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

Some people compare battle to the game of chess. Two opponents, dueling it out while matching wits and skill. That was all well and good until you actually started fighting. Combat was a messy affair, and it rarely took place between two evenly matched opponents. Davian had long ago abandoned any hope of such a battle.

As the security bots shot in through the open windows, he ceased thinking and let instinct take over. A trio of fireballs had left his palm in an instant. The throws were wild and inaccurate, but they covered his movements as he dashed behind an overturned couch. While the furniture couldn't stop bullets, it provided a sight blocker. Bots weren't all that smart so even a small inhibition drastically limited their abilities.

This had the unfortunate side effect of leaving the security drones with only one target. Seeing Amelia in the open and rushing towards them, they all fired a concentrated burst at the big sister. Unlike splicers, they were immune to the terrifying image she struck.

One of the bullets, being of higher caliber than what they had faced earlier, blasted a hole through the leather fittings connecting her boots and leg armor. The shot punched through her ankle in a spray of blood, causing her to crash to the ground. The howl of pain she let out was unlike anything Davian had ever heard before. In all honesty, he had forgotten that she was capable of being hurt.

Now he had to make a very drastic decision. In the span of a millisecond, his options rocketed through his mind all settling on the only one with even a probable chance of success. Before he had even finished consciously registering the plan, his body was in motion.

He dashed out into the open with as much speed as his legs could muster. Grabbing ahold of Amelia and Wren, he set his sights on the streets past the broken windows. The bots began their obnoxiously loud alarm that heralded another wave of gunfire. All three of them vanished from sight just as the machines' bullets started flying.

Davian's landing wasn't one he was particularly proud of. In his rush, he had caused them to reappear slightly above the street rather than exactly on top of it. This led to them all crumpling in an ungainly heap, but he was back on his feet almost instantly. The second part of his plan was about to be set in motion.

He began summoning another fire bomb, but rather than hurl it immediately he allowed it to swirl back in on itself. The blaze continued to build up until his palm was enclosed in a raging inferno. Keeping the flames controlled, Davian turned to face the bots again.

He didn't have to wait long.

It had only taken the drones a moment to realize that their target had fled, and they immediately set out towards the only place he could have gone on such short notice. The machines, having only a basic concept of strategy, all began piling out the window and into the streets at once. Exactly the way he had expected.

Once enough of the drones had bunched together, Davian unleashed hell. The ball of fire streaked through the air like a miniature sun on a collision course with the security bots. Had the unfortunate constructs known enough to scatter, some of them might have escaped unscathed. As it was, they met the blast head on.

The explosion tore through the air, sending warped metal and waves of heat in all directions. Davian quickly ducked down to avoid being battered by the molten shrapnel. Once the smoke cleared, only two security bots were left intact. They weren't a threat however. Both of them lay unmoving on the ground, their internal systems melted by the brutally high temperatures.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he did a quick check to be sure that all his important parts were still in place and had not been shot off at some point. Fingers, toes, vital organs, etc. Everything still seemed to be working. It was then that he remembered Amelia.

Davian turned quickly to offer some help, only to find the big sister helping Wren up as if nothing had happened. She was limping slightly, but looked more like she had sprained an ankle rather than been shot.

"Are you ok?" He questioned, not entirely sure if this was normal or not.

She just gave him a curious look before nodding in response. Without even trying, she was keeping up the tradition of scaring the hell out of him.

Once Wren was once again situated in Amelia's carrying cage, Davian spoke up again.

"We should probably go check on the others." He said. "They might need some help."

Without a word, she started heading back towards the building with him following slightly behind her. In the short distance between the street and the door, her limping had stopped for the most part and she walked almost normally again. He wished there was a plasmid for that. Having super-healing powers would certainly come in handy.

Stepping back inside felt a bit strange. In their initial rush, Davian hadn't had any time to see just how run down the place was. While few splicers actually maintained their homes to any tolerable degree, these ones seemed to have actively tried to destroy it.

Every wall had some kind of hefty damage. One had been used for target practice with a crudely drawn X being the bull's-eye, while another looked as though someone had vented their frustration on it with a sledgehammer. It was a wonder the whole thing hadn't collapsed during the fighting.

In all the chaos, one little detail stood out. A piece of paper that was entirely undamaged lay on a much less fortunate table. On a whim, Davian got a bit closer to read the unusual object.

.

Keep your guys in place. Tenenbaum is up to something.

If you see any of her men, you kill 'em all on sight. No prisoners, no questions.

Payment will come at the end of the week in the usual place.

-Hawthorn

.

Davian frowned as he read the signed name. Hawthorn? He thought. The word tickled some vague memory. Where have I heard that one before? Had the doctor mentioned him? It was clear that he was after her for whatever reason. Davian would have to think on it later, right now there were more important things to do.

Slipping the paper in his back pocket, he turned to find that Amelia hadn't bothered waiting for him. He set off after her with a small grumble of annoyance. Thankfully, it didn't take very long to find the stairs leading to the basement.

"Hello?" Davian called. "I'm headed down, so don't shoot me unless it's absolutely necessary." A muffled grunt was the only reply he got.

Hesitantly, he began making his way towards the basement. He knew that the chances of there being splicers waiting for him were almost non-existent, but it paid to be careful.

Stepping around the bend, he found Archer, Tomas, Joseph, Amelia, and Wren all silently observing the contents of the room.

"What's with the statue impressions?" He asked, trying to ease the tension. "You look like you've seen a-" His comment died as he saw what they were looking at.

"Oh…"

The basement had been used as a storage room. Lining the walls were stockpiles of weapons, ammunition, food, and other vital supplies. These however, where not what everyone was looking at. They were staring at the bodies.

Men, women, and even a few children had been thrown in a heap in the back of the room. The stench of rot spoke volumes about just how long they had been there. That wasn't the worst part either. Many of them bore signs of torture; missing fingers, extensive injuries, and heavy bruising that still colored their skin long after death. Apparently the splicers hadn't been following the kill-on-sight rule that their leader had given them.

None of the deceased showed any signs of Adam abuse. These were people from the colony, people that Archer, Joseph, and Tomas had likely known. Even Wren seemed weighed down despite not seeing the same grotesque image as they did. Amelia was the only one who appeared at ease, looking upon the scene with only a mild curiosity.

"Hey kid…" Tomas spoke up, his voice deadpan and heavy. "You got any more of those fireworks?"

Without a word, Davian nodded and stepped forward. Flame coursed through his hand and leapt hungrily at the pile of corpses. Once they were thoroughly ignited, he lessened the intensity of the blaze enough that it wouldn't drain him entirely.

Their group watched the bodies burn until the smell became too unbearable to stand. With a jerk of his head, Tomas ordered them back up the stairs.

"We'll have a scavenger team pick up the supplies." He said to nobody in particular. "Our job is done. Let's get home and tell everyone that these bastards won't be a problem anymore."

"These what?" Wren asked, her curiosity peaked by the new word.

"Nothing." Davian said quickly. He shot Tomas a small glare for the curse, but the man wasn't paying him the slightest bit of attention.

Shoulders slumping, he fell in line once more.

On the outside, Cain's face was the picture of icy calm. Inside however, his mind was a flurry of activity. One of his spies had just reported some very important information. His steps continued at a carefully measured pace as he made his way to Benjamin's office.

Once he arrived, he gave his traditional three quick knocks before stepping inside. For anyone else, this would have been tantamount to suicide as Hawthorn was not fond of people coming in without his permission. Thankfully Cain was too important to his work to simply kill.

"Sir?" He ventured. "I believe I have some news you'll want to hear."

Benjamin was seated in his chair, looking as though he had spent the night in it. In all likelihood he probably had.

"This had better be damned important." He growled, massaging his forehead in a manner that was suspiciously similar to a hangover.

"It is." Cain stated. "The boy you were worried about? Davian? He's been sighted again." Benjamin's head immediately shot up. "He was seen moving with several of Tenenbaum's men. They just hit your safe house outside the Drop. From what I can tell they took the forces inside by surprise, and left no survivors."

It took several moments for his words to sink in. When they did, Hawthorn's expression turned manic.

"Their working together…" He said, slowly rising to his feet. "Their after me… and their working together…" His knuckles went white as he grasped his desk in a death grip.

Cain watched impassively as Hawthorn's paranoia worked him into a quiet frenzy. The man's eye was staring into the distance with feverish intensity as images of the two played throughout his mind. It was amusing in a way, to watch him like this. There was a perverse pleasure to be had in seeing someone crumble.

With his fist slamming down on the desktop, Benjamin wrenched himself back to reality. His expression now showed nothing short of blind rage.

"They want me dead Cain!" He shouted, each word growing louder. "Well, I'm not going to die so easily! I want you to get together some of your men, your best men, and track that little shit down before he becomes a problem. Find him. Kill him. Do whatever it takes to show Tenenbaum that her little tricks won't work. Make an example of him, and make it bloody!"

The corners of Cain's mouth turned up in the barest hint of a predatory smile. This was the reaction he had expected. This was the one he had wanted.

"Of course sir." He assured. "I'll see to it that the young man is dealt with in a timely fashion. And believe me; by the time I'm through with him nobody will dare challenge you."

His words had the desired effect. Hawthorn sat back down, muttering viciously about what he was going to do to Tenenbaum once he got his hands on her. Cain paid him no mind as he exited the room, his thoughts already turning to his plan.

He would kill Davian. Not because Benjamin wanted him to, but because the boy had something he wanted. Two somethings. Somehow, he had managed to get his hands on a gatherer and a big sister.

If Cain could claim the two of them for himself…

The possibilities were limitless. No longer would he be forced to work behind the scenes for an incompetent fool. No more would he have to put up with the man's infuriating idiocy. He would rule, he would command, and he would set his sights on something far greater than the sunken city.

Cain's eyes slowly rose to the ceiling. They didn't see the metal and glass making up the corridor he was walking through. Instead they saw blue skies, white clouds, and a world that was utterly unprepared to face his might.

Rapture was just the beginning. Very soon even the surface would fall to him as well.

He allowed himself a moment of anticipation. Everything was falling into place.

There was a problem. Almost as soon as their group had arrived back at the colony, Davian had been whisked back to Tenenbaum's office by armed guards. Unlike earlier, only he was allowed inside. Both Amelia and Wren were forced to stay back. The big sister expressed no small amount of frustration, though whether this was because she didn't want him going alone, or simply because she didn't like being ordered around he couldn't tell.

Before long, he was seated face to face with the doctor once more. She observed him much the same way she had the first time, only now there was a slight edge of tension pervading the room.

"Hello again Davian." She said. "I'm sorry for the disruption, but something very important has recently been brought to my attention."

He knew what this was about. There was only one thing it could be, but he elected to play dumb in the hopes that he was wrong.

"What would that be exactly?" He asked with as much innocence as he could.

"Doctor Gregory recently talked to me about you." Tenenbaum said, folding one hand over the other. "He spoke of some very odd markings on your back."

"I told him, those are just some old scars." Davian assured. "You tend to get some of those when people want to kill you."

"Scars." She mused. "Indeed. Tell me Davian, how much do you know about the Saturnine?"

There it was. The temperature in the room seemed to drop about twenty degrees.

"I know that they're a cult." He began, choosing his words carefully. "I know that they were fond of drinking a mixture of blood and Adam. I also know that they were killed off back when Jack tore Arcadia apart."

Her eyes were boring into him, seeing far more than they let on.

"I want you to answer me truthfully." She stated. "I will not accept a half-answer, and I won't allow you to dodge the question. Are you a member of the Saturnine?"

He began to ask how he could be part of a cult that didn't exist anymore, but her hard glance prevented him from doing so. With a sigh, he gave in.

"I was. Not anymore." He said. "A long time ago. I was still a kid, but I was well on my way to becoming one of them. It isn't exactly a time I like to discuss."

"I need to know more than that." The doctor said, not letting up. "If you want to gain entry to our home then I will need to be sure I can trust you. This isn't something I will leave up to chance."

He glanced away, hoping to delay the inevitable for as long as possible. He would have to tell her, but he sure didn't want to.

"I got involved with them a little while after my dad died." He began. "My older sister got us in. It's not like they were our first choice, but we had no money and nowhere else to go. They accepted us into their group. Without them we probably would have been killed off by splicers."

Tenenbaum nodded, encouraging him to go on.

"I split from them once they started offering me ambrosia. Well, not at first. The stuff was good, and it made me feel… powerful. I didn't know why, but I knew I liked it. Then the side effects started kicking in. Hallucinations, voices in my head, the works. Once I got wind of what it was made of, I made a run for it. I'd rather take my chances on the outside than slowly go insane from drinking blood."

He sighed again, rubbing the side of his head.

"They didn't chase me. Either they didn't care, or they thought I would come back. I wanted to, I'll give them that. But pretty soon it didn't make a difference. Jack showed up and put an end to them, so I couldn't go back."

"And what of your sister?" She asked.

He averted his eyes at that.

"I left her behind. She was having bad reactions to the Adam she had ingested, and I couldn't get her to come with me. She wouldn't stop talking about the 'light' and the 'symbols' that they were showing her. Maybe I could have done something more but… I left her. Odds are, Jack killed her at some point."

Tenenbaum gave a small nod of sympathy.

"Your sister, what was her name?"

Davian raised his eyes to look back at her. "I think you've already guessed what her name was." He said.

"I would like to be sure."

He cringed. The words forced themselves out of his mouth more by automatic response than conscious acceptance.

"Her name was Amelia."