A Protector's Duty
Lizzy's eyes shot open frantically scanning her surroundings, darkness. Where was she, how did she get there, why couldn't she move, where were the others? Questions bombarded her before she remembered what had happened. She remembered fire, and then...
"Big Brother!" She screamed as she pulled the blanket away from her face but what she saw horrified her. They weren't safe at all, a sea of red hot embers surrounded them filling the air with the deep scent of charred wood, beyond the glowing embers was only darkness. She could hear the crackling roar of fire above her, Lizzy looked up to see a massive chunk of rubble held up by a forest of bent steel beams piercing the concrete floor she lay on, the same piece of rubble that had hit her Brother. Her mind desperately jolted to him, he had protected her from the monsters, from the fire, and from the fall. He was still protecting her she realized, his left arm was wrapped over her, holding her tightly to his chest as he lay on his right side. Lizzy looked up to see his face and she felt her stomach turn upside down. He was covered in soot, blood was leaking from his nose, mouth, and a large gash in his hair line. The streams of blood meeting with smaller cuts along his face and a deep one through his right eyebrow, but his eyes are what frightened her the most. They were barely open, glowing dully, lifelessly, his white irises stared blankly at her, boring through her into infinity. It was then that she began to panic. She felt the inside of the blanket he had frozen start to heat up and wrestled her arm free from it's cloth prison. She brought her hand up and placed it on his ash covered cheek and her heart pounded in her chest when she felt how cold he was.
"Big Brother?! Big Brother please!" She screamed as she lightly shook him, but he didn't move, he just laid there, with that terrible, empty expression.
"Wake up! Please!" She wept as she shook him harder, still he didn't move.
"Please Big Brother, Please don't leave me alone! You promised! You Promised Big Brother!" She cried through her flowing tears. She was so scared, so alone, now what would she do? She didn't even know where she was, or where her Sisters and Friends were. Lizzy began looking around frantically, looking for any sign of hope, when she looked up past her Brother's face she could see darkness through an opening in the many steel beams that littered her surroundings, toward their feet and around them was almost all embers and scattered flames. It looked like her only option, she would have to crawl out and find her Sisters, they would know how to help Big Brother. Lizzy squirmed with all of her might to break free from the blanket Omega had wrapped her in, she kicked and rolled as best she could but it was no use. The blanket was too tight, and her Brother's arm was pinning her to him like a steel vice... even though his body was just limp. She continued trying to push his arm off of her and eventually made enough room so that she could put her back to his chest armor and use it as a brace, Lizzy shut her eyes as she pushed with all of her small might but stopped when a sound reached her ears. She was hopeful that her Brother had made it but when she opened her eyes she froze in place. She remembered the Monsters that had attacked her home and listened carefully again for the sound. A deep hiss came from somewhere beyond her steel and concrete cage, somewhere in the darkness. Her head shot upward toward the small opening she had seen earlier but saw nothing, she heard the eerie hissing again coupled with sharp clicking. Her head jerked to every direction she could force it as she listened, the clicking echoed around them in the darkness, circling them until she could hear it above her through the piece of concrete that had trapped them. Scratching rang out as dust fell from the cracks dusting Lizzy as she blocked her eyes, when digging didn't work the being left and Lizzy could hear it out in the shadows again. One of the Monsters jumped out of the darkness and slammed into the steel bars just a few feet away from her. Lizzy jumped with a gasp and stared wide eyed at the Nightmare in front of her, it's long sharp teeth, pinkish skin and those terrible pitch black eyes.
The NeoSplicer hissed angrily as it wrapped it's long fingers around two of the steel rebar beams and began pulling on them, bending them with each feral yank it gave. The poor girl could only imagine what horror she would face if it managed to get a hold of her. Lizzy was silent, too scared to even breath, she found herself not trying to escape her Brother's grasp but hiding in it. She pushed her back against his chest armor when she saw one of the metal bars break away, the Creature had created a hole big enough for it to fit it's head and arm through now. It laid on it's stomach ignoring the hot coals beneath it and stuck it's arm out toward her, it's sharp claws digging into the concrete merely inches from her face, scratching the floor as it struggled to reach her. The only thing stopping the Monster was the beam that held it's left shoulder back, and it was shaking from the force the Creature was putting on it. The Monster snarled and hissed as drool and foul smelling spittle launched from it's curled lips, it turned it's head slightly to one side to see it's Prey better and shook with eager anticipation for it's next feast. Lizzy began breathing fast and heavy, her heart racing, tears forcing their way from her eyes. The NeoSplicer grabbed on to another metal bar toward her stomach and used it to pull itself deeper into the jungle of metal, Lizzy heard a loud bang as the beam holding it's shoulder snapped and it's head shot forward, it's large mouth open, teeth coming straight for her face.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" The girl screamed as she shut her eyes, she was violently shaken and felt a heavy weight on top of her, it shocked her to reopen her eyes. The Monster had stopped, it was shaking violently and chomping it's teeth as it hissed quietly. Around the Monster's neck was a hand, her Brother's hand. Lizzy gasped as she rolled up to see her Brother's blood covered face just above her, his eyes now glowed fiercely, angrily as he gritted his teeth and growled barring his fangs. His attention was on the Monster that had tried to harm her, Lizzy looked back at the Beast in his grasp and saw the skin around it's neck wrinkle as it struggled harder to free itself, it's clawed hand coming up to scratch at her Brother's wrist, it's attention was completely diverted to the new threat it faced. Her Brother only growled louder as his grip tightened, he began pulling the Monster closer to him until she heard the bones in it's constricted body breaking against the various steel bars Omega was pulling it through. He brought the Creature close to his face and growled as his glowing eyes met the Monster's black, he tightened his grip one last time and a sickening crack echoed through Lizzy's ears. The NeoSplicer fell limp and Omega pushed the Corpse back out the way it had come. Now Lizzy's full attention was focused on her Brother, he had kept his promise, he hadn't left her, he came back.
"Big Brother!" She yelled as she rolled over to hug him, more tears flowing down her dirty face, but this time they were tears of happiness, and relief.
"I didn't think you would wake up!" She balled as she squeezed into him, Omega simply responded with a pained grunt and lightly hugged her in return.
"A-Are you okay, can you move?" She asked hesitantly when she saw that he hadn't been as lucky as her. Multiple steel rebar beams had either stabbed him or impaled him completely, one in his side, two in his right leg and another through his shoulder.
Omega stared at her for a moment with a pained and exhausted expression before nodding slightly, he didn't have a choice, he would have to be okay if he was going to protect her. The Brother began slowly removing the pieces of steel from his body by pulling his left leg away from a bar that had stabbed into his calf, he growled in pain as the ribbed metal tore back out of his flesh. He readjusted himself and reached his left arm up behind his right shoulder, through the faint glow of his eyes Lizzy saw him take a deep breath and jerk as he shut his eyes in pain. She heard the loud snap of metal and knew he had broken the bar that was sticking through his shoulder, he repeated the process again with the one in his side, they were too bent for him to simply pull away from them so he had to break them off at the source and take them out when he had more room to move. After freeing himself from the various metal beams that were holding him in place the Brother looked down toward his right leg, his eyes illuminating the spot for Lizzy to see. In between two large chunks of rubble was his leg, Omega jerked trying to pull his leg out but the rubble didn't budge, he took another staggered breath before he slowly twisted his leg until Lizzy heard a loud pop and he pulled his leg free. He had broken it in order to get the angle it needed to come loose, Lizzy could only watch in horror at the agony her loved one went through. Omega gave a heavy sigh and exhaled roughly before turning to the small girl and giving her a pained smile. He rolled onto his stomach now and pointed toward the hole Lizzy had seen earlier as an escape route and nodded in that direction. Lizzy looked at him reluctantly as her vision bobbed back and forth to him and the darkness.
"W-What about the Monsters?" She asked in a whisper as worry showed itself on her face, Omega gently patted her head and then showed her his hand as he clenched his fist, he would protect her. The girl thought for a moment.
"Okay Big Brother, I trust you." She whispered as they began crawling their way down the narrow tunnel, every now and then they would reach more steel bars that stopped their progress before Omega broke them off and swept them out of their path. When they reached the end Omega crawled out first after scanning the darkness around them for threats, he gestured for Lizzy to follow and she slowly made her way out behind him. Once they were free they looked back at the pile of rubble they had been trapped under, it was piled to the ceiling with more flaming debris and through the holes they could see massive flames swirling above. Omega had already realized where they were when he scanned the darkness before crawling out but Lizzy had never been in this room before. The old Laundry room of the Athena's Glory Hotel, they had been dragged through all floors of the Hotel and into the basement when it collapsed, Omega was extremely surprised they weren't dead as he recalled what had happened. When he was hit by the collapsing roof he immediately curled into a ball holding Lizzy to his chest for protection, he remembered hitting what felt like every support beam the Hotel had on the way down as well, then a heavy fall to the basement and black. He didn't even wake himself up on his own, his Protector Instincts had jolted him to life when he heard Lizzy scream at the NeoSplicer from earlier, they were either extremely lucky, or extremely unlucky, he couldn't tell the difference anymore from the amount of raw pain he was in. He knew several of his bones had been broken from the fall, he was burned both on the outside as well as his lungs from the hot smoke he had breathed in without his helmet. Lizzy didn't have that problem because he had wrapped her in an ice covered blanket to keep her safe, he had been wounded from the fight with the Berserker NeoSplicer, stabbed and impaled with steel rebar beams and crushed by rubble, but none of that mattered to him. He had more important things to worry about, the most important of which was a small girl currently clinging, to him for comfort.
Omega took a moment to search the inside of the small red backpack Lizzy was wearing and found some clean bandages and antiseptic. Omega silently thanked Iota for her preparedness, he was lucky to have such a dependable Mate. Lizzy was surprised when he began treating her elbows and knees, she winced as the antiseptic burned the scratches on her skin.
"Ouch!" She exclaimed before chuckling lightly. "That hurts Big Brother." She said softly giving him a wry smile and wiping the water from her eyes, she still couldn't believe he was okay, and he was even helping her before himself. Omega quickly began blowing on her scraped knees to ease her suffering. After he had bandaged her knees and elbows he finished fixing her up by putting a Band-Aid on a small cut on the right side of her forehead, and patting her cheek softly with a smile. When he had finished seeing to her he turned to himself, re-breaking his leg back to it's rightful position and pulling some of the steel bars from his body with slow, precise movements as he panted. He couldn't remove the two in his torso, both on his right side, they were far too deep and threatened vital organs if disturbed, he would have to leave them in to keep the bleeding to a minimum. He winced as he froze the steel bars with winter blast, fusing them with the skin they had pierced. Lizzy sat down next to his side and looked around the darkness before them as she held onto him. She couldn't see anything but she knew her Brother could, he would keep her safe.
Omega gave another exhausted sigh when he had finished with his own wounds and tried to stand but the pain was too great, he dropped back down to one knee and growled in frustration.
"Be careful Big Brother, don't move so fast!" He heard a small voice squeak next to him, he looked over to her and nodded before sitting back down. He looked around the room and began thinking about their current situation, and why they hadn't been flooded by NeoSplicers yet, they were right in the center of where the Monsters had come from to attack the Hotel so where were all of them now? He thought for a moment, if Iota and Anna had gotten everyone out of the Hotel then could the NeoSplicers be occupied with them? Were they still fighting, had the NeoSplicers cornered them? He shook his head and focused on the thundering headache he had been carrying since waking up, those questions wouldn't help him or Lizzy right now. He couldn't afford to worry about them when his own situation was so dire, the Brother thought for a moment before an idea struck him. They couldn't go anywhere as he was right now, he was too damaged to do any good if a real threat appeared, he needed time for his regeneration to kick in. It would take hours for him to heal completely, days even, but he couldn't afford to wait that long, not with Lizzy in danger. He looked down to the shattered ADAM container on his Harvester and wished he had some of the miracle drug, they were in a dire situation indeed. No helmet meant no radio, he couldn't let out a screeching call to his Mate or Anna because then he would risk the NeoSplicers hearing it and rushing toward them, their chances looked as bleak as the dark basement they inhabited. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Lizzy cough beside him, he looked down at her in thought. Her eyes were worried, scared, exhausted, and an idea popped into the Brother's head. Omega began dragging himself over to one of the old dryers that lined the walls of the basement, Lizzy naturally followed him for safety, he opened the metal door and began pulling the fins out of the appliance. When he reached for Lizzy's blanket she handed it to him and watched him stuff it inside.
"What are you doing Big Brother?" She asked quietly as she studied his actions, Omega moved out of the way and patted the inside of the machine with his hand, Lizzy looked at him hesitantly before climbing inside and laying down on the makeshift bed he had created for her. The Brother pointed at her and then to himself before putting his hands together and laying them on the side of his face like they were a pillow.
"You want us to sleep?" Lizzy asked in confusion, not understanding why he wanted to sleep now of all times. Omega nodded and lit his hand in flame so he could show Lizzy the true extent of his injuries, she gasped when she saw all of his wounds in actual light. She had only barely been able to see before from the fire and the glow of her Brother's eyes but now, seeing what he had gone through with light shining on him was almost too much to bear. Her eyes began streaming tears again as her lip trembled, she rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"You want to sleep so you can get better don't you?" She asked as she whimpered, Omega nodded lightly as he hugged her back.
"I'm sorry Big Brother, I didn't know, I don't want you to hurt!" she whispered desperately, Omega pulled her away and gave her a light smile, he flexed the muscle of his arm and patted it with his hand as if to say "Don't worry, your Big Brother is Strong!" This caused Lizzy to giggle as she wiped her eyes and looked past him into the darkness.
"But what if the Monsters come back?..." She asked, knowing he didn't have anywhere to hide like she did.
"What if they... get you?" She whispered, Omega only stared at her for a moment before unsheathing the large combat knife he wore on his arm and held it in front of her, he then extended his Harvester to prove that he wasn't completely defenseless. Lizzy nodded and gave him one more hug before laying down in the machine, Omega shut the door and then put his back against the glass window to add even more protection. He wasn't worried about himself, all he cared about was getting Lizzy out of there safely, and he could only do that if he could move, so he would wait, sleep while his regeneration took over and healed what it could of his injuries. If any threats entered the room his Protector Instincts would flare up and alert him immediately, just like it had done when they were trapped. Omega shifted and closed his eyes trying to keep his mind off of what kind of situation his Mate, Sister, and Allies were likely in. Instead he focused on Lizzy's breathing, her heartbeat, and the rustling of the large blanket as she tried to get comfortable, after a while both Siblings drifted into sleep, their wounds and exhaustion too much for them to even want to fight it.
As Lizzy slept she dreamt of her Siblings walking through the streets of Rapture as they all held hands, none of them were hurting, none of them were tired or dirty, they were simply normal. Rapture however, was not normal, she could see Rapture the way she used to when she still had her mental conditioning, it's alluring sight painting Rapture with all it's gilded and golden glory. As the four of them walked Lizzy became weary of the world, like something wasn't right, like she could feel a dark presence around them. All at once the golden halls faded into the rusted and war torn state it actually was, Lizzy's heart raced, her breath deep and fast, eyes jolting back and forth around her. Her Siblings were gone now, nowhere to be found, she was alone. That's when she heard them, the Monsters clicking in the shadows, and the lights went out, submerging her in total darkness.
Lizzy woke from her nightmare with a sharp gasp and sat up quickly only to bang her head on the metal roof of the drying machine she was laying in.
"Ouch!" She whispered as she put both of her hands on the spot that had made contact with the metal. She rubbed her eyes and let out a deep sigh when she felt her sore muscles and aching joints, she was hurting all over and could only imagine how her Big Brother was feeling. The thought of him spurred her to instinctively look out the small window toward him, he was still asleep, or, at least she thought he was at first. She could barely see the corner of his eye when she got close to the window on her hands and knees, they weren't moving but they were open, he was slumped over like he was looking toward his lap. Lizzy's nerves got the better of her and she started to call out to him when she saw the faintest flash of movement in the darkness in front of him. She gasped and got low behind her Brother's shoulder so she could peek out. It was one of the Monsters from before. She watched it creep closer toward her Brother as it sniffed his boot, nipping at the steel armor on top, Lizzy wanted to scream to him but her fear got in the way, all she could do was breath heavily and tremble. Why wasn't he moving, why wasn't he attacking it?
Another flash of movement caught Lizzy's eye and she realized the first Monster wasn't alone, there was another one on his left side, Lizzy watched it follow the movements of the first as it sniffed her Brother's leg and moved toward his face, it's black eyes peering into him. Lizzy saw the first Monster on his right begin nipping at his gloved hand that lay beside him but he still didn't move, why wasn't he moving?!
She could feel herself about to have a panic attack when she looked back at her Brother's eyes, they had moved from earlier, ever so slightly, and the look on his face told her that he had been awake the whole time, he looked determined, like he was waiting for something. Lizzy got her answers when she saw his left arm shoot up like lightning catching the second Monster by it's throat, at the same time his right arm moved toward the first Monster and his Harvester shot out to impale the Creature through the bottom of it's mouth and up through it's head. Omega pulled his Harvester free and turned his attention to the second Monster and stabbed it as it scratched at him in a futile attempt to escape. In an instant both NeoSplicers were limp and both Siblings let out a huge sigh of relief.
Omega shifted and turned around to shower Lizzy with the yellow glow of his eyes, she had tear streaks running down her cheeks and she looked worried, he gave her a thumbs up to reassure her. Omega popped his neck and moved forward so that Lizzy could open the door, she crawled out of the old drying machine with her blanket and backpack. After a tight hug Lizzy lightly smacked Omega on his arm and puffed her cheeks.
"Don't do that! You almost gave me a heart attack Big Brother!" She whispered angrily, Omega simply nodded with a slight smile as he began to slowly stand up keeping his weight off of his wounded leg. He didn't think it was possible but he now felt worse than when he had gone to sleep, he was sore all over, his wounds, bones, and joints were aching intensely. He would have to be careful if he wanted to get Lizzy out of this place, he couldn't afford to just slaughter his way through the Vermin like he normally would, not with such precious cargo on board. He would have to avoid an all out fight, he probably couldn't handle more than one or two NeoSplicers at a time right now and with Lizzy with him he had to be extra careful.
The Brother grunted in pain as he stood, he hadn't felt this bad since he acted as a Shield for Iota in the Kashmir Diner, he shook his head, there he went again, thinking about his Mate when he should be completely focused on Lizzy. He reached his hand down to her when she had finished putting her blanket into her backpack and she gave him a worried look.
"I can walk Big Brother... I'm okay." She said as she looked toward the floor, Omega tilted his head before snapping his fingers at her causing her to look back up. Lizzy sighed knowing he was expecting more of an explanation.
"You're leg is hurt... I don't want to hurt you anymore." She said sadly, her Brother rolled his eyes as he grabbed her by the arm and carefully lifted her onto his back. When she stood on the railing on his air tank and held onto his shoulder pad he looked back at her and gave a small smile.
"Are you sure it's okay... I'm not bothering you?" She asked quietly, Omega just gave a small smile and nodded as he looked back at her.
"Okay." She responded, her tone lightening a bit, as long as she wasn't hurting him she would ride on his back, the floors were slippery, cold, and wet, not to mention the smell. Omega couldn't help but chuckle at her attitude, she weighed next to nothing to him, of course she wouldn't be a burden, besides, he could protect her easier this way, putting himself in front of the danger.
With Lizzy on his back the Brother made his way to what he knew was the only exit in the dark room, the same way the two NeoSplicers had come from, the large access tunnel he and Iota had sealed up before. He sat down on the edge leading into the tunnel and gently slid down to land on his good leg with a small grunt.
"Be careful Big Brother." Lizzy whispered as she patted his shoulder pad with her tiny hand, Omega nodded and turned to his left, the only direction they could go. He knelt down to inspect the tunnel, the NeoSplicers had burrowed through the ice he and Iota had filled the access hallway with, it was dripping water and a fresh trail of watered down blood ran down it's entire length. It must have been the way the Creatures had dragged Craig off, he would keep an eye out for the young Man but knew he was most likely dead already.
"We have to go that way don't we?" His youngest Sibling asked in a meek tone, she didn't like the look of the tunnel, neither did Omega but he could see, her night vision was that of a Human's now and no where near as good as his. Omega nodded and began crawling through the icy tunnel, careful not to crush Lizzy with the roof above, once he had made it out the other side he felt Lizzy shivering and heard her give a short cough.
"Shoo! It stinks in here!" She whispered in amazement, again Omega only nodded, it was bad for her but the smell hit him twice as hard. Omega shook his head as his nose wrinkled up, the scent was almost painful for him. It was a mixture of things, feces, urine, blood, and putrid meat, without the thick smoke from the Hotel's fire the smell hit them full force and Omega had to brace himself against the wall of the access tunnel. He was used to the stench of death, rotting Corpses, and most everything else, but when it hit him all at once out of nowhere it overloaded his senses and it didn't help that his sense of smell was so strong he could practically taste the putrid air. After a moment he began walking again, his boots squishing on whatever substances caked the tunnel's floor. The Brother followed the pipes and wiring on the wall hoping they would lead him to an exit but the tunnel seemed endless, every now and then he would hear one of the pipes groan from their decrepit age, or a whispering screech from deep in the tunnel ahead that caused him to stop moving for a while until he was sure whatever had made it moved on. The two Siblings soon arrived at a four way junction, two more identical hallways split off from the main one he had walked through, now they had options, options he wasn't sure about. Left, right, straight, which tunnel should he take, which tunnel would lead him back onto Rapture's streets and not deeper into the Labyrinth of maintenance tunnels beneath the City?
The thought of him carrying Lizzy straight into a NeoSplicer nest made his blood run cold as he eyed his options carefully. Before the Brother could make a decision he heard the sound of squishing footsteps and whispered snarls coming from the tunnel on the right, the Brother extended his Harvester and stepped backwards the way he had come, he put his back and Lizzy up against the tunnel wall and turned to look over his shoulder at her, he put his finger in front of his mouth and Lizzy nodded. The only good thing about the tunnels was their abilities to carry sound, he could hear threats approaching from a good distance off, but the rule also applied to the Siblings, luckily Lizzy understood a thing or two about hiding from Monsters thanks to Anna. When Omega heard the footsteps reach the split in the Hallway he unsheathed his combat knife and held it in his left hand for extra protection, and closed his eyes to drown out the light they emitted, if darkness dwelling Creatures were to see them it would be a dead giveaway. He would have to open them to fight but he was hoping the Creatures wouldn't notice them and pass them by.
A thunderous roar poured through the tunnels as the unknown number of NeoSplicers flooded from the right tunnel and down the left branch, they were excited about something, suddenly the Brother knew which way to go. If the NeoSplicers where excited about something it was likely food they had found, food he knew they would be hunting on the streets above. He hoped they were going that way anyway. After the stampede had passed the Brother started to open his eyes when he heard movement in the squishy goo of the tunnel followed by what sounded like sniffing, one of the NeoSplicers had stayed behind, likely catching the smell of smoke and ash that seemed out of place in the reeking tunnels. He heard the footsteps getting closer and the sniffing intensified, the Brother gritted his teeth and prepared his weapon for the coming fight.
A single gunshot echoed faintly down the hallway and he heard the Creature stop it's advance, after a moment it darted off to find the rest of the Horde that had already gone ahead, Omega and Lizzy both let out a sigh of relief. Lizzy was shaking from feeling how tense her Brother became when the Creature got near them, and she was in a world of complete darkness, any and all sound besides her Brother terrified her to no end but Omega couldn't help it. He would light a fire in his hand so she could see better but it would attract attention the same as if he just started screeching, besides, he knew a small fire wouldn't help anyway. The small amount of light his eyes shone reflected dimly off surfaces only enough to give him sight for a short distance, without another light source, even a dim one, his night vision was hindered greatly. The Brother could see down the hallways a short way but eventually his sight hit a wall of black darkness, like it was reaching out for the two Siblings. He was sure the unknown things lurking in that darkness would only bring Lizzy more stress, and judging by the sight of various blood stains on the floors, ceiling, and walls, she was better off in complete darkness. They had even passed mangled piles of rotting meat he knew were Corpses only from the bones sticking out of them, maggots squirming around in the soupy mess that had once been a Splicer or some other living Creature, it was his duty, his purpose, to protect Lizzy not only physically but mentally and emotionally as well, she was definitely better off not seeing the gruesome scenes he was seeing.
Omega decided to follow the NeoSplicer Horde that had just passed them and see where that lone gunshot came from, they walked for a while when the hallway split again, more wires and pipes leading to who knows where and once again the Brother was faced with options. He closed his eyes and focused on listening for any sound besides Lizzy's breathing and heartbeat, or the dripping water from the pipes, he could hear the faintest echoes of battle down the tunnel to their right and began limping his way toward it. After a few more minutes the sound stopped but he could hear a chorus of hissing, whoever, or whatever the NeoSplicers had been after before wasn't moving anymore. He continued toward the hissing and he could barely make out voices over the echoes, Human voices. The Brother crept along the dark tunnel until he could see the faintest bit of light up ahead, it was the size of a small opening but it was light all the same.
"We stop, you die." He heard Anna's voice carry through the tunnel, Lizzy gasped as her eyes went wide.
"It's Anna Big Brother!" Lizzy whispered in his ear excitedly as she patted the armor on his shoulder, Omega nodded and sped up his limping pace until they were at the opening the dim light was coming from. The two Siblings peered out between steel bars and realized they were under one of the main streets, Omega sighed quietly as he realized they were in part of Rapture's sewer system. They could see their Allies and Anna just a few feet away... surrounded by NeoSplicers. Omega surveyed the Street using the light from the Group's flares and flashlights, his eyes narrowed, there were hundreds of NeoSplicers around but it only took a glance of the Group to draw his attention to something else... Iota wasn't with them. He felt his stomach sink and a cold sweat form on his brow. Where was she, where was his Mate?
"I left my Sister alone back there, I left her alone because you formed a plan, because YOU said you could do it!" Anna growled, her voice was different from usual, feral, her helmet's porthole was shining bright red and she was holding Danny by his shirt. Her words echoed through the Brother's head causing him to freeze in place. Where had they left Iota, why had they left her, what had happened? The world started to spin for him and he felt sick as he imagined Iota alone, surrounded by NeoSplicers, or worse... dead. The thought made his stomach churn and his thoughts only darkened, he could hear Anna's voice as she conversed with the rest of their Allies but he wasn't listening, it was all a blur now.
"What's going on Big Brother, where's Big Sister, Where are they going?!" Lizzy's frantic whispers in his ear snapped him out of his thoughts, his instincts to protect her kicking in and overwhelming his anxiety for his Mate. Anna and the Group had started to move away, deeper into the darkness taking what little light they had offered with them. Omega felt Lizzy shuffle and lean over his shoulder toward the metal bars they had been looking through, he heard her inhale and saw her mouth open as she prepared to call out to her Sister but he couldn't let her. Omega's hand moved with lightning speed to cover his youngest Sister's mouth before she could shout, her eyes turned to him with surprise and fear, Omega quietly shushed her. They looked back at the steel grate they had been looking through and saw the legs of a shadow move in front of them, claws clicking against the cement of the street, passing as they followed the Group's light source away.
Omega steeled himself as best he could, trying his hardest not to think about where Iota was or where Anna was going, why she was in such a feral state. The Brother looked to his Charge and shushed her once more, he needed her to understand the importance of remaining undetected, she did. Her eyes were leaking tears that rolled down her cheeks and met the gloved hand covering her small mouth, Omega gave a shaking sigh and turned to follow the tunnels deeper. He wanted to follow Anna and hopefully catch up to them, find an opportunity to rejoin them and find Iota but it was no use. The lightless tunnels were a maze and he was severely wounded, he simply couldn't keep up. Omega limped his way through the ankle deep sludge beneath them for what felt like miles with his injuries but Anna and the others were long gone, all he could hear was distant gunfire and the chorus of hisses on the street above. He would have to find another way to the surface that didn't involve him trying to fight his way onto the street through an army of Monsters.
Omega and Lizzy continued their way through the sewage and flood drainage system criss-crossing through different tunnels and intersections. Eventually they left the old sewer system and entered what seemed to be actual maintenance tunnels judging by the increased amount of pipes and wires, the stench of the tunnels eased up as well and both Siblings were thankful for that too. they were beginning to think they would never escape the maze of tunnels until they heard a scream echo through the system toward them, it was close. It sounded like it could be one of their Human Allies and Omega took off in a limping jog, if he could reach whoever it was that was screaming in time to save them, they could lead him out of the tunnels and back to the Group. The Brother forced himself to ignore the amount of pain he was in and kept jogging until he could see a dim light up ahead, and shadows.
"That's Danny Big Brother! Hurry!" Lizzy said as they approached the group of NeoSplicers that were attacking him, Omega let out a howling roar that stunned and shocked the Creatures causing them to retreat into the darkness of the tunnels. Omega knew they would be back before long and quickly knelt down next to Danny as he lay against the tunnel wall, he was covered in blood that dyed his normally white lab coat red, and filth, he was shaking and holding his stomach. The Protector began checking his wounds as Danny looked up in shock to see him.
"O-Omega... We thought you w-were dead." Danny gurgled through the blood leaking from his mouth, his wounds weren't looking good either, without ADAM or first aid syringes he was a dead Man, his wounds would cause him severe pain for the remaining time he had left. His stomach had been ripped open spilling his intestines, one of his legs from his ankle to his knee had been eaten to the bone and he was missing various chunks of meat with notable teeth marks as the cause. Omega turned at the sound of approaching footsteps and sprayed fire from his hand down into the hallways leading to them, as he lit the fire he could see an endless number of black eyes starring back at him.
"I-I woke up h-here, too m-much E-EVE." Danny coughed up more blood as he shook and stared at the Big Brother.
"Danny! Are you okay!? What happened?! Where's Big Sister!? How do we get out of here?!" Lizzy screamed when she saw how bad he looked. Her mouth throwing out questions faster than her mind could process, Omega pushed her head back down behind his shoulder, she didn't need to see him like this.
"I-Iota... She's a-alive... at Hotel... thought you w-were dead too... she s-stopped moving... red eyes!" Danny stuttered out in pain, his words hitting Omega like a train, both relief and despair flooding through him.
"The oth-others, are th-they alive?" Danny asked with worry on his battered face, Omega listened for a moment trying to see if he could hear more fighting in the distance but all he could hear was the hissing beyond the fire he had created, the Brother nodded anyway knowing Danny would believe his lie.
"Go-Good, Don't think I'm go-nna be able to go w-with you big guy..." Danny chuckled darkly as he gritted his bloody teeth in pain, Omega kept his trademark stoic, annoyed expression as he shook his head no. Danny sighed and looked at the organs hanging from his stomach, before glancing up behind the Brother at the wall behind him, he lifted his shaking arm and pointed at something prompting Omega to look. Danny was pointing to a yellow sign in the shape of an arrow that had a black lightning bolt in the center. Omega looked back at Danny in confusion as he studied the Man.
"Fo-Follow that s-sign, it'll take y-you to the power c-control ce-center for th-this district." Danny gasped out, Omega's eyes narrowed.
"I-It's your o-only option if y-you want to s-survive, you'll have to try a-and turn the p-power ba-back on." He added, Omega nodded hoping Danny was right, if he really could turn the power back on then he and Lizzy might actually survive, he could save everyone else as well. It was only a matter of time until the NeoSplicers got them, all of them, but there was still time to stop the wheel from turning, he just needed to make it there. Omega stood and started to pick Danny up when he screamed in pain, the Brother gently set him down again and glanced at the fires he had created, they were starting to go out, they didn't have much time.
"N-No, No! It hurts too m-much!" Danny grunted as he laid back against the wall of the tunnel, Omega knelt back down and looked over the Man's wounds.
"Co-Could you do m-me a fa-vor?" Danny asked in a gurgled whisper, Omega tilted his head.
"Cou-ld you... please?" The young Man asked as he nodded toward the Brother's Harvester, Omega looked at his sinister weapon and back to the young Technician, the Protector nodded causing Danny to smile. Omega placed his left hand over Danny's eyes and aimed his Harvester at the young Man's heart, his hand as calm as a surgeon's preparing for an operation.
"Big Brother what are you doing?!" Lizzy screamed.
"Don't wo-worry Lizzy, your B-Big Broth-er is going t-to make me feel be-better. Close y-your eyes for m-me okay?" He asked her in as soothing a voice as he could, Omega looked over his shoulder to make sure she had and turned back to Danny, his lips were curved into a small smile but Omega didn't understand why.
"Omega... Th-Thank yo-" Danny was cut off as Omega's Harvester pierced his heart, he felt Danny breathe his last breath as his head fell limp. The Brother slid his weapon out of Danny's chest and stood up, he lit a ball of fire in his hand and threw it onto the Man's lap. In his last moments Danny helped to possibly save the two Siblings, save everybody, and he had even tried to comfort Lizzy. He deserved at least some kind of burial, Omega watched the flames spread over the Corpse before turning to see the NeoSplicers beyond the flames he had placed in the tunnels, he was surrounded now. The Brother sprayed more flames to keep the blockade up before turning to follow the signs Danny had pointed out.
Omega began spraying small bursts of flame down the tunnel he followed, with the NeoSplicers in front of him he would have to clear them out while trying to conserve what stamina he had left. That was the idea anyway, when the Siblings heard more footsteps and hissing approaching behind them Omega had to turn his body sideways and spray flames with his other arm as well. He was focused on keeping the NeoSplicers at bay, the hot air from the flames licking at his face, the smell of burning flesh and sewage filling his nostrils, but something snapped his attention to Lizzy. With every slow limp he made through the dark he could hear Lizzy sniffling and immediately knew she was crying, she was likely trying to hide it from him so she wouldn't be a burden. He heard her gasp when one of the NeoSplicers ducked under Omega's flames and jumped toward them, Omega's reflexes, even wounded as they were, proved faster. The Protector shot his right arm up, his Harvester catching the Beast in it's mouth and skewering it, he quickly tossed the body aside and continued launching bursts of flame with it. Omega continued following the signs through the darkness when he found them, making twists and turns as they pointed in different directions but his mind was focused on Lizzy and her safety.
He could feel the strain the continuous use of his Incinerate Plasmid was having on his body, his legs and arms were getting heavier by the second, his wounds were aching and every step felt like his feet were made of lead.
"Big Brother... we aren't getting out of here are we?" Lizzy asked when she felt how his shoulders were shaking from exhaustion. Omega was panting now, his mind was starting to blur, and there was still endless darkness in front of and behind them, filled with Enemies. Omega didn't respond, couldn't respond, all he could do was focus on keeping her alive, no matter the odds.
Lizzy held on tight to her Brother's shoulder armor, watching him hold off the Monsters in both directions of the tunnel with his flaming hands, the heat helping warm her from the freezing air. Without the power on it had become so cold she could see her breath, her fingers and toes were numb too but that was the least of their worries. She didn't know where her Sisters or Friends were now... except Danny. He was sleeping now, was that what was going to happen to her Sisters, her friends, her Brother... her? The brief glimpse she had gotten of Danny's gory state flashed in her mind and she felt a fresh wave of tears fall from her eyes. The thought terrified her, the Monsters around them terrified her, she didn't want them to get her or her Brother, he was her knight in shining armor, willing to do anything to keep her safe, and she loved him beyond measure. The thought of him hurt for her sake plagued her as well, the amount of pain he had gone through already, the amount of pain he continued to suffer for her, the thought made her chest ache.
Lizzy snapped out of her anxiety filled thoughts when she heard her Brother's screech, it was deep and steady, broken and filled with exhaustion. He was... humming, he was humming the same lullaby that Iota would hum for her to calm her down when she felt scared. Lizzy focused on the sound of her Brother's broken tune, every other sound fading from her mind, it was beautiful. No words could express the amount of emotion it made her feel, sadness mixed with reassurance, she was alone with Omega and even in his battered and bruised state he was trying to comfort her. She heard his humming falter when he dropped to one knee, he was shaking as he continued to shoot flames from his hands, but he never stopped humming to her. His flames were weak now, barely able to keep the Monsters a few feet away, but in his struggle she found salvation. Directly behind them at the end of the tunnel, past the NeoSplicers, was a heavy metal door with a red light above it. The door was open half way and after so much time running and hiding from Monsters in Rapture she knew what safety looked like when she saw it, but it seemed like miles away.
"Big Brother, There!" She screamed drawing his attention to the door down the hallway.
Omega turned to see the opening and growled at the number of NeoSplicers between them and their destination, just one more push, one more hurdle and Lizzy would be safe. The Brother stopped his flaming barrage and quickly grabbed Lizzy from his back as she squeaked from surprise, he held her tight to his chest as she curled into a ball, he elbowed one of the Monsters in the face when it snapped at Lizzy's legs and sent it back onto the ground. He felt NeoSplicers jump onto his back, sides, and Legs. He ignored them and began running, sprinting for all he was worth through the sea of claws and teeth, through the immense amount of pain he was in, his heavy footsteps thundering on the damp concrete below. His legs weighed a thousand pounds, his lungs burned, and his vision blurred. He felt claws and teeth ripping into his suit and skin as the NeoSplicers tried to stop him but he kept running, using his arms as shields so Lizzy would be safe, it was the only thing that mattered. He trampled the Beasts in his path with his heavy boots or plowed through them with his shoulder, nothing was going to stop him. The NeoSplicers stabbed him with the large blades on their tails with every stride and he growled in rage, his Protector instincts screaming at him, SAVE LIZZY. He continued running with all of his might, closer and closer to the large metal door, he felt four razor sharp claws latch into his cheek as a NeoSplicer on his back raked them upwards gashing his right eye and blinding that eye. Omega roared in pain but it didn't matter, only Lizzy mattered, only her safety.
When the Protector finally reached the door he used what little EVE he had saved up and engulfed himself in flames causing the NeoSplicers that were climbing on him to retreat, the Brother fell onto his side and slid into the dimly lit room kicking the door behind him closing it. When the door slammed shut he heard the automatic locks click into place as the NeoSplicers banged and scratched on the other side, enraged that they hadn't received their meal. in the dim red glow of the emergency light overhead Omega saw more movement out of the corner of his eye and realized they hadn't been alone in the room, two more of the Creatures had either made it inside before the door closed or they had been inside before he got there. They jumped on top of him and he brought his arms up to grab them, Lizzy crawling away from the conflict. The Brother unsheathed the combat knife on his arm and stabbed one of the Creatures in the throat, the second one screeching and dragging the Brother by his right arm causing his blood covered glove to slip away from the knife. Omega punched the second Creature as he snarled but it didn't let up, it stabbed it's tail into his right hand pinning the arm and his Harvester to the ground, in his wounded state the Brother didn't have the strength to free himself, the NeoSplicer used it's right hand to push Omega's left arm to the ground as well and turned to hiss at him menacingly.
Omega head-butted the Creature in the face, slamming into it and roaring in defiance but the Beast put it's claws around his neck and forced his head back against the floor, leaning in as it prepared to issue the killing blow with it's teeth. Omega growled furiously as he stared into the Monster's black mouth with his remaining eye, blood dripping onto his face appearing black in the dark red light above.
"Leave my Brother ALONE!" He heard Lizzy scream, he saw the tip of his own combat knife come down through the NeoSplicer's mouth showering him in more dark blood. The heavy Corpse fell on top of him and he rolled it aside to see Lizzy standing there with shaking hands, her expression of fear and worry as she looked at his wounds. Omega laid his head back and sighed as he panted for air, every muscle fiber in his body gripped with exhaustion and pain. Lizzy didn't waste any time and fell to her knees beside him wrapping her small arms around him and sobbing uncontrollably. Omega's heart was racing and his adrenaline was at it's max.
"Big Brother, are you okay?! What do I do, how do I help you!?" Lizzy screamed frantically as she sobbed, Omega gave a small smile as he squeezed his good eye shut, he knew what was coming, he had lost too much blood, was still losing blood. He opened his eye again when Lizzy shook him, his vision was blurry, her screams were muffled and he felt unbelievably cold as he faded in and out of consciousness. He could only see images now, still frames in time as Lizzy ran all around the room, red light swirling around her as she appeared in small fragments of vision. He started to close his eyes again when he saw her above him with pure fear on her face, she held up something and slammed it into his chest, followed by another. When he blinked she had disappeared, he slowly turned his head and saw her tearing pieces of her dress off and holding the bloody pieces of cloth on the most serious of his wounds, she was shouting something at him but he could only hear muffled sounds. She looked terrified, desperate, but he was so tired, he didn't even have the strength to feel pain anymore, his whole body was simply numb. Omega looked down toward his chest to see Lizzy laying her head on her bloody arms, she was safe, he had done it, he had protected her and she had even protected him but he felt wrong. He was about to leave her forever, in this man made tomb they had stumbled upon, no, he hadn't completed his mission yet. Lizzy was still in danger, would always be in danger unless he was with her. With the last of his strength Omega made a small screech catching Lizzy's attention, when she looked at him he pointed his right arm toward one of the dead NeoSplicers and tried to lift his Harvester, hoping she could find ADAM in the NeoSplicer Corpses. Lizzy looked back and forth in confusion, before studying his sinister weapon. Realization flashed on her face and she began unstrapping his Harvester from his forearm. His vision went black again and he fought to remain awake, to fight off death and continue his mission.
When Lizzy returned she held her hands up to his face as she cupped them together, the dim glow of ADAM dripping over the sides and onto his face. She did her best to ease the liquid into his mouth and he drank it quickly. His gamble had paid off, the NeoSplicers did indeed have a small amount of ADAM in them. Lizzy had used his Harvester to draw it out but had no container to store it in since the jar on his Harvester had broken, so she used her hands. Omega coughed when he accidentally inhaled some of the ADAM and Lizzy ran to fetch more.
He felt himself slipping away again and this time he let it happen, the small amount of ADAM Lizzy had given him wouldn't be nearly enough to heal him, restore his strength, or even keep him awake, but it would keep him alive, stop his bleeding, and that was good enough for now.
Omega saw Lizzy pouring the last few drops of ADAM she could get onto the large gashes in his legs and arms, he gave her a slight smile and a thumbs up as he pointed to his wrist as if he had a watch. Lizzy smiled and nodded as she wiped the tears from her eyes and held his gloved hand with both of her small, blood covered hands.
"Rest Big Brother, I'll wait." She said gently as he closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.
. . .
Lizzy stayed there beside her Brother on her knees as she held his large hand with hers, tracing the black fabric of his glove with her fingers, she looked over him and felt sadness in her chest with every wound she saw. Hundreds of cuts littered his suit and skin, she could tell he was soaked in blood even though his black suit hid it in the dark red light of the room. Lizzy sat there, humming to him while he slept, paying close attention to the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed heavily. She watched his suit slowly stitch itself back together and help seal his smaller wounds up, the larger ones she knew would take much longer to heal. She had done her best to bandage them with what little she could find in the room's first aid kit hanging on the wall at the far end. She only wished she could do something about the four deep gashes that came down the right side of his face, even his eye was split in two by one of the cuts. Her chest tightened again at the thought of how much pain he had gone through for her, but that was her Big Brother, all of his actions were geared toward their Family's well being. He had almost given his life for her multiple times now, it was her time to repay him.
Lizzy looked around the room through the dark red light that illuminated it, it was small. There was one concrete pillar in the center and some kind of Computer systems lining the walls with buttons, knobs, and switches. Old stools sat in place where they had been for years, some were even knocked over, but all of them were caked in a layer of dust. Past the concrete pillar Lizzy could see something in the corner of the room, blood, and there was something laying in it. She looked to her Brother again for confidence and gently laid his hand back on his chest so she could inspect the unknown object. Lizzy picked up the knife she had used to help Omega in his fight and held it close to her, wrapping her sticky, blood covered hands around the handle for safety. She walked slowly to the blood puddle and sighed in relief when she saw that the object in question was nothing more than an old audio log recorder. Lizzy tilted her head and scrunched her eyebrows as she picked the recorder up and shook the blood off of it.
"How did you get here?" She asked quietly as she inspected the device. She hit the play button but only heard the sound of static, she then held down the replay button and waited for the tape to rewind, when it did she hit play again and the sound of a Man's voice came out.
"Can't believe Whal has me down here in this stinking shithole!" The voice said as the sound of heavy breathing, coughing, and footsteps played through the speaker.
"Oh the Thinker said this! The Thinker equates that! I'm getting really sick of this shit!" The voice exclaimed with rage as it mocked it's orders.
"Finally! Never thought I'd get here... Well, looks like Whal was right after all." The voice said, the sound of a large metal door opening could be heard prompting Lizzy to look back at the entrance they had come through, picturing the Splicer that was on the tape.
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa! Shit that was close! Can't let that door close or I'll be locked in here when the power shuts off." The voice said causing Lizzy's eyes to widen.
"Power, Power, Power... Aha! District Power Control! If the Rats won't come out then we'll just have to flush them out." Lizzy listened to the Man say as he seemingly found the switch he was looking for, she heard the sound of a heavy lever being pulled down and the hum of electricity as it shut off. A loud alarm began ringing as she heard the Man shout in surprise, the sound of banging and grunting could be heard causing her to pause the recording and look around the room. Lizzy could see one of the Computer terminals had been dented and busted up, there was an old pipe laying on the floor next to her and she began piecing the story together. This Man, whoever he was, was sent here by someone named Whal, Whal, where had she heard the name before? She couldn't remember, after the Man turned off the power, he busted the alarm system because it bothered him, but what had happened next? She looked at the blood stains on the floor that left drag marks out the door and questioned if she really wanted to know. This Man had shut off the power, caused the Monsters to attack, caused everything, yes, she wanted to know. Lizzy hit play on the recorder again and the sound of the alarm and struggle continued.
"Piece of shit! Finally! I didn't think that thing would ever shut up...Huh, this place looks pretty cool in red, I might need to come back here and try ADAM in this light." The voice said with a chuckle before the metal door began slowly creaking and drew his attention elsewhere, Lizzy could hear the Man jump and gasp as he looked toward the sound, it gave her chills, she knew what was coming and was nervous even though it was just a tape.
"Who's there!? Anybody, Hello!?" The Man shouted, a low hiss could be heard, and clicking.
"Wh-What the FUCK is THAT!? Stay away from me! Stay back! Somebody! HELP!" The voice screamed as a chorus of hissing and clicking filled the audio log's speaker, Lizzy had to turn the recorder off when she heard the bloody screams of the dying Splicer. She took off her red backpack and placed the audio recorder inside.
"I need to show Big Brother this when he wakes up." She said to herself as she zipped her backpack up and sat it on the floor next to Omega. She started looking around the room, what was it the Man had said about power?
"District Power Control?" She repeated as she tried to read all of the large words on the many Computer terminals. Maybe if she could turn the power back on the Monsters would go away, she hoped anyway. She studied each of the labels on the Computer terminals carefully, she could only sound out some of the words, she couldn't read big words but she could sound out a lot of them.
"District Power Control. D,P,C" She repeated to herself taking note of the first letter in each word. She narrowed her search by looking around the terminal the Splicer had smashed, when she caught sight of some disturbed dust she knew it had to be the right place. On the terminal were two parallel slits, looking inside them she noticed that something had been broken off of the two metal pieces inside. Lizzy looked around on the floor before spotting a broken handle in the shape of a Y. She picked it up and looked at the broken pieces on the end that connected to the Computer.
"Now what?" She asked disappointedly, how could she turn the power back on if it was broken? A bang on the metal door caused her to jump as she heard the hissing on the other side, the Monsters were still there, waiting. Lizzy looked at her wounded Brother for comfort, and tried to form ideas on how to turn the lights back on.
"What would you do Big Brother?" she whispered as she thought, knowing him he would just hit the thing until it started working or broke down completely, the thought of him doing so made her smile. Lizzy looked around the room for anything helpful but didn't find much, nuts and bolts, duct tape, a half eaten sandwich that looked like it was a century old. She started to lose faith when she spotted a screw driver on one of the keyboards near the first aid kit. She immediately ran over to grab it.
"Yes! Hold on Big Brother, I'll get the lights to come back on!" Lizzy said with excitement as she ran over to the broken power switch, she placed the screw driver in the metal slot on the left and wedged it under the broken piece of metal inside. She was about to push the lever back to the "On" position when a thought crossed her mind, she looked back at her Brother and the large metal door with a trail of blood leading to it. What if the door opened when she turned the power back on... what if she let the Monsters in by doing so? Now she was conflicted, by turning the power back on she would either save or doom the both of them, and Omega wouldn't be able to keep them safe this time. At least with the power off they were safe, trapped, but safe. She thought back to what the Man on the Audio Log had said.
"Can't let the door close or I'll be locked in here when the power shuts off."
The words repeated themselves in her mind, when the power came back on the door would indeed unlock, but the Monsters didn't come until the power was turned off... what should she do? Another loud bang on the door jolted her attention toward it, followed by another, and another. Hissing became more audible as she watched dust fall from the crack above the door, when the next hit came she saw the metal barrier shake a little and a large dent formed in the crack. Lizzy's eyes widened with fear, she no longer had a choice, it had been made for her. If she turned the power on the Monsters could get in, if she didn't, they would break down the door and get in anyway. She screamed when another hit to the door widened the crack between the large door and the wall.
Lizzy looked at her wounded Brother as he lay in a puddle of his own blood, it all but made her decision for her, she would have to risk it, for his sake, for both of their sake. Lizzy gave a grunt as she began prying the screw driver downward attempting to lift the power switch back up, another bang on the door caused her to slip and the screw driver jolted back out of the hole slicing the palm of her hand leaving a deep cut. The small girl winced in pain but continued, fueled by fear, by desperation. She began prying the lever upwards again pulling the screw driver with all of her tiny might, looking frantically at the shaking door that the Monsters were trying to get through, the sound of scratching and hissing only serving to motivate her through fear. With one final pull the switch jerked back up causing Lizzy to fall off of the terminal and onto the floor below, she landed on her back and felt the air leave her. She could see the lights on the terminal flickering to life and heard the hum of electricity flood through the room, but the lights stayed off. Lizzy ignored her gasps for air as she stood up and inspected the panel, the sound of danger still rattling the door.
"Main... P-o-w-e-r R-e-s-e-t" She sounded the words out on a large red button as it flashed, without hesitation she slammed the button down with her bleeding hand and white light flooded the room. Lizzy turned to look at the door, she could hear hissing and screeching coming from behind hit, painful screeching. She stood still as the sounds evaporated, fleeing deeper into the maze of tunnels they had come from. She balled her tiny fists up in excitement and jumped with pure relief.
"Take that you Monsters! That's for hurting my Big Brother!" Lizzy yelled at the sound of the retreating footsteps in the tunnel. She glanced back down at her sleeping Sibling and smiled as she rushed over to his side, she laid down in between his arm and chest as she hugged him.
"I did it Big Brother! I got the lights to turn on!" She said happily, Omega was still unconscious but he reflexively pulled her closer to him when he heard her voice. Lizzy smiled and cuddled up next to him, content to watch the door while he slept, just in case.
A/N: There may be small errors in this chapter that I've missed, please excuse them, And don't forget to leave a review or PM with your thoughts or criticisms!