_ _ _ _3rd Person Pov_ _ _ _
It had begun with cries of monsters lurking in the rotting depths, maddened individuals that screeched to uncaring ears, a trickle of bodies, each telling a different version of the same twisted story. And yet, no one listened. It wasn't their problem, they thought; they were just insane, they thought. It wasn't like this leaking tomb was filled with many sane individuals, after all most were nothing more than babbling fools and lunatics, so if a few of them started screaming about monsters, well, nobody really cared.
That's how it was for a while, but over time something strange began to happen. A kind of silence began to grow, colonies of splicers went dark, camera systems became inaccessible. Those who ventured into these areas were never seen again, or if they were, they came back different in a way. Their eyes held a new found intelligence; their usual manic and insane behaviour was replaced by a calmness that felt entirely wrong.
And it didn't end there. In fact, things began to escalate even further. The silence was actually growing. It spread out, day by day, creeping slowly through the dark. And as the days passed it seemed to become bolder, seeping deeper and deeper into the crumbling ruins of Rapture. The structures within the inner and middle sections of the city remained as normal; however, the buildings on the outer edges were falling into an eerie quiet one after the other.
It wasn't long before those who had once screamed of monsters and strange invaders began to whisper instead, not out of fear of being mocked or ridiculed, no, they were whispering now because they were afraid of what was listening. Some continued to laugh for a while, mind you; however, as the sources of those cackling laughs went silent one by one, their insults turning to unheard screams in the darkened depths of this decaying city, well, nobody was laughing anymore.
And it only got worse from there. Systems within the silence's influence, ones that had once been somewhat under control, were now becoming downright hostile to most of the inhabitants. Security drones in some sections of the city began patrolling and attacking without warning. Doors slammed shut suddenly, preventing individuals from entering or escaping. The only things that were seemingly unaffected were the systems not connected to the central network of a specific structure.
But bizarrely, the Little Sisters and their lumbering guardians were able to enter and exit these places unharmed. Whatever was causing this situation, be it some kind of invader or something else entirely, it had apparently seen fit to leave them be, for now anyway.
When questioned on what they saw within, the young ones spoke of strange black sludge covering the walls in pretty patterns, and a strange fog that blanketed the ground. They described bizarre creatures moving in the dark, streaks of violet that watched from just out of view. The most disturbing part, however, was how they described the scene of the angels, splicers infused with adam. They talked of rooms filled with the bodies of dozens upon dozens of the "angels" each hung up, stuck to the walls with black hardened sludge.
Those who still remained somewhat sane despite the anarchy and depravity engulfing this lost place, finally began to take notice only after days had passed. Their eyes turning to the far edge of Rapture, where the silence continued to fester unchecked. Some that were able sent teams to investigate, others simply listened to the whispers of terrified splicers or the playful giggles of little sisters. Those that sent teams, however, were quickly disappointed, mostly because none of them ever returned.
And yet, despite all their efforts and investigations, they were unable to understand the full truth, well, most of it anyway. They were able to uncover bits and pieces, mainly the fact that something, some foreign entities, had indeed entered Rapture. These beings were hunting, expanding, and taking control of the outer sections of the city, building by building.
_ _ _ _Brigid Tenenbaum_ _ _ _
"So nothing bad happened? You weren't hurt at all?" I asked, greatly concerned for the three little ones standing before me.
"Yep, we're fine." One of them puffed up her chest proudly.
(What were they thinking?!) I thought rather disapprovingly. (I take my eyes off of them for just a second and then they go and do something like this! Who knows what could have happened!)
While yes, I was currently rather distressed all things considered, it wasn't like the rest of this hell hole was much safer of a place, and it's not like I fully understood what was happening anyway. My best guess was that someone, or something, had entered Rapture, some foreign force that shouldn't be here. The information I had been given over the last few days only deepened that suspicion. Simply put, some of my little ones had taken it upon themselves to investigate this strange occurrence, against my explicit instruction to stay away, I might add.
Anyway... the little ones that had ventured there came back unscathed, thank god; however, what they had managed to see within was definitely what I would consider alarming. According to them, they didn't make it far before they had to turn back, many of the secret passages and ventilation systems they used to get around were blocked off. Despite this, they were able to gather some information, mainly that some kind of odd creatures had infested the area and had exterminated most of the splicers in those sections of the city.
"I wish the purple puppies weren't so super shy though." Another one pouted, her words getting nods of agreement from the others, one of whom spoke up as well.
"Yeah yeah, that's right! We couldn't get a good look at them because they kept running and hiding from us."
"I see..." I muttered, breathing in both relief that they weren't hurt and concerned.
(What is happening?) I thought, trying to rack my memory about anything that could be the cause of this; however, I came up completely blank. (I'll have to contact Eleanor again; we might need to accelerate things ahead of schedule...)
_ _ _ _Sofia Lamb Pov_ _ _ _
(The road to salvation is wrought with many tribulations.) I thought as I read over the report, a report that was filled with rather limited information all things considered.
I slowly put the papers down, thinking over everything I had just read through. (Monsters... violet demons in the dark... strange humanoid creatures... I would have considered all of this nothing more than the ramblings of the insane and delusional if there wasn't clear evidence that something was actually going on.)
(This... this will definitely cause problems...) I hummed internally, my thoughts gaining a more dangerous edge. (Problems that must be prevented before they can rot the path and delay our destiny.)
It was true: my goal for a new utopia was reaching its final phases and yet this disturbance may cause issues or even delays in that plan. I would not, could not allow that to happen; the family would not allow that to happen. Unfortunately, so far any investigation had been futile, mainly because whatever was behind this was quite... efficient in its efforts to deny us information.
"So none of the teams we sent have returned?" I asked coldly.
My personal assistant simply shook her head with a perplexed expression. "No, not a single one has returned, Doctor Lamb."
"What should we do?" She asked after a moment, gesturing towards one of the monitors in the room. "We've tried hacking back into the cameras in that sector but nothing, all we get is this." The screen showed a black "X3" on a green checker-pattern background; the words "Access Denied" were written in bold black letters underneath.
"What does X3 even stand for?" I muttered questioningly.
Unfortunately, the answer I got explained nothing. "We don't know ma'am, there's nothing in our database about it."
(Right now it's not a major problem, unfortunately it probably won't stay that way for long.) I mused, doing the calculations in my head.
(If things continue to escalate, if whatever is behind this continues to expand, it will definitely become a problem before too long. And if I had to guess, it has no intention of stopping its spread.) I took a minute to just think over what I should do next before coming to a conclusion.
"Make preparations to send a Big Sister to investigate the area." I sighed, giving my command.
Sending more of the family into this apparent meat grinder would not solve anything; it would only cause me more issues. Instead, however, it would be more prudent to send a more capable pair of hands to gather information on the situation. And what would be more capable of such a task than one of my most valuable and powerful assets?
"Are you sure?" My assistant asked and I nodded.
"Yes, we can't afford to let anything disrupt our plans." I breathed, my eyes narrowing sharply. "I will not let anything stop my vision of a grand new beginning; Eleanor WILL be our saviour."
"Understood."
_ _ _ _Eleanor Lamb pov_ _ _ _
I lay in my bed, unmoving, my room a jail cell disguised as luxury. The Little Sisters whisper to me when no one is looking; they tell me of a disturbance, a silence that grows far beyond these hollow and claustrophobic walls. Mother sees it as a potential threat, a threat to her, to her cult, and to the destiny she wishes to force upon me.
(There's definitely been a shift in the air...) I mused, my thoughts echoing within my own head. (I can feel it.)
(I wonder what is truly going on.)
I did not fear the growing silence; I did not know the true cause of it mind you but for some reason it didn't strike me as a danger. Not to me or my plans, to be precise. In fact I had a strange suspicion: from the way the little ones spoke of the situation, it made me more curious than anything else. The fact that Tenenbaum and Mother were also in the dark only seemed to amplify my curiosity.
(Makes me want to see what's going on for myself.) I thought, but I was quick to shake that thought away.
(No, I have to focus on the plan.) I mused internally, my internal dialogue being the only real privacy that I had nowadays. (Soon Father will awaken, his death undone.)
(He will set me free...)
(((A/N. In case you're wondering why they don't know what X3 means, well, the first emoticons were invented in 1982 while they are currently living in the year 1960, so they're reading it as X then the number.)))