AliasTheory

<----- BACKWARD ============================ Chapter 6: Shock and Awe ============================ With a bit of effort, Jericho succeeds in waking up Butch and Saya. Saya wakes up easily and feels surprisingly well for what had just happened to her. Butch is another story…but the old “pinch-your-nose-while-you-are-sleeping” trick ends up working just fine. (It was Saori’s idea, seriously.) I stroll over to his bedside. “Morning there, sunshine.” “What the h***…you’re a real a**h***, you know that?” “Well, sorry. Can’t help it. I was born that way.” “Agh…well, I’m up now,” Butch mumbled. “You better make it worth my while, punk.” “Don’t sweat it. Just join me and everyone else, away from the fire. You’ll see.” I reach out to help Butch get on his feet. Combined with his weight, he grips my hand with such strength I almost fall forward on top of him; the added weight of backpack probably prevented that. Turning back to the lake, I can see the rest of the gang is waiting for us. Saya smiles and waves as we approach everyone. “Well, here’s your Pipboy,” Saori sighs, extending her arm. “Do what you have to do.” “Alright…just keep steady.” Everyone is watching me. I take the small chip out of my pocket that was ejected from the mysterious cube; it is still glowing with a bright, blue light. I flip open a small flap on the side of the Pipboy and slowly insert the chip into an appropriately-sized slot. Without warning, the chip is sucked inside, like a vacuum. “Aaaand...there we go.” The Pipboy screen begins to heat up and becomes tremendously bright, emitting an eerie green glow. Jericho glances at me. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, kid.” I don’t respond to his comment. In a few moments, like magic, two small but pixilated humanoid figures emerge right before our eyes. Everyone gasps in awe as I step back. http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1285352657.png “A… a h-hologram!?” Saori stammers. “I thought this technology was lost!” “Yep, that’s right. A hologram. And this is why I told you all to get away from the light,” I remind everyone. “If we were too close, it would have been impossible to see this.” Jericho just smirks in amusement, muttering something to himself. “Hey…how the h*** did you know about this?” asks a bewildered Butch. “I knew this stupid computer was built before the Great War, but this is something else.” “Well, the Vault has a ton of information in its databases. I actually just read what was there. You see, when you were-“ “Shhh!” Saya shushes us. “The hologram people…they’re saying something.” “…this facility is under United States government control. The person in charge is to step forward immediately, and turn over all materials related to this project.” “Hey,” Saori whispers. “That voice…isn’t this…you know…the colonel?” ”That’s quite impossible. This is a private project; the Enclave has no authority here. I’m going to have to ask you to leave at once.” Butch begins to think aloud. “Okay…well, if the first guy is Autumn, who’s the other guy?” Everyone just looks at each other in confusion. ”Am I to assume sir, that you are in charge?” ”Yes, I’m responsible for this project.” ”Then I repeat sir, that you are herby instructed immediately hand over all materials related to this purifier.” “Agh,” I groan. “I have no idea who the one in charge is. Does anyone else know?” Everyone shakes their heads slightly. Jericho rubs his beard. “Hey kid, doesn’t that important guy have ‘da same suit you all got now?” “Yeah!” Butch exclaims. “Vault 101! What the fu-“ “Shhh!” Saya hushes the group again, like what a mother may do to a disobedient child. A loud gunshot violently cracks through the Pipboy speakers, and everyone’s eyes are once again fixated on the two green figures. “…I suggest you comply immediately sir, in order to prevent any more incidents. Are we clear?” ”Yes…colonel. I’ll do whatever you want; there is no need for more violence.” “Then you will immediately hand over all materials related to this project, and aid us in making it operational at once.” “Very well…in a few momentssssssszz-“ The audio begins to fill with background noise and slowly becomes more distorted; the hologram begins to become fuzzy and eventually flickers off. The audio is still present; however, we’re all just as eagerly tuned in as when GNR is playing its melodious tunes. Who knows what could happen. Without warning, the Pipboy speakers crack again in a giant “KABOOM,” startling everyone. ”NOOOOOOOOooooooooOOOOOOooooooooooo!” ”Run…run…!” With those finals words from the unknown figure, the chip ejects itself from Saori’s Pipboy, landing on the soft soil below. I bend down to pick it back up, still in a bit of shock from what I just witnessed. “Erragh! What the f*** is going on!?” Butch says, irritated. “We were too busy talking! We need to watch that aga-” “NO!” the rest of us shout in unison. “No…just, no. YOU were too busy talking. We are soooo not watching that again,” Saori barks. She gets up close and personal with Butch, jabbing her fingernail into his sturdy build. Saya, Jericho and I just sigh in disappointment, but I decide to turn the conversation around. “In any case, it is definitely no venture that Autumn’s talking about Project Purity…whatever that is. And who knows how the Enclave even obtained this footage. But speaking of ‘no,’ what the heck was that at the end? And who was the guy in the Vault suit talking to when he said ‘run?’ Was it a ‘he’ or a ‘she?’ The audio was simply too distorted near the end. We still have too many questions and too little information. We don’t even know where Project Purity is.” “Maybe we should just ask some people,” suggests Saya. “Well, where to then? It needs to be somewhere we are a bit more accepted. Megaton?” “Not a good idea.” Jericho shakes his head in disappointment. “Don’t go askin’ there; Megaton is so far out there that nobody has a g**d*** clue about what’s goin’ on.” “Hmm…okay, we could possibly meet up with Rielly and her crew back in D.C.” “…and fight our way there ill-prepared,” Saori adds. She holds up her pistol with two fingers; parts of the gun look ready to fall off. “This can’t be fixed without the proper tools. Maybe some other time.” “Ugh. If that’s the case, then the next best and final option is to head over to Rivet City. There are plenty of folks to ask there, and they are pretty knowledgeable. But we aren’t taking any Metros; you all know what happened last time. Capeesh?” Everyone responds in agreement. Whipping out my compass, we turn southeast – the direction towards the boat city – and notice something a bit odd. Something is out of place. Like the stars in the sky, hundreds of small lights are now littering the area all around us; never were they present before. They glimmer in the distance in a multitude of colors, and are slowly approaching our campsite…inch by inch. The world is suddenly silenced. “What the h***…?” says a whisper. I can’t identify the speaker; even the sound of the nighttime ambiance is like a warzone compared to those soft words. One thing is for sure: our eyes aren’t lying to us. Not a bit. All five of us look at each other and don’t even give it a second thought. Safeties off. FORWARD ---->

i is winnar

Thanks for the comments so far guys. Next part is coming up real soon...I just have the writing part to do here. ;) After things are going to slow down a bit; I've got other things to do. But I will hopefully encourage a little bit of speculation with some extra title art later on.

Sorry to hear that. Well, trial and error, my friend. You know it now. Personally, I am not a procrastinator. I always have a plan and set my mind to things; never do I put them off until later. I feel terrible if I do that.

11:30 AM here in San Jose CA, but back home in Hawaii it is only 8:30...3 hours back. TC, you've reminded me to change my laptop clock...thanks!

Mario Kart is awesome. And it is almost like Mario Party: a game born to break friendships. (Just kidding.) I'm a "snaker." Don't hate me. :P

I honestly do not know how to respond to this... o.o Freakishly awesome.

Yep. Done told my wife that the kids are going to be early tonight and not to count on me doing anything tonight other than site in front of that TV...almost in a vegetative and non-responsive state. I will respond if she says something like "can I get you something to eat or drink?" but I will only respond with something like "affirmative" or "roger that" to keep from breaking my virtual reality. Haha. That's funny. :) "Vegetative." I still have to finish the campaign...once I get Xbox LIVE working in my dorm room I'm going to recover my gamertag and play some legendary.

Congrats! I've never heard of either user unfortunately, but I'm sure the right choice was made. Hope you both don't have to use your moderating powers too often, but they undoubtedly will.

This info's in my "about me" too. :) I love sushi with mounds of spicy raw ahi and poke prepared with lots of garlic and seaweed.

Would you mind citing your source? I kind of want to see that survey. :)

Lots of forums have a "watch feature," but I would like to organize the story a bit so parts of it aren't scattered in a bunch of different posts. I'm in college now so things will be a bit slower, obviously. I'll make a little bit more art to go along with it too.

bleh

<----- BACKWARD ============================ Chapter 5: Fireside Chat ============================ The camp is all set up now as we overlook the lake, cool and calm. Like a mirror, the full moon and stars appear crystal clear in the water, all of which are watching down upon us from the cosmos. The tall grass blows gently in the midnight breeze; this night is one I would hardly consider chilly. The weather is perfect. I’m still full from our feast, but I lightly snack on some iguana bits. “Jericho…so how did you know about our situation?” I question, gnawing on my skewer. Jericho blows out some smoke, and props his legs up on the nearby table. “You wanna know, huh. Well, just like many of those other raider scum out in th’ wastes, the Enclave came to me. I was surprised they was real. They didn’t come to me in da flesh, but they ‘invited’ me with an audio tape. Like a party. Those bastards told me that I might get a better life if I helped dem out by killing some poor souls, and I agreed. I was desperate; Megaton is no paradise. But when I saw you guys fighting hard out there in th’ middle of D.C…I knew I couldn’t put a hole in any of ya. I just knew it…and fightin’ with you guys would have left me bloody and dead. So I waited to help ya all out. But I needa hand it to you kid; you really did grow a pair after you left.” “Gee, thanks. It took you quite a while to grow one yourself, didn’t it?” Our hearty laughter fills the air. I toss my skewer into the water in front of us and turn around for a quick survey of the camp. Saya’s still checked out and Butch taking a bite to eat. Saori has taken his place as “nurse.” Butch, you lazy sonnuvagun. http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1284770383.png The laughter dies down, and we catch our breath. “But Jericho, there were lots of other mutants and wildlife attacking us as well…where did they come from? They were working together, like a team.” Everything is still a bit fuzzy to me. “Who the h*** knows, kid. Who knows what those demon-headed a**holes are doing? Maybe they are usin’ some sorta mind control device or sumthen.” “But I didn’t see any kind of helmet or headband,” I think, recalling several Deathclaws. “Well, maybe they don’t need it anymore? Maybe they’ve gone wireless, like radio?” “Hmm. If the Enclave did that, they would need to emit some sort of powerful series of wavelengths to disrupt the brain’s signal for multiple life forms,” I hypothesize. “That includes the Super Mutants. But if you were at the scene of the fight, then why weren’t you affected? You were conscious.” “Don’t geek out on me, kid. But yeah, who the h*** knows. You’ve seen their crap; they’ve got stuff nobody else has ever laid a godd*** eye on.” Jericho holds up the enigmatic rifle that had ended Autumn’s life. “The thing is,” he continues, "the Enclave has gotta be still up an’ running. Just because some leader of theirs is dead dun mean that they’ll just beat it. These guys won’t stop till they get what they want.” “You’re right, unfortunately,” I comment. “And I almost forgot you had that gun…what do you know about it? She’s quite a piece of work.” I bend over for a closer inspection. “There’s no juice left in this thing. See?” Jericho points to a small gauge on the bottom of it, and I notice that the once eerie glow is now a dull blue. “But I found this thing inside the base you guys was in. I snuck in posed as one of ‘dem devils who took ya all in; even old man Jericho can take down at least one of those. When I saw this beauty and her data in one of their rooms, I knew I had myself a plan; the data even labeled this thing as f***ing alien.” “Alien…? Like…from up there?” I look at the moon. It’s so pretty tonight, but perhaps those same aliens are looking at us right now from that very mass of rock. “Maybe kid. Maybe. And I befo’ I forget need to ask you sumthen’ too: why’d you stop when we was leavin’ that s***hole? We were this close to being f***ed over thanks to your lame stunt.” Jericho closes his fingers together with a milimeter to spare. Oh yeah. I remember now. That cube. Without responding, I pull it out of my pocket. Even in the moonlight, it is strikingly reflective coupled with its unique design. The cube is still glowing bright blue. “What in the world is that?” “Yep, this is that ‘s***’ I picked up.” I twirl it around, taking note of its strange alloy. Turning the etched side reading “Project Purity” towards Jericho, I hold it close to his face. “Name ring a bell?” “Hm. Never heard of it. But couldja let me see that for a sec? That’s one piece o’ tech.” “Sure thing.” I hand the cube over. “Cool, thanks- eh?” A small metal component flies out of the cube upon passing it to Jericho and narrowly stops at the edge of the lake. I pick it up gently, being careful not to crush it in my grip. This piece of technology reminds me of something familiar…something I’ve seen even before I went out into the Wastes with Butch, Saya and Saori all those years ago. A Pipboy. “I’m not sure why this never ejected before,” I say. “But I think I have an idea what this just might be!” I get out of my seat. Jericho only sighs. “Oh boy,” he exhales. “The kid’s got another bright idea.” “Hey Saori!” I call out. “Come here for a second…I need to see your Pipboy.” I would use my own, but it had been destroyed in a firefight soon after we had first left Megaton. Butch lost his too; it malfunctioned and exploded on his arm around the same time, leaving a scar. “I heard you,” she rings. “Don’t need to yell.” She turns around and walks towards me, dusting her Vault suit off. Her wild, black hair magically holds itself together and her bright, blue eyes seem to glow even in the darkness. In her brief and few steps towards me, her “don’t take crap from nobody” attitude clearly shows; there is a slight ladylike swagger to her walk. Even after outrunning an orbital strike. I turn to the other side of camp and notice there are not one, but two people sleeping. I smile. “Oh, one last thing Jericho. Wake Saya and Sleeping Beauty up. The real one, obviously. You guys probably won’t want to miss this.” FORWARD ---->

<----- BACKWARD ============================ Chapter 4: Reunion ============================ The storm has passed. We are five lonely souls walking among the dead; horribly mutilated corpses and body parts are scattered throughout the perimeter of our former prison. Destiny is an ideal justice: unwavering, decisive and unbiased; we, however, are the exception from its wrath, for we have rebelled against the impossible. It has given us a second chance, and fate is now only an obstacle. After walking several miles away from the Enclave base, we decide to set up camp with the bare essentials. Some of our equipment, such as our tent, had fallen out during our escape, and there was no way we were heading back; the catastrophe will undoubtedly attract the native wasteland wildlife. Under normal circumstances we might have called it quits for the day, but our hunger for knowledge of the situation drives us onward into the night. A small campfire burns on top of a small hill, illuminating the shadows around us. A warm feeling of home surrounds the site as we get things in order and enjoy our victory feast. “Jericho…thanks again for saving us. All of us. We’d be dead without you, and Autumn would still be alive.” “Ahh, it wasn’t no big deal,” Jericho replies. “You’ve saved mine once, so I’m here to return th' favor.” “Yeah, I saved ONE life,” I remind him. “You just saved FOUR. By the way, you remember all of us, right?” Jericho just breathes deeply and sighs. “Maybe,” he says. I think he is just trying to humor me. “Well,” I continue, “that’s Saya with the long ponytail over there. She’s the youngest, as you might have overheard…and she is probably the most reserved out of all of us…hey, Saya…!” I turn to face her. Everyone gasps, but I’m quick to respond. Saya had just finished laying out the sleeping gear but had fainted on the spot. I catch her in my arms before she comes into contact with the rock-hard earth. The morphine must have worn out and Autumn’s torture methods must have taken their toll. Her light, tender frame allows me to carry her effortlessly. Gently stroking her hair, I set her down on the sleeping bag she had just laid out. “Hey Butch, could you take care of her for a bit?” I call out. “Thanks. Oh yeah, Jericho, that’s Butch with the shades, forgot abo-” “Yeah, yeah, I know who he is,” Jericho sasses me. And Sleeping Beauty too. I saw dem back in Megaton wit’ you at the bar…who’s th’ new girl?” Butch forcefully frowns in both disgust and jealousy. I have to smile…inside of course. “Oh, her? Her name is-“ “Saori,” she interrupts. Suddenly, she is up in our faces. “Saori Ikeda. It was my grandmother’s name, but unfortunately, I’ve never met her. I fell ill when we first arrived in Megaton from the Vault, and you never came to visit us when we returned either.” With her piercing blue eyes wide with excitement, Saori extends her thin, delicate hands to Jericho, who replies with his scarred and rugged own. They both shake on it. But Jericho doesn’t even reply to her; all he has is this big, possessed grin plastered to his face. A shooting star passes overhead. How apropos. “Uhm…Jericho, buddy,” I whisper. “You can stop now.” “Eh…huh, wha? Oh. Sorry.” Saori blushes. http://www.fallout3nexus.com/imageshare/images/2144141-1284769962.png I clear my throat loudly. “Well…now that THAT’S over, I need to discuss some things with you, Jericho. Let’s take a seat over there by the water. And here’s your smoke; you deserve it.” I light a cigarette from my pocket and hold it between my fingers. “I guess I do, don’t I?” Jericho plucks it from my finger grip with a hint of elegance, like a gentleman might do with a rose. “Thank you.” “Oh, and you’ll be night-watching with me tonight,” I add. “The campsite of course. Don’t take that the wrong way or anything.” “…Funny guy.” FORWARD ---->

:D

Haha, a whole three months, huh? =P Do you not usually stick with a game very long? That doesn't mean I don't spend a lot of time with a video game; I do. I'm not the kind of person who will immediately become obsessed and engrossed in one game; I frequently jump back in forth for "training" reasons. I play fighting games seriously in a tournament-style of play and look deeply into the metagame. I like to keep my skills up against the competition out there. Same thing will go with shooters, like Halo Reach right here. In short, I guess you could say that yes, I don't stick with a game long since I don't let the disk rot inside my 360 for weeks. I swap out every few days, based on how I feel. But if you mean "putting the game on the shelf and letting it collect some dust for collector's purposes," no, I do stick with games for a long time. @Vindekarr: It's a freaking miracle: something you DON'T hate! Haha. It will be worth it, every penny. I just played a few missions of campaign and checked out Forge. For campaign: wow. The most entertaining Halo campaign yet. No English-speaking aliens, sorry! Sniper is dead sexy. Cutscenes are a lot more interactive instead of just hearing briefings most of the time and the character you make carries over into the single player. Very sweet immersive 1st person cutscenes as well. The game has this level of polish you don't quite see anywhere else. The graphics, the sound and the gameplay are superb; the game to me has come ways since the Beta. I was actually underwhelmed by the scale of Forge World (thought it would be much bigger,) but wowed by the sheer number of options available to create inside it. I was a forging maniac in Halo 3 with ghost merging, interlockz, you name it. Now Bungie has included features that not only allow one to merge objects with the environment without glitches but has also included features such as being able to "nudge" a piece of your forge playset. That is something forge needed for the longest time. Halo truly seems like doesn't need a modding community anymore; the gameplay is polished to perfection and there will be an infinite number of maps and all new kinds of games within Bungie's engine that will flow through the community.

I really doubt you'll be getting this game under 50 USD, but I've read on some other forums the standard game got as low as 40 in stores such as Toys R Us I think. Don't take my word for it. Those who can be patient and don't to spend a lot should wait. Look at Halo 3 ODST now; I just saw that for 25 dollars at a Target. The price could just go down like that. But it could also pull a Modern Warfare 2, which at some Best Buys still costs the full 60. It's worth 60 and even a 100 dollars to me. I'll probably be playing this and a few other games for the whole rest of the year.

I actually have the next three parts written out, but I need to make the pictures. It took me a couple hours plus some revising and grammar-fixin'. ;)

Really? What other reasons would you say makes Reach a worse game? I think it looks really good so far all around and can't wait to bust it out, but just curious. And I'm guessing by the Firefight thing you mean matchmaking service for Firefight. You also make the betrayal system sound bad; I never had a problem with it in Halo 3. Guess I need more information.

After reading this, I think to myself...which games actually have worthwhile cutscenes that I've played recently? The Devil May Cry series is probably the only series that I would pay to see cutscenes for. In short, not worth it. They're all over the Internet anyway.

I doubt there will ever be a demo; the beta was basically that. I say buy it. This game is basically a sport.

I think you should just do your research instead of asking us. Only joking. I'll help you out. This is not DLC. Bungie has rebuilt the engine from the ground up, and is graphically very impressive. The game is still undoubtedly Halo at its core, but it should feel a bit new and refreshing thanks to the armor abilities, which take the place of Halo 3's equipment. They allow you to do things such as fly, sprint, dive out of the way, become invisible and make a hologram of yourself. Forge is Forge World now. Amazing. To be honest, there is just a lot more play space now; the advanced forging capabilities have been there since Halo 3, but only through the means of tedious glitches. No longer. Matchmaking has also been reworked and an "arena" system has replaced the flawed "Trueskill" rank system. "Social games" are everything else. Based on everything you do in a ranked game now, from kills to assists a formula is used to give you multiple ranks monthly and seasonally, at least. For the hardcore players, it should be a more accurate way of finding matches while giving more incentive. There's a lot. I can't tell you everything. Look on bungie.net.

Tetris music IS awesome. Have you ever heard Super Smash Bros. Brawl's arrangement of Type A and Type B? Beautiful stuff; that's what I call epic Tetris. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but I read the music to Tetris does have lyrics filled with Russian propaganda from the time which it was made in. Thought it was interesting. Did anyone mention Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rain?

Haha, too bad. It's coming though. By the way, as for the signature...take out "short." It probably won't be.