... All I could see was black. An endless void of colorless space, calling out to me, begging for me to delve deeper into it. An infinite bliss from my stress and struggles, one that I desperately tried to reach and escape into.

I had experienced this darkness before. Only, this time, it felt different. Special, actually. No matter how far I walked though, I could never really reach it, constantly being pulled back by some unknown force.

"...Daddy?"

The force that pulled me grew stronger, drawing me even further away from my escape.

"Daddy?"

It was unprecedented, how strong it had grown, threatening to tip me over, falling down an unknown, unaccounted height.

"Daddy!"

With one last tug, I was finally pulled over the edge, a moment of fear and panic filling my heart and mind as time seemed to slow down... Until, finally, I hit the floor.

Letting out a groan of pain, I opened my eyes, flinching slightly as the light of day permeated my sight, filling it with a stinging white. I gave my eyes a moment or two to adjust before opening them again, regaining my sight of the world around me.

The first things that graced my sight were the very things that had pulled me away from my peaceful darkness of sleep. My two daughters, Beatrice and Ashlyn, stood to my sides as I laid on the ceramic floor next to my bed, the two giving me cute little pouts as they looked down to me in their pajamas, Beatrice holding her stuffed pony toy close to her chest with both of her arms, and Ashlyn's 'detective jammies', as she liked to call them, contrasting heavily with Beatrice's pink ones, a magnifying glass having been sown into the front most part of her sleeping wear. They had probably just gotten out of bed.

"Daddy! Its time to get up~!" Ashlyn whined, grabbing onto my arm and pulling with all of her might, which, in retrospect, wasn't a lot, despite her obviously struggled grunts and groans. Her sister, seeming to also take the idea to heart, used one of her arms to pull at my other, still desperately holding onto her toy as she tried to help her sibling. Yet again, I didn't move, chuckling as my little girls meagerly pulled against me.

I smiled as I decided to turn the tables on them, giving them a couple of swift tugs from both of my arms, causing the two to fall over, landing on my chest with two adorable little 'oomph's. Then, while the two were still in shock of what had just happened, I struck, reaching for both of their necks, stomachs, arm pits, anything I could reach, and beginning to tickle them.

The two girls quickly began to laugh heartily, squirming against me in half-hearted attempts to escape my hold while I continued to 'torture' them, their laughter being like music to my ears.

"Da~ha~dy~. Sto~ha~p!" Ashlyn pleaded, her laughter barely allowing her to speak. Rather than listen to her though, I rose her up higher to me, partly lifting her shirt before then placing my mouth over and blowing into her stomach, bringing about even more laughter and squirming from her. The two never could handle their tickling, but they never seemed to mind either.

I was prepared to go on for another moment or two, laying with my two girls and watching them laugh with joy and cheer, but, as fate would have it, I had nearly forgotten about the other female that I shared this home with.

"So I take it that the girls woke you up?" Shifting my attention to the door, I felt myself smile as I noticed the woman that stood there, leaning against the frame with a bemused smile on her face. The girls, panting lightly and giggling from the aftermath of that little 'attack' of mine, followed my gaze, their eyes widening as they sprang up like bugs and ran to the woman.

"Mama!" They called, hugging their mother, my wife, from both of her sides. She, in response, bent over slightly, returning the hug to the two before promptly kissing them both on their foreheads.

"Good morning girls." She said, her voice sounding smooth and soft, like silk, as it flowed through the air. "Did you two sleep well?"

"We slept fine, mama." My wife smiled again, bringing the two in close for another gentle squeeze.

"That's good. Now, you two head downstairs. Breakfast is almost ready."

"Okay mommy!" With that, the girls quickly rushed out the door, the sound of their high pitches voices and their footsteps as they raced down the stairs still managing to echo into the room. My wife watched as they left, shaking her head with a smile as she turned to look at me.

Chuckling, I waved at her from my position on the floor, bringing about a giggle from her. I always did love that sound.

"That goes for you too, mister." She told me, waving her finger at me jokingly. "And don't even think about trying to go to sleep again, or I'll just send the girls back up here to get you." She left with a wink and a grin, her rose red nightgown trailing slightly behind her as she began to make her way downstairs as well.

I felt my smile grow even larger as I quickly decided to comply with her 'demands', standing myself from the floor and looking around the room that she and I shared.

The window curtains were spread and open, rays of sunlight beaming in, giving the room a pleasant and welcome glow. Along with that, the closet doors were also separated from one another, allowing me a clear view of the clothing that I would have to choose from before I started my daily routine with my family.

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

I love Saturdays.

As I buttoned the last part of my shirt, making my way down the stairs as I did so, I was quickly assaulted by the scent of my wife's cooking, seeming more like an angelic incense than the simple scent of toast and pancakes. I can only imagine how good it tastes.

I made my way around the doorframe to the kitchen, and dining room, where my family was waiting for me. My girls were sat down on their individual chairs, small cushions boosting them up so that they could more easily reach their meals, and my wife was standing nearby the door for me, a mug of warm, perfectly colored coffee held in her hand, outstretched to me with a smile. I returned the smile, happily taking the mug as she and I made our way to the table.

Out of habit, I sped up my pace slightly as I passed by her, placing my mug on my side of the rectangular table before heading over to my wife's side and pulling back the chair for her. She looked at me with a smile of gratitude as she placed herself upon the seat, myself pushing her inwards to the table, making sure to keep her comfortable as I did so, before moving back to my side of the table and taking my own seat.

Now, this would usually be the part where the girls would start eating, asking questions about what we were going to do today, when we would do it, and then some more random and unexpected questions. Today was no different than any other day in that regard.

"Mama, daddy, we're going to the park today, right?" Ashlyn asked, her voice slightly muffled as she spoke through a mouthful of toast, crumbs hitting the table and floor under her. I'd have to clean that later.

"Yeaaaahhhhhh. You both promised." Beatrice added, twisting slightly in her seat as she tried to overdramatize the situation, as she usually would. My wife and I were used to this routine of theirs by now though, so we were neither angered or annoyed by it.

"Of course we are dears!" Their mother responded sweetly, reaching over and wiping Beatrice's stained mouth with a napkin, despite her attempts to move away from her as she did so. "We'll head over in a little bit, right after we finish up a few things here." The girls both groaned in disappointment at the idea of having to wait longer to head to the park, bringing about a short chuckle from me.

"... I guess we can wait." Ashlyn said, looking down to the floor in a dejected sort of way, softly kicking her feet below her. Smiling, I reached over and ruffled up her hair, Ashlyn giggling while I sat back down in my seat, looking to her and her sister with a smile.

My wife looked to me and chuckled as she saw me cheer up our saddened girls, sighing happily as she then looked back to her meal and continued to eat, myself doing the same.

The four of us continued in silence for the next few minutes before, eventually, Beatrice asked a question of her own.

"Mommy? How much longer until our little sister comes here?" She asked. I felt a short surge of giddiness shoot through me as she asked this, taking a quick sip from my coffee mug as I shared a glance with my significant other.

See, our family wasn't exactly finished just yet. Though she may not look it, my wife was actually pregnant, 1 month pregnant at that, her stomach already starting to swell by a small amount as our next, and final, daughter grew within her.

My love was already expecting this question by the looks of it, having been asked it quite a few times since she had first announced her pregnancy, carefully placing down her drink next to her as she looked to our daughter. "A few more months now, Beatrice." She answered.

Beatrice didn't seem pleased with the answer though, lightly biting her bottom lip as she continued to look to her mother with a look of childhood curiosity. "Does she have a name yet?" She asked. The two of us shook our heads in response, neither having really decided on what would be the best name for our soon-to-be new arrival. We had plenty of time anyhow.

"Oh!" Ashlyn suddenly exclaimed, placing her fork back down onto the plate of half-eaten pancakes before her as she then scooted back her chair, letting out a loud scraping noise as a result. "That reminds me!" She scuttled across the room to the kitchen counter, reaching her short arms over the black countertop as she carefully grabbed hold of something and pulled it back into her grasp.

Upon doing so, she ran back to the table, opening her hand for us to see what she held. "I found this for our little sister. Do you think she'll like it?" In her hand, she held a shiny, golden, dollar coin, its writing seeming blurred and illegible, but the idea of the message obvious nonetheless.

Granted, it wasn't exactly a gift, so much as it was a lucky find, but the fact that she was willing to share something that she had found with her next sister, before she was even born at that, gave me a good feeling. My wife smiled as she looked down at the coin, carefully taking it from our daughter's outstretched hand and looking it over with a smile.

"Oh, honey, that's so kind of you. I'm sure that she'll love it." So am I.

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

As the girls dressed themselves in the next room over, I sat down on the living room couch with my wife seated next to me. She was leaning into me while I absentmindedly passed my hand up and down her arm, holding her in a securing grasp, her gentle breathing almost like a lullaby as I kissed her softly on the head, almost out of instinct.

Moments like these between us were rare and few, considering our two, closely aged, children would normally keep us preoccupied, but they were more than worth the wait. I never really spoke much whenever we found the time to lounge around like this. Hell, I barely spoke at all, but it was this silence and bliss between us two that made her so happy, so it wasn't really much of a problem.

"Mama? Can you come help? My zipper won't go up." Darn it. Like I had said, these moments were few and rare. Along with that though, they also had the tendency of being really short.

Letting out a sigh, my wife looked to me sadly, obviously not wanting for this moment to end, just as I didn't, before she hesitantly stood from our shared seat, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before making her way out of the room, calling out to our daughters as she did so.

I could feel my cheeks warm as I reached for the place she had kissed, reveling in the memory for a moment before letting out a deep breath. That was the thing about her. No matter how many times she had kissed me, it would always feel like it was the first. I guess that's what love is.

Smiling, I leaned myself further against the couch, sighing silently as I basked in the warm rays of the sun as they shined through the living room windows, closing my eyes and delving into my world of thought...

Then, the phone started to ring...

... I don't know why, but something about that threw me off. It was just a phone call, after all, so why did I feel so... Strangely about it?

Pushing this feeling off, I stood from my seat, the couch letting out a slight squeak as I did do, and made my way to the red dial phone that laid on the counter nearby. As I reached for it, it almost felt as if it were pushing me away, begging for me not to answer. Maybe I just are my breakfast too fast and it was going down wrong.

I grabbed hold of the receiver and quickly, almost too quickly, placed it to my ear, awaiting for the persons greeting, as most callers would normally do. Rather than a 'good morning', 'hello', or even a 'hi' though, all I heard was static. How could a phone have static?

Despite this, I waited, listening carefully as I expected some sort of answer, or speech, from the other line. To an extent, I did hear someone, or some people, but it was extremely faint, an difficult to hear, the static occasionally causing their voices to cut out completely.

"...o...ou... ee him?..."

"...re!... Dea..."

Before I could open my mouth and ask who this was, the call was completely cut off, the sound of a dial tone almost deafening as it seemed to fill the room. I pulled the phone away from my ear and just looked at it, my brow raised as I tried to process what had just happened.

Was it a wrong number?... No... Something about those voices, or at least what little of the voices I heard, sounded familiar... But from where?

"Honey?" I flinched slightly as my wife's voice broke my thought, causing me to turn to face her, the phone still at hand. She was looking at me with a face of concern, a brow raised as she looked to me from the room's entrance. "Is something wrong?"

Looking back to the phone, I slowly shook my head, placing the receiver back down into its appropriate spot with a click as I pushed the matter aside, not wanting to worry my wife. She looked at me skeptically for a minute or so, her arms crossed and foot tapping against the floor, but eventually, she seemed to let it go, letting out a sigh as she noticed that I wasn't going to tell her whatever it was that had bothered me so much.

"... Alright dear, I won't make you say anything if you don't want to. But that means that you have to do the dishes tonight." She said, smiling smugly at me. I looked at her blankly for a second, processing what she just said, before returning the smile, nodding as I made my way towards her. It's a deal.

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

The screaming and running of children as they played with one another, the sound of parents conversing with one another over seemingly random subjects, asking each other how their children are or day is going, and the gentle breeze of the wind that passed just over our heads.

At the park, more specifically, the park playground, these were the normal, everyday details that made it what it was. The girls had already rushed off to play with the other children, barely having given their mother time to kiss and tell them to be careful.

They played all kinds of games while my wife and I sat aside and watched. They played tag, hide n' seek, and, most of all, they liked to play a made up game of theirs. One that most of the other children were glad to play along with. I think that they called it 'Gathering Angels'. It seemed appropriate for my little angels, so watching them play this harmless game, in which they would basically tap a person on the nose whenever they would catch one and wave goodbye as they 'flew away', when really they just walked off, to 'help other gatherers free the other lost angels', was always a welcome sight.

Parents would constantly walk by us, greeting my wife and I in their usual, casual ways. Some of them we knew, having seen them here before, and others were new, either having come here for the first time or having just been missed by us since they usually came at different times.

Being here was bliss. It always was, has been, and will be for my family and I... A little hot though. Looking to my wife, I noticed that she was currently talking to one of her old friends, exchanging bits of gossip and the like with one another.

Not wanting to interrupt or bother her, I silently excused myself from the bench, looking for the nearest vending machine for something nice and cold to drink.

I walked along the park walkway for a few minutes, the sounds of the playground area becoming fainter and fainter as I made my way along. Eventually, the walkway came to an end at a circular platform of concrete, a pair of vending machines sitting there in the calm silence of the area.

The one on the right was basically useless, having been long broken down and vandalized with spray paint by some random group of teenagers who liked to call themselves 'El Banditos', or something like that. True to their names, they had spray painted one of these stereotypical 'banditos' onto the machine, comprised of a white man with narrowed eyes, an odd hat, and a cloth covering his nose and mouth. I rolled my eyes as I saw this, just glad that they had decided to vandalize purely broken, or unused, things, rather than the more useful machines.

I turned my head to face the vending machine on the immediate left, pulling out a dollar bill as I looked over the clean and functional machine, the closest thing to vandalism on it being a small clown sticker that some child had likely stuck to it. Harmless fun really.

Inserting the dollar, I pushed the button for a bottle of water, placing my hands in my pockets as I waited for the machine to drop the drink. A series of clangs and clunks came from the machine as, eventually, a single bottle of water fell out, landing in its slot as I reached in and grabbed the bottled beverage.

No sooner than I had grabbed it, I quickly opened it and placed the top of the bottle to my mouth, tilting it upwards and gulping down the ice cold liquid. Soon, I had to come to a stop, running out of breath from my continuos gulping of the water and needing to take a moment. As I lowered the bottle back down though, I noticed that I wasn't alone.

There was an odd, black blur reflecting off of the water in the water bottle, imitating the form and movements of a living being. I turned, looking off to the left, where I figured the water was reflecting. Sure enough, sitting there panting, its tongue lolled out and its tail wagging, was a small black dog, staring seemingly without end. Raising a brow at this, I tried to follow its gaze as best as I could, making out an invisible trail with my finger as I tried to see what it was focusing on.

Then, as I finished the pretend path, I felt my eyes slightly widen as I realized that it ended at the water bottle that I held. Curious, I rose it up into the air above, and sure enough, the dog's gaze followed. I guess its thirsty?

Looking back to the water bottle, I shrugged, turning it over and spilling the remainder of the water onto the floor. I already drank what I needed anyways. Almost instantly, the dog sprinted over here, fervently lapping up the water from the floor.

I smiled as I kneeled down next to the dog, instinctually petting its head as it continued to quench its thirst. Wait, is that a collar?

I tilted my head as I felt around collar, the dog not seeming to care as I looked for some sort of name tag. Sure enough, I found it, quickly readjusting it so that I would be able to more easily see and read it. Though, there's something... Odd about that name.

'Wͤ͋ͬ̃̀̚҉̰̮͉͎i̶̧̲͈͈̟ͪ͌̇̃̍ͦn͔̼͇͓͉͇̼͍̋̓̔͋̋̀͟s̢̤̬ͭ̑ͣͨͤt̴̬̱͖̣͗͗̔̅̇ͥ̓ͬͅo̫͇͓̲͒̑̊ͨ͗̄n̵̟̗̱̙̮̞͐ͬ̅̒ͭ͘ͅ'

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

As the girls dressed themselves in the next room over, I sat down on the living room couch with my wife seated next to me. She was leaning into me while I absentmindedly passed my hand up and down her arm, holding her in a securing grasp, her gentle breathing almost like a lullaby as I kissed her softly on the head, almost out of... instinct.

Wait... Wasn't I just at the park?

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

Something's not right. Everything is here. The screaming and running of children as they played with one another, the sound of parents conversing with one another over seemingly random subjects, asking each other how their children are or day is going, and the gentle breeze of the wind that passed just over our heads.

And yet... Something felt different.

I'm... Probably just imagining things. Heck, if anything, I'm more worried about something else at the moment.

Not wanting to interrupt or bother my wife, I silently excused myself from the bench, looking for the nearest vending machine for something nice and cold to drink.

Besides, I felt kinda t̛͙̜̗̊̆ͪ͝h̷̻̫̯͂̕̕ǐ̧͕͚̩̓̐̆͊̀r̛̭̗̬̭͔͐̀͌̽ͩͧ̚͠s̶̷̗͖̤̖̎̑̌ͦ͋t̵̯̣̪̣̎̇ͮ̆̌ͬ͞y͓͎ͧͫͨ̊.

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

I grabbed hold of the receiver and quickly, almost too quickly, placed it to my ear, awaiting for the persons greeting, as most callers would normally do. Rather than a 'good morning', 'hello', or even a 'hi' though, all I heard was static. How could a phone have static?

Despite this, I waited, listening carefully as I expected some sort of answer, or speech, from the other line. To an extent, I did hear someone, or some people, but it was extremely faint, an difficult to hear, the static occasionally causing their voices to cut out completely...

No... Actually, I could hear them perfectly. But, they sounded different. Had they changed? Or, had they ever actually been different in the first place?

"-Error-
-Programming Interuppted-
-Error-
-Programming Interuppted-
-̗̞̰̣E̠͎͉̖̩̱͢r̞r̘̕o̦̕r̲̘͎͝-̶"

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

Everything is here. The screaming and running of children as they played with one another, the sound of parents conversing with one another over seemingly random subjects, asking each other how their children are or day is going, and the wí̷n͡d̵́͢ļ̶e̶͝s̴͠s͘͞ ͘s̕t̢̢i͝ļln͘͟͏e͡͏s͝ş̕͠ ̡̕͟ that surrounded us...

Right?

"-Catastrophic Programming Error Detected-"

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

Looking back to the water bottle, I shrugged, turning it over and spilling the remainder of the water onto the floor. I already drank what I needed anyways. Almost instantly, the dog-

Where?... The bottle fell out of my hand in shock as I saw that the dog had somehow disappeared. And I don't mean that it had walked off while I wasn't looking, but actually disappeared.

I was flabbergasted, to say the least, and I wasn't sure how to react to this. Raising a brow, I looked back down to the puddle of water below, mentally questioning where the dog had gone off to as my porthole light shined back at me.

... My... Porthole... Light?

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

Everything is here. The screaming and running of children as they played with one another, the sound of parents conversing with one another over seemingly random subjects, asking each other how their children are or day is going, and the gentle breeze of the wind that passed just over our heads...

Everything is here... But... Some of it shouldn't be here.

Where... Am I? Where's Rapture? Where's anything?

"HoNeY?" My wife asked, snapping me out of my previously distracted state. Turning to face her, I noticed the face of concern that she held, gently placing her hand on my shoulder as she looked me in the eyes.

"Is evErything alriGHt?" Her voice was no longer smooth, nor was it calming. As I gazed into her deep, blue-... Weren't they brown?

... And her hair... It was black before, and now its blonde. Come to think of it, I'd never really described her, had I? She...

She... Isn't... No...

I-I never had a wife! If I did, I would sure as hell at least remember her name! And my daughters... Beatrice... She... She died, long ago.

Almost as if on cue, my head started to ache, like someone had put it in a vice, mercilessly tightening it's powerful grip. Holding my head in pain, I looked upwards, to the playground. All of the children that used to be there, playing with all of their joy and energy, were gone, instead being replaced with echoes of their laughter and screams.

Ashlyn and Beatrice were the only ones there, acting as if there were other children with them, tagging and talking to the inexistent. Beatrice though, was beginning to fade away. It had started from her feet, but little by little, it made its way up to her waist, and then beyond, Beatrice not even seeming to notice as she soon disappeared all together.

"HoNey?" My supposed 'wife' called, a slight tinge of fear in her now convulsing voice. I didn't pay her any attention though, my mind continuing to ache as I slowly dispelled whatever illusion I was in.

Ashlyn shouldn't be here either. She had died just like Beatrice!

The pain came in another throbbing surge, causing me to let out a pained groan as I watched Ashlyn begin to fade as well.

"HoNeY, thAtS enOuGh!" There wasn't fear in her voice this time. Rather, it was filled with anger and malice, and as if that wasn't enough, her voice was sounding less and less like a woman's, and more like some sort of program's, static riddled and monotone.

My eyes narrowed as I looked to her, the fake being that had insisted on keeping me here. Her face was filled with static, her features seeming to pop in and out in several different shapes and colors. Looking downward, toward her slightly swollen stomach, I felt my own anger begin to grow.

That last girl... Whoever she was... She was gone...

She shouldn't be here... My 'wife' shouldn't be here... I shouldn't be here!

-Catastrophic Program Error-

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

My eyelids felt heavy, resisting me as I slowly managed to pull them apart, freeing my blackened vision with a near silent groan. My entire body felt as though it had been broken, pain throbbing throughout every part of me as I laid still on my back.

As for where I was... I couldn't really tell at the moment. My vision is pretty blurry at the moment, preventing me from actually even getting an idea of where I was. I felt really tired, exhausted actually, and weak.

But, another thing that I felt, oddly enough... Was the cold. It took me a moment or two before I finally managed to focus my mind enough to remember what had happened before. How I had pulled my suit's emergency release and... I should be dead.

Yet, here I am, alive, and for the first time in years, outside of my suit. Lifting one of my arms, I moved it into my view, letting out a pained grunt as I did so.

... And there it was... Heh, funny how some people would look at themselves normally, thinking that it 'was just them'. For me though, it was completely different. After having spent years inside of a behemoth of a metal suit, the sight of my own arm, my hand, my fingers, felt so alien to me. Honestly, I actually almost panicked when I saw my arm, a part of my mind registering it to be some kind of splicer sneaking up on me. Old habits, I guess.

I put my arm back down with a sigh and took in a deep breath of fresh air, as fresh as it could be that is, as I steadily accustomed myself to being outside of my suit, the drafty, recycled air of Rapture moving around me with surprisingly fluent and careful motions.

Soon, after about-maybe-three minutes of doing this, I moved both of my arms and elbows below me, silently screaming as I lifted myself upright, ignoring the horrible pain that surged through me as best I could.

Eventually, I managed to get myself to a well enough position where I could just lean on my elbows, pain still flowing through me, but a certain steadiness keeping me up. I opened my eyes, which I had apparently clenched shut while I was lifting myself up, and let out a series of quick, pain riddled breaths as I looked down at myself.

I was... Covered in bandages? And on a mattress? What the? Raising a questioning brow through my many, subpar, breaths, I took a glance around the room, my vision starting to clear into a more visible, though still slightly blurred, level.

Near the wall of the room, there was a large red couch, seemingly torn straight down the middle, several springs and spots of fluff popping out from the seats. Opposite of that, I could see some sort of worn down stove, unworking and rusted from years of misuse, and adjacent to that, a large white projector screen, haphazardly made out of a scavenged bathysphere screen and a metal rod to keep it standing...

Was this my apartment? It had to be, right? I mean, there was no other place that had the same objects, let alone in the exact same places that I had previously left them. It just had to be. Even now, I can feel the two remains of indentations into the mattress I laid on from... Fluttershy and Rarity...

I let out another sigh as my confusion and surprise shifted to sadness, my thoughts and memories of my two last charges hitting me like a full-speed Rapture tram... They were gone... They had likely left to Equestria some time after I had lost consciousness, and by now, they were probably with their friends and family... I was sad, of course, having once again lost my charges for, what would probably be, for good, and finding myself to be in the perpetual misery of Rapture... But, I still found myself smiling.

I'd kept my word after all. I protected them, cared for them, and, I had even helped them back, despite how impossible it had originally seemed. I had no regrets.

Though... I'm still pretty curious as to how I was brought back to my apartment... Let alone how I'm even alive in the first pla-

My body suddenly stilled as the door to the apartment creaked open, the sound of footsteps clear in my ears as my mind was put into a frenzy. Had the security system to Apollo Square been shut down?

Involuntarily gulping, I felt my hands tighten as I tried to figure some way out of the situation. An escape plan, or something that I could do to get away. Ultimately though, I knew that I wouldn't be able to fight, since I still felt so incredibly weak, and I wouldn't be able to run far with my injuries. Tch, figures that I would survive just to die again.

The footsteps came closer and closer, and I stayed stock still, unable to do anything else but just hope that I would live for another moment or two.

Then, just as soon as they started, they stopped, the final step seeming to echo throughout the dark, empty room. An eerie silence filled the room, unnerving me even further than I had previously been. This silence lasted for quite some time, and I had actually begun to count the seconds .

223, 224, 22- OH, WOULD SOMEONE SAY SOMETHING ALREAD-

"O-...Omega?" My eyes widened as the incredibly familiar voice rang through the air, my breath coming to a hitch as I slowly began to process what I had heard.

... Was that?

I turned my head as far back as I could, progressively getting closer and closer to the source of the voice until, finally, I saw it. Or, should I say, them.

Standing there, near the doorway of the apartment, were the two charges that I had thought had left. Fluttershy and Rarity.

Author's Notes:

... What? You didn't think that I'd really take out the main character so early in the story did you? That would just be silly! :D

Though... I suppose the way I brought him back was a little... Creepy...

As for the text, first and foremost, don't worry, I'm not hacking or anything like that, I just used an online text generator called Zalgo.

Next, as you can tell, things are going to pick up a LOT. We're talking weapons, plasmids, and a few other surprises. ;)

Oh, and don't worry, I'll give everyone a description of Omega next chapter, as Im sure many of you are curious about.

Until next chapter, keep on r͇͉̭͙̼͍̿̀̑̒̎e͇̺͕̋̂̌ͫͣȧ̤̥̰̼͚̝̌ͩ͗ͥ͗̍d̘ͩͣ͐̌ͬͨi̡̠̖̙̝̱̭͕̍̊̍͗̆ņ͋ͥ̋g̀ͪͮ̊̈!