Chapter Text
The world slowly came into view, distorted slightly by a glassy surface. Delta’s head was pounding like hammers against his fragile mind as he stumbled out of the chamber. A wave of nausea washed over him as he fell to his knees, his vision swimming before going dark. His limbs felt sore and weak as if he hadn’t used them in weeks. Static rang in his ear before a quiet voice broke through. “Hello? Hello– can you hear me?” It was a woman’s voice broken from the static. “Your- your signal, it’s very faint.” The voice died out as the static disappeared. He remained on the floor for a moment as his mind processed what was happening. How did he get here? Why did he feel so shitty? Who was this woman speaking to him? Slowly regaining his senses, he found a small pool of water beneath him revealing his own reflection; a giant metal suit staring back at him. Slowly standing up, he pressed forward; the ground shaking slightly with every step.
The room was open with a high glass dome ceiling and an ornate statue in the center with a plaque reading “Adonis Luxury Resort.” He stared wide-eyed at the glass ceiling above him. Deep blue waters expanded for miles above him as small schools of fish swam around the glassy surface. Tearing his gaze away from the ocean above him, he turned back to taking in the room he was in. What once was a grand space was now a sad sight. Lights and pillars leaned against the stone walls and water flooded the majority of the room. Small coral glowed a faint purple along the back walls and up along a single staircase leading out of the room. Delta’s thundering footsteps threw the water across the room as he passed through, making his way to the staircase on the other side. At the back wall, a large array of vintage photos lined the space with just as many white roses on the ground. Above the photos etched into the wall in large letters read “ Fallen, Fallen is Babylon .” Delta took a moment to take in the faces before making his way up the stairs. The railings leaned dangerously over the room below, a small piece falling as he ascended. The stairway turned to a long walkway before leading to another set of stairs to a landing overlooking the flooded room. He took one last glance at the strange room he woke up in before turning to find a doorway overrun by the strange glowing coral.
Looking down at his hands, he found a giant drill at his disposal. Had he always had this drill? Faint memories floated in the back of his mind. Yes. The drill helped him defend against many enemies. It was important. But he couldn’t remember why. He equipped the weapon to break away the glowing life clinging to the walls. Water dripped onto his metal suit as he entered the dark hallway. He ducked under a large pillar leaning precariously in the center of the dank space. After clearing the obstacle, the hallway abruptly ended in a turn leading to a wide-open room. The center of the room dropped down to a flooded space he could only guess led to another room before it was destroyed. Ornate pillars lined the drop-off, dividing it from the walkways surrounding it. A high-pitched screech echoed throughout the room before a figure darted from the shadows. Delta jumped back as the strange figure jumped onto one of the pillars and disappeared into the shadows above. The pillar wobbled before falling into the water at the bottom of the ramp.
His heart raced as he backed away from the edge of the drop-off staring at the broken pillar. Slowly shifting his gaze, he scanned the ceiling but there was no sign of the stranger who just passed through. Collecting himself, he cautiously ventured around the edge of the room. He tried the first door but it was locked. He made his way up a small flight of stairs to a large entryway to another room. Glancing back at the drop-off and the broken pillar, he found large graffiti on the floor reading “Lamb is Watching.” He turned to find a large generator sparking next to him. He frowned as he stared at the strange machinery before turning back to the open doorway. Purple neon lights read “Plasmid Therapies” over the doorway. Plasmid? The word felt oddly familiar. Something told him this could be very useful in the long run. With no other options, he ventured forward down another flight of stairs. A giant statue stared down at him as he glanced around at the dank space. Taking a deep breath, he turned left and entered another partially flooded hallway. Puddles lined the tiled surface shaking slightly as he passed by. Odd plants sat to either side of the small hallway leading to what looked like used to be a waiting room.
He found the same cryptic message on the walls. Lamb is Watching— this time with a portrait of a woman staring back at him surrounded by decorative purple butterflies. Staring for only a moment, he backed away to explore the space further. Broken couches littered the corner of the room under crooked framed posters. A doorway led to a machine glowing a faint red. As he ventured forward a faint voice echoed in his head and for a moment he saw the flash of a young woman with dark curly hair staring at him. He recognized the woman immediately: April.
“ Father… ” the voice echoed as he neared the glowing machine.
A few small drawings as well as writing decorated the walls:
Come find me.
Please hurry.
From April.
A strange large glass vial sat in the machine. As Delta neared it, he realized it was the source of the red glow. Carefully picking up the vial, he took a breath before pouring the contents into a valve in his suit. His body shook as it absorbed the fluids. Falling to his knees he felt electricity course through his veins. His vision swam as his body grew used to the strange sensations. Another voice spoke to him but it wasn’t in his head. It sounded… close. As his vision returned, he noticed a shadow looming in front of him. Slowly looking up, he saw a strange little girl standing in front of him holding a little doll of some sort of armored man, like him. Her face looked ghastly, her eyes sunken slightly and giving off an odd yellow glow. She wore a simple tattered dress and her brown hair was up in a ponytail.
“Daddy was sleeping,” the girl said as she got a closer look at him, her voice an odd ethereal mix of a little girl and something inhuman, “for such a long time… and April has missed you. Find her and you’ll be all better!”
The little girl smiled as she stepped forward. Delta stared at the little girl as his mind tried to process what she was telling him. April. He remembered April. He took care of her for a while before— What happened to him? A figure darted out of the shadows snapping him back to the present.
“Daddy!” the little girl screamed as she dropped her doll.
He had caught a much better glimpse of the stranger this time. A tall, thin person wearing a suit of armor just like him except their suit seemed to allow more flexibility in movement. He watched the person disappear as he stood up again. So much for asking questions. Regaining his senses, he walked out of the rundown waiting room and back out to the giant room with the sparking generator.
Staring down at his hands, he flexed his fingers, feeling the same surge of power from that odd vial course through him again as a small spark danced across his fingers. Taking a few steps forward, he focused on this tingling sensation before summoning a small bolt of electricity, shocking the small generator. The sparking stopped as the machine slowed its movements. A small light flickered on overhead as the walls opened up. Upon closer inspection, he realized the moving walls were coverings over the windows. As they slowly descended, he took a few steps forward to peer outside. His jaw dropped as he saw buildings and infrastructure sitting at the bottom of the ocean. He really was at the bottom of the ocean. His breath caught as he noticed another armored man such as himself walking along the bottom of the deep blues of the surrounding waters.
“Ahh… at last! A signal!” A woman’s voice spoke in his ear. It took him a moment to recognize it as the woman who spoke to him when he first woke up. Now that the signal was clear, he realized she spoke with a slight Russian accent. He wasn’t sure how she was talking to him but her voice was ringing clearly from the radio in his helmet. “You, who are bringing this dead city to life, listen. My name, it is Tenenbaum. I know who you are… and I am in much need of your help. Please… find me in the Atlantic Express train station.”
Delta stared blankly out the window as took in the words, spinning them around in his mind like marbles until they slowly fell into place. Tenenbaum. The name didn’t ring any bells. Not like April did. But she seemed to have answers. He reached for his helmet, desperately wanting to ask a question but he wasn’t sure how to make his radio work. How was he supposed to talk to her? How was she even contacting him in the first place? He tried to speak but his voice didn’t seem to work. Whatever words he tried to say turned into nothing more than a loud rattling moan. There was no contacting her. If he wanted answers, he’d have to play her game and go to this Atlantic Express station.
Turning back to face the room, he found the only other door leading out of there. Slowly walking toward it, he found it already open, electricity sparking from cables attached to the top of the door. He frowned as he ducked under them and into a small space with fallen picture frames and a broken beam tucked in the corners. He stepped over the wooden beam and walked up a flight of stairs to a dark hallway leading to a giant glass window at the end. Taking a short moment to glance at the life growing along the sandy surface and infrastructure, he turned to go up another flight of stairs leading to another door.
The door slid open as he passed. Stepping into another wide-open room with an odd bridge in the center, he glanced up to see another high glass domed ceiling. Ramps led to a large puddle of water underneath the bridge. Stepping further into the room, he found large ornate pillars and archways along the walls. The bridge seemed to serve no real purpose other than as a shortcut from one doorway to the next on the other side of the room. As he walked through the room, he saw the same cryptic message as before. Lamb is watching . He stared at the poster of the woman’s face as a memory bubbled from deep within to the surface of his mind. He knew this woman. He’d seen her before. In fact, she was the last person he saw before… before what? He couldn’t remember much but he remembered being… angry. Angry at her. Anger festered deep within him before he ripped the poster off the wall, allowing it to flutter to the ground in ribbons at his feet. This woman was everywhere and she was responsible for what happened to him. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew it.
Taking a few breaths to calm himself, he pressed forward through the open doorways and turned into a hallway leading to a small set of stairs to a landing. The other side of the stairs seemed to lead to the doorway on the other side of the same room. He stared at it puzzled for a moment. What the hell was the point of the bridge? Shaking his head, he turned and noticed… a suit of armor slumped against the wall. He froze as he stared at it. Leaning forward, he nudged it with his boot, but it didn’t move. They were dead. Standing up straight, he took a look at the statues and bronze carvings in the walls. This was once some grand city. Fallen, Fallen is Babylon. What happened here? Where were all the people? Shouldn’t cities have people? He took a moment to stare at the poor man trapped in that suit of armor slumped against the wall before he noticed a giant rivet gun sitting next to him. Hesitating for only a moment, he picked up the weapon and looked it over before slinging it over his shoulder. Whatever this woman, Lamb, had in store for him, he’d at least be prepared.
The door in front of him slid open as he walked forward, revealing a large hall leading to a giant stairway leading up. There were doorways on either side of the hall leading to various other rooms. He took a moment to search the debris for any possible supplies before venturing up the stairs. Blood splattered some of the walls, long since dried, along with a couple of rotting corpses. Upon closer inspection, the faces seemed… distorted. It seemed as if they weren’t even human anymore. He shuttered before tearing his gaze away from the ghastly sight. Managing to find some packaged food and some ammo, he continued moving through the winding halls, he managed to come upon another flight of stairs leading up to a door.
As soon as the door slid open, he froze as he noticed a little girl in a red dress kneeling next to a fresh corpse. Taken aback, he watched as the girl pulled a needle out of the body. The needle was attached to some odd device that seemed to collect liquid from the bodies. His stomach churned as the girl turned to him with a smile and those same sunken eyes. She waved to him as he took a careful step forward. A loud shriek echoed around the large room causing the lights to flicker.
“Big Sister doesn’t want you playing with me,” the little girl spoke matter of factly, her voice echoed slightly with an emotionless tone.
The same figure that had been haunting him previously appeared on a balcony overhanging the large room. Taking a step back he watched the armored woman shriek before jumping forward. She landed on a statue in the center of the room before leaping onto Delta. His heart raced as he got a good view of the woman, a bright red light glaring at him from her helmet. Standing on his shoulders glaring at him for a moment, observing him, before jumping back and landing on the ground. Taking a moment to catch his breath, the “Big Sister” shrieked again and charged at him.
He rolled to the side, quickly pulling out his rivet gun before firing at the woman. He only managed to make a dent in her armor before she leapt back and shot a fireball at him. Fireballs?! What was going on?! He gasped as he remembered that vial from earlier. Flexing his fingers, he shot a bolt of lightning at her before aiming his gun again. This time, she froze as she was electrocuted. Getting off a few shots before she recovered, he dodged another attack. He was a little slower this time and she managed to jump on top of him. She went to stab between his armor before he pulled out his drill and smacked her head. Revving the engine, he drove the drill into her armor before she let out another ear-bleeding shriek and jumped back. She stared at him for a moment as he went to grab his gun again before she ran through a cluttered doorway, bashing through the debris before disappearing.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, he sat down on the stairs before reloading his gun and checking himself for any injuries. His armor was strong, but even he couldn’t beat being on fire. Silence pressed against his ears, only broken by the occasional drip of water and his own labored breaths. The silence was abruptly broken by a voice overhead, echoing around the room.
“This is Dr. Sofia Lamb with a message for the people. Remember, Big Sister is always watching. To steal ADAM is the steal from the Rapture family– your family.”
He sat there for a moment composing himself as he tried to process the odd message. Rapture family? Lamb wasn’t alone. That… thing worked for her? Slowly composing himself, he checked his weapon again before standing up and slinking forward. Taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart, he followed after the Big Sister. Catching a glimpse of the armored woman rounding a corner, he readied his weapon before moving forward. His heart raced as he strode past the debris littering the sides of the hall before coming to a balcony overlooking a flooded room. A giant statue of two women dancing stood in front of a giant window. Glancing around the room, he couldn’t find the Big Sister. Bracing himself, he jumped down to the floor below, brandishing his weapon.
Out of the corner of the room, the woman ran out, scraping something along the glass. Flinching at the sound, he watched as sparks flew out as the Big Sister darted back into the shadows. Cracks formed along the glass, water spewing out. His eyes widened as water rushed into the room before the glass broke completely and he was knocked back.
Regaining his senses, he glanced around the room to see debris floating. Placing a hand to his chest he realized he was breathing just fine. He was breathing? Glancing at the metal encasing his hand he took another breath. Right. The metal suit. Just like the other armored man he saw walking along the bottom of the ocean earlier. His suit was designed to handle this. While he could easily survive, he couldn’t swim. Trudging forward, he made his way along the infrastructure along the ocean floor. Peering through the windows, he caught glimpses of the same run-down rooms he’d been in. Occasionally, he caught a glimpse of life. An armored man walked with another one of those odd little girls down a hall before a flash of a gun interrupted them. The man’s helmet glowed red as he let out a loud roar before charging forward.
Delta watched as he attacked… people. The first normal people he’d seen! The people wore masks over their faces and held weapons to attack the armored man but they were no match. As he swatted one of them against the wall, their mask flew off and his stomach churned. They weren’t normal people. Their faces were distorted almost inhuman, just like the corpses he’d seen. Stumbling back, he tore his gaze from the fight and continued his walk along the ocean floor. Life swam around him as sand flew under his feet with every step. Passing through a whale’s skeleton and ducking under a rock formation, he stepped up to a ledge and froze.
Sitting in front of him was the large city he had been in. It looked like any other city but it was all held underwater. Lights shone brightly from signs and buildings. Finally, he caught a bright yellow neon sign reading “Atlantic Express Station.” He stepped over the ledge, allowing his suit to drag him down before continuing his walk toward the buildings. As he neared the entrance, he found a maintenance airlock for the train station. He entered the room before pulling a lever to close the outside doors and drain the water. Shortly after, static rang in his helmet before Tenenbaum’s voice broke through as the door into the building slid open.
“Ah, Herr Delta… you arrive, as the little ones said you would. Come upstairs to the ticket booth, and I will offer what I know of you.”
He stood there for a moment processing everything that had already happened in only a few hours. Trapped in some underwater city, falling apart with inhuman people fighting among themselves and dying for… for what? All he knew, was the same name kept popping up: Lamb. It was finally time to get some damn answers.