Coven

Metamorphosis

What was this place?

The last thing she remembered was walking with Mr. Bubbles among the angels. There were so many angels in the place she was at. She heard the adults call it "Fort Frolic" while talking to the funny man in the make-up. She hadn't seen him in a while. Not since that man came around that took all the other sisters. She missed her sisters. Five of them were missing and so was Mama Tenenbaum. Now, some more of her sisters had started going missing and now she was strapped to a table being wheeled somewhere…very unpleasant.

What happened to this place? Just yesterday, everything was shiny and golden, and all the Mr. Bubbles' where dressed differently. Now, it was like she was in a different place. Everything smelled bad and water was leaking everywhere. Her body was starting to change as well. The other day, she had woken up and noticed odd bumps on her chest. She didn't want to let the others know. She knew what happened to sick sisters. The adults took them away. She didn't want to be away from her sisters, so she hid them as best she could.

Finding bigger dresses to hide the weird bumps proved pretty difficult, but not impossible. The bumps were taken care of, but now she had another problem: sometimes, when she blinked, her surroundings changed. She didn't tell the other sisters this either. She knew what happened to sick sisters…and it was very unpleasant.

It became harder and harder to hide that she was sick. The people that took care of her and the other sisters were starting to get suspicious. She was getting taller, too. She remedied this by slouching a bit, though the lady in white that took care of her and the other sisters would scold her for doing so. But she had to, or else the doctors would take her.

Sometimes, she'd wake up and find a group of them standing over her. She'd then promptly run off to do her duties. She heard them say once that they needed the medical history of her "Mother" and "Father".

What was a "Mother"? She had never heard this word before. Had she? Sometimes, she'd hear the older sisters say they knew a bad word. When she'd ask them what it was, they'd say they couldn't say it, but that it was spelled "M-O-M-M-Y". Mommy? What was a "Mommy?"

She had mentioned this word to the grown-ups that looked after the sisters. She asked what that word meant. The nice lady in white told her not to worry about it. She told the lady the word sounded familiar and whenever she thought about it, the image of a warm, smiling face graced across her eyes slowly. This startled the lady in white; apparently, enough to make her stop what she was doing and leave the room in haste. She then heard an older sister tell her that was a big no-no what she did before stomping away. She had started counting down her "No-no's" that got her into trouble and taken away from her beloved Mr. Bubbles.

"No-No" number one was telling the white lady about the image she saw when thinking about the bad word. The image was of a soft smile and warm eyes that looked like the color of the ocean. The more she thought about it, the more it made her happy. She named the lady "Happy Eyes" and thought about her whenever she was sad. It made her almost as happy as being with Mr. Bubbles did; and she was always happy with him.

"No-No" number two was telling her closest friend, another Little Sister named Madeline, about the weird bumps. Her friend retorted by stating she had blood in her underwear. She didn't understand what blood was. When Madeline showed her a pair that she had hidden away, all she saw where rose petals on lace. She snapped at Madeline to stop making things up, but Madeline insisted there was blood. She still had no idea what blood was, but whatever it was, it was bad. She told the sister not to worry, and immediately got up to tell the lady in white. She thought she was helping. The next day, Madeline was gone and there were people standing over her bed. She didn't mean to betray her friend. She just wanted to help.

"No-No" number three, and by far the turning point of the situation, would have to be telling the lady in white that sometimes when she blinked, the world would go away. This cinched it. The last thing she remembered was happily skipping next to Mr. Bubbles and then fire. She covered her ears, which was what the adults told her to do whenever Mr. Bubbles needed to fight off bad people. When the shaking had stopped, she opened her eyes and saw Mr. Bubbles on the ground, not moving. What a silly place for Mr. Bubbles to take a nap.

She did the only thing she knew how to do: she went to find a vent. But then something grabbed her and…darkness. Then she woke up on this bed strapped down.

Oh no…I'm being taken away! But…you can't take me away from the other sisters! I was going to play hopscotch with Jane today! And then Lucy was going to teach me to play cat's cradle! And Madeline will be so mad that I didn't return her doll. You have to let me go!

Her mind was racing. She found herself being taken to this bad place, surrounded by all these ugly people. What happened to the people in the masks? Was the party over now? She tried to struggle, but it was useless. The ugly people didn't seem to realize she was even there. After a while, the table stopped in a room with pieces of armor on a table. Mr. Bubbles? Did they take apart Mr. Bubbles?

Mr. Bubbles, NO! What did they do to you? These people are bad! They took my sisters and now they took you too! Give me back my Mr. Bubbles!

Before long, she was asleep. She had exhausted herself trying to wiggle out of the bindings. As she slowly drifted to sleep, she heard some of the ugly people come in, talking about her. "What is the girl's name, Nurse Benning?" asked one of the men.

"Minerva Hauser, sir. Everyone just called her 'Minnie' for short." said the lady. "She was 'adopted' after her father, Dr. John Hauser, died during the war. Her mother was an opera singer by the name of Alice Sandler Hauser. We're not sure what happened to her; probably among the 'angels' littering the streets now."

"Ahh, yes, I remember seeing her preform a few times before Fort Frolic closed down. Didn't seem like the splicer type to me. She had the most…unusual eyes. I can see where Minnie gets hers from." This man didn't sound as nice as the lady in white. He sounded unhappy, like he didn't want to be there. Of course, Minnie didn't want to be there either. She wanted to go back to her sisters and to Mr. Bubbles. She wanted to skip among the rose petals and the angels and watch as Mr. Bubbles "played" with the people in the masks. Minnie wanted to go back to before she did the "No-No's" and just be happy.

"I take it she was left behind like the others when that wrench wielding nutcase flew through here a few years ago. I admit, he got rid of some of the splicers, but still…sane people are few and far in between." said the man, as he looked over Minnie. "Dr. Lamb is losing patience with the sisters growing up. And when a woman as patient as Dr. Lamb loses her cool, then you know we have a problem."

The lady nodded and looked at her clipboard. "Dr. Alexander told us the best way to fight the aggression was to get them before the onslaught of puberty. It's a good thing we caught this one when we did. Upon initial examination, we found she had been wearing bigger clothes to hide her breasts. The girls are smarter than we give them credit for. They've found ways to try and hide their changing bodies. I remember a time when we told girls that their changing bodies were a beautiful thing. But the way the sisters grow is…almost unnatural."

The man nodded in agreement. "Sedate this one so she doesn't try to struggle against her binds. The procedure needs to go perfectly or her body will reject the new 'enhancements'."

Enhancements? What did that mean? What was going on? Minnie felt a small prick in her arm and then…bedtime came early tonight…

Minnie blinked softly and looked around. She couldn't move. She could move her eyes, but she couldn't move her body. This was the worst feeling in the world. Doctors piled around her and examined her, poking her with this and that. She didn't like this. This was very unpleasant.

She wanted to scream for Mr. Bubbles to help her, but no words came from her mouth. She tried everything to make a noise, but nothing came from her mouth. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to fall asleep, but the doctors kept her awake. She tried to think of happy times, when all she did was skip around and sing and hum and collect ADAM from angels. She wanted to feel warm again, like she felt whenever she thought about the one she called "Happy Eyes".

"Start her on the new treatment we've developed. The other sisters are taking to it well, so let's see how she does with it."

For the next few days the doctors would come in, inject her with some weird juice, and leave. One day, fire was coming from her fingers and she couldn't control it. The doctors told her this was why she couldn't move. She had to be temporarily paralyzed while they continued the procedure. Otherwise, her new abilities would kill her. They said soon she'd be able to move around again. She asked when, and they just smiled and left.

Minnie couldn't move. She wanted to move. She wanted to walk, but the binds kept her down. Even so, her entire body felt numb. All Minnie could do was stare at the ceiling, which leaked but had a good view of the ocean above. Sometimes, she'd see things swim by and look down, as if watching her. Its big red eye staring down at her from above, Minnie watched as it would gracefully swim away. Like a mermaid from one of the old books she used to read. Maybe this mermaid would be her friend. Despite constantly being surrounded by doctors, Minnie felt alone.

Minnie hated this place. If she wasn't being injected with something, something was being attached to her. She awoke one day to the doctors attaching something to her arm. She tried to scream, but nothing came from her mouth. These bad men were doing stuff to her and there was nothing she could do about it. This continued for a very long time. How long, she wasn't sure. She could almost feel herself growing on the table, like she would never leave it. It felt that she wouldn't.

Fire from one hand, ice from another. Minnie would think it was fun had she not been strapped to this bed for who knows how long. The nurse would come in during the day and spoon feed Minnie some weird goo, and then talk to her about anything. The nurse said it was to keep her aware. Aware of what, Minnie didn't know.

"The doctors might unstrap you, Minnie." said the nurse, as she spoon fed Minnie some more weird good. It was tasteless and felt like a half-way melted snow cone. "You're not as unstable as the others became when she did this to them." The nurse sounded almost sad saying that to Minnie. Minnie wanted to respond, but couldn't. "You know, I remember coming down to this dump with my husband. He was a doctor. That's how we met, actually. On the surface, I was a nurse working at his practice. It was love at first sight." The nurse giggled.

"We wanted to have children, but the 'experts' up top said we were unable to. Something about his 'little guys' not being strong enough or my 'girls' not coming around like they're supposed to. So, we never did. When we came to Rapture, they told us the newest advancements unavailable topside could easily give us children. We put all our hopes into it. Sadly, everything went to Hell before I could even ovulate." The nurse put the spoon down and sighed softly. "That was years ago, though. If things had gone as planned, we'd have a kid about your age by now, Minnie."

Minnie didn't know how old she was. Minnie looked at the chart a doctor had left once that said her date of birth was June 8th, 1952. She wasn't sure what year it was now.

"Soon, you'll get to see the other sisters." The nurse said off-handedly one morning. This made Minnie happy. She couldn't wait to see the other sisters again. They'd laugh and play just like they used to. She'd be able to apologize for tattling on the ones that were sick and everything would be good again. Maybe they'd even find Mr. Bubbles and she could go play among the angels again. Minnie felt good.

Minnie wanted to ask how long, but it seems the nurse answered before a question could be made. "In three days, you will meet the others. Some you might already know, but we have to pretty you up first."

This made Minnie happier. Minnie liked playing dress up with the other sisters. Maybe this was a tea party she was going to. She liked tea parties. She remembered Jane and Madeline, two of her best sister friends, often played tea party together. In three days, she could be having tea parties with them again.

On the first day, a big group of doctors came in and examined Minnie. She still couldn't move, but she watched as they made observations about her. Some pointed to her, lifted up her arms and legs and nodded, making notes on their clipboards. Minnie wondered what they were doing here. She heard them speak softly. "Female…just turned fourteen…how long has she been here?" asked one doctor. "A little over a month. We've kept her in isolation from the others. She seems to be taking the new treatments well. We've applied the same treatments to other sisters before her, and they are taking to it as well. I think we found our procedure. Apply it to any other sister that comes in."

The doctors nodded and disbanded. On the second day, the nurse brought in more armor and put it with the rest. Minnie missed her Mr. Bubbles. She wondered if he had woken up by now. She had woken up today and found them putting a tan suit on her. It smelled like Mr. Bubbles, but it had to be tightened a bit. She watched as they put screws into the gloves and attached it to her. She couldn't feel her limbs, but felt something horribly uncomfortable being put into her arm.

Minnie missed her dress. Why were they putting these things on her? This tan long suit was wet and smelled funny. She heard them say they'd attach the rest tomorrow.

Tomorrow…

When will tomorrow come, Mr. Bubbles? Where are you? They said I'm going to meet the other sisters soon. I miss them. I miss you…

On the third day, Minnie awoke to find herself being lifted upright on the table. She still couldn't move. It was the third day and that nurse had promised! She promised they'd take her to the other sisters! Why would they lie to her like this? Minnie wanted to throw a fit, but couldn't move.

The doctors applied the braces to Minnie's legs and talked softly among themselves. "Without this suit, the sisters can't control their abilities. The suits help regulate their abilities. Without them, the whole program would be a waste. Dr. Lamb has more faith in this than anyone ever did."

"I bet if Fontaine were still around, he'd see the monetary value in this." said another doctor, as they slipped on the gauntlets and attached them with braces and screws. It was horrible. Minnie was starting to feel something in her arms. It was a weird tugging feeling. "Her sensory nerves are starting to come back. We don't have a lot of time."

CRACK!

Minnie wanted to scream, but her mouth still didn't work. The doctors had broken something in her legs, but she couldn't see what or where. "Alright, now that it's broken, hurry and attach the leg braces. You only have so long before the bones start to heal again. Hurry!"

There was tugging going on in her legs and Minnie didn't like it at all. It felt like they were digging around for something and it felt horrible. After a few minutes, she felt them sew her up and put the boots in place properly, which were braced in as well. Next came her arms. Same procedure, but this pain was more intense, as whatever was paralyzing her had long worn off. Minnie felt as if they were pulling everything apart, like giving her new limbs or some such. It hurt. A lot. One arm was different from the other. It had her ADAM toy on it. The one she used to collect ADAM from the angels! Her toy…it was bigger than she remembered.

Of course, there was no more intense pain as when they secured the rest of the armor onto her body. Into her skin, under her muscles, maybe even onto her bones. She hated this sensation. Why were they hurting her like this? What would the other sisters think? The other sisters…did they do this to them too?

It felt like her new outfit had been literally bolted to her. But at the same time, she felt an odd sense of ease. She could feel again. Minnie reached for the warmth of the lamp and saw her gloved hand. It was at that moment she felt the helmet being placed on her head…and fastened to her armor. She found herself unable to breath for a moment. Minnie smelled the blood and sea mixture of her new armor. No longer was she wearing a pretty dress and no longer was she in her world. The world she came to love. The procedure finished with the doctors bolting a small cage like device and an air tank to her back, connecting it to her helmet. She could breathe…

"Rise, Big Sister!" shouted the doctor as the binds came off Minnie. "Like a butterfly emerging from its cocoon, the Big Sister rises from the ashes of childhood and becomes something…horrifically beautiful. Graceful, agile, even courteous…but deep under those lovely new wings…is something destructive…"

Minnie couldn't speak…but she screamed. This shriek was heard all over. She couldn't talk anymore. Why did they take her voice away? Why did they hurt her like this? WHY?

GIVE IT BACK! GIVE ME BACK MY VOICE! Mr. Bubbles! Please come help me! I don't want to be this way!

The doctor told everyone to stand back. This wasn't the first time a Big Sister had completely gone haywire and anyone could bet it wouldn't be the last. To try and control a panicking Big Sister was a death sentence. All the doctors could do is sit back and hope she calmed down soon. Minnie panicked and started to cry.

"This suit makes her stronger, faster; more agile…these new protectors are unstoppable. I feel bad for the poor splicer that tries to harm any other Little Sister." said one of the doctors. Minnie looked at her hands and then back to the doctors. The nurse smiled softly. Minnie shrieked loudly, her anguish resonating loud enough to break beakers and other equipment. She didn't know what else to do.

Like any scared child, Minnie ran.

She wasn't sure where she was going, she just ran. The doctors didn't give much chase. Minnie shrieked and ran faster. Why did they do this to her? Where were the other sisters? Where was Mr. Bubbles? Why couldn't she find them? She ran through the dirty hallways of leaking roofs and past splicer guards, knowing better than to bother her. Deeper into the prison she ran until she couldn't run anymore. She was hungry for ADAM and she was losing energy.

Minnie…

Turning her head up, Minnie knew she heard someone call her name. It wasn't Mr. Bubbles…but it sounded familiar.

Minnie…come find us! We missed you! Hurry!

Minnie ran toward an abandoned looking wing and kept going. She was sad and needed the other sisters. Eventually, she came upon a sign that said "DO NOT CROSS!" Minnie looked at the iron door and noted it wasn't locked. The ugly people must not like to deal with Big Sisters…Minnie wondered if this was what really happened to her friends. Minnie forced open the iron doors and ran inside. After running down a seamlessly endless hallway, Minnie saw nothing bed red lights.

Minnie! You found us!

Minnie recognized that voice. "Madeline?" Minnie thought softly.

"Yes, Minnie, it's me!" said a voice in her head. "You can't talk anymore. They took our voices, but we can all talk in our heads! They don't need to know!" the voice giggled as it got closer.

A light turned on above Minnie, revealing the room. Minnie was surrounded…by other Big Sisters. They all got up from what they were doing and walked to welcome their newest friend. Minnie looked around and tried not to panic. One Big Sister came up to her and took Minnie's hand. Minnie wasn't sure why, but she recognized this sister by touch. It was Madeline. She was okay! Madeline took Minnie's hands and swung them with hers, as if trying to initiate a game of ring-around-the-rosie.

"Madeline…I'm sorry I tattled…I didn't know they'd take you away!" Minnie started before being hushed.

The one called Madeline made a giggling motion and led Minnie towards the others. "Don't speak of such things now, Minnie."

"Welcome home, Minnie!" the other sisters seemed to shout. Minnie didn't like all these voices in her head. As the sisters surrounded her, one voice in particular stuck out. "Don't panic, Minnie. You'll eventually get used to the way we communicate. They took our voices from us, but they gave us powers. We talk through our minds now. Our mouths are only good for screaming now."

Minnie watched as the sisters parted and made way for one sister in particular. She looked different from the others, being taller and having a different needle on her arm. Her voice sounded older and more refined than the others. It was obvious this one was their leader, and Minnie rightfully assumed so. "Welcome home, Minnie. We were wondering when they'd bring you. You probably don't remember me, but my name is Edith, and you are a Big Sister now. We are all a family again…"

The other Big Sisters started chanting the word "Family" over and over again. The voices other whelmed Minnie, who started getting dizzy. Minnie placed her hands on her helmet, as if covering her ears. "Don't be alarmed, Minnie. We won't harm you. We watched them turn you into one of us and now…here you are…ready for your new life."

New life? Minnie wasn't sure she wanted a new life. Minnie wanted to go back to the other sisters and play. Something told Minnie that time was over. "But I don't want to be a Big Sister…they hurt me and turned me into a monster. I want to go back to Mr. Bubbles and play among the angels!" Minnie shouted. The other Big Sisters circled Minnie as she fell to her knees, as if crying. Maybe she was crying, of course they had no way of knowing with the helmet on. Minnie attempted to take it off before being stopped.

The one called Edith giggled softly and helped Minnie up. "We're not monsters, silly. We're beautiful butterflies. We have become something wonderful. It will take time, but you'll grow to like it. We think so. There is no 'Me' or 'I' here, Minnie. We are all one…"

The Big Sisters surrounded Minnie again as she got up from sobbing. "You are a Big Sister, now. One of us. One with us, in a sense. We are protectors, now, Minnie. Our Mr. Bubbles' can't protect us anymore nor can they protect the others like they used to. They masked ones have become stronger, and so have we. They hunted us like animals and turned on each other. The younger ones are helpless without us. It's up to us now to keep them safe. We are the gatekeepers of the city and we work as one. The Mother Lamb trusts us to help the smaller sisters and keep them from harm. We work together and share our ADAM. We protect the city and destroy anyone who causes it harm. We are One, Sister. All of us, together, are the Big Sister."

With that, the one called Edith walked with Minnie and showed her their sanctuary. "Come, Minnie…let me show you your new home…"

"All of us…" Minnie kept saying to herself. "All of us…are Big Sister…"

N'cha, everyone!

So, this is something I've been working on in my spare time in between my other fics. I'm not sure if I'll continue it or not, if I get enough feedback, I will but it will be what I call a "Back-burner" project. In a sense, I will work on it whenever I find the time in between my other works. So, hopefully, if I get enough feedback for it, I'll make it a "front burner" project.

I am a huge BioShock fan. I love the series so much. The world it's created is so versatile, yet at the same time difficult to do a fic about. Everything is set during a specific period of time, and me being a horrible perfectionist, it has to be done in a certain way or it just doesn't fit the world. BioShock presents that challenge, to which I happily said "Challenge Accepted" lol.

So, here you go. If I get enough feedback, I'll continue it, but it all depends on you guys lol. SOOOO enjoy!

BioShock belongs to Irrational Games