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1Table of Contents:
2Act 1:
3Chapter 1: Goodsprings- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xb4P-MZMzJs
4Chapter 2: The Long 15- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7uL0wOdPt8&feature=youtu.be
5Chapter 3: Road to New Vegas- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3zv0HiOxJ0
6Chapter 4: Untapped Potential- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZmUfUBqE-s
7Act 2:
8Chapter 1: Road to Roma- Chapter Theme:
9Chapter 2: Let go, Begin Again- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftkJNilA4Ao
10Chapter 3: Cards on the table- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y22tIJ6toPY
11Act 3:
12Chapter 1: Drugs, Knights, and Cannons- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKRA3zAcQss&feature=youtu.be
13Chapter 2: Remissione et Redemptione- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlr90NLDp-0
14Chapter 3: Recreational Lobotomy and Mugs- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G83njmRWJjo
15Act 4:
16Chapter 1: War. War Never Changes- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpimiNvcRC4
17Chapter 2: Men do, through the roads they walk- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lg2vv0mcHVk
18Chapter 3: Swan Song- Chapter Theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdmhyEqCINM
19
20---------------------------------------------------------------Act 1-------------------------------------------------------------------
21Chapter 3: Road to New Vegas
22
23I opened my eyes slowly as the light of my computer woke me from my slumber.  Groaning, I sat up a crick in my neck shooting through my brain.  I wiped the sleep from my eyes and sighed as I noticed the pool of saliva I’d made on my keyboard.  I stand up and proceed to stretch my spine back into a ‘suitable’ position before grabbing a napkin to wipe my keys down.  As my mind began to actually wake up I remembered I’d left Monika in New Vegas sleeping together under the stars.  I move my mouse and realized that it was now midday in game.  Shifting my avatar to the side, I see Monika was missing from my side.  Quickly jolting up I look around the area to see if I can find her.  While I shouldn’t have any worries being just outside the Mojave Outpost I still was concerned that she wasn’t by my side when I awoke.  
24
25“Monika!?”  I yelled out.  “Monika where’d you go honey!?”
26
27“Hey would you quiet down, yer startlin’ the brahmin.”  A man said to me over to the side standing next to a couple brahmin.
28
29“Ah, sorry I’m just looking for my wife.  Have you seen her?  Auburn hair, green eyes, large white bow?”
30
31“Ah, no wonder she didn’t leave your lazy ass here in the scorching sun.  She’s been doing small chores around the bar, particularly keeping that Cass girls’ bottle full.  That girl seems dead set on wasting all her caps on whiskey…”
32
33“Wait… working at the bar?  Why?”
34
35“Well, you seem to sleep like a yao guai since you’ve been out for three days.  Makes sense that she’d get some caps and food.”
36
37That’s right; the timescale isn’t one to one in the game.  Although it seems it’s become much closer to one to one otherwise much more time would have passed…
38
39“Oh that’s right, haha.  Thank you for letting me know!”  I replied awkwardly before heading towards the bar.
40
41Walking through the doors of the outpost I saw Monika standing behind the bar cleaning a glass with a cloth.  As the door shut behind me she looked up to see me standing there with a smile. Her mouth opened and then formed into a beaming smile before she quickly put the glass down and ran around jumping into my arms.
42
43“Anon!  You’re finally awake! I-I worried something happened, but I knew you had to be alright!  What happened you had me worried sick!”
44
45“I’m sorry Monika, I fell asleep alongside you at my computer; the thing is my world and this one’s time scales are different.”
46
47“Wait… you left your computer on just for me?”
48
49“Well… yeah I worried because of the void.  I never want to see you have to endure that again.”
50
51Monika squeezed me even tighter and nuzzled her head in my chest.  “You really are the best, Anon!  It means so much that you care so much about me!”
52
53“Haha of course I do sweetheart!”
54
55She stood up on her tiptoes to kiss me before leaning back to stare into my eyes lovingly.  
56
57“Come to think of it Monika, how did you end up working the bar here in the outpost?”
58
59“Well, when I realized you weren’t waking up I at first freaked out.  Perhaps a little more than I should have but then I calmed myself.  For some time I just sat there next to you hoping you’d wake up, then as I got thirsty I realized we didn’t have too much food or water left.  We also didn’t have many caps for me to buy anything for us, so I went into the office to see if they had any work for me and Major Knight pointed me to Ranger Jackson, who ended up asking me if I could clear the road we came from of some giant ants.  At first he thought I was too green for the job but I managed to convince him I could do it.  Admittedly I was a little worried at first because before I always had you next to me to calm me down but I knew I needed to get stronger; I needed to be able to hold my own for you!  So I made my way down the highway until I saw the creepy things.”
60
61“How’d it end up going?”  I asked.
62
63“Ahaha, well… I tried getting close to shoot them but when they started scurrying towards me I freaked out and dropped my rifle before running back up the hill.”
64
65“You lost the hunting rifle?” I said, inwardly scared of having lost our most powerful weapon.
66
67“No, no!  Well, I did at first, but they crawled back down to the intersection and I was able to retrieve it.  From there I calmed myself and picked them off from a distance.  It wasn’t easy, that gun still has some kick for me but I managed to kill the last one with the last shot!”
68
69“I’m proud of you Monika! You’ve always gotten what you wanted when you put your mind to it.” I responded patting her head lightly.
70
71“Ahaha, Anon. I’m not a dog!”
72
73“Ah, hah sorry.”  I said moving my hand away.
74
75“I didn’t say stop…” She said with a beckoning look in her eyes.
76
77“Heh, alright so what happened next?”  I said continuing.
78
79“I went back up to the outpost making sure to check on you after I made a makeshift tent to shield you from the sun before heading in to get my reward.  I’ll admit I was a little annoyed when he handed me a rifle, ammo and repair kits.  I was expecting money, not guns!  Oh, here you go by the way.”  Monika said as she ran back behind the counter and pulled a service rifle and ammo from underneath.
80
81“Wow, thanks Monika!” I replied giving her a kiss on the forehead.
82
83“So I turned to the bar and asked if there was anything I could do around the place to get some money for food and water.  She offered me free food and drinks to work and clean the bar so I accepted.  Admittedly most of the orders I did were from that redhead woman over there and a few of the soldiers.  I don’t like enabling alcoholism but my hands were tied; and she had some serious tolerance to the stuff.”
84“Unlike my cute lover.”  I replied with a smug smile while I rubbed her head again before resting my hand on her cheek.
85
86“Hmph, you’re lucky I like your headpats mister!”  She said with a coo, placing her hand on mine.
87
88“So… how did you manage to feed me anyway? Normally I have to pull up my inventory to use items.”
89
90Monika fidgetted while blushing.
91
92“Uh well you know I poured water in your mouth and tilted your head back… I also was able to get some help on how to keep you hydrated from a medic here.”
93
94“And for food?”
95
96“Don’t make me explain that!... Just know that I love you enough to be willing to do embarrassing things to help you.  A-anyway, where’s our next stop on our way to Vegas?”  She asked trying to shift the subject away from her momma bird shenanigans. 
97
98“...Nipton.  A small town just down the highway. You can actually see it from up this hill.”
99
100“Oh, is that the place Ranger Ghost was talking about?  I overheard her speaking to Major Knight about seeing smoke clouds coming from it.  She wanted to send a unit to see what was up, but he couldn’t spare any and assured her it must be some hedonistic party they often do anyway.”
101
102“Yeah… we’ll be passing through it anyway and then up the highway towards a small village called Novac.”
103
104“And after that?” 
105
106“It should be a straight shot up the Interstate to New Vegas. Resistance is gonna be heavy, with even more raiders from here on out, but once we get eyes on Vegas it should calm down.” You point out possible areas of resistance on your PipBoy map, as Monika nods, making a mental note.
107
108“Alright, I’ll gather our gear. You should stretch out and get ready dear, because it looks like we have a long way to go.”
109
110Me and Monika walked out to our campsite and packed up our stuff, as we do inventory of what we have, and need. We barter with some of the Caravaneers to get more ammo for our hunting rifle, as well as water, food, and medicine. We then head out, eastbound toward Nipton, waving goodbye to the friends Monika made at her short stay at the Mojave outpost.  We were now almost halfway to Nipton when I remembered the small Viper gang ambush in the dilapidated building.  I gave Monika a hand signal and we crouched down near the side of the road.
111
112“Alright, there should be a couple of raiders cooped up inside that destroyed building over there and one or two on the other side of the road.  I want you to take aim to the other side while I’ll attempt to flush out the main group from the building with my launcher.”  I ordered while unholstering my grenade launcher.  “You ready?”  I asked.
113
114“Mhmm, ready when you are dear.” She said, readying her rifle as she scanned the area.
115
116I kneeled up and took aim before firing the grenade into the building with a loud thump, followed by an explosion collapsing the already damaged wall inward.  Tossing my launcher down I pulled up my binoculars and began to spot targets for Monika. One raider came stumbling out onto the road from the now destroyed ruins decked in metal armor clutching his head. Two others on the other side rushed up and started waving their guns around trying to find where we were.  Once again Monika’s presence in the world was making it become lifelike. Instead of reacting instantly and with perfect perception, they were now dazed, confused, and stunned. If this were normal they would have just rushed us by now, unflinching of the explosion and unknown. 
117
118“First shot; disoriented tin man.”  I relayed commands as I watched her fire an armor piercing round straight through his chest. “Second shot raider rushing to cover.”  Once again she fired with precision striking him in the spine as he fled. I didn’t need to relay the last shot; she dropped the terrified raider standing dumbfounded in the middle of the road right between the eyes. As we continued up the road I made sure to keep my new rifle at the ready in case the two raiders who didn’t rush out weren’t dead.  Clearly they were as I noticed one blown in half and the other crushed by the collapsed wall.  We made sure to grab whatever we could use off the bodies before continuing up the road to Nipton.
119
120I looked over to Monika, to see if she found anything valuable, but noticed she was doing breathing exercises, as she sat there on her knees looking off into the distance. I quickly finished looting one of the raiders and walked over to her.
121
122“You okay love?” I said with concern. Monika just sat there for a few seconds, and took one last deep breath before standing up and looking off into the rising sun from the East.
123
124“Y-Yeah, just needed to de-stress, sorry honey.” She said as the light of the sun glistened off her face, her auburn hair blowing in the scorching wind.
125
126“No, its fine. This is probably still really traumatic for you. I mean it’s been only a few days and we have killed several people, and seen some horrible things.” 
127
128Monika moved over to me, wrapping her arms around me, we just sat there for a while with the only sound being her breathing exercises, the shifting sands, and wind of the mojave.
129
130“As long as you're here, I will manage. This is all just one big test, and I’m sure once we fight our way to Vegas and get that Benny fellow, we will finally be able to settle down like we always dreamed of.” I smiled at her words and held her back, as I looked into her emerald eyes, like an oasis in this dry desert. 
131“You know Monika, I think I know a nice little place on the Strip where we can get married, and another where we can live.” She blushed at what I said. She looked around for a little bit before getting on her toes just so she could reach my lips and kiss me.
132
133“I love you, anon. You really are like a port in the storm for me.” Monika now finally letting go, and going to loot the bodies. I notice she is still a little nervous by the way she walks, and her hands shaking as she handles the bodies. She has grown a lot since the showdown in goodsprings, and I’m genuinely glad she is able to cope. After looting everyone we gather our gear, and head back on the road to Nipton. On our way though we noticed something.
134
135“Hey look at that, there’s a couple coming down the road from Nipton!  I wonder if they’re just like us, two lovebirds exploring this world!”  Monika called out.
136
137I looked ahead and realized who it was; the woman who was going to murder the young man for his star cap necklace.
138
139“Oh shit...”  I muttered. “Quick let’s go!”
140
141“W-what?  What’s wrong?”  
142
143“That woman’s about to murder him!”  I yelled as we sprinted down the road.
144
145Sure enough as soon as I said that she pulled a knife and stabbed it into the man’s side.  He recoiled back and fell to the floor as she spun the knife into an ice pick grip to finish him.
146
147“Drop the fucking knife!”  I screamed at her as I raised my rifle.
148
149She turned her head towards us before her look went from one of bloodlust to one of fright.
150
151“W-Woah don’t shoot, don’t shoot!  I was defending myself!  He tried to kill me! He hit me, and I retaliated!” The crazed woman exclaimed.
152
153“What the fuck!  N-no she’s lying!  This is bullshit I did not hit her!  I did not!”  The wounded man said frantically.
154
155“I said drop the fucking knife!”  I commanded.
156
157Her face contorted from fear into unbridled anger as she then rushed us with her knife.  Obviously it was a foolish gesture as I had no trouble gunning her down from this distance.  I rushed up to the wounded man making sure to tell him to stay still.  Pulling a stimpack from my bag, I injected it into his side watching as his muscle and tissue slowly regrew.
158
159“Holy shit, thanks you two.  I don’t know what the hell happened. We had been travelling together for a bit and then all of a sudden she screamed at me and pulled that knife on me.  If you hadn’t been here I don’t know what would have happened.”
160
161“Did she say anything to you before she attacked you?”  Monika asked him.
162
163“I don’t know we had been travelling together for a couple days and she seemed sweet, I even thought maybe we could get together when we made it to the Mojave Outpost.  Then she started asking me about my lucky necklace before she started screaming at me to give it to her; and then well you know the rest.”
164
165“Your necklace?”  Monika asked intrigued.
166
167“Yeah I made a necklace out of those blue star bottle caps you find on some Sunset Sarsaparilla bottles.  It seemed like it gave me good luck.”
168
169“You should give those to me.  Lots of people got this crazy idea that they’ll lead them to a old world treasure.  There’s some… creepy people out in the wastes willing to take them from you or tell you about them…”  I shuddered as I heard his voice in the back of my mind.
170
171“Y-yeah here you go.”  He responded handing me his necklace.
172
173“The Mojave Outpost is a straight shot down this road.  We’ve cleared it of any hostiles so you should be in the clear.” I informed him.
174
175“Once again, thank you both so much!”  He said walking down the road.
176
177“Good luck!”  Monika said to him as he waved goodbye.
178
179“...Now the real fun begins…”  I muttered aloud.
180
181“What do you mean, Anon?”  Monika asked inquisitively.
182
183“It’d… be better to show you.  Steel yourself, my love.”
184
185We made our way up the hill and into the entrance to Nipton, Monika quickly started to cover her mouth as she started to move close to my side. I knew full well why she was doing this, and I held her close as we walked forward. I looked at Monika and saw her eyes widen as she looked at the severed heads on sticks, and covered her mouth and nose from the smell of burning flesh and rubber. We started to slow down as we approached the two banners of the bull out front of the town, flanked by severed heads, and a single crucifix amidst burning tires next to a building to the left. As Monika stopped and looked around in fear, I watched as a man in powder ganger garb ran towards us.
186
187“Get ready… you’re about to see some real shit.”  I said to Monika.  As she fidgeted nervously.
188
189“Yeah! Who won the lottery?  I did!  Smell that air! Couldn’t ya just drink it like booze!” He laughed maniacally.
190
191[Are you feeling alright?]
192[What sort of lottery did you win?]
193[Are you a powder ganger?]
194[My jealousy knows no bounds.]
195
196“Yeah-hah!  That’s right!  Try not to feel too jealous of the winner!”
197
198“Are you… alright?”  Monika asked timidly.
199
200“Are you kidding me?  Never felt better! YEAH!” He says flaunting his ticket. Monika just moved behind me and started to hide in fear of what could be going on inside the town. 
201
202“Anon, I’m scared.” She said, clutching me from behind as she trembled.
203
204“He’s the winner.”  I said to him as he then rushed off the way we came down into the valley.
205
206“A-Anon… he’s running straight down into a bunch of scorpions…”
207
208“That’s what winners do Monika.” I said trying to take Swanick seriously.
209
210“Can-can we just go past this place?  I think I’ve seen enough.” Monika now had tears forming, and was looking awfully pale.
211
212“I know… but we have to go through here to continue upward.”  I tried to reassure her. I really didn’t want to force her, but if she didn’t learn of legion atrocities now, it would come back to bite her later. I realized I needed to lend her strength to continue on, so that's what I did. 
213
214We began walking down the street and just before we made it to the turn leading up to the town hall the air breezed towards us and I can only assume we got the most God awful smell.  Burnt flesh and burnt rubber washing over us.  It was more than enough to make Monika turn to the side and vomit.  I had a small flashback to when Natsuki puked when she saw Yuri’s decomposing corpse.  I quickly helped her to the side and into the Nipton trading building.  
215
216“What the… Are you fucking kidding me?  First I get my legs smashed, and then walks in the Powder Gangers’ Mr. and Mrs. Murder Town?  What the fuck have you two got against us, man? Jesus fucking Christ, if you want me dead just gimme fifteen Med-X and I’ll fucking O.D. for ya, okay? Fuck!” The Powder Ganger Boxcar said as he sat in his chair to the side knees smashed to pieces.  
217
218Unlike in the base game his knees actually appeared completely splintered open.  I could make out the bone and cartilage underneath some of the blood.
219
220“I don’t have time for you and I’m not even here to kill you.”  I snapped back at him as I held Monika up as she began puking against the windowsill.
221
222“Ah, isn’t that cute, Mrs. Murder Town is fine and dandy murdering my brothers but gets a little queasy when she sees the Legion.”
223
224I twisted my head towards him and glared him down with a look of ‘I will fucking kill you if you keep this up.’
225
226“A-alright I-I think I’m ready to continue.”  Monika said between exacerbated breaths.
227
228“Here take these.”  I said to Boxcar as I placed three shots of Med-X in his hand.
229
230“Three doses?  That’s almost enough for a party.”
231
232Monika was still clinging to me and keeping her hand around her nose and mouth as we walked back out onto the street.  Here it was; the main road lined side to side with crucified souls, at the end of the street I could see the Legionnaires waiting at the foot of the steps into the town hall. 
233
234As we rounded the corner I walked forward but felt Monika holding me back, I turned to see her fully crying now, as she started to shake in terror. I turned around and held her tight, reminding her that i’m still here and no matter what nothing will happen to her. Monika though kept looking around at the crucified gangers and citizens, to enraptured by the horror’s to realize I am here. I quickly notice that many have single words etched into their chests. Many of them are not just silently hanging there but in fact moaning in anguish and pain. In honesty I was also very uncomfortable now, thinking that if Monika is bringing everyone to life, that her presence is making their suffering real. 
235
236I quickly put my hand on Monika’s cheek and move her head so her eyes meet mine. It was a sad sight, her green eyes now bloodshot from crying and the wind, as well as her now pale appearance due to all her vomiting, and fear. She looked like a husk of her former self, standing there trembling in fear. I did what I could and reminded her that I will protect her, and I love her. She just cried in my arms and we stood there for a little bit, eventually Monika sucked up her fear and took my hand, squeezing it as we continued down the street. 
237
238Her will was being put to the test unlike ever before as we walked down the street hand in hand, surrounded by the calling cards of the legion. Severed heads on pikes were everywhere we looked, and crucifixes with the unfortunate who were still alive howled for help, or cried in anguish as we passed. The burning piles of tires that were strewn with the now deceased were like a baleful hearth spreading the smell of death and defeat far and wide, clearly the source of the smoke that warned Ghost at the Mojave Outpost. All the while Monika and I walked hand in hand steeling ourselves in our love so as to get through.
239
240Passing by one of the crucified powder gangers we noticed the cuts on his chest formed words, and were not just mere lacerations for fun. I began to stop, as Monika wanted to go on, but she too has become enraptured in deciphering what it said. It crudely read as “Clepte” carved into his chest as he weeped. We asked him what it meant but he was unresponsive, only weeping and nothing else. Eventually Monika says she found a weird bundle of papers back when she worked the bar called “Legion Phrase Book - Must read for Caravaneers East of the Colorado” She at first thought it a work of fiction, but now realizes it would be of great importance. 
241
242I pulled it out of her inventory and opened it on my pipboy, and saw that it roughly translates too “Thief”. I told Monika and she began to realize just who they were, and why they were up here. She seemed distraught, that this was the punishment for just a lowly thief, she began to fear for the fate of others, and what minor infraction they must have done to deserve this. She had always been one for strict rules but always would break them when the moment suited her, the idea that doing something like that horrified her to think what if she was under this. What would have happened to her back then if this were her reality. Thoughts were racing through her head as she looked on in terror at the horrors surrounding her.
243
244Monika’s curiosity began to get the better of her, and in her own dazed state began to gaze at each victim on the crucifixes as we passed. One man who had been lacerated all over, other than the words etched in his chest was already dead from blood loss. His markings read “Pathicus”, When we checked the phrase book it translated to “sodomite”. Another we passed was a bare breasted woman who had hers etched on her breasts and stomach. Usually I would avert my gaze for Monika’s sake but cleary me looking at someones boobs were the least of her worries right now. Her’s read “Mulierculum”, I asked Monika to translate for me as I spelt it, and she told me it translated to “Whore”. 
245
246As we continued down the main street, a legionnaire rushed down the stairs of the town hall in front of us and yelled for us to come to him. Monika simply froze in place, crying and fearing for her life, I again had to ensure her of our safety, though she seemed unwilling to budge. She simply collapsed to the ground and started to bawl her eyes out, thinking this was the end. No matter how much reassuring I did she could not hear me over her own crying and panic.
247
248The Legionnaire yelled for us a second time and seemed to be irritated now, I warned Monika we needed to hurry to him or we could be in trouble. She now had the fear of God put into her, and she reluctantly listened to me. I pulled her close and told her everything will be alright and we will get out of here. I wiped away her tears as we walked toward them, and held her close. My embrace must have lit a fire inside her because she stopped crying and shaking all together and became focused again. She started to walk with confidence and had a thousand yard stare in her eyes. As we approached the Legionnaire, he moved down the stairs and flanked us with several others and their hounds. As they stood there, Vulpes Inculta walked out of the town hall and down the stairs to speak to us. As he approached I noticed Monika’s hand tighten around mine, and her glare focused on Vulpes to the point she did not blink.
249
250“Don’t worry, I won’t have you lashed to a cross like the rest of these degenerates. It’s useful that you happened by. I want you to witness the fate of the town of Nipton, to memorize every detail. And then, when you move on? I want you to teach everyone you meet the that Caesar’s Legion taught here, especially any NCR troops you run across.” Vulpes said with his snake like speech.
251
252“What “lesson” could you have possibly taught here?  That you’re evil murderers!?”  Monika yelled at him.
253
254He tilted his head slightly to look at her before turning his gaze back to me.
255
256“It is a sad state to see just how pathetic the NCR is, do you not keep your women in place?  Either way; where to begin? That you are weak, and we are strong? This much was known already. But the depths of your moral sickness, your… dissolution? Nipton serves as the perfect object lesson. Nipton was a wicked place, debased and corrupt. It served all comers, so long as they paid. Profligate troops, Powder Gangers, men of the Legion such as myself- the people here did not care, It was a town of whores. For a pittance, the town agreed to lead those it had sheltered into a trap. Only when I sprang it did they realize they were caught inside it, too.” Vulpes said as I could see Monika’s free hand was balling into a fist.
257
258“You captured everyone then?” I questioned, knowing full well the answer.
259
260“Yes, and herded them to the center of town. I told them their sins, the foremost being disloyalty. I told them that when Legionaries are disloyal, some are punished, the others made to watch. And I announced the lottery. Each clutched his ticket, hoping it would set him free. Each did nothing, even when “loved ones” were dragged away to be killed.”
261
262“Y-you killed all of those innocent people!” Monika yelled at him.
263
264“Scire locum tuum, mulier,” He spoke offhandedly towards Monika.  “But these… subhumans; innocent?” He scoffed. “Hardly. Cowardly, though. They outnumbered us, yet not once did they try to resist. They stood and watched as their fellows were butchered, crucified, and burned, one by one. They stood and hoped their turn would not come. Each cared only for himself.” Vulpes said as if a teacher to children. Monika though was confused by the first line and began to flip through the Legion phrase book to understand what he said.
265
266“Your crimes are unforgivable.” I said to Vulpes sternly.
267
268“As are all crimes. If you feel so strongly about it, attack us, and soon you won’t feel a thing.”  He said confidently but without a hint of emotion on his face. “And with that, I bid you vale. Next time we meet it shall-”
269
270“Hey you piece of shit I just found out what you said!  Daemonium!” She said pointing at him furiously.
271
272He chuckled and then burst out in a short laugh before quickly composing himself once more.
273
274“You truly are a weak man, just like the NCR. You can’t even control your woman in many other cases I would have you beaten for showing such cowardice and your woman shipped to a suiting mate who would show her a woman’s purpose.” He said with a snake like grin.  My eyes narrowed and I grinded my teeth together as my knuckles began to pain from me gripping my hands in fists. “Oh I do like that look on your face, perhaps you’re not truly emasculated. However little masculinity lies within you, will not be enough to stop me or the Legion.”
275“You talk big about masculinity while running around in frilly skirts killing unarmed people.  I also don’t think you’re the type of man to have a woman back home; no, I bet you like playing with your boy toy right next to you.”  I said nodding my head to the right towards another legionary. “Isn’t that a crime in the legion? A pathicus?” I said with a smug grin.
276
277“Tch.” He snarled. “Boy, you and your whore would do well to know your places underneath the boot of Caesar. Hear me and hear me well… you only live this day because I need to use you to spread a message.  When I see you again, I will mount your head on a pike above Caesar’s tent.  I will enjoy watching what little strength you have be broken.  Legionaries, I’ve wasted enough time with these profligates, let’s move.” His voice showing hints of anger and annoyance.
278
279They began walking down the road east towards Cottonwood Cove. I was still pissed to high hell because of what he said to Monika; in my anger I unholstered my launcher and waited for them to get a distance away before I went into V.A.T.S. I clicked on Vulpes and before I could accept I heard Monika call to me.
280
281“No, Anon. I don’t think I have the strength in me to fight right now.  Believe me I want to kill him just as much as you do.”
282
283I sighed before exiting V.A.T.S. and reholstering my launcher. “I know… I just can’t stand his bullshit. We’re going to get him though, you can be certain of that my love.” 
284
285Monika wrapped her arms around me and just held me close as she sighed into my chest. I patted her head which actually helped calm me more than it did her this time.
286
287“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”  I said angering myself again as I thought of the countless ways to destroy that man.
288
289“I know, I know; please calm down dear I don’t want your anger to get you hurt. I know exactly how acting on impulse can lead to problems in the long run.  Just know I’m here, I’ll always be here, I will always be yours.”  She replied as she gently rubbed my back while holding me.
290
291Despite her reassuring words I was still clutching my fists.  I couldn’t get over the fact that he said those vile things and I couldn’t cave his skull in.  It annoyed me to no end. But just feeling Monika’s presence and genuine love slowly brought me back down to Earth. My fists finally untensed and I breathed in deeply before holding her tightly and thanking her.
292
293“Anon, do you think we can still help these people at all?” Monika asked solemnly.
294
295I looked up at the poor souls hanging on the countless crosses, knowing full well they were all beyond saving.
296
297“No… they’re all much to hurt to help now.  The only reason any of them are alive at all anymore is because of the adrenaline from the pain…”  I unholstered my nine millimeter pistol from side before chambering a round in the gun.  “ Monika… I’ll do it.”
298“Anon you don’t have to do this…” Monika said to me.
299
300“Monika, I mercy killed you before, and I love you more than anything in my life. I did it because I thought it was the only way to end your suffering. It was the most heart wrenching decision in my life. I am sure I can handle a few people I don’t even know. Either way, If I was up on one of these crosses and removing me would kill me. I would want you to do the same for me…” I said trying to ease her worries of me feeling bad.
301
302“Monika sit here for a bit, and keep your mouth and nose covered from the stench. I’m gonna to give them their peace.” Monika nods and goes to sit on the stairs, covering her mouth with a strip of cloth I gave her.
303
304I walk up to each of the crucified people one by one, some were silent, but I didn’t want to take chances. I quickly gave them peace from their torment. As I moved on to the other I started to think to myself, “Could these people be truly sentient, could they feel all this pain? Does that make what I’m doing murder?” I brushed these thoughts aside and quickly finished up the last of the crucified, though I began to admit to myself, it may not be anywhere as easy to stomach as I thought. Between some of them begging for water, ignoring my raised pistol. To others slowly moaning in agony, I began to truly realise the monstrosity that was the Legion in a whole new light. I eventually holstered my pistol and went back to Monika who had been waiting on the stairs with watery eyes. I nodded to her, and told her they were finally at rest. Monika simply nodded back, stood up and took my hand as we left the town. As we were at the edge of town Monika turned around to face the ruins and just closed her eyes. I didn’t understand what she was doing until I saw her mouth moving under the rag.
305
306“Something wrong?” I asked.
307
308“It’s nothing Anon, just… just taking it in.” She said as she turned back around taking a breath of fresh air from the incoming wind from the ravine.
309
310“Taking what in dear?”
311
312“This… this mess, those Legion guys… they have done this many times before haven’t they Anon?” She said with a tinge of anger in her voice.
313
314“Well...yeah, they have done it all the way through Arizona, and now to the Mojave. Nipton isn't the only place to fall victim to this.” 
315
316After hearing that Monika simply took a deep breath in, and seemed to look steely eyed toward the east. “We’re headed that way aren’t we Anon…”
317
318“Yeah… sorry.” I said hanging my head low.
319
320“Don’t be, we’re gonna even the score.” Monika exclaimed as she checked her hunting rifle. I had to admit I was taken a bit back, Monika before usually needed time to adjust to her surroundings. Though now she seems to be dead set on avenging that town she didn’t even know about until today.
321
322“I never took you as one for vengeance Monika.” I told her as I raised my head in surprise.
323
324“Anon, I know what I did in the past. The girls… Sayori, Yuri, Natsuki. I did terrible things, but I did what I thought had to be done and that they were not sentient. Only afterwards did I realize how much I was lying to myself, I knew they felt pain, and fear. They just weren't aware of the truth and that was it. I had been living that lie for a while now up until now. I realize even if they don’t know the truth that doesn't make them any less sentient, any less aware of their pain and agony. We may not be able to save them, like the club. But we can stop them from killing more. I owe it that much to Nipton, and the club.” Monika said as she looked down, tears in her eyes. I can tell she is really maturing, but I’m starting to fear for her mental well being. The Mojave is not a kind place to the mind, especially when it's your reality and not a game you can freely visit when you want. Though to my surprise she simply wipes her tears away and instead raises her rifle in the air.
325
326“I’ll make it up to you all, you’ll see, I’m sorry it had to be this way! I really am, but I love him too much to just sit back and watch! I’ll show you I can do right! Yuri, Natsuki, Sayori...I’m sorry!” She now had tears streaming down her face mixing with sweat as she stood their rifle raised like some revolutionary figure in a propaganda poster as the scorching midday Mojave sun beat down on her.
327
328“Monika. It’s okay, I’m here. What’s done is done, we can't take it back. But I agree we can fight to avenge and make things right. One fight at a time.” I put my hands on Monika’s shoulders and she responds by holding me, still clutching her rifle in one hand, her other hand gripping my armor tightly. We sat there for a while as I let her calm down. She spoke of how much it hurts, how she killed the club, and its her fault. I told her it's okay, but she needs to let go, and begin again. Monika agrees, though I’m unsure how much she has learnt her lesson. Regardless we took a quick break to eat and calm down. Once she was clear of mind and ready to fight, we continued up the road through the ravine.
329
330Climbing the winding road I felt I was forgetting something.  As we got closer to an overturned trailer I couldn’t shake the feeling we were being watched.  It was then that I remembered that this was a set up for a Viper ambush point.  As soon as I remembered that I turned to Monika who was a pace ahead of me and close to a traffic cone. “MONIKA!”  I screamed as I sprinted forward doing the only thing I could think of. I kicked the cone with all of my might as I heard the beeping grow quick.  My flimsy plan ended up working as I sent the cone along with the mine flying a short distance in the air and just far enough to not hurt us.  “It’s an ambush!” I yelled at Monika pulling her to the side behind the cover of the trailer.
331
332“Shit, shit I can’t believe I forgot about this goddamn ambush!”  I yelled at myself. “Alright it’s fine, this is fine. There should be-” I was cut off by one of the Vipers darting around the corner screaming like a madman.  Both of our eyes widened as he swung at my skull with a tire iron.  I quickly ducked under his swing and rushed out of cover turning around to shoot him but he caught me and I was tackled to the ground. 
333
334I quickly drew my pistol and began pistol whipping him over and over, as Monika was loading her rifle. After a good two or three swings until he was stunned, I kicked him off and stood up before pulling back on the slide to ready a round. As I lowered my gun to his head my vision shook and a sharp pain shot up through my body. I was falling; falling backwards onto the ground. My screen shook as my avatar hit the floor face up, I lay there for a split moment my senses spinning unsure of what was happening.  I heard Monika scream out my name in an especially shrill voice.  I could hear the terror in it, as she called over and over again. This was quickly replaced by anger as she just began to yell incoherently. I then saw the Viper sprint over my body at her, and I heard a single shot, followed by the sound of Monika’s bolt moving and her chambering another round. At this point I noticed a large spatter of blood as Monika yelled my name again. I shook my mouse trying to get up and move, but with no response, only my eyes moving. As I looked over to my right I could catch a glimpse of Monika as she yelled at me, with tears in her eyes.
335
336“Anon, wake up! Anon, please wake up! You can’t leave me, please Anon just get up! Please! You can't be dead, we were supposed to do so much together… Anon… ANON!” Monika screamed as bullets rained around her from the ridgeline. For a second she almost ran out to grab me, but the hail of gunfire on her meant if she left the safety of the truck she would be killed instantly. No matter how many buttons I pressed my character was incapacitated. On the other hand Monika did not know this and thought I was dead. though I knew the truth, I couldn't shake the hole in my heart as I watched her think I had died. Even if the character was just an avatar of me, Monika treated it as if it was me, and for all intents and purposes for her this was me given form in her reality, and rudely taken from her out of nowhere. 
337
338Eventually Monika went out of view but I could hear her mumbling to herself. I wanted to do something but nothing seemed to get me to move or respond in game. The realism was sure taking its toll. Eventually I heard Monika let out one last drawn out scream, and she began to shout my name at the top of her lungs. That was followed by her getting real silent and saying something to herself before running out into the gunfire. And as if triggered by Monika running out I gained consciousness again in game, but barely. For now I could look around and barely move my avatars arms.
339
340I felt my chest and pulled away a flattened bullet off my vest.  That’s right… the ballistic vest I took off the powder gangers all the way back in Goodsprings. It actually saved my life.  I leaned up still dazed and watched as Monika in a fit of rage took aim with her rifle.  One. Two. Three.  With each round I could hear the faint screams of distant vipers falling off the cliffside as Monika hit her mark. I had never seen Monika shoot with such confidence and grace before. I tried to speak but nothing seemed to work and I could only sit up and watch in silence. Monika then fell to her knees as she clutched the rifle to her chest. I could hear her weeping and yelling to the sky. 
341
342“WHY!? I FINALLY HAD HIM I...I FINALLY FUCKING HAD HIM! THIS-THIS ISN’T REAL THIS IS A WORSE NIGHTMARE THAN THAT DAMNED VOID!!!  I… I TRIED TO REPENT, I’M SORRY FOR THE SINS I COMMITTED… I… I TRIED!!!! AM I JUST IRREDEEMABLE IN YOUR EYES!?!? Or… is it still you?”  Monika said aloud to the sky.  “It’s still you isn’t it?  Not… God… but my God… my demon… even when I tore through the code and finally was able to meet Anon outside of that clubroom… you were following me the entire time?” Monika went on weeping. I was finally able to somewhat move my character but was still too winded to call out to her. So I did everything I could; I rolled onto my side and pushed myself up to my knees before slowly walking towards Monika.  “I- I don’t know what to do Anon…”  
343
344I fell to my knees and wrapped my arms around her shoulders from behind before finally regaining speech.
345
346“You don’t have to worry… I made you a promise, I wasn’t leaving you behind ever again…” I said raggedly.  
347
348Her eyes widened but she kept weeping. “No… you’re not real, you’re just a ghost… a specter.  A hallucination made to torment me by that cursed man.”
349
350“I’m no phantom, I’m me, I’m Anon. Do you not feel my touch? My heart beating? It’ll always continue to beat for you.”  I said as I placed a hand on her cheek and slid myself in front of her. She couldn’t look at me, she just stared up into the sky as the sun dried her tears. “Snap out of it Monika…” I continued before gently pulling her head down for our eyes to meet. “Look into my eyes. Remember how you always wanted me to look into your beautiful emerald eyes?  Look into mine now, and remember, come back to me. I’m real, and so are you now.”  I did the only other thing I could think of and pulled her in for a kiss. I felt her arms tremble before she slowly moved her hands up to meet mine on her cheeks. I broke the kiss and looked deep into her eyes again. “I’m alive, the vest saved me; see?”  I said pointing down to the tear in the fabric.
351
352“Hah… ahaha… A-Anon…” She jumped at me wrapping her arms around me tightly, almost painfully tight. She began kissing me deeply, she placed her hands on my cheeks as she worked her tongue around mine. Steadily she shifted her weight on me, never stopping or parting our lips. Eventually I toppled onto my back as she just kept working her tongue and pressing her lips against mine, she had started to rub her legs up and down mine as well as her body against my plate carrier. After a few minutes of Monika just making out with me we parted our lips, still connected by a detailed trail of saliva between us as she took a deep breath, and changed her expression to a furious glare that I felt went straight through my avatar, through my computer through my body and into my very soul.
353
354“Never again, never again, never ever again. I’m not going to lose you again. I-I can’t lose you again.”  She repeated herself, clutching to me as she stared into my eyes; her face showing how extremely vulnerable she actually felt.
355
356“Calm down sweetheart, it’s alright. I made you a promise I refuse to break. You need to remember, I’m still here I’ll always be here, after all this is simply my avatar.”
357
358“Oh… you’re right. That’s right, this is just your avatar.”  Monika said as she slowly stood up and began pacing about.
359
360“Did you forget that I’m in another reality?” I said as I stood myself up and watched.
361
362“I’m sorry… it’s just this new world is so...real it’s nothing like my reality.  I’ve felt so much more since coming to this reality. I understand so much more how you can come to care for these people.  You’ve said it yourself, my presence seems to be changing this world even more, like I’m… infecting it.  To me this is real, this is existence, and I’ve finally been given a tangible form of yourself. I can finally talk to you without being filtered, I can hold you, I can kiss you. And yet, while I was just getting comfortable with you, and our adventure was truly beginning...you were torn away from me. Just think of how it felt; to see you finally given form in my world, to hold you and kiss for several days and nights. Working hard at that bar to buy food and water to keep you alive when you wouldn’t wake up. To explore this world and have you finally by my side, and tell me how much you love me...and then to see you die... It’s like… imagine if I was given a synthetic body in your world and then suddenly someone murdered me. I just...Just felt so much dread and hate. I’m sorry, anon.” She said as she stopped pacing and just stood there staring at me, holding back tears.
363
364I walked up to her and held her tight once more. “I completely understand… I’ll do everything in my power to never have that happen again. You’re strong for me, it’s time for me to be strong for you.”
365
366“You’ve been incredibly strong throughout our time here. You’ve saved me multiple times and taken down so many enemies to protect me.”
367
368“No, I mean mentally. You are much stronger than me, much stronger than many people.  It’s safe to say not many people could go through their very essence, their very being torn apart and reassembled over and over again. Although I will say if I knew that a cute girl was waiting for me on the other side I’d fight just a little harder to stay around that’s for sure.”  I said with a wink trying to cheer her up.
369
370She chuckled lightly before kissing me on the cheek. “Thanks, Anon.”
371
372“How about we get out of this place?” I said as I switched on the radio to some cheery tunes.
373
374We walked down the road, keeping a keen eye on the surrounding ridge lines so as to not run into another ambush. At this rate we didn’t know what to expect, but we were gonna be prepared. After we got out of the ravine, and back into the sun-scorched sands of the mojave desert. We held hands as we walked the roads. After a bit of walking and singing to the radio together Monika spotted a Legion camp in the distance. We quickly took cover behind a hill, and I pulled out my binoculars. I spotted a group of four Legionnaires entering the camp, cleary a patrol who had just come back, as well as five already in the camp sharpening their knives, and sparring among themselves, as one watched the powder ganger captives. In total there was nine Legionnaires and three Powderganger prisoners, most likely from the raid on Nipton.
375
376“I got this, Monika.” I said with confidence as I put my binoculars away, and started rummaging through my inventory.
377
378“W-What? Anon, are you sure!?” She said confused, and looking at me worried.
379“Monika, do you know what I did in this world before you came along?”
380
381“No…”
382
383“Every fight we did all the way up to the I-88 trade post, I fought on my own.”
384
385“But...how?”
386
387“I got good Monika, I got real good. And I think it’s about time I showed off for you, my little desert rose.” I said with a wink. Monika blushed in response.
388
389“Oh my, Anon. Well are you sure you don’t want me to shoot at them from back here?”
390
391“No, you’ve done more than enough for me. Plus we’re low on .308, and we’ll probably need it for later. Till then how about you have a little picnic, I’ve been saving some trail mix for you in my bag, and i’m sure you're really hungry.” I said as I tossed Monika a bag of trail mix and water.
392
393“Anon, that's so sweet!” Monika exclaimed with a smile.
394
395“Oh hold on, let me lay something out for you!” I took out the caravaneer outfit and laid it out like a picnic blanket for her to sit and eat on, so she didn’t get sand all over her. She just sat down on it and smiled at me as she opened the trail mix, and starting eating it, while squinting her eyes from the bright Mojave sun.
396
397“Hmmm, here take this too.” I pulled out a wide-brimmed cowboy hat and put it on her head to keep the sun out of her eyes. I noted she looked silly, but instead of being turned off by it, Monika stuffed her face full of trail mix and shot me a cute look as she smiled as the shade from the hat comforted her from the rays of the sun. I couldn't help but feel my heart soar at how cute she was in that hat, as she sat there eating, I made a note to take her on a picnic as soon as I could again.
398
399“So Anon, how do you plan to kill all those guys?”
400
401“Easy, I’m gonna shoot them before they stab me. I’m a great shot, so they won't be able to clear the distance before I put one in each of them, and even if they get close I got a machete and revolver for them.” Monika seemed a bit confused.
402
403“Why wouldn’t they just shoot you back? Why do you think they would charge you?”
404
405“Simple, they’re the Legion. They don’t have a lot of guns and bullets. Most of the guns they have are from old stockpiles or from dead NCR, and civilians. They don’t train or know how to use their guns and prioritize melee over everything else. Even if they have guns, they won't be accurate enough to hit me before I put a few rounds in them. This camp is all recruits also, recruits aren’t allowed to use guns too, so they definitely won't be able to shoot back. In all, the main question is can I drop them before they reach me, and can they reach me with enough people to bring me down. And honestly I have done this several times before, I know how this is gonna end.” I told her as I loaded my service rifle and checked to see if I needed to use a repair kit on it first. 
406
407“True, well I can't wait to see you in action Anon. I love to see you work, honestly!” Monika said still being adorable with that big hat and vault suit, while sitting on her makeshift picnic blanket. I went back into my inventory and double checked I had what I needed, and noticed my service rifle was able to use a mod. I looked confused because I didn’t remember picking up any parts for it. That’s when I noticed the mod was a bayonet, and by putting my combat knife on the end, I had gained a melee attack for my service rifle. I went through possible melee buttons till I found it and started to stab at the air, as Monika giggled in amusement.
408
409“Ahaha, Anon! Are you going to kill the air too?” It was nice to see Monika happy again, and I was glad she had forgotten about earlier for now.
410
411“Haha, no sorry dear. Was just testing out my new bayonet.” I said with a hint of embarrassment.
412
413“Ahaha, it’s ok. It’s cute to watch you do that.” I could feel myself blush at my computer. I quickly refocused on my original goal, the Legion camp. I gave Monika a quick kiss as she sat there, and told her how much I love her, and she responded in kind. As I walked away I noticed how she started to look through her binoculars at me as I closed the distance on the camp. I quickly cleared my mind of all other thoughts and focused on the one thing that mattered. “Kill the Legion.” I mutter, readying my service rifle atop a small mound right next to their camp.
414
415They had not noticed me yet, everyone was still focused on their daily tasks and the patrol that just came back was getting water and chatting it up. I noticed one of the powder gangers saw me, and had a look of relief, and then fear. He seemed unsure if he should scream, or stay quiet. I quickly raised my finger to my lips to tell him to be quiet, and he nodded. I take a knee and calmly raise my rifle and aim for the guy with the most flamboyant helmet. 
416
417I forgot the ranks of legion, as I was never that sympathetic to them, especially now. But I did remember that as they go up in rank, they usually wear fancier helmets, and headgear. This one was the only one in the camp to wear feather on his helmet. It was a football helmet though, so I wasn't worried about not penetrating his armor, it was after all only good for taking blunt melee weapons to the head. I steadied my aim, as I lined up the sights on the stripe going down the back of his helmet and pulled the trigger as my shot rang true. The Legionnaire collapsed to his knees as his legs buckled and he toppled to the ground. Everyone in the camp looked around surprised until I took a second shot at the other leader, and scored another direct headshot. The Legionnaire fell to his side, into the scorching sands without a sound but my gunshot ringing out over the horizon. Both the guys with fancy helmets were now down, leaving me with seven more recruits to worry about. 
418
419Sadly for me, my luck would not last; as one of the recruits pointed me out on the hill and called out for everyone to charge me down, not knowing anything else to do. I quickly switched my aim to one of the recruits rushing me and put a round in his chest. He fell to the ground with a mighty thud, kicking up a small cloud of dirt around him, but slowly started to get back up. I guess in the legion they were trained to take shots and keep going, and so my shooting methods changed. For my next target I lined up my sights and sent two shots straight to his stomach, the area where the armor didn’t cover. The rounds went straight through him as blood splattered onto the sands behind him, collapsing him. I did the same thing to the next two guys and watched as one of them got back up and kept rushing me. I was beginning to learn how the legion could be such a threat to the NCR at the dam, especially if they outnumbered them so much as well. At this point though four of the Legion recruits were getting dangerously close, and I needed to drop them or force them back. I turned to the closest one to me, who couldn't have been more than twenty meters away, and took a step back as I put multiple rounds into his chest near where I thought the heart was, until I saw him go down like a sack of potatoes. I quickly took a step back and repeated it to the legionnaire next to him, and watched as my rounds stopped him in his tracks. His body going limp as he dropped to the sands.
420
421I looked to my right and saw the other two screaming for Caesar as they were almost on top of me, and quickly dumped what ammo I had left in the mag on the one closest to me, blasting great holes in his armor, and chest as he stumbled over into the sand. As I aimed for the person closest to me, I realized my weapon was dry, and I didn’t have time to reload, but I did have my bayonet. Quickly jumped to the side, and avoided his machete as he drove it down. I swung at his arm with my bayonet and made a gash. The Legionnaire recoiled as he clutched his wound, I quickly took a step back as I raised my rifle to stab him. I then sprinted forward and rammed my bayonet into his stomach. The sheer force of my charge lifted the young recruit off his feet as a carried him a small distance and slammed him into the sand. He sat their writhing in pain, as I twisted the bayonet. I quickly pulled it out and stabbed it back into his throat and pulled it out to the side, slitting it open. The Legionnaire began reaching for his throat as he gurgled up blood, unable to breath as he twitched and squirmed on the ground. 
422
423I had little time to take in the visceral gore, and see how real the world had truly gotten, as I still knew there was two more legionaries to kill. Lucky for me though, one was merely stumbling toward me with a machete in hand, and the other was still on the ground clutching his stomach, trying not to bleed out. I decide I didn’t want to waste anymore 5.56 on them, and slung it on my back, as I unholstered my .357 Revolver. Slickly I lined up the sights and aimed right for the face of the staggering legionnaire. I began to wonder, if he is truly real now, and what must be going through his head. I pondered this for a bit before firing a shot, and hearing a loud crack through the bang, as his skull splintered. The recruit simply fell back into the Mojave’s scorching embrace. I then stared down the last recruit still writhing in pain, clutching his gut. I walked up to him with my revolver ready and kicked him over. I could see the pain through his mask, and he didn't even seem to care that I was holding a gun to his head.
424
425“You gonna stop me?” I asked him. He gave no response, just laid their squirming around.
426
427I realized he was no threat to me, and thought to let him die under the scorching sun for his part in all this. He may be a recruit but he is still a legionnaire, and only God knows how many people he hurt during his short time in the legion. I then walked over to the powder gangers and began cutting their restraints with my bayonet.
428
429“You’re not gonna kill us?” One of them asked.
430“Everybody gets one…” I said with as much restraint as I could in my voice.
431
432“But don't you have it out for us?”
433
434“Keep trying my kindness; I can always change my mind.” The other two powder gangers started hitting the third to shut him up. They then gathered what they needed for the road and ran their way back to NCRCF.
435
436“Hey! You kill or hurt anyone on your way back, and I hear about it; I’ll make sure that you being sold to slavery by the Legion would be great in comparison, you hear me!?” They started to run faster at hearing my words, but they still shouted “Yes sir!” back, so all was good to me. I gathered up what I could scavenge from the Legion camp, especially a lot of bitter drink, healing powder, and Legion coins. Packing it all in my ruck, I head back to Monika who was at this point laying down in the sun, watching me with her binoculars. As I dropped my ruck next to her she sat up and gave me that cute smile I love, before she said.
437
438“Well, you were right Anon; I was definitely impressed. The way you took those two leaders down with such ease. Making the others scatter, but even when they found you, you stood true and didn’t falter. Then when they were getting close I was sure you would back up but no you stood your ground like my gallant knight! Then the way- oh the way you sidestepped that one’s strike and lifted him off of the ground! I know this is just your avatar but wow!” She said with an almost seductive smile.
439
440I blush a bit to myself at Monika’s words, I was glad to give her a show after all. It really feels nice to have someone who appreciates my specific talents, even if it’s just a game. Though then again, this is life for her. Those thoughts change to one of intrigue as I pull out a few bottles of bitter drink, and bags of healing powder to split with Monika.
441
442“Thanks Monika, glad I could provide some entertainment with your lunch. Here I found some of these, could be useful if we run out of stimpaks.” Monika looked at me curiously, and asked.
443
444“What are these Anon?”
445
446“They're healing powder, and bitter drink. They’re Legion medicine, completely herbal due to the Legion disposition tAo technology. I know how much you like your more traditional and natural solutions to things, and these are it. We don’t need to rely on constantly picking abandoned hospitals clean of stimpaks, and other medicine with these, and if you put the work in, you could make some yourself!” Monika’s eyes light up at the idea, and thought I put into bringing these to her. She quickly takes one of each and looks at them.
447
448“So Anon, how do these work anyways? Do I just drink the drink, and for the powder, rub it into the wound?” She said as she took some of the healing powder out of the bag, and ran it on her fingers.
449
450“Haha, well admittedly I didn’t always realize how they were administered due to them not having animations. However after looking at the ingredients how they’re made and its effects, you actually… huff it haha.”
451
452“Oh… is it addictive?” Monika asked.
453
454“No, none of the ingredients are addictive, it’s simply made by grinding some naturally occurring plants into a fine dust. However due to the rather stinging sensation you can get when using it, it will often dull your perception while it helps your body’s immune system heal. That’s why if possible it is better to mix the powder into purified water to make bitter drink. There’s actually many things we can create out here in the waste with the right ingredients and skill, some being extremely helpful like antivenom.” Almost as if getting a green light, Monika takes a little and sniffs it. She recoils a bit, and makes a face akin to someone who just ate something really sour. You chuckle at her from behind your computer, and give her a quick pat on the back to help her cope. Once she is done recoiling from the powder, she says.
455
456“Guh, ugh. Well that was a mistake. What else can we make out here in the wastes? Hopefully something not so… that.”
457
458“Heh, well there’s an abundance of ingredients we can use to make poisons for our enemies. Then if you get certain types of hide you can craft sturdy leather armors. Then there’s certain foods you can cook and of course you can always make some coffee.”
459
460“Coffee? That still exists here?” She said as her eyes lit up.
461
462“Of course, while there is some pre war coffee bins lying around, they’re hardly palatable. No, an interesting take on a normal black coffee is using coyote tobacco and honey mesquite pods and boiling them to make a sweet but somewhat tangy coffee brew.”
463
464“Anon, you have to show me how to make some of these items!  Especially coffee, it’s been so long since I’ve been able to have a nice coffee!” She said as she bounced up and down excitedly.
465
466“Of course, of course my dear. However the sun's getting low and we still have a good mile or two before we get to the settlement. Besides we still need a campfire to make most of the items anyway. I responded helping her to her feet. 
467
468“Well then, what are we waiting for slowpoke?” She said with a wink as she started walking towards Novac grabbing my hand and pulling me along.
469
470We continued up the road for some time until Monika gripped my hand and pointed out to the distance.
471
472“There’s those things again. Those um, deathclaws?” As she pointed towards the cliffside I could make out one deathclaw slowly walking around up near the pass. 
473
474“Yeah, there’s a whole cave of those monsters up in those hills. Luckily they don’t roam downward to often.”
475
476“That’s a relief, they really are menacing with their super long claws. I hope we never have to deal with them.”
477
478“Can’t say I completely disagree. We’ll just need to make sure we’re well equipped if we ever decide to face one.”
479
480“Hey what about that? Is that the settlement you were talking about? It looks rather tiny.”  Monika asked.
481
482“Ah, no that’s a Ranger Station of the NCR. They’re little encampments set up in certain locations to help protect the area.
483
484“Ranger station? Like the Rangers they talked about back at the Mojave Outpost, the one the giant statue represents?” Monika responded.
485
486“Yeah that’s right, I see you’ve been doing your homework while I was in my little coma haha. Yeah they’re comprised of the NCR’s top fight-ers…” I said as we passed the entrance and we noticed the Ranger sitting in a chair with his cowboy hat over his face and feet kicked up on the sandbags catching some sleep.
487
488I pinched the bridge of my nose closing my eyes and sighed. “Legionnaires!” I screamed aloud quickly rustling the man from his slumber.
489
490“Ah Jesus Christ! Wha-What the fuck! Civilian what the hell are you thinking!?”  He asked angrily.
491
492“Just keeping the good ole Rangers on their toes sir! After all Nipton has fallen to the Legion.”
493
494“Wait, Nipton has fallen? When did this happen?” He asked worriedly.
495
496“About a day ago, they slaughtered almost everyone.” 
497
498“Jesus… thank you, civilian I need to inform my comms officer of this immediately!” He said as he rushed into the communications building. 
499
500I thought to myself about how even something as simple as that conversation was much more fluid and unique than the game originally allowed. I then recalled how this station would be wiped out by a Legion force; would the fact that I informed them of the Legion’s increased activity in the area allow them to escape their horrible fate? I suppose only time would truly tell.
501
502“For the NCR’s most experienced troops he seemed rather frightened by the news.” Monika said. “He also seemed rather relaxed, is he not worried about the dangers out here, Anon?”
503
504“Nipton was the first time the Legion struck on this side of the Colorado river. Up until that brutal slaughter, the Legion and NCR have been in a ceasefire both awaiting one or the other to rush the Dam. It’s not ‘if’ the Legion will attack New Vegas but rather when. Caesar is nothing if not a strategist however and he’s making sure to garrison most of his troops for the final battle while allowing his Frumentarii to gather intel and Decanii to raid entire villages near the riverbanks. He’s playing for the long haul, demoralizing both troops and civilians alike so when the battle breaks out many are certain to retreat.”
505
506“How does the Legion manage to gain such ground and pose such a threat to the NCR when so many of them don’t use firearms? Also what is this Dam you speak of?” Monika asked as we continued up the road away from the station.
507
508“Hoover Dam, along the Colorado river. The NCR wishes to annex New Vegas into the Republic eventually and subsequently the whole of Nevada. By taking the dam, the NCR would be able to power the majority of New Vegas proper as well as push their territory into Arizona. While Caesar is interested in the use of electricity from the Dam his more pertinent reason is simply conquest. The Dam acts as a direct bridge from Arizona into New Vegas, which he sees as his jewel in the desert waiting to be pillaged. The reason Caesar is able to push back with such ferocity while not using as much modern weaponry is twofold. Firstly the NCR is plagued by foolish and corrupt politicians which know little of war. You see the NCR is quite an amazing sight; it truly is testament to the resilience and willpower of humanity. If we were to visit the NCR territory most specifically L.A. or San Francisco it would be almost like the war didn’t happen. They’ve managed to reinstate a working government, have rebuilt much of the infrastructure and have begun to truly get society up and running again. However with the resurgence of old world government, comes old world depravity. The politicians order the soldiers to stretch themselves so thin that many places they take over end up becoming little more than ghettoes. Simply look at the whole of the I-15; the entire interstate is a shitshow. The prison was undermanned which allowed the inmates to take it over, they now practically run the upper section of it due to the NCR not being able to send troops up to retake it. Then there’s Primm which almost fell to them due to the NCR’s unwillingness to send troops, and lastly Sloan. With things beginning to escalate and the second battle soon to begin they cannot afford to send a large detachment to actually eliminate the deathclaws in the quarry. Because of this they’re shooting themselves in the foot. The troops coming from California now have to travel all the way up and around like we are now, which takes its toll on both the troops and supplies.”
509
510“Wow… that’s actually a lot to take in. I’d love to hear more about it though it sounds much more deep than I originally thought ahaha. Although I’d rather sit down with you and have some coffee and listen to you talk about it.”
511
512“Oh that’s not even the half of it, this game is simply a small portion of the world in its entirety. This game only deals with New Vegas and its immediate area. Then there’s the Divide; the remnants of a thriving city that was blown apart by a nuclear bomb AFTER the war. There’s the fact that a rather large city is run by Chinese remnants on the coast. Or even all of the things happening on the east coast, like the resurgence of the Enclave, a secret shadow government from the pre war government or even the fact that up in New England there’s a cyberpunk technocratic underground society of people who have created synthetic humans that they use as slave labor and- oh uh sorry I’m rambling again.” 
513
514“Ahaha, Anon I see you really enjoy this game and all of its stories! I guess this must be how you felt when I was rambling all those times in the classroom. Not that I don’t like it! I actually love it, I love seeing you so enthusiastic! I could genuinely sit down and just listen to you talk about whatever you’re interested in for hours.” She said with a cute smile before she pulled herself close to me with our arms entwined. “Wait, what is that?” Monika said as she pointed at the giant dinosaur statue in the distance.
515
516“That’s Novac, where we’ll be staying for the night.”
517
518“Why is there a giant dinosaur? Why is it even called Novac and not something like Trex or I don’t know!”
519
520“The giant dinosaur is actually a real attraction in my reality. To not go on a complete tangent yet again, this world is based off of my own but shifted slightly in two apparent ways, firstly our culture did not progress past the fifties and secondly we holocausted ourselves in the year 2077. It used to be a tourist trap for people on their way to gamble all of their money in Las Vegas and it still is even after the apocalypse, ‘cept now it’s used as a sniper’s nest too!” I said pointing at the highway leading right through Novac.
521
522As we walked up the hill we passed a large tent on the side of the road with the town’s doctor and her two bodyguards.  
523
524“Hey, you two! Need some medical supplies or maybe some medical supplies? Huh...huuuh?”
525
526“Anon, do we need any medicine for the road ahead?” Monika turned to me and asked.
527
528“Not from her.” I said as I kept us walking to the motel.
529
530“Woo, finally we’ve made it. I could really use some rest, Anon. I know you don’t feel the fatigue like I do but certainly you’re a little tired yourself. Where can we set up our campsite?”
531
532“No camping tonight; this time we’re getting a bed to sleep on inside the motel!” I said.
533
534“Oh, I can’t wait to sleep on something soft for once and away from the dirt and sand too! My back was beginning to hurt from sleeping on the ground.”
535
536“I can only imagine, sorry I made you have to deal with it for three days! I’m gonna try to figure out some way I can sleep while keeping my computer on but also slow the passage of time in here.”
537
538“It’s okay, Anon you can still turn off your computer, everything should be similar to how it was before. I can deal with it honestly! I want you to be able to sleep properly after all!” Monika responded.
539“Absolutely not, I’m never putting you through that if I can afford not to. Hell I’m going to figure out how I could transfer you onto my phone so we can go out into the world together after all of this. I refuse wholeheartedly in allowing you to suffer in that hell ever again.”
540
541“Anon, I… thank you. You’re the best boyfriend in the world.” She said squeezing my hand.
542
543We walked into the motel front desk office, where Jeannie May Crawford was sitting behind the counter. 
544
545“Well, welcome to you both! You look tired from the road. Why don’t you relax a spell, let this fine town take care of you.”
546
547“Oh you’re too kind, Miss! My husband and I are simply stopping by on our way to Vegas, that giant-”
548
549“Room for two that’ll be all.” I cut Monika off, replying to Jeannie May coldly.
550
551“Not much of a socializing type eh? That’s alright, our town’s sniper isn’t much of a talker either, maybe you’ll come to like our little town. You look like you can handle yourselves and we could always use more helping hands! Well as long as little missy isn’t trying to drag you off to New Vegas haha!” She said cheerily. “You two enjoy your stay!”
552
553I had to refrain from bearing a fang in disgust at her while I shoved my satchel of caps in her hand and snatched the key before quickly pulling Monika with me back out.  
554
555“Anon, are you alright you were really coarse with that sweet old lady right then?”
556
557I turned around and gently grabbed her by the shoulders. “Monika, do not speak to that woman, if she asks you to do something do not do it. She’s a sociopath. She sold a great man’s wife into slavery because she wanted to leave the town with him. He was too important to her perfect town so she had to get rid of her.”
558
559“Jesus Christ…” Monika said sadly. She looked downward as if pondering something before speaking again. “We’re going to do something about that aren’t we?” She said not so much asking if but when.
560
561“She sunk that poor man into a spiralling, crippling depression. I intend to pull him out of it one act at a time. Starting with helping him avenge his wife’s death.” I replied.
562
563Monika smiled almost devilishly. “I like it when you’re so determined, Anon. I find it… sexy.” She said with a subtle lick of her lips.
564
565It was weird; something came over me when I saw her right then. Normally when I come to Novac I think Jeannie is a scumbag but she’s nothing more than an actor playing her part in this grand play. But with everything that’s been happening… I’m finding it harder and harder to justify my previous convictions. If things continue as they have been, we may be creating an entire universe with sentient people struggling with the problems in their lives the same as people in my world do. At the very least I intend to help and save as many souls as possible.
566
567 I sighed before brushing my hand through my dirty hair and pulling up my pip-boy to check the time. “It’s getting pretty late.” In fact time seems to be getting closer and closer to my timezone. I’ll have to keep an eye on this… “How about we call it a night? Then in the morning we’ll check out the town a bit and hopefully we can help Boone and I’d like to see if he can help you train your marksmanship.” I said to Monika with a light smile.
568
569“That sounds wonderful darling.”
570
571We both made our way through the chain link gate before walking up the stairs to our suite. I noticed that unlike in the original game the motel was much larger and there were lights on in multiple other rooms. I wonder if once I fall asleep again if i’ll awake into a even further evolved and growing world… I was both curiously intrigued and terrified at the ramifications of the idea.  I unlocked the door to our suite and let Monika walk inside first. The room was much better than I expected to be; if there’s one good thing I can say about Jeannie, it’s that she sure can maintain her property. Monika did a little twirl before face-planting the bed and exhaled a reverberating sigh of comfort.
572
573“It may not look the best but this sure is comfiest bed I’ve ever felt in my life!” She cooed. 
574
575“I’m glad it feels nice my love. I was afraid that it’d be a little sub-par to say the least haha.” I chuckled rubbing the nape of my neck. “Hmm, what do you say to a little drink before we head to bed?” I asked pulling out the bottle of wine Trudy gave to us all the way back in Goodsprings.
576
577“That sounds delightful. Although I’m not going to drink nearly as much as I did back in Sloan…” She said slightly embarrassed. 
578
579I switched the radio on the nightstand to whichever station had the most romantic song at the time before walking over to the liquor cabinet against the far wall. There were several glasses as well as a few miscellaneous types of alcohol. I pulled out the most pristine glasses and gave them a wipedown with a clean rag before sitting down next to Monika on the couch. I handed her her glass and poured her some of the wine before pouring some for myself.
580
581“To us.” I said raising my glass for a toast. 
582
583“To us!” Monika responded back clinking her glass to mine.
584
585We sat together listening to the radio as I held her by the waist and she leaned her head on my shoulder. Before I knew it we’d finished our drinks and I began to ask if she wanted to sleep when she interjected.
586
587“Wait I just thought of something… and it’s actually a little embarrassing and rather well, disgusting…” Monika said.
588
589“Uh… haha what’s that?” I asked.
590
591“Neither of us have… well bathed for days and being in an actual room with a bathroom made me remember.”
592
593“Jeez… I still forget we need to do other functions than normal here.”
594
595We both walked into the bathroom and I tried turning on the shower. Surprisingly the water did still run and even appeared relatively clear! 
596
597“Lemme make sure it’s not irradiated or at least sparsely…” I said placing my hand over the flowing water. “Hmm seems to have under one rad per second; it should be fine, just don’t take a terribly long shower haha. I’ll let you take one first, I’ll probably take one in the morning or later.”
598
599“Thanks, Anon I’ll be but a moment.” Monika said giving me a hug before playfully pushing me out the door. “No peeking!”
600
601I chuckled before walking towards the couch. As I passed the table with the TV on it I got a little curious. The showers were working which they normally don’t, there were countless more people living in the motel and many other details. I placed my fingers on the dial and switched it on and surprisingly it sprung to life. Albeit the screen was nothing but static but it was still incredible to see it working at all. I continued thumbing the dial searching for any signal when something actually came up. I sat down on the bed and watched the scene. It was an actual TV show, some black and white comedy show but it appeared to be post war. 
602
603“And she said that’s not a deathclaw, that’s my mother!” A man dressed in a pre-war business said which was followed by audience laughter.
604
605“We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled program after these messages!” A voice said as the screen transitioned to commercials.
606
607“Buy war bonds! Help the soldiers out on the frontier! Caesar’s Legion will not stop with New Vegas! Our Rangers are all that’s keeping you happy in California and from being enslaved by the Legion!”
608
609“Interesting, so this is an NCR channel.” I thought to myself as I stood up again and flipped the channel trying to find anything else.
610
611This time I found a channel that appeared to be from New Vegas itself. Looks like they’re filming different acts from some casino that’s not normally in the game. Before I could continue I heard the door to the shower open and Monika stepped out still wiping her hair with a random piece of cloth from her pack. 
612
613“Hey there sweetheart, hope the shower was alright?” I asked as I stood up and switched the TV off.
614
615“Not the warmest but absolutely refreshing given what we’ve been through!” She responded before yawning.
616
617“Haha, looks like someone’s a little tired!” I said teasing her. “Why don’t you rest up, I’ll do some stuff in my reality while you rest, I’ll be back before you’re up though so no need to worry this time haha. You can sleep on the bed and I’ll sleep here on the couch.”
618
619“Oh… alright.” She replied slightly disheartened.
620
621“Is… something wrong sweetheart?”
622
623“Well I guess I just find it odd that you’re not gonna come sleep with me in bed…”
624
625“Oh… hahah I guess I wasn’t sure if you were ready to sleep in bed together; I mean I know we slept together but they’ve both been in more camping scenarios where they were understandable. Look it’s fine honestly you deserve the bed tonight you must be exhausted after all you feel the fatigue I don’t.”
626
627“Oh, Anon, you’re such a sweetie.” She said pulling me in for a kiss on the lips. “Alright, if you insist I’ll sleep tight, but next time… how about you be my big spoon..?”
628
629“You can count on it.” I responded giving her a kiss on the forehead before turning off the lights in the room and lying down on the couch.
630
631I stared up at the ceiling for a bit pondering everything that’s happened and potentially will continue to happen. The thoughts on sentient A.I., if this world continues this way if Monika and subsequently I will essentially be Gods, and the consequences of them. The only thing that kept coming back into my mind was Monika. She was real, she loved me, and I was going to be sure to be the best boyfriend I could be for her regardless of any bullshit life threw at me.  Speaking of which I suppose I need to actually get some things done in the real world...
632
633I got up from my desk and tidied up my room before taking a shower and getting myself some breakfast or rather lunch. As I came back to my room to take out any leftover trash I noticed my screen shaking.
634
635“What the..?” I said aloud to myself as I walked up and sat down at my pc.
636
637As soon as I sat down two seemingly glowing green orbs flashed up onto the screen startling me. I shook my camera in an attempt to see what was going on before I realized it was Monika staring into my eyes.
638
639“Jesus Christ, Monika; hahaha. You startled me.”
640
641“Sorry I was just trying to see if you were up and well… I can’t sleep without you with me… I need to hold you again…”
642“Aww sweetheart, alright I’ll join you.” I said getting up from the couch and getting into the bed with her.
643
644She snuggled up close to me nestling her head into my chest before wrapping an arm around my side. I moved my hand behind her head and stroked her hair before caressing her cheek with the back of my hand. She smiled with her eyes closed before breathing in and slowly drifting asleep. It felt bittersweet honestly. Here I was cuddling the woman I loved but obviously I couldn’t actually hold her… This is more than enough for me though, much more than I deserve for sure.
645
646“Anon… hehe…” Monika said softly.
647
648I looked down and realized she was sleep-talking; what a cutie. She would occasionally smile and giggle while also saying my name or funny things like “Anoooon, that’s my coffee cup…”
649 
650Once I felt she was well asleep I got back up from my pc and continued my errands, checking in on her every once and awhile. I decided to try and make my area around the computer more comfortable. Afterall I had now thrown away my plans originally for this vacation out the window, and sought to make my time with Monika the most enjoyable and comfy experience I could. I pulled my bed over from the other side of the room closer to my computer, and went to my living room to get a more comfy chair and bring it back. I then set up some blankets and pillows on my chair, and cleaned up my room for the first time in what felt like forever. With Monika back, and her sentience being proven now, I started to feel a new found drive to get things done. After the area around my computer was made sufficiently comfy, I took another look back at Monika to see if she was ok. I sat down and watched her for a moment as she turned herself on her side facing away from me. I heard her beckon my name in her sleep once more as if she was asking where I was “Anooon?”. I watched as she then wiggled herself back up into me making me her big spoon. She nuzzled her head against the bottom of my chin and almost as if she knew a man’s weakness even in her sleep she wiggled her butt against my groin. I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her head as she cooed once more in her dreams. “What a damn cutie pie.” I thought to myself.
651
652I decided then and there I needed to work harder, for when Monika comes to this reality. I steeled myself and decided I would finally start working on myself today, not tomorrow, not next week, today! I got up from my chair and put on a pair of old running clothes, something I bought in the heat of the moment when I first decided to work on myself but lazed around and forgot about it, occasionally thinking I would try again, but never building up enough steam. Not anymore, Monika pushed me to the brink with her love, and I couldn’t just stand by. I went out into the cool air that morning, and decided I would start small for now, and used an app on my phone to find a good one mile path. I ran it, originally going hard at first, but quickly growing tired. The sweat from my brow was stinging my eyes, as the cool air hurt my lungs. I really wanted to quit, that is until I remembered Monika lying there so peaceful and serene with me. I knew one day the promised day would come for me, like it did her. And when it did, I would be able to greet my Monika proudly with open arms. So even as it hurt I pushed on, even as I wanted to just collapse I pushed on. Even as I felt doubts in my own ability, I pushed on. I did it all for her, and in the end I actually completed it. When I got back I took off my drenched clothes and hit the shower. It was refreshing as the warm water comforted me, and my lungs steadily calmed down. I could start feeling the muscles in my legs hurt, but remembered all of this was for her. I had to get better, to be an man my Monika would be proud of. I finished and dried off, getting in some comfortable clothes and sitting at my computer again, under the snug blankets and pillows I set up. By the time I was back, Monika had begun to wake up.
653
654“Morning, my love; hope you slept well.” I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.
655
656“Ahaha, this is nice Anon…” Monika responded looking over her shoulder with a light smile as the lights from the Mojave poked through the window. “Mmmm, let’s just stay like this for awhile darling.”
657
658“Sounds sweet to me, Monika.” I said holding her tight.
659
660We both lied there together for sometime before I decided I should get some work done.
661
662“Hey sweetheart, I’m gonna get some errands done, why don’t you stay here and rest some more; I’ll only be but a few minutes.”
663
664“Oh Anoooooooon, stay just a few minutes moreeeee.” She beckoned while she held onto my waist as I stood up.
665
666“It’s only gonna be like five minutes Monika! You’ll be alright.” I said as I kissed her forehead as she gave me a frown like a sad puppy.
667
668I slung my pack over my shoulder before blowing her a kiss as I went for the door, my hand reached the doorknob and I pulled it open. I stood in the doorway for a moment staring out into the courtyard.
669“That door was a loading screen when we walked in last night…” I thought to myself. It just keeps evolving doesn’t it? I shook my head and walked out closing the door behind me. I got a cute idea and started speaking loudly so Monika could hear me from the inside. “Oh my heart yearns for my Monika! Why must God punish me like so! Being away from my Monika for so long; the pain!” I could hear her giggle from the inside and I knew it worked. Looking back down onto the courtyard I froze in place once more. Victor was staring up at me menacingly. As soon as he noticed me staring back at him he looked downward and shifted his body the opposite direction. I turned and began walking towards the stairs passing a man leaning on the railing having a smoke.
670
671“Morning.” I said to him politely as I passed.
672
673“Tch.”
674
675“Jeez, who swapped the milk for your bran flakes this morning.” I thought to myself.
676
677I walked down the stairs and up to Victor who was staring the opposite direction whistling.
678
679“Ahem.” I announced myself. He spun around quickly and began speaking.
680
681“Well howdy pardner! Fancy meeting you here! Where’s your little girly friend? Uh, Mon-ika right?”
682
683“It’s Mo-ni-ka, and she’s still resting; but that’s besides the point. Victor, I saw you staring at our suite.”
684
685“Whaddya mean pardner? I was just inspecting the structural integrity of this fine establishment!”
686
687I looked down and noticed he only had one single tire track that came into the courtyard and then turned in place; meaning he never left that spot all night.
688
689“Victor, you’ve been here all night just staring at our suite, the tire treads show you’ve never left this spot.”
690
691“Oh well... business is calling pardner gotta check the structural integrity of some buildings in New Vegas! Maybe I’ll see ya there!” He responded before spinning out of the courtyard at high speeds and around the corner towards New Vegas.
692
693I sighed but couldn’t help but find it somewhat funny. As I watched that robot roll off into the Mojave, I could hear Jeannie May showing someone to their room. I quickly registered that this may be the time to steal the bill of sale, and rushed into the front desk room. Lucky for me there was still no loading screen so I swung open the door and quickly vaulted over the counter, and came face to face with the safe. I quickly chose to try and lockpick it but to my surprise it was not the same system anymore. I know it should not have caught me off guard, considering everything that has changed with Monika being here; but I was not expecting it to affect things like that. I started messing around with the lock to no avail. The usual method was now out the window and I actually had to learn something.
694
695“Fuck…” I said aloud in frustration as my first few bobby pins broke trying to open it. In my frustration I jammed one in, and twisted the screwdriver hard: to my amazement it actually worked. I didn’t learn what I did right, but at the moment I couldn't care less. I quickly took the bill of sale and shut the floor safe. Almost as if triggered by me closing the safe I could hear Jeannie May complaining about the front door being open. I quickly ran around the desk as I jammed the Bill of sale into one of my ammo pouches and pretended to look like I was waiting for her.
696
697“Oh howdy dear. Hey when you are waiting here, can you not leave the door open. I work real hard to keep it clean and when you leave it open all the sand blows in. Makes it a hassle to clean you know.” She said as she entered and closed the door behind her, she walked passed me and took her place behind the counter.
698
699“So what can I do for ya, hope you ain’t punching out too early dear.” Those words reminded you of Boone’s wife for some reason. Maybe it was her insistence you stay, you tried to figure out what she may be thinking. They weren’t happy thoughts and you began to worry she may be eyeing to sell Monika already like she did Carla.
700
701“No, we’re not checking out just yet. Actually I need to go check on my wife, I’ll be right back.” I said trying to hide my vitriol.
702
703“Oh, ok dear.” Jeannie said as she waved goodbye. As I turned to walk out I could feel a slight worry in my heart, that somehow Monika would be taken. I know it’s only been like three minutes, yet just having Jeannie around made me worry that much more. I didn’t want to lose my Monika, especially like that. Just the thought of it made my stomach turn, and my heart feel that much more for Boone. On that thought I remembered we needed to visit him today, so Monika can get better at shooting, and surviving in the wastes. I quickly headed up the stairs and too my room where I opened the door and was greeted to the comforting sight of my Monika sitting in bed eating the breakfast I left her.
704
705“Honey, I’m home!” I yelled to her like a sitcom. Monika threw herself out of bed, her mouth still full of food and rushed me as I walked in.
706
707“I missed you!” Monika shouted through her mouth full of food, as she held me tight and pulled me over to the bed.
708
709“Slow down Monika, it’s alright. It was just a few minutes haha!”
710
711“A few minutes sure, but every second we're apart feels like an eternity to me.” She said as she frowned and looked puppy eyed at me. 
712
713“I’m sorry, how can I make it up to you?” I asked.
714
715“Hmm, I’ll think of something. Ahaha yes, I’ll think of something alright dear.” I noticed a spark of fire in her eyes as she said that. 
716
717“Well I’m ready for anything, later that is. For right now though we have some stuff to do.” 
718
719“Really? Like what?” She asked.
720
721“We have to meet Boone.”
722
723“Who is he again?”
724
725“Well, Boone is the man who lost his wife; we’re going to help Boone avenge her.”
726
727“Okay! When do we begin?” She said all fired up.
728
729“When you feel you’re ready love.” I said smiling at her enthusiasm.
730
731“Okay, I’ll get in my armor now then!” She said taking a final bite of her breakfast and downing a bit of water. 
732
733I watched as she grabbed her armored vault suit and went to the bathroom to change. While she did that I double checked our gear, and got into my serious armor as well. When we both were set we put on our backpacks and headed out the door, back into the wastes. We headed down the stairs to the bungalow where Boone sleeps during the day. I reached for the doorknob before stopping suddenly. Perhaps it’s not a good idea to barge into a crippling depressed, PTSD-ridden, sleep deprived scout recon veteran’s house. I turned to Monika and made sure to give her a head’s up before knocking on the door.
734
735“Be careful, Boone is highly unstable and depressed. So watch what you say around him, and remember certain things can set him off okay.” I said in a hushed tone. Monika simply nodded as we knocked on the door.
736
737I noticed the blinds on the window to the side shift quickly before the sound of a deadbolt slide form the door creak ajar.
738
739“What do you want?” He said in a hushed but clearly irritated voice.
740
741“Hey, sorry to bother you but we heard you’re a NCR veteran and I was wondering if you’d be willing to train my wife here in marksmanship.” I said to him
742
743He shifted his cold gaze from me to Monika and his eyes widened before a look of almost fear appeared on his face.
744
745“Carla..?” He said under his breath before shaking his head and opening the door. “Alright get in here quickly.” He responded motioning us into his home.
746
747We both walked into his home before he shut the door and dead bolted it once more.
748
749“You said you want me to train your wife in marksmanship? I suppose I will… on one condition; you’re not from around here, so I can use that.”
750
751“Why’s that?” Monika asked.
752
753“I don’t trust anyone in this damn town. I want you to find something out for me, I don’t know if there’s anything to find but I want you to try. My wife was taken from my home by Legion Slavers while I was on watch. They knew when to come, what route to take and they only took Carla; someone set it up but I don’t know who.”
754
755“You’re trying to track her down then?” Monika said.
756
757“My wife’s dead, I want the son of a bitch who sold her.”
758
759“How… how do you know she’s dead?” Monika said sadly.
760
761“I just know… alright?” He responded.
762
763“What do you want us to do if we find this person?” I asked knowing full well what was to come.
764
765“Bring him out front of the nest when I’m on duty at night. I’ll give you my NCR beret to put on; it’ll be our signal, so I know you’re standing with him. I’ll take care of the rest, I need to do this myself.”
766
767“I’ll see that it’s done.” I responded sternly.
768
769“Good, I’ll make it worth your while, and one more thing, we shouldn’t speak until it’s over.”
770
771“Mr. uh Boone sir, could I talk to you? I’m just curious about everything you’ve gone through… I just… I can’t fathom the pain you must feel. I don’t want to lose my husband, I want to be strong enough so he can rely on me just as much as I rely on him… He means the world to me and…” She began to tear up.
772
773I wrapped my arm around her shoulder trying to comfort Monika.
774
775“We’ll make sure to find the trash that sold your wife, Boone.” I said beginning to turn around to the door.
776
777“Wait. You go search, I’ll train your wife in the meantime. You’ve already shown me enough that I can trust you’ll try to find proof.”
778
779“Thank you sir, so much!” Monika replied to him wiping the tears from her eyes.
780
781“Just call me Boone, alright let’s go.” He said as he grabbed his rifle from his bedside and we all walked out into the sun.
782
783As I turned to walk over to Ranger Andy’s bungalow I heard Monika ask what Carla was like. “Jesus, Monika I don’t know if that’s a good idea…” I thought to myself. However he seemed to sigh and actually begin talking about her. Perhaps this will be good for all of us in the end…
784
785I knocked on Ranger Andy’s door and waited for a response. I heard the door unlock and then swing open with Andy standing there. 
786
787“Hey, can I help you with something?” He asked.
788 
789“Hey, I’m new in town and just thought I’d say hello…” I said trying to progress the conversation since I no longer had the cut and dry topics.
790
791“Oh where are my manners, my name’s Andy, it’s nice to meet you!”
792
793“You were with the NCR right?”
794
795“Yeah was with them, back when my arm and leg worked better. I still like to pretend I’m a Ranger, though. I’ll check in on the station using my radio every once and awhile. Sometimes they stop by saying they’re paying their respects the smug bastards. They haven’t responded yesterday or this morning, spose they got tired of hearing me talk, but it’s still got me worried.”
796“I could go check on the station if you’d like?” I said as my heart sank knowing they must have gotten killed.
797
798“Uh… no, no. They’re gonna think I’m having trouble letting go. They’re good soldiers, I don’t give em enough credit.”
799
800“Hmm, alright well it was nice meeting you!” I said as I began turning around.
801
802“Hey uh… wait a sec. I know what I said but… if you find yourself by Ranger Station Charlie, let me know what you find. I’d appreciate it.”
803
804“Will do, friend.” 
805
806I walked out of the gate and started the path to Ranger Station Charlie. I tried to steel my heart for what was ahead. With Monika around everything was more gruesome and real. I could only imagine the horror I would find at a massacred Ranger Station. Yet to my surprise that was not the case, not at all. As I crested the hill up and got eyes on the encampment I was in shock. There was an NCR Ranger on watch out front, he seemed seriously on edge. 
807
808“What the actual fuck…” I thought to myself. There shouldn’t be a single Ranger here, they should all be dead. In my surprise I ran up to him to ask what is going on, until he raised my his rifle and ordered me to halt. I complied and raised my hands yelling “Don’t shoot, I’m a civilian!” he kept his gun trained on me and started shouting orders for me to come closer slowly, with my hands raised. And if I tried anything funny he would paint the road with my brains. Again I complied but tried to explain I was not a threat, only gaining more ire from him as I did so. That was until a wounded Ranger peaked over the walls to see what was going.
809
810“Hey what the fuck are you doing! Stand down Ranger!” 
811
812“How you know he ain’t another infiltrator!?” Said the man with a gun to my face.
813
814“I can tell by his face, he came by here yesterday and warned us, if it wasn't for him we would be dead you idiot!” At that I couldn’t help but feel my heart pound out of my chest. Did he just say I saved their lives? Infiltrators... my mind was awash with trying to comprehend what was going on. This world wasn't just looking and acting more real, it’s becoming a real, breathing reality! “Hey, buddy you alright? Ya look like you’ve just seen a ghost?” The Ranger said to me.
815
816“Maybe he saw one of them ghouls up near the Repconn facility; those things are real creepy, look like them zombies on the pre-war horror films!” Another Ranger interjected.
817
818“I’m seeing some right now…” I said under my breath. “Ah no, no I’m alright, just was a little worried I was about to be killed by a friendly!”
819
820“Yeah sorry about that those snake bastards nearly got us; can you believe they used one of our squad’s uniforms?  Fucking little vermin go on and on about honor and fighting strength but will pull some underhanded bullshit like that? Fuck em!” The Ranger that halted me earlier responded.
821
822“Why’d you end up coming back down here anyhow?” 
823
824“Ah, well it was actually a request from Ranger Andy, he got worried when no one responded to his radio calls.”
825
826“Ah that old softie. Let em know we’re doing just fine thanks to you! We’ll be back on the radio soon enough just needed to recuperate from that scare.”
827
828“Well, sorry for bothering you, I’ll be heading back now!” I said as I sprinted back up the road still trying to process this ordeal.
829
830I kept running till I made it back to Ranger Andy’s bungalow and just stood in front catching my breath before composing myself and walking inside.
831
832“Hey, you’re back! I guess I really was being worried over nothing!  They told me how you may very well have saved their lives though, I can’t thank you enough!”
833
834“No, you were right to worry… The Legion is getting much more aggressive.”
835
836“Well the least I can do to thank you is show you a little move we call the ‘Ranger Takedown’ it’s good for when those slimy creeps rush you.”
837
838For the next hour and a half Ranger Andy showed me how to properly stance myself and perform a Ranger Takedown. Once again instead of a quick fade to black I had to go through actually learning it for real.
839
840“And there, I think you got it!”
841
842“Thanks a lot Andy.”
843
844“Nothing to thank, appreciate you helping put an old man’s mind at ease.”
845
846“Alright, well see ya Andy. Have a good one.” I said waving goodbye as I exited.
847
848“You too, thanks again Anon.” 
849
850My mind was racing, what was going on with this world. If everyone was really alive, then everything I do from here on out has to be for the betterment of everyone. I couldn’t even think about hurting people or killing them all for no reason anymore. The boundaries in my mind of what’s human began to be questioned. I started to think of talking to Monika until I remembered she was busy training. I quickly thought back to the Ranger’s mention of the Repconn test site, and the ghouls. Since I had a lot of time in the day, I decided it be good to take care of the Bright Brotherhood. I quickly gave my avatar time to calm his breath, then walked the path up toward the site. I noticed the ghouls were much more horrid in their appearance. Their limbs were more gangly as their torn flesh hung. Though most notable was their health. After several shots to the chest with my Service rifle, I realized one wasn’t going down. I quickly switched weapons and aimed for the legs taking them out from under it with my caravan shotgun. Again, it didn’t die, I quickly broke its arms to make sure it couldn’t move, then inspected it. Quickly I could see the issue, they needed vital shots. When I took a stab it’s heart it died, yet everything else I did had no effect. I soon saw this could be an issue. Especially with the number of ghouls in this area. I figured that ghouls only take vital shots now, their bodies able to take ridiculous punishment unless its a heart or headshot. 
851
852This clearly took a more cautious approach, and I worked much slower then I would in any other case. The number of ghouls in and around the building proving to be a challenge even when well equipped due to the new laws of nature they abide by, with Monika’s existence. I eventually reached the bright brotherhood and went to work on their mission. I avoided direct combat with the nightkin because I had no real understanding of their limits and strength anymore. I did all the requests for Harland and Davison, and with the Nightkins gone I returned to inform Bright. Already knowing the next goals, I headed out to buy the thrust control module and pick up the container from Mister RADical. I entered the facility and handed off the items, finally done with their shit I went to the launch panel, corrected their path, sending them on their way. Accomplished and tired of the dreary facility I went down the road back to Novac, and back to my dear Monika. Yet one last goal stood between me and her, a certain heartless bitch who denied a man his wife. 
853
854The sun had begun to set and I knew it was just about time to help Boone. By the time I made it back to Novac it was nice and dark. Flipping on my Pip- boy I knocked on Jeannie May’s door and waited trying to force a more pleasurable smile. 
855
856“Oh hey there friend, something I can help ya with?”
857
858“Yeah there’s actually something really interesting out front of the dino I was wondering if you could take a look at it?” 
859
860“Hmm… alright sure sweetie!” She said in her cheerful tone. It disgusted me…
861
862We made our way up the road until we were in front of the dinosaur. I gazed up top but I couldn’t see Boone or Monika because of the darkness, but I knew he could see us.
863
864“Hmm, so whatdya need to show me?” Jeannie asked.
865
866“Tell me… do you know what happened to Boone and his wife?”
867
868“Ah, that one’s a sad story the girl wanted to go to New Vegas but he had such a sense of duty he just needed to stay and protect our little ole town! She musta got tired of waiting for him and ran off.”
869
870“Is that the story you’re gonna stick with?” I said with a spiteful tone.
871“Pardon?”
872
873“I know you sold his wife to the Legion. I even have the bill of sale.” I said pulling the paper out for her to see.
874
875Her eyes went from kind and welcoming to narrow and full of hate.
876
877“I figured something was amiss with you. You had that look about you that said ‘I know something’. Especially when I came into my office and you were just standing there. You’re a real thorn in my foot you know that boy? I’ve been running this town for some time now and everything has been going swimmingly, but that little tramp was going to take away one of our most important members I couldn’t just let that happen now could I? And now here you are to ruin it.”
878
879“You’re a bitch you know that. I hope you burn in the fires for everything you’ve done.”
880
881“Well, since we’re here. And I’m gonna die, I might as well get something off my chest dearie…”
882
883“Hmm, trying to repent?”
884
885“No… If I had to do it over again, the only difference I would make is I would have the legion take that girl of yours too.”
886
887“You better watch your fucking-” I was cut off by Jeannie May.
888
889“How much you think she would go for? I’m sure more than that hussy of a wife Boone had.” My urge to kill her myself was steadily growing, but my self control and desire to help Boone overpowered it. “You know they would put good money for her, a young beautiful girl like her? If she were lucky she’d be sent off to be a centurion's wife but if she was unlucky… well those legionnaires would have fun… tossing her around…”
890
891In reality I was gritting my teeth and clutching my mouse so hard it began to hurt. I exhaled and composed myself before giving my final regards.
892
893“It’s actually rather funny...” Her face shifted from a look of smug gratification to slight confusion at this sentence. “Every single person who’s tried to harm me this far has always talked about how they want to harm my love, but never me. It’s because you realize that you can't harm me directly, you’re too weak. No you have to try and harm someone I care about. But the thing is Jeannie. You all fail; and you always will.” I said sternly as I placed the beret on my head giving it a tug forward.
894
895She seemed to realize exactly was happening and just smiled her old granny smile as Boone’s round ripped through her skull and her body slammed to the ground.
896
897I spit at her corpse as I turned to walk back toward the dinosaur and head up to talk to Boone, and Monika.
898
899“So that’s it… it’s finished huh? How’d you know?”
900
901
902“I found the bill of sale in her safe.”
903
904“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised they like to keep their paperwork. Thank you for everything you’ve done, training your wife to shoot is the least I could do.” He responded a hint of a smile appearing on his face.
905
906“Do you know what you’ll do? You could always join us, we’re heading to New Vegas.”
907
908“I appreciate the offer, but I have some things I’d like to take care of. But maybe I’ll take you up on that offer one day.”
909
910He seemed to be much more at ease, and had a sense of calm within his eyes that I’ve never seen. I turned and saw Monika lying against the wall on the side dozed off. It’s been a long day after for all of us. 
911
912“Tell your wife when she wakes up, thank you, she… she’s really helped me with my past I’ve been struggling with for sometime.”
913
914I smiled as I picked Monika up in my arms before giving him a nod and walking down and out of the dinosaur. As I continued to our suite I watched as she smiled and said my name in her sleep again.
915I opened the door with my fingers still carrying Monika like a princess and gently laid her on the bed. Making sure everything was okay I took off my gear and rolled into bed with her before wrapping my arms around her like last night. She responded in kind by rolling over to face me, Monika’s face was  peaceful as her hair was everywhere like a second blanket over us both. She then wrapped her arms around me as well, as her legs rubbed against mine. She pressed herself against me, her breasts rubbing on my chest as she breathed. It was quite the sight, while Monika is stunning in the sunlight, she has a strange beauty in the dark. She gave off a feeling of intense peace, and relaxation even from the other side of the monitor. I gently brushed away some of the hair that had fallen in front of her face, and was again hit by her gentle sleeping smile. After that I couldn’t help but give her a kiss on her forehead before heading to sleep as well.
916
917As I took a step back from my computer I looked over at the clock and saw it was midnight. I then checked the in game time and noticed it was the same. Time was flowing equally in game and in my reality. “Monika was now syncing up time with the rest of the world, amazing!” I thought to myself, as I got up from my seat to have a final meal before bed. I was filled with a weird warmth that night. As if Monika’s soul was holding me close in bed, as if I was there with her in Novac. I slowly thought about Monika as I drifted to sleep, mainly what we would do tomorrow on our quest to reach Vegas.
918
919Next= Act 1- Chapter 4: Untapped Potential