I'm not sure how long the two stayed like that. Rarity crying all the pain she had built up to this point out, and her friend doing her best to comfort her, despite her own sadness and pain. It was like I was watching two people mourn the loss of a child, only this time, it was the possible loss of their homes.

I couldn't do anything to help. I wanted to, greatly, but I couldn't. I had learned long ago that if a Little Sister was sad, the best thing you could do is to let her cry. Besides, a giant metallic suit doesn't make you the best teddy bear, does it?

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It was another hour or so before Rarity had finally managed to calm down. Fluttershy continued to hold her though, laying next to her friend and comforting her in her time of need. Truthfully, she too wanted to burst out crying at the thought of never returning home to see her precious Angel, or any other of her animal friends, let alone the fact that she may never see any of her other pony friends either, but she had to be strong, if only just this one time... for Rarity's sake.

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"WARNING: MAINTENANCE TO HEPHAESTUS CORE. WARNING: MAINTENANCE TO HEPHAESTUS CORE. "

This alarm system couldn't have picked a worse time. I groaned inwardly as I took one last glance towards my two charges and stood from the couch. The two didn't even spare me a glance as I made my way past them to the door. As I reached for the door handle though, one of the two spoke up.

"W-... where are you go-going?" Rarity stuttered, choking on her subsiding sobs. I stopped as she asked me this, looking around the room for someway to indicate to her what I was doing. Finally, I pointed to a poster that showed an image of a Big Daddy doing repairs on an outer wall of Rapture, his large drill hand causing sparks to fly off of the metal column. The two stayed silent for a second, looking between the poster and I as they seemed to understand what I was attempting to tell them. Deciding that I'd better get going, I turned and moved for the door again.

"... Can we come with you?" Fluttershy asked, continuing off of where her friend had left off. I had paused last time, but now I completely froze. Had they just asked to come with me? Rapture was an indecent hell, full of twisted and diseased people who know nothing more than suffering and how to cause it, and they wanted to come? Plus, one of the two was injured, while the other had just had a mental breakdown a matter of moments ago! I was about to shake my head 'no' when- "Please?"

... I was always a sucker for that word, even with my Little Sisters. "Im gonna regret this." I thought to myself as I let out a sigh and begrudgingly nodded my head. I heard the two make their way out of the bed, their hoof steps slightly echoing through the near empty apartment as they made their way towards me. As I opened the door, I thought to myself, "If we're really going to do this, then I'd better get some precautions."

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The silence was deafening. The two hadn't made a sound since we had left the apartment, not one. They seemed to glow with sadness, and I hated that I couldn't do anything about it. Nonetheless, the two followed me in their downtrodden states, as we soon reached a familiar crevice in the walls of a building in Apollo Square. I looked around, ensuring that there were no loose splicers nearby, before looking back towards the hole and hitting the wall three times. Doing this always reminded me of when I used to call for my Little Sisters, but I tried not to think about it too much.

I waited for a moment or two before I heard the sound of rotors spinning and a single prolonged beep come through the hole. Before long, Winston made his way out of the opening in the wall, letting out two more beeps as he did so. He floated there for a few seconds, passing his light over me and my charges, before letting out a series of beeps and raising an antennae that was built into his system. That was the thing about Winston, he always seemed to know what I was saying before I could 'say' it.

Just as quickly as he had called, two more security bots came our way, each of them floating around both Rarity and Fluttershy, acting like personal guards. The two were surprised by this, but they didn't say anything to show it. Now we were ready.

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The Hephaestus Core was basically the powerhouse of all of Rapture. Using several branching wings that all revolved around the undersea volcano that Rapture obtained its power from, it would flow this power through the city, providing heat, cold, electricity, and even plumbing. Without this core, Rapture would never have come to existence. Then again, I would also have to do about 50% less work than I normally would. The place almost always has something broken down, and it's my job to fix it, unfortunately.

The three of us exited the bathysphere, the two security bots following their respective hosts, and made our way to the latest of the core's many problems. I looked at my helmets display and nearly groaned as I saw what it was that needed repairing. The core. The fucking core had a crack in it. I've fixed the core before, and it was not fun. Why? It was impossible to do so without dying. I had to get inside the core's area, make my way to the three spinning glass power filters, isolate one of the three, and seal the crack. All this while boiling alive, which was not a pleasant way to go.

As we walked on, I glanced back and noticed both Rarity and Fluttershy were looking around the room, taking quick glances around the corners we cut or passed. Considering the fact that splicers were once again a threat while we were here, it was understandable. This just made me wonder though, why had they decided to come with me?

I glanced ahead and paused as I noticed a familiar door up ahead of us, marked with a skull and crossbones, alongside an image of a fire. This was it. I looked around the room, noticing a nearby vita-chamber in the very corner, ensuring that I'd be able to quickly return. The two followed my gazes towards the vita-chamber, before looking back at me with looks of confusion.

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Fluttershy and Rarity were utterly clueless as to why Omega looked towards the odd green chamber in the corner of the room. It was about as odd as the two robots that currently circled around them, the sound of their buzzing rotors filling the air around them. When the two looked back to Omega, confusion evident in their faces, Omega began to explain as best as he could.

He pointed towards the two of them, then the floor they stood on, urging them to stay put. Then, he pointed towards himself, the door he had led them to, and finally, the chamber in the corner. The two understood the first message he had attempted to give them, but were unable to completely figure out the second. Despite their still confused faces though, Omega turned and made his way to the door, a red siren filling the room as the door pulled open and Omega entered the chamber, the door once again sealing behind him as he did so. For a second, nothing could be heard, but then, the sound of a second door opening came, followed by the metallic screaming of Omega as the boiling hot water poured into the chamber, exposing him to the core of Rapture itself.

Fluttershy's eyes widened as she saw the hulking body of now reddened metal make his way towards the core, each of his steps seeming to cause him more of a struggle than the last. Rarity, in turn, also dropped her saddened persona as she placed a hoof over her mouth in shock. The two watched the Big Daddy continue to make his way across the boiling hot water and closer to the core, his steps now being reduced to meager shuffles as he continued on.

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Almost... there. It was getting harder for me at this point, parts of my body going numb from pain, several nerves succumbing to the heat that surrounded them. My body was screaming at me, telling me to leave as soon as possible, and to escape an oncoming death. As I had stated before though, death was a given to me. This was no different.

Finally, after what felt like an hour of walking, I reached the core. To my surprise, the crack that I was looking for was right in front of me at the time, rather than on the other side of a spinning tube. Pushing off whatever pain and numbness there was in my arms, I lifted them and grabbed onto the tube, holding it in place as I adjusted the multi-use tool on my right wrist and began to repair the cracks in the glass. As I did so, I could feel darkness begin to close in around my vision, my body somehow starting to feel cold in the overheated water that surrounded me. Tapping the glass a couple of times, I began to lean to the right, threatening to fall off the platform and into the volcano below.

"...Finally..."

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The two watched as Omega's taps on the glass of the tube became fainter and fainter. He was dying, and they knew it. Rarity began to bite down on her hoof in worry, while Fluttershy sat there as still as a statue, both of her hooves covering her mouth as she watched the metal being begin to lean, before losing his footing and sinking to the volcano below, a near silent groan echoing through the room as this occurred.

The next few moments were eerily silent, the tension in the air thick enough to be cut with a knife. It remained like this until a green glow came from behind the two.

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Worst. Death. Yet. As the darkness I saw was replaced by a bright green glow, I mentally sighed as I began to feel parts of my body once again. My sight was restored, giving me a clear view through my metal helmet's porthole. The doors to the vita-chamber opened, revealing a shocked Fluttershy and Rarity awaiting me.

"Are... are you ok?" Fluttershy asked. I nodded, inwardly sighing at the fact that she was talking once again. It wasn't long after that I felt the same relief towards Rarity.

"Are you sure? That whole ordeal seemed... painful." Rarity continued. I wasn't going to lie, it was among the more painful things I had done in my life. I nodded again, confirming Rarity's assumptions. The two seemed ready to say something, but were cut off by the beeping of their security bots. They let out four beeps before I began to hear the clanging of metal on metal, followed by laughter. I shuddered as I readied the ESU on my arm and motioned for the two to get behind me. They didn't hesitate as they quickly ran behind me, cowering as they did so.

I couldn't blame them, especially in this situation. I recognized that sound of metal on metal, and if the Brute splicers were Rapture's executioners, then these splicers were its mass murderers.

"He told me you were here! He knew! Even under the sea, he watches! And now, he'll watch me kill!" The ceiling above cracked a little, small hints of debris falling as the two security bots that had accompanied us readied their turret guns. I, in turn, took an offensive position, my ESU raised as I awaited for what I had thought to be the worst type of splicer in all of Rapture.

Suddenly, a vent from the ceiling crashed onto the ground, followed by a grotesquely skinny splicer. It wore a mask, though some of its worse mutations and tumors could be seen through it, and it held two meat hooks in its hands. Balancing on these hooks, the splicer remained on all fours, rather than standing on two legs. A spider splicer.

"There you are!" The splicer screamed as it pounced towards me. The security bots beeped, cocking their machine guns, but I knew that they wouldn't be able to fire just yet, so I reacted as best as I could. I jabbed left, hoping to take out the splicer in one blow of my ESU, but, that just made the reason these splicers were so dangerous more obvious.

It avoided my punch as if it had never happened, before raising one of its two hooks and impaling it into my shoulder, my outer armor seeming more like a slice of cake, and it's hook being the knife. I yelled out in both pain and anger, shoving the splicer away from me and causing it to leave it's hook embedded in my shoulder... Not exactly a win-win, but still.

The moment it landed, the two security bots unleashed hellfire, blasting the splicer with a torrent of bullets. To my annoyance though, it jumped up high, clinging to the roof using its other hook and beginning to crawl along it. It was fast, really fast. Anytime the security bots would get a bead on it, it would just jump out the way and wait for them to aim again.

At the rate this was going, things weren't going to end well. The reason? Where there was one spider splicer, there were always more. Unsure of how long I had before any other splicers came, I searched the room for anything I could use to hold it still.

Nothing came up though, the room was completely barren of anything I could use to combat it. Soon, both the security bots let out clicking sounds, rather than the sound of bullet fire. They were out of ammo. The splicer seemed to smile at this fact, as it jumped to the ground once more and began to slowly crawl to its left.

"The lord works in mysterious ways, metal feline. He chooses who succeeds, and who fails. Who wins, and who loses. Who lives, and who dies!" The splicer pounced once more, it's only other meat hook raised and ready to kill. However, as it pounced, I noticed that it wasn't going in my direction. It jumped to my left, before jumping to the ceiling again and crawling forward. My eyes widened and I felt my teeth grind as I noticed that, rather than going for me, it was heading towards Rarity and Fluttershy. The two seemed to notice this as well, beginning to back up and try to get as much distance from the twisted splicer as possible.

He didn't give them the chance, pouncing once again, aiming for Rarity with its single meat hook. Time felt like it slowed to a still, as a single thought passed through my mind.

"I may be useless for some things, but protecting them will NOT be one of them! NOT THIS TIME!"

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Rarity closed her eyes tight, expecting the worst as she mentally said her farewells to her friends and loved ones. Rather than pain though, Rarity just felt the sudden splatter of something warm against her fur. Opening one of her eyes, Rarity was shocked to see the splicer right in front of her, blood spilling from its mouth, small drips of it having landed onto her fur. Glancing lower, she saw that the splicer had been impaled by a large piece of metal, keeping the splicer from moving.

It let out a scream, causing her to stagger backwards along with Fluttershy as they realized it was still alive. The splicer began to struggle and flail rapidly, desperately trying to free itself from the jagged metal that held it in place. Suddenly, the splicer was lifted upwards, Omega holding onto the metal that had impaled it. The Big Daddy turned the splicer to face him, his one large eye glowing a crimson red as he stared down the one who had threatened his charges.

Hoping for a last ditch effort, the splicer raised his hook once more, hoping to free itself from the metal feline's grasp. It's attempt was quickly thwarted however, as Omega quickly grabbed onto its arm and began to slowly twist it. The splicer let out a bloodcurdling scream as the sound of snapping bones filled the room, causing both Rarity and Fluttershy to flinch. The splicers remaining hook fell to the floor, as it helplessly began to grip at Omega's hand with it's only working arm.

Omega brought the splicer closer to his eye, growling as he did so. He wasn't going to let this splicer go so easily, not after he had dared to threaten his two new charges. Keeping his grip on the splicer, Omega made his way to the door that lead to the core, tossed the splicer in, and sealed the door again, ignoring the pleas made by the splicer clawing on the door for freedom.

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It wasn't long after I had put him in there that the siren to the room began to blare. I heard the splicer let out one last yell as the water that had recently killed me took another victim. The splicer wasn't wearing a metal suit like me, so its body didn't last long, leaving nothing but a skeleton under the superheated water, before even that began to crumble away under the heat.

The victory was short-lived, as I heard the sound of further clanging against the ceiling, and distant yells of madness. More were coming, it was time to go. I turned and grabbed my two charges, much to their surprise, before running back to the bathysphere at full speed. The two ammo depleted security bots didn't follow though, and I knew almost instantly why not. As I ran, I heard two prolonged beeps, followed by the sound of two successive explosions, and several perishing splicers. The two had played out their purposes, even in death.

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Omega placed the two into the bathysphere, quickly turning and pressing the button for Apollo Square. The bathysphere shut and began to sink, allowing the trio to watch as over ten more spider splicers made their way into the room, letting out yells of frustration as they saw their targets fleeing. Fluttershy and Rarity let out two withheld sighs, relieved that they had managed to escape from that situation.

"Thank you, Omega." Rarity said to the metal daddy. Omega groaned in acknowledgement, turning to face the two once more. It was only then though, that the two let out gasps. "Oh d-dear." Fluttershy breathlessly uttered, as Omega continued to look at the two in what seemed like confusion. Fluttershy and Rarity pointed towards Omega's shoulder, causing the metallic giant to follow their gestures and finally spot what they were so surprised by.

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...Ow. As it turned out, the hook was still embedded into my shoulder. I had completely forgotten about it in the heat of the moment, and by now it was almost completely covered in blood, along with the shoulder piece of my armor. I let out a mental sigh as I reached for the hook, grabbed the handle, and pulled as hard as I could. The hook came out quickly, followed by an immeasurable amount of pain as I let out another roar of agony.

My two charges covered their ears and flinched as they saw me pull out the hook, leaving a bloody hole in my armor. I didn't worry about it though. The wound was minor, at best, and it didn't open up my armor near enough to trigger my vita-chip's self-destruction. The two in front of me though, seemed to think differently.

Fluttershy floated over to me, using her wings to keep her stable as she kept eye level with me. "A-are you ok? If you don't mind me asking that is?" Before I could reply, Rarity made herself known. "Of course he's not ok! That... Ruffian positively impaled him!" She said. I carefully grabbed the flying pony in front of me and placed her back in her seat next to Rarity before I then waved my arm dismissively. I had taken worse hits before, and if anything, I should be the one worrying for them.

The two ignored my dismissiveness however, continuing to pester on about how I needed medical treatment. "Darling, if you would just remove that suit of yours, then surely we could-" I stamped my foot down at this, causing the bathysphere to shake slightly, and my two charges to effectively be quiet. I didn't like to, but if a little sister stepped over their boundaries, it was the Big Daddy's job to reassert themselves. These two seemed to react similarly. If I could tell them that I couldn't take off my suit, I would. Since I couldn't though, I simply pushed off the question, and shut them up.

...At least until I noticed Fluttershy begin to tear up. "Aaaaaaaand now I feel like shit."

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The two laid quietly on the mattress, sharing the single, yet spacious blue blanket between themselves as their metal watchman sat on the couch, his eye yellow in annoyance as Winston circled around him and beeped continually, as if chastising him. The two couldn't understand what the robot was saying, nor could Omega, but they still found it amusing.

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"Wheres the OFF SWITCH ON THIS THING!?"

Literally, where? I could never find it, and sometimes I swore that Winston removed it from his systems. Nonetheless, I continued to endure his chastising. I could only guess as to what it was for though. Maybe it was because of the destruction of the security bots, but that wasn't likely, considering that they wouldn't have made it anyhow... Personally, I'm starting to suspect karma was playing a part in this. Note to self, NEVER make Fluttershy cry.

After about three minutes worth of beeps and whirs, Winston finally seemed to finish, exiting the apartment through the still open front door. One of these days, I had to figure out how to turn him off, if only temporarily.

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Rarity and her friend, Fluttershy, were currently outside of the apartment, looking over the ocean through the glass walls that surrounded Apollo Square. They had left the apartment after Omega had fallen asleep, so they wouldn't worry or anger him. The two weren't going to run, or do anything rash like that, after all, where would they go, but they felt as if they needed some time to think.

"...Do you think we'll ever get back home?" Fluttershy asked her white-furred friend. Rarity didn't answer, not really sure of how to respond. She didn't know anymore than Fluttershy as to wether or not they would be able to return. For now though, all Rarity and Fluttershy could do, was hope that their loved ones were doing well without them.

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I watched the two from afar, not daring to move and risk them seeing me. I had noticed the two leave a few moments ago, probably thinking that I had fallen asleep. Just because I don't move for a moment or two, it doesn't necessarily mean that I'm asleep.

"...Do you think we'll ever get back home?" I heard Fluttershy ask Rarity, not getting any response in return. As she said this, I felt a twinge of sadness as a mental conflict began.

"...They'll have to go soon."

"You don't know that."

"This isn't their home."

"Anymore than it is yours?"

"...They're not little sisters."

"They're close enough! Why else would you be trying to help them!"

"Because they have others who care about them."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because I don't want anyone else to feel the same loss I felt!"

... I couldn't hear anymore conflict. That last rebuttal ended the fight, but, as to who had won, I wasn't sure. Shaking my head in frustration, I looked back towards the two, who were still staring blankly into the ocean. This had gone on long enough.

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The two friends flinched as they heard familiar sounding footsteps approach in their direction, each deafening stamp causing a growing feeling of anxiety in the two. They knew they were caught though, so they didn't move. Soon, the footsteps stopped, the shadow of the Big Daddy casting over the two as they lowered their ears in sadness, continuing to stare out into the ocean before them, rather than turning to face their likely annoyed host.

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I kneeled down behind the two, still managing to stay in between them as I did so. I was a Big Daddy, a giant metal monster being that was armed to the teeth with genetic enhancements and strengtheners that I would use to protect my little sisters. Like I said before, not exactly the best teddy bear. I was supposed to just let my little sisters cry themselves out, this action was designed into me...

Then again, looking at the two, noticing the pain and sadness that seemed to emanate from them, even from behind... I figure an exception is allowed.

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Both ponies were surprised as the giant grabbed them from behind, carefully turning the two and pressing them into his chest. None of the two made a sound as they slowly began to process what was happening, realization coming to their minds. All this time, they had thought of Omega as a being, a host... A monster, when they should have been calling him the opposite. He was no simple being, he was a life, he wasn't a host, he was a caretaker, and he wasn't a monster. He, was a guardian.

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I barely heard the sound of water dripping onto my suit through my helmet. I knew there wasn't a leak though, my helmet would have gone off if there was. My two charges were crying once again, as they both placed their forearms around my neck and helmet. I swore I would protect them, and I could just as easily swear to return them to their homes.

Author's Notes:

... Right in the feels. As some of you may be able to tell, I put this chapter in to show a bit of... Growth, in the characters. As to how, I'll let you guys figure that out (ain't I a stinker?), but either way, this chapter will hopefully reinforce a point I've been trying to prove. Omega isn't like any other Big Daddy. Not because he shows emotion, or because of his vita-chip, but because he thinks for himself, despite the programming from the Big Daddy initiative. Hopefully, this will answer a lot of questions some of you readers had.

P.S. Speaking of questions, I've noticed that the fic is approaching 100 likes... Holy crap! I'll be accepting questions for a special 100 Like celebration Q&A. Just send 'me to me over the messaging system and I'll answer whichever I can. Oh, and don't worry about the whole, ' I wanted another chapter, not a Q&A!' Thing some of you may say, I'll be posting up the next chapter along with the Q&A as well. It's a win-win ^~^. I hope to get some good questions from you all, but for now, I bid you, adieu!