Gardio: *driving down the road in his car. He hasn't taken the box out of his passenger side seat, mostly to cover up his case notes from prying eyes. Recalling what happened at the precinct and Nick...* Damn it...
Traffic: *comes to a halt*
Gardio: Shit-! *skids and serves off the road. Hears loud explosions off in the distance* WHAT THE HELL-?! *gets out of his car just in time to see the fiery plume of a nuclear mushroom cloud in the distance* Oh- oh my god... *clamoring back into his car to try to back down the walk only to find his path blocked by traffic* No- no, no, no!
Gardio: *panicking, watching people get out of their cars and make a run for it and considers doing the same*
Days, probably months pass... everything is a blur...
Gardio: *has given up on the case- figures Eddie Winter probably died... same for Nick...* *swears when he realizes he left the box in the car... he wanted to look at his baby girl and late wife one last time. He'd holed up in an abandoned apartment and boarded up most of the exits to protect himself from raiders. Found some good food that'll last a while in other parts of the building*
Months turn into years...
Gardio: *managed to fortify the apartment with weapons he found. Knows the whole building top to bottom and all the traps he's put in place. He's set up a defense system and turrets built from terminals and scrap. He uses some parts of the apartment as store rooms for supplies and food after he goes out hunting in the wastes...*
Gardio: *wraps his neck tightly with a scarf to stop a cough he's developed... his purple hair has started to fall out and his skin seems to be going patchy... his wits are still about him, though despite his deteriorating condition*
Raiders: *don't pay him any kind of mind until he gets close*
Gardio: *if they open fire he's quick to fire back, his reflexes still sharp from his days as a cop* *leaves them some dignity with their clothes still intact but isn't shy about looting armor and food on them- he's got a bunker to keep stocked if he's ever going to survive to see another sensible human being again... or maybe even break into Vault 111 near his little girl's home just to see her again, even if he looks like a monster*
Decades start to roll on by... possibly a century...
Gardio: *sits in his apartment mostly keeping an ear out for radio broadcasts for help, known as the Gargoyle by many in this run down neighborhood and especially the "tenants", settlers he's taken in, mostly because when his still quite hulking form is in the shadows people say his eyes glow bright green... others have called him a "glowing one" but he's not quite sure what they mean by that...*
Gardio: *The radio... he listens to hopefully hear Lucille's voice on it. He knows she probably won't recognize him. His skin and cartilage is all shriveled and rotted away... his hair has reduced to tufts of what used to be compared to a purple lions mane framing his face. Doing good by others and listening for his daughter is all he can do to keep himself sane in the apocalypse. He knows its unlikely given the time that's passed, but just one last time...*
Another century passes by... over 200 years now...
Scavenger: My great grandfather used to live in that apartment... a man that they called the Gargoyle kept a whole community of shopkeepers and families going out of one lone building. Most secure apartment in all of Cainbridge.
Settler: Yeah. I think I've heard of the guy. Big glowing ghoul wore a fedora and a detectives uniform. Kind of like that weird synth in Diamond City. Whatever happened to him?
Scavenger: Grandpa said the old guy started losing it. The apartment fell into disrepair. People started leaving for their safety. Guess all that radiation finally got to the old ghoul.
Settler: He attacked the residents?! Guess all those zombies really are the same.
Scavenger: Don't get it twisted... he growled a lot and slurred his speech. He's big like a supermutant. But he never hurt no one. Just got really bad at keeping up repairs cause he stayed in his room listening to the radio so much. Grandpa said he used to mutter about his daughter a lot, sometimes crying like an overgrown kid.
Settler: You think he's still in there?
Scavenger: What's in there is just another feral. I'd go in to loot the building but I'm scared I'll run into something right out of Hell itself.
Gardio: *currently muttering things to himself, struggling to keep a grip on reality... he can feel his mind slipping. The guilt from letting the tenants of the apartment down weighs on his psyche like an anchor.*
Gardio: *He still mourns his darling daughter Lucille... wishing he didn't outlive her. The faded photos of his wife and daughter and tattered drawings once long ago taped to file holders on his precinct desk made by a 5 year old girl hang on the walls. They're all that's left keeping his mind alive*
Another decade passes... 2287... the year Lucille thaws out from the vault. The year the Institute is destroyed...
Gardio: *shambles around the apartment listless... doesn't know what he's doing mostly. Things... go in and out. His speech is mostly garbled but occasionally he speaks coherently and his thoughts are clear enough to reach through the glowing green fog in his mind... the man that is and was Gardio Chapel is starting to wither and become nothing more than a mindless beast*
Lucille: *comes on over the radio broadcasting about the Institute during her undercover mission*
Gardio: *the neon fog clears for the longest time he's had it fade in a while. A spark of hope fills his once emerald green now quite glowing green pupiless eyes as he grabs the radio, just barely holding back from crushing it. Voice garbled by his condition* Lucille?! *tries to tune into the frequency she's on but it's not a two way frequency...*
Gardio: *finally just sits on his ancient mattress and listens. Happy to hear her voice again after a century or so of mourning. Tears streak down his withered cheek... he wasn't even sure he could still cry*
Lucille: *speaks of what the Institute plans to do... and her father actually comprehends what she's saying little to her knowledge of him being alive*
Gardio: Oh god... what have you gotten yourself into, my little light... These people... they're dictators... and you're with them? That doesn't sound like my little girl at all... *looking at the radio in concern*
Gardio: ... What... what am I saying... *the fog starts seeping into his mind again once it's over* Just... Gruh... glad... Mrrrm... glad you're aliverrrgrr. *covers his face with his hands* Lurr... seerrrr... *gurgles as he gets lost in the fog again, one last thought being the image of his daughter's smiling face*
A few months pass... the explosion that rocks the Commonwealth, changing it forever comes and goes...
Gardio: *isn't sure what happened... nor does it occur that the event even took place to him.
Gardio: *He's still hanging on just to see her again... he's decided to end it. Everything. He just... doesn't know how. He wants to be with family when he goes through with it... he's so tired... if he waits much longer, he'll... he'll truly be a monster. He doesn't want that. If he's going to go out, it'll be on his terms, not the radiation inflicted on him by the war... he only remembers all this when he comes out of the fog thanks to notes he leaves around his ruined apartment*
A turret: *gets destroyed*
Gardio: *grunts, acknowledging the noise. He's on guard but he's not sure what about it is familiar. Things are hazy in the fog...*
???: *from below on the lower floors* Whoever put this up must have wanted to protect something awful precious...
??? 2: *just walks ahead in thick metal footsteps. It's unmistakably power armor*
Gardio: *there's something familiar about the first person's voice... like he's heard it before*
???: Got a thing for antiques, huh? Hehe.
??? 2: *through a radio built into the powerarmor* Well yeah. The best ones talk!
Gardio: *falls to the ground to hear the conversation. The second one. Lucille. Everything is clear again... gurgles lowly* Who are you with...? Are they with the Institute? Or are they good...? You seem to be friends with them...?
???: *suddenly cautious* Kid, there's something in here...
Lucille: Yeah, Nick. I heard the thud. What do you wager it is? Supermutant? Deathclaw?
Gardio: Nick... no... Not him. He had to have died during the war...
Nick: Dunno. Could be. *sounds of a weapon charging* What's the old saying again? An ounce of preparation-
Lucille: Is worth a pound of cure. *soft sad chuckle as they climb stairs and rubble to get to the source of the sound they heard* My father used to say that all the time to me as a child... I miss him so much.
Nick: He was a good man. The old Nick knew him, I think. Gardio, was his name, right?
Lucille: *pauses in the power armor* He knew my father...?
Gardio: *eyes widen* How...?
Nick: They worked in the same precinct. The Cainbridge branch. There's an old memory of them talking over coffee and some donuts about his little girl, how much he wanted her to be happy.
Gardio: ...He remembered it after all... that sly old dog... *remembers it well... the worry, the donuts, the coffee... Nick's kind face and equally kind advice... the stiff morning air as he left the building to start work when his mind was sharp and the world seemed like a simpler place.*
Gardio: *Something that sounds like him with his memories is following around. She's friends with it- him- obviously... wonders how much of his former coworker this thing really is. Or is it a simulacre mockery of the man?*
Lucille: How long have you known, Nick?
Nick: *sighs* When you first took off your helmet. You have his bizarre hair.
Lucille: So... You didn't think to tell me...? Why?
Nick: ...I really can't say for certain why I never brought him up until now. What I do know is that he was a good man. And I... well not I, but Nick treated him kind of badly at the end. I'm still regretting how it all went down. Nick was bitter. *disapproving* Lashing out at anyone who reached out to help him after... well... Jenny. If I could say one last thing to the old gargoyle, it would be sorry.
Gardio: *listening intently. Didn't know he needed to hear that from Nick until now*
Nick: Sorry for how the old Nick left things. Sorry for blaming him when he didn't have the power to do anything. Sorry for being an ass when all he wanted to do was was help. But I don't think I'm ever going to get that chance.
Gardio: *doesn't know why but now he feels a sense of closure... perhaps because he abandoned pursuing the Winter case off the record all those decades ago*
Lucille: I see... I'm sure, knowing my father, he'd forgive you... he was a very understanding and open minded man. *starts moving again* You two are cut from the same moral fiber, it's almost scary.
Nick: *sounds much closer* Sure seems that way. I'll tell you one thing, though, he sure raised one heck of a daughter to do what you've done-
Gardio: *sits up and hears a thud and metal clanking of armor plates colliding*
Lucille: *elbowed Nick who barely faultered* Give yourself some credit, Val! You helped save this place from the Institute by supporting me every step of the way!
Gardio: *smiles... there's the rebellious but kind little angel he knew. It does his old irradiated ghoul heart proud*
Lucille: *stops in front of the door*
Gardio: *scrambles to his feet*
Lucille: Is it me or is there something in there?
Nick: I think this is the room the noise we heard earlier came from... Picking up hints of radiation so watch yourself.
Lucille: You think I wear this powerarmor to look pretty?
Nick: Well, to put it bluntly, yes.
Lucille: *playfully* Shut up! *starts picking the door* Crap. This one's really solid. Whoever locked this room down knew what they were doing. *smirks as it all clicks into place* Luckily I've learned a thing or two since Shaun got curious and thawed me out for shits and giggles- *goes dead silent as soon as she opens the door*
Nick: *notices her sudden stiffness and gets his gun ready* *lands his mechanical eyes on Gardio and straightens up* Oh...
Lucille: *looks between the drawings on the wall, the notes he's written, and the pictures on the desk then at the glowing one in a detective's uniform in front of her* Dad...?
Gardio: ... This... isn't how I expected to see you... but I'm g-glad... *looks over at the old synth next to her* Ah... long time, old friend...
Nick: Gardio... I... didn't think- My god... all these years? You've been here...? This whole time...?
Gardio: *coughs and gurgles* Y-yeah... well... occasionally I'd leave for supplies for the complex... F-for a time I was running an entire community... Hope that I'd one day see my little girl again kept me going... *grunts, fighting back a part of him he hasn't had to hold back for years since his mental health started to decline... the urge to consume fresh meat. He covers his face with a hand*
Lucille: *steps toward him* Dad... Are you-
Gardio: *growls and snaps* Don't. Don't come near me. I don't want to hurt you... It might be for the best you stay in your power armor...
Lucille: *stops. She so badly wants to hug her father but she's seen and slain enough feral ghouls to understand*
Nick: *solemn realization* You're turning feral...
Gardio: *ravenous but sad look in his eyes as he slides his hand down to look at the pair* Yes... Tb- that leads me to a request I have... I want to die on my own terms... while I'm like this... cogniscent... me... *covers what's left of his nose to try to hide the scent of human flesh wafting off his own daughter* I- I'm surprised you recognised me... Urk... *backs away, the fog in his head starting to overwhelm him again*
Lucille: I... well... You're not hard to miss... besides, you're still wearing your favorite tie pin, the golden angel wing.
Gardio: *nods straightening back up again* Oh... am I...? I hadn't noticed...
Nick: *grimly* Ghouls live for a long time. How did you plan to pull the plug?
Gardio: I... I wanted Lucille to-
Lucille: I won't do it. We can find a way to help you.
Gardio: *sad weak but proud smile* Angel, no... I can feel myself... turning... it's too late... let me go like this in the company of an old friend and my daughter. While I can still make the decision myself.
Lucille: *voice breaks into a sob* Don't make me do this! *backs away* Please, Daddy-!
Nick: *grabs Lucille's arm* I'll do it.
Nick: Gardio, your daughter's brave. She's strong- the strongest damn person I've ever met. But this... this is asking too much.
Gardio: I suppose you're right...
Lucille: *frightened* Nick-!
Nick: You're not long for this world. I can tell just by listening to the way you slur your words. I know I'm not the original Valentine, but on behalf Lucille and a mutual old friend, let it be me to end your suffering.
Gardio: *goes quiet before emitting a low growl it slowly turns into a sentence* Yes... I think you're right... as sharp you were in life, Detective Valentine...
Nick: Heh. Actually I dare say being a synth has helped make me sharper than before the war...
Gardio: *slurred growl* ... And more honest... *to Lucille* You don't have to watch... I'm sorry I requested something so horrible... you can... you can leave, little light.
Lucille: I'd prefer to stay here... I'll just turn away. Either way, I... *voice catches* I want to be by your side when you go quietly into that good night...
Gardio: *smiles at the literary reference* Alright then. *to the Synth* Nick?
Nick: I'll try to make this mostly painless. *Taking aim at the heart*
Nick: I want to make sure he has a chance to see you without your helmet on... without taking a bite out of your face...
Gardio: *tries to speak clearly* I think... I would like that...
Nick: ...Alright. Any last words for me specifically before I fill you with lasers and radiation?
Gardio: Sorry... about not tracking Winter...
Nick: *freezes* Wait... you went to track him down after the case was closed...?
Gardio: *nods* I couldn't leave it be... but then the war happened... and-
Nick: Don't worry about it. We got the bastard. He was under a sub shop in Boston. Looked worse than you.
Gardio: *gives as close to a chuckle he can* I doubt it...
Nick: *takes aim again* I'm sorry things ended so badly-
Gardio: I know... and I forgave Nick a long time ago for it...
Nick: I'm sure he can rest easy now that I know and I'm sure you could say the same yourself...
Gardio: You... have no idea... *lowers his head* Alright... *coughs* If that's everything... I'm ready...
Nick: *closes his eyes and fires the Assaultron head, emptying a few rounds into the Gargoyle's heart, dropping him to the floor with a loud thud*
Lucille: *flinches at the sound*
Nick: ... *quietly* It's done...
Lucille: *climbs out of her power armor and takes off her helmet, setting it on the night table next to her father's bed*
Lucille: *holding back a sob, tears streaming down her face* He won't hurt me... *lays down next to him*
Gardio: Foolish... *despite this he doesn't feel the hunger anymore. For the first time in what feels like a century, he feels like the man he used to be*
Lucille: I know, but this is the last time you get to see me. I want to make it count...
Gardio: *pained smile as he pets his daughter's hair for the last time* Stay strong... Daddy always... loves... you... *manages to barely close his eyes before his last breath*
Lucille: *sniffs and hugs him tightly, ignoring the blood and her Geiger counter on her pipboy crackling* I will, Daddy... I love you too-! *sobs into the dead Gardio's coat*
Nick: *stands by and watches the door for enemies so she can say her goodbyes. Decides to light a cigarette in Gardio's memory and quietly quote Shakespeare's Hamlet, modified for the situation at hand* Alas, poor Gardio... I knew him... a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy, and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is. My gorge rims at it...
Nick: *while reminiscing the two times the old Nick had talked nicely to the soft hearted gargoyle* Where be your gibes now? Your gambols? Your songs?
Nick: *recalls his bad play at humor over the coffee and the morning paper* Your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning? Quite chap-fallen?
Lucille: *a wail peirces the quiet sobs. She clutches what's left of her father... she grieved him once before, premeturely... but it seemed so distant then*
Nick: *winces as he looks at the picture of Eileen next to Lucille's, and can't help but think of Jenny. He nods, knowing he's with them now...* Now get you to my lady’s chamber, and tell her, let her paint an inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her laugh at that... *exhales a puff of smoke into the dimly lit room*
(Tagging this so these guys can see it if it gets buried. @syntheticmelancholy @sleuthomatic)
