... Oof. Note to self, Rapture brand medicine, plus severe injury, equals horrible hangover. Honestly, I didn't even know that I remembered what a hangover was, until now. Groaning, I lifted a hand to my throbbing head, the mattress below me squeaking at the sudden movement that I had made against it.

Honestly, it was pretty bad, but definitely not as painful as it was when it was spread throughout my body. If anything, I'd much rather prefer a migraine than whatever I would feel under these bandages.

I took in a deep breath as the silence of the room allowed for it to echo, opening my eyes as-... Silence?!? I was about to shoot up from the bed again, but with a quick impulse from my mind, comprised mostly of memory, I decided against it, and the pain that would follow, instead carefully raising myself onto my elbows and taking a look around.

The room was empty, aside from myself and the furniture inside, with no sign of charges anywhere nearby... Was that... Was that whole thing a dream?... I swear to GOD, if that was just another FUCKING dream, I am going to- Oh hey, what's that?

My upcoming mini rampage stopped short, and admittedly pretty comically, my gaze shifted to the large white board that stood near the edge of the room, new, neatly written text upon it, it's fancy font standing out from most anything from Rapture. Definitely Rarity's handwriting... Hoofwriting?

Letting out a sigh of relief at the prospect of not being crazy after all,-On this occasion- I squinted my eyes a bit in an attempt to get a better view of the far off writing. 'Dear Omega, the two of us have headed out into Apollo Square to look for more water. We'll be back soon, Rarity and Fluttershy.'

... They... Went out... To get water... In RAPTURE?!? See, now I jolted out of the bed, no longer caring for whatever impulse my mind sent me, or seemingly small amount of pain I felt. My charges had just gone out alone in one of the most dangerous places on Earth, and maybe even outside of their world!

Granted, the security system was still active, so they would probably be fi-

"Dont even think[ about finishing that sentence! Those two are always in danger the moment they leave your sight!"

Oh, shut up! Now is not the time for a mental argument! My charges are out there, and I need to go after them!

"And how do you plan on doing that?!? You don't even have you're suit anymore!"

Who says I need my suit?

My eyes narrowing in confidence, and a bit of annoyance, I reached under the cushion that I had been laying on, grabbing hold of the single, cold, hard object that I had placed underneath it last night, before I had gone to sleep. My ESU.

I pulled it into my sight, giving it a quick once over before, in my haste to find Fluttershy and Rarity again, shoving it back on, ignoring the ridiculous look the oversized glove gave as I stood myself up with a groan. Alright, weapon? Check. Any idea where I'm going? Not really. What else?

"... Um... Maybe some clothes?"

My eyes widening slightly at this, I took a glance down to my half-naked self, my cheeks warming slightly as I remembered the obvious, and embarrassing, fact.

... Bah, it doesn't matter! I can find clothes later! I need to get to my charges, now!

"Yes, because I'm sure that a splicer will take you seriously in that getup."

Sighing, I made my way to the apartment door, stumbling slightly, before quickly catching myself with the wall, and leaving my place of rest. See, it's times like these that I wish that I could just shut down my mind for a moment.

"You can. It's called dying."

Can you just SHUT UP!?!

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

"... So, you were right after all in your earlier assumptions, darling?" Rarity asked, a solemn look about both her and Fluttershy as they continued to converse with one another in their search for water throughout the junk heap known as Apollo Square. Looking to her friend, Fluttershy nodded faintly, and almost hesitantly, as she confirmed her friends remark.

"Considering what he told me last night... Yes... If he... You know, again, he won't come back." The two were, of course, referring to Omega's lost invulnerability of a seemingly infinite life, this cycle abruptly shattered by the loss of his metal suit.

Rarity, feeling as guilty as ever, looked to the floor silently, her mind a mess with thoughts of worry and concern. If not only for their health, but now, Omega's. "... Then, what do you suppose we do, darling?" She asked her friend, hoping that she would have a viable answer.

Much to her disappointment though, she didn't, instead shaking her head in silence rather than giving any response whatsoever. Rarity sighed at this, moving her gaze ahead of her as she tried to get her mind off the subject. After all, they had gone out for a reason.

"Fluttershy," Rarity said, attracting her friends attention. "perhaps we should focus on the task at hoof, rather than something so... Disheartening." Slowly, Fluttershy nodded, bringing her focus forwards as well as she silently scanned the area, looking for even the smallest hint of drinkable water near them.

As the two went on however, cameras and turrets constantly shifting their sight over them, as they continued to survey the area for their programmed threats, one of these so-called 'threats' had already snuck past these defenses, his feet tamping softly on the visible ventilation shaft that went above the room, a smile on his face as he gave his revolver a spin.

All that he had to do now, was wait.

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

Come on, come on! Why does this place have to be so big?!

Groaning as I shuffled through the garbage and dirty water that filled Apollo Square, myself shuddering as these odd textures and temperatures came against my bare feet, I would continually glance left and right, mentally hoping to find my charges as soon as possible.

My body, up until this point, had been complaining throughout the entire search so far. Despite this though, I ignored it, instead focusing on what my mind had asked of me, to find Fluttershy and Rarity, rather than what it had suggested of me. And, may I add, at the moment, it was suggesting that I take it easy... loudly.

Walking on, I was partially comforted by the fact that the security system that I had long set up was still well and operational, despite the days they had gone without the usual maintenance I would give them.

Cameras would glance over me, almost in confusion, and a couple of them had even turned red out of alarm for a moment or two, before just as quickly returning to their usual state, watching as I exited their field of view. Turrets and stray security bots were no different, giving me similar reactions to those that I had received from the cameras. It was almost like, they were getting used to the fact that I was out of my suit, for the first time in so many years. Heh, I guess that I'd be surprised too, were the circumstances switched.

Still, like I had said, the fact that the systems were operational were pretty comforting, especially with Fluttershy and Rarity being out there. Nonetheless though, I still felt as though it were necessary to find them. I had no real idea where they were, but they didn't have many places they could go, without them being safe that is, more or less. Maybe if I just narrowed down my options, I'd be able to find them sooner.

Putting my hand to my chin, and crossing my arm over my bent elbow as I did so, I made up a small list that came to mind.

The east quarter of Apollo Square was fine, but there was basically nothing but garbage there, so they probably hadn't gone that way, especially considering Rarity's cleanly nature. West leads to the bathysphere, and, unless they had completely lied to me in that message of theirs, they wouldn't have much need to go that far for water.

North Apollo Square is covered front to back with security, so, even if they had gone down that way, there wouldn't be much to worry about, so I could probably leave that section for last. The only other place left was the southern quarter of Apollo Square, but I could still remember that the security systems there were just as bountiful as those in the north. The only difference, really, being that I hadn't really gotten around to doing maintenance in that area... Longer... Oh, fuck me with a freezing lancer drill.

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

Their search areas narrowing, Fluttershy and Rarity continued forth on their 'quest' for drinkable water, the two trotting side by side as the sound that surrounded them grew more and more barren, to a point where it was almost silent, even.

There was no humming of any nearby machines, no whirring of mechanic movement, left and right, and no clicking of a looped camera, constantly rearranging and refocusing its lenses in an attempt to keep itself active.

The girls found this worrisome, of course, but they knew they were safe, for they could still see the embodiments of machines around them, the only true difference seeming to be the odd layer of rust that had grown around them, and the occasionally flickering light.

Fluttershy, having been re-introduced with such a creepy setting, as was usual in Rapture, began to walk even closer to her friend, occasionally shivering out of fear. Rarity faired no better, though only internally, as she fought to keep herself composed. After all, one of them had to.

Minutes felt like hours as every sound around the girls felt like it would bring a threat with it, whittling away at what little courage the two had brought with them on this search. In fact, the only thing that kept them going, was the fact that, Omega, who had been through much worse than this for them, was in need of their assistance for once, and they couldn't just let him down.

Still, the two much rather preferred that Omega, be it in his suit or otherwise, was with them. He had always managed to make the two feel safe, even when the situation really wasn't, and frankly, they felt they could use this morale help that he provided.

Taking in a deep breath, rattled with shivers and small whimpers, Fluttershy glanced around the garbage filled hall, silently praying for some sort of sign that they were getting close to what they needed.

Then, as fate would have it, a sign was exactly what she got. Jumping slightly, a spark from nearby, one of the many lights of the area flickering in darkness and light, showing that, out of the rubbish that filled these partially flooded halls, there was a single reflective, smooth, and seemingly transparent, surface.

Her eyes widened as her wings gave an involuntary flap in excitement, her hoof reaching for her friend as she fought to speak. "R-rarity," she said, not noticing the jump her friend was given at the sudden contact from her companion's hoof and voice. "there!"

Pointing forward, the fashionista mare followed her friends gesture, her own eyes widening as she saw that the two had quite possibly, as she would say, 'struck gold', in this matter. Rarity smiled as she thought of the prospect of a warm shower after this was through, gesturing for Fluttershy to follow with a bob of her head as she quickly began to climb the mountain of rubble that obstructed her from her target, soiling her once perfectly tended, though now long tainted, hooves as she did so.

Had she simply paid more attention though, she likely would have noticed her friend, Fluttershy, fly her way to the top in a matter of a short few moments, her hooves barely touching the mound of filth whatsoever as she carefully took the glass container below her in between her hooves, small grunts escaping her as she began to pull.

By the time Rarity had arrived, Fluttershy had already shaken it loose, the container lifting, and, through its stained, outer glass layering, proving to be exactly what they had been looking for. A container of clean, relatively fresh, and drinkable water.

"Oh, finally!" Rarity let out exasperatedly, wiping off a small bead of sweat that had formed on her forehead from the climb up there. "I must say, it took ages to finally find this. Though, I must say, it seems it was worth it."

"... Oh? Y' think so too, d'ya?" At this, both Fluttershy and Rarity felt their veins turn to ice, their fur standing on end as the twisted voice echoed through the hall, the source coming from... Above.

Slowly glancing upwards, Rarity and Fluttershy's eyes widened, their mouths slowly opening in silent screams as they caught sight of the smiling splicer, waving at the two dementedly, the same metal tool that had been used to kill many, in his hands, a revolver, as the two had so often see splicers use, before he jumped down with a chuckling grunt, landing with a hard thump near the two, Fluttershy and Rarity recoiling away violently at this, the glass water container dropping and rolling down the rubble with a collection of clinks and clangs, now completely forgotten as it's holders became engulfed in fear.

The splicer almost took pleasure in watching the two slowly back away from him, raising his revolver in the air and giving it a short spin before pointing it at the two. Since he had first heard of these two, these colored horses before him, he had been looking forward to slitting their throats, and feeling their warm innards as they poured out of their sliced stomachs, but, as he had been so prominently told, the metal feline had been careful to watch over them... Now though...

"No metal feline t' keep y' two safe now." He said, chuckling as he spoke, his smile almost splitting his face in half as the two backed themselves against the glass walls of the hall, the cold seeming almost impossibly numb, compared to the emotion of dread and fright that the two felt, unable to even express it with a scream or a shout.

"Aw, c'mon then. Le's hear 't." Moving the revolver closer to the two, he purposely grazed it over their heads, watching as they flinched, before plopping the barrel down onto the now sweating forehead of Fluttershy as her pupils dilated to an almost impossibly small size, her friend, Rarity, looking on in fear as the splicer shifted his gaze to her. "... I wan' t' hear a yell."

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

Gladly, you SICK, MOTHER FU-

The splicer barely turned his head as the rubble below my feet shifted almost deafeningly, myself letting out a loud, though not really metallic at this point, roar as I punched the side of his head with a satisfying crack, managing to launch him far off into the hall, his landing bouncing up several pieces of debris from the garbage below him.

My eyes narrowing, I shifted my footing as I heard the son of a bitch groan, slowly standing himself from the far off pile of garbage. He was lucky. If I hadn't slipped on something on my way up here, his head wouldn't even be connected to his neck.

"O-omega?!" Rarity said, in almost a whisper, Fluttershy just staring blankly ahead with still stunned and fearful eyes. I'm guessing she had gone into minor shock? Looking back at the two, I gestured for them to stay here, and for Rarity to tend to Fluttershy, before, with a loud groan from both my sore body, and myself, I moved my gaze back forward, jumping forward off of the large mountain of rubble, easily landing on an adjacent one, though my leg giving slightly as I did so.

Funny thing, actually. Having the same strength I did in that suit, now being without the extra weight, speed and maneuverability felt like a much more viable advantage of mine... Though, I'd still prefer the armor. As the splicer finally recovered from his sense of shock, and pain, he looked to me with wide eyes, a twisted smile coming to his face as we gazed to one another with similar intent. To kill the fucker we were looking at.

"Well, hello there. Someone new, I take 't?" He asked, raising his revolver to me as he spoke. "Hehehe. 'Ow fun! Now I git three fun toys, for th' price 'f two!"

Time seemed to slow as he pulled the trigger on his weapon, myself glancing down and, just as quickly as he fired, kicking up a stray sheet of metal with a smile, placing it in front of me as it began to dent inwards at small scales, the sound of a firing gun and clanging bullets clear in the air as it went on.

Personally, I would just love to charge this guy and take him down already. But, considering the fact that now, a single bullet could easily end me, I would need to play this 'game' more defensively.

I heard the splicer let out a growl of annoyance as, rather than simply aim lower, as I figured that the moron wouldn't, he continued to fire at almost the exact same spot, bullets clinging as I slowly counted them out. I'll give him points for consistency, at least.

1... 2... 3... 4... 5... 6! Almost on cue, I heard the sound of the gun open it's chamber, the now used up bullet casings clinking down the rubble below them as the splicer hastily began to fumble for more ammunition. Way too easy.

Throwing the metal sheet down, no longer having any use for it, I once again heaved myself through the air with another jump, landing myself on the same rubble pile as the splicer, him falling backwards in surprise, the clip that he had been loading tumbling with the even more useless empty rounds.

My eyes narrowed as, reaching downwards and picking him up by his scrawny little neck, I watched him struggle in a craze. Eventually, his eyes narrowed as well, as he, without warning, reeled back his arm as far as it would go, and thrust it to my face.

It hit me dead on, to say the least, letting out a loud thump as it came in contact with my cheek, my head turning from the force. I didn't release the splicer though, and, from what I could tell from his laugh, he thought he had gotten a good shot in... Key word, thought. Myself putting on a smile, which I'm guessing he saw, considering his gasp, I cracked my neck as I slowly turned back to him, giving him a face that basically said, 'really?'

"W-who are ya?" Rather than answer, for more reasons than one, obviously, I raised my gloved hand into his view, his eyes widening as he noticed the familar, and oversized rubber handwear, along with the metal rod that's title had been passed into Rapture's infamy by my hands, extending from it's hold, and crackling sharply with long held back voltage as it closed in on him.

"M-m-metal feli-"

I've had enough of that name! A slight spark of anger going through me, I shoved the ESU into his mouth, and through the back of his neck, a combination of bloody gurgles and electrified stutters coming from him as he cried out in pain, followed shortly by death, his eyes rolling far behind his head, one of the two even popping a blood vessel from the proximity of the intense shock, and his neck blackening and smoking.

After about a minute or two, I had gotten bored, and satisfied, pulling the ESU out from the splicer's mouth and throat, his charred blood splattering on my arm and left side as I did so. Guess that's another good reason that I didn't need clothes at the time. I would've just ended up staining them.

Turning around again with a sigh as I quickly my mindset to my charges, I saw Fluttershy holding tightly onto her friend, Rarity, back where I had left, Rarity carefully caressing her friends as she did so, seeming to whisper to her in comfort, though I couldn't really hear her. I quickly made my way over to the two, my feet tamping below me as I did so, and the sound of muted sobs and silent whispers growing.

It was only when I got to them that my current... condition, caught up to me, leaving me gasping as I put my arms on my knees, a surge of pain coming to my head and ribs in waves, each one losing intensity as they went on, but far in doing so for my taste. A moment of deep breathing, and pushing aside the pain, later, I looked up once more, more than ready to chastise the two for going off alone... Then again, seeing them how they were, I think I could let this one slide, pretty easily at that.

I had barely made a noise, no more than a quiet grunt, before the two turned their attention to me, Fluttershy with eyes that were filled with a slowly fading fear, and Rarity's with a similarly passing emotion. It seemed that, for them, one look was all it took before they moved their grasps from one another, to me, the two holding me around opposite sides of my lower chest, apparently too emotionally drained to stand on their hind legs... But not too so to stop one of them from surprising the hell out of me.

Softening her grip, Rarity looked to me with her two, soft blue eyes, as they slowly shifted from fear, to, like I had said, surprisingly, anger. She stood herself on her hind legs now, despite the fact the she hadn't done so earlier, and, keeping her face of narrowed eyes, slapped me, of all things! What the actual hell?!?

"That was for coming here even so you're in such horrible condition!" Okay, you know what? The slap didn't even hurt, so much as it just surprised me, and she did kinda have a point, so I'm just gonna let that pass... Still not hoping it becomes a usual kind of thing though.

Rolling my eyes, I gave her a sheepish smile as her glare went on, before, finally, she dropped it with a sigh. "... Still though... Thank you for rescuing us once again, darling." There. Was that so hard. I have her a simple nod and a smile as she released me, placing herself back onto her hooves as I shifted my attention to Fluttershy, who, at the moment, still hadn't moved since she had first began to hold me.

Feeling concerned, I gave her a light tap on her shoulder, which was only met by a shuffle of movement from her, and what sounded like her saying 'just a little longer, please?'

... Well, she wasn't really doing any harm anyways. Besides, she must have gotten really scared when that splicer attacked. Especially considering how she literally had death resting on her forehead no more than a few moments ago.

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

Fluttershy's heart pounded against her chest as the fresh memory of the splicer made it feel as though he were still right in front of both Rarity and her, the cold, metal barrel of a gun placed firmly on her head, prepared to end her life in a short, almost instant, moment.

She had felt so cold, at first. The same temperature as the crafted steel that threatened her. Now, however, this cold, and her fear, were quickly being replaced. Shoved away into an almost inexistent place of her mind, and switched for a warm, comforting glow. This 'glow', as it was, was her and Rarity's defender, Omega.

How, even in his own state of disrepair, no longer able to do so without risk, his life completely on the line now, he had still come to protect them. A tingle came to her as she held him close, the sound of Rarity's voice, and all other surrounding sound, becoming bleared as all she could seem to focus on, was him, and him alone.

In the meantime, Rarity had begun to slowly descend down the pile of rubble that the three stood on, her eyes on the object that she and Fluttershy had come down for in the first place, jutting out clearly at the bottom of the garbage heap, a smile on her face as she came upon it, grabbing hold of it and, with an almost measured heave, pulling it up off the ground, moving the glass container into her mouth, though she had some trouble holding onto it's slippery surface, and heading back up to her two companions.

She arrived just as Fluttershy had finally begun to release Omega, the yellow pegasus looking to their shared protector and flashing him a thankful smile, which he happily returned with a nod, as Rarity approached the two, her hoofsteps causing the two to turn to her as she began to speak. Or, at least try to speak.

"Mmpph hm hmph!" She garbled, drawing a raised brow from the two.

"Um... C-could you please repeat that?" Fluttershy asked, her friend promptly, and unassistingly, repeating her garbled message once again. Omega chuckled at this, as he reached his hand out before Rarity, silently offering to take the bottle from her hold so she could speak.

Looking to Omega for a moment, she placed the bottle into Omega's hand, his fingers curling around it as she pulled her head away, pulling the bottle upwards and, with a rub of it against his bandaging, cleaning off the small amount of spit that had, embarrassingly to Rarity, transferred onto it from Rarity's hold.

"Ahem." She began again, both clearing her throat, and attempting to move away from that unladylike hand off of hers. "Yes, well, like I had said, 'I suppose that we should be going now'. After all, we have what we came for, and I do believe that I am in need of a desperate shower." Glancing down to herself, Rarity felt herself almost faint at the sight of the grime and imperfections that had begun to build up in her fur, in need of some much awaited care.

Glancing upwards, she saw that Fluttershy was in no different condition, her fur also matted with filth. Out of the three of them, surprisingly, Omega was the only one that seemed without bother, himself being in a relatively clean state, in comparison to the two mares, that was, aside from some blood that stained his bandaging and arm, along with some grime that was beginning to build up on his feet from the garbage beneath him.

"... And I suppose that those bandages of yours require a changing as well." Fluttershy nodded in agreement at this, though almost too quickly, as Rarity let out a smug, mental smile at the win-win situation she had before her.

She would be helping her friend, and getting a better look at him... For medical reasons! Of course!

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

The two had been more than willing to help me on our way back to the apartment, taking turns in their attempts to keep me as stable as possible whenever a dizzy spell, or surge of head pain, would hit. For the most part, I felt fine. I mean, I had just killed a splicer with little to no problem, for frick's sake! But, recovering meant recovering, even for me... To an extent.

Eventually, the three of us had finally made it back to the apartment, security systems and all, the large bottle of drinking water that the girls had been so determined to get in my hand, and the two by my sides.

The relatively dark interior of the apartment felt as though it were a blessing, honestly, and I would be lying if I had said that I wasn't tempted to just flop onto the mattresses the moment I got into range.

Unfortunately, my charges still felt as though it were necessary for them to change the bandaging that I wore, which was admittedly helpful on their part, so, rather than let me flop, they pushed me onwards, Rarity doing so by pulling my hand gently from her mouth grip, and Fluttershy by pushing on my uppermost back, her wings flapping as he used the flat of her head to do so.

The two moved me to sit at the edge of the bathtub, pushing away the curtains to keep me more comfortable, before the two, once again, took positions opposite of me. One at the front, Rarity, the first aid kit that I had first given them from the bathysphere by her side, opened and revealing it's plethora of medical tools, though she was much more focused on the rolled up white strips at this moment, and the other behind me, Fluttershy, sitting in the tub as her hooves gently gripped the knot that held the bandages to me.

"R-ready?" Fluttershy asked. Honestly though, was the question really necessary? I probably would have agreed to it even if she didn't ask in the first place, my own curiosity having ebbed away at me as I felt myself wanting to see the severity of my near death injuries more and more. Nonetheless though, I nodded, Fluttershy then carefully beginning to pull at the knot until it came apart, the bandaging around me following shortly, hardly offering any resistance as Fluttershy removed the stained medical strips from me.

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

As the last of the bandaging hit the floor of the tub next to Fluttershy, a clear view of himself was finally revealed to Omega, as he glanced down to his torso. From what he saw, there were various scars that riddled him, some of them having recently sealed themselves up, while others still allowed for hints of blood and stitching to be seen, occasionally dripping downwards.

The sizes of each scar varied. Some were no more than points, left behind after Omega's life support systems removed themselves. Others were gashes, either having been created by the shrapnel from the explosion that first disabled his suit, or from a bad seperation of the various tubes and needles that sustained him throughout much of his life.

Omega grimaced as he saw this, Rarity, in the meanwhile, readying the new layer of medical strips as Fluttershy clumped together the used up an stained bandages, so that she and Rarity could more easily throw it away afterwards.

"Now, do forgive me for my rather... Disreputable work. But you must realize, I normally use a needle and thread for clothing purposes. Not... Well, you know." Truthfully, this was an understatement. Having to stitch up another living being, rather than her usual brand of threads, and the like, was one thing. Doing so without magic, was another. Having been reduced to using her hooves and mouth, she would have been lying if she had said that she did not pass out a couple of times as she went on. And, if it hadn't been for Fluttershy's intervention, she likely would have stayed out.

Nevertheless, Omega waved the issue off, holding himself steady as both Rarity and Fluttershy began passing the bandages between one another, wrapping Omega once more, and hiding the scarring and injury that be had so unfortunately gotten.

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

Alright, so lets go over the facts, huh?

I got new bandages now, so that's a plus. A lot less itchy than before... And blood stained.

Girls nearly got killed, and I basically mutilated the fucker who had tried it, so thats both bad, and good. Though, obviously, the bad outweighs the good.

We have a large supple of drinking water now, though we're still going to have to ration it.

And, now, Rarity was taking another of her usual showers, Fluttershy awaiting her turn next to me as we both sat patiently on the mattresses.

So far, a pretty normal day in Rapture. Now, all that was left was the call from the princesses and all the other ponies.

Well, this ought to be fun, I guess.

Author's Notes:

1, or 2?

Its a simple question really, 1, or 2?

Funny how the simple things can make a person wonder, huh? But yeah, for anyone who wants to, in their comments, add a vote for 1, or 2. Along with that, add something that you'd like to see happen in the next chapter. The winning side of this vote will have a random voters submission added somewhere into the next chapter, and a small shout out in the next authors note's.

Oh, and don't worry, I'll explain what the vote means, and how its important, next chapter. Till then, enjoy. ^~^