Thank you fo your reviews. I had a feeling that I was going off track, but I didn't know how bad it was getting. I will be trying to resolve what I can now. I'm still learning, and it's only through the feedback that I can really learn what I need.

Here's something you probably don't know yet, when I first started, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with this story. I've mostly been writing from the seat of my pants, as it were. I was actually greatly surprised, and I still am, about all the reviews I've been getting. All of my others works combined haven't matched to how many views I've gotten on this one.

I hope you keep reading, and spread the word, more hits is always nice.

As the scientist stood over the large figure before him, he felt a tinge of regret. He had taken all four of his limbs and removed some of the organs. A few were difficult to extract, as they were grafted to his suit. He had left one of the eyes inside the man's skull as a way to determine his health. But now there was no light shining from the porthole.

"It appears that our subject has expired. A pity, really. I was hoping to harvest his blood next. But no matter, our ranks have grown a hundred fold since you came here. And what remains will allow us to expand a hundred more."

"Doctor, we have reports of a strange figure tearing through our soldiers. Out of nearly three hundred, only four have returned. They speak of powers similar to their own, but on a much higher level."

"Oh?" the scientist was interested now. There was a fresh specimen for him to harvest for materials. And if this one possessed actual powers, not just the dormant traces in his last subject, the possibilities were endless.

"Do you wish for the capture of this intruder?"

"You know me so well. Yes, capture them and bring them to me. I will extract everything I can. I want blood, bone, marrow, sinew, muscle, every part that possesses traces of this fantastic substance. The higher the purity the better! Leave me to my work now, I have to collect all that remains."

The soldier left the man to his work, if only to ensure that he wouldn't end up on an operating table as well. Though nobody in the army had any respect for the man, they all feared the brilliance his insanity brought about. If it wasn't for him, they would have never been able to become what they were now.

But if only he had a better subject. This mere Big Daddy was not going to give them true power.

Though sleep still clung to the corners of her mind, she looked out across the water through her window. It was bright and warm today, but there was something that bothered her. For nearly two years now, she heard a strange sound coming from the ocean. It sounded lonely, as if calling for someone. But every time it happened, it put her on edge, like a bad dream reaching for her. Her sisters didn't seem to hear it, but that was probably because they were younger when they were purified of the slugs inside them.

She had been a couple years older when she had been rescued. The ADAM in her body had become more permanent. The sound seemed to resonate with some memory, but it was too faint to know what it was. A pair of wrinkled hands covered her eyes, surprising her from her thoughts.

"Alright, Jack, I know it's you. I just wish you wouldn't do that. Just because you don't make a sound when you walk doesn't mean you can just sneak up on me."

The old man didn't say a word, he simply let go and sat down beside her. It has been nearly twenty three years since he came to Rapture and saved her and her sisters. If it wasn't for him, they would have still been down there, either harvesting ADAM or lying dead somewhere.

She heard giggling and knew just who it was, "Alright you, come out."

A young girl, only four years of age, appeared in the doorway, "Grandpa wanted to surprise you."

"He certainly did just that. And here I thought you were on my side."

"Grandpa gave me some candy."

Great, the woman thought, going for her weak point. She turned to the old man and gave him a hard poke, "And what are you doing with candy? It's hard enough trying to get enough getting enough fresh fruit!"

The old man just shrugged and smiled. It was enough to calm her. Seeing him always helped ease the pain of her loss. Even after all these years, she still missed him. She had a loving husband and beautiful daughter. But the pain never left her.

The strange sound filled her ears, but it seemed to effect Jack even more. It was obvious in his wrinkled face that it was bothering him too. But he was always the stoic figure, able to survive anything that happened. She didn't know where he got his strength, but she was grateful for it.

"Mommy, why is the sad man crying?"

"You can hear it too, baby?"

The girl nodded her head and ran into her mother's arms, "He's crying because he's lonely. He hurt someone who helped him by accident and wants to find him."

"Who baby?"

"I don't know, mommy. I don't know how to help him."

How strange, even the old man was curious about this new development. He picked up the child and walked out.

"Where are you going?"

Jack looked back and signaled for her to follow. She didn't question what he was doing as they went outside and looked out towards the water. He pulled out a syringe full of a familiar blue substance.

"You still have EVE? What do you plan on doing with that?"

He didn't speak a word, he simply handed it over to her.

"You want me to use it?"

Jack nodded his head.

She had to think about this, why would he give her something that was once used to fuel his Plasmids? Then it hit her, he wanted her to reawaken her ADAM! There wasn't much, but it must require something to bring what was left back to life. She injected the syringe into her wrist and felt it go to work.

It was like pure energy was pumping into her arm, flowing into the rest of her body as it was absorbed by her ADAM. Then she heard it, a strange, eerie voice.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you! I'm just so sorry!" She could almost feel the mental recoil. "Huh, is someone there? Who'se there? Why can't I see you?"

Sensing that her voice was useless here, she spoke through her mind, "I'm sorry to have disturbed you, but I have heard your call for some time now."

"My call? Oh, you mean my message. I have been calling for the one who saved me. But he cannot hear me now. I just want to speak to him again, to tell him how grateful I am. But I seem to have hurt him, I drove him away. Now he is missing, and there is nothing I can do."

"Who do you speak of?" She felt a sudden spark of memory flash in her mind, one that was not of her own.

"His name is Patrick Drake, and it is he who saved me after what happened to my previous two selves. I am a third self, created so I could have some semblance of sanity again."

"Who are you?"

"My memories, it's all a fog, but I was once known as Gilbert Alexander."

In that moment, she nearly had a heartattack. She desperately pulled herself together, "Gilbert, do you remember me?"

"What? How can I remember you when I don't know you?"

"I was one of the Little Sisters, I was one in a pair of twins."

There was a sense of shock, relief, and then regret, "I-I remember you now. I was the reason your sister bonded with the Big Daddy. I am so sorry you had to go through all that. I was such a fool to do all those things"

"Tell me, do you remember Big Brother?"

"Big Brother? No, I do not remember anyone by that name. The only one who remained was Patrick Drake, who I think was called that by the Little Sisters. In my attempts to call for him, I seem to have failed to realize what I was doing to the population. I drove them further over the edge, doing more harm than good. My mental powers came when Patrick saved me from my madness, but now I don't know what happened to him."

She felt her heart begin to sink, "What happened?"

"In my attempts to contact Patrick through one of the Big Sisters, I seemed to have inadvertantly contacted a nearby whale and drove it berserk. My powers were too strong for the simple mind to handle and it stole Patrick and two others away. I have been searching for them, but I could only find the Big Sister."

"Wait, who is this 'Big Sister' you're talking about?"

She felt the sudden realization, "You, I know you now. Sara, your little sister is on the surface! She is still alive, Susan is still alive! And Patrick is too!"

The woman fell to her knees. Susan was alive? After all this time, she was still alive? And Big Brother too? She had to find out more.

"Gilbert, where are they now?"

"I can only sense the edges of Patrick's mind. But I have contacted your sister. She is trying to find him at this very moment."

"Where did you send her?"

A mental picture of an map, possibly from an old memory of one, was revealed to her in her mind. Two points were revealed, one stationary, the other was on the move.

"Please, find Patrick and Susan, tell them I am sorry for what I have done. It was all my fault. I only wanted to speak to Patrick. I never wanted to take him away from the city."

"You have my word."

"I'm so sorry..." Gilbert's voice faded away as the EVE wore off.

Her breathing was difficult and her heart was pounding faster than she could handle. But she knew that her sister was alive now. She looked up at Jack and to her daughter, both of whome were concerned for her.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? A former Little Sister and a failed experiment? My, you two were hard to find." The strange military man surprised them all by how easily he snuck up on them.

"Who are you?" Sara asked.

"Me? I was once a close friend of someone you should know about. Do you remember a Frank Fontain?"

The woman pulled her child behind her, "You should know that the former Little Sisters don't remember any of that."

"I suppose so, but right now, that hardly matters. I was in the area when I felt a powerful presence. It's faded now, but I don't suppose it was you, was it? If so, you're going to have to come with me."

"I'm not going to have anything to do with you."

The man didn't look the least bit put off, "That's a shame, it would also be a shame if something were to happen to your child." A small bolt of electricity jumped from his hand, burning a patch of grass by the girl's feet.

"How did you do that?"

"Our Serum has given us tremendous abilities. Especially after we found the man in the diving suit."

"Wait, what did you say?" Sara could feel her body shaking. Whether it was from fear, despair, or rage was unknown.

"Oh, was he a friend of yours? Our good Doctor doesn't tend to get a little carried away. Especially when he's carrying parts of you away. Now, you will come with-" he couldn't finish when a powerful Electro Bolt was blasted past his face. It was close enough that his skin was smoldering and some of his hair had been burned off. The bolt also revealed an invisible soldier, just long enough for the old man to pull out a modified revolver and put a bullet in his head. The sudden shock removed the invisibility of the others. There were nearly twenty in all, dressed in armor and holding various powers swirling around one of their hands.

The man's smile was obviously forced, "So, what Fontain was telling us when he made you was true. You don't look it, but you're quite powerful."

"He's not the only one!" several stones around Sara's feet were launched with enough speed to penetrate the body armor of three more men. Another two were knocked flat, the wind knocked out of them.

"Men, show then what you're made of and capture her!"

On that order, a soldier, who had retained his invisibility, appeared behind the group and took the woman hostage. "Anybody moves, and she gets it!" The tips of his fingers caught fire as he revealed his power.

"Don't hurt my mommy!" the young girl kicked the man in the shin, distracting him long enough for Sara to reach into her pocket.

She took out a green polyp, the last of its kind above the surface, and tossed it over her shoulder, right into the man's face. He coughed and sputtered before releasing her. "Now, fight and protect us!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" the man turned his power against his allies, causing one to ignight.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing!"

"My job, what's it look like?" He was paralyzed when an Electro Bolt hit him. Sara backed away as another approached.

"Freeze him, we have no room for traitors!"

"Yes, Commander!" One of the men slapped his hand against the other's forehead, freezing the water inside. His head started changing shape as his skull cracked and popped apart as the ice swelled. To such a thing to their own men, it was unthinkable. But to make copies of Rapture's Plasmids, that was what revealed their true insanity.

"Fine work. Now, do the same to the old man if you will."

"Yes, Commander!" the soldier readied himself to fire a Winter Blast, but Jack was too fast. A shot from his pistol blew off one of the man's fingers, giving him time to line up a shot to the head. He kept the others off Sara as she carried her daughter back to the house. Once she was safe, he quickly followed.

The others had already heard the ruckus and prepared themselves. The women took the children inside for safety, while the men fired their rifles, giving Jack time to get inside as well. They would fight for as long as they can, but none of them had a chance if one of the soldier get in close.

"Call in the tank."

"But Commander, they are only a group of farmers. Why would we need it?"

"I don't plan on using it if we don't have too, but if they don't cooperate, it will deal with them. We can at least bring the bodies back with us."

"Yes, Commander, right away!" The man got on his radio and called for the tank.

A few minutes later, the massive armored vehicle came rolling into view. The men, even Jack, knew they didn't stand a chance against something like that. He fired an Electro Bolt at it, but it kept coming at them.

"We just want the woman. The others can stay, and so can the men and children. We will even leave the old man here as well."

"We won't be giving you anything!" one of the men took aim and fired. The Commander simply raised his arm and deflected the bullet without a second thought. All the men couldn't believe their eyes as he stood there, unharmed. Not even Jack had that kind of power.

"We are the Templar, there is nothing any of you can do to stop us! Ready the cannon!"

The men all ducked for cover, leaving Jack to stand on his own. He knew there was nothing any of them could do at this point. Even his Electro Bolt couldn't stop that vehicle. He had nothing left in him to try charging it first. He was all out of EVE, and he didn't have any hypos left. The last one went to Sara.

He looked around to get one last look at everyone. He had five daughters, five son-in-laws, and three grandchildren with one on the way. He wanted their faces burned into his mind if it was to end here and now.

"FIRE!"

Yes, Commander!" the turret operator took aim and fired the shell. The explosion sent dust and smoke everywhere. As it cleared, a lone figure was still standing in front of the house, which was untouched from the blast.

"Fire another round!"

"Yes, Commander! Readying another shell!" Once the shell was in the barrel, the turret operator fired it. There was another explosion, but before a third round could be loaded, the man was hit with a harpoon. It had sliced through the tank's barrel, through it's armor, and then through the man inside, until it came to rest outside again. Even as he struggles to pull it out, he was already dead, he just didn't know it yet.

The second hit came from something large and heavy that launched out of the cloud of smoke. When it hit, the impact was so devistating that it nearly destroyed the tank completely. Only the treads remained, the rest having been tore apart. Standing there, amongst the wreckage, was a massive figure.

Inside the house, Sara couldn't believe her eyes and screamed as hard as she could, "BIG BROTHER!"

"Attack!"

Big Brother was struck by several hits of Electro Bolt, Incinerate, and Winter Blast, but he stood against it all like ti was nothing. He was hardly fazed and returned the favor with the newest addition to his arsenal: a ship's anchor. After switching chain's harpoon with the anchor, he hurled it into the air and slammed it back down. One soldier dissapeared as he was driving into the ground, while the shockwave knocked down everyone nearby.

"Well, what are you waiting for, attack again!"

Big Brother swung his weapon in a wide arch, cutting down any in it's path. Those who managed to hit him merely had their attacks bounce off his body. But when one got a lucky attack and froze his porthole, he stopped moving all together.

Instead of continuing his attack while blind, he stuck his anchor into the ground and clenched his left hand. What he threw had the Commander abandon his troops as the black polyp was thrown.

As it exploded amongst them, the incredible density of the Gravity Well was revealed. The men were pulled in towards its center, where massive forces were put onto their bodies. Bones turned to dust while blood vessels and organs ruptured like rotten fruit. Then it released its energy, scattering broken bodies. There were no survivors to the attack, with only the Commander left standing, all alone.

He dusted himself off and put his hat back on, "I see that we have been decieved by Fontain. He never told us about you. How someone like you could possess such power, it is even beyond what we have been making with that Big Daddy we captured. So, it appeares that we will have to return another day."

Big Brother hurled his anchor, but the man planted his foot down and punched it. To Big Brother's shock, the weapon was deflected.

"You are quite powerful, I will remember that." With those words, he dissapeared.

"Big Brother!"

Hearing his name like that, he turned and was taken by surprise as a woman runs into him, throwing her arms around his.

"I can't believe you're still alive!"

She had to have had him confused with someone else. He didn't recognize her at all.

Her mood quickly fell, "Don't you remember me? It's me, Sara."

He took a step back, trying to process this information. Then he noticed the little girl, pointed to her, and groaned. But the girl backed away and looked like she was about to cry.

"You don't remember, do you? It's been a long time. That girl you see, she's my daughter, her name is Susan." She was crying now.

Big Brother groaned and held out his hand. When he saw her face, a memory of that look flashed through his mind. Though they didn't glow like they once did, he could see the innocent little girl behind those eyes.

He fell to his knee and she broke down, crying onto his shoulder. He didn't dare touch her, for she seemed too delicate for his massive hands to ever hold. Even without the slug inside her body, she would always be his Little Sister.

"Mommy, what's wrong?" The girl looked like she wanted to see her mother, but was too afraid. The woman stopped her crying and went to her child.

"I'm sorry, I'm just so happy."

"I'm scared, mommy."

"You don't have to be. He's Big Brother. He protected me from all the monsters when I was little. He saved us from the bad men too."

The girl wasn't sure how to act, so instead, she looked at him and said, "Thank you." She wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and buried her face.

Big Brother just stood there, watching them both, trying to come to terms with that he has learned. Then he saw the old man and growled. He stomped up to him and roared. He remembered this face. He first seen him from outside Rapture's walls. He knew this was the man who made off with the Little Sisters. The old man just stood there, unfazed by this giant of man raging before him.

Sara put herself in between them both, "Don't hurt him! He's the one who saved me! He's the reason I have a family now!"

Big Brother looked from her, then to him, and looked over to the house. Standing there were the other Little Sisters. They weren't so little anymore. All of them seemed to recognize him, but he couldn't recognize them at all. Had so much time really passed while he remained in Rapture?

He sat down, unable to take it any longer. He had searched for so long, and now that he had found them, he had to wonder. Now what?

Big Brother felt something on his back, and before he knew it, one of the women was on his head. Even though she was a full-grown woman now, she was just as light to him as she was when she was a girl. Another joined her, having missed riding on his back for so many years.

After so long, he felt the ice around his heart begin to melt, and then he felt it break.

While chewing on a red polyp, Gilbert Alexander heard something in the distance. He watched as the bathysphere returned for the fifth time and left again. He didn't follow it, for he knew it meant trouble.

One of Rapture's buildings had completely collapsed and some of the bodies were floating to the surface now. It was only a matter of time before the whole city would come down. He busied himself with his search of the polyps, not wanting to fall back into the insanity that had gripped him so fiercely before.

It had been twice in his life that he had been saved by a product of Rapture's science. The first came when he was spared by the strange Big Daddy. The second was when Patrick, whom he didn't recognize at the time, restored his mind. His original personality had been lost, but Gilbert didn't care so much anymore.

But he was still concerned for what would happen when the Splicers reach the surface.