A/N: Hi, everyone, I'm back again! Sorry it took almost a month to get this guy up, I haven't really had working internet for awhile. This one is short, but the next one won't be. (Which is finished, by the way, I just need to type it up and add it!) I decided to take the story in a different direction here, showing a more heartless side of Aimee. Hopefully I get the motivation to add the next chapter, it's a long one, and really expands on Jack & Tenenbaum. I also have to admit, it was really hard not to bring in that budding romance between Jack and Aimee in this chapter, but I did it! So, until the next chapter is up, read, comment, ect. But above all...

Enjoy.


Seven: Cohen's Dressing Room

THEY TOOK THE ELEVATOR UP TO COHEN'S DRESSING ROOM. It was a mess, makeup and clothes everywhere. What on Earth did Cohen do up here? Finally, he saw Aimee. She was quietly sitting at a back desk, looking at her reflection. She had a black makeup stick in her hand. Neither Cohen nor Jack said anything as she began to draw a thin line above and below her eyes.

It occurred to Jack that he had never really looked at her eyes. They were a beautiful shade of green, and one could get lost in them. They were bright, almost like a milky jade color. Also that she didn't bother making herself up, so no elaborate makeup. None of the odd things that so many of the inhabitants of Rapture were. Aimee was almost normal to Jack, so why did Cohen claim her to be "just as crazy as the rest?"

Maybe they were both hiding something from Jack. He wouldn't be surprised, that seemed common practice in Rapture. He would probably be disappointed, though. Everyone was always say one thing, mean another, different stories. Was it not the same on the surface, though? Then what made Rapture so grand? The announcements advocated freedom from the "parasites" of the surface. Jack didn't understand that, the people were the same, if not worse, down here. He really wanted to put Aimee above the rest of this, to believe that she was really a good person.

Still, he marveled at her beauty. And apparently, so was Cohen. The room was silent, save for Aimee, who blissfully ignored the presence of the two. Jack wondered if she led a bit of a double life, now that he was thinking about Cohen's claim. She seemed so damn elegant, why be stuck down here, in the middle of the North Atlantic? A part of the fame, maybe? But this place was in ruins. Nobody would ever hear of Rapture. It was definitely a marvel, but a shame, it was going to waste so fast. Suddenly, Cohen cleared his throat. Aimee turned to him sharply. The look in her eye screamed irritation, but she smiled sweetly. Cohen faintly smiled at her, Jack only frowned.

"So, then, young Jack agreed?" She almost sounded bored. Another side of Aimee he hadn't seen before.

"Agreed and delivered. Quite a beautiful show, I must admit. As such, my dear, there is a story that we owe this little moth."

Aimee's brows raised in mock interest. "Oh? What kind of story does he require?"

Cohen hesitated for a moment, then seemed to look at his toes. After a moment, he looked back at Aimee. "Jasmine Jolene. I suppose he happened to stumble upon the body. Though, he claims to have seen her ghost."

Aimee looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled. She turned back to the mirror, continuing to apply the makeup to her eyes. "Come, Jack. Have a seat. I can explain most of what you're looking for."

Jack nodded, uncertain of whether to trust her. He was seeing a new side of Aimee, although it seemed as though every woman had a side like this. He slowly made his way across the small room to Aimee, taking the stool next to her. He was sure this was a trap, but how to prove it? They had promised allies, but were all smiles and promises. It made Jack very uneasy.

"See, you are very much a part of Rapture, Jack," Aimee began. "You belong here. And I say this due to young Jasmine Jolene. I really don't know all of the details, simply that she is your Mother. Your father, well, that's a little more complicated."

Jack stared at Aimee, trying to comprehend what was being said to her. That woman was his mother? Impossible, Jack already had a mother, and a father, up on the surface. Why was Aimee telling him this? Was she lying to him? A part of Rapture... That was something new, but why did these things always happen to him?

"Your face says that you don't believe me. I don't blame you, but this is what I sent Langford for." She handed him a sheet of paper from the desk in front of her, and then went back to the mirror. "DNA testing. I had a hunch, you could say. As it turns out, Jack, you match with Jasmine Jolene and one other person in Rapture. A very important person. And this one that I'm sure will upset you." Her tone was matter-of-fact, and her face serious. She really believed what she was saying. DNA testing, though? He hadn't any idea what she was talking about. Sure, he knew a bit about genetics. They were all taught that in school, right?

"So explain this to me again... I need to understand what you're telling me. You say Jasmine Jolene, that dead woman in Eve's Garden, is my Mother?"

Aimee nodded slowly. "Yes. Though it doesn't look as though she carried you to term. Now, while we're sure she got around a lot, there's a very important factor. Jasmine Jolene was Andrew Ryan's Mistress." Aimee let that sink in for a moment or so, never breaking her gaze into the mirror. If he didn't die from shock, he may just off himself, and Aimee couldn't have that.

Jack sat for a moment or so, contemplating everything Aimee had just said. What if she was right? What did that make him, then? She had mentioned that this woman had not carried him to term. Was he donated, then? Is that why he saw Ryan kill her in a vision? "Okay, well.. Suppose you're right."

"I am right, Jack."

"Okay. But, for my sanity. Say I believe you. Does that make Andrew Ryan my father, and what on Earth does that make me? I just... This makes no sense to me."

Aimee sighed. "Well, you would have to find Tenenbaum for that." She lifted her hands in a questioning gesture. "Only she knows now, she's the only one left alive."

"The only one left alive?" Jack's voice held concern and doubt. What did Aimee mean?

"Yes," Aimee nodded. "Dr. Yi Suchong and Frank Fontaine were involved, but they're both dead. All that's left is Tenenbaum, who may not survive, either." Except I'm pretty sure that fucking Fontaine is still out there. Just because they say that they killed him... I won't believe it. The thing they brought in was not the Frank Fontaine I had known. Fontaine had never spliced before, and that damn thing certainly had. He's hiding out somewhere, I know it.

Jack looked down. All this death. After a moment of rather awkward silence, he found himself chuckling. He didn't know why, he just couldn't control it. "Has it always been like this? I mean, really, so much death and shit. You'd think someone would have the fucking mind to try and keep the peace! Do you punish people at all here?"

Cohen cleared his throat. "See, little moth, this is the great chain. The strong survive, thrive. The weak are swallowed, forgotten. I suppose you could say survival of the fittest, just like Darwinism and evolution. We are not bound by law, but by our desire to achieve. The pure instinct to survive."

Jack burst into laughter. "Is this serious? Holy shit."

Aimee and Cohen both shifted uncomfortably. Aimee shook her head, her voice coming out empty, unemotional. "Why do you think there are so many dead."

As he digested that, Jack realized they were serious. "Well fuck me..."

"Jack, I'm going to take you to Tenenbaum. I promise this is all going to make sense." Aimee nodded, finishing the last of the makeup around her eyes. "Cohen, darling, be sure to send... back up. I don't particularly care for dying tonight."

Cohen nodded, leaving Jack and Aimee. The silence between them was tense, and she was now intent on ignoring Jack's presence. Jack placed his hand on Aimee's, and she cast him a sidelong glance.

"Aimee, where is Tenenbaum?"

"I don't know. But I know the place that tells your story. She'll surely appear along the way. I'm sure she'd just love to see you again."

Obviously, there was no love lost between the two, and Jack wondered why. He knew the Little Sister was her doing... what else? What was there to make Aimee so bitter?

"We're going to where it all began for you. Hopefully all the data is still there."

"Where?"

"Fontaine Futuristics."