Chapter 8.5: The Ocean on Their Shoulders

"Do you have it?"

"I have it."

"Give it over, then. I'm keen to get this brat off me hands."

"You know what? Andrew Ryan said I was a rube. But he was wrong. I'm not the rube, Atlas. You are. Now, we both know what happens next. Just get it over with."

"Well, love…if you insist."

THWACK

"LIZZIE!"

Ethox woke with a start, sitting upright and panting heavily.

"Everyone! Ethox is awake!" Aqua said as everyone gathered around him.

"Guys? We're alive? But… I thought…"

"Yeah, we did get knocked into the ocean. But you wouldn't believe who came to our rescue in the nick of time." Ultra said. "Nemo's fiance."

"Tida? She rescued us?" Ethox asked.

"Yes." Tida said, appearing. "Me and a few of the gals saw that big explosion, and we came to see if you needed some help. We found you all floating around outside, most of you almost dead, but we managed to put a spell on you to make sure you didn't drown. Then, while we were wondering where to get you so you could wake up, this lady called on the radio and told us to bring you here."

"Here?" Ethox asked, looking around the large room, seeing many Little Sisters hanging around, playing or relaxing. "Wait… is this Tenenbaum's hideout?"

"Yes, this is where my little ones and I hide from the rest of Rapture." the voice of the doctor confirmed as she joined in on the conversation.

"Thanks all the same doc, but… goddammit, we fell for a big time ruse!" Ethox growled in frustration.

"You are angry at Fontaine, yes? Now you know the truth." Tenenbaum said. "Jack is his tool. Raised in the nooks of Rapture to save him."

"His name is Johnny, not Jack." Ultra said, matter-of-factly. "He'd prefer that name, I know it."

"I see. And you needn't give thanks to me. You saved many of my little ones. I owed you all a debt." Tenenbaum said.

"What happened while we were out?" Ethox asked.

"While you all sleep, Dark Ocean evacuated Rapture. All except five." Tenenbaum said. "Pressure Washer commits mutiny and stayed behind in Olympus Heights, seeking you out. The other leaders remain in Apollo Square, keeping watch over the rest of the little ones. And L…"

"We know. L turned into that… thing." DJ said. "It looks like he can't control his ability."

"Precisely. Now he is nothing but a mindless beast." Tenenbaum said.

"So we have Fontaine running Rapture now, with Johnny under his control, and Dark Ocean still down here with us with the rest of the Little sisters, and two of their members now completely AWOL." Koenig said. "I think it's safe to say Rapture's way worse now than when Ryan was in charge."

"Yeah… who knows what'll happen with Fontaine in charge. We gotta stop him." DJ said.

"It will not be easy. Fontaine holds the ace. His control over Johnny is key." Tanya said. "He can send Johnny to us just by saying the order command."

"That's not a problem. We can just knock him out and bring him to Tenenbaum so she can undo the order conditioning." Aqua said.

"I can undo the mental conditioning, to a degree. But even still, Fontaine can still pull very unpleasant strings." Tenenbaum said.

"What do you mean?" DJ asked.

"There is a second activation phrase in Johnny's mind, "Code Yellow"." Tenenbaum explained.

"What does that do?" Megumin asked.

"It's a Kill Command." Tanya said. "Once Code Yellow is activated, Johnny's brain will forcefully order his heart to stop."

"So even if we get Johnny back, Fontaine can still flip a kill switch in his brain? That means there's no way to save him!" Rista said.

"Take heart. There is a way." Tenenbeaum said. "Johnny's mind is made with many locks and Keys. Fontaine has most of those keys, but not all. Yi Suchong designed his mind, taught Fontaine to control him. You might find answers in Suchong's flat in Mercury Suites."

"Mercury Suites? Where's that?" Michiru asked.

"It is in Olympus Heights." the doctor answered.

"The same place that Pressure Washer is hunting us at…" Kazuma sighed. "Because of course it's there."

"Right." Ethox said, getting up. "Let's go and- oof!" he started to stumble before being caught by Mirror Match.

"I'm afraid you're not well enough to continue on yet." Mirror Match said. "We'll need to rest before we continue on."

"But… what if…?" Ethox started.

"Those Dark Ocean leaders aren't going anywhere yet." Goblin Slayer said. "They chose not to leave for a reason. They're waiting for us, and using the Little Sisters to make sure we come for them. They'll stay until they have no other choice."

"Yeah, we pretty much have all the time in the world." Nemo said. "Rapture may be bent, but it's not breaking yet, just Hephaestus."

"...Alright." Ethox agreed. "We'll wait until we're all healed up."

"And then, we go back out into Rapture and finish the job." Tanya said. "Besides… we aren't planning to die in this city."

"Not when there's so much to look forward to, at least." DJ said.

"Yeah. Theo and the rest of the guild are probably in the opening ceremonies for the Olympics by now…" Ultra guessed. "We'll save Johnny and the Little Sisters, take down Fontaine, and head to Beijing triumphant!"

"The fate of the Ocean Universe is on our shoulders, everyone. Let's break the fate Fontaine laid out for this city!" Ethox declared.

A short while later, the group had spread out through the hideaway. Many of them were interacting with the Little Sisters, Aqua in particular being quite popular with her party tricks.

"You know, she's surprisingly good with kids." Ultra noted to Peach, the two sitting together. "You wouldn't think that considering her usual personality, but I guess we all have our soft spots."

"Yeah, I guess…" Peach said, his mind elsewhere.

"Something on your mind, Wilkin?" Ultra asked.

"...Why the hell am I here?" Peach asked.

"...Because you decided to come with us?"

"No, I mean why the hell am I here?" Peach asked again. "Yesterday, I was squattin' in a giant fridge, waiting for that bastard Fontaine to come and get me, and now… I'm sittin' in a room full of those crazy kids, walking around with things like a giant, talking lizard and a goddess of water, which I find crazy that those things even exist, and it turns that not only did I drop the ball on finding Fontaine, turns out it didn't even matter, since he forgot I existed! This is just…"

"Crazy, right?" Ultra asked.

"Yeah, that." Peach sighed. "I've always been making bad choices, ever since I chose to come to this damn hellhole. Can't help but think that this is another one."

"...Well, what if it is?" Ultra asked. "You haven't left yet. You could've asked us to take you back to the surface, and we would've done it. We wouldn't have even thought any less of you for it, you've been down here a long time. So, why didn't you?"

"...I dunno." Peach admitted. "Maybe I didn't think of it. Maybe I still thought Fontaine was out there, and I'd get the chance to do him in. Maybe…"

"Maybe you wanted to do the right thing and help us." Ultra said. "Look, we may not have realized the truth about Atlas, but Ethox can tell a lot about a person's heart. He wouldn't have saved you if he thought you were a bad guy."

"...You think he thinks I'm some sort of hero?" Peach asked.

"Yeah. Ethox's the kind of guy who thinks the best of people." Ultra said. "It's why he joined the same group I was a part of, and why he fought so hard to save his brother. He sees something in you, something you don't see in yourself. Maybe you should start looking for it."

Peach fell silent, contemplating the trainer's words. "...Maybe I should. Maybe I should…"

Nemo was leaning on a wall, watching a few Little Sisters climb on Mr. B and Molotok, Le Kraken laughing at the play.

"Heh, ain't that a sight…" Nemo chuckled, before he noticed Tida approaching him. "Oh, you wanna talk?"

"Yeah, I do." Tida confirmed. "Look…there's something I need to tell you."

"You spiked my drink so I'd marry you?" Nemo guessed, surprising her.

"You knew?" the mermaid asked.

"Yeah, I guessed." Nemo answered, before sighing. "Look, Tida, I'm gonna be blunt: I'm not comfortable with hitching myself up with you. But it's not for the reasons you're probably thinking."

"Oh, because it means you'd have to leave your crew?" Tida asked.

"Trust me, I'd never leave my crew, even if they begged me to." Nemo declined. "No… it's because… what would happen to you if I die an early death."

"Huh?"

"Look, we Fatebreakers are going up against forces that make Fontaine look like a puppy. Demons that could wipe out an entire world. And there ain't no guarantee that I'm gonna survive that fight when it comes. Now, my crewmates accept that this could happen, it's part of the pirate's life. But what about you? If you're marrying me just so you can find someone to support yourself, then you picked the worst possible guy to do that to."

"So… you're worried about what would happen to me if you died?" Tida asked.

"Yeah." Nemo said. "So, I'd recommend that after this, you swim away and find another fish in the sea. Unless…" the clownfish left the sentence hanging.

"Unless…?"

"You wanted to join our crew, learn how to take care of yourself." Nemo offered. "Can't promise it'll be easy or comfortable… but we'll make sure you can find your potential."

"My…potential?" Tida asked. "Are you kidding? I can't even get a guy unless I drug him."

"Is that you talking, or some other mermaid?" Nemo asked, causing Tida to flinch. "Thought so. You're better than you think you are, Tida. You just need to find a place with people who can convince you of that. While I can't say for sure it's with us…we can at least give it a try."

"Augh! I, Frank Fontaine, am undone by children!" Molotok acted dramatically, laying on the ground in mock defeat while the Little Sisters were sitting on his chest, laughing.

"Well, better go save Molotok." Nemo chuckled. "Give it some thought, huh?" he asked his fiance, leaving her to ponder the offer.

Ethox was lying on a bed, staring up at the ceiling while he played the dream he had over in his head. He felt sad when he remembered it, for some reason he couldn't quite explain.

"Mr. Ethox?" he heard a voice say, turning his head to see Sally.

"Oh, hi Sally." Ethox greeted the little girl. "Can I help you?"

"...I don't think I understand everything that's going on, but… our guardian angel is in trouble, right?" Sally asked. "We're going to save him, aren't we?"

"Of course we will." Ethox assured her. "Fontaine may act tough, but that's just it; an act. Once you get past all his defenses and tricks, he's just a big bully. And we can handle a big bully like him."

"...Uh-huh! He's just a bad man!" Sally agreed, her mood improving.

"..." Ethox hesitated to ask, but decided to go for it. "Hey, Sally…what was Lizzie like?" he asked.

Sally grew quiet at the question, looking down at the floor.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked-" Ethox started to apologize.

"No, it's okay." Sally said. "Lizzie was… sad. She seemed like she was feeling bad about something, but I don't know what. She always looked lonely, too. But… her eyes were warm. She cared about me, and she did what the bad man told her to because he was holding me. The bad man… he hit her. He put her to sleep."

"(Just like the person in my dream…)" Ethox thought. "I'm sorry that happened to you. But it sounded like she cared a lot about you. I wish I could've met her."

"I think she would've liked to have met you too." Sally said. "There was a song I know. I sang it to her once, while she was falling asleep. Can I… sing it to you?"

"Sure." Ethox agreed, watching the little girl as she took a deep breath and started to sing.

"Quand il me prend dans ses bras,"

"Qu'il me parle tout bas,"

"Je vois la vie en rose."

"Il me dit des mots d'amour,"

"Des mots de tous les jours,"

"Et ça m'fait quelque chose."

The Nobody let the singing wash over him. For some reason, he began to tear up, feeling as though his heart was breaking in two. He covered his eyes with his arm, choking up as the tears trickled down.

"M-Mr. Ethox?" Sally asked, looking worried. "Did I do something wrong?"

"N-No, Sally." Ethox said, trying to wipe the tears away. "It was a very nice song. I…I don't know why I'm crying."

"Oh…" Sally said, before she gave the Nobody a hug. "It's okay to cry. It means you really care."

Ethox smiled and returned the gesture, even as he continued to cry.

A couple of hours later, the group was all healed up and ready to go.

"Tenenbaum, once we rescue the Little Sisters in Apollo Square, you will evacuate all of them to the sub we commendered, and take them to the surface." Tanya said. "Once we've rescued Johnny and taken Fontaine down, we'll find a way to join you."

"Indeed." Tenenbaum agreed. "You will have to clear the way of Splicers, but I shall get the little ones to safety."

"We'll do your part, don't worry." Ethox assured her before he turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, are we all ready?"

"You even need to ask? Let's go stop Fontaine already." Seiya said. "We're perfectly prepared. We're 100% ready for this."

"Alright. And Seiya?" Ethox said. "None of us are mad at you for keeping the truth about Fontaine from us."

"Yeah, you would've told us and done something if you thought we couldn't handle it." Rista noted. "The fact that you didn't means you know we can handle this jerk."

"Yeah, and now it's time to prove it." Kazuma said, his arm icing over. "Let's go get this son of a gun."

(Cue: Crashed- Daughtry)

A Little Sister then appeared and led them through the hideout to the doorway out, hearing the other Sisters talk about them.

"It's them. The ones who will save us."

"Will they beat the bad man?"

"They will. And save the angel."

Once they were at the door, they proceeded through.

"Well I was movin' at the speed of sound,"

"Head spinnin' couldn't find my way around and,"

"Didn't know that I was goin' down."

"Yeah, yeah."

"And now you've got hooked up with Tenenbaum, huh kids?" Fontaine radioed in right on cue. "She's a regular Mother Goose."

"Yeah, she's nice." Ethox said. "You aren't, though. And now you're going to get what you deserve."

"Where I've been, well it's all a blur,"

"What I was lookin' for, I'm not sure."

"Too late and didn't see it comin'."

"Yeah, yeah~."

"You kids almost drowned in the deep sea, and still you're lookin' ta take down this city with me in charge?" Fontaine asked. "Guess the fun's over. Too bad I can't command you idiots like Johnny to get stepped on by a Big Daddy. But in any case… you want me? Try an' come get me, mooks. I'll be sure to watch."

"Yeah?" Tanya asked. "Then we'll give you a show."

"Then I crashed into you,"

"And I went up in flames."

"Could've been the death of me,"

"But then you breathed your breath in me."

"Then I crashed into you,"

"Like a runaway train."

"You will consume me,"

"But, I can't walk away~!"