elle days | courier six (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
quixotically) wrote2020-12-30 06:35 pm
quixotically) wrote2020-12-30 06:35 pm
Entry tags:
reference [endings]
And so the Courier, who had cheated death in the cemetery outside Goodsprings, cheated death once again, and the Mojave Wasteland was forever changed.
[Default ending, you will always get it when you finish the game.]
The Courier, with the aid of Yes Man, drove both the Legion and the NCR from Hoover Dam, securing New Vegas' independence from both factions. With Mr. House out of the picture, part of the Securitron army was diverted to The Strip to keep order. Any chaos on the streets was ended, quickly. Chaos became uncertainty, then acceptance, with minimal loss of life. New Vegas assumed its position as an independent power in the Mojave.
[Complete Wild Card: You and What Army? for an independent New Vegas with the upgraded Securitrons.]
Supporting the ideals of independence, the Courier was recognized as the woman responsible for a truly free New Vegas. She ensured Mr. House's tyranny was broken and neither Caesar's Legion nor NCR would ever gain control over New Vegas.
[Good Karma, Independent Vegas]
Tabitha and Rhonda went east, through Caesar's land. Occasionally tales of their exploits found their way back west, though few believed them. Eventually the stories concerning the duo were collected and published, and proved to be quite popular with children.
[Repair Tabitha's Robot, Rhonda.]
Invigorated by his travels with the Courier, Raul once more took up his guns in memory of his lost Rafaela. Soon after, the Mojave was filled with tales of the ghost-vaquero who hunts down those who prey on the weak.
[Acquire Raul as a companion and complete his personal quest, Old School Ghoul, by convincing him to become a vaquero again.]
Though the Wasteland became anarchic after Hoover Dam, the Boomers' display of power dissuaded fortune seekers from attempting to penetrate Nellis.
[Complete Volare!, complete the endgame quest No Gods, No Masters for Independent Vegas.]
Due to their temporary truce, the Brotherhood allowed the NCR to retreat from the Mojave Wasteland without incident. In the relative peace that followed, Brotherhood patrols appeared along major roads, harassing travelers over any bits of technology they had.
[Complete Eyesight to the Blind, sign truce in For the Republic, Part 2, complete the endgame quest No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas.]
*NOTE: Elle completed Eyesight to the Blind and No Gods, No Masters, but not For The Republic, Part 2. The Brotherhood allowed the NCR to retreat because McNamara remained in charge, and isn't militaristic enough to attack them. The Brotherhood patrols are assumed to be harrassing travelers, though, as this is the closest ending available to Elle's choices, and it matches up with Veronica's ending.
The Brotherhood's open aggression along the New Vegas highways troubled Veronica greatly. Nevertheless, it removed all doubt from her mind that in leaving them she had made the right choice. Eventually she would take to the road, less in hopes of finding a new home than of leaving memories of the old one behind her.
[Complete I Could Make You Care by encouraging Veronica to join the Followers of the Apocalypse. Complete No Gods, No Masters.]
Their leaders destroyed by the Courier, the Fiends scattered throughout the wasteland. Without the organization of Motor-Runner, Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi, they were easy prey.
[Kill the Fiend leaders: Motor-Runner, Cook-Cook, Violet, and Driver Nephi. This ending overrides all others for the Fiends if this condition is met.]
After the Courier ensured New Vegas remain free, the Followers found that independent Vegas was even more unstable and violent than before. Old Mormon Fort became excessively burdened by the influx of patients, struggling to provide even the most basic of services.
[Complete either All or Nothing or No Gods, No Masters.]
*NOTE: This ending is kind of at odds with all of the other endings. No, I don't know, either.
Arcade was proud to have been one of the defenders who helped repel the Legion from Hoover Dam. He was prouder still to see the area freed from the shackles of the NCR and Mr. House. Though independence for New Vegas was not all he hoped it could be, Arcade used his Enclave knowledge and technology to keep order wherever he could.
[Complete No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas; complete For Auld Lang Syne and advise Arcade to aid the Remnants.]
"With New Vegas' independence formally declared, Goodsprings thrived. More travelers stopped by Goodsprings on their way to and from the Strip, and the locals grew prosperous from the traffic.
[Complete Ghost Town Gunfight, complete the endgame quest No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas.]
In the years following the destruction of Cassidy Caravans, NCR used evidence of the plot to blackmail the Crimson Caravan and the Van Graffs. NCR enacted strict trade laws with little resistance, strengthening their supply lines and their position in the Mojave.
[Complete Heartache by the Number by exposing the Van Graffs and the Crimson Caravan to the NCR authorities.]
Cass lived to see the Courier bring down three armies and by her count, that was three more than she'd expected. She'd kept quiet about that, though.
[Complete No Gods, No Masters endgame quest for an Independent New Vegas.]
During the Battle of Hoover Dam, the Great Khans quickly evacuated Red Rock Canyon and headed north and east into the plains of Wyoming. There, they reconnected with the Followers of the Apocalypse and rebuilt their strength. Bolstered by ancient knowledge of governance, economics, and transportation, they carved a mighty empire out of the ruins of the Northwest.
[Convince Papa Khan to break his alliance with Caesar's Legion, but do not replace him with Regis. Afterwards, convince Papa Khan that the Great Khans should claim their own legacy. This ending is compatible with all 4 endgame quests and will override the others if both conditions are met.]
Thanks to the Courier and Lily, a cure for the nightkin's schizophrenia was found shortly after Doctor Henry's experiment concluded. Nightkin and other super mutants in the wasteland flocked to Jacobstown, and the town became known as a haven where a mutant could find peace.
[Complete Guess Who I Saw Today, pass the Speech check with
Lily continued to take her medicine at half-doses, and although she remembered her grandchildren, her mind remained muddled and confused. Eventually, she parted ways with the Courier and traveled west, seeking the remnants of her past.
[Encourage Lily to continue taking her medicine at half-doses in her unmarked quest, Lily and Leo; or do not complete the quest.]
Following the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, Freeside came to be known as one of the more stable areas in the region. Ironically, NCR refugees found Freeside safer than most of the rest of New Vegas, where resentment still lingers.
[Ease tensions between NCR and The Kings in G.I. Blues, complete the endgame quest No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas.]
After Rey's brain was transplanted into Rex's cybernetic body, it took Rex some time to adjust to the old scrapyard dog's memories. Eventually, Rex's mind settled peacefully, melding his own memories with that of long travels with Old Lady Gibson.
[Complete Rex's personal quest, Nothin' But a Hound Dog, by implanting Rey's brain in Rex.]
Shaped up by the Courier's advice, The Misfits distinguished themselves during the Legion's attack on Camp Golf. Mags was finally promoted to Sergeant, and the rest of The Misfits received an official commendation. They continued to serve with distinction for many years.
[Complete "Flags of Our Foul-Ups" by following O'Harahan's
Though Novac was a low-priority target for the Legion, many of Novac's citizens died in its defense. In the weeks that followed, several Bright Followers returned to Novac to help restore its defenses, allowing it to remain independent of the NCR.
[Complete Come Fly With Me, complete any endgame quest except Veni, Vidi, Vici.]
Though NCR was withdrawing from the region, Boone remained in New Vegas, finding work as a security guard and caravan scout along the highways. While he might've preferred rejoining his old unit, Boone couldn't bring himself to abandon the city where he'd met his wife.
[Complete No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas or All or Nothing for Mr. House; complete I Forgot to Remember to Forget by convincing Boone to make amends over Bitter Springs.]
After Hoover Dam, the leaderless Powder Gangers at the Correctional Facility vanished into the wastes, leaving the prison empty. The Correctional Facility became another abandoned ruin in the wasteland, its carcass occasionally picked over by enterprising prospectors.
[Eddie dies.]
After the majority of the Vault 19 Powder Gangers joined the Great Khans, the weaker members scattered throughout the Mojave Wasteland. Though a few managed to erase their pasts, most never survived the journey.
[Convince Philip Lem or Samuel Cooke to ally with the Great Khans.]
Despite NCR's pledge to support Primm, they abandon the town after their loss to Courier. Independent again, Primm operates much as it had before the Powder Gangs arrived: full of ups and downs.
[Complete My Kind of Town by persuading the NCR to protect the town, complete the endgame quest No Gods, No Masters for an Independent Vegas.]
With its logs cleared and its systems upgraded ED-E remained a vigilant and constant companion to The Courier. The Followers of the Apocalypse used the information recovered from ED-E on Poseidon Energy, to develop new methods to harness the energy of the sun.
[Complete ED-E My Love by taking ED-E to the Followers of the Apocalypse.]
Despite distinguishing themselves during the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, the rangers' victory was short-lived due to the Courier's interference. Chief Hanlon personally directed the evacuation of the rangers to Mojave Outpost as they fell back into NCR territory. Bitter over the waste of life in the Mojave, Hanlon stepped down from his post. After a campaign in which he denounced Oliver's and Kimball's hawkish, imperialist ways, Hanlon was elected as the senator of Redding.
[Don't expose the Chief, complete No Gods, No Masters or All or Nothing.]
After their bold arrival at Hoover Dam, the Remnants disappeared as quickly as they came. Legends of their power spread throughout the southwest, a reminder of why people once feared the sight of vertibirds in the sky.
[Complete the quest For Auld Lang Syne, complete any endgame quest except Veni, Vidi, Vici.]
And so the Courier's road came to an end... for now. In the new world of the Mojave Wasteland, fighting continued, blood was spilled, and many lived and died - just as they had in the Old World. Because war... war never changes.
[Default ending, acquired for finishing the game.]
Old World Blues
As it had been in the years before the Great War, Big MT... the Big Empty... became home to one of the brightest minds of the 23rd century. The Courier watched over the Big Empty for years to come, caring for it, and keeping its discoveries safe until they were needed to help others. Which had always been Big MT's purpose. Past the laboratories and Science, it had always been intended as a place to build the future of all mankind.
[Finish Old World Blues with Good or Neutral Karma.]
The Sink Central Intelligence Unit was impressed by the amount of exploration the Courier had undertaken. Facilities believed lost, destroyed, or ones that had simply gotten up and walked to new locations had been re-discovered by its intrepid new master. Internally, the artificial personality debated as to whether it preferred the old management to the new... and concluded that the Courier's thorough approach to research and investigation was admirable and worthy of its respect.
[35 Locations explored.]
Dr. Mobius continued his research undisturbed in the Forbidden Zone. As much as he had attempted to create better scorpions, he tried the same with humanity, with considerably less success. These failures didn't bother him overmuch. Once the rush of Mentats wore off, he forgot he had failed in any event. After all, the bright young mind who had come to visit him in the Forbidden Zone had already exceeded his expectations.
[Mobius alive.]
"The Sink atop the Dome bustled with the voices of a small town, constantly chirping, arguing, and snarling at each other. Still, this all happened productively in the interests of its new owner. The Sink Central Intelligence Unit discovered, despite its inversion code, it was comforted by the sense of community the other personalities gave it.
[5 or more modules installed in The Sink]
The Biological Research Station, obsessed with seeding everything in sight, requested a transfer to the X-22 Botanical Garden... so that it might, in its own words, "sensually fertilize the garden's smooooth contours." The Garden sent back a polite refusal, saying it had prior commitments with a Vault it had helped infect before the war.
[X-22 Botanical Garden discovered]
The Book Chute continued to devour all seditious materials until it nearly choked on a paper clip. It adamantly maintained it was a Chinese paper clip, and the whole thing had been an elaborately orchestrated assassination attempt. Whatever the reason, it slowed down for a while, carefully appraising each document and clipboard that came to it.
[Book Chute installed]
The light switches continued to bicker and flicker. This persisted until the day someone dropped a flashlight in the Sink, and the two of them united in their hatred of the "showboat." One of them eventually transferred to the Lightwave Dynamics Plant - and began a long, unrequited affair with one of the holograms.
[Both Light Switches found and Z-38 lightwave dynamics research found]
The Sink continued to ruthlessly scrub any particulate matter that came near it. Eventually, it gained access to the Magnetohydraulics Plant and nearly flooded all the Big Empty in an attempt to scrub the crater clean. Once it learned of the Innovative Toxins Plant, however, it gained new purpose. It sought to develop anti-toxins to flush into its drains and counteract the poisons bleeding into the soil.
[Default Sink slide. Magnetohydraulics complex discovered, Z-43 Innovative Toxins plant discovered]
The Toaster continued its psychotic spree, reducing all appliances in range to scrap electronics and spare parts. After one of its more psychotic episodes, however, the other Sink personalities decided enough was enough, and dumped the Toaster in a bathtub. Sparking and hissing, the Toaster swore its enemies would rue the day when they had bread - and no way to toast it.
[Good or Neutral Karma]
Muggy did his best to collect coffee cups, although in his quest, he accidentally trapped himself in Higgs' Village. It might have been the end for poor Muggy. Except... he found it peaceful there, tidying up the kitchens of the Think Tank Professors back when they had been flesh and bone. Well, except for Dr. O, who was an asshole for having created Muggy in the first place. Muggy left O's house deliberately dirty, punishing the dishes and cups that lived there in blind revenge for serving Dr. O.
[Higgs village discovered]
Blind Diode Jefferson, with sounds the Courier brought him, created a symphonic counter-frequency that saved Big MT from sonic invasion in 2910. If you didn't hear about it - good. It was rumored by the other personalities that he had a brief fling with the light switches. Although he forgot their names once too often and was soon left in the dark as punishment.
[3 or more sound effects installed, both light switches installed]
Auto-Doc, always gentle and methodical, kept sewing up the Courier in all the right places when the skin split open from repeated wear and tear. The Auto-Doc was just glad to have purpose again. It heard its simpler brothers and sisters who got shipped to the Sierra Madre were bored out of their skulls in that toxic, dead city. In time, the Auto-Doc found a way to deactivate the Y-17 Trauma Harnesses, releasing the corpses they had held prisoner for almost 200 years.
[Auto-Doc installed, Y-17 medical facility discovered]
As the Courier ran through the X-8 facility multiple times, the computers analyzed the test subject's movements. Rather than performing a superficial observation, they realized the subject barely knew what Communism was - or even what a high school was. This confused them for a time, until the facility finally realized that its research had... succeeded. So it let its cyberdogs out into the wastes to help protect small communities from physical aggression rather than communist propaganda.
[All X-8 tasks completed]
The infiltration program in X-13 felt spent, having repeatedly upgraded the Stealth Suit until it could upgrade it no more. It felt warm, fulfilled, and a bit sluggish. It realized not long after, the Stealth Suit had left it without so much as a note on the nightstand. So the infiltration program sent out robobrains into the wastes looking for its wayward technology. It eventually found REPCONN HQ, and set up a new research center, testing and murdering Fiends who kept breaking into the facility.
[All X-13 tasks completed]
The cybernetic canine, gender: female, designation: ROXIE sat in her guard post in X-8. That is, until her "I'm in heat" programming circumvented her "stay" routine and she loped into the Mojave. There, she ran across Rex, who had been following the Courier, just as she had. They barked for a while, and realized they had a lot in common. The two of them constructed a litter of cyberpups, a small army of Boston terrifiers that gnawed and devoured anything in their path.
[Roxie created. Rex is alive and a companion on standby]
The Courier, organs intact, continued onwards, a little less heavy of step, but with all the organs in the right places. As they should be. After all, brains can develop a life of their own when left to their own thoughts, and the Courier's brain was more clever than most.
[Courier took brain back]
Dr. Klein and the Think Tank remained alive, unaware of the world outside. They looped through their daily routine, none the wiser about the world beyond... although perhaps "wiser" was the wrong word. The world outside belonged to the Courier, and if anyone would shape it... well, the Courier had already called dibs.
[Think Tank alive]
There is an expression in the Wasteland: "Old World Blues." It refers to those so obsessed with the past they can't see the present, much less the future, for what it is. They stare into the what-was, eyes like pilot lights, guttering and spent, as the realities of their world continue on around them. Science is a long, steady progression into the future. What may seem a sudden event often isn't felt for years, even centuries, to come.
In the times following the Second Battle of Hoover Dam, however, Old World Blues took on a new meaning. Where once it was viewed as a form of sadness, nostalgia, it became an expression describing the potential for the future. It can be easy to see Science as evil, technology unchecked as the source of all ills, all misfortunes. With the Courier at the helm, Science became a beacon for the future. There was Old World Blues, and New World Hope. And hope ruled the day at Big MT.
[Completed the add-on. Good or Neutral Karma]
Dead Money
The survivors of the Sierra Madre thought about gathering at the Fountain and waiting for the Courier. In the end, the collars' silence made them uneasy, and the fear of turning on each other made them hesitate, and leave the goodbyes - unspoken. The radio message at the fountain was enough for them, and there was no need to add another farewell on top of all they had suffered.
[All companions survive, Elijah dies.]
Dog forgot himself, as did the voice that raged within him. After their passing, a new voice spoke within the mutant's shell. It was difficult for the voice to remember the two it once was... there was the beast, Dog consumed by hunger... ...and the other in reverse... the one consumed by control. Both were driven by need for the other. The Courier brought them together, somehow, joined the two into one. All that happened at the Sierra Madre, was a faint memory to the new personality... like a flickering light in the clouds of the mind. The new voice did not think of the Courier again until the battle at the Divide reached his ears. The battle between the two couriers, beneath the torn skies and the Old World flag... each bearing a message for the other. And the mutant prayed the Courier that had saved him... had been saved in return.
[Dog alive, God alive]
Dean Domino, entertainer, singer... thief... explored the Sierra Madre not long after he was rescued by the Courier. Once he left the theater, the Sierra Madre recognized him as a guest, and many doors opened to him. He had to admit, it had been built to last. During his search, he came across the final records of Vera and Sinclair, and realized what happened the night the bombs fell. He felt strangely sad for a moment, and he had no idea why. Shrugging it off, his mind turned instead to where the Courier had come from. Vegas still survived, out there in the Mojave. Its sights, sounds... and casinos, ripe for the taking. So giving the Sierra Madre one last nod and a wink, he set off beyond the Cloud to begin again.
[Dean alive]
Christine, her mission complete, found new purpose as the Sierra Madre's warden. She watched over it silently - by choice. Over time, the ghost people came to see her as one of the Holograms. They would watch, silently, as she walked among them. At times, Christine thought of the Courier, who had kept Elijah's hand from her throat. The Courier reminded her of the other courier she had met in the Big Empty, and wondered if the two had found each other at last. She did not think of them again until she heard the legends of the Divide. The Divide, where the two messengers, the two couriers, fought beneath an ancient flag, at the edge of the world.
[Christine alive]
"You've heard of the Sierra Madre Casino. We all have, the legend, the curses. Some foolishness about it lying in the middle of a City of Dead. A city of ghosts. Buried beneath a blood-red cloud... a bright, shining monument luring treasure hunters to their doom. An illusion that you can begin again, change your fortunes. Finding it, though, that's not the hard part. It's letting go.
Honest Hearts
And so it was that the conflict between the New Canaanites and the White Legs was finally resolved. The Courier's involvement had tipped the scale, shifting the fragile balance of power.
[Finish Honest Hearts]
Demoralized by the Dead Horse and Sorrows attack the Courier and Joshua Graham led against them, the White Legs retreated to Great Salt Lake. Their days were numbered. Word soon reached the 80s tribe that the White Legs' spirit was broken, their war chief a dim shadow of his former self. By year's end, the 80s would overrun the White Legs' camps, scattering the tribe to the winds and claiming the Great Salt Lake for its own.
[Help Joshua Graham defend Zion Valley and exterminate the White Legs, then convince Joshua Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds.]
The Sorrows fought beside Joshua Graham and the Dead Horses, eradicating the threat the White Legs posed to Zion. Seeing the Courier convince Joshua Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds, the Sorrows learned that retribution could be tempered by mercy. Though he despaired at the Sorrows' loss of innocence, Daniel took some small consolation in the Courier's lesson, and prayed it would take root.
[Help Joshua Graham defend Zion Valley and exterminate the White Legs, then convince Joshua Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds.]
Having helped eradicate the White Legs from Zion, the Dead Horses returned to Dead Horse Point in triumph. They remained neutral toward the Sorrows, but as years went on, there were periods of competitive friction, even violence, between the tribes. The New Canaanites - Daniel especially - intervened regularly as mediators, but found it difficult to reconcile the tribes' conflicts.
[Help Joshua crush the White Legs.]
The defeat of the White Legs in Zion marked a turning point in the fortunes of the Happy Trails Caravan Company. Every two months, the caravan met with the New Canaanites in Zion Valley to trade. Happy Trails soon returned to prosperity. The vigilance of the Sorrows and Dead Horses in defending southwestern Utah, initially startling to Happy Trails caravans, soon proved a blessing. The tribes united against the 80s, driving them back from Highway 50, and thus opening yet another trading route for Happy Trails caravans.
[Help Joshua crush the White Legs.]
Follows-Chalk took the Courier's words to heart and decided that he would behold the sights and sounds of distant lands with his own eyes and ears. After returning to Dead Horse Point, he quarreled with his family and other tribe members about his ambitions. One morning, they awoke to discover that Follows-Chalk had set off alone, westward, into the wilderness. He was never seen again.
[Tell Follows-Chalk that he should see civilization.]
Waking Cloud was distraught when she learned of her husband's death, but took comfort from her tribe, and the compassion of the New Canaanites. She forgave Daniel for having concealed her husband's fate from her, and learned to accept his fate. When her grief faded, she took a husband from the Dead Horse tribe. At her bidding, he stayed close to home.
[Tell the truth to Waking Cloud about her husband.]
The threat of the White Legs ended, Joshua Graham helped the Sorrows and Dead Horses tend to their fallen comrades and secure Zion. The Courier's words had stayed Joshua's wrath in his darkest hour, and in sparing Salt-Upon-Wounds, he was changed. While he continued to advocate militant opposition to the enemies of New Canaan, he sometimes showed quarter to those who crossed his family. Eventually this new spirit would diminish the myth of the Burned Man in distant lands - a small price for the peace it brought to Joshua Graham.
[Help Joshua Graham Defend Zion Valley and exterminate the White Legs, then convince Joshua Graham to spare Salt-Upon-Wounds.]
For years after the defeat of the White Legs, Daniel did his best to minister to the Sorrows' spiritual needs. Try as he might, he could not hold back the tribe's increasing militancy and reverence of Joshua Graham. Demoralized, he returned to his family at Dead Horse Point. His failures haunted him for the rest of his days.
[Exterminate the White Legs with Joshua Graham.]
And with that, the Courier walked out of the history of the tribes of Zion and back to the gathering storm of the Mojave Wasteland.
[Complete the add-on.]
Lonesome Road
When ED-E's circuits burned in the fires of the Divide, there was one small part that held on until the end. It was the fragment that held the Old World memories and the words of his creator in his last moments. As his last gesture, he sent one last signal to his counterpart in the Mojave, passing along what the Courier had taught him in the Divide. There was the chance.. always, that ED-E's journey would continue, perhaps carried by another eyebot in the Mojave.....the one from which the ED-E from the Divide had been shaped. For now, the courier knew ED-E's history and could carry it, even if the eyebot had forgotten.
[Release ED-E from stasis and sacrifice him to stop the missiles from launching.]
Hopeville burned lightless in the night, invisible fires of radiation scorching it from within and without. It is said a man still walked its streets, with a tattered jacket, an Old World flag etched on the back... He remained there, perhaps as punishment for the scars he left on the wastes - or a reminder of a history he could not forget. For Ulysses... his journey was over. The Courier had been the end of his road.
[Do not kill Ulysses]
As for the Courier... she turned her back on his/her home for the second time and made her way back, navigating the treachery of the Divide. Tunnelers and the Marked Men... avoided the lone figure, as if recognizing the Courier's right to passage... or out of fear.
The Courier walked until she stood again upon the edge of the Divide, the last road he/she would walk before the second battle for Hoover Dam. There, beside her feet, was a final package, from one Courier to another - a footlocker, bearing a gift, and a message. But that message - it is something for Couriers to carry, and for them alone. The lights flickered across the Divide, reminders that the Old World histories persist, and find meaning in the present.
It's said war - war never changes. Women do, through the roads they walk. And this road - has reached its end.
[Complete Lonesome Road]