A/N: Done my first year of college! It was literally the worst thing I've ever endured since junior high, and I mean that. It's been so stressful and depressing - I couldn't go a week without at least a minor panic attack. That being said, now that I'm done I can finally cleanse myself of this fic. It's not that I don't love it, but I really need to move on to my serious projects. This means that this story will either be finished by the end of summer, or I will have all the chapters done and ready to be uploaded throughout the summer and next semester.
Sorry for the hiatus. I'm in the process of polishing up the rest of my chapters that i have done now, as I'm not entirely happy with them.
23
Sapphire's Hideout
Jack pulled himself out of the cold water, over the bathysphere's stone rim, letting himself fall heavily to the tiled floor. He sprawled out on the floor, staring up at the high ceiling of the bathysphere station, squinting in the sudden change of light. Lifting his hands to his face revealed that the webbing between his fingers was slowly starting to recede, and further investigation gave Jack a satisfying feeling of wholeness when he found the strange tear-shaped gills to be missing. He tiredly let his arms slap back down to the gathering pool of water at his sides. Part of him expected one of Sapphire's goons to burst into the strangely echoic room as he caught his second wind, but he knew this lady had more patience than that – and more plans.
With a loud explosion of water, Holly burst out of the bathysphere shaft, flopping onto the floor several feet away from Jack. The trip clearly took a lot out of both of them. And, as the Plasmid wore off, their fatigue worsened.
"You left me behind…" Jack growled with a croaking voice. He forced himself into a sitting position so that he could glare down at Holly.
"Sorry…" She responded in a similarly broken voice. "I knew you'd make it, though."
"Barely," Jack huffed, shuffling away from the stone rim. He wanted to be far away from the water's surface in case that big lug of a Splicer decided to try to get another hold of him.
Holly saw this and mirrored the actions. "It was that, or risking one of us slowing down the other." Her tone was brutally honest. As she spoke, she reached into one of the soaked pouches of her utility belt. From it, she retrieved a syringe of EVE, which she handed to Jack. "Let's just get warmed up – preferably before the rest of this Plasmid wears off."
Jack took the syringe from her with a glare, still feeling hotheaded about being left for dead. Once he did the typical EVE ritual, he snapped both fingers and focused on the heat that coursed through his veins. Eventually, his hands were engulfed by the raging flames he created. Though the flames didn't hurt Jack, they still made him grimace slightly at the sight – he imagined anyone might do that if they were in a situation where their arms look like out-of-control tiki torches. But it was warm, and that was really all that mattered.
They sat in an awkward silence for several minutes, letting the intense heat dry their clothes and warm their skin. Holly pulled the ribbon out of her hair, stuffing it in a pouch, and then began pinching locks of her black, shoulder-length hair to pull the water out.
"You know," Holly started quietly as she shook drops of water off her hands, "I am sorry."
Jack kept his focus on the flames, but inhaled deeply, breathing out to expel his frustration as calmly as possible. "It's OK…" He accepted grudgingly. He still didn't appreciate being left behind like that, but they did both make it out of the water without so much as a scratch. That was the best scenario they could have hoped for.
"I mean it." Holly continued in a tiny tone. "Not just for leaving you with those Splicers. I'm sorry for everything."
"What do you mean?" Jack stopped himself from narrowing his eyes at her suspiciously.
"I've—" She broke off to think about her words. When she mentally reorganized them, she continued. "I know I must've been a real pain… And, when we first met, you said that you didn't want to be babysitting me through this whole thing. But I really did act like a child – I wasn't very good company at all. So I'm sorry. For everything." Holly didn't look up at Jack at all while she spoke. She busied herself by pulling the skirt of her dress out of the pants she was wearing and had tucked them into.
Jack finally took his focus away from the heat coming from his hands, looking at the girl. She stared back, and almost winced, like Jack had pierced her with the one look. Jack didn't speak for several seconds, mentally reassessing Holly. She had her own little games that Jack had a feeling he knew about, but he wasn't about to accuse her of anything, now. Not when they were so close to the end. He instead nodded at the girl. "It's fine, Holly. Really." He gave her a faint, pursed lipped smile. He then returned his attention back to the fire.
Holly, looking slightly relieved, returned a ghost of a smile, and then got to her feet to peel off the sodden pants that she was temporarily wearing under her frock. Jack also got to his feet, tired of sitting in the puddle of water they had created.
Several more silent minutes of slowly drying passed. Jack had some time to really look at the station they were in. The tiles under their bare feet were dark as night, probably obsidian. Across from the bathysphere shaft entrance was a fairly large set of stairs – on either side of the stairs, two large, metal fish curved out of splashes of water made of the same copper-like metal. The railings led along the stairs, but coiled like small conches to the sides at the top of the flight. The only thing the stairs led to was an intricately carved door. The room was lit by lights that had been sunk into the ground just enough to make them almost obscured. The lone bathysphere looked barely used, and was definitely a reflection of life before Rapture's fall, like a time capsule of sorts.
Because of impatience, Jack let the flames dwindle. They were dry enough, and the building was surprisingly warm. Jack slipped on his loafers and grabbed his pipe wrench, Holly slipped on her own shoes, and they headed towards the intricately carved door. Upon closer inspection, Jack could see all the little details in it. It was clearly a cityscape carving of Rapture. At the very top of the piece of work was the lighthouse, its light being cast to the left. Small stars dotted the sky.
Holly paused by the door. She gently laid a hand on Jack's elbow, but retracted quickly. "Are you… sure you want to do this?" She asked under her voice. "I know we went through a lot to get here, but leaving is still an option."
Jack knew what she was doing. But he couldn't just leave when he was so close to objective. He shook his head. "We have to do this. We're the only ones who can. " He gestured to the door. "We've gotten this far. This is farther than anyone else has gotten. This is farther than anyone else will get."
The girl nodded lightly in agreement. "I figured that's what your answer was going to be…" She took in a breath, like she was readying herself. "OK…" She looked at the door. "… am I going first, or would you like the honor?"
Jack scoffed, giving the door one last look over, and then walked towards it. As he neared it, the door slid up into the ceiling, and Jack headed into the eerily quiet room it opened up into.
The room was massively tall, and quite wide, and the air felt differently charged. On either side of the room were two rectangular fountains with fresh water aquatic plants growing – and over growing – in a controlled beauty. Directly across from the door Jack and Holly now stood in front of was a massive sweeping staircase. Similar fish carvings from the bathysphere station were situated at the bottom of the rails, but, instead of the rails ending in small curls at the top of the stairs, they stretched on to cover line the edge of the open-faced floor the stairs led up to. Two doors faced Jack underneath the second floor. On the second floor, two more doors were built into the walls facing each other. The floor tiles were no longer obsidian in color, but black and white marble. The walls were a deep cyan color. Decorative plants, some in pots large enough to stand on their own, some that were small enough to be placed on a carved and polished table, were placed about the room.
What they stood in appeared to be a foyer – an entrance… more like Sapphire's next intimidation strategy. It all felt the same to him.
"This is it…" Holly announced quietly, slowing to a stop beside Jack. "… the last stop."
Jack gripped the wrench he held in his hands, staring up at the second floor. He started towards the stairs, only to pause when he heard the familiar sound of a door opening, followed by the sounds of pumps walking across a carpeted floor…
The right door on the second floor had slid open, and a woman in a blue dress that hung just below her knees – something Lauren Bacall or Ginger Rogers might wear - had walked through. There was no conversation as she walked almost to the top of the stairs, her eyes on Jack the whole time.
Jack didn't move towards her, and she didn't move towards him. They only glared at each other for several tense moments from where they stood. A quiet sense of satisfaction overtook Jack as he stared up at this woman, her thin, pale arms resting on the railing of the staircase.
He was finally face-to-face with Lady Sapphire.
After silently observing Jack for probably a minute, Sapphire finally fabricated a smile on her red lips. "I do hope your proud." Her voice was honeyed and soft, yet there was an almost sardonic tone to it. "You made it all the way here in one piece. And here you are, with a staircase being the only thing standing between us."
The Ryan didn't say anything. He snapped his fingers to set the woman ablaze. He was more than willing to finish her off before she could set her own little plans into motion.
Nothing happened.
Jack stared at his own hand in surprise, and then tried again. Still, nothing happened, other than a slight warmth glowing in the palm of his hand.
"You just arrived…" Sapphire sighed in feigned exasperation. "You should at least wait until after we've had a civil conversation before you try killing me."
"How the…?" Jack hissed, trying his Plasmids again and again. He was able to use them minutes earlier… and was certainly not out of EVE.
"The air around us is usually charged with a specific energy, Mr. Ryan. Most Plasmids use EVE to draw energy out of the air to work. By design, the air in this building has an extremely low charge." Sapphire shot him another forced smile. "Are you ready to talk, or do you want to try to hit me with your blunt weapon, first?"
"I'm not interested in talking, you know that…" Jack hefted the wrench. Plasmids, in Jack's opinion, could sometimes offer a quicker way out. But this woman apparently wanted to be bludgeoned to death.
"I suppose that's fair enough. Shall we skip the middleman? Here…" To Jack's surprise, Sapphire calmly started down the stairs, keeping one hand on a railing. She looked almost amused. "I'll make it even easier for you."
Jack actually took a step back, almost bumping into Holly, who had been watching with wide, interested eyes. "You think I'm stupid."
"Oh, since when did you start worrying about what I thought about your intelligence?" She stopped on the bottom stair so she could stand over Jack. "I think you're a fool – I don't think you're stupid. Remarkably, there is a difference." Her green eyes flicked down to the wrench Jack held. "Go on. Try." When Jack didn't move, she rolled her eyes. "I don't understand why you're hesitating. Isn't this what you came for? Or, are you waiting for me to say it?" Jack remained silent. She let out a breath, like it was a chore for her to do. "Well, then, Mr. Ryan… would you kindly take that silly weapon of yours and hit me with it?" She pointed a long, light pink nail to her left cheek, tapping almost directly below a thin, fading scar. "Right here, if you wouldn't mind."
Jack didn't move. "How many times do I need to tell you that doesn't work anymore…?"
"Then why are you here?" Sapphire's amused expression dropped. "What in the world prompted you to leave your happy little fairytale? What made you think it was a grand idea to come back?" She lifted her chin slightly. "Maybe Tenenbaum's magic didn't work as well as you thought it did…"
"It doesn't matter what brought me here." A tingle of anger ran through Jack. He shook his head. "All that matters is that we made it. And if you're dead, your little plans won't make it to full flower."
"Then kill me, Mr. Ryan. Come now, I can see you want to. As stony as you might make your face, you can't hide that glint in your eyes, the glint that tells me just how badly you want to see me dead…" She leaned her face towards Jack, her left cheek perfectly exposed for him. She tapped her cheek again. "Go on, then."
"Just do it, Jack." Holly called from the bottom of the steps. "Stop indulging her."
Jack looked from Holly to Sapphire.
This was no different than when Jack met Andrew Ryan in person for the first and last time… Except this woman was clearly setting a little trap that she was forcefully dragging Jack into. Jack had no other choice, though. His Plasmids were useless. All he had was his wrench, his bare hands, and Holly, who was watching Jack in a dull anticipation.
"OK…" Jack muttered, hefting the wrench. "... I'll bite."
With that, he swung the wrench towards Sapphire's face, fully expecting her to lash out in some way before the wrench could make contact.
She didn't.
Sapphire probably felt a slight breeze on her cheek, but that was all. Jack's arm had stopped before he could complete his attack. It wasn't hard to tell why.
A rope of shadows had wrapped itself around Jack's wrist, and was holding it back. Jack dreadfully looked back at Holly, feeling the shadows tighten. Holding a hand out, controlling the shadows, she gave him a very deep, sympathetic look. She twisted her wrist, and the shadows constricted even tighter, and eventually forced Jack to drop the wrench. "I'm sorry…" She mumbled, letting the shadows loosen slightly when the wrench hit the floor.
Sapphire picked the wrench up, holding it in both of her hands. "Thank you, Holly…" She acknowledged as she looked over the wrench. She brought her eyes up to Jack's and smiled.
Earlier, Jack might have been more willing to digest this as a potential situation, in which case he might've been more enthusiastic in just abandoning the city with Holly when she offered. But knowing Sapphire was so close would leave the itch in Jack's conscious to grow with no satiation.
"Violent children get their toys stripped from them…" Sapphire hummed to herself, turning the wrench over in her hands without looking away from Jack. She smiled. And then she smacked the wrench into the side of Jack's head, sending him into darkness.
Jack woke up to the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, a pounding headache, and fuzzy vision. He couldn't remember where he was for a few startling seconds. All he knew was that he could taste pennies, and that his wrists were bound to a padded lounging chair.
"Welcome back to the world of the waking…" A voice prodded distantly. And, with that voice, came rushing back the memory of what happened.
The Ryan blinked furiously to clear his vision, licking the metallic blood off his lips. His tongue was sore – he must have bit it at some point while being knocked out and tied to a chair. "You're barking up the only tree that's got the gall to kill you, Sapphire…" He rumbled hoarsely, focusing his vision on the lady in front of him with the coifed brown hair.
"You don't seem very dangerous, to me." She pulled the corner of her mouth up as she examined Jack from a distance, looking thoughtful.
"You don't know what I'm capable of, clearly."
"I have a general idea." Sapphire, sitting across from Jack in a chair matching his, minus the wrist bindings, leaned forward. "None of that matters any more. It's all just words, now… Are you ready to talk?"
Jack tested the bindings angrily. They weren't loose at all, and the chair he was stuck in was too heavy for him to do anything but sit with…
He let out a reluctant hiss. "Fine. Let's talk."