Lily ducked behind the corner, reloading her new Chinese assault rifle as bullets tore into the wall. The super mutant crouched back down behind a crate at the end of the corridor which absorbed Blaine's fire as he leaped out from cover, Magnum blazing. The mutant roared a challenge and popped up, firing wildly. Blaine crouched down at Lily's side, his face split into a wide grin.

"Doesn't get much better than this, does it?" he laughed.

Lily snorted and unleashed a salvo of blind fire from behind the corner.

"If it doesn't, then you might as well just shoot me now."

There was another roar and a renewed barrage of burning lead.

"STUPID HUMANS! DIE ALREADY!"

"This guy is really starting to get on my nerves," panted Lily.

Blaine cocked his head to the side his expression ponderous. He adjusted his hat and straightened up to his full height.

"I've got a plan," he said, adding a wink as an exclamation.

Before Lily could reply, Blaine leapt out from behind cover and began sprinting down the corridor. Instantly, he was engulfed in a storm of bullets and crumpled to the ground. The Super Mutant bellowed in triumph and thumped his chest. Lily's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She dashed out into the hallway and jammed her finger down on the trigger, aiming at the now exposed head of the super mutant. The mutant's body shuddered and jerked as it's head exploded in a mess of blood and brain matter. The headless corpse keeled over and hit the floor with a loud crash. Lily rushed over to Blaine, placing her rifle on her back.

"Blaine!"

She crouched down beside him and shook his shoulders. To her surprise, his eyes flew open and he winked once again.

"Gotcha."

Lily groaned and hastily released his shoulders. Blaine sat up and brushed himself down, twisting at a bullet lodged in his shoulder plate. Lily shook her head in astonishment.

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Blaine tapped his forehead.

"Elementary, my dear Watson. That ugly bastard refused to come out from behind cover so I decided to lure him out," said the mercenary, talking as if he were addressing a child.

"You could have been killed!"

"If you were paying attention, you would have noticed three things. One, I'm wearing combat armour. Two, that mutant had terrible aim. And three, at that range, his rifle wouldn't have been able to pierce my armour anyway. I knew exactly what I was doing."

Blaine got to his feet, smiling smugly.

"I am the best, after all," he added.

"Your modesty continues to astound me," snorted Lily. She turned her back on the mercenary and began walking down the corridor.

The bickering had continued without pause from Rivet City to the Jefferson Memorial and showed little signs of letting up. Not exactly a good start for the fledgling partnership but certainly a fun one. Antagonizing the Vault girl continued to entertain Blaine to no end. In the process, Blaine had made some progress in solving the Rubix Cube which was the girl's psyche.

As he had already known, she had a short temper and seemed to be highly defensive, quick to verbally spar with Blaine at a moment's notice. Not only that, she was constantly alert, bordering on jumpy. A product of fear. Obviously, the Wasteland had begun to take its toll on her already. She was highly educated, often using terms and language which only a scientist would use. This intelligence had instilled in the girl a misguided sense that she knew what she was doing. Despite this, Blaine had to admit that she learned fast and was able to adept to dangerous situations with surprising speed. However, none of this told Blaine why she had saved him. Luckily, he had all the time in the world.

They made their way through the memorial, encountering more mutants which were finished off in a swift fashion. Along the way, Lily made a point to search every nook and cranny with a dogged determination, leaving no stone unturned as if her father could be found hiding in a cabinet. This made the process of exploring the Memorial pain stakingly slow. Eventually, they came across the Memorial Rotunda. The huge structure was suspended above a pool of murky water and was comprised of rusted metal and dusty glass. Inside was what appeared to be a control room, bristling with a mind boggling array of buttons and panels.

"So what exactly was your father doing here?" asked Blaine as they entered the control room. Lily ignored him, instead beginning to scour the area from panel to panel. Blaine cleared his throat.

The girl sighed and turned to face him.

"Why do you care?"

"I don't," said Blaine with a shrug. "I'm just curious."

Lily opened her mouth and seemed to hesitate before answering Blaine's question.

"He...was a scientist. He was working on something called Project Purity."

For a brief second, Blaine's eyes widened before he caught himself. Lily's own eyes narrowed as she saw Blaine's reaction.

"You've heard of it?"

The mercenary waved his hand dismissively and shook his head.

"Of course not. I'll leave the experiments to you egg heads."

Lily's eyes narrowed further and she continued to stare at Blaine, her lips pursed. Blaine smiled and wagged a finger in her face.

"Didn't your Dad ever tell you that it's rude to stare?"

"Yes, he did in fact. And I'm assuming that your Father failed to mention to you that you were dropped on your head as a baby?"

Blaine chuckled as Lily turned away from him, obviously satisfied with having the final word. She fiddled with the monitor, but the screen remained black. Blaine watched her fruitless efforts with an amused smile before he spotted a number of holotapes stacked atop one of the panels. Lily seemed to have seen them too, as she bounded towards the panel with an uncharacteristic spring in her step. Blaine craned his head over her shoulder as she hurriedly plugged one of the holotapes into her Pip Boy.

"Come on, Dad. Give me something," she muttered. Blaine couldn't miss the desperation in her voice.

The Pip Boy beeped as it registered the holotape. Both Blaine and Lily found themselves waiting with bated breath as the holotape was uploaded into the device. Finally, there was a hiss of static followed by a voice. Blaine stiffened. He had heard that voice before, a long time ago.

Well, here we are again. Project Purity and me. It's been close to twenty years since my last entry, as I left all of this behind to make a life for my daughter.

Lily drew in a breath. Blaine glanced at her out of hte corner of his eye. She was staring at her Pip Boy intently, completely ignoring Blaine's presense. Blaine's brow furrowed, racking his brain. Blaine remembered him, the source of the voice, the man in the white coat. His name was on the tip of Blaine's tongue.

We spent that time in Vault 101, tucked away from the rest of the world. It wasn't perfect, but it was safe, and that's all I could have hoped for. Now, my daughter is a grown woman. Beautiful, intelligent, confident. Just like her mother.

Lily's lips twitched, curling into a smile.

"Dad," she breathed.

And as hard as it was to admit it, she doesn't need her daddy anymore.

"James," whispered Blaine.

Lily whirled around, her eyes wide.

"What did you just say?"

Blaine cursed himself mentally. An unacceptable mistake on his part. He opened his mouth to reply, working furiously to think up a way to worm his way out of the situation.

"Of course I don't, I was just-"

He paused and frowned. Lily tapped her foot on the floor impatiently.

"I'm waiting?"

Blaine raised his hand.

"Shhh. Do you hear that?"

"Hear wha-"

Blaine grabbed Lily's wrist and dragged her down to the ground. Her yell was muffled by Blaine's hand. At that moment, three men decked out with combat armour and bristling with weaponry burst into the room. Blaine kept his hand clamped over Lily's mouth, pressing her against the ground despite her muted objections. The pair was hidden from view by the control module. Blaine watched the newcomers ascending the staircase to the rotunda, guns raised. Blaine drew his magnum.

"Talon Company mercs."

Lily managed to wrestle her way out of Blaine's grip and reached up to grab the rest of the holotapes. She placed them carefully into her pack.

"What the hell are they doing here?" she hissed.

"Good question," growled Blaine. "I'm sure we'll get an answer soon enough. In the mean time, follow my lead."

"You have a plan?"

Blaine shook his head and grinned.

"This is the part where we improvise."

"Improvise?" gulped Lily.

Blaine jumped to his feet just as the first merc entered the control room. The merc gave a surprised yell and swung around his rifle to point at Blaine. The rifle hit the floor with a clatter, along with the merc's hand. The merc howled in agony, desperately clutching at his mangled stump. His screams came to an abrupt stop as the muzzle of a Magnum was shoved into his mouth. The merc froze. His companions waited hesitantly on the staircase, rifles aimed at Blaine's head.

Blaine maneuvered his hostage between himself and the mercenaries as Lily crouched behind him, rifle at the ready. The hostage made a gurgling sound which Blaine assumed meant "Don't shoot!"

"Sorry boys, this party's invite only," said Blaine, eyes darting towards the guns of the two on the stairs. They both held double barrelled shotguns. Obviously, they had planned to go close range.

"You're making a big mistake," snarled one of the mercs. This one appeared to be the leader. His comrade, the larger of the two, nodded fervently, his grip tightening around the shotgun. "We want the girl from Vault 101. Where is she?"

Blaine frowned and pushed the pistol further down his hostage's gullet. The hired gun whimpered but remained still.

"Who sent you?"

The lead merc snorted.

"You really think I'm going to tell you?

Blaine sighed.

"I suppose not."

He squeezed the trigger.

The bullet exploded out of the back of the man's skull and kept going until it collided with the forehead of the larger merc. His head burst like a watermelon hit with a sledgehammer. The lead merc yelled in surprise and anger. Blaine shoved aside the headless body of his hostage and aimed his Magnum. Before he could pull the trigger, his ears were filled with the sharp rattle of an assault rifle and the lead merc collapsed, clutching at his leg.

Blaine whistled and shot Lily a surprised look as he holstered his gun. The Vault girl shrugged.

"How's that for improvising?" she said with a mocking edge in her voice.

"Not bad, 101. Not bad at all."

He advanced upon the moaning mercenary and hauled him to his knees.

"Who sent you?"

"Go to hell!" snarled the hired gun.

Blaine groaned in exasperation. He hated the stubborn ones. He let go of the merc's throat and raised Sam. Lily gave him a wary look.

"Blaine...Don't do anything rash."

As soon as she had finished the sentence, the blade plunged into the merc's already injured leg. Lily's shocked gasp was drowned out by the merc's howl of agony. Blaine continued to fix the merc with his icy gaze.

"You ready to talk yet?"

The merc was breathing hard, his eys screwed shut. He said nothing. Sam crackled with electricity and the merc pitched over onto his side, twitching wildly. A bloodcurdling scream escaped his mouth as electricity coursed through his body.

"Stop it!" shouted Lily, grabbing hold of Blaine's arm. Blaine didn't budge and the merc continued writhing on the floor.

"For God's sake, you're killing him!"

Blaine chuckled and the blue light died as he pulled the blade from the merc's leg with a sickening squelch. The merc continued to twitch on the floor, curling into a ball. Blaine leaned over and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Who sent you?"

The merc opened his eyes and much to Blaine's delight, they were filled with fear.

"A man named Burke."

Lily gasped.

"Burke? I should have known..."

Blaine's face twisted into a scowl. Burke had hired more than one mercenary for the job.

"That back stabbing son of a bitch," he muttered. The smile returned to Blaine's face immediately and he straightened up, returning his sword to its sheath. He tipped his hat to the still twitching merc.

"I'll be seeing you around."

He stepped over the body and made his way towards the exit. A hand on his shoulder made him pause mid step. Lily turned him roughly around to face her. Her expression was stern.

"You're just going to leave him here?"

"Would you rather I kill him?"

"He's going to bleed to death if we don't do something," she stated, gesturing towards the merc's leg wound.

Blaine tilted his head. Now this was interesting.

"What do you propose we do then?"

Lily was already pulling out a stimpak and leaning over the merc. But before she could inject it into the wounded area, the merc's head exploded, showering her with a crimson spray. Blaine's gun disappeared into his trenchcoat once more.

"There. Problem solved."

All of a sudden, Blaine found himself on his back with Lily pounding at his face. He quickly kicked her off and scrambled to his feet. The girl leaped at him again and threw a wild right at his cranium. Blaine ducked and grabbed her arm, using her own momentum to send her sprawling.

"What the hell is your problem?" he growled.

"My problem? MY problem?" she yelled as she got to her feet. "You killed that man for no reason!"

"You were going to waste a stimpak on him. You might need that later on. And besides, don't forget that he was trying to kill you just a minute ago."

"You didn't have to murder him!"

Blaine's gazed coolly at the girl.

"The Wasteland is a harsh place, Lily. I guarantee you that if I had let him live, he would have come after you again without a second of hesitation."

By now, the anger had drained from Lily's face. She was breathing hard, her fists clenched tightly at her side.

"You're a monster." She stated it as if it was a cold, hard fact.

"I may be a monster but at least I'm alive. One of these days you're going to have to wake up."

Lily glared at him one last time before storming towards the exit without a word. Blaine followed her, shaking his head. Very interesting indeed.

Colin Moriarty loved two things in life. Money and power. In Megaton, he had no shortage of either. His saloon was filled with a constant flow of down on their luck Wastelanders looking to drown their sorrows with alcohol and sex. This allowed Moriarty to maintain his stranglehold on the town. Many liked to think of Lucas Simms as the glue that held the town together, but Moriarty knew better. He held all the stroke. In Megaton, Moriarty's word was law.

Moriarty leaned over the balcony outside the saloon, surveying his kingdom. He took another drag from his cigarette. Not exactly healthy for a man his age. But in the Wasteland, chances were that something else was going to kill you anyway. There was a soft thud, barely audible in the evening hush. Moriarty glanced towards the source of the noise and spotted a large man approaching him from the side. Moriarty eyed him up and down, quickly gauging his value. The man was tall, well over six feet and was clad in black combat armour that seemed ready to burst under the stress of the man's bulging musculature. His face was hidden from view by a gleaming silver helmet molded into the shape of a grinning skull. The man continued to walk towards Moriarty, moving with unusual grace for a man of his size. Most men would have quailed at the sight but Moriarty barely batted an eyelid. No man in their right mind would dare to touch Moriarty in this town.

The Irishman turned to face the stranger and smirked, making it clear that he wasn't intimidated by the brute's little mask. A pair of piercing blue orbs gazed at Moriarty through the eyeholes. The man extended a frying pan sized hand.

"The name's Renault," he said. The man's voice was deep and gravelly, slightly muffled by the helmet obscuring his features.

Moriarty stared at the mammoth appendage with a slight hint of disdain flitting across his face.

"Colin Moriarty. What can I do you for?"

His arms remained crossed over his chest. Renault's hand returned to his side. He cleared his throat before speaking once more.

"I'm looking for someone."

"Well, we have quite a few lovely ladies in my fine establishment," he said and gestured towards the saloon. "Might I recommend Nova? She costs a pretty penny, but I guarantee that-"

"That's not I meant," interjected the giant.

Moriarty's face twitched slightly. He did not like being interrupted.

"Pray tell then, what exactly do you mean?"

"The girl from Vault 101. Do you know where she is?"

An eyebrow arched towards the sky. The Vault girl sure was popular. A lot of gossip passed through the bar, some more reliable than others. Moriarty made sure to keep tabs on the more interesting individuals who had wet their whistle in the Saloon. Little Miss Vault 101 was one of those individuals. Unfortuantely for Renault, information wasn't free. Moriarty took a deep drag of his cigarette before replying.

"I might," he said simply. A smoke ring billowed out of the Irishman's mouth. He studied Renault's mask, gauging his reaction. While the mask made Renault's expression impossible to read, Moriarty saw that those steely eyes narrowed slightly. He continued, "But I'll tell you the same thing I told the guy with the sword. It's going to cost you."

Renault's eyes flashed.

"Man with a sword?" The masked man's voice remained calm but Moriarty detected a hint of excitement.

"A jack ass with a trench coat and some fancy sword came in here asking about the Vault kid. He obviously valued the sword more than..." Moriarty trailed off, stopping himself before he could say more. He had already revealed too much for free. He wasn't running a charity.

His eyes widened as he saw Renault produce a large sack from the satchel at his side. There was the unmistakeable tinkling of bottle caps as Renault shook the sack.

"My employer told me that you wouldn't be especially forthcoming with information. Perhaps this will loosen your tongue?"

Moriarty grinned and reached for the sack.

"Lad, I can feel it getting looser by the second."

He took the sack in his hands and bounced it up and down, judging it's weight. He was silent for a moment before nodding at Renault.

"From what I've heard, she was last seen around Rivet City. Anything else?"

"Yes, there is one more thing," said the masked man as he reached behind his back.

Suddenly, there was a blinding pain ripping through Moriarty's torso. He tried to scream but there was a heavy hand clamped over his mouth. The knife was ripped out of the Irishman's stomach and then plunged into his throat. Moriarty's lifeless corpse slumped to the ground, eyes blank. Renault began walking away, wiping his blade on his breastplate. He was gone before anyone had even noticed the mangled cadaver on the balcony.

Behind his mask, a smile crept across his weatherbeaten face.

"Looks like our paths will cross again, Ricky."