... It seemed like it would be another normal day in his routine. These were his first thoughts as he opened his eyes, exiting the plain of dreams that he had entered hours ago. An uncomfortable crick in his neck and a yawn escaping him, he involuntarily glanced down at himself, taking notice of his upwards and barely comforting position.

He had dozed off in his seat again. A sigh escaped him as he stretched out what little of himself that he could, his eyelids heavy, but forcefully lifted as he pointed his gaze forward again.

His vision momentarily blurred and cleared itself as he looked to the several screens that sat before him, creating a vast wall of live and recording film. He could already feel the first of the several migraines he obtained every once in a while beginning to form as he noted that, as usual, practically all of the screens showed static, or black screens.

Despite the mental curse that escaped him, he did not take this issue too badly. After all, he had gotten used to it by now. After so many years of this though, he was surprised that he had managed to retain his knowledge, let alone his sanity.

"The mind adapts." He unconsciously said to himself aloud. Not that it would have mattered, that is. From where he was, he had long ensured that he would be safe, lacing the hall that led to the room, and even the vents above, with security cameras and turrets.

The same security cameras that made up the few working screens that shone before him.

He would be greeted with the refreshing sight of a few–By his standards, that is–splicers every now and then, which, if they were not dealt with by his security, would be dealt with by him.

He abhorred having to so constantly resort to violence, finding the entire concept as redundant and ineffective as the continuous reorganizing of the many books that sat along the walls behind him to pass time–Yet he still continued to do so. How else was he to keep himself on the right side of the plain of his psyche, after all?

Despite thinking himself as a more... Intellectual type, which was already a rarity in its own for the city of Rapture, he still was well versed in the art of ending another's life; Everyone who was down here used to be, though some were better at it than others. 'A city of people trying to survive', he had heard long ago.

"A city of deranged killers and imbeciles, more like it." He mused as he stood himself from his seat with some sense of both dread and glee, before then turning to the many bookshelves behind him to find a viable subject to keep him busy.

Though he knew, with large clarity, that he was truly no better than even the splicers in regards to killing, he still would always distract these thoughts of his with a good study session. Granted, he had already read most of these squares of text walls that sat readily on their predetermined–by him–spots, but he always found it to be enjoyable to refresh the mental photographic image he would have of every single page that came before him.

Grabbing a hardcover book under the heading of 'Advanced Physics Under Ryan'–One of the fewer, and less biased, books that could possibly have been released within Rapture–he glanced to a few specific terminals once more, of course being met by static filled screens, before then shaking his head with a self-pitying chuckle.

"Heh. That would be the day."

Until that day did arrive though, he would just sit here, reading his books and using what little peripheral he was given to glance back and forth towards the-

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

Terminals...?

And... Lots of them...

That was the first thing to greet the girls, and my, sight as the rest of vent and wall segment was moved to the side, seemingly sliding into place inside of a hallowed out region of wall. The lights of these screens, that is. The rest of the room, however, was dark, and difficult to examine from afar.

My brow had been stuck upwards as a sense of complete and utter confusion overcame me.

I had pretty much been forced to remember every last, individual part of this city, top to bottom. Never, though, have I seen or heard of anything like this. It was almost alien, honestly. Especially considering... Some of the things I could see in this room, I had no idea what they were, or even did.

... No sense in just standing here like a statue, I guess.

With a shake of my head, a glance to similarly curious charges, and a seemingly bored look from the security bots that escorted us, the five of us–Excluding Mill–made our way into the relatively small room; Oddly enough though, despite its relatively small size, the opening that led inside was pretty high, and wide.

As the shallow water below us continued to slosh, myself imagining that Rarity had already been dreading every watery step that she took since we got here and regretting not having offered to help her in that regard, Winston and Garret once again took the lead.

Their headlights, like before, provided minimal light to the room, just being enough to make out a few more details as I glanced around, moving towards the large collection of terminals with my rivet gun already heated, and my Telekinesis plasmid at the ready.

I could practically feel Fluttershy and Rarity as they stuck closely to my sides, their nerves likely beginning to get the best of them. I can't really blame them at this point either. This place, whatever it was, had already begun to give out a really ominous air to it.

After what felt to be an hour's worth of wading, my socks and shoes pretty much being filled with 99% water at this point, I, and the rest of the group, positioned ourselves in front of the only visible light source in the room, the control panel to these various terminals and screens only barely being lit and visible.

Unconsciously passing my hand over the terminal, I looked over the many screens that made up the wall before me, and my companions. For the most part, they showed nothing but static, and garbled binary text. Of these however, one stood out. The familiar message from before was, of course, clear in the middle of it. 'Area Lockdown Initiated.'

However, at the same time, different, smaller text also had been written beneath this message. Text that, until this very moment, I had not seen before.

"-Anti-Protocol WYK Initialized-
-Error Detected-
-Initialization At 28%-"

'Anti-protocol'... 'WYK'?

Big Daddies have plenty of programmed protocols and rules programmed into them, each with their own specific actions and responses to certain situations. Anti-protocol WYK though... I've never even heard of that procedure. Hell, I'm not even sure what the heck an 'anti-protocol' entails to!

... Moving on from that, I momentarily rose a brow at the text, taking only a few guesses as to what it may be, before, with a shake of my head and a mental urging to move on, I did the same with the panel before me as I had done to previous control panels. Entering a forcibly memorized series of commands into the one of the terminals, and managing to display it onto one of the screens, I searched for any sort of reaction from the piece of machinery, hoping that, perhaps. this would be the terminal to access the lock-down through.

At first, all that I could see happening was, to put it bluntly, a whole lot of nothing, and I could already feel another bout of frustration building at the possibility of this just being another waste of time. As I input one last command though, the screen lights just barely gave a noticeable flicker, before then displaying another message.

"-Welcome, User 1637-
-Please Enter 4-digit Passcode-
>_ _ _ _"

Yeah, that about figures. Giving a grunt of annoyance at the message, I rubbed my face for a moment or two...

Fuck it.

Without another thought, I grabbed hold of the control panel's outer covering, gripping and bending my fingers into the metal on the sides before then pulling it with a quick breath.

The bolts that held the panel down gave in what may as well have been an instant, some having fallen to the floor while others stayed vainly attached to the panel as I then shuffled it slightly in my grip.

Ignoring the many multi-colored cables that connected the metal control-board in my hands, I placed the covering, with its many buttons and all, down near the side of the control panel, hanging precariously over the shallow water as the cables continued to hold it up...

I... Better do this quickly. I mean, in retrospect, I probably could have just used a remote hack tool to deal with this thing, rather than have out the girls and I at such risk of electrocution, even if it would only end up being slight, and relatively harmless.

Nonetheless, I felt that, in this regard, it would be best to use the manual method. The less risk I had of activating some built-in security system, the better.

With a faint source of light from Winston and Garret's headlights, along with that of the screens, I grabbed hold of several wires and tiles, moving them all little by little into place while, at the same time, watching out for any alarm or overload tiles.

Fluttershy and Rarity could faintly be heard behind me, taking a few small steps in their place as they waited for me to finish. Were it not for the fact that I was currently occupied, in fact, I would have at least given them a glance to make sure, or maybe reassure, that they were okay.

The fur that occasionally brushed softly against my pant legs told me that they were, but... Oh shit, the tiles!

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

Despite this having been the third time that Omega had gotten distracted during a hack, he yet again managed a speedy recovery, connecting wire after wire to their unspecified places.

Fluttershy, as he did this, stayed as close to Omega and Rarity as she could, their dark surroundings serving well to unnerve her in a great degree. Even Rarity found herself to slightly back towards their guardian, though not quite as closely, also seeming to catch sight of the imaginary horrors that could very well await them.

Horrors that, believe it or not, may actually have been worse than her currently wet and matted hooves and fetlocks.

The three other members of the 'Rapture Family'–Excluding Omega–as well could sense the nerve wracking air around them, the security bots just barely able to keep their lights of the wiring, as Omega needed, and Mill beginning to squirm in place from his hiding area within the group's supply bag.

With one last wire, Omega finished the hack with relative ease, glancing up to the computer system yet again to see if he had succeeded in his ministrations.

Sure enough, the passcode area of the screen had now been filled, Omega nearly giving out a disbelieving groan as he read it out and slammed his hand into his face. "RYAN".

Rolling his eyes, Omega grabbed hold of the loosely hanging control board of the panel, holding it up with his right arm as he began to enter his commands manually through it.

The machine confirmed the pass, moving to another screen where, despite Omega's progress, it simply displayed a large 'error'.

Pursing his lips, the unarmored protector took another glance to the inner wirings of the machine, narrowing his eyes before, with a decisive grunt, he placed the controls back to the side of the panel and reached his arm into its components.

Cables moved around–And occasionally entangled themselves with–Omega's arm as he shoved his arm further downwards, searching for whatever it may have been causing the issue. He rummaged through the electronics for a moment or two, drawing curious gazes from his two charges, until under the small and focused lights of the security bots, he spotted an oddly colored cable, in comparison to the rest.

It took only a moment of mental searching as he revealed more of the cable that he found a match as to what it was.

A power adaptor, made to take energy from various sources and connect it to wherever it may have been needed. Ironically enough though, upon following the cable, Omega found that the adaptor was currently doing the exact opposite of what it was needed for.

As it was draining power from the systems and outputting it to nowhere in particular, Omega grabbed hold of the wire, making sure to have used the rubber hold of his ESU's glove as he then gave it a solid yank, rapidly unplugging it from it previously jammed in position.

A spark escaped the wire that Omega, a small addition of comparatively blue light joining that of the security bots, and a loud whir instantly filled the air.

Before even the swiftest of thoughts could form in the minds of the group as to what was happening, a series of clicks sounded out, accompanied by a bright red glow.

Omega raised a brow as the lights to the room, apparently having been turned off and functional this whole time, turned on in an eerie fashion. A questioning thought as to the color of these lights nagged at the back of his mind as he, along with his charges and security units, looked around the now visible room from their individual positions, distractedly keeping the cable of the power adaptor in his grasp as he did so.

Along the walls, several strange, and unrecognizable pieces machinery were spread about, most of them having been covered in dust, and in some, cobwebs; Spiders scrambled under the sudden light, hiding behind the various nooks and crannies around them as Rarity gave a shudder at the sight.

Among these, Omega, and Winston, found their gazes focused to one specific piece. One that seemingly stuck out in both of their minds, though it was only Omega that did not know why.

At first, Omega had thought it to be some sort of vita-chamber, more than prepared to give another silent curse at the seemingly never-ending mocking that the universe was so enjoying to the concept of giving him. Upon giving it a second once-over though, he realized that that wasn't the case.

Comparably, this glass capsule was... Larger, than a vita-chamber. It lacked the former's color and shape, even being adorned with several tubes that led from several indiscernible places, and it seemed, almost... Familiar.

Even stranger though, the capsule was open, with large shatters and cracks spider-webbing the glass of the open doors.

"This is... Weird." Omega thought to himself as he continued to, almost hypnotically, look at the large apparatus. Before he could go on for much longer though...

"Omega?" He overheard his winged charge, Fluttershy, call. "Should... that look like that?"

Again raising a brow as he pried his gaze away from the capsule, glancing to Fluttershy before then following her gaze, Omega caught sight of a new, though far from unwelcome, change in the working terminal of the wall before him.

"-Error Resolved-
-Manual Override Initiated-
-Disengaging Area Lockdown-"

Rarity, Fluttershy, and even the security bots and Mill, found themselves flinching as Omega gave out a loud groan, meaning to say, without any sort of reluctance, "THANK YOU," as he was finally able to rid himself of the irritating issue that had long been holding the group to this god-forsaken area of the equally god-forsaken city of the sea.

It was only a few seconds after Omega had done this that he remembered the company around him, turning his head to face his charges and quickly noticing the odd looks they gave him. He gave a sheepish smile as he then moved to place the control panel's covering back to its original positioning, mentally hoping that they wouldn't catch sight of the light shade of red that he could feel begin to adorn his cheeks.

The metal of the panel clinked against its placing as Omega balanced it atop, uncaring of the screws that he had long ripped off or lost in his initial removal of the covering as he glanced to the power adaptor in his grip. "... Whatever may help." He decisively thought to himself with a shrug, as he half placed the wire into his bag, half had it pulled into the bag by the helpful slug he called Mill.

Allowing a quick chuckle to escape him, he turned to his charges yet again, offering them a more confident smile as he, almost pridefully, slung his rivet gun over his shoulder, drawing a giggle from Flutttershy, and a muffled laugh from Rarity. Omega chuckled as well, before he then gestured with a bob of his head towards the direction that they had just come from, wordlessly telling them that he had done all he had needed to.

Winston and Garret moving from Omega's sides to those of his charges, and Omega carefully excusing himself past the girls, the group began to make their way out of the odd, and once hidden, room, and into the labyrinth-like room that they had preciously been in.

Aside from how he felt for having to re-navigate their way through the maze again, and this time backwards, Omega felt himself to be in a near gleeful mood. So much so, that he didn't notice the rest of the text that formed onto the screen of the terminal he had just left.

"-Anti-Protocol WYK 100% Initialized-
-Linking Available Data-"

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

"... 'And so, it is with this singularity that the possibility of other planes are possibly brought into existence. Furthermore, it with this point that, despite great debate, it is likely that it is possible to, even temporarily, link these planes, and-' Honestly, I cant take anymore of this trash." A groan escaped the man as he read these lines, straight from his selected piece of text. The reason, of course, being that he was skeptical, to say the least, as to the possibilities of this 'multi-verse theory'. It was only the more factual and less lenient part of his mind that drove him to this conlusion of thought and action, but it was this region that made up a LARGE percentile of his mindset. After all, the overall concept was foolish, and fictional, at best. It especially irritated him that he had found this entry inside of a book based on fact, rather than theories.

"These moronic and mindless fools that made up the staff of Rapture's 'top notch' science department will be the death of me, I swear it. Of all the ill-conceived and flawed texts that I have read from their writing, this has to be the most-" Before his rant could go on any further, a loud, though short, tone filled the room with noise, as the man then raised his gaze from his book and scanned the room in confusion. "What in the worl-" As his gaze was then moved to the terminals before him, his eyes widened, and the book he held became forgotten, falling to the floor with a loud thump.

"-Anti-Protocol WYK Fully Initialized-
-Admin Control Established-"

He sprang from his seat with surprising, even to him, agility, making his way over to the panel in flash.

He reread the onscreen message once, twice, three times in an effort to make sure that his eyes weren't playing a trick on him, and that his mind wasn't beginning to go again from his many years down in Rapture. Once he was sure that they weren't, he swiftly put his attention to the controls of the machine, a smile now plastered on his face.

"Well I'll be..."

With an almost automated response, the man quickly began to type and move his hands wildly over the control panel, scrambling to remember what commands and entries he had long thought he would never need to input.

One by one, the static-filled terminals began to change,–More specifically, the topmost row–displaying several near-identical images, as the main screen relayed the progress.

"-Active Subjects:
>Beta 2-1
>Echo 2-5"

A small growl of annoyance momentarily filled his throat as he glanced over the subject name 'Echo'.

"-Initializing Subjects:
>Zeta 9-8
>Lambda 4-3
>Theta 1-1
>Psi 5-7
>Gamma 3-4"

On the many screens, he was given visuals of several glass capsules beginning to open, hints of steam and gas escaping their once sealed selves. His smile grew even broader, however, as several metallic figures, each unique in shape, color, and form, came into his view through the small cracks in the doors that formed.

As he reached for another switch on the panel though, momentarily taking his attention away from the screens, he heard a loud shatter and crash through the audio monitors.

Turning his attention up towards the screens again, he noticed that one, particular capsule had been broken to pieces, the figure behind it lifting himself out with large and lumbering steps.

The familiar red light that adorned his porthole caused the man to quicken his pace, as he began to realize what was occurring.

He continually moved to and fro from the panel, while also occasionally glancing at the screen to watch the subject's movement.

The subject looked around the area for a moment, eventually focusing his sight to the control panel of his own room. A growl could be heard through the central room's speakers, practically echoing in the man's ears, as he noticed the subject beginning to make his way over to the panel.

An unspoken and unprovoked race began as the man and subject committed to their individual acts, one working on the panel, and the other threateningly walking towards it.

Finally, as one last command remained, the subject reached his destination, raising an arm up high, a pink ribbon that had been wrapped firmly around its wrist momentarily flicking through the air, before he brought it back down, destroying the panel, and the floor below it, with one swift movement.

Within an instant, several of the feeds that were shown to the man were cut off, his eyes widening, and jaw dropping at the now black and error-filled screens.

He stayed like this for a moment, his mind seeming to momentarily set itself into a reset before, from the bottom of his stomach, he began to feel an unbridled fury grow. Years of waiting and patience, keeping himself busy with reading–not to say he didn't enjoy it–all flushed down the metaphorical toilet because one protector woke up on the wrong side of the... Pod...

A shake passed through him as, with a deep breath, he regained a sense of calm, loosening his grip on the now bending edges of the control panel.

"... Theta isn't going to ruin this. No, not yet... Besides, its not like he made me lose all of my feeds." Settling for the conciliation of the remaining screen that continued to function, the man looked at the room from which subject Echo had left from some time ago, giving a sigh as he switched the camera feed from that of the room, to a more mobile, and lumbering view.

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

With a slight skip to my step–not literally though, I had to retain some of my masculinity in that regard–Fluttershy, Rarity, Winston, and Garret followed me out of the miniature labyrinth that was a room, climbing ourselves up the stairs that had once led us down.

I know this kind of good news isn't going to keep things rolling like this for long; Sooner or later, someone, or something, will try to get repayment for the good with twice as much bad, if not worse. Either way, I still couldn't help being slightly more... Positive.

A small victory is still a victory, I suppose. Especially when it means we can finally get back on track to Inner Persephone, where the escape pods were. There, Fluttershy and Rarity would be able to go home, and I will have kept my promise!

... Despite being left... No. No, this isn't the time for those thoughts... Besides, I can at least say that I had met another Big Daddy in my travels, right? Even if I, technically... Blew him up... Details.

As the flickering light of the wax statue inventory area came into view, soon followed by the several severed heads of these figurines and animatronics, I felt a shudder build up in my spine, before just as quickly dying out.

Though I could tell the same couldn't be said for my charges, myself having offered them sympathizing smiles before continuing on our way, we still went on with a relatively quick pace.

My rivet gun firmly to my side, and ESU just a quick flick from being turned on as well, I gave the room a quick once over as I went in, the girls lagging behind for a moment at the prospect of once again going through this creepy room.

Its a just reason, to say the least. Not even Fort Frolic was this bad, in all of its 'glory'.

Besides, these heads looked really, really eerie. Though they weren't meant to be, each one gave out that sort of vibe nonetheless. Hell one of them even seemed to follow me with its eyes, as a smile came to its face. Honestly, if that doesn't creep a person out, I don't know what wi- OH FUCK!

"IDIOT!"

Mentally cursing myself out as my mind and body suddenly realized what I had seen, I turned myself towards the more realistic seeming head just in time to see it grow arms from the side of the table, each having its hands moved to a single, metal firearm.

Instinct once again took over as I gave the table that the splicer was hiding behind a gestured flick of my wrist, my Telekinesis plasmid going off and launching the wooden table, the wax heads that laid upon it, and the hiding splicer into the nearest wall.

Though the view of the kill was mostly blocked off by the furniture that had now become embedded into the wall, the drips of blood sliding down the wall, and onto some of the fallen wax heads, pretty much gave me all I needed to know.

Hearing footsteps, I heard Winston and Garret ready their weapons as I did the same.

Priorities first though.

Glancing to my charges, who were still out in the open, and seemingly frozen in shock of the sudden situation, I gave a silent grunt as I grabbed hold of the adjacent table with my plasmid as I did the first. This time though, I did not send it flying, instead simply leaning it onto its side and placing it in front of Fluttershy and Rarity for cover.

As I released my plasmid's hold though, Rarity glancing over the table towards me and giving me a concerned look, a sudden hot and burning pain in my shoulder caused me to give out another, more audible grunt, as I unceremoniously allowed the table to fall the rest of the way down, giving an unceremonious thud.

Moving my hand to my shoulder, which, thankfully, had only been grazed, focusing my gaze forwards, I felt my eyes narrow as I saw a group of ten leadhead splicers staring me down, sadistic smiles on their faces as they held to their individual firearms.

Of them, three had machine guns, while the rest, of course, had revolvers. A growl escaped me as I pushed aside what discomfort I felt in my shoulder, slightly moving my legs outwards as I aimed my rivet gun ahead.

This seemed to be the cue for battle, as, within an instant, the splicers began to fire, along with the security bots and I.

Having no cover to hide behind, I aimed to whichever member of the group that I could, playing off on my previously done trick as I gripped on of them in my plasmid and brought him before me, functioning him as a human meat shield.

He was dead within seconds as his 'buddies' fired relentlessly at me, though they only hit him. As this went on, I would fire a few potshots into the crowd with my rivet gun, while Winston and Garret would pepper the crowd with their own weaponry.

Splicer after splicer went down with relative ease, leaving only two others left as we all took aim at them.

As I looked down the barrel of my rivet gun though, I took notice in the odd, orange coloring that overtook its reflection. A small, almost burning color... That's because it was.

Looking to the source of the reflection, I saw, and quickly avoided, the Incinerate fire that had been launched in my direction with a quick step to my left... Garret hadn't been so lucky, sparking shortly after getting hit before, with one last whir, the bot shut down.

Another growl escaped me as I kicked the rapidly beeping husk of the fallen bot forward, landing it between the last two leadhead splicers and watching as they were blown to smithereens.

Once this was done, Winston and I quickly looked around the room again, our respective eyes and headlights looking from place to place, occasionally seeing the smallest of red mists accompanying the Houdini we now knew to be in the room with us.

A woman's laughter could be heard as I caught sight of a forming red mist, aiming my weapon towards the center of it and awaiting the materialization of the splicer.

Within a few seconds, I got my wish, a woman appearing from, practically, out of nowhere, a handful of fire already aimed in my direction. We traded fire, quite literally in her regard, for only a scant second, myself managing a good hit on her leg and her missing her shot as a result before she yet again disappeared.

Winston fired at the last place the splicer was, failing to get the kill by only a few milliseconds before the Houdini had hidden herself through the use of her plasmid.

A demented laugh could be heard filling the room as the splicer hobbled in her invisible state, likely thinking she had the better of us... And she would have... Were it not for the bloody trail she left with every step she took.

Honestly, I feel like, were it not something twisted for me to say, I should think of this as comical, considering how idiotic this splicer seemed to be.

"Can't find me no more, can you, ya little fish?"

This... Actually made me lower my weapon for a short moment, sharing a glance with Winston, who seemed to feel the same sense of disbelief as to the level of stupidity in this splicer, before, barely batting an eye, him and I raised our weapons and fired.

I shot once, getting hitting on the splicer directly, which caused another red mist to appear, though this time it wasn't from the plasmid. As for Winston... Well, if there used to be something visible left of the splicer before, it was doubtful that there was now.

A wet thump filling the air from what little likely remaining of the splicer filling the air, and the lifting red mist that had hidden the body confirming these thoughts, I raised my rivet gun in front of me, focusing my attention on the clip that was currently loaded in. Looking over the silhouettes through the colored glass, I counted out 10 rivets left, myself giving a self-satisfied nod once I was sure that everything was as it was.

Now, normally, I wouldn't have been this careful, but the thing is, that ambush wasn't necessarily that bad. Aside from a grazed shoulder, along with a partially torn shirt and vest in that regard, I had come out of that situation relatively unscathed.

In other words, I was still, technically, owed something bad happening to me, and I didn't want to take any chances with that.

Pessimistic? Maybe? Realistic? By Rapture's standards, very much so.

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

Having checked in on, and retrieved the girls, we made our way back onto the ride from the maintenance area we were just in, once again following the tradition of following the tracks.

I was, of course, aware that the area lockdown had been removed, and that we could've just started making our way back the way we came, but I was also aware of the fact that there was a shortcut just up ahead, which lead back to the entrance of the ride, and the main room to Ryan Amusements.

Why take the long route when you can just as easily take the short one in this case?

As to the reason that we were still only a group of 4 right now, myself having not yet called for another security bot with my Security Command plasmid... Well, I had figured there was no need to right now.

The path that led back to the main room wasn't exactly an open area, so, even if we did come across some splicers, there would likely only be five, or six. Something that Winston and I could easily take care of within a few short moments.

So, yeah, not really any need for that use of EVE.

My footsteps, and their hoofsteps, gave out a familiar echo as we went on, the sound of Winston's rotors adding to the reverberations in a near deafening form... Seriously though, they couldn't have made it so that security bots would at least be a little more quiet?

As the track gave one last curve to the right, the mental map I had telling me that this would be the last upcoming 'people and government' scene before we would then soon reach the exit, I found myself looking preemptively to my right, watching as it soon came into view.

The scene was... Simple, I guess one could say. A family. Not a family working at their farm, or worshipping Ryan, or any of that bullshit... Just a family, with the mother and father seated on a couch in the back, hold one another lovingly, the wife's head resting on the husband's shoulder, and a young boy laying on the floor further up front, his legs slightly kicking upwards as he and his family watched the TV...

For a moment, they all disappeared, replaced by my own mental images. The father's place was replaced by me, my armor secured around me once more, as my porthole shined a bright green and I myself stared forward. There was no 'mother' to join me. I was just... There. Another change was that, rather than a young boy, there were three little girls; Two of them, Ashlyn and Beatrice, seemed to be playing with one another, while the last laid in front of the television, her face blocked from both my imaginary, and real views.

Suddenly, the three distinct lumps of blanket covered objects became much more distinctive from the other items I had stored away in the bag on my back...

A tap on my leg brought me back from my, apparently, distracted state, my eyes momentarily widening before refocusing with a shake of my head.

Putting my attention down to my side, I noticed Rarity, of course alongside Fluttershy, looking to me with a face of concern, her hoof still partially held out from when she had tapped me.

I offered the pair a reassuring smile, patting Rarity's, as she was the closest one, head to add to the point.

I was fine...

... I drew my gaze away from the scene again, having started to get distracted again, though this time on the small, sewn portrait that hung above the wax figures of the mother and father, reading 'home sweet home'. Yeah. Right.

Moving my attention to a door at the side of the room, the rest of the railing ahead of us blocked off by a substantial amount of debris and waste, I, alongside my charges and Winston, made our way through the scene, making sure to avoid the wax figurines that rested there.

...If only out of a sort of respect.

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

A short squeak of a yawn barely reached Omega's ears as he and the others made their way down the brightly red-tinted halls of the 'Journey To The Surface's' maintenance hall, his head involuntarily turning towards the source as he went on, and a small smile adjoining his features as he noticed it to be his winged charge, Fluttershy.

Truthfully, of the two, both Fluttershy and Rarity were exhausted.

After all, they had been walking through the various halls of this former place of Rapture for, what seemed like, hours. The constant stress and concern that came from the spats that occurred every now and then in between rooms didn't help either, often putting them on edge for a late duration of their trek.

The infectious yawn of Fluttershy then affecting Rarity as she released her own 'lady-like' yawn, the white-furred mare glanced to Omega. "If we feel tired," she thought to herself, "then he must be utterly exhausted." This was sound reasoning, to say the least.

Omega had been the one actually fighting in the first place, consistently pushing himself to go on despite whatever recent injury or hardship may face him, and doing so while always ensuring that they were safe and healthy.

She found one of her fore-hooves unconsciously shifting to the small bandaging on her face, atop of her muzzle. She flinched slightly as she came in contact with it, the skin still being relatively tender, and likely bruised, underneath.

"Come to think of it... I don't recall seeing him having gotten even the smallest amount of rest either."

She and her friend could only wonder as to how Omega was holding at this point, thinking that, even if they asked, it would be unlikely of him to indicate to them if he was alright or not; He was much too prideful for that– Actually, it wasn't prideful so much as it was determined. He had been gravely injured before, but had simply pushed it aside as nothing, claiming that he'd still be in the condition to protect Fluttershy and Rarity.

He was right, in that regard, but still.

At the very least, they could be glad that, for one reason or another, Omega had found/done something of great importance, considering his earlier reaction back when they were in that odd room hidden behind the walls.

Rarity barely withheld a giggle at the thought. The smile on his face, the way he practically shouted in excitement... The overall movement that he made as he gave a not-so-silent cheer, his body flexing and in just the right-"Oh dear... I'm doing it again." She thought as she barely caught herself from fainting for what would be the third time since Omega had lost his armor.

Not to say that she was particularly glad that he had lost it, of course, but just that...

She gave her head a quick shake, whatever warmth she felt in her cheeks quickly dissipating as she focused her gaze ahead of her once more. She gave a quick glance to Fluttershy as well, a silent sigh escaping her as she realized that her friend had not noticed her... Distracted state.

Omega, in the meanwhile, had been keeping a chuckle held in the back of his throat since he had heard the second yawn escape from his charges, his amusement mostly being derived from the outright adorableness of the sounds.

He could tell fairly easily that they were in need of rest, especially after all they had been through in a matter of hours. Thankfully, they weren't going to be here for much longer. Not since he had disabled the area's lockdown.

Now, they would be able to leave when they got back to the Atlantic Express, and hopefully move on to Lower Rapture without issue.

It was funny, to Omega at least, how he had been so concerned about something bad happening. Aside from a few splicers here and there, there wasn't really much of a threat in this area to begin with anymore. The only one that had been here, had been killed some time ago, and likely wouldn't bother anyone anymore... He still wondered as to what that Bouncer had meant when he had mentioned that 'protocol' of his, much like wondered as to the 'anti-protocol'.

Momentarily pursing his lips at his thoughts, Omega shifted his shoulders as the group eventually reached the end of the maintenence path, being met with two familiar glass walls that created a corner, and a metal, automatic door with a lever next to it.

Recognizing this to be the first maintenance door that he and the others had seen when thy had first come into this area, and being able to see the same pile-up of carts and ride entrance through the glass of the walls, Omega reached out and grabbed hold of the lever, momentarily holding his fingers against the cold metal before giving it a swift tug downwards.

A series of clanks and whirs could be heard as the door began to open, pulling itself upwards to allow its passersby both exit and entrance, and revealing a directly parallel scene of a wax Ryan figure, his position just as unmoving and stiff as when he had first been seen.

Exiting the maintenance hall, and glancing to the two ponies that kept themselves closely behind him, Omega made for the attractions entrance, more than ready to leave Ryan Amusements behind him and his charges.

As he approached the door, however, a sudden thump could be heard, echoing through the room as he then stopped himself in place; His charges and accompanying security bot did the same, taking preference in the maintenance doorway.

Momentarily raising a brow, before then narrowing his eyes and readying his rivet gun, Omega made a quick scan of his familiar surroundings, confirming his suspicions that the sound was coming from beyond the door.

"Figures," he thought to himself with a roll of his eyes, beginning to walk closer to the door. "It would be a brute splicer. Who knows, maybe if I'm lucky–which is very likely–it'll be an armored brute."

Already groaning at the thought, Omega watched as the door began to whir, raising itself up... Before promptly stopping no more than an inch off of the floor.

Raising a brow, Omega scratched the back of his head as he wondered why-

A loud crash and the grinding of metal as the door bent inwards filled the room, causing Omega to recoil back by a step or two, his eyes momentarily widening before just as quickly narrowing as he raised his weapon. Fluttershy and Rarity reacted as well to this violent sound, their ears quickly splaying against their heads, a small yelp escaping either of the two, and the both of them backing slightly further into the maintenance path they had just taken. Winston stayed with them, strictly following one of Omega's much earlier orders to make them his first priority... Mostly because he knew Omega was right there.

His weapons and plasmids primed and ready, Omega waited as a moment of silence came about, his shoulders momentarily tensing as he took in a deep, calm breath.

... A shatter in the silence came as the door finally gave, itself as a whole managing to barely keep hold of its place, but the center part of it being broken inwards towards Omega's direction. As the former big daddy caught sight of the tool that had been used to do so, however, he froze.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and even Winston, did the same.

Before them, was a cold, steel series of blades, formed into a double helix. Before them, was an object of weaponry and repair. Before them, was a drill, jammed in through the door; Just beyond, they could hear a deep, metallic growl.

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

That's... A big daddy drill?!

H-how! Had a splicer somehow managed to figure out how to use a protector drill?

No, that wouldn't explain that groan, if that was even really what I had heard!

... Was it... Another big daddy? That doesn't make sense though, where was he!?! Even if he was hidden, it shouldn't have been that hard to find him! Plus, why would he be hiding!?

As the drill moved slightly in its place, seemingly jammed on the door, I heard the–Yeah, it was definitely a big daddy–give out a groan. No words behind it. Just a groan. A particularly annoyed sounding one at that.

My foot barely shifted an inch against the floor before the drill started to whir and spin. Within seconds, the door was ground down to nothing but shards, revealing-... How the FUCK!?!

There was no doubt about it. As I stood there, practically frozen in utter shock–and taking a wild guess that my charges were pretty much the same–I could see this was... The same one. The same one from before!

The symbol, the smaller helmet, the red coloring and extra canister–Everything!

Plus, somehow, whatever injuries, dents, breaks, chars, ANYTHING that had indicated his death was GONE!

How in the-

'Execute... Protocol...'

Oh great, he's still stuck on that!?!

'Main... Threat... Found...' Annnnnd apparently I'm his favorite now. As his drill began to spin even faster now, his once yellow port lights turning a vibrant red, I glanced behind me, noticing the railing that was currently the only thing seperating him and I from a pretty big drop onto a pile of riding pods. I smirked as an idea came to mind.

This guy's fast, sure. But, he's not impossible to avoid. This should be a quick... Er, rematc-

'Critical... State... Granted...'

Wait, critical wha-

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

A single flicker of light. That was all it took from the maintenance hall that they watched from before the once thought to be dead big daddy had made his way over to Omega, a strong wind streaming behind him as he slammed his gloved fist into Omega's stomach.

They managed a glance at his face of shock before he was lifted from his feet, practically arching himself around the blow, the bag on his back loosening and falling to the floor, and he was propelled forwards through the small railing that led to the stairs, and to the far side of the room.

They wanted to scream as they caught sight of him, already crashed through the building shaped props, and into the glass wall behind it, fracturing it into a large web; at the same time, the surprise of the moment left them silent, Fluttershy's hoof near her maw and Rarity's mouth agape as they looked over the scene.

Omega was in a different state, surges of pain reaching him just before his adrenaline could, essentially causing him to go into a momentary still as he struggled to keep his consciousness. Through his blurring vision, as he opened his eyes with a great amount of struggle, he could see the Bouncer standing where he used to be, the Bouncer's arm held outwards in a fist.

Narrowing his eyes as he began to loosen one of his arms, ignoring the jabbing and gashing glass that broke through his screen as he did so, he already subconsciously thought up many things that he could do to finish this 'protector' as quickly, and painfully, as possible.

With a grunt, he freed his arm, small streams and drips of crimson falling from it and to the floor as some of the glass remained within. With the lack of remaining support though, the glass directly behind him cracked even more, his eyes momentarily widening as he realized what this meant, and the glass finally allowed him the one last push he ever needed to free himself... In the form of gushing water.

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

I hit the floor with a loud thump, glass shards breaking around me and water hitting me with enough force from above to simulate a falling refrigerator.

As to how I know how that would feel, lets just say that death number 35 wasn't very... Usual.

Despite this, I managed to push myself up against the force, my arms as body trembling as the stream of water flowed off around me to the floor, and even greater surges of pain than before left me close to collapsing again.

"Ngh... At least... He didn't use the drill."

Glancing at myself from my currently kneeling position, I gave a grunt as I quickly took notice of the several other viable shards of glass I had embedded in my arms and legs–let alone the ones I could feel in my back, painting the water a slight red as it flowed.

Gritting my teeth and giving out a mental curse, I reached for the nearest shard of glass I could grab, settling for the one embedded into the back of my shoulder. Grabbing hold of it with my gloved ESU hand, I took in a deep breath before, with a withheld yell following quickly after, I yanked the shard out.

I found myself to be panting as the pain of that particular source faded, if only slightly, under the contact of the cool ocean water hitting my back. Looking to myself again though, this relaxation quickly turned to aggravation as I was reminded if the several other shards I had in my limbs and back.

This was going to take a while.

One that, as a loud roar filled the room, and I caught sight of the Bouncer as he jumped down to the floor I was on after me, I realized I didn't have enough to do.

Gritting my teeth again as an idea came to mind–One that I hated in every aspect of, might I add– I dragged myself up onto my feet, the familiar tingle of a plasmid surging through my bloodied right arm.

The Bouncer looked to me in what looked like confusion for a moment, as, all at once, I felt the sensation of over a thousand blades piercing me at once.

On a side note, it gave me an eerie reminder of death 25.

Narrowing my eyes as I finally got to my feet, I gripped my hands together, and, with a great roar of both anger, and especially pain, sent out every shard of glass that jabbed me with my Telekinesis.

Again, my vision blurred for a moment, and my consciousness momentarily slipped from my grasp.

I staggered slightly as the water around me once again turned a misted red, but I held my ground nonetheless, growling as I looked to the Bouncer.

He returned the growl graciously, his drill spinning up once more while I raised my rivet gun, knowing very well what would happen if I would have, at that moment, used my ESU.

The two of us glared at one another for sometime, myself panting while he gave out a barely audible breath, and the refreshing ocean water continuing to stream against me in a light red tone.

One particular drop of water made its way down my arm, gliding over my gashes, turning itself downwards as it reached my elbow, and, eventually, falling off my arm, into the flooding water below me with an echoing drip.

This was the unspoken 'go' as the Bouncer moved himself forward, myself only being able to slightly raise my rivet gun as a shield as he got to me in what seemed like a millisecond.

I couldn't even give out a thought before I was pinned against the cracked and partially broken glass wall behind me, the pain in my back increasing tenfold as my arm struggled to keep itself raised, and my rivet gun screamed at the incoming stress and grinding of the Bouncers drill.

He was faster. Somehow much faster than before. I suspected that 'critical state' that he had mentioned earlier to be the culprit, but that only left me even more confused as to what it was, and how it worked.

"Priorities. Priorities! PRIORITIES!"

Pushing the thoughts aside for later, I finally gained a foothold, one foot on the floor, the other against the wall. Pushing back against the malfunction in front of me, his drill, along with his entirety, began to slide back as I gained my second wind.

This guy was focused on speed, not strength.

With one last shove, and a roar to accompany it, I pushed him even further back, this time staggering him as his drill lost its mark and was pushed aside.

Before he could even gain a direct sight on me again, I had already reeled my right arm back, hitting him hard in his center-most porthole, before then following the blow with a surge of Telekinesis.

The air gave a sharp ring and distorted slightly as he was blasted back, much like I was, and crashed into the metal walls that made up the side of the stairway that led down here.

As the steel plates bent and gave under his propelled weight, I heard what sounded like a pair of yelps come from higher above, drawing my attention as I rose a brow at the noise.

My eyes widening as I noticed both Rarity and Fluttershy to be standing there, in the open, near the blasted apart railing as they watched the fight; They staggered from the impact of the Bouncer below them, my heart momentarily stilling at the thought of them falling over, before they quickly gained their balance.

Despite taking notice of Winston near the two, I still felt a growl escape me.

What were they doing! ?They should have been hiding!

Deciding to chew them out for that later, I put my attention back to the Bouncer... Just in time to see him slam his foot back down... Really had to start paying more attention in these fights.

I was on the floor before I knew it, and from a short glance I had managed, I noticed that Fluttershy and Rarity were no different; Winston began to malfunction, just as the previous security bot, Garret, had done in my last fight with this Bouncer.

The sound of cracking and shattering behind me worried me that the glass walls would completely break apart at the stress it was currently under, what with the violent vibrations, and the large hole that had already weakened its structure.

It seemed to hold though, as the shattering lessened to silence, though new leaks were starting to show.

Through my trembling vision, I could see the Bouncer making his way just fine over to the large pile of broken down pods to his right, before then grabbing hold of one, and lifting it over his head.

Reeling it back, I watched as the Bouncer took aim at me, launching the pod as powerfully as he could, and giving out a groan as he did so.

Time slowed for the second time that I had fought this thing, my left hand gripping onto the floor below me, bending the metal for a hold as I raised my right arm in front of me.

I was NOT going through death 47 again!

Enveloping the pod in my plasmids hold, I stopped it a few mere centimeters from reaching, before then launching it back at the Bouncer with a yell.

He didn't even flinch as he avoided the pod with ease, practically disappearing from where he was before he appeared in front of me, his speed once again being expressed as he raised his drill above me... And stood in front of my right arm... I see he also traded out his brains for his speed as well...

Smirking through the weakening trembles of the room, I fired off another telekinetic blast, staggering the Bouncer in his place.

Taking my given opportunity as I swapped hands between gripping at the floor and attacking, I raised my rivet gun to the Bouncer's leg, placing its barrel straight onto his armored knee before repeatedly slamming at the trigger with a yell.

Several of the shots could be heard clanging onto the armor, likely embedding themselves into one another as they continually pushed through bit by bit. Eventually though, a spurt of blood, and a sickening, yet satisfying, crack could be heard through the shots, soon followed by the sounds of further breaking flesh and bone.

The Bouncer gave a pained roar, swinging his drill at me and clipping my side, before then launching me off to the left. I could hear a snap of my own as something inside of me gave, and I tumbled across the floor.

The water splashing below me was my only indicator as to how far I may have gone before I managed to regain some sort of grip, grabbing onto the sides of the recently submerged railing of the ride.

In fact, it was only now that I realized that the water had reached knew deep depths, myself having momentarily been submerged from the impact.

Lifting myself from the forming sea of blue–And ignoring the small cloud of crimson that had formed in it around me–I coughed out some of the water that had made its way into my lungs, along with some blood, as I looked up to the Bouncer.

As I had hoped, he was currently on one knee, his other practically inexistent at this point, with great bouts of red liquid and pressurized air billowing from it.

I'd like to see that son of a bitch go fast now!

Smiling through my pain and at the opportunity in front of me, I stood myself on the wet, and now still, floor, taking aim with my rivet gun at his helmet.

How about you STAY dead this time, motherfu-

Click.

... How appropriate...

Growling at the lack of ammunition, I reached behind me for a new cl-

WHERE THE HELL IS MY SUPPLY BAG!?! SHIT!

My eyes widening as I realized that the bag must have been knocked off when the Bouncer had first attacked me, I instead raised my right arm again, with intent on using another telekinetic blast... Only to be met with nothing.

REALLY?!? I WAS OUT OF EVE TOO?!? OF ALL THE-

An angered groan from the big daddy ahead caused me to turn my attention towards him, as he began to slowly lumber over to me, a noticeable limp to him as he began to rev his drill again. That was pretty much his only defense now, aside from his armor and strength.

... Damn it all, this was my chance to end this, and I had nothing that do even that... Except...

Moving my gaze to my unused ESU, and the growing water below me, I gave out a groan as an idea came into existence... A very, very bad idea...

This was going to hurt.

Bracing my legs and feet below me, I began to launch my way through the water, greatly slowed, but not by too great of a margin to keep me from reaching the Bouncer.

Noticing my movement, and proximity, the Bouncer attempted another swing of his drill. Lacking his earlier speed to help him though, I was easily able to duck under the blow, reeling my arm back and extending my ESU without yet activating it.

Giving a roar as I sought to end this, I aimed my punch specifically for his center-most porthole. My inactivated ESU crashed through the glass of the porthole with ease, coming into contact with something much softer, but still giving a loud thump.

Before the man inside of the suit could even give out a yell of pain, I braced myself as I flicked on the ESU, activating its hidden electric potential.

Within an instant, the electricity of the ESU, coupled with the large amounts of water that surrounded and covered us, sent an incredibly immeasurable amount of pain jolting through me, and the Bouncer.

It felt as though most of my body wouldn't respond, as both he and I had out shaking yells of pain.

Taking note of the fact that the Bouncer had yet to go down yet though, I managed to slightly narrow my eyes, as I set the ESU to overcharge.

The pain gradually grew more and more intense, leaving me without the breath to even give out another yell, before, finally, the ESU launched its even more electrical blast forward.

I could see the jolt punch through the back side of the Bouncer's helmet, hitting off of the water, back through the helmet, and to me.

The jolt hit my ESU, and with that backwards flowing energy coming into contact with its opposite, a series of resulting electric blasts launched me back.

The resulting pain, and jolt, left me motionless.

I couldn't move, or shout, or even breathe, especially as I landed back first into the water of the flooding room.

Through my haze of pain, I could see the Bouncer collapse, his port lights going out as he hit the floor, and splashed up the water. I couldn't hear any of this though, the water around me muffling the sound, and the ringing in my ears degrading it to near deafness.

I could feel myself going back and forth between consciousness as I looked towards where the Bouncer had been, a mental grin forming as I realized that I had won...

Suddenly, I took notice of something... In the far corner of the room.

From the raised up platform, I saw a familiar glow... One that, I only knew... From experience... A green glow.

As it faded, I could feel the light vibrations of thumping footsteps, my eyes trying to widen, but unable to, as I caught sight of the same big daddy...

"Now... That's just... Bullshit..."

And with that, everything went to black.

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

Fluttershy and Rarity struggled desperately to make their way around Winston, who continually blocked the two's paths as they tried to make their way down the stairway to help their friend, even stopping Fluttershy from flying by doing the same.

Winston just as well did not want to leave Omega as helpless as he currently was, but he knew his orders–despite not particularly wanting to– and he also knew that he stood no chance whatsoever against that other big daddy, what with the unpleasant short-circuiting it had caused to his systems.

Fluttershy and Rarity were, of course, greatly perturbed by this.

"For goodness sake Winston," Rarity whispered angrily, "let us through! He needs us!" Despite her protest though, Winston continued to block their paths, moving himself in front of the white unicorn as she attempted to take a step forward.

It was at this point that Fluttershy had had enough. Narrowing her eyes into a familiar glare, which Rarity knew of all too well, she stomped her forehoof into the ground as she began to stare Winston down; He seemed to flinch at the look.

"Winston," she began, a silent anger in her voice, "if you aren't going to do anything to help, then... Just go."

For a moment, Winston simply hovered there, utter shock, and a slight sense of fear, rearing itself to him as he looked to the often timid pony.

Glancing to the ever closing Bouncer though, and taking note of certain... Features it held... A set of instructions began to form in his binaries.

"ANALYZING-
SITUATION SCAN COMPLETE-
ANTI-PROTOCOL ACTIVE-
TARGET RESULT: RESTRICTED-
WEAPONS DISABLED-
EXECUTE OBJECTIVE: 'CONTROL'-"

With a single prolonged beep, and a flash of his headlights, Winston spun in the air a pair of times, before promptly flying himself upwards and through a high up vent. The sound of his rotors could be heard echoing down the vent as Fluttershy and Rarity watched him leave.

"... Well that settles that, I suppose." Rarity mused with an insulted 'harrumph', before rolling her eyes and beginning to make her way down the stairs. Fluttershy followed shortly after, a small amount of guilt ebbing at her from how she had acted towards Winston as she did so.

As the two reached the end of the stairway though, panting slightly from their exertion, they froze, seeing that the big daddy had already reached where Omega was submerged.

Their breaths stilled as they saw the 'protector' reach his arm into the water, holding it there for a moment before then lifting it, along with Omega, who was currently held up by his neck.

He hung limply in his grasp, water and small hints of blood falling from his body as he was raised to the same height of the apparently reborn big daddy.

The two gasped as the armored daddy gave out a growl, whirring his drill into a violent spin and lifting it to aim towards Omega's unconscious body.

As he pulled back the drill, prepared to end the life of the 'main threat' that had plagued him.

"Omega!" The two shouted as the drill closed in on the fallen protector, only a few centimeters from actually coming into contact when-

"Echo, stand down!" Instantly, the drill stopped in its place, as the new voice echoed through the room. The girls widened their eyes at this, momentarily looking around the room for the source of the voice, but finding nothing in their search.

"... Who said that?" As the big daddy began to turn towards their direction, Fluttershy gave a near-silent 'eep' as Rarity, in her panic, hurriedly pulled her friend with her under the water to hide.

Fluttershy was barely able to catch a breath of air before she was pulled under, her eyes wide as Rarity placed her hoof over her muzzle, pushing aside her mental complaints as to how her mane was being ruined, though ruefully, as she saw the light of the big daddy shine over where they used to be, then opposite.

"... No matter Echo. I'm sure they'll show themselves soon enough..." The voice continued, a sense of both confidence and arrogance to it. "Now, if you can hear me," it began to shout, likely aimed towards the two, "I'm going to be having Echo take... Omega here to the Hall of the Future. Follow him, if you wish."

The two stayed silent from their positions, their lungs starting to scream at them for further oxygen.

"... Echo," the voice said, no longer referring to the two mysterious voices it had heard, "take him... And, if any splicers bother you, wait for my orders to attack..." The big daddy gave a silent nod, his port-lights now turning a neutral yellow as he dragged the unconscious body of Omega behind him, and towards the stairs.

The girls felt their fear spike as a heavy boot stepped next to them, mere inches from having hit Rarity, before lifting, and moving towards the stairs.

"... Oh, and, do be kind enough to grab that bag of his for him. We wouldn't to mistreat our friend here, would we?"

Author's Notes:

... Well fuck...

THE PLOT THICKENS!!!