Take it Back!

 is a Fallout 3 quest. It is also a Xbox 360/PC achievement and PlayStation 3 Trophy.

Take It Back! is the final main quest, with the game ending immediately after its completion. In this quest, the player and the Lyons' Pride assault the Jefferson Memorial in hopes of activating Project Purity. A colossal, crude, yet brutally effective robot paves the way, annihilating numerous Vertibirds and Enclave soldiers, as well as the force fields erected by the Enclave.

The point of no return is right before entering the Jefferson Memorial rotunda. If you choose not to enter the rotunda, you may still exit Jefferson Memorial and map out. After you enter the rotunda, Lyons will comment of locking the area down and both doors out will be sealed (not locked, and as such unpickable via lockpicking and the console), preventing the player from leaving, although a companion fired at this time is still able to depart through these locked doors. Also note that, once you start the battle with Liberty Prime, all functions in The Citadel would cease. You can no longer shop there, or have any other real dialogue. All they say is "The Purifier is as good as ours!" This will also preclude you from recruiting Star Paladin Cross.

When the player and the remaining Lyons' Pride members finally reach the Project Purity control room, they discover Colonel Autumn and a few other Enclave troops waiting for them. Player characters with high Speech skill may convince Colonel Autumn to step aside. Others may (rather easily) dispatch the Colonel after a fruitless conversation.

At this point, the player is informed over the intercom that Project Purity has sustained damage, possibly deliberate or accidental, and is about to self-destruct. Contrary to the more open-ended nature of the rest of the game, the player is now forced into two decisions.

Decision 1: Self-sacrifice or sacrifice another.
Damage to Project Purity has resulted in an incredible radiation buildup that will overwhelm anyone who is in the chamber during activation regardless of whatever preventative measures they have taken (e.g. Rad Away, Rad-X, or Radiation Resistance).

If the player hasn't figured it out from James' notes and recordings, the purifier password is 2-1-6 (referring to the verse from Revelations which Catherine loved. It is not specifically given as the activation code at any point in the game. The player is supposed to infer it from James' dialogue about the Lone Wanderer's mother, and the picture hiding his safe in the Vault 101 clinic. This can be verified by forcing Sentinel Lyons to start the Purifier (your character tells her the passcode in dialogue).

Choices
There are only two choices of who activates Project Purity: the player character or Sentinel Lyons. If players ask their companions to assist, then they will refuse even if they are immune to radiation.

Companion Responses

 * Fawkes

Fawkes, one of the companions the player may take with them, has great radiation resistance (or possibly immunity) as a result of being a super-mutant. However, like any other companion character, her dialogue option has her refuse to enter the chamber, mysteriously claiming it is the player character's "destiny."

Whether this is because Fawkes believed herself unable to survive or if she had other reasons for declining the player (such as feeling that her debt had been repaid) is not explained. Regardless, Fawkes turns out to be a red herring: the player is forced into a decision to either sacrifice themselves or make a true hero (Sentinel Lyons) make the sacrifice for them.

Fawkes may, however, follow the player into the chamber.


 * Dogmeat

In addition, a new dialogue option with Dogmeat opens up, wherein the lone wanderer can say some final words to his canine companion, stating: "I think it's time for us to say goodbye, old buddy. Take care of yourself, okay?" Dogmeat in response whines. As intelligent as the canine may be, there is no option to have Dogmeat activate Project Purity.


 * Sergeant RL-3

Even if you took Sergeant RL-3 (Mister Gutsy combat droid, which is immune to radiation) into the rotunda with you and command it to go in to turn on the purifier he "declines" and says:

There is no Robotics Expert dialogue option in the conversation.


 * Charon

Ghouls are immune (and healed) by radiation, so he presumably could survive the radiation like Fawkes (and he will retrieve the G.E.C.K. from Vault 87 if requested), Charon simply says:


 * Butch

Butch, understandably, will refuse out of fear of dying and of becoming a ghoul, stating:


 * Star Paladin Cross

She refuses of course:


 * Clover

Apparently, there are limits to Clover's mental conditioning and slave collar. She refuses as well:


 * Jericho

Jericho also refuses stating simply:

Decision 2: Introduce the modified FEV virus.
If the player still has in their possession the modified FEV virus created by President Eden, they can insert it into the water filter. As in Fallout 2, by design the only creatures spared by the modified FEV virus are pure strain humans who are still within vaults or the Enclave. This would reverse a great deal of genetic damage done by the nuclear apocalypse, but at the cost of complete eradication of nearly all life on the wasteland.

Decision 3: Do nothing.
If the player chooses to, they may simply not go into the purifier and stand in place. This results in Project Purity exploding, along with any chance of pure water for the entire wasteland or introducing the FEV virus. An ending sequence will still be played, and it will count as an ending. The last thing the player will see is the destruction of the purifier. Just like all other endings, this does not result in free-play either.

Game Over
There is no way to possibly continue playing after completing this quest, short of a hack or modification. Whether the player chooses to go in there themselves or make Lyons' Elder's daughter do it, the game ends. The ending cinematic plays and the player is returned to the main menu.

If the game did continue at this point, the resulting changes may have lead to a less-than-satisfying result. For example, if Project Purity activated successfully, all water sources connected to the Potomac river should no longer be irradiated, resulting in free healing throughout the game, rendering some consumables such as Dirty Water or Nuka-Cola nearly pointless. Also, if the player had introduced the modified FEV virus, everything would be dead (or dying) with the possible exception of those within Vaults. It remains to be seen which result (if not both) is canon in the March 2009 "Broken Steel" downloadable epilogue.

Modifications/hacks
For PC users, one mod exists to play after the ending sequence, regardless of the choice made (if the player chooses to activate the purifier himself, the airlock doors will remain open, allowing him/her to run out as soon as the purifier starts. On top of this the player "death sequence animation" won't play.). It is found here. Because this is unofficial however, none of the above changes happen after the game, though there is an included module for a purified Potomac.

Bugs
When Liberty Prime is crossing the Potomac bridge, depending on the bombardment, it is possible for Liberty Prime to get stuck on the bridge after being hit by a blast. Liberty Prime may also get stuck by the Enclave's dropships on the bridge. Firing a few Mini Nukes with the Fat Man on the dropships will clear the road and Liberty Prime resumes its path.

Future Expansions
Main article: Fallout 3 downloadable content

Ending Movies
The ending movie varies depending on how the player plays the game, and some of the largest differences are seen depending on what the player has done during Take it Back! See Fallout 3 endings for more info.