when she mentions the airship. “I can’t get the scoop, so I’m countin' on you two to have brushed up on your homework while you were out on the field.”

“Stop the presses, Piper wasn’t able to get the scoop!” Nadia joked, before reaching in to hug the woman before her and take her in for more than a moment. “It’s good to see you again Piper, and sadly, we know about as much as you do, we just had the advantage of them flying over us as they arrived.”

Piper made a face, which indicated she wasn’t at all happy with her response. “So we got the case of massive Airships and Vertibirds flying around like they own the place… I think this calls for some good old fashion reporter work, as some schmuck from before the war probably said, if the scoop doesn’t come to you, you go searching.”

“Well,” Nadia began, darting her glance between Nick and Piper. “If you’re up for it Piper, you could join me on the trek to the airport, and give Valentine a break, Poor old man’s probably going to break a circuit if he has to deal with me any longer.” She joked, that smile appearing again on her face.

“Blue you read my mind.” Piper grinned, before turning her attention towards Nick, who didn’t seemed to pleased with the whole idea of them confronting the Brotherhood directly, that or the comment about him being old.

Almost on queue, he sighed. He didn’t really care what Nadia did, or Piper for the matter, but he would prefer to have his friends in one piece, especially on account of everything he's done so far with them, it would be such a waste to see something happen to either of them anyways, especially before finding out the whereabouts of Nadia’s missing son and cracking the case of what and where the Institute is.

“Look, you two can do whatever you want, you’re both functioning, grown adults, just- try not to get vaporized on the spot by the Brotherhood or eaten by Super Mutants, I would prefer not to have the only living witness of the biggest case in the Commonwealth six feet underground.”

Nadia smiled and rolled her eyes in response, like a teenager would after getting a heartfelt lecture from one of their parents.

“Don’t you worry your little head Valentine, the last thing either of us are gonna be doing is all up and dying, especially when we’re so close to busting this case wide open. Hopefully all this reporter work will pay off as well, and we’ll find another lead.”

Valentine sighed again, but this time it was with a smile. “Just- Just don’t go dying on me kid, It would be such a shame for a good person like you to disappear from the world, especially with how scarce good people are these days.”

“I won’t, I promise.” She smiled one last times, before moving in to hug Nick, it would be a while until she would see him again, but she wouldn’t be forgetting her promise to him anytime soon, or anything about him for the matter.

Pulling away from the hug after more than a moment, she turns back to Piper, and with a single hand gesture, they begin to leave the agency. “See you around Valentine.” is the last thing she says before she pushes the front door open, and escapes into the darkness of Diamond City.