There he is.
Great, his face is partially obscured by the bars. It's very hard to tell what Dog/God actaully looks like through this conversation alone.
"Still... even if you aren't my intended guest, you take direction. Good. You can't have been an idiot to figure out how to release me from my cage..."
Well, you kinda told me. Or at least I think it was you.
I'm not exactly sure of anything that's going on here.
"...or perhaps you are, with that leash on your arm and the one around your neck... with our collars and manacles, why, we may as well be kin."
Hey, our Pip-Boy isn't a leash, it's a very useful tool!
This is the most eloquent Super Mutant we've ever talked to. (Okay, so far we haven't talked with a single super mutant aside from Davison was crazy, but God, obvious personality disorder aside, is actually really intelligent)
"What happened to your voice?"
"I'm the voice of reason. I sleep sometimes... down in the basement, in the cage."
The metaphorical basement, the metaphorical cage.
"Now that I'm awake, Dog goes back in the cage. Dog knows I'm here, but can't do anything about it now. I'm his... conscience. Keep him tame, keep him from hurting us... doing foolish things."
It's not going to be as simple as getting this guy out of the cage, isn't it?
"I've been trapped in here for some time, then you come along and let me out. So... you opened my cage for a reason. Now... I want to know why."
"What are you, exactly?" You're acting different than before?"
There a couple of dialogue options we miss out on because they require a Science and Medicine speech check, skills we have completely neglected at this time.
"Dog and I take turns in the cage... one steps out, the other goes back in. Now - what do you want?"
"Why did you lock youself in the cage?"
"No... why did I lock him in the cage. I locked him because I could feel him... getting hungry again. There wasn't much time. If Dog roams, he gets into trouble... eats things he shouldn't, listens to others he shouldn't... so he's safer in here. We're safer in here."
There aren't any Ghost People in here, that's a start. Though, replace Ghost People with insta-death radios and it's still pretty dangerous.
"I hope if I locked him in here... the one he obeys would come for him. Instead, I get you."
You're just gonna have to deal with it.
"If you locked him... you... in, what if you couldn't get out?"
"Oh, I have the key, always did. Hid it on hte chain behind my neck before Dog came bursting out, eating everything he could. Wanted to make sure whoever came to fetch Dog spoke to me first, got within reach. Instead... I get you."
Yeah, we get it. You're disappointed that it wasn't Elijah. Get over it.
"If you weren't expecting me, who were you waiting for?"
"Don't play stupid, I already have to mind one child. You must have figured it out by now. The Old Man obsessed with the Sierra Madre... riddled with greed. Hoped you might be him when I woke up. All you are is his hand..."
We're hardly his hand, this wasn't voluntary.
"...you're the same kind of greed. Followed the radio, the broadcast, and now you're here, all confused. Not for long. You'll figured it out."
"Why do you say I'm the same as the Old Man?"
"You're not him anymore than I'm Dog. But that collar around your neck... you're an extension of the Old Man's grasp, clumsy, perhaps, but a tool, yes. And once you get acclimated to the Sierra Madre... then you'll feel the same overpowering hunger the Old Man does. And then you'll be him, not just his hand."
God goes on and on about you aren't too different from Elijah, that you followed the call of the Sierra Madre. He has a point, but why wouldn't you fucking come here if you paid for the DLC?
"This Old Man, what do you know about him?"
"Elijah. Human, weak like all of you are. Feeling age circling him like starved dogs, howling for blood. To me, he reeks of age and failure. And madness. To me, he is simply the "Old Man." To Dog, he is "Master." His name, meaningless. Running out of years, hopes and dreams running through his withered hands like sand from the Big Empty... and scorched by the sun."
He didn't seem particularly tanned or charred to me...
"Scorched by the sun?"
"The Old Man... this "Elijah," tried to hold the sun in his hands, arrogance, was cast down for it."
That's quite fitting given Elijah's backstory, which we will soon learn.
"Elijah wanted to bring the sun down to him. Hnh! Arrogance."
"What is he doing here?"
"Heard the call of the Sierra Madre, just like you did... exactly the same way."
I'm sure Elijah didn't have to pay 10$ to hear it.
"Finds out it's more than a story, comes to this shining poisonous grail, this jewel of the desert. Dog knows him more than I do. Dog's always nodding, always obeying him, because he's weak and hungry and greedy for master's affection."
"So you're the one who knows how I got the Villa."
If Elijah hadn't already made it clear, Dog/God was how you were transported to the Villa. You were literally dragged here. How one actually gets to the Sierra Madre from that bunker is beyond me. '
"Of course I know. Even if I didn't see it happen - down in the cage, I hear echoes of the footfalls, the click of the collars. Every time I see one of you I know exactly how you got here - you couldn't help yourselves, anymore than Dog can help himself. You heard the voice, the promise, and then you walked right into one of hte Old Man's traps. Then... then Dog comes for you, drags you here."
"You brought me to the Villa."
"Me? You think I wnat to haul bodies around the wastes like a Brahmin at the whip? No, Dog does it, when the Old Man says fetch, Dog fetches. You were in a man-trap, and Dog made his rounds, and dragged you here. When, I don't know. But... it must have been... recent. Before the cage."
"Why do you say that?"
"I don't remember you... that isn't surprising. What is... is that was when Dog was out of his cage... free, hungry. He knows not to eat anything he catches in the traps... after that, however... so he dragged you here, you got spared. Dog must have fed after you arrived... once he was fed, that allowed me out of the cage, and put him inside. Do you remember how long you were out?"
"I don't remember, only woke up when my Pip-Boy went active."
Still wondering how we didn't get our throat cut by a Ghost person while unconcious.
"Must have already been in the cage... already had the collar in me. You're lucky Dog didn't devour you... otherwise, we'd be closer than we are now."
"I was looking for someone with a collar like mine. Where is your collar?"
"It's close. Closer than I'd like... Dog's been into things, needs to think before he eats, chew before he shallows."
If he chewed it, your head would probably be missing...
"He's... eager that way. Now the collar's a part of me. Inside. I can feel its electronic heartbeat, clicking and burning down below... like before. It was cold and heavy before going in the cage... now you're here, and it's pulling and kicking again, tugging like a leash. Interesting."
"How the hell did you... or whoever... eat one of these collars?"
"They... detach. When segemented, they look like nothing more than metallic Radscorpions... and if they're attached to neck flesh, warm, red..."
Metallic radscorpions you say? Hmm....
"Dog doesn't care what's on the body he's crushing in his hands, he'll mangle it, twist it, make it fit until he's full. Dog can't help himself... hungry... greedy. And now the collar's inside, alive again. And we're trapped here until it goes cold."
"If that collar inside you is active, I didn't switch it on."
"Really. Yet it led you here, to me. And now you're here, and it's burning a hole in my guts. Maybe it's crying for its owner."
"I need to get you out of there."
He is no use to us in jail at any rate...
"No... no, I don't think so. Even in here, I have more control than you do. I'm not leaving until the one who controls the collars shows... not his voice, not his hand, not his lackey... him. And when he comes to see me, we'll settle things. So go on, go back to your master, tell him I'm waiting for him. Dog may follow him - I won't."
"If you don't come with me, he'll set off our collars - yours and mine."
"Then I still win. I'd rather die in this cell than have Dog follow him any longer, follow his orders, his commands, desperate for recognition. The Old Man... he has the need to hold on, to the past, to the Madre... I'd rather be free, let go of this shell, than have it cage me any longer."
"What if we go after the Old Man together?"
It's not like we exactly wanted to be friends with him anyway.
"No... I don't trust you. Even if you're not working with him, you'll fall into the same trap he did. You may think you can take your revenge... that'll change. You'll start thinking there's a way to have it all."
"I want my freedom too. You think I like having this collar on me?"
"They all wanted their freedom at first. Then... they realized they could get inside the Sierra Madre. After that, their freedom wasn't important any more. They couldn't let go, just like the Old Man. So you say you want your freedom... No... even if you feel that way, it won't last. You'll forget, get greed-blind, and you'll turn."
"Sounds like Dog might be more willing to get out of the cage than you."
"Dog? You're not talking to him now, are you? No, even if you could drag Dog out of his cage, you still couldn't get him out of this cage. I put him here for a reason... if he could have escaped, he would have. So here he stays."
You're a fucking Super Mutant. Are you seriously telling me Dog couldn't bend those metal bars?
"The key's in there with you - and Dog."
"Yes, but Dog doesn't know that. We don't share everything. Sometimes it's a blessing... sometimes... it causes difficulties. Now I think it's a blessing, it keeps you on that side of the cage. Now... you go fetch. Find your master, bring him here so we can talk."
"I could just tell Dog he has the key."
"Yes... you could. And once he was out, all starving and hungry... what do you think he would do then? Be careful what cage you open, because he won't go back in it without a fight. He'll tear you apart, he won't care if it kills you both."
Obviously we don't want Dog to come with us, but God instead. We just need to coax him out of the cell.
"If he hears the Old Man's voice, he'll do what the Old Man says."
"Dog... obeys. Yes. Why... do you have some means of contacting the Old Man?"
"I can play his voice, yes. I have an audio log from him on my Pip-Boy."
"You... don't play it. If you do, I'll find a way to get out of the cage, end you. I'll murder you, crush your arms and legs until..."
Now God isn't so calm now that we've called his bluff.
"Calm down. Follow me, willingly, I won't do it."
"No, you wouldn't. If you did, you won't escape this place alive. I'd shatter every one of your limbs to splinters and leave you here. You think I'm afraid of your collar exploding, killing us? No, I'll leave you breathing, then keep walking until my collar goes cold."
Oh yeah, keep this in mind, the collar has a range. That will be important later.
"I'll prop your broken body in view of the Sierra Madre so you can see what you came to steal... forever out of reach as you die."
Less so steal, more like taking a vacation. Honest.
"I can't convince you I'm not here for the Sierra Madre or the Old Man, so I'll prove it."
"Prove it... how? Words are worthless."
"I have the power to let Dog out of his cage. I'm going to prove it by not doing it."
"Hnh. No... no, you're not. Even though Dog's more docile... easier to control. You may regret this. This place... this place is where creatures like Dog can survive. The people that fill its streets... He is as vicious, more vicious than them. His hunger can help you more than I can. When I am in control... this shell is difficult to... fight in."
"What do you mean?"
"The... inhabitants of the Villa. They are difficult to kill. They need to be chopped apart, hacked on the ground... disintegrated, if you can. They are difficult to kill... but not to devour. And Dog is always hungry."
Dog can kill Ghost People on the spot, without having to take a limb off first. Honestly, it isn't that big of a deal, you can do it easily yourself.
"If he is with you, when they fall, he will fall on them, end them. If I am with you... fighting will be far more difficult."
"Even if Dog is more helpful, we can manage."
"I am not sure you belong here. No, you don't belong here. Yet... you came this far. And I'm not interested in remaining here any longer. I'll unlock the cage."
"All right, let's get out of here."
"Very well... lead on."
So that's how we recruit Dog/God. (I'll be referring to him as God for now on, unless the Dog side is relevant)
He is a really interesting character and one of the reasons I like this DLC so much. It has the best companions in the game, heck better than most companions in any RPG I've played.
We won't get killed by bear traps, which is good cause there are a lot of them here.
He is a better look at God.
Another caravan card.
That explains all the radios...
Another code, nice.
Time to see God in action.
A better look at them, they seem simply like guys in gas masks and hazmat suits, but as we saw from earlier, their blood is green and they sure don't go down as easy as a human would. They actually explain a bit about the Ghost People, but they're left as one of the more mysterious aspects of the Sierra Madre, which I like.
Oooh, this guy has a new unarmed weapon equipped too.
Again, have to chop off a limb or head to make sure they stay dead.
Bear Trap Fist, nice. It's basically a bear trap glove, that goes off when you punch someone. It's an unarmed damage that has a bonus to crippling limbs, and the Ghost People here die if you cripple their limbs, so it's an obvious weapon to use against them.
It's also very common, so keeping it repaired is a simple task.
It's better to attack them at range, cause they have this lunge attack with ridiculous range that can do a good amount of damage to you.
Let's explore a bit more.
This is the Police Station's back door.
Lots of nice stuff in these boxes back here. Bobby pins, chips, etc.
This building doesn't have much of note, except for a gun cabinet.
More ammo for the useless Laser Pistol. Some more shotgun ammo though, so that's nice.
I equip the Sierra Madre armor now, so we should take less damage than usual.
We go back outside to check some of the other route. The Cloud blocks our way, so we have to turn back for now. Once we get another companion, we can get through this.
We're heading back to the Fountain where Elijah was, but I turn the other way down a different alley out of curiosity.
Nope, can't go through here.
A single Ghost Person. Should be easy enough.
I feel like I'm forgetting something...
Something important...
Oh crap, I forgot the .357 ammo code and the Automatic Rifle back at the Police Station. Well, time to go back there then.
The Automatic Rifle is a powerful gun that uses .308 ammo. It does a lot of damage and has a decent rate of fire, but it uses .308 ammo so using it is expensive. Or it would be if we didn't have the .308 ammo code.
There is some ammo for it too.
Endless supply of .357 ammo now.
Now we're back at the fountain. Sorry for that quick cutaway, I forgot to get that stuff and it was rather important.
Now we just need to get the other two people. Hopefully, finding them will go just as well as recruiting God here...
Oh who am I kidding, it won't be.