Alrighty, chapter 8! I'm aiming to do a chapter at least once every week, with around 1000-1500 words each chapter. Though holidays are soon over, and things may slow down a notch.
Don't worry though (if anyone's actually worried :P); I love writing these fics. Will be very hard for me to stop writing, unless work decides to be a complete arse. Which I hope not, for my own sake :P
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Web
:: whirrrrrrrrrrrr...! ::
(Sinclair's voice)
So this Lee guy comes along and starts yammerin' 'bout them Big Daddies. He can't even call 'em that, the nutter. Protector this, Protector that...
Dunno what he sees in 'em. Personally, I find that them just as heartwarmin' as it is cooky . It's like the best father-daughter relationship you'd ever see. That goes around suckin' up corpse-juices.
Anyhoo, he wanna start up his own lil experiment, and came lookin' to me for fundin'. I kindly turned him down, o'course, cause there's no profit. And no profit's a waste o'time. He reckons that them Big Daddies got so much ADAM and plasmids in 'em, that they ain't far off from a Lil Sis, 'cept for the slug. He thinks that, if the Daddies are aware enough, they can manipulate ADAM to some degree, and then makin' some real juice with our plasmids. Like... quote, 'Fuckin' fire, lightning and ice all at once', unquote.
Pure bullshit. Though I gotta admit, I'm more worried 'bout him givin' a Daddy awareness, then his actual experiment. I don't wanna be near one when they look into a mirror...
:: click! ::
"Can't believe our luck? Though we shouldna be surprised 'bout Sinclair; ol' fox did stash this circuit-widget-motherboard... thingie in his Deluxe. Guess he thought Ryan wouldna look there, eh? W'at ya think?" Wallace piped up, twirling the piece of gadgetry in his hand.
Green groaned, deep and long, neutrally. This really wasn't important right now.
"AHA! Knew ya waz listenin' all this time."
Green then tensed his right arm, causing the drill to rotate very slowly, and then pointing it nonchalantly at the splicer; a way of saying 'Watch it'. His left hand tightened its grip; he had found a small child's toy during their escapade into Sinclair's Deluxe. It was brown, furry and seemed to mould to touch easily, with two buttons that represented eyes along with four distinct limbs. Instinct told him that Anne might like it, so he picked it up. Wallace then called it a 'Teddy', when the splicer noticed him carrying it.
"Real sucker for lil kids, eh?" cackled the splicer. The Big Daddy didn't understand what was so amusing, so he ignored the splicer. For the first time, Green felt... excited? He wanted to see Anne's reaction to the little Teddy, and ached to see her smile.
******
A small figure huddled close to a 'gun turret' as the adults called it; that it's a friend, ready to save the world and everyone. A huge, buzzing bee fluttered across; its eyes, so many eyes, glowed a lovely green, and so did the tip of its wings. Another friend, they said, that would keep her safe and sound.
Why did they lie?
"Wallace ain't th' only hacker in th' neighbourhood," the Spider hissed sinisterly, his hooked hand drawing closer around Holloway's neck. "Ya'll goin' topside, yea? I'ma comin' along, or ya be a neck short," Joe spoke in a cool manner, the Spider confident that he now has the upper hand.
Holloway cursed silently at her current situation, her shotgun lay on the ground just inches away. The Spider, Joe, managed to hack the security bots and the turrets remotely, and the Spider was far more agile than the elderly woman. She cursed again as she gazed at Anne with her eyes, only a few feet away; a little girl no more than five, exposed to the horrors of Rapture. How did it come to this?
The Spider shot an evil eye at the little girl, flashing an unpleasant grin, "An' we all live happily ever after, ain't that right, sweetcakes?" Anne recoiled, hugging the turret even more, wishing that it would save everyone. Why didn't it?
The clomping of Green's heavy boots could easily be heard, but Joe had been waiting for this. Turning himself and Holloway around to face the hallway, he grinned in anticipation, the expression on his face rotten and warped from over-splicing – his left eye nearly covered from invading flesh of the cheek. How had he wanted to see the expression on Wallace's face.
"Ahh!" the Spider exclaimed, "Prodigal acquaintance returned! Ya really thunk ya coulda beat me with security...? YA REALLY THUNK YA COULD BEAT ME?! Don't go forgettin'... tha' I made 'em. ME!!" All calmness within the Spider dissolved, as he triumphantly declared his victory, stating his superiority over these lesser beings.
"Well, ta be fair... ya had a team---"
"SHUT TH' FUCK UP! I MADE IT ALL! ME!!" The madness was clear in his eyes. Of course, the glory of Rapture's security system – his Rapture – was his, and his alone. The maggots barely helped, simple errand boys fit only to relay material.
Wallace just noticed that Green's lights were already a glaring orange; the Big Daddy won't hold back much longer. The splicer knew Green somehow valued the lives others – not just limited to Little Sisters. Holloway was still useful, and the splicer needed to act quickly to resolve the situation; otherwise the Bouncer would charge in, which could spell the end of the elderly woman.
"W'at ya want, Joey? Fuckin' revenge? We're all gonna die down 'ere anyway--"
"But that's the thin'" the Spider cut in sharply, "Ya'll goin' topside, and I want in--"
Green moaned loudly in protest. He knew this Spider, and he was not going to approve of it. Anne looked so scared huddling by the turret, and he wasn't going to let this... 'man' come along with her.
"SHUT ya fuckin' pet bucket-head up!!" the Spider yelled, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. "Ya'll brin' me up, or I cut this sweet lady's neck, and I sick my babies on ya. S'no-brainer, really," he let out a maniacal chuckle. Victory was indeed, his.
"FINE. Shit!"
"Any funny business," the Spider shoved Holloway in front, towards the duo, "And I set all my babies on ya sad people, ya get? Oh yea. I've been busy."
Holloway walked ahead slowly, her heels clicking sharply on the metallic floor. She maintained her composure as she strode over, her eyes constantly flicking to the side. What about Anne?
She was just a few feet away from the duo, when the Spider suddenly announced, "Fuck the surface," which ended with a resolute click. Holloway barely took another step, as the turrets and security bots blared their alarms... and their guns. Holloway collapsed forward, eyes wide open in shock – only a gasp escaped her lips, as her cry was silenced by abruptness.
******
The woman's figure dropped far slowly than it should have, appearing like a horrific slide show when viewed from Green's portholes. He felt his blood burn with rage, his left hand only halfway raised; too slow to release the pressure building up in his system. Another blast from the ballistics echoed, the clink of the shell snapping out – those sounds shook the Bouncer back to reality. Wallace.
Instantly, he swung his left hand at the gaping splicer, squeezing every muscle in his body. Instinct had guided him to do so, instinct told him what he needed to do. And instinct was right; a faint blue transparent barrier formed around the splicer, water-like ripples propagated from where the bullets hit. The Big Daddy barely took in another breath, before he felt a wave of stinging pain on his own body, and quickly brought his drill to shield himself.
Mind and body screamed, as he maintained the barrier on Wallace while charging at the turret. He could feel each and every bullet that struck the barrier, just as he could feel each and every bullet that struck him. Luckily his sense of pain was dulled, as he let out a terrifying roar; kicking the turret on its side and finalising his kill with a drill-stab, debris and sparks flying everywhere. Two security bots hovered overhead, their guns cooling down from their relentless fire. Green felt a wave a fatigue wash over him as his barrier dropped, relief instantly replacing the fatigue as he slowly recuperated from using his plasmid. But there was no time; the bots blared their alarms again and fired a few rounds at Green's helmet, sending deep annoying vibrations into his headpiece. A few bullets bit into the softer parts of his body.
And then one of the bots was struck with some electrical dart. It sparked and sputtered, struggling to maintain altitude. But as quickly as it happened, the flying robot whirred back to its original altitude; the red lights slowly shifted to yellow, and then green. It swivelled and let loose a merciless barrage at the hostile robot, causing it to explode and flying wildly into a wall, sending dangerous bits of its propeller in every direction. In the corner of his portholes, Wallace flicked his wrist, some wires and a gadget of sorts attached to it. The Bouncer shifted his view through his forward portlights, drill spinning viciously; the Spider couldn't be far.
He was wrong.
Joe hung from a ceiling vent with one arm... and in his other, cradled an exceptionally frightened Anne. The Spider was grinning endlessly, victory he had still claimed.
"Wit' sweetcakes, I be gettin' all the ADAM I WANT!" he cackled, swinging his legs into the vent with impossible acrobatic skill, "Can't be hard Little Sister'ing her!!"
Green shot out his left hand, the Spider's hand was still visible. His body felt tired, but he knew he could do it, just like before. Feel the blood, feel the tension, and releasing it. But at the moment of critical decision, he hesitated; something inside of him screamed at him to stop. 'Little Sister'ing'... could it possibly mean... does it mean... Anne will be... right? His?
"I AM KING!" the Spider yelled from the vents, "SECURITY! ADAM! ALL MINE!!" he cackled maniacally, as the thumping in the vents got fainter, and fainter.
Wallace dove in and snatched Holloway's shotgun, firing futilely at the ceiling, "JOOOOEEEEEEYYYYY!!!" he cried, as the next trigger ended with a soft click. Curling his lips into a snarl, he flung at gun at the ground, causing it to bounce up a few inches... and glared at the Big Daddy.
"Th' fuck ya doin'?! I saw it, ya had yer hand on 'im.... ya HAD 'im!!" he yelled, referring to Green's new plasmid, "But ya chickened! A fuckin' BIG DADDY goin' yellow bellied!!" he paused.
"FuuuuuuccCCCCKKKK!!!! Fuck fuck FUCK!!!" He turned away from the Bouncer, yelling at no one in particular. He inhaled deeply many times, before cooling down. Green simply stood there, dumbfounded.
The splicer heaved a sigh, before speaking in a calm manner, "Look buddy, gettin' Sister'd is... terrible, o'right? It's like... becomin'... ya, but as a fuckin' kid. It's literally killin' Anne," Wallace paused, letting the message sink in. Green felt his heart(s) skip, his portlights began to fluctuate in different shades of colour, ranging from red, to yellow, to orange, to red again.
"Ya don't want ta be responsible for it. Trust me..." Wallace drifted off, "I din care at first... hell, I din care none at all. Not 'til I saw w'at ya been doin'."
There was a silence, and Green found himself fighting his thoughts, his emotions, Suchong's conditioning, everything.
"We'll get 'er back. But right now, we need Sinclair. Joey's got th' whole place locked down an' souped up, an' Sinclair's th' only one that woulda know this place more than anyone. I hope that gadget we found works on a Vita Chamber... for our sakes..."
Wallace had moved ahead of Green, a determined expression on his face. The Bouncer didn't immediately follow, instead he turned around to catch the sight of Holloway's lifeless form, thudding his way towards her; the Teddy had somehow ended up beside the woman. He let out a long sorrowful moan, as he picked up the elderly woman's body, cradling her in his left arm. He continued to moan mournfully, as he lumbered onwards, trying to catch up with Wallace.
******
Okay, this chapter took a completely different turn while I wrote it. Joe the Spider, who initially began as a 'oh look, spider splicer guy' turned into someone I felt disgusted to write about.
Hope you guys enjoyed it!