Chapter 462 - News Of The Worst Kind

Afton crosses his arms, "Well, before I start asking you questions, I am behoved to ask whether you've enjoyed your stay thus far."

Caesar wrinkles his brow, "What do you think?" he asks with a dull look, "I've been tortured, mutilated, and not even given the basic essentials even a sale would need." he lists off while glaring daggers at Dala.​​

Afton slowly nods, "Good, I'd be unhappy if you were comfortable." he says and Caesar sneers at him as if he'd been expecting such an answer.

"The teddy bear will be surprised to find that had it not been captured, it would have died in months, if not weeks." Dala adds from the side.

"What do you mean, machine?" quickly asks, not understanding what she's referring to.

"From the samples I gathered I discovered something intriguing within the brain. I suspect that the teddy bear had a large, cancerous tumour inside its brain, though, I would have to scan it to be sure. No... Cut it open and see it for myself to be sure." she corrects herself.

Afton snorts and breaks into laughter, "Hahahahahehehehe! Did you hear that Caesar? Getting kidnapped by us is the best thing that's ever happened to you! Hahahaha!"

Caesar himself is looking incredibly grave, he ignores Afton's laughter and looks down at his hands as if only now contemplating his mortality. "W-what does this mean?" he asks as Afton's laughter peters out.

"I think you well know what this means. It means, had you not been kidnapped by us you would have died." Afton gestures at Dala, "Dr Dala here is one the foremost experts on human physiology left in the world, I sincerely doubt anyone else in the Mojave, or even the entirety of America would be able to save you." he says, deciding not to mention that he himself could probably operate on Caesar and remove it... Scarcity is scary in itself, knowing that only one person could possibly save you.

Caesar looks incredibly conflicted at this news, he knew something was wrong due to the almost constant headaches and migraines he'd get, but cancer? There's a rule in the wasteland, 'Cancel your plans if you get cancer', as your death was a certainty.

It was actually one of the most common afflictions in the wasteland, due to the abundance of radiation, radioactive material, and carcinogenic foods, drinks, and materials lingering around, you were more likely to die of cancer than of old age.

This is one of the main reasons you don't see century-old men wandering around (With the addition of the other threats of the wasteland)

"I-is there anything I can do?" Caesar tentatively asks, knowing he was now on a time limit. He knew these people would most likely keep him alive, as he was more useful as a bargaining tool than a corpse.

Afton smirks at him, "I don't know, it depends on how cooperative you are when I begin asking you questions... I'll warn you right now, we will be able to detect if you are lying on not."

Caesar nods, "I understand... Can we begin? I would rather be healed sooner than later..."

"Alright. Glados, bring me a chai-" he asks but is interrupted when the floor raises under him, forming into a metal chair.

"Anything else, creator?" Glados asks, and Afton was sure she sounded quite smug...

He shakes his head, "No, that'll be all, thanks." he says, sitting down and leaning towards Caesar. "Now, what's this about Tamia being a spy?"

"She used to be under my employ, a spy that was supposed to steal whatever Mr House was trying so hard to find... I did not account for other forces to intercept the package, otherwise I'd have had House eating from the palm of my hand." he explains.

"And her tribe? Her family?" Afton probes.

Caesar grimaces slightly at the question, if anyone else were to be watching they'd have not noticed anything... But Afton spotted the twitch in his facial muscles. "They were killed in an NCR attack." he states, but judging by the increase in his heartbeat that Glados and Dala were monitoring, he was lying. Not that Afton needed to a sensor to tell, Caesar was so worried that they'd find out that he was metaphorically stumbling over himself.

"Oh?" Afton mutters as he stands and walks to the side side of the cell were a few buttons were present. "Hmmm, let's see if one of these will make you more truthful... Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." he hums and suddenly presses a switch, causing electricity to run through the metal floor, walls, and furniture of the room.

"AAAaaaaaAAARGGHHH!!" Caesar roars as he begins convulsing, falling from his bed and onto the floor where he writhes around as if he was having a seizure.

Afton holds it for a couple seconds before releasing. "That was interesting, your voice sounded more honest while you were screaming. Shall I try another or will you tell the truth? Surely a bunch of slaves are not worth enduring torture?"

Caesar pants heavily from the floor while trying to regain his breath, he wasn't as fit as he used to be, so having so many volts of electricity running through him was as exhausting as it was painful. "I-I had them disposed of after Tamia's failure..." he huffs out.

Afton raises a brow, "Huh? Did they get the same 'burning man' treatment you gave Graham, or something else?"

...

"Don't test me, Caesar. I'm still on the fence on removing your cancer, and to be honest, the thought of sending you back to the Legion without having it extracted is too funny a thought to reject." he warns.

Caesar pales slightly at that, that would be a long and agonizing death sentence. That, and his legacy would end like him, frail, weak, and forgettable. "You have to understand! I spent enough resources on getting Tamia into House's good graces to buy an army!"

"Cut the shit and tell me what you did to them!" Afton growls, his finger hovering above the cell control panel.

"I had the children killed before their parents, the women violated before their crucified husbands, and after the troops were done with them, the wives join their spouses. The only thing left of them now are ashes, so forget about ever recovering them." he states, his back straightening as he explains his punishment as if he needed to be in a position of strength while recalling it.

...

Afton nods, "You're telling the truth... I'll be back to question you further, for now, I have things to do." he says before leaving. Once he's far enough away from Caesar he calls out, "Glados, make sure his stay here is as uncomfortable as you can reasonably justify... Also, have Dala conduct some more tests on him... They don't need to make sense, only cause pain. Tell Caesar that it's all required to properly remove the tumour." he orders, wondering if the anger he felt right now would match Tamia's when he gives her the bad news.

"Understood." Glados' robotic voice affirms from a nearby speaker.