Answers
Anna's room was always kept dimly lit, it seemed to help her sleep more peacefully. If the lights were too bright she would become restless, violent. Even with the large straps constricting her wrists and ankles she was still quite dangerous. She wasn't as old as Subjects Omega and Iota yet or as big, but she could still fatally harm someone if they got too close when she had one of her nightmares. Doctor Tenenbaum looked to the young raven haired girl as she whispered inaudable words in her sleep. Pained expressions and gritting teeth were the norm for the poor Girl. The sedatives Tenenbaum gave her were far too strong for a normal human because her regenerative abilities would easily rid her body of the normal dose in a matter of minutes. The Doctor had to increase the amount and the effectiveness just to help the poor girl sleep without night terrors, and even that didn't last very long. The only way to achieve this was to basically put the young Girl in a coma for hours at a time. Her mind was so damaged from when her Little Sister mental conditioning wore off it was almost impossible to keep her calm, the process was never instant. It took place over weeks, months if they were unlucky. In the beginning they would start to notice small changes in the way the conditioning made them view Rapture, The Golden walls and shining marble floors would give way to rust and dirt. The brisk cool air they breathed would give way to mold and the smell of spoiled meat as their "Angels" turned to nothing more than decaying Corpses. Even their Golden Knights, Their stoic Guardians the Big Daddies and Big Sisters would change before their eyes. Over time the Big Daddies glistening armor would take on a dimmer shine, one consisting of scratches, scorch marks, and bullet indentations. Their Big Sisters would no longer don their beautiful flowing dresses and flowery crowns, instead they changed to darker, more menacing suits of armor. They no longer sang with beautiful voices that echoed through the golden halls, now they screeched and growled as violence replaced dancing. During the degridation of the conditioning however, two things remained constant, Though the images of their Protectors changed, their actions never did, nor did the actions of the Monsters that opposed them. The Protectors, no matter how they looked would always fight to save their charges, always risk injury and death for them without a second thought. Though the Little Sisters' view of Rapture would change, the actions performed there remained the same, the only difference was that they could see the City for the Hell it truly was and not the Paradise they had thought it to be.
Tenenbaum looked at Lizzy as she moved her older Sister's black, messy hair from her face. The aging Woman cursed Sofia Lamb for putting these innocent Children through Hell, though she knew it was hypocritical of her to condemn Lamb, for she had done the same thing nearly a decade earlier when she created the Gatherer Program. Tenenbaum, James, and Mark watched Lizzy brush her Sister's hair silently, when Anna started to stir from her drug induced slumber. She started tossing and turning, her fingers clawed at the clean white sheets beneath her. Her face contorted through expressions of pain and fright as she began to sweat. Tenenbaum nodded to the two young Men she had brought with her for help. Both of them put together didn't have Joe's size or strength but they were her best option at the moment. Both young Men gently held onto Anna's arms and legs so the Doctor could give her more medicine. As soon as Tenenbaum readied her syringe Anna's illuminated yellow eyes shot open in horror. The German Doctor heard the Girl inhale air as she quickly placed her hand on her mouth to silence her inevitable screams, this was Doctor Tenenbaum's greatest fear. That Anna would attract the attention of her Siblings before She could tell the Protectors why she had to restrain the Girl in such a manner. Tenenbaum held her hand firmly over the young Sister's mouth as she tried to scream, it was muffled by the Doctor's palm. The small group started sweating as Tenenbaum hurridly put the syringe in the struggling Girl's neck instantly making her more docile, in a matter of seconds the concentrated serum would put her back to sleep. Mark and James looked at each other as they watched the German Woman take another syringe from her lab coat and pull the cap off with her teeth. As she stuck the second needle into Anna's neck the group heard a loud bang as they were showered with chunks of wood from the door behind them. Tenenbaum turned just in time to be lifted off her feet by a gloved hand on her throat, her back slammed against the wall cracking a large chung of plaster and breaking several water damaged boards, Omega held her against the wall like she weighed little more than a stuffed toy, He lifted his right arm and pointed his harvester at her face as he growled angrily. The Doctor gasped for air and held his arm as she looked to make sure Mark and James were still alive, a wave of fear washed over her when she found them. She could see Iota sitting on the bedside hugging Anna and Lizzy in her arms, Mark and James were across the room. James was laying on the ground slowly trying to figure out what the hell had just happened while Mark groaned and tried to catch his breath from being kicked into a wooden dresser. Iota hissed at them when they looked at her, if they tried to get up again she would teach them another lesson and a deadly one at that.
"I-t is n..ot wha..t yo..u th...ink" Tenenbaum choked out desperately as her face started turning purple from the Brother's immense strength, it felt like someone had wrapped a large chain around her neck, the amount of pressure felt like it could snap her neck at any minute.
"Wait Big Brother! Don't hurt Ms. Tenenbaum!" The enraged Protector heard coming from his left, when he looked over his shoulder pauldron he could see Lizzy looking at him with fear in her eyes. "Ms. Tenenbaum helps Anna have good dreams!" the small Girl screamed to her Older Sibling. He looked back at the almost unconsious Woman before reluctantly dropping her to the floor. He knelt down in front of her, watching as she coughed and massaged the pain she had recieved from his iron grip. She looked up at him as he raised his Harvester yet again merely inches away from her eyes. He pointed his left hand to Anna and growled deeply. Tenenbaum was no idiot, she knew what the question was even though he couldn't ask it verbally. The Doctor looked up to see Sigma reach the hole in the wall where the door used to be, he readied his drill preparing to strike as Iota stood from the bed and dared him to interupt. Tenenbaum raised her arm and waved him to back down, if a fight between three Protectors broke out in their base there would certainly be more casualties and she owed them an explanation at the very least. Omega grabbed her collar and shook her as he growled again, he knew Sigma was at the door. He had heard the Big Daddy's heavy footsteps the second he started heading towards them from the body shute, he simply didn't care. If Sigma wanted to attack them, they would be more than happy to destroy him, they would just imagine it was Delta and rip his insides out. Iota turned her head and hissed at the Docter through the crimson porthole of her helmet, she was angry and understandibly so. Tenenbaum took a second to catch her breath, she tried to steady her nerves but when a seven foot tall, angry Protector has his weapon pointed at your face it can be a little difficult. The older Doctor sighed as she streightend herself up to sit against the wall.
She cleared her throat as she looked right into the visor of Omega's helmet. "Grace Holloway came across Anna und Lizzy several months ago in Pauper's Drop, they were dirty, scared, und wary of strangers. They had been abandoned und hunted by their former so called Family, Anna had been protecting Lizzy with her partial Big Sister powers, but she had no formal training of any kind. They hid from Grace at first, but eventually came to trust her when they realized she wasn't a threat to them" She said before taking a break to rub her sore throat some more. Omega and Iota knew of Grace Holloway, she was one of Mother's most loyal subjects. They had searched for her in the hopes that she had some answers to their questions but when Iota came back to Rapture and Omega escaped from his imprisonment in the Resort's Vault, they searched the district at seperate times but with the same results. They couldn't find Grace anywhere, they never would have guessed that she was here with Tenenbaum the whole time. Had they not come to realize just how messed up the Family was they would have regarded her as a Traitor, but that was not the case anymore. Now the two Protectors were just as lost and confused as before but at least they were getting answers.
"She contacted me after the Family was thrown into chaos when Sofia Lamb dissapeared. Myself, Joe, und James moved quickly to get them to safety."
Omega growled and stomped his foot as he moved the needle closer to the German Doctor's face causing her to turn her head and take a sharp breath. He didn't believe her, this was her idea of "Safety"? Strapping his younger Sibling to a bed and conducting whatever kind of experiments on her?
"it's true!" He heard a second, groaning voice from across the room, when he looked he could see James sitting up and wiping the dirt and wood chips from his forearms, his Friend was still stuck in the wooden dresser out cold. "We never did anything to harm Anna! The opposite actually! Take a good look Protector!" James brushed dust and more wood chippings from his dark brown hair as he raised his voice toward Omega.
"Does she look like she's in any danger? Does she look uncomfortable to you? You have no right to be angry! We've been doing your jobs for yo-" James was cut off as Iota's leg connected with his stomach sending him into the wall behind him. Chunks of plaster and dust showered over him as he fell out of the wall and into the floor, the young Man grasped his stomach as he writhed in pain and gasped for air. Sigma took a step towards her, but a step was all he could take before she spun around and pointed her razor sharp needle at him. She was only issuing him one warning in the form of a low, very angry growl. A warning that he followed, he was almost completely out of ammo and only had his drill. If he did engage the other two Protectors it wouldn't end well for him, they were much faster, possesed more plasmids, and the two of them had fought as a team for a while now. Sigma knew if they wanted to they could probably kill everyone in the Hotel, they hadn't killed anyone just yet and if it came to that he would stop them but for now he could only watch.
"Herr Omega" His attention was brought back to the Woman at the end of his deadly weapon, she slowly wrapped her hand around his Harvester as she pulled it down to her throat. She looked at his Helmet visor again, Omega knew she could not see his face but it felt like she was looking right into his eyes.
Tenenbaum took on a serious tone, as she continued to plead her case. "I am guilty of many sins... but the only sin I have commited against Anna is not helping her sooner. We are not your enemies, Anna is..." She struggled to find the right word for Anna's condition. "Sick, in a sense. Her mental conditioning has been steadily wearing off ever since she became an Adult, If I do not keep her sedated she has terrible hallucinations, nightmares und if I do not do this for her she will be beyond saving, without the proper medical equiment this is all I can do for her." She said as she looked somberly toward the ground.
Iota had heard enough, for all of the Doctor's intelligence she was quite stupid when it came to the subject of Protectors. Why would she think any medicine could cure the natural process all Big Sisters had to go through? The Sister began stomping over to the medical tray next to the bed, on the shiny metal stand were two syringes filled with unknown liquids. She held up the two and looked at the words on the sides, annoyed with her lack of reading skill she held them both up towards Doctor Tenenbaum before giving a questioning screech.
"what are you doing?" The Doctor questioned again as Omega watched his Partner point to each syringe and screech again as she shook them. "you want to know what what they are?" The Woman asked. Iota shook her head "No" as she starred at the old Doctor. "you want to know what they are used for?" She asked. Iota nodded and pointed to the Doctor in affirmation. "The one with the pink cap puts her to sleep while the one with the green cap wakes her up. I don't understand where you are going wi-" before she could finish Iota pulled the green cap off and leaned over her Sister as she tossed and turned. Iota gently slid the syringe under the skin of her younger Sister's neck and slowly injected the clear liquid. Tenenbaum watched in shock for a moment before she found her words. "you cannot wake her up! it will be unbearably painful for her!" The Doctor pleaded as Iota placed the empty syring back on the medical tray and undid the straps on her Sister's arms and legs, Iota sat on the bed next to Anna and watched patiently. Omega wondered what his Partner was doing but decided to observe rather than chime in, after all, Iota would have gone through the exact same thing. If anyone knew how to help Anna it would be her.
. . .
Darkness shrouded her, it was always the same no matter what. She would wake up in darkness, it would brighten and reveal her to the lurking Monsters that dwell in the black abyss, she would run, she would fall, she would desperately struggle to get away, and she would almost be devoured. Over and over again these hallucinations would plague her mind, though the circumstances of her dreams would differ one thing remained constant, a reoccuring event that gave her the only hope of light in the void of her broken mind. Big Sister's call, a call that heeded no mercy for her enemies, a call that signaled help was on it's way, that she would soon be safe. In her many dreams her Big Sister's battle cry would make the Monsters vanish instantly, though it no longer sounded like the voice of an angel it was the most beautiful thing to hear as she was hunted by her Demons. Sometimes in her dreams the high pitched screech would be joined by another lower, much darker screech. One that she was unfamiliar with, she was sure she had heard the screech before, but not since Rapture's Golden Paradise had turned sour and the Monsters had started invading her mind. The two calls not only made the Monsters dissapear, it made them afraid, made them stay away longer each time but the longer they stayed away the hungrier they became, the more tenaciously they would persue her next time. The two calls became more frequent as time passed, and they got closer to her each time she heard them, like they were a long distence away, steadily moving closer with each passing nightmare. Oh how she longed to see her Guardians, her Siblings, her Family again.
This perticular nightmare was different from the others, she knew she was dreaming this time, she could remember her las nightmare and the events that occured in it, which was odd because she usually woke up in her drams with no idea of where or who she was. It was pitch black like all of her other dreams, and like her other dreams it was steadily getting lighter. As the darkness faded the intricate art deco style of Rapture was inching it's way into view, this world was black and white, like no other colors existed. She was in a large, Grand ballroom with white Marble floors. various tables sat around the edge of the room, the empty white plates and clean silverware were perfectly set for a feast. A testiment to ages past, to a more civil time. White table cloths with matching napkins lined each long table acompanied by a matching chair. Beautiful statues of Historical figures, grey ferns, and colorless paintings lined the walls and waited patiently for someone to admire them. it was as if someone had prepared the room for a fancy dinner but never got the chance to use it.
Long white curtains adourned every large window at her back, drapping down until they kissed the Marble floor below, they sat still from the lack of wind under the Ocean. Beyond the windows was nothing but pitch black, not even the lights from the City could be seen. She looked up to see larger oval shaped, parralel windows above showing a view into the seemingly endless black void overhead, Anna marveled at the massive chandelier placed evenly in the middle of the two windows, hundreds of diamond jewels dangled from once shiny fittings. It was as if time was standing still in the Ballroom, unlike her other dreams there were no eerie sounds, no Corpses, Monsters. Even the air didn't carry the musty, putrid stench of rotting flesh like it normally did. She wondered why, this was the first dream she had ever had that didn't have at least one bad thing in it. Sure there was no color, but if that was the worst thing about this dream it was more than welcome. She felt so relieved that she wouldn't be attacked she began to cry tears of joy, tears caused by an emotion she had not felt in a very long time. Anna chuckled at herself for being happy just to be left alone, in a colorless world. Her advanced hearing inhanced the sound of her voice through the massive room, she could hear her white gown rub against her skin when she moved, and the delicate smacking sound of her bare feet on the cold marble below as she walked, skipped, and twirled around the large open dance floor.
She held up her arms and began dancing with an imaginary partner as she hummed a soft melody, spinning and turning to match her steps with the song. When she stopped dancing she smiled at how unbelievably happy this colorless world made her, for the first time in so long she finally felt peace again. Anna curtsied to her non-existant dance partner, when she looked back up she noticed a white piano in the corner of the room, she tilted her head curioudly as she stepped toward it. She walked over to the magnificent instrument to have a closer look, the Lid on top was held open by the Lid Prop revealing the Piano strings inside, the Fall Board was up revealing the white and black keys. The beautiful instrument was inviting to say the least, the piano seat looked very comfortable with its plush white padding and many decorative buttons. Anna ran her fingers gently across the top of the Piano, then down and across the keys careful not to disturb the silence in the room. As her hand reached the end of the keys she could hear a familiar sound echoing through the halls outside the giant metal doors to the Ballroom. Her Guardians were coming toward her like they did in all of her dreams before, she began smiling somberly, when she heard their calls in her previous dreams it meant that the nightmare was almost over and the cycle would repeat. She didn't want to leave this dream, didn't want to go back to the chaos and horror filled nightmares she had always woken up in before. She wanted to stay a little longer, alone in her grey, silent, peaceful world, but if she did have to leave she would at least make use of the beautiful Piano she had found. It may be the last dream for a long while she can actually enjoy, so she planned to make the most of it. She heard two more screeches closer than the last, they complimented one another beautifully, one was deep and dark, like the black keys of the Piano, so she played a deep sinister melody with the black keys. The other screech was lighter and higher in pitch, it reminded Anna of the white keys, so she played a higher pitched melody with the white keys, the sound resonated off the walls of the open Ballroom echoing back beautifully.
The calls came again, this time even closer, she was sure if she opened the doors to the Ballroom she would see them at the end of the hallway, it meant she would also step into another, darker nightmare, so she decided to just enjoy her limited time in her current dream. She had never played the Piano before yet in her dream it didn't seem to matter, it was like her hands and fingers were moving on their own, flowing like water as they blended the two opposite colored black and white keys together just like they blended with the scenery of her colorless world. She closed her eyes as her fingers continued to dance on the keys, both sinister melodies mixing to create a harmony of angry low pitches with angelic high notes. As she ended her song Anna could hear a light knock on the ballroom door that echoed throughout the room, she gave a sad smile as she stood from the Piano and closed the Fall Board, she turned and began walking until she stopped right in front of the door. Her time in this peaceful world may have been short, but she would always remember this... this calm in the storm. She heard another gentle knock on the large door before her, she took a deep breath as she took the cold handles of the gateway. She began opening the doors, with every inch they opened a blindingly bright light forced her to close her eyes.
. . .
When Anna opened her eyes again she was now in a dimly lit room lying on her back, she blinked her glowing eyes as she worked the blurriness out of her vision, she could make out dark figures, and a large glowing circle that turned from red to green. As she focused she could see the circle was attached to a neck, shoulders and a body. When her vision finally cleared up she gasped at the unbelievible sight before her, the figure wore very familiar armor. She began breathing heavy afraid that she was actually still dreaming, afraid that any second she would wake up in a darker, far more unpleasent dream, she was completely speechless. Her fears were laid to rest as the Big Sister before her began undoing the latches on her helmet, she could hear the locks popping and snapping as they came loose, the porthole of the helmet went black as she pulled the piece of armor up, raven hair fell out and stopped at the middle of her neck. The Sister pulled the helmet up to reveal the same bright illuminated eyes that Anna possessed, Her Sister's face was covered in dirt, and dried blood, but for all that, she was beautiful. The big Sister gave her a smile that melted away any remaining fear she held in her heart, this was real, it wasn't a dream! The younger Sister began crying as she desperately sat up and hugged her older Sibling. Iota could only imagine what Anna and Lizzy had gone through, Anna was only fifteen or sixteen years of age, had a broken mind and no combat training, but despite that she still did everything she could to protect Lizzy. Iota cursed herself for not being able to be there for them sooner.
Omega watched the two before looking back to the Woman at the end of his Harvester, he lowered it and turned to his newly found Sibling, when she finally noticed that not only was Big Sister there but Big Brother as well she almost broke down completely. Anna took another deep breath as she looked up at her Brother, under any other circumstance Omega would have never considered what he was about to do, but these weren't normal circumstances. Anna, Iota and everyone else present watched as Omega began unlatching his helmet. Tenenbaum, Mark, and James were all speechless, they had never seen Protectors act this way, never seen their faces or expressions. To them Protectors were just brainwashed killing Machines, but now, they looked... Human... almost. James and Mark held their breath as Omega unlatched his Helmet, they weren't sure what was under it, it could bee a Demon with horns for all they knew.
Omega's red visor went black as he lifted his heavy, Demonic looking Helmet above his head. Everyone but Iota was in shock as he revealed his face. He bore familiar illuminated eyes, his face was slender with an annoyed expression, and his dirty black hair fell down just below his eyes. Omega swept his hair back as he placed his fingers inside his helmet to hold the armor by it's chin and knelt down next to the bed. Anna looked at his blank expression, looked deep into his glowing eyes and got the same feeling she did from her Big Sister, that they would keep her safe no matter what, that they had no trace of fear inside them, and that she would no longer have to look after Lizzy by herself. The young Sister reached out and grabbed her Older Brother to pull him closer, he simply let her do so as he wrapped an arm around her. Lizzy watched from the side of the bed, lip quivering, tears slowly rolling down her cheek, until Iota looked over to her. The Older Sister waved her over as if she was wondering why Lizzy hadn't joined in already.
Omega wrapped both arms around the last of his Family as they embraced each other, He would die before he let anything happen to them, and he would go to Hell and back for their sake.
"We thought you had abandoned us too, or that something had happened to you. We were so scarred that we were the last of our Family!" Anna sobbed out as she burried her head into both her older Sibling's chests. Iota put her hand on her younger Sister's cheek and looked into her eyes.
"NNNEEeeeVVVeeEERRrrr." The Older Sister screeched out brokenly causing every non Protector in the room to drop their jaws. Iota rubbed her throat with a pained expression on her face when she felt her younger Sisters hug her even tighter. She looked to her Partner who was starring at both Anna and Lizzy, she could only imagine what he was thinking. After all only a few short weeks ago they had believed they were the last surviving Members of their Family. Before that they were alone with no idea what had happened to their Siblings or Mother but they were starting to piece things together.
"OH my days! what happened to my door?!" They heard a familiar voice from across the room. Everyone looked up to see Grace stepping out of the bathroom.
"I go to the bathroom for five minutes and when I come back it looks like a Twister rampaged through my room!" The older black woman chuckled. Omega stood up and dropped his Helmet, when it hit the floor with a bang the heavy piece of equipment didn't even bounce, it barely even rolled. Omega stared at the ageing woman, One of Mother's most loyal Followers was right in front of them, and he would be damned if he let this oppertunity slip away. The Big Brother slowly made his way across the room, his heavy boots thudding on the soft carpet as he did so, until he was standing right in front of her, looking down into her dark brown eyes. Everyone watched, unsure of what he might do, what came next even surprised Iota.
"It's good to see you again Baby, my how you've grown, the last time I saw you, you were only yay tall." Grace said softly as she put her hand level with waist, she was certainly surprised at the size he had grown to, now she only came to his chest when she stood streight up. Omega took her hand with his right and placed his left on her back gently leading her over to her chair beside Anna's bed. At this point James and Mark were so shocked they could hardly even proccess what was going on anymore. Seeing there was no more threat of danger Subject Sigma turned and began walking back to the Corpse infested main Hallway to continue his clean up. Grace groaned and sighed as she sat down on the plush piece of Furniture, Omega knelt down on one knee in front of her and stared expectantly. Iota watched, still unsure of their relationship until Grace looked over to her.
"I used to babysit Eleanor when she was just a tiny thing, and Omega used to come over and play with her, he never said much, Hell he never even told me his name but He was always looking out for my little Eleanor. Let me tell you she was a bossy little thing too, she had Omega at her beck and call and he never seemed to mind it, just nodded and played along with that serious face of his." The older Woman said to her as she laughed. Her laughter died and her smile soon soured though as the next words left her lips, she looked to the floor.
"That was before... before that Bastard Andrew Ryan took them away." She practically spit the name out. Grace looked back to the Female Protector and smiled again. "you've got yourself a nice young man here haven't you? I'll bet he's wrapped around your fingers too!" She laughed causing Iota to issue a puzzling look, The Protector's eyes got wider when she realized what the Woman was infuring, her face turned red as she looked away sheepishly, and Grace burst into laughter. When she was through she continued speaking.
"back to the matter at hand, I suppose I have some explaining to do." The Woman said as she looked back to Omega who in turn nodded in affirmation. The room fell silent when Grace sighed and began speaking.
"I'm guessing neither of you were around when Delta attacked the Family were you?" She said as she looked to both Protectors, they shook their heads "No" and Grace nodded. "I thought as much, if you were..." She looked at Iota. "You wouldn't be here right now."She said causing Iota to scrunch her eyebrows. She then looked at Omega. "And if you had been there... Hell... who knows what would've happened! This whole damned City would probably be a pile of rubble right now." She said.
"Now I know what your thinking. Delta is a Monster that destroyed your Family, right?" She looked at both Protectors again as they nodded. "Well Babies I've got some news for you, that ain't exactly true." She said as she watched their expressions change to surprise.
"It is true that Delta destroyed the Family, but he did so for a good reason." Omega and Iota tilted their heads in confusion. "He did so because Eleanor begged him to." When that statement left the Woman's lips both Protector's mouths dropped open. "You see Babies, Lamb was just using Eleanor for her own gains, just like she used you. She kept Eleanor locked up in that room for years against her will. I know you've both seen it, the one with the thick glass, it was nothing more than a Prison. That is, until Delta rescued her." Her words hit both Iota and Omega like a Bombshell, they knew Mother had used them and didn't care about them or their Siblings, but to do something so horrible to Eleanor... her own daughter and heiress to the Family was... Evil.
"Delta did his best to rescue Eleanor and the other Little Sisters after Eleanor brought him back from the Grave with a Vita-Chamber. If you don't believe me ask Tenenbaum, Delta fought through an Army of Splicers, and Big Sisters to save Eleanor... because he loved her like his own Daughter. It may have been the pair bond they shared but that doesn't explain why he didn't kill me." She said softly, giving her words some time to sink in. "he came face to face with me and I thought he would kill me to get the Atlantic Express Railway key... but he took the key... and left. Lamb had him painted as a Monster, but afterwards I got to thinking... no Monster does that... no Monster chooses to spare someones life. Especially not someone who ordered Splicers to kill him." Grace sighed and took on a Somber look to match her tone.
"Now I know you Babies must be all kinds of confused, but things aren't as black and white as you've been told, now I don't know what happened to Delta or my Baby Eleanor after they left Rapture but I do know one thing... Doctor Tenenbaum has been the most trust worthy Person I've met in this God forsaken Hell." Grace said as she looked over to the Doctor, then Iota, and finally back to Omega, she put her hand on his shoulder Pauldron and smiled. "You two can trust her... if no one else, and I know she can help you find Eleanor... but you HAVE to trust her, she only wants to make up for the Sins she's commited in the past." Grace finished as she leaned back. Omega looked to the ground as he thought, if what Grace said was true... then everything they've lived for until now has been a lie... even the vengance that drove them this far... all lies.
Omega looked over to Iota, she looked worried, she had no doubt come to the same conclusion he just did. NO. He would not accept that excuse! They lived for each other now, and their new Family! Omega rose to his full height and rubbed the back of his head as his Black, dirty hair wrapped around his fingers. Iota watched him ball his fists up and make his way back to the bedside where Tenenbaum still sat against the wall, He reached his hand down and held it out to her. He didn't remember much from the days before he was inducted into the Gatherer Program and later into the Protector Program... but he remembered Grace... He remembered how kind she was to him and Eleanor, how she never lied to him... and that was all the proof he needed.
Tenenbaum took Omega's hand as he pulled her to her feet, he gave her a nod before picking up his Helmet and placing it back on his head. He locked his Helmet into place as the crimson glow from his visor flashed to green, then back to red. Iota stood up from the bed and did the same, she trusted Omega, and if he trusted Tenenbaum... so would she.
Tenenbaum looked at both Protectors and gave a slight smile.
"Very well... let us begin."
A/N:hope you enjoyed the chapter, don't forget to leave some feedback!