Wolves and Sheep
Gunfire echoed through out the Halls of the Athena's Glory Hotel and Apartment complex, explosions shook the buildings rattling smaller junks of debris on the ground as dust fell from the ceilings. Wallace sent everything he had at the Hotel after Omega and Iota had escaped him for a second time. He was not happy, he was even more frustrated at the fact that Tenenbaum's group had fortified the Hotel so well. Groups of Splicers poured into the lobby, they met resistance every step of the way from the many security bots and turrets to the countless traps that had been set. Electrified harpoons stuck from the walls connected by a deadly wire that turned anything it touched into a piece of Splicer Jerky. There were mines, trap rivets and even mini turrets hiding in certain corners that went off when they saw movement, the entire Hotel seemed like a house of deadly Horrors.
Joe, Mark, James, and Subject Sigma were taking cover behind the Barricade they had constructed at the top of the stairs leading into their "Base". The traps only seemed to slow the Splicers down. Sigma was firing his mini gun down the narrow stairway at the deformed Maniacs as they ran head first toward the hail of gunfire. There were so many Corpses piling up that the others had to climb over them. Bullets flew toward the Survivors as they ducked back behind cover. they looked to Sigma who just stood their still firing his weapon, shredding anyone who attempted to climb the stairs. The group watched bullets ding and ricochet off the Tank of a Protector's sturdy armor only causing him to groan angrily before catching a grenade and throwing it back with his telekinesis.
"Everybody fall back to the main Barricade!" Joe yelled over the gunfire, He wiped blood from his eye where he had ben hit by a piece of concrete when a bullet shot into the wall beside him. Everyone nodded and bolted for the door to the main Hallway, Joe ran past Sigma and patted him on the arm.
"you know what to do Big Guy!" he yelled. Sigma groaned deeply before Joe ran to catch up with the rest of his friends. He limped his way to the Barricade down the long Hallway, as he got behind it and tried to catch his breath Seline started wrapping his head with a bandage.
"How is he Seline?" Tenenbaum asked as she pointed her revolver down the long hallway.
"he's lost a lot of blood but it's nothing a first aid kit can't fix." she replied pulling out a syringe with a red cross on it.
"no... no save it for one of them!" Joe said as he looked to Vicki and Craig who had both been shot in the earlier fighting. Craig was unconscious lying on a sleeping bag covered with blood. James keeled beside the girl he loved and breathed angrily as he looked at the bloody bandages on her leg, shoulder, and head, Mark put his hand on James' shoulder.
"They'll be fine James, so long as we can get out of here." He said to his friend before checking to see how much ammo he had left in his magazine.
"Joe we're not looking too good, I'm almost out of ammo and I know Sigma probably is too." Mark said as he looked down the Hall where gunshots and screams were coming from.
They felt the ground shaking and heard a large explosion from the stairs. When the group looked they could see a large cloud of smoke and dust. Sigma's lumbering form came jogging down the hallway towards them as his weight shook the floor of the Building.
"that's it he's blown the stairwell, that should buy us a few minutes at least." Joe said as Sigma made it to the safe side of the barrier. The Protector was panting heavily and stabbed a first aid syringe into his suits I.V port so he could heal the damage from holding the Army of Splicers off. The group of rag tag Survivors readied themselves by sharing ammo and crouching behind the sturdier parts of their makeshift cover. It was a good thing Sigma showed up when he did or they would have been dead long ago. Joe looked to the Protector who only stood in wait of their approaching enemies. They could hear rubble being moved from down the hallway and figured it was only a matter of time until they flooded into their Base.
The Group waited, holding their breath before the Halls grew deathly silent, like the calm before the storm. Beads of sweat ran down their faces and necks as they waited for the combat to resume. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife, no one dared to move. Their statuesque positions changed when they heard a loud roar from the stairwell followed by shaking as smoke and dust emanated from the stairwell left of the elevator.
"They have a Brute!" Mark said as he aimed his machine gun down the long hallway toward the sound of the roar.
"Omega, Iota, If you can hear me we are in desperate need of assistance! We are running low on ammunition und the Splicers are almost here!" Tenenbaum said with quiet desperation on her radio. She had Danny find the radio channel to the Protectors' helmets but she had no way of knowing if they could actually hear her. When she let go of the button the only noise the Group could hear was an eerie static. Joe wiped the sweat from his face and continued watching down the hallway, again another thunderous crash could be heard as another cloud of concrete and dust filled the end of the hallway.
"This isn't good Doc they're almost through." Joe said as he looked to the Doctor.
Tenenbaum looked at him as she pressed the button on her radio again. "Herr Omega und Iota we ne-" Another loud roar filled the air as large chunks of concrete flew into the hallway.
"This is it! here they come!" James yelled as the group opened fire at the large number of Splicers rushing around the corner. A brute led the charge as he barreled down the hallway soaking up the bullets from his enemies. Behind him were dozens of various Splicers screaming and laughing as they made their way toward the Survivors. Bullets flew past Joe and Mark as they ducked behind cover, luckily the Splicers were all focusing on the biggest threat present, which was Subject Sigma. Bullets dinged off his armor as he jumped over the barricade in front of him, He ran to meet the Brute Splicer with the only weapon he still had ammo for, his Drill. When he reached the Brute he thrust his Drill streight for him. The Brute held up his left hand causing the drill to start burrowing through his palm, the Brute screamed in pain and anger as he threw his right hand up slamming it into Sigma's Helmet. After Sigma was fed up with it he put his left hand up to block the next blow. The Big Daddy quickly jolted forward smashing the Man's face with his helmet, the Splicer stumbled back before growling. He let loose another angry roar before grabbing Sigma's Drill arm, with one swift motion he spun around sending the Big Daddy off his feet and crashing through a nearby wall into an abandoned Hotel room. The Brute took a few more bullets from the Survivor's side but ignored them as he stepped through the large hole in the wall.
"Danny! things aren't looking good out here how about some help!?" Joe yelled over the sound of gunfire. Splicers were dropping mere feet in front of their barricade threatening to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. The Survivors took turns alternating fire, Mark and James fired their Thomsons while Tenenbaum, and Seline used their revolvers. Any Splicer that made the mistake of getting too close would take a shotgun slug from Joe. It seemed like their was no end to the flood of insane Enemies pouring into the hallways. Just as a group of Splicers got close to the Barrier the body of a limp Brute Splicer flew through the giant hole in the wall crushing some of the Splicers as it slid across the floor. Subject Sigma emerged next lighting more of the deformed Monsters on fire with his Incinerate. He caused the attackers to stop in front of the wall of flames he had created from fear of being caught in the inferno. He took the opportunity to retreat behind the Barricade to rejoin his Allies.
The lull in the chaos caused the Survivors to check their ammo and first aid supplies, it wasn't good. James, and Mark were on their last magazines with only a few rounds to spare. Seline moved to check on Craig who was beginning to stir from unconsciousness. He looked up to see her dirty face littered with specks of blood.
"wh- what happened?" The red head asked as his head jolted to each member of the group.
"you were shot and lost a lot of blood." Seline said as she handed him some water. After taking a few large gulps and grunting in pain he sat up holding his stomach. Mark bent over and handed him a pistol. The wounded young man tried to wave it away but his raven haired friend pushed it to his chest.
"I can't fight i'm hurt!" Craig half yelled. Mark didn't say anything he simply stared back angrily. Craig looked to each member of their group and realized just how beat up everyone was. Everyone had some part of their body bandaged, everyone had blood and dirt covering their faces, and clothes. All eyes were on the two Men as Mark pulled Craig to his feet causing him to groan in pain.
"We're all fucking hurt Craig! Would you rather be hurt, or dead?" Mark yelled as he shook him by his shirt.
"Either you take this gun and fight or I'm going to tie you to the front of this Fucking Barricade so you can be useful for once in your pathetic life!" Mark yelled.
Craig looked to the rest of the group for help but found none. They just starred with angry looks and exhausted body language. Even Seline backed away from the two with anger on her face. She had used her last syringe to save him and he wouldn't even fight for them? Mark looked over the barricade to his right to see the flames dying down, the Splicers on the other side were standing patiently, knowing the small group didn't have the ammo to kill all of them.
"make your choice!" Mark growled as he held the gun back up in front of Craig. The freckled young man looked at the Splicers and their Predatory smiles, like they were wolves watching sheep. Craig hesitantly took the gun and raised it over the barrier, the rest of the Survivors did the same. Sigma readied his drill as the last of the flames burned down to knee height. Tenenbaum's group tensed up as the Splicers began stepping over the flames. They made it a little more than fifteen feet from the Barricade before an ear splitting screech tore through the air. The Splicers stopped in their tracks to hold their ears, Tenenbaum's group did the same but their ears were still ringing from the continuous gunfire of the battle. They simply watched the Splicers look around frantically. Next came a lower howl like screech and a cold sweat washed over every occupant in the building. A distant boom could be heard on the lower levels of the hotel that shook the entire structure knocking the power out causing the dim emergency lights to click on.
All sound died as the Splicers and Survivors turned their attention to the end of the hallway. They could hear echoing screams of agony, gunfire, and explosions emanating from the lower levels making it sound like Hell itself was located beneath them. The Splicers no longer payed any attention to the group of wounded Survivors before them, they turned their attention behind them as they heard the distinct sound of death moving up the stairs.
Everyone watched the end of the hallway with both fear and nervousness gripping them. The Corpse of a Thuggish Splicer flew past the elevator smashing head first into the adjacent wall sending chunks of wood and plaster flying through the air. The Survivors could barely see over the heads of the crowd in front of them as two black figures walked around the corner. When they turned to face them a bright red light cut through the dim hall illuminating the crowd in crimson. Though Tenenbaum's Group could only barely see over the crowd, they could see the two demonic looking figures towering over their foes. They just stood their looking over the large number of Rapture's deformed inhabitants, no one moved, no one blinked, and no one breathed. They heard a screeching chuckle come from the female protector on the left and watched as the two Protectors slightly drew their heads back to let forth the loudest combined screeches any of them had ever heard. everyone covered their ears as blurriness burdened their vision and the air trapped in their lungs was forced out. When the small Group of Survivors broke from their disorientation they could hear faint screams and gunfire that got progressively louder with each passing second. When they looked up they could see the two Protectors tearing through the crowd of helpless Splicers.
Blood, intestines, and severed limbs flew through the air painting the walls crimson. All the Survivors could do was watch unable to move as the crowd of Splicers that threatened them mere minutes before were dispatched by twos and threes. They were no longer the Wolves, they had become the Sheep.
. . .
Omega and Iota looked over the Crowd of Splicers with both excitement and anger, they could see over the Crowd to the wounded, cornered Humans behind their makeshift barricade. These insane Freaks were just about to finish them off and destroy the only lead they had on finding Mother, their Little Sisters, Delta, and Eleanor. They couldn't let that happen, Iota chuckled loudly when she thought of how mad Wallace would be that they messed up his plans for a third time. Her small laughter caused panic on the faces of those standing before them. Both Protectors took a deep breath and let loose a synchronized Battle cry causing the front row of Splicers to fall backwards as the two Guardians flew into action. Their new suits only served to heighten their enjoyment in the battle, their new sharpened Harvesters cut clean through both Splicers and their weapons. Iota darted to the right side of the hallway as Omega went left slashing and stabbing everything in their way. Iota stabbed her Harvester through one of her enemy's faces as she kicked the nearest one further into the crowd. Omega deflected a knife with his Harvester, he grabbed the assailant's face and smashed it into the wall crushing the woman's skull into pieces showering him in more blood.
The Hallway was so cramped every slash the two young Protectors made hit at least three to four enemies, every kick sent the same number flying. When bullets and blades did manage to hit them they just bounced off, they felt invincible again, they WERE invincible again. They licked their fangs as they felt the rush of Combat at full strength once more.
. . .
The Survivors viewed the Slaughter in front of them with awe, they had never seen such efficient Killing, the two Protectors dodged attacks and killed their opponents with such speed and grace it was almost unbelievable. The gravity of their situation was starting to sink in, how naive they were to think having Subject Sigma with them would make them safe. It was painfully clear that nothing was safe from Lamb's Monsters. When the group could see the elevator again and the screaming had died down, countless bodies littered the floor. They watched as the larger Male Protector lifted the last Splicer off the ground by his neck. He held the bleeding man with one arm as his Female Partner stabbed dying Men and Women on the floor finishing them off with her deadly weapon. They groaned in agony as she slowly pushed the tip of her large syringe into their hearts tilting her head as she did so. The Group couldn't see their facial expressions for the helmets but they could almost feel them grinning underneath.
Omega tilted his head at the Splicer he held, the Man tried to scream but was stopped by the large hand crushing his throat. The Male Protector turned his gaze to the Survivors, causing them to take a few shocked steps back. His illuminated red visor stayed on them when he crushed the life out of his Victim, he dropped the Corpse as his Female Counterpart joined him at his side. The two Protectors starred at the Group as they stood in place with wide eyes. Craig being the genius that he was decided in a stroke of brilliance that pointing his gun at the two Protectors would show them to stay away from him, as soon as he shakily raised his weapon both Protectors and the rest of the Group shot their looks his way. Omega and Iota dropped their shoulders and clenched their fists ready to rip the puny Human apart if he tried anything. "What the Hell are you doing! Are you trying to get us killed!?" James said as he quickly snatched the gun from the shaking Man and layed it on the floor in front of him, the rest of the group layed their weapons down as a sign of good faith, faith they couldn't say they actually had in the Demons in front of them. As soon as the weapons left their hands the two Protector's helmet lights switched from red to yellow.
"yellow... I've only seen Big Daddies lights turn yellow. Somebody tell me yellow isn't bad." Mark whispered as he looked to Doctor Tenenbaum. Her face was plagued with both sadness and curiosity.
"it means they don't see us as threats but they don't see us as Allies either. I have also never seen a Generation two Protector with yellow lights" Tenenbaum said before shooting another "what were you thinking?" glance to Craig who simply looked away. Tenenbaum was about to speak when she noticed the two Protectors were watching Subject Sigma, she saw their fists clenching, it was clear they didn't like Alpha series Protectors much obviously because of Delta. Doctor Tenenbaum decided to clear the air before tensions could rise any further.
"This is Subject Sigma und he will be helping us as well, Assuming you are willing to help us that is." The Doctor said.
Iota and Omega looked to each other then back to the Doctor and nodded in affirmation. The Group let out a sigh of relief as if they had been holding their breath the entire time. Doctor Tenenbaum put her hand in front of her reaching toward the two Protectors who simply tilted their heads in confusion. Did she want something from them?
"It is a gesture, a friendly welcome if you will." she said looking to their hands and back to hers. Both Protectors simply starred at her until Joe spoke up.
"you're supposed to shake her hand with yours, it's a greeting Humans do." he said as they inspected his bloody appearance. Omega thought for what seemed like minutes before he took the Doctor's hand and slowly shook it up and down leaving blood on her palm and fingers, it didn't seem to bother her, she just smiled and reached for Iota. She felt so frail to Omega, he was surprised at how feeble Humans were. Just by shaking her hand he could tell she wasn't Spliced up at all, unlike the countless Splicers he had killed she didn't feel like she had any gene tonics to boost her physical strength or bone and muscle density. Iota starred at the older woman before looking back to her Brother, he nodded and she hesitantly shook the Woman's hand, once they were finished Tenenbaum wiped the blood off her hand and on to her lab coat. They continued the process with everyone in the small Group, every member except Sigma had to massage their hands from the two Protector's imense strength. stepping over the barricade, just as they got over they could hear the distinct sound of a teleportation plasmid behind them. They turned ready for a fight as their helmet lights flashed back to red.
Standing in the middle of the Hallway was none other than Wallace holding his large Kitchen knife. He looked beyond angry, he gritted his teeth and his cold eyes scanned the group in front of him before he pointed his knife at the Protectors.
"you... YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" He screamed at them causing Iota to smile and revel in his torment. They were the thorn in his side he just couldn't seem to dig out and she loved it.
"I'm a dead Man walking because of you! I can't go back to Mr. Whal because he'll kill me! so I'm taking at least one of you FUCKERS with me!" The Splicer yelled causing the Protectors to do something he didn't expect, they laughed. The low screech like laughter coming from their helmets caused the Survivors to look at each other with nerviousness and only angered Wallace more. Iota and Omega stepped over the Barricade ready to dismember the insane, babbling fool when they were stopped by Joe.
"Wait!... wait Protectors... let me have this one!" The bearded Man growled, his sight locked on the red suited Splicer. A faint smile forced it's way onto Omega's lips when he saw the intent to kill in the bearded man's eyes. "That Son of a Bitch murdered mine and James' Family! Let me have him... PLEASE!" Joe gritted his teeth as he looked to his Brother, James nodded.
"Go kill that Fucker!" His younger Brother said looking at the Man responsible for so many painful memories.
Both Protectors looked at each other, they knew better than anyone what it was like to lose Family and this would be a good oppertunity to see what these "Humans" were made of. They looked to Joe as Omega held up his hand before clenching it into a fist as if to say "Crush him!". They sat against the Barricade and crossed their arms as Joe passed them, limping his way down the hall to meet his Foe. He clinched his shotgun hard enough to make his knuckles turn white and he no longer felt the pain from the wound on his leg, he stopped feet away from Wallace who just laughed angrily.
"you're going to fight me?" The Splicer scoffed as he looked at his wounded enemy.
"No... I'm going to fucking kill you!" Joe growled as he remembered the massacre that Wallace led on his Family, he remembered finding his Mother's lifeless body still clutching his unconsiouss younger Brother. It only angered him more, Joe had never been a vengeful man but for Wallace he would make an exception, he would pay him back for all of the death he had caused.
The Splicer dissapeared into a cloud of red smoke as soon as Joe raised his shotgun, he heard a whooshing noise behind him and turned just in time to block Wallace's blade with the Stock of his gun. Wallace began swinging his knife frantically with no real target in sight but to cut Joe wherever he could. The bearded Man continued blocking the slashes with his shotgun but some hit their mark. He recieved several small cuts on his arms, legs and sides. He butted one of Wallace's swings with the end of his shotgun sending the Splicer reeling back, before he could recover Joe raised his gun and fired his last shot hoping to end the Monster's life. As the slug left his shotgun barrel Wallace dissapeared barely dodging the projectile, he reapeared and slammed his knife into the bandaged wound on Joe's leg causing him to fall backwards and trip over the Corpses beneath them. He landed on his back and blocked another downward stab from Wallace. Joe held his Shotgun in front of him struggling to keep the large knife from reaching his face. Just before the blade could touch his eye Joe kneed his Attacker in the crotch causing him to scream and let up a little. When Wallace pulled back slightly Joe grabbed his deformed face and set his hand ablaze with flames, Wallace screamed in agony as the flames seered his skin. Joe quickly rolled over so that he was the one on top and put his knee on the Splicer's arm to hold his weapon in place. Wallace struggled to get free but could do nothing against his burly enemy. Joe slammed the butt of his shotgun down on the Splicers face, once breaking his nose and the second knocking some of his rotten teeth out. Iota chuckled when she thought of how many teeth the man must have lost in the past week.
Joe could see that the Splicer was too tired and hurt to fight back enough to kill him so he threw his shotgun aside.
"Is that all you've got!?" He yelled as he slammed his large fist into the Splicer's face.
"Is that it!?" He yelled again as he kept punching him, his fists making a squelching sound as if someone was repeatedly dropping a piece of bloody meat on a hard floor. "you!" *SMACK* "piece of!" *SMACK* "SHIT!" *SMACK*. Joe sat back and panted as he watched blood gurgle from Wallace's mouth trying to beg for his life, spitting up more pieces of broken teeth and blood everytime his mouth moved. His face was swollen black, blue, and purple but he recieved no sympathy from anyone in the hallway. Joe wiped the Man's blood off his face and beard with his arm before putting his large stone-like hands around his enemy's throat, he gritted his teeth as he squeezed as hard as he could. Wallace began slowly flailing and grabbing at Joe's face as his own deformed face turned purple. Wallace's eyes turned red and the veins in his head and face began showing from the amount of pressure his throat was facing, he began moving slower as his vision locked onto the Man above him, after a few more seconds the Splicer went limp, his eyes locked open at his attacker. Joe continued panting as he held the position until the muscles in his hands cramped up and he finally loosened them. Joe looked to his Allies down the way, they looked at him relieved that he had won the fight, his Brother most of all. James jumped over the Barrier and ran to his Brother when he saw him struggle to get to his feet. He helped him back towards the rest of the group so Seline could treat the new wounds he had recieved. When the two Brothers passed Omega and Iota they simply watched as their helmet lights returned to the bright yellow alert stage.
The Protectors watched the whole fight, every single movement the two Men made was sloppy, full of openings, and ultimately embarrassing to watch but this Human named "Joe" was a hard fighter. He wasn't affraid of death or going into battle and he wasn't affraid to get dirty, he fought well for a Human. The Protectors turned and eyed their would-be Allies up and down. They were weaker than Splicers but they made up for it with teamwork, they cared for each other. These Humans surprised them, they were frail and they were afraid of Combat yet they still fought. As far as Allies went, they may not be the strongest but they were definately the most determined and they had the added benifit of not being completely insane from ADAM abuse.
They watched the bloodied Group of individuals patch their friend up, it surprised them just how different they were from Protectors. Their wounds healed much slower and there was always the threat of infection they had to worry about. Both Protectors were surprised they had survived for so long, it was almost ironic.
"Herr Omega und Iota." they heard a female voice with a heavy accent call them, when they turned Doctor Tenenbaum was covering her nose and mouth with a rag. They raised their eyebrows at the confusing action.
"You may not mind the smell of rotting und burnt Corpses but we do not, und you cannot get sick from being around them like we can. Would you mind helping Subject Sigma dispose of the bodies?" The older woman asked as she pointed to the hallway that had been repainted with blood. All three Protectors looked down the hallway and back to the Doctor before shrugging. Omega and Iota didn't mind because it would give them the chance to drain the ADAM from the Corpses and Sigma needed ammo so it wasn't really an issue for him either but one thing had plagued them since they had arrived. Where was their younger Sister, where as Lizzy? Tenenbaum noticed the Duo kept looking over the barricade to the end of the hall like they were looking for something, that's when she remembered what a Protector's primary goal was. "Do not worry, Lizzy is safe. I told her to wait in An-" She caught herself before finishing the sentence. "I told her to wait in her room... you can see her as soon as the Corpses are gone, She no longer has her mental conditioning so she will not see them as beautiful or peaceful und I do not wish to put her through that anymore than I have to. Both Omega and Iota simply starred at the Woman before nodding, her request seemed reasonable and it was clear by the look on her face that she cared for Lizzy. They would prefer to keep the darker parts of Rapture life away from their younger Sister as well.
All three Protectors set to work gathering supplies and clearing bodies as the group of Survivors treated each other with what little Medical supplies they had left. James sat next to Mark after he helped his Brother lie down so Doctor Tenenbaum could treat his more serious wounds. Seline went to work on everyone who wasn't badly injured, everyone but Craig who just sat in the corner with his head in his knees. Mark and James watched the Protectors go through the pockets of the dead one by one before dumping the bodies down a large laundry shoot leading to somewhere on the lower levels. The group of Survivors used it to clear Corpses rather than having to carry them down by hand, it was much faster.
"Never thought in a million years this would happen." James said as his Friend sat against the wall beside him with a grunt.
"What? that we'd still be alive?" Mark asked as he picked some of the dried blood from his short black hair.
"No, that we'd be sitting this close to three of the most dangerous things in Rapture. besides your breath that is." James laughed in reply causing Mark to lightly punch his arm. The two young Men watched Iota and Omega as they Harvested ADAM and went through the pockets of their deceased foes before dumping them down the shoot. they examined their stature, armor, weapons, and even the way they moved. Everything about them seemed dangerous and unpredictable, the vibe they got when they looked at the Duo was purly Predetory. They moved with the confidence that they could easily kill anyone and everyone. After the pure ferocity and strength they displayed getting into the Hotel and reaching the Survivors, both Mark and James believed they could easily kill everyone if they wanted to, it was quite unsettling.
"so what do you think about those two?" James asked as they watched the two Guardians calmly walk over to a still dying Splicer. They watched Iota look to her Partner before placing her heavy boot on the Man's head, she stomped down crushing the groaning man's head with her steel boot causing both James and Mark to reel back and wince from the loud crunch.
"Shit, with them on our side I almost feel bad for the Splicers." Mark answered his Friend's question as James nodded in aggreement. They were ruthless to be sure but they were also very close with each other. They continued watching as the Protectors squatted down next to the fresh Corpse bellow them. Omega grabbed the Man's arm and pulled it up to look at his hand before showing it to Iota. They watched her tilt her head from side to side before looking to her Companion and giving a small chirp-like screech. Omega looked back at the hand and grabbed a finger before breaking it off of the hand with a sickening crack, causing the two spectators to wince once more. James gagged as Omega pulled a ring from the finger and handed it to Iota, she wiped the blood off of it and put it in a pouch on her hip. Omega put the finger in the man's shirt pocket before throwing him down the body shoot. Iota chuckled loudly when she heard the thud of the body bouncing off the tight walls of the shoot.
"God damn, what did Lamb do to them?" James asked in a half whisper. Before Mark could answer Doctor Tenenbaum chimed in.
"They do unspeakable things because unspeakable things have been done to them. Everything they do is for each other, it is the only way they can survive now that the "Family" is gone. They were only ever treated as weapons und so they act as weapons..." The three observers watched as Iota wiped some blood off her Partner's visor slit because she thought it might impair his vision, Omega nodded and gave a low screech as thanks.
"but they are growing, learning, feeling things for the first time as more than just mere weapons. It is all because they do not see each other as weapons, they see each other as Family... something closer than Family that we could never possibly understand." The Doctor took a long pause before James spoke up. "why can't we understand Doc?" he asked curiously. Tenenbaum looked at him with a sad smile. "because they have suffered far more than anything we could endure, on top of that, imagine if you und Vicki were the last two humans in Rapture... you cannot communicate through words und everyone sees you as Monsters... how then would you feel?" James simply looked to the ground as he thought about her words
"Since Joe is in no state to be moving around, Would you two mind assisting me with our sickly friend?" The Doctor asked as she darted her eyes toward Anna's room. Both James and Mark looked at each other then back to the older Woman and nodded in aggreement. While the group headed further back into their living quarters the Protectors continued their work. Tenenbaum, Mark, and James arrived at the large red door to Anna's room, The Doctor knocked on the door. "Grace! It is me, the fighting is over, we have won this fight! she said trying to keep her voice as low as possible.
"Doc why are you being so quiet, is it the Protectors?" Mark whispered trying to understand why she didn't want them to know about Anna. "yes, Anna is strapped to a bed surrounded by medical tools und machinery. Say you were a Protector who was put through years of painful Medical experimentation und you were programed to protect Little Sisters no matter the cost, trained to kill anyone und anything that put them in danger. What would you do if you found one tied to a Stranger's bed?" The older Woman asked. Mark and James both took a deep breath of air as they realised what they had agreed to help with. The three of them heard the heavy locks and latches on the inside being unlocked with lout clicks and knocks.
Grace opened the door still holding the revolver Joe had given her, Lizzy held onto the older Woman's dress as she peeked around her legs. Tenenbaum smiled warmly at the Girl before the three of them stepped inside closing the door behind them.
Iota and Omega continued their process of scavenge-dispose with the bodies when they noticed something odd. A sweet, necter like scent cutting through the stench of burnt flesh and hair. Gen two Protectors sealed off the air flow from their tanks and opened vents in their helmets allowing them to search for scents whenever they weren't in the Ocean and this Scent was VERY familiar. The duo looked down the hallway to see the Tenenbaum Woman entering a room with two Men. They looked to each other to confirm they had smelled the Scent of a Little Sister, not Lizzy but an actual Little Sister.
Suddenly they heard the muffled scream of a young Girl. Both Protectors clenched their fists as their Helmet lights instantly clicked to red.
A/N: Late update... sorry... Life stuff... don't forget to tell me what you think in a review :D