Pain is an abstract concept, an illusion really. It is nothing more then the body telling the brain it has been damaged. Evolution dictated that the survivors avoided damage and as such pain is unpleasant. This ensured that living things would shy away from pain when it was at all possible. To Leo, this was a flaw, a serious one. Because pain is painful it can immobilize you, render you incapable of defending yourself or avoiding further damage.

Now it might have been because he could no longer feel it, but Leo found himself growing a certain fascination for pain. And because he could no longer experience it himself he chose to inflict it on others. After all, it was like his Grandma used to say, 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. Given that he no longer felt pain, Leo had no real problem if people wanted to torture him. If his Grandmother's saying still held true then his penchant for torture was acceptable behavior.

The Splicer Leo was working on didn't appear to share this opinion. The man's cries were no more then the disconcerting gurgles of a man chocking on his own blood. With a tight lipped smile, Leo finished nailing the man's arms to the wall of the elevator shaft. Feeling the beginnings of excitement in his stomach, he glanced down to his accomplice. "You got the feet?"

From her position crouched next to him, Protector M2 Alpha nodded up at him. He could tell from the way she tilted her helmeted head to the side she had a huge grin on her face. Before their fun could begin, Leo took a moment to inspect the girl's handy work. Much to his pleasure, the man's feet and legs were nailed securely to the elevator floor.

Sending his partner a conspiratorial wink, Leo started the elevator at its slowest setting. Almost immediately, the man began to moan in pain as his arms were pulled upwards and his legs pulled downwards. "P-please…p-please…I didn't do anything." Next to him, Alpha lazily pulled a glove off.

"I'm a loyal servant to Lamb. Y-you don't need to do this." Alpha's helmeted head tilted to the side as she examined her sharp nails with detached interest.

"I-I have money…I have Adam!" With a speed Leo had only seen in a Big Sister, Alpha's ungloved hand lashed forward. Her sharp nails dug into the man's tongue as her gloved hand caught his throat. His pained mumble quickly became an agonized scream as Alpha wrenched his tongue from his mouth.

The man thrashed against the wall, blood pouring from his mouth even as his vertebrae began to pop from the strain. With a hiss, Alpha unclasped her helmet and set it on the ground. Her strait blond hair brushed the bottom of her shoulder blades once it was released. Leo realized her reasoning for removing her helmet as she began to inspect the tongue up close. With a sick fascination she dug her razor sharp thumb nails into the meat and began to pry it apart.

Alpha's dissection was interrupted as the man loosed a final agonized scream. With the crack of breaking bone he came apart at the middle, almost as if unzipped. Blood exploded forth, drenching a surprised Alpha and a grinning Leo in the warm liquid. After a moment of surprised silence, Alpha let loose a laugh and began to clap ecstatically.

Leo simply watched the excited protector and waited for what he knew was about to occur. The girl was striking to look at, he'd give her that. She had an angular face and slightly slanted eyes. Her pale skin was drenched with blood, the red color contrasting with the eerie yellow glow of her eyes. After a moment she froze, inhaling deeply. If her pupils were visible, Leo was sure they would be pinpricks now.

The euphoric sensation the Adam had on the Protector quickly over road any self restraint the freak had, and she lunged at a grinning Leo. It was quite pathetic how it appeared to believe he actually felt something for it. Still at least it was a change of pace from the usual. Killing people did get boring after a while…even if it wasn't for long.

()

Theta shifted uncomfortably under the unfamiliar group's scrutiny. The doctor monster she was familiar with, she even trusted him a little. The witch was manipulative and Theta would not trust her, and the large monster was a…jackass. The others she was going to withhold judgment on until a later time. At least that way she wouldn't feel bad if she decided to kill them.

"Have the two of you come to a decision?" Theta felt a small surge of affection for the doctor monster. He was treating her like she was capable of making her own choices; that meant a lot to her. Smiling slightly at the tired looking doctor, she nodded her head and then allowed David to answer.

"Yeah, we have. We'll help out with the Little Sisters and trying to find a cure for Adam." Theta sent David a chastising glare and elbowed him in the arm. "And uh…if at any point we don't agree with the direction you are going we will leave."

The witch sent the duo a gracious smile and nodded her head. "I understand, you have a choice in this…" She glanced around at her other allies. "You all do. If any of you feel uncomfortable you can leave at any time."

"That won't be necessary Tenenbaum." Said the stoic monster with the tattoos, his name was…Jack?

"That's right Doc, we're in this for the long haul." The female monster had her hand resting on her sibling's shoulder. "I'll stay here until all these poor children are saved."

"I will kill every fucker who did this to my daughter." Theta glared unflinchingly back at the large monster as he sent her a murderous look, she wasn't afraid of mindless oafs like him.

"What's the game plan?" Said the female monster, Theta forgot her name, obviously trying to break the tension building between Theta and the arrogant monster.

"We'll be going to Neptune's Bounty." The tattooed mons-Jack said. "I was there the last time I was in Rapture and am familiar with its layout. According to Tenenbaum, the Splicer's never fully repopulated the area and it's been quiet ever since. You agree?"

It took Theta a moment to realize that Jack was asking her opinion. Her brow furrowed as she pondered his question. She was familiar with Neptune's Bounty. She'd been there before, though that was more out of curiosity then necessity. It had been quite dull, the Splicer's had been exceedingly wary of her and there hadn't been a recorded Gatherer attack there in longer then she could remember.

"Shit for brains, you gonna answer?"

Theta's face flushed in embarrassment when she realized she hadn't answered Jack's question. She sent David a small grateful smile when he hit the large monster in the shoulder in response. She turned from David and gave Jack a nod. "So, you agree?" Theta nodded again.

"Good, then we all know what we're doing. Oh and just so the two of you know; Harper will be staying behind to look after the girls and Tenenbaum will come with us." Theta suppressed a scowl; she didn't want to stay near the witch any longer then was necessary. Unfortunately David had no objections and simply nodded towards the manipulative hag.

Theta watched passively from her cross-legged position on the floor as the humans scurried about the room grabbing their various belongings and saying goodbye to their young family members. Her eyes found David as he crouched before a crying Amanda who seemed to be unwilling to let him leave. Her ex-sister's tearful brown gaze met hers briefly before Theta broke the contact. She felt no connection to the small being anymore; she only served as a reminder of her enslavement.

"D-do you need anything b-before you l-leave?" Theta sent the sniveling monster a surprised glance. Was he genuinely concerned for her, or was he attempting to suck up to her and or insure that she would not kill him at a later date? She shrugged internally; it didn't matter in the end. He wasn't going to finagle his way into her good graces; she could and would kill him effortlessly if she ever felt it was needed (or if he irritated her too much). "I-is that a no?" Theta shook her head and gave the small man a thumbs up, a sign she had learned from David, she was ready to go. While she no longer had her armor, she was still hard enough to kill that she shouldn't have too much trouble with Splicers and their ilk.

"Ready to go Sam?" Theta nodded towards David and accepted his hand as he helped her to her feet. After sending David a slight smile, Theta followed the other humans as they exited their safe area. A small thrill ran through her as the door opened and revealed Rapture in all its decayed glory. Adam was in the air, and it was calling her name.

()

Leo smirked unabashedly as Lamb sent him a stern glare. "The Sisters are here to protect the Rapture Family, not to serve as your playthings."

"I don't think what we did constitutes playing ma'am." Lamb's nose wrinkled in distaste as his thinly veiled innuendoes offended her.

"This is a serious matter! If you need to find a place to stick your cock, find yourself some poorhouse girl!" Leo raised an eyebrow at Lamb's use of a curse word. Something else must be going on; she wouldn't get this worked up over Leo's choice of entertainment.

Instantly he was all business. "What's the situation ma'am?"

Lamb sighed, pushing her horn rimmed glasses up her nose. "There have been rumblings among the family that Jack has been spotted in Rapture. Where that man goes Tenenbaum won't be far behind."

Leo barely resisted the urge to curse. The Splicers that made up the Rapture Family seemed to view Jack as a sort of messiah. Lamb preached that his lack of free will made him the precursor to the ideal utopian, and encouraged the Splicers to aspire to that kind of selflessness. Because of this many of the Splicers seemed to almost revere the man. If he started spouting anti Lamb bullshit to members of the Family many of the Splicers would be tempted to listen.

"You want me to take care of him ma'am?"

Lamb leaned back in her chair, looking tired. "No, not yet, we don't have any reliable information about his whereabouts. I don't want to send you on a fruitless chase when he will make himself known eventually." Spinning her chair around, Lamb peered out into the crushing depths her office window opened up on. "If he is here with Tenenbaum they will be on a 'crusade'. It is only a matter of time until they reveal themselves. When they do, I want you to take every Sister at your disposal and exterminate the problem."

Leo couldn't help but grin at the bloodshed that was rapidly approaching. "With pleasure ma'am."

()

Theta grumbled to herself, she couldn't remember ever being this bored while traveling. She had gotten used to David chatting with her as they walked, even though she was unable to respond. His silence was beginning to unnerve her; she supposed she was just spoiled from David being a constant source of amusement. "Your name's Samantha right?"

Theta jumped slightly in surprise and turned to the young female monster. The woman was smiling at Theta; she seemed to be attempting to be friendly. Theta supposed she could give her the benefit of the doubt, she sent the woman a nod. After a moment she gestured towards the woman and tilted her head to the side in curiosity. "My name?" Theta nodded. "I'm Sandy, nice to meet you."

The woman stuck her hand out towards Theta, who tilted her head to the side in confusion. Why was she sticking her hand out? After a moments hesitation she tentatively took the human's hand in her own. The woman moved their joined hands up and down before releasing her hold. Theta shook her head at the strange greeting; it appeared to be some sort of custom. Humans were so weird.

"Any juicy gossip?" Theta sent David a confused look as he grinned at her and the human female.

The girl laughed before responding with a smirk. "Oh yeah, she was telling me all about you." No she wasn't.

"Should I be concerned?"

The girl laughed again. "No…but I'd get that rash looked at. It'll put the ladies off." David had a rash? Why hadn't he told her? She might have been able to help.

"I'm trying! Proper medical treatment is hard to find down here!" David proceeded to scratch exaggeratedly at his lower stomach, causing Sandy to laugh once more.

Theta sent the human girl a glare, why was she laughing at him? She should be helping him. Whining softly, Theta grabbed David's chin. She gently turned his head this way and that, searching for any signs of a rash. Finding none she started to inspect his arms before he stopped her. She looked up at David in surprise, feeling slightly hurt. Did he not want her help?

"Sam, I don't have a rash." What? Why would he? "I was just joking around with Sandy, I'm fine." Theta's face flushed in embarrassment as she lowered her head. He had been joking…why hadn't she seen that? He would tell her if something was wrong, he trusted her. Didn't he?

What if what was wrong with him was something emotional, something that required words to help? Theta gritted her teeth as a surge of self loathing pulsed through her. She hated what she was. She hated being a monster. She would give anything to be normal, to be able to speak. She watched as David, probably thinking she was mad at him, turned his back to her and continued to follow the others.

Her mouth opened and a soft hiss came out. Hearing the inhuman sound, her jaws shut with a snap. Her hatred for herself increased. There were things she wanted to say, things she needed to say. Things she wanted to say to him, about him, about herself. Things too complicated for her simple hand signals and inhuman noises.

She shook her head as frustration, sadness, and anger fought for domination inside her head. Why couldn't she speak? Why couldn't she express herself? Was that really too much to ask? Why couldn't he just understand her? Isn't that what friends do? Isn't that what he was supposed to do?

There were questions she had, questions she barely understood herself. How was she supposed to communicate things she barely understood in her simplistic, pathetic, idiotic way?

How was she supposed to show him she cared?

()

Harper glanced around Tenenbaum's lab in frustration. How the hell was he supposed to know what it was he was looking for? The girls had been put to bed several minutes ago, giving Harper free reign of the hideout for the first time. In one corner of the lab where a collection of tissue samples from various Splicers, Jack, and the experiment. Tenenbaum hadn't actually told the experiment she had taken samples. Harper had the feeling that wouldn't go over well if she found out.

On an operating table in the center of the room was a partially dissected Adam leech. The slimy creature was dark red, almost black. It had several softly glowing purplish red spots on its body. Were those Adam concentrations or something? As Harper leaned towards the foul creature, studying it curiously, it twitched. Its head darted towards his hand, sinking its hook like teeth into his skin. Releasing a pained hiss, Harper jerked his hand away from the little demon.

He raised his fist over his head, barely resisting the urge to kill the damn thing. Turning away from the writhing piece of filth he saw what he was looking for. Inside a glass container were a couple dozen containers filled with a purplish red liquid. Adam.

Harper walked to the large cabinet. He gingerly grabbed the handles and pulled at the doors. Unsurprisingly they didn't open. Great, he needed a key. If he was Doc Tenenbaum where would he hide a key? Not on her person, that would be too dangerous. She could loose it, or it could be stolen. It would be here, somewhere in the hideout.

Groaning in frustration, Harper began his search. A few bangs echoed from the girls' room causing Harper to roll his eyes. They were probably jumping on the bed or something; of course they wouldn't just go to sleep. He made his way towards their room, grabbing two pep bars on the way. Maybe he'd be able to bribe them to sleep; he'd never been good with kids.

As he neared the girls' room he heard soft crying. They were crying. It wasn't that surprising really. They were going through a lot. He arrived at the door, several bangs followed by an echoing crash sounded from the room. Harper paused as dread nestled itself in his chest. There was no way two kids were making that much noise.

Carefully pulling his pistol out, he opened the door. A hulking monstrosity had its back to him. It appeared to be some sort of Big Daddy, though it wasn't a type he was familiar with. It wasn't as hulking as the others though it was still well over seven feet in height. Its armor was corroded and in ill repair, dozens of barnacles encrusting its putrescent surface. Its most distinguishing feature was its right arm.

The limb appeared to be heavily mutated. It had swollen to the point where it had broken free of the armor constraining it and its fingers were now simply useless lumps of flesh at the end of the malformed limb. Its bloated flesh writhed as unseen things moved about beneath its skin. The girls cowered before the monstrosity, probably seeing it for what it truly was as their indoctrination began to break.

As Harper clicked the hammer of his pistol back, the beast sprung into action. Screaming in mindless rage it spun around. Harper got one shot off, hitting it in its fleshy shoulder, before its armored fist sent him falling into blackness.

Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter then the others. The chapter I was writing got longer and longer and this seemed like a good place to cut it in half.