บท 624: Dead end

"Is this all the Legion has to offer? This is the Legion's strongest and most feared man? Pathetic!" Afton mocks, looking at the crowd of Legionaries who were watching. "Your generals are weak, Caesar is weak. And you, Lanius. ARE WEAK!" he says, kicking Lanius and causing him to roll onto his back.

Once Lanius is looking up at the sky, Afton stomps on his kneecap, shattering it and bending the leg awkwardly, causing the Legate to scream. "You are a murderer and a rapist, surely you can endure pain better than that!?" Afton taunts before doing the same to the man's other knee.

*CRACK!*

"Arrgh!" Lanius groans, trying to hold in his pained yelps but not managing it completely.

"It seems both the NCR and Legion aren't strong enough to hold Hoover Dam, so Bulwark will do it instead! Hoover Dam belongs to the Mojave! To New Vegas! To Bulwark! Your pathetic attempts to take it have shown me all I need to see. Take one last good look, Lanius, this is your-.... End-?" Afton trails off in confusion as everyone seems to be looking up... Was his speech not good enough or something?

He follows their gazes and freezes as well, as he spots many large nuclear missiles flying from the West, to the East, right over their heads.

...

The battlefield goes silent, and the only thing that could be heard were the faint sounds the missiles overhead were giving off.

...

Everyone just sits and watches this for minute straight, until Afton eventually just looks back at his companions with confusion written on his face. "So, er... Those look like Nuclear warheads... Right?"

"It appears so..." Veronica mutters with cold sweat dripping down her back.

...

"And, errrr... We didn't launch those, right?" he asks again.

"I don't think so..."

...

Afton just slowly nods with a pensive look on his face, wondering who the fuck was crazy enough to start launching nuclear bombs over their heads. He didn't even care that their target was obviously the Legion, he just wanted to know WHO had Nukes at their disposal!

He shakes his head and claps his hands together, "O-kay... How about we finish this up before more nukes are launched." announces, drawing a revolver and shooting Lanius in the face while Veronica tosses him his helmet.

It takes a couple seconds for the Legionaries to realise the fighting had started again, but by then Bulwark's forces had already begun annihilating them. Caught off guard, demoralised from Lanius defeat and death, and worried for their families in the East due to the nukes, the Legion makes a hasty retreat. Every person sprinting back East, climbing over each other and their allies corpses to get away from danger faster, all while completely disregarding their friend's safety.

Unfortunately for the Legionaries, even the route East was blocked by the army of Securitrons that'd been activated after House's virus had taken control of the Dam. The Legionaries were now caught between Bulwark's forces, and an army of upgraded Securitrons...

Some wanted to continue fighting their way out, some wanted to beg for mercy, and some just gave up and awaited their fate. Neither Afton nor House had any intentions of sparing them, these were Legion soldiers, battle-hardened and brainwashed since birth to follow Caesar's doctrines absolutely, under pain of torture and eventual death.

Bullets, rockets, lasers, plasma, and explosives ripped through the remaining Legion forces, bathing the ground red with their blood. So many people were killed in this one area, that it'd permanently be stained crimson as if cursed by the tremendous loss of life.

Once all is said and done, Afton walks towards the Securitrons and stops before the one with House's face on it. "So, things go as you expected?" he asks with crossed arms.

"They did... What will you do now, Mr Parker?" House asks, and both know what he's referring to... Whether or not Afton intends to cooperate with House and New Vegas, or if he intended to take full control over the Mojave.

Afton smirks under his helmet and nods, "I think a partnership between us will suit our purposes well. I don't want to govern the Mojave, or any substantial land for that matter. As for how such a partnership would go? I'm sure we could come to an agreement somehow." Afton offers.

...

"Agreed. I am not arrogant, nor foolish enough to think I hold any leverage against you. Even admitting such would make my former business partners froth at the mouth. I only hope we can be reasonable... For starters, I would like to request some of your units to help secure the Dam, as well as deter any other attack, from either NCR or Legion."

Afton nods, "Was planning on doing that anyway... I'll leave Veronica in charge of that, I still have other things to attend to after all." he says, before walking away without another word.

Elsewhere :

General Oliver was panicking... Not the kind of panicking where you'd just spilt coffee on your business suit before a meeting, but the kind you experience when you've just hit a child with your car and fled the scene...

He'd been listening to how the battle was going over the radio, which is why he knew that Bulwark had arrived with House, and then betrayed the NCR and started slaughtering his men. Not that he cared all that much, right now he was concentrated on getting all there shit packed up so he could flee the Mojave... At least, that was the plan.

Out of nowhere, his soldiers were surrounded, each of them being executed as an armoured man approached him. Once he lifted his helmet off, he revealed himself to be Afton Parker, the traitor, former Brotherhood member, and leader of Bulwark.

General Oliver... Or, Former-General considering the events that'd taken place here, quickly crawls backwards in an attempt to gain distance from Afton, only for the man to stomp on his leg and shatter his shin. A large wet patch quickly made itself known on his trousers as he looks up in pain and fear at his soon-to-be executioner...