Cornered

The old Machinery in Rapture was rusted, bent, and battered but Mark had to admit if nothing else it was reliable. He looked to his bearded friend as he watched the only light source display an arrow slowly make it's way up the floor numbers, very slowly. Every time they would hear the gears of the old Elevator grind both Men would hold their breath for a split second just waiting for one of the decrepit support cables to snap and send them hurling to the basement floor at top speed. Through the cracked service hatch in the ceiling Mark could see the Motor at the top of the Elevator shaft, it would shoot a flurry of sparks out here and there as it struggled to catch it's grip on the ageing cables. Choosing to get his mind off of the stressful ride He turned to the only other person in the Elevator with him.

"Joe, why haven't we been attacked by Splicers lately?" he asked in a serious but concerned tone, His eyes shifted to His friend who still just watched the busted floor counter.

"They have their hands full right now." Joe simply stated taking his gaze away from the amber glow of His attention and faced His younger Friend.

"What do you mean? full with what?" Mark asked.

"Well think about it, we have a Fortress here, though you may be hard pressed to call it that. We have heavy Security with the amount of Bots Danny has so we're basically safe right?" The burly Man asked.

"Right." Mark answered.

"Wrong." Joe replied before continuing. "We have one way in and out of this Hotel... the Lobby and the Splicers know that. We can't go anywhere because we've cornered ourselves, that's why there's only a handfull of Guards watching the Hotel. On the Other hand, Omega, Iota, and Sigma are free to roam about, they're unpredictable and deadly. Instead of wasting Manpower trying to get inside this place they've decided to go after the ones who haven't made it here yet." He explained.

"So they're going after them because they're such a huge threat." Mark added finally starting to understand where His Friend was going with it.

"Exactly. One Protector is worth an Army of Spliced up Junkies and Reed Whal knows that, He also knows that if they make it here there's no chance He'll ever be able to stop us." Joe said while he lit a large Cigar instently filling the small space with thick smoke. It didn't even bother Mark at this point, he was used to it by now.

"It feels like he couldn't stop us even without the Protectors, I mean we've driven back every attack they've thrown at us so far but then again I know how dangerous it is to underestimate your enemy... especially in Rapture." Mark said causing Joe to smile from the young Man's wisdom dispite His age.

"You got that right Kid, the attacks we've fought off so far are nothing compared to the full fury of our Enemies. So far they've just been testing our defenses and looking for weak spots." Joe told him shaking his Cigar.

Mark's eyes went wide when he heard that. "What do you mean, just how strong are these guys?" The young Man asked suddenly feeling nervous about the Enemy they faced.

"Think about it, We haven't seen any other types of Splicers besides Thuggish and Leadhead. Before you joined our little rag tag band of Survivors we had damn near twenty others with us, the group of Splicers that drove us from our last Holdout was three times the size of all their attacks on the Hotel put together and they had EVERY type of Splicer with them. Right now it's just a matter of time before they try the same thing here." Mark started to sweat when he heard Joe's explanation.

"If they can't kill the Protectors then they'll try to wipe us out before they can get here, all we can do in the meantime is strengthen our defenses and try to hold out long enough for them to arrive." Joe explained just before the Elevator doors slid open with a high pitched Ding.

The two Men began walking down the long hallway toward Tenenbaum and Danny who were standing at the end, Danny had his hands tucked inside his oil stained lab coat and Tenenbaum was smoking a cigarette as she waited for them to return. When the two made it to them Joe nodded.

"It is done?" Tenenbaum asked.

"She's in the Vents Doc, all we gotta do now is wait." Joe responded.

"Wait and prepare." Mark added to the men as he headed toward the armory.

"Danny, how many Security Bots do you have that are Combat ready?" Joe asked his friend taking another few puffs from his large Cigar.

"Well after the last attack a few of my Bots were damaged on the lower levels, I did have six flying Drones and four stationary Turrets, now we're down four Drones and one Turret." He explained looking at a notepad he pulled from one of his lab coat's large pockets.

"Damn, that isn't enough. Can you repair the damaged ones if we retrieve them?" Joe asked as he thought of their odds with so little firepower.

"I mean anything's possible, I won't know unless I take a look at them." Danny answered him.

. . .

Where was she? The Girl wondered moving her head around rapidly trying to get a sense of direction. She was standing in complete darkness, it was cold and quiet, so quiet she could hear her heartbeat. The Cold air smelling musty and damp like being in a Celler on a hot summer day. She knew she wasn't in a pleasent place for the sense of dread that washed over her, She felt like she had been here before, She fumbled around in the darkness trying to reach out for a wall or any object around her but her hands reached out into emptiness. The only thing she could feel was the cold tile on her feet, she was alone in this dark world. She couldn't remember anything, not her name, where she was, or even her reason for being there. All she could feel was the cold and the soul consuming darkness, She sat on the frigid tile floor placing her knees to her chest holding them with her arms. The Girl looked out into the darkness for any sign of life but she found none.

"hello?" she called out, her voice was weak and laced with fear. No one answered her but her trembleing voice echoing through the vast Oblivion. She sighed as tears began to stream down her face, She was alone. As She starred out into the darkness she noticed it was starting to fade, the pitch black turned to grey and eventueally she could make out the sillhouetes of pillers, doorways, and windows. It was like her vision was adjusting to the darkness, it got brighter the longer she watched, she rubbed her eyes still not believing that the darkness was fading. She felt a wave of relief wash over her when she could see flickering lights. As the darkness slowly faded the Girl could feel air returning to her lungs but something wasn't right, the air had a foul smell to it making her cover her nose and mouth.

It was almost unbearable, with every breath she took she could smell rotten meat. She could hear buzzing, and feel flies landing on her arms, legs, and face. When Her vision adjusted to the darkness enough she could feel her stomach sink and pure dread washed over her, laying all around her on the floor were hundreds of Corpses dressed in dirty, ripped tuxedos and dresses with thousands of empty bullet casings around them. She started back peddling to try and escape the Horrible scene in front of her when she felt her back hit something solid, She turned around to inspect what had stopped her and she wished she haden't. A large figure in a menacing Diving Suit lay on it's side, it's portholes black. It had a massive drill on it's right hand that was covered in blood and chunks of meat. The Girl felt great pain when she looked at the large being, like she had lost something very dear to her, something very important. Fear washed over her and she began to weep even more.

The Girl was startled when she heard noise behind her, She turned to investigate but only saw a sea of Bodies. She heard the noise again, She stood up to get a better view still holding her nose due to the rancid smell in the large room. Her eyes widened when she saw one of the Corpses twitch suddenly and fell still, again it twitched causing her to jump, another Corpse twitched even more violently then the first and it was soon joined by all of the Corpses. The Girl could only watch in Horror as the Bodies jerked and spasmed, She could hear their joints cracking, their skulls hitting the tile beneath them with a sickening wet thud as they splashed the pools of blood beneath them.

All at once the Corpses stopped, Her heart was pounding and felt like it was going to rip right out of Her chest, She looked down placing her hands on her dirty white gown to calm herself when she heard the noise again. She looked up but instead of seeing the Bodies jerking again, She saw a lone Corpse in the middle starring back at Her. Her whole body began shaking when she saw it's shoulders and head raise up, it's joints popped as it moved it's neck to look at her. It's face was deformed and it had boils in it's fading hairline, as well as it's neck. All She could do was stare as it's cloudy white eyes looked into hers and then it moved. It began crawling it's way over the other Bodies still starring into her soul. The Girl moved on instinct alone as she turned to the Diving Suit behind her, she shook it frantically periodically looking over her shoulder as the Living Corpse got closer.

"Wake up... wake up PLEASE!" She screamed still not knowing why she felt the Figure could Protect her.

"Daddy!" She screamed as tears rolled down her face.

Daddy? why did she call it that? She didn't know, the name simply came to Her unconsiously. The Girl turned to look for the Corpse and froze at the sight before Her, the other Corpses had changed positions now and all of them starred at Her, all at once they joined the first Corpse in crawling toward her. She screamed and started running down a nearby hallway hoping it would lead away from the Monsters that were after her.

She ran as fast as she could down the never ending Hallway, it seemed like the faster She ran the longer it got. She tripped landing on her stomach, skinning her knees and the palms of her hands on the tile beneath her, as she struggled to get back up she felt a hand on her ankle. She turned to see one of the Monsters had taken hold of her, She screamed as it pulled it to her. Once the Corpse had pulled her close she rolled on her back and started pushing it away from her, it grabbed her arms pinning her down and leaned in close. Just as it was about to take a bite out of her face She felt a stinging pain on her arm and the Creature shattered into a thousand specs of black dust, she sat up to see all of the Corpses dissapear as the first had. The light started fading again and the darkness started moving back in as her eyes lost their sight, the last sound she heard was that of a immense screech echoing through the darkening hallway, She smiled at how safe the sound made her fell despite sounding Predatory in nature. Her world faded to black as she lost all sight, sound, and thought.

She opened her eyes in an unfamiliar place, there was a large bearded Man holding onto her arms and a woman pulling a needle from her arm. Who were they? That's right, She remembered now, they were the ones that made the nightmares go away. She liistened as they talked but their words were a blur and She couldn't understand them. She wished she could thank them but she was so tired and when she tried to speak nothing came out, She couldn't even move her mouth, all she could do was breath and thank them silently as she closed her eyes and faded back into unconsiousness.

. . .

On the lower levels of the Hotel, James, Vicki, Seline, and Craig gathered parts from the busted Security Bots as well as any useful items still on the stinking Splicer Carcasses. Once their duffle bags were full they would throw them on the Elevator and send them up to Mark and Danny for repairs.

"Man this blows!" Craig said loudly through the Bandana he had wrapped around his mouth and nose.

"why do we get all the shit jobs?" He said as he pulled the magazine out of a Splicer's Sub machine gun and placed it in the duffle bag.

"We get whatever job needs to be done, no more no less, it's one of the conditions of staying here. You don't work, you don't eat. James replied as he grabbed a busted Security Bot and threw it in his bag.

"yeah whatever, it's still bullshit." Craig said with an atitude as he rolled his eyes. James gave a strong sigh and shook his head at the young man's despicable work ethic. Seline bit her lip when she saw Vicki stand up and put her hands on her hips, she knew what was about to happen, the same thing that always happens when they're together.

"you don't hear everybody else complaining, if you don't like it leave, it's not like we'll miss you." Vicki said as Craig starred daggers at her.

"Fuck you, if we we're-" Craig was suddenly cut off when he was thrown up against the wall behind him. Seline, Vicki and Craig all went wide eyed as they looked to James who was holding the young redhead in place. James wasn't as big as his older Brother but he was certainly bigger than Craig.

"If you were what? Listen you little shit, everyone is tired of your bitching! Grow some Balls, Shut the fuck up and do your job or leave if you think you can make it without us!" James yelled at the boy. Both Seline and Vicki were shaken from the scene, they had never seen James snap at Craig before, He always just kept a cool head and punished him verbally. The Girls watched as Craig's face turned red with anger and embarresment alike.

James shook Craig again. "And if you call Vicki or Seline another name besides what they go by I'll feed you to the Splicers myself!... Got it!?" Craig just nodded silently.

James let go of the redhead's collar and sighed angrily. "you should go see if Danny or Mark need help." James stated. Craig puffed his cheeks a little bit and began walking back toward the stairewell, Seline and Vicki continued working awkwardly as he stomped past them not even looking in their direction. Craig had almost made it to the end of the Hallway when He stopped, the group looked up as they noticed the ground was shaking. They looked to James with concern, He had his head tilted slightly and his eyes were darting back and forth while trying to listen. They watched as He pulled His Thomson off His shoulder and motioned for them to crouch, He then put His finger to His lips telling them to be quiet. The Group started putting as many Security Bot parts into their duffle bags as they could, Craig ran back over and hastily threw what he could find into his duffle bag as well. The rumbling was getting stronger and they could tell it was getting closer. James gestured for everyone to follow him and they gladly followed his lead, the small group crept along the hallway wall to the end and James looked around the corner. Just as he peeked around the corner he could see a giant diving suit turn the corner, He quickly ducked back around the corner.

"when I say go, everyone make a run for the stairecase on our left, it'll be able to see us perfectly so i'll cover you, get back and warn the others as fast as you can!" James whispered to the others who were sweating from the intense situation. They nodded before Vicki leaned in closer to him.

"James what is it?!" she whispered.

"It's a Rogue Alpha." he replied.

Vicki's eyes got wide and she took a deep breath. "be careful!" she whispered back to him.

James simply smiled before pulling a grenade from his belt, He pulled the pin and tossed it around the corner.

"GO!" he yelled as he turned the corner and began firing at the Rogue Protector, his bullets shattering and ricocheting off of the Monster's heavy armor. The other three darted toward the staircase as fast as they could, just as the Alpha raised his mini gun to return fire James' grenade exploded sending debris and dust into the air and knocking the Alpha off balance. James took the oppertunity to sprint to the stairs as well. He could hear the Alpha roar in anger and it only encouraged him to keep moving as fast as he could.

When James reached the top of the stairs he was panting and sweating perfusely, He kept running around the corner, past the elevator and toward the Barricade at the end of the Hall where the other Survivors had gathered with their weapons ready. James jumped over some sandbags and threw his heavy duffel bag aside as he tried to catch his breath, Vicki gave him a quick hug then picked her Thomson back up and watched the hallway like the others.

"Alright guys just like we planned. Plasmids first, then explosives and small arms fire. If you're lucky enough to take a bullet then Seline will patch you up!" Joe yelled as he loaded a Double barrel shotgun with slugs and laid it to the side as backup, two Security Bots gathered beside the barricade for extra support courtesy of Danny.

Everyone was gripping their weapons tight enough their knuckles turned white when they saw the beast turn the corner.

"GET READY!... FI-" Joe stopped.

"WAIT!" The group heard Tenenbaum scream from behind them.

"What have you done?! You almost got us all killed!" she yelled.

"put down your weapons this instant! That is Subject Sigma, have you forgotten he is our Ally!?" she continued.

The group looked back and forth between her and the Alpha before lowering their weapons. They suddenly felt VERY stupid as she stood behind them with no cover at all.

Subject Sigma began walking to them, when he reached the barricade he stoped and looked at the group.

"I apologize for the rude greeting Subject Sigma, I hope these fools didn't harm you." she said clearly sorry for her companion's actions.

Subject Sigma simply shrugged and let out a whale like moan.

James jumped up and put his hand out. "heh, sorry about that big guy, when you're not ten feet tall and covered in bulletproof armor it tends to make you jumpy." he laughed nervously when he looked into the Protectors glowing yellow porthole, Sigma let loose another low moan and reached out to shake James' hand, He laughed again as Sigma wrapped his massive gloved hand around his and shook it.

"Please follow me Herr Sigma, we have much to discuss." Tenenbaum said as she began walking back to the living quarters, Sigma just followed behind her leaving everyone else in shock.

"okay that was wierd." Mark said as he scratched his head, he looked to everyone else who was still dumb struck by the fact that the Doctor had just invited a walking tank peacefully inside their home.

. . .

Lizzy made her way through the air vents with impressive speed, after crawling through them for so long it could almost be considered a skill. Her only regret was her knees, she kept scrapping them on the slick metal and they began to burn slightly. She crawled up a sloped vent and slid down the other side like it was a giant slide on a playground, weaving around corners until she came to an intersection. There was a crude drawing on the wall at the fork of the vents. Arrows pointed left for one path and right for another, above the chalk arrows were two symbols, a big white cross in a red circle which she knew represented the Medical Pavilion. The other symbol was that of a two large P's which was the symbol for the Proving grounds, she silently thanked her Sisters for the many maps they had drawn throughout the tunnels, without them there's no way she would be able to navigate the maze of vents.

After making her way through more of Rapture's interior she had to stop and rest, her wrists were aching and her knees were scrapped up, She had to admit it was a lot more difficult to make it through the tunnels without being able to heal instantly. The Vents weren't very big, just spacious enough that she could turn around or sit down if she needed to. She sat in the dim vent rubbing her knees when the sound of Voices caught her attention, she crawled quietly to one of the exit holes and layed down just before it so she could stay hidden.

"They got him?!" She heard a man yell.

"Yeah, Wallace had us put TNT in the tunnel and he detonated it before the Bastard could reach Minerva's Den, blew em straight to Hell HAHA!" She heard a second voice respond

"So the little Fish are still trapped inside that damn Hotel with no help, now all we gotta do is take out those fucking Monsters in Dionysus."

"Yeah but that should be a walk in the Park, they're already hurt, exhausted and we've been chipping their armor away little by little. Wallace wants em alive but said we may have to just kill em, I've never seen anything fight like them. I mean for fuck sake they look like they'll kill over at any moment." One Splicer said laughing maniacally.

"Wallace has a plan for em, they'll be trapped at the Proving Grounds with no way inside, they'll be cornered. He said he has something special ready for em!"

Lizzy's eyes got wide when she heard they had set a trap for her Siblings, she turned and started crawling as fast as she could, she no longer cared about the pain in her wrists or knees. If they were hurt, cornered, and Splicers were coming after them she would have to hurry!

. . .

Iota pulled her syringe from a Splicer's heart and watched Her Corpse fall to the ground, she looked to her Brother to make sure he was alright. He was on top of a Screaming Man beating His face in with both fists, she enjoyed hearing the wet thuds as his fists repeatedly connected with the Man's head. Omega grabbed the half conscious Man's collar and pulled him up, with one final punch His fist went through the Splicer's head with a crunch sending brain matter and more blood to the ground. Iota enjoyed watching her Brother kill their enemies, she smiled when he stood up and looked over at her. She walked over to him and pulled the Splicer's knife out of His back and threw it to the ground, Omega grunted as she did so and began wiping the bits of brain and hair from his right hand. He looked down at the broken splint wrapped around his leg and ripped it off, he had no use for the broken object and his leg was almost fully healed at this point. He lifted the bandage covering his sore eye and noticed he could now see light and the outline of shapes, it wouldn't be long until it was fully healed as well.

The two Protectors were exhausted, their regeneration had been working non stop since the fight with the Rogue Alpha, their eyes were heavy and they found themselves making small errors in Combat. It was the only reason that Splicer had managed to stab him, they were in a bad situation that only seemed to get worse. There was a Rogue Alpha behind them they were certain was still following their trail, they were running on adrenaline and instinct, and they had no way of opening the Proving Ground's impenetrable steel doors if the Tenenbaum Woman didn't come through. They would be trapped if she decided to betray them but they had no choice, they had to trust her or die trying to go back the way they came.

The Duo continued walking toward the Proving Grounds after collecting food and other supplies from their defeated foes, they passed a large sign with the only words they could recognize being Point Prometheus, they couldn't read but they knew they were going the right way. The Proving grounds were originally called the "Memorial Museum of Point Prometheus." before it was converted into a training ground for Protectors. They would use one of the many entrances to gain access to Fontaine Futuristics.

Both Protectors entered a large corridor with massive Steel doors at the end, as they made their way toward the doors Iota looked out the colossal windows on both sides of the hallway. You could see much of Rapture from the underwater Sky Bridge, She could see schools of fish swim by without a care in the world. A large shadow swept across the floor in front of them, when they looked up they could see a Giant Whale swimming over head. Iota's mouth hung open in amazement at the sight of the peaceful Giant.

As the Duo mad it to the large steel doors blocking their path they couldn't hear any sound whatsoever, it was eerily quiet. Even the ever present sound of leaking water was nowhere to be found, just silence. Omega looked to his Partner who was now shuffling uncomfortably, He was also displeased with the lack of auditory sensation filling the air. every small motion they made was amplified ten fold due to their heightened senses, every time they moved the sound of cloth could be heard sliding against the other parts of their suits, their damaged armor pieces collided and scrapped against each other with every small movement. Omega knocked on the door loudly with his fist only for the sound to echo through the empty walkway followed by silence.

Iota looked to her Male Companion with a slight hint of worry in her illuminated eyes, he put his hand on her shoulder to offer what comfort he could. The Sister grabbed his hand and brought it in front of her to examine. Omega watched as she turned his hand over and looked at his gloved palm, she felt his hand through his suit and looked slightly sorrowful. Iota's face started turning red when she intertwined her fingers in his. She didn't know why but small actions he did or any bit of contact they had made her feel good, made her feel... happy. Over and over she had asked herself what this strange sensation was, why did her heart speed up whenever they interacted with one another? She looked up at Omega who's eyes were locked on her with intrigue clear on his face. Could he be feeling the same sensation?

She wrapped her arms around him and layed her head against the armor on his chest, He put his arms around her and she smiled when she heard the faint thumping sound of his heart through his chest piece.

"Well isn't this touching!"

The Protectors instantly separated and jumped into their Combat stances upon hearing an all too familiar Australian accent. At the end of the long Walkway was none other than Wallace in his bright red suit dusting off his top hat. He laughed as he placed the hat back upon his head and began walking toward them down the empty hall. Both Iota and Omega began growling viciously.

"I have to say, you two Dickheads are in for one Hell of a ride! You took half my foot, almost killed me, and got me into some deep shit with my employer!" The insane Man yelled at them.

Omega unsheathed his knife from his arm as Iota raised her Harvester ready for whatever the Man was planning to do.

"but that's alright because the ride ends here!" he growled raising his arms out to his sides.

The two Protectors could hear thunderous footsteps and screaming coming from behind Wallace. The Splicer turned and grinned before looking back to them, and pointing over his shoulder.

"I noticed you got away from your play Mate earlier so I figured I'd lead him here for you! After all, wouldn't want him to miss out on any of the fun!"

Iota looked to her Brother who only gritted his teeth and growled, they saw a Splicer run into view before he was shot full of holes from a flurry of bullets. The Alpha they had fought before turned the corner and screamed as soon as he saw them, he bashed his machine gun against his helmet before charging toward Wallace and them.

"Let the fun and Games begin!" Wallace yelled before dissapearing into a cloud of red smoke just before the Alpha could run him over. They saw a group of Splicers turn the corner and Wallace re-appear in front of them smiling as the Behemoth charged straight at them.

Suddenly a rapid beeping could be heard echoing through the hallway and four Security Bots flew from the Vents above the Proving Ground's doors, Iota and Omega watched as they swarmed the Rogue Alpha shooting at both him and the group of Splicers behind him.

"GRRRRAAAAAHHH!" Wallace growled in Fury as he pulled another Splicer in front of him to block some of the bullets aimed for him.

A loud bang could be heard coming from the steel doors behind the two Protectors followed by a grinding sound as they began to open. Iota looked back to check for enemies when she was suddenly pushed inside by Omega. When she looked up she saw his eyes meet the Rogue Protector's and her heart sank when she realized what he was trying to do.

Omega let loose a deep howl like screech as he began sprinting toward the Alpha with his knife ready, the Splicers at the end of the Hallway screamed and yelled as they began charging toward them.

"Don't let them get away Dammit!" Wallace yelled as his small army charged.

Omega reached the Alpha and lunged his blade at him, the Alpha swung his drill at Omega's head. Just before either of them could connect Omega felt him get pulled off his feet and he started sliding on his back toward the Proving Grounds, when he looked up he could see Iota using her telekinesis to pull him to her. Omega screeched as he stabbed his knife into the concrete below in an attempt to stop but it was no use, her telekinesis was too strong.

Why was she doing this, he had to protect her, why didn't she close the doors!?

Omega slid past Iota sending him fifteen feet into the old Museum before he stopped, He jumped up and started running back to Iota who was closing the door already. He could see the Alpha's helmet just through the crack of the door as it closed, Iota stepped back and sighed as the gears on the door moved to lock it in place with heavy bolts of steel. She just stood there starring at the door as the Alpha banged on the other side, dust flew off the door and she could hear gunfire and screaming from the opposite side.

Omega sheathed his knife with a growl and walked up behind her, just as he was about to put his hand on her shoulder to turn her around she spun to and smacked him in the face with a sharp screech like squeal, the action surprised him and the force caused his head to turn. He turned his head to Iota while he rubbed his stinging cheek in shock. Iota had tears streaming down her face as she gripped the pendent he made her with one hand, she started wiping the tears from her eyes with her free hand when she felt Her Partners arms wrap around her.

Omega cursed himself, how could he be so foolish? He was the only Family she had left and his Protector instincts had almost made him do something as stupid as sacrificing himself, leaving her alone. Over the sound of the muffled battle outside the Proving Grounds both Protectors could hear a tiny voice.

"um..."

The Duo looked down to the source of the noise to see a small girl standing with her hands behind her back, she was dressed as a Little Sister and looked familiar but she didn't have glowing eyes. Omega let go of Iota and knelt down in front of the Girl soon followed by his Female Counterpart, they looked at her with confusion clear on their faces. They leaned in to examine her again when they noticed a faint scent emanating from her, the scent of a Little Sister. It was faint but enough to make their senses and instincts fire off a protective urge. Iota immediately poured some ADAM from her syringe into her hand and rubbed it on the Girl's scrapped up knees while Omega checked her for any other signs of injury.

The Girl giggled when her older Siblings began inspecting her, they were just as protective as she remembered and it caused her to smile happily.

"I don't know if you remember me but my name is Lizzy, I used to be a Little Sister." Lizzy chirped.

Iota looked over to Omega in shock, "used to be."? How do you stop being a Little Sister the change was permanent?

"My Friends sent me to help you!" She said excitedly before Iota suddenly embraced her in a tight hug, she held the Girl tight to her and rubbed her head as she weeped. She didn't care if the Girl was no longer a Little Sister, she was the same Little Girl Iota had rescued and protected dozens of times.

"I guess that means you do remember me..." Lizzy whispered as tears began falling from her face as well. Omega put his hand on Iota's shoulder when Lizzy reached her small arm toward him too. He leaned in and wrapped his arms around the two Girls causing them to cry even more. Both Protectors were thankful to be reunited with a member of their Family once again. Iota was so happy she couldn't help but weep for the amount of emotions bombarding her all at once. She felt unbelievable happiness, unbearable sadness, and mind blowing nostalgia.

The overhead speaker of the Museum sparked to life with a short jingle.

"Lizzy can you hear me, have you found Omega und Iota?" Tenenbaum's voice could be heard through the speakers.

"Yes Ma'am!" She shouted as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Herr Omega und Iota it is good that you are unharmed!" she said with relief.

"Now you must listen, I know you wish for the Little One to stay in your care but she is Human now und cannot regenerate like a Little Sister. She has to return Home through the vents, if you try to take her with you it will only put her in unnecessary danger. If you try to swim here with her she will die." The Doctor explained much to the Protector's dismay.

Iota frowned at the thought of having to separate so soon after being reunited.

"don't worry Big Sister, I'll be okay. I'll wait for you back at Home with my Friends!" Lizzy said as she smiled at her worried older Sibling. Iota looked to her Brother who nodded in agreement, there was no need to put her in further danger. Iota let out a deep sigh and carried Lizzy over to the air vent, they gave her one last hug before helping her into the Vent. Iota clutched her Butterfly Pendant to her chest as she watched her little Sister wave and dissapear into the dark tunnel. Omega rubbed her back before gently nudging her along to continue their journey.