Freezing Ambition

Iota sat and watched the rippling water in the dimly lit stairwell waiting for Omega to re-surface. The Female Protector followed the dancing light on the ceiling coming from the broken light above the small pool, she was worried about her Partner, and her mind had no trouble plaguing her with negative thoughts. Iota quickly shook her head, Omega is a Protector and a very capable one, she had faith that he would be alright. She opened a pocket on her belt and pulled out the old audio log she had found in Mother's old office, she wondered what was on it, it had to be something from a Little Sister because "Omega 2" was drawn in pink crayon, but what was on it? She wondered to herself sliding the tape back into her pocket making a mental note to listen to it when she found another audio-player.

After a few minutes the Sister's mind turned back to her Companion and her chest began to tighten, what was this feeling? She had asked herself this question many times, it was something more than a Protector's instinct, something that made her worry about him much more than she had before, and something that made her anxious when she was near him, or fearful when they were apart. How and when had she become so concerned about him? That's when she remembered.

It dated back to her Big Sister training, she and her Sisters would always watch Omega leave for one mission after another, she felt sorry for him because he was always alone, at least she had her Sisters to hunt with but Omega had no one, he hunted alone unless he would come to aid them in a fight but even then he would leave soon after to continue his Objectives. Iota didn't know what Mother ordered him to do but she knew it had to be dangerous, the Big Brother would often return with damaged armor covered in blood, or wounded, and sometimes all three. She never saw him without his helmet until recently but she could tell by his body language he always seemed like he wasn't there. Sometimes after a hard mission the Brother would come home and sit against a wall, just starring off into space, he did it for hours, sometimes until it was time for another mission.

Iota never understood why he acted that way, until she overheard Mother talk about them being locked in Andrew Ryan's Prison. Before Mother took control of Persephone it was a special kind of Hell for anyone who disagreed with Ryan's way of thinking or anyone he deemed a nuisance. The Sister put her hand on her chest, what she felt when Omega went into the water alone was similar to the past, every time he went off on a mission alone she would say a silent prayer for his safety, she said one for him and her other Sisters every time she watched them go off on their own. Just thinking about the past and the Family she had lost was so painful it was enough to bring her to tears.

Iota was ripped from her daze when she heard a tormented scream echo through the room at the top of the stairs, she turned quickly and began climbing her way to the top making sure to stay low and avoid making unnecessary noise, she peaked over the top step through the doorway into the joining room. Iota could hear gunfire coming from Siren Alley and yelling that was getting closer. The Protector watched as a few Splicers ran into the large room and turned to shoot down a hallway, they quickly took cover behind various trashcans, metal benches, and old barricades before they continued screaming and firing their weapons down the hallway. Iota could hear a rage filled scream as a bright pink light illuminated the area the Splicers were occupying, she watched as a Rogue Alpha series ran straight through a sandbag barrier trampling one of the Splicers in his way. The enraged Beast was wielding a large mini gun in it's left hand and a drill in it's right, it screamed a terrible scream before littering the area in front of it with bullets, the projectiles ripped through the Splicer's cover as well as their bodies and they screamed with terror as they fell one by one. Two Thuggish Splicers charged the Alpha yelling fanatically, they swung their blunt weapons at the insane Protector only rewarded with failure, the Alpha raised his Gatling-gun and brought it down on one of his Target's head crushing her skull, after the Splicer fell he swiftly back handed the other with his drill hand sending the deformed man crashing through a nearby sign and onto the cold damp ground.

The enraged Alpha ran over to the man who was desperately trying to crawl towards the stairway Iota was hiding in, She watched as the Alpha brought his drill down into the middle of the man's back and activated it, the Splicer started screaming as the drill revved into his spine showering the Alpha in blood, the man screamed and shook until he finally went limp. The Alpha screamed again as he pulled his weapon from his Victim's corpse, his sight then shifted toward the staircase Iota was in, when the bright pink light hit the doorway she ducked bellow the top step and hoped he had not seen her, her eyes got wider when she heard the thunderous footsteps moving in her direction. The Sister slinked her way back down the stairs as quickly and quietly as she could, when she got to the bottom she could see the Alpha's pink light shinning on the second platform of the stairs, once the Alpha reached that platform he would be able to see the bottom and her very clearly, Iota looked back at the black water as she began to sweat, she turned back when she heard heavy footsteps making their way down the stairs. The Female Protector heard water splashing behind her and quickly turned to see Omega had returned just in time, the Brother was holding some kind of cable in his hand, his eyes narrowed when he heard the Alpha's heavy footsteps and saw the pink light approaching.

Iota watched as her Brother swiped his wet hair out of his eyes and tied the cable to a large pipe above the water, when he was finished he quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the water. Both Protectors took a large breath and sank into the frigid water, Iota looked back to see the legs of the Alpha making it's way down the stairs, she then turned to look for Omega, the path before them was pitch black and the only thing she could see were his glowing eyes. She felt him squeeze her hand and pull it up to grab the cable above them, that must have been what took him so long, he had to feel his way through the darkness and tie the cable up so they could follow it to the exit. The duo made their way through the darkness, every now and then she would see Omega's glowing eyes turn back to make sure she was still there, after a few minutes Iota could tell she was almost at her limit and would need air soon. The Female Protector reached her arm forward to get her Brother's attention but felt nothing, her heart began to beat faster when she felt an arm grab her wrist and pull her upwards.

Omega lifted Iota up into a small air pocket in the ceiling only big enough for them to have their shoulders out of the water, when she surfaced she took a much needed intake of air, Omega held onto a large pipe with his left hand and wrapped his partner in a half hug to help keep her up as she caught her breath. Once both Protectors had stabilized their breathing Omega used his incinerate plasmid to heat the pipe above them making it glow a dim red, it didn't produce vary much light but it was enough to make him realize another pressing issue, Iota was shivering uncontrollably and her lips had started to turn blue. The Male Protector was thankful he had made her stay behind with the back of her suit no longer covering anything from her waist to her shoulders, he knew she would have trouble but didn't expect it to be this bad already, he used his Incinerate to warm his right hand and began rubbing her back to help keep her warm, there was no telling how much body heat she had lost, he was only missing his helmet and even he was cold.

The Brother motioned toward the cable and Iota nodded in agreement eager to end their icy journey, after taking another deep breath the Protectors dove back down and continued. They repeated the cycle three more times, making their way through the flooded Pump Station. by the time they were finally able to see light Iota was practically being dragged by Omega, she was so cold her arms and legs could barely function, it felt like icy needles were piercing every inch of her body and she was almost completely numb. The two Protectors entered the airlock leading to Dionysus Park and pulled the switch to drain the freezing water, once the airlock drained and the door opened the two headed up some steps, Iota was clinging to her Companion with what little strength she had left, Omega pulled her up the steps leading to Dionysus Park, she wanted to stop and rest for a while but her Brother wouldn't let her, when she started stumbling due to her non functioning legs Omega quickly pulled her back up and began carrying her, he knew she was in bad shape and they had no time to spare. Omega carried the half conscious Sister down a hallway and into a nearby maintenance room, the room was small but had everything Omega had hoped for, it was dimly lit by glowing coral and old Big Daddy suits hung from the ceiling and walls, Omega propped Iota up on a wooden bench and started working as fast as he could.

Iota watched her Brother tip over a large empty locker and rip the door off followed by the top shelf on the inside, Iota was slipping in and out of consciousness, when Omega saw her eyes close he would frantically run over to her and start shaking her to keep her awake, once he saw her eyes open again he would rush back to work. When he had finished the locker Omega used his telekinesis to pull a pipe on the ceiling loose so water would fall into the locker to fill it up, again he had to run over to Iota's slumped over form to keep her awake, he gently slapped her face a few times with his hand and made a sharp screech waking her up. When the locker was full of water Omega used Winter Blast to freeze the pipe and stop the water, Iota watched as her Partner's hands were engulfed in flames and he stuck them into the water filled locker causing steam to erupt into the air, he only held them in for a few seconds before pulling them out. The Male Protector then ran over to his Companion and picked her up carrying her to the locker, he gently lowered her into the water and propped her up so she wouldn't slide in completely, Omega unsheathed his knife and threw it at the door control panel behind them causing sparks to fly out as the heavy door crashed to the ground. The Brother quickly pulled Iota forward and sat down behind her, he removed the top half of his suit, then did the same for her careful not to break her golden necklace, Iota took turns covering her bare chest with one arm as Omega pulled the other out of her suit, when he was finished he wrapped his arms around her and sat back in the makeshift bathtub.

Iota marveled at his quick thinking, he used the locker as a bathtub and heated the water to be the same temperature as their normal body heat so she didn't get nerve damage from being frostbitten and hypothermic, and sharing body heat meant the recovery time would be faster even if it was embarrassing for them. After a few minutes Iota started to shiver again and could feel Omega slowly raising the temperature of the water, she could finally feel her fingers and toes again. After waking up completely it dawned on the Sister just what kind of situation they were in, her face started warming up faster than the rest of her body when she started focusing on the fact that the person sitting behind her was holding her, and they were both half naked. Sure she was covering herself but they were still connected by bare skin, Iota heard Omega sigh loudly as he sat back in the makeshift bathtub, when she turned to see what was wrong he had his hand covering his eyes and realized that the whole situation had been so stressful for him he was just now coming down from the adrenaline rush. Iota gave a small smile at the fact that he was afraid to lose her just as much as she was afraid to lose him, Omega rarely ever showed any emotional expression but she could tell he was worried for her and it made her extremely happy. The Big Sister laid back on his chest and turned her head toward his heart to listen to the soothing rythem, it was fast, Iota reached up and pulled his hand away from his eyes and lowered it to hold in her's, she shut her eyes and listened as his heartbeat got slower and slower. Omega stared down at the top of his Companion's head and wondered why she was so good at calming his nerves, even in the midst of rage she always had a way of soothing the storm inside of him, she made him feel at peace.

The two Protectors sat in silence for the longest time and it was deathly quiet with the only sound being that of leaking pipes, neither Protector wanted to move even though they knew they couldn't stay that way forever, they didn't want to part with the peace and comfort of each other's presence, if they had it their way they would stay that way forever. Both Guardians began to frown, because they knew it was only temporary, but for just a few more minutes they would bask in the peace they felt, if only for a little while, they would forget the chaos of Rapture. Ever since their Family dissipated the Rapture dream had ended for them and the Nightmare took it's place, but in their tiny room they held each other and took a break from the Hell they called home, relaxing a small amount for the first time in what felt like years.

...

Everyone gathered in a Suite in their Hotel converted fort, the small group of Survivors sat in what used to be a large living Area with various old couches, chairs, and tables. It was a frequent meeting place for the group whenever Dr. Tenenbaum had to make an announcement, or have a serious discussion with the group. Donnie, Seline, and Vicki sat in a circle around a table, the two Girls were playing cards while Donnie tinkered with various Circuit boards and wires. Joe and James sat at the bar drinking and talking about different defensive tactics to keep the Hotel safe, while Craig and Mark bickered about some trivial situation that Craig always seemed to blow out of proportion, and Grace Holloway sat in a plush leather chair with Lizzy reading her a book about the Surface.

When Tenenbaum entered the room all of the noise died all at once and everyone's attention turned to the Doctor, She had a troubled look on her face and the group knew whatever she was going to discuss with them couldn't be good. The old Doctor often wore a sorrowful expression and it was almost always plagued with trouble, but the group had come to recognize when something other than her past was bothering her.

"everyone, thank you for coming to the meeting." she said looking across the room at it's occupancy.

"what is it you wanted to discuss Doc, is it about our "friends"?" Joe asked wondering if she had finally decided to tell the Group.

"as a matter of fact, yes it is." the Doctor stated giving her friend a nod.

"Friends, you mean the Splicers Doctor?" Seline asked quietly with concern.

"no, they are far more dangerous then those Addicts, and far more unpredictable. As you all know Joe, Donnie, and Myself have been trying to find us a way out of this Cursed City for sometime now and I thank you for your patience." Tenenbaum added.

The Group started to look worried when she mentioned "Friends" that were more dangerous and unpredictable than Splicers, they didn't think anyone could out do those Monsters. Vicki started shuffling uncomfortably and scrunched her eyebrows before speaking.

"Doc, with all due respect the only thing that could out crazy Splicers AND be more brutal are Big Sisters, and they are most definitely not "Friends", I'm glad those freaks were all wiped out by Delta." Vicki stated biting her lip.

Joe gave his Brother a questioning look and James leaned in closer so as not to be heard. "her little Brother was killed by a Big Sister." he whispered.

Joe frowned, that would probably end up complicating things. "not all of the Big Sisters were killed by Delta Vicki, at least two remain that I have seen." Tenenbaum stated matter of factly.

"what are you getting at Doc?" Mark spoke up looking out the large window he was leaning on. "This is a Topic I have dreaded bringing forward because I know how most people feel about Protectors, but our plan is finally getting in motion, there are three Protectors currently heading this way, with their help-"

"You're joking right?" Vicki cut her off abruptly. Tenenbaum knew it would happen, she surveyed the room and looked to everyone's expressions of worry and shock, she looked back to Vicki who was wearing a scowl. "Doc what the Hell?! they're heading here?! what were you thinking?! they're Monsters not people or "Friends" they should be put down like the Animals they are!" she began yelling at the German Woman.

"That's enough young lady!" Grace raised her voice causing everyone's attention to turn. "now i can understand why you feel the way you do, I've felt the exact same way baby, but it was Delta that showed me how wrong I was. He showed me that even Monsters can change, and from what I've seen in Rapture more often then not, the Monsters look just like the rest of us. Don't go judging a book by it's cover, cuz what's on the inside may surprise you sweety." Grace said smiling at the Blonde, Vicki turned back to face Tenenbaum.

"so... as you were saying Doctor." Vicki said realizing she had been wrong in jumping to conclusions, she may not like the old black woman at the moment but she did respect how wise she was.

"thank you, as I was saying, there are three Protectors heading this way, one is an Alpha Series named Subject Sigma, he will help us because his goals are the same as ours. He wishes to take the Thinker and escape Rapture, the same as us."

Everyone's mouths fell open at the thought of having a Big Daddy as an Ally, they were ferocious in battle, it was the equivalent of having a walking tank on their side.

"The other two are..." the Doctor paused unsure of what to say.

"go on Doc, they need to hear it in order to prepare for it." Joe said giving Tenenbaum a nod of reassurance. "The other two are... quite the opposite of Sigma. I know he will help us, but the other two may still be unsure of our intentions, if any of you think our time in Rapture has been Hell, then just know that they have suffered more than all of us combined. They will not trust us and I still don't know what will happen when they get here, I don't know their goals or where they stand on getting out of Rapture. They are also fiercely loyal to Sofia Lamb and her "Family"." Tenenbaum stated casting her gaze to the ground.

"Big Sisters Doc?! are you serious!? they'll kill us before they help us, Hell they've never helped anyone but their egotistical Mother not to mention they're the product of a Cult!" Craig yelled from across the room.

"I think Craig's a Dumbass and even i can agree with him on that!" Mark yelled causing Craig to glare at him.

"Doctor, what if they turn on us? what if they just get here and kill us without batting an eye?" Seline asked, she spoke so softly Tenenbaum didn't even hear her over the other's yelling.

"Quiet!" Joe's booming voice cut through the chaos in the room.

"now I understand the anger you all feel toward the Family, but you have to remember that a lot of us were fooled by Sofia's lies, including myself. If you would have asked me a year ago to kill in the name of the Family both James and I would have done it with a smile!" he yelled as everyone shut up to listen, James simply held his whiskey and nodded quietly.

"Hell I would have gladly killed any of you if that Devil Woman asked me to, but we changed, we saw the Family for what it was, what Lamb really was. As it stands we cannot get out of this City without those two, it's just not possible." he continued.

"and besides, only one of them's a Big Sister, the other one is much more terrifying." he said lowering his voice as he looked to the Doctor.

"what do you mean Joe? what's he talking about Doc?!" Vicki yelled her question.

"The only one of his kind, something that shouldn't exist, and something that was never expected to Survive, Sofia Lamb's "Demon", The Big Brother." she said as the room fell silent.

The group looked onward with shock and confusion, they had never heard of a Big Brother before, let alone seen one. Frankly they had no clue what it was, or what it was capable of, which meant it was extremely dangerous.

"so let me get this straight Doc. You invited two Protectors that are still loyal to Lamb to our Base, with no idea whether or not they would want to kill us, and no idea if they would even want to help us?" Mark asked bluntly breaking the silence.

"yes, right now it's the only option we have with Reed Whal hunting us." she responded calmly.

"you heard her ladies and gentlemen, better suck it up if you don't like it. The way I see it is we either die by their hands or we die from the Splicers without them." Mark stated crossing his arms leaning back against the window.

"that's right, anyone who doesn't like the idea is free to leave, and since non of you have left yet it's safe to say everyone is on board." Joe added before drinking the last of his dark alcoholic drink. He smiled as he sat the glass down on the bar. "besides, the Doctor and I have a plan."

A/N: If you haven't played the Minerva's Den Dlc I would recommend doing so, if you don't have it I recommend watching a walkthrough with no commentary or this Fic is gonna get kinda confusing to you.