Disclaimer: I do not own anything to do with Bioshock. All characters you recognise belong to their respective owners and I make no money from this.
She woke into pain, screaming as the electricity shocking her sent her muscles into spasms. With sheer effort of will she forced them to stop and stared wildly ahead, seeing the coldness of her cell around her.
"Ah, I see you are awake. That is good. Now, break your restraints." The voice came from the radio above her and like an obedient dog she flexed her arms, pulling at the chains. Almost too easily they snapped and she fell to her knees.
"Vonderbar, little one. You have been sleeping for a very long time. Now, my name, it is Tenebaum. Please, come and find me in the Atlantic Express Train Station."
She staggered out of the cell into a brightly lit corridor and found a small girl waiting for her. The child looked innocently up at the older female and smiled, holding up a small present.
"Mama says that you needed a present." She said softly and the female opened it to find several first aid kits, a crossbow with several bolts, a large needle like bracer and a small hypo. The girl smiled at her and spun around on one leg. "It's so good that you're awake. Mama Tenebaum says you're going to be a good Big Sister and keep us safe!"
The female didn't reply. Instead she slotted the Bracer onto her right arm, placed the crossbow on her back and packed the first aid kits, bolts and hypo into packs on her waist. Looking behind the girl she saw a small torn basket and hefted it onto her back without a second thought. Kneeling the girl scrambled up her back and settled into the basket with a small smile.
"Let's go Big Sister!" She cheered and at a run, the female raced through the halls, jumping across large gaps and at one point even venturing outside into the dark ocean. The heavy helmet she wore along with the suit meant she felt nothing more than a faint pressure. She froze though when she heard a terrifying scream in front of her. The little girl squeezed her shoulder and shrank down into the basket.
"Big Sister! Mean peoples!" She yelled and the female felt something take over her. The being within her screamed and an inhuman screech emerged from her throat. Holding out the bracer the needle shot out and she unhooked the crossbow from her back. Leaping into the air she saw the beings below her surrounding another child and in mid air, shot two of them through the head. Landing in front of the child she stabbed one with the needle and winced when a shot hit her shoulder. The girl shrank down in the basket and yelled at the being who shot her Big Sister.
"Big Sister's gonna give you stars and ouchies!" She yelled and under her helmet the Big Sister smiled grimly. Using a strength she didn't know she possessed the female held out her hand and with unseen force dragged him onto her needle. Draining the glowing blood from him she quickly unfastened the front of her helmet to gulp down the blood. Snapping it shut again she knelt down as the little girl in the basket held out her hand to the small child who was shaking from her fear.
"It's okay, Big Sister won't let anything happen to us!" She said happily and the small girl turned her own glowing yellow eyes onto the helmeted figure. "Big Sister?" She asked and the female screeched softly, nodding her head. Smiling then she scrambled up her back and squeezed into the basket alongside the other girl. Suddenly the female screeched and fell to her knees as a tremendous pressure squeezed her head. In the midst of the pain she could see dark blue eyes and stared in shock as they seemed to pierce her very soul.
"So. The good Doctor has woken up something that should have remained dead. I know you, Sister. I know that you will come for him. To save yourself you would doom us all."
The female screeched and held her head as the voice echoed within it.
"Know this, Sister. The Doctor is not your friend, nor your ally. Within this city there is only one truth, the power and glory of the family."
The speakers around the small group crackled once more as the familiar voice rang out.
"And now you see the enemy we both share. That is Eleanor Lamb, daughter of Sophia Lamb, creator of the Family. Now Sophia rules Rapture with Eleanor as her adoring pupil. She was once like you, what the little ones call a Big Sister. You are a very old Big Sister child, one of the first this hell created, bonded for life as a child to a single protector, your Big Daddy. Rapture's Rulers changed you both, turning you into the Frankensteins you are now, but you still have your minds."
The female cocked her head to one side and started walking towards the place she knew she had to be. Her charges were chattering away to each other when she finally came to the station. Absently shooting a female monster in the chest as she walked in she looked around the room. "Big Sister! Over there!" One of the little girls pointed to a button and the female pressed it. Behind the glass a screen rose and she saw several of the small children playing in a small room. A middle aged woman walked up to the screen and pressed a button, making the speakers crackle.
"Big Sister, you are here as the little ones said you would be. Now you see why I am here. These little ones have been stolen from their parents like you were, long ago. This is my penance, to save them from your fate. Now, Eleanor and Sophia Lamb will stop at nothing to destroy us, we who work to save the little ones-"
At those words the female fell to her knees, a pained screech tearing itself from her lips as she felt the memories of the older female come to the forefront of her mind. Feeling warm hands help her up she staggered into the room and was placed on the bed there. Tenebaum gently unhooked the helmet on the female and placed it on the bed next to her as the two children clambered out of her basket.
"Breathe, little one. Eleanor is not here…" Tenebaum turned away for a moment, shaking her head as she looked at the children.
"Eleanor is no longer a protector to the little ones, no longer like you. She now rules this city alongside her Mother, and holds all the Big Daddies in prisons across the city. That includes your Father, Epsilon. She took control of all the Big Sisters, commanding them to kill any who stand in their mistress's way. That includes the little ones. You however, you are free from the conditioning. A lucky twist of fate led to you being held in cryogenic stasis, like your Father." The girl looked up and Tenebaum saw confusion in her glowing yellow eyes. Carefully the older woman stroked her head, brushing back the dark hair and the girl purred, curling into the embrace.
"Alone, you will not survive long in Rapture. You must find your Big Daddy and reinforce the pair bond between you. Together, you may stand a chance of escape from here…but I must ask one favour of you both. Please, try to save the little ones. Take them with you, away from this nightmare. Your Father will show you how, I am sure. Now, you shall need a name for when I contact you. In the records I have been able to find it appears your birth name was Alessa. I think that shall be quite suitable for you."
The female spent a week in that room, learning from Tenebaum. She found out that she was the last of the Big Sisters who still had their free will. However, she was hopelessly out of date compared to the others and Tenebaum spent many hours operating on her, removing the conditioning of Eleanor, the compulsion to serve her as well as upgrading her weapons and plasmid skills. Finally, she was ready. As she prepared to leave the room and head out Tenebaum handed her a ticket and smiled, one hand brushing against the cold metal helmet.
"I have an ally who will help guide you through this city waiting at the train station. Sinclair is a strange man, but he knows this place like the back of his hand. I am sure he will be able to get you to Epsilon very quickly. Any little ones you save I will protect here. Good luck Frau Alessa."
Alessa screeched softly at her, curling into the embrace before she ran out the door and into the darkness of Rapture. Tenebaum watched her go sadly as the little ones played around her. None of them seemed aware of the hell around them, none except the older woman who brushed away a tear. Silently she locked the door again, having done her part. The rest was up to Alessa and Sinclair.