Sophia Lamb stared at her static filled monitor, her hands shaking. What if, she wondered, what if Subject Delta managed to make it here, to Persephone. What if that wretched girl Selene also made it here. She was twice as powerful as Subject Delta and far more emotionally volatile. It had seemed that it was only her years of training and subjugation that had tempered her apparent emotional immaturity. Now that she no longer had any restraint, save that of Subject Delta, what would stop her from sinking the prison into the depths.
Clicking on the city-wide P.A, or Public Announcement System, she spoke with her professional demeanor despite her anger.
"Attention, Subject Delta is in Ryan Amusements, he is not alone, but we are the Rapture Family. We are many, they are few. Subject Delta must not be allowed to proceed. Eliminate him and his allies at all costs."
Clicking off the P.A system, she let out a sigh. Such a waste, she thought, condemning the former Little Sisters that Brigid Tenenbaum had rescued to an early death. Ah but then, she remarked to herself coldly, plenty more where they came from…
Meanwhile, a great distance away:
Delta grunted as he was struck by gunfire, growling as he returned fire, crouching low to minimize himself as a target. The Splicers nearby hooted and laughed as they fired, one with a pistol, the other with a Thompson Machine gun, more commonly known as a Tommy Gun.
Delta flung his left hand forth, using his TK to fling a trash can at the tommy gun splicer, who dove out of the way, swearing as he rolled across the wide open floor.
Concentrating his fire, he took out the pistol splicer, grunting in satisfaction as the grotesque man fell to the floor dead following his final outcry of pain.
Delta wasted no more time, using his power to pick up the body and hurl it at the tommy splicer with as much force as he could muster.
"Oof!" cried the splicer as he was hit by the body, his arms pinwheeling as he howled, having pitched over the railing and being sent plummeting to his death down in a large fire on the lower floor.
Delta walked to the railing, leaning over to watch the splicer burn for a brief time. Father, sometimes I think you enjoy your work too much… came Eleanor's telepathic voice in his mind. He smiled within his helmet, his amusement apparent to her through their link. Though it was still weak because of the distance that separated them, they could still get an impression of each other's feelings as well as hearing each other's thoughts provided they could concentrate enough. It was because of this concentration requirement that Eleanor and Delta had not been in constant communication, particularly when he was in battle.
According to Sinclair, there was one Little Sister in the park, and he walked along, determined to rescue her.
He soon entered the El Dorado Lounge, spotting one of the Little Sisters with her Bouncer series Big Daddy. He waited until the Big Daddy was in the small dip in the floor that was filled with water before zapping it with Electro-shock.
The Sister shrieked, her little hands flying to her mouth as she watched her protector being electrocuted. Delta used his telekinesis to hurl tables and chair and bottles, pretty much anything he could get his power to levitate. He walked around the small pool, conserving his ammo as he kept up his plasmid assault. Shocking the Daddy, hurling stuff at him, shocking him again.
Luckily Delta had found a few vials of EVE earlier, allowing him to use his two plasmids more. The Big Daddy groaned as he finally fell, never having left the small pool. The Little Sister cried as she stood in the water, nearly up to her knees.
Seeing her standing there, Delta remembered the night he met Selene, how small and timid she was. He slowly approached the Little Sister, who stopped crying and smiled as he neared. "Daddy!" she exclaimed happily, reaching up as he leaned down to lift her onto his shoulder. "You always save me from the monsters!"
He walked out of the lounge, a ping of regret entering his heart. He felt a great sorrow that he had been unable to defend Eleanor...had not seen her grow, been there for her.
He walked along, heading in the direction the Little Sister indicated, where he would find a body in which she could harvest ADAM.
As he walked along, he concentrated, communicating with Eleanor far away. ~My daughter...maybe this isn't the best time...but I want you to know how sorry I am that I couldn't protect you all those years ago. I'm sorry that I could not watch you grow up. I wish I could have been there for you these last ten years. I am just happy to be alive again and I promise, no matter what, we'll be together. Me, you and Selene, we will be together. My daughter...my Eleanor...your mother cannot keep us apart and I swear I will do everything to find you...I love you, Eleanor.~
Eleanor wiped her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat, feeling his love, his determination through the link. I love you too, Father...please be safe and look after Selene...we'll have much to talk about after we are together.
Delta grunted, having found the body and he set the girl down, setting up all his trap rivets strategically.
Soon she was doing her thing as he walked back and forth, listening for the inevitable approach of the splicers. He also used the brief time to hack into the nearby vending machines and resupply. Turning, he used his telekinesis to lift a nearby barrel, flinging it at the first splicer who appeared, one of the thuggish types wielding a pipe. "Gahhhhh!" she cried as she was sent hurtling through the air following the explosion, burning and dead before she hit the floor.
Hearing another splicer trying to flank him, he turned and zapped the man, slamming his drill into the side of his face, knocking away his party mask and dropping him like a rock. Delta revved up his drill, growling as two more splicers jumped off the two staircases leading back up to the main floor. He stood in front of the Little Sister, pivoting as one of the splicers tried to lunge at him, driving his drill into his side. "Yaaahhhh!" screamed the splicer, a crimson plume of blood messing up Delta's drill as he yanked it back quickly, flinging the body away.
Acting fast, he used his TK to snatch the body out of the air and hurl it at the last splicer, who tried to dodge, but got hit in the shoulder by the corpse's legs, sending him sprawling on the floor, landing in the puddle of water close by. "Oh shi-" he started, but his words died and turned into a scream as Delta zapped the water, electrocuting the guy.
Delta looked around, making sure no one else was coming and he picked up the girl, who giggled and injected some of the ADAM into the port on the side of his neck. He felt a tingle as he gained some ADAM, not enough to buy a plasmid, but he was unconcerned, for he knew they were not yet done.
Turning to the main entrance of the car ride part of the place, Delta headed in, making sure the Little Sister was sitting securely. Some time and 7 dead splicers later, they came to the second body, located in a smaller room and like the last area it had two entrances.
Delta set up more trap rivets, as many as he could afford, saving the rest of his scavenged money for Med-Kits and EVE hypos. He set the girl down and took up position, having hacked the turret in the room, which would provide extra cover fire. Soon enough he heard the screams of splicers who were dumb enough to step over the clearly visible trap rivets. Apparently, he mused, Rapture was full of them, of stupid splicers. He opened fire with his rivet gun, sending several hot rivets in a rapid *chink-chink-chink* firing pattern as fast as he could pull the trigger, aiming for their heads.
"Nyrrgghh!" they cried as they died and he zapped a couple more, stepping out away from the wall as he heard the turret explode. One of the splicers who was faster managed to dodge as Delta swung at him with his rivet gun. The Little Sister screamed, "Aaah! Daddy!" and Delta yanked the splicer back, taking his head and snapping his neck and he wasted no time, turning to fire at the explosive barrel at the corner of one of the entrances. It blew in a fiery KA-BOOM!
Delta did a little fist pump in a "yesss" gesture of triumph as the sounds of the splicers could be heard no more. The Little Sister giggled as she walked up to him and patted his rubber clad leg. "Daddy is silly!"
He chuckled, which sounded like a series of clicks or leaves rustling in the wind.
Picking up the Sister, he again followed her direction to a vent at the back of a workshop further down the track. Hearing the various recordings of the late Andrew Ryan, he shook his head. Even though his memories of the man he used to be were erased, he still felt a sense of wonderment at Rapture itself, and also pity. How the ideals of one man could pave the way for this nightmare under the sea he would never know. There had been a few good people, trying to fix their mistakes, such as Brigid Tenenbaum, but such people it seemed were as rare as some gene-tonics.
The notion to harvest the Little Sister was one he only gave a single thought to: never.
Delta held the little girl in his arms, suddenly wishing it was still Eleanor and Selene. He sighed as he swept his hand down the side of the Little Sister's head, using his restoration plasmid that Tenenbaum had apparently given him while he had been unconscious. She gasped as she glowed with a white light and when the brightness faded, she stood at his feet, looking normal.
"Thank you," she said earnestly as she brought her hands together in a show of gratitude. Delta nodded and pointed in the general direction that Sinclair and Selene and the others were in, and the little girl nodded, apparently already aware of where she was supposed to go.
He stepped back as he watched the girl climb up and disappear into the vent, soon turning to head back up and continue on his way. He felt the familiar buzz of ADAM in his veins, realizing that he had somehow absorbed more turning the Little Sister's rescue and partial conversion back to normal. ~No doubt you have something to do with how the little girl seemed so comfortable with me…~ he thought to Eleanor. Maybe… she replied in an amused manner in his mind.
Delta's own mirth quickly subsided as he entered the main level, hearing the approach of more bastardized splicers.
He took aim, using his sight to take quick headshots, the death cries quickly silenced as they crumpled to the ratty floorboards. Delta looted them and continued on his way.
Checking his surroundings, he searched for more resources, soon arriving back at the main area.
Delta headed into the Hall Of The Future, glad to be out of the depressing Journey To The Surface part.
In fact, the sooner he left this whole place, the better. He knew Selene was very capable, yet if her past actions were any indication, she was also very emotionally immature, and so he wasn't as much worried for the safety of them as for Sinclair's safety if she lashed out in anger.
Soon enough, after having hacked a turret and letting it take care of a couple of the splicers, he came to a Gather's Garden machine. He bought the plasmid he sought, clenching and unclenching his fists as flames danced across them. Satisfied, he turned to leave in time to see a splicer come out of the shadows.
The splicer lunged and screamed, bashing at him with a rusty pipe, and Delta swung his drill up, knocking the man back and he flung his left hand forth, a plume of flame shooting out and igniting the wretched man's clothes. "Ahhh ahhh fire!" he cried as he turned and ran blindly.
Delta rounded the bend in the hallway, finding the man dead and smoldering in a puddle of melted ice. He entered the small offshoot, finding a model of a kitchen and several clips of rivets. He took them after melting them with his incinerate, feeling a sense that he would be needing them soon enough.
He stopped at the door leading back to the main hall, hearing a loud screech. It was so loud that it hurt his ears, making his vision turn pink for a few moments. He winced, knowing all too well what that sound was.
Delta grunted as a force pulling him at the door, which was breaking, the metal which was supposed to be strong enough to isolate the sections of a building cracking and crumpling like paper. As he hit the door, it whined and was suddenly gone, pulled by the Big Sister's powerful telekinesis.
He could see her, standing on the bench in the middle of the walkway, screeching as various debris including the bent door swirled above her raised arms. Delta opened fire, aiming all his remained trap rivets at the Big Sister, pulling the trigger of his rivet gun and reloading as fast as he could.
The Big Sister screeched again, flinging her hands at him and sending the objects hurtling towards him. He couldn't dodge them all, but he still tried, grunting as he got hit on his injured side by the door.
The Big Sister ran at him, trying to jab him with her large needle, and he swung up his rivet gun, blocking her attack, though barely. He had underestimated how strong these Big Sisters were, not just in terms of their powers, but physical strength.
They must have access to a gene tonic which increased their physical prowess, he thought, grunting as the Sister, sprung up and, placing her hands on his shoulders, flipped herself over him and landed in a crouch behind him.
He turned as fast as he could, caught off guard as a sweeping leg kick from the Big Sister sent him toppling to the dingy white stone tiles.
She stayed in her crouch, again about to stab him right through the viewport with her needle.
He flung up his hand, unleashing his incinerate onto her and she hissed, doubling over momentarily as a shockwave of flames erupted from her body, sending Delta sliding back several feet as the flames licked at his suit. "HNN!" he winced, having noticed now that they also seemed to have some sort of defense wherein when struck by a plasmid they emitted a sort of concussive shockwave of whichever element they were struck with.
He wouldn't be trying that again, knowing it would be best to try take her out from a distance.
Standing as fast as he could, he fired with his rivet gun, trying to keep her in his sights. She screamed again, dashing to her left and flipping off the walkway into the roof of the booth below.
Delta hurried to see where she was, spotting a Med-Kit on the roof of the booth and he extended his arm, using his telekinesis to summon the kit to his grasp.
Delta cried out in pain, his vision going pink as he felt a great pain through his left hand. Looking, he gasped as he saw the needle of the Big Sister sticking up through his glove.
Father!
Delta growled, yanking his hand back with such force that the needle snapped off at the base. The Sister shrieked and vaulted up and over the railing she had been hanging from sneakily, cartwheeling behind a wall of flames she made using her own incinerate.
Delta shook as he gripped the needle and pulled it out of his hand. She had managed to impale him right through the port on his palm that allowed him to divulge his plasmids.
He flung the broken needle away, pressing his hand against his hip to try to stop the bleeding.
He had used up his ammo, and all he had now was his half full drill. He growled as he tucked it away in order to use the last of his EVE. ~Do not worry Eleanor, it will take more than this Big Sister to stop me from seeing you, I promise,~ he thought to reassure his distant daughter.
Eleanor meanwhile was trembling, clutching her own hand as she felt his pain, numbed though it was through the distance. She chewed her lower lip, hoping he would be ok and feeling so helpless. Damn you, mother…she thought to herself.
Delta used his TK to send a wave of energy from his hand, creating a sort of wind to snuff out the flames hiding the Sister. He found her crouched, seemingly at his mercy. He advanced cautiously and no sooner did he near her when she screamed in triumph and let the large slab of concrete she had been holding above them with her powers drop. Delta looked up and used his good arm to block the slab, bad idea.
He managed to deflect it, but his right arm was now pinned to the bench. So far as he could tell it wasn't broken, but he was in serious shit now.
He growled, defiant in the face of his enemy and he stared up at her. Eleanor stared at her too through his eyes, her own closed ones leaking tears. Father...no...Father!
Suddenly, a blur dropped from the ceiling, and the Big Sister's scream was now one of pain as not one, but two needles protruded from her heart. As she fell to her knees, her helmet dimming, Selene growled, trembling with rage as she pulled her needle from her fellow Sister's back, leaving the other one from earlier in her chest.
"No one hurts...my Daddy!" she screamed that last word, holding both hands on either side of the dying Big Sister's helmet and there was a sickening *crunch* as the girl's helmet was imploded by Selene's telekinetic powers. Blood leaked out of the mangled mess as the dead Big Sister toppled over dead.
Eleanor gasped, her eyes open as she stared at the wall, new tears of horror streaming down her cheeks as she whispered, "oh my god…" and suddenly Eleanor was having doubts about reuniting with Selene.
"Daddy!" cried Selene, using her power to lift the concrete slab off of his hand and she ran over and knelt before him.
Delta shook, flexing his fingers to make sure his right hand was ok, and he groaned in pain as Selene took her Daddy's hurt left hand and kept pressure on his pierce wound.
She helped him to his feet, aiding him as he walked with her back towards the train platform.
As they walked, he could hear Selene saying, "I'm so sorry Daddy, please, forgive me, I...I didn't come sooner...I left the girls and Mr. Sinclair alone!"
Delta patted her cheek with his hand, reassuring her and she smiled, wiping her eyes.
Some time later, Delta, Augustus, Selene and their charges now numbering 7, were on their way on the train. Selene smiled and laughed as she played with the little girls. As Delta watched, Sinclair stepped back from the controls and watched them with him. "She's a mighty fine beauty there, sport, and I hope she can handle herself well…"
More than you can imagine… Delta thought to himself, now sharing the same hesitation as Eleanor, yet he knew in his heart he would have to keep Selene at his side. No matter what they faced next, he would not abandon her or Eleanor or the other little girls, and not even death could keep him from them anymore. He was their Father, their Daddy, and nothing would change that...nothing.
Nothing, Eleanor agreed.
