POV Rio
The journey to the Boston Common from the Combat Zone was somewhat long, as it required avoiding enemies. Most things can't see in the dark, but those that can usually travel in hordes. It was mostly mutated creatures that hunted at night, and it was also the time when massive hordes of feral ghouls would wander the streets. While ferals can't see in the dark, they do sense others by sound, which leads to Super Mutants, Raiders, and Gunners to close down their bases and hide during the night.
Now there are always exceptions. Places such as the Combat Zone are located in areas that are difficult to access without passing through several other groups. It is also uniquely situated in an area that is outside the usual areas where ferals tend to roam. And creatures are mostly ambush predators and avoid direct attacks unless they think they can kill the prey without damage. Thus, the Combat Zone would still be active until later hours of the night. Though according to Cait even they would lock things up by midnight to avoid the more dangerous hours.
Once we arrived at the Boston Common, Cait was pretty nervous and didn't want to follow me inside.
"Rio, are ye crazy? This is Swan's territory. Nobody travels through here, not even muties," Cait tries warning me.
"Relax, I have everything under control," I respond calmly.
We get closer and closer to the pond where Swan calls home. I pause at the shore and spot Swan as he is sleeping.
'Hmm, interesting, it seems he can breathe underwater.'
I could see his lungs moving, and yet no water was entering his system. But the observations had to stop there as I had a job to do. I started carving some symbols into the dirt while Cait looked at me like I was insane. I created some and then repeated the process 4 more times. Once I was done, I cast the spell I had prepared.
WOOOSH
5 beams of energy surged from the symbols I created in the dirt and then formed into a bubble of nearly see-through energy that appeared briefly before vanishing. I waited for any signs that it failed and then moved to test it. I placed my hand inside the barrier and snapped my fingers. But instead of the usual snapping sound you would expect, no sound was made.
"Well, that finishes that," I say with a satisfied smile.
"Wh-what was that?" Cait asks in a whisper.
"You don't need to whisper anymore. No sound will ever reach Swan now. Heck, you could detonate a bomb and he wouldn't even notice it. Even shockwaves can't reach him. But I suppose the heat from the explosion would still reach him. And physical objects. So don't shoot him or throw rocks at him, and we should be fine. Oh, and that's magic," I respond in a normal voice.
Cait freaks out and goes to shut my mouth, but I avoid her hands with a grimace.
"Gross, have you ever even washed your hands?" I say while making some distance.
"Quiet! Before you wake Swan, I ain't dyin' because you want to play make believe," Cait says in a louder whisper.
I roll my eyes and point my gun in the air. She guesses what I am about to do and tries to stop me.
BANG
The gunshot goes off and echoes for a bit. Admittedly, I figure that might have been a bad idea, but it was unlikely that anything would come into the Boston Common, as even wild animals avoid this area, and ferals don't come near here either. But as I am thinking this, Cait looks like she is about to have a heart attack and freezes in place and braces for something.
She closes her eyes in fear, but opens one eye after not hearing anything for a bit. Then she relaxes a bit and looks around in confusion.
"I told you it was fine. I cast a Silence spell around Swan. Those runes I carved should last until someone breaks the spell. But honestly, that is unlikely to happen as very few have the magical knowledge, let alone the magical capacity to do so. And if you look at where I carved the runes, you will notice that they are gone," I calmly explain to Cait.
"Bu-but what? Wait, you tellin' me magic is real?" Cait says with shock.
"I told you it was when we were heading here, but you didn't believe me. But yes, magic is real, and in case you are curious, yes, you can use it. In fact, you have some of the greatest mana capacity I have seen in a human so far. With some training, you should be able to use magic. Of course, I can't guarantee you have a talent for magic. I know of a mage that was brilliant when it came to learning magic, but never had the capacity to cast it. And I have heard of someone with the exact opposite problem. It's all luck-based," I say with a shrug. (It rhymes with Grug)
Cait looks befuddled, but I move away from Swan's pond and over to a clearing. I do some measurements to make sure it is the right size, and then I send the landing order for the AHO. It only takes around a minute for the AHO to arrive and then land. Curie and Dogmeat get off as I plan on heading to Goodneighbor on foot. The reason was that Goodneighbor was not that far from the Boston Common, and I could mark quite a few locations on my map on the way. The last reason was that Curie wanted to be taken to Dr. Amari to attempt to transfer her mind into a human body.
I had already told her that it was technically possible if she gave me some time to develop a synthetic body for her, but she was surprisingly impatient. I couldn't blame her, as that research could take quite a few months, as I have many things on my list of research. I wasn't too upset either, as I needed to go to Goodneighbor anyway, as there were several things I could get from the people there and a companion or two.
Once I had taken all the needed gear from the Vertibird, I sent it back into the air, and we started our journey to Goodneighbor. Our journey took us past Vault 114, where I used my magic eyes to see if Nick Valentine was present, but I didn't see him, so we didn't cause any problems for the Triggermen and gangsters that occupied the vault. Other than the vault, there wasn't much between us and Goodneighbor, and I suppose that was why Goodneighbor settled so near the Boston Commons. Very few things lived in the area because of the Super Mutant Behemoth. We did at least see some Raider and Gunner camps. But most were locked up tight to avoid trouble from the hunters of the night.
Speaking of hunters in the night, we only had one creature come near us, and it was a pack of mongrels. I was able to talk with them, and due to them falling under the category of "forest" creatures, they led us through a safer passage to get to Goodneighbor quicker. To thank them, I gave them some food and water. Cait looked at me like I was some sort of alien when I was talking with the mongrels and even managed to get them to help us. We arrived at the south gate to Goodneighbor, and I stopped everyone. I could see an annoyance near the entrance and wanted to have some fun before he died. That and I wanted to test something out.
POV Finn
It was another slow night. I didn't expect any idiots to come crawling into Goodneighbor this early in the morning, but the boss insisted that someone keep watch for any new marks. As I was reaching to take another hit from my cigarette, I heard some footsteps.
'Finally.'
But as the footsteps approached, I thought I heard something really odd. It was what I thought was breathing, but it was very loud and sounded almost mechanical. Then I felt like the air was getting colder.
(AN: Play Darth Vader Breathing Sound Effect on YouTube if you want to hear the exact sound. )
What walked through the door was a very tall man, or perhaps a machine, in completely black head-to-toe armor.
"Ehem, Hold up there. First time in Goodneighbor? Can't go walking around without insurance," I say while trying to look tough.
respirator noises
The man doesn't respond, just stands there and continues to breathe. I was starting to get nervous, and it felt like it was getting colder and colder. I pull out my switchblade and start playing with it to distract myself and intimidate him. He takes a few steps closer, and I feel a cold sweat all over my body.
Gulp
"Well, you going to say something or are you just going to stand around all day?" I say while looking at his metallic helmet.
"You would be wise to surrender," the metal man said in a voice that caused goosebumps to appear all over my body.
"Y-you think I'm scared of you?! Think again, I'm not scared of you, I've seen things that would make you wet your metal drawers," I say while starting to think this is a bad idea.
"Then you will die braver than most," he said while raising his hand.
Suddenly, I felt as if something was grabbing my throat, and I felt my feet leave the ground. I try to grab or remove the invisible hands I feel enclosing my throat, but I grasp at air.
Choking sounds
I feel my vision darken, and I think that this is it, but then the invisible hands vanish, and I fall to the ground.
"Gasp, Cough, cough, cough," I cough and try to get away from the monster.
"Have mercy, eugh, please, please," I beg while still trying to crawl away.
"There is no mercy," is the monster's response.
I manage to get up and I start to run away, but I bump into someone, and the person stops me. I panic, but when I look back, the metal man is gone.
"Whoa, where's the fire?" Mayor Hancock asks.
"Ah, Hancock, I-I was just uh, just taking a smoking break," I replied, but I was wondering if what just happened was a bad trip.
"You see, Finn, I don't quite believe that. I've been getting word that you have been doing that extortion crap again, and well, I thought we had this handled when I talked to you before," Hancock says with a smile.
"What do you care? I only do it to outsiders. They ain't part of Goodneighbor, so as far as my boss and I see it, we are doing our job protecting the neighborhood," I defend myself.
"No love for your mayor, I told you guys to knock this stuff off. When they come to Goodneighbor, they are guests. Not marks," Hancock responds.
"You're soft, Hancock. You keep letting outsiders walk all over us, one day there'll be a new mayor," I say angrily.
"Come on, man. This is me we're talking about. Let me tell you something," Hancocks says while motioning to have me come closer.
As I get close enough, I feel pain in my abdomen and look down to see Hancock stabbing me repeatedly. I try to say something, but I can't and fall down and start bleeding out. As I am bleeding out, I see a group of people enter Goodneighbor, and one of them looks at me like they told me this would happen. I try to reach towards them, but my vision goes dark.
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Authors Note:
Yes, Rio did just transform into Darth Vader, and the next chapter will explain what happened. Also, I was fairly surprised to learn that Goodneighbor would be pretty close to the Boston Common in real life. It's just a couple of streets away. Until next time, Ciao.