The roof of the house had been blown off, so now Charles and the rest of the group were on the lower floor, using it for cover.
They held the Legion off, firing whenever they could.
It was a bloodbath. The Legion was having significant trouble pushing forward due to the combined forces of NCR troops, agents, planes, vehicles, and the few bikers who managed to ride into their lines—only to be quickly taken down.
Eventually, however, the Legion began to push through, utilizing every resource at their disposal. The group was forced to retreat to a more defensible location, with some NCR troops and agents dying in the retreat.
Now pushed out of the residential area, they regrouped and held their ground in the industrial zone.
Even if no one had said it outright, Charles knew the Legion had to be attacking for a reason. He assumed reinforcements from the Mojave Outpost had finally arrived.
To either side of them, other army groups were clashing with Legion forces. Charles's group would need to hold their position until those troops reached the center of the industrial zone.
With the Legion's offensive slowing, many soldiers holed up, building fortifications or taking shelter in factories—factories where, remarkably, many workers continued their labor without pause.
Now split up from much of the original group, Charles found himself in one of the factories with Joseph and Karl. Surrounded by the sounds of machinery and muffled explosions, he said:
"The Legion must've attacked for a reason. Nothing would justify that many losses unless reinforcements from the Mojave Outpost really did arrive."
"I heard rumors, Charles—the Brotherhood of Steel is helping the NCR now," said Karl.
"Ha! The Brotherhood? Really, Karl?" said Joseph. "They've been enemies forever. Now you think they're cozying up just because the NCR's about to lose this goddamn thing?"
"Brotherhood or not," Charles replied, "I can tell the Legion's panicking. You don't throw men away like that unless you're desperate."
It wasn't until an hour later that the NCR troops from the flanks reached the industrial area, forcing a retreat to the outer camps to avoid being crushed from both sides.
Now they were at the outer NCR camps—well-fortified on all sides, giving them a good chance of holding the position.
A few tense hours passed before the Legion made their next move.
First came the artillery strikes. Then the bikers. Then the Legion marched.
The fortifications held for a while, but the Legion countered NCR vehicles with anti-armor launchers, beginning to break through.
The scent of blood, bodies, and ash filled the battlefield around Charles.
Just as the Legion was nearing a breakthrough, General Moore arrived with reinforcements—presumably from breaking the Westside encirclement—and they managed to hold the line.
But Charles knew it wouldn't be that easy. Westside's use of stealthboys proved it. Lasers and bullets suddenly came from behind, and then the Legate—Lanius himself—entered the fray, slaughtering NCR forces side by side with his men.
General Moore was killed, and just as one of the remaining officers began to surrender, Lanius took them all prisoner—including Charles.
They took his Pip-Boy and everybody was disarmed and Charles was locked inside one of the NCR buildings.
It was the cafeteria, and it was packed with other prisoners. He didn't recognize many people—except Cromwell and Theodore—but the Legion allowed no talking.
An hour passed.
Then, gunshots erupted outside. The Legion hadn't had time to properly cuff or relocate the prisoners. In their panic, they started shooting everyone.
A Legionary aimed at Cromwell, but Theodore jumped in the way.
Charles seized the opportunity—he rammed into the Legionary, took his gun, and shot him. The prisoners, now in full riot, overwhelmed the guards, forcing the remaining Legionaries to retreat from the room.
Everybody else was closing the door and trying to block it, but Charles went over to Captain Cromwell, who was still on the ground in shock, and said:
"Captain, we need you."
Hearing that, she seemed to collect herself. She looked down at Theodore and, with a hint of sadness, said:
"Sorry, but this day has been a nightmare, Charles. I lost my general, Brown, and now I'm about to let your guy die."
"You still have a duty to do," said Charles.
"Yeah... I see the situation."
After saying that, she began giving out orders, taking charge as the highest-ranking officer present.
She ordered everyone to block all the doors and announced that they would hold out until reinforcements arrived. If that didn't happen, she said bluntly:
"We'll either live, meet our maker or be enslaved. So, God help us all."
Even though Charles didn't have much belief in God, he couldn't help but be affected by her words.
With the doors now barricaded, most people looked scared. A few of the prisoners who were skilled in medicine were tending to the wounded prisoners and trying to stabilize Theodore. They claimed his wound wasn't fatal—but Charles doubted that, seeing how still he was on the floor.
The firing continued, and then someone began banging on the door. Since nobody knew who it was, Captain Cromwell called out:
"Who is it?"
"It's the NCR! The Legion's on the run, and we heard you guys were being held prisoner here."
"How can we trust you?" said Cromwell.
"I'm Sergeant Kirk. I was stationed up at Navarro—transferred here recently. The NCR just signed a new deal with the Brotherhood, and we're working together now."
The captain paused, then said:
"Fine. I'll open up. I mean, if you're Legion, we're already dead soon anyway, so we'd just be speeding it up. I'll take the chance you're telling the truth."
She then ordered the others to remove the barricades. They hesitated at first, but followed her orders. And once the fortifications were down and the door opened, any sense of hesitation vanished.
NCR soldiers, Brotherhood troops, and even workers from the industrial district flooded in. Outside, the ground was littered with the bodies of Legion soldiers, as well as fallen NCR, Brotherhood, and worker fighters.