Fanfic / New Vegas: Sheason's Story

New Vegas: Sheason's Story by Sheason is a Fallout fanfic. A retelling/novelization of Fallout: New Vegas as told by a Courier named Sheason Fisher who starts out on a tale of revenge, justice, and independence.

What starts out as a pretty straightforward adaptation of the New Vegas story - going so far as to use as much of the in-game dialogue as possible - very quickly turned into something far more original and interesting. Despite the many added quirks and personal touches (such as the Courier driving a car, as a reference to the Highwayman from Fallout 2 and later on a grappling hook a la Batman), it never feels truly out of place for the setting as the author goes out of his way to make more than just a few references to previous Fallout games. In the end it makes for a brilliant story for both fans of Fallout: New Vegas and fans of stories that take place After the End. And it all starts with the classic lines, "War... War never changes."

• 24-Hour Armor: Sheason upgrades his gear throughout the work, and rarely goes anywhere without proper protection.
  • Veronica rarely wears anything other than her scribe robes, and the Recon Armor she keeps on underneath.
• The Ace: An interesting variation is played in Sheason, and is lampshaded by himself at one point. As Sheason Fisher he is a man of many mistakes. A nobody drifter from California with a penchant for attracting violence and trouble. But as The Courier , he is a larger-than-life hero. An indestructible force for good, wandering the Mojave righting wrongs and making the impossible possible.
  • It gets to the point where at times, all he needs to do is confirm his identity as '' '' The Courier '' to ward off conflict or resolve situations.
• Ace Custom: Sheason, (thanks to an increase in intellect after his time in the Big Empty ) builds many new handy new gadgets including...
  • Rocket boots
  • A grapple gun
  • A teleporter
  • And perhaps his personal favorite, the Jury Rigger. A firearm-energy weapon hybrid fashioned out of the Siera Madre’s Holorifles.
• Adaptation Expansion: Thanks to it's nature as a written work lot of things seen in the game are given this. Like the Courier himself and several others.
  • The map itself which is represented as being more accurate to the real world as oppose to the condensed version needed to be done with the game.
  • Cass’ rampant alcoholism is presented in a more serious light, causing several problems for the Courier and his other companions.
  • Boone stays the Cold Sniper Death Seeker he is the main game for the most part, but following the Courier helping him come to terms with his wartime trauma and the loss of his wife, he generally lightens up somewhat. He is also established as well-traveled and experienced in many horrors of the Wasteland during his NCR enlistment, even traveling to the Divide at one point.
  • Veronica’s overt skill in melee combat is explained through A) the fact that she wears powered Recon Armor underneath her scribe robes (thus allowing her to lift the Courier’s car off the ground one-handed and punch through concrete walls), and B) being trained by a cabal of military remnants in combat AKA the Brotherhood. She even starts to train Sheason in more advanced hand-to-hand techniques at one point.
  • ED-E is given a more distinct personality beyond just a robot thanks to new vocalizations and The Courier becoming a Cyborg while in the Big Empty and ED-E’s story being combined with the copy present in the Lonesome Road DLC
  • An entire main plot line is dedicated to the return of the Enclave in the Wasteland. Which coincides with the appearance of Chris, AKA The Lone Wanderer.
  • Vegas is given much more characterization through the addition of new casinos and restaurants on the Strip.
  • The Legion are given more overt attempts at their emulation of Roman culture, with the arena in the Fort being changed to a much more traditional gladiatorial arena, use more war beasts in combat and Legion troops even forming a Tetsudo formation out of reinforced riot shields at one point.
  • The Boomers are given a new sub faction in the form of the Gearheads operating out of a nearby race track.
• Adaptation Distillation: Many smaller quests that may take days in game are accomplished within either a single day, or are dealt with by the Courier’s companions working in tandem with each other thanks to the lack of gameplay restrictions.
• Adapted Out: Due to the sheer size of the fic, a small number of quests, individuals and other events are either given reduced roles are adapted out entirely.
  • Due to story reasons, the companions of Lily and Rex are only present for a few chapters; Rex still being the King’s dog and Lily being needed at Jacobstown.
  • The Great Khans thanks to them getting their shit ruined by a mysterious attacker.
  • The entire plot line of DLC of Honest Hearts is absent, due to it being the most disconnected from the main story.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: All the companions are given this thanks to the amount of new interaction given, turning them into a Ragtag Bunch of Misfits but special mention should be given to Cass and Veronica. Who enter a relationship of sorts. It doesn’t end well.
  • The Lone Wanderer is confirmed in this fic to be the son of the Chosen One.
• Adaptational Villainy: Many of the NCR’s worst aspects, (bureaucratic corruption, imperialism, high taxation and inefficient military strategy) are emphasized over the course of the work.
  • Ambassador Crocker is changed from a Reasonable Authority Figure, Beleaguered Bureaucrat into an Obstructive Bureaucrat jackass.
  • Kimball’s Warhawk-ish ways are shown to be a major reason why Sheason refuses to side with the Republic and when giving his speech at Hoover Dam, Sheason does actually save his life, but not before socking him right in the face.
  • It should be noted that while Sheason, and by extension his companions, dislike many NCR politics, they never go out of there way to be cruel or instigate them. In fact, most of Sheason’s interactions with rank-and-file soldiers and Rangers are rather positive, it’s the politicians he hates.
  • Victor, the friendly Securitron who saves the Courier and bring them to Doc Mitchell, end up becoming quite antagonistic to Sheason, violently dragging him to Mr.House when his patience runs out and acting in a more condescending manner to him. His confrontation with Sheason when the latter is about to kill Mr.House feels less like a case of The Farmer and the Viper like in the game, and more of a The Dog Bites Back for Sheason instead.
• The Ageless: Tuera, thanks to the Enclave’s super soldier program. She hasn’t aged a day physically since the process, looking as if she stayed in her late 20’s despite pushing 70. Even she doesn’t know if she can really die or not.
  • In fact, all three of the Enclave super soldiers, (Tuera, Panzer and Corax/Lanius) qualify, them being the only survivors of the biological trials.
• Arch-Enemy: The closest thing Sheason gets to one is Vulpes Inculta. It’s through Vulpes that Sheason gets his first introduction with Legion brutality at Nipton, and it is his Frumentarii assassins that regularly attempt to hunt and kill Sheason and his companions.
  • Ironically, by the time Vulpes and Sheason actually meet again, Sheason has upgraded so much since their last meeting, he utterly wipes the floor with Vulpes, and kills him handily.
• Amicable Exes: What ultimately becomes of Cass and Veronica’s relationship.
• Artificial Limbs: After getting his right arm chopped off by a Lobotomite in the Big Empty, Sheason receives a new metal arm courtesy of the Sink’s Auto Doc
• Arc Words: “When the fuck did my life get so weird?”
• Ascended Extra: Followers doctors/scientists Emily Ortal and April Martimer both become part of Sheason’s inner circle after he allows them into the Lucky 38 to decode Mr. House’s countless databanks of information.
  • You remember Stripe? That adorably tiny yet deadly Deathclaw from the Big Empty? He grows to full size, learns to talk and becomes one of Sheason’s steadfast allies.
  • The K-900 Cyberdog minigun is now fully sentient and given a Boisterous Bruiser, Husky Russkie accent. Hmmm...
• Author Appeal: The author's love for cars makes its way into the story quite a few times. Sheason drive and maintains his own car in the Mojave. He even runs into the Boomers who offer to modify said car with plenty of details covering the more technical side.
  • The author’s background in the military also gives more characterization to Boomer culture and customs, with many American military traditions living on through them.
• Badass Longcoat: Sheason sports his own customized duster purchased from the Gun Runners, eventually cutting the sleeves off. Cass and Boone also have their own, Cass also purchasing hers with Sheason and Boone’s Desert Combat Armor.
• Bad Boss: House makes no attempts to hide his lack of care for Sheason or his companions, remarking that he can just as easily replace them if need be should they go out of line.
  • Elijah is, just like in canon, an even worse example. Making no secret of his intentions to kill Sheason or the others should they disobey him.
• Big Damn Heroes: The Courier’s companions pull one of these to rescue Sheason from the Legion Fort. Cass even calls out the trope by name.
• Berserk Button: Slavery and drug dealers for the Courier, as he was an addict at one point in the past.
  • When Sheason finds out Cachino is still perpetuating the forced prostitution in Gomorrah, he nearly kills the Omertà and orders him to cease the business all together under threat of death.
• Beta Couple: Despite the uh... Messy way it ended, Cass and Veronica serve as one for Sheason and Cass, with Veronica’s own blessing
• Big Damn Reunion: Making it up to Veronica and keeping his promise to Christine in the same breath, Sheason manages to reunite the two in Vegas after successfully destroying the Sierra Madre.
• Bond One-Liner: The Courier/Sheason in this adaptation is especially fond of these.
• Breaking the Fellowship: After Sheason and Veronica’s catastrophic brawl and him disappearing to the Big Empty for two weeks, the posse drifts apart for a time. Veronica just leaves, Raul stayed for a time before setting up shop in Freeside, and Arcade goes back to the Followers. Only Cass, ED-E and Boone stay behind. They get back together though.
• Broken Ace: Invoked by Sheason. Despite the amount of good he attempts to do in the wasteland, many of his actions come back to haunt him/bite him in his ass. Not even taking into account the sheer amount of physical abuse he goes through on a near regular basis.
  • His attempted infiltration of the Legion’s Fort leads to his capture, subsequent torture and near death.
  • His drunken night with Cass leaves them both guilty and again, nearly kills him.
  • Beating Benny to death leaves him subconsciously guilty as it wasn’t a noble kill and broke his own Code of Honour
  • Tuera’s sudden reappearance in his life and the implications of it.
• Book Ends: Sheason receives his Pip Boy shorty after the story starts and ends just shortly after he loses it.
• Boom, Headshot!: Like the game, this story starts off with Sheason being shot in the head. TWICE. Also like in game, he gets better.
• Cyborg: During the events of Old World Blues, Sheason becomes one of these straight off the bat. Including a mechanical heart, spine, and even a full arm replacement after he loses it fighting the denizens of The Big Empty.
• Character Tic: Whenever things go From Bad to Worse, or things begin to grow increasingly aggravating, count on Sheason to start rubbing the bullet scar on his temple, and his right eye to start twitching.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Sheason, as much as he tries to avoid doing so, can’t help but to try and assist those in need.
• Combat Medic: Arcade becomes this by default among Sheason’s crew thanks to their various escapades and the inevitable injuries that follow.
• Connected All Along: Legate Lanius is revealed to have been an Enclave super soldier experiment that went rogue after the destruction of the oil rig, and was part of the same program that gave us Tuera and Panzer
• Deadpan Snarker: Nearly all of the Sheason’s companions (as well as himself) qualify as this, but Raul, Veronica and Cass stand out especially.
• Door Stopper: This story is a big one. With 174 chapters in total and just 5000 words shy of one million, this story is a beast.
• Dragon Ascendant: Sheason himself qualifies. At first, he’s content to stay as Mr. House’s resident Dragon to consolidate his rule over Vegas and the Mojave. But after House orders him to wipe out the Brotherhood, (and to betray and kill Veronica in the same breath) he refuses and breaks into the 38’s mainframe to kill House and subvert his rule over Vegas, inserting himself and Yes-Man into the new vacancy.
• Lanius takes over the Legion following the death of Caesar from his brain tumor, and soon after begins the assault on Hoover Dam.
• Expecting Someone Taller: As the Courier’s legend grows, many who encounter him muse that they “thought he’d be taller.”
• Faux Affably Evil: Dean Domino operates behind a thin veneer of celebrity haughtiness that hides pretentious contempt for the other prisoners of the Madre, and ultimately betrays them the first chance he gets.
• Hypocrite: The Courier falls into this as he repeatedly blows off confessing his affair with Cass to Veronica out of guilt despite repeatedly telling his crew of companions that many of their problems wouldn’t be as big or bad as they are if they just talked it out.
• Heroic BSoD: Happens to the Courier after being called out on his hypocrisy by Cass and nearly being killed by Veronica, he drives off on his own and laments by himself. It gets to the point where he can’t even will himself to help a nearby group of NCR fight off a Legion ambush. But something draws him over anyway.
• Humongous Mecha: Thanks to Chris and his hand-waved teleportation technology he is able to teleport Liberty Prime to the moon during him and Sheason’s Enclave Base assault.
• I Gave My Word: Thanks to his Chronic Hero Syndrome, Sheason makes quite a few big promises over the course of the fic. The times when he can’t fulfill them despite his best intentions haunt the back of his mind.
  • That being said, the times he actually does manage to accomplish them, only manage to further build his reputation as The Courier, making the impossible possible.
• I Shall Return: Before escaping the Madre, Sheason promises to Christine that he will find a way to destroy the casino and free her of her oath. Christine is... Less than hopeful. Thanks to Chris and Mothership Zeta, Sheason manages to fulfill his promise and not only frees Christine, but reunites her with Veronica.
• Love Triangle: A clandestine one begins between Sheason, Veronica and Cass as Cass, who was never very committed to Veronica to begin with, has a drunken one night stand with Sheason, causing him no-small amount of guilt. Though Cass seeks to pursue it further, Sheason reluctantly shuts her down until she breaks it off with Veronica.
• Made of Iron: Crosses with Determinator. Let it not be said that Sheason isn’t a tough son of a bitch. The man who survived being shot in the head goes through rigorous amounts of physical abuse on a near regular basis, yet you can count on him to get back up, dust himself off and face the opposition with a smile and a quip.
• Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: It’s never actually explained what Sheason’s frequent visions of Benny are. If they’re his ghost or a piece of his psyche that lives on in Sheason or a figment of his imagination. It doesn’t help that Benny frequently shifts from passive-aggressively shitting on Sheason or his actions, and trying to give helpful warnings or advice.
• Memetic Badass: The Courier/Sheason Fisher becomes one in-universe, as word of his escapades spread he becomes known as the “Indestructible Courier.”
• Must Have Nicotine / Must Have Coffee: Sheason and his crew pound back coffee and cigs like it’s nothing on a regular basis
• Noodle Incident: Many of the glimpses into the Sheason’s past serve as these.
• The One That Got Away: Tuera is Sheason’s. Just don’t call her that in his presence. It irks him. It’s clear by the end of the story, both still have some feelings for the other, but both acknowledge it never would’ve worked, no matter how much they tried.
• Punctuated! For! Emphasis!: Prone to losing his temper at times, Sheason is just as fond of this as he is his Bond One-Liners
• Refuge in Audacity: When Sheason and his team finally make it to New Vegas and are faced with the challenge of breaking into the heavily guarded Tops casino to get Benny, what does Veronica suggest? Barge in guns blazing and bum rush the bastards. After all, it would be the last thing they expect...
• Roaring Rampage of Revenge: Invoked by Cass, who alongside Boone and Sheason manage to completely wipe out those responsible for destroying her caravan.
• Second Love: Cass serves as one for Sheason, after the reveal of his previous love, Tuera.
• Shout-Out: Good. Lord. Does the author love Easter eggs. Not just to past Fallout games, but also Team Fortress 2, Wolfenstein The New Order, Doom, Evil Dead, Machete and much more.
• Shoot the Dog: The NCR massacring the retreating Great Khans at Boulder City due to an orders change, even after the Courier successfully negotiated the hostage release.
• Storyboarding the Apocalypse: After one of his more harrowing near-death experiences, the Courier once again has his dreams interrupted by Benny where the two walk down a New Vegas conquered by Caesar, as Benny tells of the different ways his companions either died, or abandoned the Mojave.
• Take Your Time: Averted. When Sheason spends too much time not doing the job that Mr.House hired him to do (though in his defense, Sheason was off in the Sierra Madre during a good part of that time), he is dragged off to the penthouse by Victor and told to get on it already.
• Tempting Fate: Frequently invoked by the Courier. Every time he wonders “How bad could it be?” Something inevitably goes wrong.
• Trauma Conga Line: Veronica goes through a particularly bad one at one point. In quick succession, she is faced with the confirmation of Elijah’s death, being forced to leave the Brotherhood, a group of zealous Knights massacring a nearby Followers outpost filled with friends of hers and after finally realizing the “affair” between Sheason and Cass, she snaps and in her grief very nearly beats Sheason to death while completely wrecking the 38’s presidential suite.
• The Un-Reveal: Before assaulting the Enclave moon base, Sheason and Tuera both casually reveal the unusual nature of their names.
  • Sheason is actually Jason. His adoptive father growing up was an old caravaner, who was also missing all his front teeth. He never could pronounce it correctly, and the name stuck.
• Vigilante Man: Sheason could qualify as one right off the bat; Roaming the Mojave, righting wrongs and killing bad guys but qualifies doubly so after his rule over New Vegas is secured, and he begins cleaning up Freeside from gang violence.
  • Raul also qualifies after reluctantly leaving the Courier’s group, ostensibly to open up a repair shop in Freeside, as he cleans up the streets by night as the Ghost Vaquero.
• Vengeance Feels Empty: Sheason ultimately derived no satisfaction from killing Benny and if anything, feels even more regretful after doing so.
• Walking Armory: All of Sheason’s companions qualify, but he himself doubly so. Often going out with at least one weapon per-limb and then some.
• Weaponized Car: Sheason’s Corvega gets some serious upgrades after establishing contact with the Boomers, including a roll cage, new paint job, and the addition of 40mm machine gun-grenade launchers on the hood.
• Weapon-Based Characterization: Sheason has several that he picks and chooses as he pleases, but for the most part he sticks with his 9mm pistol which he named, “Roscoe”, That Gun and several gadgets he makes throughout the work. His companions also have their own, respectively.
  • Boone’s Gobi Campaign Rifle, and the Anti-Material Rifle that he often lends to The Courier.
  • Cass has an AA-12 shotgun purchased from the Gun-Runners
  • Veronica’s pneumatic Power-fist, she also takes a liking to the Oh Baby! Super sledgehammer.
  • Arcade eventually comes across the Q-35 Matter Modulator plasma rifle.
  • Raul’s .44 magnum revolver and eventually, machetes.