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“I’m leaving soon. Need anything before I go?” Logan looks at his dad. Today’s the day he heads to Vault 108.
“Yeah, actually. I’ll walk out with you after. I, uh...”
“...Uh?”
“Well, I need you to activate some switches for me. Most are in the basement but the last one is through a maintenance tunnel. It’s a bit of a tight fit.”
“Oh. Well. I’ve handled scarier stuff. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
“Just call me through the intercom if you want help.”
“Okay.” He does feel nervous. A tiny tunnel he has to crawl through? His dad knows he’s claustrophobic. Once he’s alone, he takes a deep breath. Logically, he knows he’s right--he has handled very scary things. But something about small spaces...
His dad said the tunnel was last though. He’ll activate these other switches first and then see. He feels heavy as he walks through the basement with armor and his pack. By ‘leaving soon’ he meant ‘leaving as soon as I gather my weapons.’ It’s early and he’s tired but he wants to get this vault over with because he doubts its residents are still alive and healthy. He knows very little about Vault-Tec other than their wild corruption. It makes him wonder how the pre-war world really was that such a corporation could exist.
“All good?”
“Yes, on to the next one.” James tells him where the next switch is. Apparently, they have to be flipped in a specific order. There’s only a few.
“Alright, last one is through the tunnel. You sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, it’ll be fine.”
“I’ll finish up here and then meet you by the entrance. Thanks, son.”
Logan makes it to the tunnel grate and stares. It is small. How long does it extend? Why is the last switch here of all places?
Slowly, he opens the grate and enters. His heart races as he looks down the tunnel. The end isn’t visible. He closes his eyes, counts his breaths. The tunnel does eventually end though. He’s not trapped. The walls aren’t closing in.
He steps forward. Then does it again. He can do this. If he hurries, it won’t be so bad. Logan breaks out into a run, careful to avoid the weird debris scattered along the way.
The tunnel twists and continues before he sees a door. “Oh, thank fuck.” He’s still confined by a fence in the next section but at least he’s outside. There’s murmuring and he looks around. An intercom is nearby but he can hear them through the speaker. He touches the final switch then just as he’s going to joke to his dad not to talk about him, he hears a different noise.
He glances at the sky, wondering what’s going on. Is that...a helicopter? Who does it belong to? Why hasn’t he seen one before? Are they friend or foe? His instincts say foe. They’re here about the purifier, there’s no other reason. He starts for the door but sees it’s locked. He spins around and sees the other’s locked too. He’s trapped.
“Who is that? Why are they here?” the speaker buzzes.
He dashes to the intercom. “Dad?”
“The Enclave? Oh no. Logan,” his dad finally acknowledges. “Stay hidden.”
“I’m locked in here! What’s the Enclave? I can protect-”
“It’ll unlock in a minute. But stay put.”
The intercom goes silent.
“What the fuck!”
His panic rises as he watches people storm across the walkways. Many wear pitch black power armor. It’s a stark, frightening contrast against the bright sky. Are those energy weapons in their hands? His stomach drops. How’s he supposed to fight a small army?
How can he escape? Can he tear a hole through the fence somehow? He’d bang on the door if it wouldn’t alert these clearly dangerous people. What is their goal? Do they want to steal the purifier and kick them out...or steal the purifier and kill everyone in the facility? The energy weapons hint at the latter. His hands clench. Of all the times not to have a fucking weapon. His knife hangs off his belt. But stabbing that power armor would probably snap the blade and then they’d snap his neck.
‘What to do? What to do?’ he thinks. He’s scared to move, doesn’t dare to until the last person disappears. Something dings and he jumps. The light above the other exit turns green.
Logan sprints through it, how small the space is doesn’t enter his mind at all. The only thing he cares about is getting to his dad before this ‘Enclave’ hurts him. It’s only been a month since he got him back. If anything happens to him...
Logan can’t bear to even finish that thought. The sound of his boots stomping against the metal echoes and he drops to his knees. The whole memorial will hear him coming. He crawls as fast as he can. This section doesn’t wind like the other. It leads to the basement and it doesn’t take long to determine where he is. A soldier patrols the area ahead, armor so dark they practically blend into the dim lighting and gray walls. His quarters are nearby luckily. If he can just sneak past this person, he can grab all his guns and feel a little more secure. Why is this happening now? Things have been going so well. Logan’s been so happy. He frowns when a second figure appears and he stays flattened. But then they both leave. Now is his chance, he has to move.
He climbs out of the tunnel and hides, waiting to see if anyone’s coming. They don’t so he hurries as carefully as he can to his room. Nobody’s been in here at least. His stuff is still in tact. They’ll need to evacuate. No way can he clear this alone. He shoves as much as he can into his pack as quickly as he can. It’s not that much since he’s already geared to go but some items he leaves behind. They’re really not important. Once his weapons are strapped and Harkness’ rifle is in his hands, he sneaks out.
He has a single stealth boy with him and he’s never been more grateful. He’ll wait to use it or give it to his dad. His entire body quakes, adrenaline pumps. He just has to pretend this is a game in the vault, like when he and Freddie would sneak around security at night. Same exact thing. Except if he’s caught here, he dies. Still, same thing he’s done his entire life. He can do this.
The first step is escaping this basement. His breathing sounds too loud, every movement he makes echoes against the walls. Slipping past the first soldier almost gives him a heart attack. But the only thing he focuses on is getting to his dad. He can’t get caught before knowing he’s okay.
A brief moment of relief washes over him when he reaches the exit, but that quickly disappears when he remembers he has to somehow sneak through the ground level now. The halls here are better lit, narrower, more straightforward. He touches the stealth boy hanging off his belt to make sure it’s still in place.
The door opens so slowly, until it’s just big enough to get his head through. A soldier walks in the distance but turns the corner without noticing Logan. He slithers out and goes the opposite way.
There’s shouting somewhere then gunshots--or more accurately, the sizzle of a plasma rifle. How will he get his dad out of here? He knows him, he won’t want to abandon the purifier or any scientists. But Logan can’t fight these people, they need to trust that whoever can escape will escape. He’ll guilt his dad into leaving or drag him out himself.
He’s still in one piece as he enters the rotunda, though he feels like a string pulled tight enough to snap. He hurries to where he sees Li--it’s good she’s alive but why hasn’t she left?
Then he sees his dad. With another man pointing a gun at him. Two Enclave members stand inside the closed chamber, as well as Janice. Li looks at him but he ignores her as he runs to the glass to see what’s happening.
“I will not ask you again. Activate the purifier and hand over control to the Enclave immediately. It is your duty as an American citizen.”
“And I will tell you again,” James says to this dangerous man. “This is a private project. We are scientists simply conducting research. Besides, the purifier is non-functional.”
Logan gasps as a gunshot rings and Janice crumples to the floor. He shot her! He fucking shot her! Logan wants to demand his father get out of there. They need to go before he kills James next.
“Please, there’s no more need for violence. I’ll start it.”
“Good. I knew you’d come around.”
Logan wishes he could kill him but this glass is bulletproof, even against microfusion cells. He doesn’t know what his dad is up to though. The purifier obviously doesn’t work without the GECK. Is this just a ploy so they can escape? His dad must have a plan.
“I’m growing impatient,” the stranger growls.
“One moment. Purifying a river is a complicated process.”
“What on earth is he doing?” he hears Li murmur.
Then there’s a bang and the air inside the chamber changes.
“What...did you do...?”
James slumps against the control panel and Logan screams. “Dad! Dad!” He bangs against the glass. The officer falls, both soldiers crawl towards the door before joining him. James is still awake though and pushes himself up. “Open the door. Open the fucking door! We have to get him out!”
“He pumped the room full of radiation.”
He can’t tell if Li is mumbling to him or herself.
“R-run...run!”
Logan watches in horror as his dad stumbles towards him. He bangs the glass harder, eyes glued on James. He drops to his knees so Logan does too. James coughs and it looks like he can barely breathe.
“Dad, Dad,” he cries.
“I love you, Logan. I’m proud of you. Now...run.”
He coughs again and collapses, unmoving.
“No!” Logan screams. “Dad! Dad, get up! Get up!” His fists pound against the glass, determined to shatter it to get his father out.
Something cracks but it’s not the door. He ignores the pain that shoots through his arm, just continues screaming and crying and begging his dad to wake up.
“Logan. Logan, we have to go.”
He ignores Li too. His head smacks against the glass as he cries, the image of his dad face down on the floor seared into his brain forever.
“Logan, they’re coming. You need to lead the others to safety. There’s an old manhole that will lead us to the Citadel. Get up.”
Logan stares at his dad but does stand.
“He’s gone,” Li whispers. Her voice shakes. “We need to go now.”
He tears his eyes away and turns towards her. He says nothing as he follows her down the ramp. His mind is blank as he checks the hallway then goes in the direction Li tells him. They find the entrance and jump down to where a few other survivors wait.
“Oh, thank god you made it,” Alex says to Li.
“We need to go,” Daniel snaps impatiently. “Your daddy’s just going to need to catch up.”
“He’s dead,” Logan mutters unemotionally.
The others fall silent.
“I can’t move my hand. I need it to shoot.”
“Do you have any stimpaks?” Li asks quietly.
“Yeah.”
He keeps them within easy reach for fights. His fingers clasp around a shot of med-x instead. He hands it to Li. “Will help.”
She doesn’t hesitate as she injects him with the chem.
Getting through Taft Tunnel is all he thinks about. The med-x flows through him and the pain ebbs. He feels numb and can’t know if its the chems. Ghouls and mole rats plague the first section and he saves his plasma rifle ammo. The scientists hang back until he signals it’s clear. When he hears other voices, he knows the Enclave is here too. He still knows nothing about them other than they’re evil and every single one of them needs to die. The fighting he wanted to avoid greets them head on. Daniel offers his help but that will only end in his death. Logan orders all of them back so he can fight without distraction.
It’s hard work dispatching each soldier but not many litter the tunnels. He barely remembers it.
“Logan, stop for a moment.”
He stares as Li explains Garza’s heart condition. She mentions stimpaks and he reaches for them. He silently pushes five into her hands and waits. Garza thanks him.
“You’re welcome.”
These underground tunnels stretch and Logan forgets where Li said they lead. Until they emerge and he sees the Citadel. Logan despises the Brotherhood. Those fuckers should’ve been at Jefferson Memorial. They could’ve helped. His dad could still be alive-
“Damn it, Lyons! I know you can hear me! Open this door, we need shelter!” Li shouts.
Logan blinks. She’s right. He hates the Brotherhood but these people need somewhere safe to go.
The door opens. Li looks at him. “Let’s go.”
They walk inside the former Pentagon. An old man greets them but so does a woman Logan recognizes from GNR.
Logan hears Li speak to them, acknowledges when they express condolences, but he doesn’t know the specific words she says. The old man starts talking but Logan ignores him.
“I need to put my stuff down.”
The man pauses. “Of course. The barracks are just-”
“It’ll be easier if I just show him,” the woman interrupts.
Sarah Lyons, Logan remembers.
He goes from standing outside to standing in a room. Two beds stand against the walls but Sarah assures him he’s alone here. He places his weapons on the desk, drops his bag on the chair, strips his armor and drops it to the floor. His dad is dead. His dad is dead and he will never see him again.
Logan’s job was to protect the memorial and in the end, he failed. He doesn’t care about the purifier right now, all that matters is his dad. His dad sacrificed himself for the others, for him.
Why couldn’t he just be satisfied with vault life? If he’d never left, this never would’ve happened. They’d still be in the vault and things would still be okay. His dad would still be alive.
Now the thoughts won’t leave him alone and he’d do anything for the blankness of earlier. He falls to his knees in the middle of the room and cries. His hands cover his face and he chokes on the tears as the pressure hurts his broken hand. He doesn't have the energy to drag himself to the clinic. He doesn’t care anyways, wouldn’t care if he died right now. That’d be better than how he feels.
He cries for his dad. He doesn’t even have any of his belongings, something to carry with him. They won’t have his body for a fucking funeral. Logan stumbles to the bed and falls onto it. He hugs the pillow, cursing the Enclave as his body aches and his heart burns.
Logan stays like that for a long time. The thought of living without his dad is no easier but he knows he needs his hand tended to. The thought of talking to another human being right now makes him want to vomit.
An hour later, Logan is back in his room. Even though he managed to fix Sawbones’ malfunction, his hand still hurts. It’s in a splint and that’s going to make this next task difficult. He needs to send a letter to tell Harkness what happened. He hates the distance between them, would do anything to have him here right this instant. Using his right hand, he slowly explains. It kills Logan to write the words ‘My dad is dead.’ He still doesn’t quite believe it. He was perfectly fine just this morning. Maybe if they sneak back into the memorial, they can still save his dad. How is this fair?
Logan’s already lost his mom, his friends, his home, now his dad too? What the fuck is he supposed to do? He doesn't want to find a courier to deliver the letter. It’s a dangerous job and will take them right by the memorial. He nearly leaves it for later but the image of him seeing the helicopter from Rivet City and thinking Logan’s dead motivates him to find someone. It’s expensive but he’ll pay anything.
His stomach rumbles but he’s tired of asking for directions. He doubts he can handle anything besides the bag of chips he eats alone in his room anyways. Then he lies back down and doesn’t move for hours. All he can think about is the horrific way his dad died. He feels guilty. If he’d just gotten to the chamber sooner or did something just a little differently, then his dad could be here with him at the Citadel and they’d be planning their next move together.
Eventually, Logan’s mind goes blank again and it isn’t until he’s groggily opening his eyes that he realizes he fell asleep. How can he sleep at a time like this? There’s a knock on his door. Did that wake him up? Has enough time passed for it to already be the courier? Logan honestly doesn’t even know what day it is in this windowless room. He gets up and opens the door, hoping it isn’t Li or anyone else from Project Purity.
“Harkness,” he whispers.
Harkness drops his pack to the ground and embraces him tightly. Logan immediately begins crying. “I’m sorry, Logan. I’m so sorry.”
Logan wants to say more right now but he just can’t. He's relieved Harkness rushed over though. He wants to better explain what happened but thinking about this morning is a nightmare. So he says nothing, just sobs against Harkness and misses his dad.