Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Delta stared at the Big Sister crumpled before him. He could hear Sinclair congratulating, but Delta wasn't paying attention. She was still alive, though barely. If Delta left her where she was, two things could happen. The Sister would either expire on her own or, the ADAM in her would heal her.

Delta frowned at his hand. The Plasmid Dr. Tennenbaum had given him to save the Little Sisters had worked perfectly. Yet Delta wondered if it would work on this one. From what he'd been able to figure out, the Big Sisters were Little Ones who'd grown up. So unless their condition had changed too much, Delta should still be able to save her.

Approaching her carefully, Delta blocked her attempt to skewer him with the needle in her arm. It took more effort than it should have, so that meant the ADAM was healing her. Good, she'd need her strength.

Removing a helmet from someone struggling was hard, but Delta managed it. Immediately he felt a surge of pity for the girl in front of him. As well as a swell of fury at Lamb. She did these things and had the gall to call him a monster?

"Hey, uh, chief? What are you doing?" Delta heard Sinclair question, but he didn't really listen. The Big Sister's face was twisted into an animal snarl, her eyes glazed over with rage. A bit hesitant, Delta activated the Plasmid that saved the Little Sisters, letting his hand drift towards her head.

The Big Sister thrashed harder, probably realizing what Delta was trying to do. Her mental conditioning, probably telling her to escape. But Delta's grasp was firm. Once his hand settled on her head, she started to relax as he caressed her.

Once the light of the Plasmid has faded, Delta has a saved Big Sister in his arms. Delta checked her breathing and smiled when he registered it was stable. It worked!

"Well, I'll be damned. Ol' Tenenbaum's cure worked on the Big Sister, huh? You know reaching Eleanor will be damn easier if we get more on our side." While Sinclair had a point, that wasn't why he'd done this. Rapture had already taken so much, and Delta would be damned if he didn't help who he could.

The girl began to stir, eyes opening blearily. She stared at him, her eyes now a light blue. She frowned, then closed her eyes, clearly struggling with the after-effects of being cured. Her features had been revealed. She had red hair and some freckles on her face.

"I-" she started, struggling with her words. "T-thank you, Daddy." And while it was a bit strange to hear a teenager call him that, he accepted it.

Standing up, Delta gestured for her to follow. The girl stood a bit wobbly but recovered quickly. She picked up the helmet, frowning at it. She quickly made her decision and put it on, the light from it now a friendly green.

The two of them made their way to the train station, melting the ice blocking the railway and opening the train tunnel from the security booth. Then they were attacked by Lamb's goons, as the woman herself ranted in Delta's ear about him corrupting the Big Sister. Delta toned her out. The former Big Sister still had access to her abilities and was a great help.

After leaving on the train, Sinclair spoke again.

"Well, Sister, what do we call you?"

The girl took off her helmet, frowning as she probably struggled to remember her name under all the mental conditioning.

"C-Carrie," She finally answered, her voice still hoarse from disuse. "My name is Carrie." She reaffirmed. Sinclair nodded, going back to keeping quiet.

Delta smiled under the helmet once again. He had saved one more of the poor souls of Rapture. Sofia Lamb had better be prepared. Since he was far from done and far from alone.

Chapter Text

Delta was starting to wonder why Grace Holloway wasn't calling him something besides Tin Daddy. He was sure the woman knew more creative insults.

Nevertheless, he and Carrie made their way through Pauper's Drop to the Sinclair Deluxe. Occasionally, they would receive transmissions from Grace. Telling Carrie that she could still help bring him down and rejoin the Rapture Family. Carrie ended up shutting off her transmitter.

Delta just wondered how Lamb had managed to spread her delusions so much. Then again, looking at Pauper's Drop, considering the state Ryan had left these people in? It couldn't have been that hard. 

Having analyzed one of those Brute Splicers, Delta only had to take care of the last Little Sister in the area. Before he could do that, though, Carrie warned him.

"Careful... another like me... will come." Delta nodded and laid down some trap rivets in preparation, as well as stocking up on ammo on a nearby vending machine.

Once he rescued the Little Sister, Delta heard the screech of the Big Sister. Quickly making sure the Little One had gotten into the vents, Delta noticed the water around it, an idea forming on his head.

A few seconds later, Delta heard the screech of a Big Sister. He and Carrie tensed, back to back, scanning their surroundings. The Big Sister appeared across the puddle of the vent and started to run towards them, screeching. Delta, quick as lightning, activated the Electro Bolt Plasmid and hit the Sister just as she crossed the puddle.

The Sister screeched in anger and pain. Taking advantage that she immobilized, Delta shot at her with his new shotgun while Carrie shot Fireballs. The Sister manages to recover from the Electro Bolt and gets out of the puddle, staggering, clearly hurt from Delta's and Carrie's attacks.

Delta quickly pressed the attack. Whipping out his machine gun, he let out a volley of bullets. Visibly weakened, the Sister tried to use Telekinesis before Carrie tackled her.

"Now!" She shouted, holding the Big Sister down. Delta approached, kneeling down. Carefully yet quickly, removing the Sister's helmet, Delta activated the Plasmid to save her. The Sister trashed harder, but Carrie's hold was firm. A few seconds later, Delta had another cured Big Sister in his hands.

"Do you think this changes anything, Subject Delta?" Said Lamb, suddenly transmitting to him. "You may be turning Big Sister against me. But Eleanor has a destiny... one she will reach, regardless of your interference."

Internally, Delta scoffed. 'We'll see about that, Lamb.' he thought.

Concentrating on the cured Sister, Delta noticed her revealed features. The girl had brown skin and slightly curly hair. Her eyes were a light green.

"T-thank you." She said softly, voice as rough as Carrie's had been.

"Name?" Carrie asked for him. The girl frowned a few seconds, trying to remember.

"D-donna." She answered finally. Delta felt like smiling.

After that, with both Carrie's and Donna's help, reaching Grace was laughably easy.

"So I'm ready, baby snatcher. Come on in and finish the job." Grace said as the door of her safe room opened.

"Your call, friend. Grace is unarmed for what it's worth." Sinclair said, sounding as unsure as Delta did.

Looking at Grace, all Delta could see was a defeated and frail old woman. Her accusations against him had angered him, but he understood a bit more now. Her resentment came from ignorance, an ignorance that Lamb had probably encouraged.

Delta could feel Donna's and Carrie's eyes on his back, and he could tell that whatever choice he made, they wouldn't question it. Making his choice, Delta grabbed the genetic key and left Grace alone.

"To hell with you, then!" She exclaimed as they left. Delta would have laughed if he could.

Regardless of her parting words, Grace helped them escape with a few elite security bots. It seemed that with two Big Sisters backing him, Lamb had decided on overkill. As they reached the train station, Grace spoke again.

"Well, sir- I don't know what to call you now. You've done more than just spare my life; you've opened my eyes. I need to put a few questions to Doctor Lamb. Girls... watch over him."

Delta could've sworn he heard Carrie murmur. "We will... Aunt Gracie."

After unlocking the train station and boarding the train, Sinclair pulled Carrie and Donna to the back to introduce them to a card game. Probably from boredom, Delta mused. As they left Pauper's Drop behind, Delta wondered what more he would have to face before reaching Eleanor.

Chapter Text

Delta was in a bit of a bad mood. Their train car had been attacked by this Father Wales, another of Lamb's cronies, launching him into the ocean. Now, Sinclair was trapped in their original destination of Dionysus Park, and he, Carrie, and Donna were fighting through hordes of Splicers to get to the Alley's pumping station.

What had eased his mood a bit was how easily they got the code to the door of the second part of the Alley. It seemed the presence of a Big Daddy, and two Big Sisters working together was enough to make Daniel Wales think twice before trying to fight them.

 
"What do you want?" He shouted from the top floor the moment they came in. "Did Lamb send you to kill me?!" 

 Carrie, having recovered her voice enough, shouted back.

 
"No, Mr Wales! We seek the code your brother gave you. We need access to the pumping station!" That seemed to startle Daniel a bit. He paced for a bit, muttering before answering.

 
"You gonna kill Simon? Lamb?"

 
"If it comes to that, Mr Wales, we will." Daniel seemed to think about that for a moment.

 
"The code's 1919. Just promise me you'll kill that Lamb bitch!"

 
"We will."

After that, it was relatively easy to get through the second section of the Alley. Although their detour to the Little Sister Orphanage in the area and the recording of Eleanor inside shook him.

 
But as Delta took the last Little Sister of the area to a vent, he steeled himself, another Big Sister would come.

 
The moment she arrived, though, Carrie and Donna tackled her as he approached to cure her. A few seconds later, a new member joined their group. The Sister had straight black hair, pale skin and pale blue eyes.

 
"Tha-thank you." She coughs out. Delta nods, as best he can.

 
"Name?" Donna asks.

 
"M-mary." She rasps out.

 
After that, it was a simple matter to take down Father Wales. With a combination of Plasmid bees, fireballs, and telekinetically thrown objects, the Father of the Church of Lamb goes down.

 
Though Delta should have expected Lamb to do something, but overloading the pumping station was a bit overkill, in his opinion.

 
"Look around Delta, it is the world for which you strive for. You, alone among the dead." 

 
Delta grunted. 'Yeah, right, Lamb. I'm not alone. Keep throwing everything you have at me, you won't stop from reaching Eleanor.'

 
With that, he and the girls headed to the airlock of Dionysus Park. Delta wondered what awaited them inside.

Delta suspected foul play as soon as Sinclair mentioned that people had been inside Dionysus Park when it flooded. Lamb was crazy in many ways, but killing her followers by drowning them didn't seem to be her style. At least not if there wasn't someone she hated present.

Regardless, he and the girls kept going until they reached a waterlogged door, and that was when they heard it.

"No! Get back! She's my little girl!" said the voice of Mark Meltzer on the other side of the door, followed by a gunshot and the screech of a Big Sister. Carrie and the others did not waste a second. Teleporting to the other side, leaving Delta to pry open the door.

With the sounds of battle in the background, Delta thought about Meltzer. During his journey of Rapture, Delta had half-expected to find the man dead in a ditch. But this was a better outcome. 

Finally, the door gave in, and Delta walked in to see a Big Sister being restrained and Meltzer holding onto a trashing Little Sister. Meltzer was pointing a gun at them, but his hand was shaking so much that his aim would be nonexistent. And as Delta approached Meltzer, the man seemed to think this was it for him because he hugged the Little Sister tight and closed his eyes.

Thankfully, Carrie came up to Meltzer as well and removed her helmet. After a few seconds, Meltzer opened his eyes and stared flabbergasted at Carrie. Delta supposed he was confused by still being alive and Carrie's exposed face.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Meltzer." Carrie spoke with a friendly smile. 

"Uh... Nice to meet you too?" Meltzer replied, confusion still clear in his tone.

Delta left Carrie to reassure Meltzer and moved to where Donna and Mary were restraining the Big Sister. With a careful removal of her helmet and an application of the Rescue Plasmid, Delta had gained a new ally.

"A-apologies... a-and... thanks." The Sister rasped out as Donna and Mary helped her stand.

"No apologies necessary," Donna replied. "Name?"

"N-nancy." Nancy muttered, rubbing her throat. She had a brown skin tone and dirty blonde hair.

Delta patted Nancy's head, the girl leaning into the touch. He turned as he heard Meltzer call out to him.

"Excuse me, uh.. Miss Carrie here says you can help my daughter." Meltzer said, signalling to the Little Sister in his arms.

It was an easy choice to immediately cure the girl and guide her and her father to the train.

As Stanley Poole continued to speak after Delta cured the first of the Little Sisters Stanley wanted gone, Delta tuned him out and began to reminisce, both on the ADAM memories and his past.

The memories in the ADAM that Eleanor had shown him didn't surprise him, after all, Delta had found a recording from him where Stanley all but admitted to working for Ryan. He figured it must have been a move to further cement Ryan's victory over Lamb. Except that Ryan was dead and Lamb now ruled Rapture.

As he and the former Big Sisters blasted their way through the Splicers of the area, Delta thought on Stanley's words. Contrary to what many would think, Delta remembered plenty of his past. Not much from before his arrival to Rapture, but the name Johnny Topside was familiar to him.

He remembered the despair he felt as he was secretly arrested under Ryan's paranoia, which quickly led to his transformation into Subject Delta. It could be the brainwashing of the process, but Delta didn't resent what happened to him; after all, it all led to meeting Eleanor and whatever Lamb said, she was his daughter now.

"You see, it was Stanley who turned you in to Ryan. He is responsible for what you have become." Delta heard Lamb say through the radio. "The security booth is open now... You may have your revenge."

As Stanley started babbling, begging for his life, Delta ignored him. Instead, he picked up a nearby audiolog, confirming what the memories in the ADAM had already told Delta. Stanley really was a rat, killing everyone in Dionysus Park in a flood to save his own hide.

Like with Grace, Delta could feel the girl's eyes on him, awaiting his choice. Kill or spare Stanley, they wouldn't question it. Yet... Delta couldn't muster up anger towards him, so he turned away and walked towards the train car, leaving the coward to whatever fate awaited him.

With the former Big Sisters behind him, Dekta prepared for Fontaine Futuristics.