A Ticking Clock
Archer held his breath as he waited, the butt of the air rifle pressed tightly against his shoulder as he lay on the cold damp ground of the cellar. He watched the bulkhead door he had opened, more specifically he watched the darkness within, waiting for any sign of movement or sound. It was silent, damnably silent, as if he were the only living thing in Rapture. The first sound he heard was a far off screech inside the tunnel, echoing toward him. It sounded like it was miles away, and yet close enough to make his whole body tense in anticipation. He breathed slowly through his nose, years of training and life or death situations preparing him for possibly the most important objective he had ever been given. Hit his target, and the mission would be a success, no matter the hang ups that had already happened, even if he died, his mission would be complete. That one moment was all that mattered now, that one trigger pull, and he would only get one. If it hit, then the mission was a success. If it missed, the gun malfunctioned, or the dart simply broke on impact, then the mission would fail, and the entire world would be at risk from this ever growing, ever adapting threat. They had no plan B, they had no alternative if he failed. Would the Governments of the world be able to deal with this singular threat? Had they already destroyed themselves and the world above with nuclear fire? None of that mattered right now, right now what mattered were the questions he could answer, and the objectives he could complete, and this was definitely an objective he could complete, an objective he would complete.
The sound of chittering broke the silent dark, light clicking from claws echoing through the tunnel, thousands of squeaks of fear. He saw movement from within the darkness, but held his fire. Hundreds of gray rats began scurrying out of the tunnel in all directions, frantic squeaks filling the once silent cellar he was lying in. They rushed all around him, into holes in the walls, up the stairs, and over him. They climbed up the length of his air rifle and onto his head and back, up his arms and shoulders and down his legs as he lie prone, but he never once blinked, never once took his eye from the darkness the rats were running away from, because he knew why they were running. A figure appeared in the darkness and Archer's left hand moved to his vest, his right hand firmly on the grip of the rifle, finger on the trigger as the darkness began to move. Swirling shadows began to materialize in the dark tunnel, the shadows creeping closer toward the light. Archer could make out figures, then teeth, claws, and whipping tails as they creeped forward to the open bulkhead to investigate his earlier taunt. Archer's left hand tightened around the cold metal tube he had reached into his vest for, and his trigger finger flexed. He exhaled slowly through his nose as his finger squeezed the trigger, and a sharp hiss of air shot out of the barrel of his rifle, spraying dust toward the open bulkhead. The creature he had been aiming for shrieked in surprise and darted back into the tunnel as others jumped forward toward the bulkhead. Archer's hand flew from his vest as he jumped to his feet, the metal cylinder flying into the tunnel as bright light began to spill out into the cellar as his homemade phosphorous flare ignited. Time moved in slow motion as he sprinted to the open bulkhead, the bright white light illuminating the tunnel ahead. He realized he was running right at a tunnel filled with dozens, maybe even hundreds of NeoSplicers, all enraged and writhing in the now fully lit space. They screeched and hissed at the light as they began trying to find an escape, and it gave Archer just enough time to reach the large door, and slam it shut, turning the locking wheel to secure it. He put his back against the door and panted heavily, sweat dripping down his face as adrenaline shook his limbs. He felt heavy banging and scratching on the other side of the door, and was silently thankful they couldn't do much to the heavy metal obstruction.
"Jesus Christ!" He whispered in relief as he glanced around the room and wiped his forehead. He dreaded the day they would have to brave that claw infested Hell for the Hive. Archer sighed as he looked to his right, up the stairs leading back into the main store. He needed to make his way back to base, he needed to get back and make sure Tokerev and Joe were okay, he didn't doubt that Sigma would get them there safely, only how fast they would get there if they encountered trouble on the way. He had to imagine when they made it back either Sigma or one of the siblings would come back for him, at the very least to make sure their objective was complete. He thought about sitting tight and waiting for them, the far safer option than a lone human trying to sneak back on his own, but he knew he couldn't count on anything down here, and the logical thing to do would be to at least try to meet whoever came for him half way. He looked back at the air rifle and nodded to himself, before pulling his Thompson from his back and checking the magazine. Once he was ready, he placed the magazine back in the weapon and began walking out of the cellar. When he reached the main store, he ducked low and began slowly moving toward the blown out windows, trying not to make too much noise as his boots crunched over the broken glass that had scattered across the floor. He made his way toward the dim blue light that shown into the dark store and stopped against the wall next to the front entrance. He peaked around the wall and scanned the area for Hostiles, and finding none, he crept like a ghost to the side of the building and into the dark alleyway that separated the store he had come from with another beside it.
Creeping his way from shadow to shadow, through empty stores, and dark alleyways, Archer slowly began his trek back to the fire station he and Tokerev had called home, his senses on full alert. He hadn't travelled alone in Rapture for a long time, and now that Tokerev wasn't there to watch his back, he felt vulnerable, like he was missing one of his key senses. With he and Tokerev watching each others backs, it was like having a pair of eyes in both directions, front and back, but now he couldn't help but turn back to look behind him far more often than he should, just to cover what Tokerev normally would have had they been together. Frankly, it stressed him out, made him feel like he was doomed to fail, even though his training had prepared him for this exact situation. He hoped his friend was okay, and Joe as well, the man had proven his worth by protecting Tokerev in the hobby store, and trying to treat his wounds before his own. It was a fine thing to have Allies, especially ones that were willing to die for you, despite not knowing you very well. Joe was dependable, and his courage couldn't be questioned, Archer knew that just from getting to know him a little better, and seeing how he acted in combat. It was men like Tokerev and Joe that Archer respected more than anyone, they were true warriors, willing to suffer great harm, or do terrible things to protect those they cared for. If only he had been sent down to this God forsaken Hell with a team of such men, this shit might have never happened in the first place, and maybe thousands of lives could've been saved. Archer scoffed. "If only." He whispered to himself as he scanned the street again. He was about to slip out of cover and cross the street when voices stopped him and he pressed his shoulder to the wall of the alleyway to listen.
Two Splicers, both males dressed in business casual attire were walking down the street from the direction he had come from, though they were taking the direct route rather than sticking to the shadows.
"Bastards, walking around like you own the place." Archer whispered as he watched them. Both men were wearing fedoras that most likely covered balding heads and receding hairlines, boils dotting their drooping faces, yellowed and chipped teeth showing from bleeding gums and permanently sneering mouths. He could practically smell their rancid breath from here, and wondered what it was like for the siblings, that probably could smell the men's breath from here. He didn't thank on it for long as he pushed himself closer to the wall to let the men pass by the alleyway uninterrupted.
"Where the fuck are we?" The first man asked.
"I said I don't know!" The second answered.
"You said you knew where we were going!"
"I DID know where we were going! That was before that big bastard showed up and started killing our guys!"
Archer's eyebrows scrunched. 'Big Bastard'? He thought silently. Were they talking about Sigma, or Omega? He listened more carefully as they walked down the sidewalk closer to the alleyway.
"At least we got the charges set, those fuckers won't know what hit em! Too bad we lost some people, but that's just more ADAM for us, Ha!" one of the men said excitedly.
'Charges?! Charges where, and for what?!' Archer asked himself, trying to figure out what was going on.
"You idiot, we won't get any ADAM if we can't find our way back!"
"Fuck you! You wanna go back and fight that monster be my guest!"
"What the hell was that thing anyway? You ever seen anything like it?"
"Nah, I don't know what it was either, scary as Hell though."
'So they are talking about Omega.' Archer thought to himself.
"Yeah, like some kind of walking bone-tank thing. I don't ever wanna see that thing again."
'Bone-tank thing? What on Earth are these guys talking about? Did they run into another Berserker? Is that what the explosives were for, or were they for something else?' He had a bad feeling about this whole situation, and if the Splicers were planting explosives it wasn't good, he needed to get back to the fire station and warn the Protectors, there was apparently another Berserker in the District, as well as explosives planted somewhere. Slow and steady progress be damned, he needed to hurry. Archer shouldered his Thompson and drew his combat knife from it's sheath on his belt, as well as his revolver and waited in the shadows for the men to pass. He couldn't just throw stealth completely out the window, but he had to hurry. As soon as the men passed the alleyway Archer leapt at them, jamming his combat knife into the side of the first Splicer's neck and back out again as he fell to the ground grasping his throat, blood gurgling and sputtering from his neck and mouth as he grunted and choked. The second Splicer turned to see what had happened, Archer had already leveled his revolver at the man's forehead, and his eyes went wide just as the gun fired, a mist of blood, brain matter and skull fragments impacting the wall behind him as Archer turned back to the man he had stabbed previously, still choking on his own blood. The Soldier scowled and aimed his pistol at the man's forehead, and as the Splicer put his hand up to try and stop him or beg for mercy, Archer fired again. He quickly scanned the area for more threats before holstering his knife and pistol, and pulling his Thompson from his shoulder once more. He began running down the sidewalk toward the fire station, ignoring every instinct to move slowly and carefully.
. . .
The three siblings stared down the empty street as the sound of heavy foot falls got closer and closer. Omega gripping the massive forging hammer they had made in both hands, Iota to his right, and Anna on his left. When the Creature turned the corner, the siblings instinctively bared their fangs, their posture lowering to focus on the threat as it made it's way toward them. The Beast was massive, far taller than the Berserkers they had fought before. The sheer size of it made Anna's hair stand on end. She gritted her teeth as she felt fresh adrenaline pouring into her veins. The Creature making it's way toward them had the same chitinous shell as the Berserkers, but it was far thicker, that could be seen from just a glance, it's arms and legs were as thick as tree trunks, but both arms were not the same. The Creature's left arm had a hand with massive razor sharp claws, but it's right arm ended in a sharp point, a chitinous cone shape with hooked spikes running up and down the limb all hooking in different seemingly random directions. As it got closer the Beast began snarling more and more, sniffing the air and watching them, it's armored face looking back and forth between the siblings as they slowly spread out to encircle it, like wolves circling a bear that had wondered into their territory. Suddenly the Creature stopped, looking down at the fleshy slug-like thing that Anna had killed and it gave of a deep growl that the siblings mirrored from their own throats. The Beast roared and the Protectors dropped into their combat stances. Omega prepared to give the attack signal, when he shot off of his feet and began flying toward the Creature's outstretched hand. Anna's eyes went wide as her Brother flew toward the NeoSplicer's hand, just as she had seen Splicers get pulled into the hands of her Siblings hundreds of times before. This NeoSplicer was using Plasmids.
Omega flew toward the Creature's open hand, and both Sisters jumped at the Beast. Just as Omega's throat was about to reach the Beast's claws, the Brother used the weight of his limbs and hammer to spin around in mid air instead of being caught by the NeoSplicer, he narrowly flew past the claws and slammed his armored elbow into the Creature's face with an echoing bang before falling back to his feet. The Creature didn't even budge. As soon as the Brother landed he felt the NeoSplicer's hand wrap around the back of his helmet and lift him back into the air, he put his hand up to grab the NeoSplicer's hand before realizing he was about to be impaled on the spiked limb of it's right arm. Omega gripped his hammer once more in both hands as he blocked the incoming attack with the long handle. As he struggled to block the oncoming attacks, his Sisters attacked the Creature's joints and spaces in between it's armor plates, neither of their attacks drawing blood, it was like trying to cut through thick layers of leather. When the Beast's attacks didn't work on Omega, it roared in anger before raising him up and slamming him face down into the concrete floor below, causing his head to crush the floor. The Brother didn't move after that, but the Creature turned instantly toward the Sisters, it's spike covered arm swinging back at Anna as she ducked and flipped backwards.
"Brother!" She screamed, as Iota moved in from behind the Monster. She slashed the back of it's knee with her Harvester as she ducked under it's left arm to plant another elbow to the Creature's mouth. As the Creature swung it's Spiked arm at her she deflected it with her Harvester and rolled to her Mate, grabbing his air tanks and dragging him back away from the fight as quickly as she could, her immense strength and adrenaline helping her pull the much heavier Protector across the ground. As the NeoSplicer tried to go for her a bolt of lightning hit it from the side as Anna jumped toward it, sending a roundhouse kick to it's armored head before landing and rolling away to land in a crouch.
The Beast stomped it's heavy foot and cracked the concrete beneath it as it roared in anger, and they heard a sickening scraping sound emanate from the Beast. Their glowing eyes were drawn to the spiked cone of it's right arm, they could see lines running up the appendage, cracks in it's shell, and they were shifting. The shifting sped up until the Cone was spinning.
"What the?" Anna whispered as the Beast's spiked limb spun up faster and faster, and her eyes widened again.
"It's a Big Daddy..." She whispered to herself. "Sister! It's their version of a Protector!" She yelled to Iota, earning a nod as she held onto her Mate's back air tanks, ready to pull him further away if the Beast tried to attack him while he was unconscious. The NeoSplicer suddenly darted toward it's closest target, lunging it's spiked drill at Anna. She jumped and rolled out of the way, but as she rolled to her feet, it was already on her again, swinging wildly as it growled with rage. Iota dragged her Mate further away before laying him down so she could help her sister. She dashed toward the two as Anna nimbly dodged and ducked attacks, some missing her by mere inches. The NeoSplicer Protector raised it's drill over it's head to smash down on the sister, and Iota had her opening. She came from the side, jamming her harvester up into the Beast's armpit, her large needle piercing through the thick hide between it's armor, and she felt muscle and sinew part. She retracted her needle and immediately dodged it's return attack as it roared, fresh blood oozing from the wound. She gritted her teeth, it didn't even slow the Creature down.
The Creature's arm shot out toward Iota and she felt her self launch toward it's open hand, just as Omega had, and just like her Mate had done, she used her momentum to spin in the air to plant a heavy kick to the Beast's face, she hit it hard enough to dent her shin guard, and as she landed, rolled backwards immediately, narrowly avoiding the same grab it had landed on Omega. Anna flew into the air and kicked the Beast in the back of the head as well, causing it to stumble slightly, but as she began rolling away, a sharp pain entered her entire body, and she felt her muscles lock in place as she shook. Bolts of lightning sparked off of her armor and she gritted her teeth as wave after wave of pain danced through her. She felt a massive hand wrap around her ankle, and lift her up into the air. She regained control of her body just in time to block the swing of the NeoSplicer's spiked drill as it attempted to bat her like a piñata. The heavy hit forced her blocking arm and Harvester up against her stomach, and she felt the hooked spikes of the drill puncture her suit and skin. They were small, shallow wounds, but she gritted her teeth when she heard the ominous scraping of the chitin as it began to spin again. Pain rippled through her stomach and down to her chest as the spinning drill scraped down her body tearing deep lacerations in both her suit and stomach as it ripped a large portion of her suit away, she swung backwards slightly and the spinning spikes leapt from the bottom of her breasts to scrap the chin of her helmet, sparks flying off as she grunted and growled in pain. Iota had already moved to free her sister. Flipping over the NeoSplicer's drill arm, slicing at it with her Harvester, she kicked the arm that held Anna and wrenched her Sister free, falling to land on her head and back. As Iota kicked off of the Creature's arm it's spiked drill slammed into her side and batted her through the air, sharp pain filling her as the spikes punctured her body suit and skin. As she rolled across the dust covered concrete, the Beast turned back to Anna as she struggled to get to her feet, and raised it's drill once more, aiming to slam it down on her. She saw the massive drill coming from above, and tried to put her arms up to cross in front of her, ready for more pain, when she saw red smoke and cinders appear above her. Her Brother had teleported above her, and he raised his massive hammer above his head to block the heavy swing of the NeoSplicer. The sheer strength of the Brute forced Omega's weapon down to his shoulders as he blocked the attack, and the chitinous spikes began spinning again, sparks flying off of his shoulder guard and weapon. Anna saw the Beast's left fist clench as it pulled it back, but her Brother acted first. A deafening howl exploded from his helmet, that disoriented the Creature enough for him to push it's drill arm aside, using his momentum he turned the parry into a heavy swing, and then spun around, the giant head of his forging hammer slamming into the side of the NeoSplicer's head, cracking it's armor plates and sending it reeling to the side. Omega turned and grabbed the handle of Anna's air tank and drug her away from the Beast as Iota jumped back into the fight, distracting the Behemoth long enough for him to administer first-aid to his sister. He pulled a first-aid syringe from his utility belt and stabbed it into her exposed stomach as she grunted and moaned in pain. Her superhuman regeneration kicking in to work in tandem with the medicine, and the large lacerations on her stomach began to slowly stop bleeding. It would take time for them to close and heal fully, but it was a start.
Anna saw her Sister take another heavy hit as she blocked the NeoSplicer's drill with the front of her arms, the spikes digging into her flesh and spinning to lacerate her skin and suit. She screeched with anger and pain as she flew backwards, and the Beast turned to face Omega's back.
"Brother!" Anna shouted as he tended to her wounds, and a bolt of lightning hit him in the back just as he had moved his hands away from her. Bolts of lightning shot around his frame as he growled and rose to his feet, turning to meet his Attacker even with the electricity coursing through him. Anna gasped as another bolt of lightning hit him and he let out a rage filled howl as he saw Iota injured and struggling to rise to her feet from her previous hit. The howl was louder than anything Anna had ever heard, and it shook the ground beneath her. She knew he had gone berserk. The point at which her Brother was at his strongest, fastest, and deadliest. The point that no enemy, be it Beast or God was safe from his wrath, but she didn't know if it would be enough. He picked up his large hammer and teleported away, re-materializing behind the NeoSplicer already in mid swing. A heavy hit to the back of the knee caused the Giant to kneel. The Brother disappeared again, reappearing in front of the Beast, the head of his hammer smashing into the teeth of the Monster now on his level, sending it onto it's back as blood, teeth, and shards of chitin exploded from it's armored face. He stepped to the side as the Creature fell to it's back, and raised his massive hammer over his head, growling loudly as he slammed it into the Creature's face again, and again, like he was hammering a railway spike into the ground. With each hit more blood, teeth, and chitin flew from the Beast and hit the Brother's armor as he roared with rage.
As Anna watched the onslaught, she saw the Creature's drill arm move, the plates rearranging themselves to form another hand with sharp claws. "Brother!" She screamed, but it was too late, on his final swing, the Beast reached up and wrapped it's massive hand around the shaft of Omega's weapon, it's grip bending the hammer as it wrenched it free from the Brother's grip, a follow up swing caught the side of Omega's knee with the head of the hammer, and caused him to kneel. The Beast rolled to one side and swung up, catching the front of the Brother's helmet with the head of the hammer, the force of the hit sending him flipping backward through the air to land on his stomach some distance away. Anna was determined to be useful, even while injured, and shot her hand forward, a bolt of lightning impacting the NeoSplicer causing it to freeze as it approached her Brother, it turned to look at her and began sprinting in her direction, it's heavy steps shaking the earth, she gasped when it stopped right on top of her. She had no time to react as she tried to scramble backwards, it's massive fist slammed into her helmet, knocking her head back as her face smashed against her porthole and the Beast's fist. She saw stars as it raised it's arm again, slamming it down into her stomach so hard it cracked the bloody concrete beneath her. She felt her ribs crack from the force, and her air left her. Iota jumped onto the NeoSplicer's back and wrapped her bleeding arms around it's neck, letting loose an immense screech right next to the Beast's ear holes causing it to stop it's attack and begin clawing for the older Sister. It grabbed her right arm and easily peeled her from it's back, pulling her forward and down, slamming her into the floor with a heavy crunch. Omega returned, shoulder charging the Monster and pushing it back away from the Sisters, his massive strength and rage fueling his desire to put distance between them and the Beast. When the NeoSplicer finally got it's balance it reached for the Brother, but he backed away quickly before going in for another assault. His fists slammed into the Creature's bleeding, cracked face, first a left jab, then a right hook that he followed up with his left elbow, each heavy hit forcing his Enemy back a step at a time. The NeoSplicer returned the favor by slamming it's knee into Omega's torso then it's fist connected with the side of the Brother's head sending him reeling to one side, an uppercut caught him as he stopped and caught his balance, sending him into the air again. Both Sisters rose shakily to their feet and charged the Monstrosity. Anna reached it first at a sprint and slid into it's massive legs putting all of her weight behind the attack, knocking it onto it's back as Iota leapt into the air. Her armored boot slamming down onto the Creature's face like a falling axe. Anna flipped onto her feet and lunged forward as the NeoSplicer sat up, her knee smashing into the Beast's face to knock it back down to the floor as she flew over it and rolled away. Omega Teleported above the Beast and began punching it with powerful attacks that cracked the ground beneath the Creature's head and as the NeoSplicer reached for him again, he teleported away. All three Siblings backed off and put distance between themselves and the Beast. They were all panting, sweating, and bleeding, shaking from the pain and adrenaline that filled each of them. The NeoSplicer was panting as well, foul smelling spit flying from it's bleeding, growling mouth as it slowly rose to it's feet.
. . .
Tenenbaum held Lizzy to her chest as she shook against her in the back room of the fire station. She felt useless despite the Siblings entrusting her with the most important member of their family. She looked down and continued petting Lizzy's head, she wanted to help the Protectors in some way, but she knew whatever had spooked the Siblings was something she knew she wouldn't be able to help them with. Another loud boom shook the building, and dirt fell from the ceiling causing Lizzy to squeak in shock.
"God, it sounds like a warzone out there." Seline said as she rubbed her nub arm with her hand. Tenenbaum had to agree with her, it reminded her of artillery shells impacting the earth during the second world war, or bombs going off across Rapture during the civil war. She could tell by the muffled sounds coming from outside they were in heavy combat, and whatever they were fighting was massive. She could feel every step it took, every hit the Protectors inflicted on it. The sound of the battle roared and shook the earth as explosions of impact and force shook them even inside the backmost room of the fire station. Her mind, like always, went to dark places. Were the Siblings okay? Were any of them hurt or dead? Were they all hurt or dying? She shook her head trying to calm her nerves. There was still hope, three second generation Protectors were absolutely nothing to scoff at, and Sigma, Joe, Tokerev, and Archer would be returning soon to help them. An Alpha series Big Daddy, one of the strongest if not the strongest of the Big Daddies, along with two Special Forces Soldiers turned spies, and one very stubborn, very determined man with a cigar addiction were surely enough to turn the tide of any battle weren't they? She hoped so. God she hoped so. The Doctor considered going to the front to see what they were fighting, or to make sure they were okay, but she was at war with herself. If Anna had ordered them to take cover as far away from the fight as possible, and Omega had sealed the front of the building with rubble, then They were the safest the further away from the battle they could get. Just as the Doctor thought this, Seline stood up from her seat against the wall and grunted as she placed a hand on a healing bullet wound on her side, still wrapped tightly with fresh bandages.
"What are you doing, Seline?" Tenenbaum asked. Drawing Mark's gaze up to the young woman as well.
"I'm going to see what all this noise is from." She responded as she began walking toward the door. Tenenbaum looked to Mark who shrugged, his eyes returning to the floor as he adjusted the Thompson that was leaning against his shoulder.
"We should stay here where it's safe. If we go-"
"Nowhere is safe." Seline cut her off coldly. "Besides, I'm the one going up there, you and Mark stay here with Lizzy, I'll let you know what I see." She said, and Tenenbaum did the same thing Mark had, she accepted that even though she wanted to stop the young woman, she couldn't. Seline pulled the heavy metal door open with her good arm and peaked out into the hallway, another booming impact from something heavy causing her to flinch slightly as a flash of light cast shadows down the dark hallway of the fire station. She stepped out and slowly made her way to the front of the station, more explosions shaking the building causing dust to fall from the ceiling around her. She could see figures and shadows moving outside through the slits of the boards that covered the windows of the station. When she reached the window, she peaked through one of the larger openings between two boards and her eyes went wide. She saw the Siblings, battered and bloody. They were fighting a massive Creature she had never seen before. They all had bleeding wounds but the Protectors seemed to be worse off. She watched them battle the Beast, it's spiked drill arm spinning as it slammed into Omega's chest armor, fresh blood flying off of him as he flew through the air, Iota and Anna jumping in, only to be forced back with heavy hits of their own. Anna's stomach right up to the bottom of her breasts was bleeding heavily with large gashes in her skin, her suit almost non-existent from her lower stomach to her chest, and still she fought. Iota's arms were gashed and bleeding, her side as well, but it was clear Omega had taken most of the heavier hits for them, his arms, chest, and legs were all cut, bleeding and he was shaking with rage. Seline saw the battle getting closer to the station and backed away from the window, she made it to the hallway when she heard roaring just outside. She turned to see Omega crash through the front of the building, the Beast's massive armored hand around his neck as it drug him through the length of the wall, windows, and doorframe leaving only a waist high wall of rubble in his wake. They disappeared from sight for a while before reappearing back in the street out front, Omega smashing his fists into the Monster's face as Iota and Anna attacked it's joints.
"Holy shit..." Seline whispered as Anna rolled under another heavy swing, Iota jumping over her to plant a knee in the Beast's bleeding, broken face. Blasts of incinerate, Electro-bolt, and Winter Blast began flying in all directions. Seline ran back to their saferoom and shut the door behind her, panting heavily from adrenaline and fear. Mark jumped to his feet and placed his hand on her back.
"Are you okay? What's going on out there?" He said, causing her to look over to him and shake her head.
"This isn't good. They're not doing too well out there." Seline said, and Tenenbaum could see by her expression that it was bad.
"Are they okay? Is anyone hurt badly? What are they fighting?" She asked in quick succession. Seline shook her head again as she tried to calm herself down and figure out just what she had witnessed.
"They're all hurt badly, and they're fighting some kind of NeoSplicer I've never seen before, something huge and new." She answered.
"What does it look like? Could you see any weaknesses?" Tenenbaum asked again.
"I don't know! The thing looks like a Wall with teeth and claws... It had some kind of... Drill on it's arm, kind of like a Big Daddy's but... all shell-like and covered in spikes." She explained, and heard Tenenbaum curse in German as she and Mark shared glances. She put her hand on her chin in thought, her eyes darting back and forth as her mind searched for some kind of answer to a question Seline didn't know.
"What the Hell is that thing, Doc? Why are we only seeing it now?" Mark asked.
"They are adapting their forms to fit Rapture's environment, the NeoSplicers would be akin to Splicers, the Berserkers akin to Brute Splicers, and now a Gatherer and Protector form... Is there a correlation? Why adapt their forms in the likeness of Rapture's Denizens at all? Why not new forms?" She asked herself in a series of continuous queries.
"Doc! What do we do?" Seline asked, worried about the Siblings outside.
"I... I don't know..." She said simply. "We will only get in the way and cause more problems for them if we try to help them, we need Sigma and the others." Tenenbaum said.
"Fuck!" Seline whispered sharply as she walked to her bed, and began strapping on a shoulder holster for her revolver.
"What are you doing?" The Doctor asked, her eyebrows scrunching in confusion.
"I'm going to find Sigma and the others! We have to do something!" She stated matter of factly.
"Seline, no, you are healing, you need time to-"
"Don't." Seline cut her off. "Just don't, okay? I need to do this, I need to be useful." She said as she walked back toward the door. Mark's hand landed on her shoulder, and she looked into his eyes defiantly, ready to tell him off as well, but what came next surprised her.
"I'm going with you. We can move faster if we're watching each other's backs." He told her, and she gave a hesitant nod.
"Doc, we'll be back soon, take care of Lizzy." He said nodding to the terrified little girl clutching to the older woman's side. Tenenbaum nodded grimly as they left. Seline and Mark ducked low and ran to the front of the fire station. Through the large gash that spanned the length of the entire front created by the NeoSplicer and Omega, they could see the battle still raging outside, though it had gotten progressively worse since Seline had seen it last. Anna was on her knees holding her stomach as blood seeped through her gloved fingers, Iota and Omega were fighting the NeoSplicer with all they had, both covered in blood, dirt, and wounds. Seline couldn't help but cry at the sight of them, willing to go through so much to protect everyone. They were beaten up badly, and she could tell they were in a tremendous amount of pain, and yet they continued to fight, to keep that thing away from Lizzy, as well as her, Mark, and Tenenbaum. Both humans leapt over the waist high rubble of the front wall, and took off down the street when they heard Anna's voice call out to them, they could tell she had blood in her mouth.
"Seline! Mark! Where are you going?!" She yelled through heavy panting.
"Hold it off! We're going to find Sigma and the others!" Seline responded as they continued to run, Anna simply nodding, too tired and pained to protest. She turned her head as her Sister hit the ground again and growled as she stood shakily to her feet, her right arm shooting out to her side to extend her Harvester.
. . .
Archer sprinted down the street, through an underwater bridge, and back into another shopping district, he was sweating heavily, and his breath was heavy. He stopped to catch his breath and drink some water when the sound of gunfire caught his ears. He took another large gulp of the cold liquid before screwing the canteen shut and placing it back in his bag. He shook his head and groaned as he continued running down the dimly lit street, passing by blown out buildings and walls infested with decade old bullet holes. He could hear shouting coming from around the corner up ahead, and prayed he wasn't walking into a Splicer on Splicer fight, he hoped he was running to aid Sigma, Joe, and Tokerev. When he reached the cross section in the street he put his back against the wall of the closest building and peaked his head around, and sure enough, there was Sigma, firing his Gatling gun up toward the balcony of a building, but Joe and Tokerev were nowhere to be seen.
"Shit!" Archer cursed as he saw another group of Splicers moving to flank the Big Daddy. He stayed low and moved perpendicular with the building he had been taking cover behind. Once he was in a good position behind an old barricade made from an old fridge, some sandbags, and wooden pallets, he took aim with his Thompson.
"Sigma! I've got your six!" He yelled, causing the Big Daddy to turn slightly to look at him. Archer began firing rounds at the group of charging Splicers. They thought they had the element of surprise, but the moment Archer's fire hit two of them, the others flew into a confused panic and began running for cover. Bullets began zipping past the barricade and he could hear them cracking past his head as he ducked for cover, periodically popping up to fire at another target. He heard the whistle of a Nitro Splicer's grenades, and saw two of the explosives flying through the air toward his position. Sigma reached out and grabbed the one highest in the air with his telekinesis, the one that was headed straight for Archer, and flung it back at the Splicer that had thrown it, hitting him in the side and detonating him in a flash of blood and gore. The second grenade bounced right up to the old barricade, and Archer ducked down as it exploded, blowing shards of old wood into the air. Sigma began firing again at each exposed target he could see, hoping the man was okay.
Archer's ears were ringing, and his teeth hurt from the concussion of the explosion, but he checked himself and found only minor wounds, though he did have to pick a finger sized wood splinter from his forearm, he ignored the pain and disorientation of the blast and continued firing at the Splicers.
"So much for fucking staying hidden!" He growled as he fired a burst of rounds into the chest of a charging Thuggish Splicer, dropping her to the ground like a rock. The fight continued for several more minutes and a few more close calls before the last of the Splicers was dispatched. Once the area was clear, Sigma gave a loud groan and Archer nodded as he stepped out of cover.
"Good to see you too, Sigma. Where are Joe and Tokerev?" He asked, approaching the Big Daddy. Sigma let out another deep groan as he turned and pointed to the building he had put his back against to defend. Archer had wondered why he was just standing in the middle of the street taking fire, but now it made sense. He had turned himself into a wall to keep those Bastards away from his friends. Archer jogged over to the door of the building with Sigma right behind him.
"Tokerev, Joe! It's Archer and Sigma, We're coming in don't shoot!" He yelled through the door before opening it. When he entered the building he saw that it was a small bar, he also saw Joe's shotgun aimed at him from the other side of the counter at the back, and he put his hand up. Joe grunted in pain as he sat back and looked down to his right.
"We need to get him to Brigid. He's lost a lot of blood." Joe said as he limped over to pull Tokerev up, wrapping his arm weakly around his shoulders. Archer ran to help him with Tokerev's other arm. "Jesus, Toke, you look like shit." Archer said as they carried him toward Sigma.
"It is nice.. to see you too, Archer. You at least look.. better than you smell." He chuckled through gritted teeth. Sigma scooped Tokerev up in his massive arms like he was a baby and they began walking back out of the old bar.
"We need to hurry back, I overheard two Splicers talking about bombs they planted, and some kind of Monster they ran into that killed some of their people. At first I thought they were talking about Sigma, or Omega, but they said it was covered in bone or something. So I think there's another one of those Berserker's walking around here." Archer explained.
"I think the Protectors are already fighting it, we heard Omega howl earlier, and Iota screech. Been hearing explosions in the distance too, same direction as the fire station." Joe said, just as another of Omega's rage filled howls rang out from the distance.
"We need to move!" Archer said as they began running in the direction the howl came from, Archer taking Joe's arm over his shoulder to support his bad leg as they ran. As the sound of combat got closer and closer, they could see Mark and Seline sprinting down the street toward them, her face was the look of terror.
"What happened! Are you all okay?!" Seline asked as she hugged Joe. He grunted in pain and hugged her back. "Don't worry, we'll be okay. What's going on down there?" He asked. Seline pulled away and he could see the worried look never left her face, something else was up.
"We were attacked by Splicers, and some kind of NeoSplicer showed up, like their version of a Big Daddy, it had some kind of bone drill on it's arm and everything! Please, Sigma! You have to hurry! I don't know how much longer the Protectors can last, They're hurt bad!" Seline begged Sigma. Archer cursed and pointed to Sigma.
"Sigma, carry Tokerev until you can see the fight, when you see them, give him to Joe. Joe can you get Tokerev to Tenenbaum from that distance with your leg?" Archer asked, and Joe nodded. "Count on it." The bearded man replied with a nod.
"Seline, Mark, you're with me, we need to search the District for bombs, Star-"
"Bombs?!" Seline yelled in surprise.
"Yeah, bombs. Probably another of that Fuck Reed Wahl's plans. I think he's going to try and flood the District. We'll start from the direction the Splicers came from. If that NeoSplicer started killing them before they could plant multiple charges we might be able to diffuse them before they go off." He stated, everyone nodding in agreement.
"You know what to do, let's get it done!" He said loudly as Joe climbed onto Sigma's back air tanks and the Big Daddy began sprinting full speed down the street toward the fire station. Archer, Mark, and Seline took off down a different direction to search for the explosives. Despite their situation, and despite the danger. Seline couldn't help but award herself a small, grim smile. It felt good to be useful again. It felt good to be doing something, anything, but most of all. It felt good that no one was treating her like a burden, like she needed to be cared for. Archer hadn't even asked her if she could do it, he simply assumed that she could, and that made her feel better than anything anyone had said to her in the past week.
. . .
Omega, Iota, and Anna all stood spread out in front of the NeoSplicer Protector, panting heavily, each holding wounds that still bled. Their superhuman regeneration was trying to keep up with the amount of damage they had taken, and it was only because of their ADAM Slugs that they were still in the fight. They aided their symbiotic partners by injecting themselves with ADAM from their Harvesters, but they had already been running low when the fight began. If it were to drag on even longer, it wouldn't be good for them, but this Creature didn't quit, it hardly gave them any room to breath, let alone heal. Omega stabbed another first-aid syringe into his thigh as he growled at the Beast. He looked at Iota and Anna, both in worse shape than he was, though not by much. Anna had taken a knee to breath and get what rest this battle would offer her, her head was low, and her hand still held wounds on her stomach. Iota had a hand on her knee, the other on a wound in her side as she panted heavily. He could hear them both struggling to catch their breath, and he could hear them swallowing their own blood as they tried to keep it from leaking inside their helmets as much as possible.
They had inflicted wounds on the NeoSplicer as well, finally after so many repeated strikes to it's joins, they were finally drawing blood. Crimson oozed and dripped down the Beast's arms and legs, it's face armor smashed into gravel and bleeding heavily, but it just wouldn't quit. Omega felt his rage boiling again when he saw the NeoSplicer point it's chitinous drill toward Anna. Most of the spikes that had been on it throughout the fight had finally broken off due to either impacts against their armor, or the ground and surrounding buildings as they dodged attacks. It was still a deadly weapon, but now it was more of a club than a mace. Ironically it now looked more like a Big Daddy's drill than before.
As the NeoSplicer Protector aimed it's drill at Anna, they noticed the armored plates on it shifting again, but instead of just the drill plates spacing themselves out, the plates up the Beast's arm and shoulder were shifting, and they immediately knew this was something different. Without warning the chitinous weapon shot out from it's arm directly for Anna. a thick strand of muscle and sinew snapping forward as it propelled the deadly weapon's sharp tip right at the wounded sister. Anna spread both of her legs in a split as her torso met the ground, the heavy weapon swishing just over her head in line with where her torso and heart was a split second ago. The thick strands of muscle that connected the drill with the Creature's arm snapped back, pulling the weapon back to it's owner like a rubber band. Omega and Iota dashed forward as Anna jumped to her feet with a low, exhausted growl. A bolt of lightning hit Iota and locked her in place as the Beast whipped it's flail-like arm over and around it's head in a large circle, swinging it back toward the left side of all three Siblings. The drill still missed them, but the thick strands of connective muscle and tissue connected with Anna first, then Iota knocking them onto the ground. Omega being the furthest away from the swinging appendage was able to see the threat coming, and react accordingly. The Brother stopped running and planted his feet just in time for the thick strand of muscle to reach him, he braced himself and caught the large band of muscle under his left arm, his right hand grabbing on as well, his fingers squeezing the leathery rope so hard it punctured it causing blood to seep from the wounds. The Brother slid a few feet from the force of the impact, but stopped and growled as he bared his bloody fangs in anger. He planned on returning the favor from earlier, when the Creature had used him as a wrecking ball to level the front of the fire station.
Using his immense strength, Omega jerked the strands of muscle toward him so hard the NeoSplicer was yanked onto it's stomach, it's armored shell sending sparks off of the floor as it slid face down. The Brother roared another howling war cry as he turned, spinning the Beast like a swing from a baseball bat. By the time the NeoSplicer impacted the first building, Omega had arched it's trajectory toward the buildings opposite of the fire station, and he slammed the Beast into the first corner store at full speed. The Brother felt his muscles burn and tear from the Creature's massive weight, but he was determined to give his sisters time to rest and heal. It had been his strategy the entire time. He takes the biggest hits, and dishes out the biggest hits while they eat away at the Creature to wear it down. He jumps in and gets it's attention when they need to rest and heal, and they jump in when he needs to rest and heal. The strategy usually worked well enough for them to finish a fight, but with such a tough enemy it was hard for them to even get breathing room.
The NeoSplicer smashed through building after building as Omega swung it, three in total before the Brother's strength gave out on him and he let go of the Monster he was using like a flail. He lurched forward onto his hands and knees as the Beast slid across the concrete floor to a stop. Omega sat up on his knees and quickly injected another dose of ADAM into his arm from his Harvester, feeling how badly he had torn his muscles from the exertion. He felt the soothing sensation immediately as he focused his regeneration on healing his muscles for mobility, his wounds could wait, he needed to be able to move, to fight. He looked up when he heard the NeoSplicer roar in rage, and saw the flail like appendage swinging down at him. He tried to dodge, but his legs were shaking and wouldn't respond. All he could do was put his bloody arms up in a cross to block the incoming attack as best as he could.
Iota looked up and saw the Creature's drill slam down on her blocking Mate with enough force to send him into the ground in a cloud of dust, a massive hole opening up beneath him as he was sent into Rapture's underbelly. The thick strand of muscle connecting the Beast with it's drill hanging limply as it retracted it from the large hole it had created. Iota's heart sped up when she saw how dark it was in the opening her Mate had fallen into, and she gasped when she heard dozens of shrieks from within. Fire and lightning flew from the opening, and Omega's enraged roaring echoed from below as he fought NeoSplicers even after taking such a hard hit.
"Help Brother! I'll keep it's attention!" Anna yelled as she sprinted toward the Behemoth NeoSplicer that was retracting it's drill back to it's arm. Iota wasted no time in doing just that. She darted toward the opening and leapt into the air, landing down into the darkness her Mate was fighting in. She landed on something soft that crunched beneath her weight and shrieked in agony as it died. Omega was on his back still punching, stabbing and kicking the NeoSplicers that had jumped on him the moment he landed. Iota's arms erupted with blue flames and she began firing continuous blasts of her powerful Incinerate in all directions, the light causing dozens of leathery Creatures to back away in fear and pain as an even greater number caught fire and died or fled. As Omega killed the last of his Attackers she pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arms around him before jumping back to the surface with all of her strength, claws and teeth reaching for them as they exited the darkness. They landed on their sides panting in the light of the street. Omega was bleeding heavily from multiple wounds created by the NeoSplicer Protector, as well as the fresh ones the Horde had inflicted on him in his short time below. He needed to rest and heal badly. The Sister pulled another first-aid syringe from her belt, her last one, and stabbed it into his neck as he lie on his back panting through gritted teeth. She injected herself with a small dose of ADAM as well, rationing what little she had left. When she looked up to find Anna, her heart nearly stopped. The Creature had it's hand wrapped around her helmet. She was smashing her fists into it's broken face as she struggled to get free. Iota saw the Creature squeeze her younger Sister's helmet hard enough the porthole cracked, and it's massive fingers began slowly inching closed. Anna started screaming as Iota jumped to her feet in a mad dash to save her sister, she was no longer hitting the Beast, she had wrapped both hands around it's wrist trying to get free from the grip that was crushing her head.
Time moved in slow motion as Iota sped to her sister's aid, she was kicking and screaming, and Iota knew she wouldn't make it in time. She shut her eyes and activated her teleportation, rematerializing just feet away from the Beast. She saw Anna's arms drop to her side as the Creature growled... and then she saw him.
Sigma stepped out of the shadow from behind the NeoSplicer, his massive drill stabbing into the Beast's side as it revved and roared furiously, puncturing a large hole in the Beast's ribs as blood rushed free from the wound. The NeoSplicer dropped Anna to the floor as it turned to face the new threat, but Sigma roared loudly and grappled the NeoSplicer in a shoulder charge, his massive size and strength pushing the Beast away from the fallen sister as Iota slid to her and began trying to remove her crushed helmet. She unlatched her sister's helmet and tried to pull it off but it was so tight now it didn't fit around her chin. Iota grabbed the jagged broken neck seal and began prying it open, ripping the helmet in half as she screeched desperately. She looked back to her Mate as he lay unconscious on his back close to the opening they had jumped out of, his healing abilities kicking into overdrive now that he wasn't moving or awake. She thanked their biology for sending them into a medically induced coma to heal them faster, but cursed it when it happened at such inopportune times. She couldn't blame him though, she knew it was out of his control, she knew he would still be fighting had he not taken such damage to give them a moment of rest. She looked over to find Sigma still grappling with the massive Creature, holding his own. The Beast slammed a heavy punch into the Big Daddy's helmet that only seemed to anger him. Sigma hardly budged, instead he roared again with rage and slammed his fist into the Creature's ribs, right where his drill had made a giant, bloody hole earlier. She heard the Creature squeal in pain, the first time she had heard that noise come from the Beast. The Big Daddy followed up the punch with a heavy headbutt to it's face that staggered it back against the wall of a half destroyed building. Sigma kicked his leg forward as the NeoSplicer struggled to hold it's ground against a fresh and rested enemy, and when his massive armored boot connected with the Behemoth, it send him hurling back through the wall and into the building in a shower of rubble and dust. She saw Sigma clench his left hand into a fist and rev his drill as he stepped over the rubble and into the building, the sound of fighting echoing from within. She wiped tears from her eyes as she turned back to Anna, thankful that Sigma had come to the rescue, she couldn't even deny that they desperately needed him. She checked Anna's pulse, and found that she was still breathing, though it was weak. Movement caught the Sister's attention and she turned, her arm raised as it ignited with blue flames.
"It's us!" Joe yelled as he held his free hand up to stop her. He was holding Tokerev up weakly as he limped toward the fire station. Iota screeched at him as the flames of her arm vanished and asked him for help in the Protector's simplistic combat sign language. It took him a moment to figure out what she was asking for but soon realized it was first-aid syringes. He stopped and dug into his ammo harness, pulling a leather case from within one of the olive green pouches. He tossed it to her and it slid to a stop just beside Anna's unconscious form.
"Make em count, it's all I have!" He said as he continued to carry Tokerev over the rubble and into the fire station. Iota quickly opened the case and found two empty leather slots, one containing a broken syringe, and a fourth with an undamaged first-aid syringe. Acting quickly she pulled the syringe free and tossed the case aside as she pulled the plastic cap from the needle and gently eased it into Anna's neck just below her ear. She looked horrible, they all looked horrible, but she hadn't seen Omega's, or her own face yet. Anna's was covered in blood, sweat, and dirt. Her nose was bleeding heavily, along with her ears, and her mouth had been bleeding so bad it left a river of red down her chin, neck, and into her suit. The older Sister placed her blood covered glove on Anna's stomach where large gashes had littered her midsection and lower abdomen. She took out fresh gauze and began packing the worst of her sister's wounds with trembling hands, the pain in her own body causing her to shake uncontrollably. The sound of Sigma and the NeoSplicer battling inside the nearby store echoed through the District, and Iota knew she had to help him, but first she had to make sure her Mate, and her sister were safe. She stood on shaking legs as she grabbed Anna's air tank handle with both hands, and began dragging her back toward where Omega was laying. Once she reached close enough to him, she let go of Anna and limped over to him, his suit and wounds had already repaired themselves quite a bit, but he still had a ways to go. Iota wrapped her arms beneath his shoulders and screeched in pain as she struggled to pull his immense weight. With enough effort she dragged him back away from the dark hole in the street and toward Anna until they were side by side. The eldest sister stood to go help Sigma, but as she took her first step her vision blurred and her knees gave out, she fell onto her stomach, her face and helmet banging into the concrete. She looked up toward the building the Big Daddy was fighting in, she could barely see, but she had to help him. She reached her bleeding arm out in front of her, grabbed a crack in the stone floor, and dragged herself forward, a trail of blood smearing behind her.
Sigma flew from the crumbling building and landed on his back in the street as he slid to a stop, his armor covered in claw marks as sparks flew out from under him as he slid. The NeoSplicer Protector stepped from the hole in the building and roared as it made it's way to the downed Big Daddy, it's own drill arm revving with it's sickening scraping noise.