My Kingdom of Rubble

Rain. Not what Ozzy was used to in the desert, but it was a nice change of pace from the normal weather.

He reached the city about an hour before midnight, much to his dismay. Surviving in the Wasteland taught him one valuable thing: nighttime is when all the predators come out to play. Of course, Ozzy was more than capable of handling most of what nature had to offer, but that didn't stop him from feeling anxious. As an added bonus, anything he would kill would be cooked and eaten, seeing as how the Courier had not nourished himself since his little scuffle with the bandits, he was famished.

The city of Boardman may as well have been any other city before the war, what with its usual name, the varied storefronts and government buildings,  the out of the way suburban neighborhoods with the white picket fences. After the war, however, the Enclave had made this city a more permanent outpost, utilizing the Army depot to the east for their operations, and the city as housing for soldiers and scientists alike. That all changed when the Enclave was forced eastward, towards DC. Most of the personnel were evacuated, but a majority of their technology was left behind. Why the NCR or Brotherhood did not swoop in and scavenge as much as they could was lost on Ozzy, but he was more than happy to put it to use himself.

With these thoughts, Ozzy poked the fireplace in the hopes that it would stay ablaze. He had taken refuge in a small townhouse, not too far from the main city. Ozzy never did enjoy his nighttime missions, as he was more preferable to the sun illuminating his targets for him. That is, Ozzy was not scared of the dark, he just preferred the daytime. After entering the house, Ozzy used old paper, destroyed books, and anything else to illuminate the room with a warm glow.

Taking another bite out of the cooked crow that happened to make its nest in that house, Ozzy stared into the fireplace with a blank expression. After he had boarded up, locked, and placed tripwire alarms on all of the doors and windows, an old way of signaling danger utilizing old cookware, Ozzy ruminated on his journey thus far. Sure, the punishment he brought upon the raiders may have been too cruel, but it would work both ways for him. Not only would passing caravans be that much safer, but any other raiders in the area would receive the message loud and clear.

Having nothing else to occupy his time, Ozzy began inspecting his weapons. Blood Nap was becoming a little dull around the edge, and the blade seemed to be coming loose from the bolster. Taking the whetstone out of his rear pocket, he grabbed hold of the blade in his left hand with the whetstone in his right, and began dragging the blade across the stone. The sound of metal being sharpened was somehow therapeutic to Ozzy, but remained focused on his current task.

After sharpening the blade and applying some extra-strenght glue to the bolster, Ozzy inspected the rest of his gear to find that everything else was in excellent working condition, all while taking bites of his cooked crow. After he extinguished the fire, he found a dirty, stained couch to sleep on. Better than the floor. As he sat down on the couch, he removed his sunglasses and beret and set them on the coffee table directly in front of the couch. Laying down, with the Mysterious Magnum in his left hand and his finger inches away from the trigger, Ozzy drifted off to a fitful slumber.

Gunfire. Blood. Broken bones. Screaming.

"We trusted you!"

"How the hell could you side with them, you monster!?"

Bullet bounces off of a nearby rock. They won't understand. Radiation rising.

They're past negotiating! Let ME handle this!

"You're going to die like the snake you are!"

They won't see the big picture. Shotgun fires, misses. Super Sledge swings, misses, cracks the rock.

"You are not getting away!"

"We trusted you!"

I'm going to gut them! Let me off the fucking chain so I can dismember the bastards!

Running. Bullet hits the ground inches away. Trip. Super Sledge comes down on hand. Fingers broken.

"You were against us this whole time!"

"I hate you!"

Radiation still rising.

Bullets.

Broken promises.

Anger.

Death.

Please, no more.

MY TIME TO SHINE!

Ozzy's eyes shot open. He didn't move, but that dream always shook him more than anything. That was the only dream that ever brought Ozzy close to crying. Sighing, he sat up and rubbed his eyes, picking away at the crust that formed during the night. The sun's rays were entering the home through the boarded up windows, barely illuminating the room. Ozzy pulled up his Pip-Boy to check the time, showing that it was 7:36 AM. Standing up, he adorned his sunglasses and beret, and walked over to the fireplace to see the ashes of last nights fire. Seeing that the fire was completely out, and realizing that it wouldn't matter if the house burned down or not but still wanted to check, Ozzy meandered over to the front door of the home.

Peeking out the eye-hole and seeing that he was completely alone, Ozzy began pulling off the boards which he had used to barricade the door. Three planks and twelve rusty nails later, Ozzy opened the door and stepped outside, taking in a deep breath of morning air. Ozzy began picturing himself in 1950's America, stepping outside into the crisp air as the mailman passed by, saying something along the lines of, "Hi-diddly-hi, neighbor!" At least, that's how Ozzy thought everyone talked before the Great War.

Securing his gear while taking a mental tally of all of his supplies, Ozzy stepped down from the front porch and began walking east. Using his Pip-Boy map, Ozzy hoped to reach the base in a somewhat reasonable time. He wanted to return to New Vegas by the beginning of next week, and he felt displeased with himself at his poor time management. Staving those thoughts off, Ozzy continued walking, paying closer attention to his surroundings.

The city, for the most part, was completely abandoned. Ozzy had yet to find another living soul ever since he set foot in Oregon. The only living beings he came across were giant, mutated rats, and those were easily disposed of after they attempted to attack him. Coming across an Enclave checkpoint, Ozzy stopped and began searching through some of their leftover crates.

A wall made of a strange alloy with walkways leading up to it, three skeletons wearing Enclave power armor, one skeleton wearing an officers outfit, and about five crates are what composed this checkpoint. The power armor, as much as they would be worth, would only be a detriment to Ozzy for what he would consider a low-payout. The weapons they carried were the standard issue laser rifles which a majority of these types of factions used, much like the Brotherhood.

As Ozzy approached the corpse of the officer, he noticed that he was clutching what appeared to be an holotape close to his chest. Bending down and prying the charred bones away, Ozzy held the tape up and scanned it with his Pip-Boy. A new note was added, with the title reading 'This is unreal'. Curious, Ozzy played the tape. In a rushed voice, the man on the tape was desperately attempting to relay information, but was apparently extremely astounded by his own genius.

"Hello, my name is George Estrada, and I am the head scientist at the Umatilla Army Depot in Boardman, Oregon. I work for the Enclave, and this is by far my greatest achievement! This needs to be recorded so that this day may forever be cemented in the history books! I'll be a hero to all of mankind! I'll-" His voice was cut off by a second man.

"Hey, uuuhhh, Georgie, you wanna tell the thing what you actually did?" Estrada continued. "Ah, yes! For the first time in recorded history, my team and I have successfully constructed a-" The tape ended in static. Ozzy stood there, processing this new information. Well, he was really excited about something, that's pretty evident.

This just got more interesting. Get a move on, man! Time's wasting!

With that thought, Ozzy hopped over the corpse of the fallen officer, and continued on his way.

The sign was straight to the point. In big, bold letters reading "UMATILLA ARMY DEPOT", Ozzy felt a sense of foreboding encroaching on him. Walking past the sign to encounter a rusted fence, he kicked it down and hopped over the destroyed barrier to now find himself with a wide expanse of land, dotted with bunkers and destroyed warehouses. Recalling the report that this very specific bunker he was looking for was hidden underneath the warehouse labeled EG-14, Ozzy pulled out his spare binoculars and began scanning the area.

Opened missile hatches, destroyed vehicles, burnt corpses, and rodents of all sizes roamed the area. Most of the buildings had the Enclave symbol emblazoned on it, but there was one that did not. Focusing in on one specific building, Ozzy noticed that there were no identifying marks anywhere to be seen on it like the others. There was only one serial number, atop the archway door: EG-14. Nice. Putting his binoculars away, Ozzy unholstered the Mysterious Magnum in case any wayward rat had a death wish.

The building itself appeared the same as the rest on the inside. Crates of MRE's were stored along the back wall, offices and cubicles encompassed the administrative floor, the main floor had discarded reports and letters, the break room even had cups of coffee still sitting on the table. All of this showed that whoever was inhabiting this building at the time had to leave in a hurry. What interested Ozzy the most, though, was a peculiar electronics box that controlled the power to the warehouse. All of the handles and buttons were labeled, except for one. A faded green button, with the paint chipping off, was separated from the rest of the control switch. Gut instinct led Ozzy to push that button, praying that it wouldn't trigger anything dangerous.

Gears whirred in different locations of the warehouse, and a red light began flashing inside of the main area. A panel, built into the rest of the floor, slid open to reveal a set of stairs leading to God only knows. Incandescent lights lit up the dark stairwell, as Ozzy peered down into it. Alright. Let's do this. Ozzy circled around to the beginning of the stairs, and began his descent. That familiar feeling of dread returned to him, but he pushed it back. He came too far to turn back now.

Deeper and deeper the stairwell went. Ozzy calculated that he must have been climbing stairs for the past five minutes, staving the feeling of claustrophobia from entering his mind. As he delved deeper into the Earth, the radiation in the stairway began to climb. This concerned the Courier, but he pressed on.

Upon reaching the bottom, Ozzy came across an open door, no doubt left open by the scout who had been here previously. That, or someone else had searched this establishment and picked everything clean. If that was the case, the Courier would have to kill someone. Stepping past the door, Ozzy found himself in a dark, circular room. Making his way over to a nearby light switch, he flicked the switch on, the gentle hum of lights brightening the room. Wires and control panels of all sorts lined the walls, all feeding into a giant... Machine. The scout was right, Ozzy had never seen something like this.

The machine, incredibly technologically advanced in its nature, was oval shaped, and was about ten feet tall by four feet wide. Transparent coils ran along the majority of it, as did a number of circuits. Some of the machine was coated in a stainless-steel metal, more than likely protecting the more vulnerable parts. Three spires, also coated in the same material and standing at seven feet, appeared as though they were aimed directly at the machine. Just beneath their points, translucent orbs appeared to be centered in hollowed out portions of the spires.

Decaying corpses, some with their flesh still somewhat intact, littered the ground. Most of these wore white lab coats, while two or three were wearing power armor. Just at the base of the machine, a man lay clutching another holotape to his chest.

Walking over to the man, whose face was relatively intact, Ozzy examined the man for a moment. His hair was jet black, with a trimmed mustache that showed it had been falling off. His skin was darker, indicating that he was of Hispanic descent. His eyes were glazed over, showing that he was fully aware of his own demise. On his lab coat, there was a name tag with the Enclave logo in the bottom right-hand corner. It read:

Head Scientist

       George Estrada

"Well, Mr. Estrada, we meet at last." Ozzy spoke to the corpse. Gently moving Estrada's arms away from the holodisk, Ozzy listened to the note. It was Estrada's voice, but unlike the last log, George condition had worsened significantly. The sound of multiple individuals coughing and vomiting can be heard. "This is Head Scientist George Estr- *cough, cough* Estrada. I was stationed at Umatilla Army Depot in Boardman, Oregon. I worked for those Enclave bastards, who left us down here to die. *cough, cough, panting* This device, it's an inter-dimensional portal. A marvel that I created, but did not perfect... Apparently, when used, the portal emits a huge burst of radiation, effectively poisoning everyone within the general vicinity." A THUD is heard in the background. "There goes another one of my colleagues... Damnit. We tested it out, then they locked us down here! *cough* They radioed down that our sacrifice would not be in vain. Fuckin' assholes... I wish I could make it out of here to kill every one of them!"

At this point, George's voice had grown hoarse from the poisoning. "As one last 'Fuck you' to the Enclave, I have the portal prepped and ready for another go. We have no idea where it leads, but we wanted to find out so badly. This next test, though, will emit such a high level of radiation that anything within a miles radius will be poisoned. *cough, wheeze*" Ozzy stood up and turned his head to the control panel. "If anyone finds this, and you're dumb enough to kill yourself like that, all you have to do... Is press the big red button on the dashboard... That's it." Estrada sounds close to his death in the log, taking his last few breaths. "*wheeze* Good luck, and God Bless these... United... States." The log ends.

Ozzy stood there, a flurry of thoughts flooding his head.

This is amazing! A goddamn portal to another universe! I have to secure this place for future endeavors.

As he began walking out of the room, Ozzy felt himself stop.

I don't think so, you fuck.

He felt himself turn around, confused by his own actions.

What're you doing? This place could be immensely advantageous to us!

Foot by foot, step by step, Ozzy was forced towards the giant dashboard, the tantalizing red button square in the center.

I'm going to do to us what should've happened at Hoover Dam.

Ozzy had no control over his actions. He fell against the giant dashboard, panting.

You'll kill us both, dammit! Stop this!

His hand reached out toward the button.

I don't care at this point. I WANT to die.

Millimeters away his hand stood trembling over the button. "No, goddamnit!" Ozzy was speaking out loud at this point.

I'm done giving a shit about what YOU want. This ends here!

Ozzy witnessed his hand being raised. "No!"

YES!

Higher, higher his hand went, the more he pleaded with his inner self. "Jesus Christ, stop!"

NEVER! This is it!

In one fluid motion, Ozzy's hand came careening towards the button, pressing it down with such force that it almost dented the dashboard. Everything that happened next was too fast too witness. Ozzy attempted to run for the door, but the door slammed shut. Lights began flashing, an alarm was blaring over the loudspeakers. A recorded voice came in over the alarm.

"WARNING: LETHAL RADIATION SPIKE IMMINENT. ALL PERSONNEL EVACUATE."

The warning continued over and over, overflowing Ozzy's senses. He'd been in worse situations, obviously, but that didn't mean he enjoyed being on the precipice of death. The gentle hum of the electronics turned into mad whirring from all of the machinery and gadgetry, a light emanating from the portals' center. The orbs house within the spires began to glow, first as a gentle candle, then as bright as a searchlight.

Everything was coming down. Sparks flew from the machines, the ground started shaking, stumbling Ozzy and forcing him to grab onto one of the spires, which had grown increasingly hot in the past few seconds. If he had not been wearing gloves, Ozzy was certain that he would have burned himself. Searching for any way out of the bunker, but realizing that it would be a futile effort, Ozzy evaluated his options. Only one ended with him potentially still living.

I see bad moon rising! I see trouble on the way!

Ozzy groaned, "Not really the time right now, asshole!" That was when a bright glow emanated from the portal. A light so bright that Ozzy had to cover his eyes, even with his sunglasses on. Steeling himself, and praying that whatever was on the other side was capable of reason, he ran straight for it, screaming.

"GAH, FUCK IT!" He roared, his body being enveloped by the white light. As soon as the portal closed, a bright green orb surface from the base of the portal. It expanded, and kept expanding until it exploded in a spectacular light show of deadly radio-activeness. Every rodent, every human being within one mile of the explosion, was now turning over and vomiting everything they ate out, followed shortly by death.

Ozzy closed his eyes, not knowing what was happening, where he was, or what would happen to him. Please, God, let me live. It was at that moment that a face materialized directly in front of him, a wild grin upon its face. His eyes were ablaze with passion and anger, which seemed to be focused directly on the Courier.

Face to face at last. See you on the other side.

Darkness.