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

A terrible ringing filled Epsilon's ears as she lay dazed on the ground. The explosion of the proximity mine had thrown her backwards, causing her to smash the back her head against the floor. What would have normally been a minor annoyance became incredibly painful due to the lack of her helmet.

With a groan, she opened her eyes. She followed her survival training, doing a quick mental check to ensure that nothing was broken and everything still worked fine. The once-over revealed that she was still intact. The only thing the blast did was get on her nerves.

It was then that she noticed the ringing in her ears hadn't gone away yet. Wait… that wasn't ringing. Those were sirens.

Epsilon bolted upright, jumping to her feet so quickly that the room spun for a moment. The warning alarms meant one of two things. Either the colony was under assault, or someone had decided to pull the emergency lever and leave bombs lying around. The second option didn't seem likely.

With a jolt, she suddenly remembered that she hadn't been alone when the blast went off. Her eyes found Davian lying slumped on the ground against the wall. She quickly dashed over to his side, worry biting at her heels. He'd been far closer than she had, and didn't have the benefit of an armored suit to take the brunt of the explosion.

Kneeling down in front of him, she inspected his body for injuries. Most of them looked superficial. Not much blood, which was a good sign. Scrapes and bruises dotted his skin, but there were no major visible wounds. Still, the pressure wave from the blast could have done internal damage. She wasn't sure how to check for-

"Uhhhh…"

Before Epsilon could think about unforeseen hemorrhaging and liquefied organs, he started to stir. With a bleary unfocused gaze, he struggled into a sitting position. She helped him up as he did so, picking a couple smoldering splinters out of his arm as he rose.

"You have no idea… how much that hurt…" Davian said, trying to catch his breath. "What the heck happened? Who put that… oh…" He visibly paled as he looked over her shoulder. Following his gaze, she suddenly felt lightheaded with the realization that they'd both come very close to being killed.

The bomb had never been meant to inflict fatal injuries by itself. The blast had opened a whole in the wall, revealing its true purpose. On the other side were dozens of fuel canisters, likely used to power drone motors, auto turrets, and maybe even that big boat life raft thing that they were building.

The proximity mine had been set up in an attempt to ignite those fuel containers. Had they gone up, both Epsilon and Davian would have been blasted to pieces whilst simultaneously being immolated in the blink of an eye. It was luck, the positioning of the barrels, and the skill of the people who'd made them that saved their lives.

Getting unsteadily to his feet, he seemed to notice the sirens blaring throughout Pauper's Drop.

"That can't be good." He said, pointing out the obvious. "Come on. We've got to go find the others and see what the heck is going on."

Epsilon nodded, falling in behind him as he walked onwards with a slight limp. It was partially out of habit and partially because she had only the vaguest idea which direction would take them where they needed to go. Why couldn't these people use colored tags in their building the way mother had?

The sound of gunshots in the distance caused the two of them to pause for a moment before hastening onwards. There was no doubt about it now. Someone was trying to break into the colony. Several more twists and turns in the labyrinth of the halls brought them into a wide cafeteria style room. The sight inside was one that lit Epsilon's blood on fire.

"No! Put me down! Stop! Please!"

Two colonists lay dead in a growing pool of blood, and standing over them…

"About time you got here. You sure that's her? She doesn't look much like a gatherer to me."

"It has to be. She was in the proper room, and there aren't exactly a lot of children running around now are there?"

The same two splicers that had ambushed her inside the Farmer's Market were here. The Houdini was currently carrying Gwen slung over one of his shoulders. The girl had been bound with what looked to be torn cloth, likely to keep her struggling to a minimum.

The sight of her former sibling so callously abused sent a shockwave of hatred running through her system. Epsilon's instincts still registered the girl as family on some level. Despite her personal feelings about Gwen, she was still the closest thing Epsilon had to a true sister.

These splicers were about to die.

She didn't have her harvester. Her suit was damaged. She was still hurting from last time, but by god, or mother, or whoever else might be watching, she was going to tear out their fucking intestines and hang them from the rafters.

"Drop her! Now!" Davian's voice cut through the distance between them, prompting both drug addicts to turn. She silently cursed his decision making. This would have been far easier if he hadn't thrown away the element of surprise.

As soon as the splicer's turned around, Epsilon shot forward. She was determined to at least make some use of their unknown entrance. As it turns out, luck was apparently on her side.

The attention of both splicers was drawn instantly to Davian. The distraction gave her the momentary opening to close the distance. Knowing she wouldn't be able to make it all the way before they realized what a threat she posed, one of her arms grabbed an overturned chair and hurled it forcefully towards them.

With a curse and a shout of surprise, the two of them dodged away in opposite directions. The chair shattered harmlessly across the floor, but it had served its purpose. She was already on top of them.

With a scream of anger, she lunged at the Houdini that was holding Gwen. He braced himself for her attack, drawing back his free arm to take a hatchet swing as soon as she got into range. A sudden burst of red smoke interrupted his preparations.

Davian materialized behind the man, slamming into his back in a shoulder charge that threw him entirely off balance and caused him to lose his grip on Gwen. Epsilon changed her trajectory at the last moment, catching the girl before she had a chance to hit the ground. Quickly tearing away the bindings that had been holding her, Epsilon set the girl down and gestured for her to stay back. She gave a tearful nod of understanding before scurrying behind an overturned table.

The big sister turned back to their opponents to find that the Houdini had managed to teleport away from Davian and now stood beside his bomb throwing companion. Tension thickened considerably as the two groups eyed each other, alert for the slightest movement that might spark the inevitable violence.

"Davian." The Houdini spat the name like it was some sickening toxin. "I'm glad you decided to show up. I was beginning to worry that we wouldn't be able to finish our fight. Or do you plan on fleeing again?"

"Hmm?" Honest confusion showed on the boy's face as he regarded the other splicer. His memories of their last encounter were all but nonexistent. "Have we met before or something? I don't really remember you."

The expression on the man's face would have been incredibly entertaining under any other circumstances.

"You arrogant shit!" He exploded, brandishing both of his weapons with barely restrained rage. "You dare to mock me!? I am Ares! Chosen of the god of war! I am the one who will purge this filthy cesspool of every weak-willed coward and fool that desecrates it! I will tear out your heart and feed it to you for this insult!"

Davian put on a thoughtful expression, rocking his weight onto his back foot.

"You know." He began. "You remind me of someone who-"

Stopping abruptly mid-sentence, dual gouts of flame erupted from his palms and shot towards the raging splicer. The distraction tactic proved to be fairly effective. The man never saw the attack coming until it was too late to teleport away, instead forcing him to dart to one side. He barely made it out of the way in time.

"Filthy mongrel!"

Both sides launched into action. Davian and the opposing Houdini vanished almost instantaneously. Epsilon didn't bother trying to keep track of them. She would have to trust that Davian would be able to handle himself.

Though considering how that went last time…

The sound of a grenade being primed told her that the other splicer had no intention of sitting this fight out.

"Remember me freak show?" He taunted, rearing back to throw. "I got some new toys that I made just for you!" The bomb looked more akin to a heat seeking missile that had the thrusters removed and replaced with another proximity mine than an actual grenade.

Come to think of it, that's exactly what it looked like. Leave it to a splicer to make such an impractical and destructive device.

By the time he'd taken aim, Epsilon was already halfway to him. She knew that explosives would be more hazardous to him than her at close range, so she wasted no time vying for the advantage.

The man hurled the bomb with more accuracy than his kind was known for, but a quick blast of telekinesis sent it spiraling off to the side. The explosive detonated against the entryway, sending a massive wave of dust and splinters in all directions.

In the blink of an eye Epsilon was on top of him, her fist hurtling towards his skull with the force of a charging Alpha Series. The splicer however, was prepared for her strike. He ducked underneath her arm, and slapped her hard on her back.

"Tag! You're it!"

She had a split second to realize that a proximity mine had been attached to her armor before the blast hurled her to the ground. The wave of force from the explosion rattled her body and knocked her head against the unyielding floor. She felt her nose break on impact, sending a small gout of blood across the front of her face.

With a hiss of anger she hoisted herself back up, ignoring the wave of dizziness and pain that accompanied the action. He was already arming another bomb, but she was one step ahead. The air rippled as her telekinesis plasmid came into play once more. The splicer took a low stance and tightened his grip on the explosives hoping to endure the attack, but it wasn't him she was aiming for.

Much like the one Gwen was currently sheltered behind; another table had been shoved to one side of the room. With a flick of her wrist, Epsilon pulled the discarded piece of furniture through the air and directly towards the splicer's unprotected back. It crashed into him and rocketed him forwards right at her waiting form.

This time there would be no dodging.

Epsilon's fist shot forwards with all her weight behind it, smashing into his midsection right as he flew towards her. The impact caused the table to be blown into shards and filled the room with the horrific crack of ribs being pulverized into a fine paste.

The splicer didn't fly backwards. He simply hung on her outstretched arm. The blow had been so brutal that her hand had actual punched straight into his chest cavity, pulping the organs inside.

Epsilon wrenched her fist out of the broken body before tossing him aside. That felt too damn good.

A flare of motion signaled the presence of the remaining two combatants. Davian and the Houdini broke apart, both breathing heavily. Davian was sporting a bleeding gash on his cheek and forearm, while the other man looked singed. Both of them stopped at the sight of Epsilon's handiwork.

The Houdini paused for a moment, his eyes going back and forth between Davian and Epsilon. He wanted to keep fighting. She could see it in his eyes, but he knew that doing so would be fairly suicidal now that it was two against one.

Clenching his teeth in raw frustration, the man vanished in a wave of red smoke. His departure was punctuated by a rage induced howl now that he had been denied a second time. Epsilon was tempted to give chase, but she didn't know which direction he'd gone. Keeping track of teleporting opponents never ceased to be an incredible annoyance.

When it became clear that the man was actually gone and not just regrouping for another assault, Davian's shoulders slumped. His hands brushed up against the cut on his face to check how serious it was.

"Wow." He remarked with a dry chuckle, looking down at the former bomber. "Remind me never to forget your birthday."

Epsilon just shook her head with a light laugh. It was amazing how effective violence was at relieving stress.

Striding across the room, she made her way towards the remaining table that Gwen was hiding behind. The girl peeked out from behind it hesitantly, regarding the big sister with timid eyes. In response, Epsilon knelt down a short distance away and offered her unbloodied hand. Several moments passed in silence before Gwen took two unsteady steps forward and accepted the offered appendage.

"T-Thank you…" She said quietly. Epsilon wasn't entirely sure how to proceed, but thankfully Davian decided to step in to help.

"Are you all right? Did they hurt you at all?" He asked the girl, stepping down beside her. It took three separate assurances that she was unharmed as well as numerous promises to stay close to them and keep out of danger before he was ready to progress.

"We should get going then." He said at last. "The others could probably use our help. I'm betting that these weren't the only guys in the attack."

Epsilon agreed with a nod and got to her feet. Her hand was hurting from smashing the splicer, but she could still use a bit more punching if there was any to be had. It didn't have the same precise lethality of her harvester, but it was plenty satisfying.

Picking up Gwen with one arm, Davian started for the door with Epsilon following close behind.

Cain stepped through the carnage of Hammer's passing with carefully measured steps. Each motion was made to ensure that his presence wouldn't be detected by anyone nearby. Not that there was anyone to notice him. Destroyed machines and the odd corpse were the only things watching over these halls.

With his unwilling guide he made quick progress to the hall that he was looking for. The bulkhead door to Tenenbaum's office lay at the end, looking as peaceful and harmless as could be.

Such a delightful illusion. The woman on the other side was no doubt one of the most dangerous individuals in Rapture.

"Wait here." He ordered, knowing full well that Stanley couldn't help but obey. "Count backwards from four hundred. When you reach zero, enter the room and kill anyone that isn't me."

Leaving the man standing there, he walked purposefully towards the door. He knew full well that the camera installed on it could see him. He wanted to ensure that Tenenbaum knew he was coming.

Upon reaching it, he found it to be locked by a combination code. No doubt only the doctor herself and a few of her most trusted aids knew how to open it. Thankfully he had another way in. Pulling an object off his belt, he pried the casing off of the lock and inserted it inside.

Hacking tools. What useful devices. It was a pity that they were so fragile, but at least in this case he only needed to use it once.

A soft click sounded as the bulkhead unlocked and slowly slid open. The inside of her office was a mess. Cain stepped inside, regarding the scattered papers and files with a frown of disapproval. It simply wasn't professional.

No matter. He thought to himself. Down to business.

There was no sign of the doctor, but he knew she was near. She wouldn't simply abandon all her work for anyone to wander across.

Six quick steps brought him up to her desk, his expert eyes scanning the papers that were adorning it. He swept those that looked unimportant off to one side, while gathering up the ones he could use.

There we go. Census records, scavenger reports, medical treatments, anything and everything that had to do with the day to day happenings of the colony. A wealth of knowledge about everyone and everything located inside.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something that stood out against the office style background. A mask in the shape of rabbit, not unlike the ones that had been worn during the civil war, had been placed inside one of the drawers. Its pointed ears stuck out just slightly, alerting him to its presence.

"Interesting…"

He removed the item lightly, observing it with a keen eye. Tenenbaum wasn't prone to nostalgia, so the mask would likely serve one purpose or another. And, given how uncommon they were nowadays, he might know just where it came from.

The soft click of a pistol being aimed at his back prompted him to stop pondering the item in his hand.

"Turn around. Slowly."

Gently putting the mask back down on the desk, he raised his hands above his head and turned with a disarming smile.

"Doctor Tenenbaum." He greeted. "So good to finally meet you in person. I've heard a lot about you, and let me just say that the stories don't do you justice."

She had been hiding behind a cabinet which had likely been put in place for the sole purpose of covering her should her office come under attack. Her steely expression never wavered under his air of friendliness.

"Though I suppose we can skip the formalities if you wish." He said. "You look like a busy woman after all. Given the fact that you haven't shot me yet, that would imply that either your weapon isn't loaded…"

She pulled back the hammer on the pistol, daring him to take that risk.

"…Or, much more likely, you want something from me."

"How did you get inside the colony?" She demanded. "I want to know the names of who you work for, and I want to know what you're doing here. Answer quickly. My patience has run out for your kind."

The smile never left his face.

"To answer your second and third questions." He began, looking entirely unperturbed by the gun. "I am employed by Benjamin Hawthorn as you no doubt have guessed. What I'm doing here specifically is setting up for my future ventures. You see, your colony has something that I want, and I always get what I want."

Her eyes narrowed, the finger she held on the trigger twitching ever so slightly. His demeanor and attitude were far too confident given the situation.

"That still doesn't tell me how you got here." She pointed out. "How did you manage to enter the colony at all without being seen?"

To that, he simply offered a sly wink.

"Why don't you ask him?"

She turned just in time to have Stanley tackle her to the ground. The gun barked once, its shot hitting nothing more than the ceiling, before being torn from her hand and skidding across the floor. She tried to go after it only to be stopped when his arms wrapped around her throat. He pulled her up at an angle, trying to get the leverage he needed to snap her neck.

Cain observed the struggle with mild amusement before gathering up the papers he had been looking for. Stowing them inside his jacket, he casually made for the door.

"Kill her." He called over his shoulder. "Then yourself. I'm not fond of loose ends."

The sound of the door closing behind him signaled his departure, not that Tenenbaum was in any position to do anything about it. She struggled against Stanley's grip to keep him from being able to choke the life out of her, but it was only a delaying tactic. He had the advantage both in positioning and upper body strength. Falling back on the skills that had kept her alive this long, she let go of him with one arm and reached back towards his head. Her thumb found his eye socket, and she pressed in with a forceful shove.

He reeled back, crying out in pain and clutching at his bleeding eye. The reflexive gesture caused him to let go of the doctor. It was an opportunity she didn't waste.

Grabbing a hold of his shirt, she flipped him to one side and positioned herself on top of him. She took a hold of his head and slammed it down into the floor. His strangled shout prompted her to repeat the gesture three more times until he lay still.

Panting from the exertion, she rolled him back over to check his breathing. Still alive. Good. She'd have many questions for him when he woke up. For now, she'd have to make do with restraining him.

Dragging the fallen man to the side of her office, she removed his shirt and tore it into long strips. Those were then used to bind his hands and feet. It wouldn't be able to hold someone who was determined to get out, but it should be enough for the moment.

"I'm getting too old for this." She commented, shaking her head.

Archer's feet carried him rapidly through the halls of his home. As soon as he'd heard the sirens, he'd made for the nearest armory and stocked up on bolts and a new crossbow. His old one had been lost in the Farmer's Market.

A massive brute splicer had been wreaking havoc on their defenses. The giant had hit when they were panicked and disorganized, striking deep into the heart of the colony before any strong defense could be mounted. Surprisingly enough as soon as they'd overcome the initial shock and began to fight back, he'd turned tail and fled. It was terribly odd behavior for a splicer, but Archer wasn't pausing to think on it. He had another issue on his mind. Someone who hadn't been present in the defense.

"Joey!" He shouted, kicking open doors and checking every room. "Where are you!?" A sense of dread had been building in his system ever since he noticed his brother's absence. Something about the strange attack had left him feeling like it was far worse than what he'd seen.

"Joey!"

As he rounded the next corner, he nearly tripped over a prone figure on the floor. Looking down, his blood turned to ice.

No.

"Joey!" He dropped to his brother's form, eyes growing wide as he took in the massive wound in his chest.

No, No, No!

He quickly removed the first aid kit at his side, giving the injection with shaky hands. Joseph didn't budge.

No, No, No, No, Please God No!

"I need a medic!" His scream echoed throughout the halls, reverberating back through the scenes of carnage that he'd passed on his way there.

"For fucks sake, someone get a medic!"

He placed his hands tightly over the gash, feverishly trying to halt the flow of blood.

"God fucking damn it, I need a medic!"