506 Dirty Secrets

Eventually, Boone and Josie are teleported back to Big Mt, they both make their way down to the cells after gaining clearance via Glados and find Afton who's still staring at Mr X.

Josie looks around nervously while biting the nail on her thumb, "This place is creepy... And didn't we give Caesar back to the Legion? Why did we walk past him sitting in a cell!?" she babbles, clearly disturbed by the fact Afton has such an extensive prison.

Afton glances at them, only now recognising g their presence, "The one we sent is a clone, obviously... Did you find anything before leaving?" he asks, mentally kicking himself for not checking the van.

Boone's about to answer but Josie begins speaking first, "Hang on! If you created a clone of Caesar, doesn't that mean you are in control of the Legion now!? Why don't you stop the war?" she quickly asks.

Afton shakes his head and glares at her, "Because stopping the war isn't as simple as getting Caesar to say 'I surrender', the Legion despite its worship of him can and will operate independently. Besides, we need them to keep the NCR busy, otherwise the full weight of that corrupt bureaucracy would come down on our heads." he explains.

Josie seems to vehemently disagree with him on this point, but Boone moves the discussion back to the matter of hand, showing Afton the OSI badge he'd discovered. "Speaking of bureaucracy... Our 'friends' are taking action."

Afton takes the badge and glares down at it, seemingly becoming angrier and angrier the longer he lingers. "Those fucking bastards! I knew the NCR couldn't be trusted!.... This is crossing a line, and I will not tolerate their bullshit any longer!" he suddenly exclaims.

"Wait! Aren't you doing the same as them, creating monsters? Don't lie, I saw that Deathclaw concentration camp you've had set up!" Josie retorts.

Afton shakes his head and points into the cell at Mr X, "THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EXPERIMENTING ON ANIMALS AND TURNING MY FATHER INTO A MONSTER!" he roars, barely holding himself back from punting Josie through the wall.

"Your father!?" Josie asks with shocked horror plastered on her face. Boone looks similar to her, clearly disturbed by the implications of this.

If what Afton said was true, then the NCR weren't just experimenting on Supermutants, Feral Ghouls, and other Mutants, but humans as well! There had been many 'investigations' into such allegations before, but the NCR had vehemently denied all of it, only suggesting that they were attempting to cure Supermutants, Ghouls, and other 'afflicted' individuals.

Boone steps closer to the cell and looks at Mr X, now seeing its clearly human face. From afar they hadn't been able to see such detail, but now? It was evident. He could even see the resemblance between it and Afton, making Afton's claim seem more and more credible.

"What are you going to do?" Boone asks, knowing that there are only a couple of ways this could go. Afton's usual non-committal attitude was gone like the wide, with indignant rage replacing it.

He sends a heavy look at the duo before replying, "War."

Afton knew that both were going to be conflicted about this, which is the main reason he brought them to the Peace Negotiation in the first place. So they could see the NCR's attempt at harming him despite him accepting their invitation in good faith.

While it wasn't ideal to find out that the OSI had been experimenting on his father for years, it was still an exemplary display of the NCR's utter hypocrisy and corruption. Offering peace in one hand while holding a knife to your throat with the other.

Boone's face doesn't change at his words, seeming to accept what must be done. But Josie looked incredibly conflicted. She seemed overwhelmed by today's events, and this was only exasperated by the fact Afton was seemingly in control of the Legion...

Before she might've thought that Bulwark and the NCR were evenly matched, technology vs sheer numbers. But now that Afton had control of Caesar? Her country, the place she grew up, lived, and served was at risk.

On the other hand, she could see the results of their experiments, the ugly truth of her country that despite being well hidden, was clearly displayed today.

Afton shakes his head, "You two, go think about your priorities and whether or not you want to be a part of this. I won't force you to fight your country, but I won't allow you to assist my enemies either... Come to terms with this or I'll be forced to do something drastic..." he says, but continues upon seeing their alerted looks, "I don't mean I'll kill you, merely wipe your memories of Bulwark, Big Mt, the Think Tank, and everything else you have experienced during your time with me." he explains, not wanting them to misunderstand his intentions.

Yeah, sure, they hadn't 'corrected' the memory wiping tech yet, but soon enough it'd work without exploding skulls, liquifying brains, or erasing all of your memories, essentially lobotomizing you.

Josie quickly departs, and Boone gives a slight nod before leaving as well. This leaves Afton still standing before his mutated father, contemplating how he wanted to deal with the NCR. The OSI had somehow managed to gather Beauveria mordicana and inflict it upon Mr X... However, the lack of any spores meant that it had been subjected to the serum developed by the Think Tank...

That should be impossible unless they came to Big Mt itself and took some... Or... If they took his own samples... But if that was the case, where from?... His eyes widen, "Usanagi."

"Glados, prepare teleportation nearby the New Vegas Clinic, I'll be back shortly." he explains as he quickly leaves the lab, gathering his equipment and disappearing as lightning strikes him.