Just to avoid any confusion, the next couple of chapters will be taking place at (mostly) the same time from different perspectives.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or any of the characters
The first group of splicers died before they'd taken three steps inside the room. Blazing fireballs shot towards them from every direction, exploding and immolating them so quickly that they didn't even have time to scream.
The attackers answered back with a hail of gunfire, blindly spraying shots into the open area. Their shots did little damage but forced the defenders to take cover. Capitalizing on the opening, more of Hawthorn's men charged into the room and set up positions of their own. Now able to see their targets, they unleashed a much deadlier volley killing three Spiders and a Houdini with focused bursts of gunfire.
More and more of them dashed through the burning gauntlet towards safety. Those that survived the trip lent their weapons to keeping the Houdinis suppressed, which in turn allowed more of their comrades to come to their aid. For a moment, it looked as though the defenders were going to buckle under the assault.
That changed in an instant as an earsplitting shriek tore through the air. Epsilon launched herself from the second floor balcony, descending on the mass of drug-ravaged creatures with murderous intent. Her impact smashed one unfortunate woman into the ground crushing her spine under the big sister's armored boots. Recognizing the threat of the monster in their midst, all guns immediately turned on her.
It proved to be a fatal mistake.
With her distracting the gunners, the Spiders took the opportunity to close the distance and drop on the heads of their unwary victims. Screams of pain and manic cackling filled the air as cruelly curved hooks tore into them. Those that tried to flee the frantic melee found themselves being picked off by the Houdinis that still remained largely unscathed.
Epsilon threw herself into the conflict with wild abandon. Her harvester tore into a heavily built man's chest, liquefying his Adam rich viscera much to the horror of his allies. Before his hollow remains even had a chance to collapse to the floor, she was dashing to her next targets. A brutal kick to the chest left one splicer choking on his own blood as his ribs punctured his lungs while a swing of her needle ripped open a jagged wound across another's midsection.
Beside her, a Spider splicer suddenly froze, both metaphorically and literally. A hard blow from a wrench-wielding man shattered the creature's head, spraying Epsilon with bloody flecks of ice. Raising his hand, he sent another wave of Winter Blast her way.
After her previous encounters with such plasmids, she had no intention of being caught out by them again. She dodged to the side swiftly, the frigid gust of air shooting past her and catching another one of Hawthorn's troops just as he was swinging his shotgun like a club. Epsilon jumped forwards with the intent of closing in on her assailant, only to skid to a halt when he burst into flames with an agonized howl. Turning, she caught a brief glimpse of Davian giving her a wave before a shot from a grenade launcher forced him to teleport away.
The big sister leapt back into the fray, cutting a gruesome swath through the ranks of thugs and cutthroats. Very soon, the sound of gunfire ceased altogether as the last of attacking force fell to the ground never to rise again.
Epsilon stood panting while she observed the carnage. In the span of about two minutes, somewhere between forty and fifty had been killed. Less than ten of those being on their side. While she was certainly glad to see that they'd crushed the enemy in such a decisive manner, something didn't feel right.
The air warped in a red mist as Davian materialized next to her. He looked none the worse for wear after their engagement.
"Was that really all of them?" He asked, voicing what she had been wondering herself. "I was expecting something a bit more… dramatic I guess."
Another Houdini nearby started snickering.
"Yea, those pansies died real easy didn't they?" He asked. "And here I was hoping for a bit of a challenge. It's been too long since I got to kill something and I was just getting warmed up."
His voice was drowned out suddenly by a roar that shook the room. Epsilon's body immediately seized up at the all too familiar howl. In disbelief, she turned back towards the hallway and her fears were confirmed.
A little over a dozen splicers stood at the far end, struggling with all their might to hold onto several large chains. Those chains were each wrapped tightly around the body of an Alpha Series. How they'd managed to transport one of those metal behemoths here was a mystery to her, but she didn't get long to wonder. The enraged big daddy was violently thrashing around, barely being held in check by the weight of its captors.
"Cut him loose!"
No sooner had the order reached her ears than the splicers holding the chains dropped their restraints and ran for their lives. One wasn't quick enough, getting flattened by the metal links as the Alpha Series tore itself free and whipped them away.
The brilliant red visor of the rage fueled protector swung around, searching for anything to vent its endless anger upon. Its gaze quickly settled on the Houdini that had been complaining about not getting enough killing done earlier.
"Aw fuck…"
The Alpha Series raised one arm, bringing a massive chain gun to bear. The enormous weapon whirred to life, firing a blinding spray of supersonic metal. The splicer vanished in a red mist, though the splatter of blood and body parts made it abundantly clear that this wasn't the typical kind.
Epsilon snapped out of her daze as the chain gun swung around to face her. Putting all of her considerable physical capabilities to use, she sprinted out of the way just in time to avoid the storm of lead that tore through the air where she'd been standing only a moment ago.
Bellowing its maddened war cry, the Alpha Series charged through the doorway, firing at everything that moved. The splicers were forced to scatter, those that hesitated being reduced to a crimson splatter on the floor.
"Kill it! For fucks sake, kill it!"
Epsilon wasn't sure who shouted the command, but it seemed to remind the others that they weren't defenseless. A wave of fire sprayed forth from all directions, consuming the giant in a spectacular display. The roar of the flames momentarily drowned out the berserk screams of the big daddy.
For an instant, it looked as though the blaze had consumed the Alpha Series entirely. That hope was quickly dashed as it strode through the fire like a demon from the pits of hell. The molten licks of heat clung to its body, dripping and cascading off but leaving the man inside the suit unharmed. Another defiant roar reverberated through the room as its weapon resumed firing.
Four Houdinis tumbled from the upper balcony in pieces, the high caliber ammunition of the chain gun tearing their bodies apart before they could escape to safety. One of the more reckless Spiders leapt at the Alpha Series only to be caught in hid air by its free hand and mercilessly bashed to a pulp against the floor.
Gritting her teeth, Epsilon realized that Cohen's forces wouldn't be able to last much longer. Something had to be done about the crazed protector before it wiped them out entirely.
She remained hidden until it passed by, striding forwards heedless of the flames being fired upon it and still carrying the broken corpse of the Spider. She waited impatiently as it unloaded deadly streams of bullets at every corner and crevice. All she had to do was hold until an opening presented itself. One that should be showing up right… about…
The chain gun's magazine clicked empty.
Now.
As the Alpha Series looked down to see why everything had stopped being torn to pieces, Epsilon struck. She sprinted out from behind her cover, rocketing towards the big daddy who instinctively started trying to gun her down only to groan in frustration as it realized what was wrong with its weapon.
She took a running jump, aiming herself so as to pierce its skull with her harvester. The Alpha reacted with surprising swiftness. Using its brutalized Spider splicer as a club, it swung the corpse in a rapid sideswipe that knocked Epsilon flying across the room. She landed painfully on her shoulder and skidded for a good distance, the metal of her armor sending up tiny sparks as it scraped against the floor.
She was back on her feet in an instant, heavily winded but otherwise intact. Much to her dismay, her opponent had taken the brief pause in combat to reload. She turned back just in time to see it finish connecting a new magazine to the side of its massive firearm.
A surge of adrenaline rushed through Epsilon's system as the imminent danger became apparent. Her heart rate skyrocketing, she dashed to the left in an attempt to make a more difficult target. The gun trailed after her as though physically locked to her form, starting to spin as it prepared to fire.
"Hit it now!"
Davian's voice cut through the air and was quickly followed by another volley of flames smashing into the Alpha's body just as it started to shoot. Epsilon shot back to the right, dropping down to the floor to avoid the blind fire that followed. One shot raked across her temple drawing a small crimson line over her skin.
At this point, the big daddy was beyond enraged. Bellowing like a man possessed, it once again turned its gun towards the upper floors to butcher the Houdinis that tormented it so. This time Epsilon didn't give it the chance to get started.
She closed the distance once more, coming in low. She thrust her needle upwards as hard as she could in order to pierce the giant's thick leathery suit. The harvester punched through with a satisfying impact, causing the screams of anger to turn to screams of pain as it sunk into the softer flesh beneath.
A triumphant thrill coursed through her veins as the harvester began its extraction process, but the big daddy wasn't going down without a fight.
Seeing that her head was unprotected, it brought its free hand crashing down on the crown of her skull. The blow shattered her concentration and left her wide open for the follow up. The chain gun smashed into her side, hurling her away from the Alpha as though she weighed no more than a feather. Her needle, still stuck in the crazed creature's gut, tore a gap in its suit as it was ripped free.
Dazed and with blood running down into her eyes, Epsilon tried to stumble back to her feet. She knew that any hesitation now would be a death sentence. The whir of the chain gun's motor fixed a shard of icy dread in her stomach as she realized it was too late.
She managed to turn in time to see the blood-red porthole glaring down at her as the weapon spun up.
Without warning, a blast of red smoke erupted in front of the Alpha Series. Davian materialized in front of it, looking impossibly small next to the behemoth. His presence drew its attention as he thrust his hand inside the gap that Epsilon's needle had opened up.
In an instant, the sound of rushing fire and a horrific scream echoed from inside the monster's armor. Tiny tongues of flame leapt and writhed around the hole leaving no doubt as to what was happening. The giant flailed madly, forcing Davian to teleport away as it tried to bludgeon him to death. Its efforts were in vain. The damage had already been done.
The Alpha Series swung its body, struggling to find a way to stop the blaze that had taken hold inside its suit. After a painfully long display, its tortured cries dimmed and went silent. The giant slumped to the ground heavily, kicking up a small cloud of dust as it hit.
Epsilon let out a breath, closing her eyes in order to help dispel the dizziness. When she opened them again, Davian appeared before her and held out a hand. She accepted gratefully and pulled herself up.
"You know…" He said, with a small smile. "The last time this happened it was me on the floor while you did the saving."
She gave him a light shove, rolling her eyes at the comparison. In all fairness she'd still done most of the work this time anyway.
He was about to say something else when the room suddenly shook under a massive tremor. With a startled yelp, she grabbed onto his shoulder in order to stay upright. Many of the other splicers around the room did much the same thing with any surrounding objects. The miniature earthquake ended as suddenly as it had begun, leaving them wondering just what new catastrophe was taking shape.
"That didn't sound good." Davian remarked, his smile replaced with a look of dismay. The sound of static at his hip alerted them to the radio. He picked the device up and raised it to one ear.
"Hello?" He asked. "What's going on? What the heck happened out there?"
Epsilon couldn't hear what was being said on the other end, but his expression left no doubt as to the severity of the message. The blood drained from his face as Tomas's distant voice relayed whatever terrible news he was hearing.
"Where are you?" Davian demanded. "Just tell us where you are, we'll be there right away!"
Again she was forced to sit back and watch helplessly. From the looks of things, it didn't get any better.
"Y-Yea… I understand." He said, voice shaking slightly. "We'll get it done…"
When he finished and returned the radio to his belt, Epsilon gave him a concerned look silently asking for the details. In response he shook his head.
"No time to explain right now." He said, casting a glance over at the splicers that had survived the engagement. "I'll tell you on the way, but we need to move. The doctor's in serious trouble and Tomas… isn't going to be able to help."
There were a thousand things she wanted to ask, but his serious tone prevented her from pausing to push the issue. She nodded and made to follow him as he turned to leave. Thankfully Cohen's men seemed too busy with tending to their own wounds to be bothered by their departure.
Something told Epsilon that this was going to be a very long day.
There had been very little for Tenenbaum to do when the attack came. Sander Cohen had taken her with him in order to keep her under watch, handing her a pistol and stashing her away behind their lines. When Hawthorn's men had begun pushing in, she'd taken potshots at the enemy wherever the opportunity presented itself but there was very little that she, or any of the other splicers, could have contributed at that point.
The artist's mask of self-control had vanished the moment the invaders dared show themselves in his presence. He had erupted in their midst like a walking inferno, showering them in a frenzied barrage of flame that left them reeling and disorganized.
When it became clear that he'd devoted all of his attention to the battle at hand, Tenenbaum took the opportunity to slip away as quietly as she could. Admittedly, with his chaotic display going on she probably could have calmly strolled out without drawing any attention to herself, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The sound of distant conflict echoed back to her from all directions. She blocked it out as best she could. While she worried for the safety of her people, her first and foremost priority at the moment was reaching the codes. Those had to be acquired if they wanted any chance of escaping the city of nightmares intact.
Raising her personal radio to the side of her head, she hailed Tomas.
"Kinda busy at the moment. You need something doc?"
His voice was difficult to hear over the sound of gunfire and several muffled screams, but it was enough to be clear.
"I'm headed towards Cohen's quarters." Tenenbaum answered quietly, still looking over her shoulder for fear of being discovered. "Be ready to take your group back to the train station. Once I've got the codes we won't be remaining here for very long and I suspect our exit won't be a smooth one."
The sound of a shotgun discharge sounded over the radio, followed by a wet thump that might have been a body hitting the ground.
"Roger that. We'll move out as soon as you give the word."
She put the device back as she passed by the stage that held Cohen's ravaged masterpiece. She had no intention of becoming its replacement.
Nothing jumped out to bar her way as she ascended the staircase, and no guards appeared to stop her as she reached the doorway at the top. The doctor opened up the entryway and moved towards her goal.
Cohen's private quarters were locked away behind a combination lock that appeared to be of a higher quality than those normally employed around the city. While Tenenbaum certainly had several guesses as to what the code for his den may be, she had no time to try them out. Instead, she drew a small screwdriver from one of her pockets and gently pried the metal casing of the lock off.
It was a delicate job to try manually hacking a higher quality device, but she'd become very adept at doing so during her time in Rapture. Several minutes of tinkering were rewarded by the soft click of the door being unlocked.
Stepping inside, it quickly became apparent that this place had never been meant to house anyone, much less a mad man such as Sander Cohen. The room was a projection booth, though it had been packed full of assorted art supplies and sculptures. There was a map of the city on the wall that had a big red X through Olympus Heights. Whatever significance that portion of Rapture had to him would likely have been cast aside after Lamb had forcibly barricaded him inside Fort Frolic.
Focusing on the task at hand, Tenenbaum began the lengthy process of sorting through the creations of one man's dementia in search of a single code.
The experience was far from pleasant. Cohen's makeshift living quarters contained everything from beautifully written sonnets and art pieces to the bloodcurdling ranting of someone who'd lost their grip on reality long ago. She pushed through it all, doing her best to ignore the writings that would likely come back to haunt her in the dead of night if she survived the next few hours.
The codes were not hidden amidst the stacks of paper, nor were they stashed around the statues that may or may not have once been living people. Leafing through the disorganized stacks of books revealed no clues as to their location, and none of the film reels had anything hidden inside. She searched the room top to bottom and found nothing that gave away the location of her target.
Putting a weary hand to her brow, she sighed heavily. What if he had them on his person? What if he'd hidden them in another portion of the city? There were a million ways that he might have approached the task of keeping the codes out of her hands, and each one was worse than the last.
"Think." She ordered to herself. "Where would a man like Sander Cohen have hidden something precious to him?"
The answer came more quickly than she'd expected.
Dropping to the ground, she placed one ear against the floorboards. Sure enough, after knocking her fist against several areas, one rung hollow.
The doctor worked quickly, tracing her fingers all around the area in search of the slight disturbance that would give her access. She found it after only a moment. Pressing down on one end, she cautiously pried the loose paneling open. It moved away to one of the loveliest sights she'd seen in a long time.
Inside a tiny cutaway portion of the floor was an old audio diary. The markings on its casing labeled it as a security tape. No doubt Andrew Ryan would have encoded it with extra features to keep unauthorized personnel from using it, but she could deal with that later. She stashed it away in her coat to keep it safe, carefully replacing the floorboard so as to avoid rousing any unnecessary suspicion before getting to her feet.
Using her radio once more, she contacted Tomas.
"I have them." She stated. "Get out of there as soon as you can and head to the train station. I'll be meeting you there shortly."
"Glad to hear it. I'll spread the word and we'll see you there."
"Yes. Good. Be sure to-"
The sound of footsteps at the door silenced her in an instant. Turning sharply, she saw heard the noise of someone making their way towards the room.
"Doc? You all right up there?"
She quickly hid behind a pair of plaster statues, drawing her pistol and taking aim at the entrance.
"Someone is coming." She whispered into the radio. "I'll do what I can to deal with them, but I may need aid."
"On my way. Hold tight and I'll be there."
Tenenbaum turned the device off in order to silence the noise it was making. She couldn't afford to give away the element of surprise. If it was Cohen, then she'd need every advantage she could get.
Much to her surprise, the mad artist was not the one who stepped through when the door opened. The man on the other side was the same splicer that had broken into her office back in Pauper's Drop. His eyes scanned the room swiftly, a half-smile forming as he did so.
"Go. Tell Ares the time has come."
For a moment she thought he was speaking to himself, but a single hornet took flight and made its way back down the hallway. Was he talking to insects? Tightening her grip on the gun, she decided that it didn't matter. He was a threat to her people and now he was standing between her and escape.
Taking careful aim, she opened fire.