Ch. 19: Sofia's Madness
A.N.:
So sorry for the wait everyone!
I am in a bad rut right now and I cannot seem to get any writing done. I did manage to get a chapter for one of my F.E.A.R. side stories done but that is it. I have been working on this for weeks and just couldn't get my mind to concentrate enough to get it done.
It doesn't really help that I have moved to the Xbox One either -_- My old 360 finally died on me so I upgraded to the new console. Now if only there were GAMES available for it I could actually play video games on it besides World of Tanks…which sadly is starting to lose its playability for me…and Dying Light. I miss BioShock 2 and F.E.A.R. 2 :(
Apologies but there is no lemon. I know some of you were waiting for it but it is not in this chapter. When there is a lemon, I always put a warning in the chapter title for the younger viewers who ignore the Mature-rating for the story.
I am doing some lemons in this story but my brain is not cooperating right now so it might be a little while before they happen. I think I am pulling myself out of my rut though so maintain faith please.
I am starting back at college on Wednesday, which is partially why I decided to update when I had such a short chapter done.
The other is the frustrating wait time -_- Trust me, I am just as frustrated. I have gone from publishing a chapter a week for nearly four years to one a month the past two update cycles. It is incredibly humiliating for me personally to have such crap updates.
So, please, bear with me until I can get back on schedule.
Read and review if you want. I hope the story is still worth it despite my failures.
Before me, I found the horribly deteriorated lobby of the Sinclair Deluxe. The bare metal frame of the elevator was directly across from me where it was nestled between the staircases that allowed access to the first floor. The stairs snaked around the elevator and, luckily for us, they were still standing. The ceiling that was three stories above our heads appeared to have once been either a stained glass dome or a clear glass dome that had been overgrown by algae and stained a sickly pale to dark shade of green. A section of the glass was cracked, which allowed sea water to cascade down to partially flood the center of the lobby.
Dozens of small butterflies that had delicate bright blue glowing wings were flying below the dome. I could not help but marvel at the blatant incompetence of the Splicers as I noticed that the reason why the butterflies were massed beneath the sickly green glass dome was a collection of light fixtures that were specifically made to attract insects. The Splicers had haphazardly mounted the lights and then connected them to small electrical collection strips. The dangerously overloaded electrical strips emitted sparks and were inches away from the sea water that was pouring into the structure via the cracked dome. That the water and electricity had not made contact with devastating results was nothing short of a miracle.
My frontal assault-style entrance had been the proverbial poking the nest with a stick. Before me, I saw two Thuggish Splicers, a woman in a moldy, torn formal dress and a man in a ripped business suit, who appeared to have been gathering sea water in makeshift buckets, drop the containers into the water and then grab their makeshift melee weapons. Meanwhile, from the second and third floors, Leadhead Splicers appeared and began to fire upon us with modified Thompson Submachine Guns.
Ignoring the pain of .50 caliber rounds penetrating my armor to rip through my body, I let out a rumbling roar as I stomped towards the two Splicers before me. The woman was armed with a section of lead pipe and the man was armed with what appeared to be the wooden leg of a large piece of furniture that had barbwire wrapped around the thicker end and tape wrapped around the thinner end to give the wielder a better grip. The woman charged at me from the right while the man charged towards me from the left.
The man made the blunder of running through the ankle-high pool of sea water to get to get to me. I willed a blast of Electro Bolt from the ported fingertips of my gauntlet-encased left hand into his frame. The Splicer screamed in agony as his body was surrounded by a fountain of bright blue electrical arcs that seemed to wrap around his frame like vines protruding from the surface of the water. Moments later, his smoking corpse collapsed into the frigid Atlantic water.
The woman, clearly not distressed by the death of her comrade, continued to charge towards me. As she neared me, I swung the razor sharp tip of my drill into the left side of her ADAM-ravaged head. My drill strike broke her jaw and gouged out part of her cheek while the blow itself sent the Splicer backwards onto her right side. As the woman tried to get back onto her feet, I stomped down on the back of her skull with the sole of my weighted right diving boot.
Hearing Jennifer let out a grunt of exertion, I turned to see her climbing up the side of the far wall and then pulling herself over the top of the railing of the second floor. As I watched, she stood and then began to hit the Splicers that had been firing upon us with balls of genetic flame. The armored young woman then charged towards the surviving denizens with her tungsten-tipped needle at the ready.
The high-pitched report of Alpha's modified Prototype Rivet Gun filled the air as he took aim at the Splicers on the third floor. I began to move towards the right flight of stairs but, suddenly, Eleanor screamed, "Daddy!" I turned to my right just in time to see a Brute Splicer in a casual business suit that looked as if it was ready to burst at the seams jump from the third floor down and land before me, shaking the entire lobby in the process. Completely unfazed by the fall and hard landing, the disgusting abomination ran towards me on all fours.
Reacting quickly, I electrocuted the ape-like Splicer with a blast of Electro Bolt and then swung my drill into the man's head. The blow was enough to crack open the front of the genetically twisted man's skull but it failed to faze him. The Splicer growled as if he was an animal as he continued his charge forward once he broke free from the effects of my Electro Bolt Plasmid. Before I could sidestep him, his large frame impacted mine with enough force to nearly knock me over and caused my passenger to cry out in mild exhilaration.
Ignoring the pain from what was likely a crushed rib cage being mended back together by the red liquid in my First Aid Reserve Tank, I ignited the Brute with a blast of Incinerate! before sending another vicious drill swing into the abomination's weakened skull. The raw power behind my strike sent the razor-sharp tip of my weaponized industrial tool deep into the man's head to penetrate the brain cavity. The massive frame of the Splicer convulsed momentarily before the corpse collapsed in a heap on the filthy, damp floor.
The sound of a pair of armored diving boots hitting the tiled floor to my left drew my attention. I found Jennifer standing before me and I also noticed that the lobby had become eerily quiet. The Splicers had retreated into the interior of the hotel. Considering the death traps that they had waiting for us, it would be unwise to proceed until we eliminated a large number of them. We needed to find a way to draw them out. However, Splicers were deranged, not suicidal. What could we use to draw them out of their entrenched positions?
Looking around, I smirked darkly when I saw the corpse of female Splicer that was just on the other side of the pool of sea water. The corpse was glowing slightly and it was fresh as it did not show any signs of decomposition or mummification. Not only would the Splicers come running once Eleanor started gathering but the woman likely had detailed information about the traps inside the hotel thanks to the memories stored inside the ADAM that was still inside her body.
Eleanor, knowing my plan due to the link that we shared, commented, "Very clever, Father. I just hope that this does not draw out the last hostile Big Sister in the area."
I replied with my gruff human voice, "It is a risk that we will have to take, kid."
Moving towards the corpse, I informed my two heavily armored companions with my Alpha Series voice, "We need to draw out the majority of the remaining Splicers before proceeding into the interior of the hotel."
Subject Alpha began to set up a perimeter with Trap Rivets while Jennifer glanced around as she studied her surroundings. I stopped before the corpse and noticed that, despite the physical distortions caused by the subsequent years of ADAM-abuse, I could make out a telltale scar on the side of her head. The faded, torn green working class attire and the heavily rusted section of pipe that was lying on the ground a few inches away from her outstretched right hand caused the memory of my death to play before my mind's eye. I remembered her. She was the woman that had been present the night of my death all those years ago.
I had struck her in the side of her head and sent her flying off to my right. I was certain that she would not survive having the side of her skull crushed by the side of my drill. However, she had indeed survived the incident only to die within hours of our reunion ten years later. The exact cause of her death was somewhat of a mystery to me. However, judging by the unnaturally flat posture, the pieces of railing around her body, and the opening in the railing up on the third floor, I theorized that she had met her end due to a deadly fall from the third floor. Whether it was a suicide or a homicide would likely only be answered by the memories trapped within the ADAM inside her body.
Seeing that Alpha and Jennifer were ready, I lowered my armored frame down onto my right knee to allow the Eleanor-controlled Little Sister to disembark. Upon standing, I looked down at the precious little girl as she excitedly pointed at the woman's corpse with her blood-covered left index finger and said with her robotic tone in a singsong manner, "Who watches over sleeping angels? I do! I do!" She lowered herself down onto her knees and then thrust the needle of her Gathering Tool into the corpse.
As I had predicted, the dinner bell was just too much for the Splicers to resist. The deafening chorus of broken, crazed voices filled the hotel as they closed in on our position. As I heard the murderous feral humanoids closing in, the molten hot rage of my Protector Instincts stormed into my mind while the area before me became cast in a red glow. The psychopathic monster known as Subject Delta was let out of his cage and I grunted out, "This had better be worth my time, old man."
When the first group of five Thuggish Splicers appeared as they mindlessly rushed down the flight of stairs on either side of the elevator, I heard Sofia's puppet begin to sing her famous song about what it was like to be poor. I mentally sighed as the rats entered the pool of water before me. I willed a blast of Electro Bolt from the ported finger tips of my left hand into the death trap. My tactic succeeded in electrocuting the Splicers, who screamed in agony before collapsing into the fluid. My master began to sing herself in order to drown out the "call to arms" that Gracie was piping through the hotel. It took me a moment to recognize the song, but, once I did, I could not help but smile brightly beneath my copper face.
With a heart-melting tone that was filled with unashamed passion, she began while I could have sworn I heard the sound of an old-school big band playing in the background, "Somewhere…beyond the sea. Somewhere…waitin' for me…"
A group of Leadhead Splicers appeared on the second floor and began to fire upon us with crudely repaired .38 Caliber Revolvers. I roared in fury as the rounds impacted my frame and then used my Telekinesis Plasmid to will the left portion of the Fire Door that had been blocking our advance into the hotel up into the section of the second floor that the Splicers were occupying. The massive piece of metal, easily several tons in weight, smashed through the flimsy railing and then sliced the rats, six in total, in half at the midsection before disappearing from view and slamming into the wall beyond in a cloud of dust and flying concrete.
My master continued, "…my lover stands on golden sands…and watches the ships that go sailin'."
The loud report of Alpha's Prototype Rivet Gun filled the air as four Thuggish Splicers jumped down from the first floor and landed before him. Moments later, Jennifer hissed at a group of Leadhead Splicers that appeared on the third floor before she jumped up to their level and began to attack them. Meanwhile, two Brute Splicers jumped down from the second floor and landed before me.
The passion in Eleanor's voice never wavered as she continued with her slightly altered version of the famous song by Bobby Darin, "Somewhere…beyond the sea…he's there watching for me."
The two brutes charged towards me, but, letting out a guttural roar that shook the hotel to its foundation, I revved up my heavily-modified, industrial-grade drill and then charged towards them. Giving off the deafening sounds of cracking bone and strained metal, we collided and I sent the two swollen men backwards onto the filthy ground. These abominations may have been a challenge for the Tin Men and that fool Johnny Topside, but they were no match for me. As I towered above them, I let out another guttural roar as I smashed the left side of my drill bit and my left fist against my heavily armored chest.
My master continued above the noise of the chaos with her beautiful, hypnotic voice, "If I could fly like birds on high…then straight to his arms I'd go sailin'."
The Brute Splicer on the left recovered and tried to tackle me. However, I maintained my footing as I turned with his momentum. The man lost his grip and flew off my frame and into the pool of water. Again, I utilized the death trap by willing a blast of Electro Bolt into the fluid. The bloated Splicer cried out in agony as steam began to emit from his electrified frame. Moments later, the Brute's cries ceased and the corpse collapsed in a lifeless heap in the pool of sea water.
Eleanor continued, "It's far…beyond the stars…it's near beyond the Moon…"
I turned to face the other Brute Splicer. The man had failed to recover as quickly as the other one had and I moved to stand before him.
"I know…beyond a doubt…my heart will lead me there soon…"
Revving up my drill, I stomped down onto the abomination's large chest with my heavy right diving boot. As the Brute flailed his grotesque, growth-covered arms around in a vain effort to get me off of him, I thrust my whirling drill's bit into his forehead. The sound of a cracking skull filled the air as my frame was covered in the Splicer's ADAM-laden blood and brain matter. Seconds later, I powered down my drill and then ripped it free from the mangled corpse. I then returned to my master's side.
She continued, "We'll meet...beyond the shore. We'll kiss…just as before…"
Hearing a telltale clicking sound, I turned my attention to the second floor. There, I saw a Splicer loading an RPG warhead into a crudely manufactured Grenade Launcher that appeared to be comprised of multiple paint cans and sections of sheet metal. A wooden handle was fashioned into a functional trigger. A curved reservoir made out of a gutted paint can was attached to the right side of the launcher to allow the user to have multiple shots before reloading. Judging by the wear and tear, the launcher was likely a leftover from the Civil War.
The Splicer fired a RPG at me but I revved up my drill.
"…happy we'll be beyond the sea…"
The electromagnetic dynamo modification sent the warhead back to the Splicer. The woman never had a chance to react before the RPG hit home and detonated.
"...and never again will I go sailin'."
Another Splicer jumped down from the first floor and landed just before Alpha. This one was clad in welder's attire complete with a mask and apron. He was wielding what looked like a fire extinguisher that had been converted into a homemade Chemical Thrower. The weapon's trigger was a wrench that opened and closed the pressure valve on the left side. At the muzzle was a small lighter that was projecting a small flame that ignited the contents of the tank. Judging by the weathered appearance of the thrower, it was also a leftover from the Civil War.
The Splicer began to attack my brother with a stream of flame that was likely a homemade mixture that was similar to Napalm. However, Alpha remained calm even as his frame was engulfed by the inferno. Taking aim, he fired a Heavy Rivet into to Splicer's pressurized weapon. The rivet punched through the tank's exterior and, seconds later, the weapon exploded in the Splicer's hands in a cloud of metal shrapnel and fire.
"I know…beyond a doubt…my heart will lead me there soon."
Jennifer jumped down from the third floor and used the body of a female Leadhead Splicer to cushion her landing. Moments later, I felt the entire hotel vibrate and soon heard the enraged call of one of the Tin Men. The hulking frame of a Rosie Mass Production Model appeared as the giant stomped down the right flight of stairs. The green residue of a Hypnotize Big Daddy polyp was still present on the side of the Tin Man's heavily-reinforced helmet as he charged towards us while he fired his powerful Rivet Gun.
Behind the mind-controlled Tin Man, I saw six Thuggish Splicers and five Leadhead Splicers armed with modified Thompson Submachine Guns. As the crowd rushed forward, I heard one of the men yell at the controlled giant, "Alright you tin shit box, grab the little bitch for us." Though the Rosie's movements were jerky and forced as the heavily-spliced man fought against the effects of the mind control plasmid, the manufactured Goliath charged through the Trap Rivets as he zeroed in on my master.
"We'll meet...I know we'll meet...beyond the shore...we'll kiss just as before."
Jennifer and Alpha sidestepped the Tin Man to avoid being trampled beneath his enormous frame but I stood my ground before my bonded partner even as my body was hit repeatedly by the high-powered rivets of the Mass Production Model's weaponized industrial tool. Seconds later, the giant collided against my smaller frame. I let out a roar as it felt like every bone in my body was crushed into powder. However, I ignored the unimaginable agony and my own blood coating the interior surface of my segmented eye as I stood firm mere inches away from the delicate frame of my beloved master. Any other member of the Alpha Series would have been thrown off his feet and trampled by the brute strength that the Tin Man possessed but I was Subject Delta; the Original Big Daddy and the Apex Predator of Rapture.
My master remained unfazed as she continued, "Happy we'll be beyond the sea…and…never again will I go sailin'."
I held the diving suit-clad giant with my left hand firmly clamped onto the metal bars protecting the porthole on the right side of his head and with my drill shoved into the thinner hide of his midsection. As our hellish red eyes were inches away from each other, beneath that cold facade, I could have sworn that I saw what was left of the man that the Mass Production Model had once been.
The man was begging me to not let him harm the little girl behind me. The Alpha Series and the Mass Production Models despised each other with a passion. In every way, we saw each other as an abomination. However, in that brief second, I saw that there was one commonality between us: the Little Sisters and the passion that we had for them. Before then, Johnny Topside and I had believed that the Tin Men did not care about them and simply protected their Little Sisters because of the brainwashing and programming.
I saw it: that flicker of human compassion and love for the Eleanor-controlled Little Sister. The man inside the monster was fighting with all of his broken willpower to keep himself from harming the little girl not because of his programming but because of the natural instinct to protect a young human child. As we were locked in our battle of brute strength, I revved up my drill and began to bore into the giant's midsection.
Using all of his willpower, the Rosie Mass Production Model kept himself from resisting the razor-sharp tip of my drill bit as it ripped and tore its way through his body. He knew that it was the only way that he could prevent himself from harming the Little Sister. Eventually, the Tin Man's porthole stopped emitting its hellish red light and the massive frame became limp. Letting out a loud roar, I threw the carcass off of my frame and into the pool of water. A strange emotion briefly filled my mind as I looked down at the bloodied carcass of the fallen protector through my blood-soaked segmented eye. The only way I could describe it was appreciation for the Mass Production Model's selflessness.
Perhaps, I had misjudged them. Perhaps, they were not the emotionless abominations that I had believed them to be. However, seconds later, I scolded myself for having a moment of weakness. One individual's selfless actions, no matter how noble, could not redeem the entire population. They were emotionless brutes that merely protected the Little Sisters because it was a "chore" and not a privilege. My kind were the only true Big Daddies in Rapture.
Meanwhile, the Splicers had been easily dispatched by my companions. The residents of the hotel had at least provided some challenge for us. However, as expected, it was not enough to be worth my time. Leaving the rest for Johnny Topside, I returned to my cage.
"No more sailin'..."
I let out a low grunt as I felt the maddening rage subside inside my mind and thus allowing my calm thoughts to return. The hellish red light being emitted by my segmented eye returned to its normal golden yellow. As I collected my thoughts, I heard Eleanor finish her song.
"...so long sailin'. Bye bye sailin'. Move out captain." The tiny child stood and then injected the empowering contents of the ADAM-filled reservoir of the Gathering Tool into my left leg. I grunted in mild discomfort as the gene-twisting substance flooded my system, causing my body to heat up astronomically for a brief period of time. At the same time, I saw images before my mind's eye. Ordinarily, only Little Sisters could interpret the memories trapped with a corpse's ADAM, but, thanks to Eleanor and the link we shared, she was able to show me the woman's memories.
I saw her regaining consciousness following my death and then helping Sofia incapacitate Eleanor so they could more easily sneak her out through the crowded party upstairs. I saw Sofia praising her for her contribution to Eleanor's retrieval and then for her involvement in the Civil War. Sofia was smart to keep The Family out of the conflict as much as possible. In fact, according to the woman's memories, The Family rode out the Civil War in the relative safety of the Persephone Penal Facility and the heavily fortified positions in Pauper's Drop, Skid Row, and Fontaine Futuristics.
From what I saw through the woman's eyes, Skid Row was the center of fierce fighting and was in a state of near constant chaos as the rival factions of Ryan, Fontaine, Lamb, and smaller crime bosses fought for control. Even after Ryan and Fontaine were killed, the shattered remnants of their henchmen continued to fight for the prize of possession of Skid Row. After several years, The Family ultimately won control and, now, nearly all the residents were allied to Sofia Lamb.
Following the Civil War, the woman became increasingly unstable as ADAM went from scarce to nearly non-existent when the Little Sisters grew out of the ages of usefulness. However, like the other members of The Family, her mental instability merely made her more susceptible to Sofia Lamb's manipulations. When I had been first sighted within the crumbling ruins of Adonis, Sofia had sent her to Pauper's Drop to be Gracie's bodyguard.
Her death had been the result of a confrontation with Gracie. The woman had insisted that this final stand against me was a fool's errand and that Gracie should evacuate Pauper's Drop via one of The Family's operational bathyspheres. However, Gracie refused and cryptically explained the reason for her obsession and hatred for me. The woman grew impatient with the former singer and grabbed her right arm. The action drew the wrath of the Big Sister that Sofia had sent to protect Gracie when it became clear that I was going to get through the Fire Door.
It had been the Big Sister that had thrown the long-time loyal member of Lamb's Flock through the railing and to her death three stories below. The three story fall would not have been fatal if it had not been for the fact that the woman had been disorientated when she was thrown through the railing. As a result, she had been unable to prevent landing headfirst and thus sealing her fate.
I grimaced at the revelation. Gracie had a Big Sister protecting her and the deranged young adolescent was now waiting for us somewhere in the ruins of the slum-like hotel. The situation was complicated further still when my built-in shortwave radio powered to life seconds after I returned to being in conscious control of my body. The voice of Sinclair filled the air as he alerted me, "Son, it seems that the population of The Drop has decided to pay a visit to Ol' Sinclair. I would hate for our partnership to be cut short on account of the locals' lack of manners."
I did not care much for Sinclair, but I could not allow the Splicers to destroy the defenseless train. Without the train, the only way to get to Fontaine Futuristics was a walk across the sea floor. While I was a Big Daddy, I doubted that I could reach the building in time if I had to travel there on foot. The train had to be protected at all costs. I turned my entire body to look at Jennifer and then grunted, "Get to the train station and defend it until we can get the key from Gracie. Defend that train, kid. Without it, Alpha and I are dead men walking."
Giving as little as a slight nod, Jennifer dissolved into a cloud of blue mist as she teleported to the Atlantic Express Train Station in The Drop.
"I do not believe that Mother intends for the Big Sister to protect Aunt Gracie, Father."
I turned my body back to look down at the blood-covered, yellow-eyed young girl at my feet. As she returned my gaze with an expression of worry, I replied, "What do you mean?"
She explained, "She was willing to murder my father right in front of my eyes in order to separate us, Johnny. What do you think she is willing to do in order to keep you away from me?"
Standing right beside me on my right, Alpha rumbled, "Sofia is going to have her best friend murdered right under The Family's nose. Without Gracie and her genetic key, we cannot proceed…Sofia knows that. She intends to kill both of us at the price of her friend, sir."
I lowered myself down onto my right knee to allow my young companion to climb up onto her throne. Once she had situated herself, she tapped the top of my copper head with her Gathering Tool. Standing, I grunted, "We have to get to Gracie before the Big Sister kills her and takes the key. Come on, we don't have much time."
Leading the way, I proceeded up the left flight of stairs and then entered the first floor of the hotel. Sofia Lamb was going to have her own best, and only true, friend murdered at the hand of one of the Big Sisters just to keep Alpha from reaching Emily and me from reaching Eleanor. I had long since thought of the former psychiatrist as being narrow minded and obsessive but I had never thought of her as a genuine psychopath that could have given The Mad Artist Sander Cohen a run for his money. Granted, I had never had any academic training in the field of psychology, but, given Sofia's talent for deception, manipulation, and being able to live with and even being able to justify murdering the people that trusted her, I would actually label her as a run-of-the-mill sociopath.
Before, I had called her that out of anger and resentment but now that there was indeed a good chance that she had ordered the killing of her long-time friend and loyal ally, I had to face the unnerving prospect that I was actually dealing with a genuine sociopath that was hell-bent on achieving her pipe dream of "paradise" even if it meant killing and torturing everyone around her in order to achieve it.
I had to get to Gracie and stop the Big Sister from killing her and, above all else, retrieve her key. Sofia was going to descend further into madness with every failed attempt to kill me. I had to reach Eleanor and quickly before she resorted to more unpleasant methods of separating my daughter and me. She had already made the decision to kill her friend and I had no desire to see the more desperate attempts that she would go to in order to kill me and turn Eleanor into something completely inhuman.