POV Rio
I had started the prep work for the northern cleansing plan, but I wanted to wait to execute it until Hancock was ready. Which meant we had some time to kill. Which led me to being convinced by MacCready and Cait to head to the Third Rail. I couldn't drink booze, but I decided to take some time to relax.
We listened to Magnolia's music, which I had to admit was quite nice. Cait was not that happy with it, which somehow led to an argument with MacCready. This led them to ask me about music, and I mentioned that I didn't have a preference as I could listen to almost any music. Magnolia heard that, and we started chatting. She was a great conversationalist. We chatted for a few hours, and that led me to mention I could sing, and now I was sitting on stage.
'How did I get here? Oh, well, when in Rome.'
"Now, I will be honest, I haven't sung on stage before, but I hope everyone enjoys this song. I think it has a lot of relevance to what we all came here for," I say into the microphone.
(AN: Play Billy Joel - Piano Man (Lyrics) on YouTube for the music. )
As I start playing, a harmonica starts playing with me.
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sittin' next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
~~~~~~~
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory?
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad, and it's sweet, and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes
~~~~~~~~~
La, la-la, di-dee-da La-la, di-dee-da da-dum
~~~~~~~~~~
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
~~~~~~~~~~
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks for free
And he's quick with a joke, or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
~~~~~~~~~~~~
He says, Bill, I believe this is killing me
As the smile ran away from his face
Well, I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place
~~~~~~~~~
La, la-la, di-dee-da La-la, di-dee-da da-dum
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the navy
And probably will be for life
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly get stoned
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
People start to sway with the music, and I see some have tears in their eyes, which makes me happy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life for a while
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Oh, la, la-la, di-dee-da La-la, di-dee-da da-dum
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
~~~~~~~~~~~
As the song winds down, I see people dancing around and having a great time. Once it ends, everyone starts clapping and cheering. I see Whitechapel Charlie nod at me, and I nod back. What comes next surprises me a bit.
"ENCORE ENCORE ENCORE!" The crowd yells out.
"Well, why don't you do as they ask? I think we all agree when I say that we would like to hear another tune from our new singing prodigy," Magnolia says into another microphone.
I chuckle and then motion for the crowd to calm down.
"Okay, okay, I will do one more song, but that's it. I don't want to hog the stage all night. But if it is okay with Charlie, I don't mind coming by and singing for you guys for the rest of this week," I say aloud, looking at Whitechapel Charlie.
"Yer welcome to come and sing whenever. I haven't had another singer to give Magnolia a rest for too long. Just come see me when yer done singin' for them," Charlie yells back.
"You heard him, folks, it sounds like I will be here all week to sing you some songs. Now this next song is about something I think many of us can relate to. I won't lie, this will be a bit more somber of a song," I say to the crowd while sitting back down at the piano.
(AN: Play Hoobastank - The Reason (Lyrics) on YouTube for the music. I specifically suggest the one posted by AweLyrics. )
As I start playing, I hear guitars start playing alongside me.
I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with everyday
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
And the reason is you
And the reason is you
And the reason is you
~~~~~~~~~~
I start to tear up as I think about my past life.
~~~~~~~~~~
I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
And the reason is you
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you
~~~~~~~~~~~~
As the song ends, I don't hear applause, and instead, I see a lot of people looking pretty reflective. But that is broken by, surprisingly, Cait of all people. She claps harder than I have ever seen her clap before, and I get a system alert that I got a massive increase in affinity with Cait and a smaller increase with MacCready. I also got a massive reputation increase from Goodneighbor. And surprisingly, Hancock. I quickly saw Hancock sitting at the back of the bar. He joins the clapping soon after, and everyone else follows.
I get up and take a little bow. I wipe my tears away, and then I walk over to the bar to talk with Charlie.
"That was quite the performance. In case it wasn't obvious already, you are welcome in the Third Rail anytime. And I will serve you the top-shelf stuff. And you get the family rate," Charlie says while handing me a bottle of purified water.
It seemed like someone let him know I don't drink. I thank Charlie and thank a few people who approached me and gave me a tip for my performance. I went to take a drink of my water, but another person approached. It was Hancock.
"That was... amazing... I don't think I can truly describe it. I have never heard anything quite like that. But that spoke to me. I know you don't use chems or drink, but I can't not give you something for that. So here," Hancock says with a look of reminiscence.
Hancock grabs an RPG from Fahrenheit and hands it to me. I inspect the weapon, and I am surprised to see that it is a legendary weapon. It is called Partystarter and did +50% damage to humans. It wasn't the best legendary effect, but it was a nice gift. I thanked him, and Hancock left. I tried to drink my water, but another person approached. The next person to approach me was a ghoul named Edward Deegan.
"I'm always looking for people who know how to handle themselves in dangerous situations. From what I hear, you may fit the bill. But you'll need to talk to my boss first. His name is Jack Cabot. He likes to personally interview everyone I hire. He's careful like that," Edward said.
I was fairly interested as I knew that Parsons State Insane Asylum was where the Charisma Bobblehead was, and I was quite intrigued about Lorenzo Cabot and his special helmet. I told him I would find time to come by and see his boss. Once he left, Magnolia decided to come and see me. What surprised me was that she started hitting on me. I told her that I was flattered, but I wasn't looking for that kind of thing right now. She told me to consider it and went back to the stage.
'I wonder if she knows she is a synth. Is she an Institute spy? It wouldn't be impossible. The Chiss Ascendancy used similar tactics when it came to spy placement. She is in an optimal position to gather information. But I somewhat doubt she is a spy.'
I wasn't sure why, but I chalked it up to my gut instinct. Once she left, I went to drink my water, but I couldn't as another person came to see me. I just sighed and looked at MacCready.
"Wow, that was something. I never knew I was hired by someone with such talent. Now, usually I wouldn't be so forward, but I have a little issue, and the fact that you are an enemy of the Gunners, I was wondering if you might be interested in helping me deal with some Gunners who have been giving me trouble. I know this isn't what you signed up for, so I totally understand if you say no," MacCready said with some hope in his eyes.
"I am willing to help, but I need more info," I say.
"A couple of scumbags. Winlock and Barnes have been driving off customers and making my life tough. Normally, I would just try and pay them off, but I can't trust them to take my caps and not just put a few rounds in me to be sure. And they don't go anywhere without their troops. I know where they call their home base, and I want to wipe them out. If I do that, I can guarantee that the Gunners will back off, and I can finally be done with the Gunners. You would be doing me a major favor by helping, and I promise that anything you find will be yours. I just want them dead. If you agree, then just take me to the old Mass Pike Interchange and we can deal with them together," MacCready says.
"Sure, we can make a trip over that way once we finish our business in Boston. But that might be a couple of weeks from now, just warning you," I warn him.
"No problem, I don't think they will try anything for a while, as they just recently threatened me. At most, they might send some guys to harass us, but I doubt they would even bother with that," MacCready says with confidence.
Once he was done chatting, I looked left then right, and when I saw the coast was clear, I went to drink my water. But then I was interrupted.
"Sigh. For five minutes, can you guys stop interrupting me, FOR FIVE MINUTES!?" I yell at the person who interrupted me.
Only to look down and see Dogmeat lying on the ground asking for belly rubs. I try to look angry, but it's not very effective.
"Sigh. Oh, who am I kidding? I can't be mad at you," I say with a small smile.
I give him some belly rubs and then finally get to drink the water, which was no longer cold.
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Authors Note:
A whole lot of quests have been issued. The next chapter will be about the mega horde. Until next time, Ciao.