I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

They'd found out how to bring them back? That's... Great... Right? I mean, they can go home now. They can be with their family, and friends. I can keep my promise of helping them back. I should be happy... Shouldn't I?

"Um... WoW..." I said, unsure as to what I should say or do next. Fluttershy and Rarity smiled with glee, excitement sparkling in their eyes as they heard the good news.

"Oh, I don't believe it!" Rarity exclaimed happily, putting her forehooves together and bringing them to the side of her head in her excitement. Fluttershy was showing a much more graceful and controlled version of this excitement, a slight spring in her step as she let out a quiet 'yay'. "However did you find out how to do this, darling?" Rarity asked through her excitement, she and Sweetie Belle sharing similar expressions and motions of happiness, bringing about a quiet, yet slightly saddened, chuckle from me. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice.

Twilight looked to us with a smile. "Actually, believe it or not, Pinkie Pie was the one who helped me figure it out." I'll be honest, I didn't see that coming. The three of us looked to the pink pony in surprise, watching as she giggled from the sudden attention.

"It's a funny story actually!" She said, bouncing up and down in her usual hyper manner. "See, while Twilight was reading through some books in the archive about stuff like magical, spellical, and sophisticated...ical, stuff, I was there reading about this cute little otter that found his way back home. You see, the story started off with this teensy tiny baby otter, that-"

"Um, Pinkie? We were talking about how you helped Twilight?" Sweetie Belle interjected. I made a mental note to thank her when I got the chance.

"Oh, yeah, yeah! Anyways, while I was reading, I said to myself, 'Hey Pinkie?', and I said 'Yes?', and then I said 'Do you feel thirsty?', and I replied 'Yes, I do!'. So then, I left the library and went to the Canterlot kitchen, asked for a glass of water, and came back. After that though, I noticed my water was warm, so I went back, got some ice, and came back again, putting the ice in the drink."

"Is THiS goiNg aNYwhERe?" I asked, yet again interrupting Pinkie's story. I didn't mean to be rude, but goddamn if she didn't get annoying from time to time. I was starting to get a headache already, and we were only a few minutes into the call.

"Shhhhhh. Its rude to interrupt Omega." Pinkie Pie hushed, giggling slightly as she did so. I looked to the other girls in disbelief, but all that they gave me were a few spread out shrugs as a response.

"Anyways, so after I put the ice in the water, I noticed that it had stuck to the bottom of the glass, instead of floating up, so I reached in and tried to grab it. It was hard to do it without getting wet, especially with Twilight pressuring me, but I managed." Twilight's eyes widened as she quickly sprung to protect her case.

"What?!? I wasn't pressuring you! You were spilling water all over the archive floor and-"

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhushhhh." Pinkie once again hushed. Funnily enough, I noticed Twilight's left eye twitch a little as Pinkie turned to face us again.

"So I kept trying to reach in and grab the ice, but it just kept on slipping. Then, I said 'Boy, its hard to get this out when its under so much water'. Then, Twilight let out a really loud gasp, like this." She sprung into the air and let out a prolonged gasp, coming back down and quickly shifting back into her story.

"Then, she started floating books around her like crazy. She said 'Pinkie, you're a genius!', and I said 'Really? Yay! We should have a party to celebrate my geniousness then!'" She took out a pair of overly sized novelty glasses and put them on, comically magnifying her eyes and bringing a laugh from Rainbow Dash, Sweetie Belle, and, to an extent, a small chuckle from the princesses.

"Twilight just rolled her eyes and laughed, floating around books there, and there, and there, and there, and- mmpf!" Thankfully, before she could start to blather on any further, Applejack clamped her mouth shut with her hoof.

"Ah think that's enough Sugarcube." She said with a sheepish smile. Pinkie Pie nodded, her muffled voice still coming out as gibberish through her friend's hoof.

"... So, whAt?" I asked, unsure of where Pinkie Pie had been going with her story. The princesses spoke up again, stepping closer to the screen in what was likely an effort for us to hear them better.

"What Pinkie Pie had so happily tried to explain, was that, like the ice cubes in her drink, Rapture and you three are the same." Celestia said. I rose an eyebrow, still not understanding what she was hinting at. How exactly were we ice cubes?

"Under water, magic becomes a very difficult task to do, as you may know." I nodded, indeed having some prior knowledge to this from another talk that the group of ponies and I had. "Even with this simple telecommunication spell, a large amount of magical energy was needed just to get it fully functional." Her sister, Luna, nodded in confirmation, looking to us and adding in her own part to the explanation.

"However, as Twilight had so cleverly found out," she said, bringing about a blush and a smile from Twilight. "If you were to remove this water pressure from yourselves, then a teleportation spell to and back from your locations would be foal's play."

"So it's as simple as that?" Rarity asked. The other ponies nodded, confirming her statement. I, however, shook my head and stopped them.

"No, iTs nOT." I said, standing from my seat on the couch and looking to my two charges. They, along with the others, looked at me with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Sweetie Belle asked, speaking out for the ponies that stood with her. I sighed.

"'Act 42 uNdEr anDReW RyaN's nEw polIcY, VeRSion 5. No MaN nOr wOMan shaLl be aLloWeD to EXit RaPtURE oncE tHey hAve eNteRed.'" I quoted, reading out the law that had been so forcibly embedded into my head from my programming as a security unit. "BathYsphEre's LoST tHEir accEss To thE SurFace a LoNg TiMe aGO, OnLy accEssiblE unDer AnDreW RyaN's perMisSion."

Both of the girl's faces dropped as they heard this, along with many of the other pony's faces that were on the projector screen.

"So... There's no way to reach the surface?" Fluttershy asked, a sad tone evident in her voice. I glanced to Rarity, noticing that she as well had a saddened expression about her. I stayed silent for a moment or two, my thoughts beginning to argue with one another.

Should I tell them?

It would be what's right.

But I may never see them again.

So?

So, I'll be alone. Trapped in this dying city.

Why not just go with them?

You know I can't do that.

Then just help them already.

But-

Weren't YOU the one who wanted to get them back home? The one who said that it was important to get them back to the ones who cared about them?

... I care about them.

Then you would know that you can't go back on your word.

This time, it was obvious who had won that fight. I cared for the girls, with all of my being, and I had promised myself that I would keep them safe, and get them home. No matter how saddening it was, it was still the time for me to keep my promise.

"... ACtuallY, TheRe iS." Everyone's attention quickly shifted to me, their ears raised high in attention as they waited to hear what I had to say. It was a little daunting, but I shrugged it off. I sighed again as I moved to the couch, pulling off one of the cushions, flipping it over, and reaching into a large tear that was split into the bottom. The girls looked at me in confusion as I felt around the innards of the cushion, stuffing and fluff constantly getting in my way.

Finally, just when I was about to rip the damn thing in half, I felt something solid among the fluff. I grabbed hold of it and quickly yanked it out, ignoring the fact that the cushion was further torn when it got caught on a bolt. Though, I have to admit, the little sneeze that Fluttershy let out was adorable.

I shook the remaining cotton off of my arm and looked over the golden metal sheet that I held in my hand, intricate designs and a bulkier metal handle having been molded into it to give it a much more unique function. I nodded to myself, turning around to the projector screen again and giving my charges, and their friends, a clear view of the object.

"ThERe aRe OnLY TwO waYs tO LeaVE RapTuRE. ThIs Is onE of tHem." I said. The ponies all looked back and forth between me and the key that I held, confusion evident in their faces.

"What is it?" Rarity asked, carefully taking the metal key from my hand as I held it out for her and Fluttershy. As she looked it over, I hesitated slightly, my more paranoid side having put a dent in me as it worried about the key getting damaged. Then again, I trust that Rarity and Fluttershy will be careful. Besides, I've been sitting on the thing for the past I don't know how many years, so I really shouldn't be the one to talk.

"It'S thE GEnEtic Key TO rAPtuRe." I explained, my feet slightly shuffling in the now fluff covered floor. "I FOunD it a FeW yeaRS aGO."

"How will that help?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking to the key as if it were some sort of alien artifact.

"SIMplE." I said. "If We cAN geT IT to ANdreW Ryan's oLD offIce, I can FigUrE ouT hoW TO reStore BathYSpherE acceSS to tHe surFace."

-------------------------------------

That was it, huh? The plan was set, everyone was happy, and soon, the girls would head home. They're sleeping right now, getting their rest for tomorrow's events to come. Everyone had been anxious about the girls heading home, asking why we wouldn't just do it then and there so we could get it over with. I told them that we would need our rest, since we would need to be in our best condition if I were to get Fluttershy and Rarity out of here.

Though, I think its pretty obvious, when I look back at it at least, that I was only half telling the truth. Part of the reason for another night of sleep was so they could be rested for tomorrow, that was true. An even bigger part though, was so I could spend more time with them, if only a little.

It was selfish, I know, but I couldn't help myself. I looked to them as Little Sisters. I had lost so many before, so I didn't want to lose them again. Or worse, forget them.

... They're going to go soon, and its because of that reason that I can't sleep, even if I tried. The princesses needed them, their friends needed them, their family needed them... THEY'RE FUCKING TAKING THEM AWAY FROM ME!

I gasped at the sudden mental outburst, looking to my arm and noticing that I had been unconsciously crushing the armrest of the couch. I let go of the armrest and put my arm in front of my porthole, not really having any particular reason, but just...

I couldn't be angry. I shouldn't be angry. Its just my Big Daddy programming taking over again, telling me to keep my Little Sisters safe from anyone and everyone, despite the fact that they're a threat or otherwise...

I had said that going to 'Equestria', or whatever it was called, wouldn't work out for me because Rapture still needed me... That was a lie. Honestly, I'd prefer Rapture died. I wanted nothing more than for this place to finally break apart, forever ending the misery and suffering that this place had caused for everyone in one last bang! I hated Rapture, I HATED it, with all of my heart!

But because of it... Like I said, my programming makes me protect my 'Little Sister' from anyone and everyone, wether they were a threat or not. That's the reason I can't go.

********************************************

It was just another day actually. I was with my Little Sister, Beatrice, and we had just finished our ADAM run for the day. She was still so full of energy and life though, constantly telling me that she still wasn't tired enough to go back to her hidey hole and sleep just yet.

She was asking, no, begging, me to let her go to the playground that Ryan had recently installed near Apollo Square. The place has been long destroyed by now, having been removed once Ryan heard word of a rebellion starting to form, but at the time, we were blissfully unaware of that coming event. When it did happen, my next little sister, Ashlyn, was devastated, complaining that she had never even gotten the chance to go to the playground because I wouldn't let her, and there was a reason for that.

That day, I had been in a surprisingly good mood. We had done our ADAM run in record time, Beatrice had behaved herself extremely well, and for once, no splicers had tried to attack. So, I took her to the playground.

Parents and children reacted... Rather fearfully when we first arrived, worried that I or Beatrice would hurt them. I didn't pay them much attention, more focused on my gleeful Little Sister as she pulled me by the hand to a nearby bench. The bench was empty... After the people who were originally there noticed me coming their way, and it looked pretty sturdy. I tested it a couple of times, and finally, I sat down on it, leaning my Rivet Gun against my side on the bench.

I remember her asking me if I was really going to let her go and play, as if it were a whole other experience for her, a fantasy really. I nodded, holding my hand out and gesturing for her ADAM syringe. She wouldn't be needing it after all.

She happily gave it to me, skipping off to the nearest slide and humming a happy tune to herself. This was the first time that I had let my Little Sister go off on her own, and frankly, I felt happy about it. To give her a bit of freedom from her everyday monotony, it felt wonderful.

At first, the other children tried their best to avoid her, though she didn't really seem to notice, far too preoccupied with her own merriment to pay attention to the fact. Eventually though, there was this one little girl. A girl which, to this day, I wish I could've personally thanked.

She had casually walked up to Beatrice and, to everyone's shock, talked to her. It started off as idle chit-chat, the kind that most children would have, usually involving obvious questions and seemingly ignorant answers, and then, they started to play together. Tag, hide and seek, you name it. Everyone in the playground joined in soon afterwards. For once, they didn't see Beatrice as another species, or anything like that, but just as another girl.

Even the parents seemed to look at me differently, offering glances of what seemed to be... Respect. An hour or so afterwards, Beatrice made her to me and told me that she was tired. More importantly than that though, she asked if she could come back another day. She had so much fun that day, smiled and laughed so much, I couldn't say no.

It went on like this for the next few days. She would try her best to behave, stay on her ADAM schedule, and would basically do anything she could to return to her newly found friends. She was happy, and I was happy... But then... It all went wrong.

It was... Empty. The playground, that is. There was only one boy there, one that I hadn't seen before, and I could see his father sitting in the bench opposite of me, a newspaper at hand. The father looked up from the articles to me with a face of disgust, one that I hadn't seen before. I shrugged it off as best I could, placing my Rivet Gun in its usual place next to me, taking my Little Sister's ADAM syringe, and watching as she went off to play.

The boy though... That. Boy. Was nothing more than a tormenter for her. The moment she stepped foot on playground, he quickly began to bother her, a lot. Insults, ranging from bad to worse, constantly being hurled at her. I wasn't sure how to react, since nobody had ever treated a Little Sister like this, aside from splicers. For once, I noticed how much the creations of Rapture were looked down upon by everyone else.

Beatrice didn't seem to hear these insults, or maybe she just chose not to, continuing to play as if nothing was wrong. The boy's father wasn't helping to calm his rampant son whatsoever. Rather, he was encouraging him, telling him to 'show that little demon who's boss'. A demon? My Little Sister was a precious gift, not a demon!

I controlled myself, if only for the time being, taking in a deep breath in an effort to calm down. It was just one boy. One blemish in an otherwise kind community. I, and she, could live with it... But then, he did something. Something that brought out my programming to its fullest, and made me see red, in more ways than one.

He pushed her off the slide. Not from the bottom, where she would stand up after getting off, but all the way from the top, after the ladder. She cried, holding her head tightly through the pain, asking for her 'Mr. Bubbles' to come and make the pain go away. The boy was laughing, and the father was as well. Before I knew it, I had my Rivet Gun at hand, and the boys head in the other, his hands flailing against me to let go.

For the most part, I blacked out. But what I do know is that, as I tore the young boy, literally, limb from limb, I heard the father call me something that I had never been called before. 'Monster!'. He was quickly dispatched with one shot to the head from my Rivet Gun.

Suffice to say, Beatrice and I stayed away from that playground for the remainder of its existence.

********************************************

I can't leave. Rapture has already affected me too much, twisted me too far, for me to possibly reintegrate into society, let alone a pony society, where I would likely face more scrutiny than ever before! If someone were to just say something wrong, if even by accident... I don't want to think about it, or what the girls would think if they found out.

I looked to my charges again, their heads out from the blankets as their covered midsections rose and fell in a blissful rest. They'd be better off away from here, away from the splicers, and away from me.

... That doesn't mean that I have to like it though.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Try as she might, Fluttershy wasn't currently unlike her friend, Omega, when it had come to the elusion of sleep. At the moment, she was laying in bed with her friend, Rarity, by her side, her eyes closed, but sleep coming no closer to her than it ever had so far that night.

For the life of her though, she couldn't really understand why. At first, she had put it off as excitement, considering the fact that she would soon be home with her friends and family again, but at this point, she wasn't beginning to doubt even that.

"C'mon Fluttershy. This shouldn't be so hard." She thought to herself, trying to encourage herself into sleep as her friend, Ranbow Dash, would often encourage her flight. It was to no result though, as the gap between her and the dreamworld seemed to grow larger still . She let out a quiet, basically undetectable sigh, frustration beginning to gnaw at her mind.

She couldn't understand why she was having so much trouble resting. Back home, she had slept through many things. She had slept perfectly well whenever she felt scared or excited, and no matter what, she could always manage to find her doorway to Princess Luna's domain of dreams. Now though, it was as if that doorway had been completely obliterated.

Opening one of her eyes, she looked to Rarity, noticing that she had indeed been sleeping perfectly well, unlike her.

Rarity had no trouble resting tonight, and she was just as excited as Fluttershy was, if not more. This brought about even more confusion and frustration from Fluttershy, a slight sense of envy as she watched her friend indulge herself in the wonders of sleep.

She wondered if even Omega was resting peacefully, though she couldn't particularly tell, considering the helmet that blocked her vision of him. Tilting her head up, she risked a glance to her other, larger, friend, his singular glass covered eye glowing a placid bright green.

For a moment or two, she began to believe that he had fallen asleep as well, her ears lowering in slight sadness as she believed that she was the only one that was so unrestful, but that was quickly changed, however, as his porthole light shifted to her direction, bathing her in its light green glow as she let out a surprised yet quiet squeak and quickly pretended to be asleep again, worried that she may upset Omega if he had known that she still wasn't asleep. By then though, it was already too late.

Omega had seen Fluttershy looking to him as clear as the ocean floor that surrounded them, and he was already asking himself questions as to why. Standing from the couch yet again, Omega then shuffled his way to his winged charge's side of the bed. Kneeling, Omega began to lightly tap Fluttershy's side, trying to get her attention while taking as much care as he could not to wake his other, sleeping, charge.

For a short time, Fluttershy didn't move, hoping that if she pretended long enough, that Omega would think that she had gone to sleep. After a minute or so though, Omega periodically tapping her side, though not often enough to bother her, she sighed, knowing that Omega obviously wasn't buying the act.

"...Sorry." She said quietly, apologizing for her inability to sleep at the moment, despite Omega's earlier advisement for them to get as much rest as possible. Omega didn't move, or make a sound, for a moment or two, looking over his restless friend in thought. Fluttershy, convinced that she had upset her friend, covered her eyes with her forehooves, awaiting a scolding of sorts, or something of the like that Omega would be able to do.

To her surprise though, it never came, Omega instead gently reaching both of his arms around her and picking her up out of the bed, bringing about a quiet 'eep' from his charge. Fluttershy, despite her surprise, didn't struggle, allowing herself to be carried off of the mattress and onto the couch, once again being placed on Omega's lap as he quickly began to pet her head again, her body almost going numb from the pleasant feeling that shot through her as he did so, a smile involuntarily appearing on her face.

Omega, though Fluttershy may not have known it, felt relaxed himself as he watched his charge smile from the petting, a small smile of his own making its way to his previously saddened expression. The two stayed like this for some time, both of them slowly drifting off to sleep as they pushed their stress further and further away.

Finally, as Fluttershy was on the epitaph of her search for her rest, a single thought came to her mind.

Maybe it wasn't the excitement of returning home that had kept her up, but her concern for her friend after she left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-------------------------------------~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bathysphere swam through the city in its usual manner, managing to somehow direct itself in a near perfect route as we headed back to the Haphaestus Core again, despite the fact that it was only powered by a propeller or two. Fluttershy was sitting to my immediate left, and Rarity to my right, conversing amongst each other despite the fact that I was in between them. They were, of course, talking about heading back home. Telling each other the people that they couldn't wait to see, what they were planning to do when they got home and the like.

I was just sitting quietly though, more so than usual I mean, looking over the genetic key to Rapture as they chatted. I'll be honest, hearing the girls talk about their home, how cheery it sounded, the nice ponies that resided in it... It made me want to go more and more...

I let out a silent sigh as I looked back to the bathysphere window, noticing we had begun surfacing again. The girls had also stopped their conversing as well, both of their gazes focused on the bathysphere window as it once more gave the three of us a clear view of the Haphaestus Core entrance.

This was it.

-------------------------------------

Andrew's old office wasn't far from the bathysphere. It was, at most, a short 10 minute walk, but for some reason, the walk may as well have been an eternity.

The three of us were being ever vigilant of our surroundings, making sure that we neither saw nor heard any incoming splicers before we would move on to another room. Personally, I would've preferred to have come down here with another pair of security bots, but oddly enough, I hadn't seen any sign of Winston since yesterday. It wasn't exactly a bad decision for him, considering that I was still pretty peeved at him for having woken up the girls before, but still.

Looking back to the path ahead of me, I was surprised when something blocked my foot, causing me to stumble and almost completely fall over on myself. My two charges gasped as I turned around, immediately casting my eyes to whatever it was that had tripped me. Or, as the girls and I could clearly see, whoever it was.

A Rosie. Long dead, by the looks of it. His suit was torn to pieces, dried blood leading to the floor below him, his porthole light out, as if he were nothing more than a snuffed out candle, and obvious rust having formed on his suit. He was laid against the wall, his head tilted slightly down to the left as his arms and legs laid limp around him, his Rivet Gun held loosely by one of his hands to his right.

Rarity and Fluttershy looked to him in shock, placing their hooves over their mouths in total surprise as they looked over the body of the Big Daddy that seemed to share several similar traits with Omega, but I, contrary to their reactions, didn't feel any surprise whatsoever. Mostly, because I had seen him before, though back then, he wasn't really as nicely positioned.

He was originally impaled into a wall by several metal rods, likely the work of a Brute Splicer, with his arms and legs stabbed close to his body in a bloody positioning. I felt sorry for him, and I couldn't just leave him up there. After all, he was still another Big Daddy like me. So, I took his body and put it down somewhere... Better. Where people could see him, and know that he had done his job like the rest of us.

"Is... Is that?" Fluttershy asked, looking to me while her forehoof pointed to the dead guardian. Glancing to the Rosie again, I nodded, confirming her suspicions of it being another Big Daddy.

"... Omega?" Rarity asked. "Forgive me for never asking... But how many other 'Big Daddies' are there in Rapture?" I didn't answer, looking to the Rosie for another moment or two in silent respect before just walking away, not giving even the slightest gesture to answer.

The two kept silent themselves, their questioning gazes feeling as if they were burning into the back of my helmet before they quickly called out for me to wait, soon followed by the sound of their foot steps as they hurried to catch up to me again.

Once they were by my sides, I could see the odd expressions that they both held. They seemed to have their own looks of solemness, or unsureness, shared amongst them, though I couldn't really tell for sure.

I shook my head left and right, trying to get myself to focus as I noticed the door to Andrew's office was approaching dead in front of us. I felt a slight... Push, come from the door. It was my programming again, I could tell, yelling at me to stay away from my 'superior's' office. I had never actually come this close to it, though it's not like I hadn't tried either.

Often, I would try to enter the office to see what it held, out of curiosity's sake really. No matter what though, I would always turn back, right as I was only inches away from the door. This time though, I wouldn't turn back. This wasn't just a whim of mine to end my curiosity. No, it was something much more important. So, as I let out one last deep breath, I stepped forward, the girls watching anxiously from my sides, and opened the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As the door to the previously abandoned office area creaked open, rust caused heavy friction between the many gears that allowed the door to move and filling the room with an unpleasant groan, before finally opening fully. The light from the hall filled the dark room, three large shadows looming over it as they came closer and closer.

Soon, the shadows trailed to their creators, showing an odd group as they entered the office, comprised of a winged pony, a horned pony, and a uniquely colored Big Daddy. The three looked over the room while they stood near the entrance, a green light from the Rosie model lighting the room like a lighthouse would a foggy night.

"It's rather... Dark, isn't it?" The white pony asked, squinting her eyes as she tried to improve her vision of the room. The Big Daddy groaned in agreement, moving to the side, past the other pony that accompanied him, and began to feel the walls in his attempts at finding a light switch. He found no success in doing so though, gesturing for his charges to stay put as he began to look around the room.

Shifting his light against the walls, he sought out some sort of fuse-box or light switch that could be in the room, hoping to give both himself, and the girls, a better view of the room. Eventually, after a full minute of searching, Omega came to a pause as he noticed a much more uneven surface appear along the walls. A sliding closet door, painted white, or maybe its paint had just peeled away over time, in an effort to make it contrast sharply with the rest of the room.

Omega, a small sense of suspicion coming to mind, reached for the closet handle and pulled it open. The door creaked at an unbearable volume as its rusted hinges rubbed against each other. Omega them looked over the suit filled room, ignoring the well dressed skeleton that laid to the side of the closet, a thin piece of metal jutting out from the side of its skull and its jaw cracked and broken to a state of near unrecognizable ruin as it looked blankly to the floor. Omega wasn't sure why, but he felt a large amount of contempt for the decomposed corpse.

Soon, much to Omega's silent relief, he spotted a rectangular metal box in the corner of the small room, hidden behind several layers of now ruined tuxedoes. Pulling the small latch that held it closed, Omega pulled open the small metal rectangle that was imbedded into the wall, a slight smile on his face as he looked over the fuse box and began to flip all the small switches upwards. The result was instantaneous.

"WELCOME BACK, MISTER ANDREW RYAN." An automatic machine spoke through the room's silence, giving both Rarity and Fluttershy a start as the lights in the room slowly began to turn on row by row, finally allowing its three visitors to gain a better view of the office.

Shifting his gaze away from the closet, Omega looked to the far wall of the room, a look of confidence replacing his previous expression as he saw what he, and the girls, had been looking for. At the end of the room, connected to the northern most wall, was a large metal control panel. It was designed to look like a more stylized version of Rapture, almost model-like, with a thin black meter that led to a small circular screen, and a single rectangular hole near the center of the actual panel.

Omega let out a silent grunt of certainty as he walked over to the panel, looking over the genetic key once more, almost out of instinct. His thoughts were amuck as he once again had an internal conflict, part of his being yelling at him not to do this, and to keep his charges there. A much stronger part of his mind though, quickly silenced these thoughts, causing him to, quite frankly, shove the genetic key into the empty slot of the control panel with a satisfying click.

The machine whirred to life as Omega leaned on the panel, both of his arms supporting him as he watched the thin black meter begin to fill itself with a deep blue coloring, raising itself up at a near agonizingly slow rate. Fluttershy and Rarity, having pushed off their earlier sense of surprise, made their way to Omega's sides again, watching in silence as the meter filled, almost as if the slightest noise would cause the meter to stop.

Though none of the three were making noise, that did not stop the machine itself from breaking the silence.

"-INITIALIZING-
-RAPTURE CONTROL SYSTEMS ONLINE-
- RE-INITIALIZING GENETIC ANALYSIS SLOT--- COMPLETE-
-REESTABLISHING RAPTURE CONTROL--- CONTROL REESTABLISHED-
-REINSTATING BATHYSPHERE ACCESS--- ACCESS REINSTATED-"

Omega and his charges stopped listening after that message had played, the meter only being half filled as smiles came to both of the ponies' faces. Omega let out a silent sigh, standing himself from the panel and turning to face his charges again, no longer interested in the filling meter.

"Well, it seems as if your plan worked Omega." Rarity exclaimed happily, earning a look from Omega. They looked at one another for a moment or so before, realizing her mistake, Rarity's eyes widened. "T-that is to say, its not that I thought it wouldn't work, per se, but rather, that I-" Omega rose his hand, gesturing for her to stop since he had known fully well what she had meant by her statement, much to her embarrassment, and partial thankfulness for him having stopped her before she made things any worse for herself.

Smiling sheepishly, her face tinted in a slightly red hue, she began to make her way to the office door, eager to head back to the bathysphere and, in turn, home.

"That aside, darlings, shall we get go-" She froze as the door slid open in front of her once again, bringing her face to face with a crooked, tumor-filled smile.

" 'Ello love."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My eyes widened as I heard Rarity let out a shrill scream, turning to her as she ran to Fluttershy and I as quickly as she could, a Thuggish splicer following close behind her with a wrench raised high into the air, laughing maniacally as he ran after her, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was in the room as well. My porthole light quickly turned red out of anger as I charged to help my charge, Fluttershy letting out a yell for her friend as I did so.

Sidestepping Rarity, I clotheslined the splicer, knocking him to the ground hard with a loud thud. He remained still for a moment or two, his eyes widened by the shock of what had just happened as I lifted him into the air by the collar of his dirty plaid shirt. He started to struggle as he got over his earlier sense of shock, hitting his wrench against my helmet with all of his might over and over again, ultimately doing little to nothing to effect me, or my suit.

Holding onto the splicer, I felt the world fade into blackness around me, my charges becoming nothing more than blank spaces as an unbelievable rage filled me. The splicer, seeming to notice this anger, began to struggle even more, going so far as to yell for help. I was tempted to silence him before he could call anymore splicers to help him, but at the same time, I wanted them to come.

My wish was quickly granted as I heard more splicers make their way to the room, pausing at the door as they saw me holding their fellow group mate. My eyes slightly narrowed as I caught sight of them in my peripheral vision, all of them being Leadhead splicers, armed with revolvers of all kinds of design and calibers, already pointing them in my direction and readying them to fire. There was a moment of silence as I slowly shifted my complete gaze to the splicers, my porthole light now a deep crimson red. The splicers looked to me in shock, and fear, but nonetheless, I could still see the twisted confidence that resided in their eyes.

"Let'm go you metal monster, and maybe we won't hurt ya while we kill ya!" One of the firearm carrying splicers yel-... Monster? Did he. Just say? 'Monster'!?!

My grip on the splicer tightened, his shirt starting to rip as my porthole light turned into a much darker blood red, my arm beginning to tremble from the blistering fury that I felt. I could tell that this wasn't just anger from the splicers, but also another pent up source of irritance and rage that I had bottled up inside of me. As to what it was for, be it my past, my present, or even the fact that I was about to say what would likely be my last farewells to Fluttershy and Rarity as they left for Equestria, I wasn't sure. But, honestly, it doesn't really matter right now, does it? Right now, all that matters is my sudden desire to rip these splicers in half.

Out of the corner of my narrowed eyes, near the end of the view that my porthole gave me, I noticed Fluttershy and Rarity slowly walk back behind a thick glass wall, looking between the splicers and I with fear in their eyes. As to who the fear was directed to, the splicers or me, I wasn't sure, but at the moment, I couldn't care less.

One of the splicers from the group shakily stepped forward, his footstep echoing throughout the room in what felt like a loud clang, and, almost instantly, I felt myself snap.

I threw the splicer that was in my grip to the wall nearest to the other splicers, barely letting him give out a scream as he crashed against and was utterly disintegrated into nothing more than a messy stain on the wall. The splicers looked to me in shock as I readied my ESU, its crackling electricity causing the splicer who had stepped forward to quickly recoil back to his original position. I raised my arms above me, my eyes narrowing even further in anger as I brought them back down and let out a roar mightier than any other than I had previously done. The splicers staggered back as the ground below them shook, my charges covering their ears and eyes as they took cover behind the thick glass.

The firing squad of splicers didn't even manage to get a shot out before I had reached them, quickly smashing three of their heads into one another, leaving a single bloody clump, the remaining four splicers staggering back and readying their revolvers, fear evident in their eyes.

Looking to them, they quickly opened fire, thier shots bouncing off of my armor as I realized that they as well did not have armor piercing rounds, brining a small smile to my face as I once again charged.

Another one fell as I crashed my ESU into his chest, frying him from the inside out. The other splicers backed up a step and continued to fire, each stopping for a moment to reload their firearms while I pried the charred corpse off of my ESU.

I raised my fist and quickly brought it back down before any of them could react, grabbing one of them by their heads and crashing them into the ground, cracking the back of their heads open. Now, there are only two left.

Still, as they were so confindent to prove, even two splicers can prove to be an issue. They looked to one another in a shared moment of agreement, nodding as they both ran around me and into Andrew's office before I could stop them. I felt my mind go into overdrive as I realized what they were planning, running after them as quickly as I could.

Rarity and Fluttershy, who were both still cowering behind the thick glass, which was now riddled with cracks and imbedded with several bullets, were unaware of the two splicers sprinting towards them, raising their hands to grab them and use them as 'protection', of sorts.

A state of unawareness which they would remain in as I quickly grabbed hold of the two splicers by their throats, crashing them into the Rapture control panel in my blind rage. The two lifted their firearms and shot at me, point blank, in an effort to pierce my armor, loud clangs filling my helmet as they did so. It wasn't enough though as I lifted them and crashed them into the control panel again, one of the two gaining a woozy look while the other was 'lucky' enough to die upon the first impact, the back of his head having hit a corner and being broken inward. I let him go and placed my free hand with the other on the remaining splicer's neck, pressing tighter and strangling the life out of him. His flailing grew weak as he dropped his firearm and his arms slid downwards, out of my sight. I ignored it though as I continued to cut off his breathing, a slight sense of satisfaction filling me as I noticed his face begin to change color. I could've broken his neck right then and there, but that would've been too easy.

As he pulled his arm into my view again though, a smug smile coming to his blue face as he showed me the lit grenade that he had produced out of my sight, I quickly grew to regret this decision.

I have got to learn to keep my anger under control.

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The girls heard everything that happened around them, despite their best efforts not to, the muffled sounds of death and pain filling the room as the two began to tremble in fear. They didn't dare to move or look though, already aware of the violence that was occurring around them, but choosing not to see it. On a couple of occasions, they heard the sounds come closer nearby them, but these sounds were soon ended as the even louder sound of an explosion reverberated through the air, along with a strong shockwave that had passed over them.

The room was then silent. Completely and utterly silent, a horrible smell in the air, likely being that of death and the metallic scent blood. The two continued to cower for a moment though, unsure if they should or should not allow themselves to see the scene that awaited them.

"... I-is it over?" Fluttershy asked quietly, hoping for a response from either of her two friends, Rarity or Omega.

"I t-think so." Rarity answered, slowly uncovering her ears and eyes, choosing to silently volunteer herself as the one to survey the scene. "Yes, I do believe it's o- Oh my!" She exclaimed, recoiling back in surprise as she was quickly given Omega's darkened helmet porthole as her first sight.

Fluttershy, as a result of this scream, opened her eyes as well, gasping as she saw the body of her once again deceased friend, Omega. Though the girls could clearly see the havoc that had gone out throughout the room, they didn't seem to notice it, instead looking at Omega's blood stained body, though they could guess that it wasn't necessarily his blood.

They stayed like this for some time, worry beginning to fester in the back of their minds. The reason being that, even though they had passed by one of the many green chambers that they had often seen Omega exit out of after his death, they could not see nor hear anything that indicated that it was bringing him back again.

Finally, after many tedious seconds of stress and concern, right as the girls were about to begin yelling for Omega, the body's right hand twitched. Both of the girls' eyes widened as Omega's body began to move again, lifting itself slowly onto it's hands and knees and bringing its gaze to them.

The two of them sighed in relief as they realized that Omega was still alive, rather than him having died without being brought back, but there was still one thing that kept their worry going strong. His porthole light hadn't turned on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

... Ugh. I hate it when they have explosives.

The world looked like one giant, blurry bundle of images through my glass porthole, and it was pretty understandable why. An explosion like that, at a distance that close was not healthy for anybody.

Speaking of which, did I mention how much pain I'm in? Because, right now, I feel horrible. As I came to, the first thing that I could recognize was pain, and the odd smell of iron. Normally, I wouldn't think to much of this, being that I'm in a metal suit. Plus the fact that I was probably surrounded by a lot of blood from my earlier... Loss of temper.

The problem though, is that my suit is air tight, and, aside from my helmet, all the iron in my suit was welded above another, thinner layer of clothing. In other words, that was my blood that I was smelling, though I couldn't tell where it was coming from.

After a moment or two of laying on the floor, just trying to gain my bearings again, my sight started to clear. Rarity and Fluttershy were the first things I saw, the two looking to me in a concerned manner, glancing between me and the hallway that led to the room.

I let out a silent grunt as I put my arms together and started to pick myself up, pain shooting through me as I eventually managed to steady myself on my hands and knees, though I wobbled slightly. I looked to the girls, hearing them sigh in relief as they realized that I was still alive.

"A-are you okay Omega?" Fluttershy asked, tilting her head and leaning in closer to me, a brow raised in her obvious worry. I was stalled from giving an answer, my pain coming in surges every now and then, causing me to flinch and keep from giving her a response.

Eventually though, I groaned, though rather painfully, letting her know that I would be fine. Her look of worry didn't let up though, along with Rarity's, as they both looked to me in shared concern.

"Are you sure darling? You seem hurt, and I'm not sure if that light of yours is supposed to be out." I nodded, once again confirming that I was fi- WAIT, WHAT!?!

My eyes widened as I slowly relayed what she had said back in my mind over again. Darting my sight around the inside of my helmet, I felt my breath quickening as I noticed that she was right. The porthole light was out. Along with any other electrical indicators from within my suit.

Shaking my head, I hit the side of my helmet a few times in the hopes of it turning on again. Suffice to say, it didn't, and now my head hurt along with the rest of my body.

"Omega?" Rarity asked, a curious expression on her face. "Is everything quite al-" Rarity was interrupted mid-sentence by a sudden alarm, beeping a low sounding and constant tone. The three of us turned to the source, a slight sense of worry hitting me as I noticed an error message appear on the control panel's top screen. Ignoring my pain, as much as I could that is, I stood myself up and made my way to the charred and now broken control panel.

The genetic key had been split in two from the explosion, and the panel itself had a large metallic tear down the middle, exposing a large collection of sparking and burnt wires of all sizes and colors. What really caused my heart to rush though, was the meter that displayed the progress that the genetic key had made. It was dropping, and fast.

If the meter made it all the way to the bottom, then bathysphere access to the surface would be shut down again. And if that happened, then the girls would be trapped here.

Turning with a pained groan, I gestured for the girls to follow me as I ran as fast as I could manage, the girls lagging behind slightly as they realized what was occurring before quickly catching up to, and overtaking, me.

The halls echoed with our combined heavy and light footsteps as we ran, making turn after turn as we hurried our way back to the bathysphere before it could lose surface access again. A few minutes into the run though, the smell of iron was transferred to my taste, blood along with saliva starting to fill my mouth as I continually swallowed to keep my breathing as even as possible. Every step I took felt heavier than the last, adding another pound of weight onto the suit that I would normally find to be light. My vision blurred slightly, focusing and unfocusing in random intervals as I began to stumble in my run. Fluttershy and Rarity didn't seem to notice though, the two being too focused on their running to hear my labored running or to look back to check on me. I couldn't blame them, I guess.

Finally, I could see the last corner that we needed to round within my sight, the hall being slightly blurred as I did so, but I could tell nonetheless. Then, right as it seemed that we would make it, I felt my entire body momentarily go numb, causing me to stumble and trip. I was barely able to keep myself from hitting the floor as I crashed my side into the wall, leaning against it in an effort to keep my balance.

My breathing was heavy, and I could almost hear my own heartbeat thumping against my ears. Through my blurred sight, I looked back up in front of me, noticing that the girls were gone, likely having rounded the corner already. I wanted to call out for them, but I couldn't even manage the slightest of groans as my legs began to buckle beneath me, sliding me down against the wall and down to the floor onto my knees.

I was dying. Still, it couldn't be that bad, right? I'd died before, and I'd just come back... That's what I want to say, but one unavoidable fact remained. One that I couldn't ignore.

My suit, by the looks of it at least, had broken down after the explosion. Not only had my suit's porthole light and life support systems shut down, but, more than likely, so had the very thing that had kept me from death after all of this time. The Vita-chip.

My vision was starting to blur even more, the world around me seeming more like a giant intermingled menagerie of color. There was no way I could come back from this. Even if I could somehow manage to repair my suit, I still wouldn't be able to take it off to treat whatever injuries that I had without basically dooming myself nonetheless. Though... When I think about it actually, dying outside of my suit wouldn't be so bad.

Raising my trembling and unsteady arm up and over the back of my helmet, I began to feel around the back of my neck in search of a single, important object. Eventually, I felt something solid amongst the flat metal surface of my suit, encircling my fingers around it in a tight grip.

What many people didn't know is that every Big Daddy suit, ranging from Lancers to the Alpha Series, and even Big Sisters, had an emergency release valve at the back of their suit, almost impossible to tell apart from the other components of machinery that made up the metal shell.

My grip on the valve tightened even further as my mind began to become just as foggy as my vision. If I was going to die, then I sure as hell didn't want to die in this suit.

Taking in a deep breath, I turned the valve with a quick flick of my wrist, a loud hissing sound filling my ears as I did so. The various nuts and bolts that held my suit together shot out as a large burst of pressurized air hissed through it, my many self-regulating tubes that kept my body going separating themselves from me as well, causing me to let out a silent scream as the pain that shot through me became unbearable.

The world around me went quiet as I finally collapsed to the ground, my now loose helmet tumbling off of my head as it hit against the ground, clanging to the floor in front of me, exposing me to the outside world for the first time in years.

As I blacked out, my entire body going numb once again as a sense of exhaustion overcame me, I felt a small, strained smile come to my face as the cold air of Rapture came into contact with my skin.

More than likely, Fluttershy and Rarity had made it to the bathysphere, and were probably on their way home. At least I can die knowing that, aside from being a twisted, remorseless metal abomination, I was at least a man of my word, right?

Author's Notes:

... 0.o Well, that was unexpected.

Oh, and, by the way, I noticed the... Several comments that people had left, saying how they thought the story was coming to an end. Well, ya see that 'incomplete' tag there?

Believe me everybody, this story isn't over yet. After all, why would I have mentioned people like Sophia Lamb, and the like, if I didn't plan on exploring the other half of Rapture. \(•.•)/

Ladies and gentleman, prepare for the hype.

Oh, and thanks for reading yet again!