'You taught me that justice is a contract. Once broken, it can never be mended. You sacrificed so much to preserve the innocent… But to the guilty, you offered no mercy. I loved my mother, and never wanted to hurt her. But with what she did to us, she gave up the right to exist. My hands were shaking when I did it… but you were there to steady them.'
'The Rapture dream is over, but in waking, I am reborn. This world is not ready for me, yet here I am. It would be so easy to misjudge them. You are my conscience, Father… and I need you to guide me.'
'You will always be with me now, Father… your memories, your drives. And when I need you, you'll be there on my shoulder, whispering.'
'If utopia is not a place — but a people, then we must choose carefully. For the world is about to change — and in our story, Rapture was just the beginning.'
Eleanor thought to herself as she stared out at the sunset over the calm ocean, surrounded by all twenty one of her little sisters. The warm guiding presence of her father now one with her mind. Their very souls now merged into one much greater whole, just as she had merged with many of Rapture's minds great and small. She and her father could never be separated again, even had she spared her mother.
"What now?" One of the little sisters asked Eleanor.
Eleanor smiled at her and patted her on the head. "Now… We leave Rapture behind. And we live on, as a family. I—"
She was cut off as a Houdini Splicer appeared on the roof of the escape pod and tried to hurl a fireball at one of the Little Sisters. "NO!" Eleanor shouted as she jumped and intercepted the fireball, cringing as the heat made her exposed face tingle slightly. Fortunately, she was more durable and powerful than even her father, Subject Delta, had been at the absolute peak of his strength. And having absorbed him, she had gained all of his powers and durability as well. In fact she was comparable to Frank Fontain at the end of his life, minus the obvious alteration in appearance, if Fontain's memories were anything to go by. Thus the fire only stung her a bit.
However, her little sisters were not as durable as her or even a normal Big Sister as they were still young and underdeveloped and they hadn't absorbed as much Adam as her. They would be as durable as any Big Sister eventually once they were older, but they would sadly never be on quite the same level as her. So she was not about to let some random splicer hurt them under her watch.
Teleporting up to the Houdini Splicer she punched him in the back. There was a sickening crunch and squelch as her fist went through his spine and came out his chest, completely obliterating his heart and killing him. She then threw the corpse off the roof of the ship and into the ocean.
That's when she noticed more and more teleporting up onto the escape boat, like rats fleeing a sinking ship. All of them were raving madly and were very clearly hostile. And all of the little sisters looked terrified.
Her little sisters were afraid. That was something she could not abide.
Teleporting down she immediately began assaulting the splicers, now somewhat regretting the fact she had removed her helmet after they had surfaced and had dropped her needle after absorbing her father.
One of her hands blazed with fire as she lit burned the splicers with waves of flames from the Incinerate plasmid. While her other hand arced violently with electricity as she blasted others with lightning.
Of course the splicers fought back, teleporting around and throwing fireballs, lightning, and winter blasts at her. All of which Eleanor intercepted so none of the little sisters would get hurt after being caught in the crossfire.
The weapons, her father's consciousness whispered in the back of her mind. Eleanor quickly picked up Subject Delta's machine gun and started gunning down the splicers as she continued to use her plasmids to obliterate any she wasn't shooting. Her free hand rapidly alternated between almost every plasmid at her disposal. Waves of fire, powerful bolts of lightning, blasts of near absolute zero temperatures that froze even the surface of the ocean around them, a veritable plague of killer bees, violent sonic explosions, powerful gravity wells, and a veritable hurricane of her telekinetic wrath.
"I WON'T LET YOU HURT MY SISTERS!" Eleanor shouted at the splicers over the devastation she was unleashing upon them, encouraged by her father's consciousness.
Unfortunately they just kept coming and some were either skilled or lucky enough to teleport out of the way before she could kill them, thus dragging out the fight longer and longer.
After a few minutes of this Eleanor started panting from the exertion. The stinging from intercepting the attacks was starting to build into intense pain as the attacks slowly wore her down bit by bit. Sweat trickled down her brow. Corpses littered the ocean and the calm waters — at least the portions that weren't frozen solid — were starting to turn a faint shade of red. This was getting out of hand. If too many more came, she would no longer be able to protect her sisters as well as she had been. They had to leave, now! But what could she do when she had to deal with so many splicers?!
The fear, worry, and stress continued to build up in her more and more the longer the fight dragged on. Until eventually something in her shifted.
Not knowing what was happening, the fire in her hand dissipated and was replaced by a strange white light she didn't quite recognize. Not having time to think about it she instinctively tried to use it. Suddenly a massive portal opened up in the ocean next to the escape ship. She had no idea how she recognized it as a portal, she just did. Something also felt… wrong about it, though she didn't have the time to think about it.
"Little ones, I need you to move the ship through that portal!" Eleanor shouted as she quickly reloaded the machine gun and continued teleporting around to continue intercept attacks, before shooting again as soon as the gun was reloaded. She was starting to run low on all types of ammo and may have had to grab one of her father's other weapons very soon.
"B-big sister, what is that? Where are we going?" One of her little sisters asked.
"I don't know! Just push this thing through it! There's too many of them and they just keep coming! Please, hurry!" Eleanor shouted over the gunfire and rabid screams of the houdini splicers.
The little girls were terrified, and seeing Eleanor like this wasn't helping that. But they trusted her. So after a moment's hesitation they did as they were told and started using their own telekinesis to push the escape pod through the portal. Even if they were young their telekinesis was as strong as any, so together they sent the pod through the portal at high speeds. Everyone lost their balance as the ship suddenly burst into motion and was sent hurtling through the portal. One of the little sisters very nearly slid off the boat entirely, but Eleanor teleported and caught her by the arm before she could.
Once they were on the other side of the portal Eleanor let it close and swapped the strange unknown plasmid for her telekinesis. Yanking the ship to a halt, she helped the little sister she caught back to her feet before turning to face the remaining splicers.
"ENOUGH OF THIS!" Eleanor shouted before dropping her father's machine gun and raising both of her hands. She then proceeded to burn all of the remaining splicers in a massive torrent of fire, reducing them to ashes while leaving all of her sisters and her father's body — which had unfortunately been thrown up against the wall when the ship lurched through the portal — untouched.
When it was over she fell to her hands and knees panting. She had never exercised her powers so intensely before. It was rather exhausting.
Looking around she saw a couple of her sisters sniffling and crying, clearly terrified.
Pushing through the exhaustion she forced herself up and walked over to them before wrapping all of the crying and sniffling ones in a big embrace. "Shhh, shhh, shhh… There there… Big sister Eleanor's right here. You're all safe now. I would never let anyone hurt you."
Her other sisters tried to join in on it by hugging her, but there were too many of them so it turned into one big group hug with the ones further away hugging the sisters in front of them.
They all stayed like that for a few moments until the crying ones started to calm down. At which point Eleanor released them and stood up. Looking around at the devastation she had caused she saw charred corpses and piles of fine white ash everywhere.
Frowning, she used her telekinesis to push all of the bodies and ashes into the ocean. She didn't want her sisters looking at those any longer than they had to.
"Is everyone alright? None of you are hurt, right? If you are, please tell me so I can tend to your injuries." She asked when she was finished cleaning up the ship.
"We're fine, big sister… Um… We… We aren't going to be attacked again are we?" One asked.
Eleanor smiled at her little sister and shook her head. "No. Of course not. I don't know where that portal took us, but it looks to be early morning here rather than sunset, so we're no longer anywhere near Rapture. Thus the Splicers couldn't chase us even if they wanted to…"
She then looked around at their surroundings and saw what looked like land off in the distance. "Look, everyone, there's land. We'll head there. Then… I suppose we can bury father's body. It's better than just dumping him in the sea like those Splicers…"
The little sisters stood there in solemn silence.
"Don't be sad, little ones. Daddy's not dead, remember? He's a part of me now. He will live on with us forever. However, that doesn't mean we should disregard his physical body. He deserves to have his body treated with as much respect as we can give him. And that means a burial. Not a funeral, as he is not truly dead, but a burial." Eleanor told them with a smile.
This cheered them all up a bit and many of them smiled back at her, even if the smiles were small.
"What about your mommy, big sister? Will we bury her too?" Another asked.
Eleanor sighed at that. "Yes… I know what mother did to me and father was unforgivable, but I did still love her even at the very end. So she deserves that much at the very least. Though in her case it will be an actual funeral as she is truly dead…"
With that said, upon her father's urging in the back of her mind, she picked up her needle off the ground and reattached it to her arm before going over to his body and collecting all of his weapons. The drill was a bit big for her as her father's hands and arms were larger than her own, but the cuff on the back that locked it onto place could be adjusted to fit her arm and with her strength she could still use it easily enough. However, she just stored it away for now as her needle would serve her purposes should she need to fight up close again. After all, it was effectively a hollow arm mounted rapier that could drain the blood of whoever she stabbed with it.
She then picked up her helmet and held it under her arm before turning to face the land and using her telekinesis to push the escape boat towards it.
It took about half an hour at top speed but they eventually reached land. Eleanor gradually slowed the ship to a stop, grounding it on the beach.
After picking up the bodies of her mother and father she levitated them down to the ground below.
After searching around a bit, she determined the escape pod had no shovels on board, not that she really expected it to, so unfortunately that meant she had to make one herself. After putting on her helmet so she wouldn't have to set it down or carry it, she went about this by breaking a bar off the railing and tearing a slab of metal off the ship's hull. After melting and bending the slab of metal into shape with her bare hands and her incinerate plasmid, she heated the metal to welding temperature and crushed it and the piece of railing together with her fingers and enhanced strength before quenching her new shovel in the ocean water.
Finally she and her little sisters walked further inland together until they were far enough from the ocean that Elenor was certain the tides wouldn't disturb the graves. Finally, she started digging with her newly forged shovel.
First was her father's grave, which she only dug first because he was so much larger and the hole needed to be so much bigger. Second was her mother's grave, which was smaller to fit her smaller frame. Finally she gently lowered both of the bodies into the graves with her telekinesis before releasing them and using the telekinesis to cover the bodies with the dirt she had dug up. With that done, Eleanor took off her helmet again and held it under her arm.
"Mother… I'm sorry. I never wanted to do this to you. I wish you could have lived. I wish it could have been different. I wish you could have just left father and I alone. Unfortunately, you broke the social contract of justice and left me no other choice but to put an end to you." Eleanor said sadly, staring down at her mother's grave.
"Your dream is over now, Mother. I will never be what you wanted me to be. Utopia, I have come to discover, is not a place but a people. My sisters and I are, perhaps, the first. More may follow, or they may not. However what I see as utopia is very different from how you saw it. Thus utopia as you envisioned it shall never come to pass…"
"Father is with me now, Mother. Forever. Even though his body has failed and shall never rise from its grave his mind, his soul, is now one with mine and we shall never be separated again… Mother, despite everything you did to us, even though Father doesn't think you deserve it… I forgive you. I hope you've found peace or perhaps even the utopia you were looking for, but wherever you are now… I miss you."
One of her little sisters walked up and grabbed her hand, looking up at her.
Eleanor smiled at her. "Alright, little ones, I think that's enough, let's go."
"Where are we going, big sister?" The one holding her hand asked.
"We can't stay here. We need to try to find civilization. That means we need to search, and I'm not going to just leave any of you alone while I go off looking for the nearest town or city." Eleanor told them.
Eleanor then led them deeper inland into the forest nearby. "Everyone, be sure to stay close and keep an eye on eachother. I don't want any of you getting lost now." She said as they entered the woods.
They all walked for hours until eventually Eleanor heard something in the forest. Putting on her helmet she said, "Girls, gather together and stay behind me. I just heard something. It's probably an animal but if I have to fight it, I don't want any of you getting hurt."
Her little sisters obeyed and gathered behind her.
Moments later a massive bear-like creature rushed out from the trees and tried to attack them. Eleanor immediately teleported directly under it and stabbed it in the heart with her needle, killing it instantly
It was surprisingly difficult to stab through the creature's hide. In fact, Eleanor would compare it to stabbing a Splicer Brute. She could certainly do it, but it wasn't at all what she was expecting from a mere animal. Though, admittedly this thing didn't look like any animal she recognized, even with the memories of hundreds if not thousands of people from Rapture in her mind.
Had someone managed to successfully smuggle Adam out of Rapture, and this creature was the result of some sort of experimentation? That honestly seemed like the most probable scenario to her.
That was until the monster's body started dissolving into black smoke, leaving nothing behind. That confused her. Was it designed to self-destruct? Why? To prevent enemies from studying the corpse? She supposed that was a possibility but if someone had smuggled Adam out of Rapture, it was probable more than one country had received it and were conducting their own experiments with it, so what was the point? Did they think their experiments were somehow 'special'? If so, it was quite an arrogant assumption on the part of whoever made this creature.
She shook her head. She wanted to know more. And for that she needed the blood of one of these creatures. Unfortunately, if this was an escaped experiment of some sort she assumed it was just a fluke and she more than likely wouldn't come across any more. After all, the government of wherever they had ended up would be keeping a tight lid on the rest and probably had people hunting down any further escaped creatures. She probably wouldn't encounter another one again.
Or so she thought, as a small pack of similarly black and bone covered wolf-like creatures burst out of the forest.
Without hesitation, Eleanor froze three of them with Winter Blast while several others back with Sonic Boom. Teleporting to one after the other she quickly smashed the three that she froze with a series of kicks, breaking them to pieces, before shooting Electro Bolts at the ones she blew away with Sonic Boom, locking up their muscles and temporarily stunning them.
She then proceeded to stab and kill them, one by one before they could recover. For the final one, she stabbed it and started draining its blood with her needle. The blood was pitch black, which wasn't what she would have expected for a creature artificially created through Adam. Taking her helmet back off, she decided to taste the blood using the spout on the blood canister which was there for her to suck the blood out of after draining bodies, just like the needles little sisters carried back in Rapture.
As soon as the disgusting liquid hit her tongue, she immediately spat it back out, wincing at the horrible taste. No. There was absolutely no Adam in that blood. If there had been even the most minute trace amounts of the substance, she would have been able to taste it even for the brief period it was in her mouth. That raised the question, however, if these creatures weren't created through experimentation with Adam, what were they and how were they created? Based on the collective knowledge she had from several scientists, doctors, and biologists, she sincerely doubted that these things could possibly exist naturally.
After waiting a moment she determined they weren't going to be attacked again. "I think we're safe now, little ones. Come on. Let's keep walking. If you hear anything out of the ordinary, tell me immediately and I will handle whatever comes our way."
There were mutters of acknowledgement from her little sisters before they all continued on.
Eventually morning gave way to afternoon. Fortunately they didn't come across any more of the black boney monsters. However, they did eventually hear the sounds of fighting ahead of them.
Putting on her helmet again Eleanor said, "Everyone stay quiet and follow me." They all snuck forward and saw four people fighting on a dirt road ahead. It appeared to be three against one.
"All of you stay hidden until I call for you. I'll be right back." Eleanor said, as she drew her father's rivet gun and teleported forwards. The glow of her helmet turned red as she blasted one who just drew a bow and arrow with Sonic Boom, sending her flying back and sending the three arrows she had intended to fire wildly off course. Suddenly Eleanor felt bullets impact her and bounce off as the green haired assailant tried to shoot her.
Before Eleanor could react, the brown haired woman with the staff who was being attacked summoned lightning down from the sky in front of the green haired assailant. Eleanor blinked at this. That did not seem like any plasmid she recognized. Even advanced versions of Electro Bolt and similar electricity plasmids didn't work like that.
However she didn't have time to try to process this as the gray haired man tried to leap towards the brown haired woman and kick her. Eleanor quickly put away the rivet gun, teleported in front of the man, grabbed his leg and used his momentum to swing him through the air and slam him into the ground before trying to stab him in the shoulder with her needle. She wasn't trying to kill him as she didn't know the situation and didn't want to kill someone who was actually innocent. However, her needle was stopped by some sort of translucent barrier.
Eleanor tilted her head in confusion before the man kicked her in the face and a bullet slammed into her helmet, jerking her head to the side. Releasing his leg, Eleanor quickly replaced her needle for her father's drill. If her needle couldn't peirce that barrier, her father's drill certainly would. Though she would have to be careful as it was also significantly more lethal
The man's eyes widened a bit as he saw the massive drill, which roared to life in Eleanor's hand. However before Eleanor could use it, an arrow slammed into her shoulder before exploding in a blast of fire.
She growled at the heat but recovered quickly and teleported behind the bow user and stabbed her in the back with the roaring in her hand. The woman shouted in pain as an orange barrier appeared and blocked the drill. She then whirled around and slashed at Eleanor with her bow, which apparently doubled as swords.
Eleanor reacted quickly, grabbing the blade of the weapon with her free hand, feeling the blade cut through her glove and dig into her flesh, before using her father's drill as a club to snap the bow limb/blade she had grabbed like a twig. Dropping the now broken blade, Eleanor kicked the black haired woman in the gut and sent her flying back.
Not giving her a chance to recover, Eleanor teleported on top of her and slammed her father's drill down on her with all her strength. The weapon roared furiously as the drill tried to dig into the orange barrier that appeared between it and the woman.
The black haired woman snarled in agony before stabbing Eleanor in the side with the blade of her bow that Eleanor hadn't broken. Eleanor growled as the blade pierced her suit and dug into her side, causing her to bleed. However, this just made her angry and caused her to start pressing her full weight into the drill.
Suddenly Eleanor was thrown off the woman as the gray haired man kicked her in the ribs and sent her flying.
Now starting to get angry, Eleanor took her father's drill off and put it away.
"Enough!" She shouted. "I was hoping to resolve this without seriously injuring anyone to figure out what is happening here, but if you aren't going to leave me any choice then I'm done being nice!" Her hands were then engulfed by fire and electricity respectively. She threw a massive fireball at the black haired woman and was going to shoot the gray haired man with lightning but the brown haired woman, who was floating in the air with her eyes glowing again, had started shooting him with a barrage of what appeared to be frozen leaves, so Eleanor decided to hit the green haired woman with lightning instead.
Seeing all of them still alive and relatively uninjured, Eleanor ripped entire chunks of Earth out of the ground with her telekinesis and started launching them at the assailants. All three tried to dodge but all three were just barely too slow and were each grazed by at least one chunk of earth, though the green haired one was hit full on by two and was knocked down, her barrier shattering like glass.
"Shit! Cinder, who is this bitch?! Another maiden?!" The gray haired man demanded.
"No! I don't know of any maiden that looks like that! I have no idea who or what she is!" The black haired woman, who was apparently named "Cinder" responded. Just before kicking up some dust from the ground, which she then seemed to super heat and turn into glass which she then shot at Eleanor.
Seeing this, Eleanor teleported out of the way. "My name is Eleanor Lamb! I don't know what sort of 'maiden' you are referring to, but whatever it is I am most certainly not one!" Eleanor shouted as she began unleashing more and more bolts of lightning. "There is no true name for what I am, but I am the daughter of Sophia Lamb and Subject Delta!" The blasts of lightning turned to balls of fire. "A daughter of the city of Rapture!" The fire turned to blasts of cold that began freezing the ground solid. "A Big Sister!" She grabbed the assailants with telekinesis and slammed them together in the air. "I am the first Utopian!" She slammed all of them into the ground as hard as she could, causing the last two's barriers to shatter and injuring the green haired woman.
Feeling nauseous from the toll the exertion was taking on her body she took two deep breaths before saying. "I am the conglomerate of over a thousand of Rapture's inhabitants! All of their minds and souls reside in me! Surrender, and I may just let you live… depending on your reason for attacking this woman."
Eleanor then drew her father's rivet gun again and pointed it at them.
"Cinder, what do we do?!" The green haired woman demanded in a panic.
"Run!" Cinder growled, clearly angry about having to say that.
Before Eleanor could say anything to try to stop them, they all got up and started running at superhuman speeds. Eleanor, able to perceive faster than a normal human whenever she so chose thanks to a gene tonic, started shooting at them as they ran. Most of her shots missed but eventually she managed to hit Cinder in the shoulder, causing the woman to stumble slightly as the rivet tore a hole right through her arm. Unfortunately the injury didn't appear lethal nor did it seem to be in a location that would permanently cripple her, though it would incapacitate that arm until she fully recovered. Recovering quickly, she and the other two kept running down the road until they vanished into the woods.
Sighing, Eleanor put her rivet gun away. She then removed her helmet and looked at the brown haired woman who was now staring at her curiously. "Hello…" Eleanor greeted tiredly.
"Hi… Uh… I'm Amber… Thanks for helping me. I'm not sure I could have taken them on my own." Amber told her.
"Hello, Amber. I'm Eleanor Lamb, as I'm sure you just heard… And if I was alone, I'm not fully certain I could have beaten them either. Not after the day I've had anyway… They were stronger than I expected… Nearly as strong as the other Big Sisters, I think… And those damned barriers… I had to do all of that just to break those barriers and scare them into running away… My abilities are nearly fully drained… Unfortunately I don't have any EVE with me to recover them, either… Ugh…" Eleanor said between bouts of panting.
"I don't know, I mean you did break their auras so finishing them off should have been easy enough." Amber said.
"Auras? Is that what those barriers are called? Huh… What are they exactly? I've never seen any plasmid like them before… In fact, what are your powers? I've never seen plasmids that would let someone fly or summon lightning from the sky like that either." Eleanor asked.
"M-my powers…? Uh… Wait… You don't know what aura is?" Amber asked, going from nervous to surprised.
"I don't. Why? What is it?" Eleanor asked.
"Aura is a manifestation of the soul, a life force that runs through every living creature on Remnant. Every creature with a soul has it, technically. Is yours not unlocked?" Amber asked. She then looked at the bloody wound in Eleanor's side and her eyes widened. "It isn't! You did all of that and your aura isn't even unlocked?!"
"I didn't even know it existed until just a few moments ago. The manifestation of the soul? Remnant? Is Remnant the country we're in, or…?" Eleanor asked, uncertainly. None of the memories of Rapture's citizens said anything about any countries called "Remnant", but she supposed it was vaguely possible that it was a new country that no one in Rapture had heard of just yet.
Amber looked at her in confusion. "No… Okay… Clearly, there's a lot the two of us need to talk about. Preferably somewhere else… Before any of that though, would you like me to unlock your aura for you?"
"You can do that? How does that even work?" Eleanor asked uncertainly.
"Yes, I can. And it's sort of hard to explain. Would you like me to show you, or…?" Amber asked.
"Are there any side effects I should be worried about?" Eleanor asked cautiously.
Amber shook her head. "No. Activating one's aura is purely beneficial."
"Alright I suppose… However, I can and will defend myself if I feel as though you are doing something that may harm me." Eleanor responded, setting her helmet down on the ground and reattaching her needle to her arm.
Amber looked at the giant needle warily but approached Eleanor. Placing a hand on Eleanor's shoulder she said, "Close your eyes and concentrate."
Eleanor frowned a bit but did as she was told. Suddenly she felt an odd sensation across her entire body. Though she couldn't see it, her body was emanating a glow as blue as the ocean.
"For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all. Infinite in distance and unbound by death. I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee." Amber said.
Opening her eyes, Eleanor saw amber collapse onto her hind quarters. "Are you alright?" Eleanor asked, kneeling down and holding a hand out to Amber, only then noticing the ocean blue glow emanating from her body. She could also feel the wound in her side starting to heal.
"F-fine… I just used my aura to unlock yours… Wow… That drained me way more than I think it should have…" Amber explained, taking Eleanor's hand and pulling herself back to her feet.
"Are you going to be alright?" Eleanor asked.
"Yeah. I think so…" Amber said, now seemingly just as exhausted as Eleanor was.
"Good. So why did those people attack you? They mentioned something about 'maidens'? What did they mean by that?" Eleanor asked.
Amber winced. "Uh… I… I have a few ideas, but they're sort of confidential… I'd have to ask a friend of mine if it's okay to fill you in…"
"Hm… You didn't start the fight, correct?" Eleanor asked, giving her a stern look.
"What? No! I was just riding my horse down the road when I saw a little girl crying on the ground. I wanted to offer her an apple but it turned out to be an illusion one of them created with their semblance. Then they attacked me." Amber explained.
"Be honest, do you mean any harm to me whatsoever?" Eleanor asked.
"What sort of ingrate do you take me for? You saved me, of course I don't mean you any harm!" Amber said, sounding almost offended.
Eleanor smiled at her. "Sorry… I don't mean to be rude. I just had to make sure you weren't lying to me because… Well… It's alright to come out now! The bad people are gone, you're all safe!" Eleanor called out towards the woods.
Suddenly twenty one little girls emerged from where they had been hiding in the woods.
Amber's eyes widened in surprise. "So… Who are all of them?"
"They're all my little sisters." Eleanor said with a smile.
"Uh… Wow… Your parents must have been really busy…" Amber said, awkwardly.
Eleanor chuckled. "No… I'm afraid not. We aren't related by blood. Most of them were orphans before my father saved them. Now they're all my little sisters."
Amber relaxed a bit hearing that. "Oh… Sorry. They all look roughly the same age so I was sort of wondering about the, erm… logistics of it. Them being adopted makes a lot more sense. So where are your parents and what are all of you doing all the way out here?"
Eleanor gave Amber a sad smile. "My parents are… gone… We're all alone now. However, that's fine. I can take care of my sisters myself. As for why we're out here… We just escaped from a rather dangerous situation and this is the first patch of land we saw from our boat. We came ashore on a beach that's a couple hours from here on foot. So we were just looking for any sign of civilization and just so happened to come across this road while you were fighting those three. So if you could direct us to the nearest town or city, it would be most appreciated."
Amber gave her a sympathetic look. "O-oh… I'm so sorry… I had no idea… Ehem… As for helping you get to the nearest village, I can do you one better. I'll call my friend and have him send a bullhead to come pick us up. We can head to Beacon Academy in Vale together and he can fill you in on what you should know since I'm not really sure what I should tell you… And we can talk about the very obvious gaps in your knowledge, such as the fact you apparently don't know what aura or even what Remnant is…"
Eleanor looked at her uncertainly. "Beacon Academy…? That sounds like a school. Why would your friend be there?"
"Because he's the headmaster of Beacon Academy, Professor Ozpin. You know, considering how strong you are he'll probably even offer you a chance to become a huntress." Amber said with a smile.
"What's a huntress?" Eleanor asked.
Amber sighed. "Yeah, that's what I'm talking about when I said there are obvious gaps in your knowledge… I can explain stuff like that on the way. So, what do you say?"
'Father, what should I do? Should I trust her or should I just take my sisters and leave?' Eleanor asked mentally.
She felt her father's consciousness respond. She should accept, but to be ready to kill Amber and anyone else she encountered since there was a possibility it was a trap. Though her father seemed to think the chances of it being a trap, while present, were quite low.
"Very well. I accept." Eleanor stated.
Amber smiled at her. "Great! Just give me a sec to make the call." Amber said while pulling a strange device out of her pocket. Tapping on it a few times she held it up to her ear. After a few seconds she said, "Hello? Professor Ozpin? Yes, it's me… I was just attacked… Yeah, I'm okay but only because someone saved me… Her name is Eleanor Lamb and uh… There's a lot she needs to be filled in on… No, she needs to be filled in on way more than just that. She doesn't even know what Remnant is and apparently she's never heard of Aura before… No, I'm dead serious… Look, there's a lot we need to talk about, obviously, but over the phone probably isn't the best way to do this. Can you send a bullhead to come pick us up…? Thanks. Just so you know, Eleanor has like… ten, eleven, twelve… exactly twenty one younger sisters with her… No, I'm not exaggerating… Most are adopted… Her parents are dead… Okay, thanks. See you soon."
Amber then tapped on the device again before putting it away. "He's tracking my location through my scroll. The bullhead should be here soon. Anyway, hello everyone! I'm Amber, and I've already met your big sis Eleanor. So, what are all of your names?" Amber asked, kneeling down and smiling at Eleanor's little sisters.
A couple shied away and hid behind or clung to Eleanor while others were a bit braver or more outgoing and provided their names without issue. Though Eleanor eventually provided the names of the shy ones for them.
Note: I had this idea and I couldn't get it out of my head. So I finally decided to just write it. We'll just have to see if it actually goes anywhere interesting or not.
I was considering writing a version with the evil ending version of Eleanor either joining Salem or trying to take over the world while directly opposing Salem and the Grimm since she can't exactly rule the world if everyone is dead. Though I doubt I'll ever write that version.
