BIOSHOCK

Payback

Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock; in ANY sense of the term. It is still kick-ass!

This was such a pain in the ass! It was bad enough that he just had to fight off an army of splicers, now a Big Sister was tackling him to the ground. Delta stared into the red lens of the Sister's eye as she stood crouched on his chest, trying to impale him through the helmet with her tool. He was holding her back with his right hand, meaning he couldn't activate the drill or draw another weapon hanging at his side. He was in deep shit!

"Daddy!" screamed the little sister he had been escorting. She was hiding behind a dropped neon sign as the two titans brawled, scared for her daddy.

Delta raised his left hand. Flames spurted from the holes in his gloves. With a flex of his hand, an explosion shot between Delta and the Big Sister, successfully launching her off of his chest. She flipped in the air and landed gracefully on her feet as Delta pulled himself up.

Underneath his helm, Delta was panting. He had yet to properly treat his injuries fighting off the ADAM-Crazed Splicers when the Sister attacked. He was tired and bleeding and still had to kill this bitch!

The Big Sister began Telekinetically hurling random refuse at the prototype Daddy. He equipped the modular drill and used it to pulverize the concrete boulders before they flattened his helmet. The Sister fired flames at the Delta, who brushed it off before unleashing a lightning bolt at his adversary. She jumped over the blast and made a dive at him. Delta countered her needle with the drill, the metal of the weapons sparking against one another.

Delta's drill actually pierced the Sister's helmet. It wasn't deep enough to kill her, but when they broke apart, it allowed him a chance to see into the helmet. The young woman's face was pale and emotionless, the eye that was visible glowing red. The synthetic voice screamed as she made another run at him.

Delta pulled the shotgun. The action was rapid. As soon as she was in point-blank range, he filled her full of lead. Not even the Sister's armor could stop such a direct attack. He could see her eye dim slowly as she dropped to her knees and passed. She laid on the floor, dark and cold.

Delta sighed with relief as he quickly checked her for any useful items. The patter of small feet reached his ears as the little sister ran back to him.

"Yay Daddy!" She exclaimed.

Delta petted her affectionately. Sure she wasn't his little Eleanor, but he still cared for the little one. He leaned down and pulled her up onto her shoulders. Before moving on, he looked down at the Big Sister one more time. He could see that under the helmet her left eye was still open. Kneeling down, Delta gently closed the eye with his index finger. He then stood back up and continued on his way.

An hour later,

Another Big Sister was patrolling the area Delta had passed through. Her assignment was not to attack him, merely to assess the casualties of his fight. She had yet to see a Sister corpse that could be accredited to him, which meant that they were safe with him, at least for now. The Big Sister was programmed to put Little Sister safety above everything.

As she surveyed the open area, she saw her Sister's corpse. She walked up to it casually observing the fallen sister who had died in battle. She was surprised to see part of the helmet torn away. Delta had clearly put a lot of effort into this fight.

Not wanting its ADAM to go to waste, the Big Sister impaled her sibling with her tool and drained the ADAM from her. As the ADAM drained into her, the Sister was suddenly hit with a series of haunting memories.

She could see a Rosie-Type Daddy leading her by the hand. She was still a Little Sister in the memory, which must have taken place years ago. She saw a corpse on the floor, something that once held a fascination for her, but was now nothing but a discarded idea of her childhood. She was about to impale it when another Sister's needle crossed.

The Sister gasped. This memory was familiar. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she remembered such an event. She remembered anger, fear, laughter, and happiness. She looked into the face of the fallen Sister. She could see strands of her hair across her face. Blonde hair.

Raspy gasps escaped the Sister's throat as strange emotions began to surface with her realization. These indistinguishable gasps soon turned into something akin to sobs. The sound coming through her voice box was as sorrowful as it was terrifying. If anyone around were alive to hear it, it would have chilled them to their very Souls.

As this sound began to die down, the Sister just stood there. She stared at the fallen one for some time. When she raised her head, the glass eye was blood red. She let out the banshee's wail her kind was infamous for as she chased after Delta's scent.

Screw orders! This was Payback!

Delta had already placed his tiny cargo safely in Tenenbaum's gentle care and was continuing his search alone again. The fighting had been harsh, but he had already repaired the damage to his body and restocked on health kits, EVE and ammunition. He wasn't sure how close he was to his beloved daughter, but every step made him feel like he was growing closer, not farther. All he wanted was to hold her in his arms again, to make her safe, to make her happy. Even with the new levels of free will and understanding he was capable of, this aspect of his Daddy Programming refused to go away. He was glad. It gave him a purpose, a reason to fight. A reason to survive.

As he walked on, a familiar screech filled the stale air of Rapture. The sound resonated through his helmet, blurring his vision. Another? So soon? He pulled his shotgun again. Usually, a Sister wouldn't attack without a Little one being at stake. This whole event threw him for a loop. He used his trap Plasmid to lay a perimeter around himself. Then he waited.

He didn't wait long.

The sister leaped right at him, tackling him to the ground. She clawed at his helmet wildly, never ceasing her horrible screams. Delta pointed his gun into her side, but she leaped off before he could fire. Delta laid out a trail of bullets as he tried to hit her, but the Sister ran wildly about. She leaped up and grabbed him from behind. She acted as if she wanted to strangle him.

Delta could easily say this fight was surprising to him. The Sisters normally tried to use their agility and plasmid powers to try and overwhelm him, but this one seemed intent on using brute force. Also, there was something about her screams. Something that just felt… wrong.

There was not time for introspection. Delta reached back and grabbed the psychotic sister's helmet, tossing her over his shoulder and into one of his traps, which shot her into the ceiling, visibly knocking the wind out of her. She pulled herself up, panting with exhaustion and rage. She inhaled hard as she let out a very loud scream.

Debris from all around began to orbit around the sister. Tons of concrete blocks, metal bins and other items all encircled the Sister as she screamed. Delta equipped his drill as he prepared his telekinesis Plasmid for use. He could tell this was going to get hairy.

When the screams stopped, the debris began flying. Delta deflected much of it with his telekinesis, trying to send some of it back at the thrower. The rest he used his drill to cut through as he dashed towards her. Red eyes met as The Sister leaped at him through the storm of rubble. Her needle was poised to strike. As they came face to face, the sound of metal cutting flesh appeared.

Both stared into the other's red eye. The Sister growled viciously at Delta, while he revved his drill, which was lodged in her stomach. He tore up her organs, splattering pools of her blood as she screamed in pain. When he stopped, she hung on the edge, her head held down. The eye glowed yellow, so she wasn't dead yet.

Then Delta heard a small sound. It was just a soft sound, like drops of water against glass. He didn't think it could be a leak because it sounded to close. As the Sister raised her head, he saw small lines on the moisture condensed on the lens. The lines were caused by drops of water. Drops… on the inside of the helmet.

"Whheee…Neeavvr…Ght to…Plehy…ahgeeeeeen…"

The wheezing synthetic voice shocked Delta to no end. He suddenly realized what it was about the screams that had bothered him earlier. He realized what he was hearing. Sorrow. There was sorrow in her voice.

The light died out of her eye as the Sister finally fell to the floor. Delta stood over her, victorious. And yet, he felt no peace or relief. Only confusion and regret. Delta kneeled down beside the creature. He gently took her hands and crossed them over her chest in a ceremonial fashion. He had to, because he knew. He knew she was like him. She had broken free. She had found emotion again. She had found humanity again.

And he stole it from her.

Delta stood. He walked away, leaving the fallen sister in peace. He would never know or fully understand what had caused it, but it gave him a sense of hope. If such a creature could come back form this insanity on its own, whatever the motivation, perhaps this city was not as doomed as everyone suspected.

Delta knew it was a foolish hope. But in Rapture, what else did you have?

Delta continued on his journey, alone for now. The Sister lay in that place for many days. Some time later, that section of rapture caved in and flooded, washing her out into the sea. The same flooding flushed out the other Sister, causing them to land next to one another on the sea floor. Against all odds, their hands landed together, and for all time it would look as though they had died holding hands.

AN. As you can tell, this is a BS2 sequel to my story, "Playdate". The two Little Sisters grew up and became Big Sisters. I was trying to go for sad here. I wanted this story to contrast with Playdate. I don't know how well I did, although I did feel an emotional tug at the end, so I hope that's a good sign. Tell me how I did. I hope you like my version of Delta. I felt he and the Big Sisters had to have had more going on in their heads than their counterparts. I also felt Delta should show some respect to the Big Sisters. After all, they were Little Sisters once.

R&R at your leisure.