Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or any of the characters associated with it

It was strange. You never really know what is important to you until you're forced to pick and choose what to bring with you.

Thankfully for Davian, there was very little that he owned in the first place. Other than the bare essentials, he had never gone through all that much trouble to acquire things for himself. The only luxury items he bothered with were usually gifts for Wren.

Right now, all the items he owned were laid out on his mattress.

Two tattered sets of clothing.

Three first aid kits, reserved for emergencies only.

Several days' worth of dried and canned foods.

A large jug of drinkable water.

And most importantly of all, six vials of Adam with complimentary syringes.

Going over the list again in his head, he made sure that nothing vital had been left out. Once he was sure everything was in order, he piled the objects into the bag that he would be using to transport them.

Davian gave a slight grunt as he hoisted the bag up and tied it across his shoulders. The weight brought back uncomfortable memories of carrying his newest companion home.

Look on the bright side. He thought. At least this time you won't have to listen to a little voice in your head.

Shaking his head, he made his way into the living room where the others were waiting.

Wren was unusually subdued. When he had explained to her that they would have to leave their home behind, she hadn't been happy. This was where she had grown to feel safe and secure; to leave would be to invite danger and other bad things.

Her appearance was only made more pitiable by the meager possessions she was carrying. On her back was a bag very similar to the one he was carrying, on a much smaller scale. It contained everything she could fit in; ranging from drawings, to buttons, to a stuffed animal that had certainly seen better days.

It was anyone's guess what species it had once belonged to.

Nearby, Amelia stood impassively. Throughout the whole affair, she had stayed in the background, seemingly unconcerned with the prospect of moving to another part of the city. Davian had asked for her opinion at one point just to get some kind of reaction from her. Oddly enough, she had started in surprise, standing unsure for several moments before shrugging. He got the feeling that she wasn't used to getting a say in decisions.

The center of the room was dominated by a pile of assorted junk and supplies that they simply couldn't bring. The furniture was the most obvious; even with a big sister helping they wouldn't have been able to carry a couch all the way to Pauper's Drop. It had all been piled together so that it could be burned in one go.

Seeing it all now, Davian felt a wave of hesitation. He knew that they wouldn't be back to retrieve these things, but destroying them still felt wrong.

Taking a deep breath, he turned to Wren.

"Are you ready?" He asked. "Do you have everything you need? There's no going back once it starts."

She nodded sadly, burrowing into Amelia's side so that she wouldn't have to watch the contents of their home go up in flames.

Davian turned back to the pile, calling up a ball of fire in his palm. With a flick of his wrist he sent the orb into the base of the pile, igniting it on contact. The flames lapped at the objects slowly at first, almost hesitantly, but soon began racing over every available surface.

"Come on." Davian said to the two girls. "Let's get out of here before the whole place burns down."

With that, they exited through the doorway and onto the balcony. The only sounds that could be heard were the crackling of flame and an occasional sniffle from Wren.

After several more moments, he took the child's hand in his own. He then offered his free hand to Amelia.

"It's a long drop." He said. "Take my hand and I can get us down without breaking anything."

Her red porthole examined the offered appendage, but she made no move to grab it. Instead, she moved to the lip of the platform and looked down. Davian only had a split second to register what was happening before the big sister crouched, and leapt from the ledge.

With a cry, he and Wren rushed to the edge and watched her rapid descent. As she neared the ground, he covered the little sister's eyes fearing that they were watching a suicide.

He hadn't needed to worry.

Amelia hit the ground rolling, and stood up entirely unfazed by a fall that would have killed an ordinary person. She turned her head back up to look at the two of them expectantly.

"Showoff." Davian muttered under his breath. "All right, hang on Wren I'll get us down." The girl gave a mumble of acknowledgement, slightly annoyed that she didn't get to see her older sibling's landing.

With a flash of smoke, and a blast of air, the two of them disappeared into the mists only to reappear at Amelia's side.

Getting his bearings, Davian turned to the two. "It's a long way from here to the Drop. Everyone stick together, now let's get going."

Epsilon felt as though she were drifting in an ocean current. Nothing felt real, and yet each time she opened her eyes her situation was validated once more.

Here she was, after being alone for so long, walking side by side with one of her little sisters. She had long ago given up hope that any of them were left, but somehow she had been united with what may be the very last one.

But of course there was a catch…

She turned her head slightly to catch a glimpse of the young man. Her helmet masked the movement and prevented him from seeing her.

Davian. She didn't have the slightest idea what to make of him. He was a splicer certainly, but he had shown no desire to harm Wren. What's more, he had actually repaired her damaged helmet after their fight. He was an anomaly, a being that simply couldn't exist, and yet here he was.

Part of her still wanted to reach out and strike him down. It would have been the simplest and safest rout to take, but something held her back. Was it because he was protecting Wren? Did she feel some sort of obligation to him? Or was it just a lingering sense of embarrassment after she had let him get the better of her in a fight?

Epsilon let her gaze drift back to the ground in front of her. He wasn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. All that really mattered was keeping her sibling safe. If the girl was fond of this strange creature, then she would let him live.

At least, she would for now.

Now however, she was faced with a new problem. Mother's last orders had been to guard over the remains of Adonis Resort, and she was getting further and further away from it. At first she had justified this by thinking that she would eventually return with Wren in hand, but now…

Something told her that she wouldn't be coming back. Her two major loyalties were in direct conflict with each other, and she wasn't sure which was more important. Surely the Family would understand that she had to abandon her post to keep her charge safe, wouldn't they? No matter how many times she thought that, a slight niggling doubt remained.

A slight tug on her arm brought Epsilon out of her thoughts. Looking down, she saw Wren gazing at her with a hopeful expression.

"E? Could you carry me? I'm getting tired."

E? What was- oh she was talking about the symbol. Epsilon was more than happy to give the girl a ride. Kneeling down, she let Wren clamber up onto her back and into the cage that had been attached to her armor for just such a situation.

"Thank you!" She said, patting her on the back to let her know she was ready to go.

Epsilon gave a slight hum as she stood back up, and got underway. Davian stood a short distance ahead, looking back at the two of them. The expression on his face was so strange that she paused for a moment. It was the oddest mixture of wariness, suspicion, and concern. His body seemed to be pulled tight, in preparation for something. It was then that she realized what he was thinking.

He thought she was going to run away with Wren.

She could too, couldn't she?

Epsilon's heart began to beat a little faster when she realized that there was almost no chance of him being able to keep up if she simply ran away as fast as she could. It was the perfect solution; she would get her sister, he would get to live, and she wouldn't have to bother with the conflicts that he would inevitably cause. Her leech gave a slight squirm in her stomach at the thought of having Wren all to herself.

And yet, for some reason she was still here. She hadn't taken off running when the moment had presented itself so perfectly. Why was that? It must be because of the fact that her sibling would be sad to see him go. There was simply no other explanation she could come up with. Surely.

With that in mind, she progressed until they were standing beside each other again. He seemed tentative at first, as though she might simply be toying with him, but he eventually gave a nod and continued forward.

This was the right path to follow. Epsilon was sure of it now. With Wren on her back, she was certain that Adonis Resort was unimportant by comparison. She would take the girl wherever she needed to go and protect her from anyone who dared to try and harm her.

A peculiar sensation ran across her face as this thought crossed her mind. The unfamiliar feeling confused her until she realized what it was.

For the first time in years, Protectorate M2 Epsilon-04 was smiling.

Davian couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. For the past half hour their little group had been walking towards the train station that would take them to Pauper's Drop, and yet they hadn't run into any real difficulties. The most trouble they had was taking a couple detours when they came to a part of Rapture that had crumbled to the point of being inaccessible.

No matter how much he strained his eyes and ears, he couldn't detect any signs of life from the world around him. There was no sign of the splicer population that should have been present. He hadn't expected to be stopped at every turn, after all some of the lunatics would still be sane enough to recognize the danger of fighting a big sister, but the total lack of resistance was starting to worry him.

It isn't far now. Davian thought to himself. Just stay focused. Maybe lady luck decided to cut you a break today. Somehow, he sincerely doubted that.

Before long, they found themselves directly in front of the door leading to the station. The metal bulkhead would open up to a moderately sized room containing the train, and they would be home free. At least, that was the theory.

As he stood before the entrance, he couldn't help but feel a wave of trepidation. Some primal instinct warned him that things were not going to stay simple once they were through.

Davian took that moment to turn towards Amelia. "Be ready for anything." He said. "There's no telling what might be waiting on the other side."

The big sister gave a slight nod, and tensed for action. On her back, Wren ducked down into the cage so as to be better protected from the looming conflict.

Davian steeled himself, expecting a confrontation, and opened the door.

He wasn't disappointed.

As soon as the bulkhead fell away, he was greeted by a mechanical whirring and clanking that signaled auto-turrets being activated. With reactions honed by a lifetime of dodging death, he lunged to the side behind the wall as a deadly swarm of bullets flew through the spot he had been standing in moments ago.

He hardly had time to regain his composure before Amelia was dashing through the doorway, screeching out her battle cry. Both turrets turned to face her, and got ready to fire off another salvo at the new target.

Acting quickly, Davian summoned a ball of flame in his palm and launched it towards the gun emplacements. The fiery projectile soared over Amelia's head before impacting one of the turrets, setting it alight. The intense heat caused the gunpowder inside the machine to ignite, firing off bullets still inside their casings and destroying the gun in a shower of metal and fire.

The flurry of movement caused the other turret's targeting systems to hesitate for a single second, allowing Amelia to close in and smash the metal contraption with a vicious kick. The body of the turret was torn free and launched across the room, shattering as it impacted the far wall.

Both Davian and Amelia surveyed the destruction, alert for any other threats. When it became clear that nothing else was about to jump out, they relaxed slightly.

"Looks like they were waiting for us." Davian commented. "There will probably be more up ahead. Do you think we should go back and look for another way around?" He was loath to turn around when they were so close, but survival was more important than speed.

Amelia just growled behind her mask, stalking further into the room. She clearly didn't think that a few splicers were all that much of a threat.

It must be nice to have bullet-proof armor. Davian thought idly.

Seeing no other alternatives, he followed her. The room was poorly lit, with the image of the train standing out against the blackness. It was far from shiny, but it was intact and looked to be in working order. What a tragedy it would have been to come all this way to just find a broken train.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by the static sound of a loudspeaker coming online.

"Well look at what we have here. A little birdie told me that you two were looking for a train, and it looks like I got the last one."

Amelia's head whipped around, frantically searching for the source of the voice. Davian on the other hand, immediately took cover behind a nearby stack of crates. He didn't want to be out in the open when the bullets started flying.

"I should really thank the two of you for offing Orson and his boys. They've been real pests. Always looking to take what don't belong to them."

Davian risked a peek out from his hiding place.

"Orson?" He questioned. "Who the heck is Orson? I've never met anyone by that name."

"You might not have, but your big nasty friend did. She tore him and his junkies into meat confetti just a few days ago. Real nasty piece of work that was."

Davian was about to ask what that had to do with their current issue, when the voice cut him off.

"Killin' him was a great favor you did for me, but I'm afraid I can't just let you take my train. It's more out of principal than anything, so don't take it personally. I don't want people thinking they can walk in and take my stuff."

Neither Davian nor Amelia were able to pinpoint exactly where the voice was coming from. They knew he had to be nearby if he could see them, but he was well hidden. This was a problem. If they couldn't see the threat, there was little they could do to prepare for it other than sit and wait.

"Anyway, thanks for getting rid of the neighbors. I've got a friend for you to play with, try to keep him entertained. He doesn't get to stretch his legs all that often."

With that, the loudspeaker switched off with a grainy crackle. As Davian contemplated the meaning of his parting words, a door on the opposite side of the room opened up.

His body froze in shock at the sight it presented.

Chained in a small side-room was an Alpha Series big daddy. The behemoth strained against its restraints, letting out a bloodcurdling roar. Davian could only watch in horror as the chains keeping it in place fell away.

The Alpha Series didn't waste a moment of its new found freedom. With the massive drill on its arm whirring to life, it charged.