"Ha! Told ya that it's hollow!" The machine gun wielding Leadhead Splicer mocked, tapping the butt of his weapon against the helmet of a long fallen Rosie model.

A smirk on his twisted face as he then took a moment so as to adjust the mask he wore, fashioned to seem like that of a ceramic fox though chipped and degraded to the point where it was barely recognizable as such after years of abuse, the splicer turned towards the five others that accompanied him; specifically the armored Brute that had accompanied them.

"In your face, Jimmy!"

Rolling his eyes, the overly-spliced man known as Jimmy couldn't help but to give out a groan.

"All right, all right, you fuckin' sodomite, ya won our little wager. It's all tea and crumpets for you, we get it den." The splicer replied, though clear bitterness and sarcasm could be heard sprinkled over his words.

It didn't particularly brighten his mood either when the other three that were there, all of which were armor wearing Leadhead Splicers, began to chortle and laugh like madmen. Fitting, considering that's exactly what they were.

"Ya thought that ol' Henry didn't know what he was talkin' bout. Now you're the one who's the idiot! And I get your next two finds of ADAM." Whooping as he continued to enjoy his victory the way only a mentally inept, and physiologically inept, man such as himself could, the splicer named Henry then began to almost jump in place, his yells and the sound of the one shoe he wore hitting the floor repeatedly echoing down the corridor he and the others were in.

Every now and then, the splicer would accompany his little 'celebration dance' with a random kick to the remnants of the Rosie corpse that laid just to his right. The same one that had one him his bet.

He wasn't sure how this Big Daddy had died; in fact, he was almost certain that nobody was. The Rosie had already apparently decomposed a long time ago, as evidenced by the fairly hollow sound that came from the splicer's strikes to its helmet again and again. Really, even as the body stirred slightly from the splicer's consistent agitation of it, one could only imagine that all that had really remained within the suit was bone, if any.

Of course, many splicers had thought of taking this one's armor, like they had done all the other Bug Daddy corpses that were spread about Pauper's Drop, and most of Lower Rapture, but there was one notable issue that stopped them from doing so.

A large metal pole that had impaled the Rosie's leg into the floor, seemingly having gone directly through its ankle, armor and all, and into the concrete flooring below.

One would think that maybe the Rosie had just starved or something like that, but one would also have to recall that Protector units didn't have need for that kind of thing. Sleep, water, food, it was all about as necessary to them as baths and hygiene were to splicers.

No, what had likely taken the life of this protector unit was the several gunshot holes that pierced through its midsection, many of them still crusted over with long dried blood, along with several layers of rust.

The floor was similarly stained with aged blood, long turning the once dirty gray concrete into a filthy red and gray flooring that kept the Big Daddy almost highlighted among the rubble and destruction that was Pauper's Drop.

"Yeah, yeah, we get it ya tosser. Now quit making an arse of yourself before you b-" Barely halfway into his sentence, the Brute watched as the ever-so-modest Leadhead before him have yet another kick to the rusted and crumpled body of the Rosie. What said splicer hadn't expected, however, was that the body would then be moved slightly to the side from a misplaced kick, causing the splicer to slip as his foot slid across the metal along the side of the fallen Big Daddy's helmet.

"Lord and heaven above!" The splicer yelped as his footing was all but destroyed by this single, almost poetic, moment, flailing his arms he fell backwards, away from the rest of his group.

However, rather than fall all the way down towards the floor, as gravity insisted upon him doing, he instead was stopped barely a quarter of the way by a solid, glass cylinder; one which gave out a notable thunk as his thick skull and horribly aligned upper back made contact with it, smudging it ever so slightly in the process.

The entire scene was, of course, well within the sight of the other splicers; it was also something that turned previous chortles and small laughter into uproarious cackles and fits.

"Hehe. I'm the idjit, eh? Heh, whatever keeps you from turnin your arse on end." The Brute laughed, watching as 'Henry', from his rather awkward position, placed his hands behind him, laying his palms upon the glass cylinder he was leaning on, and pushed himself upright once again with a grunt.

He grumbled to himself as any other splicer would, speaking gibberish under his breath as he glanced back to the corpse of the Rosie once more.

He blinked...

Then, as a scowl appeared on his face, he grabbed hold of his machine gun, which has fallen on the floor when he had fumbled with his footing, and cocked it.

"God damn metal piece of shit!" He yelled just seconds before he took aim at the corpse and, without a second thought, pulled the trigger.

Sparks flew and gunshots rang, rather loudly at that, as the splicer senselessly took out his anger on the corpse of the protector unit, adding more holes and dents to the armor it wore to join the other ones.

The clanging of metal and rapid fire of gunshots echoed down the relatively narrow corridor the five splicers were within; a fact that caused the other four, whom were not wasting their ammunition or effort on a dead body, to cover their ears and give out a series of curses at the very intensity of the sound.

Under normal circumstances, the sound of gunfire didn't particularly bother any splicers. It was nothing they hadn't heard before, after all.

However, in this context, what with the narrowness of the corridor within, the sound essentially became heightened to an absolutely unbearable level, practically deafening the splicers that were there.

All except for the one firing off his weapon, 'Henry', who was too busy laughing to really take notice of his eardrums yelling at him to stop.

"Ha! Bet ya ain't makin' fun of ol' Henry from the dead now are ya, metal head!" He mindlessly yelled, watching as the armored body before him sparked and shook in response to the bullets that grazed and pierced it.

He could've gone on like that, really. He had no better things to do with his time really, and he certainly wasn't ready to leave his mentally declared 'opponent' escape without any repercussions.

Though, unlike the splicer's apparent stupidity, the ammunition within the weapon he held was, in fact, not limitless.

As a result of the machine gun's high rate of fire, and the splicer's lack of interest towards releasing the trigger for even a millisecond, he ran out of ammunition rather swiftly, hearing the telltale click of his gun replace the constant sound of ballistics that he had momentarily believed to be the only sound in the world worth living for.

Noting this sudden change, unlike many other things, the splicer blinked again, looking down to his gun with an almost confused expression, as though he had no idea what was going on, before then pulling the trigger again and again.

It only dawned on him that he may have been out of ammo as he then raised his gun to his head, staring down the barrel of the tommy gun as though he had expected to see one more spare bullet waiting for him; one that, if the splicer had any logical thought whatsoever, he might have held second thoughts about gazing into whilst repeatedly pulling the trigger.

Rolling his eyes, the splicer lowered his gun before he looked back towards the Rosie, now riddled with holes in comparison to the five or six that had previously been upon his armor, before then agitating the back of his throat with his tongue, bringing up some phlegm that he then proceeded to spit into the corpse for good measure.

As he did this, he didn't seem to notice the angry glares of the other splicers just to his right. At least, not until the Brute practically threw him against the glass cylinder from before, causing him to his his shoulder, and part of his head, against the object, leaving him in a slight daze.

"You lil' fuck! Are you trying to make us deaf, or 'ave you gone and lost your lid?!" The Brute angrily yelled at the Leadhead, glaring at him as he shook his head, of only to momentarily get rid of the stars in his eyes, before then turning his international towards said Brute.

"What? He was asking for it, he was! Just look at his smug little face!" As he rebutted with this, he used his free hand to point towards the defiled corpse of the Rosie that slumped against the wall.

"Listen here mate. You pull some shite like that again and I'll-"

Unfortunately for the Brute, he would be yet again interrupted mid-sentence. However, on this occasion, it would not be as a result of another splicer, be it by their voice, actions, or gunfire. Instead, it would be by a loud, echoing bang that came down the corridor the five splicers were in, alongside a momentary trembling of the floor beneath them; the city could be heard groaning as it attempted to withstand this sudden force, and the splicer's could be seen jerking their heads towards the direction of the corridor the sound had come from in the first place.

Further off, other splicers could be heard yelling, mostly out of surprise or uproar that was caused by the sudden noise.

"... The bloody hell was that?" The Brute questioned to nobody in particular, just listening and waiting as the trembling beneath him and the others eventually died out, alongside the loud bang that came just before it.

"Fuck if I know." The Leadhead responded, turning his head back towards the others among his group. "Any of you lot got any ideas?"

Aside from the Brute, who continued to look down the end of the corridor, the other four Leadheads simply shook their heads, some looking between one another and muttering about what the sudden sound and almost earthquake-like shake had been caused by.

Their muttering, however, was cut short as a sudden green glow came from the large glass cylinder behind Henry.

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

Within the walls of Pauper's Drop, many buildings and businesses of old had long begun to fall apart. Be it the result of lack of maintenance or abuse as a result of the constant galavanting done by splicers as they made use of their corrupted senses of freedom, walls had begun to collapse; structures had gone to heavy decay; stands previously set up by older shop keeps and posters once lined over the walls had mostly been burned, written over, or overall ruined.

Truly, it fit the rest of the long forgotten city.

However, it had been quite some time since one of these such buildings, one which had previously been relatively sound and safe, had been blasted into nothing more than smithereens, small remnants of molten metal from the inner framework and crumbled rubble from the materials that had made both the in and outside of the building littering the area it had been within.

This building was, or rather used to be, the King Pawn shop.

No longer did it or its billboards stand in the small yet somewhat open area it was confined to; instead, remnants of smoke billowed from the smoldering wreckage of what remained, dust coating the air in layers, it's wispy filth giving a somehow alive vibrancy to the long dead part of the city beneath the sea it resided in.

The air smelled of charred wood and drywall, alongside remnants of staunched airflow and life. The concrete and metal that surrounded the immediate vicinity of the building was visibly blackened, some parts of which even seeming to have been heavily cracked or dented, only truly imaginable as a result of the mere shockwave from the explosive force that had bombarded them.

Pieces of the once standing walls of the small store had traveled as far as the exact opposite side of the area it had been located in, the previously proudly standing sign that stood atop of the establishment--allowing all to see its name in awe--had been utterly obliterated, little more than one half of the 'K' from the name surviving to tell the tale, instead taking its new place embedded within the walls of the clinic building located just next door to it.

As for the billboards that once had been placed upon the building, they suffered a similar fate to the rubble upon which they had previously been supported by, any advertisements they may have previously implied towards burned to the point of being unrecognizable, leaving little more than the metal frames and partially melted supports to continue its existence.

In fact, it was one of said frames that, among the silence that one would only recognize as that which would arise after a storm of violence and, in this case, explosives, groaned and creaked as it began shift left and right.

The frame of the billboard, likely to weigh more than any normal human could possibly carry outside the realm of fantasy or mad science, began to rise ever so slowly. Were anyone to see such a sight, they would claim it impossible.

However, one must remember that this was, again, more than any normal human could possibly carry outside the realm of fantasy or mad science; and it was mad science was precisely what kept the heart and soul of the damned underwater city known as Rapture going.

As such, it could only have been one of the results of this such a science that could be seen lifting the billboard, his hemispherical head and drill flat against the large metal so as to make up for his lack of a second usable hand as he, with a groan of both forceful empowerment and exasperation, toppled over the billboard so that it fell opposite of him, essentially flipping it as it fell to the floor with a loud, metallic thud that echoed through the room.

The Bouncer known as Echo could barely be heard making sounds somewhat similar to labored breathing through his heavy metal helmet, himself being more accustomed to displays of speed and agility than that of strength, such as that one had required of him.

His helmet lights glowed a cautious yellow as he scanned the now even more rubble filled and somewhat darkened--as a result of the large amounts of dust and smoke that caked the upper ceiling and lights of the area--for any threat that may have been around.

Granted, even through his heavily programmed and, as such, rather limited mental capabilities, he was able to easily predict that the supposed 'threat' he had been worried about, in the shape of a modified Rosie, had likely been obliterated in the blast. After all, he was the very epicenter of it, having chosen to take his own life in an attempt to take as many as he could with him rather than be killed at the hands, or drill, of his enemies.

Nonetheless, Echo couldn't help but to be cautious, as was programmed of him in these such situations.

For a moment, Echo waited and listened, if not for the sound of the Rosie were it somehow possible for it to have survived, but for commands of sorts from Seidon, the head of the anti-protocol he was made to follow orders from as a primary priority, just before wiping out any splicers he came across.

Instead, all he heard was garbled static, and the sound of still settling rubble.

Knowing little else to do, Echo rose his gloved hand and slammed it against the side of his helmet in an effort to see if that would better his internal communication systems.

Save for causing him some pain, however, it did nothing.

Had Echo known that the explosion had momentarily scrambled the signal to and from Seidon's base of operations, and as such only temporarily kept him without one to receive orders from, Echo likely would have stopped there and simply waited for communication signals to strengthen. However, he did not.

And as such, he once again hit his helmet. And again. And again.

It was only around the fourth time that he did so that he finally heard something. However, it was not the sound of his programmed leader of sorts giving him any orders, or asking for a status report.

Instead, it was the sound of two relatively light, yet pained moans, emanating from behind him; from where he had been buried beneath the billboard frame just seconds ago.

His yellow porthole lights providing stark contrast to the darkened ambience of the area around him, Echo turned around to the source of the sounds, his light shining upon the sources of the sounds as he did so; of whom, one could not help but to shield her eyes from this sudden light, whereas the other momentarily panicked in surprise from the sudden light, hiding behind the former of the two as a result.

"Echo... would you please turn that down, if you could?" Rarity asked as she looked towards the Bouncer, herself still somewhat dizzied and shell shocked from the explosion.

As for Fluttershy, she was more focused simply trying to get her breathing under control, a whirlwind of emotions catching up to her all at once as she tried to somehow remain at least relatively calm.

It did little good, as she could be heard giving small sobs and gasps as she took in these events as any other pony naturally would.

Perhaps she and Rarity had gained some small semblance of immunity by now to many of the things the city of Rapture had to offer, be it blood, gore, or otherwise, but life threatening situations were another thing in of themselves. Especially those of such violent and abrupt nature as an explosion.

The only reason Rarity wasn't reacting similarly was that she held a somewhat stronger resistance to fear than her dear, timid friend Fluttershy, and even then it was just barely, herself constantly hearing her own heart in her ears as it beat rapidly and powerfully, as if to prove to itself, as well as her, that it was still going.

Upon hearing these sobs, however, Rarity swiftly pushed aside her own thoughts and such as she turned to face her friend, her ears folding back against her head as she saw the poor condition her friend had been in comparison to her.

"Oh, Fluttershy, Darling. It's alright." She cooed softly as she sat herself down by her still panicking friend and brought her forelegs around her neck, bringing her in for an embrace.

"It's alright, dear. You're okay. We're okay." She continued as she attempted to comfort Fluttershy, passing her forehooves carefully through her friends mane as she herself returned the embrace, albeit more tightly, and slowly gained control of her breathing and sobs.

Echo could only watch, his porthole light turning a much more gentle shade of green as he slowly accepted that the previous threat had likely passed. He did not groan, nor do anything as he simply watched the display between the two, his head only momentarily tilting in curiosity before just as quickly returning to normal.

Minutes passed before the butter-yellow pegasus was able to regain control of her emotions and breathing, little more than an occasional hiccup affecting her as her friend nuzzled gently against her.

"There we are. Better?" Her friend asked, almost in a whisper, before she shortly after responded.

"Y-yes... T-thank you, Rarity." Fluttershy thanked with the utmost gratitude, watching as her friend slowly separated from her, keeping one of her forehooves over her shoulder whilst the other wiped away a stray tear from her face.

"Think nothing of it, dear." Rarity returned, before then turning towards Echo.

"And thank you, Echo, for saving us back there. Might I say, if you weren't present, we may not still be here to express our gratitude." Echo, in response, could only tilt his head ever so slightly.

What Rarity had been referring to was, of course, what had occurred just a few moments ago, when the other anti-protocol member Gamma had set off his explosives.

Perhaps, at the time, Echo was not in optimal shape. He had several rivers embedded into his armor, some leaking blood and occasionally hissing out compressed air even now, and his processing of the situation was in fact rather slow.

However, as Echo had long grown to get used to, whenever his mind would fail him, his instincts would not.

He wasn't sure of the route he took. He wasn't sure of whether or not he had used his critical state to do so. All he was certain of was that he acted, and it seemed to have been enough, for the most part.

He felt as though Seidon had given him an order to act. It would only make sense, after all, for him to act on such a regard, but he couldn't for the multiple lives of himself recall what it was. Instead, he simply brushed that thought aside, as he had done with countless others that did not immediately hold utility towards his objectives; as was designed of him.

Though, there was one thing bothering him that related with one of his imposed objectives. One thing that caused him to look away from the two mares before him, his porthole light seeming more like a spotlight as he searched for that same thing. One thing that one of the two with him soon after came to realize.

"E-Echo..." Fluttershy began, her eyes momentarily widening with sudden comprehension of what Echo was doing as she herself glanced around the room, "w-where's Omega?"

At this, Rarity could only blink.

"... Well, darling, he should be right..." She began, if only to trail off as, looking over the large room once--if not twice--she soon also came to the realization that Omega was in fact nowhere in sight.

Echo, in the meanwhile, gave out a groan. It held no meaning behind it, mostly meant to attempt to gain an answer of any sort as response. Though, no such response was returned.

This was what bothered him so much.

He didn't have the time, the maneuverability, to have helped all three of the other beings that had been on the roof with him and Gamma. All he could have done was follow his instincts. And among those such instincts was the immediate thought that he should help those who were in more immediate danger, those who were too fragile to survive something like a point-blank explosions, while hoping that the more hardened member of the group could survive.

He didn't think of it too greatly, but the thought was there.

His instinct had been to leave Omega behind.

The thought bouncing around in his head, Echo's porthole light once again turned yellow, though this time not out of caution, as he gave out another, louder groan.

Fluttershy and Rarity, of whom it had only begun to dawn on the possibility of what may have occurred, pushed aside whatever other thoughts may have been in their heads at the moment, all of which being replaced by one question.

Where was Omega?

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

... Y'know, I think I preferred it when I couldn't feel anything.

I mean, sure, after Gamma fired off that round, I wasn't sure what was really wrong. I couldn't feel any pain to indicate that anything was really wrong in the first place, and that worried me, but uh... still, the painless part was a plus.

Now, don't get me wrong. The entire right side of my face is still pretty much numb... BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS NOT!

Seriously, ow!

I couldn't really help but to groan, but even just doing that just raised a sharp pain from my chest; it was an almost stabbing sensation, really, and I know because I have been stabbed enough times to compare the feelings!

So, yeah, either I was being stabbed right now, or my ribs were broken. Not sure which is worse though... which says a lot.

"I'll say... Ow..."

Oh what are you complaining about?! I'm the one in pain here.

"... Do-... Do we really have to go over this again?"

... Anyways, despite my pain, and relative disorientation, I had actually managed to stay conscious this time...

That's a very small victory, especially considering the amount of excruciating pain I'm going through, but it's something.

Though, when it came down to where exactly I was? Yeah, that was pretty much a blur.

"Yeah, might wanna get a quick assessment on that."

I know, I know. Yeesh.

... Well, if anything, I can already tell that I'm in a rather... claustrophobic spot. It felt as though moving any of my limbs was met with physical resistance, several objects crumbling and clattering against one another with every movement I made.

It wasn't particularly heavy, whatever it was, but it was certainly there. In fact, among these several masses that seemed to have been stacked on top of me, one seemed to have taken residence upon my face... And was rubbing against it.

"Uh... How about opening your eyes, eh? That might give you a better idea of what's going on."

I was getting to that, don't rush me.

"We've just been through a goddamn explosion. I'll rush you all I want."

Ugh. Whatever.

Another groan escaping me, I pried my eyes open to the best of my ability, blurred, and slightly off, vision being the first thing to meet my gaze.

Oh, and darkness. Lots and lots of darkness. Seriously, it felt as though all I was seeing was black, with little more than a few stray cracks of dull light coming through to provide some contrast of any sort.

From this darkness, however, I could barely make out bits and pieces of different things: chunks of drywall, metal framework, stray bits of what seemed to be stone or wood.

Pretty much everything that made up piles of rubble one would normally see throughout Rapture... And I was under it...

Great.

Another groan escaping me, though this one was more akin to one of exasperation than pain--pain was still extremely present though--I barely so much as moved another inch before that same rubbing sensation came from before.

As I focused on it, I took note that it felt rather... familiar. It was smooth all around, with an almost varying entirety of consistently alternating density. Atop of that, it felt rather... slimy.

Oh...

Okay, I think I know what that is now.

No more than a few seconds after my initial realization, my theory was swiftly proven as a small, squirming figure came into my somewhat currently limited range of sight. It was easy enough to differ it, or rather him--at least I've been assuming it to be a 'him' up until now--from everything else, what with the fact that he has a slight glow to him as a result of the ADAM he genetically has in his blood.

I watched as Mill seemed to notice just as well that I had woken up, his gaze meeting mine as he tilted his head before, with a trill of what I guessed to be happiness, he practically shoved his form into me, nuzzling me repeatedly.

As much pain as I was in, I couldn't help but to chuckle at this.

I wonder... did I still have that bag of mine with me? I mean, Mill was apparently trapped here with me, so it was probably very likely.

My lips pursing slightly as I started to move my right arm, Mill not so much as momentarily halting his affectionate gestures as I did so, I could hear the rubble that held my arm down shift as I slowly maneuvered my limb out from it. At first, I was tempted to just pull out my arm as quick as possible and be done with it. But, seeing as the fact that the only reason I may have a small space for me to actually move in may have been pure structural luck, I didn't want to really risk causing the equivalent of a cave in right about now.

With every movement of my arm, I could feel something scraping against it. Sometimes, it was pretty much nothing, like drywall or chunks of what I guessed to be cement. Other times though, I would flinch as I felt a sharpened piece of metal or shard of glass grind against my skin.

I was certain that, were it not for my gene tonics, the entirety of the process would have likely left my arm bleeding to the point of being near useless. Thankfully, that wasn't the case, myself eventually pulling my arm free, with little more than a slight shift in the rubble above me, with a grunt.

As I gave my arm a quick test, gripping my hand and the like before then checking to see if my supply bag was still on my back--and, thankfully, it was--Mill seemed to suddenly stop his movements, himself standing himself to be somewhat upright, by slug standards, and seeming to move his gaze slightly more to the right.

I didn't know what he was looking at really, I didn't really have all that much space to turn my head in the first place, but whatever he saw didn't really seem to be something he liked, a low, but high-pitched squeal escaping him.

Really, it sounded more akin to some kind of whimper than anything else.

I could feel myself involuntarily raise a brow as I saw him do this, mentally questioning as to what may have been wrong. Before that thought could really take a moment to develop though, Mill suddenly shifted, myself watching as he made his way over my nose--and odd sensation in of itself, which caused my to cringe by more than a little bit--and... nothing.

Just like that, he was gone...

At first, I blinked, thinking something was just off with my vision or something. I mean, my eyes were definitely open, that much I knew, though, like I had said, the right side of my fake was numb. But, I couldn't see Mill. I could some pressure from where he was, but he himself was nowhere in my sight.

What the actual fuck. Is something covering my eye or some... thing...

And that's when I remembered: when I remembered the last shot that Gamma fired; when I remembered the blood; when I remembered Fluttershy and Rarity's faces as they...

Oh fuck, the explosion-where the hell are they?!

My eyes suddenly shot open, or at least I thought they both did, as I instinctively looked around from my current position, so as to see if I could find my charges.

"Oh, yeah, that'll work. Look for them from inside a giant pile of rubble and debris. That'll totally help you find them."

Okay, okay, I get it, but how about we focus here jackass! I may have been able to survive that explosion, sure, but they aren't genetically modified like I am! So, yeah, their chances are lower by a long shot!

"Oh for the love of- Look, I'm worried about them just as much as you are, but panicking and rushing into things isn't going to help you find-"

"Omega?" A voice suddenly came through everything else, muffled and extremely faint, but still there.

I stilled, and Mill, whom was still out of my view, suddenly came into my far right peripherals as he pulled himself upright, likely having heard the voice.

It wasn't long after before another, just as faint, though just as familiar voice rang through.

"Omega? Darling, where are you?"

I could also hear a groan accompany these voices, but I mostly tuned it out...

"... Hey, uh, you know what I said about taking your time and not rushing into action? Yeah, so, how about we momentarily put that aside so we can GET THE FUCK OUTTA HERE RIGHT NOW!"

... You're not very stable with your thoughts, are you?

"THIS COMING FROM THE GUY ARGUING WITH A VOICE IN HIS HEAD, NOW MOVE!"

God you're annoying. Can't say I disagree though!

"Whatever, just watch it, I don't think you can manage a huge loss of EVE all at onc-"

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

Lifting another notably large piece of rubble, Fluttershy and Rarity by his sides, Echo's porthole light--yellow, so as to reflect the caution he took in his actions, the possibility of another proximity mine possibly being left over in his mind--shined upon the previously darkened area beneath the rubble.

Beneath it, however, laid nothing more than additional, though smaller, pieces of debris from what used to be the King Pawn shop. Essentially the exact opposite of what, or rather who, Echo and the girls were searching for.

Their ears splaying over the back of their heads as the somewhat hopeful look that had been on their eyes faded, Fluttershy and Rarity looked around the area from their current positions once more, looking for another possible pile of rubble their guardian may have been under.

"Omega?" Rarity yelled once again, desperately awaiting some sort of response as Fluttershy shortly after echoed her cry.

"O-Omega? Where are you?" Fluttershy gave out, following Rarity's example with her own shout--not her usual, relatively quiet shout either. No, her concern had caused any semblance of worry she may hold towards disturbing someone with the noise she made to be shoved aside entirely, at least for the moment.

Every yell she made, though not quite as loud, held a similar intensity to it as Rarity's, riddled with concern and bother.

Were the situation not so grave, Fluttershy mentally noted, she likely would have been surprised at herself for creating so much noise. But the situation was grave, so suffice to say that this thought wasn't among the most important of ones to enter her mind.

Echo, in the meanwhile, had still remained where he was, the heavy chunk of rubble from the recently obliterated building held up by his gloved hand as he once more tested his internal communication systems; static seemed to have become the more popular form of transmission, it had seemed.

"Oh for the love of Celestia, where could he be?!" Rarity then suddenly exclaimed, her head darting left and right as she scanned the room for what must have been the hundredth time since the explosion.

It was faint, but one could tell that her breathing was off. It was hollow, almost inexistent really, and held a notable amount of strain behind it.

Rarity knew that this sort of thing wasn't like her, much like Fluttershy had known her shouting to be unlike her, but she couldn't particularly help it.

Back in Equestria, she knew she had a slight tendency of jumping to conclusions, but usually that wouldn't cause little more than a small issue that often blew away moments after it had occurred. Those instances were insignificant.

But, she reminded herself of one little fact: this wasn't Equestria. No, here, she had long noticed, one small mistake doesn't just blow over. Instead, it could cost a life.

Or, in this case, it may very well be caused by a life, Rarity's mind going into a sort of overhaul as she suddenly galloped away from Echo and Fluttershy's sides, much to the two's surprise, and towards another pile of rubble.

"Omega! Please, darling, SAY something!" She yelled, her voice momentarily straining itself as it grew even louder than it had previously been, louder than she could ever recall yelling even before she came to Rapture.

For a moment, Fluttershy could only watch, her mind reeling as she attempted to understand that this was Rarity; that this was the friend who often did her best to keep her composure; her friend that often held the role of calming her down; her friend that, as she watched her suddenly proceed to get even closer to the large pile of rubble and practically burrow her way through it as best as she could with her hooves, was currently in a state of pseudo-panic.

Blinking, the more nurturing and assertive part of Fluttershy--a part of herself which she has had to make use of a multiple amount of times since she and Rarity had arrived in the city beneath the seas--took over almost all at once, herself shaking her head for a moment as she suddenly bound towards Rarity.

Even as she came close to her, Fluttershy took note that Rarity was not slowing in her digging whatsoever, if anything only seeming to further in her efforts as her breath suddenly began to sound much more hoarse and forced.

Knowing Rarity's tendencies to faint under situations of extreme stress, and certainly deeming this such a kind of moment as one of those such situations, Fluttershy took action, placing a hoof upon Rarity's shoulder and giving her a momentary shake so as to gain her attention.

"R-Rarity. Please, y-you have to calm down for a moment. You're-"

"Calm down?!" Fluttershy flinched at Rarity's abrupt outburst, Rarity seeming to pair this such an action with a stamp of both of her fore-hooves as she momentarily held her shoveling

“Omega, the one who has been caring for us all this time, not only ended up getting hurt trying to save us again, but is now very possibly buried under several feet of filth and rubble—of which Celestia knows this kingdom may as well be made of—and you are asking me to calm down?!” Rarity rambled aloud, her voice momentarily having gone hoarse through her momentary total lack of composure. Though, as to whether it was due to the fact that she did not usually yell so loudly for so long, what with it being overall unladylike to do so, or the emotion behind her words, she did not know.

Interestingly, though even Echo seemed to take a slight step backwards at the pony’s actions, a small part of what little of his unprocessed mind yelling at him to be cautious around this being which he was still not fully used to, Fluttershy didn’t back down, instead patiently watching and waiting as Rarity took a moment to take a breath and gather herself, her focus shifting to the ground before her in thought.

For a moment, the unicorn blinked, a flash of clarity coming over her as she glanced up towards Fluttershy, noting the look of patient concern that she held. And with that, a good portion of her panic shifted to regret as she realized she had just yelled at one of her best friends purely because she was being hysterical; she still very much held a great deal of worry for their suitless guardian nonetheless.

“My… my apologies, dear.” She then uttered in a much more quiet voice. “I-it’s just… how can I be calm when it’s possible that Omega might be-“

Before she could finish her possibly mournful thought, Fluttershy took a step closer to her, stamping down the same assertive and certain hoof that she had used back when she had convinced Rarity of the fact that a supposed Splicer they had found so long ago was in fact Omega.

“He isn’t.” She said—or rather, stated—as she confidently assured her friend. Perhaps one might say that it was simple hopeful thinking or delusion, but Fluttershy instead saw of it as certainty that their friend, their protector, was indeed alive. After all, he had already been through so much, with and without his suit, and throughout that time he had made it his utmost priority to keep them safe and happy. Surely, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to suffer from such a fate. He was much too stubborn, and much more caring, to do so.

These were the thoughts that went through the normally timid mare’s mind as she looked to her friend; that same thoughts that Rarity could practically see emanating from her friend, from her posture down to what seemed like something in her eyes. The same thoughts that, if only for a moment, seemed to calm Rarity, her previously mournful and concerned expression cracking, if only for a moment as the two shared their instance of self-assurances and comfort.

“... Thank you, Dear.” Rarity responded, taking in another breath before garnering a similarly confident look on her features as her friend. “Now, where to ne-“

And in that instance, Echo found himself falling backwards over a loose piece of rubble that was unfortunately placed behind one of his boots with a spill and a groan, whereas the two mares could only barely let out their own individual squeaks of returned timidity and ‘eeps’ of regathered appropriateness as a sudden, and just as loud, burst of an indescribable mix of sound among the blasting of air and rapid clatter and twisting of metal and stone as a nearby mountain of rubble suddenly reacted like a volcano. An eruption of recently created scrap and debris flew high enough to reach the ceiling, some with the force and trajectory to wedge itself into the metal of the ceiling, others loudly clanging or crashing against it before then falling back down in a much more spread about and haphazard manner.

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

Were one to listen to the one hall within the furthest southern side of Pauper's drop, just next to the supposed 'Reliable Pharmacy' that stood in defunct condition among the market area within this portion of Lower Rapture, one would initially believe themselves to hear utter silence. An eerie silence, unlike any other throughout most of the city, which somehow came through in several volumes.

Were one to listen more closely, however, one would hear another sound; one would hear a slight dripping sound, barely noticeable from whatever other, similar sounds that one would expect to arrive from a city beneath the seas, yet somehow all the more distinct in its nature. And, if one were to travel down said hall, seeking an answer for such a scenario, one wouldn't so much as make it a few feet inside before being either gutted alive, their intestines and innards strewn about the walls and floor, or riveted to the nearest wall to await whatever fate may await them. That is to say, one would go through this as a result of the bloodied Rosie that stood in the middle of the carnage that surrounded him, his porthole light giving no light whatsoever as he held his modified rivet gun in his bulky and gloved hand.

Yet, none of the blood was his. In fact, one would have more trouble finding so much as a part of the area around him that was not stained red as opposed to a part that may have held any evidence of him having so much as struggled to clear out the group of Splicers that had so kindly volunteered themselves to provide him with another symphony of sound.

He graciously stood silently for, simply enjoying the sound of blood falling from its place on the wall to its later position among its sea of brothers on the floor. He basked in the sound he had filled his covered ears with only moments ago, remembering and enjoying every detail: the sound of bone as it was either sliced by his blade or torn and shattered by his rivets, the screams that had once surrounded him, some quiet and others loud, as he brought them to an end, often listening as they became such that they were gurgled by blood that filled their lungs or mouths. Even, and especially, the bliss that was the current silence, comparably to a sort of afterglow that one such as he may only ever become acquainted with in moments such as these.

Truly, to him, these things were all magnificent, unrivaled by anything else that he had ever heard or done in his albeit limited memory of his life. There was only one word to describe it all.

Ecstasy.

Raising his other arm, a slight groan escaped the bloodied Rosie as he tapped at the cracked and nonfunctional glass of his porthole, the sound of which managing to echo and resonate almost beautifully with that of the falling droplets of crimson that continued to forever stain the hall with his legacy.

What fortune that he had come across such kind Splicers after having returned from his momentary rest of sorts. He had only truly died on one or two other occasions since the anti-protocol had begun, having been caught off-guard whilst he was in moments of bliss such as the one he held now, but each time he had returned he had felt more and more driven to regain sense of the beautiful sounds that came with the ending of lives. Truly a wondrous form for which to encourage him to comply with his programming.

After all, that was all he was doing, wasn't it? Simply fulfilling a job that he had been mentally programmed to do, and if he happened to enjoy it, well so be it.

He was not one to question the turn of events that led him to where he was. No, he was more focused on the 'now'. That is, whichever 'now' that held him in a similar situation as he was then and there; covered in the liquid instruments that flowed through the bodies of those he dispatched; releasing the beauty which those beings held within them, granting them fulfillment in life and death. To release them from such horrid existences, never truly aware of what magnificent cacophony they held within their skins, how merciful he truly was.

All of which to follow his programming, so he told himself. All from his programming...

So, it was without wonder that he grew curious.

Curious as to when he'd see the four that had been there when he had more recently died. Of course, he had hoped that he had not ended them then and there. What a horrid way to go that would be, burnt and torn by an explosion without having any around to hear, their internal instruments being disintegrated rather than being given the joy of expressing themselves.

Yet, somehow he know. Yes, somehow he knew they had lived. And again his curiosity grew.

And with that curiosity came a thought.

"What,", he wondered, his hand stilling with his finger upon his porthole, "yes, just what wondrous sounds might those supposed 'ponies' make when their limbs are removed one by one?"

To allow them the pleasure of listening to their own orchestras play from within rather than dispatching them before they might hear such a thing, truly Gamma was a merciful, merciful Rosie.

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

Huh... Didn't know that blasting away all that scrap with my Telekinesis 3 plasmid would make me feel so much better. I mean, really, most, if not all of my pain from before is gone.

"Yeah, unconsciousness tends to do that for a bit. Way to hold back like I told you to by the way. Really helped us out there, I'm sure."

Instead, I felt... lighter, if that makes sense. Which it probably doesn't, but, hey, fuck it, it works. Oh boy does it work.

"Oh, great, you're ignoring me..."

Whereas before my body had felt like it was surrounded and impaled by several different bits and pieces of differently shaped and formed shrapnel--specific example, I know--now it felt as though I were surrounded by a much more cool and calming sensation, flowing over me like, uh...

Goddamn it, I know this.

"Like water?"

Yeah, that's it! Just like... water...

Come to think of it, I'm only now realizing that there's another, instinctually familiar, though much different sensation that's starting to come through.

"Oh, you noticed that too? Funny story, that's actually the sensation of yours lungs filling up with water! Cool, right?"

Oh... I'm drowning right now, aren't I?

"No, no, whatever gave you that ide- GET OUT OF THE WATER YOU DUMBASS!"

Though it was delayed, what I can only imagine to be my internal adrenal reaction came through seemingly all at once as I opened my eye at the sudden realization that I was, in fact, currently underwater. I didn't really focus on anything in, my mind being more focused on getting out of the water to gain some semblance of oh so necessary oxygen rather than gathering insight as to where I was. Though I didn't mean to, I involuntarily ended up opening my mouth, barely stopping myself from yelling and wasting whatever little else oxygen I may have held in my lungs at the time, yet filling my mouth, and a small portion of my throat, with the currently life draining liquid as I did so.

Naturally, most of my limbs flailed at the sudden wake up call of utter emergency, and in doing so I barely noted that not only did they not move far back, hitting a large solid surface as they moved, but they also momentarily became lighter when I raised them, holding sensations of less resistance.

To most in this situation it would probably seem like nothing. But, for someone like me, who has consistently been underwater throughout most of what life I could remember, it meant one thing. The water I was in was shallow.

I swear to god if I end up dying because I couldn't get out of a few inches of water, I'm never living this dow-

... OH MOTHERFUCKER.

My body tensing for a moment, I quickly responded to the fact and moved all of my limbs down against the surface below me, which I guessed to a floor. Once that was done, I then tried to lift myself up out of the water. Key word: tried.

See, it's kinda hard to lift yourself up when something is holding you. It's even harder to do so when, looking down to see whatever may have been causing said phenomenon, I end up spotting a large gloved hand holding me down.

Seriously, WHAT THE ACTUAL FU-

"E-Echo, please stop, h-he's awake!"

...Was that-?! Before I could so much as begin to process even the slightest of things involving what was going on, the water around me suddenly began to rush past me, muffling itself against my ears and forcing me to close my eye from the sheer force of it all as all the good sensations that came from the water disappeared, leaving only the bad which remained in my longs as I suddenly felt myself well out of the previously surrounding substance.

No sooner than a second after I had been lifted from the water, my body reacted, coughing up water and inhaling air in gulps as my breathing tried to regulate itself. As this occurred, I could barely hear the sound of water dripping of off me whilst I inched my eye open.

The first thing I saw, the very first goddamn thing, was Echo, his porthole lights yellow as he stared me down, his one hand holding me outstretched from him by my throat. He wasn't choking me, so much as he was just holding me, but seeing as he was essentially just trying to drown me...

It was barely a second after I was lifted up and spotted him before I raised my right hand up towards his helmet and fired off a blast of Telekenisis 3, point blank.

A small portion of the metal on his armor visibly dented as the force of the plasmid blasted him back, causing him to let me go and drop back into the water. Water which, now that I had landed on my ass in it, was more comparable to a goddamn puddle than anything else.

Not like it mattered, that fucking Bouncer was gonna get a few dozen rivets up his ass right the hell now!

A growl escaping me, though coming out somewhat low due to the small amounts of water that I still had in my lungs and had not bothered to cough up in the suddenness of the situation, I moved myself into a kneeling position, my hand momentarily submerging itself back under the shallow water as I looked up towards where I figured Echo would have been after that plasmid blast. I hadn't really bothered to watch him as he flew off, though I can't really say one could blame me all things considered.

Sure enough, he was some distance in front of me, currently on his back--and disoriented by the looks of things, what with the fact that he made very little moves to get back up--which gave me ample time to react.

Snarling, I made to get up and rush Echo while he was down, my leg moving to lift me and-

"Omega, wait!" The sudden voice that came through exclaimed, just as quickly being followed by a certain white, horned pony making their way just in front of me, directly blocking my path towards the Bouncer.

I blinked, looking at the pony in silence and shock as my mind slowly tried to catch up... very slowly.

"Hey, don't blame me for this asshole. You're the one that didn't realize you were drowning in the first place! Of course I'm having some trouble!" Thoughts aside--"Fuck you!"--Rarity, who continued to stand in my way, looked towards me pleadingly, her very expression practically forcing me to stop right then and there.

Why did she want me to stop? That defective bastard just tried to drown me!

"S-she's right, Omega! P-please wait a moment!" As this other familiar voice came through, this time being that of my other charge, Fluttershy, who made her way next to Rarity. I barely took note of the fact that Mill, who I thought for sure was with me after that explosion, was on top of her mane all of a sudden.

Just what the hell had I missed?!

"Could have known if you had just listened to me..."

NEVER IN MY LIFE HAVE I WANTED TO STRANGLE MYSELF ANYMORE THAN I DO NOW.

"See, that's a lie and we know that. Also, pretty sure a lot of splicers are kinda into that so-"

STOP TALKING!

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

In truth, either of the two would have been lying if they had claimed that they were certain that Omega would have reacted even neutrally to waking up in the situation that he did. They were already aware that the relation that the two held with one another was... tense, to put it lightly, and they couldn't imagine that having been out into that position with said tensions still abound would have helped in any way.

In fact, it wasn't a little more than moments ago that the girls, having headed towards the sudden burst of debris that they had deduced would only have been caused by Omega--and were fortunately correct about--were rushing to help Omega in whatever way they could after having seeing him. They weren't sure exactly what had occurred, but all they knew was that he was there before them, alive, but horribly injured.

From just a glance, the two could clearly see several spots throughout his body, mainly his torso and arms, where Omega had suffered several gashes and burns of differentiating severity. Of course, his legs, though not as heavily injured, still held some wounds in of themselves, even holding a small bar of metal impaled into his lower right leg.

These injuries were even easier to see because of the fact that, seemingly as a direct result of the explosion, much of Omega's clothes had been singed and torn in several places. His right pant legs were practically non-existent from the knee down, with similar such tatters being visible along his right arm's sleeves, all the way up to his shoulder, then down to the middle of his torso, where an especially large part of his shirt had been torn or burned off vertically, leaving several blackened remnants hanging loosely over what little of the shirt had remained somewhat undamaged, and also leaving the shirt to only be supported by what remained over his left shoulder and sleeve.

Finally, there was the most notable sight of all. One that, to this moment, practically glared back at them as the two now looked towards the bandage over one of Omega's eyes, still visibly bloodied from the carnage that had been below it. Had they not been exposed to what they had seen in their time in Rapture, both of them believed that such a sight would, at the very least, have caused them to have frozen up, and at the very most caused them to release the contents of their stomachs for all the world to see.

But they had been exposed to Rapture, and they had been running out of time, from what they could have imagined from seeing Omega in such a state. With Fluttershy taking Mill and moving him onto her mane, almost by second nature as she did so without even truly realizing that Mill had been there in the first place, squealing in his own little panic as he looked to the girls from atop of Omega's head, both Rarity and Fluttershy barely exchanged one or two words with one another before agreeing that they needed to lift Omega, if not only to move him elsewhere, but to also gain access to the bag that he had on his back, which held all of the first aid kits that he and they had collected up until now.

Initially, the two moved so as to get on with their minimally worded plan, Fluttershy moving around towards the back of Omega and moving her head under his back so as to push him up from behind whereas Rarity had positioned herself by his torso, using her forelegs to support his head whilst trying to pull him up from her side. Though this in of itself wouldn't move him, it would allow them to find the medical supplies that were needed, which was clearly much more necessary at the moment.

However, as they were raising his body, Echo suddenly took over, unexpectedly wrapping his arm around the fallen protector unit and lifting him up with little effort. Though it surprised the girls at first, even causing Fluttershy to stumble for a moment as a result of the now missing individual that she had previously shifted most of her weight against, the two were glad to see that Echo was willing to help them. They had even thanked him, watching as he took Omega down from the pile he had previously been on and down to the floor...

Then they grew unsure when he kept going, heading over to the small pool of water in the center of the room as a result of the notable flood from the ceiling that had been there since they had arrived in the area. And then they completely panicked and rushed over to where he was when they saw Echo adjust his grip on Omega and put him inside of the small pool of water, head and all, without a single shred of hesitation.

They, of course, quickly went about questioning his actions, pleading for him to stop and let them help Omega, only for their pleas to go unheard as Echo continued in his actions. Their minds scrambled as they tried to stop him, Fluttershy continuing to try to stop him while Rarity, being just as shocked and afraid for the health of their guardian as she was, began tugging on one of his legs in a poor attempt to have him either lose his balance or release Omega. Even Mill seemed to partake in these actions of meager resistance, giving out loud, irritated squeals of varying pitches towards the Bouncer.

This went on for a solid minute or so before, finally, Echo lifted Omega from the water, groaning towards the others and jerking his head as much as he could noticeably do through his armor and helmet, so as to signal for them to look towards the still unconscious body of their friend. At first, they had, of course, been more occupied with what Echo had been doing, yelling at or scolding Echo for his actions. It wasn't until Fluttershy had glanced towards Omega whilst Rarity continued her lingual onslaught on the protector unit, hoping that his injuries hadn't been further aggravated by Echo's actions, that she had taken notice of the fact that, conversely to what she had been concerned of, some of Omega's wounds had begun to seem better. In fact, his more minor wounds had seemed as though they had completely disappeared, as though they had never been there; a few scar-like discolorations along his skin had taken their place.

From that moment, it wasn't long before Rarity took notice of this fact themselves and, though they were still wary, and overall unsure as to what exactly was occurring, they allowed Echo to continue as he was doing. Offhandedly--or perhaps off-hoofedly--both the unicorn and the pegasus mentally took note of the fact that Echo did not proceed in his actions until he had received confirmation of some sort from the two ponies. It was something small, but, really, it truly was those small gestures that mattered the most in a city such as the one they were within.

Of course, that didn't stop them from keeping close watch of Omega as Echo went on, taking in every small detail so as to ensure that all was well. Omega would continuously repeat the same actions over the span of just over half an hour, dipping Omega's entirety into the shallow water, causing it to momentarily mist with red from his blood before the continuous leak that had led to the small body of liquid eventually cycled out the blood for freshly fallen water, before lifting him up for a few seconds so as to--at least they assumed--allow him to take a breath of air.

It was in those short periods in which Omega was lifted that the girls focused on him the most, their sight on him being somewhat obstructed by the continuously rippling and reddening water he was in and as such leading to them only truly being able to gain information on his condition whenever he was raised. They watched as his still limp body came up, initially taking a moment or two so as to ensure he was still breathing, their breaths often hitching until they saw his torso expanded to allow oxygen in. Once they were certain of his continued respiration, they then took whatever remained of the short moment in which he had been lifted from the water so as to look over his injuries, watching as they were slowly replaced with scars and discolored tissue. Blood that had previously been leaking forth from those wounds would soon only be identifiable from the stains and singe-marks on his tattered clothes.

The only injury that didn't seem to change, save for a lack of bleeding after what had effectively been the Rapturian equivalent to waterboarding--though, of course, that concept never existed within the world the girls had come from to begin with--was that of his right eye, which continued to hold a rivet partially lodged within. Both Fluttershy and Rarity, though a part of them wished otherwise, were unable to decide whether to put their focus on this feature or not.

On one hand, the sight was certainly not a pleasant one. The rivet had, for a lack of better words, practically obliterated the eye that it had impacted, its metal entry point jamming itself well into the cornea of Omega's eye, with his previously already faint pupils and sclera becoming jumbled together in a blotchy, hard to identify mess. Many of the blood vessels within the same eye had burst as well, as one may expect from such a significant trauma, leaving an overall reddish tint to whatever bits of white may have been identifiable from the eye. It had been a much darker red before, but whether it was from the loss of the blood that had been pooling within the eye out through entry of the rivet, or Omega's apparent aptitude for healing whilst in water, was unknown.

On the other hand, a much simpler, clear cut reason was present to prompt the two ponies to look towards the unsightly injury of their unconscious protector. It was an injury that Omega had sustained in a fight through which he had attempted to protect them. It was possible, very possible, that Omega had just lost sight in one eye completely as a result of them being there in the first place. Coupling that with the fact that the two had promised to assist Omega in whatever forms they possibly could, be it big or small, then of course their minds were somewhat frayed as to what they could do or how they should react.

That was their main concern then--and it is still very much prevalent in their minds now. At the same time, the main worry of the present was clearing up the misunderstanding between Echo and Omega, lest the latter unwittingly wrongfully kill the former.

"I-if you would just give us a moment to explain." Fluttershy pleaded, having noticed the hostility Omega held towards Echo after waking up just as Rarity did.

"Yes, please darling, don't do anything rash!" Yet, neither of the pony's words came through to the former Rosie, a growl being their only answer as Omega's sights continued to be focused on the fallen Bouncer--whom was only now beginning to pick himself up from the ground. Omega's hand momentarily shook, though whether it was due to the trauma he had recently suffered or the sheer rage that he felt was unclear, as his finger clearly made its way to his rivet gun's trigger.

The sight did not go unnoticed and apparent tunnel vision that Omega seemed to be suffering from did not go unnoticed by his charges who, with one short, albeit panicked glance towards one another wordlessly shared their thoughts with one another and took action. Seconds before Omega could pull the trigger, both the unicorn and the pegasus suddenly grabbed hold of him from either side, their forehooves encircling him in their grasps whilst their heads dug into the crooks between his neck and shoulders. He stumbled for a moment, the sudden momentum that had been added onto him pushing him back, but still his focus was kept on the Bouncer before him; Echo had just now gotten himself in a kneeling position, practically stood by now, yet somehow oblivious of Omega's intentions.

"Omega!" Rarity cried out, "please, just take a moment to calm yourself!"

Omega, however, didn't seem to hear her--or perhaps it was that he chose not to--attempting to balance his swaying aim towards the Bouncer before him. In his mind, from the moment that he--the mentally lacking, poorly coordinated, exceptionally pathetic excuse for a protector unit--had appeared before Omega and his charges, as well as the self-contrived ringmaster that hid himself behind the mask of said protector unit had appeared, everything had gone wrong. The initial attacks upon himself and his charges, the lockdown stopping them from proceeding in their quests towards the escape pods in Lower Persephone, the continued endangerment of his charges at the hands of subject Gamma, and now the fact that he had notably less depth perception than he recalled; it was all their fault. If he could kill them again, and again, and again, and again-

However many times it would take, perhaps then they could be done with this. He could get his charges home, he could die in peace if need be, he could say that he had finally pulled through on all his promises.

"No." Omega thought to himself, "There's still that promise that I would find Seidon after this all was through. And I will personally make sure that he gets to watch as I tear his HEART OUT AND-"

"O-Omega... please..." The quiet voice of his other charge rang through, practically choked out from the deepest depths of her chest as she struggled to keep herself emotionally stable. Something that gave both Omega and Rarity pause.

Ponies, as a whole, were social and emotional creatures. Their history was fairly all over the place, what with the constant occurrences and involvements of magical entities, celestial events beyond their control, and of course what chaos beings like Discord had brought to the mix, but there was one thing that was certain about it. Conflict was not widespread. Sure, there had been disagreements between ponies, and instances in which ponies were mobilized in order to defend themselves against magical beings, but conflicts among their own kind never lasted. And when they did, they usually ended up with those ponies talking things out and moving on.

Rapture was violence incarnate. Corruption and hedonistic views taken form under the eyes and hands of a man that was so fixated on his own views of utopia, he failed to realize he had ultimately fallen for whatever corruption and manipulative semblances of madness that he had built the city in order to escape. Bodies filled hallways, blood stained the vast oceans around them, children were used as drug factories whist men were taken and programmed to be numb to anything else except their desire to protect what was essentially other people's profit margins and guinea pigs.

It was difficult to adapt to, a world in which one being could not co-exist with a being of the other. That Fluttershy and Rarity had found Omega was a miracle in of itself. And that stress, that fear, that concern--it grew on a pony.

Fluttershy, despite everything, had remained strong and hopeful. Rarity had done her share, yes, but Fluttershy had made sure to hold her ground despite everything that happened. To be that pillar even when she was in just as bad a mental shape, or perhaps even worse, before Rarity so as to ensure that she would also go on was something she almost couldn't afford avoiding. Why? Because it was the kind thing to do.

But how does one hold their will--their strength--when everything keeps breaking them down to their core values. When they are unable to help the one thing that had been keeping them safe in ways that couldn't be seen as little more than errand running whereas the other was fighting an entire war on their own. When said being is constantly in conflict with another of his own kind, constantly snapping and clashing against them because for said being, forgiveness is not as simple as a nod of their head and a life continued just fine. When the being protecting them, that they could do nothing for, that was unable to change to their lifestyle through no fault that could be given to anything except the horrid world they grew in, ultimately lost parts of their own body that they could never hope to recover.

Could there absolutely be no hope for this world in that regard? Was it truly just impossible for something, anything, to be resolved without hatred, contempt, or anger? z

As Fluttershy held Omega back, her voice growing harder and harder to find, the pillar she had attempted to be throughout all this time buckled, and collapsed.

"Please... Please...."

And she broke.

Author's Notes:

Life is an interesting thing. Throughout everything you do, there's always that ebbing feeling that you should do something else.

Maybe you dont actually like woodcarving despite doing it throughout your entire life up until this point? Maybe you dont actually want that achievement in a game you had set out to obtain, going through already 70% of the requirements to obtain it but stopping nonetheless?

... Maybe you don't want to write?

But maybe, you do want to write? Maybe, as you do your college work and work at your job, you want to finish the story? Not just for the satisfaction of doing so, but because, though you have the ending in your head already, you wanna know what you do for everything in the middle.

Whatever the reason, life finds a way.

And here I am, having followed that way.

I started this story in 2014... I started many stories long ago now. But, despite the incredibly inconsistent updates, despite the silence, despite everything, I will finish it, as well as the others.

I can't imagine the ones who read this story back in 2014 are still here. I don't blame them. People grow, times change, fandoms cycle, so on and so forth. To those of you who are here though, I suppose I only have one thing to say.

I am brightlight24. And I WILL finish what I have started.

Nice to meet you all again.

Inventory:
-Rivet Gun (4)
>Heavy Rivets (13)
>Trap Rivets (3)
-Remote Hack Tool (6)
>Auto Hack Dart (2)
-ESU
-EVE Hypo (5)
-First Aid Kits (4)
-Money (126)
Plasmids:
}Telekinesis 3
}Security Command 2
}Decoy
Gene Tonics:
}Armored Shell 2
}Fountain of Youth