Fallout: (Nuclear)Winter Is Coming

I opened my eyes slowly. My eyelids felt heavy and my head was pounding. I found myself on a worn cot in an unfamiliar space.

"Where am I?" I asked myself out loud. The room I was in was actually a cell. The damp smell made me wrinkle my nose.

Breaking me out of my confusion was a voice coming from the cell next to me.

"You're in the South Boston Police Department, kid." I looked over at the speaker and saw a guy with dirty rags for clothes and unkempt hair and facial hair. He looked like the definition of crazy and homeless.

'Boston? How the hell did I get to Boston?! Last thing I remember is watching the Fallout series on Prime and passing out on my lazy-boy. Did I get drugged and brought here somehow? And I'm in jail?!'

"Heh heh.", the homeless man chuckled. "You look confused... they brought you in last night and you were kicking and screaming, saying stuff like your uncle was gonna have the cops whacked and being an all around shit stain till the guard Protectron knocked you out with his baton."

Silence flooded the area as I struggled to comprehend what I heard.

'I did what? And Knocked out by a... what?!' My eyes clouded over for a few brief moments as my mind digested the information before I spoke again.

"By protectron, you mean..?" I had to be sure about what I heard...

The homeless guy looked at me like I was an idiot and just pointed outside the cell.

*clank clank clank*

"PROTECT AND SERVE." A robot walked down the aisle. It was painted in police colors and had a flashing light on the top of its glass head. It was a Fallout police Protectron just like in the games.

'What the fuck?! That's a protectron from the Fallout verse! A fricken robot which doesnt belong in my reality.

Boston... Protectron... Fallout... Please let this be a dream!'

I thought that but reality was in front of my face. I had transmigrated to the Fallout verse. And the worst part? It was before the bombs dropped and I was in jail for who knows how long.

'Okay... that might be a blessing instead of a curse. It just depends when in the time line I am.'

My eyes focused back on the homeless guy before I started asking him questions. Maybe because we were both in jail together or he just wanted to pass the time but he answered all my questions with a confused look on his face.

Most of the questions I asked were about the date and recent events.

Turns out I'm possibly fucking screwed. It was October 3rd, 2077...

I had less than twenty days to be in a safe place or I will die from the nukes or turn into a ghoul. But since I'm in the Boston Commonwealth I did have knowledge that could aid me, since this place was the setting of Fallout 4.

But... I was also locked up in jail and so I have no idea if I will be able to get out in time.

Panic was setting in so I curled up on my cot and tried to think of everything I could that would help me survive. Memories from this life began trickling in slowly but I still couldnt make sense of them all.

Getting into a Vault-tec vault would likely not be possible and even if I could, it would be risky.

What if I could enter a vault but it was one of the bad ones. I would have wasted my time when I have so very little of it.

I suddenly heard footsteps and the door leading into the holding cell area opened. A man stepped in, his face gruff and unshaven. He wore a brown trench coat and a worn fedora. He looked like a grizzled veteran detective.

"Well, well, well... look what the cat dragged in. If it ain't Frankie Winter."

I looked up in surprise. The tone and voice matching someone I knew before but... this guy was human.

"Nick Valentine..." I whispered but he manage to catch it.

"Bingo! And here I thought all you Irish thugs were slow. I might have to run and tell a scientist I found a unique monkey among the apes..."

His sarcasm was laced with distain and I was starting to get nervous.

'He called me Frankie Winter... His arch nemesis is Eddie Winter. My luck must be shit to end up in the body of someone related to the killer of the man's fiance in front of me.'

Nick Valentine. In the Fallout 4 game, one of the quests was to help the synth Nick Valentine find Eddie Winter and settle the original Nick Valentine's vendetta against him, who killed the original Valentine's fiance.

The quest ends when the player and synth Nick Valentine find Eddie in his secret bunker where he had been living for 210 years after the bombs dropped, as a ghoul.

"Detective... I am sorry about what Eddie-" I wanted to try and curry favor with him but it seems like I struck a nerve because he exploded.

"You shut your fucking mouth! If it's the last thing I do I will bring your entire little "family" to justice!" Nick lashed out his wounds on his heart concerning his beloved were still fresh. Despite that his temper seemed to cool and turn into sadness.

"That woman wasn't just who I loved most. She had a life of her own and was completely innocent. She could have been a loving mother..." I noticed his face was contorted and it looked to me he wasnt just angry at Eddie Winter. He blames himself most.

"I- I can get you Eddie..." I spoke softly with as much sincerity as I could. I truly did emphasize with him. After all, Nick Valentine was one of my favorite companions. Well... at least the synth version anyway.

Nick looked up at me, his gaze containing surprise and a bit of paranoia.

"You'd rat out your own Uncle, kid? Why? Did he stop giving you an allowance? Now you wanna rebel?"

From the moment I woke up to the present, memories of my past as Frankie Winter started returning to me. Incrementally, even in the confusion, my mind assimilated those memories like they were my own. Turns out... they were.

I could recall the past without thinking much as each second ticked. Even though my ego was that of a person from the modern earth, I see now that I wasnt transmigrated but in fact reincarnated without my previous memories, until now.

I was Frankie Winter. Nephew to a crime boss named Eddie Winter. Eddie only took me in out of respect for his sister, my mother.

I was fifteen when my mother died. I didnt know my father. When Eddie took me in he tried to make me a full member of the crime family.

But I was more of a pampered snowflake and hesitated to get my own hands dirty.

Eddie had only tolerated me and only gave me money to keep me alive since I was a bit of a waste.

Drinking, smoking and fooling around with any loose broad I could get my stupid hands on.

That's who I became. I was honestly a bit disgusted with myself. Even if I didnt have my memories, becoming an arrogant undeserving prick using his criminal uncle's money was not something I would ever want to be.

It was time to give my answer, and I did with a solemn yet sincere expression on my face.

"I never wanted to be this way... Let me start making amends by giving you everything I know to help you take down Eddie Winter..."

A flash of surprise crossed Nick's face but it quickly passed into a look of contemplation.

"You're serious kid?"

I looked him directly in the eyes and affirmed, "Absolutely. All I ask in return is to drop all charges and release me as soon as possible. I want to start over someplace else..."

*ding!*

[Persuasion Attempted Succeeded! +39xp]

'What the fuck? Did I just pass a speech check?!'

"Fine. I can get you a deal signed and notarized. You give us information leading to the arrest of Eddie Winter and his crime family and in return you can have immunity and a swift release." Nick stated with a look of indifference. He had likely made many deals with snitches like this. But I could care less if these dead men walking call me a rat.

"I want to see the ink dry first. And better accommodations would be nice. This cell reeks of filth."

'Cant complete the deal until I see the payment after all. I may be remorseful for my previous self's actions but my main priority right now is my survival. I'm not just gonna start dropping dimes until my demands are met.'

Nick scowled before turning his back to me. "I'll be back in an hour. You better get ready to sing like a canary by the time I get back."

After saying his peace he exited the room.

"Fucking snitch..." the homeless man in the cell next to me muttered.

"Go fuck yourself old man." I replied before laying peacefully onto my cot.

'I couldnt explore what the notifications I saw were before, but if I'm not mistaken... I might just have a system.'