Mutant Survival Guide To The Commonwealth

POV Rio

I had been in the vault for 6 days, and I believe I had finally finished learning the spell to a point where I could use it for an hour or so.

'Okay, time to test it.'

I went to the mirror and used the spell. I first made myself look like my past like. It was the face I was most familiar with. But when I tried to do so, I felt wrong. And when I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt a strange sense of disgust or fear. Like what I was staring at wasn't me, but an impostor. I dropped the spell, and it went away.

'The heck was that?'

My heart was racing, and I was very worried and a bit confused.

'Okay, let's try a different face and see if I still feel that way.'

I use the spell again, this time I use Nate's face. And it works perfectly. No sense of revulsion or wrongness. The face had a few errors that I had to change, but overall it worked exactly as intended. I spent a while fixing the disguise before stopping due to my low Mana.

'Hmm, so it isn't the spell. Or maybe it is, but something in my psyche doesn't like seeing what I know was me but isn't me anymore. Eh, who knows what matters is restoring my Mana and getting out of here.'

I had collected all that I could from the vault, and I was eager to see the outside world. Partially because I was worried I was not in the Commonwealth I knew about, and partially because I wasn't sure how dynamic the world would be. Like, if I waited too long, would Preston and the Minutemen all perish at the hands of the raiders? Or perhaps Preston would take his life even if he survived. Or maybe they were killed by the ferals. There were too many unknowns, but I wouldn't answer any from just hiding in the vault.

I carried only the M1911 and placed everything else in the game inventory. I was wearing a Vault Suit and nothing else. I had to admit the Vault Suits were very comfortable, but I knew I would have to ditch them soon after leaving the vault. I needed as few leads to the vault as I could. At least for now. If I enter the vault later on and leave with vault suits, then no one would be surprised or suspicious of where I got them.

Once I was ready, I got onto the vault elevator and rode it to the surface with my Nate disguise on. As the elevator arrived at the surface, I shielded my eyes from the light and took my first look at the surface.

'Huh, it's kind of just as crappy as I expected.'

I could see Sanctuary Hills and the surrounding area. It was not in the best of condition. But it wasn't a frozen hellscape, and the air was breathable, so I was satisfied enough with what I saw.

CAW

The call of a nearby bird snapped me out of my thoughts, and I looked at the Watchers before collecting whatever I could from the area. It wasn't much, but some more healing supplies were nice. But it also had a Nuka Cola.

'I really want to try this.'

I licked my lips and placed the Nuka Cola in the bag I had on me. Then I started the small walk to Sanctuary Hills. I didn't talk to Codsworth; instead, I took a detour to a small bunker behind one of the houses so I could change and drop the disguise. I found the bunker and, after making sure I wasn't being followed or watched, I entered.

Inside the bunker was a makeshift sleeping area with plenty of supplies and a safe. Unfortunately, I couldn't open the lock. But I did find some interesting items. An FN Five Seven with 9 rounds and an old army uniform with a cap. It wasn't perfect, but I would take what I could get. I put everything I found in my inventory and equipped the army uniform. It gave me a boost to my Strength and Agility, while the cap gave me a boost to my Perception. Once I was changed and got everything of value I could, I left the bunker and entered Sanctuary.

I figured my first stop would be the hardest one. I step over to the house of Nate and see Codsworth tending to long-dead bushes. 

"Oh, I must admit I have never seen a creature like you before. Pray tell, what are you?" Codsworth asks while keeping a distance.

"I am... me. My name is Rio. Do I have it right to say this is the house of Nate and Nora?" I ask.

"A Mii? What's that? And it's nice to meet such a polite sir. But yes, this is the residence of Nate and Nora. Do you know where they are or perhaps their descendants? Unless... You are their descendant, which... I don't mean to be rude, but you look nothing like them," Codsworth says while eyeing me up and down.

"No, I am not a Mii, I am just saying I am me, and nothing else is important. I am also likely the only one of my kind, so it doesn't matter much anyway. But we are getting off track. I am here to deliver some very unfortunate news. There's no easy way to say it... So here it goes. Nate and Nora were murdered, and Shaun was kidnapped," I say with a quiet tone, and take off my hat to show my condolences.

Codsworth freezes, and it takes him several minutes to recover.

"T-th-they... are dead? Are you positive? And young Shaun has been taken... Surely, this must be a misunderstanding. Or perhaps a very insensitive joke. Yes, a joke that is what it must be," Codsworth starts to deny the truth.

"I am not joking, lying, or fibbing, I just came from Vault 111. I even have some suits from the vault. I came here to ensure that the possibly only surviving family member was made aware," I tell him while showing the vault suits I found in the vault.

"But... But... This can't be... 200 years. I have been waiting for 200 years. Hoping that they would one day come out of that vault, or at least their descendants. But you're telling me that all that was for nothing. What am I supposed to do if not serve the mister and missus? Unless... Perhaps, I can find young Shaun. If the attackers took young Shaun, then at least one member of my family lives. I can serve him," Codsworth reasons.

I frown a bit more and try to think about how best to break it to him.

'Do I even say anything. I mean, I don't know for certain that the attack happened over 60 years ago. The computers could have been wrong. Ah, who am I kidding? Occam's razor. I have more evidence to suggest the attack happened 60 years ago than evidence suggesting it happened anytime recently.'

I had dug into the files of the vault computers and got timestamps of when certain things happened in the vault. With that and the fact that I knew the plot of Fallout 4, and further, it was October 3rd, 2287. Most evidence pointed towards the most likely and least reaching conclusion that Shaun is likely well past 60 at this point.

'But, I don't even know if he is alive. This universe already doesn't have a Sole Survivor, so maybe the Institute killed Shaun after they were done with him.'

As I was contemplating what to say, Codsworth noticed I was thinking about something.

"What is it? Is there something else I should know?" Codsworth asks with a slightly worried tone.

"Um... Well, um... I-I... Well. Sigh. Look, I could lie to you and say nothing, but I feel that would be wrong. False hope is often worse than no hope at all. So I will be blunt and say that Shaun was likely taken over 60 years ago. It's looking less and less likely. Even if you could find him, his captors have had 60 years to groom him into the perfect follower, soldier, leader, or whatever else they wanted him for," I say bluntly.

"Six... Sixty years ago? That long... But if that is the case, then... Then there is truly no hope," Codsworth says while sagging, and I feel like he might give up, so I try to give him at least a little hope.

"Well, there is a chance. After all, there are very few reasons someone would go through all the trouble of breaking into a secure vault, get past Vault-Tec security, and then get the right override codes to steal an infant child. So if they went through all that effort, they must have decent technology. And perhaps they wouldn't kill Shaun. So there is a slim, probably very slim chance he could still be alive. But I doubt he would recognize or know about you," I say while avoiding eye contact.

"I-I... Thank you. Thank you for bringing me this news and for trying to give me a little hope. But I can't let this keep me down. I have to keep going for the Mister and Missus. Even if it is very unlikely, there could be clues left by these attackers here in Sanctuary. Come, let us explore around the old neighborhood. We may yet find something," Codsworth says with a little energy injected back into him.

I nodded and we explored the neighborhood, but it was as expected, and nothing was found. Well, nothing but some nasty critters taking up residence. A few groups of Bloatflies and a couple of Radraoches. I can now say with absolute certainty that Bloatflies are my least favourite thing to deal with. There were two kinds we ran into. A Kamikaze Bloatfly that flies at you before exploding into a blast of radiation and maggot-infested guts, and the standard one that shoots living maggots as projectiles.

After I was done retching my guts out and vigorously scrubbing myself of the imaginary filth, I returned to talk with Codsworth, but with a noticeably more twitchy disposition.

"I am sorry you had to deal with that unpleasantness. I seem to have let some truly vile creatures take up residence in the neighborhood," Codsworth apologizes.

"It's not fine. But I will just have to deal with it. Didn't think I would get traumatized during my first day in the wasteland, but oh well," I say while actively trying to repress what I just experienced.

"We didn't find any signs of the attackers. I can only think of one other place you could try for more info. The town of Concord is still populated. It's just a bit south of here. If you follow the road for less than an hour, you can't miss it. But be warned, the residents are a bit... Uncouth. The last time I tried going there, the residents beat me with sticks and rocks until I had to run away. They didn't seem very friendly to robots, but perhaps they will be friendlier to you," Codsworth gave me an option.

I thought about it and figured it was worth a shot to at least take a peek at Concord to see if the Minutemen had arrived yet. And I could scout the nearby area anyway.

I gathered some supplies and asked Codsworth to clean out any remaining enemies left in Sanctuary while I was gone, and he agreed readily. Most of the bugs didn't even try to attack him, and their attacks were basically useless.

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Authors Note:

I thought hard about what Rio would do and what I would do in this situation, and thought that it would be cruel to lie to Codsworth and trying to pretend you were either Nate or his descendant would be risky and unlikely to succeed. As for the outfit, I thought it made sense since I figured most men would be drafted, and based on the bunker's decent stock, it wouldn't be surprising if the owner was trained in firearms or even prior military. Lastly, I think Bloatflies would be one of the nastiest creatures to come across in the wasteland. They shoot their babies (Maggots) at you, and when they die, they often explode into gory bits of flesh. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. Oh, and they can fly, so you can't get away easily. And they are great at avoiding attacks if you go with the ranged option. And you can't even kill some easily. Such as the super-powerful Legendary bloatfly from Fallout: New Vegas. Anyway, until next time, Ciao.