The Citadel:

Early Morning:

In the dark corners of the outer walls, three figures, covered by the darkness of the night, sit down by the corner.

"So her next destination is New Carolina?" said a male voice

"Yep.." replied another male "I gave her the push she needed"

"Let's just hope that all this will be worth it.." a female voice added

"It should.. This plan has been set in motion way before any of us have been born.. We have to see it through.."

"I believe Ellie will help us realize our plans. That artifact is as good as ours"

Concerned, the female figure responds "But hasn't she started degenerating?"

"That's true. We don't have much time"

"Have faith. Our predecessors fought and died to make this dream a reality. We owe it to them"

"Faith isn't enough to keep her from degenerating or turning against us. We gotta move fast"

One of the male figures then stand up. "Let's continue to watch her progress. I believe that she is our hope!"

The other male figure then wipes his face with his right hand. "Fine.. But I WILL take action the second I see the situation going dire. That includes ending her life!"

The male figure then turns to the female figure. "You're the only one out of the three of us with the closest contact with her."

The female figure then steps into the moonlit road, revealing her identity. "So you want me to continue surveillance?"

"Obviously. It's what we do best, right?"

"I suppose.. Although, I am getting pretty tired of all this waiting. When's the fun gonna start?"

"Patience. You know of our creed."

"Right. Right"

The male figure nods. "We're counting on you.."

The woman gives a mischievous smile. "I got it. I'll make sure the Pride goes with her"

"Good.. Just a little more and we'll get our prize"

The next day:

5:30am:

The mercenary quietly closes the door of her home. "Gotta go.." she muttered.

As Ellie nears the edge of town, a familiar voice calls to her.

"Damn it.." she muttered as she turns around to see Polonsky running towards her.

"Where do you think you're going, Ellie?"

"Back to the Citadel. Got a war to fight"

Skeptical, the young man walks closer to the mercenary. "Are you sure?"

"Y-Yeah.. I-"

"No need to lie, Ellie. I heard the holotape"

"What?! Wh-What are you-"

"You think you're the only one who can pull off shit like that?"

"Gah... Polonsky I-"

"Save it! I'm coming with you to New Carolina"

Ellie wanted to say more but the young man had already begun to walk towards the subway station. "Same old, Polonsky.." she muttered

Meeting Hall, The Citadel

A few hours later:

Seated in the room were the members of Lyons' Pride and the Rebel Leaders, including Elder Lyons.

The Girdershade Leader, Laren, leans forwards with a sour look on his face. "You're joking, right?"

"You want us to send a squad to New Carolina to check on something that we aren't entirely sure exists?" Reilly added

"I know it's a huge request" Ellie replied "But I know that whatever this artifact is, it could really be useful to the cause. Even if we find nothing there, we can still enlist any rebels in the area to stage an open revolt against the NCR. If we are successful, New Carolina will help us in tying a noose around the NCR!"

"Too big of a risk" Laren replied "Are you forgetting that the NCR's trying to take back the areas we took?"

"That is true.." Elder Lyons said "The NCR will not just let us sit here and relax"

As the leaders were divided in their opinions, Johannes stood up. "I say it's worth a shot"

"You're joking, right?" Laren responded

"No. I'm serious. Ellie does have a point. If she could successfully inspire the people there to rebel, they can help weaken the NCR's hold in Washington."

"But the risk is too high compared to the rewards" Reilly responded "Besides, even if New Carolina rebels, it's not a guarantee that they can rally dent the NCR. I mean, the NCR rolled over them a few years ago.."

"True.. But we can't always play safe. As the saying goes in my old group, 'Fortune favors the bold"

As the leaders, divided in their opinions, begin to bicker about the situation, Elder Lyons stands up. Upon seeing her, the room goes quiet. "Knight Ellie has a point"

"You can't be serious!" Laren responded

The Elder leered at the old man who backed off the second he met her gaze. "She has a point. We need to take risks if we want to succeed in our campaign".

The Elder then turns to mercenary. "You know, sometimes, you remind me of him"

"Him?" The mercenary wondered

"Marcus" the Elder answered "My husband, the Lone Wanderer. Ever since I first met him, he was always the type to take risks. Fortunately, he manages to win every single one of those gambles"

"Uh.. Th-Thank you.."

The Elder smiles as her gaze turns to Arthur. "Sentinel Maxson. You shall lead Lyons' Pride and aid Knight Ellie in her endeavors at New Carolina"

"Yes ma'am!" the Sentinel answered with a salute

As the meeting was about to be adjourned, James stands up. "I want to go with Lyons' Pride"

"James. If this is about your father-"

"It is about dad! I have a lot questions! Why he disappeared when I was only 15!"

Elder Lyons was silent for a while. "Fine.. You can go with the Pride but be careful"

"I will, Mom!"

"I want to go with them too!"

Everyone stares at the source of the voice, who was none other than Audrey.

"You too?" the Elder said

"Yes. Wherever James goes, I go"

"Very well.."

"Thank you, Elder!"

"This just gets better and better.." Vyse muttered

Sometime later:

Citadel Courtyard:

Laren and a Brotherhood Paladin are sitting down in the corner of the courtyard, watching Paladin Gunny train a couple of volunteers.

"New Carolina.." the old man muttered "..I'm telling you, it's a waste of time!"

"Nothing we can do about it now.." the paladin answered "..The Elder has spoken"

The old man gives a disappointed sigh. "I still think it's stupid.. Anwyay, that's not why we're here. Do you have 'it'?"

The paladin nods as he hands over a holotape to the old man.

Laren smiles as he stares at the holotape. "Battle plans, army distributions, notable officers & commanders, weapon capabilities. They're all here right?"

"Yes sir!"

The old man gives a sinister smile. "Alright. Now we only need to wait for the right time to use this"

Citadel Ring A:

Scribe Jameson was checking the archives as Ellie walks into the room. "Ah. What can I do for you?"

"Can I have access to your archives?" the mercenary asked

"What for?"

"I just want to look something up.."

"Well.. Since you're officially a knight, I can give you limited access"

"Thank you"

Ellie then begins to scour the records and one such record catches her eye. Almost immediately, her eyes widen. "Elder Sarah Lyons killed in combat 2278.."

Shocked by what she saw, she turns to Jameson. "What's this supposed to mean? Elder Lyons is alive. Why the hell is this here?"

"Honestly, I do not know.." the Scribe answered

"What do you mean you don't know? How can you not know?"

"To tell you the truth, it's a real mystery. We knew she died in 2278 but then she came back almost a decade later.."

"What the hell..?"

"Maybe I can answer that question"

The mercenary stares at the door and sees Arthur.

"Sentinel.."

It was another one of those rare times that he had shown a serious face. "Come with me"

Lyons' Pride Room:

Ellie and Arthur sit down by the lounge. The Sentinel brings out two bottles of Nuka-Cola as he gives one to the mercenary and sits down.

"So what the hell was that record for?" the mercenary asked

Arthur did not utter a word. He brought out 2 holotapes and gave them to the mercenary.

Ellie quickly played the recording of the first holotape..

LINE

She's dead.. My wife's dead.. Why..? Why did she die? Sarah.. Damn it! It's just like with dad! I wasn't even around to protect her! God damn it! Last time I saw her was a few days ago.. Why?! Why?!

The mercenary paused the recording, her face clearly shows how shocked she was. "She really died.. But then, how is she alive now?!"

"Continue listening.." the Sentinel answered as the mercenary resumes the recording

The only clue that I got was that a group of mercenaries ambushed her squad. The battle took place around Raven Rock. I think I know where those bastards are hiding! I'm gonna look for them and I'm gonna make sure they suffer dearly for what they did! On another note, I find it weird that only her body was missing.. The other members of her squad were there, dead but she wasn't among the dead. It's a long shot but maybe she's alive or I could just be denying reality..

"Shit.. Looks like the Lone Wanderer was really upset.." the mercenary noted

"Of course. If you lose a loved one like that, you'd go ballistic too.. I was shocked to hear the news too and it really hit hard on a lot of us"

The mercenary then plays the second recording

I found them. They were camping out near Raven Rock. I attacked them. Of course, I made sure not to kill them because I wanted answers. But to my shock, I saw Sarah. She was alive and well.. I couldn't believe my eyes.. I had to poke her a couple of times before I believed what I saw but she was alive.. Naturally, I demanded answers but Sarah told me that she's as clueless as me. That was when one of the mercenaries explained the situation. Turns out the Western Brotherhood wanted her dead so that they can appoint someone who was easy to control. Fucking shit.. At least, those assholes hired the wrong people, turns out these mercs were rescued by Owyn Lyons a few years back and looks like they have enough respect for him to not kill his daughter. Thank God for that.. I thought I lost her.. Anyway, from this day forward, I'll be acting as if Sarah's dead to avoid any trouble. As much as I want to go to California, I heard it's far and I don't even know how to get there.. But I'll find a way to get back at those bastards but for now, I'm just glad that Sarah's alive..

The room was silent. Ellie stares at Arthur who seemed to be deep in thought

"So Elder Lyons was alive after all"

"Yes she was.." the Sentinel answered with his face hanging low "After she 'died', the Western Brotherhood wasted no time in appointing new elders. After several failed elders, I became the new elder. I was caught up with the fame of being the youngest elder that I.. That I.. I turned my back on the ideals that both elders taught to me.. The Brotherhood was united again and just like our Western brothers, we looked down upon the people and simply saw them as nuisances.."

"Arthur.."

"I then went to Boston, attempting to claim the region for the Brotherhood. I even enlisted the help of a Vault Dweller.. Then disaster struck when a group of hooded individuals stormed our base, including our airship. Killed so many of my brothers, including my officers. To top it all off, some of the dead were people who I considered to be my blood brothers.. And among the hooded individuals was the Lone Wanderer.."

"What?!"

"Yes.. After I begun to turn my back on the teaching of Owyn Lyons, the Wanderer was the first to criticize me but I shrugged him off and even threatened to expel him from the Brotherhood.."

"W-Whoah.."

Flashback:

The Prydwen; Command Center:

The airship was filled with the smell of gunpowder and bullet casings & blood cover the walls and floor. The sound of gunfire still roared throughout the halls..

Arthur was kneeling down on one leg, his right arm was bleeding, an injury that came from a blade. He stares, with anger, at the hooded individual in front of him. "Marcus! You traitor! Why did you do this?!"

"You calling me a traitor?" the hooded figure said "You turned your back on everything that Owyn Lyons built! You became a puppet to those rubes at California!"

"What do you know of the Brotherhood?! You're just a Vault Dweller who happened to be lucky! You weren't born into the order!"

The hooded figure then punches Arthur in the face. "SHUT UP! Don't you dare lecture me on what the Brotherhood is! The Brotherhood that Owyn Lyons built! That is the REAL Brotherhood of Steel in my eyes! If anyone's a traitor then it's you!"

"Fuck you! All because you did a lot of stuff for the Brotherhood, you think you're all that!"

"You still don't fucking get it, do you?" The hooded figure said as he grabs Arthur by the shirt and proceeds to lift him up. "You're being used, you fucking idiot!"

"Arthur!"

The figure turns around and sees Elysse, who was donning a customized Merc troublemaker armor.

"Get away from him!" she shouted as she pulls out an Assault Carbine

In the blink of an eye, the hooded figure drops Arthur and quickly closes the distance between him and Elysse. The Brotherhood Paladin attempted to fire her weapon but the figure pushes the gun's muzzle upward, making her miss all of her shots.

The figure then flicks his right wrist, revealing a hidden blade. He then plunges the blade on the Paladin's leg, and punches her in the stomach, effectively incapacitating her.

"Elysse! Damn it Marcus!" Arthur shouted as he tries to get up but could not.

"So na?ve" Marcus muttered "..Don't even know when someone's toying with you. Oh well, you'll see the light, eventually"

Ellie was speechless as Arthur continues to tell his story..

"After that, Marcus had me and Elysse incarcerated at their camp as they decimated all of our positions in Boston.."

"Shit.." the mercenary uttered "..That must've been tough.."

"Yeah.."

"But more importantly, he also had a hidden blade?"

"Yep the same kind of blades you have.. Make me feel nostalgic.."

The mercenary could sense the melancholy coming from Arthur's voice

"Eventually, I saw the light and realized that I was being used by the Western Brotherhood.."

"How did you realize that?"

"Well.. He showed me the recordings that you heard and.. more.."

"More..?"

"Nothing.. So after realizing my mistake, I returned to the Capital Wasteland and stepped down as Elder.. The Western Brotherhood tried to convince me otherwise but I refused"

"So who led the Brotherhood?"

"From 2289 to 2297, it was the same old scene, incompetent elders took the helm, some even got themselves killed.. But 2298 was the year when things started to change.. All of a sudden, Elder Lyons returns to the Citadel alive and well.. At first, everyone was shocked and couldn't believe it, some even thought she was a synth. But it didn't take long for everyone to acknowledge her as the true elder and that's the story.."

"Wait.. I thought she was supposed to hide out because the Western Brotherhood was after her? Why did she reveal that she was alive?"

"I don't really know.. When I asked her, she wouldn't give me a straight answer.."

"How about James, everyone knows he's Elder Lyons' son. What's his story?"

"James joined the Brotherhood when he was only 8 years old. Marcus claimed that he was just a kid he found on the wastes, just like Vyse."

"And everyone just accepted that?"

"Yes. The Wanderer had a lot of influence in the Brotherhood"

"So how did everyone know that he was Elder Lyons' son?"

"Easy. Once his mother came back, a few people caught on and word spreads fast.."

"Oh.."

"Well it worked out ok"

"Well..uh.. That's great.."

The room was filled with awkward silence. Arthur then looks at the ceiling. "You know, I can't help but feel that all these events are connected somehow.."

"What do you mean?"

"The hooded individuals, the artifact that Marcus was looking for, the Western Brotherhood's schemes, Elder Lyons' return.. All of it.. I feel that all these events are connected somehow.."

The room was silent once more and the atmosphere was filled with a sense of melancholy.

3 days later:

5:30pm:

The members of Lyons' Pride are trekking a vast desert as winds begin to move faster..

"Sandstorm.. Looks like we need to find shelter" Arthur said as they attempt to look for shelter.

An hour later:

Lyons' Pride finds shelter behind a hill.

"How much further?" Vyse said as he finishes lighting the campfire

"Based on the mark Johannes put on my map, I'd say we're still a bit far away.." Ellie answered

"Oh great.." the knight sergeant responded sarcastically ".. We're really doing a lot just to satisfy Ellie's obsession with the Lone Wanderer.."

"Oh. Is that a hint of jealousy I feel?" Marina said mischievously as she brings out some Mirelurk Cakes "Aw.. Poor little Vyse, unable to win the heart of the woman he loves!"

"Sh-Shut up, Marina!" the knight sergeant responded with a red face

"Oh look, the little knight's face is all red.."

Vyse simply grumbled, turned around and walked towards the corner of the hill.

Meanwhile, a group of cloaked individuals, donning different merc armor and gas masks, see the campfire and proceed towards the hill.

A few minutes later, Ellie gets a strange feeling of danger. Wanting to be on the safe side, the mercenary activates her 'eagle vision' and scans the surrounding area but finds nothing.

"Hey Ellie!" Vyse shouted from afar "What are you doing?"

As Vyse slowly walked towards the mercenary, a cloaked figure jumps from the top of the hill and lands on top of the knight sergeant.

As the other members of the Pride scramble, the other cloaked figures jump down from the hill and catch the unsuspecting soldiers by surprise.

Ellie attempts to help Vyse but before she could do so, another assailant appears on top of her. However, the mercenary manages to grab the assailant's arm and throws the person to the side.

"Vyse!" she said as she runs towards the knight sergeant

Before she could reach the knight sergeant, another figure lands in front of the mercenary.

With a flick from her wrists, the mercenary attempts to incapacitate the figure but the figure's armguards prove to be too tough for her blades to penetrate. He then flicks his own wrists, revealing a pair of hidden blades.

"No way.. You have them too?" the mercenary muttered as she parries an attack from the figure

But before she could continue the fight, a tall bulky figure appears. "Enough!"

Ellie pauses as she stares at the bulky figure, who has a gun pointed at Arthur's head. "You there! Surrender or your friend's brains will splatter the ground"

Having no other choice, the mercenary surrenders.

"Take them away" the figure said as the other individuals begin to blindfold the members of Lyons' Pride.

Sometime later:

After walking for some time, the mercenary notices that they had entered a cave.

"Where are we..?" Vyse whispered

"Dunno.." Ellie replied "From what I can hear, sounds like a camp. Shit.. Must be a raider camp.."

"HEY!" one of the figures shouted "Quiet over there!"

A few minutes later:

The members of Lyons' Pride were forced to sit down on chairs.

After her blindfold was taken off, Ellie notices that they were in a barely lit room and they were arranged in a circle.

The bulky figure then goes to the center of the circle. "Now then, all of you will tell me who and what you are.."

"The fuck are you talking about?" Ellie answered

The figure walks closer to the mercenary. "Smart mouth. Your little group was walking dangerously close to our hideout and your equipment doesn't really tell us that you're just regular wastelanders. So who are you people?"

Ellie stays silent as the figure goes to James, who was seated next to the mercenary.

"Hmm.. You look familiar.." The figure said "So who do you work for?"

"Wasting your time, asshole! You ain't getting anything from me!"

"Oh really?" the figure said as he places his hidden blade just above James' throat "I have ways of making people talk"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"

The figure looks behind him and sees Audrey. He walks closer to her and stares at her face. Audrey gives a sour look in return.

"Audrey..?" the figure muttered

Surprised, Audrey could only mutter "What?"

"Audrey.. Is that you?"

"How do you know me?"

The figure then orders his men to release the prisoners.

"What the hell?" Vyse said

"Audrey. Do you know this man?" James asked

"N-No"

The figure then removes his mask, revealing a face filled with scars, along with a black eye patch on top of his left eye.

"Those scars, that eye patch.." Audrey muttered "..Sithis?"

The man smiles. "It is you Audrey. It so good to see you again"

"Huh?" Vyse uttered "So you do know him"

"Y-Yes but it was years ago.."

Lounge

5 minutes later:

The members of Lyons' Pride sit down as they try to make sense of what transpired.

Sithis then emerges from the other room. "I'm sorry for jumping on you guys like that. But we're pretty cautious you see"

"Cautious?" Arthur wondered

"We're part of the resistance in New Carolina. Me and my crew go by the name, Scattered Bones"

"Scattered Bones.." Ellie muttered "Sounds familiar.."

"Anyway, if Audrey's here, I'd guess that you are all members of the Brotherhood"

"Yes.." Arthur answered "We're Lyons' Pride, a special squad working for the Brotherhood"

"Lyons, eh.. I knew Owyn Lyons when he was a bit younger.."

"What?"

"He and I were partners once that was until we were sent east. We both shared the sentiment. That protecting the people must come first above all else."

"Wait!" Vyse said "You were part of the Brotherhood of Steel?"

"Yes.. We went against normal regulations. Not only did we recruit the locals, who were considered to be inferior, we also provided security and medical assistance with the technologies that we acquired"

"Yes it's true but not because of a raider attack.."

"What do you mean?"

"My opinion on the matter was they want absolute control over the entire Brotherhood"

"Politics.." Marina muttered

"Yes.. Politics. The world may have ended but shit like this lives on"

"So what did happen that day?" James asked

Sithis held his head low. "Audrey was only 7 years old when they attacked the base.."

"Audrey was in Chicago?" James wondered

Flashback:

Bunker Alpha, Chicago

Inside the steel walls of the base, the ground begins to shake and alarms echo throughout the halls.

"Shit! We're under attack!" Sithis, whose left eye was still intact, shouted as he grabs his M16A4.

"Oh no.." a tall blonde male uttered ".. Nora! Audrey!"

"Morris! Calm down!" Sithis said "We gotta stay calm or else something worse may happen!"

"G-Gotcha.."

"Where are they?"

"Th-The m-medical camp in the surface!"

"Ok.. Grab a gun and let's get moving!"

"R-Right!" Morris said as he grabs a M-14.

Morris was Audrey's dad and one of my closest friends. He was a real brother to me. We covered each other's back. We were an unstoppable duo.

Bunker Hallways:

As Sithis and Morris traversed the halls, a squad of raiders spots them and begins to open fire with their laser weapons.

"Lasers?!" Morris muttered

"They look like raiders but their weapons don't suggest otherwise!" Sithis remarked as he and Morris return fire.

In less than 5 minutes, both men manage to eliminate the enemy squad. Sithis checks on one corpse and sees that the person is wearing a familiar necklace.

"A Brotherhood dogtag?" Sithis wondered

"Sithis! Come on! We don't have time!"

"Right!" he said as he picks up the dogtag

A few minutes later:

Upon reaching the surface, the duo find that base in ruins as debris, fire and bodies were scattered all over the place.

"Shit.." Sithis muttered

"No.." Morris muttered with dread "Audrey! Nora!"

The duo then begin to frantically search the ruins for any signs of Morris' wife and child.

After a few minutes, someone replies to Morris' cries. "Daddy!"

"Audrey?" the father muttered as he heard the cry "Audrey!"

Sithis and Morris then began to frantically dig through the rubble. Unfortunately, another squad of raiders attack.

"NOT NOW!" Morris shouted as he fires his M-14, hitting one of the raiders in the head and another in the chest.

"Morris!" Sithis said as he opens fire on the enemy squad "I got this! You dig Audrey out!"

"Right! Thanks!"

While I provided cover fire, Morris frantically dug to save his daughter. Luckily, he was successful and to top it all off, Nora was with Audrey. Other than a few scrapes and bruises, both were ok. After pulling them out of the wreckage, we retreated back into the base sicne the surface was crawling with enemies.

Bunker Alpha:

"Audrey, Nora are you alright?" Morris asked as he checks up his wife and daughter.

"We're ok, Morris" Nora answered

The base shakes once more as part of the roof collapses.

"Shit! We gotta get outta here!" Sithis said as he notices an individual on his right

Acting fast, he aims his rifle at the individual.

"Whoah" the man said "It's me"

"Damn it, Gerard!" Sithis said "I almost shot you"

Entering into the light was a tall black-haired middle-aged man.

Gerard was another companion of ours. Him, me, Nora, Morris and couple of other guys were quite the team, we were known as Sparrows. Gerard was our tech expert and an expert hacker. He helped decode a lot of the tech that we uncovered.

The base shakes once more.

"No time! Let's move!" Morris said

"Where to?" Sithis asked

"There should be a tunnel network inside the Elder's office" the father answered

"Whoah where did you get that info?" Gerard asked

"Long story. I'll tell you later!"

"To the Elder's office it is!" Sithis said as the group moves towards their destination

Elder's office:

As they reach the office, the group finds the room empty.

"Where's the tunnel?" Sithis asked

"Right here.." Morris said as he pushes a panel on the wall. However, instead of a door, a terminal appeared "Wh-What?"

"Morris.. Please tell me that everything's ok.." Sithis said

"I don't wanna lie, man" Morris said "But looks like the system's locked down this area.."

"Great.. Gerard! Think you can hack it?"

"I'll try but it'll take a few minutes!" the hacker responded as he starts hacking.

Just then, Sithis spots waves of enemies headed towards their location.

"Shit we got incoming!" he said as he prepares a barricade just outside of the room.

"Daddy.." Audrey said as she grabs her father's shirt ".. Will we be ok?"

"Everything's gonna be fine, sweety.." the father said as he pats his daughter's head "Now just stay with mommy and be a good girl, ok?"

"Ok.."

"Good"

Morris then goes to the frontlines to support his friend.

It felt like me and Morris were defending our position for hours but it was only 30 minutes.. Gerard wasn't finish hacking the terminal yet and the enemy seemed to be endless..

"Gerard!" Sithis shouted as bullets whistle past him "What the hell is taking you so long!"

"This terminal's not an easy hack, bro!"

"Work faster, then! We can't hold out much longer!"

A few seconds later, the hidden door opens.

"Got it!" Gerard shouted as Morris and Sithis move back into the room.

As they made their escape, Morris spots one of the raiders holding a heavy weapon.

"ROCKET LAUNCHER!" he shouted as he pushes Sithis into the room.

As Sithis lands into the floor, he takes a look at the door, which took a hit from a rocket, causing part of the roof to collapse.

"Morris!" he shouted

"I'm ok!" the father replied "Get outta here! I'll find another way around!"

"Hell no! I'm not leaving you!"

"There's no time! Go! Nora! Take Audrey and go!"

"SHIIIT!"

Morris was cut off.. We had no choice but to abandon him.. Most likely, he died fighting those 'raiders'.. Damn it.. It should have been me who was left behind..

After that, we made our way through the t-->>

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