Since I haven't posted an update to "Better Version of Me" in so long, this is a basic summary of each chapter (1-32) to give readers reminders of things they may have forgotten. I tried to include most of the important plot points a reader would need to know.
If you want to read the entire fic without any spoilers, however, then obviously don't read this.
Summary of Chapters 1-32
Chapter 1: The Stranger
Having left the Capital Wasteland and her title as the Lone Wanderer behind years ago, Courier Beth Evans arrives in Novac where she meets Boone. At his request, she finds who sold his wife, Carla, to the Legion. Once his revenge on Jeannie May Crawford is complete, Beth asks him to come with her to go after the Legion. He accepts.
Chapter 2: I've Been Everywhere
The companions travel to Nelson where they clear out the Legion and free the crucified NCR soldiers. Boone decides the Courier is much more capable than she previously appeared. She tells Boone about being shot in the head and left for dead in Goodsprings by Benny and the Khans. The painful side effects of her injury become more apparent.
Chapter 3: Life Turned Her that Way
There is a flashback to the night in the graveyard. Tied up and on her knees, Beth pleads for her life before Benny shoots her. Her last thought is of Charon and how disappointed he would be in her.
Back in the present, the companions travel to Boulder City where Beth convinces Lieutenant Monroe to let them try to resolve the hostage situation with the Khans. Boone tells Beth he shouldn't go inside with her or things might not go well. She remembers something Manny said about Bitter Springs, so she goes in alone.
Jessup and another Khan tell her that Benny has gone back to Vegas with the Platinum Chip. She convinces the Khans to release the hostages and says they will go free. Despite the hostages being freed, Monroe tells Beth he has orders to take out the Khans. Boone objects, but Beth feels no sympathy for the individuals who helped Benny and dug her grave, so she leaves him to his orders.
Chapter 4: Yesterday
The companions travel to the 188 Trading Post. Alone, Beth goes under the overpass to talk to Clay, the Forecaster, who she is reasonably close with. Since the headaches from being shot are getting worse, she asks him where he got his "medicine," the headgear he wears that keeps the pain of his "thoughts" away. He says he doesn't remember, but gives her a thought about "Everywhere." She tells him a little about Boone.
After dinner together, Boone takes a walk alone down below the overpass. He meets Clay and buys a thought about himself, which references the dark things in his past and advises him to "trust the stranger who is not a stranger."
Returning to their camping spot, Boone finds Beth asleep. He stays awake and reflects on his personal demons. Beth wakes from a nightmare. Boone tells her a little about Carla, but snaps at her when she asks what happened to his wife after she was taken.
Chapter 5: Return to Sender
As the companions continue onto Vegas, Beth recalls the nightmare she had the previous night before about her father's death. She pushes the thoughts away and apologizes to Boone for overstepping, which he accepts.
Without passports or enough money, they cannot get through the New Vegas gate. Beth remembers that the King owes her a favor for helping his dog, Rex. He agrees to supply her with two passports to the Strip, but it will take a couple of days. Outside, Boone inquires about Beth's apparent personal history with the King. She reveals that they had a fling, but she dropped him when he pushed for something serious.
They spend the night at the Old Mormon Fort where they run into Arcade and she introduces him to Boone. She reflects on how much Arcade reminds her of her father, both idealistic doctors with secrets. Although, she assumes Arcade's secrets have nothing to do with her.
Chapter 6: In the Merry Old Land of Oz
Arriving on the Strip, Victor the securitron invites Beth into the Lucky 38 to talk to Mr. House. She reluctantly agrees. He tells her about Benny and the Chip.
Meanwhile, Boone waits outside, thinking about Carla and his new companion. When Beth emerges from the 38, it attracts a lot of attention on the Strip. An NCR trooper gives her an invitation from ambassador Crocker, but she is too focused on Benny to accept it.
Chapter 7: Baby, I'm a Fool
Beth confronts Benny, who convinces her to meet him up in the Tops' Presidential suite, where she and Boone are ambushed by his goons. In the fight, she takes a blow to the head, which makes her previous injury worse. They hurry to Benny's suite, but he's already gone. Along with her passport to the Strip, she finds her .45 pistol that he had stolen from her the night in the graveyard. She also finds Yes Man, but due to previous bad experiences, she is reluctant to trust an artificial intelligence.
Needing some time to think, Beth asks Boone to retrieve their confiscated equipment from the bouncers and goes outside. She's approached by a legionary who gives her The Mark of Caesar and invites her to Fortification Hill for an audience with Caesar. He also tells her that Benny is headed there, as Yes Man had said. She tells Boone about it and he reiterates that she's not alone in this, that he has her back.
Chapter 8: The Weight
In another flashback, Beth is gambling at the casino in Primm when Johnson Nash tells her that another courier turned down a delivery to New Vegas and said she should take it after recognizing her name. She agrees and plans to head to Vegas by way of Goodsprings.
Back in the present, the companions start out toward Fortification Hill, but Beth collapses shortly after they leave Freeside. Boone carries her to the New Vegas Clinic to get her some help.
Chapter 9: Fire and Rain
Boone waits while Dr. Usanagi and Arcade try to help Beth. When they are done with the surgery, they let Boone back to see her. She's still unconscious and looks near death. Arcade convinces Boone to leave to get some rest, so he goes to the Atomic Wrangler. On the way, he runs into Victor who inquires about the Courier's progress in getting the Platinum Chip. Angered, the sniper tells him off, informing him that Beth is at the clinic close to death. Boone gets a room at the Atomic Wrangler, but is too preoccupied to sleep.
When he returns to the clinic the next morning, Dr. Usanagi tells him that Beth was taken away.
Chapter 10: I Can See Clearly Now
There's a flashback to Beth waking up at Doc Mitchell's house in Goodsprings after being shot.
Back in the present, she wakes up in an unfamiliar place with a searing pain in her head. Someone tells her they are taking care of her before injecting her with anesthetic.
Next thing she knows, she's waking up in a soft bed and her pain is gone. She sees Boone sitting at her bedside, holding her hand. He informs her that they are in the suite at the Lucky 38. House had her brought there where he and his bots fixed her up. Arcade comes in and nags her to go back to bed and expresses his deep concern for her condition. He asks about her and Boone's relationship and she insists they are just friends.
Chapter 11: Feeling Alright
Arcade continues to worry about Beth. Boone tells him about Benny and that they are going after him, but leaves out the details about the Legion.
Beth returns to the suite after talking to Mr. House. She tells Boone that after his confrontation with Victor, House wants him fired, calling him an "impetuous brute." Boone is worried for a moment, but she reassures him that she refused, saying that if House doesn't like it, he can find another delivery girl. She thanks Boone again for helping her, calls him her hero, and kisses him on the cheek. This confuses both of them and makes Beth wonder if she's developing feelings for him, but she reminds herself that she has a job to do.
Chapter 12: The Dark End of the Street
After stopping in Goodsprings, Beth spots and shoots an Enclave eyebot on the road. When Boone expresses surprise at her strong reaction and caution, she tells him that the Enclave is to her what the Legion is to him.
At the Mojave Outpost, they inquire if there has been any Enclave activity reported in the area. Ranger Ghost informs them that there is smoke coming from Nipton and they decide to investigate. They find the Legion has taken over the town. As they're clearing out the legionaries, one grabs Beth from behind, holding a knife to her throat and expresses that he is disappointed that she didn't take Caesar's invitation. Before he can hurt her, Boone shoots him in the head. He recognizes the dead legionary as Vulpes Inculta.
Beth then puts the crucified Powder Gangers out of their misery.
Chapter 13: Remembering September
The companions find one of the Powder Gangers alive in the general store and he tells them about the Legion's lottery, including that some of them were taken as slaves. Seeing that he is beyond help, Beth gives the man her sizable leftover stash of med-x.
She and Boone then decide to go after the enslaved Powder Gangers. When they find them, Boone shoots the legionaries and they free the captures.
Later while resting, Boone expresses his anger concerning the Legion's brazen attacks on NCR territory and at the NCR for not doing more to stop them. Beth thanks him for saving her back in Nipton. During the conversation, she figures out how Carla died and he tells her the full story, then also about Bitter Springs. She asks if he would want to go back there and he refuses.
While at his turn at watch, he thinks about the Forecaster's prophecy, to "trust the stranger who is not a stranger," which he assumes is Beth. He decides to take her advice and go to Bitter Springs. When he tells her, she agrees to go immediately.
Chapter 14: Time Has Told Me
Arriving at Bitter Springs, now an NCR refugee camp, Boone tells Beth what happened the day of the massacre. She is shocked and disgusted by his past actions, but agrees to stay the night there with him.
As she sleeps, Boone spots a Legion raiding party approaching the camp. They fight them off and save the refugees. Later, after clearing the cazadores out of the boat house nearby, Boone expresses his surprise and near disappointment at making it through the Legion attack, believing he still has bad things coming to him. Beth tells him about her meeting Joshua Graham and the things she learned about herself from her time in Zion. She tells Boone that she believes in him and that he still has a choice to be the person he wants to be.
Chapter 15: Hopeless
The companions go to Camp Forlorn Hope to request reinforcements for Bitter Springs, but find the conditions there to be even more dire. Beth assists Dr. Alex Richards with some patients, while Boone goes to find some missing supplies. When he returns, she expresses her frustration and exasperation with the situation here on the front-lines.
Tech Sergeant Reyes asks the Courier to deliver new security codes to the Ranger stations and investigate some strange reports she's been getting.
Boone thanks Beth for going with him to Bitter Springs and says that things seem clearer. She asks if the things she told him about Joshua Graham bother him. He says he isn't sure. He asks about her .45 and she says it was a gift from Joshua after she stopped him from killing Salt-Upon-Wounds. She keeps it as a reminder of the things she learned in Zion. They go to sleep with Boone unsure of how he can reconcile his feelings about her connection to the Malpais Legate.
The next morning, Beth finds Boone outside at a table with some guns broken down in pieces. At first, she thinks he's destroyed her .45, but he's just taken it apart to clean it as his way of showing her that he can accept the things she told him.
Chapter 16: Days Like This
Stopping at Ranger Station Delta, they deliver the security codes and find that the reports of Legion Super Mutants are unsubstantiated.
They continue on to Cottonwood Cove where Boone confirms this is where Carla died. He sees that there are much fewer legionaries than there were before and they are able to clear out the camp. They free the Weathers family from captivity, then send them to the nearest Ranger station.
While they rest and wait for dark, Beth unlocks a case left at the sniper's nest above the camp. She finds a Gobi Scout rifle and gifts it to Boone, which he gratefully takes. He finds that he feels more at peace than he thought he ever would, especially here.
As darkness falls, they head down to the raft to make the trip to Fortification Hill. Boone thanks Beth for everything she's done for him.
Chapter 17: Live and Let Die
The two companions make the trip to Fortification Hill and stealthily work their way through to clear out the camp and free the slaves. They arrive at the command tent where Boone shoots an unsuspecting Caesar.
When all the legionaries are dead, Beth is surprised to see Benny there still alive. She retrieves the Platinum Chip from Caesar's body, then turns to the heavily beaten Chairman. As she's about to shoot him, the .45 in her hand reminds her of when she stopped Joshua Graham from executing Salt-Upon-Wounds and she reluctantly decides not to kill Benny. Instead, she instructs him to get far away from there and never come back then cuts him loose.
After tending to their wounds, the companions go into the Fort's weather station and down into the securitron vault, per House's instructions. They see the large number of securitrons and question if they should use the Chip to activate them. Beth decides to go through with it, saying that the outcome of the upcoming battle is too uncertain. She says that if Boone wants to leave now, he can. He decides to stay and they watch the securitrons activate together.
Chapter 18: Help Me Make it Through the Night
Returning to Novac after their victory at Cottonwood Cove and Fortification Hill, Beth opens up to Boone about Benny, how vulnerable she felt and how much pain she was in before House fixed the damage. He comforts her, which makes them both feel closer to each other. She asks him to stay with her in her room that night so she doesn't have to be alone with the Chip, but mostly just didn't want him to leave.
As she gets cleaned up, Beth thinks about her feelings for Boone, but struggles with her personal abandonment issues and also doesn't think that she can compete with Carla's memory. Ultimately, she decides that just being his friend is better than nothing.
Boone collects the last of his belongings in his room downstairs while he contemplates his feelings for Beth and how much things have changed for him since they met. When he goes back outside, Manny greets him from across the courtyard, but Boone ignores him and goes back to Beth's room.
When he sees her, he impulsively kisses her, which she reciprocates. They then go to bed and fall asleep in each other's arms.
Chapter 19: What a Difference a Day Made
The next morning, Manny unexpectedly knocks at the door to talk to Boone, and Beth goes to get coffee to give them privacy. Boone addresses his former friend with hostility. From talking to No-Bark and finding Jeannie May dead in front of the sniper's nest, he figured out what happened to Carla and says that at the time, he thought she just left town. He tries to apologize, but Boone shuts the door in his face. When Beth returns, Boone tells her about Manny's reaction when he told him Carla was gone.
Back on the road, they stop at the 188 trading post and run into Veronica and Boone leaves them to talk. The scribe talks to Beth about her issues with the Brotherhood.
Later, Beth and Boone overhear some NCR soldiers and traders talking about rumors that two rogue troopers took out Fortification Hill. They say nothing.
Heading to their camping spot, Beth kisses Boone and they fall asleep cuddled together.
Chapter 20: We've Only Just Begun
Back at the Lucky 38, Beth and Boone make love for the first time.
The next morning, Beth takes the Platinum Chip to Mr. House and he demonstrates the capabilities of the upgraded securitrons. She asks about his plans for the NCR and he confirms that he has no intention of going to war with them. She then asks why he's trusting her with all of this, since he doesn't really know much about her. He answers that Victor downloaded the files from her Pip-Boy back in Goodsprings, so he does know a lot about her, including her exploits as the Lone Wanderer. This violation of her privacy upsets her greatly.
Mr. House lays out his long-term plans to save humanity, which includes colonizing other planets, primarily funded by NCR tourism. Beth says she needs some time to think.
Chapter 21: Down to My Last Cigarette
After leaving the Lucky 38, Beth decides to go to the Atomic Wrangler in Freeside where they get a room to talk and think over their options. She fills Boone in on what happened with Mr. House. She contemplates leaving, which makes Boone question where he fits in with her long-term plans, but she reassures him that whatever they do, they'll figure it out together.
She ultimately decides to keep working with House, but to let him sweat a little.
Beth and Boone tell each other more about their personal histories. The stirred emotions are too much for Boone, so he initiates physical intimacy to try to forget. Beth wants to help him and also forget about some of her own issues, so she goes along with it.
Chapter 22: One Line
House contemplates his plans and the situation with the Courier; he is confident she will return.
Back at the Atomic Wrangler, Boone wakes from a vivid nightmare where Beth and their baby are taken by the Legion with him powerless to stop it.
Even though Beth has decided to keep working with Mr. House, she wants to make him sweat a little. They head out to deliver more security codes to the Ranger stations. While Boone heads to resupply at Mick and Ralph's, she goes to the Old Mormon Fort. There, Julie asks her to take Arcade on the road for a few days.
The three of them spend the night in an abandoned farm. While Boone is at watch, he sees that the Legion has surrounded the house. After fighting them off, Beth finds a note in Latin on one of the legionaries, which she gives to Arcade to read. It gives orders to capture the Courier and kill Boone as retribution for Caesar's assassination. Fearful for her safety, Boone insists that they go back to Vegas and Arcade agrees, but she refuses.
Chapter 23: Someone to Watch Over Me
A flashback shows how Beth and Arcade first met when she was hired to guard him on a trip to the Follower's Outpost. He is skeptical of her skills, but Julie insists that she comes highly recommended. On the road, he notices that she keeps staring at him. She says he reminds her of someone she used to know.
They fight off some raiders and both express surprise at each other's capabilities in a fight. Arcade apologizes for his earlier rudeness.
Back in the present, Arcade asks Beth if it's true that they assassinated Caesar. She confirms it. He asks how she and Boone met, but she refuses to answer, saying it's Boone's personal business and to leave it alone.
After they arrive at Ranger Station Foxtrot, Beth goes to deliver the security codes. Arcade asks Boone what they were thinking attacking Fortification Hill. Boone tells him that was where the man who shot her was, even though he internally questions if that was her entire reason.
Beth returns to them and relays that the Foxtrot report on the list was false and that they need to return to Camp Forlorn Hope. Arcade and Boone say that is too close to Legion territory. Beth insists that the only way the Mojave will be safe for anyone is if the Legion is defeated.
Later, Arcade tells Beth that he's confused about her recent behavior and asks if it's Boone's influence. She assures him she's doing all of it because she believes it's important. For a moment, he seems like he's going to tell her something, then stops.
Boone is sitting alone, worrying that the bad things that he has coming will take Beth, just like they did Carla. Beth finds him and apologizes for dismissing his concerns about her safety, but still doesn't like the way he expressed them. She wants a partner, not a bodyguard.
Chapter 24: All Along the Watchtower
Beth returns to Vegas to talk briefly to Mr. House, making it clear that she needs to be able to trust him or she can't work for him. He asks her to get in contact with the Boomers at Nellis, that he wants them on the side of the NCR in the upcoming battle or to be neutral.
Back in the suite, Boone assists Arcade in preparing dinner while they chat. Beth returns and tells them about House's next assignment.
The three companions arrive at Camp Forlorn Hope. While she and Boone talk to Tech Sergeant Reyes, Beth suggests that Arcade help out Dr. Richards. They patch up some seriously injured troopers and bond over their mutual desire to help people. Alex initiates a kiss, which Arcade accepts, but reluctantly stops things before they go further. He can't bring himself to get involved with someone in the NCR army.
The next morning the three companions head to Camp Golf. Arcade excuses himself, saying he is going to collect plant samples by the lake. Beth talks with Boone about his time at Camp Golf and about how they will handle the conversation with Chief Hanlon. As they speak to him, Beth attempts to handle the situation diplomatically, as they agreed, but Boone cuts in and bluntly says that they know Hanlon is the one who manipulated the intelligence data.
Hanlon takes them to his tiny office and confirms their suspicions. He explains that he's trying to do what he thinks is best for the NCR, even if that means losing the next battle for the Dam. Beth and Boone are able to talk him down.
When they're alone, Boone tells Beth that he knows she thinks that House should take over after the NCR defeats the Legion and that he is starting to come around to her position.
Chapter 25: Will You Love Me Tomorrow
While impatiently waiting for Arcade to return, Beth devises a plan to contact the Boomers via a radio signal. When he comes back, the three of them head to the local office for Happy Trails and Cassidy Caravans, the two companies having merged after both fell on hard times. Cass lets them use the radio to send a greeting message they hope will be picked up by the Boomers' Pip-Boys.
The signal works and they are able to approach the base without being shot at. Raquel escorts them to Mother Pearl, who welcomes them and thanks them for contacting them so respectfully. The companions help with tasks around Nellis. Being around the former vault-dwellers brings back a lot of memories for Beth, particularly about her own vault.
While Beth is at the Boomers' museum, Jack asks Boone to talk to the red headed trader at the Crimson Caravan that he is in love with. He reluctantly agrees. Jack invites him to a poker game later that night.
At dinner, Pearl and Loyal tell the companions about the sunken bomber in Lake Mead and Beth agrees to raise it for them. They also get permission from Pearl to bring Jack's girl to Nellis, if she wants to come.
Later, Arcade expresses his concerns to Beth about raising the bomber and about Mr. House. She explains her reasons to him. She then asks about Dr. Richards. He says that they kissed, but that's all it will ever be.
Boone comes back from the poker game and briefly contemplates his feelings for Beth before she wakes up. They kiss, but don't take things further with Arcade there.
The next morning when they are alone, Beth attempts to wake Boone up to continue things. In his half-asleep state, he mumbles his wife's name which makes Beth retreat out of the room, embarrassed and hurt. He follows her, but she asks to be left alone. He asks her to promise not to leave Nellis without him and she agrees.
Chapter 26: Turn the World Around the Other Way
The final scene from the previous chapter plays out from Boone's perspective where a dream about Carla is unfortunately mixed with Beth's real-life affections.
Tensions still high, the two of them head off to the lake. On the way, they're ambushed by legionaries. After the fight, the companions sit in the shade and tend to their wounds. They talk about what happened earlier that morning. Boone talks about how much things have changed for him since leaving Novac with her. Beth talks about her abandonment issues. They both confirm that they don't want to lose each other.
At the lake, Boone offers to raise the bomber, since Beth can't swim very well. After that is done, they go to the Crimson Caravan and talk to Jack's love interest, Janet. She is enthusiastic to meet him, so they escort her to Nellis.
Beth and Boone tell Pearl about the bomber. Then they talk to her about the upcoming battle for the Dam and convince her to side against the Legion.
Chapter 27: Perdoname Mi Vida
Returning to Vegas, Beth meets with Mr. House and he asks her to investigate the Omertas, who he thinks are up to something. When the three companions go inside Gomorrah, they run into an old friend of Boone's from back home, an NCR ranger named Gaby who just arrived from Baja. She's looking for her sister, Ana, who has been working at Gomorrah as a waitress, but her family hasn't heard from her in over a month.
They offer to help. After getting Gaby some less conspicuous clothes, they talk to the receptionist about what the Omertas are up to and she points them toward one of the lower lieutenants, Cachino. While Boone and Gaby go talk to Ana's friend and a prostitute named Joana, Beth and Arcade ask around about Cachino, who eventually finds them. Finding him uncooperative, they decide to break into his room where they find his journal that shows he's been selling chems on the side.
Leaving Cachino's suite, they notice a trail of blood in the hallway that leads to a room with a woman's dead and brutalized body. Beth sees that it isn't Ana, having seen her picture earlier.
With the journal, they are able to get Cachino to tell them that the Omertas bosses are planning something that involves a lot of guns. He offers to help take them down so he can take over. He tells them about the boss's underlings, Troike and Clanden.
They break into Clanden's suite where they find blood and snuff holotapes. They also find Ana locked in the closet. Beth hurries her safely out of the casino and into Freeside.
Chapter 28: Shelter from the Storm
They take Ana to the Old Mormon Fort and get her checked out by Dr. Farkas. Ana confirms that Clanden was the one who hurt her and that he was the only one. Gaby asks Boone to make him pay for what he did and he agrees. He and Beth go to Clanden's suite and force him to tell them about his crimes, including that he had been the one to kill the prostitute found in Troike's bed which the Omertas used to blackmail him. He also tells them about the Omertas' plans to take over the Strip when the Legion attacks the Dam. When they are done getting information out of him, Boone shoots Clanden dead.
Beth and Boone tell Troike that he didn't kill the woman found in his bed. He tells them about the weapons and his plans to destroy them with thermite. They carry out his plan.
After dinner at the Lucky 38, Boone and Gaby talk about what happened at Gomorrah, as well as about Beth and Carla. Meanwhile, Beth helps Arcade make up the fold-out couch and tells him about her plan to eventually replace the Omertas at Gomorrah with the Kings.
Chapter 29: My Way
In the middle of the night, Beth finds Boone in the suite's rec room and they talk about what happened with Clanden. Beth talks a little about her experiences with the Enclave, particularly what happened at Project Purity. They hear Ana screaming from a nightmare. Boone is torn between comforting Ana or Beth, but Beth tells him to choose Ana because she needs him more right now.
The next morning, they all decide that Ana should stay with the Followers when Gaby has to go back to her post and Ana agrees.
Beth meets with Mr. House and he assigns her to destroy the Mojave chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. She asks if there is a possibility of a diplomatic situation and when he refuses, she quits. Mr. House relents, saying they will try it her way, but if the Brotherhood does pose a threat, she needs to handle them.
Returning to the suite, Beth fills Boone and Arcade in on the plan. Arcade reacts very badly to the idea of going to the Brotherhood bunker, which confuses Beth.
When Arcade leaves the room, Boone tells Beth something he has been thinking about for a while, but couldn't find the perfect time: he loves her. She's shocked and scared at first, but then says she loves him, too.
Chapter 30: I Wish I was the Moon
In a flashback to Arcade's childhood in Navarro shortly after his father died, the young boy wakes from a nightmare. Getting up to find his mother, he overhears her and his Uncle Jimmy talking about leaving Navarro to go east. Jimmy wants them all to start over in a new home and leave behind the sins of the past. Miriam says that she and her husband Mark (Jimmy's brother) rejected the idea before he died and she still doesn't want to leave her home for an uncertain future.
Back in the present, Arcade can't stop thinking about the Brotherhood and what they would do to him and his extended family if they found out who he really is. He knows he can't go to the bunker, but he has to figure out what to tell Beth. He finally decides to tell her the truth. Telling her goes much worse than he thought, however, as she throws a cup at him and screams for him to get out.
Arcade hurries out of the Lucky 38 and back to Freeside. When he gets back to his tent at the Old Mormon Fort, he thinks about disappearing somewhere, but he's too tired of running.
That night at the 188, Beth has a nightmare about being held and interrogated by Colonel Autumn back at Raven Rock. This time, he isn't doing it alone—he's assisted by a twisted Enclave version of Arcade.
Boone startles her awake and she punches him in the face before she realizes it's him.
Chapter 31: It's a Sin to Tell a Lie
The next morning, while Beth is still sleeping, Boone uses as stimpak to clear up the bruise on his face so she won't see how badly she hurt him. Over breakfast, she tells him some of her history with the Brotherhood out east. Eventually, he does tell her that he lied and covered up his injury. Still reeling from the situation with Arcade, she's very upset that Boone would lie to her. She leaves him at their camping spot to go find Veronica.
Beth talks to the scribe about working out a truce between the Mojave Brotherhood and Mr. House. Veronica thinks that the best thing would be to convince Elder McNamara to end the lockdown and work on using their technology to help the outside world instead of hiding and waiting to die out. Then they might be open to a truce with New Vegas. First, they need to find some tech that would convince McNamara.
Veronica takes Beth and Boone to an old house where she used to get messages from her former mentor, Father Elijah. On a computer terminal, they find a reference to some advanced farming technology in Vault 22 and decide that's their best option.
Chapter 32: No Moon at All
Back at the Old Mormon Fort, Arcade is the target of some unexpected and unwanted attention as people treat him like an extension of the increasingly beloved Courier. All the recognition makes him feel like more of a fraud. It reminds him of how people used to speak about the Chosen One when he was growing up in hiding in the NCR. Arcade thinks about his family and the Enclave, then about Beth.
Beth, Boone, and Veronica find Vault 22 and are stunned by the amazing plant growth surrounding it. Inside, they see that something has turned people into plant creatures. From some computer logs, they see that the NCR has been sending scientists to study the vault and that one, Keely, might still be there. They find the research data and download it.. Afterward, they find Keely and they help her destroy the spores that are infecting people. They then convince her that the research is too valuable to destroy and that a group like the Followers could be trusted with it, although they also plan to give it to the Brotherhood and Mr. House.