I'm a little unsure how well this one turned out. I don't have much experience writing through intense emotions, so this chapter is still open to change. Let me know what you think in the comments.

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

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Epsilon's mind refused to accept what she was seeing. The light. The damned, hellish, vile, hideous, wretched light was back! It was something out of her worst nightmares made manifest. She was once again watching as Delta ripped out the very heart of her family with his demonic powers. Despite her best efforts to lunge forwards and tear her sister out of that all-consuming blaze, her limbs refused to budge even an inch.

She stood transfixed by horror as the blindingly bright flash consumed both Wren and Davian's forms. Her eyes burned as she looked on, but there was no way she could turn her gaze away from the sight.

And then it was over. Not just the light. Everything. It had all come crashing down.

Davian remained untouched in his former position, but he wasn't the focus of Epsilon's attention. In truth, she didn't see him anymore. All her attention was held by the single small child that was kneeling down in front of him.

Gone was the air of youthful innocence. Gone was the tender features and cheerful presence. The changeling's skin was gaunt, stretched tight over a body that hadn't known its required sustenance for a very long time.

As Epsilon watched, her mind drew further and further away from her. Conscious thought gave way to a maelstrom of chaotic emotions. Fear, rage, and protective instincts fought tooth and nail inside her head, threatening to shatter the big sister's remaining sanity as they tore her apart.

Slowly, the girl rose unsteadily to her feet. She looked incredibly unsteady. Some part of Epsilon's mind connected her current shakiness to the way Davian had been acting when he fought with the other Houdini splicer. Almost like they were unsure of how to work their own body. Out of the corner of her vision, she could see Davian speaking. None of the words registered however. The blood rushing past her ears drowned out any attempt of his to communicate.

That was when the girl turned around. The protector's mouth opened ever so slightly, a scream of grief catching halfway up her throat. A pair of unfocused, green eyes met her own.

It was too much.

The insurmountable force that had been holding her in place snapped as those alien eyes turned to her. Epsilon shot off the spot, breaking for the door. Her rush was so sudden that she nearly bulldozed through Joseph, or Joey, or whatever the hell he called himself. She slammed through the door, nearly breaking the unfortunate obstacle off of its hinges. The sharp pain of impacting it didn't even slow her for a moment.

She was hyperventilating. She knew that, but she couldn't stop long enough to care. The only thing she could do was run. The sheer overwhelming pressure of the emotions welling up in her chest threatened to rip her to pieces if she didn't vent them somehow. She didn't know where she was going, nor did she care. All she knew was that she had to get away! Away from those eyes.

After an indistinguishable amount of time, Epsilon's flight came to an end. Her panicked dash brought her around a sharp corner in the hallway. In the best of times, she'd have been hard pressed to notice the box of discarded equipment lying outside one of the doorways while moving so quickly. As it was, she couldn't even process it's presence until her foot caught on it and sent her spiraling towards the floor.

Her head knocked painfully against the ground, sending a fresh wave of anguish through her system as her bruises made themselves known once more. The pain triggered her combat instincts as her senses took in the stress as a sign that she was under attack.

Lashing out wildly with her foot, she kicked the box so hard that it went flying backwards and all but exploded as it hit the wall. Metal pieces and broken tools spilled out all over the ground in a cacophonous racket.

Epsilon tried to rise in order to take off once more, but her system was too flooded with adrenaline to coordinate such an action. She stumbled all over herself while her thundering heart shot the panic driven chemical into every corner of her body.

The leech in her stomach, sensing the sheer weight of her stress, did the only thing it could do to prevent its host from shutting down entirely. It sent out a chemical signal in her bloodstream, triggering her body to release a sudden wave of dopamine.

Epsilon's muscles locked up as the sudden euphoria wiped away everything else. The sensation, mixed with the sheer relief of no longer being in such a crippling state of panic, held her in place while her system did the biological equivalent of a hard restart. Her breathing, heart rate, and thought processes all slowly returned to a normal level.

The big sister curled in on herself, shuddering as her mind started thinking again. She wanted to wake up. She wanted this to all just be some sickening dream, but no amount of wanting could wipe away the image of those eyes staring back at her. Once pure and filled with love, now gone forever…

All because of him!

Grief hardened into anger as she remembered who it was that caused this. Davian. How could he do this!? He was supposed to care about Wren! He'd looked after her for so long, how could he do something so terrible now!?

No, she realized. Not just him. He'd said Tenenbaum had given him the plasmid. She was also to blame. So be it then, she'd kill her too! She'd kill every last one of them! Archer, and Joseph, and Tomas, and every filthy wretch that had done this to her! She'd kill them all! She'd burn their entire fucking colony to the ground! She'd-

Mister M is my friend! I won't let you hurt him!

The memory of Wren's voice shocked Epsilon out of the blind rage that had been building in her mind. She had defended him when he had no right to be defended. She'd chosen to trust his judgment on this. How much of it was she aware of? Did she only go along with it because she believed in him? She couldn't have known. She'd only just arrived. And yet…

Let go of me!

She'd gone so readily. As if she believed he couldn't do any wrong. Trusting him over the one who existed to protect her.

Epsilon sat back against the wall, drawing her knees up to her chest and burying her head in them. She wanted to cry. For the first time since her exile she really, truly, wanted to just stop trying and let the tears come down. The only time she'd felt this way before was when mother had died. This wasn't the way the world was supposed to work.

Perhaps inevitably, her thoughts drifted back to Davian. Her insides felt all twisted up just remembering his name. She wanted to break him! She wanted to make him suffer for what he did! But at the same time…

She didn't want to. She wanted him to stay. Despite the way she acted around him, she cherished the fact that he was there.

Letting out a screech of frustration, she slammed her fist against the ground. The jolt of pain from her burned digits scattered her inner turmoil enough to focus again.

This shouldn't be so difficult! He was a damn splicer! He deserved to die for what he'd done to her little sister!

A part of her mind disagreed.

He wasn't just a splicer. He was her friend.

He wasn't her friend! He'd attacked her with a metal pipe!

She'd attacked him first. When they met. Nearly killed him too.

He destroyed her helmet! Twice! Not to mention he'd gone and immolated her hands when she tried to stop him.

He fixed the damage the first time, and he wasn't in control during the second. Could she hold that against him?

Yes damn it! He still hurt her! On top of that, he was nothing but a burden! She had to save his life constantly.

He'd saved hers also. During the fight with Gamma. She would have drowned if he hadn't teleported her away.

She would never have fought Gamma in the first place if it wasn't for him!

Yes she would have. Sooner or later, desperation would have driven her to look for any surviving sisters. She'd have run across Gamma sooner or later.

He'd taken Wren away from both of them! There could be no forgiveness for something like that!

He was doing what he thought was best. She'd seen the pain in his eyes. She'd seen-

NO! To hell with what he thought was best! He'd betrayed their charge! She should hate him! She should kill him! Why couldn't she hate him…?

Because of the way he treated them. He'd accepted Epsilon into their group despite the fact that she gave him no reason to do so. He'd looked after Wren as though she were his own child.

That wasn't good enough! That was a weak willed excuse for taking the easy way out! He'd… He'd…

He'd given her a purpose. A name. A sense of belonging. He'd never looked at her like she was a monster despite how she must look like one to him. He treated her like an equal. He-

STOP IT! Stop thinking like that! He was the one in the wrong!

Because I saw just how bad it is to be controlled by something else.

He'd said it as though he could compare the two. Did he really think that Wren being a little sister was the same thing as an out of control splicer? It was entirely different! She wasn't some drug addicted lunatic that killed to feed their own psychosis! She was…

Human.

The single word hit Epsilon with the force of a train. Wren was human now. Nothing could change that back. Of course he'd choose this for her. He was mostly human too. What possible reason would he have to not change her back? He didn't owe any loyalty to the family.

The sting of realization tasted bitter.

He didn't care. He couldn't. He wasn't one of them. There was no reason for him to think that living as a sister was better than being erased. The explanation, so blatantly indisputably obvious, still held one question.

Why had he waited so long to changer her?

"I told you, I'm fine."

The sound of voices forced her attention back to the present. Someone was coming, and she was willing to bet that she knew exactly who it was.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? You just got out of the hospital, and she looked about ready to tear your throat out."

The scraps of metal on the floor provided her with an adequate weapon. She would have preferred her harvester, but it was currently hung up next to her damaged gloves. A sharpened length of bent steel would work well enough in its place.

"A good idea? No. It probably isn't. But I've got to do this. Please… just stay back. Whatever happens, just don't get involved."

She could hear their footsteps now. Drawing closer. Sounding out the dirge that would bring this moment to an end. The makeshift dagger was gripped tightly in her fist, causing a small trickle of blood to run from her palm.

"If you say so… Just… Don't get killed."

"…I don't make promises I can't keep."

Countless thoughts blurred together in her head, forming into one singular directive. Kill him. She'd kill him here and now. As soon as he showed himself. It had to be done. He'd stolen away a member of the family, and now he'd pay the price. A debt that could only be washed away with blood.

The footsteps got louder. As she listened, the second pair stopped. Davian was going the rest of the way on his own. Good. It wouldn't do to have a distraction.

Her heart was racing, shooting lightning through her system as he rounded the bend. The young man stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of her. Epsilon's muscles tensed, ready to spring into action and chase him down as soon as he turned to run. She'd bring him down for sure this time. There would be no mistakes to save him. Just as soon as he tried to escape.

Except he didn't run.

Seeing the edge of metal in her hand, and the violence in her eyes, he did something far stupider. He took a deep breath, and started walking towards her. He kept going until they were no more than an arm's length apart. What was he doing? Did he think she wouldn't be able to kill him? She would! She'd strike him down just as easily as every splicer she'd killed in the past!

With a slow hiss, leaving no doubt as to her intentions, she raised the blade until it was positioned right in front of his chest. It wasn't the most efficient of targets but she wanted to feel the resistance of breaking bones and piercing organs. She wanted it to go slowly.

He didn't pull away. Didn't even look down as the weapon was placed against him. His eyes were locked firmly on her own. No words were spoken out loud, but there was much being said between them.

Epsilon's hand started shaking. No! Not now! She couldn't afford to show weakness now! She had to finish this! He deserved to die!

"Amelia."

It wasn't her name damn it! Why did he insist on calling her that!? She was Epsilon! She was a member of the fifth series of subjects going through Mark 2 training.

"Please."

All she had to do was push forward. Just one thrust. He couldn't have saved himself even if he tried. So what if he wasn't running? She didn't owe him anything! This wasn't supposed to be like this!

His hand reached up until it was brushing against her outstretched arm. Very gently, he began moving the limb to one side. She wanted to hold it in place. Wanted to keep the blade right up against his heart, but there was no strength left in it.

The deadly point moved out of the way, now threatening nothing but air. Epsilon's eyes followed it along its path. It was all she could bear to look at during that moment. It wasn't too late. She could still swing it upwards, sever his jugular. He didn't have the reaction time to survive it.

Suddenly her eyes were drawn away from the weapon as he placed his hands on her shoulders. Fighting to keep from breaking down entirely, she turned her gaze back to his. There was no hint of triumph or surety in his face. He looked… damaged. She couldn't think of a better way to phrase it. His eyes searched hers for something she couldn't understand.

"I couldn't let her stay like that."

His voice sounded incredibly unsure, almost more of a question than a statement. He did care. He'd gone through with it despite the fact that he had nothing to go on other than faith that it was the right choice. Faith that looked almost evaporated.

"I'm sorry."

Two words. Three syllables. Worthless air pushed out of the lungs of someone she thought she knew. It shouldn't have meant anything, but just from looking at him she knew it did. Far more than the simple phrase let on.

The shard of metal slipped from her fingers, clanging discordantly across the floor as her last barriers fell away. Protectorate M2 Epsilon-04 slumped forwards, unable to hold onto the rage that had been welling up in her heart. And when she fell, he was the one to catch her.

Davian's arms wrapped around her form in a tight embrace. He kept repeating those same two words over and over as though it would be enough to convey the depth of their meaning.

She should have torn herself away. She should have slammed him to the ground and ended his existence. Instead, she let the tears that had been held back for so long pour out onto his shoulder. She clung to him as though she were a gatherer again, holding onto her dying father.

Her body shook in quiet sobs as the feelings of grief tore through her. He didn't condemn her for being so weak. He didn't try to justify his actions in any way. He simply held her while she ruined the shoulder of his shirt.

With painfully hesitant movements she raised her arms until they rested around his midsection, returning the gesture.

Things were looking up for Stanley Poole. After spending a hellish couple of weeks in the care of the colony, he'd finally found his chance to escape. Apparently some job had gone bad or something, and the chief of security was hurt. He wasn't too sure about the details. All he knew was that the guards keeping him under house arrest had been disorganized enough for him to make a break for it.

Oh how sweet freedom tasted.

No more of Tenenbaum, or Grace, or that little prick of a splicer and his metal girlfriend. He could go back to his train station at long last and relax again. Sure there was probably a splicer or two squatting there now, but he knew all about killing idiots that got too dangerous for their own good.

Now if only he could get rid of his little traveling companion…

Shortly after he escaped the colony, a rather large and incredibly annoying insect had taken it upon itself to follow after him and drive him mad with its incessant buzzing. Nothing he did seemed to scare it off. Throwing objects only served to dislodge it for a moment, and it never flew close enough for him to squash.

In the end, he decided to simply ignore it. Doing so was an incredibly difficult task, but through sheer force of will he managed it. Perhaps too well. Had he been more aware of his surroundings, Stanley might have noticed that he was being followed. He may have picked up on the fact that weapons were being drawn.

He might have realized that a heavy pipe was arcing towards his head before it bludgeoned him into unconsciousness.