| “ | None could stand in my way. I had a mission. I had a goal. I had a really large gun.
— Vault Dweller's memoirs
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” |
The Vault Dweller is a legendary figure from the Californian wasteland responsible for founding the city of Arroyo and saving the wasteland from the Master and the super mutants. He was also the one who inspired President Aradesh to found the New Californian Republic and the grandfather of the Chosen One.
He grew up in Vault 13 which protected him and his fellow dwellers from the dangers of the outside world. However, when the chip responsible for filtering the vault's water supply broke, the Vault Dweller was chosen to leave the Vault and search for a replacement chip, with his first lead being Vault 15, the vault closest to Vault 13.
During his travel to Vault 15, the Vault Dweller stumbled upon the small town of Shady Sands and earned the trust of the town's leader, Aradesh and his daughter, Tandi. He also recruited a former caravan guard called Ian to help him on his travels. Finding that Vault 15 had caved in and lacked its water chip the Vault Dweller returned to Shady Sands only to hear that Tandi had been kidnapped by a group of raiders called the Khans. After rescuing Tandi the Vault Dweller made his way to Junktown, where he was joined by a dog which he named Dogmeat. From there he travelled to the Hub where he paid a few water merchants to bring water to Vault 13 heard a rumour of another vault hidden under Necropolis, a city of ghouls. He was able to find the water chip there, however, it was there Ian lost his life at the hands of a super mutant.
The Overseer was overjoyed at the Vault Dweller's return but was worried over his description of the super mutants and tasked the Vault Dweller with destroying whatever the source of the mutants was along with their leader. He returned to the Hub in order to find more clue, only to rescue a Brotherhood of Steel Initiate from a group of gangsters. With the aid of the Brotherhood, the Vault Dweller made his way to the remains of Los Angels which was now dubbed the Boneyard. Hidden within the Boneyard the Dweller found a cathedral with a vault underneath which hid the mutant's leader simply called the Master. It's unknown how the Vault Dweller dealt with the Master, but by the end of it, the Vault and Cathredal exploded. With the Master dead, the Vault Dweller focused on destroying the source of the mutants, which he managed to do with the aid of the Brotherhood.
For the last time, the Vault Sweller returned to Vault 13 where the Overseer congratulated him for stopping the mutants but banished him from the vault as the Dwellers presence might encourage future generations to leave. Now alone the Vault Dweller wandered the wastes but always stayed close to the vault until he was joined by a group of fellow dwellers who were inspired by his actions. Now joined by a small group the Vault Dweller moved up north and taught them how to survive, he even fell in love with a girl named Pat whom he had a daughter with. Year after Pat's death the Vault Dweller vanished. While some of his tribe said he was taken by the sky spirits others think he simply felt it was time to move on and leave the elders to guide Arroyo.
Battle vs. The Lone Wanderer (Fallout) (by Drayco90)
The wasteland was sweltering hot. It made the Vault Dweller glad he wasn’t wearing power armor. Tycho and Dogmeat were close by, on the lookout for ghouls and Super Mutants, which had seemed to become dumber and more hostile the further east the three traveled. The number made the Vault Dweller solemn for a moment- it had been a few years since he had been exiled from Vault 13. Ian had fallen fighting a group of overzealous bigots named the Brotherhood of Steel, and Katja was killed by a Super Mutant Behemoth when they first entered the Capital Wasteland. It was no wonder they had become so defensive- the Vault Dweller looked out for his family, and with only two more left he couldn’t stand to lose another. Across the distance, Tycho spotted another man wearing a Vault Suit, traveling in a group of three. The Dweller sent the Desert Ranger to take a position on top of some rocks in case they needed to flank the group if they were hostile. When the Ranger was in place, he and the mangy dog approached the trio. The Lone Wanderer looked up, relieved to see another person from a Vault. His robotic sidekick, Sergeant RL-3, wanted to kill him and his hideous looking dog, but the Wanderer was never one to dismiss a possible ally. “Afternoon!” he shouted across the gap. “I’m from Vault 101. What’s your number?” “13!” The Vault Dweller shouted back, never breaking his stride.
“Damn, you’ve come a long way. How far west is that?”
“Don’t get much further. You look like you’ve been here a while. You affiliated with any groups?” “I’ve been helping the Brotherhood of Steel fight the good fight. Hopefully we’ll be able to take the Jefferson Memorial soon.” The Vault Dweller paused for a moment, studying the words. His hand slowly reached for the pistol at his hip. “Funny. I met a group named the Brotherhood of Steel back west.” “Oh yeah? How are they doing out there?”
“They killed a good friend of mine.”
With that the Vault Dweller drew his .233 Pistol and fired at the Lone Wanderer. The bullet pierced through the Vault Suit, and tore into his side. Blood rushed from the wound and began to run down his leg. The Wanderer stumbled back, surprised, he began to draw a Nuka-Grenade. With a swift chuck, the grenade landed by the Vault Dweller, exploding in a fluorescent blast of carbonated pain, sending the Dweller crashing to the ground. Sergeant RL-3 began to hover towards the Vault Dweller, drawing his Flamer arm, but he was quickly intercepted when Tycho leapt from the rocks above, landing on top of the Mister Gutsy robot. He opened fire a few times with his Combat Shotgun, denting the hull of the robot, before grabbing the Flamer arm, twisting it away from his leader, and began to grapple the machine to the ground. The Lone Wanderer grabbed Ol’ Painless from his back and aimed at the Vault Dweller, who was still sprawled out on the ground. The Dweller reacted quickly, shooting the .233 pistol four more times, emptying the clip. Two shots missed, the third clipped the Wanderer’s ankle, barely skimming along the surface of the suit, and the fourth struck directly in the front of the boot. While the Wanderer wasn’t stopped, it shook his aim long enough for the Vault Dweller to get back on his feet. Rather than reload, he threw the pistol aside and drew his AK-122 Assault Rifle. The Wanderer popped off a shot from his modified Hunting Rifle, scoring the Dweller in the shoulder. Before the Vault Dweller could open fire, a hulking Super Mutant charged him, lifting him from the earth with ease, and tossing him into the air, swinging it’s massive Super Sledge hitting the Vault Dweller hard in the stomach, and sending the warrior flying across the battlefield. Fawkes chased after him when he landed, allowing the Lone Wanderer time to recover.
Tycho had managed to back RL-3 into a cluster of rocks, allowing him to easily pin the robot with his City-Killer. The Sergeant roared with anger, knocking Tycho off him. “I’m going to Uncle Sam a personal favor, and wipe your existence from this glorious nation!” He began to torch Tycho with the flamer, forcing the Desert Ranger back. If it weren’t for his armor and gas mask, he might have been deep fried where he stood, but he managed to hang on to life as the heat seared around him. “You forgot something, robot.” Tycho hissed through clinched teeth. “The 50 pound hell hound with an affinity for gutting things.” With a bark, Dogmeat lunged at RL-3 from behind, chewing open a hatch and tearing out multiple wires and chips, causing the robot to lurch forward. “Every day is a good day to diiieeeeeee” the Sergeant’s voice turned into in an electronic moan as he died, his shell slamming into the ground. Tycho and the mutt looked around for the Lone Wanderer, but he had disappeared. “No more games! Time to die!” Fawkes roared, raising his Super Sledge high. The Vault Dweller moaned, certain at least a few ribs had been broken by the Mutant. He opened fire on Fawkes with his AK-122, blood flying from his chest, but it didn’t slow him down from bringing the Sledge down, narrowly missing it’s target as he rolled out of the way. Getting up, the Vault Dweller continued to fire on the Super Mutant, and was soon joined when Tycho’s combat shotgun blasted Fawkes in the back of the knee, bringing him down to one knee. The Dweller lifted the assault rifle level to Fawkes’ head, the barrel placed squarely between his eyes, and pulled the trigger, unleashing a burst of bullets into the Super Mutants head. The tough skull didn’t break, but the bullets did their damage, and Fawkes fell backwards dead, swinging his Super Sledge as he went down. The Sledge managed to score a blow to Tycho’s knee, an audible crack accompanying the shattering blow. “Tycho? You okay?” The Vault Dweller asked with concern.
“I’ll be fine. Just a major leg wound. Nothing a Stim-Pak and a couple hours of sleep won’t-“ A shot cut him off mid-sentence, a bullet piercing right through his helmet, causing his head to rupture. The Vault Dweller stood in horror as his only remaining human companion’s blood spilled over his suit and face. Across the battlefield, the Lone Wanderer stood, Victory Rifle in hand. The Vault Dweller was too stunned to move as the Lone Wanderer put his foe in the sniper rifle’s sights. The escapee from Vault 101 moved his finger, lightly squeezing the trigger, when, with a howl, Dogmeat barreled into him, knocking the Wanderer back, and causing the shot to fly far off. “Not Dogmeat too.” The Dweller muttered to himself. “Not Dogmeat.”
He grabbed his Alien Blaster and charged the Vault Dweller, firing the blaster. The Lone Wanderer easily sidestepped the slow moving energy bolts, and in seconds the Blaster jammed, sparks running along it’s side. The Lone Wanderer fired back with the Wazer Wifle, quick moving lasers struck the Vault Dweller repeatedly. The Vault Dweller punched the Lone Wanderer, and tried to rip the laser rifle from his hands, but the Wanderer responded by head butting his western counterpart, and taking off for a ruined and collapsed building nearby for cover. Wood splintered as the Vault Dweller kicked in the shoddy door standing between him and the Wanderer. He had the BigBazooka in hand, and fired inside the building aiming, for a small room in the far corner. The blast shook the house, knocking dressers and furniture over as it decimated the area. Turning towards the staircase on the other side of the room, the Vault Dweller began to long process of reloading the big bazooka. The Lone Wanderer saw this from his hiding place behind the stairs, and drew Ol’ Painless, firing once more at the exposed Vault Dweller. Blood soaked and battle weary, the Vault Dweller was able to use the adrenaline to stumble forward, grabbing the barrel of the hunting rifle, and punching the Wanderer in the nose, shattering it. He dropped the gun in pain as his nose began to leak crimson across the scorched and torn carpeting below him. He reached for the Zhu-Rong v418 Chinese Pistol, firing four times desperately at his foe. The fourth shot ignited a small flame on the Vault Dwellers torn jumpsuit, but he simply brushed it out, drawing his L30 Gatling Laser. Desperately trying to reload the pistol, the Vault Dweller began to spray deadly laser beams, and in a flash the Lone Wanderer’s leg was disconnected at the knee, the stub instantly cauterized by the heat of the lasers. As the Lone Wanderer roared in pain, falling backwards, his upper body propped up against the wall of the staircase’s side, the Dweller once more fired a burst of lasers into his stomach. The Lone Wanderer grasped to life, just barely. His vision hazed over, and he had seen more of his blood than he ever imagined was possible back when he was still a Vault-boy. He began to cry softly, remembering that his father’s work would never be completed now, and that his sacrifice had been for nothing. He closed his eyes, and waited for the killing blow to come- hearing the sounds of Super Mutants outside, no doubt attracted by the loud fighting. “I’m not going to kill you boy.” The Vault Dweller spit. The Lone Wanderer couldn’t bring himself to reply in any fashion. “I don’t have to.” He continued, as the sound of the mutants got closer and closer. An imposing shadow was cast across the doorway. “Whatever they decide to do to you, remember that it was for Tycho.” And with that the Vault Dweller and his dog slipped out the back and began to continue their journey, with only two. Winner- Vault Dweller.
Expert's Opinion
The Vault Dweller was able to win due to a superior arsenal where it mattered, as well as having one of the most powerful handguns available, in addition to the belief that any extra slack could be pulled up by Dogmeat.