The Faithful
The humans looked around the room in wary silence as Doctor Tenenbaum made her way from bedside to bedside in the medical ward they inhabited. Wounded Splicers lay here and there in various states of agony. Some prayed meekly through bandaged faces, and others simply rambled madly to themselves or to whatever visions they were hallucinating. The older Doctor inspected their wounds, and every now and then would beckon to one of the black coated Splicer Doctors who would quickly come to her call, regardless of what they were doing at the time.
They always bowed to her, and they always wore frantically awe filled faces when she spoke to them, she would ask them questions, and they would answer them, every now and then grimacing at what they said to her. It was only apparent to their group though, a slight tightening of the lips, a small movement of her eyes. The Splicer Doctors were either too mad to see the looks she gave them, or they were too busy worshiping her as some kind of holy emissary for their Gods, the Protectors.
"Madness... She has to be completely insane. This is insane!" Joe half whispered, half growled to himself as he watched the Splicers with a sneer. He felt as if he were spitting on James' memory just being here, and he reflexively flipped his charred zippo lighter open and closed as he eyed it. Everyone seemed to share his sentiment to some extent, aside from Sigma and Tenenbaum who walked freely around the Splicers. Even Archer and Tokerev who had stayed hidden for years down here didn't look nearly as cautious as he himself felt, though he knew that was mostly due to training, and the fact that they hadn't lost family or friends to Splicers. Joe clenched his jaw when he remembered Seline storming out, going to join Iota in whatever nook she had found to stay away from the madmen.
Joe couldn't blame the girl, Hell he had half a mind to join them himself, but he couldn't leave Tenenbaum and the others. If something happened while he ran off to sulk, he would never forgive himself. He knew Sigma was around, and that alone would hopefully be enough firepower to fight their way out of this hornet's nest if they needed to, but with how angry Iota had been, he wasn't even sure if she would come to help them fight if a fight actually did break out. He shook his head suddenly feeling bad about the thought, he knew she would come to the rescue if something happened, she had dragged Seline up into the rafters after all, she wouldn't have done that if she had completely abandoned them.
After what seemed like hours of them sitting there watching the Doctor work with clear disdain on their faces, Edward, their self proclaimed 'Prophet' came back and bowed to the group, and to Tenenbaum. His red suit replaced with a more comfortable black robe, hand stitched with red threads, and a tall hat that towered on his balding head, black on the front and red on the sides. A crimson triangle was stitched neatly into the center of the hat, a matching one on the chest of his long robes. Joe wanted to spit at the sight of him. He looked like some sort of evil Pope or Bishop.
"Most blessed and honored Heralds." He bowed deeply, his ever present serene smile showing on his lips. That too made Joe want to spit. Tenenbaum joined them, standing noticeably closer to her group than Edward, he continued.
"I am about to begin my afternoon sermon to the faithful. Would you please grace us with your presence? The Children of the Holy Trinity would be blessed to have you there, as I lead them in praise for our King and Queens." He asked, never rising from his bow.
"I don-" Joe began, before, to his complete surprise, Archer chimed in even before Tenenbaum could speak. "We would be honored, Prophet." The Soldier said smoothly. "Save for those who wish to stay behind and offer comfort to your wounded Warriors with their presence." He added. Joe coughed as he turned and looked at the man like he had just been struck by a bolt of lightning. Archer simply stared at him, then gave a quick nod. What is he planning now? Joe thought to himself as he turned back to Edward.
"Oh praise be to the Heralds! What a glorious day indeed!" Edward proclaimed with all of the mad happiness in the world as he held his hands in a triangle above his head in the direction he had last seen Iota. After he finished, he turned to them with his bony hands clasped at his stomach. "Please join me in the sermon hall whenever you are ready and we will begin." He said bowing as he quickly made his way there, eager to start his preaching, his black and red robes flowing after him. Joe turned back to Archer and voiced what everyone, even Tokerev it seemed, were thinking.
"What the fuck are you doing?! We should be trying to get out of here, not joining them in their insanity!" Joe growled with a whisper before making sure the two Doctors and the priest at the far end of the room didn't hear him.
"Look." Archer said, glancing at the Splicers around the room. "For whatever reason, these Freaks worship the Protectors, and by some extent us too. They think we're holy beings. This is a golden opportunity for us to gain information and... Hell if they're as devout as I think they are we may be able to get them to help us deal with Reed Wahl and the NeoSplicers, their 'Dark Ones'. You may not realize it yet, but this might just be the safest you've ever been in Rapture, and all it took was three Protectors being so good at killing them that they made their own twisted religion out of it." Archer explained. "I'm not saying we have to trust them, Hell I wouldn't trust a Splicer if my Mother told me to, but as long as we play the part, and I can't stress this enough. We should play the part, then I think they'll die for us, instead of us having to die for each other." He added.
"Even Fanatics can be useful, if you can fan the flames of faith and aim it in the right direction, you might not be able to control it completely, but if you're the one controlling the direction of the flames, you're less likely to be burned." He said lowly. "You don't have to come to their sermon, that's why I gave you an out, but I mean to test this faith of theirs, and see if we can use these Idiots to our advantage in this fight. Hell we might even be able to call it a war after this." He finished. Mark thought for a moment, anger clear on his face that hadn't left since they had arrived.
"For what they did to Seline, to James, and Vicki. I'd send all of them to their deaths if I could." The young man said, looking back to Archer, who gave him a nod. Everyone that's coming let's go, if you want to stay here no one will blame you." Archer said, eyeing the group he had been reluctantly pulled into.
"I'm staying here, I'm not interested in what those Assholes have to say, not after... Not after what they did to James and Vicki..." Joe said, his tone lowering as he looked back to the charred golden lighter his brother and Vicki had died with. Archer nodded understandable before turning to Sigma, who was coming back from his post in front of the bulkhead they had arrived from.
"I wish to go too, I want to learn more about this religion of theirs, and make sure it really isn't a danger to us." Tenenbaum said, though she doubted her words, Joe shook his head in disappointment but knew arguing with her was useless.
"Sigma would you come with us to this sermon hall of theirs? It'll be good to keep you close by, just in case." Archer asked, and the Big Daddy gave a deep groan as he nodded. "Alright, let's go then."
Archer leaned down to Tokerev and whispered something to him, and Joe saw the Russian slide his pistol beneath his pillow as he frowned and responded to him with a shaking head, he wasn't happy about it either. "Keep your weapons loaded and ready at all times, but play. The. Part." Joe heard Archer say as the group left, leaving he and Tokerev alone in the medical bay. Joe and Tokerev both looked up to the Doctors, who had begun loading the wounded that were fit to move into wheelchairs.
"Fucking Hell, they are even going to take the injured to their sermon." Tokerev growled and actually did spit on the floor. When they passed the two men, Joe gave a deep sneer, but one of the Doctors stopped and bowed to them, the bandaged man in the wheelchair he had been pushing grinning to the sky as he prayed silently. It sent a chill down Joe's spine.
"Blessed Heralds, if you require anything, anything at all, please do not hesitate to push the call button there beside your bed, and a Nurse will be along as quickly as they can." The Doctor said, gesturing to the red button on the wall next to the bed they had obviously installed themselves. The man gave a mad chuckle after speaking the words. Joe gave a hesitant nod, and the man bowed again before pushing his patient onward to their place of worship. Joe found himself letting out a deep sigh of relief now that the only living occupants in the room with him were Tokerev and Splicers so wounded and mangled they couldn't move, let alone attack them.
. . .
As Archer and the others made their way to the sermon hall Edward had told them about, forgetting to mention where it was exactly, they wondered aimlessly through the trainyard, following the flow of Splicers that was trickling out of doorways and train cars they had converted into living spaces. As they passed one train car, a dim glow coming from inside, they saw a fire barrel still lit, smoke rising from the almost closed doorway. A little further and they could see a makeshift bed with someone moving on it. They realized there were bodies moving rhythmically on the bed, and the soft moans of a female Splicer rose from the train car, the group collectively grimaced before they heard the woman shout in a random bout of anger. "Hurry up you Fool or we'll be late!" She screamed, and they kept walking.
After a few minutes the group came to a large doorway that had once held two doors, one on each side, and followed the flow of Splicers inside, the faithful parting out of their way as they bowed to them, triangle salutes raised above their heads as they let them pass. The group entered a crowded room that held a balcony some thirty paces way, every black clad Splicer turning to view them in awe and wonder, quickly bowing or raising the triangle symbol above their heads as the sea of sweating bodies parted for them. Mark eyed the Splicers warily as the mass closed in around them, far too close for comfort, but Archer had told them to play the part, and the Soldier was walking through the crowd with his head held high and back straight. at least he can fake confidence. Mark thought as he turned to follow.
Archer led the group to the balcony to peer down below, and they caught a good view of the sermon hall from there, it was larger than they had expected, and there were far more Splicers than they had expected as well. They realized they were on the second floor of the sermon hall, if you could call it that. Down below them they were overlooking a stage with an alter in the middle just in front of large water intake and outtake pipes. More large pipes lined the sides of the room, and the Splicers had built makeshift benches and pews, as well as dragged in seemingly every kind of chair they could find, cramming them all into the space so as many people could fit as possible. Edward stood behind the alter in the center and watched as his congregation gathered, eager for their sermon, eager to hear about the Queens that had been seen, and the King yet to come. The Priest was the epitome of serene arrogance, he knew the power he held with his mere presence, but he didn't seem to flaunt it like most Splicers would, or if he did he did a good job of hiding it so far. He was looking through the crowd eagerly searching for the Heralds that said they would attend the sermon. His drooping face held a look of childlike wonder as his head tilted to look past incoming Splicers, still pouring through the open doors to take their seats.
A fight broke out near the front of his stage and two men began scraping over who would get the right to the empty chair that they both came to sit in at the same time, their shouts and slurs only barely cutting through the cacophony of murmuring voices, eager with anticipation. Edward held up a smooth hand, his palm gesturing to someone the group of humans couldn't see, and suddenly two armored figures stomped their way through the crowded room and began beating not one, but both men that had dared disturb the peace of the sermon hall. The two armored Splicers were heads and shoulders taller than the two lanky men that were fighting, and easily beat them both to the ground before dragging them away out of sight. They saw Edward mouth something that was lost in all of the chatter, and smiled softly, and for some reason Archer knew something bad was going to happen to the two brawling Splicers.
When he had dealt with the commotion, Edward turned his gaze back to the crowd and began searching again, finally, he looked up and saw the group of humans, and grinned with what seemed like relief as he beckoned them down to him. They exchanged nervous glances before Archer began parting the sea of Splicers by merely walking through them again, and again heads bowed, some knelt, but all stepped aside as they made their way to one of the two metal staircases that ran down both sides of the long room.
"Children! Children please!" Edward's voice boomed with eagerness as he held up both hands, the black sleeves of his robe coming down to his scrawny elbows to reveal his boil spotted forearms, decade's old needle scars on his wrists from ADAM usage. His sagging skin shook like gelatin as he held his hands up to silence his Flock. Once everyone had been quieted save for a few coughs or sniffs, and the occasional mad rambling that echoed through the hall. He gestured his right hand toward the staircase the humans, the Heralds, were coming down, Splicers bowing out of their way and whispering prayers as they passed. It was obvious that the news of their arrival had spread quickly through the Splicer ranks, especially since two of their precious Queens had been seen by a dozen or so of them.
The group reached the bottom landing and stopped, taken aback by all of the Splicers they hadn't seen from the balcony that was covering most of them. "My God there must be a hundred of them in here..." Mark whispered in shock, suddenly feeling his anger swept away, and fear replacing it just as quickly. They were eyeing the crowd of Splicers, most of them eyes wide in awe and fervor, but Archer was looking toward the large armored figures in the back, dressed in the same manor as the two men that had broken up the fight moments ago. They hung along the back wall, four deep as some knelt and others stood, arms crossed or at their sides, some even leaning against the back wall, all watching the humans now, most held weapons in their hands or slung around their backs.
The Splicer Soldiers were larger than the normal rabble, and Archer knew that was on purpose, but what really caught his eye was their armor. They all wore mismatched sets of medieval looking armor, most rusted pieces of steel or iron all colored in a deep red. There was a uniform similarity to all of them, they all wore helmets topped with spikes, horns, skull face plates, one even had the lower jaw of a NeoSplicer attached to his helmet where his jaw would be underneath. Thick armored pauldrons shaped oddly similar to Iota and Annas sat atop their broad shoulders, and they bore spikes or bent blades as well. They came down to meet a thick amalgamation of chest armor as varied as the rest of their sets, all bearing the red triangle on the right side of their chest armor. Archer knew at a glance that the wounded Splicers in the medical bay were likely apart of this group, the ones that fought the Dark Ones, their armor was specifically fashioned to stop slashing attacks, and spikes or blades riddled their outer shells to keep the NeoSplicers from grabbing them. Their armor looked like it had seen heavy use too. Paint chipped away from scratch marks on their chests, arms, legs, and helms. Even bullet indentions could be clearly seen from here, no doubt from fighting other Splicers either of their own group or that of Reed Wahls'.
"Children, behold! Our blessed and most honored Heralds have come to bolster our faith to the Trinity!" Edward's voice rang out into the quiet room, all hands coming up to form the triangle above their heads, even the menacing looking Soldiers in the back bowed their heads and formed the symbol. Suddenly a spotlight clicked on and blinded the group of humans momentarily before the intensity was adjusted somewhere above them. Archer took a very deep breath as he led the group around a large pipe and to the side of the stage.
"Come, come holy Heralds, take your places here so that we may look upon your blessings and strive to be ascended aside you." Edward said, gesturing to wooden chairs on a slightly raised platform behind him. Mark bit his lip as he looked to Tenenbaum, who in turn wore a worried look on her face. Her hands were shaking, and she swallowed hard. Archer again was the first to move, followed by Tenenbaum, and then Mark. He didn't like being in the back of the group with Sigma standing outside the large room, but he would be damned if he didn't put himself between the Splicers and the Doctor. He drew in a deep breath as he followed them up. Archer took a seat right in the middle just behind where Edward's alter was placed though setting well above the man even as he stood at his full height. Tenenbaum crossed in front of him and took a seat on his left, and Mark on his right.
Mark glanced at the other empty seats, there was one for each of their friends, not counting the Protectors and Lizzy of course. They sat with the backs of the chairs against the wall of large pipes, and they could feel the coldness of flowing water radiate from them, giving the already cool room a frigid feeling. They looked out over the crowd of Splicers as they began clapping, cheering, chanting, and praying. Edward was content to let them have their praising as he sat with his hands clasped at his stomach, nodding proudly as if he himself had called them from the Heavens.
"Whatever happens, remember. Just go with it." Archer said lowly into mark's ear, then to Tenenbaum, both of them nodding with big gulps. Mark didn't know about either of them, but his mouth was as dry as sand and it felt like he had a lump in his throat from his nerves. He kept glancing at Archer, but the man simply sat there, head held judgingly as he scanned the crowed, as if he were truly a Herald of the Gods. Mark tried to imitate his confidence and the slow scanning of his head, but he found his eyes darting to all of the twisted and ugly faces in the room. The air hung heavy with the smell of acrid bodies pressed too closely together, and sour breath seemed ever present with each intake of air. Mark wanted to gag, or at the very least hold his nose.
When Edward had had enough of the cheering and chatter, he raised his hands again, and the crowd instantly started to calm down.
"Let us pray dear brothers and sisters." He said as he formed the triangle symbol above his head, looking up to the ceiling, everyone else followed his lead. Mark felt Archer nudge his arm and gesture for him to stand up, and watched as the Soldier formed the triangle symbol above his own head, standing rather than sitting or bowing. He really is trying to put on the best show possible. Mark gaped before following his lead, and Tenenbaum reluctantly did the same.
"Holy Trinity, we pray that you wash us in your crimson gaze." Edward started, and the chorus of Splicers echoed his every word.
"One point for our Crimson King, most high among the Trinity." Edward said, and again the crowd echoed him. Mark couldn't help but scoff silently, if only Omega was here to hear this nonsense. He would be tearing these Lunatics limb from limb.
"Two points for our Crimson Queens, who stand in judgement of our actions, and carry out his wrath." He said, echoing fervor washing forth.
"The blessed child, center among them, protected and cherished. The Shepherd of our souls in death." He said, and Mark's lips tightened. She's just a little girl you Freaks, nothing else. He growled in his mind.
"May they guide us in this life and the next, to Ascension or damnation according to their will... Amen." He finished as he slowly pulled the triangle symbol above his head down to his chest, his head slowly bowing. A mismatched chorus of "Amen" came from the large crowd, and Mark moved to lower his hands, but before he could, Archer nudged his elbow, along with Tenenbaum's and he remained standing, his triangle symbol still just above his head. Mark and the Doctor followed his lead. He wanted to make sure they all saw this. Edward smiled and went to turn around only to see the three of them still holding their poses of prayer and quickly raised his hands above his head again in a triangle.
Once Archer saw this, he gently nudged the Doctor and mark again and they slowly lowered their hands to their chests and sat down. Edward bowed to them apologetically for ceasing his salute before the Heralds had finished praying, though they hadn't really been at all, it was all a game, and Archer meant to win it. Edward gave a few short bows to them begging their forgiveness before turning to address his Flock and Mark swallowed hard again, the lump in his throat making it nearly impossible as his eyes scanned the many Splicers that packed the room. More were trickling in looking like children that had been late for class, trying not to be noticed by their teacher as they blended hurriedly into the crowd.
"Our sermon today, is truly a blessed one." Edward began, raising his hands toward the crowd of Splicers as they watched him with mad, fervent eyes as if they had just seen him perform some miracle. "Today, is a blessed day! The Holy Queens come to us, brothers and sisters! They bear the blessed Shepherd of souls on their backs, and the six Holy Heralds come with them!" He said loudly, his faith as well as his voice booming into the crowd as murmurs of praise and worship followed. Mark eyed Archer with a worried expression before leaning slightly forward to see the same expression on Tenenbaum's face.
"They come to us now, their Faithful, to prepare us for our Holy King's return! He has sent them, his left and right hands, to judge us, and guide us to prepare for his return!" Edward shouted, and the praise and worship grew. God but they really are mad! If and when Omega does return to us, and sees us here with Splicers, he's as likely to rip us apart as them. Mark thought as he took a deep breath. They had been able to somehow stop Iota from killing them all, and her fury was nothing to scoff at, but Omega? Her rage compared to his was the difference between a candle flame and an inferno. Mark could easily remember what the Big Brother was capable of when he got mad, truly mad, and it sent a chill down his spine. They were Allies, and Mark liked to think they were good Allies, but just being near the Splicers and the thought of Omega finding him there with them made him want to run as far away from them as he could, and as fast as he could. His eyes were suddenly searching the dark ceiling above with a tight mouth, of all the times they had been separated and he had wanted the Protector to show up, now was not one of them.
"They come to us now, to lead us against the Blasphemer, and the Dark Ones! To lift us from damnation. They showed us their crimson light when we stood against them, unleashing the terrors of the dark that we were ignorant to, that the Blasphemer sought to set upon them! They cast their gaze upon us! They stripped us clean of our sins and transgressions! And that is why we still live now, brothers and sisters!" Edward preached, Splicers of every shape and size nodded their heads in prayer, some with hands clasped in front of them, others raising their hands toward the ceiling. Mark shifted uncomfortably, suddenly realizing what the man was talking about... These were the Splicers they had locked in the District the Protectors had made that nightmare trap for them in. He remembered the impaled bodies and heads he had seen, remembered watching nearly three hundred or so Splicers getting ripped to pieces as they sat in the Clinic watching security monitors. Edward and these Splicers had somehow come out of that, somehow escaped, and when they did, they took to raising an army of faith based on that Hell. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates but the Splicers either didn't care or were too enraptured to notice.
"At the last moment, when all hope seemed lost, they offered us their forgiveness, they offered us a second chance and opened the doors for us again, light flooding in and parting the sea of Dark Ones, the Blasphemer's Heretical followers standing before us, and it was clear who our true Enemies were!" Edward spoke, anger entering his voice as he wound the crowd up. "For how could we all who were there turn at once, and see the machine bearing Reed Wahl's image, and not know in our hearts and in our bones that he was the true Enemy!" Edward shouted now as sweat beat down his brow. Angered shouts reached them, but not directed toward the humans.
"Heretic!" One voice shouted madly through the crowd. "Blasphemer!" Another rose. "How dare he use us against the Holy Trinity!" another screamed in blind rage.
"My God, he's actually united them better than Lamb ever could." Archer said lowly to himself, his eyes narrowing. Mark thought he saw a twinkle in his eye of something interesting, something useful, something deadly. He was looking at the Splicers the way a Craftsmen would a tool he hadn't known he possessed, trying to figure out how he could use it.
"But the Queens have returned to us! The blessed Child with them! And soon, very soon brothers and sisters, our Crimson King shall return, and lead us against the Blasphemer and the Dark Ones!" Edward shouted in exaltation and proclamation, the room erupting in a hail of cheering and praise. Mark saw Archer stand up slowly, licking his lips nervously as his eyes darted over the crowded sermon hall. God what is he going to do now?! He asked himself as the Soldier stood, his hands raised to silence the crowd like Edward had many times earlier. The sound of the cheering and praise started to die slowly, and when it was almost gone, whispers and low voices eagerly proclaimed that a Herald was going to speak.
Edward turned when he noticed the crowd making the sign of the Trinity above their heads and their cheering dying down to a lull, he saw Archer standing up above him and dropped to his knees, the sign of the Trinity above his head. "The Heralds have a proclamation!" Edward announced, and the room went silent. "Speak blessed Herald, speak of our Trinity's wishes!" He yelled pleadingly. Archer waited until he could hear a pin drop in the silence, not even a cough could be heard.
Archer was sweating heavily and swallowing hard. Mark noticed him shaking from adrenaline from what he had done, and he had yet to see the man do that, even when being shot at. Tenenbaum wore a horrified look on her face at his unexpected action, she was gripping the arms of her wooden chair with white knuckles, and Mark noticed he was too.
"I speak... With the Trinity's voice!" Archer boomed in a commanding tone, and Mark could see him considering his next words very carefully. "And you will obey!" He commanded.
"We serve and obey!" Every voice in the room echoed back to him in unison. The Soldier rubbed the sweat from his face and swallowed hard once more.
"For too long has the Blasphemer, Reed Wahl defied the Trinity! For too long have the Dark Ones tainted Rapture, their kingdom!" He stated.
"But the Queens have returned! And soon so too shall the Crimson King!" Archer shouted, copying Edward's tone and words from his sermon, even if he didn't believe them in the slightest.
"They have spoken, and told us, their Heralds, to relay their commands to you, the Faithful. Prepare! Prepare for War! Prepare for the King to return! Gather your weapons in great number! Bolster your ranks! Obey and serve!" He shouted, and the room erupted even louder than it had before into a chorus of "We obey and serve!" and "Down with the Blasphemer!" and "Death to the Dark Ones!" Archer was still shaking despite his rallying message to the masses, and he sat back down slowly, his fists clenched. Just from speaking in front of them he looked like he had gone three rounds with a Big Daddy. All three of the humans breathed ragged, shaking breathes as they exchanged glances. The Splicers were cheering still, a raucous thundering of mad voices all praising, all worshiping, and all devoted. Archer looked to the large, armored Soldiers in the back as they raised Thompsons, swords, and shotguns over their heads as they cheered, slamming their fists into their armored chests. His eyes fluttered down to Edward who was weeping with joy and faith, kissing the ground before raising to look at them again, only to bow once more as if he had seen a blinding light.
Mark and Tenenbaum leaned in close to Archer, speaking loudly now that the noise of the room was so loud. Tenenbaum managed to speak first, angrily, scared. "What have you done?!" She asked, her eyes still wide with shock. Mark stayed silent, unable to speak, and watched Archer staring at the crowd of devoted Lunatics with careful, appraising eyes.
"I raised an army." He simply said as he sat back and wiped sweat from his face with his dirty shirt, the room suddenly feeling like it was a thousand times hotter.
. . .
Iota sat naked against the cool concrete wall in their cubby hole, dim red emergency lighting bathing her pale bandaged skin with a resplendent glow as she cleaned the inside of her suit, burning left over skin with her Incinerate slowly, carefully. Every now and then she would look toward the opening of the air vent intersection and narrow her eyes, her jaw clenching, a low growl echoing from her throat as faint cheers reached the room from deep within the trainyard. They were impossible to make out for Seline, but the Big Sister's superhuman hearing could understand what they were saying for the most part. She shook with anger renewed.
Feeling the tension in the air again, Lizzy stayed silent as she continued to wash Anna's face, neck, and hair, even though she had already cleaned almost all of the dried blood off of her. Seline's own eyes narrowed at the sound of the cheering.
"How could they stand to be near them, they're our Enemies, they've always been our Enemies." She said grimly.
"I can't believe them, stupid Idiots!" She growled, hugging herself with her one good arm as she rubbed her bandaged nub. Her eyes stared off into the distance as she remembered James and Vicki, how horrible they looked when the Splicers had attacked them in the Silver Barb when they had been separated from all of the siblings. How horrible she had probably looked when she was shot through the window. She only remembered fuzzy glimpses of that morning, but she remembered seeing Vicki cradling James at one point, he wasn't moving, and she was weeping. Her best friends, there one moment, and gone the next. Oh Vicki... She said to herself, hoping she hadn't whispered it out loud. She had been like a sister to her, and Seline wiped hot tears from her eyes as the image of her flashed back into her mind. and James... poor James... and Joe is still down there, surrounded by the murderers that took his brother from him... She thought, still wiping stinging tears from her cheeks. She looked up when Iota's glowing gaze fell on her, and for a moment the sister wore a sad, sympathetic smile.
"Mmm." A soft groan cut the silence, and Lizzy spun around so fast her ponytail hit the side of her face. "Big Sister!" She said, but Iota was already up and limping over to Anna, tossing her suit to the floor as her eyes bore concern.
"Anna!" Seline gasped as she turned, and half crawled onto the Protector. Anna's eyes opened slowly, groggy from unconsciousness.
"What- Where am I? What happened?" She stammered out. Iota immediately looked to Seline, and she moved closer. "We're okay Anna, we're all okay, just a little beat up. We're safe now." She said, biting her lip when she remembered the army of Splicers in the trainyard, her friends still down there. "Safe-ish..." She added.
"You got hurt when you were fighting with Iota and Omega against that big NeoSplicer thing. Reed Wahl's men blew up the windows trying to flood the district, but we escaped through the tunnels thanks to Iota and Sigma... Most of us anyway." Seline added slowly. "We... We had to leave Omega behind..." She said quietly. Anna's eyes shot open and she tried to sit up with a pained look on her face, until Iota's bare hand pushed her chest back down with a soft screech. "B-Brother..." Anna said weakly.
"It's okay, Anna, He's still alive... I think..." She said, looking to Iota who nodded grimly. He was alive, though she could barely feel him through their bond. Whether it was from distance or the fact that he was unconscious the sister couldn't be sure, but she did feel him. "If he wasn't alive... I'm pretty sure Iota would've gone berserk... or mad..." She stated, still looking at the side of Iota's face, concern in her eyes but she didn't disagree with the girl. Seline gave a mirthless chuckle, quick and sharp. "I'm pretty sure the only reason she hasn't run off to find him is because of you and Lizzy, Hell she didn't even tend to her own wounds until she had cleaned and dressed yours and washed the blood off of you." She explained, causing Anna to weakly look over to her eldest sister and smile, her hand coming up limply to hold the hand on her own bare chest. Lizzy came running over from where her tattered red backpack lay against the far wall, and held a thick wool blanket in her arms, it too was tattered and worn, but it kept the little girl warm even when it was soaking wet. Seline reached out and grabbed part of it and they began draping it over Anna to keep her warm.
When they had covered her up, Seline saw Lizzy's lip trembling as she held her hands to her chest as she sat on her knees beside her older sisters. Anna saw her and gave a weak smile. "Shhh, come here. I'm okay, Liz." Anna said softly, sweetly. Fresh tears fell from the little girl's eyes as she blinked, just before carefully leaning down to hug Anna. She cried as Anna held her to her bare chest and Iota gently stroked her back with a sad smile. It sent a lance of pain through Seline's heart, but also a tinge of happiness. They had defied the odds again, and once again were together and alive, she was sure whenever they found Omega, or when he found them, she would likely see a similar scene.
Over the course of the next few minutes, Iota helped Lizzy give Anna some water from a battered metal canteen that Anna had had on her suit's utility belt, the eldest Sister's had been all but crushed and shredded in their fight with the NeoSplicer, luckily Anna's had survived with only medium damage. Iota gently lifted Anna's head and held the canteen with her left hand as Lizzy guided it to Anna's pale lips. She drank and drank until she choked and gave a small cough. Iota set her head back down as Lizzy pulled the Canteen to her chest, now lighter that most of the water was gone. The wounded sister sighed and winced as she lay back down, and her sister brushed her sweat from her brow away, moving wet locks of hair away from her eyes as well.
"Where are the others?" Anna asked, still worried about everyone else that wasn't in their small room. Iota looked to Seline with her brow scrunched in anger, and Seline swallowed hard as she took a deep breath, wondering how in all the world she would explain to Anna what she had seen.
"They... uhm... Don't freak out, and don't get mad and try to run off... You're hurt after all... and naked..." Seline managed to say, causing one of Anna's eyebrows to raise skeptically when she saw the angered look on Iota's face, very skeptically.
"Seline... Where are they?" She asked, her tone suddenly bearing more strength and command than it had. Seline nervously rubbed her nub arm with her good one.
"They're uh... They're down below, and they're safe... -ish... but they're... with Splicers?" Seline said, her face wincing as soon as she had stammered out the statement, more of a nervous prodding question.
"They're, WHAT?!" Anna yelled, rage consuming her face as her lips pulled back in a snarl to bare her fangs. Seline jumped from the sudden tone and yell, even with Anna naked, wounded, and able to speak she could still terrify any normal human, maybe even more so because she could speak. A protector's lungs and throat, like every other part of their body, was ten times stronger than any human's. The level of rage and yells they could achieve was enough to make a mountain quake with fear, she was sure. The young woman calmed and collected herself as she put her hand up to try and calm the sister as well.
"I know, I don't like it either... but... We found a big group of Splicers that think you and your brother and sister are some kinds of Gods... Can you believe that?! They actually formed a religion based around you guys! They call the three of you the 'Trinity' or something." She explained as Anna rolled her eyes angrily and pushed her head back down into her pillow. "Iota actually started killing them when we left the tunnels, and... they just... let her!" She said in shock. Anna's bandaged arm came up to rest the back of her hand on her forehead with a heavy sigh.
"They think the rest of us are some kinds of holy 'Heralds' come to speak with your voice or something." She added, and Anna's jaw clenched in unison with Iota's. "I didn't want to be around them, so I yelled for Iota to bring me up here into the rafters with all of you. They're Lunatics, Anna!" She said, suddenly feeling like she was guilty for some reason.
"Of course, they're Lunatics, Seline. They're Splicers..." Anna said angrily, and Iota nodded in agreement. The wounded sister pulled her arm back under her blanket and covered her breast and shoulder that had shown when it had fallen. She shivered and muttered "Splicers..." as she shook her head. Seline didn't know if the shiver was from the cold, or from disgust, but she was willing to bet it wasn't because of the cold.
Her glowing eyes looked back at Seline after another heavy sigh. "And they haven't hurt anyone? You're sure?" She asked questioningly, anger still on her voice but it had died a little. Seline hurriedly shook her head. "No... Not that I know of any way since I came up here, I'm sure we would've heard if they had." She answered looking to Iota, the eldest sister simply nodding as she looked at Seline from the side of her glowing eye.
"It's always something with you humans." Anna growled, and Seline found herself staring into her lap like she was a child getting a lecture from a disappointed parent.
"What do you think we should do?" Seline asked quietly.
"What can we do now?!" Anna roared at her, half jumping up before laying back down with a hissing wince. "I won't be able to walk for at least a couple of hours, let alone fight! Sister is wounded nearly as bad as I am, and Brother is missing, Seline!" Anna half yelled half growled, she certainly shared her sibling's temper.
"Can Sigma fight at least?! Is he even here or did you all decide to send him out to pick up Hop up Soda and Creme-filled-cakes?!" Anna asked in an angry mock that had Seline looking to the floor under her glowing gaze.
"Sigma probably came out of the tunnels in better shape than any of us..." She answered quietly. "He can still fight but... He doesn't want to... He's the one that stopped Iota from killing the Splicers because they threw down their weapons and didn't pose any kind of threat to us..." Seline explained, waiting for the next scolding she knew she was about to receive on behalf of everyone. She suddenly wished she had stayed with the Splicers, even with Anna wounded and unable to walk she felt safer with the Madmen.
Anna gave an enraged screaming sigh as she brought her hand up to rub her face. "We're hurt, Brother is missing, and now Sigma and the humans have joined the bloody fucking Splicers!" Anna roared in anger, looking to Iota who looked just as unhappy about it as she did as she shrugged. There was something in the Big Sister's shrug that told Seline she knew how stupid the humans had been and felt the same as Anna. Seline didn't need to be a mind reader, or even a body language expert to see that.
"You have to be fucking kidding Me!" She yelled as she lifted her head to glare at Seline again. "I'd think this was some kind of nightmare if I wasn't in so much pain! You humans are about as smart as a bucket of floundering fish! And about as useful as one too!" She raged causing Seline to shrink even more.
"I can't believe you! All of you! Do you even know how disrespectful it is to all of us that you stopped my sister from ending all of their miserable lives?! How could you be so stupid?! All of you!" She continued, berating Seline and her friends. Eventually a loud ringing was all Seline could hear under Anna's constant rage filled barking insults. Her heart was pounding in her chest and her head hurt from the sheer volume of the sister's voice. After a very thorough scolding, Iota eventually laid her hand on Anna's head as she panted and stared into the concrete ceiling of their safe room. Seline thought the concrete itself would melt, she glanced at Lizzy, but the little girl had shrunk too, glancing over to Seline as if she were in trouble as well.
"I swear as soon as I can walk, I'm going to rip all of you apart!" Anna gave one final burst of anger as she panted. A long silence hung in the air as Anna tried to steady her breathing and force the blood out of her burning face, willing her body to stop trembling from rage. They sat in heavy silence for an hour before she spoke again, still with anger clear in her voice, but also the very slightest hint of concern, though her face didn't show it.
"I can smell blood on you. Mark and..." She paused to take a deep breath. "Mark and Tokerev's, how badly are they hurt?" She snapped the question at her, not even bothering to use her name. She was just a dumb girl to her right now, like a child even though they were roughly the same age. "Not too bad... Well Mark anyway. Tokerev was shot in the stomach, but he'll be alright I think... Tenenbaum saw to that. Mark..." She hesitated with a shiver at the memory of the tunnels. "Mark was almost dragged into the darkness by the NeoSplicers in the tunnel. They clawed his arms pretty badly... but nothing life threatening..." She said meekly.
"Oh, he'll wish they had succeeded after I'm done with him." Anna said through gritted teeth, though for a moment she flashed a look of concern. Seline had a feeling all of the humans, and probably Sigma as well would have a heated scolding just as she had received. Anna seemed to be voicing both her and Iota's rage and indignation. She shuddered when she thought about what Omega would do when he found out, it would probably take both sisters to keep him calm enough so he didn't kill the humans himself, let alone the Splicers doing it for him, if the sisters even wanted to keep him from killing the humans that is, they acted as if they wanted to do it themselves.
"Anna, I-" Seline began before being cut off. "Shut up, human. I need to heal... and think." The sister growled, and Seline locked her jaw shut instinctively. She nodded before rising to go sit next to the entrance of the room with her back against the wall, looking out and over some of the steel supports she had walked on earlier. Down below she could see Sigma standing just at the edge of the spotlight between light and dark, watching the tunnel they had come from again, she sighed shaking her head, only turning back to look in the sibling's direction when she heard the slap of bare feet on concrete.
She watched as Iota's nude form gracefully glided back to her own seat where she had bandaged herself, and she continued cleaning her suit as Lizzy cuddled up next to Anna. Seline shivered from the cold of the room and hugged herself, wondering how Iota was un-phased by it, especially still being wet from the already ice-cold water that covered her lithe body from head to toe. When the sister sat down though, she noticed she wasn't immune to it, she had chills running down her arms and legs. She did feel the cold, but she was ignoring it, so well Seline wagered, she probably wasn't even thinking about it even though her body reacted to it in all the ways any female body would. She didn't shiver though, and even though it was frigid, the drops of water on her pale bandaged skin looked more like sweat than anything.
Every now and then Iota would look up from her suit mending and her eyes would focus on something, as if she were looking for something, or remembering something, her lips would purse, and she would go back to cleaning her suit with a disappointed or maybe... concerned look on her face. Seline knew she and Omega had formed some kind of bond from an ADAM transfusion they had done after the Athena's Glory Hotel collapsed and he was badly injured. Tenenbaum had figured it out first and did some small tests on them to confirm it, but she still didn't fully understand it herself. When she saw Iota lift her head and stare off into space, her illuminated eyes searching, Seline guessed she had to be looking for Omega, or... feeling for him somehow. She had nodded when Seline had told Anna he was alive, but how could she possibly know? The young woman shook her head, she had to know somehow otherwise she would've gone crazy again like outside the burning hotel when they all thought he and Lizzy had died.
She sat there wondering, questions running through her head about their bond, and what would happen to them next, until exhaustion and adrenaline burn caught up to her, and she dozed off to sleep despite the frigid air. Unable to keep her eyes open after everything that had happened.
Anna leaned her head up with a wince and saw Seline huddled into a ball as she lay up against the far corner of the room and let out a sigh from her nose.
"Sister..." She said softly, annoyance still in her tone as she looked to Iota, who met her glowing gaze with her own questioning one. "I'm hot beneath this blanket." She said, nodding toward Seline with her eyes and a slight movement from her head. The sister followed her gaze to the girl sleeping in the corner and nodded. She stood, walking to where Anna and Lizzy lay and pulled the thick wool blanket off of them, giving one more look to Anna, she nodded affirmingly, and Iota's bare feet slapped the floor as she made her way to Seline. She bent down and wrapped the blanket around her and saw her teeth chattering in her sleep as she breathed softly. Once she had finished, she strode back to her seat and began cleaning her bodysuit again. Anna felt Lizzy start to shiver from her position curled into Anna's naked side, and Anna winced as she rolled over to lay on her left side, bringing her legs up with a pained groan and wrapping Lizzy up into her chest to keep her warm.
Lizzy made a small sigh and yawned as her sister's much higher body temperature warmed her far better than any blanket could, and Anna smiled as she began to contemplate their new and unbelievably stupid situation, reminding herself to wring each human's neck thoroughly when she physically could.