A/N:- First off, I'm sorry for there being nearly a year between now and the last update. I got side tracked like fuck when Fallout 4 came out and I played it up until Christmas. Then I had to prepare for a course I went on in February and when I came back, I was super busy with exams and had lost all motivation and inspiration by then. Now the Summer Holidays are here, I've had more time and yeah, I decided it was time I pulled my head out of my ass and uploaded.

I had over 700 views for the story but there was no feedback (Positive and negative) and I just felt like I was wasting my time and no one cared. Now I realise I actually wanna write more so I have. Sorry to anyone who has been waiting so long (like the 6 of you) but here it is.

Chapter 5:- Battle Strategy

Peter's untimely return was a godsend; he was going to try to prepare them for what was about to happen. He had gathered everyone on the basement, except Sarah who he had sent to her room in an effort to shield her mind from what was going to be said. The thought of sending her away when he had just returned made his heart ache but Peter knew by doing this, it would secure her in the future. His story has only just begun and he is already going to war against a force he can't fathom.

Peter had told everyone what happened after the grenade had separated him from Haines and Gretta and how he had met Oskär in the sewers. He told them how people would be coming to attack them, kill them and destroy all they had built but Peter didn't know that everyone in the hotel were just collateral damage to The Family. All they wanted was his sister. The threat to Peter was just a glorified Splicer outfit wanting to rob his group when in reality, The Family saw his sister as their property and they were going to retrieve her...whatever the circumstances.

All nine members of Peter's group just looked at him as if he'd been doing hardcore drugs and was telling them the story of what he saw when he was tripping. He tried to sound serious but no one was believing him.

-"Ok, so let me get this straight: Crazy ex scientist who is clearly mad worked with that shrink lady who basically ended Ryan and made together they made Little Sisters...Bigger?" Sykes spoke up. Trying to get all pieces of the story together and not trip over his own words.

-"Yeah, something like that" Peter replied, thinking he'd convinced Sykes.

-"These, what did you call 'em, Big Sisters? Are basically walking death machines and are gonna hunt us down and kill us? Of all the people in Rapture, they're gonna target a group of ten no bodies and a little girl who live all the way in the far west of Rapture in a off the track hotel that is basically two floors, a basement and an entrance? He's officially crazy" Sykes exclaimed, throwing his hands up to emphasise his point.

The rest of the group all muttered something in agreement with what Sykes had said. This caused Peter to speak up. He needed to convince them; they'd all need each other for the fight that was inevitably going to come.

-"Look, you can all go and say this shit but I'm serious about this; I'm not gonna sit by and let everything we've worked so hard for over the past few years to be destroyed by some thugs. All I'm saying is we get some extra security and stronger firepower to help us when they show up" Peter had caught the crowd's attention. "Let's say that I am crazy and I thought it would be a funny prank to pull on you guys, what's wrong with more firepower?! We'd still benefit either way!" Peter tried to sound as convincing as possible; he needed his groups support if he was going to keep them safe...and Sarah.

-"Pete's right" Keeley spoke up. "If he is lying, which I don't think he is, what's wrong with having better defences, we'd all be safer and more secure?" Her calm tone made everyone realise the situation. All eyes were on her.

-"In the few years that I've known Peter, he's been one of the most honest, courageous guys I've ever known" Haines joined in, causing everyone to look at him. "Now I'm not saying that his story doesn't sound a bit loony, but me and Gretta go on supply runs with him all the time and he's never made a wrong call when it comes to danger...never. You can all go ahead and say he's a few screws loose right now and I'd have half a mind to agree with you but I'm gonna stick by him on this one and I'd stake my right leg that Greta will, too" Haines' input earned him a nod of respect from Peter.

Everyone was contemplating the relevant contributing figures that had been added to the discussion. The atmosphere was thick and the group had basically been split into two sides: those who agreed with Peter and those who thought he was a total fucking spanner. The danger was real and even though Peter didn't know how serious, he tried his best to convince the others that they were in trouble.

The thought of losing everyone was too great to bear; Peter wasn't going to let anything happen to his friends and most importantly, he wasn't gonna let anything happen to Sarah. This was it; time to go all out and try to convince the group for help or he'd do it on his own...there was no stopping him when it came to Sarah.

-"All I do is maintenance; I have no idea how to fight or what to do in any of these situations so if you're wrong and get the scav team killed on your 'salvation plan' then I'll have to do more than maintenance, we all will. Now, I'm not saying you will die if you go out, but you could. There's always a chance you guys might never come back and this time could be that time. We lose you guys, we've lost everything" Eustace made a compelling argument.

He was a small man, only about 5ft 6inches. His head was balding but he had a small patch of white hair that went around the back of his head-from ear to ear. He had small, beady brown eyes and a big nose. His complexion was that of an ageing man and his face was the cleanest of all the mechanic's. His work dungarees were big on him and this was proven by his large, oversized orange work gloves.

Without sounding selfish, his point was true; if the scav team did die on this run, then the group's overall security would fall to those with no combat experience. If it was a mundane run for food or parts, the argument would make sense but what Peter was saying was borderline madness. There was no evidence to support him and Eustace's point was true, there was no point getting the scav team killed when they were getting something they didn't even need.

-"Hey, I'm not doubting you know what you're doing, it's just we can't afford to lose any of you on something that may or may not be true" Sykes said to finish the debate. "Karl, it's your call"

Karl was the leader of the group. He'd been the one who found the hotel and started piecing this faction together. His judgement had been what brought them all together and what kept them that way. Sure he'd made some bad calls in the past and people had been lost as a result...but he was only human. He had worked hard on giving these people a chance at life.

He used to be a part of Ryan's security force when there actually was one. He was combat experienced and knew the risks and what needed to be done to survive. A very damaging leg wound that he picked up during the start of the rioting saw Karl out of action for most of the civil war and how he had remained largely un-spliced. Observing what happened to his fellow soldiers due to the effects of ADAM had been what put him off Splicing. He saw what they became and didn't want to turn into the same thing. He'd often thought that the leg injury had saved his life...how ironic.

He didn't like making choices after it cost someone their life. He was stupid and impatient and this kid, no older than 19 died as a result. Sure, people had died before but Karl could have stopped this if he'd only thought more.

Emerging from the back of the room where he had been listening to the plans and input, Karl made his presence known.

He had short, cropped black hair on top of his dark skinned head. He had a strong chiselled face and prominent features. His build was firm and strong but he was ageing. Nearing his mid forties it was nowhere near as tough as it had been when he was younger...but he could still kick ass. His attire consisted of an old, grimy white t-shirt that had a Kevlar vest over it from his time with Ryan's security force. It held some various pouches for ammo and other useful items. The insignia was still visible on the back of the armour but Karl had done his best to fade it out...bad memories. He had a pair of old security trousers on that used to be blue in colour but are now more grey and faded, like the combat boots he had on.

Taking one large puff of a cigar before letting out a huge exhale, Karl finally spoke.

-"You all have very good points; both reasons to do or not to do. I've spent years making this place what it is, making it safe. Eustace is right, we need as many of you as possible...but if there's a slightest chance in hell that somebody is gonna try to destroy what we've got, I'm gonna make it as hard as possible for them. I'm not going to risk losing all of you and the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Peter, what'll you need?"

The atmosphere was thick in waiting to hear what Karl had to say. His decision was final and now, everybody knew he had chosen Peter's option. There was no hostility; both options were right, everyone was just glad it was over with and a decision had been reached. They all trusted Karl's judgement and would follow his decision. If they did lose anyone and it turns out they didn't need the defences, at most they lose four people. If they did need them and don't get them, they could lose all ten. It wasn't an easy choice but Karl knew it had to be made.

-"OK, we're gonna need just a few things and we better get them as soon as possible. I have no idea when these freaks are gonna attack but we need to make sure we're ready for when they do. First things first though, we need to make sure this place is soundly secure and the integrity won't be compromised"

-"Understood. I want all the engineers making sure that we have this place as defensible as possible. We can use the corridor bottleneck to our advantage. Make sure they have no other way in except the front passage" Karl commanded and in response, the engineers left and Keely took Sarah with her leaving Karl, Peter, Haines and Greta in the room to discuss the action side of the plan.

-"OK, now I was thinking if we could get maybe two turrets from somewhere, we'll have more fire power and a bigger advantage. We don't have enough weapons and ammo for a small war so the turrets could do most of the heavy fighting for us" Peter said as the group huddled around a table with a lone light bulb hanging from the ceiling directly above them. "We place one next to Sykes' flamethrower upstairs and one over there to cover the entrance to the basement" Everyone looked to the place Peter was pointing. It was directly in line with the stairs so any Splicers that came down would be met with a face full of .50 cal. "The only problem is...I don't actually know where any turrets would be. We'd lose a lot of time searching, not to mention adding to the danger"

-"Not exactly" Haines chirped in "Me and Gretta came across this old gun stall in the Farmers Market when we were coming back from the supply run earlier today. The thing was stripped bare except for a fifty cal' and a whole lot of ammo for her. We could go and get that one, meaning you and Karl just need to find one more"

The quartet was able to let out a small sigh of relief. Things went their way for once, making things slightly easier. No one would complain though, everything was hard enough as it is.

-"We'd be better off searching a Jeweller's or a pharmacy, something with high value goods inside and would warrant decent security" Karl suggested and was met with a nod of agreement from Peter. "OK, we all know what we're doing and where we're going so we need to move fast. We'll meet back here when we have what we need now get kitted up and let's go"

And with those words, the group dispersed to prepare for their runs to gather what they needed, defending the hotel wasn't gonna be easy but they needed to do everything they could. Their very survival depended on it and little did they know how the enemy was gathering strength right about now. An attack was coming sooner than they thought.

There was no armoury in the hotel. Each person had their own weapon and was responsible for its maintenance. The scav-team had the heavier weapons such as submachine guns where as the engineers had smaller weapons like pistols as they would be less likely to use them due to never leaving the hotel. Sykes had an M-3 Grease gun due to his place at the entrance to the hotel and how it would warrant more fire power but other than that, a Magnum or 9mm was all the engineers had.

Peter made his way to his apartment to prepare; he was used to this routine, just not the objective. As he sat down at the head of the bed, he pulled a large grey tool box out from under the bed and placed it next to him. Opening it up revealed several split off sections that held various sized rounds. The tray on top had five divided sections and each section held about 24 .357 magnum rounds for Peter's sidearm. The bottom of the tool box held a couple of hundred .45 rounds for his Tommy gun.

Due to the size of the drums, Peter was only able to take four magazines with him at any one time; three in his left coat pocket and one in the weapon itself. The magnum rounds were pre loaded into cylinders that were housed in Peter's right pocket.

Peter started to reload his drums one round at a time. Placing the loose rounds he had collected in his right breast pocket back into the box and selecting fresh ones. Peter carefully scanned over each round for any damage before loading it into the drums. A misfire caused by a premature explosion would be the last thing he needed. That's one thing he had picked up in his time in Rapture, Prior Prep and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance. He was willing to spend a little more time on planning as he knew the benefits in the long run.

Peter didn't feel glum for once; he was finally able to do something to keep his sister safe. He knew with these added defences, they would beat back whatever was coming for them and she would finally be safe until they could find a way out of this watery grave. He was anxious to complete his objective and get back safe and sound. They would need all the help they could get.

Sarah was sitting on her bed playing with her toys; it was a sight that always made Peter smile. Her innocence was something that gave him hope. If he could protect her innocence and humanity, he would die happy. She was all he cared about and out of respect for his parents, he would not fail them and lose his little sister. She didn't deserve any of this and Peter was gonna make sure she would have a normal life...on the surface. One day, when all this was over, he wanted her to be free from the horrors of Rapture and live a normal life, even if he wasn't there to see it. Despite being only 22 years old, Peter was ready to die and made his peace with the thought. As long as Sarah was safe, he didn't care what happened to him. He died as soon as everything turned to hell.

After loading his weapons and packing the necessary supplies, Peter knelt by the bed to be in line with her. He looked into her eyes and was met with a warm smile and a hug. As Sarah's arms wrapped around his neck, Peter stood up, taking her with him. She giggled as he span her 'round and it caused Peter to laugh, something he wished he could do more of.

-"I gotta go out again but don't worry, it should be the last time for a while"

Sarah lit up in response to this; she hated him going out and wished he could just stay with her. He was all she had and she'd hate to lose him. She didn't really show it much, due to her age but Peter knew how much she loved him.

Peter waved good bye as he left the room and went to meet up with Karl in the foyer. This was it. The big push to secure himself and everyone he cared about. They had been his family for close to four years. He was lucky Karl found him when he did; he had survived on his own for 2 years, looking after Sarah and always putting her first. He gave her whatever food they had and always made sure she had everything before he took any for himself. He was practically a skeleton when he came to the hotel but he had learned a valuable skill by being alone. Survival.

Sykes was applying more and more duct tape to the bootleg flamethrower he had constructed by the front of the stairs and had aimed it as central to the large door that held the tube access on the other side. The tube was a T-shape; there was a door that lead to the tube which connected the hotel to Rapture and then another door which connected the umbilical tube to the hotel. On the other side of the door was a singular passage of about 20 feet that lead straight to the stairs. Or in the enemies case, Sykes' flamethrower.

The two passages that would have normally been accessible on either side of the corridor had been even more reinforced with a few metal plates welded across them or some debris pilled on. There was no other way to enter the hotel other than the bottleneck. Seeing it gave people hope and made him believe how they could win this. As he walked to meet Karl by the door, Sykes stopped him.

-"Look, I just...we all...Don't die out there, we need you here. I didn't wanna sound like an asshole but..." Peter cut him off.

-"Dude, I get it; you have nothing to be sorry for so relax" Peter's words did just that to Sykes, he relaxed. "You got enough fuel for that thing?"

-"Hell yeah I do; I've got about six tanks and if six tanks isn't enough to keep them back, nothing will be. I've tampered with the nozzle so the range should be longer. It should span about 12 foot now so they'll barbeque quicker. Just hurry and get back, I don't wanna lose your ass too" Sykes informed Peter before pulling him in for a hug.

-"I wouldn't give ya the satisfaction" Peter jested as he turned around and met up with Karl.

Sykes was the closest thing Peter had to a brother and his decision to go against him hurt. Despite being slightly older than Peter by about 10 years, the two got on well. Sykes' had lost his own brother three years ago when he was out scavenging. His brother was older than Peter but younger than himself, only 26 and that could subconsciously be why he got on with Peter. He could see him as a kindred spirit and also he saw his brother in him. Shame he'd lost him. Peter wouldn't hold it to him as he could see where he was coming from. Peter sounded bat shit crazy so it was easy to see why people would disagree with him. Regardless the decision was made and Peter knew Sykes would follow it through to the end with him.

One of the advantages a Big Sister had was the ability to swim freely in the Ocean surrounding Rapture. This allowed them to get to places far quicker than conventional means such as on foot or via the Atlantic Express. This was of course, bad news for Peter and his group and would mean they had less time to prepare. As soon as the two Big Sisters arrived in that part of Rapture, Lamb would give the order to the Splicers that were part of The Family would storm the hotel.

The Splicers themselves would be a tough challenge but three Big Sisters on top of them would prove to be impossible. The Big Sister that is allocated to that area plus the two Lamb had sent equal three. Three big problems and it was only gonna make things worse.

These two Big Sisters weren't just any, they were the first two, the best two. Alpha and Beta had known each other since they had become Big Sisters and had a sort of mutual understanding. Big Sisters didn't 'feel' anything, so to speak but they all shared a bond and the bond between these two was the strongest. They were both deadly on their own but together, they might as well have been from a nightmare.

Alpha was the oldest of the Big Sisters as she was the first to undergo the Metal trauma after the psychological conditioning that was placed on her as a Little sister had worn off. She was eighteen, barely an adult and yet, she had all these sisters that came after her. The age range was between sixteen to eighteen after they had successfully come out the other side of the transition from a Little Sister. Most little sisters are of the age six to eight and the transition from Little Sister takes place over ten years since their initial transformation. A Little Sister's mental conditioning would wear off when they were around fourteen and take two years to successfully help them through the scary and traumatising time they would endure.

After taking two years to adjust to life without the mental conditioning, the Big Sisters were never truly free. One life ended and another started and they knew practically nothing. Lamb had psychologically eased these two through the transition with her psychiatrist training and had basically told them what had happened and what they needed to do. She didn't lie, just told them her way of seeing things.

To Alpha and Beta, the Big Sister is the hand of the Family and they do whatever their mother tells them. Little Sisters belong to the Family and they gather the ADAM for the family as all the ADAM in Rapture belongs to the Family. They are able to identify people more finely than a Big Daddy however; being able to tell a Splicer from a Human but this presented a challenge. Most Splicers were part of The Family and Humans weren't. To the Big Sisters, you kill enemies of The Family and help members of The Family. The problem was Humans wouldn't hurt their sisters and Splicers would. Big Sisters had no way of identifying what Splicer was a part of The Family. They had a choice, they played God and decided who lived and who died.

They were all slaves yet thought they were free; they had no idea they were being manipulated because they didn't know any different. To them, this was the normal view of what to do. True, they didn't have to kill everything, providing it didn't affect them. If a Big Sister saw someone walking in the halls of Rapture, they'd leave them be. If they threatened any member of The Family or they were told to kill someone for The Family, they wouldn't hesitate and would show no mercy. That was one thing they did know...they knew they were killing machines.

It was unexplained how the girls lost their voices, but that was no problem. They were still able to communicate via a telepathic link they all shared. When Alpha and Beta arrived in the section of Rapture they were needed, they were able to connect with Retriever-Zeta B/S-02. They instantly knew everything she wanted them to; she told them things like the groups location, numbers weapons etc and everything she knew about this group that was an enemy of The Family.

As soon as they were in the infrastructure, the two killing machines bolted off to join their sister and do what they had to. Peter had better get those pieces because it was about to get very bloody, very fast.

A/N:- OK, I know it seems like things are drawing to a close but trust me, this is like half way through the first act. There is literally so much more left to come and I just beg that you stick with it and me. Please review as it shows me that people are actually enjoying this crap. If you're not sure about anything, PM me and I'll try to clear up whatever it is as I'm fully aware what I write is confusing.