Tony rolled over in his bed, unable to quiet his racing thoughts enough to sleep. His daughter loved the monster that killed her mother more then him…the thought broke his heart. What had happened to her that twisted her to that point? What took his daughter from him?
Rage coiled itself inside his chest. Slowly he stood and picked his gun up from its place on a dresser. The second that thing recovered it would kill them all, he wasn't going to give it that chance. After a moments thought he put his LMG down and picked up a pistol, it was easier to hide a pistol then a rifle.
Moving as silently as possible Tony slipped from his room. Everyone appeared to be asleep, that was probably for the best. In the atrium Thompson appeared to have fallen asleep on the couch while reading some of Tenenbaum's research. Tenenbaum's lab was dimly lit by a flickering light mounted on the far counter; the abomination's body was clearly visible on the bed in the center of the room.
Remaining as silent as possible, Tony walked to her bedside and examined the beast that had killed his wife. At some point Tenenbaum had removed the tattered remains of her armor and had dressed her in a loosely fitting white gown. Her amber hair pooled around her head like a halo of blood, the blood of her victims. Her body appeared to have finished mending itself and for the first time he got a good look at her face. She looked peaceful, almost innocent in a way. Her face was incredibly pale and slightly gaunt, unsurprising given the utter lack of sun light she was exposed to. Her lips were slightly parted as she calmly breathed in her comatose state.
That was someone's daughter. The incredibly unwelcome thought caused Tony's hand to tremble slightly. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself, he had to do this. The sound of the hammer clicking back seemed thunderous in the silent room. He closed his eyes and took a calming breath; this was the right thing to do. He reopened his eyes, only to meet the faintly glowing gaze of the room's only other occupant.
Her face was expressionless as she watched the unfamiliar man point a gun in between her eyes. There was no malice in her eyes, no confusion, or hate, or fear. She simply studied the man and the gun aimed at her face. "D-don't look at me like that you monster! You killed my wife! You kidnapped my daughter! Y-you deserve to die for what you've done!"
The blank eyes watching him didn't react to his raised voice; the only visible reaction was a slight tilting of her head.
"Get the fuck away from her!" Both Tony and the monster's gazes turned to David as he glared at Tony. The tense silence was broken by a low rumbling growl. Tony turned back towards the abomination on the table. Its face was no longer expressionless, it was twisted into a look of absolute loathing…and it was fixed on David.
"David you need to-" An invisible force slammed into Tony's chest and threw him clear from the room.
"Sam, calm down." A series of snaps signaled the monster's restraints being destroyed. "Sam, think about what you're doing." With a savage scream the monster hurled David from the room as well.
"What the hell's going on?" A groggy Thompson sat up on the couch, blearily trying to understand what was happening. The couch was promptly hurled across the room by an invisible force. Within seconds the others entered the room. They were all thrown back out of the room by the monster's unnatural powers. All of the doors slammed shut and a series of clicks signaled their locking mechanisms activating.
Tony was unable to resist the surge of dread he felt when he realized that he was stuck in a room with two people he barely knew and didn't trust and an enraged monster.
()
Arcadia was a…forest for lack of a better word. The last time Leo had been there was when the family had fought the Saturnine for control of the most abundant farmland in Rapture. That had been nearly six years ago, the plants had grown out of control since then. What little signs of civilization that had still been visible then were long gone now. In the center of a clearing stood two figures, Leo and an unnaturally tall man.
The cultist was one ugly bastard, Leo could give him that. A mask made of twigs had fused to his face and he was wearing white robes stained in blood. The flesh of his hands and lower arms was bark like, and his deformed fingers ended in razor sharp claws. A series of root like growths came out from underneath his robes and appeared to have grown upwards piercing his neck. His veins stood out against his pale skin glowing a soft green. The veins in his eyes glowed as well, giving his eyes an eerie green glow. The effect was quite unnerving though unlike a Gatherer the eye wasn't featureless.
A rasping sigh escaped the freak's lips as he glared as Leo. "What are you doing here puppet of Lamb? Saturnine kills those who trespass on his holy land." As the man spoke the trees moved as if a wind was moving through their branches.
Unfazed by the man's thinly veiled threats, Leo continued unfazed. "Lamb has a proposal for the Saturnine. I'd like to speak to your leader."
The man's unblinking gaze stared into Leo's eyes for several seconds before he responded. "We are Saturnine."
Leo rolled his eyes, religious nut jobs were never easy to talk to. "I know you are part of the Saturnine. I need to talk to your leader though."
The man's eyes narrowed slightly and the trees movement increased as if they were agitated. "We speak for Saturnine. We are Saturnine."
"Right...so you're who I should speak to?"
"We are Saturnine."
Leo sighed. "I'll take that as a yes. Lamb has a proposal for the Saturnine."
"Saturnine is listening."
"You have control over the most plentiful farmland in Rapture. Lamb proposes you feed the Family."
The trees shook more violently as the cultist narrowed his eyes further. "Why would Saturnine help the puppets of Lamb?"
Leo grinned in response. "Because otherwise we will destroy you, your cult, and all your precious trees."
Instantly the trees stopped moving and the cultists eyes narrowed hatefully. "Saturnine destroyed the puppets of Lamb once, Saturnine will do so again."
Leo laughed derisively in response. The cultist didn't like that, its head tilted to the side slowly. "Saturnine will start with you."
Well that sounded like his cue. Grinning widely, Leo fell to his knees. Shrieking like a banshee, Alpha appeared above him wreathed in flame. As she landed next to him the flames flooded outward. Standing in the middle of the inferno Leo laughed as arcadia burned.
()
"Sam, we don't want to hurt you. You just need to call down." Rage surged through Theta's veins anew. He was lying! He always lied! With a furious howl Theta hurled David across the room. The large monster, when he pulled his gun on her, received a similar treatment.
"Samantha, I'm a doctor you can-" The doctor monster's voice petered into a chocked gurgle as an invisible force began to squeeze his windpipe. He was a doctor! People like him were responsible for all of this! His green eyes were bulging as he desperately thrashed.
Theta's concentration was interrupted when a fist slammed into her nose, as she reeled back it was followed up by a right hook to the chin. She leapt back avoiding the next blow and stared in shock at a panting David as he stood there glaring at her.
He hit her? He actually hit her? If he wanted to fight her like that she was happy to oblige! Screaming a challenge she lunged at the traitorous lying human piece of filth. Moving with a speed she hadn't seen before, David dodged her first blow and punched her in the stomach. Unfortunately for the human the blow did little to stop the enraged Big Sister.
She grasped David's throat in her hand and lifted him off the ground. Before she could enjoy herself however the doctor asked her a strange question. "Samantha, would you kindly stop?" Despite her rage and urge for vengeance, Theta stopped momentarily. Why was she stopping? She was angry damn it! Shaking off the bizarre instance she moved to kill David, she was stopped when she felt a needle enter her shoulder. Teeth bared, she spun towards the doctor. Unfortunately her vision was already going black and within seconds she collapsed to the ground.
()
The cultist's gnarled claws grazed Leo's cheek as he dodged the clumsy blow. With practiced ease, Leo jammed one of his magnums underneath the cultist's chin and blew his skullcap clean off. He could hear the demonic laughter of Alpha as twin columns of fire flowed from her palms, destroying anything they touched. It appeared Alpha was a bit of a pyromaniac.
Hearing movement behind him, Leo spun around. Five cultists were sprinting at him from the tree line, screaming in rage. He was unfazed by their superior numbers and calmly raised his magnums. Five blasts sounded in rapid succession, five cultists dropped to the ground with holes in between their eyes. Without warning, a crazed cultist leapt onto Leo's back, digging its gnarled claws into his shoulders. "You cannot fight Satur-" The man's battle cry cut off with a gurgle before he was pulled from Leo's shoulders.
He spun around in time to see the unlucky bastard with a harpoon through his throat. The harpoon was connected to a wire that Alpha was holding. Shrieking with savage glee, Alpha spun around, her momentum swinging the dying cultist into several of his peers. The fallen pile of cultists was promptly set ablaze. Alpha apparently found the situation quite humorous, giggling inanely as their screams rose in volume.
"Persistent, aren't they?" Alpha appeared to ignore his comment, only laughing harder as she began to electrocute the few cultists that had survived their immolation. Despite his comment Leo could see no further sign of cultists; it appeared that they might have finally dealt with the Saturnine.
Alpha's surprised yelp was his first queue that the cultists weren't finished with them. Pain tore through his legs and moved rapidly up his body. Painfully looking down at his injuries, Leo was shocked to see roots breaking forth from the soil and piercing his body. Judging from the lack of noise, Alpha had fled to a safe distance when the roots had attacked.
A cultist slunk over to the immobile Leo; his unnatural green eyes alight with a cold malice. "You death will feed Saturnine puppet of Lamb."
To the cultist's surprise, Leo laughed. "No, quite the opposite in fact." With his free hand he grabbed the cultist's head. The mutated man's eyes rolled into the back of his head, his veins blackened, and his skin turned ashen. Around him, the roots began to wither and die; slowly the grass browned and began to shrivel.
After several seconds the man was released, his desiccated husk impacting the blighted ground with a brittle crack. Alone in a perfect circle of death Leo stood, healed and unharmed.
()
Tony groaned as the room slowly stopped spinning and came into focus. He sat up just in time to see Thompson unlock the main door, allowing their allies to rejoin them. David was kneeling a few feet away from him, coughing as he tried to regain his breath. His wandering gaze finding his pistol, Tony snatched it off of the ground.
As he slowly got to his feet, Tony reached a decision. That was enough! That fucking thing had endangered them enough! Storming towards the comatose monster he planted his pistol against its forehead. With a click he pulled the hammer back, all previous feelings of pity for the freak long forgotten.
"Don't!" To Tony's surprise it wasn't David who had objected, it was Thompson.
"What the hell do you mean? This fucking thing has tried to kill us twice now!"
Seeing that at least for now Tony was stopped, Thompson turned to Tenenbaum. "She's been controlled." He cast a pointed gaze in Jack's direction. "I think Lamb has modified Suchong's mind control conditioning. The control phrase must have changed but some residual effects are still in place."
Tony laughed derisively at Thompson's explanation. "Mind control? Really? You're pushing what I can believe."
To Tony's surprise Jack sent a glare in his direction. "It's real. Believe me, I would know." He sighed and crossed his arms before continuing. "It's insidious, unless someone demands you do something completely against your nature. It twists your emotions and the way you think so you come to believe that whatever is being proposed makes complete sense."
Thompson nodded. "There's a good chance that she had no control over whatever she's done…that or her way of thinking has been so twisted that she thinks she's justified."
David was still sitting on the floor, dazedly staring into the distance. "Who the hell makes something that takes away someone's freewill?" His gaze turned to the young woman lying on the floor unconscious. "What is someone without their freewill?"
Snorting in disgust, Tony answered his question. "You get that fucking monster." He waved his gun around in exasperation. "And I'm unable to think of a reason we're just sitting here scratching our heads about what to do with her! The answer is fucking obvious! Kill her!"
"You will not harm her!" To the surprise of everyone the enraged voice belonged to Tenenbaum, not David. "She is a victim! A victim like your daughter! Treat her as such." Tony stared blankly at the woman, shocked into silence.
"D-doc, I hate to b-bring it up…but if she i-is being controlled what ch-choice do we have?"
Tenenbaum smiled towards Harper. "I can break the control; I did so with Jack and can do so again."
()
Ron paused for a moment, once again allowing himself to bask in the beauty of the fallen utopia he resided in. From the ocean floor you could almost look past the partially collapsed structures, blacked out buildings, and the occasional dead body.
Slowly turning his bulky diving suit, he turned and headed to the first cage he was to check. Distant whale calls reverberated inside his suit, the familiar sound relaxing the Splicer. His radio crackled to life, breaking his brief peace. "Ron, you there yet?"
"Almost there Lonny, maybe a minute out."
"How 'bout you Jill?"
"I've hit the first Lonny, keep your pants on."
A static riddled chuckle echoed through the radio as Lonny responded. "You know I have trouble with that around you love."
Cresting over an unfamiliar underwater ridge, Ron saw the first cage. Smiling widely at the sight of dozens of crabs trapped with its metal bars he trudged over to it. His Adam augmented strength allowed him to easily pick the cage up from the ocean floor, and get a closer look at its contents.
An ecstatic yell echoed around his helmet as he examined the contents. Flipping his radio on, he informed his friends. "A bunch of the crabs have got Adam leeches on them! We hit the jackpot!"
Ignoring the other cages that were still waiting for him, he turned around to head back. As he did he got a better look at the underwater ridge he had climbed over. There appeared to be something vaguely humanoid buried underneath the rubble and sand pilled on top of it. A limb was partially visible; it ended in a meaty chunk of flesh with the odd bone sticking out of it. Its face must have been horribly damaged by predators; after all no human had mandibles…right? There were Adam leeches swarming the body, obviously feeding from its relatively fresh corpse. At least that explained the sudden increase in Adam slugs they had caught…
His pondering was pointless, it was dead. Shrugging carelessly Ron moved to climb up the small ridge the creature had formed with its body. He was about halfway across when it unexpectedly moved. The sudden movement caused him to loose his footing, drop the cage, and land on his back with an oomph. He sighed internally; it was a pain in the ass to get up off of your back in these things!
His mental complaints stopped as something large blocked out the filtered light he got from the surface.
The last things he saw before the visor of his helmet shattered were two ghastly yellow orbs peering down at him with a mindless hunger.
Sorry for the wait. I've come down with a loverly cold that makes doing anything somewhat miserable.