Hooray, Chapter two! ^ _ ^ Thank you for the follows and the favorites and the reviews. Is my writing really that good? / Updates are going to be extremely slow since school has started and that takes precedence over anything. I also have found myself bombarded with extra-curricular activities, and basketball season is starting soon. I might put the story on hiatus a couple of times if I need to. So please forgive me for not having a regular update schedule! Thank you to my beta-reader, hunter415. = w = If I could, I would give you lots and lots of cake. But alas, the cake is a lie, so you'll have to manage with virtual cookies. Speaking of which, GLaDOS is sorta in the amazing movie called Pacific Rim. Ah, but I digress.
To Haytham Kenway (lol, I finished ACIII instead of writing this chapter like I should have been): There will not be any dialogue from Jane unless I really, really feel like it. In the game, Jack is silent, so I kinda wanted Jane to be silent as well, or as much as she can be.
Enjoy!

Jane Wynand walked the dark, hellish halls of Rapture, the city under the sea. Her legs were still weak after the introduction of the Big Daddies roaming the halls carrying the innocent-looking Little Sisters. The stench of dead bodies and fish was everywhere, no matter how much you tried to escape it. Once she was out of this place, Jane was sure the smell would have made its way into the threads of her beige sweater and chocolate, pleated corduroy skirt forever. A shame, it was her favorite, too. That year her friends had been raiding Jane's closet because they didn't want her to look so old-fashioned. Brightly colored pant-suits were the new thing, why was she still wearing her drab outfits? Of course, Linda couldn't stand it when Jane insisted on keeping the skirts.
"Of course, why not, Jane?! It's not my fault if you don't get any beaus, then!"
"Well, I don't exactly see boys lining up around the corner for you, even when you wear your new fashions, with the big goggles and all."
Linda had promptly marched out of Jane's room, exasperated. Two hours later, she had met her in the ice cream parlor a few ways off of Main Street, apologizing for offending Jane, and her sense of fashion, and oh, Jane, what would I do without you, I didn't mean it like that, Jane! And Jane just sat there, licking her chocolate ice cream, listening to all Linda had to say, blonde curls bouncing with every extravagant hand movement she made. Again, the shy boy had given her an extra scoop, and now he was glancing at her bashfully. She mouthed a silent thanks to him as Linda went on to yap about some celebrity or another. Jane giggled quietly as his face turned tomato red as he nodded his head with a small smile etching its way across his face.
Oh, how she longed to be back there, in Overlook.
Stabbing an EVE hypo into the flesh of her arm to recharge, Atlas radioed in to Jane.
"If you see a splicer in the water, hit 'em with the Electro Bolt." Oh yeah, wasn't water conductive? Jane remembered learning something like that in the countless science classes she had been daydreaming in.
Her boots squeaked against the tiled floor, which now held the bullet-riddled bodies of two splicers, each searched for loot. A large door slid up as Jane approached it, and she continued her mission to help Atlas.
Conveniently, two splicers stood in a large puddle of water by a waterfall caused by a hole in the wall. Jane decided to try out her newly-learned principle and hit the water with the Electro Bolt, not daring to step near the water as the splicers fried to a crisp. Once she was sure they were done off, Jane carefully descended down the staircase to appear in a plaza, with another one of those odd "Vita-Chambers" in an alcove in the middle. Unsure what to do next, Jane headed right, where a sign was illuminated by an unseen light above.
Good Morning Rapture! Today's Bulletin: Stay up to date!
Heading toward it, Jane could see in the dark beyond the door a lit up sign.
Neptune's Bounty
Neptune's Bounty! That's where Atlas' family was! Jane quickly approached the sign in the darkness with excitement.
"Security alert in progress."
Oh, no, no no no no no. Please, she was so close! Metal slid over the doorway, blocking the entrance, and the alcove was bathed in alarming red light. The female announcer seemed happy Jane had tripped off the alarm, somehow. Jane hastily headed toward a tunnel to her side to escape the alarm; she didn't want to see what kind of bullets and how many security bots could fire at one time.
The tunnel was revealed to be a lavatory, and Jane could hear a splicer pleading. Picking up a first-aid kit lazily tossed by a sink, she equipped her pistol, ready to fire. Sure enough, a splicer was waiting at the end, shouting at the alarm.
"I did nothing, please!" Without a second thought, the splicer was fried and shot at. More splicers appeared, one shooting at her, a broken rabbit mask placed on her face to somehow hide the ugly tumors the ADAM left. A few shots later, Jane figured out that she had traveled in a circle; she was back at the plaza near the door to Neptune's Bounty. Standing around feeling rather dumb as she didn't know what to do, a bang was heard. Jane's instincts equipped her Electro Bolt waiting for the worst, which came in the form of just more splicers.
"It's Ryan! Goddamn Andrew Ryan! He found us! Damn it! He's shut off all access to Neptune…" Atlas' quick, furious voice spoke as Jane took down the splicers standing carelessly in the water. "…there's another way to get there…head to Medical! What are you waiting for? Go!" Atlas commanded, and Jane timidly followed.
The sign to her left said Medical; Jane scurried over, jumping over rubble, getting herself wet-again. At this point, Jane barely cared whether she was dry or damp; she had more important things such as staying alive on her mind.
Following the sign to the medical pavilion, Jane could feel her stomach doing an Olympic trampoline routine as the door s slid shut in front and to her sides and the lights flickered out.
"Ah, Christ, you're trapped! Gonna try and override the exit from here!"
Scared, Jane looked around with futility until a large television screen flickered on, asking the viewer to stand by as the static resounded. She nearly jumped as a voice came on with a flitting picture of a man in a hat looking down. She recognized the man as Andrew Ryan, and the voice as his.
"So tell me friend…which one of the bitches sent you? The KGB wolf? Or the CIA jackal?" KGB…wasn't that Russia's intelligence sector? The CIA was…why in the world did this man think she was a spy? All Jane was, was ill-fated. "Here's the news: Rapture isn't some sunken ship for you to plunder, and Andrew Ryan isn't some giddy socialite who can be slapped around by government muscle. And with that, farewell, or Dasvadinya. Whichever you prefer."
Silhouettes of thuggish splicers accompanied with splicer grunts began swinging at the glass in front of the glass. Jane readied for attack, though somehow she wasn't sure she could take on the splicers.
"I got it!" Atlas happily exclaimed over the radio. "Get out of there, get out, now!" Jane ran to the door as quick as she could and approached the lock to the medical pavilion.

= w =

"Now you've met Andrew Ryan, the bloody king of Rapture. Now get to the Emergency Access." Overflowing with contempt, Atlas' voice faded away over the radio as Jane was left to ponder on the poster over the bench, advertising a man named Dr. Steinman, who apparently used ADAM in plastic surgery. Jane shivered. She had always liked her face, but she new people who had gotten plastic surgery. Face, stomach, and most often breasts; Jane had to sheepishly admit, she was secretly a bit jealous.
Continuing on, the Medical Pavilion was in no fit to be a medical pavilion. Of course, this was Rapture; at least there were functioning lights. Examining the nearby receptionist's desk, Jane found money; along with a corpse of the late receptionist, and an audio diary.
Walking along, Jane cautiously approached an odd, offsetting vending machine called the "Circus of Values." A creepy looking clown decorated the display. Like the Gatherer's Garden, the vending machine was singing some sort of excuse for a jingle.
Deciding to take a look at the items it had to offer, Jane quickly decided not to buy anything and move on, saving her money.
A nearby broken security bot was jammed in a door way between two doors. Squatting down to it, Jane realized she could hack it. It wasn't too complicated; she had done this back in Overlook. A boy named Anthony had taught her how, using a security camera. She remembered the way his elfish green eyes had scrunched up, laughing when Jane had first attempted to without any prior knowledge; he'd caught her red-handed once, trying to hack a security camera.
Now, remembering what Anthony had taught her, the security bot now whirred to life, flying up, releasing the door it was holding. The room beyond was the Emergency Access, and held a couple of splicers. As her friendly security bot-whom she had now named Margaret- took care of it, she searched around the small desk in the corner for any more useful things.
Once the splicers were finished off, Jane headed up one of the staircases and to the lever granting her access. She pulled the lever and a splicer came into view within the doorway behind her.
"If you wanna use the Emergency Access, you'll need Doctor Steinman's key. He's the one who runs this place. But I don't expect him to hand it to ya outta the milk of human kindness. Steinman ain't that kind, and frankly, I'm not sure he's still human." Jane's heart dropped down a million miles that moment.
Not even sure if he's still human? Now there were no words at that point that could scare Jane more than that. She would've expected a doctor to understand the risks of ADAM, but this doctor seemed to be no better than the splicers.
Jane was now standing in a balcony running around what looked like the room where she had first entered the medical pavilion. Splicer now poured out from the door in the front, and Jane was left struggling to survive and dodge the bullets as she shot at the screaming banshees.
"Now you've rattled the monkey cage. Here they come."
Bullets flying everywhere, Jane suddenly realized what the gun was that she had picked a few seconds earlier- a machine gun! Heaven in the form of a gun for people like her who couldn't aim at all!
Happily armed with her new machine gun, Jane went to where the splicers had come from, and searched for supplies. In the distance, she could hear a splicer taunting her.
"Stop running like a fool! Come here now!"
Well, if she insisted.
A few shots and the splicer was dead. Peacefully continuing on, Jane saw what looked like to be a vent of some sort, with a small step at the bottom. Deciding not to bother with it, Jane walked along the hallway decorated with posters, approaching a door at the end.
Feeling chillier than usual, an almost skeletal figure of a female ghost startled Jane when she got near the door. The ghost was banging on the door and moaning.
"You promised me pretty, Steinman…you promised me pretty...now look at me…LOOK AT ME!" The ghost turned to reveal its disgusting face to Jane before slumping down against the door in defeat and fading away into the air.
Jane gulped for a moment, contemplating the ghost's words. Noticing the door control on the side, Jane used it, and Atlas checked in on her.
"You keep an eye peeled for Steinman. The daft bastard's set up shop in the surgery wing." Just the mention of surgery made Jane shiver fearfully as a chill worked down her spine. But what creeped out Jane the most was Atlas' next line.
"You wanna find him, just follow the blood."
The door opened to reveal pictures of a beautiful woman, now covered in the red substance. A splicer was nearby shrieking; Jane quickly used Electro Bolt. The splicer was revealed now to be an automatic turret. Deftly hacking it, Atlas tipped her to do what she just did more often.
Looking around, Jane took a sip of what appeared to be coffee- it was actually rather good, contrary to her expectations, and Jane gained some EVE off of it. A turret was sitting in an alcove nearby, quick work for Jane, with the Electro Bolt and her hacking skills. The now friendly turret allowed Jane to pass through the alcove toward her goal.
Muffled speech could now be heard, and Jane noticed a body of a surgeon lying face-down. Going on, another turret shot out at Jane, who quickly took cover behind a desk. It was by a sign pointing toward the surgery ward, and Jane decided not to hack this one. Continuing on, but quickly, Jane found another audio diary, and out of curiosity played it. It was for a lady named Tenembaum, and her voice possessed a strong, distinct German accent.
"I was at German prison camp only of sixteen years old when I realize I have love for science. German doctor, he make experiment. Sometime, he make scientific error. I tell him of this error, and this make him angry."
All the while Jane was walking on, the occasional hum from the security bot, using Electro Bolt to open a door, faraway shrieks of some splicer. Tenembaum's strong, feminine voice continued her tale.
"But then he asks, 'How can a child know such a thing?' I tell him, 'Sometimes, I just know.' He screams at me, 'Then why tell me?' 'Well,' I said, 'If you're going to do such things, then at least you should do them properly.'" On a nearby desk, Jane noticed a new kind of gun, one she hadn't seen before. She soon realized it was an auto hack tool. Now she could hack for FREE! Of course, Jane hadn't bought out a hack yet, but maybe if she was ever stuck she could use this tool. After all, she wasn't a pro. Still, Jane couldn't help but ponder on why the tool was just lying around here. Some splicer must have mistaken it for a gun and thrown it away when they realized it wasn't.
Jane continued to the next room, where two splicers were; from behind she approached them and deftly killed them, collecting some money and some ammo. Looking around the room for more supplies, she regarded the creepy vending machine and collected special ammo- armor piercing pistol rounds.
A splicer was talking to herself again somewhere as Jane hurried up the stairs. However, the conversation turned to her pleading and her becoming fried as Jane approached the porch where she was, followed by the prompt explosion of the door. Another splicer stood behind, staggering as Jane hit it with a few rounds of the pistol.
The room the splicer was standing in held portraits of people of easels, mourning their loss- in memory of. A desk sat in the middle, unilluminated and dark. More of the decent coffee was found, and another audio diary was there under one of the easels; titled Surgery's Picasso. Jane could only guess as who the title was referring to. Under the easel, Jane suddenly realized she was stepping in blood, where Steinman had signed. Playing the audio diary, Steinman was revealed to be the author.
"When Picasso became bored of painting people, he started representing them as cubs and other abstract forms. The world called him a genius! I've spent my entire surgical career creating-"
The audio diary was cut short when Atlas came in over the radio, warning Jane about the security cameras. Jane had tripped one of them off and a small alarm rung off. Hiding from the camera behind a wall, Jane used Electro Bolt on the camera to quickly pass through its line of sight without being detected. Even so, she decided to hack it while passing it because, well, why not?
Walking along cautiously, Jane approached what looked like a dead body lying on some metal in front of a fire, like what you would use to cremate a body. Jane was sure that was the intent. Impulsively, she pressed a green button on the side, to watch the body slide into the fire. Jane closed her eyes, tipping her head down to send the soul her respects. Opening them once more, the metal bed was sliding back out holding an odd bottle similar to the plasmids surrounded by the ashes of the man. Picking it up, Jane realized it must be a gene tonic- there were occasional advertisements around for them. This one was named Hacker's Delight- it helped in hacking. If Jane failed and received an electric shock, the shock would help her heal. Well, that might be useful.
Closing the furnace, Jane decided to continue on, going up the damp staircase. Hearing splicers, Jane equipped Electro Bolt and promptly shot when she saw a humanoid figure. A few bullets and the thing lay dead. Walking along, Jane encountered a small hole, the only way into the next room. Getting on all fours, Jane squeezed in the hole, barely enough to accommodate her. A pink neon sign lit up the floor, and a new plasmid lay inches away, called Incinerate! Oh, this must have been the one the first advertisement Jane saw was talking about! Fire at your fingertips…wait, that would burn you, wouldn't it? Then again, Electro Bolt should have shocked her…Jane decided not to think about it anymore and use the plasmid. Andrew Ryan's voice could be heard faintly, talking about parasites, flies, ointment and what not.
Soon after she was done, splicers showed up behind the glass pane of the small office she had crawled into. They shrieked, the infernal animal masks dimly visible in the dark. Panicking, Jane remembered the fluid she was stepping across, from the other splicer. Deciding to try out her new plasmid, Jane aimed for the pool of liquid and snapped her fingers toward the dark substance, igniting the pool on fire, showing that it was indeed flammable. The splicers outside burned to a crisp as Jane explored the tiny alcove a bit more. The neon sign was revealed to be another Gatherer's Garden; an EVE hypo lay behind it, dimly glowing.
"All roads in Rapture lead to Ryan. The security, the splicers, the Big Daddies, the Little Sisters; he pumps some kind of chemical in the air, pheromones they call it, makes 'em all dance to his tune." Jane could now tell Atlas hated this man with all, controlling everything. He acted like a king, though the way he had been talking in the bathysphere showed that he didn't support any type of ruler.
Shaking the thoughts out of her head, Jane decided to think about all that later; once she got out. Continuing on, she realized she couldn't carry any more first-aid kits- her capacity was full. Oh well. Jane walked on, noticing the same vent from before. A few splicers lay ahead, and a turret, like before. After the splicers were but corpses on the floor, with no money or supplies on them, Jane walked on. A little alcove lay to the right on her way to the surgery ward. One of those blasted clown faces was there, indicating supplies. Approaching it, Jane found an audio diary on the chair next to it, titled, "Vandalism". Picking it up, she proceeded to disregard the annoying clown and play the audio diary, made by Andrew Ryan.
"It has been brought to my attention that some of the citizens have discovered ways to…hack the vending machines. I should not need to remind each and every citizen on Rapture that free enterprise is the foundation upon which our society has been established. Parasites will be punished."
Faced with a fork in the road on whether to go upstairs or down, Jane made a small detour downstairs. In a small corner, a huge lump of ice lay, holding something looking like a tool box, and something else. Staring at it, Jane was struck with what she thought was a great idea. Equipping Incinerate, she aimed for the ice and melted the ice with the fire from her fingertips. Like she thought, a tool box was inside with a wrench. Jane pocketed it in case her current one broke. Another audio diary was also there, and she picked it up. As soon as Ryan's finished, Jane played the other one, by a man named McDonagh.
"Steinman, I know Medical Pavilion is you manor, but you might wanna cogitate on this: ocean water is colder than a witch's tit."
Jane couldn't help but snicker as she shot down a splicer behind the ice.
"You don't heat the pipes, the pipes freeze. Pipes freeze, pipes burst. Then Rapture leaks."
Jane found a new gun beyond, just a slight detour. She should be getting back to Steinman, but she wanted to see what she could find.
Over the whisper of the audio diary, Jane could hear a splicer cackling. Whipping around frantically, she tried to calm down as she listened to McDonagh.
"I realize you're a posh sorta geezer, and frankly, I don't give a toss if you piss or go fishin'. But once Rapture starts leakin', the old girl's never gonna stop. Then I'll be sure to tell Ryan he's got you to thank."
She could hear the splicer now, staying in the miniscule warmth of the light of the spotlight in the middle of the room. Instinctively, Jane turned to the left to meet with the pipe of a yelling splicer.