Enraptured in Rapture
Everyone stared unblinking, unbelieving at the sight before them. Twelve Splicers wearing all black clothing, red triangles painted on their sagging or boil covered foreheads and faces knelt down whispering prayers and exaltations toward Iota and Anna. They were shaking and rocking back and forth on their knees and no one knew if it was from the madness that surely had control of them, or fear. Iota's helmet moved over the crowd of Vermin as they inched closer, ever so slowly, their heads bowed deeply toward her muttering words only she could clearly make out with her advanced hearing.
"The Queens return." She heard one of the Filth whisper, her crimson porthole moved to him and he stopped inching forward on his knees, the red light of her helmet causing him to shake more from either fear or praise. "Her red gaze falls upon me, if I am worthy let me ascend." She heard him mutter quietly, she felt bile rise in her stomach.
"The trinity bless me and guide me from darkness, show me the red glow of blessings and salvation, wrath and damnation." She heard an insane woman to her left whisper. She turned her porthole to the woman, washing her in a crimson light. The woman looked like she was going to faint as she shook. "Oh holy Queen, forgive me for my sins as I confess them to you, forgive my unworthiness and unfaithfulness, my eyes are open and I-" She stopped listening and gave a sharp enraged screech that caused the Splicers to drop their heads to the floor in an even deeper bow. She felt rage, hot and boiling within her despite her wounds and exhaustion. She didn't know what she felt more rage for, the fact that they weren't shooting at her or attacking her, or the fact that they were bowing and praying to her. The woman she had looked at earlier reached her in a deep crawl, her head still to the floor and Iota sneered a hate filled growl as the balding woman reached for her boot, greasy strands of hair falling down around her head to slide on the floor as a long fingernailed hand reached slowly for the Protector's boot. The Sister picked her leg up and slammed it down on the back of the woman's head, killing her with a satisfying crunch. The Splicers began moaning and praying louder, and she wanted to slaughter them all in that moment. She kicked the corpse of the dead woman away and into the crowd, their prayers only growing as those around her reached out and gently touched the dead woman, as if they might receive some sort of blessing from her lifeless corpse, it sent a chill up the sister's spine, more from disgust than anything.
"What the hell are they doing?" Mark asked in a low whisper, his mind unable to process what he was seeing. He had never, ever, seen Splicers not trying to kill him or his friends on sight, and he had never seen them fall to their knees in front of a Protector, they always either fought or ran screaming in both cases, and usually died in both cases. When the Family still ruled Rapture, he had seen Splicers kneel and pray to Little Sisters when they exited their Gatherer vents, blue butterflies and chalk drawings lining the walls around the vent, but the Big Sisters were mere Enforcers for Lamb, they were feared, never worshiped. Sofia Lamb had kept that worship for herself, and the Little Sisters alone, the Big Sisters were only ever weapons to her, tools to strike fear into the Splicers that followed her and keep them in line.
"These lunatics will make a religion out of anything..." Joe's deep voice trailed off with a bitter grunt. "Religion gives hope to the hopeless, I pity them." Tenenbaum said sadly, though she too felt both disgusted and dumbstruck in equal measure. Iota strode forward suddenly and grabbed a kneeling Splicer by his throat, lifting him up by the neck to view the red triangle painted on his sweating forehead, his eyes wide with fear and awe, everyone behind her turned to look away. The Sister clenched her fist as she gritted her teeth and felt the man's neck snap, a look of rapture on his mutated features. The prayers grew louder when they saw his corpse hit the floor. As she reached another of the Rats, her boot coming down to crush his head just as she had done with the woman, again the prayers and worship grew, along with her rage.
She reached another kneeling man, kicked him onto his back and slammed her fist into his grinning, awe-filled face caving it in. She rose back up and let out a deafening screech, she wanted to erase their looks of worship, joy, and praise. She made her way to another kneeling man and the group of survivors grimaced as she began beating him too, ripping him apart like a feral animal would a small creature of prey, bones snapping and splintering under her immense strength, an arm being flung aside as the man screamed in bloody pain, still rasping out words of praise. Almost everyone closed their eyes tight, and their skin prickled as he screamed in both bloody agony and uncontrollable joy. It reminded Archer of a bear attack, if the bear's prey were both scared and happy to be mauled to death. Lizzy was still clinging to her sister's back as she held her eyes tightly shut, trying to hide from the violence and rage of her eldest sibling. Sigma saw the look on the girl's face and took a hesitant step forward, but stopped as the horrifying scene continued, his hand clenching, wondering what to do.
"Why are they just letting her kill them?" Seline asked and a voice came out from behind one of the spotlights as a chorus of prayers and chants rose into the air from behind the two bright lights.
"They are giving her what already belongs to her. Their blood, their meat, and skin, and bones... their lives." A voice came to them, smooth and sanguine through the chants, even though Splicers were dying gruesomely by Iota's hand. Just then both spotlights cut out with a loud clicking noise and the humans took a step back when they saw dozens of Splicers all kneeling and praying, chanting and worshiping atop old rusted Atlantic Express train cars, all dressed in black with triangles painted in blood on their faces. Two mounted thirty caliber machineguns sat behind sandbags on both cars, their gunners knelt behind them with their hands forming triangles, the guns still pointed down at them even though they weren't manned. Iota looked up to the Splicer the voice had come from, and found a man in a crimson suit that had once been white, stained now with blood so that every piece of it was dark red. He was kneeling as well, but rather than holding his hands in triangles above him averting his gaze, he stared at the Sister with his hands clasped together at his chest. Unformed tears were in his eyes as he looked at her the way a child would look at a magician, with awe and wonderment, seeing but not quite believing what she was doing, but loving every second of it all the same.
"We obey and serve, Holy Crimson Queens, and await our Blessed King's return." He stated, shaking from faith as well as fear. Iota was shaking with disgust and rage. She pulled her combat knife from it's sheath on her side and stomped toward the man. This one was obviously in charge, this one she would kill slowly, painfully, she would flay his skin off of him while he screamed, writhing in agony and in clear view of the others as he begged for mercy. The Splicer in the red suit saw her coming, and his eyes went wide.
"If I should die let it be at the hands of our Holy Queens, let the Trinity shepherd my soul to ascension, and may I find life everlasting at the side of the King!" He moaned out quicker as she approached him, reaching for him to skin him alive.
"Big Sister, Stop!" Lizzy screamed as her hand latched onto the Splicer's blood stained suit jacket. Iota hesitated, growling as the man prayed in whispers with closed eyes, ready for his death. Lizzy's voice and her sobs had stopped the Big Sister cold, her instincts and rage screaming at her to kill the Vermin she held, but also screaming at her to protect Lizzy, to save her from the horror she was in the middle of. Iota's hand was trembling from both rage and inner conflict
"They're not trying to hurt us, Big Sister, you only hurt bad people that try to hurt us, and Monsters, remember?!" Lizzy pleaded to her, just wanting her to stop the violence. Iota's knife shook with rage as she considered her sister's words, her teeth gritted loud enough for everyone to hear, and began to raise her knife in anticipation for his suffering.
"Iota, he is the only Splicer that we have met that hasn't tried to kill us, Lizzy may be right, he may be able to help us even. They certainly don't seem to follow Reed Wahl's orders." Tenenbaum's voice came carefully, and even the survivors around her looked at her like she had just spoken pure insanity. The Splicer in Iota's grasp shook his head fervently with an enraged look on his face.
"We do not follow the Unbeliever, Blasphemer, Heretic! He led us into the darkness with false lies and promises, honeyed words and bribes! Only our King and his Queens have kept their words true, they have shown us the error of our ways and through their wrath we find salvation!" The man in the crimson suit growled with disgust clear on his voice causing everyone to look at each other in worry. Several Splicers chimed in, "Through their wrath we find salvation, beneath their gaze we face our sins, by their hand are we blessed and saved." The voices chanted lowly. Only their King and his Queens have kept their words true? Tenenbaum puzzled quietly in her own mind, her eyes squinting questioningly.
Iota growled with white hot rage as she looked down on the Vermin that proclaimed her and her siblings Gods, her Protector instincts screaming at her to slaughter every one of them until they didn't have lungs to chant with. Sigma appeared beside her, and Lizzy said his name lowly, pleadingly. The Big Daddy slowly, carefully, and gently took Iota's wrist that clutched the man's blood soaked collar, trying to pry him from her grasp, he too was tired of the killing, the violence and death in Rapture, and these Splicers... These People were no threat to them, not yet. "We need information, Iota, no matter how much we don't like it, we don't have many options right now, and these... People... May be able to help." Tenenbaum's words echoed to her from the Bulkhead door, hesitating to use the word 'People'.
"I wish only to serve and obey, holy Queen! I will tell you all I know, and our lives belong to you to spend as you will!" The man she held said frantically, eager to either serve her or offer her his life, she could see it in his glazed eyes, wide with awe. She felt like vomiting from either anger or disgust, which one though she wasn't entirely sure of.
"We serve and obey." The other Splicers said in eerie unison, causing the survivors to look around the large room. Iota's rage and hate-filled gaze still locked onto the man, and Sigma had to rip her hand away from his collar, taking a large chunk of cloth with it. She hated them as much as anyone could, and she found that each step Sigma led her back, the more that hate grew and grew. She couldn't control her growling and as she stepped back to where Anna lay, she picked her sister up in her arms, and ignoring Tenenbaum's pleading for her to be calm, the Sister leapt into the rafters above and disappeared out of sight in the darkness. If the Humans wanted to trust this Filth, these Vermin, even after all they had done to them. Then they could, but she would not endanger her family for their madness. Even when she was apart of Mother's Family, the Vermin had only barely been tolerated because Mother needed them, but now Mother was gone and their true colors show. In that moment she considered slaughtering every single soul in the room as she looked down from the darkness of the rafters at them.
"Our Holy Queens and most blessed child among them have gone above to watch over us. May we stand worthy in their crimson gaze, and serve faithfully by their commands." The man said, prayers echoing from around the room. Tenenbaum was the first to move, her group's weapons still raised as she approached Sigma and the still kneeling man. "Who are you? Why are you here?" She asked hesitantly, her eyes darting to the kneeling Splicers that began to rise, their eyes still searching the ceiling's support beams looking for their Gods, hoping to catch another glimpse at them.
"I am Edward, dear Herald, First of the Enlightened." He said, giving a slight bow to her, his eyes still shining with worship and faith. She jumped and took a step back when his hand came up to his side with a mad smile on his yellowed teeth. "Please, dear Heralds. Come, rest, you have wounded, though the Trinity preserve and bless you, you came out of the darkness alive and whole. You are first among the blessed, and will be treated as such." He stated. "Do not be afraid, we would never harm ones so blessed as yourselves, come, we have food and water. We will protect you from the Blasphemer, Reed Wahl." He spat after speaking the name, and other Splicers growled "Blasphemer" around them. Tenenbaum looked around unsure but nodded after a moment, swallowing her nervousness and fear with some effort. As Edward led them through the train yard and up to a large wall, she froze and stared at it. A raised platform with three massive chairs atop it sat dead center on an empty wall, one chair larger than the other two sat raised slightly higher. She immediately knew who they were meant for. Each chair was fashioned out of metal and bone still wet with blood. NeoSplicer skulls stripped of flesh but still bloody sat at the tips of each chair arm, one large NeoSplicer skull sat atop the chair she knew was meant for Omega, their "King".
"Ah, you have taken notice of our work, we have prepared thrones for the Trinity, so that they may look down upon us and judge us for our sins and our repentance." Edward said, grinning wildly at the three thrones surrounded by spikes. "Do you think they will like them, Dear Herald?" He said, snapping her out of her stare. The older Doctor looked nervously at him and nodded with as best a smile as she could manage. "I believe... they will be... adequate, yes." She lied, knowing the Protectors would likely never use them. Edward gestured for the group to follow him with a smooth hand and they hesitantly did so, Archer and Mark walking backwards with their fingers on the triggers of their weapons, eying the Splicers around them with fervent looks of awe and worship suspiciously. They were watching the survivors like they had watched Iota, though to a much lesser degree. Still their eyes held unblinking faith, and their mouths were either agape in wonder or grinning and smiling madly at them.
Mark felt a shiver run down his spine when they walked through a doorway into another smaller room, it was an old motor pool for the Atlantic Express trains parts to be stored, though the storage racks and parts were gone now, the only sign that they had ever been there at all being grease spots on the dusty concrete floor, and scraping marks where the large metal shelves had been dragged out. Cork boards were placed in intervals around the room and schematics and notes hung still pinned on them even decades later. Beds lined both sides of the room now, and four of them were occupied with Splicers all dressed in black, bandaged in some way or another, blood soaking through various wounds on them as they lay groaning or asleep, coughing or shaking from madness, pain, or ADAM withdrawal. One man, even Mark couldn't help but feel sorry for, was bandaged all over his torso, one arm and a leg gone with bandaged nubs covering them, large circles of blood seeping through, his face was bandaged completely and from the hole where his mouth was came rasping, gurgled breathing. Mark winced when he saw him. A Man in black robes fashioned and stitched together from old curtains was walking among them, a golden pendent hanging from his hand, the ornate chain leading down to connect to a triangle. When he reached the bandaged man, he swept his hand and the dangling pendant over the man through the air and muttered a prayer.
"Peace be with the Soldiers of the Queens. Peace be with the faithful of the King. Peace be to the Protectors of the blessed child. May the Trinity shepherd our souls to ascension, may we stand beside the Holy ones in life as well as death." He finished his prayer, and almost as if the Splicer had only been holding on for that one last blessing, his rasping breath ceased, and his chest stopped moving. The group of humans all stared and watched as the priest moved on to other wounded men and women.
"Warriors of the King and his Queens, Soldiers to hold back the dark ones, most hated of Foes." Edward said lowly, as if it were an explanation, a sad look on his face at the sight of them.
"Dark ones?" Joe asked hesitantly, wondering if a single wrong word could send them all into a frenzy and attack them. He held Tokerev's arm around his shoulder with Seline's help, but he was still eyeing the man with suspicion and nervousness. Edward turned to him and sneered, his eyes darting to the tunnel that they had come from, as if he could see it through the walls.
"The Creatures from Hell, the ones our King and his Queens fight, most vile of evils. These brave men and women, these heroes fight to hold back the tide of darkness with their lives, faithful to the very end." Everyone's eyes narrowed, it was surprising that they knew about the NeoSplicers, and surprising still to learn that they fought them willingly.
"We can discuss that later though, please, allow your wounded to rest here in these beds. We have Doctors that will look after them, and make sure they are healed properly so they can continue to serve the Trinity." Edward said, and Tenenbaum quickly cut in.
"That won't be necessary... Edward. I will tend to our wounded." The Doctor said. Instead of taking any kind of offense to declining his offer, Edward only smiled. "As you wish blessed Herald." He said with a graceful bow. Tenenbaum shifted uncomfortably before she directed Joe and Seline to place Tokerev onto a clean bed, as well as Mark, and Joe himself so she could give them the medical care they needed but couldn't get in the tunnels. Archer stood at the head of one of the beds, his head down but his eyes still scanning the room, his Thompson still gripped tightly in his hands. What in God's name have they gotten us into now. He asked himself silently. As if reading his mind Tokerev looked up to him with a concerned gaze and he shook his head slowly.
Tenenbaum was about to start treating Tokerev's wounds again when Edward approached her and she gave a start at his appearance to her right. The man didn't seem to notice it however, and smiled a yellow smile to her once more. "Dear Herald, I wonder if I may be so bold." He said, his eyes looking over the wounded among their party. Tenenbaum followed his gaze to the others before turning her head down slightly toward her shoulder. "Yes, Edward... What is it?" Edward took a moment to think, hesitating at if he should actually be so bold. He gestured to the room around him, to the other beds of wounded Splicers.
"Forgive me for asking, I will punish myself later for this insolence... but... Would you be willing to tend to these Warriors as well? When you are finished with the other Heralds that is!" He said quickly, nervousness clear in his voice as he bowed deeply. "It would be the greatest honor for them to be touched by one such as yourself, foremost among the blessed." He asked, bowing even deeper this time. Tenenbaum looked around the room with a shaking breath and then back to Joe who shook his head with tight lips. She thought for a moment, considering Edward's deep bow and gave a fake smile. "I would be happy to, Edward." She said as she looked around the room and back to her group, who all frowned and shook their heads in some way or another. "They are... Fine Warriors... Doing the... Trinity's will." She struggled out, lying through her forced smile. Edward nearly fell to his knees in prayer right then and there. "Oh praise the Trinity, and praise their blessed Heralds!" He proclaimed happily as he rose from his bow. "Truly our Soldiers are blessed this day, even graced with two of the Trinity, five of our number shepherded into ascension by one of the Crimson Queens herself! We are all truly blessed!" Edward said loudly so all in the room could hear, his face the picture of blind faith and exaltation.
Edward knelt and began praying fervently, and they noticed the black robed priest in the back had joined him, even some of the conscious Splicers riddled with wounds held triangles above their heads, two of them missing one half because their arms had been severed at the elbow and shoulder, even the boil covered Doctors in their black coats knelt to pray with them, and the humans all gaped at each other in awkward disbelief. "What the Hell are you doing?! You're going to help them?!" Joe whispered into Tenenbaum's ear, his eyes darting around to make sure no one heard him. She pursed her lips and turned her head toward him, her eyes still locked onto Edward as he prayed.
"I need all the research I can get if I am to one day reverse ADAM sickness. They believe we are blessed by this Trinity of theirs, and I don't believe they will try to hurt us. If anything they look ready to die at our command." She whispered back to him. He didn't have a response, but she could hear him gritting his teeth behind her. Other Splicers dressed in black with painted faces were kneeling in the doorway at the far end of the room as well, also praying, looking up to the group of humans now and again, and it made them all that much more uncomfortable.
"May we walk in their red gaze in life and in death." Edward finished his prayer, his hands raised toward the sky. Others joined him with their own finished prayers and he rose with a stiff leg. "Please, Heralds. Rest and make yourselves at home. I will send food and refreshments to you shortly." Edward said softly as he bowed again, leaving them and disappearing through the crowd of his followers, all of them clustered around him as he walked, asking him about the Heralds and the Trinity.
Tenenbaum began dressing wounds on those in her group that needed it after cleaning and redressing Tokerev's bandages, Joe, Mark, Seline, they had all been wounded, though Seline's wounds were older and healing nicely, aside from a few stitches she had ripped while running around in the last District fighting. The Splicer Doctors dressed in black told her she could use anything in their Facility that she needed, anything at all. They had been nervous when they told her that, as if afraid to talk to her, and after they told her, their eyes looked to the rest of the group, who didn't seem too happy to have them talking to her, and they shrank back with bows of apologies for bothering them.
Soon enough three more Splicers came into the room, two men and a woman dressed in black and red sheets carrying ornate silver trays bearing food, water, and various alcohols. Joe sneered at the man that approached him, his lips curling back to reveal his teeth, and the man shrunk away with fearful bows and apologies. Archer saw that and said "Ah what the Hell." Quietly, taking a whiskey glass with ice from the man that approached him, his head bowed as Archer made his choice. As the menial backed away bowing, Archer eyed the glass of brown liquid before giving it a considering sniff, then gulping down a large sip. He didn't have as much reservation as the rest probably because he had fought alongside Splicers in the Rapture Civil War, but he still didn't trust them, hell he didn't even want to be here. He looked around and judging by the stares everyone gave him they really didn't want to be here.
"You really think they would poison us? I've never known Splicers to invite someone into their homes and poison them." He said challengingly and most eyes looked away. One of the Servers approached Seline and she snarled angrily as the woman bowed her drooping face to her, offering her some cooked fish on a tray. "Get the fuck away from me you Scum!" She said as she pushed the woman back with enough force to knock her down, the silver tray clattering to the ground causing all eyes in the room to turn to the scene. The woman knelt down, bowing to her and whimpering. Before Seline could continue however, the black robed priest who had been blessing the wounded Splicers was already at the woman's side. He pulled some kind of rubber switch from his robe sleeve that looked more akin to a Jockey Whip and began beating the woman, screaming at her. "You dare anger the blessed Heralds?! You forget your place Worm!" Repent! Repent!" The Priest yelled in a feral tone, mercilessly beating the woman all over her back and the sides of her face. She wailed in pain and sobbed uncontrollably as she screamed, trying to guard her face as each hit came. Each resounding crack of the whip made even the humans tense and wince. When the black shrouded Priest found this too ineffective he began ripping at her robes until her back was bare and continued his savage beating. Each hit on her boil spotted back leaving dark red marks, some even drawing blood. Seline began rubbing her nub arm and looked away, uncaring, but Tenenbaum couldn't stand the sight of it after so long. She stood and approached the Priest, and when he noticed her he stopped his whipping immediately and bowed to her.
"I am so sorry, blessed Herald for this Filth's blasphemy. She was one of Reed Wahl's Whelps, and should've been trained better by now. Perhaps more training is required of her, perhaps she should be killed for the sin of angering one of the Heralds." He said lowly, his voice was sandpaper on stone as he eyed her with even less sympathy than Seline had. Tenenbaum grimaced as she looked down at the sobbing woman, curled into a ball, her back bleeding in various places as she clutched her torn robes to her chest. "I believe she has learned her lesson, Priest." Tenenbaum said flatly, and the man's eyes narrowed at the woman. "Are you sure you don't wish for her to be killed, blessed Herald?" He asked, his drooping eyes still on the woman. "I wish for you to return to your duties and leave this woman be." The Doctor responded more sternly and the man quickly changed his expression. "A-As you say, blessed Herald! I will leave her fate in your hands, forgive me Herald! Forgive me!" He said hurriedly as he bowed several times and backed away from the group, sparing the woman one more sneer as he left them.
Tenenbaum knelt down and offered a hand to the woman asking her if she was alright with a soft voice, earning a small but audible growl from Seline and a scowl from Joe. Instead of taking her hand though, the beaten woman with bruises and marks all over her face, arms, back, and hands quickly crawled onto her knees and placed her head to the floor. Grabbing the tray and food she had dropped when Seline pushed her she began crawling backwards away from them toward the door.
"Forgive me Heralds, foremost among the blessed, speakers of their words, highest among their faithful, blessed to walk among them! Please forgive me!" She was saying frantically as she scurried away still sobbing. Tenenbaum felt a knot in her stomach at the sight, despite everything she had been through, despite what they all had been through, she couldn't help but pity the woman, even if she didn't trust or like her. She heard Seline snort a mirthless chuckle. "Should've let him beat her to death. I wish Iota would've beaten them all to death." The young woman growled, she wanted to spit.
"They were people once, like you or I, Seline! They are sick! Twisted thanks to my sins!" Tenenbaum whispered angrily back at her. "They are twisted, pitiful Creatures because of me!" Tenenbaum added, and Seline walked over to her, looking her straight in the eye. "And you should let them all die!" She growled at the older woman as she stomped out of the room.
"Get out of my way you Bastards!" Her echoing shout came from outside, and they could see a group of Splicers bow and quickly clear her path, kneeling to pray as she stormed by. Tenenbaum's face turned sad and she silently turned back to Mark, cleaning and dressing the cuts on his arms that were now dried and crusted with blood. No one else said a word, they only sat and thought about what to do next.
Sigma was standing in the open in front of the Atlantic Express train cars that had two gunners on each behind him, always watching the tunnel door they had come from, their mounted machineguns and spotlights ever ready to push back the claws and teeth if they came through. The Big Daddy was hardly concerned that there were two machineguns just behind him aiming over his tall form at the door. Even if they opened fire into his back he could turn and kill the attackers with ease before they even emptied their ammo belts fully. His confidence didn't stop him from being ready however, he still held his minigun mounted on his right hand, but it hung loosely at his side, the tip of the rotating barrel resting on the ground. He had been sitting there silently musing over his thoughts when he heard someone coming. He turned when he heard footsteps approaching, and saw Seline making her way to where they had stood when they first laid eyes on the Splicers. She hardly paid any attention to him, only giving him a scowling look of anger as she passed him rubbing the bandaged nub where her arm used to be.
"Iota!" She yelled looking up toward the high ceiling as a group of Splicers trailed far behind her, slowly following her for a chance to see one of their "Queens" He turned his helmeted head to view the small crowd that began to grow the moment she had called the Big Sister's name. They were murmuring whispers of either prayer or excitement as soon as they heard Iota's name. "The Herald is calling for the Holy Queen!" One man said excitedly, his eyes wide as he knelt. Some were on their knees, others were standing, all of them were looking at Seline expectantly.
"Iota! I know you're up there! Bring me up! I don't want to be here anymore!" Seline shouted angrily up into the darkness above. Prayers and murmuring became louder as the crowd of faithful prepared to see the Sister again.
"Iota I-" Seline began before turning angrily toward the growing crowd of Splicers. "Fuck off!" She screamed at them as loud as she could, just as Iota's large form slammed into the ground behind her, cracking the concrete beneath her as she landed. The Splicers knelt, bowed, prayed, whimpered, and moaned at the sight of her, and just like that, she was gone. She wrapped her arm around Seline's waist and before the young woman knew it they both shot into the rafters above and had vanished. Sigma's eyes followed them as they shot up into the darkness, and stared for a long time, almost expecting to see or hear something else, but he didn't. He knew if Iota didn't want to be seen she wouldn't be, and if she wanted anyone else to disappear she would make that happen just as efficiently. Sigma watched the Splicers kneel and pray for a long time to the ceiling they knew held at least two of their Gods. After a time he decided to make his way up to the rest of the group, lumbering past the Splicers. He was thankful they were just scared of him, rather than worship him. He had heard a few of the Splicers refer to him as a "Golem" serving the Trinity, but it didn't bother him. He would rather they saw him as a mindless servant of their Gods rather than a God himself. He pitied them, and he pitied Iota, Anna, and Omega, and especially Lizzy. The poor girl had been through so much for being so young. He couldn't blame Iota for not trusting the situation at all, and even being angry with them for not having a choice, because he knew Iota always had a second choice. Even in her wounded state she could've likely slaughtered every one of the Splicers in the train station. The Big Daddy looked around at the kneeling Splicers as he lumbered his way deeper into the trainyard. He couldn't help but pity them, they wore years of hardship and pain on their fanatical, maniacal twisted faces, but they still felt emotions, they still felt pain, fear, anger, sadness. He pitied them because even as twisted and broken as they were, they were still more human than him in his eyes. He didn't like killing them, he felt no joy in it or pride like the Siblings did. He didn't hate the Splicers like everyone else did, he knew they couldn't help what they had become. They were victims of Rapture, just as every living thing in the City was, and just like he had been programmed, he didn't view them as a threat until they presented themselves as one. He gave a deep groaning sigh at that thought. He pitied the Siblings even more, they were bred to be paranoid, to be untrusting, it was in their nature, he had often compared them to weapons, and they often only acted as such. He knew they were human underneath it all, just as he was, but some things can be bred or trained out of humans. Some things can twist and break someone so completely that all they can do is be molded into pitiful Creatures through no fault of their own. They and Splicers had many commonalities in his eyes, but if he had a voice, he would never say that aloud to any of the Protectors.
. . .
Iota led Seline through the steel support beams along the ceiling, covered in dust and rat droppings, gracefully balancing on the foot wide beams as she moved through the darkness, the bright spotlights far below them and fanatical faces looking up toward them as they still prayed. Seline was moving slower than Iota was, even though the Big Sister supported a limp. She used Iota's crimson helmet light to get an idea of where they were going. Just ahead of them, apart of the same wall the door to the tunnels was, there was a large break in the wall, a crack caused by some ancient explosion or accident that had knocked bricks away to reveal a closet sized room. As they got close enough to the opening, big enough for Seline to fit through with no problem but small enough that Iota and to bend down slightly and turn sideways to enter. Once Seline stepped inside she noticed it was roughly the size of a small bedroom with three Gatherer air vents on each wall, two were facing each other, and a third faced the opening they had entered from.
She still felt herself hot with rage but couldn't help but smile muse over the many crayon and chalk drawings that lined the floor and walls up to her chest. It was an intersection built into the wall that Little Sisters would use to change directions when navigating the City, and that though also brought pain to her. How many of the girls that drew these colorful pictures had been killed down here? How many of them had been ripped apart by Splicers only for ADAM. Her anger rose again and she felt he cheeks heat with rage once more. Light shone dimly above them in a warm red glow, a simple emergency light that survived just as the childish drawings had.
Anna's sleeping form lay to one side on her back naked, her hands on her bandaged stomach as she breathed softly. Her suit and armor lay in a pile beside her head against the wall. Seline could see that Iota had been busy tending to her wounds and cleaning her sister's blood soaked face, neglecting her own wounds. Seline frowned, they were always the ones being hurt, more so than she had ever been. She rubbed the bandaged nub of her arm absentmindedly as Iota made her way to the far wall, next to Anna's head. The Sister stood in front of the Gatherer's vent and pounded on it with her fist in a small code of knocks, and Seline heard rustling from within. She could barely see past Iota, but she could see Lizzy's dirt covered face peak out of the opening just before Iota held out her hands to catch her sister beneath her armpits, pulling her free from the wall and setting her gently on the ground.
"Seline!" Lizzy gasped happily as she finished dusting her dirty dress off, and ran to hug the one armed woman around her waist. "Hey there." She responded, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. She looked up from Lizzy's face buried in her to Iota. She had already knelt down next to Anna again and was rubbing a bloody cloth over her face, cleaning more of the blood off with slow, careful motions, her helmet light adding to the dim red glow of the room as she worked. She didn't even look up to Seline as Lizzy hugged her, and the girl couldn't help but feel honored and happy at that, at the fact that she trusted her with Lizzy.
"I was scared Big Sister wouldn't let me see all of you again." Lizzy said in a sad voice. "She was so mad." She added in a quiet whisper. Seline was sure the eldest sister had heard her clearly, just as she could probably still hear the Splicers praying whispers downstairs but she smiled at the girl all the same. "Your Big Sister just wants to keep you safe, both you and Anna, don't blame her too much okay? It's not easy being a big sister, and such a good one at that." She said softly, smiling gently. She saw Iota's head turn toward her only a hair as her washcloth stopped for a moment, then she was back to cleaning blood from Anna's face and hair. She had already cleaned the blood from the rest of her sister's naked body, and bandaged the worst of her wounds, though small cuts that had stopped bleeding and clotted with blood still dotted the girl's sleeping form, black like slugs in the glow of the crimson light.
Seline let out a deep sigh, trying to let go of the rage she felt, though it did help that Lizzy was there. She couldn't stay mad for long whenever she looked at the little girl's adorable face, and the funny way she like all children talked and asked questions. Seline moved closer to Iota and Anna and Iota's crimson glowing porthole turned sharply toward her, though not looking directly at her, it reminded her of a wolf guarding it's pups. The young woman jumped a little bit, but if they were all going to stay in the small room together she wasn't about to let her stop her from worrying about her friend.
"How is she?" She asked, more as a friendly gesture rather than really expecting an answer from the Protector. Iota gave a low sharp screech as she continued to clean Anna's neck and ears. She sounded angry, but then again Iota always sounded angry, even when she was making happy shrieks. It didn't help that she couldn't see the Big Sister's face for her helmet, and she knew she probably didn't look much better than Anna behind her porthole. Seline knelt down beside the larger girl and looked Anna over. Iota had changed her bandages for clean ones where the wounds required it, and had washed almost all of the blood from her body.
"Anna's still sleeping, but Big Sister showed me that she's breathing good, and said she would be okay." Lizzy said as she sat on her knees beside Seline. The older girl scrunched her eyebrows thoughtfully at how Iota would've conveyed that information to Lizzy, but they had an odd way of communicating she still didn't fully understand. She didn't know what the Protectors were signing with their hands or what their screeching meant half the time, but all of the siblings seemed to know. She leaned up some so she could look over Iota as well, her suit was cut in many places, though hers could slowly repair itself over time, and Anna's could not.
"Did your Big Sister also tell you that she was fine even though she's still dripping blood here and there?" Seline asked Lizzy blatantly pointing it out for Iota more than the little girl. Lizzy nodded with a small frown. "Yes, she won't stop taking care of Anna even though she's hurt too." the girl admitted sadly. Seline's lips tightened and she placed a gentle hand on the Protector's armored shoulder. "That sounds an awful lot like them, bull-headed and stubborn when it comes to themselves." She said. Iota's head snapped to her and Seline had to force herself not to tremble under the brightness of her helmet light. She blinked a few times and swallowed hard before scratching out, "Iota, you need to look after yourself too. More so even, you're the only one that can protect them. If you pass out from blood loss or over exertion you're as good to them as a fish out of water." She said softly, trying to keep her lips from trembling.
She hated that she still feared the Protector, but she doubted that would ever really change, especially when she was as angry as she was now. The Protector didn't have to tell her she was angry, she could physically feel it in the air, like thick steam was all around her choking the breath from her. "We're safe up here, and as much as I don't trust the Splicers, I don't think those down there in particular are stupid enough to attack any of us... as much as I hate to admit it." She continued with a deep breath as Iota stared at her from behind her helmet.
"I think... I think those are the Splicers we locked in that District and turned the lights off on. I think they made their fucked up religion after that happened to them." She said, still grimacing as she remembered the looks on their faces as they leapt into the rafters above. "In any case I don't think they could reach us up here even if they wanted to, aside from Spider or Houdini Splicers, and I didn't see any of them down there. You need to look after yourself as much as Anna and Lizzy." She said, watching Iota slowly look back to Anna as she lay unconscious. The eldest sister seemed lost in thought until Seline broke the silence again.
"Lizzy, would you mind washing the blood off of Anna's face and neck while I help your big sister with her wounds?" Seline asked the girl, and her face lit up with happiness. "Yes! If... If it's alright with Big Sister." She added, looking pleadingly to her. Iota looked at her for a moment, and unlike her older friend, Lizzy didn't shrink under her sister's stare in the least, her hopeful eyes just looked back as if it were the most normal thing in the world. After a long moment, Iota nodded slightly before standing up and walking to the opening of the wall they had come from. A large thankful smile spread across Lizzy's lips, finally able to be helpful. Iota had shooed her away when she first started tending to Anna, and Lizzy could do nothing but watch as her big sister worked quickly on her. Now it was her turn, and she was happy for it.
"Where are you-" Seline started to ask, but stopped when Iota put a finger up, she didn't know what most of their signs meant, but she knew that meant to wait. Iota disappeared out of the hole and into the darkness beyond. She could hear a loud thudding noise that she knew only meant the Protector had jumped back down below. Murmured voices from beneath them followed by a chorus of chanting and hymns. A very short moment later Iota appeared back in the opening of the small room, her left hand carrying an old tin bucket of water, her right hand covered in fresh blood. Seline couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction upon seeing the sister's hand dripping with the crimson liquid. She watched as Iota sat against the opposite wall from Anna, setting the bucket beside her. Now that she could see the Protector's front she realized just how much she had neglected herself for Anna's sake. Portions of Iota's suit were ripped in many places along her stomach, arms, and sides, and the large gashes that the big NeoSplicer's drill-like arm had caused were still there, healing slowly and oozing blood. Some of the smaller cuts and gashes had stopped bleeding and bore pink, newly healed skin either sealing the wounds completely or slowly pushing them closed. Fresher wounds marred her arms and legs, some still freely dripping blood from their time in the tunnels on their journey here.
Seline couldn't help but gasp as she finally got the only good look she had been able to see of Iota since they had left the Fire station. "Oh my God, Iota..." Seline whispered, she looked to Lizzy who wore a worried expression, but fought not to look at her sister's wounds or the pain she knew she was feeling as she cleaned Anna's skin where she could with the bloody washcloth. She heard Iota give a heavy sigh as she laid her helmet back against the solid wall with a small metallic thud. She sat like that and breathed heavily for a moment, and Seline knew it was her preparing herself for removing her suit, knowing that not only were a good number of Splicers in the next room within her keen earshot, but also that her suit had likely healed into and become meshed together with some of her wounds. Tenenbaum had told Seline it was a malfunction that was supposed to be worked out of the prototype suits, but Gilbert Alexander had died before figuring it out.
Iota reached up and began unlatching her helmet with loud clicks of releasing locks, instead of a pressurized hiss that usually came when they removed the armored piece, only the sound of her twisting the helmet seal loose could be heard. She pulled the helmet from her head, the crimson glow fading, replaced by the blazing glow of her yellow eyes and Seline gasped again when she saw her face, caked with the sister's own blood. She saw three teeth rattle out of the helmet when Iota laid it beside her and she picked one up to study it between her gloved fingers. She pulled her cracked, busted lips back to reveal that only one tooth was missing now, one right next to one of her fangs on her right side. She watched the sister stick her finger into her mouth and feel around, her eyes looking to the ceiling as she poked and prodded. She saw her right eye dim slightly as she found whatever she was looking for and yanked. Seline heard a small popping sound and Iota produced a broken molar with little more than a flinch, she examined the tooth for only a moment before flicking it away letting it clatter onto the floor without a care.
The sister began the easy task of removing her armor attachments, though her wounds caused even that to be bothersome, and she began setting them on the floor beside her, glancing at the opening of their small safe haven every now and then with furious eyes. Seline saw that she was having trouble undoing her left shoulder pauldron and rose quickly as the sister turned her gaze to her, a questioning and uncertain look on her mostly angry face. "Here, let me help you." She said in a friendly tone but Iota gave a halting screech as she jerked her head forward, her teeth clenched. Seline put her good hand up defensively and averted her eyes. "Okay, okay." She said as she sat there and watch Iota struggle with the piece of armor, her face growing more and more angry at her inability to get it unlatched with fingers that were barely working. After a few moments the Protector gritted her teeth again and gave an short, angry screech of frustration as she sighed and laid her head back against the wall she sat at. Her lips tightened and she raised her shoulder as she looked at Seline, obviously unhappy with needing someone who wasn't her family help her with the task.
Seline made her way over to sit beside the sister on her knees, and Iota looked toward the opening of the room as she lifted her arm as high as she could, her lips tightening from the pain she felt. "There's the problem, the latch got damaged in one of your fights, it's all bent and snagging the leather strap." She said as she looked under the sister's arm as best she could. Iota grimaced again as she unsheathed the knife she meant to flay Edward with and handed it to Seline. It was too large in her normal sized hand and she wielded it clumsily but also as carefully as she could as she used the sharp tip to bend the metal into a position that would let her unlatch the armor, and hopefully still be usable afterward. She returned Iota's knife and lifted the heavy piece of armor off of the sister's shoulder slowly, trying not to cause her more pain or drop the awkward pauldron shape on her own legs or the sister's hand. After that she helped Iota with her air tank and unfastened her suit in the back for her as she leaned forward. Iota began slowly peeling her suit off after that, and Seline didn't offer to help this time, she didn't want to hurt Iota, and now that she wore just the body suit it was easy enough for her to move in without the cumbersome armor pieces restricting her movement. She watched as the sister painstakingly pulled the suit down to her shoulders, then down past her breasts, small popping noises here and there where she pulled the suit from wounds that had healed with the suit, ripping them back open as her face twisted into an angry snarl. The worst was her sides and stomach, and she stopped when she got it down to her side. The large wound she had gotten from the NeoSplicer had healed and fused with a large patch of tender pink skin there.
Iota was trembling from the pain, panting from the massive amount of willpower it took to remove her suit from her sore and burning wounds, now reopened and trickling fresh blood. Her shaking hands held the suit at her right side as she took a deep breath and gritted her teeth, with one final yank and a loud pop, she gave a sharp screech of pain and laid back against the wall, feeling the cool concrete on her back as the cold air licked at her tender skin and wounds. Seline had her hand covering her mouth, and she fought back tears for the poor girl.
With blood streaking down Iota's body and fresh wounds now open again along with ones that never fully healed in the first place, Seline pulled the washcloth from the bucket of water Iota had brought back with her and didn't even ask or wait for permission this time to help the sister. She pressed the ice cold cloth to one of the wounds on Iota's collar and the sister winced with a sharp hiss of air as it stung her like acid.
"I'm sorry..." Seline whimpered softly, her lip trembling, not from fear, but from sadness and anger at what the sister had gone through, what they had all gone through, and what they would continue to go through. Iota's glowing eyes looked down at her as Seline let her tears freely fall from her eyes, and she tilted her head slightly, wondering why the girl was crying. She held a calm expression save for her scrunched eyebrows, still holding anger within them, though it had lessened a great degree, now she was simply watching curiously as the human cried softly and washed her stinging wounds with hast but also with gentle strokes of a cold cloth in a trembling hand. The sister laid her head back and breathed a shaking sigh as she let Seline wash her body clean of blood and wounds, once she had cleaned them thoroughly enough, Iota gave a quiet screech through heavy eyes and pointed to Anna's belt. Seline saw the medical pack and she crawled over to retrieve it, bandages neatly wrapped and clean of blood. She clenched her jaw, the sister had even used her own bandages to wrap Anna's wounds rather than save them for her, she wasn't surprised though.
Seline returned to the sister and began wrapping her wounds carefully, though Iota made her use the bandages sparingly, only pointing to the wounds that needed wrapping, the others would stop bleeding in time and some already had. Once she had finished with her upper half, the sister sighed and tried to stand, but Seline wasn't having any of it, she rose quickly before Iota could and helped pull her up as best she could with one arm, letting the sister brace her own bare arm over her shoulders. She had never felt Iota's bare skin like this before, and realized just how hot Protector's base temperatures were, knowing they probably couldn't get sick or get fevers.
"You're really warm, Iota." Seline said quietly. "Lizzy are they always this hot?" She asked the girl earning a nod from her, her messy ponytail bouncing behind her. "Yeah, I get really really hot when we sleep in the same bed, I don't even need a blanket." She admitted earning a small smile from Seline. She wondered if it was a product of their physiology or if it was a product of their need to keep their Charges safe, even from the cold, even if Little Sisters didn't feel the cold. She wondered if Little Sisters themselves felt just as hot.
After helping Iota stand up on shaking legs, the sister gritted her teeth and began the process of removing her suit again from her waist down to her ankles, Seline helping her remove her leg braces and boots where she could, mostly helping Iota balance as she did most of the work. Once again the Protector winced every time a small pop was heard as she freed her suit, and once again she bore it with all the strength and grace only a Big Sister possessed. She pulled the suit down past her waist and over her butt. Seline looked her over front and back and in places that made Iota a little uncomfortable since only her Mate had ever been that close to her down there. Seline noticed that both Iota, as well as Anna had few wounds on their backs, she nodded sternly though, knowing that they would only get them there if they were careless, or protecting someone else, never from running from a fight.
Seline began washing the sister once again beginning from her stomach, down her legs and over each wound carefully before stopping and looking up at the sister. "Um... Would you like to get... in there? I'm comfortable washing you... just not that comfortable." Seline asked pointing between Iota's legs. For a moment she thought she saw the sister's cheeks redden as her eyes went a little wider than usual, but she quickly took the washcloth and Seline turned around until the Protector was finished. She waited for a while but when she turned back around Iota was bandaging her own legs with clean white bandages and she had done it so fast that the human had thought she was still just washing herself. Years of experience at a Master's hands aiding her speed, she had even washed her face, neck, and hair.
Iota stood once more and stretched in the cool air of the room, breathing a sigh of relief, as if the bandages themselves had taken the pain away. She turned to face Seline and gave a small smile and a nod, it seemed like she had cheered up slightly, and Seline noticed just then how pretty she looked, even naked as she was, beautiful even. She was tall and slender, but with well defined features and a bust size that had her glancing down at her own, usually well hidden by her armor. Her hips were wide, but not cartoonish so, and she stood noticeably pigeon-toed with both of her legs pointing slightly inward toward her chin, and Seline realized that this was why Big Sisters wore the braces on their legs, to act as armor as well as supports. She decided that the slightly strange stance made her look cuter than if she simply stood towering over her with her legs straight. It made her seem... More human, more... imperfect.
Seline gestured her hand out toward her with a genuine grin. "Look at you! You look beautiful! You should take that bulky armor off more often and wear regular clothes." She chuckled, and Iota gave a bashful smile as she looked down to her bare arms. She pointed her arm at her armor on the floor then brought it up beside her to flex an admittedly impressive muscle to Seline, her face making a mocking angry face as she pursed her lips. Seline giggled again and nodded. "You are strong." She said agreeing with her as she glanced down at the blood covered armor and suit the sister had stripped from. Far stronger than any of us that's for sure. She thought to herself.
Soon Iota's eyes shifted back into her blank, business-like stare, and she turned to look out the entrance to the room. Seline saw her jaw clench and the sister sat back down on the floor, using her Incinerate to burn away her old pieces of flesh that still clung to the inside of her suit, the sickening smell filling the room. She was eager to be back where she belonged, back in her armor. Seline nodded sadly at the sight as she watched the Protector diligently clean her suit and armor as she sat naked on the floor wrapped in bandages.
Joyful moments were rare in Rapture, and rarer still for Protectors. Soon she would be fighting again... Killing again... Wounded and in pain again.