POV Rio
I transformed into Darth Vader and immediately felt something. It felt cold and dark. I could also feel my non-existent limbs, the pain of my burned body, the uncomfortable armor, and the weak lungs. I felt like this was a bad idea. I hadn't tried a transformation like this before, and I was starting to think that I should have chosen a different target. My transformation was too accurate, and now I was dealing with the consequences. But I didn't undo the transformation.
I walked into Goodneighbor and started messing with Finn. But then, when he started to threaten me with his Switchblade, I felt a burning anger. It caused me to step forward before I stopped myself. Then I felt like I was not myself, my mind blanked, and when I woke up, I was strangling the life out of Finn using the Force. I immediately dropped him and froze at what had just happened. When he started to beg for mercy, I responded automatically and fled when he started to run away. As soon as I was out of sight of everyone, I stopped and started to figure out what had just happened.
I was breathing heavily, and I was covered in sweat. My mind was trying to figure out what just happened. Then it hit me.
'Of course, I'm such an idiot.'
I had transformed into Darth Vader, a mighty Sith Lord. One that was almost always in a state of extreme rage and anger. My transformations were designed to replicate the being I was transformed into as closely as possible. The power I gained was a portion of Vader's force abilities, which came with some of Vader's ego and emotions. Midi-Chlorians were unique to each force user. They usually couldn't be interfered with, let alone fused with another being. And Sith and Jedi can appear after death only if they haven't merged with the Cosmic Force.
Which means logically, a person's consciousness exists in Midi-Chlorians to some extent. They can interact with the world and even occasionally interfere, which requires Midi-Chlorians. In other words, my magic was creating a copy of Vader's consciousness, and it was, in a sense, able to possess me, or rather, I was possessing Vader's body, depending on how you look at it.
Beep
I was knocked out of my thoughts by a random beep, and I felt anger come from nowhere. Then I recalled a small detail from Star Wars. Palpatine had designed Vader's suit to be very uncomfortable to punish Vader for losing to Obi-Wan. He also designed the suit to be weak to electricity, but most relevant to what just happened, he also designed it to beep for no reason other than to annoy Vader randomly.
'God, he was such a petty jerk.'
I decided to drop the transformation because I didn't want to learn anything more from it. Not to mention being Vader was very uncomfortable. Once I was myself again, I felt much better.
'It's so nice to have my limbs back and everything seems so much brighter. I should avoid transforming into anything that might have a similar situation as a Jedi or a hive mind. Or I suppose a being that can survive in even one cell or beyond death.'
The list of beings like that wasn't massively long, but it was long enough that I lost some options.
Once I was done with my experiment, I went back to my group and we entered Goodneighbor. We entered right as Finn fell to the ground and started to bleed out. I looked at him with a mix of I told you so and expectation.
'I don't know what he expected. Hancock may ignore some issues, but continuing to ignore his warnings is just dumb. He can only blame himself.'
Hancock wiped the knife clean on Finn's body and then started walking towards us. I could see recognition in his eyes.
"Hmm, are you Rio?" Hancock asks.
"Yes, may I know where you heard about me?" I respond.
"Wiseman sent word out about you. I heard what happened at the Slog, and anyone that Wiseman calls a friend is a friend of mine," Hancock says with a smile.
"You're a friend of Wiseman? He never mentioned that," I say with a bit of surprise.
"Well, we differ in view on some things, which caused him to move out of Boston. But I knew him when he lived in Diamond City. He's a good man, which is why I was furious when I heard what happened to him. But let's talk in my office. The streets at night can be a bit dangerous," Hancock says while motioning to follow him.
I didn't see a reason to say no, so I agreed. We entered the State House and up the stairs to Hancock's office. I checked to make sure it was safe and found that it surprisingly had no monitoring equipment. We each took a seat on one of the couches or chairs.
"Thanks for coming. Now, usually I wouldn't ask a stranger like you for help, but Wiseman vouched for you, and I am willing to trust his judgment. That, and I heard great things about your Minutemen. So here's what I am thinking. I offer you some jobs, and if you complete them, then I can offer a safe haven for any Mintuemen coming to Goodneighbor," Hancock offers.
"Hmm, you are offering a safe haven but not an alliance. I think I know why, but I would like to hear the reason from you," I respond with interest.
"Goodneighbor is neutral territory. We have many different groups that operate here, but they don't cause too many issues because Goodneighbor doesn't take sides. If we did, we wouldn't last long. Raiders and Gunners alike would team up to take over or wipe us out. Diamond City has there wall, but we don't have that luxury. And trying to leave Boston would be suicide. I support a group or two in my own way, but I can never be seen as supporting one faction too much. I have to keep the ability of plausible deniability. And the factions I do support are more along the lines of turning a blind eye to their operations," Hancock says with a focused tone.
"Then what are you offering exactly?" I ask.
"Officially, I will charge the Minutemen to use any services here in Goodneighbor, and healing supplies are included in that. But secretly, I will give the shelter for free and even occasionally "misplace" some other supplies. And any caps they pay us will be given back to them when others aren't watching. I will give the Mintuemen access to Goodneighbor's information network. And will tell you of numerous secret routes we use to get in and around Boston. This should help the Mintuemen greatly," Hancock offers.
"Why offer us such support? It can't just be in exchange for doing a few jobs, unless those jobs are really that dangerous," I inquire.
"For a few reasons, I believe the Minutemen are the best chance for positive change in the Commonwealth. You have a great reputation, and I have already heard about how you defended The Castle from a large Gunner force. Then there is the fact that I know Goodnieghbor might need some strong allies if what I have heard is true. And the jobs I need done are delicate, and some are fairly risky," Hancock explains.
"What have you heard?" I ask.
"The Gunners have gone through major changes. They have become far more lethal and effective. If what I have heard is true, they may start making a move to claim a larger territory. They have already either conquered or subjugated several Raider gangs. Goodneighbor may be counted as neutral territory, but eventually the Gunners will get some ideas, and if it comes to that, I want someone I can count on to send aid. I have another ally, but they are not usually interested in anything outside their main mission. So, as Mayor, I need to try and look out for my people," Hancock says with a sigh.
"Okay, I am willing to hear about what jobs you need completed," I say.
"Great, the first has to do with an important aspect that keeps Goodneighbor alive. Trade. The Mass Fusion building is just outside Goodneighbor's territory. The Gunners there have been harassing caravans, and they have also been purposely pushing Super Mutants closer and closer to Goodneighbor. We can't do anything, but an outsider can do so," Hancock suggests.
"The next job is to clear out Skinny Malone's gang in Vault 114. With your Pip-Boy, it should be fairly easy. But I need you to specifically take the Pip-Boy wielded by Skinny's right-hand man. Johnny Tight Lips. And if you can take out as many of his gang as possible, I would appreciate it. Related to both of these jobs, I would like it if you could clear out the nearby Super Mutants. There are at least five different groups of them that are getting too close for comfort," Hancock says.
"Both of those are dangerous, but I don't see why you couldn't hire a mercenary to do so," I state.
"Secrecy for one, but the other reason is because of the next jobs. For one, I need someone to infiltrate a job being done by Bobbi-No-Nose and find out who is behind her. Next would be to deliver a package to Kessler, the leader of Bunker Hill. If you can clear out some of the unfriendlies that are making the road to Bunker Hill from here dangerous, I would also appreciate that. The next few tasks are a bit messy, and I won't be bothered if you say no," Hancock says.
"Let's hear them," I respond.
"For one, I have a visitor downstairs from a certain boogeyman. I need to extract info from them, but they haven't cracked. So if you are willing, I could use some help breaking them. The next task involves sabotaging a massive chem deal. The last task involves investigating the base of a suspected serial killer. Again, if you aren't interested, then I totally understand," Hancock said while offering me a way out.
"Hmm, let us discuss this more, but first, we have a few things to do. Once those things are settled, I will come back to discuss with you," I respond.
"No problem, take your time, if you need me, I can usually be found here," Hancock said while moving to grab some bourbon.
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Authors Note:
So yeah, some transformations can have downsides. Now I can't say for certain that Midi-Chlorians persist after death, but I feel like that explains the powers some Force Ghosts have. So I feel like it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say that a factor of a being's consciousness or ego would exist within their Midi-Chlorians. And if I am wrong or if there is some obscure legend content that proves I am wrong, that is okay, I will just go with this explanation for my story. That being said, there is only a downside to some forms. Like, Rio could turn into Obi-Wan and not suffer much, but turning into a disturbed individual who has something physically wrong with them could have some adverse effects. Nothing permanent, but annoying enough that it wouldn't be worth it. And it should be noted that Rio's transformations are temporary and only give him one power from the being he turns into, and even then, not at its full power. So he couldn't turn into Cell from DBZ and get his power right off the bat. Not to mention that Cell would likely fight Rio for control over the transformation. The transformations are physical so which is why Rio could start thinking like them, since the magic is meant to get Rio as close to the target as possible within reason. This likely won't come up often, as Rio can improve this ability later on. As for why Darth Vader had any power without the Force, the answer is simple: the Midi-Chlorians produced the power for his Force Choke. Transformations do not leave anything behind after they end. Until next time, Ciao.