Arknights X Fallout New Vegas: A Man Chooses, a slave obeys

The Second Coming

Prologue 2

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It took a while for Nathan to adjust to his surroundings; while he is not cognitively compromised from his brain damage, when he first woke up from his coma, the first thing that came up in his intact mind is just revenge and anger. Now that it all dissipated, he had a lot of time to reflect upon his actions and became more aware of things around him.

Firstly, though, before Mostima could bust Nathan out of the hospital, he had to be introduced once more to the people he is closer to within Penguin Logistics. They were relieved when Mostima said that Nathan is still himself; that he's still the smartass they know and love, but they need to face the dreadful reality that they can't start where they left off with him—they need to reconnect with him like it was their first time. He tried to put on a brave face, even though he couldn't remember any of them, but Mostima stood by his side, ready to help with the introductions.

Each of them introduce themselves, told him what their duty is, explained that they all work for the same company, and how close he was to them specifically, occasionally making things light-hearted by engaging in playful banter with him in the hopes that they can see a flicker of his old self from his sense of humor. He was a little confused, but he got the spirit, and he was grateful for their presence and their willingness to reconnect with him.

~~~

The young forte man who introduced himself as Bison tried to remind Nathan that he was his apprentice; he learned so much from him and looked up to Nathan like a big brother. His second first impression on Nathan had to be quick because he immediately became sentimental, and Mostima needed to step in to spare Nathan's protégé his feelings, but Nathan understands that he must've been his senior during his probationary period, and continued to be his guide when it ended.

Nathan smiled politely, trying to hide his confusion. "Really? I was? Sorry, I couldn't remember."

Bison looked taken aback, not sure how to react; he tried to clarify, but Nathan chuckles and reveals he was only playing with him. Bison sighs exasperatedly, dropping his head and shoulders as if tired, "Right. I forgot you were a sarcastic jerkass."

Nathan snickers, and looks at the awkward faces of his friends, "Are you guys sure I'm not the only one suffering from amnesia?" This elicits only a few, awkward chuckles from them, while Bison lightly taps Nathan in the stomach, cheeks turn a shade of red. "At least I wasn't shot in the head, jerk."

~~~

The second forte courier with orange hair then plants a hand on his shoulder, catching him off-guard; he flinches from the touch as he twirls to meet her cheerful smile. She introduces herself as Croissant and jokingly explains that she's their band of misfits' treasurer since they loaned money from her, adding that Nathan also owed her money.

Nathan's face blanched for a moment before smiling once more, and makes another amnesia joke, "Oh so sorry, I forgot, and if you want to take my debt now, sorry, again, because I can't remember my debit card number if I even have one."