As you may have guessed, this story is starting to reach its conclusion. I'll do my best to ensure that the last few chapters are memorable.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock or any of the characters
Rapture shuddered beneath Cain's feet, causing his knife to twist painfully in his side as he struggled to hold it still. A flare of burning suffering raced up his spine bringing the faintest hint of a grimace to his face. He remained perfectly still until the city ceased its death throes and stillness returned once more. With a couple more moments of silent work, his blade gave a final pull and finished digging the bullet out of his side.
Cain breathed a silent sigh of relief as he stuck a first aid syringe into his flesh near the wound, letting the miracle substance repair the damage to his body. Tenenbaum was proving harder to corner than he'd initially anticipated. He thought she'd been trapped when he found her in Cohen's private room, but she'd been quick on the trigger. It was only his rapid reactions that had prevented the shot from being fatal.
His swarm had filled the air in an instant and the doctor had fled rather than try lining up another attempt. Now she had a large head start on him. That wasn't a problem though, seeing as there was only one place that she could hope to go from here.
Rising to his feet, Cain called up another pair of hornets to act as messengers.
"Find Ares and Gamma." He commanded. "Tell them to make for the train station at once. No distractions."
The insects flew off without hesitation, leaving him to push forwards on his own. He knew that Ares would be down in the underbelly of Fort Frolic, having just felt the rumble of a breach. Hopefully the Houdini hadn't done anything stupid like drown himself.
Gamma could be anywhere at this point, having broken away from him to indulge in her need for bloody violence. He doubted she was in any real danger from either force, but the sooner he had tabs on her again the better. It simply wouldn't do for her to accidentally kill someone important.
Striding forwards once again, the pain of his earlier injury gone; Cain followed the path that Tenenbaum had taken. He was more careful this time. A cloud of hornets was ever present around him, ready to strike at a moment's notice should any threat present itself. Their scores of eyes would be able to pick out any ambush long before it posed a danger to him.
He'd only taken his first steps down the staircase when the next shot rang out. Diving to one side, Cain felt the sting of a bullet tracing across his ankle. The swarm that had been buzzing around him immediately spread out in all directions, intent on finding the shooter.
Regaining his footing, he raced down the stairs as quickly as he could, using the banister to obstruct a clear shot as much as possible. Another bullet ricocheted off the metal a handbreadth from his head.
Now he saw her. Tenenbaum was hiding next to the stage, keeping low as she tried to gun him down. Seeming to understand that she could no longer remain there, she tried to back away only to draw the attention of the hornets. She cursed, firing at the mass of insects in a vain attempt to keep them back. Unfortunately for her the bullets had almost no effect on them.
The doctor began desperately swiping at them as they closed in on her. The swarm ignored her attacks, massing around her, landing, and clinging to her clothing like stubborn leeches. After a moment she became aware that she wasn't being stung to death or torn apart by angry mandibles.
"I wouldn't struggle too much if I were you."
Not daring to turn her head for fear of angering the insects that now covered her body, Tenenbaum glared at the splicer out of the corner of her eyes.
"Don't worry doctor." He stated with an infuriating amount of calm. "I need you alive, so there's no reason to fear for your life."
"I never realized how popular I was with the psychopaths of this city." She responded bitterly. Moving slowly, she edged her arm upwards until the barrel of her pistol was aiming directly at his chest. "I have no intention of being some prized victory for a deranged drug addict. Either release me at once or I'll send you back to Hawthorn in a coffin."
"You misunderstand." Cain said, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that he could die from a simple pull of the trigger. "I no longer work for Hawthorn. And, to be quite frank, I never did. He was a useful tool to me, but now he is no more. At the moment our two interests are very similar. I'm not your enemy here."
"Why would I believe that?" Tenenbaum demanded, her body starting to shake from the effort of remaining entirely motionless in such a position. "What is to stop me from just killing you and being done with it?"
He shrugged, calmly walking his way around the stage and over to her. When he drew level with her, he put on what was likely meant to be a disarming smile. She was far from fooled.
"For starters, you'll live significantly longer." He explained. "If I die, those hornets will fly into a frenzy. They'll tear you apart long before you could even think of fighting them off. And before you consider some noble sacrifice in the name of the greater good or what have you, let me just say that you can't afford to die here."
"What are you talking about?" Tenenbaum demanded. Her finger was a hair from pulling the trigger. Swarm of insects or no, there was still a chance that she might be able to escape after killing him.
"Didn't you feel that just now?" Cain asked, gesturing to the walls around them. "That rumbling wasn't merely the city settling into the sea floor. That was the convulsions of a fresh wound being opened up."
It took a moment for the implications of his words to sink in. When they did, Tenenbaum's eyes went wide in realization.
"You…"
"An agent of mine paved the way for the ocean to deal with both Hawthorn's and Cohen's men." He stated, dismissively pushing her gun to one side as he drew closer. "No doubt your own troops will have been swept away along with them. Right now, you're likely the only one who can bring those codes back to the surviving members of your colony."
She brought the gun forwards again despite the warning chittering of the insects that were disturbed by the action. When the barrel was placed directly over his heart, she glared up at his questioning expression.
"You bastard."
"You may want to think about what you're doing doctor." Cain cautioned. "As I said, we actually have very similar goals right now. You want to leave the city. I want to leave the city. I can ensure that you and your remaining people escape this place unharmed, and in return you can aid me in furthering a project I've been planning for a very long time now."
"And just what the fuck project would that be!?"
The two turned back to the entrance at the sound of the voice. Despite his mask of control, Cain was unable to entirely blot out the surprise that flashed across his face.
"Hawthorn? What are you doing here?"
To say that the splicer gang leader was angry would have been a monumental understatement. He shook with rage as his right hand aimed his shotgun directly towards his traitorous lieutenant. His left was clenched so tightly that the nails drew a small trickle of blood from his palm. Behind him were a small ragged group of other troops, including Hammer who was drenched from head to toe.
"Oh, I don't know Cain." He spat murderously. "Why don't you tell me? What am I doing here? Did you think that you could pull some half-assed tactic like that and get away with it!? Did you honestly think you could drown me like a crippled rat!? DID YOU!?"
The manipulative splicer put his hands up in a submissive gesture while his mind raced to take in this new variable.
"Sir, I believe there has been a slight misunderstanding…"
Hawthorn's free hand immediately gripped the underside of his shotgun as he pulled the trigger. The blast shattered the formerly quiet room and Cain stumbled backwards into the side of the stage as buckshot embedded itself into his shoulder and side.
"That was just a warning shot you lying sack of shit!" Hawthorn barked, pumping the weapon and discarding the spent shell. "Next one goes in your kneecap! Now start talking! Just what the fuck kind of stunt are you trying to pull here!?"
Tenenbaum, still trying her best to remain as stationary as possible, watched out of the corner of her eye as Cain leaned heavily on the wooden stage to get himself upright again. Despite the fact that he was bleeding heavily from the bullet wounds, no more than a flicker of pain showed through. Once he was standing, he turned to face Hawthorn once more.
"My… apologies… sir." He said, the strain in his voice more obvious than that in his posture. "I had intended… for the flooding to… aid your advance… by crippling Cohen's defenses. If you ever felt that your life… was in danger… then-"
"Do you have any idea how many people I lost back there!?" Hawthorn shouted, his finger edging towards the trigger once more. "I barely made it out of that place before the water reached me! Do you honestly think I'm stupid enough to believe that was supposed to help!? Do you think I'm an idiot!?"
"Most certainly."
The air was suddenly filled with a vicious crackling as Sander Cohen materialized in the middle of the grand staircase. A dozen Houdinis followed suit, bursting into existence on either side of their leader. Though he looked battered, he was still in fairly good shape considering the warzone he'd been in a short time ago.
"After all, only an imbecile would think to attack me." Cohen stated, glaring down at the man.
"You stay the fuck out of this!" Hawthorn shouted, swinging his shotgun around to point at the new arrivals. "This has nothing to do with you! I'll deal with your sorry ass after I'm finished here, so just sit back and keep your damned nose out of it!"
"On the contrary, this has everything to do with me." The artist replied, tracing one finger along the banister. "Slipping away in the heat of battle? Breaking and entering? Stealing from the one who so graciously offered you exactly what you desired? You've been a very bad guest miss Tenenbaum. I think you need to be taught a lesson."
"Oh no you don't you son of a bitch! She's mine! She's been causing me too much pain to let someone else kill her!"
Hawthorn gave the signal and his men readied their weapons, taking aim at the Houdinis on the stairs. The splicers under Cohen's command did the same, shifting into combat stances and preparing to unleash hell the moment things boiled over.
"Sorry guys, but the doctor's got somewhere to be right now and it isn't here."
Tenenbaum stiffened as an arm wrapped around her neck from behind. Her eyes took in the image of Hawthorn, Cohen, and Cain all turning to her with varying expressions ranging from incomprehension to outrage.
And then everything ceased to exist.
The world was replaced by a crimson mist that stretched out seemingly to the ends of the universe. She tried to gasp only to realize that she had neither air to breathe, nor the requisite body needed to do so. Even lacking a physical form, she still felt as though there was an arm dragging her along. She couldn't tell if there was an up or down in this place but she was sure that she was moving.
As though noticing that she was drifting in places she didn't belong, the world decided to reassert itself in that moment. A wave of vertigo hit her as she collapsed to the ground. Distantly she was aware of the sound of a door being slammed shut.
After a few seconds of lying in her daze, Tenenbaum remembered the peril of her situation. She sat up in an instant and began clawing at her outfit in a desperate attempt to dislodge the hornets before they started attacking. It took her a moment to realize that there were no hornets. Blinking in surprise, she looked down at her tattered clothing which had been covered in winged insects just a moment ago.
"Talk about cutting it close."
The doctor swung around, halfway towards raising her pistol again when she spotted the person who'd brought her out of the bad situation.
"I think we need to move if you're able to." Davian said, offering a hand. "Those guys will probably be pissed off once their finished with each other."
Behind him, Amelia was breaking the knob off of the door they'd escaped through and crushing the hinges so that it would be nearly impossible to open without breaking it down. They were located in a cramped hallway which she could only guess was directly connected to the room they'd just left.
"Thank you." Tenenbaum said, taking his arm and pulling herself to her feet. "Yes, we need to move quickly. We have to get to the train station and contact any other survivors. I have what we came here for."
Davian nodded, starting off down the hallway. The three of them got underway right as the sound of gunfire started echoing out from behind the door.
"You bastard! Look what you did!" Hawthorn screamed, firing his shotgun with bloody intent. The blast caught one of the Houdinis before she could teleport, and a volley from his soldiers finished the job. The others didn't wait around after seeing their companion's fate. The air was once again filled with rippling distortions as Sander Cohen and his troops vanished from sight.
Hawthorn and his forces broke for cover, knowing that things were about to get a lot nastier in the next few moments.
"You come into my home!"
A bolt of flame struck the ground next to Hawthorn's feet as he dove behind the stage, nearly igniting his legs in the process. The one who'd launched the shot was gone before anyone could pinpoint their location.
"You attempt to steal away my revenge!"
Another streak of fire shot out, impacting a tommy-gun wielding splicer in the back. His screams were cut short as the unnaturally intense heat fried him in the span of a few moments.
"You're nothing but leeches and parasites! Do you know what we do to your kind around here?"
Hammer stumbled down beside Hawthorn, hoisting a large chunk of broken concrete up and using it as a poorly formed shield.
"We BURN THEM!"
As soon as the words had been spoken, the red mist of the Houdini splicers arrival poured forth from the upper balcony. The defenders appeared and began unloading streaks of molten death down on the heads of their adversaries. A brilliant display of red, yellow, and white light streaked across the air, earning several agonized cries whenever one of them made contact.
The attackers answered back in kind, hammering down the triggers of their weapons and sending waves of lead back up at the Houdinis. The opening salvo was rewarded by three bullet ridden bodies toppling from their perches and falling to the lower floor.
Hawthorn cursed bitterly as a stray shot nearly took one of his fingers off. His shotgun wasn't suited for dealing with opponents at this range, and his frustration at the maelstrom of disaster that had become of his great plan prevented him from simply sitting out while the others did all the killing.
"Hammer!" He ordered, getting the brute's attention. "Keep me covered! We're storming the upper floor and bringing the fight to them. You got that?"
The massive splicer gave a wicked grin, stretching his face to the point where it almost looked like his damages skin would crack open.
"Gotsha bosh!" He said, shouldering the massive piece of debris and keeping it between him and the hail of fire. "You shtay beaind meeh."
With that, the odd looking pair broke away from their cover and dashed out into the open. Seeing the charge, the Houdinis on the upper floor switched their targets and began lobbing flaming projectiles directly at them. Waves of heat impacted the ground as well as Hammer's concrete shield. Ironically enough, the water that still drenched him from his earlier fight was now serving as a massive aid. The blasts that managed to slip past his guard scorched and burned him, but never managed to ignite his waterlogged clothing.
Using his bulk for shelter from the deadly barrage, Hawthorn sent several shots upwards to keep the fire-throwing splicers from having their way entirely. As they ascended the stairs, the pressure of their advance meant that the Houdinis had no choice but to focus most of their efforts on stopping them. This allowed Hawthorn's other troops to begin firing again with impunity, scoring two more kills and turning the tide of the battle in their favor.
"Deal with the others! I'll handle these ones." Cohen's voice reverberated through the room, being heard even over the explosions and gunshots. They'd just reached Hawthorn's ears when the mad artist materialized in front of them at the top of the stairs.
Seeing the attack coming, he dropped down low as Cohen's open palms were pointed at Hammer. Two streaks of white-hot fire launched forwards, encompassing the brute's front and wrapping around his body.
Hammer bellowed in agony as the direct immolation flash-evaporated the water that had been helping to keep him safe and began eating away at his thick hide. In an attempt to stop the constant wave of pain, he lunged forwards and brought the slab of debris swinging downward with the intent to crush Sander Cohen underneath it.
The lord of Fort Frolic had no intention of being killed so easily and teleported away just as the block was about to make contact. Hammer's weapon smashed down into the floor with incredible force, cracking the flooring underneath and creating a deafening bang that nearly drowned out the sound of the few remaining fighters.
Cohen returned to the physical realm above his massive opponent, landing heavily on his back and grasping the top of his head. His hands instantly became encompassed in twin infernos, eliciting another wail of anguish from the giant. Hammer tried to reach up and pull off his tormentor, but the damage had already been done. The blazing heat from the artist's attack superheated the inside of his skull, literally boiling his brain inside. His comparably tiny eyes rolled up back into his head as his massive body began to sway unsteadily. Cohen deftly leapt off of him, landing lightly on the top of the staircase. With one solid push he sent the brute splicer's body tumbling back down them to join the freshly made corpses at the bottom.
"Out of my sight you filthy swine." He remarked, brushing his hands on his clothing in disgust. "May all your kind join you in the grave."
"Fuck you Cohen!"
Hawthorn, having previously been lying prone on the stairs, leapt to his feet and swung his shotgun up. Sander Cohen hardly had time to register the action before the weapon fired, sending a wave of buckshot into his midsection and forcing him back.
"Fuck your artwork!"
Another shot sent his back slamming into the wall, causing him to gasp raggedly as several pieces of shrapnel entered his lungs.
"Fuck your army of freak shows! Fuck your Fort Frolic! Fuck you and everything you fucking stand for you fucking white collar bastard!"
Hawthorn punctuated each sentence with another pull of the trigger. Each shot slammed into the artist's body, never giving him the chance to dissipate and escape. When at last the shotgun clicked empty Cohen slowly slumped to the floor, leaving a bloody trail on the wall as he did so. His head lolled down over his chest with a slight dribble of blood leaking from his mouth and drawing a red trail over his white face paint.
Hawthorn gasped for breath as his one good eye took in the sight before him. No more gunshots were being fired. No more torrents of flame ripped through the air. Several moments passed before he was able to fully register what had happened.
"I killed him…"
A wide smile cut across his features as a manic giggle forced its way up out of his throat.
"I killed him. I fucking killed him! I won! I killed Sander Cohen! I-"
His shouts of celebration were cut off as a sudden wave of force nearly knocked him off his feet. The slab of concrete that had been smashed into the floor was pulled backwards, hurtling through the air and heading back down the stairs. Hawthorn's eye traced its path in confusion as it suddenly came to a halt just above a new arrival.
"What…"
A bright crimson porthole looked back up at him like some demonic beast from the furthest depths of the sea. A heavy metal suit encompassed a slim figure, and a cruelly large needle extended from one arm. The other hand was raised and partially opened; pointing at the hovering chunk of debris like it was catching a baseball. Hawthorn's mouth hung open mutely; dread entering his system as he recognized the big sister for what she was.
"No! You can't! Not now! I just-"
The hand flicked and the massive piece of concrete shot forwards. Hawthorn instinctively put up his hands in a feeble attempt to stave off the inevitable. The slab rammed into him with bone splintering force, smashing him back against the wall and decorating it with a bloody spray as he was crushed like an insect.
At the bottom of the staircase, Gamma looked around at the carnage with no small amount of regret. Her battle with the man in the hallway had been more difficult than she'd expected, and had taken an excessively long time. Thanks to the delay, both sides of this fight had apparently killed each other off before she could get there. At least she'd managed to kill one of them. That was better than nothing.
The hornet she'd been following buzzed impatiently around her head, directing her to a partially hidden doorway at the back of the stage. She gave an affirmative hum to the insect as she clambered up. It was jammed shut, but a solid kick solved that problem. Looking over her shoulder, she took in the sight of the battle one last time.
Cain's body wasn't around here so that meant he was waiting for her somewhere ahead. She hoped he'd have something fun for her to break when she showed up.