"As far as I can tell, you're a perfectly healthy sixteen year old girl. So yes, you have to go to class to take your G.O.A.T. exam." James chided his daughter who sat in front of him in his clinic. Her cough was award-winning.

"But I'm sick Dad," she sniffled. "Really."

"No, you're not. Really. One of the first things I learned when studying medicine was how to spot a kid playing sick to get out of taking a test."

"Oh sure, 'cause that makes a lot of sense," she rolled her eyes in a huff. Teenagers.

"I was trying to lighten the mood, but since you're so serious, never mind. There's nothing wrong with you, now get to class."

She didn't budge. "But it sounds so stupid. How can they figure out what we're all gonna do based on one stupid test?" Despite her frowning and complaining James sensed she was more than a little worried about the exam.

He leant on the edge of his desk. "You'll do fine. It's not so bad anyway. And everyone has to take it when they're sixteen. I had to, you have to, and so does everybody else."

He barely noticed himself lying anymore. The cover story about Talia, her mother and himself all being born in the Vault had become second nature; he would have believed it himself if he wasn't starting to dream about leaving and reigniting Project Purity. It was easy when she was small, but as she got older she noticed inconsistencies and asked a lot of questions. But by that point the Overseer had decreed that the Vault's history be rewritten too. All of the kids Talia's age didn't know anything about the earlier open status of the Vault. All of the adults talked as if it was perfectly normal for them to wipe entire events, people, from memory. It was surreal, but if it meant Talia would have a safe place to grow old, he would go along with it. No matter how painful it had been to misdirect and misinform his own child.

He continued, "You remember it helps to figure out what sort of job you'll have here, so try not to fall asleep."

"But that's the problem. Why is it done in one test? What if you're having a bad day? Or some knucklehead flukes it? We could end up with a… a doctor who doesn't know his ass from his elbow!"

"Language, young lady," he chastised. "It's a lot smarter than you might think at gauging what kind of thing you're good at, so long as you apply yourself. Don't worry and just do your best, I know you have a brain in there.

"Anyway, that's the way it is. You know what the Overseer says: 'We're born in the Vault, we die in the Vault. Each is tested to determine their abilities, that they may work for the betterment of all Vault residents.' Sound familiar?"

She nodded but he could see her mind was working on something else he'd said.

"Do we have to die in the Vault? Can't we ever leave?"

He pursed his lips and looked away. He'd gotten quite used to being blindsided with questions on the outside, so his reaction was fairly polished. But he'd rather not have to navigate such trip hazards so often, and with each answer he gave he felt Talia drift further from him, as if she saw every lie and added one more nail to the coffin.

"That's what the Overseer says, isn't it?" he answered somewhat disingenuously.

He watched her watch him, scoffing at his attempt to dodge the question. He better hammer this one home. "Look, that's not how it works. And it won't do to ask questions like that, especially around the Overseer." He was just starting to investigate the possibilities, but the day would come eventually. During their time in the Vault the Overseer had become stricter, more paranoid. He worried about leaving Talia alone here, but only because she had not yet put to rest her fantasies about going to the surface.

He crouched in front of her and took both her hands in his. "I want to tell you something now, and it's important, so listen closely."

She dropped her churlish scowl at his sudden change in tone. "This place, this Vault… it's not perfect, I know. But it is your home. You're safe here. Stay- on- the- Overseer's- good side, and you always will be. Do you understand?"

"Dad, you're scaring me…"

James sighed and shook his head. "Oh, I'm sorry honey. There's nothing to be afraid of, not here. You just… you need to appreciate all you have. What's up there, on the outside... that's not the life I want for you. Not what your mother wanted either."

She leant back, pulling her hands from his and crossing her arms. "Well what does it matter? The stupid G.O.A.T. decides what life any of us have anyway…"

"I've already told you," he corrected, slightly admonishing once more. Teenagers were exhausting. "It's not as simple as you make out. Your mother had great things in mind for you, so please, take this test seriously. The last thing I need is her ghost haunting me because you became a… a garbage burner."

He chuckled but she didn't join in. He knew teenagers were moody but Talia seemed to reserve it for him in concentrated doses. "Sweetheart, please believe me, your mother was so much more than the old photos can show. She was passionate about life, love, and you. When she was pregnant with you she was the happiest I had ever seen her. She wanted nothing more than for you to have a good life. And you can. I believe in you, honey. You've nothing to worry about, so it's time to stop stalling and get to class."

Talking about Catherine were some of the happiest memories he had with Talia. Showing her the photos he still possessed, sharing with her what a warm soul he knew her to be, he just wanted her to feel some connection to the mother she didn't get to grow up with. But now, she barely responded when he brought her up. She had been this way for a while.

"If you say so Dad," she answered robotically, standing up.

"Hey," he stood too and touched her arm. "It's not my call. Those are the rules."

She stared through him and shrugged. It was a poor choice of words, knowing how little she seemed to care for them. Only last week he'd found her stumbling into her quarters in the middle of the night, completely drunk and in possession of something… personal, of Mr Brotch's, stolen from the classroom for some kind of dare. "What are they gonna do? Throw me in a hole in the ground?" was her rebuttal. She wasn't phased by his own punishments either.

"Sweetie…"

"Bye Dad." She shrugged off his hand and left him wondering if she didn't believe anything that came out of his mouth anymore. Even things about her mother.

James thought about his daughter, about Catherine, in the small hours of the morning as he shuffled out of their camp in search of a tree stump. (After escaping Tranquility Lane, he thought these days were over, but his need to get up in the night didn't stop just because he was in the middle of the wasteland. The joys of aging.)

He worried for Talia. It was even more dangerous for a young woman outside. He had clearly failed to convince her that the Vault was the best place to live… he failed to ensure that for her, for Catherine. And yet, she had taken to it like a mirelurk to water. Events had done nothing to ease their strained relations, but he could still see the spark she'd always had about her, and now it was a flame.

Now she was here, it was no use dwelling on what he should have done differently to ensure she stayed underground. He'd like for her to join him in his work. Perhaps she would see what was so important about it that he had to return. Perhaps they could heal after he got the purifier working. The pair of them, making the world a better place, making Catherine's dream come true… what an idea it was.

He crept back into their camp, shivering from the cold. Talia was curled up like a cinnamon roll. After climbing back under the blankets he pulled them up to ensure she was completely covered and rested an arm across her to share body heat once more. Perhaps they could share something more like joy again soon.

Talia drifted in the limbo between dream and reality with a new kind of appreciation brought on by being trapped in neither by a maniac. The psychotic little girl's voice faded, the faces disappeared, replaced by the roar of a waterfall and an aspect of Burke. She reached out for him, knowing that she wanted him closer but unable to make it happen; the dreamworld still led.

But intention was enough. She felt the warmth of his arms around her, music surrounded them, and he kissed her. But… he was cold, and what began with all the right and proper signs of a bloody good dream collapsed back to weirdness. He dissolved from the scene but she still felt his cold caress, on her forehead of all places…

Eventually she figured out reality was seeping in. She opened her eyes to find Dogmeat's face an inch from hers, staring down intently, before he tried again to wake her by smushing his cold wet nose against her head. She batted him away with an irked sigh, wiping off her face as he backed off with a satisfied spin.

"Way to interrupt, Dog," she muttered, scrunching her eyes tight in an attempt to call back the dream. She stretched and twisted, remembering only after a few seconds where she was and why. She peeked again to confirm the arm over her body actually belonged to James. She grimaced and rolled out of the blankets so fast Dogmeat barked in surprise.

"Wha-argh nonotagain!" James blurted as he woke suddenly.

"It's just Dogmeat, Dad," Talia assured, watching in amusement as he confirmed for himself he still had a human body.

"Oh… good… everything alright?"

"Relatively, I guess… he seems impatient to get going, we should move."

He shook off his distress and blinked his eyes clear in a second. "Sounds good to me."

Of course it does. Talia had never seen her dad this way. It was like someone had lit a fire under him. He had a mission. He was invigorated beyond anything she'd imagined him capable of. She'd only glimpsed his passion when he spoke of her mother, shining its brightest when he occasionally seemed to forget she was in the past, living out the memory in front of her.

But this, now, was more than passion… it was fervour. Maybe she didn't have the whole picture, and she was definitely more than a little wounded he'd kept this a secret, kept this version of himself hidden away, but she couldn't help thinking he'd hidden away too long. All his anticipation had been supercharged. For a man she'd known all her life for his caution, he seemed far too eager to jump into a wasteland he didn't know in pursuit of a previous life.

Or maybe three months as a dog had just given him a new restlessness.

She stood as he began rolling up the blankets. "Okay, just... give me a minute. Gotta find the ladies room." She flashed a grin and went to look for a bit of privacy. So did Dogmeat. "Oh, Dogmeat, gimme a break! Stay."

"Er… thank you?" Talia called across the rubble as the stranger, who just saved both their asses from an angry supermutant, disappeared into the fog. "Lucky he was around," she commented to James. "I wonder who he is?"

"Hmm, mysterious," James replied, approaching the downed mutant with Talia's shotgun trained on it just in case. "Yep, it's dead. They're still as big and ugly as I remember." He spoke with levity while he inspected the body, probing here and there with a finger. Talia couldn't see what was so amusing about the eight foot tower of thick, green muscle, armed with pure rage. And big weapons, as if it needed any.

"Are they all like this?" she asked, face contorted in horror. She'd heard about supermutants from Herbert but had assumed he was exaggerating for dramatic effect. He wasn't.

"Yes. They seem to be relatively humanoid, but bigger, stronger. They showed up after the war at some point. Not sure why, but they seemed to be fairly abundant in the city. We had a lot of problems with them at the Project. The Brotherhood of Steel dealt with them for us most of the time.

"Which reminds me- they tended to roam in groups, so we should get out of here."

"That's the first sensible thing you've said all day." Talia hurried after James as he led the final leg to Rivet City. "Brotherhood of Steel?"

"Oh, you haven't come across them? In a nutshell, they're a kind of military group who collect and preserve knowledge and technology, to help humanity back on its feet. Around here they can generally be relied upon to help out if you're in a scrape, like they did with our lab. I believe they're still around the city. I wonder if they'll remember us.

"I tell you, I wouldn't turn down their help right now. Travelling the wasteland, shooting guns! By God, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

"You're pretty good at it…" Considering the pace he had set, that statement didn't seem so accurate to Talia.

"Well, as long as we get through this, that's good enough I suppose. Though it wouldn't be such a bad thing if you thought your dad was a bit of a badass, you know." He chuckled.

Talia cringed. "Well, you're halfway there if that helps."

He laughed a little harder. "I suppose I deserve that. You're quite the survivor yourself. I'm impressed, sweetheart."

Talia rolled her eyes hard. "I told you I'm not a baby didn't I?"

"Alright, alright, I never said you were. But that," he gestured behind them, "is exactly why I took you to the Vault in the first place."

Talia huffed, sick of hearing his grand reasoning for what he'd done. "Well they can't have been everywhere, but whatever. We know how to slay them now so…" She trailed off and turned, walking backwards for a spell to check their tail.

"I'll call you Grognak shall I?" he joked, referring to the old comics about a barbarian hero with a big sword and bigger bloodlust. "So these security friends of yours, they didn't teach you to kill a supermutant?"

"We don't get them over that way. And they're security, so they mainly know how to kill time, since they don't travel anywhere."

"I see. I've heard some things about that tower, honey. I hope you're alright there."

"Well, people like a story, Dad. Don't believe everything you hear. You know how the Overseer twisted everything."

"That's true, but I'm afraid some of these stories about that Tenpenny fellow are simply irrefutable facts."

Talia wondered how on earth he would know, being fresher than her to the world at this point, but didn't bother to challenge him. "Well he's never really around. It's a big place."

"All the same, be careful. He used to own slaves you know."

"Oh my God," Talia exclaimed deeply, and James let her off taking the Lord's name in vain with a raised eyebrow and a solemn nod. She'd heard of a slave operation in the wasteland somewhere courtesy of Herbert and his adventures, but it seemed like ancient history. "And that's still going on?"

"As far as I'm aware. The wasteland is largely lawless, Talia. It can be very dangerous."

That was an irrefutable fact, but it was a double edged sword. And anyway, if Burke hadn't warned her about a significant possibility of being rounded up by slavers, she wasn't going to worry about it. She had enough to watch out for. "Well like I say, he's not around. He's basically senile, anyway." She frowned slightly, realising he really did seem a few steps short of a home run. "Anyway, can you stop acting like the Vault was so great. I told you what happened."

"I know, but it's hardly comparable, Tali."

A snicker burst through Talia's scowl as she heard herself. "Come on, you gotta admit it was a bit like forced labour attending one of the poetry nights."

"Don't be so ridiculous… now for the people that were 'volunteered' to contribute, I'm not so sure."

Talia was relieved as they reminisced about goofy stuff until they reached the great bridge to Rivet City. She messed up her hair and buried her face into her scarf, just in case anyone on the gate recalled anything about the last time she was here. But it was months ago and she and Burke had breezed through smoothly. She figured she would be safe if she avoided the hotel, which seemed likely as James didn't appear to have any bottle caps, and damned if she was forking out those prices.

"This is it!" he exclaimed, a wild spark flickering in his eyes once more. "Once I tell Madison about the G.E.C.K. she'll see that the project will work! It's so close, I can feel it!"

Talia quirked her brows at him. Gesticulating wildly with his birdnest hair, unkempt beard, and found clothing, he made quite the madman. "Dad, you look like a bum. She's going to take one look at you and think you've been doing chems in a ditch for three months."

"Nonsense! Madison knows me, she'll understand the importance of this."

Talia grabbed his arm and made him halt their approach. "Dad. Seriously. You look like s- awful. I'll be surprised if security even let you in. Let's go in and get cleaned up first. And please don't give any of this mad scientist talk at the gate. I really want to sit down and eat something that died this century."

"It's not 'mad scientist' talk, Tali-"

"Dad!"

He dialled down to normal again, sighing. "Alright, you're probably right. Let's go."

Within Rivet City, Talia convinced James to take a shower on the common deck while she headed down one level to The Muddy Rudder, a rough working men's bar in the bowels of the ship. One of the residents told her she could find a hairdresser there and she had no other information on which to contest this. Anyway, it was a good enough excuse to discreetly scout the place alone first. She didn't want to run into any trouble because of last time with James in tow if she could help it.

She skipped down the steps, hopped up to the bar and asked the owner, Belle, a necessarily salty middle aged woman, where she could find the hairdresser.

"Right over there," she pointed behind Talia to the far corner. "You better be drinking somethin' too, this isn't a goddamn salon."

"Sure thing. I could go for a coffee, I'm knackered."

Belle laughed heartily right in her face. "You're cute. Do I look like a barrister? I got beer and whisky. A bit of wine, for the rare lady that comes down here."

Talia laughed along with her. "Well alright. Beer."

She'd never really drank much beer but it went down well considering how hungry and thirsty she was after the yomp here. She'd drunk half of the bottle when she got to the far side of the room where she froze as she spotted the hairdresser.

He did say he wanted to live on the surface. And he was a hairdresser according to the G.O.A.T.

Butch.

Why didn't I shower before coming here? Before she had a chance to backtrack he'd noticed her and beckoned her over with his crooked smile and what sounded like genuine pleasure to see her.

"Well if it isn't my best gal, the one who sprung me from the Vault! I think I owe this lovely lady a drink!"

Talia smoothed her hair back down and failed to suppress a smile. "Got one already, but thanks," she waggled her beer bottle and quickly took a seat a safe distance from him.

"Oh, startin' early huh?"

"She insisted," Talia defended, nodding back to the bar. "So you really left the Vault?"

"Yeah, Amata took over and opened the doors. She said we can come and go, but Butch ain't about that. I came out here to start my own gang and tear up the wastes!"

"And cut hair?"

"Well… not everyone is cool enough to ride with me. It's just somethin' to do while I'm hangin' around this place." He leant back and looked away as if he couldn't care less.

Talia raised her eyebrows. "I hear you're the only one doing it."

"The one and only! I'm the best, baby!"

He grinned as Talia giggled. It didn't matter what he was talking about, he was always the best in his eyes. He had been in hers too, briefly. "Why are you even doing the job the G.O.A.T. set you anyway? I thought you didn't want to be a hairdresser?"

"Hey- I'm a barber, there's a difference. And it's alright out here. All the gals in the city come to Butch and his magic hands." He winked.

Talia grimaced. "I thought barbers only cut men's hair? They love your magic hands too?"

"I… shut up!" He flung a balled up beer label at her from across the table and she squealed as it bounced off her arm. "What are you doin' here anyway, short stuff?"

Talia crossed her arms on the table. "You'll never believe it… I found my dad. He's trying to restart some science project here."

"Science project?" Butch chortled. "There a science fair or somethin' I don't know about?"

"Obviously not," Talia protested, unable to help herself giggling too. "He's going down to the lab later. Sounds like something big."

"Sounds like a lotta nerd stuff, doll. I gotta tell ya I'm gonna stop listening if you keep talkin'."

Talia sighed as he pulled out a mirror and a comb. She admitted she still wasn't over his looks, but she couldn't believe she was ever into a boy that preened. "Well, he needs a haircut. And a shave. Can you do that today?"

"Sure, whatever."

"You're gonna shit when you see him Butch. He looks like Wasteland Santa."

"For real? Well I'll... barber the hell out of him, doll, don't you worry. What about you?"

"Oh I'm fine," she held up her hand and swigged her beer. "I gotta go find him before he does anything stupid."

"Yeah? Okay. Catch you later, maybe."

"Sure." Talia downed her remaining beer and stood. She paused before heading for the stairs out of the bar. "I, uh… I heard about your mom. In the Vault. I'm sorry."

Butch didn't look up. "Yeah… well…"

She waited a second, unsure whether she was prying. She'd learned from Mrs. Palmer who was killed since she left, by security or the radroach invasion that exacerbated the whole chaotic night. Butch's mom was one of them.

She put down her bottle and left the table.

"Hey Talia." She turned. "It's good to see you." She smiled reservedly but said nothing. "And you look good, you know that?"

She shot him an incredulous look, questioning both his tact and his eyesight. She glanced down at her dirt covered khakis.

"Well, you know- considering," he smirked in response to her raised eyebrows.

She sighed and dismissed him with a hand, turning away before he could see her smile.

Talia watched from the stairs in the Rivet City science lab as James slowly convinced the doctor he spoke of, Madison Li, to join him in restarting Project Purity. He had already been here once, leaving with nothing more than a cold rebuttal. That was why he'd gone to Vault 112 when he had, with the aim of bringing back confirmation that his ideas about the G.E.C.K. were correct.

Li looked similar in age to him, hair greying but long, smoothed back into a neat bun. She spoke at first with pursed lips, clipping her words as if restraining something. The lab in which they stood was extensive. It took up two levels in one entire end of the ship. Creaky and dank though much of the ship was, smartly turned out scientists in lab coats buzzed around the experimental setups and large machines, the function of which Talia couldn't even guess, and vibrant fruit and vegetables lay in trays along one whole side of the room.

It was impressive. And her dad was slowly convincing Li to shelve it, just as he had shelved their joint project, so she could help him pick up where he left off nineteen years ago. At first she was resistant, but surprise at his successful return caused her to hear him out, and Talia could see James get his foot in the door and inch it open all the way.

"If it was anybody but you suggesting this, I'd have you run out of the city," she commented when she finally agreed, nervous excitement slipping through her frustration. "Dammit James, when this is all over you owe me a drink!"

Talia felt he already owed a lot of people a damn brewery. She didn't see why everything ran on his schedule. She watched with amusement as Li told him it would take a few days to get a team together, prepare her lab, and to be briefed properly by him on what exactly they were walking into. She wouldn't have put it past him to drag her out into the wasteland right then in her high heels. But he agreed, leaving to search the lab for paper and pencils.

Talia was captivated by the softly spoken woman who stood with such poise in the face of James' mania. There was a gravity to her, and Talia was compelled to approach.

"Doctor Li? Uh, hello, I'm-"

"Oh, my heavens… you're James' daughter aren't you? I didn't see you over there. You look so much like him." Talia blinked as Li assessed every inch of her face. "I thought you were supposed to be in a Vault somewhere?"

"Uh… they didn't agree."

Li let out a bitter chuckle. "Caught in the aftermath of James' decisions too? Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. It's been stressful ever since your father showed up again a few months ago, after being gone for so long. He left for the old lab and didn't return. I feared the worst. Now he's back and I've just agreed to try again at Project Purity. I'm not even sure why."

Talia didn't flinch at what Li thought to be an offensive remark. In the older woman's eyes she recognised the pain of betrayal. "What is it you do here?" she asked, genuinely curious.

She brightened up marginally. "This is the Rivet City Science lab. It's taken many long years to put together, but we've done well for ourselves. Our work on portable fusion power and hydroponics are coming along quite nicely, if not quite according to schedule."

"Hydroponics? That's growing food, right?"

"Yes, that's right. Plants grown without soil, just the right water-nutrient mixture. As I'm sure you've noticed, the soil outside doesn't really support anything anymore, so there's little to no farming to speak of around here.

"And the water in the river isn't much better due to all the contaminants and radiation. But we've had significant success in the lab, after a lot of effort, at growing useful amounts of clean fruits and vegetables for the city population, and beyond."

"Beyond? Like other settlements?"

"Yes, the city sells some of the produce to traders when we've had a good yield."

"Does anyone else do this?"

"I don't believe so. There are no other labs in the area that I know of, let alone which have this capability."

"Wow, then I think I've actually eaten some," Talia commented, thinking of the fresh fruit she sometimes found on offer at Tenpenny Tower.

"Hm. I hope it was to your liking."

"Delicious- regardless that the alternatives have six eyes or came from someone's pre-war lunchbox." Li almost cracked a smile, and Talia felt a fresh anger at her dad. "Why did you agree to help him?"

"What? What do you mean? Why would you ask that?" Li retorted somewhat defensively.

"I mean, you made all this. And he just shows up because he's ready, asks you to leave it, after he left you before. Believe me, I know what it's like."

She sighed with the weight of the world. "It's true.. Purity was our life and… he walked out on all of us. I understand it was to protect you but… we were forced to forget it and move on."

"Exactly! So..?"

"We were excited about changing the world back then. I suppose... Look, I don't have to justify myself to you, or anyone. If James has convincing data that a G.E.C.K. is what we were missing, then it's worth another shot- if we can find one. Clean water, lots of it, no radiation, no muck. Imagine."

Talia didn't have to. There had technically been a water ration in place in the Vault, but since the population was so low it hadn't been a huge problem.

She could tell Li had a lot on her mind, so she changed the subject before she tired of talking. Since discovering that even she wasn't born in the Vault, she realised that of everyone she'd spoken to about her mother, only James had ever actually known her. "Did you… did you know my mom?"

Li's eyes widened momentarily and she faltered, as if unsure whether she should speak about it. But she softened as Talia waited earnestly, with a little doe-eye for good measure. "Yes... Your mother was, well she was a good woman. A very dedicated scientist."

"You don't have to be diplomatic with me," Talia urged softly. She wasn't sure what she was looking for. She just wanted to hear it from someone else.

"I'm not trying to be," Li contested, but her demeanour shifted as she relaxed one level of restraint she had placed on herself. "We didn't always agree, but I respected her work. Your father… loved her very much. It was a shame she died. She was so excited to meet you."

"I see." Talia offered a small smile in thanks. "And was my dad just as ridiculous as he is now?"

"Huh!" A muted snort escaped the scientist. She seemed relieved of a change of subject. "You know, he doesn't seem to have changed at all. Of course we were all as passionate about this project as he was back then. Or I should say, as he is.

"It's infectious, isn't it?"

Talia wasn't sure if Li had feelings for James that biased her take on the situation, or if perhaps after twenty years she now found vegetables morbidly boring and fancied some drama. But then, what was her own excuse for following him even this far? She wouldn't argue he was sick, maybe she had caught something from him.

"If I may ask," Li interrupted her thoughts. "And sorry to be so trivial, but… why on earth is he wearing that? Is it some sort of experiment?"

Talia glanced over at James, still wearing the coat she scavenged from Vault 112. She may have taken some liberties with her selection. "I asked the same thing, Doctor, but he won't say."

She left Li to rescue some test vegetables from Dogmeat, and wondered if she should just go back to the tower. Dad would have his team back soon. He hadn't intended to bring her along anyway and she wasn't really sure what she thought of his mission, other than noticing he didn't seem to care about ruining others' to complete it. But Li was brilliant, accomplished, level headed. It was hard for Talia to imagine she was just caught up in her dad's emotive spiel.

Hard, but not impossible. She'd seen what was possible with words and charisma alone while out with Burke. And she had to admit, her dad was charismatic. Some of Li's colleagues were gathering around him, asking him about the project like he was a celebrity. But he wasn't lapping up the attention like Herbert would. He was politely trying to turn them away while remaining intensely focussed on his paper, where he was sketching everything he'd learned from Dr. Braun before his unfortunate transformation.

There was a fire under him, and they were all close to being engulfed in the flames.