Disclaimer: I own a whole lot of nothing. Just this fic and my OC's. When we last left them, out heroes were in two very different situations. Delta is within the remains of Fontaine Futuristics, battling it out with fellow Big Daddies in a quest to free the last few Little Sisters, and from the sounds of it, the Big Sisters aren't too happy. Meanwhile, Eleanor and Jack have made their getaway from the now-ruined warehouse where she made her landing, with the freed Sisters and a few little "souvenirs" of Rapture in tow. Will Delta survive? Will Eleanor and Jack escape? Why am I wasting your time with excessive introductions? Read on to find answers to at least two of these ahead.
P.S. Special thanks to my beta reader, Markal, for his excellent revisions. Also, the previous chapter has been reposted with a few minor tweaks.
The ear-splitting screeches of Big Sisters filled the cavernous room and froze Delta in his tracks. It was a rapid succession of piercing wails that assaulted and overpowered the senses as they struck. The hollow man managed to isolate five distinct, individual wails before his world stopped shaking and the full use of his senses returned. In a heartbeat, he took off in an earth-shaking sprint towards the block of vending machines, desperate to replenish his supplies before the Sisters' inevitable arrival. Hypos, first aid kits, and ammunition of all kinds were quickly stashed away, just as the second round of mind-rending screeches tore through the damp, fetid air. Time was of the essence.
Delta ran to the far side of the room and kept his back to the wall, eyes scanning the catwalks and rafters as he brought up his drill. Then he saw it: A glint of dirty light reflecting off tarnished metal, and a malevolent red glow, glinting high up through a spider's web of crisscrossed steel girders. There was barely time for a single breath before a lithe helmeted figure catapulted onto Delta's chest. A glowing red porthole filled his vision as the Big Daddy was forced back a step, the impact knocking the wind from him. A moment later the Big Sister leapt off of him, somersaulting through the air to land in a crouched position a few yards away. A piercing screech rent the air. Delta hefted his drill in response, ready to charge, only for a trio of fireballs to slam into him from another direction. Roaring in pain, the Big Daddy whirled around, only to find that he was facing another Big Sister. Vision still tinged with blood, he wasted no time and gave flick of his wrist. A fleshy sac of blood-red gel formed in his palm. Like a cannon, Delta's arm launched the skein of red goo towards the offending Sister before the Big Daddy took cover behind a pile of boxes.
There was a bloodcurdling screech and a tortured shriek of colliding metal. Delta took a quick peek from behind his stack of crates as the two Big Sisters flew at each other with needles, plasmids and high-flying kicks. Then the sharp patter of approaching footsteps, swift and booted, reached Delta's ears, barely standing out from the racket of the melee. He turned around to locate its source, only for the kick of an onrushing Big Sister to strike his helmeted face. He fell back with a grunt, tossing another crimson polyp at the new assailant. Stricken by the plasmid, the twisted creature of Rapture howled in rage, looking about for the nearest thing to kill, which unfortunately still happened to be Delta. Her needle raised and poised to strike, the Big Sister charged, only to be frozen solid in a block of ice. The injured Big Daddy then quickly threw two more Hypnotize globules at the battle-locked Big Sisters, refilling their dose of mind-numbing rage, before making a hasty retreat back to the nearest health station.
Time precious, Delta didn't bother to hack the little machine, content to fork over a full payment for the sake of haste. He gave a quick sigh of relief as the station went to work, healing his wounds and replenishing his EVE. Gene tonics had their perks. He risked a quick look back at his opponents, noting that the Sister he'd frozen had broken free of her icy prison and joined the mindless free-for-all. All three were looking quite worse for the wear. Delta brought out his Rivet Gun, intent upon accelerating the process. The metal man launched a few Heavy rivets into the lone, un-hypnotized Big Sister before yet another ear-splitting screech came from somewhere behind him. He turned around quickly, bracing himself for an impact as recent experience had taught. The preparation was not unwarranted. The oncoming Sister slammed into him like an oncoming freight train, ramming him back against the tiled wall upon which the medical station was mounted.
Through blurred vision, he could see the Sister raise her needle high, like a cobra poised to strike, as she then plunged it down towards him. The hollow man grunted with exertion as he twisted out of the way, only to be shaken about by a small explosion. Vision quickly clearing, the Big Daddy looked to the source. Delta couldn't help but smile slightly beneath his helmet. By wriggling as he did, he had caused the Sister to miss her mark. The massive needle had sunk straight into the medical station behind him; the resulting impact causing a small explosion of fried circuits and flying first aid kits. He quickly turned to the Sister. Her needle was thoroughly mangled, its tip warped and bent by the explosion. It appeared that the Sister herself was disoriented from the blast, drunkenly stumbling about. Delta wasted no time.
Revving the drill, the Big Daddy charged his opponent, pinning her to the wall as she had done to him. The weapon's augers whirled around, throwing off sparks and blood where they struck metal armor and then the flesh beneath. Then there was the hiss of escaping gas as the oxygen tank slung over her back ruptured. Finally disentangling herself from the bloody drill, the Big Sister threw him back with a swing of the near destroyed needle. Enraged, she screeched as she held her hands up high, three glowing fireballs forming in the air above her, as she then flung the burning orbs straight towards Delta.
The Big Daddy was prepared though; he had seen the same trick from every Big Sister in Rapture. He ducked away from the first two fiery projectiles then caught the third in a telekinetic grip before he shot it back at the now-charging Big Sister. Fire met combustible gas in a cacophony of roaring, crackling pops and hisses as the leaking air tank ignited, throwing forth blazing orange tongues of flame. The Big Sister, flambéed by her own tank, fell down on one knee screeching in agonized pain and rage. Delta calmly stepped forward, pulled out his shotgun, and then promptly unloaded both barrels into the glowing red porthole. A final death shriek, shattering glass, and the crimson light died, replaced by the soft glow of firelight. One down, four to-
His fleeting moment of peace was rudely interrupted by a barrage of fireballs. As most of the searing missiles finding their mark, Delta roared in pain before the healing fluids of his first aid kits could get to work. He turned to find three Big Sisters, all worse for wear from their combat, rushing towards him. Evidently, the effects of the Hypnosis plasmid had worn off. The original Big Daddy grunted; he knew fighting all three at once would be suicidal. Divide and conquer was the only logical way to go.
He returned with a barrage of his own, three crimson Hypnosis skeins finding their marks and three Big Sisters subsequently returning to each other's throats. Booming explosions and pings and clashes of metal scraping against metal reached his ears, but for the moment Delta had a brief moment of respite to collect his thoughts. His mind was in combat mode; furiously crunching the numbers and plotting the best course of action.
One Sister was down. His mind raced. Three were, for the moment, out of the picture. That left only the as-of-yet unseen fifth and final Big Sister. Until she appeared, she was an unknown element, a wild variable. It was best to work with the absolutes, and presently, there were three much-weakened ones right in front of him.
Swarms of killer hornets flew forth from one hand, a pause was taken to replenish EVE with the squelch of a hypo, and then bursts of automatic fire spewed forth from the massive Gatling gun, the flare of the muzzle flash chasing away encroaching shadows.
Weakened from the mindless blows of her fellows, one Sister fell to the leaden onslaught. The other two quickly regained their senses and darted behind stacks of boxes in opposite directions of each other. Delta roared in anger as he traded the rotary machine gun for his launcher. He was not in the mood for this. There were piles of water-soaked crates both to the left and to the right, and he knew not which ones sheltered the Sisters. He didn't feel like waiting around to find out.
The wormy, rotten wood of the piled crates was blown to pieces from the explosion of the grenade, leaving only a plume of smoke and dust in its place. He would smoke them out, one pile at a time. The patter of light, dashing feet was heard. Turning, he saw one Sister rush towards him, bracing her legs for a flying kick. The metal man grinned mirthlessly behind the faceless visage of his helmet; experience had bred skill, and he knew what she was going to do. Speed was of the essence; he had mere seconds. Instinct took over.
One. The Sister left the ground, kicking leg raised and extended, screeching like a banshee. Two. Delta squared up and faced her, tossing his launcher aside at the last second. Three. Heavy gloved hands cradled the Sister's foot as it connected with his chest, gripping tight with armored fingers. Four. One metal-clad leg lurched backwards, the other pivoting to the side. Five. The Sister wailed in rage, grasping the situation far too late, as her momentum was swiftly used against her.
With a throaty growl, Delta swung his foe like an Olympic hammer toss, leaning back as he spun and kept the Sister's flailing form aloft. Within half a rotation, he turned to the wall behind him and the Sister was released, screeching for a moment before her skidding impact with the floor abruptly silenced her. The nightmarish enforcer of Sofia Lamb's twisted will skidded over the tiles into a deteriorated section of the wall that had bits of wire and pipe poking out of the crumbling plaster. The Big Daddy rushed over to his shaken prey, sparing not a moment. Standing over the scrabbling creature, he took hold of the Sister's spherical helmet with both hands, raising it high. The Sister screeched, limbs desperately flailing about, but her fate was sealed. With a roar, Delta slammed the red porthole into a jagged length of rusted pipe poking from the ruined wall. The glass shattered. The hapless Sister fell silent.
Breathing raggedly, Delta scrambled over to reclaim his launcher, quickly scanning the length of the warehouse as he did so. Two shadows flitted about in the shadowy rafters above. The two remaining Sisters, both the injured and the unseen, were waiting for him. The Big Daddy roared his challenge and loaded in a heat-seeking rocket.
Eleanor awoke with a jolt. Cold sweat shone on her brow, her breathing was heavy, and her heart raced. Her vision was clouded and her senses felt numbed. Slowly, formless shapes took definition, colors sharpened, and sounds returned. Distant, muffled ringing slowly intensified with increasing clarity. She groaned as her head pounded with the noise.
"...waking up! Dad, c'mere, she's waking up!"
Her vision finally cleared. Standing over her was a raven-haired girl, her own age, or perhaps a bit younger. An oversized grey T-shirt draped her slender form down to her mid-thighs, where a pair of flannel pajama pants then took over the rest. Brown eyes looked over Eleanor, holding a mixture of studious appraisal, fascination, and the slightest twinge of fear. A few padded footsteps later, a tired-looking Jack joined the unknown girl. He rested one weathered hand on the shoulder of Eleanor's observer, an apparent gesture of reassurance. The girl looked back up at him.
"Thank you Katie. Why don't you go help your sisters with the little ones now?"
The girl nodded, giving Eleanor one last inquisitive stare before she turned and walked out of the room. Finished with watching her leave, Eleanor turned her attention to her surroundings. She struggled to sit up, pushing her hands down into the soft, plush material of the furniture she found herself lying on. A sofa or bed, she concluded.
Rising up into a sitting position, her head swam for a moment before normalcy returned. Her conclusion had indeed been correct. She found herself seated on a worn old couch, sinking into the cushions as she leaned back into its comforting depths. A tall lamp in the corner gave soft, mellow illumination to the space, supplemented by wayward beams from streetlights, peeking in through the windows despite the best efforts of the curtains. Jack took a moment to drag a chair across the thick shag carpeting, stopped in front of her, and plopped down on its seat.
"What . . . what happened . . ." Eleanor mumbled, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes. It was only then that she noticed that her gloves and the rest of her Big Sister suit were gone. Jolted awake, she gave herself a quick once-over. She was wearing a white dress, the very same one she had worn back in Rapture. She had been wearing it beneath her suit, albeit in a less than comfortable manner. Her right wrist was bandaged, with the slightest hint of blood staining its underside. She looked back up at Jack, utterly confused.
The man sighed before he began answering Eleanor's unspoken questions in quick succession.
"We got here, and you just passed out. Scared those little girls something awful. You kept babbling about in your sleep. We managed to get you out of that suit and onto the sofa. My girls have been keeping an eye on the other girls who came with you. That cut on your wrist is from that oversized needle of yours. It had an IV line feeding right into your bloodstream. The suit's safe, along with the rest of the stuff we brought. You were out for about an hour."
He heaved a heavy sigh.
"Christ," he grumbled, "I need a smoke."
"You threw them all out Dad," came the chiding voice of a teenage girl, calling out from somewhere beyond the room. "You said you were quitting."
"Don't remind me," he muttered, before returning attention to Eleanor, who looked at him with curiosity.
"My daughters," he answered, exhaustion seeping into his voice.
"Ten years ago, five cured Little Sisters and I escaped Rapture in a bathysphere and set a course here, to New York. Sailed in unnoticed, kept to the sphere. Few days later, Doc Tenenbaum shows up with the rest of the freed Sisters. We traded off a few of Rapture's trinkets for some dollars and got ourselves set up with fake papers and everything. Money talks in this town."
He gave a half-hearted smile. "Some things never change." He paused and swallowed, forcing himself to squash the desire for a cigarette.
"Anyways, I set myself up as an engineer and eventually got this townhouse. The Doctor had plans to quietly feed the girls into the system, to find them new homes and new lives." The man bit his lip, giving a wry smile. "All the same. . . I just couldn't let go of those first five I came up with. We were all strangers to this world, and I guess I just didn't want to be alone in it. I love 'em like my own."
He gave a soft, mournful sigh.
"I've been keeping tabs on the others, making sure they all went to good families, playing the guardian angel whenever I can. But these five have got a special place in my heart."
He sighed and leaned back in the creaking chair. Eleanor was silent, her questions answered, until her brow furrowed suddenly. Face creasing, the man sat back up.
"What's wrong?"
Memories returned in a flood. Dreams and nightmares she had endured in restless sleep. Bits and pieces, flashing fragments of another life. A life far away, submerged deep within a festering, forsaken pit, seen through the dirtied glass of a blood-stained porthole.
"It's my father," Eleanor said softly. Her face turned white as porcelain, and she met Jack's gaze. "I think he's still alive..."
End Chapter. Many thanks to all my reviewers, past and present, and please continue in the future. Feedback is what keeps this fic going. Until next time, see ya.
