A/N: BREAKING NEWS! On the opening night of The Dark Knight Rises there was a shooting in a Colorado movie theater when a man in a gash mask and a kevla vest stormed theater nine through the emergency exit and began shooting people at random. Twelve people were killed and fifty injured. Thankfully, they caught the son of a bitch before he offed himself. Our hearts and prayers go out to the families affected by this horrific tragedy and I hope in the dearest depths of my heart that the one responsible for this massacre never sees the light of day again. EVER.
To any of you readers from the Colorado region, I offer you my most sincere of condolences. Always cherish your loved ones. You never know when you may lose them.
Also, to FuckingTypo: Really mate? This is FICTION. Reality is meant to be broken. Just let it be and enjoy the story. You don't like it? Drop it. Everyone else seems quite happy with the events of this fic so far. Now, would you kindly enjoy this chapter?
"Who am I?"
~Big Sister.
We Are Family
Sofia Lamb had just made the most remarkable discovery.
Subject Omega: the insufferable thorn in her side, the very bane of her existence, the reason she was currently confined to a wheelchair, had spoken. Words. She'd witnessed it all through the security cameras, just as she'd witnessed the treachey of her test subject. Any further attempt to administer neural shock subsuquently failed; whatever Omega had done to her he'd obviously freed the woman from their control. Such a shame too. They'd been so close to unlocking the secrets of her body, of that mark on her neck.
But now, they had Omega. Well, almost.
They hadn't quite pinpointed his location, but know they knew where to look. The Atlantic Express. She couldn't help but smile at the knowledge.
She might have lost the battle, but not the war.
Not the war...
"Daddy doesn't like you."
The eyes of Mitarashi Anko flew open with a start at these words. Her body lurched upright-or at least it tried. Her body was tied to a table, her arms and legs bound with belts and locks, her wrists shackled together by a crude link of chain. Her chakra was suppressed, it refused to come when she called upon it. Nor did the ADAM, that addicting drug, they'd pumped through her veins. It was gone, now, all of it-every last drop!-leaving her hungering for more. She wanted it. Needed it. Craved it. Her body pined for the stuff, breaking out into a cold sweat at the thought of her next fix.
Sons of bitches! the small rational side of herself thought. Not only have they fucked up my mind, but they've turned me into a druggie, too!
The room she found herself occupying was completely white, save for the bars that blocked in the windows around the room. Bars, she thought to herself, so I must be a captive? What the hell happened? Where the hel am I? Omega! She winced as the memory of her defeat crashed down around her. Fuck. Bastard knocked me out. Should've known better...
An angry hiss ended Anko's self loathing.
She found herself staring up, up into the glowing, golden eyes of a young girl. She couldn't have been more than fifteeen years old. She couldn't have been more pissed off.Her fists were whiteknuckled around the bars of the bed, her face twisted in a rictus of fury. The white dress she wore was indeed beautiful, but that beauty stood in sharp contrast to the cold rage burning in those eyes. Memories of tormented torture dredged that old pain up from the depths of Anko's mind again, filling her soul to the brim with terror. But she held firm.
"Who the fuck are you?" she asked.
The girl did not answer that question. Instead, she re-emphasized her earlier declaration:
"Daddy doesn't like you."
"Who the hell is Daddy?"
The lithe stranger leaned back from the bars, arms folded eyes narrow. She radiated displeasure.
"Where am I?" Anko demanded, glowering. "Fucking answer me, damnit!"
The yellow-eyed teenager stepped backwards, sharking her head in dissapointment.
"Papa!" She cried, turning toward the door. "The bad lady's awake!"
Anko managed to rasp out:
"Papa?"
Then the door swung open and the metal juggernaut that was Omega stomped inside.
Anko braced herself for the pain, but nothing came. There was no anger no agony not even the slightest twitch of the bloodthirsty rage she'd felt prior to their battle. What did come was a maddening spasm of absolute and total terror. Him! The one with the kid's face! The imposter! Murderer! She felt all these things and more as he shouldered his way inside, his slim metal porthole turning to take her in, in turn.
Anko bucked, thrashing against her restraints, and immediately regretted it. While there was no neural shock to greet her, her body was thus confined, leaving the belts an buckles digging into her bare skin. Wait. What happened to her suit? While she was glad to be rid of the thing, she also felt naked without it. With a growing sense of trepidation she also realized what she was wearing. A white dress, exactly the same one as the girl standing over her currently wore. Probably why the kid was so pissed at her. She was wearing one of her favorite dresses and her body was stretching it out, to boot!
Before she could further debate the situation, her mind snapped back to the present and all consuming horror she felt as the Big Daddy reached for her, syringe in hand.
"Don't you fucking touch me, Omega!" She shrieked, glowing eyes widening as the imposing titan stalked toward her bedside. "I swear if you poke me with that needle, I'll turn you fucking inside out!"
Omega sighed; it was a soft, whispery sound, reminiscent of dead leaves blown in the wind.
"Why on earth would I inject you with this serum?" He looked at the woman below him, his eye slowly drifting down to regard her with complete and utter contempt. "This needle in my hand contains a simple placebo I have used to effectively distract you, woman."
Anko's eyes widened in rage at the madman's statement when he felt a small prick on the back of her arm. She whirled around to find the girl wielding a needle of her own one far larger than that of the tiny syringe the Big Daddy cradled in his palm. Too late, she felt the prick, felt the medicine course through her veins as the yellow-eyed girl depressed the plunger injecting her with a soft colored amber fluid. Tears stung at the corner of her eyes, dredging up more memories of torture.
Mitarashi Anko found herself truly terrified for the first time in her entire existence. She turned back to the Big Daddy, but found her movements stiff and sluggish. She tried to reach out perhaps to break her bonds and strangle the man before the drug took complete control of her, but her arms wouldn't move.
Oh shit. Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck. This is not good. This can't… oh holy shit.
"Now," Omega soothed as the girl stuck her with yet another needle. "You will tell me everything. Everything I want to know. Do you understand?" She opened her mouth to tell him something else only to find different words spilling from her mouth altogether. In an instant, Anko, master of torture and devices that she was, she recognized this choice of treatment. Her mind railed against it, but to no avail. She was helpless as Omega ushered the girl outside, locked and bolted the door behind her.
Truth serum. she thought helplessly as the powerful anesthetic took control. Shit. Fuck. Shit!
"Do you understand?" He repeated, a second time.
Helpless to reply otherwise, all she could utter was a soft sounding:
"Yes."
"Name." Omega demanded immediately, cutting right to the chase.
"Mitarashi Anko." she replied feebly. "Jonin of Konoha."
There was no flicker of recognition in the eyes behind the iron mask. It killed her inside.
"Very good." Omega nodded, reaching for the clasp of his helmet. "Now," With a crack and hiss of pressurized air the fracture porthole disappeared, yielding to the face beneath as he tore aside the facade. Anko's heart leapt into her throat and promptly sank back down into her stomach. Harsh, jaded eyes, the color of winter skies peered down at her, utterly emotionless. Chiseled whiskered cheeks, framed by sand blond locks, turned taut in a scowl as he spoke. She could see the wires threading through the base of his neck. Barely visible inside the veins, but there nonetheless. His voice jerked her back to the interrogation.
"Identify." he pointed at himself.
"Uzumaki Naruto." She willed herself not to say it, but once more her body betrayed her. "Genin of Konoha."
"Status."
"You were abducted near the sea...at age eighteen." Anko felt her lips move but that was all they were doing now as her mind slowly slipped away from the situation, from herself. "I...we...thought you were dead." She tried to bit her lip to stop the words from spreading. She failed. "We searched for your body, but found nothing."
"Personal status." his eyes hardened, frozen chips of diamond.
"Engaged." the word tore itself out of her lips, taking a piece of her heart with it.
The blond sputtered in surprise, his control momentarily forgotten. There it was. That flicker of recognition.
"T-To whom?"
"..."
With every fiber of her being Mitarashi Anko fought the truth serum and willed herself not to answer. She must not answer. She could not answer. Tears trailed down her face as she sank her teeth into her tongue, with a small whimper. She bit down until she tasted blood, hating herself, hating the pain, deperate to keep the words from coming out. She shook her head, her hair flying this way and that uncaring as the blond demanded answers, as he seized her shoulders and shook her like a ragdoll.
"To whom!" The Big Daddy bellowed, quaking with rage. "Answer me, damnit!"
Something about his words broke the tenuous grip Anko had on her sanity. Overwhelmed the last bastion of clarity that was her self control. She felt herself slipping, and, even as she clawed her way back t the fore she found herself awash in anger; wave upon wave of righteous indignation crashing down upon her mind, driving her under.
In short, Mitarashi Anko snapped.
"TO ME!" Anko shrieked at him, pain erupting in her neck. Lurching upright she spat at him, hurling blood and obscenities in his face. "You were engaged to me! You stupid kid! Fucking douchebag! Screw you asshole! Piss off and die!" She was still cursing, still spouting venom and bile at him, when she realized that the pain in her neck was slowly spreading. Scrawling across her skin in an eerie semblance of flame. Anko froze, hazel eyes narrowingas power surged through her ravage limbs, empowering her, emboldening her, burning away the lingering remains of her ADAM addiction. She felt...good. She felt...strong. She felt like she'd been set free, all of her earlier despair forgotten, all her cords cut. She felt...
Free.
"You little shit!" she snarled, her back arching, chafing against the restraints. "Fake! Fraud! How dare you wear his face! How dare you pretend to be him! HOW DARE YOU!"
"Stop that!" Omega was adamant. "You're going to hurt yourself!"
"Hah!" She laughed bitterly as her bonds strained to hold her down. "Since when are you concerned about my safety! I don't need you! I don't want your pity! I don't need anything from you, imposter!"
Belts and cords snapped above her like string as she flexed her shoulders, her hair and dress whipping about her in an unseen wind. Before the blond could react she lashed out, cracking him across the face with strong blows, driving her knuckles into his nose again and again and again with monumental force until he staggered backward; stunned, clutching at his bloodied and broken visage. But Anko wasn't done yet. She pounced at him like a tiger, driving him to the floor, head first.
Omega grunted as the madwoman tackled him, his eyes widening as she slammed his face against a bulkhead. Flames flickered in his hand, guttered out as her fingers wrapped around his neck, cursing him all the while . The Big Daddy offered no resistance after that. He simply lay there as she railed into him, silently absorbing every blow she drove into his ribs and stomach. It was only when a sickening crack was produced that Anko actually paused to observe her handiwork.
Idly, she noted his wounds were beginning to heal, his nose setting itself, the purplish blotches already half faded from his whiskered cheeks. But something was wrong. Terribly wrong horribly wrong, horrifically so. His face. It was his face. It wasn't changing. He wasn't moving. Indeed, his chest had ceased to rise and fall, leaving his head lolling at an awkward angle. He wasn't...he couldn't possibly be...real, could he?
What have I done?
As quickly as it had come on, the darkened rage fled, taking the markings with it. She was left alone with him, with her grief and despair.
What have I done?
With trembling fingers she reached down to touch his face, lovingly tracing her fingers across those whiskered cheek. How many times had she done so in the past? How many times had she touched his cheek, told him how much he meant to her, how special he was to her, how much she loved him? How many times had he blushed and sputtered beneath her affection? Now, he didn't move. Didn't blink. Didn't even breathe. Fumbling for a pulse, she found none and nothing. Not even a twitch. Oh god. She'd really done it, hadn't she? She'd killed him. Murdered him, the only one who knew her pain, the only man she'd ever loved.
What have I done what have I done WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Stradling him, sobbing as she peered down at his broken and battered face, Mitarashi Anko flunf her head and screamed.
This wasn't a fake. She'd deluded herselfinto thinking such; that he was dead, that he couldn't possibly be here, in this god forsaken hellhole. She'd been wrong. Stupid. Stupid girl! She berated herself. You've killed the only person that ever mattered to you! Nice job! You worhtless piece of-
An abrupt wave of killer intent crested over the room, killing the voice and filling her with dread.
Before she could give voice to her horror, however, the door came flying off its hinges. Anko cried out as it impacted her chest, flinging her across the whitewashed room and flattening her against the ceiling. She gave a small gasp of pain as an invisible hand, wrenched her back to the floor, door and all, pancaking her against the unyielding steel. A bloodcurdling scream fell upon her ears; pierced them, ripping through her eardrums, manifesting itself as a solid and wrathful wall of sound.
"Father!"
Anko had only an instant to register the voice before she registered a black and red blur in her peripheals; before she found herself flattened against the wall. Baleful orbs of the most hateful crimson bored into her eyes and left her speechless irises, pinnioning her with a horrific gaze. Such strength! She half-expected a second Big Daddy to be the culprit but no; she was mistaken. A young woman glowered back at her, a heart shaped face framed by long lustruous raven locks. She was beautiful. She was also terrifying, her voice black as pitch, her body quivering with rage when she spoke.
"Do. Not. Touch. Him." The woman hissed, drawing out every syllable. "No one is allowed to touch him." Her fingers tightened like a vice around Anko's throat. "You are not allowed to touch him," She ammended with a soft snarl, the fingers of her free hand tightening into a powerful point. "You are not allowed to hurt him!" Her voice rising with every syllable, she thrust her hand forward. Anko couldn't have stopped it, and even if she had been able to, she wouldn't have bothered. She'd just killed the only being that ever mattered in her life, save maybe for her parents, and they'd left her an orphan when she was six. The least she could do was join her beloved in hell-
"It's alright, Alma."
Two pairs of eyes, one crimson, the other hazel, jerked toward the voice, mouths agape.
"But...father!" The young woman cried, petulant. "She hurt you! She should die!"
"She broke my nose and a few ribs, that's all." With a grunt, the Big Daddy levered himself into a sitting position, at least, Anko imagined he did; she still couldn't see a damned thing with Alma's hands forcing her head into the wall. "I've been through alot worse."
Anko's head snapped up at the voice.
"Wha?"
She flung a glance at his corpse. Only, it wasn't a corpse. Not anymore.
His eyes were open and they blazed up at her. They were red. The color of blood. Before her very eyes, his wounds slithered shut, mending broken bone,, and tissue. His nose snapped back into place, leaving eyes the color of crimson to leer up at her. He gasped, and she felt his ribs snap back into place. Anko shrieked and tried to scramble back, but to no avail. Alma's arms were there, holding her fast and she was weak. Too weak, much to weak to break away from the girl's stranglehold as the Big Daddy approached her.
Naruto took one look at the woman in his daughter's arms, eyes narrowing. He leaned forward, eyes glittering, baring his teeth.
"That," His darkened voice leered, "Really. Fucking. Hurt. Ya know?"
Anko didn't know what to do. She was overwhelmed. He was standing there as though nothing had happened. She'd beaten him within an inch of his life, and he'd given her a slap on the wrist. A verbal chastising, that was all, and nothing more.
"You didn't do that to me on a constant basis, did you?" he demanded hotly. "Because if you did-
"Hell no!" Anko couldn't help but snap back. "I never laid a fucking finger on you unless you asked for an ass-kicking!"
"That's strange." The Big Daddy frowned, deep in thought. "I distinctly remember someone punching me almost daily."
"You must mean Sakura."
"Who?"
Anko opened her mouth to reply Snapped it back shut. There was no point in telling him if he didn't remember. She thought of the condtioning she'd gone through, all those months, trapped, helpless while those freaks experimented on her. Had he gone through the same thing? She'd heard whispers of "Grandaddy" amongst Big Daddies, a monster against whom not even the most advanced Big Daddy could stand. She knew of if only because: they'd hammered all sort of knowledge into her head alongside all that ADAM, hell she still had the blueprint of someplace named "Arcadia" tattooed inside her head! Could the kid really be this Grandaddy that the splicers spoke of, though? She shook her head. There would be time for that later. For now, a single question burned at the back of her mind. She needed an answer to it.
"You...you really don't remember me, do you, kid?" She asked softly, tentatively. "You don't remember...us?"
Alma blinked.
The Big Daddy bristled.
"Kid?" his voice was cold, intense.
"Well, you're obviously not a kid anymore." Anko couldn't help it: the glance she sent her former lover-kow that she truly knew it was him-was an appreciative one. She hadn't seen him in many a year since that fateful day. Now he was alive and well-very well, hot damn!-standing here before as thought nothing had happened. But something had happened. The kid hadn't been anywhere near as tall when she'd last seen him, nor had he those jagged scars lining the length of his neck. She had no way of knowing what he looked like under that suit and it filled her with dread. Whatever torture she'd experienced, he'd doubtlessly suffered much worse; an experience so hellish it wiped most memories of his previous life away. And now he took that torture to a whole new level with each instant he denied her.
"I remember someone." Naruto admitted. "Whether or not that someone is indeed you...remains to be seen." She could see it there, lurking, behind hooded eyes. Skepticism. He wasn't about to leap into her arms-now wouldn't that be a funny sight to see!-solely because she laid claim to him; simply because she said she was his fiance. Speaking of which...
"Did you ever call me darling?" Naruto asked suddenly. "When we were...you know...
He gestured broadly.
Anko blinked.
"Me?" She gave the matter some thought, reflecting back on their stormy relationship. All those years on and off between missions: months apart coupled by frenzied evenings together stolen moments of passion taken at little to no discretion. The threat of Akatsuki had been too great back then. It still was, yet somehow they'd made it work, eventually culminating five years together in a tenuous engagement. "No, I don't think I ever called you darling, at least, not like that." she shook her head, wisely opting not to mention the fact that the organization still thrived on the surface.
There was a war on, after all. Cold though it may be...
Omega's crestfallen expression wiped all of that away. Poor kid looked like he'd just had his heart broken. A pang of jealousy lanced through her breast. Neither had been entirely faithful to one another in the beginning but she'd thought they'd put that behind them. Apparently not. She'd stopped seeing Ibiki when things got serious between them. So who was it, then? Who held his heart even now, in this underwater world? Was it all in her head? Was it some foreign shinobi long since dead? She couldn't suss it out and it drove her to madness.
"I know that look." She pressed the matter. "Do you remember something?"
The blond shook his head.
"No." He said. "It's nothing."
I seriously doubt that. Anko thought to herself. Whoever she is, she's got you wrapped around her little finger. Unwilling to breech the subject further, however, she turned her attention elsewhere.
"Mind telling me who she is, then?" Anko nodded toward her current captor: Alma had yet to release her, and within good reason. She was still leery of the newcomer, acquaintance or no. She needed only the slightests of spasms to break her neck, and the jonin wasn't about to trust a perfect stranger-especially one with the power of a telekinesis plasmid-with her life.
"Alma." Naruto practically sang the woman's name. "You can let go now."
The girl gave him a tortured look-clearly she didn't agree wth his decision-before complying with his request, albeit reluctantly.
Anko flopped to the floor, ungracefully landing on her ass.
"Father, who is this woman?" Alma asked, frowning. "She won't stop staring at you."
"She's my fiance...I think."
"May I call her mother then?" Alma asked curiously. "Mama Tenebaum and the other girls will want to know who she is."
Anko's mouth worked wordlessly as she finally came to terms with Alma's words.
"Father?" she whispered. "Mother? Other girls?"
Naruto groaned.
"Oh, they're going to love this...
Scarce had he spoken than the soft pitter patter of several pairs of feet greeted their ears. Alma smiled. Naruto promptly crossed himself. Anko well, she couldn't quite help herself as three little girls filed into the room, their golden eyes wide with alarm and trepidation. They could have been triplets, but for the fact that one was a redheaded, freckle-faced girl, and the second was a few inches taller than the first. One of them clutched a tiny cloth doll to her chest; the clothed creature resembling the crudely stitched likeness of a Big Daddy. The trio peered at Anko from around Naruto's leg; fearful of her, of this strange woman in the white dress. She didn't know what to say at the sight of them: these girls with glowing eyes and soft gray skin. They were...kinda cute, in their own strange, eerie way.
"Who's that, daddy?" The shortest of the girls-the brunette-asked, pointing at her. Cripes! Her voice! Anko nearly yelped in surprise, but managed to bite her tongue. Naruto shot her a scathing glare as though awaiting any further outbursts before continuing. When she did cry out he nodded marginally and she saw a modicum of respect enter his eyes as he turned away from her toward the frightened child.
"Her name is Anko, Masha." Omega paused, as though searching for the right words. "She's...someone very special to daddy."
"So...she's mommy?" the tallest of the three inquired.
Anko squeaked.
"Mommy?"
Naruto flinched.
"Um...well, I suppose you could say that, Valentine...
The Little Sisters were conditioned to detest mothers above all else. It was part of the bonding proccess. His girls were different, but the conditioning ran deep. He had no way of knowing what their reactions would be if they were confronted with something like this; if they were forced to face their fears. He didn't know. And how could he? There was absolutely no way of knowing-
"MOMMY!"
Masha cried as she sprang into the kunoichi's arms, nearly knocking the violet-haired woman back with the sheer force of her tackle attack. Her little hands fisted tightly around the lappels of her dress as she buried her face into the shinobi's chest and held tight, resisting all attempts at extricaion from the woman's bosom. Naruto guffawed.
'Well I'll be damned.'
"We're not out of the woods yet." Kyuubi growled. "Alma and Masha may have accepted this wench, but that leaves you two for six. Not an impressive score there, kiddo."
'Would you kindly shut up?' Naruto hissed back. 'You're ruining the moment!'
"Don't you DARE feed me that would you kindly bullshit!
'Meh.' The blond mused as he looked on. 'Worth a try.'
"H-Hey!" Anko sputtered, her face burning as the squirming child climbed into her lap. "Quit it, kid!"
"What's wrong, mommy?" Masha asked. staring up at her with large, dark, trusting eyes. Eyes devoid of anything save completely and utter adoration. Anko stole a glance at her stone-faced sisters. Both were watching their sibling intently, waiting for any sign of distrust from Anko. Afraid to approach. Afraid of her. Jeez...they were just little girls! But they weren't. Not really. These girls had been stolen, from their mothers and fathers ther innocence wrested away from them, their humannity wrecked by ADAM. They were monsters who only looked like little girls. They walked and talked like them sure but she shouldn't be feeling such things for these little freaks. And yet, the way these...these children looked at her, it stirred something in her breast. Something...maternal.
Ah, hell.
"C'mere squirts." Anko beckoned, hesitating only slightly before speaking. "Come see..." She swallowed once. "M-Mommy."
Evelyn and Valentine's eyes lit up as one.
"MOMMY!" they cried!
Omega couldn't quite surpress a grin as they glommed Anko in a group hug.
'How's about four out of six?'
"SHUT UP!"
So bemused was he by this touching scene that he almost missed someone slipping out of the room. Almost.
But not quite.
Big Sister didn't know what to do.
She'd come running when she heard screaming. But she'd been too slow. Alma was already there; already prying the woman off papa, pinning her to the wall with ease. And then papa-precious invincible papa-got back up like nothing happened. The words still rang in her ears. Fiance. Lover. Engaged. They made her head hurt. Tears stung at her eyes, stabbing sharp shards of pain deep into her retina. She scrabbled backwards, from the door, from him, from her, from everyone and everything before anyone could see her standing there.
She had to get away.
I can't handle this. was her only coherent thought as she staggered away from the nursery. Alma's transformation had been terrifying enough; the girl-turned-woman had nearly scared her half to death when she'd first knocked on the door to the ticket booth and politely asked to come inside. Bathed in blood, her little dress torn to tatters,scintilating rags barely covering her curvaceous frame...
"Ach!" Tenenbaum had cried. "Alma! What is this that has happened to you?"
The woman smiled then at them then, and it was the most terrifying thing Big Sis had ever seen.
"Hello, sisters."
Big Sister shuddered just thinking about it.
Not because the little sisters had taken to Alma like fish to water. Not because she was papa's new favorite, loved in every way possible, blessed with maturity befitting a woman of her stature. It was the eyes. She had the most stunning red eyes now, and to be honest, Big Sister was jealous. She'd seen them, those longing glances her fellow sister kept shooting at papa-her papa!-as if she had some claim to him. And perhaps she did have on. Papa had saved Alma. Brought her back from the dead andwelcomed her to the family with open arms. But now that Alma had grown up...something had changed.
Big Sis wasn't the oldest anymore. She wasn't papa's favorite anymore. Oh, he still treated to her as he treated all the sisters; basking her in warmth and affection but Alma...oh Alma! In the hours after her mysterious growth spurt, her transformation, she clung to papa like a shadow.
And now this.
This!
This mishap with the stranger, who really wasn't a stranger at all!
She couldn't handle it!
She shoved her way past Tenenbaum, mumbling a half-hearted apology as she nearly bowled the doctor over in her hasste. She fled down the hall, taking shelter in the first room she found. She couldn't remember whether it belonged to her or Alma and she didn't care. She wanted to be alone. She didn't want anyone to see her like this. No. That wasn't quite right. She wanted him to see her like this. Papa. She wanted him to see her. To comfort and console her, to ease her pain, to push these foul fragments of memory away.
But papa didn't come.
She could hear his voice down the hall, hear the delighted cries of the little sisters, the soft pitter patter of bare feet as everyone clamored to greet their new guest. They'd met "Mother" as Alma called her. Bitch. Sister gawped in surprise; at herself, the word, and the sudden surge of anger she experienced at the thought. Where were these feelings coming from? She hadn't...she didn't...couldn't...
What's wrong with me?
"Papa." She cried softly, mournfully as she clutched at her head. "Papa...it hurts...
She never remembered anything when she was with him. She was calm. At peace. Blissful in her ignorance. But now...the memories were coming back. Bits and pieces; the sweet scent of a rose, the comfort of a warm embrace, tender words whispered in her ear. Beyond that...nothing. She couldn't remember anyone. Anything. These memories were useless to her if she could not remember names and faces or places. Useless! Those memories were worthless to her!
"Who am I?" She cried into her pillow. "Why can't I...remember?"
She stuffed her fist into her mout to stifle her sobs, tearing at her hair in her frustration.
"Who...am I?" she asked the darkness.
"That's a damned good question."
Big Sis's breath hitched in her throat. She stole a glance upon the bed in which she sat, her eyes widening as she beheld the soft orange comforter. This wasn't her room, she realized. This was papa's room. They were keeping the bad man here. The one who hurts the little ones. He was in the room. Alon with Big Sister.
Her eyes flew wide open.
Instinct took over in a flash; she snapped her fingers and thrust her hand forward the fireball hurtling into the gloom. There was a cry of pained suprise as the deadly missile found its target, punctuated by the sound of a chair-bound body colliding with the tiled floor. Too late she realized: the bad man had been tied up by papa. He couldn't even defend himself, much less run away. Her fingers fumbled for and soon found a light switch shortly thereafter, casting their room out of the darkness and into the light.
"Jay-sus!" The bad man groaned. He twisted his head around to glare at her through his right eye. "Would you please stop flinging fireballs at me, lass? That's not very fair." He flexed his bound arms for emphasis. "Its not as though I can fight back like this."
Big Sister balked.
"Ohmygosh!" She sputtered, speaking in her confusion. "I'm so sorry! didn't mean to...I didn't know...
"Could you help me up?"
"S-Sure!"
Big Sister stepped toward him and froze in midstep.
Why was she talking to this man? Why should she help him, for that matter? He was the one responsible for Alma's...condition. For her own misery. Were it not for him, she would still be papa's favorite. She would still be daddy's little girl. Not Alma. And here she was actually considering helping the one responsible for her sorrow?
He's the one who hurts us.
The man shrugged.
"You seemed pretty upset."
"Well, I'm not!"
"Oh, but I am."
Big Sister shivered as papa stormed into the room, eyes blazing. His helmet was gone, and for once, she wasn't grateful for it. Red eyes burned like hellfire upon Jack Ryan as he stalked past Big Sister. Before the latter could speak out in defence, a gauntleted fist lashed out at the immobile man. Wrenching his wrist, he hauled Jack, chair and all, to his feet, uncaring for the man's cry of pain. He shot a backward glance at Big Sister.
"I thought I told you to stay out of this room."
"But, papa-
"Enough." He dismissed her with a wave of an armored arm. "We'll talk about this later. Now, go."
"Papa...
The Big Daddy uttered something in german; an oath so foul it set Big Sister's cheeks aflame. Eyes blazing, he cast a forlorn glance into the ceiling, but when next he looked at her, he was calm. He stepped forward, as softly as he could, and took her into his arms. Big Sister wilted into the embrace, pressing her bare face against the riveted armor adjourning his chest. She snifled, quietly refusing to cry. Daddy heaved a heavy sigh as he pushed back and released Big Sister, holding her at arms length.
"Papa will talk with as long as you want, later." He soothed the sister quietly, softly stroking her long, raven hair with a gloved hand. "But right now, you need to be a good girl and watch over the others." He offered an eerie, conspirtatory wink. "Make sure they don't get into too much trouble, okay?" Big Sister nodded at once, happy to be entrusted with such a task. But in her eagerness to obey she mistook the request for something it was not. An order. She wouldn't let this strange new woman corrupt the little sisters with her wily ways! If she thought she could out rescuing little sisters like that...well, she'd just rescue more!
She turned to go, stopped at the threshold.
"Papa...promise we'll talk later?"
"Promise."
"Promise?"
She blinked as a strange, sucking sounding filled the air. Papa had vanished in a haze of red mist, and now he stood before her once again, his face dangerously close. Before she could speak, before she could blink, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly. Now Big Sister blinked at this fatherly display of affection.
"D-Daddy?"
"Run along now." He shooed. "Daddy has work to do." She nodded, stealing glances at him as she went. Naruto watched his daughter go with a sigh. Abruptly red and pink tinged his vision, thrusting him into the depth of a memory He remembered. He remembered a walking in the streets. He remembered seeing a girl with long, lustrous black hair bound back in a bow...
"Oi, bloke!" Jack shouted. "Are you going to let me go or not?"
Naruto growled; again with the interruptions! Feigning a smile, he politely turned back toward Jack.
"I see you're awake."
"No thanks to you." Jack spat around a mouthful of congealed blood.
"But Jackie," Naruto grinned. "Today's your lucky day!"
"How's that?"
"Because, after much deliberation, I've decided to help you."
Were it not for the chair, Jack would've fallen over, such was his surprise.
"You're...you're going to help me?"
"First, let me talk to this Atlas fellow." Naruto waved a hand at the radio, summoning it to his palm with a flick of telekinesis. "You remember his frequency, I trust?"
Jack nodded numbly.
It took a few moments of fiddling with the dial, but soon enough, the radio flared to life. After that it was a simple matter of setting it to the right frequency and:
"Where the bloody hell have you been, laddie!" The thick, heavily accented voice of an irishman shouted through the static. "I've been trying to reach you for ages! Nevermind that! Have ya made it Neptune's Bounty, yet boyo? And what's all that noise in the background? Sounds like...a gaggle of giggling girls it does!" Omega's anger peaked. No one talked about his kids like that!
"That is none of your damned business." he seethed into the radio.
"Boyo?" The radio crackled. "Is that you?"
"Boyo?" Omega scoffed. "I ain't no boyo."
The voice on the other end promptly swore a blue streak.
"Cripes...who the hell is this?"
"Tha depends. Is this Atlas?"
"Aye it 'tis!" The voice sounded off. "And who's it that be 'a asking?"
...a friend."
"A friend of mine or a friend o' Andrew Ryan?"
"Neither."
"Fair enough. Tell me, is the kid there?" Then, as if in dread. "Oh bloody hell, you didn't kill him, did you?"
"I'm here, Atlas." Jack grunted. "He's got me tied-
Naruto elbowed him in the face.
"That's not important." He said into the radio. "What is important is this: I've got your 'friend' here with me, and I'm willing to help you. Sound fair?"
"Fine by me! If'n that is you're hoping to get out of this looney bin yourself."
"Something like that, yes." Naruto lied. He had absolutely no intention of leaving Rapture. Not yet. But Atlas didn't need to know that. Let the man think him an ignorant fool, eager to escape the hell that was Andrew Ryan's broken dream. He'd be proven wron soon enough.
"Righto." Atlas answered, blissfully unware of the fact that he was being played.. "But be careful. You've got Ryan's eye now. You won't see him coming, but he'll be there before you know it."
Naruto nodded and switched off the radio, offhandedly tossing his captive a first aid kid. The man was no ue to him if he was half-dead, after all. Untying his captive, he administered the medicinal wonders of Rapture and, within short order, the man was only-lightly-bruised as opposed to his face being one huge purple blotch. Naruto pointed out his weapons to him in thew pneumo tube, but before Jack could reach for his supplies the Big Daddy chuckled softly.
"Alma." Omega called, smirking as his "daughter" appeared at his side.
"Yes, father?"
"We're going out for a bit."
Alma's eyes glittered at Jack.
"Just the three of us?"
Naruto nodded.
Jack balked. Doubtless he recognize the former littler sister, now a grown woman. His reaction, however, was priceless.
"Bloody buggerin' hell!"
Omega gave Jack his most menacing grin as the man sputtered in surprise.
"Ready to head out, Jack?"
A/N: MWAHAHAHA! NarutoxAnko! Hell in a handbasket! Who's the "other" woman Anko's wondering about? Who knows? You'll just have to wait and see! The next chapter might be up sooner than you think, so be sure to review!
Also, as requested by a fan, two more infamous, girls of horror will join us next chapter. Alessa and Cheryl. Alessa Gillespie and Cheryl Mason. As if we didn't have enough of a horrorfest, now Silent Hill is added into the mix! Jack forms a bit of a bond with Big Sister-argh who are you really!-and we see the machinations of Lamb are still very much alive. A bit of romance will pop up next chapter so look forward to it with bated breath as pairings are revealed! But who oh WHO is Big Sister...
Now...Review, would you kindly?
R&R!=D
