Chapter 625 - Bad Omen

Afton crouches over General Oliver and slowly turns his head to survey the area, making sure Oliver knows he isn't even close to a threat to him, so much so that he could turn his back and still be completely fine.

General Oliver himself just sucks in erratic breaths, wondering how he'd get out of this alive... All of his men were dead, and he was now at the mercy of someone he'd offended on many fronts, especially with that botched assassination on Daisy-whats-her-name. "W-w-wait... I-I can pa-"

Afton spits on the floor next to the Generals feet and grins, "Funny to find you here, General. Woulda thought you'd be at the Dam fighting with your men... Strange how you've ended up here, huh?" He shakes his head in mock exasperation.

"You know, I am very tempted to just kill you here and now." Afton states, causing Oliver to pale and whimper slightly. "But. Killing you wouldn't feel right, especially with what awaits you back West... How do you think the people will react to the cowardly, dishonourable General who allowed Kimball to die, and the Dam to fall? How would they react to you, being the only survivor out of the entire army stationed there?" he questions.

Oliver's breath halts as he imagines the NCR's reaction, wondering if they'd actually lynch him, or just imprison him for life? Would it actually be better to die here than to return?

Afton nods with a small smile at the General's conflicted expression. "Yeah, that's what I thought... To be honest, I kinda wanna see how far they're willing to go to punish a traitor. So, I think I'll personally deliver you to their doorstep." he says while standing, "But first, let's make sure you aren't able to run away. Wouldn't want to disappoint your new fans, right?"

*Crack!*

The General screams in pain as Afton crushes his knee caps with a couple stomps, completely crippling his legs. He'd either need extensive surgery from the best doctors very soon, or many cybernetic additions to allow him to walk again... None of which would be provided, as he'd probably just get crippled against once he got back to New California.

"Well, you enjoy that General, I'll be off then, still got things to do and people to maim..." Afton says before excusing himself with a small wave.

He quickly arrives back at the Think Tank after his troops had taken General Oliver into custody. He'd have the man teleported into the NCR capital once the population had heard of his cowardice. But first, Afton had to visit another prisoner...

He heads down to the cells and stops in front of a sickly-looking bald old man. He was lying on the bed hooked up to life support, though, no pain killers were provided to ease his suffering. Caesar, the real one, looks over to Afton and scowls. "Back here to mock me further?... Well? Take a good look, I doubt I'll last longer than a month..." he growls out, now obviously aware that Afton had lied about curing his cancer.

Afton shrugs, "You're right, I am here to mock you, but not about your cancer." he says while entering the cell and clicking his fingers to summon Glados. He sits next to Caesar's bed and watches as Glados drone floats in front of them and begins projecting a video onto the wall.

Caesar's eyes widen as he's greeted by an eager eye view of Hoover Dam, along with his army that was charging towards it. "The battle has already begun?" he anxiously questions, not knowing if their forces were good enough, nor if his troop's morale would hold with him gone.

The duo just silently watch as the battle progresses, explosion annihilating the charging Legionaries, but not managing to completely hold them back. Caesar was on the edge of his seat, wondering if there was something he could do to assist his men.

"Do you want to help them?" Afton asks with a toothy grin.

Caesar unconsciously nods, "Yes."

...

"Pfft, well too bad! This is a recording of the battle! It's already over! Both the NCR and Legion were annihilated, leaving the Dam in my care... You don't mind that, do you Cece?... Cessle?" Afton laughs, having to back away as Caesar sits up and tries to grab him.

"Y-YOU! YOU HAVE RUINED EVERYTHING! EVERYTHING I HAVE BUILT! AND YOU DARE MOCK ME TO MY FACE!? I'LL HAVE YOU CASTRATED, LIT ON FIRE, FED TO BEASTS!!!" Caesar roars in a rage, having to be restrained by the robotic bed before he can disconnect himself from life support.

"Hahahahaha! And that's not even the best part, Caesar!" Afton laughs and gestures at the projector which was now displaying... Caesar, giving a speech to defeated and exhausted-looking Legionaries.

They seem to have caught the clone halfway through the speech, fake-Caesar abruptly stops and looks towards the camera with a dull expression, as if waiting for direction. Afton glances at Glados drone and nods, "Do it."

The Caesar clone nods at the camera and looks back at the crowds, "I-I cannot go on like this. I have failed... The Legion, has failed... Our defeat at the Battle of Hoover Dam was just the beginning. Our reign now comes to an end, and there isn't anything we can do to stop it... MY LEGIONARIES! I ASK YOU FOR FORGIVENESS, I HAVE LIED TO YOU ALL!" the clone loudly announces before drawing a revolver from its holster and holding it against his temple.

"ONLY DESTRUCTION AWAITS THE LEGION! I BEG YOU ALL!... FOR FORGIVENESS!" fake Caesar shouts at the top of his lungs as Legionaries attempt to take the gun away.

*Bang!*

The clone fires his weapon, killing himself instantly and causing all those who were watching to shout in shocked despair and fear. Their almighty leader had just announced the death of their nation before committing suicide! If that wasn't a bad omen, then what was!?