Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

"Shit! Was that gunfire?"

"Fuck, it was…!"

Amata was frozen in place as she panicked when she heard Marcus' plasma rifle go off, oblivious to the vault dwellers around her skirmishing with the vault's surviving security personnel loyal to Allen, some of which reacting verbally to the sound of plasma burst fire. She narrowly avoided an officer's baton, pulled out of the way by Susie, where Butch tackled the officer. The greaser then grabbed the officer's baton and struck him repeatedly across the head until he was unconscious.

"Amata you dumb bitch! What are you doing standing around?" Butch yelled at her as he delivered one last punch to the officer. "Will you start acting like the Overseer al…?"

"EVERYONE STOP IT…NOW!"

It was everyone's turn to freeze as all eyes were suddenly on her. A few of the populace quivered in panic upon incurring the verbal wrath of the Overseer. Even Butch had been taken back by Amata's angry outburst, stepping back some just out of safety. Alphonse smirked as he stood in the cell, having watched the fisticuffs all this time and done nothing, instead having relished in the anarchy and waiting for his daughter to step in and take control.

And now that she has, and having done so with four words, he couldn't be more proud of her.

"No more fighting, please!" she exclaimed, still angry but she almost sounded like she was begging. "This just happened before, and remember where that almost took us if not for Marcus!"

"Yeah…what the hell did Marcus just do?" Stanley said. "That sounded like an energy weapon going off."

Susie's eyes widened in realisation, and she found herself pushing her way through the crowd out of security station and towards the Overseer's office.

"DAD!"

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Marcus didn't count on Wally being armed with a switchblade. He planned on just inflicting plasma burns on both his legs, perhaps reduce one of them to goo, which would be enough to break Allen and force him into submission. He wouldn't feel bad about inflicting pain on him, seeing how he felt nothing for the boy his own age. But when he saw that blade in both Wally's hands, instead of his legs Marcus instinctively pointed his rifle at his chest. He knew that the blade wouldn't be able to pierce his armour, but when anyone threatened him it was practically his civic duty to fight back.

And now Wally Mack laid before him on his back, a massive green smoking hole in his chest and a shocked expression upon his lifeless face. Marcus looked embittered as all hell when he looked down at both Wally's parent's sobbing over their son's body. The formally hardened young man red-haired young man was shocked speechless as he stood there before the doorway.

He disregarded Susie…

"Dad? Mom? WALLY! OH MY GOD!"

…as she entered the Overseers office followed by other vault dwellers as well as vault security personnel. She screamed when she saw her brother dead, partially melted body on the floor and immediately flung herself past Marcu and over it the corpse beside her mother, splattering some goo over her hands in a vain attempt to wake him up. When Amata caught up with the small gathering outside the Overseer's officer, she moved her hands over his mouth in a shocking fashion, eyes quivering with fright at the sight of Marcus looking down over the sobbing, destroyed family.

With tears running down his face Allen looked up at Marcus. He saw how the colour had faded from his face and eyes were alert as if realisation of his actions had finally dawned on him. The Lone Wanderer saw that Allen was looking at him, both devastated and angry.

Marcus frowned back intensely. He hissed, "Don't blame me, Mac!"

"WHY NOT?" Susie screamed at him, anguished. "YOU KILLED MY BROTHER! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?"

"Uh…" Marcus' frown faded, for the first time in a long while he was speechless. "He…"

Amata and everyone else continued to watch silently, unsure of what to do next.

"Motherfucking intense…" Butch whispered in awe.

"He…he…" Marcus drawled on.

Susie then grabbed Wally's switchblade from his cold open palm and lunged at Marcus.

"NO!" Amata shouted. "MARCUS, LOOK…"

She was silenced once again as the sound of steel being snapped in two echoed around them. Having held the blade with both hands she thrust the melee weapon forward against Marcus' armour, the sheer force of her strike and the strength and density of Marcus' power armour enough to snap the blade. It cluttered to the ground slowly enough for both Susie and Marcus to watch it fall.

They then looked at each other again, and Susie found herself stepping backwards fearfully when Marcus advanced on her, plasma rifle in her hands. The Macks all gripped each other and backed up against the far wall of the office right next to the lockers. Everyone moved closer to see what was going on, but still kept outside the office.

Except for Amata.

"Marcus," she said, meekly. "Please…"

Marcus felt his hands tremble as he held the plasma rifle, looking at the trembling Mack family which he towered over.

"Please what?" Marcus said, his intense gaze on Susie, the latest person to attempt violence on him.

"Please…no more," she said, hand clasped together pleadingly as if in prayer. "We won't bother you again. Just…just don't hurt them…we'll leave you alone. We won't cause any more trouble for you. We won't give you any more reason to…"

"Amata."

She held her tongue.

"Are you going to attack me too?"

Amata's eyes widened, having just been asked that question by none other than Marcus himself. The Lone Wanderer stared at her, no emotion or any sort of expression upon his face. He was just plain and emotionless.

"N…no…" Amata replied hesitantly.

"Then you don't have to be afraid of me," Marcus declared.

He then looked down at the Mack family.

"You should have been," Marcus addressed Allen, who looked back up at him from Wally again now, more angrier. "This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't any contempt for the outside world."

He paused.

"Or…me for that matter."

Allen gritted his teeth, enough to make one or two of them crack.

"Your…fault…" he struggled to hiss.

Marcus frowned and shook his head. "No. Your fault."

He then shouted down at Allen angrily.

"YOUR FAULT!"

And obviously remembering the last time Allen declared that it was his fault, taking him back and, through instinct, throw himself between his family and the power armoured Lone Wanderer.

"Do something, Overseer," Amata heard someone say quietly to her.

"You brought me back here, remember?" Marcus continued, heatedly. "You invited me. You tried to trap me. I defended myself."

He glanced at Wally's body.

"I defended myself from him."

He and Dogmeat then turned around towards doorway and stepped out of the office, leaving Allen both devastated and thinking about his words and beginning the first step to blaming himself for his son's death by the hands of someone who really did have no fault in him from the very beginning.

The populace of the vault cleared out of his way as he headed for the exit back into the hallways of the vault, intent on leaving his former home forever. However Amata rushed ahead of them and stood before the Wanderer.

"Amata!" Alphonse called out to her.

"Marcus," Amata said. "Don't leave."

"Why?" Marcus inquired. "I've cleaned up this mess haven't I? What you do with the Allen Mack is your business."

He tried pushing his way past her but her hands shot forward and grabbed his tightly.

"I…I know you don't really want to leave," she stammered towards the back of his head. "That none of this is your fault. People won't blame you any more, you've opened their eyes to what's being going on down here, and out there."

Marcus' eyes softened and he begun to lose his hard frown.

"And we…I…I…I…" she tried to think of more enlightening stuff to say. Failing that, she blurted out, "I…need you."

She felt her heart stop beating for a second when Marcus turned his head to the side to face her, eyes narrowed.

Worn out, Marcus replied, "But I don't need your."

He then pulled his hand away from her and begun walking down the hallway, taking the hallway that would lead him closest to the vault entrance. Amata watched him and Dogmeat leave, heart breaking and tears running down here face.

"H…how?" she said quietly as she watched them go. "Why?"

Marcus stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder.

"A baby died," Marcus called out to her.

He then disappeared out of sight, to walk through the mostly depopulated vault one last time before leaving forever. All the other vault dwellers having being gathered outside the Overseer's office watched all this unfold. Each of them had been shocked to complete silence over the events which had just unfolded before them, where even Butch felt disturbed by the sight of Marcus turning his back on his one-time best friend.

"Shouldn't you be following him?" Mr. Brotch addressed the greaser. "You said you had a brew waiting for you back at Rivet City."

Butch shook his head. "I think I'll stick around a while. For Susie, you know."

Brotch sighed sadly. "Yeah."

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It was still dark when Marcus left the vault and he was glad for it. It was like no time had passed at all between being out here and back down there, that his brief stretch back in the vault didn't happen. For a moment he closed his eyes and let the wasteland breeze past by him, making the hairs on his neck stand on end as he felt the coolness somewhat calm his nerves.

The trek back to Megaton didn't take long. Nobody had noticed him leave, and nobody noticed him return and walk straight back to his house. Syndrome had fallen asleep at his post, still waiting for the next guard watch to relief him.

When Marcus and Dogmeat walked into they're house, he found Wadsworth waiting for him.

"Good evening sir."

"Wadsworth."

"Would you prefer if I not inquire about whatever transpired on your recent adventure?"

"Yes, thank you."

"My pleasure. Good night, sir."

He stepped up the steps to his room, not bothering to change out of his stiff power armour, but to instead just collapse on his mattress; physically, emotionally and spiritually drained. He looked up at the ceiling as he felt them slowly close, but his rushing thoughts were still keeping him awake. Dogmeat laid down next to the bed, staring up at his master.

Marcus knew he would never truly get over being in the grey area back at the Pitt and what he had just did to try and make himself forget it. No one outside Vault 101 would believe about what transpired, or blame Marcus for what he did back in that hole – it would be the word of the Wasteland's wandering protector against the people who scorned him, exiled him and disregarded his existence.

Dogmeat whined at Marcus and licked his hand, trying to elicit a response from him.

"Don't worry, Dogmeat.," Marcus said as he continued to stare up at the ceiling, petting the side of his companions face. "We'll be alright."

He smiled.

"I'll be alright."

Sorry if this last chapter seemed like a rush job. To tell the truth I felt a bit mentally strained trying to write about a good-karma player character who just simply gives up because a baby died on his watch, and he thinks that gives him an excuse to pull a 180 on his former friends.

Well that's it. Thank you to all those who reviewed my first ever drama fic, for those who continue to review it. Your input is much appreciated.

Never Stop Writing.

- GamerJay