I've been working harder on Big Brother now, ever since getting all your responces to my work. I can't thank all of you enough for all your support. It's been keeping me focued on my work, which can be difficult to do sometimes. I like to write, a lot, and sometimes burn myself out on occasion. Plus, I like switching which stories I'm working on, just to keep the ideas for them fresh and full of everything you enjoy.

On a side note, I was surprised when I recieved notice of how deep Big Brother's character was. I was happy to know that I was doing so well. But even I don't always know what will happen next. I take the raw ideas, fresh out of my mind, and mold them into words. It's only when I make a second pass that my stories begin to evolve even farther than I thought they would be.

But even then, I do have some ideas which I believe all of you might enjoy. If not, I'm still writing them and need more time. Even if my Big Brother chapters are short, they allow me to switch things up on a regular basis when I need it. It really helps me create what I want to happen next, especially when I don't have enough speaking parts to fill things up.

While out on the water, a pair of fishermen were laughing it up until one of them thought he heard something in the distance. It was strange, nothing he had ever heard before in his entire life. It sounded distant, yet so close to them that he felt concerned.

"Hey, you guys ever hear of the Lady of the Sea?" he asked the other two men in the boat.

"Ya, but that's an old wive's tale. Hell, it's older than my great grandma."

"I know, but something's out there." The man looked around, but didn't see anything. The sky was getting cloudy, casting an eerie gloom over the water.

"So what, you thinks it's her, looking for her lost lover?"

"I don't rightly know. But there shouldn't be anyone around here. I mean, the only place around is Jagged Rock. But everybody know's how dangerous it is. I mean, my grandfather nearly joined the stories men who lost their lives to it."

"I know, I almost got thrown against it one time and lost all of my equipment when a wave tipped me over."

"How's you survive?"

"Don't know, I woke up on the shore."

"You don't think it's..."

"Nah, how could it? OW! What the hell?"

"What happened?"

"A fish just fell on me! Look, it's in the boat!" Sure enough, the fish was flopping about.

"Are you sure it didn't just jump?"

"It didn't jump, I can tell you that much. Hit me square on the top of my head, it did."

Out of the sky came another fish, barely missing the boat. Then two more came down, one of them falling into the lap of one of the men. Taking this as a bad omen, they grabbed the oars and started to row. They wanted to get out of there as quickly as they could, they didn't know just what was happening.

"What the hell happened back there?"

"You're asking me?"

"Stop yelling you two and grab the boat! Nobody is going to believe this when we get back!"

While two of the men were getting ready to leave, the third looked out and thought he saw something in the water. He didn't know if he was seeing right, but he thought he saw glowing red eyes, watching him as the rain began to fall. Whatever it was out there, it dissappeared without a trace.

"Great, first fish, now rain!"

"What are you standing around there for? Get a move on!"

"R-right!" With that, the men were gone.

In the forest, a lone girl was out picking berries and mushrooms. She knew this area well, for her family have lived here for many generations. They knew all the spots where the good berries grow and which mushrooms were not poisonous to eat.

She pops one of the berries into her mouth and puckers up when she realizes that it wasn't ripe yet. The girl moves to the next bush, hoping to find some that were ready to be picked. Along the way, she spots a few mushrooms growing on an old tree. Checking to make sure as to which kind they were, she leaves them when they prove to be the poisonous kind. But further on, on an old stump, she finds several large mushrooms and took those. She could recognize the plants here on sight alone, a skill she picked up from her mother and grandmother.

While she was busy looking, she fails to realize that she isn't alone. A hungry bear was looking for those same berries, and it wasn't about to share its new food source. After catching her scent, it rears up on it's hind legs and roared. Caught by surprisem, the girl drops her basket, and against all logic, she ran. Thinking it found prey, the bear took off after her.

She darted through the bushes and small trees, hoping her smaller size would help. But the bear was undetered. It charged through the bushes, unfazed and easily found its way through the trees. It was hungry and wouldn't let an easy meal get out of it's sight.

It didn't matter how fast she ran or what path she took, the bear easily caught up to her and knocked her down with a swipe of its paw. The girl's arm was snapped in two with the power of the blow and she screamed.

Then came another, one that silenced the whole forest. Even the bear stopped moving from the sudden feeling that flowed over it. Out of thin air, something appeared before it in a strange haze and kicked the bear before dissapearing again. Rocks began to pelt it from all sides and another scream rattled it to its core. Unable to defend itself, the bear turned tail and ran.

Barely hanging on to conciousness, the girl felt her arm snap together. She screamed from the pain, but the person rocked her. This person was strong, yet so gentle. She tried to open her eyes, to see the face of her saviour, but all she could see was a strange mist covering them both. Everything went black after that.

When the girl awoke, she found herself at the edge of the small town she lived in. The bones in her arm were held in place by branches wrapped in soft tree bark. She whispered her thanks and walked to the doctor's house.

A pair of glowing eyes watched her go before leaving into the forest, the basket of berries and mushrooms in hand.

In the small tavern, three men were cradling their drinks, which they have barely touched.

"Hey," one of them began, making another jump, "do you think the legend was actually true?"

"What do you know about it?"

"Only that it all started when a woman waited for years for her lover to return. Legend says, she waited her entire life, dedicated to looking over the water for him. But it was all in vane when his ship was thrown into Jagged Rock. I'm guessing she's returned, hoping to find her man."

"You must be joking, there's no such thing as the Lady of the Sea."

The third man spoke up, "Wasn't your daughter saved from a bear attack just yesterday?"

"Ya, but she never got a look at the person. She doesn't even know if it was a woman or not."

The other man ran his hand through his hair, "That's true. But I heard from one of the fishermen that he'd seen glowing eyes."

"And you believed him?" the man answered a little to loudly.

"Keep your voice down! Of course I didn't believe him. But these strange events happning around here, they just aren't natural."

The third man put his cup down, "So, what, a kind soul helping a girl in trouble is unnatural now?"

"That's not what I said."

"You sure make it sound that way."

"I'm talking about these stories of raining fish. Or a mysterious person helping a child in the forest without ever being seen. Then there are those sightings of glowing dots in the middle of the night. Hell, my wife says she saw them too, right outside our window."

"I'd tell you that your wife is likely daft, but she'd probably let me have it something good if she ever found out."

The second man only agreed, "She'd probably ask the Lady of the Sea to help her do it too."

"I still don't see what you ever seen in that woman." The first man stated.

It was the third who replied with, "How about a chest as grand as Jagged Rock and hips like an ocean wave?"

"Hey, you're talking about my wife!"

"I'm just saying that she's still attractive, even after all this time."

"I'll drink to that." The first man raised his glass.

"Here, here!"

"Well, it's about time!" cried the bartender. "You boys have been sitting there for nearly four hours on your first drink! Someone would start thinking that you've been talking about the Lady of the Sea."

"No, just worried that my wife will get jealous is all!"

The bartender relaxed, "If you were worried about that, then why'd you marry her in the first place? That woman would have to be soft in the head to be jealous of an old myth."

Back inside her cave, she quickly devoured the fish she caught. These had been her best source of sustenance down in Rapture. She was unsure about the rest, though. She had never seen blue berries or mushrooms before. Many of the trees and plants were now flooded as water found its way inside many sections. The only elidble ones left were the seaweed outside, which wasn't all that great to begin with. But without a source of ADAM from the Splicers, she had to make due with what she could.

She didn't know what to do now, she never left Rapture before. Even in the times she went outside, she never left its proximity. She knew nothing of this strange world on the surface, but there was no going back.

Packed in a corner of the cave, most of her equipment was sitting quietly. Her helmet, oxygen tank, and needle were all broken and useless. Even if there was a way to fix them, she didn't have the knowledge to do so. And even then, she didn't know where she was. She woke up here in this cave one day, alone, hungry, and felt fear for the first time in years.

In the past, she always had her sisters. They had always been there, watching over Rapture, making sure the Little Sisters were safe. Many Little Sisters were taken away when a strange person appeared, looking so much like Big Daddy. She remembered a strange-looking Big Sister helping him take them away. She had done something to them, changing them, until they weren't Little Sisters any longer.

She felt betrayed that day, but that quickly became feelings of failure and rage.

So she took it out on all the Splicers she could find. It was only when their numbers began to dwindle that her anger cooled. Then she found him, a being as big and powerful as Big Daddy. She had sensed this when she listened to one of his tape recordings. He had their power, and followed the same path, but he had a choice. He had chosen to stay with a Little Sister, to be a protector. In those first moments that he didn't care to chase her off, it was the first time in many years that she felt safe.

She lights a fire with Incinerate and watches as it burns. Even in its warmth, it was cold compaired to how she had felt. Even in the end, he was a protector. No! She wouldn't think like that! There was no way he could be gone! All she had was a shattered vial and a ruined recording tape. He had to be out there, he had too...

Now those same feelings of security haunted her.

Memories rushed into her mind, reminding her of her troubled past. She didn't want to remember! She wanted to forget! She wanted to die, to be an angel like all the others! Maybe then, she could see Big Daddy again...

But the memories came anyways.

After a strange man had come and stolen a number of her sisters, those who remained didn't know what to do. All they could do was wonder why he took them away. They were safe with Big Daddy, he was always their protector! Big Daddy never left them, never wanted anything from them but to love them, to take care of them! Big Daddy always protected them, no matter what! Even when he fell down, he would always get back up and protect them from the monsters!

But as the years went by, she started growing up, and Mr. Bubbles stopped loving her like he used too. When she couldn't fit in the air ducts anymore, she was forced to stay by his side. But he seemed confused at times, unsure if she was his daughter anymore. No matter how many times she tried to remind him, he would wander off while she slept, hidden in some hole or another.

Then came the day that the monsters attacked. An explosion collapsed part of the roof on top of her, leaving her pinned down. She remembered the fire and lightning that stole Mr. B away from her. As the light in his eyes went out, she began to realize that he wasn't going to get back up again and save her this time. She only survived that day because the rubble that held her also hid her until one of her sisters came to her rescue.

Then she came to see the giant men, who looked so much like Mr. Bubbles, so much so that they even had the same names. But they had daughters too, who they still loved. But over time, these men abanonded their daughters, forgeting who they were, or were taken by the monsters. They had to fight to survive, fight the monsters with everything they had.

In the beginning, they lost several of their sisters, the impact of their loss cutting deep in the rest of them. Some of the girls even started walking with the large men, calling them Mr. Bubbles like they all did when they were still around.

Then came the day that, in a fit of fear, she set one of the monsters on fire. It happened so suddenly that she pushed him away without touching him. That was on that day that her powers came to be. It had to be the ADAM she collected from the angels. It was making her stronger, giving her the power to protect her sisters. And as she grew up, her powers got even stronger.

But even then, she and the others were weak and easy to be taken by surprise by the monsters. So, she salvaged what she could, making herself a suit that mimicked what Mr. Bubbles always wore. Over time, she added a larger needle, so she could fight the monster and still collect ADAM from the angels. The others followed her example, collecting all they could.

Then a woman came to them, calling herself Elenor Lamb. She called to them, and they realized that she too was one of them, only different in some way. She gave them the name, Big Sister, for they were to protect their new sisters, who were being brought here. All of them had fathers, who loved them as much as their fathers loved them in the past.

Over time, Elenor lost her voice, but they barely noticed. They watched over their new sisters, hoping to protect them and return them to Mr. Bubbles whenever they got into trouble.

Then, after the Little Sister were taken away, much of Rapture flooded as one of the towers suddenly tore itself from the city. Several Big Sisters were nearly killed that day, if it hadn't been for their armor and powers of Telekinesis. She had been among them...

The memories begin to fade, letting her breathe again. What was that? Why did it have to unleash everything like that? And why did is sound so familiar, like a voice of one she once knew? It spoke to her, just like how Elenor once did, before she lost her voice.

The growling in her stomach snaps her out of her thoughts. Whatever it was, she was starving now, even after the fish she already ate. She takes one of the berries and eats it, only to be surprised by the sweetness. It was enough for her to forget her pain, letting it pass in the form of her tears. Though she cried, falling to her weakness, she didn't mind. Somehow, she felt that she needed this.

Once her tears had dried up, and the food was gone, she got up and left the cave to look out into the sea. She couldn't help but gaze upon the thrashing surface that crashed against the rocks below. Taking one step forward, she launched herself into the waves and dissapeared.

"So, what do you think?" the man asked as he pushed his turtle-shell glasses back up his crooked nose.

The short, balding man shrugged his shoulders, "Not sure. These rumors of someone in the water and flying fish is strange, to say the least."

"Then you think there's a chance that someone's surfaced?"

"We can't rule out that possibility. Ever since our contact vanished, there wasn't much we could do. It was fortunate, though, when we found that tower floating like it did. The specimenes we found would have been perfect if they weren't already deceased. But our research has unlocked some truely fasinating discoveries."

"Have you been able to reproduce them?" the man asked, taking off his glasses to clean the dirty lenses.

"Unfortuantely no, our experiments have serious side-effects if they aren't properly sustained. And the substances we need to do so have been an issue as well. For some reason, many of our subjects have been suffering from delusions. We aren't sure what's causing them."

"Are they still able to fight?"

"Madness has a use as well. In fact, their fighting abilties have only increased."

"Whatever they found down there, it must have been truly powerful, maybe even god-like."

"There are no gods in our field of work, I hope you remember that."

"Don't worry, my good fellow, I only say that because this power can easily control the world. At least if it falls into the right hands."

"I suspect that those hands would be ours then, am I correct?"

The man's smile was almost ear-to-ear, "Of course."

"Then there is something else we should check into. There is a matter of a strange occurance that seems to have the Queen stirring in her sleep."

"Yes, she has been doing that for some time. Any changes in her production?"

"None, she has been holding up quite well after all these years."

"Good. Now, send a team to investigate, make sure they bring back anything of interest."