Apollo Square. A residential paradise if you had the money for it back when Rapture was still alive and well. To those people, this place was a heaven I don't even know how many miles under the sea, but to me, it was just another damned trap. I was pretty sure that Apollo Square was one of the first causes to this apocalypse, but that was only my opinion.

The door to the bathysphere opened again, revealing a now ruined tram system that was originally used to head back and forth into Apollo Square without issue. The lazy man's way of travel, especially considering that it was only a 10 minute walk to the residential areas. I swear, you get a little money and you think that you're too good for everyone else all of a sudden, it made no sense. That mindset aside, I had more pressing things to deal with.

I made my way out of the bathysphere carefully, one of my charges, the one apparently named Fluttershy, hanging onto me from my back again. Her friend, Rarity, followed close behind us. As we made our way to the center of Apollo Square, a headache began to form. Not because of all the bashing my head had taken, or because I was getting sick, my suit didn't allow that. No, it was a certain white pony's whining that was causing it.

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"Oh this place is simply dreadful! So filthy, and... wet! It's positively covered in garbage!" Rarity whined as she followed the metal man. In her defense, Apollo Square was a veritable junkyard. Leaks had caused for water to reach knee deep levels along the tracks, trash and scrap had piled up along the walls over time, and several of the trams had either broken down or crashed, effectively blocking most of the tram system and limiting the square to certain places. It was among these places that the Big Daddy was planning to take them.

Rarity didn't know that though, so naturally, she was nervous. Every step they took became, aside from filthier, heavier and heavier as she felt her heart beat rapidly. In truth, the only reason she hadn't made a break for it was because the metal beast in front of her had Fluttershy with him, and she couldn't just abandon her friend, especially in such a poorly maintained area.

The other of the two charges was trying her best to stay awake. She felt so tired and sore, her eyelids barely remaining open as the giant carried her on his back. It was odd really, having a creature that was so thick-shelled and ruthless carry you from place to place. It was especially odd in that he was being so careful. It was as if he was a bear from their world. Big and scary on the outside, yet kind and considerate on the inside.

Suddenly, a sound rang through the square that brought shivers along the back of both of the ponies. The angered yell of a splicer.

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I mentally chuckled when I heard the splicer yell, probably thinking that he'd be able to get into Apollo Square. I ignored it and walked on, much to the shock of Rarity.

"W-where are you going!? Didn't you hear that? If we don't hurry, another of those horrid splicers will catch up to us!" If I could've laughed, I would have. There was a reason that we hadn't come across any splicers while we were in Apollo Square.

"I see you! I see you! I-" The moron's incessant rambling was cut off by the sound of a ringing alarm as a countdown timer appeared on the side of my helmet, counting down from 60 seconds. He had walked straight into the sight of the camera by the sound of it. I smiled through my helmet as I heard the beeps of several security bots, followed by the sound of their machine guns turning the splicer into Swiss cheese. He had barely made it to the 55 second mark.

I slightly sidestepped closer to the wall as we passed by what seemed like a large tally board, having been carved into the wall over time. I grabbed a nearby shard of metal that I had kept convenient and scratched yet another one in. The advantages of hacking kits being standard in Big Daddy models. I put the metal back to its original place and returned to my initial path, making a left turn where the square split into four.

It was silent as we walked on, surprisingly. Even the white pony had stopped her whining, leaving the room in an almost eerie silence. The silence was broken however, as the sound of small rotors began to buzz towards our direction.

"What is that soun- Oh my!" I heard Rarity exclaim in surprise as a familiar security bot made its way in front of me, causing Fluttershy to gasp as well.

Winston, as I had grown to call it, was much like any average security bot. It had a peculiar shape with an overall sleek design. Two lights were fitted where its eyes would be, separated by another sleek and rounded piece of metal with green lights on it. It had a turret attached to its bottom most part, with a box containing its ammunition attached to the back as it kept itself afloat using two small rotors near the top of it's head.

The reason Winston was so unique in comparison to the others though was because he had a red finish to his paint design and often acted as though he had a mind of his own. Most security bots would see me and go about their business, if I wasn't the one that triggered the alarm that is. Winston was different though. He would always stop by at random intervals, make a few beeping sounds, then just leave. It was almost as if it was making its rounds on a patrol, and I was one of the things it was supposed to guard. I found it slightly ironic that a security bot wanted to protect a Big Daddy, but I couldn't complain. After all, the fact that it had managed to figure out how to remotely activate the alarm was always interesting.

Winston hovered in front of me for some time, before letting out three consecutive beeps and looking towards both Fluttershy and Rarity. It kept its light on the two for some time, before pointing them back towards me. It let out one last beep and flew off with a buzz, flying itself into a hole in the wall that the security bots of the area usually came from. I never did figure out how they fit there, or how many there were, but I preferred to save myself the headache and just not ask questions.

"Well... That was... Interesting." Rarity commented. I rolled my eyes while Fluttershy let out a quiet chuckle.

"I thought that it was cute." Fluttershy said quietly. I'm not sure what her definition of cute was. If a soulless bucket of bolts armed with a 5mm machine gun that fired over 200 rounds a minute was cute, then yes, it was downright adorable.

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"Just where is he taking us?" Rarity wondered as they continued to walk down the large hallway of ruins and trash. She couldn't stand the silence around them. It was almost as of she was in the Everfree forest again, expecting someone or something to jump out at her from the shadows. She ignored this feeling as much as possible as she followed the giant into a much larger room, surrounded by what appeared to be apartment buildings, a nearby sign reading 'Fontaine's Home for the Poor'.

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I opened the door to the apartment as carefully as possible, knowing just how easily I could rip the door off if I wasn't careful, before reaching for the wall and flicking the light switch. A single bulb in the room flickered on, revealing an apartment room with two connecting hallways. Two large mattresses laid on the floor, bare and barren of any coverings or pillows, with a small lamp nearby. The walls were decorated with several different posters and paintings that I had found throughout my travels of Rapture. In the corner of the room was a large couch, partially ripped down the middle and revealing the stuffing that was contained within. Also resting along the wall was a single metal stove, two metal cabinets fused to its sides to serve as storage. The two hallways led to a bathroom, and a more... private part of the apartment. It wasn't much, but it was mine.

The first thing I did as I entered the apartment, the two ponies at hand, was reach for the pony that was hanging onto me and pick her up by her midsection, just below her forearms. I carefully placed her down on the mattresses and took a step back, allowing her to get comfortable.

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As Fluttershy was laid onto the bare mattresses, she let out a content sigh, happy that she could finally rest after the days events, if even for a little. Before she drifted off to sleep though, she stopped herself and looked towards the metal being. He had taken a seat on the couch in the corner of the room, his green eye providing a stark comparison to the single flickering light of the room. Fluttershy lifted an eye in confusion as it simply sat there, staring ahead blankly. "What is it doing?" The titan of metal noticed her watching it, as it turned it's head to face her. Her eyes widened and a small blush appeared on her face as she realized she was staring.

"S-sorry." She apologized, her ears laying flat against her head as she put her gaze towards the mattresses she laid on. It was another moment or two before she decided to finally succumb to her exhaustion, laying her head down onto the mattress and slowly slipping into sleep.

While this was occurring, Rarity was doing one of the many things that she was good at. Snooping. She was looking over the entire room, occasionally flinching as she stepped on a part of the floor that was dustier than the rest, searching for some route of escape or useful resources. Eventually, she came across a pile of papers that laid near the corner of the room. Her interest piquedd, she attempted to pick one up using her magic, but proved unable to lift the paper even an inch. Water pressure and magic simply did not agree. She let out a sigh as she instead walked over to the pile and picked out one of the papers off of the top.

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The sound of crinkling paper caught my attention as I turned my head towards the other of the two ponies. Rarity was looking over one of the papers that I had put in the corner of the room. Truthfully, I had forgotten about those papers a long time ago. I had no use for them, but I couldn't bring myself to throw them away. Times like this that I wished I could-

"'Big Daddy' subject Omega 3-4. To be repurposed as a member of the security workforce, effective immediately'." She read aloud. Was that what it said? Those were my repurposing forms? Rarity continued to read the rest of the document aloud, occasionally going over an interesting tidbit about myself. By interesting though, I meant insulting. 'Fails to succeed in even the slightest of responsibilities', 'barely eligible to pass the most basic of necessary examinations for a Big Daddy', 'has lost several Little Sisters in his charge, followed by an emotional delay'. I cut her off there, letting out a groan and gesturing for her to stop. She rolled her eyes, but stopped nonetheless.

"Um, Rarity? Maybe you shouldn't go through his, I mean, 'Omega's' stuff, that is, if that's alright with you." Fluttershy told her friend from the bed she laid in, her eyes still closed as she did so. Rarity seemed shocked as her friend said this, as she placed the paper back down and rushed to her friends side.

"Omega? My subject name?"

"Fluttershy, you should be resting dear." Rarity whispered as she began to gently stroke Fluttershy's mane comfortingly. Fluttershy flinched as Rarity accidentally made contact with her head injury through her bandages, causing Rarity to stop her petting in fear of further hurting her friend. I flinched along with her. I'd had a concussion several times before, it wasn't pleasant.

"Sorry..." She said softly. I didn't get it, when someone has a concussion, they usually go to sleep in mere moments.

"The only thing that would keep them up would be-" I cut myself off as I noticed the wines pony let out a small shiver. "The cold." I removed myself from the couch and quickly made my way outside. Normally I didn't like to take anything from its place in Rapture, but the situation demands it. After all, its not like someone's going to stop me.

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Rarity watched as the 'Big Daddy', as she had read to be called, left the apartment. She waited for a few seconds or so, making sure that it really had gone, before beginning to stir Fluttershy from her half-asleep state. "Fluttershy. Fluttershy!" She said in a whisper, carefully shaking her friend in an attempt to awake her.

Fluttershy slowly peeked her eyes open by a small crack, looking towards Rarity as she did so and putting on a weak smile. "Y-yes?" She asked softly.

"Quickly, we need to go while it's gone! Whatever it may be doing, I'm not sure how long it will be out there, so we have to go now, while the opportunity is still ripe!" Fluttershy listened to her intently, but ultimately, her mind was made up as her friend explained.

"I-I don't think that's a good idea, Rarity." Fluttershy stated. Rarity looked at her as if she had gone mad, an eyebrow raised high as she looked towards her in shock. "Think about it. If he really wanted to hurt us, he would've done it already, and he wouldn't have helped us back when that scary thing from before was chasing us." Rarity opened her mouth to argue, but no words seemed to escape it. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Fluttershy was right, yet again. The Big Daddy had indeed done nothing to hurt them, nor had it treated them badly when it had found out that they were following it. In truth, it had been nothing but kind to them. "Maybe you should give Omega a chance... If it's fine with you."

"Omega?" Before Rarity could respond however, the door to the apartment squeaked open,

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Good news, I had found what I was looking for. One of the other apartments in this 'House for the Poor' had it folded inside a cabinet, keeping it relatively clean. Bad news, I had to walk up four flights of stairs to get them. Not that easy considering my suit weighed about 50 times my average weight. It didn't really matter that much though. Success is success after all.

Unfolding the large and thick blue sheets, I made my way towards Fluttershy and Rarity, the two sitting/laying on the mattresses placed on the floor. I draped the sheets over the two of them to my best ability, slightly covering Rarity's head as I did so. Close enough. The two didn't seem to mind my clumsiness though, as they snuggled further into the blankets. "Thank you." Fluttershy said quietly as she finally was allowed to obtain the rest she so hopelessly needed. Rarity followed close behind, carefully making her way into the sheets, as if she was attempting not to wrinkle them, before looking in my direction. "Yes, thank you... Omega." With those as her last words, she followed Fluttershy into the realm of dreams, hoping to find peace and solace in her dreams. As for me, I have to deal with it.

I made my way to the large couch that sat in the corner of the room once again, sitting down with a heavy thump and letting out a mental sigh as I laid back to relax. It was going to be a long night after all. The problem with not being able to sleep, is that I would get bored fairly easily during the night.

Author's Notes:

To some of the more videogamecentric type of people here, Apollo Square is going to be a sort of... Hub, in a way. The reason being that, whenever I played bioshock, I always loved Apollo Square, debris and all. Also, as you may be able to tell from the chapter, technological allies (Cameras, security bots, cameras) are going to play a big part in this fanfic now. Finally, I chose the name 'Omega' as the Big Daddy's 'name' due to its relativity to Delta from Bioshock 2. I figured, if one big daddy could be named after a Greek alphabet letter, than so could this one.