Hey guys, thank you so much for the reviews! I know, I know, I said it like a thousand times by now, but with all you lovely people's positive remarks, I really just have to! A huge thanks from the bottom of my heart; it really helps writing, knowing that it does actuallyentertain people (and me!) ^_^
And here's Chapter 5:
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Gambit
Wallace had not been idle; his brainless iron guardian had been gone for nearly an hour, in a mysterious room with far too many hostile security cameras that he could care for. Probably more rooms inside.
Brainless?
No. He retracted that thought. Green had protected him, twice, and though the bugger could only go 'Ooaaaaggghhhhh' and 'Onnnngggghhhhh', the hint of a Man was definitely behind those caged port-lights. That thought caused him to pause, and ponder.
Or he could be one seriously screwed up Big Daddy, pun intended.
His EVE hypos were consumed to a last, single one, and he was beginning to... crave. He knew what would happen, what had happened to the rest of Rapture – incoherent thoughts, insatiable hunger for ADAM, exaggerated delusions of grandeur – all that, came from the lack of splicing. EVE helped, but like a trickle of water in a desert, it still felt... diluted compared to the wonderfully viscous, sickly red liquid. He felt that soon, even a constant supply of EVE would not satisfy his... lust. More ADAM needed to be found, just enough, to get out of this hell-hole.
But what then...?
No, one step at a time, one bridge to cross first. He will deal with it when the time comes, but first, survival.
He caught a glint of light at the corner of his eye; it was unassuming, possibly a nickel or equally trivial. But the scavenger in him told him otherwise, that opportunity can present itself anywhere. So he shrugged his shoulders, and strode over quite casually.
A small vial of ADAM lay hidden beneath some torn and soaked newpapers. Instantly, his eyes flared, his body resisting every urge to smash the vial and lick the contents clean. And then paranoia set it; the last time he found a stash of EVE, it happened to be the savings of three other splicers. His head cocked in various directions, a hawk eyeing for danger, clutching his new-found loot with absolute greed.
"Fish caught da bait..." someone chuckled sinisterly in some dark corner. The silhouette of a tall, lanky male appeared out of the shadows, as if simply phasing into existence. Joe, the Spider splicer Wallace had met before.
"Honey, our guest is going through our things!" a worried high pitched voice came from around the corner; a female dressed in what would have been a beautiful blue blouse emerged, shotgun in hand. "It's so rude, darling... unless... UNLESS...!" she gasped.
"Don't ya worry none, doll-face. I'll take care of this wretch there for ya!" chirped the Spider, almost politely.
"Oh sweetie, don't be silly! He's a guest – I gotta get ta SERVING HIM, tee hee!" the pitch of her voice changed dangerously, as something clicked in her shotgun.
"Baby, what woulda do without yah?" cackled the Spider, and the both of them lunged at Wallace.
******
Fedora-head was not there. Green felt his body tense slightly, a sense of urgency rising within him. He recalled back to what Lee had told him; that his protection bond wasn't limited to the Gatherers. Does it make him care for those he protected? Or was it simply a job; those injured under his care would drive him insane, all because of an artificial bond? Was there even a difference? Should he even care?
He shocked himself for having these thoughts; thoughts that probably, no, should have been alien to him. It was unnerving, uncomfortable. And almost unwelcomed. What in the world did those bright lights do?
Distantly, he could hear chatter and cackling. Nothing out of the ordinary, until the blast of a shotgun rang clearly in the haunted halls.
Time seemed to have slowed down, as Green's mind expanded, his senses sharpened. His body began to move on its own, and Green made no resistance; he knew something was terribly wrong. His auditory senses, acute as they were now, guided his body towards the source of the gunshot, his legs felt numb from the sheer speed of his running; it surprised even himself. He cared not however, as his body knew what it was doing.
As he turned a corner, uncomfortable questions crept into his mind. What if Wallace was the one that committed violence, the one that shot? What will he be forced to do?
His musings became interrupted as he turned another corner. The hallway opened up into a large hall of some kind; in the middle, Wallace was pinned down by a Spider that seemed oddly familiar, and a horrendously mutated female shoving a shotgun into Wallace's mouth. The woman's face was utterly unnatural, as if someone had attempted to mould the perfect face with plastic.
Green felt euphoric, relieved that Wallace was the one in trouble. And then panic surged through his veins as Wallace was only seconds away from becoming Rapture art décor.
His footsteps had already announced his arrival, as the Spider turned to meet the Bouncer's gaze. The Big Daddy roared dangerously, his gravel voice shaking the entirety of Rapture. But instead, the Spider grinned, flashing his few but razor sharp teeth. "Two birds wit' one stone," he cackled.
:: STOMP, STOMP, STOMP, STOMP :: as Green rushed down the hallway. He did not care what the Spider just said, only that man needed to die. Badly. Suddenly however, searing pain shot through his entire body, his limbs going into spasm by their own accord; he had failed to noticed the cleverly placed wires at the mouth of the hallway. Roaring in pain, he collapsed onto the ground, his legs giving a final jitter, before becoming locked in place.
The duo laughed viscously at the immobile Big Daddy, "Ya're gonna watch every moment o' this, Tin Daddy. But hold tha' thought! Ya'll be gettin' some attention too, don ya WORRY!!" cackled the Spider.
"Oh honey, let me do him too! Oh please, baby? It's our honeymoon!" pleaded the female Leadhead. "Sure, toots. I ain't nothin' but a gentleman."
"I LOVE you!" The Leadhead pumped her shotgun, muzzle still in Wallace's protesting mouth. Green moaned pathetically, weakly extending his left arm towards Wallace, his vision going blurry simply from the effort of raising his hand. Damn those lights! They made him weak!
The duo simply turned to the groaning figure, and laughed. The high ground was theirs, and these two miserable insects, one of them a rather large one, were powerless in their might. The duo were elated – even a Big Daddy was no match for them.
In their ecstasy of self-love, they suddenly found themselves kissing the wall, on the other end of the hall. Something fierce had sent them flying.
The air surrounding Green shimmered a moment, particularly around his left hand. He felt his blood expand, as energies gathered at his palm. A split second later, he felt the splicers' bodies as his mind ordered the two to disappear. They were flung into the distance, and tumbled on the metal ground before smashing into the wall. This renewed the vigour in the Bouncer; there was no time to think of what had happened, but he was glad it happened. He struggled to his feet, still falling down fairly often as his legs refused to behave normally. Wallace wasted no time either; already up and frantically searching for the dropped shotgun.
The Spider rolled his head in a daze, as his eyes caught the sight of the Leadhead, who laid still by the wall, her head coated in blood. He gritted his teeth (what's left of them), and glared at the two that dared to take his woman away. He snarled like a beast, and then abruptly grinned. He shall be the last one laughing.
"HEY! HEY YA FUCKERS!" the Spider yelled out, as he flung an audio diary, clicking the Play button as it left his fingers. "Somethin' for ya, bucket-head. He thinks he can be runnin' wit' ya, HAH!" the Spider cackled, as he dashed into one of the hallways in the room, grasping his ribs.
Green held out his left hand at the Spider, but felt nothing coursing through his veins. He was expended, tired; barely walking properly. Wallace was staring at the audio diary, mouth gaped open.
******
... thinks h'mself greater than Lamb. The Lamb.
It was Wallace's own voice.
Th' damned Big Daddies better Utopians than Eleanor? Her Eleanor?! Fuckin' blasphemy!!
I dunno what th' fuck tha' nutjob's doin' with them Big Daddy formula, but Lamb's gonna love this. I'ma gettin' Sam in it. Bet he'll love ta see Lee's fuckin' face in a vat.
:: click ::
******
"... th' fuck he got tha'? Oh... shit..." Wallace's gaze turned to meet Green's, who had his neutral yellow lights shining directly at him, barely an inch away. The white suited splicer tripped on his own feet backwards, cold sweat beginning to run down on his forehead.
"W-whoa whoa now big fella, no h-hard feelin's now... we all b-b-believed in Lamb tha' time, y'know...? C-c'mon man, t-this whole time w-we've been through...?"
The Bouncer understood the context of the audio diary. Wallace's reactions confirmed that the splicer was responsible for Lee's, his, condition. He should be feeling angry. He should be filled with righteous fury, at the man that caused his transformation, the same man that gambled on the memory loss due to the Process, and exploited the safety of being around a Bouncer that had oddly enough, saved his life. Wallace should be drilled.
Lee certainly would have. But not Green.
He couldn't even feel those emotions towards Wallace. The splicer had done no wrong to the Big Daddy ever since his awakening, only taking refuge in what the Bouncer had set out to do. Whatever wrong was done to Lee, a man that is nothing more than another echo in the ruined halls of Rapture. He did not live Lee's life, and the man's memories are but tingling sensations at the back of his brain.
There was nothing he could resent the splicer for. Wallace may have ended Lee's life, in a way, but it was because of him, Green exists. And he could not resent, nor pity himself in his current situation.
The Bouncer flashed momentary green lights, before turning around abruptly to leave. Wallace lay on the floor paralysed, utterly dazed that he was still breathing. It took him a full minute before he accepted what had happened, and caught up with the slow, lumbering behemoth.
******
And that's it! Green's plasmid is actually a rip-off of an ability from another game I absolutely enjoy (which I obviously don't own any rights to). It's pretty easy, and a star goes to anyone who guesses it correctly! (More like anyone that bothers to :P)
Of course, please review if you can! Constructive criticism is always welcomed ^_^