... Owwww! Headache, headache, headache!

Seriously, holy crap talk about a migraine! Jesus!

Suffice to say, I woke up groaning, my head swimming as I reached up towards it with an arm of mine, planting my hand firmly over my head and rubbing at the area of my greatest discomfort--in other words, the entire thing. It didn't help me feel better, whatsoever, but I guess that it was more instinctual for me to do so than it was practical.

Giving my head a quick shake--and quickly regretting it shortly after as my mind then felt as though it had been through a stationary round of tennis with both sides of my skull--I pried my eyes open as much as I could, as slowly as I could, while also doing my best not to instantly puke as I was initially greeted by a series of swirling colors and blobs.

Yeah. Concussion. Definitely a concussion. Ugh. Hated these...

Anyways, focusing my thoughts as best as I could, I blinked my eyes repeatedly, clearing out the nonsensical masses of color and shapes.

Shapes and colors which, as I gave out another slight groan, ended up tackling me. Or, at least as close to it as they could.

"Omega! Oh, darling, you're awake!" Yeah, I'm guessing that white and purple blob is Rarity, which means that the other pink and yellow one was Fluttershy.

Though, gotta say, as pleasant as the hug is, the whole 'excited yelling in my ears' part of this whole thing was a little less than fun.

"O-oh thank goodness. Are you okay? Do you feel dizzy, o-or pain, or...?"

Is there an 'all of the above' option here?

Still, not wanting to worry the two any more than I had, I shook my head--which I regretted yet again--giving out a light, albeit forced smile as I did so.

"Are you sure?" Rarity then asked, to which I nodded.

It was barely noticeable, but as the two blobs of color began to become clearer before me, I noticed them seem to turn their heads towards one another for barely a moment or two.

"... He's not a particularly good liar, is he?" Oh crap...

I'll be honest, the moment I heard Seidon's voice, I couldn't help but to slam my hand into my face in frustration--to which I barely withheld a yell of pain.

"Mother fu- STOP DOING STUPID THINGS!" And apparently my conscience wasn't enjoying any of my actions either.

'Omega... Okay?' And he's here too. Great... Then again, I probably should have guessed, what with Seidon's voice, that Echo would have at least been near me.

'Fine.' I replied swiftly and bluntly to Echo with my own groan, rubbing at my eyes so as to hurry my vision in its clearing.

"As admirable as it may be that you are attempting to ignore your own injuries, you should realize that you aren't exactly in the most superb of conditions to do so. After all, you've been unconscious for well over three hours at this point." Three hours? Huh. Yet again, time flies by when you aren't awake to see it. I mean, it wasn't as bad as when I was out of it for days, rather than just hours, but still.

My sight finally clearing as I gave my head yet another shake, much to my own pain, I waved off Seidon's words as though they were nothing.

He didn't seem to appreciate this.

"For god's sake. At this point, I'm not sure if you're doing this because you're just so adamant about moving forward, or purely to spite me." I raised two fingers, indicating both.

"... Surely the two of you should be able to talk him out of this." Seidon then said, this time aiming his focus towards my charges. I gave him--or at least Echo--a rather notable glare at this.

I mean, really, trying to use Fluttershy and Rarity to get me to do something? I wasn't sure if I should think of that as something a kid would do when they 'tattled' on someone, or if I should take that as just downright insulting that he would think it was that easy...

Well, yeah, I'd probably listen to them if they asked me to do something, but my point still sorta stands... a little...

I don't know, I'm concussed, okay? My thought processes are a bit off right now.

Back to the matter at hand, as Seidon spoke to my charges, the two of them glanced over to him, then to one another, then finally towards me.

In the small time that they did this, they seemed to be pondering their options, their faces shifting to reflect this as they did so.

For a moment, I just waited, mentally hoping that I wouldn't have to chalk a point up to Seidon, or anything like that.

Soon enough though, the girls finally spoke up again, Rarity being the first to vocalize herself.

"Darling, are you absolutely certain you're well?" Rarity inquired, shortly followed after by Fluttershy.

"Y-yes, are you? I mean, when I hurt my head when we first met, I didn't feel that well either. I-- I-I mean, we don't want that you force yourself if you aren't feeling up to it."

I'll be honest, I barely held back a flinch when I heard Fluttershy bring up her own previous head injury.

Nonetheless, we needed to keep moving. Sure, maybe I was a bit dizzy, but it would pass quickly enough. Especially since I've been like this for a few hours already.

I'd had head injuries before, after all. Hell, is there really even any injury I haven't had? If there was, I certainly couldn't recall... Which may be taken as a bad sign, in that context.

Looking towards the girls, I gave out a smile and a firm nod, which, again, brought about a greater amount of head pai-

"STOP SHAKING YOUR HEAD YOU ABSOLUTE MORON!"

Er... Right then.

After I gave them my response, the two looked at me for a moment or so, Rarity having one of her brows raised doubtingly while Fluttershy sucked on the inside of her cheek ever-so-slightly.

The girls then gave a sigh, however, as they finally seemed to give in.

"... Alright." Rarity conceded, rolling her eyes. As she did this though, a small tugging at the corners of her mouth let me know that she hadn't done so in any really negative manner.

"J-Just try to take it easy though. O-Okay?" Fluttershy then added in, the concern on her face still clear, but softening.

I nodde-

... I gave the two quick pats on the head so as to signify my agreement.

"Hm. 'Relation between Subject and equine specie seems closer than originally believed'." As Seidon spoke up again, I looked past my charges, assuming that the sudden bouts of red on both of their faces, and the squeak that Fluttershy had let out, were from surprise--what with Seidon having only suddenly popped back into the conversation.

"Oh, do forgive me, I was simply taking another note here. After all, this is rather interes-"

I gave a loud, deep, distinct growl.

"Alright! Alright!" Seidon then said, giving out a sigh as he did so. "Echo, await the three of them outside of the building."

Sure enough, Echo followed his orders, a short, wordless groan escaping him as he then began to make his way out, his boots stomping heavily with every step he took

As I made to stand, however, grumbling as I watched Echo make his way out of the kitchen, I was suddenly halted as Fluttershy placed a gentle hoof on my lap.

"Um, Omega, w-would you mind waiting here? Just for a second, that is." Looking between her and Rarity with a raised brow, I noticed that the two held rather thoughtful expressions, allowing me to surmise that whatever it was they wanted to talk about, it wasn't something that they would prefer to leave for later.

"In other words, you better sit your ass down." Geez, you're awfully bitter.

"You gave yourself a concussion! It hurts like hell for me too, jackass!" Ignoring that mental remark, I gave the two a shrug seating myself back down and crossing my arms as I looked towards them, waiting for them to speak.

The both of them seemed to gain small smiles as I did this, but they didn't last long, quickly reverting to their previous expressions as Fluttershy then began to turn herself, moving for something behind her.

"Well... Omega, while you were resting, Fluttershy and I took the opportunity to look for your writing utensils, which you had dropped when... You know." Rarity began to explain, vaguely gesturing towards the hole in the roof as she finished. I gave her a nod of understanding as she spoke, but a slow one, not quite fully getting her point just yet.

"Granted, it didn't cause us too much trouble, but, when we finally found it we... saw what you had written." As if on cue, Fluttershy turned back to face me just as Rarity finished, the whiteboard segment I had lost hanging from her mouth, whereas the marker that came with it was between her two front hooves.

The writing that was on it, though faint and--for the most part--faded from the board, flashed by my eyes with ease as I swiftly grew to realize what the issue was.

'HE'S NOT MY FRIEN-' I recalled that that was all I had time to write at the time before the roof caved in, myself giving out an involuntary sigh as Fluttershy gently placed the whiteboard piece face-down before me, along with the marker on top of it.

"Now, dear, I understand that you and Echo have had your differences," Rarity began, myself barely withholding from rolling my eyes at the understatement, "but you need to understand that, whether or not you and him started off on bad terms, it would be for the best if you simply gave him a chance."

There were so many reasons I couldn't do that at this point. I mean, honestly, why the hell should I give that nimrod the time of day, which I was clueless about either way, let alone the slightest glimmer of care whatsoeve-

"Hey, you know what's really interesting? The fact that you got a concussion! You know why it's not any worse than just that? Because of a certain 'nimrod'! So suck it up!"

... Okay, I have two things to say to that. One, from now on I've apparently got to make sure not to get anymore concussions, since it makes for a pissed off conscience... at least that's what I thought that voice was. Two... as much as I'd hate to admit it, it was a fair point that it had brought up.

That moment from before I lost consciousness was practically flashing before my eyes on replay, with Echo pulling that Splicer off of me and killing him coming through over and over. His words especially echoed in my head.

'Leave... Friend... ALONE!'

That word he had used. 'Friend'. Why the hell had he used it? He had used it before, when he and I were first stuck with one another after Seidon's crap, but I had just brushed it off at the time. And yet...

"Omega," Fluttershy suddenly chimed in, bringing me out of my thoughts, "just think about it, okay?" Giving me a warm smile as she said this, Fluttershy gave me a simple pat on my leg, signifying what I could only imagine was the end of the conversation as a whole. Sure, I hadn't really said anything to add to it, but still, that shouldn't be news at this point, should it?

So, glancing between the two one last time, I have out a sigh, reaching out for and grabbing my whiteboard piece and marker before wiping off what remnants of words remained on the shard and stuffing it back into the bag on my back. I could feel Mill shift around ever so slightly at the introduction of the new item, but aside from that, nothing else was said or done as I then put a hand on my knee and, with some effort, pushed myself up to a stand.

For a second or two I experienced a spell of dizziness, stumbling as the world spun around me and my entire body suddenly felt about as out of whack as a splicer's mental status. The girls seemed to notice this with ease though, since, before I could even slightly regain my bearings, they were already by my sides keeping me steady, doing just as they had done before and planting their sides against me so as to make sure I wouldn't tilt too far left or right.

Shaking my head as the world slowly came to a still again, though the migraine from before still remained evident, I managed to give the two gestures of appreciation for their help, softly patting their heads, before then making my way outside of the diner, where Seidon and Echo were likely to be waiting.

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

As Omega made his way outside the diner, leaving through the backdoor, just as Echo had, with his charges following shortly behind, he held his head in his hand, his eyes closed shut and fingers rubbing at his temples as he already began to regret not taking any aspirin. It wasn't that he wasn't in pain--far from it in fact--but he was aware of the fact that the aspirin had the notable side effect of making someone drowsy within mere instants of taking it.

He knew this from experience, both from a third-person perspective and first-person perspective, and felt as though it would only be counterproductive if he spent another period of time sleeping.

"Oh dear, Omega, are you certain you don't want anything for your pain?" Rarity asked Omega with worry in her voice, seeing the discomfort that her and Fluttershy's guardian clearly felt. Omega, however, simply gave her a shake of his head as he went on, step after step practically echoing painfully in his head.

"Darling, you really shouldn't make things more difficult for yourself like thi- Oh, watch your step!" Rarity suddenly exclaimed, her voice jumping in volume and, as a result, sending a large wave of pain through Omega's head, which caused him to grit his teeth. Unbeknownst to him though, it was this same pain that had all but halted him in his tracks, keeping him from doing... whatever it was Rarity didn't want him doing.

Rarity gave out a sigh at this, before then speaking up once more.

"Oh, thank goodness." She said with relief, much to Omega's confusion.

"That could've left an absolutely dreadful stain if you had stepped on it." Unsure as to what she had meant, and as to why it would apparently 'leave a stain'--which, when he thought about it, was a curious fact in of itself, considering the fact that his clothing was already beyond the point of no return in terms of filth and overall condition--Omega moved his hand away from his head and opened his eyes to get a look around.

Upon doing so, Omega quickly realized what the issue was...

Blood, practical gallons and gallons of it, painted a large percentage of the area around him and his charges, some of it still seeming fresh and dripping even now as he looked it over. These layers and layers of dark scarlet also hid many more, though barely perceptible sights within them, some shaped out to corpses, others what little remained of them.

Even directly in front of Omega, just where he was about to step mere seconds ago, Omega couldn't help but to slightly flinch back as he spotted what he could barely make out to be a pile of displaced intestines, partially ground to mush.

It didn't take long for Omega to realize what it was that had happened, vividly recalling seeing Echo make his way outside of the diner earlier when he had lost consciousness.

To an extent, Omega was impressed, being able to make out at least forty distinguishable corpses among the blood bath that surrounded them--forty and a half if he counted the one that somehow hung from the ceiling. However, despite this, he couldn't help but to feel ever so slightly more worried as a result, not having really seen Echo's full potential against splicers up until now, and even then this was only what he could guess to be a small glance at the big picture.

Looking down towards the more notable pile of gore before his feet and cringing at the thought of any of it managing to get through his shoes, Omega sidestepped the splicer remnants, moving further into the bloodied floors of the outside of the diner in the process. Behind him, he could hear his charges seem to comment.

"Yes, well, do watch where you step, Omega. Echo left behind quite the mess while you were resting." Rarity then commented as Omega then suddenly realized that he was essentially leaving his charges behind, trapped by a sea of blood.

Practically hitting himself over his head for having forgotten this, though swiftly voting against that idea shortly after, Omega made to turn around so as to help them.

To his surprise though, when he had turned little more than his head towards them, they were already right behind him, well into the ocean of crimson and gore that surrounded them.

He blinked.

"Omega?" Rarity questioned, noting Omega's sudden pause, alongside the expression he had given.

Fluttershy, in turn, rose a brow just as well.

As they did this, Omega couldn't help but to notice how... relatively casual there were about the entirety of the situation.

Not a few days ago, the girls would seem ready to gag or break down at the slightest of sights involving death, be it brutal or otherwise. Yet, here they were, among what was practically a sea of blood and misplaced innards, yet, save for the short breath they had likely taken to steel themselves, they hadn't particularly reacted to what was around them.

Omega wondered if, despite the fact that it has barely been a week or so since they had gotten here, they had already adapted the Rapture methodology of just getting used to sights such as these. He wondered if they had really lost so much of the innocence he had known them to have at this point that the sight before them seemed to be like another day to them.

And, most importantly, he wondered about, and hoped against, the possibility of them losing what little innocence they had by doing what he did everyday in this damned city. He wondered if, if things went on as they were now, they would soon end up having to kill themselves...

Gritting his teeth and curling his gloved hand into a tight fist, Omega did what he could to empty that thought out of his mind as quickly and effectively as possible, shaking his head and moving on, his charges following closely behind as he ignored the headache plaguing him.

When he was guarding Little Sisters, he knew that they had lost a good bit of their own naivety, their lack of corruption, shortly after having first being programmed. He had heard rumors from other Big Daddies, back when they were still alive, that Little Sisters saw the world completely differently than anyone else did, and as a result, were practically oblivious to the horrors around them.

Fluttershy and Rarity, however, did not have this benefit on their sides. Every sight, every sound, every scream and cry that a splicer gave out as they died a horrible death came through to them as clear as can be.

They were not the same as Little Sisters... Omega knew this, but couldn't care less, instead busying his mind on the single other focus that resided within it.

Perhaps they had not quite been the models of total innocence themselves, but Little Sisters had never truly had to take the lives of others, as far as he knew. Not until they became Big Sisters in the second generation, that is.

That was how it was for them, and Omega was certain that he would at least help his charges be similar in that one regard. The lack of blood they would see on their hands--or hooves, in this case--every other time he looked at them. The sight that he nowadays just brushed off as normality.

"Hm. I take it the three of you were preoccupied with something?" As the voice of Seidon suddenly rang clearly through the air again, Omega was swiftly dragged out of his thoughts, looking to Echo, who stood in front of one of the pathways that led further into Pauper's Drop. As he did so, it was only now that he noticed that his armor was much more red than usual.

Fluttershy and Rarity looked towards Echo in a similar fashion, their ears twitching ever so slightly at Seidon's voice.

Omega didn't comment, a low, quiet growl escaping him.

"... Well, I suppose that, whatever it was, I shouldn't think to pry, should I?" Seidon then added shortly afterwards, an audible sigh accompanying his words.

"Nonetheless, the four of you should get going soon. Gamma's signal shows that he's just up ahead." Rarity and Fluttershy both gave short nods at this information, Omega busying himself in the meantime by staring Echo down. Echo, in turn, only tilted his head ever so slightly as response, not quite understanding what was occurring.

"Furthermore," Seidon then added in, "there's something up ahead that may interest you, Omega. An opportunity for improving yourself, in a sense." At this, though he was unable to fully show it, Omega's attention switched from Echo to Seidon, a brow of his raising at his statement in unsureness.

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

"In the garden we are growin', many changes will be flowin'. If you want to be amazin', see the flowers we are raisin'!"

Really? Just... really?

My reaction to the Gatherer's Garden machine that sat pretty much immediately ahead after turning the corner into the pathway was less than phenomenal, to put it lightly. Hell, I think Seidon seemed to have noticed this himself, what with the fact that he wasted no time trying to speak up again.

Then again, the fact that I had deliberately looked from the machine towards Echo and him in a slow, deliberately threatening fashion may have sped up his reaction time in that regard.

"Now, I understand that Big Daddy's such as yourself find the idea of using these machines to be rather controversial, what with the fact that you were originally given the duty of guarding the Little Sister's that led to the very development of this machine and its products, but you need to understand that you won't be able to rely solely on the stray Plasmids and Gene Tonics that you scavenge from time to time. It's inefficient, let alone impractical." As Seidon explained this, I had already proceeded to roll my eyes at him and, essentially, tune him out as best as I could.

I really couldn't give any less of a crap as to whether he thought something I did was 'inefficient' or otherwise. His opinion was just about as worthwhile to me as the wood used on most of the stairs in this city. And considering the poor experience I had with that very same thing, it was suffice to say I only ended up translating Seidon's words into some kind of gibberish.

I didn't need him to convince me to use the machine in front of me... mostly because I was going to use it whether he wanted me to or not.

I mean, don't get me wrong, when it came down to what little I had heard from Seidon before blocking his annoying voice out--about how Big Daddies found the use of a Gatherer's Garden machine to be more than a little controversial--he wasn't wrong. Up until now, the Plasmids and Tonics I had found had, in fact, just been scavenged as leftovers. Even if the Telekinesis 3 Plasmid I had was originally from one of these machines, I had still never technically used it.

Even now the idea of using it just felt... off...

But, that didn't really matter, did it?

The further into Lower Rapture we went, the more trouble we would run into. The fact that my shoes were currently leaving behind bloody prints behind me with every step I took as a result of making my way through what was likely the conglomerated remains of what may have been dozens of splicers only served to further drive that point in.

If I wanted to have any chance of keeping the girls safe, I'd need to get stronger along with the splicers.

So, rolling my eyes as I tuned back in on whatever the hell Seidon was saying, I made my way past Echo, gesturing for him to move aside with a quick bob of my head. He did so, obviously, with no hesitation, remaining obedient to his very core.

Reaching into my bag, I rummaged around for a certain glass jar of... preferably forgettable substance. Forgettable, that is, in regards to how we had gotten it.

Sifting through cans and first aid kits, I felt Mill graze by my hand as I, eventually, grabbed hold of a warm jar of liquid.

With little effort, I pulled this same container out of our bag of supplies and into the open, the red, glowing liquid that lied inside sloshing around ever so slightly at the sudden movement.

I could practically hear both Fluttershy and Rarity alike flinching as they saw the substance I held, likely being able to just as vividly recall its origin as I had myself.

Despite this though, I ignored my memories to the best of my ability, removing the lid of the container and, immediately afterwards, jamming it into a slot on the Gatherer's Garden machine where one would usually place their arm.

It was admittedly tricky trying to get the thing to work, but, with some maneuvering, I managed, watching as the needle that lied in wait above the slot plunged down all the way towards the bottom of the jar, giving out a notable clink as it did so, before then beginning to take as much of the ADAM that lied within as possible.

I flinched slightly, alongside my charges, as I recalled that this same, clearly merciless needle was the same that would end up pricking me, but I moved that thought aside.

This needle worked on what was essentially the same spring-loaded mechanism as any other injection based machine in Rapture, so there really wasn't much of a reason to complain about it now.

Anyways, as the last of the ADAM was sucked out of the container, and into the Gatherer's Garden, the machine gave out a low ding, followed shortly thereafter by what sounded like clicking as a small dial of four numbers that lied on the far right of the machine began to spin.

One after the other, the numbers clicked as they halted in place, displaying the amount of ADAM the machine had managed to process from what it was given.

The number '160' eventually settled into place, the digits clicking still and displaying themselves one by one, from left to right. Admittedly, this number had thrown me off. After all, from what I had been able to recall, Mill had only drained the blood of two dead splicers before he had coughed up this ADAM. Plus, under normal circumstances, the production of ADAM was normally much more effective when done through the use of a Little Sister. That was what I was programmed to know at least.

Still, I only ended up shrugging this off, watching as, in response to the sudden introduction of ADAM, the vertical row of buttons on the machine suddenly lit up, the long panels next to them suddenly flipping, revealing what the machine had in stock.

From top to bottom, I could see that the choices were... minimal. More than likely from the years upon years of overuse the machine had gotten, several of the buttons simply had dulled entries next to them, implying that these such products were out of stock. In the end, all that remained in the machine were a few Gene-Tonics called 'Booze Hound', 'EVE Saver', and 'Sports Boost'--all of which were priced at 40 ADAM, except EVE Saver, which was 50--and a single remaining buyable plasmid--alongside the obligatory bodily modifications such as the mutations that allowed one to hold more EVE, Plasmids, or overall survivability in their bodies. This plasmid was 'Decoy', which cost 60 ADAM.

Admittedly not the best possible plasmid, I know, but that wasn't to say that it wouldn't have its uses. After all, what Decoy essentially did was, as one may easily have guessed from the name of the plasmid, make a Decoy to keep splicers and the like busy. Granted, the base form of the plasmid had no real way of doing anything in return to the spllicers that attacked it, but, hell, the simple possibility of getting more splicers of my and my charge's backs already seemed more than good enough for me on its own.

Nodding at myself at this decision, I began to input what it was I wanted from the machine.

Due to the fact that I already had two plasmids in my body--Telekinesis 3 and Security Command 2--I was already at what was essentially the max possible Plasmids the average human body can initially handle, leaving me with no place to put the Decoy plasmid. So, the first thing I did was push the button next to 'Plasmid Slot', which I never cease to question in terms of wording anytime I would see it come up in the past, followed shortly afterwards by Decoy. The two added up to 100 ADAM, the number on the dial going down to accomadate this newly requested use of ADAM until it then remained with two remaining digits, signalling the amount of ADAM left was 60. This was where I had a bit more trouble deciding what to get next, to be honest. 60 ADAM wasn't a lot, clearly. With it, I'd only be able to get one more thing from the machine, whether it be another bodily enhancement, or a Gene-Tonic.

Right away, I crossed out the option of using the Booze Hound tonic. I didn't even know the taste of alcohol, let alone whatever 'negative effect' it may have on the EVE in my body, as the Gene-Tonic's description showed it would prevent, so that was out. Sports Boost was notable, I guess, but all in all, would it really be a good idea to try and get it? After all, what use would running and punching faster do if the splicers were already aiming at me with machine guns. Last time I checked, Echo is the only one who I would guess even stands a chance at outrunning bullets, and even then, he was wearing armor...

In the end, my choice was between more EVE, or the use of less EVE with every Plasmid. Not much of a difference, was it? There was also added survivability, but, let's face it, a shot to the head is a shot to the head. You're dead no matter how 'healthy' you are. If not, well, at that point you just go ahead and call bullshit, or thank whatever god may have not yet completely abandoned you at that point.

Anyways, back on subject, on one hand, I'd be able to use Plasmids more frequently with less need to worry about the cost. On the other hand, I'd be able to use Plasmids more frequently with less need to worry about the cost. Notice the difference? Because I sure as hell don't.

Suffice to say, I simply went for the more advanced and complicated method that I knew would be of use to me at the moment: The method of 'eeny, meenie, miny, moe', taught to me by one of my Little Sisters from long ago.

Singing the tune in my head as I glanced between the two choices, I eventually settled on the Gene-Tonic, shrugging my shoulders as I then nonchalantly pushed the button next to it, once again causing the dial to spin as it recalculated.

As the dial settles on the digits '1' and '0', I knew that I had no more use for the machine at that moment, moving my hand over to the very most bottom button on the vertical row which read 'Finish'. I pushed it as I did all the others, watching as the machine slowly processed my requests with a series of whirs and clicks.

Eventually, after what was likely, I don't know, maybe one or two minutes, the machine gave out another ding as the needle that was once jammed to the bottom of the glass jar that held the ADAM from Mill rose, and a small symbol of a human arm began to flicker above it. It didn't really take a genius to guess as to what the machine wanted.

Rolling my eyes, I barely even began to reach for the jar when, suddenly, a pair of yellow hooves suddenly circled around it and carefully removed it from its place. Seeing this, I turned to the source of these hooves on my right, seeing Fluttershy, who flew ever so slightly off the ground, looking from the jar towards me with a smile.

"I-I'll put it back." She said simply, before then making her around me, leaving my sight as she went behind me. I couldn't see it, but I could definitely feel it as my bag shifted from Fluttershy's interactions with it, ranging from a slight tug to a simple shift. It was barely even a few seconds before she, from what I guessed, finished, flying back to her previous position on my right and flashing me another smile as she did so.

I returned the gesture, appreciative of the albeit small action, before then raising my right arm and, with a breath, placing it into the same slot as the jar had once been in, allowing it to relax on the arm-rest as I pulled back the sleeve of the jacket I wore as far back as possible.

At first, nothing happened, the machine simply losing the flickering light it once held and giving out a click as it adjusted. Things even grew silent for a moment, nothing whatsoever occuring as even the machine became utterly mute, lacking of any sound.

"... Is something wro-" Before Rarity could even finish, the loud sound of escaping pressurized air and an expanding spring fired throughout the room, causing both Fluttershy and Rarity to recoil at the suddeness of the sound with their own individual 'eeps' and 'oh dears'. As for me, my reaction was much more... noticable, I guess I would say. Mostly because, the moment that sound went off, the needle practically launched itself all the way down to my bone, much unlike the other needle based machines and products of Rapture, which, in culmination with the suddenness of it all, left me reeling.

Gritting my teeth at the pain, I felt the hand of my now trapped arm tighten into a fist, my other arm occupying itself by banging against the machine a couple of times or so to try and subconsciously take my mind off the pain.

The same mind and sub-conscience that were currently giving out their own opinions on the matter that groans and moans could not describe.

"Motherfu- Holy goddamn- WHAT THE FUCK?!?" Case and point...

Nonetheless, despite this, and the overall discomfort I felt, I powered through the pain as best as I could, my teeth grinding as the machine began to give out a slight whirring sound as it injected me with a veritable cocktail of processed ADAM.

The feeling was... odd. It wasn't like the injection of a single plasmid, which was simply empowering, nor was it like getting spliced for the first time. It was a wierd mixture of the two, yet at the same time, it was niether of the two. It was just unusual, alright?

Whatever this feeling was though, it disappeared soon enough as, within seconds, the machine emptied out what it needed to inside of my systems, finally retracting the needle, albeit at a pace much slower than what I would have preferred, and allowing me to pull off my arm from the rest it laid on, bloodied and ever so slightly more irritated than the rest of my body, the veins on it much more visible up towards the beginning of my upper arm.

"Hm. Seems as though those Gatherer's Garden machines still weren't calibrated to be more gentle, even after all these years." Ignoring Seidon's words, as I usually did, I shook my arm a couple of times to ring off whatever discomfort remained, muttering under my breath as I did so. Granted, I was mumbling groans, but mumbling nonetheless.

"Oh my. Omega? Are you okay? That didn't hurt too badly, did it?" Fluttershy questioned worriedly, looking at my arm as I then proceeded to cover it, and the blood on it, with the sleeve of my jacket.

Gripping my hand once or twice, I barely answered with a slight nod as I slowly grew accustomed to a new feeling that laid in my body, alongside the sudden knowledge that accompanied it.

Narrowing my eyes, I flicked my wrist once, my veins glowing ever so slightly as what I recognized as the Telekinesis 3 plasmid came up. Noting this, I flicked my wrist again, the glow in my arm suddenly becoming more centralized in my hand as, alongside a few odd bumps that appeared, a glowing blue ball with small, bug-like lights swirling around it appeared. Security Command 2.

Then, finally, with one last flick, the ball disappeared in my grip, and glow in my veins disappeared completely. Instead, my arm suddenly seemed... blurry. It was as though I had double vision, or as if I was looking an image of my arm from the reflection of a pool of water, accompanied by a small, though barely noticable and quickly fading mist. My charges seemed to notice this as well, the two approaching even closer and, as I looked them over, seeming to try to squint their eyes and lean their heads as they looked towards my arm. Altogether, this sight was rather entertaining, drawing a quiet chuckle from me.

"Well that's quite odd." Rarity observed, watching with absolute attention as I then made a simple movement of my arm towards myself before then flicking it outwards just behind me. Within an instant, that same small mist appeared again, but this time centralized in the area I had motioned my arm to, and at a much larger scale. It quickly began to take shape before me, my charges, Echo, and even Seidon's eyes, starting from below and forming the familiar shape of shoes and pant-legs all the way to the top, where it formed a shirt collar, and a head to rest in it.

"... As is that." Rarity then added on shortly afterwards, again making me wish I could laugh.

There, before me, stood what seemed to be a clear, slightly colored outline of myself, simply looking around its surroundings, pretending as though it were actually a living being. Now, to me, it was just that, an outline with no discernable features whatsoever. But, I had seen this Plasmid in action before, and, in essence, this was only what I saw. I wasn't sure how, but, despite what I saw, anyone else that looked at the Decoy would see an exact copy of me; skin, clothes and all.

Maybe it was made like this so that the maker of the Decoy wouldn't somehow get confused--however that would work--or maybe it was because the scientists that made the Plasmid didn't want to keep looking at their ugly faces when they used it; whatever the reason, that was simply how it worked.

And it seemed to be rather effective, judging by Rarity and Fluttershy's reactions, of whom the two began darting their gazes between the Decoy and I. In fact, for a moment or two, it seemed they had forgotten which was which, Rarity reaching out for the Decoy at first before, upon quickly seeing her hoof phase harmlessly through the Decoy, then placing it on my leg, looking up at me and giving an awkward smile before giving me a soft pat or two.

"Hehe..." She giggled meekly, before then looking back to the Decoy.

"... Darling, if you would please do us the favor of somehow warning us whenever you're using... this, that would be grand."

"Y-Yes, please." Noted.

Giving the two a swift nod, all the while chuckling as I did so, I looked back at the Decoy once more... right as a certain Bouncer's hand began phasing though my Decoy's face, repeating the gesture about ten times over before he then moved his attention away from the Decoy and towards me, proceeding to move his hand in my direction as he did so.

With whatever showing of previous entertainment or enjoyment I had on my face effectively obliterated, leaving nothing more than a blank expression, I grabbed Echo's approaching arm with one of my own, raising it and effectively stopping him from touching me. It was cute when Rarity had done it. Not so much when he did.

'Don't.' I told him simply, flicking my arm towards where the Decoy was and causing it to disappear in mere moments.

Honestly though, what was with him and touching things? Ugh.

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

As footsteps echoed down the long emptied and forlorn halls of Pauper's Drop, their sounds ranging from the lightest taps of hooves against the floor to the heavy rumblings of an armored being's heavy steps, a stray pool of oil granted a clear reflection of the source of these unique noises, the group of indiscernible relation passing by one after the other, the largest of the beings seeming to lead while the others followed at a distance.

It was this same group that could be clearly seen as it made its way down one of the many pathways that made up most of Rapture, with little more to give them distinction between one path and the other save for the occasional out of place bloodstain, chip in the wall, or advertising poster.

The group, in of its entirety, had only been walking for what was likely to be a few minutes now, and by then the hall that they had been making their way down had begun to grow, the roof rising ever so slowly, and the hall itself widening just as well.

"It seems as though we're closing in on Subject Gamma." A voice from the group observed, emanating from the large metal being. With it, the armor-less protector unit known as Omega rolled his eyes, not particularly caring of either the voice's sound, tone, or even overall message.

Truthfully, the only thing on his mind was the very idea of finishing what he, and his charges, had unfortunately been caught up in during their original journey and moving on.

Any implications he showed of this, however, went unnoticed on that occasion as his charges held little to no hesitation on the questioning of this voice.

"Oh, r-really?" The more timid of the two charges asked, receiving a barely audible hum in return.

"Yes. From what I can tell, Echo's systems are becoming more reactive to the signal from Gamma's systems. More than likely, the difference of time between his and our travel through here was no more than that of a few minutes." The voice explained, this time earning a more earnest reaction from the former Big Daddy as he rose a brow at the explanation.

"That close already? This'll be over before we know it then." He mused to himself as he looked further ahead, towards where the hall completely opened up into a larger, much more notable area.

Keeping their guards up as they did so, the group slowly made their way into the new, more open area, quickly taking their given chance to scan the environment around them.

The area itself was smaller than the last one they had been in, but seemingly held more use throughout it just as well, leaving very little barren walls in comparison to the singular dinner that stood in the middle of the last open space they had come across.

The room they had now entered was much more closed than the last, large piles of rubble and interconnected structures filling it with ease. In the very center of the room was one of these such piles of rubble, placed precariously, almost purposely, next to a small, unlabeled metal booth, which had been heavily rusted and decayed with time. Water leaked continuously downwards from above, though fortunately the ceiling was not of glass that led directly towards the ocean, what was left of it being made of what was likely a structural combination of stone and metal, once structurally sound but now long failed. This leak formed a small pool of water on the floor, just deep enough for a body to rest and drown within, should they be laid down.

Other more notable structures in the area were the two buildings that made up a large amount of the room in the open space. One of these buildings was, more than likely, about two stories high or so, practically reaching all the way up towards the roof, though coming just short of actually touching it. The building itself was almost entirely white, though the paint had long begun to wither and chip away, with a single, large sign placed above the door that made up its entrance. The sign itself was comprised of what many knew to be the caduceus symbol, gilded in gold, alongside the heavy seeming and bolder words of 'Fontaine Clinics', neon green lights serving to underline and accentuate these words.

The other, smaller building was much less impressive in comparison. Whereas the clinic was two stories, and more expanse in of itself, one could easily see the entirety of what laid inside the other building through the windows that surrounded it. Even the sign that stood on the roof of the building held less significance than its counterpart, gold being traded out for what seemed like wood, and a few bits and pieces of metal. The sign itself had even gone through worse wear over time, with nothing more than outlines of where some letters used to be upon it, spelling out 'King Pawn' with a notable lack of an initial 'N' and a later 'W'.

One last thing that the group noticed, however, was the abundance of makeshift wooden pathways that interconnected the roofs of the buildings with one another.

Altogether, this comparatively small open area, as far as the group could tell, seemed to hold more to it than it let on...

"Hm... He should be somewhere around here. Search the premises immediately." Hearing the apparent order, and noticing that it didn't seem to be specifically aimed towards the Bouncer of the group, Omega looked towards the armored member of their group with a noticeably cold glare, a light growl emanating from him as he awaited for the voice that spoke through the Bouncer's systems to correct itself.

And this voice just as quickly noticed this same glare.

"Er, that is to say, I would recommend that you search the premises... immediately..." Omega was tempted to keep on glaring just to see how far into his own stupidity the voice known as 'Seidon' would go, but decided against it, thinking to himself that, if he did so, he would be there waiting for him to reach his plateau of idiocy for what would likely be months.

So, with a shake of his head and a roll of his eyes, Omega gestured for Echo to make his way to the small alleyway between the buildings; an unspoken order that he was quick to follow, as programmed.

Footsteps echoing once more as the two went ahead again, Echo in the lead with nothing more on his focus aside from the machine he was commanded to head towards, and Omega's eyes darting around the area as they went on, the two that he accompanied, Fluttershy and Rarity, followed shortly behind, just as similarly making sure that there wasn't any chance that a splicer of any sort would sneak up on them.

However, it would have been a lie to say that they did not hold more focus on the pair in front of them than what surrounded them.

Mentioned earlier towards their guardian, Omega, the two were largely concerned with how he and the Bouncer, Echo, were interacting with one another. Initially, the two had believed that, after having joined with them, Echo would simply be something that they'd have to grow used to. And for the most part, they had done just that--grown slowly accustomed to Echo in his entirety. They still weren't fully used to him being around, occasionally flinching away from the Bouncer whenever he would suddenly speak, or take a particularly close step near them. But, all things considered, it was still rather close to being so.

Omega, however, didn't seem to be making even the smallest of notable efforts.

Though they couldn't understand the two whenever they did converse--these occasions albeit few and far and between--they held no issue in noting that they were never in any particularly friendly nature.

Whenever Omega would give out a groan to them, he would make it clear that it was in good nature. Fluttershy, nor Rarity, were sure how to describe the exact way in which he did it--perhaps it was the simple way he would carry himself as he did so, or even a faint sign that could be seen on his features--they still knew that he hadn't displayed these such signs of behavior on any of the occasions in which he had spoken with Echo.

Let alone the time that Omega purposely blew out the floor below Echo, before then showing that he held no interest in knowing if he was okay or otherwise.

Sure, Echo was able to come back from death, like Omega had previously been able to, but whenever Omega had died they had always shown their concern well into the point that he had already come back. Omega... didn't even seem to pass a second glance towards Echo in response to his deaths.

Perhaps it was nothing but nonsense in the world they were in now, so full of violence as it was, but the concepts of their world were built almost entirely on friendship; on not only the companionship of others, but, as a result, the forgiveness of those that had done them wrong.

"Then again," Fluttershy then mused to herself downtroddenly, "ponies would never try to actually... kill one another." The butter-yellow Pegasus allowed this thought to fester in her mind for a moment, momentarily looking towards the floor below her, before quickly snapping herself out of it with a shake of her head.

Whether the action committed by another was horrible or otherwise, if they wanted to show that they were sorry afterwards, then they couldn't possibly be as bad as one would think them to be.

"And besides," Rarity then mentally chimed in, individually, yet seemingly in sync with the thought process of her friend, "Echo didn't do what he did by his own choice, did he? He was supposed to be 'obedient' after all. What he did couldn't possibly be his own fault..."

Before the two could dwell on these thoughts for much longer, they found themselves, along with Echo and Omega, coming to a sudden halt, only then taking note of the fact that they had indeed moved in their thought-filled states.

Whereas before they had stood at the end of the pathway that led to this new area, now they were in the middle of the tall space, holding a newly filled and complete view on the entirety of the area.

The two watched as Omega scanned their surroundings, seeming unsure as to where to go from there, before then turning to face Echo and giving out a groan.

They couldn't really understand him, as per usual, and could only really wonder as to whatever it may have been that he was saying.

They could only hope that it wasn't anything of an insulting or just plain overall negative nature.

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

'Any chance you're going to tell me where to go from here, drill-arm, or are you just gonna stand there and wait for another order?'

'... Identification... Echo...'

'I know that, I'm just... Forget it.' It was almost involuntary at this point; me moving my hand up to my face and pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration, that is. That, or rubbing my temples. Or slapping my hand against my face. Either way, whichever of these from an even longer list of tells came up, they all showed that I was getting irritated in some way, shape, or form.

It was so hard to insult somebody who pretty much took everything at a literal level.

'Forget... What...?'

'What I just told you!'

'What... tell... me?' Did he actually make himself forget that?! Okay, this is exactly what I mean! Honestly, at this point, I'm not sure if I should be mad at the fact that he's so overly obedient, or impressed by it!

"I take it you're gonna go for both?" Probably!

'Just... Which building is he in?!'

'Signal... From tall one.' Thank you! Christ! Getting any answer from this nimrod is like trying to get directions from a splicer, I swear!

"Or you just don't ask him the right questions." Oh, fuck off!

Putting my thoughts behind me to the best of my ability, I turned back to my charges, if only in assurance of the fact that they were there.

They seemed... distracted with something. As to what, I wasn't sure, but it was still clear nonetheless. I was tempted to just stop and try to figure out what was on their minds, but the more this idea came along, the more it seemed to develop as something that I should actually avoid doing.

Maybe it was because a part of me knew what they were distracted by, or maybe it just didn't want to know, either way I stayed silent, doing little more than to grunt for their attention and gesture towards the clinic building.

They responded as expected, looking to me and nodding their heads slightly, but even then I could see the subtle differences in the way they did so.

"You sure you want to just pass over this like it's nothing?" As I said, putting my thoughts behind me.

With little more than a few strides to the building Echo had directed my charges and I to--albeit with some notable difficulty in how he had understood the order--the front door of the clinic was suddenly before us, similar to any other automatic door in Rapture, save for a differently colored trim, and a broken down dial lock that hung limply from its outlet to the left of the door.

More than likely, one of the stronger splicers had wanted to see if the clinic had any notable drugs in it left over--mostly ADAM--and had gotten irritated with the lock. That is to say, on this occasion, I was less mindful of the splicer's impatience and more thankful. It certainly made things slightly easier... even though I, and Echo, could easily break that same door down with ease if need be, but still.

Taking one last look around the area, before then giving a satisfied nod as I took note of the fact that it was essentially barren of both resources and splicers, I took another step towards the door, tripping its sensor and causing it to slide open with a loud, unpleasant grind. It was so unpleasant, in fact, that not one of us failed to react to it in our own negative ways.

I felt my teeth grit as this noise did little to help my splitting headache, Echo took a step or two back, and both of my charge's ears moved flat against their heads, with Fluttershy practically jumping out of her skin at the suddenness of the sound.

Just as quickly as it had begun though, it ended, the door managing to open itself fully, giving us entrance into the clinic.

I made a mental note at this. Fontaine may have been more than happy to try and make things look nicer, but it was sure as hell obvious that he needed to work on functionality just as well.

Not that he would be doing so anytime soon, that is.

Growling through the suddenly deafening sound of blood flowing through my ears, I looked to the less than effective door with a scowl.

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

The door to the clinic now bent and broken beyond the point of ever being useful again, Omega gave out a satisfied harrumph as he dusted his hands off one another, flesh clapping against the thin rubber of his ESU glove as he looked back behind him, inside of the building.

Awaiting his gaze were the tiled floors and walls of the inside of the clinic, both sharing a similarly white color, though heavily brandished with accumulated much and filth, with the only real distinction between the two being the size of these tiles, with those on the floor being only slightly smaller than those of the wall.

Decoratively speaking, however, there were some notable things to take to mind.

For instance, the large wooden counter that sat immediately in front of the clinic door, likely to have been where patients were first admitted back when the building, and its employees, were still in working order. The upper left corner of the walls just behind this counter held the remnants of a small Rapture television, long since turned into a jumble of random, sparking wires that hung loosely from their placements.

Random posters hung from the walls of the room, each of them having to do with medicine in one way or the other. On one of these same walls a red plus had effectively been etched into it, though years of age had already started to make the paint on it weather to the point of being near inexistent.

The room itself even held a pair of small couches that faced one another, with an even smaller table in between them, which was, incidentally, where Rarity and Fluttershy had decided to seat themselves as they waited for Omega to finish taking out a comparatively small portion of his frustrations.

Appropriate the use that the room likely served.

As for Echo, he simply stood closely beside Omega, having watched his handiwork with a tilted head of curiosity throughout the entire time he had made the loud, rusted door immovable. Of course, this was barely notable, what with his heavy and structured armor, but one could still tell if they observed with enough care.

And, if one could do so, they would also notice a man who sat before a series of screens--several of which being blank--as he looked on at the scene that played out before Echo's eyes with a palm planted firmly on his face. If Seidon wanted to, he could easily bring himself to comment on the futility and overall waste of time that Omega had brought about in his apparent need to destroy a door simply for being noisy.

However, he chose against it on this occasion as he realized that Omega may just as quickly believe him to be noisy, and carry out a similar procedure, either through him should they ever meet face to face, or with Echo then and there.

As for Omega, he was soon able to regain his composure as he took in a breath or two, leaving the bent remains of the door he had so painstakingly sabotaged with a quiet, uncaring groan as he then made his way over to his charges.

The two quickly noticed this as they seemed to sit up ever-so-slightly straighter than they had previously been, likely expecting that they'd now need to stand so that they could move on again.

Stopping before the two--and holding back the need to punch whoever it was that had bumped into him behind him as he did so, likely to have been Echo, who he hadn't noticed was acting as his shadow--he gestured towards the two with a bob of his head, as they had expected, wanting for them to follow once more.

As they made their way off their seats, making to head to their usual places behind or beside Omega, the former protector unit halted them for a short instance, kneeling before the two and placing his hands on both their heads before offering them a small smile.

He didn't know why, but, at the time, he had felt that this seemingly insignificant gesture was necessary. Perhaps it was some sort of subconscious issue, after having seen how the two were clearly preoccupied with thoughts of their own earlier.

Stroking his thumb upon their heads, barely moving his hand as he slightly ruffled their manes, the two took the gesture to heart, offering smiles of their own and already seeming to physically lose some of the weight on their minds.

Omega was glad to see this change in their demeanor, albeit small, as he then stood himself up once more and glanced behind him, towards Echo. The Bouncer did not seem to react to him as he did so, doing little more than to slightly lean his head in the other direction, which he easily shrugged off, rolling his eyes in the process.

Not saying a word--whatever he could say--Omega gestured for Echo to follow just as well as he looked towards a further back area of the waiting room, noting a single staircase that led straight to the next floor up.

Believing that there was nowhere else to go, Omega, followed shortly thereafter by his charges and forced upon companion, followed the stairs upwards, a twinge of unpleasantry gnawing at him with every groan that the steps let out as he moved up them, vividly remembering just how much he and stairs did not tend to mix well.

Armored anymore or otherwise, on this occasion he was more worried about Echo's weight, and clumsiness, than his own in terms of bringing them all falling down, just like on the diner roof. Granted, he had been the one to bring himself down on that occasion, what with the telekinetic blast he had shot off but it was for good reason.

Despite his worries though, and a few acknowledging groans of the stairs as the group went upwards, the structure held below them, allowing them passage to the second floor of the building.

Much like downstairs, the room on the second floor had a similarly tiled floor and wall, posters once again plastered on individual walls, and another couch placed against a nearby wall, with a built in sink installed into the wall next to it.

However, though it's general appearance was fairly similar, making this room seem like it was yet another place for patients to await treatment, there were still some much more notable differences it held. For one, there were two doors, by technicality that is.

One of these doors was, in fact, an actual door, placed on the left side of the room, likely to be leading to the treatment room at last. The other, which sat right in front of them, was not truly a door so much as it was a large hole in the wall, leading to one of the many, seemingly unstable wooden walkways that lead around the roofs of the buildings in the area.

Looking to and fro between these two paths, Omega couldn't help but to raise a brow, unsure as to what direction they should go next.

'... Echo.' He addressed the other protector unit coldly, his voice not quite showing irritation or anything of the like on this occasion, but far from showing kindness.

The Bouncer, in turn, looked towards Omega as he spoke.

'Which way is Gamma from here?' He then asked, absentmindedly raising his river gun to rest atop of his shoulder as he did so.

Echo, curiously, did not answer instantly, as Omega had believed that he would. In fact, there was a notable moment of silence that had come up mere seconds after he had asked the question, leading him to believe that he was either being ignored--which Omega highly doubted, what with the lack of any real individuality Echo seemed to hold--or that Echo simply hadn't heard him in the first place.

It was at this moment that Omega was tempted to turn and repeat the question, with a louder more serious tone to it, but decided against it as he glanced to his charges, who stood mutely beside him as they awaited direction.

'... Don't... Know...' Echo finally answered, looking at the two possible directions with what could only be described as uncertainty.

Suffice to say, Omega found this response to be less than nominal.

'You don't kno- Are you joking me?!'

'... Joking...?' Planting the palm of one of his hands firmly against his face, Omega gave out a meaningless groan of frustration as he then proceeded to drag this same palm down his face, before then sliding it off completely. Just as it seemed as though he was going to speak up yet again though, he found himself interrupted by a familiar burst of static.

"Hm. I take it the signal has become too broad to track from here?" Suddenly even more willing to toy with the concept of knocking himself unconscious at the sound of Seidon's voice, Omega deadpanned as he looked towards Echo, or indirectly towards Seidon.

"...I'll take that expression of yours as a definite 'yes'." Seidon then interpreted, gaining a sigh from the former protector he spoke to.

"Oh quit putting up such a fuss over what is comparatively nothing. Honestly, at the rate you're going, you should be more worried about stress and anger related health issues rather than splicers and missing Anti-Protocol members. Perhaps you've heard of high blood pressure?" Though he didn't say it out loud, Omega was more than happy to mentally adress a simple way for him to resolve any of this stress, mostly involving Seidon, one of the metal boots that Omega used to wear, and an unwarranted colonoscopy.

"Then again," Omega thought to himself, "it's not like he would be able to understand me..."

A smile suddenly appearing on Omega's face at the realization that he could insult Seidon with little to no repercussion--in terms of him being understood, that is--he quickly took the opportunity to take in a breath and, with a crack of his neck, briefly give out his frustrations...

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

"Johnny! Johnny, where are you!" A female Splicer shrilled from a nearby staircase, looking for her partner and conditional 'lover'--just as long as he found ADAM for her every now and then.

"Argh! Can't you see I'm busy, tramp!" This so called 'Johnny" returned, not even bothering to look towards wherever she may have been, instead continuing to busy himself as he looked through the various turned over and abandoned pieces of furniture in an attempt to find something he could drink, preferably alcoholic. In all honesty, he had grown quite tired of hearing that female Splicer's voice. She was just another Thuggish Splicer, after all, who had wandered into where he looked around with nothing more to offer besides a good lay, and... that's it.

He was a Leadhead, after all! Armed with a tommy gun, and more than his fair share of explosives he had managed to find, one would think he wouldn't have to deal with 'some random bitch' telling him what to do.

"Busy? Busy with what?! What could you possibly think is more important than taking care of me!" Finally spotting Johnny, the female Splicer made as much of a scowl as her tumor-ridden face would allow.

"Johnny! Johnny!"

"Oh for the love of- WOULD YOU SHUT U-" Before the two could argue any further, the sudden, though seemingly distant sound of what may as well have been roars, though came more similarly to be an odd series of loud groans, cut through the air, making the of them turn their heads towards the direction of the sound.

"... What the hell?" Johnny muttered to himself, unsure of what that sound even was.

"... Tch. How come you can't make me groan like tha-" Just as suddenly as she had begun to speak, the female Splicer stopped, albeit involuntarily, as her head was blown into a cloud of red, brain matter and bits of skull losing their place as they left nothing more than a shredded neck, with some remnants of a jaw, upon a suddenly limp body. A body which quickly fell over to the side and onto the floor, twitching as the its heart vainly continued to pump, pooling its remaining blood onto the floor.

As for Johnny, who now stood holding his tommy gun, blowing off hints of smoke from his firearm, he just gave out a small, satisfied grin as he then returned to his search.

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

Having suddenly been bombarded by a series of loud, clearly aggressive groans of seemingly nonsensical form, the man who sat before the terminals was... surprised, to put it lightly.

In fact, as Seidon looked towards these same screens, watching as Omega gave out a breath following his rant--albeit one he did not understand--and crossed his arms, looking ever so satisfied with himself.

As for the two other figures of his interest, Fluttershy and Rarity, they could be seen removing their hooves from atop of their ears, likely having placed them there in reaction to the... intensity through which Omega had spoken.

"Omega, was that really necessary, darling?" The horned member of the two asked, a half-scowl appearing upon her features as Omega looked back towards her and Fluttershy, replying with a sort of half-and-half gesture, easily meant to show his depiction of 'more or less'.

In the meantime, Seidon, who had taken the opportunity to recompose himself, shook his head and cleared his throat, once again gaining the attention of the three as they looked towards Echo as a result.

"I... suppose that, moving on from that... we should focus more on what to do from here, correct?" Finishing is statement with a slight cough, Seidon couldn't help but to kick himself for having, apparently, once again angered Omega. He didn't particularly mean to do so, so much as he had simply addressed a possible issue that may have arisen if Omega had continued in his aggressive form. Then again, conveying a message in an understandable, rather than simply blunt, fashion has never been a part of his repertoire.

This was easily exemplified by most, if not all, of the other attempts he has made to speak with Omega, met with similarly aggressive response.

"Though, I suppose we didn't meet under the best circumstances..." Putting this thought of his aside, Seidon addressed Omega and his self-proclaimed 'charges'.

"Now then, more than likely, Subject Gamma has made his way down one of the two paths before you all. As such, it would be less than optimal for you all to go down one path together at a time, lest he slip past you all by taking the opposite path." Seidon explained clearly, leaning forward in his seat as he planted his elbows firmly upon the control panel before him, interlocking his fingers and, immediately after, resting his head upon them.

"As such, the best possible recommendation I can give is that you all, in essence, divide and conquer, with Echo making his way through the doorway, and you, Omega, taking the opposite path over the scaffold-" Having closed his eyes shortly after he began explaining, a groan from Echo broke him out of his speech, leading to him opening his eyes and, as such, swiftly quieting himself as he took note of the fact that the three had already gone.

"... At the very least," Seidon then said to nobody in particular, his voice still resonating from Echo's communication systems, "you could have waited for me to finish..."

Though he didn't understand it, Echo once again gave out a groan towards Seidon, requesting his order.

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

"You know, darling, it's very rude to simply leave while somepony else is speaking." Rarity chastised Omega as she and Fluttershy followed shortly behind him, the aged, makeshift scaffolding below them giving out groans with every step that they took.

Were it not for the fact that the distance between the two buildings the scaffolding connected was small, and their more current focus on the fashion in which Omega had simply gestured for the two of them to follow in the middle of Seidon's spiel, the two likely would have been more focused on, and afraid of, the height that the scaffolding provided between them and the floor. Or, at the very least, Rarity would have been, what with her lack of wings and a more durable body, such as those Fluttershy and Omega have respectively.

"D-do you think Seidon or Echo will be upset about how we just left them like that?" Fluttershy then asked of Omega, already beginning to feel guilty of the action they had taken not seconds ago.

Omega, who had been walking forwards without even the slightest sign of regret--so much as he held showings of satisfaction--looked over his shoulder towards the two and, with a warm smile, gestures that everything would be fine.

In his mind, after all, the moment that Seidon had recommended splitting up was essentially a godsend to Omega, giving him a clear opportunity to rid himself of the two annoyances that followed him and his charges.

Granted, he had taken into mind that his charges wouldn't be too glad about having left Seidon and Echo then and there, but, considering they were planning on splitting anyways, Omega had figured that it wouldn't have been an issue.

"The sooner, the better." He had thought to himself, just before he and his charges went off.

Nonetheless, despite the gesture he gave, Rarity and Fluttershy continued to show their doubts, both in forms of worry and skepticism, even as the three finally came upon the entrance to the adjacent building, which was essentially another large hole in the wall that the scaffolding led to.

Turning towards this entrance, alongside Fluttershy and Rarity, Omega was instantly greeted by the broken down remnants of an Ammo Bandito vending machine; sparks flew from its sides, which seemed as though they had been torn off, revealing the inner wiring of the machine in its utterly irreparable entirety, and the image of the 'bandito' upon it was riddled with holes and scratches, flickering every so often so as to show its once working condition.

Seeing this machine here, in its condition, Omega couldn't help but to feel some of the frustration he had just taken out moments ago return, this time aimed towards the recurring fact that, throughout the entirety of the time they had spent in Pauper's Drop, there was not one loose rivet to be found. Even from the machines that were made to dispense them, it seemed.

This annoyance did not go unnoticed by his charges, who, in response, tried to calm him as best as they could.

"Now, Omega, deep breaths." Rarity reminded her and her friend's guardian, gently placing a hoof on his side as she did so.

Though they didn't want to admit it, both Fluttershy and Rarity knew that, since he had met Seidon and Echo, Omega had been much more prone to showing anger and frustration.

To them, it was saddening, really. After all, the two desperately wanted, at least, for Echo and Omega to get along, what with what they held in common, despite the fact that Omega refused to acknowledge these such facts.

However, they had already said their piece by now, made their suggestions to Omega as to how he should give Echo and Seidon more of a chance. As to whether or not he listened to them, if not when he took their advice to heart, only Omega would really be the one to decide.

In fact, it was this same advice that consistently nagged at the back of Omega's head, even as he grumbled to himself at the sight of the broken down Ammo Bandito before him and his charges, taking in a breath of two as Rarity had asked to calm himself.

It wasn't that he was ignoring what his charges had told him, he would never do that, but to him it wasn't quite so simple of a concept to understand--putting behind whatever another individual had done to him, whatever threat he may have been, and instead treating them with friendliness rather than their well-deserved rage.

He had told himself this multiple times over, and it would likely never really change: his home worked far differently from theirs, period.

"Um... Omega?" Fluttershy suddenly spoke, catching Omega's attention as he then looked towards her.

The timid pegasus, at the time, was not looking towards her and Rarity's guardian. Instead, she was looking off to the right of the group, down the hall of the building immediately after the scaffolding that brought them there.

"Isn't that... the same thing you used in that place where Echo was?" Raising a brow at this, Omega followed Fluttershy's gaze, alongside Rarity, and upon seeing exactly what it was she was talking about, standing out from the barren, chipped wall at the end of the hall, he barely withheld himself from breaking a blood vessel of sorts on his face from the grin he gained.

There, standing out sharply from the hall, was the ever so familiar shape and styling of a Power To The People machine, awaiting a user as the light on its switches flared ever so slightly.

Giving out a cheerful chuckle, he looked towards Fluttershy and, without a shred of hesitation, brought her in for a sudden, and certainly unexpected hug.

After everything the three of them--mostly Omega--had gone through since they had met Echo--falling through a ceiling, having his head nearly caved inwards by a Brute Splicer, breaking or fracturing a few dozen bones by now, let alone the fact that there had been little more than tense silence since they had grouped up together, with only the occasional short comment or mumble--this seemingly small sight was like a godsend to Omega. It was for that reason that, despite the lack of warning, and the clear surprise on Fluttershy's face as she suddenly found herself to be lifted upwards and pressed against Omega's chest, along with the squeak of surprise she gave out, Omega took the action that he did.

It was a short, snug embrace, just enough for Omega to display the silent gratefulness he felt towards the sight of the machine, but even as Omega allowed Fluttershy to take her place back on the floor next to Rarity, notable hints of shock could be seen on her face as she was returned to her previous position, herself staring blankly ahead, a notable shade of red on her features, and her mane slightly messied from the abruptness of the embrace.

As Omega then took the opportunity to make his way over to the upgrade station, Rarity could be seen with a small smile on her face as she then leaned in towards her still recovering friend.

"Hm. Seems you've made him quite happy, darling." She whispered with a slight giggle, finally snapping Fluttershy out of her trance and, upon doing so, watching as she looked between her, then Omega, and then down towards the floor, hiding herself behind her mane as best she could as the red on her face deepened and spread. Though Rarity gave out another soft giggle at Fluttershy's timidity at this fact, Fluttershy couldn't help but to also hold a small smile on her face beneath the cover of her mane.

As to whether this smile was due to Omega's happiness, or what had just occurred, she wasn't sure, and truthfully, she didn't particularly care.

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

Thank you! Thank! You!

Jesus Christ, after all of that crap that's been going on, after all of that bullshit, finally, finally, something goes right!

God I've needed something like this!

"Uh... Calm down there, it's just an upgrade machine. It's a good thing, sure, but you're taking this a bit too far, wouldn't you say?"

Nope! Perfectly appropriate reaction in my opinion!

"... You haven't slept, have you?"

Does blacking out or being unconscious count?

"..."

I'll take that as a no, but I don't care! I'm just glad that something is finally going righ- Oof! What the hell?!

Just as I was barely two or three steps away from the machine, I suddenly felt something push against me, holding just enough force, and suddenness, to cause me to stumble backwards by a short distance.

Now, the impact didn't hurt. At all, in fact, but, like I said, the fact that it came from pretty much out of nowhere was more of the cause of me moving backwards than anything else.

Anyways, shortly after I stumbled I was able to quickly regain my footing, and look ahead of me to try to make sense as to what the hell has just happened. What I saw was... different, to put it lightly.

Before me, practically coddling the Power To The People machine, was a Splicer, seeming to mumble to the machine as he did so. He was definitely an odd one, compared to any of the other splicers I'd seen. Even more so than that Berserker.

The Splicer itself was skinny, practically nothing but skin and bones, in fact, with nothing more than a couple of metal plates--which I assumed was once part of Big Daddy armor, considering how it was shaped and colored--serving as the front and back part of his 'shirt'. Honestly, I could see the sides of his ribs and stomach with ease, it was weird. Thankfully, he was wearing pants of sorts, though thoroughly torn to all hell, but he lacked any footwear, simply walking around on his bare, boney, and worn feet. His face was almost entirely covered by a welder's mask, save for a small part of it that was chipped off near the bottom, revealing his distorted jaw and mouth, alongside the fact that he was missing more than a few teeth. Alongside that, a part of the tinted glass from the welder's mask that covered his eyes was cracked open just as well, revealing a bloodshot, unblinking, and unsteady eye. Finally, slung over his back was what looked like a bag made up of various, hastily stitched together cloths and fabrics, making a bag that, compared to him, seemed as though it should've been snapping his spine from the weight that was in it. Proportionally, and muscle-wise, I mean.

To surmise, he was one ugly looking bastard...

As I looked him over, I could barely hear him as his muttering a became slightly more audible.

"Shhh. Shhh. It's alright. Daddy's here! Daddy won't let anyone touch you with their filthy hands! He'll keep you clean, keep you happy! He promises, I swear he does!"

Ugly, nuts, and creepy. Great, he's a trifecta of crazy.

"When did you learn 'trifecta'?"

Read it in a book. Anyways, back on subject!

Looking to the Splicer with a raised brow of confusion, before then looking back to my charges, who seemed just as confused than me, if not more so, as they both gave me looks and shrugs of uncertainty, I returned my attention to the meatless Splicer as I gave out a slight growl.

Crazy or otherwise, which didn't really make his mental state too different from other splicers in that regard, he was in the way. So, not wanting to waste any of my limited ammo, or time, I switched on my ESU with a roll of my eyes and moved it towards him, knowing that one tap would be more than enough to kill him, what with his pathetic overall physique and everything.

That is, that was the plan, until he suddenly looked back towards me.

"Don't you dare touch her!" Just as suddenly as he had yelled this, he turned around to face me, his back firmly against the machine and his left arm suddenly gaining a familiar glow to it as he aimed it to me. I was barely able to react, lifting my rivet gun to shield myself as I was suddenly propelled backwards by a telekinetic blast, causing me to skid further backwards, though I was able to keep my footing throughout it all. As for the impact of the telekinetic blast itself, there wasn't really any damage caused by it, thanks to my using my rivet gun to take most of the blast, barely leaving me with anything more than a dull ache on the arm that held it.

"Omega!" I heard Rarity yell from behind me as I finally halted myself, leaving my fair share of scuff marks on the floor in front of me.

Growling as I looked up towards the Splicer, I saw that, somehow, his eye had become even more bloodshot, his pupils dilated to the point of being a mere pinprick.

"You don't appreciate her! Nobody does! Not like I do! Not like I do!" What the hell was this moron babbling about?!

Barely even a second later, he suddenly reached behind him, into the oversized bag on his back, and yanked out a revolver, aiming it directly towards me.

Curiously, the same revolver was cleaner than he was. Hell, it was practically gleaming.

"This is how you take care of them! This is how you take care of the girls! You keep them clean! Clean, clean, clean, clean! No dirty fingers, no unappreciative bastards! None, none, none!" Alright, I've had enough of this sideshow.

Giving out a short grunt of annoyance--yeah, so much for something good happening for once--I released the safety on my rivet gun, wanting to get this over with as quickly as possible. As I did so, however, the splicer before me and my charges seemed to get a... weird look. I'm not sure how to describe it, but I know that it was uncomfortable as hell to see.

"... You stole one of them..." The splicer finally spoke, his voice almost a whisper, oddly enough, as I took aim for his head.

"... You made her unclean... How dare you... How dare you!" At this point the Splicer started screaming and yelling like mad, spouting more and more of his nonsense with every word.

He wasn't even aiming his revolver at me anymore, he was so distracted.

I couldn't help but to role my eyes. Not only was this guy too out of it to really function, but he was completely displaced in terms of actually, you know, being a splicer! I mean, come on, a Houdini Splicer with only a telekinesis plasmid, and some gun they had found? Clearly this one was trying to make up for his clear placement at the bottom of the Splicer chain.

Figuring that I might as well save the few rivets that I have instead of wasting them on this moron, I instead charged up my ESU, readying an electric blast. Normally, I know, that shock is meant to stun. But considering how scrawny this splicer was, I wouldn't be surprised if I inadvertently killed him.

As the electricity crackled and jolted over my gloved hand though, the Splicer suddenly began to laugh.

"Heh... Heheheheh... Don't worry, dearie, don't worry. I'll save you, I swear it." The same arm of his starting to glow as I recognized that he was using his own telekinesis plasmid, I watched as he quickly reached behind him and, faster than I could have guessed, he removed the bag on his back, allowing it to fall to the floor. Rather than a distinct this though, there was a series of clacks and clangs...

"We'll all save you! Clean you up again! We will! We will!" Yeah, fuck this.

Having had more than enough, I thrusted my arm forward, a sharp jolt of electricity escaping my ESU and making its way towards the defective Houdini.

Just as it was about to hit, though, a loud grinding sound could be heard, and in what seemed like a millisecond, a chunk of the floor in front of him came loose, blocking the blast. And when I say a chunk, I don't mean that a few floor tiles came out, or anything like that. I mean an actual goddamn chunk of the floor came out, supports, piping, and all.

Okay, so, many he's not as pathetic of a Hoidini as I had guessed...

Hearing his laughter from behind the risen floor, I was barely able to see the bag he had planted on the floor shift, emptying itself out until, finally, it flopped limply downwards.

"Now then..." The Splicer then said as he lowered the shield he had made for himself downwards ever so slightly, giving me a full view of him... and the several tommy guns floating behind him...

"Time for her to join her family!" With a half-visible smile, the Splicer raised his revolver up towards me, and, almost in sync, the machine guns behind him followed suit, all giving out a notable click as they had their safeties released.

"So, I'm starting to think this isn't a Houdini Splicer. Or a Leadhead. You?"

Agreed.

"Now give her up you bastard!" The Splicer then yelled, the glowing of his arm brightening ever so slightly as he pulled the trigger on his revolver, firing out a single shot that was echoed, and beyond, by the various tommy guns behind him.

Out of impulse, I followed the example he had taken earlier and, with a heavy stomp, cracked the floor, weakening, before then pulling a portion of it up and using it as a shield as he had.

Planting myself against it, so as to keep it up without overexerting myself through the use of my plasmid, I looked back to Fluttershy and Rarity, who had both essentially hit the decks, covering their heads as some of the stray rounds that didn't hit the barrier I had made planted themselves firmly into the wall just above them.

Seeing this, I tried to get their attention with a groan, motioning for them to get head back onto the scaffolding, where they'd at least be out of the crossfire. They seemed to catch this, or at least Rarity did, as she then tried to get Fluttershy to stand with her so they could leave, but barely after they stood themselves up by even a centimeter, another stray bullet hit the wall just between them, barely missing the both of their heads and, as a result, causing both of them to swiftly plant themselves down on the floor again.

Seeing how close they were to being hurt, I growled, turning my attention away from them and to the Splicer, who was still hidden behind both his, and my, makeshift shields as he continued to unleash a flurry of bullets, consisting of both pistol and machine gun rounds.

If I could've, I would have already broken his neck to the point that his head spun in a complete circle. But, I can't even get close to him while he's keeping this crap going! What's worse is that, every now and then, I can hear the weapons he's using run out of ammo, one by one, but before I can actually take advantage of this, he's already finished reloading another of his weapons, and, as such, is able to keep himself covered while he loads another! It's an endless cycle of bull, limited only by how much reserve ammo this guy may have!

WHICH I HAD NO IDEA AS TO HOW MUCH!

For all I knew, my charges and I could be here for hours! Add to that the fact that we're under a time limit, what with the fact that Gamma is somewhere around here, and may leave at any time, and a bad situation turns even worse!

Wracking my head for an idea, I barely took notice of the faint squirming I felt against my back.

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

As the gunfire continued, the used up cartridges of the Splicer's weaponry began to pile up on the floor around him, clinking at an almost constant rate as they continued to fall. Despite the fact that his vision was limited, he could see all that he needed to as he continued to fire at the rubble that Omega and his charges hid behind, slowly, but surely, raising his arsenal higher and higher with his telekinesis plasmid in an effort to take out whoever would be so cruel as to 'abuse' the machine behind him; to take a weapon and dirty it with his own filthy fingers and skin.

He could not stand it, he simply could not!

It angered and frustrated to no limit. It clouded his vision with insane drive, the emphasis being on insane, as he crazily tried to reclaim the lost one taken by the one he targeted now. So many other lives of his so called brothers and sisters that he had brought to an end to save their weapons, what they called 'their' guns despite the fact that they believed them to be tools and nothing more.

He was the only one who understood them. The only one who cared for them. At least, this is the process of thought that went on within his deformed, deranged cranium.

So deranged, in fact, that in his fury, he did not notice the beeping, green orb that suddenly came towards him until it had made it just between him and his opponent, his eyes widening as he caught it sight of it in his peripheries and, out of instinct, turned his weapons towards it and fired.

This proved to be a great mistake as, upon him doing so, a sudden flash, followed shortly after by a blistering amount of heat and an invisible force, knocked him off his feet to the ground behind him.

Giving out an involuntary yell of pain before then scrambling to his feet as best he could, he was barely able to look ahead of him just in time to watch as the debris brought up from the explosion shrouded the hall in a cloud of dust and dirt, ridding him of his vision on his opponent.

Seeing the possible issues that this could cause, the Splicer, who had not loosened his physical and telekinetic grip by even an ounce on his weapons, brought the rest of his arsenal back from the cloud so it would take his side. At least, he brought what remained, that is.

Upon reclaiming his weapons again, he felt his eyes widen as he saw that, of his five tommy guns that he had so carefully cleaned and cared for, only three had survived the explosion, whereas the other two were either melted from the heat to the point of being unusable, or simply broken to pieces. Even those of his weapons that made it through seemed scratched and burned to the point of being far from renewable, scarred beyond any point of repair or renovation.

Anger was the first, and only, emotion that the Splicer felt as he looked on at the 'horrific' sight before him.

"Why you- HOW DARE YOU! WHERE ARE YOU?! I'LL KILL YOU THREE TIMES OVER FOR THIS! I SWEAR I WILL!" He yelled as he uncaringly allowed the two no longer working weapons to clatter onto the ground below.

Practically trembling with fury, the Splicer frantically looked around him, searching for some sort of figure in the thick cloud of dust and debris.

"I KNOW YOURE HERE! COME OUT AND FIGHT YOU GODDAMN MONSTER!" The Splicer shouted as he turned his head for what must have been the fiftieth time.

By this time, his sense of direction was completely gone, himself having forgotten how to tell backwards from forwards in the midst of searching for his newfound, hatred inducing foe. He couldn't care less, however. Especially as he turned himself about once more and, just barely, caught sight of a single silhouette through the dust cloud.

A smile threatening to split his face in half, the Splicer yelled once more.

"Found you!" His weapons primed, both in his telekinetic and physical grip, he fired everything he had at the figure, the dust shifting violently as bullet after bullet began to lift the veil that lessened his sight.

As his bullets continued to be sent outwards in an undeniable torrent of anger, the Splicer slowly began to gain sight of his likely dead target, who had done little more to avoid these bullets than stand there, and held his fire, awaiting the sight of blood to signify his victory.

The debris finally clearing after what felt like an eternity, the Splicer finally caught a clear sight of the figure, confirming that it had been his target. However, despite this, the Splicer only ended up widening his eyes, giving out an odd stutter as he saw that his opponent, despite the clear hellfire he sent in his barren direction not seconds ago, was completely unharmed. In fact, he seemed cocky about it, a smile on his face as he held his arms crossed, looking towards the Splicer.

"What?! H-how the he-" Just as soon as he had taken a breath in to speak, all the air in his lungs suddenly escaped him as those same lungs almost simultaneously collapsed inwards, allowing the Splicer to only speak with bloody gurgles, rather than words.

Pain suddenly registering in his mind, the Splicer looked down to his chest, catching sight of the sparking, though not yet fully recharged, ESU that only a certain Big Daddy used, having pierced through his chest, covered in blood and, what he barely recognized to be, parts of his lungs.

This pain spiked as the ESU was abruptly yanked outwards, taking bits and pieces of his organs and ribcage with it, and alongside that, what little was allowing him to keep standing.

Just as his knees buckled though, his mind threatening to black him out for the sake of mercy, something caught him, two hands grabbing him by his head, leaving his lower half dangling as blood began to fall and pool below him.

Next to him, though he couldn't turn around, he heard a familiar growl, and began to feel pressure build-up on his skull. Pain continued to stack atop of pain, though any means he held of screaming had escaped him with most of his lungs.

The grip he held on his revolver tightened, his knuckles becoming white from the force he exerted, until finally, all he could hear was a single snap, followed by black.

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

Attacking me is strike. Putting the girls in danger is strike two through seven. And calling me a monster accounts for eight and beyond.

So, suffice to say, as I crushed the Splicer's skull between my hands, feeling brain matter and bits of skull make their way between the fingers of my bare hand, while my gloved hand held little more than a feeling of pressure, I was fairly satisfied.

As the body fell to the ground, I shook off what remained of the Splicer's cranium from my hands and onto the floor, allowing it to splatter down to the ground with the rest of the twitching, skinny body below me. In doing so, I noticed that the cloud of dust, though relatively cleared by now, was still rather present.

A cough escaped me as I accidentally inhaled a small bit of this, to which a certain slug on my shoulder responded by giving out a questioning trill.

Glancing towards Mill, a small smile made its way onto my face as I rubbed a finger under his chin--at least, the closest thing to a chin I could find on a slug--earning a soft sound of appreciation from him.

It's weird, really. I'm not sure if I should admit that he was the one who passed that proximity mine to me while I was trying to hold off that Splicer, ergo quite possibly implying that I had less thinking power than a slug, or take the credit for that action and end up feeling like a total jackass later...

"So are you gonna give Mill his next treat now or later?"

Meh. When things are a little less... 'bullet-y'.

"Bullet-y'?"

Just go with it...

Anyhow, barely glancing towards the dead splicer below, so as to mentally give out one or two more variations of a few choice words I had for him, I couldn't help but wonder as to what the hell he really even was.

I mean, it's become painfully obvious that he wasn't just some kind of Leadhead, or Houdini Splicer. He had some traits from both, sure, but...

He was more like an entirely separate thing altogether. A much more crazed thing, at that.

The fact that his knuckles were still bone white, displaying that he still had a grip on the revolver in his hands despite lacking, well, a brain, kinda proved that.

Hell, the guy was a nut for his guns...

"Gun-Nut it is then!"

Wait, what? No! That's not-Ugh!

Whatever! Fine! The point is that he was some weird combination of Splicers! Much like a certain bitch that the girls and I had first come across on our way to Lower Rapture.

"Speaking of the girls..."

"O-Omega? Are you okay?" I suddenly heard Fluttershy ask through remnants of dust in the air, followed shortly after by a small, almost inaudible sneeze.

Cursing myself for having forgotten about my charges for a moment or two in my anger, I turned myself towards where I heard one of the two's voices from and, with a quick blast of telekinetic force, blasted out the rest of the cloud that had remained after the fight.

Upon doing so, I was greeted by the sight of both Fluttershy and Rarity, who had not yet moved from where they had previously been, their manes slightly frazzled from the combination of the telekinetic blast and the layer of dust that had been cleared their way, and small remnants of said dust on their fur.

They would definitely need another shower...

Glancing down at myself then, noting the blood and bits of brain matter that had managed to stick to my upper shirt and blazer, I made a similar deduction to myself as well.

As I wiped off whatever was solid--or at least mostly solid--from my clothing to the best of my ability, making sure to use my ESU glove as I did so, I gave the girls a short, simple groan, so as to catch their full attention--one of the two being busy trying to salvage what they could of their previous hairstyle as best as they could--and ensure that they were okay.

A short pause later, as Rarity continued in her 'business', Fluttershy looked up towards me and, with a soft smile, gave me a nod.

Satisfied with this gesture, I gave one last look towards the body of the Splicer before then proceeding to step over it, barely feeling Mill continue to balance himself on my shoulder as I made my way to the Power To The People machine that the Gun-Nut had been so carefully guarding.

Ironically, a stray bullet or two had made its way from the Splicer's unfocused firing to the machine, but, save for a few scratches and dents, the machine seemed to have held up just fine.

And I say that with caution, since it seems fairly clear that I can't have nice things at this point...

Anyways, glancing around as I finally was able to do what I wanted in the first place and turned the machine on, I decided that the best thing I could do at the time was upgrade my ESU again. After all, I still had next to no ammo in my Rivet Gun, so if I upgraded that instead, I'd be making much less progress than I would otherwise.

"Ugh! That was certainly an ordeal." Rarity finally commented, catching a short glance from me as I took of my ESU, bloody glove and all, and placed it into the machine to upgrade.

Rarity, of course, seemed more than a little annoyed by what had just occurred, with Fluttershy offering a small comforting smile towards her as she busily continued to work on her mane.

I, in the meantime, managed to give out a soft chuckle as the upgrade station began to sound out as it did its job.

Watching as Rarity eventually gave up on her mane with a huff, before then standing herself up from her place on the floor, followed shortly after by Fluttershy, I barely overheard the machine as it gave out a sharp ding, indicating that it had finished.

Upon hearing this, I turned my attention back to the machine, just in time to see my ESU come into vision again, though now with a few clear differences to it.

For one thing, the three tesla coils on the ESU now had what looked like a a small emitter in between them, connected to the coils by what looked like several thin wires which then seemed to embed themselves into the glove, before then making their way into the fingertips and knuckles of the glove. Furthermore, though it was faint, bits of the blood that had been on the glove from the splicer seemed to have been integrated in, parts of the glove now seeming darker than the rest.

I guess this was why you weren't allowed to add two or more objects into the machine at once, but that was besides the point, really.

Taking out the ESU before then eagerly giving it a test run, putting it on and trying to grip with it a few times, I then proceeded to turn it on, electricity already crackling off the coils.

As I did this, I felt a sudden, unfamiliar tingle all along my arm. It wasn't necessarily a bad feeling, but it wasn't good either.

A curious hum escaped me as I turned to an empty part of the hallway the machine was in and reeled my arm back, before then punching at air.

The difference from earlier as I did so was as clear as night and day--not that I personally knew exactly what that difference looked like--as every muscle in my arm seemed to involuntarily contract even further as a small jolt was sent through my arm, only causing mild discomfort, but being just enough to shoot my arm forward even faster.

Gripping the glove again, I raised the ESU to my face a gave a smile before then turning my attention back to Fluttershy and Rarity, who were now patiently looking towards me.

At first, I had thought it was because they were waiting for me to finish with the Power To The People machine. But, as my mind so happily pointed out...

"Uh, you may want to repair the hall so they can pass. You know, the one you and that splicer took chunks out of."

I blinked, focusing my attention on the fact that, before my charges, they were two notably large holes in the floor in front of them, alongside the parts of the floor that used to actually make up what had once been in that hole, now stacked haphazardly atop one another, crumbling ever so slightly as they seemed to shift under one another weight.

The two's initial reaction was of a blend of surprise and panic, which I couldn't really blame them for. When I was still in my armor, before I met them, there was a number of occasions I've found myself suddenly lifted off my feet by some surprise Brute Splicer that had decided to make a visit, so I know what it feels like... More or less.

Interestingly though, despite the fact that this was only the second time I had done this to them--the first being out of panic that Echo would have hurt them, whereas this one was because I was much more confident in my ability with the Telekinesis 3 Plasmid--their initial feelings towards it were surprisingly short. They were barely even an inch or two away from where they had previously been when, almost all at once, they calmed down, relaxing in the Plasmid's hold.

I couldn't help but to raise a brow at this, and the girls both seemed to notice.

"Heh... I suppose it's just something that takes some getting used to." Rarity said, answering my unasked question as to why they were so calm. "And besides, you're getting much more talented with this, aren't you, darling?"

Slight boost in my ego aside-

"Because you clearly need that."

-I gave the two a smile as I started to bring them towards me, steadily having them make their way over the holes in the floor.

"U-um, Omega, n-not that I don't appreciate it, but you didn't have to carry me over." As if to emphasize her point, her winds unfurled and gave a short flap, before then returning to their previous position.

Oh, right, wings...

"You're absolutely brilliant..."

Despite the now very clear fact that I didn't really have to use my plasmid to lift them both over that mess, I shrugged at the two, putting the point aside as a small detail.

The familiar smile of Fluttershy reappearing for a moment or two as I did this, I was soon able to get them completely over the ruined hallway where I was, taking a step to my side as I then carefully placed them down next to me, releasing my plasmid's grip on them once I was sure they were safe.

The two barely fell a centimeter or two to the floor below them, their legs momentarily bending to show this, and they seemed to have taken the 'trip' well, tamping their hooves a few times as if to become re-antiquated with gravity.

"'Re-antiquated'? Really? Are all of your words going to come from some book you read?"

You were there with me while I read, so you should know, jackass.

"You're calling yourself a jackass now?"

Anyways, returning to the actual matter at hand, once my two charges seemed comfortable on the floor again, they both turned to me, beaming.

"Thank you, darling." Rarity then said, to which I responded with a small nod, before then gesturing for the two of them to follow with a bob of my head.

Turning and beginning to make our way down the path of the building's halls, I overheard Fluttershy say something to Rarity.

"I-I hope Echo has had better luck than we have."

Meh. For all I care, he could've blown up for all I ca-

Before I finish that thought, what the hell was that loud bang? Also, why is the ground suddenly shaking?

"Oh crap..."

Before I could so much as slightly process what was happening, I suddenly found both my charges tightly gripping onto me, giving out surprised yelps and squeaks as there was a loud crash just behind them and I, air being whipped up against my back, so as to show how close something was to hitting me, and Mill almost instantly scrambling back into the bag on my back in panic.

As for me, I pretty much froze. Not just because I was taking a few moments to reset, my mind not yet having caught up with my body, but also because I'm pretty sure that my heart had skipped a few beats.

Barely hearing what sounded like fizzling flames and crumbling debris, I was only brought out of my reactionless state as I began to feel one of my charges, Fluttershy, begin to tremble against my leg, her grip tightening periodically.

Shaking my head as my body suddenly began to respond once again, and my heart slowly began to beat at speeds detectable by human eyes and ears, I looked down to Fluttershy and Rarity, so as to make sure they were okay.

Rarity, for the most part, seemed comparatively fine. Shaken up, of course, but not too badly.

As for Fluttershy, well, let's just say that she has a stronger grip than she seems to. Seriously, I felt like I was going to lose blood flow in my leg if she kept it up. Let alone the fact that she was shaking tremendously, practically buzzing in fact.

As I saw this, I shifted my current concerns between the two, planting my hands atop of their heads, so as to let them know I was here. Rarity seemed surprised by the sudden gesture, having been too preoccupied focusing on whatever had hit the wall behind us, but ended up leaning into it for comfort nonetheless. As for Fluttershy, her shaking all but stopped, and I could hear her give out a short, stuttering breath as she then slowly looked up from my side, where she had buried her head within, to me.

As she did so, the amount of fear she had felt at the moment became even more clear, her eyes watery and seeming on the edge of shedding tears. Despite this, I offered her a small, comforting smile, petting her gently as I looked down to her. It took a moment or two but, eventually, like Rarity, she began to lean into my hand, her breath becoming more steady and the grip she held on me lessening ever so slightly.

"Well that could have gone better." Withholding the urge to punch myself, if only to get my mind to be quiet for a bit, I turned so as to see what exactly had happened behind my charges and I, following Rarity's lead in doing so.

As to what it was, I ended up finding more than just one of my brows raised, my breath catching for a second or so--for some odd reason--as I caught sight of Echo's limp, charred, and broken body embedded into the wall behind us, his armor practically torn to shreds, allowing substantial amounts of blood to flow forth from it, all the while being all the more emphasized by the slightly brighter amount of light that came through the hole his body had made on its way in, a sharp comparison to his now black and empty portholes.

"O-oh my goodness..." I heard Rarity silently mutter, whereas Fluttershy, whom only now looked towards the same direction we did, gave out a gasp.

Turning myself around so as to face Echo's body completely, both my charges releasing me as I did so, I couldn't help but to note that the way his armor was showed clear signs of him having been through a massive...

"The words you're looking for is 'explosion'. Hey, how about the next time you say something along the lines of 'he could blow up for all I care' or something like that, you do so on splicers? After all, it seems to be an effective method of yours..."

"H-how did this happen?" I managed to hear Rarity ask to nobody in particular as she, Fluttershy, and I continued to look at the more recent armored corpse.

Unfortunately, her question was something that ended up being answered shortly after.

"Hm... Curious, the velocity in which Echo's body was expelled led him here?"

Suffice to say none of us were expecting to hear Seidon's voice come from Echo's body while we were looking towards it. Hell, I practically raised my arm and shot it out of surprise.

And by practically, I mean I already had my rivet gun raised and my finger on the trigger.

Yeah, it was bad...

Anyways, no more than a second after the three of us reacted the way we did upon hearing Seidon's voice come from Echo's corpse, Seidon once spoke up, though notably quicker as he did so.

"Woah, hold on now! There's no reason to panic! That means you, Subject Omega. Echo's surveillance systems may be damaged, but I can still see you with that weapon of yours pointed here. No need to do something else idiotic..."

...Oddly enough, the more I heard his voice, the less I felt like holding myself back from shooting.

Despite this though, and the expression of irritation I suddenly grew on my face, I could hear Rarity speak up next to me, taking a step forward in the process.

"My word. How did this happen?" She questioned, referring to Echo's broken and limp body, which still held itself firmly embedded into the wall, hints of smoke that come from it now starting to clear.

"Hm. Unfortunately, it would seem as though Echo ended up going down the wrong path, unlike the three of yours. On the bright side, however, I am happy to report that Subject Gamma is indeed following his own objective at a successful and efficient rate." Wait, what?

"Y-you mean that the Big Daddy we're looking for did this to Echo?" Fluttershy then chimed in with a hushed tone, joining her friend Rarity as she took a step closer to Echo's corpse.

"Well, yes and no." Seidon then promptly responded, earning a confused look from not only from Omega, but from Fluttershy and Rarity as well.

"You see," he then continued, "as it turned out, Subject Gamma had been down the path Echo had taken earlier. This was made all the more clear by the several bodies and corpses that Lau mutilated along said path, most riddled with rivets."

Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty clear indicator..

"Even more interesting, though, was that Echo had entered the room just as Gamma left, myself having barely caught a glimpse of his armor as he walked out of the room."

"And that's even more clear."

"However, as I then ordered Subject Echo to pursue Subject Gamma... Well, I failed to take into account the fact that Rosie models, even modified ones such as Gamma, were prone to lay proximity mines."

Yeah, that seems about right. Hell, when I was still assigned to Little Sisters, I would almost always have some proximity mines handy to get rid of the more annoying of issues, or, in some cases, make sure nobody followed. I just used one not a couple minutes ago, for fuck's sake!

Still, like I said, Rosies usually only actually put down proximity mines in seemingly random places when don't want to be followed...

So, was Gamma aware of what was happening?

Before I could really think on this, I heard a faint scream from a Splicer. A multitude of them in fact, each and every one of them being followed by the familiar sound of a rivet gun firing.

"Ah, speak of the devil and he shall appear..." Glancing behind me, away from Echo's body and instead towards where the sound came from, I felt myself give out an involuntary growl.

I don't know why, but something felt... off...

"Anyways, I would recommend taking your attention away from Echo and I and instead moving forwards. Gamma should be there if you follow the rest of this path. As for Echo, I'll have him join you again once he is returned at the nearest Vita-chamber." I disliked taking orders from this moron, but as I heard another rivet shoot off in the distance, I ended up just shoving my opinion back into the furthest part of my mind as I groaned for Rarity and Fluttershy's attention.

They turned around quickly, and once they were facing me I bobbed my head towards the direction of the sound, down the rest of the hall in the building.

As I was just about to turn though, Seidon spoke up one last time.

"Oh, and before you go, Omega, I have a question to ask of you." Was now really the time?!

"Tell me, if you were given the choice between ensuring that several absolute strangers lived, at risk of your own life, or vice versa, which would you choose?"

What in the actual-- to hell with this. Glancing to Echo's body for a second before then returning their attention to me, my charges both nodded as I then turned myself completely around and started to hurry down the path. Just behind me, I could hear the footsteps of Fluttershy and Rarity as they rushed to keep pace.

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

It was so simple, really. So incredibly simple to kill the mindless Splicers that believed that they could take him down.

Even where he was now, on the roof of the King Pawn store--though he had no means of knowing this himself--he didn't have to worry about them being inaudible, or his aim being off in any regard. Whether he saw them or not, he could hear their crazed yells and unsteady footsteps with ease.

When they had first arrived, attempting to surround and overtake him, from what he could infer from how many pairs of footsteps there had been. Now, he could only hear two pairs of feet left.

Granted, he had held some difficulty when something tripped the proximity mines he had placed down, practically deafening him for a moment or two, but other than that, he had little to no issues fulfilling his programmed objective.

Hearing another of the Splicer's yell, followed by the familiar, notably obnoxious click of machine gun, he turned, quickly turning his rivet gun to the direction he had heard the sound and firing.

And there it was. That same sound as before; that of shredding flesh; of shattering bones; of dripping blood, accompanied by the faint metallic smell ever so different from that of his armor.

It was so different to the boredom he had long ago experienced, observing the world around him through non-functioning eyes. So... invigorating...

As he pondered on this, he could hear the last pair of footsteps begin to grow distant. He had been so distracted that he had almost let one get away.

How careless of him...

With barely a flick of his wrist, he lifted his rivet gun again and purposely withheld his next shot.

He could have killed the Splicer a dozen times over by now, but he wanted to savor his next shot; he wanted to thoroughly enjoy that sound once more. That sound that seemed to give him more life than he had ever had.

He was just following his programming after all...

In that next instant, the sound of a rivet gun firing sounded out, only, on this occasion, it wasn't his.

No, the sound was the same, but he hadn't felt that slight kick in his arm. He didn't hear the sound of a well-placed rivet exiting his weapon's barrel. And, interestingly enough, though that sound of death rang through just as well, it somehow wasn't the same.

It was bland, uninteresting, almost painfully dull in fact...

He was confused, to put things lightly. After all, he had heard the sound just the same, so why was it so different.

He was so preoccupied with this thought that he cared little for the next pair of footsteps that suddenly came running in. Though, to his mild interest, he did note that there was something odd about the group. For one, it sounded as though there were five pairs of footsteps, but at the same time, four of these steps sounded almost too close together, and they made a different sound.

The closest he could relate it too was an old memory of an animal, but this was a faint memory in of its own.

As for the other pair of footsteps, it seemed to handle itself differently. He wasn't sure what, but there was something about it...

With another thought to ponder on, though made a much less significant priority compared to his earlier one, he stood stock still as he heard the footsteps make their way into the same place he had been.

These footsteps, unbeknownst to him, were those of the same odd group that had been making their way through Lower Rapture up until now.

The same group that, as they made their way onto the roof of the building where the one they searched for was, stepping over and around the body that was fallen by the former Big Daddy of them, ended up stopping as they finally caught sight of him.

A slight pant to his breath, Omega looked over his modified counterpart, taking every difference he held from a normal Rosie into detail.

For one, the cloth and under armor that he wore was a different color altogether. Rather than the usual shade of orange or yellow, it was a vivid green, though clearly dirtied and mangled to the point of this being near unrecognizable, blood stains of vast quantities only serving to further this issue.

His armor plating seemed even more unique, covered by a layer of thick leather atop of every individual plate, save for those of his helmet and legs, with those on one of his thighs seeming to hold several oversized pockets for some sort of storage.

As for his helmet, though it, overall, seemed relatively regular, the key difference was in the porthole that normally gave a Rosie sight. His was seemingly cracked and fractured beyond any possible repair, no light even coming through from it so as to indicate whether this Rosie was alive or otherwise. Alongside that, the paint on the Rosie's helmet held a certain darkness to a part of it, making it seem as though there were an faint 'X' that went over his porthole.

Finally, there was his rivet gun; the Rosie's signature weapon.

As Omega looked at the weapon that the modified model held, he couldn't help but to raise a brow or two.

Frame-wise, it seemed to be a generation one industrial rivet gun, unlike the one that he used, reliant on the canister of air on the Anti-protocol subject's back--and the flexible rubber hose that connected it to his weapon--as a firing mechanism rather than the portable air mechanism that was imported to the later frames.

Rather than one, it held two separate barrels, with one over the other to serve its function. As to whatever Omega though that function to be, however, he wasn't sure. The upper barrel held the Gamma symbol upon it, clearly made as part of the weapon.

Furthermore, hanging from the under barrel of the rivet gun was a sharpened piece of steel seemingly welded underneath it, slightly worn and heavily bloodied from recent use.

Glancing around at the various bodies that had been spread about the rooftop--some littered with holes while others seemed to be missing limbs and, in some cases, entire halves--Omega grew ever-so-slightly nervous, moving his arm out in front of his charges, gesturing for them to get back.

After all, he hadn't exactly had the best experience with Echo, so his knowledge of how Anti-protocol members acted was clearly dampened.

Taking in a breath, Omega finally spoke up, much to other Rosie's interest as he did so.

'Subject Gamma, I take it?' He groaned, the very same subject of his conversation seeming to turn his head as he did so.

A moment of silence reigned as the Anti-protocol Rosie then proceeded to turn completely towards him, his heavy footsteps resounding loudly as, eventually, he completely faced Omega and his charges.

'... Oh? Another protector unit? Well, color me intrigued then."

Author's Notes:

So... Anyone else wondering why this chapter took so long?

Well, a variety of things, actually.

Most significantly though, I purposely made it longer.

Why? Because--

pause for dramatic effect...

--Last of The First has officially reached the 1000 like mark! Woot!

This is among one of my first 1000 like stories on this site and, as such, I wanted to make it special somehow. Ergo, biggest chapter yet.

I would like to thank you all for reading and enjoying this story this far, and I would be making an understatement if I only said I appreciate it.

Thank you!

Oh, and, like I said last chapter, I do need your help here, audience...

Seidon rose a very notable question, after all. So, personally, I would like to know all of your opinions on it.

As to what it means? Oh, you'll see, I'm certain...

(Yeah... I'm just gonna go ahead and cross off my 'ability to be mysterious' bullet off of this chart. This was just awful...)

P.S. The idea for the Gun-Nut Splicer was actually due to the help of another reader, believe it or not.

I wanted to include another type of splicer besides the berserker, but I originally couldn't think of anything particularly interesting, so I was originally gonna scrap that idea. However, a reader sent in an idea and, Lo and behold, I thought it was perfect. So a special thanks to them! Announce yourself in the comments my friend! You have earned the glory!

P.S.S. Good ol' Papa Bear, a fellow writer on this site who I have grown to be happy to call a close partner and help in this story, provided yet another rendition of our new subjects! This time, everyone, Gamma!