Chapter 55: Coming Home

Chapter 55: Coming Home

It took me a really long time to get back to the suites from the vault - not because the elevator broke down or because it was faulty or even because it had locked in place. Hell, I didn't even run into any more trouble along the way; all the speakers were shut down, the force fields were deactivated, and all the holograms had been disabled. Even the Cloud seemed to be getting thinner... but maybe that was just a trick of the light. Or my brain.

No, it took me a while because when I opened the door to the elevator, I just... I collapsed. I was exhausted. Every part of me was sore. I'd been shot at, stabbed, beaten up, dropped in toxic waste, and I'd been running on empty for far too long. Every single one of my senses was shot, and I was crashing after all the adrenaline that had been keeping me going for far too long had finally started to leave my body.

In short: I was completely and utterly broken.Read latest chapters at nov(e)lbin.com Only

But I was alive. And that was enough.

The fountain at the center of town was just like I remembered it... before the Ghost People started swarming in from every blackened corner, that is. Truth be told, the very fact that there weren't any Ghost People around was actually starting to make me a little paranoid. When I left the elevator that connected the vault to Vera's suite, I was met with utter and complete silence. That wasn't too unexpected - Christine had gone to another floor, and if I was in her shoes, I wouldn't go back unless I had to.

But then, I got back to the lobby... and I was met with silence there, too. There weren't any Ghost People on the stairs between the broken front doors of the casino or the gate to the Villa, either.

Where had they all gone? Maybe I'd finally run into a bit of luck? Who knows. It was about damn time if I had, but honestly? I didn't really care, just so long as they stayed missing. Even so, I wasn't going to let my guard down now - I'd come way too far just to get taken out like a punk because I thought I was safe.

"Speak of the devil..." I muttered to myself; just as I'd been thinking about all this, I'd heard some movement behind me. I grabbed the Gauss rifle off my back (sure, it was a bit awkward carrying both that and the holorifle, but I wasn't going to just leave it down there), and wheeled around to draw a bead on who or whatever made the noise. But when I saw who was walking toward me, I lowered it.

"Is he dead?" Christine asked, walking out of the shadows. Her expression was almost as serious as when I'd pulled her out of the Auto-Doc at our first meeting. I held up the Gauss rifle for her to see. On the plus side, I noticed that her collar was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, this is his gun. He didn't really need it any more, what with the hole in his chest the size of my fist." I smirked, hoping it might lighten her mood. It didn't. She just started nodding slowly at the news.

"Good... That's... this is good."

"Thought you might be more excited," I said, shouldering the rifle, and adjusting the straps on the sack slung over my other shoulder. "Now you don't have to hunt that bastard anymore."

"I was talking about your lack of collar," She said, pointing at me. I smirked, and rubbed the back of my bare neck, chuckling softly.

"I undid the latch as soon as I left the elevator, and ditched it first chance I got. It's probably still up in Vera's room somewhere, I dunno. Don't really care. Didn't blow my head off." I said with a shrug. Christine nodded as I spoke, looking around.

"Just us?" She asked.

"Yeah..." I said with a nod. "Yeah, it's... uh... it's just us." I sighed and turned to look at the gate - the way out of this hell. "Look, I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got a long hike ahead of me, and now that there isn't anyone stopping me? I'm not gonna stay here any longer than I absolutely fucking have to."

"Hike?" Christine looked perplexed. "Are you going to walk all the way back to where you came from then?"

"If I have to," I said with a shrug. "Speaking of, you wouldn't happen to know the way back to the Mojave Desert, would you? I mean, I know from this- " I tapped on the side of my Pip Boy "-that we're in Mexico somewhere, but other than that..." Christine shook her head and started slowly approaching me.

"You don't know how you got here, do you?"

"Didn't ask," I said simply. "Didn't seem important at the time." Christine walked toward the gate that led out, grabbing me by shoulder as she went.

"Follow me."

It didn't take long for the two of us to get out of the Madre; outside the walls of the Villa was nothing but mountains, and we ended up walking down the slope, following a small, twisting path. The further away from that hell the two of us got, the thinner the Cloud became.

Don't misunderstand - it didn't get any easier to breathe or see. I still couldn't see the sky - the smog was so thick, I felt like I was up north in Junction City. And while it was much thinner than it was in the Villa, there was still a great deal of red smearing the sky... The two of us walked down the mountain in silence for some time.

But then.

"How long?" Christine asked. She didn't turn to face me; she just kept walking.

"What?" I asked, hiking the bag up my shoulder once again. It just kept slipping down... perhaps it had been a mistake to raid Vera's room of all the liquor I could carry? ... Nah.

"How long have you known about me and..." Christine cleared her throat; I couldn't tell if she was looking for the words, or if her new vocal cords were acting up again. "... about Veronica?"

"Ah," I coughed, wondering if maybe I should crack open one of the bottles of whiskey. "Vera's suite. When you said Elijah cut you off from someone, that's when I put all the pieces together. I feel like I should've figured it out earlier, from everything Veronica told me..."

"Hmph," Christine just kept walking. She didn't look back. "You could have said something then. Why did you wait?"

"Because... because I didn't want you to lose focus. I thought if I told you then and there, you..."

"You didn't want to jeopardize the mission," She cut me off. I nodded, even though she probably couldn't see it. "It could have distracted me at a critical moment. Smart. So why tell me at all?"

"Because I needed you alive. I thought if I told you the truth about Veronica then, it would give you something to live for. Didn't want you wasting your life for that asshole." And leaving me stranded down in the vault, I added in my head. I sped up my pace a little, trying to catch up so I wasn't just talking to the back of her bald, scarred head. "Look, I'm sorry for manipulating you like I did, but I -"

"Don't be," She said, keeping her gaze forward and away from me. Her expression looked like it had been carved out of stone, and her voice was becoming slightly hoarse... "It worked. It was a good call." I let out a humorless chuckle and shrugged.

"Still. I feel like shit. Sorry." The air between us was quiet for a few minutes. Her expression remained completely unchanged. "You alright?"

"What?" Christine finally looked over to me, with a raised eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well... I just thought, now that everything's over, and you don't have to... I just thought you'd be a bit more... emotional, you know? I mean, you did slug me across the jaw when I told you. That was a nice hit, by the way."

"Can't let myself get emotional. Not yet. Just have to compartmentalize my emotions and focus. The job's not done." Every word was spoken with a curt, terse precision. If I wasn't looking at her, I would've sworn she was a robot, the way she was talking.

"What do you mean, the 'job's not done?' How could it not be done yet?" I asked. "We're out of that hell hole, we're not wearing bomb collars anymore, and Elijah's dead. What else is there left to do?" Christine shot me a look - fuck me, if looks could kill... Then, she rolled her eyes and went back to looking forward.

"What happened to the others?" She asked, quickening her pace. "Are they dead?"

"Well, I'm not sure about God - er, the Nightkin," I added, when she looked back to question me. "Last I saw, he was in the kitchens, trying to get used to... himself. If that makes sense - I know I don't think it does. Not sure where he is now. Could have gone anywhere after he regurgitated the detonator and I took it off the network."

"LOOK," Christine shouted to cut me off. She turned her head in my direction, but didn't quite look at me; her voice was wavering slightly, like she was trying to hide it. "I... I appreciate what you're doing. Really. I... I do. But... you're just making this more difficult than it needs be. You don't understand. I can't leave. Not now. Not ever."

"So explain it to me. Make me understand, because I seriously don't get it - Elijah's dead, and this place is a graveyard! What else could be keeping you here? What else could keep you away from her?"

"My oath," Christine finally turned around to face me. Her expression was set in stone, but her eyes were red, despite the scowl. "It's the same oath that every member of the Brotherhood takes: find the technology of the Old World, and protect it from those who would abuse it."

"But, that-" Christine held up a hand, and kept going.

"This place... it's full of Old World technology. Technology that would be deadly if it fell into the wrong hands. Elijah's not unique in that respect. There are others out there - some, just as bad, and others worse - who would leave just as much death and destruction in their wake if they found this place, and were able to use it for themselves." Christine turned away from me, and focused on the terminal on the wall. "Besides... It... It's been years. I'm not the same person anymore. 'Begin again, but know when to let go,' right?"

"Yeah... know when to let go." I said. "You should let go of this place. Elijah's dead. So is Dean. Everyone who knew the secrets of this place and cared about what was inside is dead. The place is lethal enough, I think it can take care of itself. But Veronica? She still cares about you. She wouldn't talk about you if she didn't. There's a chance it could still work out between you two... You're really going to throw that all away?"

"I have an obligation," Christine said, her voice low. "As a member of the Brotherhood. I'm sworn to protect the technology of the Old World from those who would abuse it." She repeated the mantra once again. She shook her head and turned around to face me. She looked... tired. "As long as the Sierra Madre remains... so will I."

"So what you're saying is," I leant on the console, staring her straight in the face. "All I gotta do is find some way to get rid of the Madre. If it doesn't exist, nobody can abuse the technology. If I do that... would you consider coming back to the Mojave?" She stared at me for a few seconds, confusion etched across her features, her mouth open slightly.

"Well... I mean..." I could almost hear the gears turning in her head. "If there was nothing left to protect, I wouldn't be obligated to stay anymore. But... how would you even... I mean, this place survived the war! How could you even -" Now it was my turn to cut her off.

"I'm the Courier," I said as forcefully as I could, without a hint of irony or sarcasm. "I've survived everything the Madre could throw at me. I've survived everything Elijah could throw at me. I've been shot in the head, and all it did was piss me off. Pulling off the impossible is what I do."

Christine stared at me... but she wasn't staring at me. It was like she was looking beyond, and I was just in the way. Her eyes were darting here and there, not really focused on anything. I could tell, she was weighing her options, and then... for the first time since I met her, I saw something new in her eyes. Something I hardly ever saw from anyone in the wasteland. It was just a small glimmer, but it was there:

Hope.

But then the hope faded.

"You... should go." Christine pressed a button on the console and closed her eyes. The machinery behind me started to get louder, and I could tell that things were moving and spinning faster. "Step on the platform, and keep still. You'll be sent back to the bunker in the Mojave. Like you never left." I got up off the console, but I didn't move. Christine continued to hang her head. "Just... just go. Please."

"Fine." I said, backing up slowly. "Fine. I'll go." I stepped onto the platform; the illuminated blue disk glowed brighter beneath my feet, and I could feel an electric tingle in the air that made all my hairs stand on end even more than before. "But I promise you: I'll be back. I'll come back, and I'll find some way to destroy the Madre, along with everything in it. No more Old World ghosts. Nothing for anyone to abuse. No reason for you to stay. I'll come back. I give you my word." The solar panels spinning around the platform got much, much faster, and I saw a multicolored ribbon of light start to peel off them as they went past, surrounding me by a wall of light that looked like an oil slick.

Christine finally looked up at me, and even with everything going on around me, I could see the sadness in her eyes.

"Don't make a promise..." She pulled a lever on the console. "...that you know you can't keep."

Everything around me disappeared.

Being teleported while conscious is not pleasant. Or maybe I just wasn't used to it. It feels like every single cell in your body is ripped apart, and everything starts to spin wildly out of control. It starts in the pit of your stomach, and works its way up, like a chain trying to yank your rectum up through your mouth. It almost feels like being drunk, but definitely not pleasant. You get room spin and a massive headache, all pushed through a kaleidoscope filter of color and noise. I had the unenviable position of being in two places simultaneously - and both places were made out of pain.

Eventually, my world stopped spinning. There was still a crackle of electricity lingering in the air, though. I dropped to my knees on solid ground, somewhere definitely not where I was a moment ago. There was some kind of noise in the background, but my ears were still ringing from the trip so I couldn't tell what it was. And I was even more distracted when the wave of nausea got too much for me to handle, and I vomited all over the floor.

"What the fuck is that noise?" I said, getting up and wiping the sick from my mouth. I looked around... and realized that Christine was right: this was the same room where I'd been knocked out. Son of a bitch, it worked. Now I just had to figure out what that noise was. I looked around and saw the radio sitting on the table in the center of the room - the same radio that had lured me here in the first place.

"Wait a moment. Before you go, I..." The noise on the radio didn't get much further than that, because I pulled out Roscoe and fired. The whole top half of the radio erupted in a shower of sparks, and toppled backward off the table, smashing to pieces on the floor.

"Right," I said, holstering Roscoe and shifting the rifles and satchels slung over my back. "Time to get the fuck out of here." I walked down the short hallway, toward the door that had locked on me when I first got here... hopefully, it would open this time. I reached up, barely pulled on the handle, and the door slid into the floor with a metal shunt - and I have to say, I wasn't really ready for the sight on the other side.

"Raul?" I said, looking down at the ghoul. "What are you doing here?" He was on his knees, wearing a pair of big heavy-duty gloves, a welding helmet on his head, and some kind of cutting torch in his hands. He pulled the mask up, and stood up to look at me with a smile - or, as much of a smile as a ghoul can pull off.

"Oh, hey boss!" He turned off the torch, and the flame died instantly. "We were just looking for you. How've you been?"

"Uh..." It was all a bit much... I wasn't sure how to answer him. "I've been better, if I'm honest. What are you even doing here?" If Raul was going to say anything, I didn't hear it, because at that moment, I was tackled and damn near lifted off my feet by a mass of brown robes and metal.

"Sheason! You're okay!" Veronica let go of me, which was a massive relief; if she'd held onto me any longer, she probably would've broken some of my ribs. "When the door shut and I couldn't figure out how to open it, I was so worried about you! What happened?"

"That is... That's gonna take some explaining," I said, trying to get past her; I'd spent way too long away from the sky. It wasn't much further - just a set of stairs and a ladder. Not much further now... "What are you guys doing here?"

"Well, when I couldn't get the door open after the first hour, I went back to the 38 to try and get some help. I mean, I wasn't going to just leave you here," Veronica said as she followed me up the stairs. Raul was still collecting his things by the door. I couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but it almost sounded like he was muttering something about bringing his tools out here for nothing.

"So, is everyone here?" I asked, looking back. Veronica shook her head.

"Everyone except Arcade. Couldn't find him, and I didn't want to waste time looking. Boone's up top, keeping watch alongside ED-E."

"Well, well, well..." I heard another female voice from above me as I neared the top of the stairs. "Would 'ya lookit what th' yao guai dragged in?" Cass was standing at the top of the stairs, a massive jug of, presumably, booze in one hand. She was smirking, trying to hold back the fact that she was pleased to see me. Me, on the other hand... Seeing her here, now, in that moment really made me realize just how much I'd missed her company while stuck in that poisonous hell. I wasn't really interested in holding back.

"Oh man," I said, grabbing her and pulling her in to a hug. "Are you a sight for sore eyes..." At first, I thought she might push me away, but she actually drew me in closer. It was... nice. Part of me wanted to... but... then my brain kicked in. Before it got too suspicious (I hoped), I pulled myself away and gave her a pat on the shoulder.

"Y'look like shit." She said with a smile, reaching up to fix the hat that had been knocked askew.

"Well thanks," I said, smiling back at her. "Looking like shit is an improvement after the last few days. Certainly better than I thought I looked." Cass chuckled, and I looked around; it appeared that they'd turned this initial landing into a sort of makeshift campsite. I noticed with a grim fascination that they'd covered up the headless body at the far end of the room.

"Drink?" She held up the jug, offering it to me. "I've been cookin' up some've my moonshine. This batch's gotta helluva kick to it."

"Maybe in a minute." I said, walking past her straight to the ladder. "There's something I need to do first." I climbed the ladder as quick as I could, the anticipation building and building the higher I got until...

I opened the hatch, and was nearly blinded by the light. Warm, crisp air filled my nostrils, and a gentle breeze blew over my face. I breathed in lungful after lungful of air. After being surrounded by nothing but poison for so long, it was like I was breathing for the first time. I climbed out of the hatch and eventually my eyes adjusted to the light, and I just looked skyward... the sky was a rich, clean blue, without a single cloud in sight.

I couldn't help myself. I just started laughing as I stared at the sky, happy that I could finally breathe again. I could tell that Cass and Veronica - and Raul too, when he eventually followed - were wondering what the fuck I was doing, but I didn't care. I was finally free of that hell. I was alive. And it felt good.

Sometimes, you just gotta stop and enjoy the little things.