The halls of the Hephaestus Core were in turmoil. Splicers of all kinds and sizes roamed through the halls, each of them going about themselves in a festive manner, breaking down doors, destroying machinery, and, on occasion, killing one another.

Was this another splicer uprising? Were splicers once again organizing themselves as they had so incredibly done years ago? No. For this was no riot, not yet at least. This gathering and chaotic reign of the splicers in this area was with no true ill intent, by splicer standards that is. Rather, this was a celebration.

It was during a splicer's patrolling of the Hapheastus core that he had first found it, and since then, word had spread quickly over the span of the following days, and eventually, splicers from all over gathered, if only for this one time, to cheer and let loose at the thought of the one thorn in their side's to finally be 'swimming with the fishes', as one of the crowd members had referred to it as.

They were celebrating the death of the 'Metal Feline'.

"Good on ya mate!" A Brute splicer told one of his inferiors, nudging, though it might as well have been a push with his considerable strength, the Leadhead splicer next to him. The splicer nearly fell over, out of his seat, with this, but he simply let out a laugh, taking another gulp of his bottle of whiskey, which he had found among one of the other room's wreckage, as he looked to the Brute with a chuckle.

"Thanks, ya bloke. Glad t' see that we won't never have t' deal with that metal biggun again." The splicers around him all cheered and groaned, giving the splicer who had found both the helmet and suit remnants of the metal feline several shoves, most of his whiskey spilling right out of his bottle, though he was much too far gone at this point to notice.

"Ey, 'ow about you show it again, eh? One last time for this barrel of fishes?" A Houdini splicer suggested, his voice just barely audible among the rest of the crowd. It was as he said this though that the other splicers quickly began to yell in agreement, all of them asking for the splicer to show his 'trophy' one last time, if only just for the laughs. His voice garbled, the Leadhead responded.

"Ahhhh, ya bunch'a lugs. Alright, alright, once more then, once more..." As the splicers all gave a cheer at this, the Leadhead nudged the Brute splicer next to him, unsteadily gesturing to the prize of his below the table. The Brute nodded, the two of them reaching under the flat surface before, with a grunt from the Leadhead and a chuckle from the Brute, the two lifted the souvenir that the Leadhead had recently obtained, the crowd going into a frenzy as they saw it.

Within the unbalanced grasp of the splicer, assisted by the Brute as he steadied the thing, was a now heavily marked and cracked Rosie helmet, profanities and colorings of all sorts now inscribed to the mask, given from most of the splicers out there.

"Folks," he slurred, his cheeks turning red. "the metal feline is as good as-"

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

"Asleep?" Rarity quietly asked, her voice a whisper as her brow rose in the direction of the large lump that had hidden itself under the blankets.

"Yes, he's still asleep. Oh, he must have been really tired." Fluttershy returned, her wings adjusting as she pulled herself up onto and laid on the couch, despite it's still missing cushion. Rarity's face twisted as a sense of worry came to her, glancing to the white screen and projector that still stood by the far wall.

"Tch, oh, but what if he doesn't wake up on time! The girls have been worried sick about him since we first told them about our... 'Extended stay', and I'm certain that they would like to see him." Fluttershy looked up from her resting place and gave her friend a reassuring smile, an ear twitching as her mane adjusted.

"Oh, I'm sure it'll be fine. Besides, I-I'm sure that he wouldn't mind if we woke him, that is, if only so the girls can see that he's fine." Rarity bit the inside of her cheek at this, once again glancing at the lump before returning her gaze to her friend.

"... Yes, I... Suppose so..." A third glance to the lump under the blankets again, which had begun to shift and shuffle in it's rest, and a twisting sense in her stomach began to grow, virtually ineffable in nature.

"...Would he still be in such a horrid condition if I had just listened to Fluttershy earlier?" She thought to herself as she let out a sigh, heading to the bathroom for a quick wash of her face. Perhaps she just needed to clear her thoughts some.

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

"Is it time yet?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"Not yet, Sugarcube."

"Now?"

"No, Pinkie."

"...Now-"

"PINKIE!" All the ponies shouted, their friend's constant badgering having gotten to them after the two hours that they had been forced to patiently wait. Pinkie, at the sudden surprise that she had felt at the shouts, let out a giggle, gesturing to her mouth as if closing up a zipper and throwing away the key. Then, just for good measure, and likely for the heck of it, she reached behind her, into her overly-sized cotton candy mane, and pulled out a roll of duck tape, taking it in both hooves and giggling as she wrapped it around her mouth as many times as possible. The ponies around her all looked to her in confusion and amusement, though mostly confusion, as she did this, but shrugged it off as 'just Pinkie' before they returned their gazes to the floating orb that still rested in the throne room of Celestia and Luna.

Since the day that Fluttershy and Rarity were supposed to come back, the girls had become much more vigilant of the magical communicator that kept them, Rarity, Fluttershy, and even Omega, in contact. Admittedly, during the first day after they hadn't returned, they were in a slight panic, the fear that their friends, and sibling, in Sweetie Belle's case, hadn't made it out coming clearly to mind. It was only when the time interval between communication attempts ended, however, and the girls were able to make a successful call did their worry calm... Only to be replaced by anger.

Statements such as, 'what were ya thinkin'?', 'where were you?', and 'why didn't you head back?' were the first things to greet the two when they were called. Statements which, by all means, were then quickly silenced by one simple response.

'Omega got hurt... Badly.'

The girls hadn't seen Omega since they had first heard that he was hurt, and they could only hope that he would get better as time passed. The princesses, the four remaining members of the elements, and even the little filly, SweetieBelle, watched and waited as time passed, hoping that their newly met, and though admittedly not well-known, companion would be well.

Now, they were only about a minute away from their next call, all of them, excluding the princesses, who had royal matters to attend to, waiting as the white orb slowly, ever so slowly, began to take a more definitive shape again. The fluctuating mass stabilizing more and more, the edges of which becoming smooth as everypony narrowed their eyes in what seemed like focus, as they willed for the communicator to finish its recharge, all of this in silent, tedious, unfiltered, qui-

"BOO!"

Everypony in the room jumped and yelped at the sudden surprise, some worse than others, before turning to the chortling pink pony behind them, who had somehow managed to remove all the layerings of duck tape she had placed on herself without so much as pulling a hair.

"Ah, horse apples, Pinkie! Now ain't th' time fer tomfoolery!" Applejack said with a sigh, adjusting her Stetson, which had moved out of place from that earlier scare, to tilt itself up higher.

Pinkie Pie giggled again as a response, her hooves clopping together as she began to bounce slightly in her usual, sugar-filled excitement.

"Oh, I couldn't help it. You all were just there, looking super duper serious, not talking, or moving, or blinking, and I figured, 'hey, why not?' and just went for it! So, did i get ya? Huh? Huh? Huh?!?"

"Pin-" Before Twilight could even begin her spiel to Pinkie, likely subjected on the importance of taking matters such as these with more seriousness, there was a bright shine from behind them, the white orb finally gaining its full, smooth, and circular shape as it signaled that it was prepared for another call.

"Ooh, I got it!" Pinkie yelled in excitement as she sprinted for the orb, inevitably passing through it as she forgot that magic was needed in order to access it, and became slightly discombobulated, causing for her to pause and look around as she gained her momentary bearings.

"... I think I missed!" Twilight placed her hoof on her face at this, her horn glowing a soft shade of purple as she enveloped the white orb, the other girls chuckling at Pinkie's jokingful ignorance, and prepared to begin the communication spell once more. Hopefully, this time, they would see that Omega had made progress in his recovery. Or, at the very least, they would just get to see Omega.

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

... Well, I managed to get some sleep, at the very least. Didn't really try to, but I still did. That's a good thing, I guess. Plus, I actually don't feel that bad anymore. Granted, I'm still pretty sore, and by that I mean a 6/10 when it comes to pain, and kinda shaky, but I still feel better nonetheless. Thank you ADAM laced, Rapture brand pills!

Oh, and speaking of which, did you know that Rapture brand pills are designed not to have a hallucinogenic or dizzy side effect? Because they aren't, but for some reason, the floor still feels as though it's moving. I raised a brow from under the blankets, which I had apparently covered myself with in my sleep, and placed my hand on the mattress, thinking that, if I just held something steady, that I'd be able to regain my bearings... No, I still feel like I'm moving.

It wasn't until I actually started to listen, hearing the grunts of my two charges and the shifting of the mattresses, that I realized that I actually was being moved. Just... What the?

"GIRls, WhAT arE yOu DoI-" I stopped myself as, rather than a groan, I heard my own 'voice', my eyes widening in surprise at this. Odd, the only time I'm actually able to hear my voice is when-... OH CRAP!

I jolted out from the covers as quickly as I could, my torso protesting the entire time, but not nearly enough to really impede me. Fluttershy and Rarity, from what I saw out of the corner of my eye, both jumped back at this, watching as I, basically, wrestled with the coverings to get them off again.

"JUst- woUld yOu- oKaY, YoU knOw WhaT!?!" I ranted to myself, eventually settling on putting myself back under the covers before, literally, shoving the entire thing off from top to bottom, sending it just far enough to lay atop of my lower chest and waist, keeping my bottom half covered while I was now able to turn and look with my top. Not exactly how I was expecting that would go, but it would do.

"FiNallY..." Letting out a sigh, I looked to my right, where the projector was, and was immediately met by... About 5 pairs of wide eyes. A moment of silence came as everyone looked to me, Fluttershy and Rarity's gazes seeming more worried than anything though, my brow raising in both confusion and slight discomfort as this went on... On a side note, I probably should have checked if I was clothed before I went through that little episode there, so its a really good thing that I noticed that I had shorts on now, and that the blankets ended up covering me. Well... Really they were boxers but- I'm getting off subject.

"O-... Omega?" Twilight asked, her head tilting and brow raising as she looked to me. I, in turn, I rose my hand up and gave her a quick wave, signaling that I heard her... And maybe that I was Omega in the first place.

"Um... hI?" I uttered, unsure of what else I could really say. Another moment of silence passed as Twilight looked me over, from top to bottom, a curious gaze on her.

"... You look... Different." Well, I'm glad that we've come to a consensus. Rolling my eyes at the obvious statement of hers, and quickly regretting it as I remembered only after that they could see me doing that now, I pushed my elbows below me and, with a pained grunt, adjusting myself into a better position, leaning on the mattresses against my elbow, to be more comfortable, even if only slightly.

"I'vE notIcEd. StiLl nOt sURe EXActly hoW difFEreNt, bUt I'Ve noticEd." The ponies in the projector all followed Twilight's lead, looking me over and, slowly, but surely, absorbing my new appearance. Again, this is making me really uncomfortable.

"Well, I think he looks great!" ... Um, thanks? My eyes slightly widened as none other than Sweetie Belle exclaimed this with a small hop, a smile on her face as she looked to me gleefully. "Besides, now we know that he's okay, right?"

The other ponies slowly moved out of their observative shells as Sweetie Belle said this, each of them looking to one another and muttering in agreement. As they did this, Sweetie Belle looked to me and gave me a smug wink, as if she knew about the rather uncomfortable moment that she had just brought to an end. Man, I love that kid... Pony... Kid pony? Whatever it was.

I gave her an appreciative nod in return, my neck cricking slightly as I did so, making me flinch. Maybe I'd been laying down for too long?... Actually, how long had I been lying dow-

"Yeah! Especially after the three whole days we spent without seeing him!" Pinkie Pie added, my eyes widening as I processed what she had just said.

Three days?!? How could I have been out for three days!?! It barely felt like an hour! I mean, I guess that would make sense, really. After all, the last that I remember, I was basically on the very verge of death. A permanent death. But still, three days? Fluttershy had said that they, and by that I mean her and Rarity, had run out of water some time ago. If I had stayed unconscious longer, or if I just didn't wake up at all...

"Omega?" Fluttershy's voice broke through my thoughts, my head slightly lifting as I turned to face her, noticing the expression of concern that she currently had on. "Are you okay?" Taking a quick glance around, I noticed that, much like her, everyone else seemed to be giving me their own faces of worry. Guess I got little too in my thoughts.

Shaking my head, I let out a sigh as I pushed my mental statements aside for the moment. "YeAH, I'm FinE." I reassured, waving off the subject as best I could.

Rarity, Fluttershy, and, to an extent, Sweetie Belle, gave me momentary looks of concerned skepticism, but eventually, they shrugged it off, the other's continuing to look to me questioningly as this happened.

"... Um... Right..." Twilight chimed, trying to move on from the subject. "Anyways, it's good to see that you're well, Omega. Or, at least as 'well' as you can be at the moment."

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash agreed, flying upwards to the upper edge of the projector as she looked to me with a smile. "Besides, if you were gone, who would take care of Flutters and Rare over there?" She said jokingly, drawing a scowl from Rarity and a blush from Fluttershy. "Plus, its not often that I find somepony who's almost as tough as me." She boasted, seeming to pose herself as she went on cockily.

Rolling my eyes, I felt myself chuckle as the other pony, Applejack, made her way into the coversation. "Now hold yer horses Dash, Omega ain't playin' second fiddle to ya. Heck, he's stronger than all of us. I reckon even Big Mac."

"Psh, with his suit, yeah! But now, I could probably take him." A brow of mine rose at this, a spark of challenge going through me as she said this.

"YoU knOW, I doNt teChniCaLly nEeD thAT suiT. mY gEneTic moDiFicatIonS caN MorE thAN mAKe UP foR It." Despite my explanation though, Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes, her hoof spinning as she gave me a face that just said 'yeah, sure'.

Alright. If that's how you want to play it...

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

"Honestly Rainbow Dash, now is hardly the time!" Rarity thought to herself as she watched her friend egg Omega on, though she knew fully well that it was only a joke of hers. Even Omega seemed to be playing along, 'arguing' back his own reasoning.

Fluttershy, Twilight, and the others, watched as this went on, amused looks on their faces as they watched the display. Nonetheless however, Rarity and Fluttershy also felt a great sense of worry as this continued. After all, Rainbow Dash did have the tendency of going too far without knowing it, despite not having done so just yet.

"Oh, come on! You're too pasty! There's no way that you could beat me!" Rainbow continued, a smile on her face and her eyes narrow in 'confidence' as she went on.

"ReALly?" Omega replied, a glint of his own confidence in his eyes. "ThEN hoW AbOuT I liFt thE CoUch Up AgaIN thEn? YoU thInk ThaT wIll coNviNce yoU?" Both Fluttershy and Rarity's eyes widened at this, only doing more so as they noticed their friend make to get up. Omega, despite his persistent and hard shelled nature, was not in the condition to even try any sort of physical labor. So, being his friends, and momentary caretakers, Fluttershy and Rarity quickly jumped into action... Literally.

"No!" The two yelled suddenly, practically jumping onto Omega as they gripped him between their forehooves in an attempt to keep him from doing anything rash.

"Are you mad?! You're barely able to move, let alone do anything that would seem more extreme!" Rarity exclaimed as Fluttershy looked on with an almost pleading look, the two drawing a raised brow from both Rainbow and Omega.

"... Um, GiRls, I wAS OnLy kIddINg." Omega reassured, a sense of confusion from their sudden reaction in his tone.

"Yeah. I mean, I wouldn't really try to get him to do something like that... Yet." Rainbow added, a similar tone in her voice to that of Omega's.

Now, with everypony's, and human's, attention set on the girls, the two's faces heated up from the, admittedly embarrassing, situation they were in, the two releasing small, sheepish smiles as they released their companion and took a slight step back, Fluttershy attempting to hide herself behind Omega as her timidity reared it's head again.

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

Well... That was... Different? The girls let go of me, once again separating me from their warm 'embrace' as they put on sheepish smiles, their cheeks turning slightly red from, what I guessed to be, embarrassment, as they both moved off of me. Though, Fluttershy ended up moving behind me, trying to hide herself under her mane and behind me to keep herself out of the sight of her friends, her usual shy nature taking over again. Rarity, in the meanwhile, was trying to keep a straight face, looking forward as the red on her face continued, likely trying to compose herself.

"Heh, good to see that nothing's changed..." I took a glance down at myself and mentally rolled my eyes. "Well, nothing much." Shrugging, I looked to the projector once again, moving to make conversation again.

"SO... I'm JuSt goIng tO MovE oNTo thE ImpoRtant matTEr fOr thE mOmeNt... WhAT NoW?" Now, when I say this, I mean that, since the girls weren't able to get home before, (And I feel extremely responsible about this) and that the bathysphere systems were probably locked down from their surface access again, that they would have another idea for getting the girls home.

After all, injured, suitless, or otherwise, I was still a Big Daddy, they were still my charges, and I would not go back on my word to bring them back safe.

"Well..." Twilight began, putting her hoof to her chin as she looked to the ground. "I'm still not sure. That plan from earlier was our best shot, wasn't it?" I let out a sigh as I nodded, well aware of just how good of an opportunity we had missed. For a moment, everyone in the room gained a seemingly solemn view. Everyone, except Sweetie Belle, who just rose her hand- er, hoof, in excitement.

"Wait!" She exclaimed, waving her hoof slightly as we all looked to her. She let out a small, adorable smile as we gave her our attention, putting her hoof back down and looking to us happily. "Didn't you say that there were 'two' ways to reach the surface?"

Huh, she remembered that? Everyone's eyes widened at this, small smiles coming to some of them as a similar sense of excitement to SweetieBelle's came to them.

"Heyyyy, she's right!" Pinkie agreed, a face of hyper-realization about her before she rose her hoof up slightly and put it in front of SweetieBelle. Her smile growing, Sweetie Belle quickly bumped her hoof against Pinkie's in a sort of, er, high hoof.

The ponies quickly began to converse with one another at the prospect of another method in retrieving their friends, my charges, from Rapture, a small spark of annoyance, likely from my programming, passing through me as they did so.

"Yes, yes, that perfect!" Twilight squeed, clapping her forehooves together as she looked to the three of us again. "So Omega, what's the other way?" She asked excitedly.

... I really wish they didn't ask that. I mean, there was a reason that I never told them about what the second method was exactly.

Hesitantly, I began to open my mouth, a response already in mind for her question, when suddenly, the projector started to flicker. Both the girls, and their friends, seemed to notice this, putting on faces of annoyance and disappointment.

"Aww. Already?" Sweetie Belle asked, a pout on her face. Twilight let out a sigh as she took another glance at the fading screen, before looking back to the three of us.

"We'll have to talk about it later. Maybe by then, the princesses will be available too." I, and my charges, nodded, giving the group out own scattered farewells as, eventually, the screen flickered out, returning the room to its original light as the projector shut down.

I guess that, now, all we can do is wait... Does that mean that I have to stay on this mattress longer?

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

Yeah, no, I couldn't manage to keep still. The entire day, I was always looking for some way to keep active, sometimes having to do so out of Fluttershy and Rarity's view, otherwise they'd go nuts and start lecturing me, or something of the like.

As the day went on though, the two had really proven to have made it their mission to take care of me. If I started to feel hot, Rarity would try to be sure that I wasn't getting a fever, and Fluttershy would use her wings to fan me. They'd fluff the cushion below me, adjust the mattresses, basically, they just tried to keep me comfortable throughout the entire day.

As nice of a gesture this was though, it made me feel... Broken. I mean, its my job to care for them, right? Not the other way around. Ugh, well, at least they didn't seem to mind.

Anyways, by now, the day had already come to an end, the girls' having started to prove too much for them, yawning and eyes drooping as, eventually, the two fell asleep, practically passed out actually. As for me, lets just say that the past three days had put me through enough sleep to keep on for a while longer.

Though I waited for about an hour, laying silently in bed and waiting for the girls to go into a deep sleep, I figured the wait would be worth it. Then, soon enough, I felt a glint of confidence go through me as I deduced that my charges were well enough into their rest, placing my elbows below me and beginning, what would likely be, the arduous process of standing up.

The aspirin from before numbed most of this pain, but even then, as I sat myself up straight and started to pick myself up onto my, apparently wobbly, legs, it was still incredibly apparent. Even more so considering that I had to do all of this quietly, or else Fluttershy and Rarity would wake up.

Grunts and groans fought against me as I put weight onto my legs, barely being restrained, if only by pure will, as I, for the first time in a long period, stood myself up without my suit. It felt... Light. I'd always been wearing a two-ton piece of metal over me, though it didn't really feel like much, and now that it was off, I felt as though if I jumped, I would go through the roof. After all, I'd already gone through the floor enough times, same with walls, so what's to stop the ceiling from being any different?

Mentally chucking at this mental comment of mine, I glanced around the room from where I stood, both making sure that the two were still asleep, and looking for something to actually do. My gaze was, rather quickly, shifted to the bathroom, a burning curiosity ebbing at me as a thought came to mind.

"How different did I look?"

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

"Right, left, right, left... God this is tedious."

As you can probably tell, walking wasn't exactly easy for me at the moment. My legs were fine, sure, but the blood loss that I had probably from suffered before and the burning in my chest didn't really help me keep steady.

I had made it to the bathroom entrance, one foot already past the doorway, when I began to stumble, my legs starting to fail me as a large dizzy spell hit me, the room spinning around me as I fell forward, barely catching myself by grabbing onto the bathroom counter.

After that close call, I stayed where I was, taking in deep breaths as I tried to calm my nervously beating heart, before, with one last exhale, I pulled myself up straight, finally putting myself in the reflection of the bathroom mirror as I leaned on my elbows and hands for support on the counter.

... Well, I guess it could be worse. It was kind of a shock to see myself for once. It felt as of I was looking at a stranger, but I knew that this... Was me. The white hair, thin, almost undetectable, body hair, the lean build, which had been made fit by the programming I went through, and the black vein leading up to my lower eye, an eye that was almost a pure white, by the way, showing the genetic corruption that the genetic enhancements had done to me.

All together, I guess that I was just glad I didn't look like a splicer. Tumors, disfigurations, and all that. Though... Something bothered me about this.

I had been in that suit for over ten years, yet, for some reason, I barely looked a day over twenty. Just... What exactly had they put me through during my programming? Had they taken me while I was young? No, that wouldn't make sense. A child's body couldn't handle these genetic modifications, unless they were little sisters...

I felt my eyes slightly narrow in curiosity as I continued to look myself over, trying to take in every detail I could for memory's sake. Trying to stand myself up further, I felt my bare foot brush up against something, something cold and hard, causing me to jump slightly. I glanced down, and rose a brow at what I saw.

Near my feet, almost laid neatly, yet haphazardly on the ground, was the ESU from my suit. Had the girls brought it with me?

I secured my arm around the counter and sink, taking a breath as I lowered myself, pain flaring as I did so, to the rubber glove with electric metal attached to it, reaching out for it and, eventually, picking it up with a silent grunt. Yet again, I stood myself, inspecting the weapon that I had so often used.

The weapon and glove itself looked like they were in good condition, that much was true, but at the same time, they were stained, and slightly encrusted with dried blood... My blood.

Curious, I leaned on both of my elbows as I put the glove back onto my left hand again, seeing if it was still functional. I gave it a quick flick once it was on, the coil for the ESU quickly letting out a small spark, signaling its functionality, as I gave a curt, thankful nod. Though, I'd likely have to work on this a bit. The glove itself, when put on my hand, seemed ridiculously oversized compared to the rest of my arm and hand, and that's not really something I want to have to constantly deal with over time.

The mirrors reflection of me confirmed this observational bit of amusement, the bulky glove standing out just as much as the pink mane near the doorwa-... Fuck...

Mentally flinching, I slowly turned my head to face behind me, quickly taking notice of an awake, and incredibly concerned looking, Fluttershy.

"O-omega," she said, her voice a whisper, likely to not disturb her sleeping friend. "w-what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting." Letting out a silent exhale, I gestured to the mirror as an answer, unable to verbally communicate at the moment, and hoping that she would understand.

For a moment, her face shifted to one of confusion, then to thought, then to a hopeful realization. "You're looking at your reflection?" I nodded, looking back to the mirror as the man before me also nodded, a familiar, pink maned, yellow, winged pony, reaching about the size of the man's upper chest, came into view next to him, her wings flapping lightly as she floated her way next to him, the man scooting over slightly to give her room as the two gazed, almost blankly into their reflected doppelgängers. Us.

For a moment or so, nothing was said, the two of us just purposelessly watching on. Soon though, Fluttershy gained a small frown, looking downwards and, in turn, earning a questioning look from me.

"... Are you mad at us?" Um... What? Now I was really unsure, my curious gaze growing in intensity as I turned to her. She noticed this quickly, glancing to me, but returning her gaze below her nonetheless. "F-for not going when you told us to?"

... I... Wasn't mad. How could I be? Sure, I was a bit annoyed, but more at myself, really. If anything, and I'm kind of ashamed to say this, I glad they stayed.

"I... Wasn't sure if you were okay. We were already at the bathysphere, and you... Didn't come..." I listened to her intently as she went on. "Rarity said... That you'd be fine... And I thought so too... But... I remembered that your helmet wasn't... And I thought... Omega?" She suddenly asked. "Without your suit... Can you still come back if you..." She trailed off, looking to me for once with great hints of sadness, and worry, about her.

Now, should I have lied to her? It would have probably been better if I did, for her, Rarity, and myself, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. So, with a short period in between the question and my answer, I shook my head. 'No.'

Fluttershy's gaze went downwards, then, slowly allowing herself to touch the floor again, her forehooves leaning against the counter like I with my elbows, looked to the mirror, solemnly staring ahead... And tears began to form.

"... I-I'm so, sooooo sorry, Omega." She stuttered, her whispering voice beginning to crack as a single droplet slid down her cheek. "If Rarity and I hadn't come here... Y-you w-would still b-be fine. You w-wouldn't have to c-constantly care for us. You could care for this city, l-like you told the princesses you wanted to... And now..." Her lip quivered as she fell silent, silent sobs escaping her as she placed her head with her hooves and closed her eyes, allowing for the tears to drip into the porcelain sink below her.

As for me, I was in shock, to say the least. Fluttershy was blaming herself for something that was out of control, and now, here she was next to me, in tears about it. Did Rarity feel the same? Were the two really feeling this guilty about this?

Unable to talk, or tell her that it'd be fine, I did the next best thing. I turned myself completely, so that I had my back leaning against the counter, put my arms around Fluttershy, her eyes opening slightly to look at me as I did so, and pulled her close to me, giving her what I hoped to be a reassuring embrace.

At this, she didn't hesitate to cry even more, her silent sobs becoming even more forced as she struggled to keep herself quiet, tears dripping onto my chest and the bandages around it, bringing a cold and almost bitter feeling with them, as Fluttershy's forehooves hung around my shoulders, gripping me as she continued to let out her sadness.

It was a few minutes before she calmed down, lifting her head slightly and looking to me with a sniffle, sadness still clear in her expression and her face slightly matted with moisture. Almost instinctually, though I'm not particularly sure where the idea even came from, I passed my the thumb of my still hand over her cheek, slightly moving off the moisture as I gave her a kind, reassuring smile.

She gave one of her own in return, though small, using a forehoof to wipe off her face as she removed herself from me, letting out one last sniffle as she did so.

"... You know," she said. "I think that's the first time I've ever seen you smile." Heh. Yeah, I guess it was. First time I've smiled since I got out of that suit too. "... It looks nice." I chuckled at this, lifting myself with a grunt from the counter and retuning my full weight to my feet, wobbling slightly as I did so. Fluttershy, in response, moved next to me, allowing me to place a hand on her and keep myself relatively balanced. I have her a thankful nod as the two of us made our way back into the living room in silence, myself removing my ESU so that I could put it elsewhere, more than ready to get some sleep.

One day that I've been awake without that suit now, and I have to say, it feels great. No voice in the back of my head, though I'm not exactly sure how that had anything to do with it, no alarm or notifications to bug me, and I looked like less of a freak... Though I'm still not really normal.

... I just hope that I can still protect the two like this... Hmph, wether I can die again or not, I'll be damn sure to try. No matter what the cost.

Author's Notes:

D'awwwwwww. That was cute little moment. :3

As for the rest of the chapter, I have to say, writing the first half was annoying, which is by it took so long, but the second half's payoff was definitely, in my opinion, worth it.

So, now almost everyone has seen Omega, including Omega himself, and they seem to respond relatively well to it.

Now, we (I.E. you) can only hope that all goes well for this long time survivor, first time truly human, Omega.

Oh, and next chapter, expect to involve yourselves. Believe me, you'll see what I mean.