I know this has been awhile. I've been busy and have also been dealing with a bit of writer's block. It's hard trying to work these things out sometimes. In the end, all I can do is hope to keep writing and keep you happy.
Plus, you're feedback has been amazing. I know my chapters are a bit short, but I still have work and my attention span isn't always long enough. But I keep at it.
"So, what is it that you have brought to me today?"
"We aren't sure, we found quite a mess around a dead whale. The thing was bleeding from the eyes and must have been driven insane by the pain."
"That is of no concern to me. What have you discovered?"
"Our men discovered a large man in some sort of diving suit. We aren't sure of his identity, but we are certain that he has been modified in some way."
The scientist lowered his glasses, "Oh? Modified in what way?"
"First of all, he is larger than any man I have ever seen. Much of that seems to have been grafted into that suit he is wearing as well. But when one of our men came closer, he suddenly woke up and started walking back into the water. When one of the men tried to stop him, he growled and hit him. Nearly broke his face."
"I'm sure, now continue."
"We had to let Soldier Three out to take him down. But when he attacked, the man suddenly went berserk and beat Solder Three into the ground. We had to let out Soldier One, Two, and Five out to finish the job. Only Soldier Two made it back. I am hoping that the damage is not sever enough to hamper your research."
"No, if what you are telling me is correct, he has been modified on a genetic level. And from what you say, his form had already been perfected. What you did to the body is of no concern as long as there is something to be examined."
"I will leave you to your work then good doctor." The man turned and ordered two more to wheel the large figure inside. He was wrapped in chains and had a piece of metal welded over his chest to keep him there.
"So, what secrets do you hold for me?" He stared into the porthole and saw the yellow light inside begin to dim. "Oh, dying on me are you? We can't have that. I want to squeeze out every bit of information I can out of you first. Then I will consider letting you die." He took a large needle and jabbed into in a bare bit of skin. He injected a heavy concoction of stimulants into the bloodstream and waited as they went to work. The glow brightened, but not by much. The body was just too big for the, normally-lethal, dosage. But it was just enough that the subject wouldn't be lost so easily. "Good, now we can begin. First, I will need a sample to work with." The scientist removed a bonesaw from the cabinet. "I am sure you won't be bothered by a bit of pain. And judging from what you have already survived, you look like you will survive the proceedure."
"Hey, there's something over here!" the man called.
"What is it?"
"I don't know, it's like a ship of some kind. It looks like something was inside it too. Damn, what a stink!" The man couldn't help but recoil when the stench of decay hit him.
"Be careful, I thought it heard som-" the other man suddenly stopped mid-sentence and failed to appear.
"Hey, are you ok? Hey, say something!" The man saw a shadow, but failed to see the ones prowling in those behind him until it was too late. "Hey, who are you? No, no, get away from me!"
His screams filled the night air.
"Sorry, but you're face is too good to give up, and you won't be needing it now. Hurry up you lot, one of you get back in and send the damned thing back down!"
"Why don't you do it if you want it to go back so badly?"
"Damn it, just listen for once you wench! We need ADAM, but right now, we need a few more to find it. I just know there's some up here, I can almost smell it."
"Alright already, don't get your face into a knot, oh wait, too late for that."
"Keep it up and I'll cut that tongue out of you and feed it to the fishes. At least they will know how to hold it."
"Wake up..."
She shifted in her sleep, her mind in turmoil. The nightmares were returning, but this time something was trying to get in.
"Wake up!"
Her eyes were already open wide, but she was still sleeping, and the memories were coming back again. They were so much stronger than before. Who was doing this to her? Why did she have to remember?
"Wake up, you have to wake up!"
Someone...someone was calling for her...but who? She blinked, their dim glow becoming the only light in the cave.
"They need you!"
What? Who was she talking about? Her memories were distorted. She couldn't remember the past from the present. She had tried to forget the past, since she had nobody left to remember.
"They need your help!"
Who? The memories were trying to return, but with them came fear, pain, suffering. It was a dark tunnel that she didn't want to pass through.
"They want to help you!"
A faint memory returned, of strong hands, stretching out for her. NO, she wouldn't let them take her! She wouldn't let them hurt her anymore! She ripped a boulder out of ground with Telekinesis and hurled it into the darkness. She heard it crash into the far wall. But there was no one there. She was all alone.
"They were always there to accept you!"
No, nobody accepted her! Nobody cared about her. Nobody cared about what happened to her.
"They want to protect you from the monsters!"
No, the monsters were always coming after her. Without her Daddy...she was all alone.
"They still want to be your friend!"
She had no friends...didn't...she...?
"They want to be a family!"
She didn't have family...other than...her sisters...and Mr. Bubbles...and...
"They want to be your family!"
No...they were...
"Just relax, and remember..."
All the mental programming she had gone through was starting to unravel. The memories that were suppressed had never been forgotten, only hidden underneath many layers. But she remembered now. She remembered how she was sepereated from the one she loved most, even before becoming what she was now.
"They are in danger..."
The rocks around her shiver and shake. A crack appears in the wall, pulled open by the unseen forces putting stress on it.
"Your family is in danger, you have to help them fight the monsters!"
For a moment, even the air was held in place before she vanished.
She sped through the forest, teleporting as she went. Anything that got in her way was pushed aside by her Telekinesis. It was fortunate that she was doing so when a blast of ice was fired at her.
"Damn, I missed!"
"How'd you do that? You could have frozen her eyeballs with that one!"
"I don't know!"
"Hit her again!"
That scent, she knew the scent of ADAM, but it was strange, different in a way. Another shot of Winter Blast was launched at her, freezing part of a nearby tree. As the wood froze, it couldn't support it's own weight and shattered. The pieces pelted her with great force, causing her to turn and close her eyes. Without her helmet, she had to protect her face.
"Hit her, now, before she can escape!"
"Stop yelling already, I'm doing it!" the Splicer let off another blast, but she was already gone in a burst of violet haze.
"Behind us!"
The Big Sister stopped when she realized that she had been found out and jumped out of the Winter Blast's path. The second shot she countred with a blast of her Incinerate. Steam erupted between them as the two opposing attacks collided.
"I got you!" she was unprepaired for the third and felt her arm become encased in ice. It was only a partial hit, but she wouldn't have full control of her powers in this condition. She mustered a single fireball with her free hand and hurled it at the Splicers, but they were already on the move. Somehow, these two were much more coordinated than those in Rapture.
It was at that moment that she realized that these weren't Rapture's Splicers. Their bodies were not as degraded and their minds weren't wracked with insanity. They were also wearing military clothes, something that could never be found in Rapture.
"Alright, you got a shot now."
She focued her attention on the one who spoke. He was the brains of the two, the other was the muscle. Another shot of Winter Blast whizzed by her head, freezing a few strands of her hair as she ducked for cover. She smacked her arm against a tree, hoping to free herself. To her shock, the ice was still too strong to break without doing the same to her arm.
The tree she was hiding behind cracked and fell as the ice brought it down. She hurled a fireball and made her move towards the other Splicer. He was just standing on his own without the protection of his partner. It was only when she saw the leaves swirlling in the wind around him that she stopped and teleported as the Cyclone Trap went off.
When she reappeared, she was safely out of reach, high in a tree. While the two strange Splicers looked for her, she pulled her power into her arm, slowly melting the ice. But it wasn't going to be enough. She need her arm now to fight these new Splicers. Their tactics were unlike those of any Splicer that have fallen to her needle. It didn't help that she didn't have her helmet, or a weapon for that matter.
A pale figure, hanging upside down on a branch above her, whispered into her ear, "Twinkle, twinkle, little star, my flames will reach you, you can't run far."
She was dropped from her perch when the tree suddenly burst into flames.
"There she is, hit her, now!"
The two Splicers nodded and launch their attacks, the fire and ice combining as they struck and exploded as steam. The Big Sister was burned by the intense heat, but it released her arm. She flexes the numbness out of her fingers and watches as a fireball came to life in her hand once again.
She tossed it at the Splicer above her while another blast of ice was hurled her way. Using her Telekinesis, she catches it in mid-air. With a thought, she turned it to dust and used her powers to pick up one of the fallen trees. It was heavy, but she had the strength to lift it and hurl it towards them. The first two got out of the way but the ice-user was caught and was nothing more than a long smear of red on the ground.
The fire-user was able to dodge the attack, but he was soon caught by her Telekinesis. If she had her voice and a solid mind, she could have said something witty like he did. Instead, she did a mental flick of her thumb and the Splicer went still.
The third was nowhere to be seen, having already run for his life. She picked up a broken branch and used Incinerate on the tip until it was black and hard. Her Telekinesis sent it flying with such speed that it pierced the tree that the Splicer was hiding behind. Even though he was nearly half a kilometer away, she found her mark.
Unfortunately, there were more out there. Their scents mingled with that of blood, creating a combination that was most intoxicating. It brought up old memories, but she wasn't afraid anymore. All that fear was from all the fighting she had to do in order to survive, combined with the mental conditioning she was forced into. The process had not yet been perfected, so it left it's mark on her. The strange presence who spoke to her did what it could to pierce those barriers. With their power draining, she could remember just what had happened so long ago that had put so many things in motion.
As she moved through the forest, fighting off the strange Splicers she encountered, the memories flooded back into her mind once again. She didn't fight it, she took it in, for there was nothing that would hold her back any longer.
x
"Hello there, how are you?" he asked the girl beside her. The man was enormous compaired to her, but it could have been because she was so small. "Do you have a name?"
"I...I'm..." the bigger girl hid her face in her hands.
"I guess you're a little shy. That's alright. My name's Patrick, Patrick Drake. I'm happy to meet you." He exteneded his hand, which was almost big enough to fit her whole head in.
The bigger girl pulled away and looked like she was afraid of him.
The giant man turned to one of the people in white coats and said, "I don't think this is working. She doesn't seem to be interested in talking."
"Let's try with the other one. They're twins, but that one is a bit older. The younger one should be a little easier to work with."
One of the people walked up to her and led her towards the giant man.
"Hello, it's nice to meet you."
"Hi!" she squeeked. "I'm your Little Sister!"
"That's good. If you're my sister, then I guess that makes me your bigger brother."
"Bigger brother? Big Brother!" she squeeled and hopped about. "Big Brother, Big Brother!"
The bigger girl suddenly threw her arms around her and squeezed her tightly, "My sister, my sister!"
"Alright, alright. You're a good big sister if you're so protective of her."
"Big Sister, Big Sister!" she squeeled and gave the other girl the biggest hug her little arms could muster.
The giant man turned to one of the coat people, "How old did you say they were when you found them?"
"That is of no concern for you. Are you able to proceed?"
"I guess so. I have to say, this is a little strange. It seems like at least one of them likes me."
"Keep at it, maybe the other will accept you too."
The giant man turned back to them, "My name is Patrick, what's your name?"
"This is Sara!" she exclaimed. "My name is Susan! Sara, this is Big Brother! He looks funny!"
"Hey, I don't look funny, I'm just big. Maybe you're the funny-looking ones."
Sara started to giggle and threw up her arms, "Big Brother!"
One of the coat people came up to them and put a hand on the giant man's shoulder, "Alright, we should keep just one with you. That way, you can focus on protecting that one. The other can be put into the Protector program."
"I'll go!" Susan called. She waved to Big Brother and Big Sister as she was led away.
Along the way, she heard Big Brother say, "Do they really have to be split up like this? I mean, they're sisters."
"I told you that this is something you shouldn't concern yourself about. Keep this up, and we may have to keep you in the tank."
"No, I'm alright. I'll do my job and be quiet."
It was sometime later, she went to the Little Sister school, when she met her Daddy. When he looked down at her, he held out his hand. He was big, just like Big Brother.
"Hello." She put her hand in his and started her search for the angels. He would always protect her, no matter what.
No matter what...
"From what information I have gathered from the materials, you are proving to be quite valuable to our cause. The subjects we had to work with before were already dead when they found them. Their bodies were already deteriorated. But what samples we were able to collect have unlocked many of the secrets of what lies below."
The man adjusted his glasses and continued, "But you, you're body is still alive, still fresh. Your genetic materials have allowed us to truly awaken the cells in our soldiers. Before, most were too pathetic to keep around. We had to recycle them and use their modified materials in the next batch. But the process always had a bump or two along the way, so only a few ever showed any real ability. With your materials though, we have increased our numbers by nearly ten times. And we aren't even finished with you just yet."
He went for the blood-stained bonesaw, "Alright, this will hurt, but you already knew that. I'm glad that you don't scream, I don't want to have to put you under. I don't want any chemical influence contaminating the materials."
"Hey, old man, what's wrong?"
The aging figure stared out the window with a strange look in his wrinkled face. Because of his advanced age, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. The younger man didn't know what to do, but he didn't have to worry about the elder's health. The old man still had a strong body, much stronger than any of the men in the small town. Even though he was covered in various scars from cuts, burns, even bullets, he still held strong.
A woman walked into the room, heavy with child, "Alright you two, dinner's ready."
The younger man turned to his loving wife, "You really shouldn't be up working like this. You should be resting."
"I like working hard, and who knows, our baby might take after me."
The man smiled, "If he does that, I'm out of a job."
But the woman began to pout, "Who ever said it was a boy? I still think it's a girl."
"Alright, alright, I'm not going to argue. I love you." He kissed her on the cheek as he passed.
"And that's why I love you." She turned to the old man, her smile fading. "I know, we've felt it too. I wonder if the others knows about it too. You know how they were like. They miss him so much. He was the only thing that was true."
The old man looked away from the window and smiled, bringing the familiar warmth back to the room. The woman couldn't help but smile too as she followed him to the kitchen.