October 11th, 1958

Sinclair stared down at the girl… his girl…

Ruined, broken, half-dead.

He didn't want to admit that he'd grown soft, but he did. Especially with Emmy.

She was a good girl. She didn't deserve this, she never in a million years deserved to be beaten like… like some God damn animal.

Sinclair had gotten the call from the hospital at 5 in the morning. They had told him Emmy Rousseau had been brought to them half dead and beaten to a pulp.

Some fella found her on his way to the Docks.

Sinclair didn't believe it at first, simply because bad things don't happen to people like Emmy.

Sure, she had that incident on her birthday, but she came out virtually unscathed and was back on her feet the next day.

Now Steinman here tells him that his girl's gonna die...

"We've tried, Mr. Sinclair, we truly did." Steinman himself had told Augustus after hours of waiting. "She simply lost too much blood, and her face is far too damaged for proper facial reconstruction without heavy amounts of ADAM. But that would risk her addiction to it, and you have stated specifically that you don't want ADAM involved in her treatment?"

Sinclair sighed at the thought of that conversation, pressing his lips in a grim line as he stared down at the girl's shattered arm.

"We'll have to amputate it." They told him. "It's a miracle that it's still attached…"

Augustus wondered what the public would do…

It would be a tragedy… People would mourn, cry, fight even more…

They'd blame it on Atlas or Ryan, or maybe Rapture itself.

Sinclair just… couldn't really imagine his life without this girl as a business partner. Emmy was the only one he ever truly liked. A good kid, a nice kid, a money-maker…

She was there for him when he'd lost his businesses in the Drop, she respected him even after he was kicked out.

Emmy had stuck by him and every scheme he had to make money, and she still managed to admire him…

He'd miss her, that was for sure… But maybe she'd be better off away from the madness of Rapture.

It wasn't as if she could get out the easy way, in a bathysphere…

Still, the business man in Sinclair cursed such luck… He knew it was terrible, and he knew he was a bastard to think of such things when here a once beautiful 20 year old with unimaginable potential was dying, but he'd gotten the best business in his life with this girl at his side, and now that was all gone.

Sure, there would always be other girls with potential to replace Emmy… prettier models, bolder women; hell, even singers were a dime-a-dozen these days.

But Emmy was special. No amount of beauty, no amount of talent could ever over-shadow that bright light that was Emmy Rousseau's pure, naive soul.

"I'm sorry for your loss…"

Sinclair glanced over his shoulder upon the soft footsteps that padded into the previously silent room, the man's dark eyes traveling up the length of the tall woman from her feet to the top of her head.

"Ah… thank you Dr. Tenenbaum." Sinclair exhaled, turning back to Emmy as the young German entered the hospital room tentatively. "Suppose you're here to curse me for wastin' your scientific breakthrough."

The woman didn't answer at first, making him think that he was actually right. But then she sighed, approaching the bed at Sinclair's side. "No, I have not come for that."

Sinclair looked over at the woman; she stood at his height, maybe even taller.

She looked tired, but maybe that was because it was 7 in the morning.

"Then what, may I ask, are y' here for Tenenbaum?" Sinclair felt irritated with this woman.

The one time Augustus Sinclair ever mourned and this kraut had to come bother him.

Brigid looked into the hard, exhausted eyes of Mr. Sinclair, spotting the true grief there in the dark brown depths.

Augustus Sinclair emotionally attached to a girl? Who knew we lived in such a world…

Tenenbaum smiled at her own private humor, but it was only a very small smile, one that disappeared upon seeing the ruined face of the once beautiful Emmy Rousseau.

Perhaps Tenenbaum's epiphany about the little ones had made her sentimental towards all women younger then herself… For when she looked upon this girl, she saw all the little ones that she ruined… with ADAM… with the filth that Fontaine wanted…

But in this girl she also saw potential…

Not performing potential… not singing potential… not scientific potential.

The potential to become a savior…

Ah, yes… perhaps Emmy Rousseau would become something greater then a singer in cocktail lounges… greater then the celebrity she possessed.

Eine Hoffnung…

"Mr. Sinclair, I'm a horrible person." Tenenbaum sighed, a half-hearted smile touching her thin, bird lips.

Sinclair's brow furrowed as he watched the woman smile, staring at her for a moment before giving a bitter chuckle. "Join the club, Doc."

"No… I mean for what I've done to the little girls… Taking their childhood away… turning them into… what they are."

"Well… I can't disagree with that really." Augustus shrugged, allowing himself a seat in the chair beside the bed. "But... I'm pretty bad too, I suppose."

"How so?"

Sinclair glanced up at Tenenbaum before frowning slightly, then settling his eyes back on an unconscious Emmy.

"This girl is gonna die and I was thinkin' about what a sore loss that is for my company…"

"Keh…" Tenenbaum sniffed, plopping herself down in a seat beside Sinclair. "I can save her."

Sinclair's head snapped up, his dark eyes scanning the woman's face desperately with hope. "Truly? You can?"

Tenenbaum cut a sly eye over to Sinclair before giving a kind smile. "You do care about her, it seems. Not only your business."

Sinclair blinked, thinking she was attempting to be funny with the mention of her possible savior. "If you're here to play with me when my girl is dyin' then you can take your skinny kraut ass back to your lab."

"Ack! So quick to judge." Tenenbaum hissed, shooting a narrow-eyed look in Sinclair's direction. "Of course I can save her… It is easy, very simple. But I already know your decision."

Augustus shifted his eyes over to the woman beside him, studying her a moment before sighing. "You mean that snail you found…"

"Slug." Tenenbaum corrected in irritation. "And yes, that is what I mean."

Augustus looked over at the coma-stricken girl, his business heart telling him, "Yes, Augustus! Do it! What harm would it do her except save her life? Then we'd be back to normal again, Sinclair and Rousseau!"

But… his heart that went out to his friend told him no… That this girl, if she were turned into one of them Little Sisters, would be forever that way… She would always have that slug inside her, always be a slave. Besides, how many times had she expressed her distaste with ADAM? Did he not have to comfort her after she'd seen one of them brats in the streets?

She herself even admitted to preferring death over slavery under ADAM's spell, having seen what it has done to the public of Rapture.

Sinclair was very much opposed personally to becoming one of them metal daddies, and he reckoned this was the same thing for Emmy. Slavery is slavery, he figured, don't matter much what you dress it up in.

He had to look out for her… That was all he could give her now.

"I can't do that…" Sinclair sighed, tapping his fingers on the armrest of his chair. "She'd be one of those things forever."

"Not necessarily…"

Sinclair looked over at the German woman as she stared at Emmy, her eyes looking sympathetic. Maternal almost.

"What'd you mean?"

"I've invented a plasmid that kills the slug inside of the little ones." She replied, making Augustus' brow rise. "I simply need someone to do it… I need someone capable of using this plasmid to save my little girls."

Oh… So that's what it was…

Ol' Tenenbaum's gone soft too, it seems. She regrets turning those tots into monsters. And now she wants a hero to save them…

"If you have that plasmid, why don't you use it?"

Tenenbaum sighed, giving a shake of her head before looking over to Sinclair. "I haven't perfected it yet… Besides, I'm designing it specially to be compatible with the slug."

Sinclair nodded, not really caring about the broad's science experiment.

He was just trying to get the thought of her proposition out of his mind before he actually considered it.

Emmy wouldn't want to be one of those things… Sinclair knew she wouldn't…

But would she rather die then live life as one? Sure, past words rang solid when alive and well, but were her claims against ADAM so strong that she'd rather cease to exist then live with it as a lifeline?

"Please, Sinclair … I know you think that transforming this girl would be just as bad as killing her… But you have to remember, this slug is different. It won't necessarily have all the effects that the little ones have." Tenenbaum urged on, as if she could see Sinclair's resolve teetering on a thin line. "Don't you think Emmy would want to save these little girl's? Don't you think she wants to give them their childhood back?"

Sinclair narrowed his eyes, staring blankly at Emmy's mashed in face, remembering how she once looked.

Remembering that she did have a problem with the Little Sisters.

It had upset her to see those little girls running around like half-dead demons, drawing the ADAM out of Rapture's corpses…

"You could make the decision that would not only save countless little girls' lives, but the life of Emmy… You want that, don't you?"

Sinclair clenched his fists, the conflict in his head making him sweat.

"She would no longer be ruined… the ADAM would fix her injuries, she'd be perfectly fine. Healthier then ever, even!" Brigid pressed more passionately now, seeing that she had Sinclair in her grasp. "She would be beautiful again, she would be indestructible. Your business would be indestructible..."

…

"… I need to speak to Gil Alexander."

Okay, MANY things to address!

Yes, this is the last chapter of Part One.

But is the story of Emmy Rousseau and Leon Calloway (AKA, Subject Zeta) over? Nah. Not yet.

I wasn't going to make this story into two parts (fearing that I'd lose all my readers if they had nothing to read from me, seeing as both my stories are currently awaiting their sequel) but I had to split it up or else this story would be way too long.

I still worry about losing all of you during the wait for the next part, perhaps you drift away out of boredom, but I want you all to know that I will be posting little tidbits of short stories and such.

I get bursts of inspiration, and seeing as my gaming palette is rather vast, those short (or long) stories could and will probably include: Mafia 2, Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption, Assassin's Creed, Fallout, etc.

In fact, I've already written the beginning for a Fallout story (which I'm rather excited about, but there is a long way to go until it is done), another for Mafia 2 (needs some work, but I like the idea I have in mind), and Assassin's Creed (very rough mind you, still deciding whether to write a story about the lovely Ezio Auditore or an original character).

So, I suppose I should address the most important thing first... YOU! :D

Thank you, thank you, thank you for every review, message, and hit regarding this story. Every single acknowledgment, praise, and criticism makes my heart explode.

Secondly, what do you think will happen in part two of this story (the title of which is Pairbond, by the way)? And how did you like the ending? Hm?

Also, a few questions for those who are interested in any other work from me:

During the time of writing the second part for this story and others, which project would you like to see from me to hold you over?

My Mafia 2 story, my Fallout story, a short story of an alternate universe in my Bioshock world that looks at what Emmy and Leon's life would've been like if I had been nice and made Leon actually ask Emmy out (I have been thinking about this for a while honestly, I'll give more information to those that are interested), random ponderings in the world of Red Dead Redemption, or... blah! I have so many ideas concerning Rapture, I'm not done with that world yet!

Anyway, thank you for reading, any questions about this story or upcoming stories are welcome and should be asked via message. I love you all! :D