Life isn't fair.

It doesn't care about you or your family, or anybody, or anything. All life cares about, is keeping.

Things.

Balanced.

Even if that balance costs someone their entire world.


I'm a protector. I don't have a name, never needed one, what I do have, is a number.

1. Just one. nothing more, nothing less, because I don't deserve a name. Why would I when my will isn't even my own.

But considering what my job is, I don't mind to much.

I'm brought out of my thoughts by giggling up ahead, bringing my attention to the drunk that just stumbled by and fell over, snoring loudly.

I sigh in exasperation and increase my pace, quickly catching up with my Emily.

Emily.

She's my entire world, so kind and gentle, always patient when I'm having trouble with something, never asks for anything.

She's the light of my life, everything I'm not, everything I can't be, she's the only thing thats kept me going for so long, that keeps these old bones moving, because the mere thought that someone would hurt, and torture my little girl for their own gain.

FILLS ME WITH RAGE.

I take a deep breath, letting the anger drain away, and lightly tap Emily on the shoulder, before pointing down the hallway, indicating we needed to get going.

she looks back at me and smiles the most innocent, kind hearted smile, before turning and skipping down the corridor, softly humming a tune, setting my mind at peace, while I follow behind her at a relaxed pace, enjoying one of the few good things I have in this hell.


When I finally catch up to her, she's kneeling over a corpse, in the middle of her little routine of apologizing to the angel, and hoping it doesn't hurt to much, causing me to smile warmly. She's the nicest person I've ever met, and probably ever will meet, even apologizing to the corpses.

And it makes me love her even more, she makes me stronger, she's what keeps this withered heart pumping, and I will never forget that

My life may be horrible, I may equate to less than nothing, and own even less, but despite all that, and this world I live in.

I am happy.

I'm ripped from my thoughts when I hear Emily scream, my drill spinning up before I even know whats happening. What I find angers me.

pouring into the room is a horde of splicers, with a brute at the helm, laughing madly, swinging their weapons at nothing and firing all over the place. With their crazed eyes fixed on Emily.

I feel the rage building within me, me eyes burning red, they think they can come here and threaten me?! that they can take my Emily!? I let out my signature roar, that echos throughout all of rapture, and charge right into the middle of them.

They think they can fuck with the Grand Protector!? I am the oldest of the bouncers, I am the first! all who came after were based on me! and they think they can stroll in and take me down!? I stomp the ground and swing my drill in a large arc, knocking the splicers around me to the ground.

I roar again and stomp towards one of the downed splicers and flatten his head, before picking him up and using him as a bludgeon and beating a nearby leadhead to death, when I'm knocked forward.

I whirl around and roar at the brute splicer, who roars back, I stomp the ground, making the ground shake, and charge the brute killing dozens of splicers in the process, and smash my drill into his face, knocking him back with the audible crack of bones breaking, causing the brute to roar in pain.

Not stopping for a moment, I sprint towards a nearby wall and embed my hand and drill in it, quickly scaling to the top of it and roaring before jumping off and towards the brute drill first, but I'm only met with damaged floor.

I roar and my vision snaps towards the door, to find the brute running away, No! you won't get away with threatening me, my daughter, or anyone I love, ever again! I charge towards him and through the door, knocking him to the floor, I roar in his face and embed my drill in his torso, turning it on and turning his insides to mush, not stopping until his insides are a slurry of red mush, and standing up roaring at the remaining splicers who are trembling, before I'm knocked back to my senses when I hear a sound, a sound everybody in rapture dreads.

Cracking glass.

I whirl around in a panic, to find the Emily still in the other room, terrified, shouting for her daddy, frozen.

And a large glass window filled with bullets holes.

Before I even know whats happening, I'm sprinting towards the door, hand out stretched, and roar, getting her attention, getting her to turn to me, and smile in relief, that happy innocent smile that says everything's going to be alright.

smash.

In desperation, I push myself harder, as a wall of water rushes towards my little girl, I'm almost there, please, don't take her away from me, she's all I have, please just don't take my little girl away from me!

I'm nearly there, when suddenly, like a guillotine, the flood gate slams shut, leaving my last view of my sweet baby girl, her sweet smiling face, telling me, that she trusted me, that as long as I was around, everything would turn out alright.

I stop dead in shock, disbelief filling me, quickly being replaced with rage, and I slam my drill into the door, my roar echoing throughout rapture, filled with anger, rage and sadness, a very particular roar that is known well.

A roar, that meant a protector had failed.

You can't do this to me! she's my little girl, I protected her with everything I had, I promised her!, She was going to grow up happy, I would have fixed all of rapture for her!, I'd take on all of rapture alone for her!

I slowly fall to my knees, sobs wracking my body, the flood door heavily dented, please, anything but this, she's my singular drive in this hell.

I'm brought away from my mourning by mad laughter and disappointed groans from behind me, filling me with rage, nothing but endless rage.

They'll pay, they'll all pay, I'll make all of rapture suffer for daring to take my little girl away from me, I'll tear them limb from limb, I'll crush them, I'll break them, I'll make them suffer until the very end, Until there's nothing left!

I whirl around making all the splicers freeze, as all of other emotions drain away, all but rage, and unbeknownst to me, my portholes glowed a new kind of red, the purest kind, shining with a blinding red light, like the heart of the sun, reborn beneath the sea.

A force that would purge the ocean clean.