The third episode of Fallout season 2 begins with Lucy being brought into Caesar's Legion. Here, one of the advisors (played by Macaulay Culkin) explains that the Legion is currently at war with the New California Republic, but they're also at war with themselves. The Legion has been split into two distinct factions, separated by a humorously low hill with a corpse in the middle. This is the undignified corpse of their leader, and the founder's death has led to an ongoing battle for supremacy between the factions.
The thing is, the name of the successor is actually placed inside the founder's pocket, but they can't get to the corpse for fear of being shot and killed. Lucy tries and fails to negotiate, eventually being strung up on a cross for her troubles.
Meanwhile, The Ghoul cuts off the infected flesh and catches up to Lucy at the Legion. He scouts the area and decides he needs reinforcements. And what better place to find them than at the NCR HQ? However, the place is abandoned save for a robot called Victor. He explains that Robert House is gone. He had big plans to live forever, but he needed Cold Fusion to put his plan into action. Interestingly, Cooper apparently sabotaged that plan back in the day.
Before he leaves, Victor does reveal that there are "Rangers in the hills," giving the Ghoul his next port of call. It doesn't take long for the NCR to show up when the Ghoul approaches, bringing him to the scattered remnants of the Republic. They've been cut off from reinforcements for over a decade and there's only a few of them left here. The Legion has them boxed in and they need help contacting their battalion.
The Ghoul shows up at the Legion once again and decides to negotiate with them. In exchange for giving them the NCR's location, he'll get to take Lucy to safety. The scene unfolds with tension and urgency, as both sides are aware of the stakes involved in this negotiation. The future of the NCR and the fate of Lucy hang in the balance as the Ghoul tries to find a way to bring peace to the conflict-ridden landscape of Fallout.
In the past, Barb was sobbing as she packed her things, preparing to leave for the Vault. Meanwhile, Cooper arrived at the annual fundraiser for the American Veteran Entertainment Alliance, determined to gather intel on House. There wasn't much to go on beyond the fact that he was building a weapons system in Vegas. The trouble was, Robert House was actually there, in the bathroom, where he ran into Cooper. They engaged in a political conversation, with House indirectly threatening Cooper. But Cooper was there for Corporate Charlie White-nife, an old friend from their days in the marines.
Charlie gave a speech, explaining that Coop had always been selfless, at least back in his military days. He took care of his own, even if it meant some good old-fashioned bloodshed in the process. In the present, the gang left the camp just as fighting broke out. Lucy thanked the Ghoul, who seemed to be turning a new leaf.
Elsewhere, the fractured and undisciplined Brotherhood chapter contemplated their next move. Maximus listened as the Yosemite Elder believed they should give the Cold Fusion relic to the Commonwealth. Quintus vehemently refused and left everything at a stalemate. When she walked away, Maximus contemplated whether he should just kill Xander outright. The thing was, without the support of the other chapters, they'd be walking right into a self-inflicted massacre.
When Maximus was dismissed, Xander approached and said what we were all thinking - this chapter of the Brotherhood sucked. He gave a rallying call to Maximus and believed they should talk out a solution between them. They took a ship and Xander explained that the Commonwealth was in desperate need of the Cold Fusion relic. They were up against it back at home and were at risk of losing everything. If that should happen, civilization wouldn't be too far behind.
Xander knew precisely what Maximus needed, and that was a bit of relief out in the field. They went on a Companion quest together, storming a compound and taking out a robot. As they dove deeper into the factory, they found the remnants of the Sunset Sarsaparilla workers from the opening bits of the chapter. Xander brought the kids out of hiding and forced them to separate the Ghouls from the Smoothskins.
Unfortunately, Xander took it too far and just before he pulled the trigger to kill the kids - and their factory manager - Maximus killed Xander. In doing so though, he had just started a war.
