Sniper was getting a crick in his neck.

He'd been keeping an eye on the ceiling since seeing the first spider splicer back when they'd arrived in Rapture. There hadn't actually been any others until that attack in the factory though, and he was mildly regretting looking up when he didn't need to.

Sniper spent most of his time sniping either looking straight ahead or angled downward. Craning to look up was not something he had to do very often. He straightened to rub at his neck for a moment before looking back up.

"Problem with your neck?" asked Medic.

"Not used to looking up this long," muttered Sniper.

"Well, if you need a pain killer let me know. We don't need anyone else getting attacked," said Medic.

Sniper would prefer not to take a painkiller. They sometimes made him lightheaded. "I'll be fine."

Medic shrugged. "Suit yourself."

Sniper huffed. He tensed as he heard footsteps and promptly aimed the crossbow towards them. He quickly lowered it when he saw that it was the exact same kid from before. "Her again?"

Heavy sighed as she attached herself to his leg. "Heavy did not encourage this."

Medic snatched the radio from Spy. "Scout, how do we get the little girl to stop following Heavy around?"

"Little girl?"

"The one that keeps clinging to him."

"Oh! The same Little Sister? She showed up again?"

"She showed up four times!" interrupted Demo.

"Really? Maybe she…she…What was that word Ma used? Had to do with ducks…" muttered Scout.

"The word you're looking for is imprinting," suggested Medic.

"…Yeah, sounds about right," agreed Scout. "They're only supposed to do that with Big Daddies though…"

Spy rubbed the bridge of his nose. Apparently, his patience was starting to run out. "And how do we get her to stop?"

"I don't think you can," said Scout. "She's…Gah…Heavy's pretty much the most important thing in her life right now." The Little Sister nodded in agreement. "And…I have no idea how to change her mind."

"Maybe we could pass her onto a Big-"

Scout cut off Medic's suggestion. "No! They'll kill you!"

Sniper felt a bit insulted by how sure she sounded.

"Just get her to a vent whenever she shows up, and make sure you stay far away from any Big Daddies. If they even think she's with you, they won't stop until you're dead." A loud sound came from the radio before Scout abruptly hung up.

"Can I stay?" asked the little girl

"No, too dangerous," said Heavy. Heavy looked around, but there weren't any obvious vents around.

"Please?" asked the girl.

Heavy sighed. "You leave when we find vent for hiding."

That seemed to be good enough for her. She actually smiled.

Sniper groaned. Spy took back the radio. Sniper checked the ceiling again. No spiders. There seemed to be less splicers at the moment. Sniper wondered if they were biding their time or if the population was just falling to the point where there were less splicers to attack them. Sniper didn't know how many splicers were down here, but they couldn't reproduce as quickly as they were being killed.

God, he hoped they weren't reproducing at all. What would those kids be like?

Spy picked up a tape and started playing it. "Look, it's not gonna kill ya to take a cold shower. Time's are tough, and I don't got the money to fix the water heater. Not like you'll freeze to death."

That was technically true. Sniper personally preferred cold showers. Before Sniper could muse further on the subject, he felt a breeze.

No breezes at the bottom of the ocean. Sniper spun, but saw nothing.

"What is it?" asked Spy.

"Not sure." Breeze again. He spun. A splicer. Sniper fired. The splicer disappeared in a fine red mist right before the bolt could pierce his head. Sniper blinked. "What?"

Spy stiffened in Sniper peripheral vision. "Teleportation."

Sniper felt a breeze again. Heavy happened to be facing the direction and fired. Sniper spun and saw the splicer dead on the ground. He was tempted to put a bolt in its head anyway. Medic walked over and examined the splicer. "Interesting. The skin on his hands has been almost completely burnt away. Muscles are showing some damage as well."

Demo winced. "Ow. That is painful."

Heavy frowned. "Little Scout said there would be splicers that control fire, yes?"

"Yes! They are like Pyro but they shoot flames out of their hands instead!" said Soldier.

"Probably correct," admitted Medic. "Looks like it comes with the cost of damaging the hands that use it. I doubt the ability can be used for very long."

"A hin hi n ol!"

"You'd have to take your suit off to use it," pointed out Sniper.

Pyro thought for a moment before shrugging, indicating they would be all right with that. Not for the first time Sniper wondered what Pyro looked like under that suit. He'd probably never know, but still.

Sniper paused. He sniffed the air for a moment. "You smell that?"

"Smell what?" asked Spy.

"Smells like…outside. Forests, soil, that sort of thing." Sniper looked around. "The entrance to that zoo area must be nearby." A set of stairs was a few feet away. Sniper looked up and saw one of the bulwark doors a couple of flights up. "There."

"That is the smell of hard work and victory!" said Soldier. He marched up the stairs. "It is time to show these beasts why we are at the top of the food chain! We will beat the crap out of them! Just like Sun Tzu! But with no boats because we do not have time for that!"

"Heavy does not see any vents," said Heavy, looking around. "Little Girl should not come with us."

The little girl's face fell. "Aw…I wanna see the sheep…"

"You can go to a normal zoo later," said Medic.

She brightened. "Promise?"

Medic shrugged. "Sure."

"Yay!"

"Are you mad?" hissed Spy.

Medic gave him an odd look. "Of course I am!"

"Men!" shouted Soldier. "The lions and tigers aren't going to beat themselves up!"

Heavy groaned and picked up the little girl. "You go in first vent we find."

She nodded happily. "Okay."

This was a very bad idea. Who knew what was in there? There were some incredibly dangerous species out there, more so for children than adults. Sniper groaned and headed towards the door, right behind Soldier. "Let's see what we're gonna have to deal with."

They walked through the first door, through the short glass hallway, and through the second door. Sniper looked around in surprise. There were trees and plants everywhere, growing in the chaotic way that Sniper associated with forests rather than gardens. It was also humid like a rainforest, even though the plant species were wrong. Sniper could hear something moving about. He didn't know if it was a splicer or an escaped animal. He wiped his brow. "Let's be quick."

Pyro abruptly set one of the trees on fire despite still holding Engineer. "Ha ha ha!"

Medic made a face. "You don't suppose these trees are producing the oxygen we're breathing?"

There was an awkward silence. Pyro set another tree on fire.

Spy grabbed the radio. "Scout."

"I'm busy!" There were shouts and gunshots in the background.

"Where does the oxygen come from?"

"Why do you care?"

"Pyro."

"It's in Arcadia. You're not there. The botanical garden got out of control." Scout hung up.

Well, that was a relief. Sniper didn't want to suffocate because Pyro decided to have some fun. "I found a recent trail. Let's get going before that catches someone's attention." The fire would likely keep animals away. Insane humans, not so much.