Eleanor's Dream [A Bioshock Sequel Fanfic]

[Crazy Demon]

(A/N: Hi there. After finishing the game, I was left with a burning question- What happens to Eleanor? So after reading some unsatisfactory stories, I decided to write my own! So here the first chapter of my guilty pleasure story
This is based off the neutral ending.)

INDEX-Click on the chapters to go the corresponding post. No need to sift through pages of comments!
This Post is Chapter 1!
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18 (post 1)
Chapter 18 (post 2)
Chapter 19
Chapter 20 (post 1)
Chapter 20 (post 2)
Chapter 21 (post 1)
Chapter 21 (post 2)
Chapter 22 (post 1)
Chapter 22 (post 2)
Chapter 22 (post 3)
Chapter 23 (post 1)
Chapter 23 (post 2)
Chapter 24
Chapter 25 (post 1)
Chapter 25 (post 2)
Chapter 25 (post 3)
Chapter 26 (post 1)
Chapter 26 (post 2)
Chapter 27 (post 1)
Chapter 27 (post 2)
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30 (post 1)
Chapter 30 (post 2)
Chapter 30 (post 3)
Chapter 31 (post 1)
Chapter 31 (post 2)
Chapter 31 (post 3)

Extra:
A First Draft (Spoiler Alert for the rest of the story)

Summary: Eleanor thought her problems would be over once she left Rapture. Little did she know that the consequences of her actions would follow her to surface. A new condition forces her to find an old veteran...and return to the place she tried so hard to escape from. Rapture's dream may be over, but Eleanor's is just beginning...

CHAPTER 1

Eleanor looked at her hand. The long needle of her Adam Extractor glistened with the blood of Delta...her father. She could feel Father's memories shifting through her blood, flowing up where it settled into her mind. It was nothing more than a jumble of thoughts and ideas though. Eleanor had never taken more than a few memories from someone before, but with Father, she drained him completely of everything – even his suppressed memories from before he became her father, when he was still known as Johnny Topside.

It was no surprise that it would take a while to completely integrate with consciousness. Perhaps Father would form together as a separate entity, a voice in her mind. Perhaps she would only feel his instincts. Or perhaps- her heart tightened in pain at this thought-…perhaps this was all in vain and Eleanor would merely be stuck with a bunch of memories that belonged to someone else. Then she would be alone.

Again.

Eleanor collapsed to her knees, staring lifelessly at the dimly-lit sea. She was completely and utterly alone again. She had harvested the remaining Little Sisters- there simply weren't enough of them to boil all the water without using her body as a single focal point. Mother- No, Doctor Lamb was dead. She had let that stupid witch drown, damned be to her and her foolish ideals. And Father...

What was the point? Eleanor had more Adam in her body than any man could ever dream of- and stay sane. But what good was all this power when the wielder had no purpose...no motivation...no GOAL? Eleanor had dreamed for her years of escaping Rapture and now that she was here…

She just wanted to lay on top of this ballast next to Father's corpse and sleep forever and ever.

No.

Eleanor let out a gasp as her a flash of pain radiated from her stomach. Something deep within her core seemed rumble angrily at the thought. It was like something had wrapped around her insides and was trying to squeeze all her blood out. She could feel her Adam rumbling under her skin, yelling one word.

SURVIVE.

Yes, yes, thought Eleanor. Father had given his life to save her. He had dedicated his entire body to giving her the freedom that she wished for. She couldn't let his sacrifice go to waste. She would survive like Father had. She would head to coast. She didn't know what she would do- but she would do what she needed to survive.

With one final longing glance at Delta's body, Eleanor leapt into the ocean and began her long swim towards the shore.

She didn't look back again.

(A/N: Tell me what you guys think!)

[Crazy Demon]

CHAPTER 2

So this was the surface.

Eleanor had always envisioned the surface as a beautiful, glamorous place. She remember being filled with wonder when she read Amir's book on the surface- from Ireland to India to...everywhere! And the lure of the surface was only compounded as her imprisonment made the surface not only an eternal paradise, but the symbol of freedom. A world with no ceilings and ever open sky, a world where should could be free basking in the ever-warm light of the sun!

She was right about one thing- she was certainly basking in the warm light of the sun. She was basking so much that her face felt like it was melting off.

In Rapture, it was always dimily-lit, with patches of darkness permeating everywhere. She did remember a time when Rapture was always illuminated. Of course after the civil war no one maintained the city. Throw it in the fact that pretty much everyone spliced up and no longer needed the light and Rapture had eventually fallen to almost complete darkness. There was no need to replace what no longer was needed.

It was so bright. The sun seem to illuminate everywhere, the trees, the grass, her armor, her EYES. Oh Father, her eyes burned. Eleanor could barely see and had to keep squinting to make out anything.

Luckily, thanks to the wonders of gene therapy and all the numerous injections and experimental drugs Mothe- Lamb(that woman was no mother of hers!) had given to her, Eleanor eyes had adjusted in only a little less than two hours. Unfortunately, her eyes kept watering, making poor Eleanor look like she was constantly crying. Eleanor had no doubt she looked the part- she felt so incredibly tired, so incredibly lifeless...

Father...

Eleanor shook her head. As she approached the shore, she had seen many boats- fishing boats, she identified, as images of past lessons flashed into her head. No doubt, there was a town nearby.

Eleanor glanced down at her body. She was still wearing her Big Sister diving suit. It would probably be best if she stayed out of sight until she re-appropriated her clothes.

With those final thoughts, she leapt to her feet and began to search for the town.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was ridiculously easy to find the town. Eleanor could smell the stench of fresh fish over ten miles before she actually could see the town. She knew she had a heightened sense of smell thanks to splicing, but God- how could the surfacers stand to be near the smell, much less live right next to the stink?

The irony of her distaste was not lost upon her- Eleanor had lived her whole life hundreds of feet under the sea, so close to fish she could actually touch it if there wasn't glass, and she could not, for the life of her, stand the smell of the slimy creatures. Eleanor felt a faint rumble of humor in the back of her head but she ignored it.

It was a small matter to change her wardrobe. Eleanor had simply teleported into an unoccupied house and re-appropriated the owners possessions. Luckily, the first house had a young woman owner who was clearly quite rich. Judging by the size of the home and its distance away from the rest of town, Eleanor guessed this was a woman's summer home or retreat. Why anyone would want to live in a five mile radius of this stinkhole, much less take a vacation her was beyond Eleanor's understanding. But then again, surfacers were different from Rapture. Much less violent she hoped.

Eleanor didn't really care much about fashion- she simply grabbed the biggest of the woman's many suitcases and threw as much clothes as she could fit into the thing. She quickly stripped herself of her armor and put on a simple white dress. It felt a little small- it only went down to her knees and clung to her shoulders more than she was use to. She was tempted to simply leave her Big Sister armor but a faint grumble of negative approval in the back of her mind stopped her. With a sigh, she grabbed another, smaller red suitcase and stuffed the armor in it. She didn't know why she was bringing it- she didn't want to ever have to use it again.

After storing up on clothes, Eleanor went around the rest of the house, searching cabinets and drawers for anything- from necessary things like money and dry food and bottled water to random useful objects like rubber, wires, screws: anything that might come in handy later. It was strange- Eleanor felt like she had done this hundreds of times before yet she couldn't recall a single time in her life when she had even been a scrounger like this. There were times when she opened a drawer and felt the urge to close it and reopen it again to see if there was new loot.

Odd, no?

Shaking those thoughts away, Eleanor finished ransacking the house. She was now in possession of two suitcases full of clothes, water, food, useful materials, and a full set of Big Sister armor. Furthermore, she now had over $800 in surfacer money stuffed in her purse- a decent sum for a parasite like her. Was a woman not entitled to liberate items for her own survival Mr. Ryan?

No, says the Man in Rapture, Eleanor thought bitterly. It belongs to ME.


CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 3

[The_Noob]

Pretty sweet. You know, I thought Eleanor would just get beat up by a gang two steps on the surface world, or be imprisoned by the US Government, who would just destroy the ADAM, thinking it some stupid drug.

[Crazy Demon]

Pretty sweet. You know, I thought Eleanor would just get beat up by a gang two steps on the surface world, or be imprisoned by the US Government, who would just destroy the ADAM, thinking it some stupid drug.

Super Eleanor to the rescue? Sounds like my kind of story :P .

But no, I wouldn't do something like that. As per the neutral ending, Eleanor's much less ...caring, if you want to word it like that.

[The_Noob]

I thought it was the sad ending that leaves the door open for the future, where she likely drowns before she gets anywhere, or looks for a boat, and passes as a normal woman, and just deals with reality.

[Crazy Demon]

Well, I'm basing this off the ending where you get to choose whether to live or die. In this case, Delta chooses to be absorbed by Eleanor.

As for Eleanor passing off for a normal woman...she may try but once you've gone to Rapture, you're changed forever

/ominous foreshadowing

[L33t B0uncer/R0sie]

I really like the Story.

(When's The Release Date For Chapter 3!)

[Crazy Demon]

I'll have it up as I finish it

[L33t B0uncer/R0sie]

I'll have it up as I finish it

This is Good News!!! I Can't Wait!!

[AdjundantReflex]

Is it just me, or are fanfics actually getting good these days?

[Z008MJ]

More Eleanor, YAY! ELEANOR!!!!!!!!

[Daddy Is Strong!]

I see no problems here... I look forward to 3!

Is it just me, or are fanfics actually getting good these days?

Strange indeed... get us some sues here!

[Crazy Demon]

Chapter 3
If you were to ask anyone in town, they would say Andrew and Peter Appleton were as alike as two peas in the pod. As much as the two would disagree, it was quite true: the two were brothers- twins in fact. The two weren't identical twins but they held enough physical similarity that it was impossible to not be able to tell the brothers were related. The two teenage boys had bulky, muscular bodies, the product of long games of football with their friends and rowing their fishing boats out and back to sea everyday.

At the moment the two were lounging around without anything to do. Normally, they would either be out fishing, as it was summer vacation and school was out. But the recent massive thunderstorm had destroyed most of the small boats of the town, leaving only the larger boats, like the one their father had, left to fish out the entire sea. Slightly annoying, but at least money was still coming into the family.

It was Peter who was the first to notice the stranger. The more "adventurous" and prettier (he liked to think) of the two brothers, he was always on the look out for pretty, unattached women. Nudging his younger (and more boring) brother, the two brothers walked over to the new young woman.

"Hey there babe!" Peter called out, gaining the attention of the young woman. "Don't think I've ever seen you before, otherwise I would have remembered such a pretty flower like yourself. What's your sign?"

The girl blinked. "My sign?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. He could never get why people thought he and his brother were so alike- he was obviously the smarter of the two. "Sorry about my idiot brother here, miss. My name is Andrew Appleton and this fool here is my twin brother Peter. We just noticed that you look like a new comer and we just thought we'd come by and officially greet to your our town."

Peter opened his mouth to retort, but stopped as something caught his eye. "Hey, what happened to your shoes?" He asked without thinking.

Eleanor looked down at her feet. Her bare feet. Damn! She had completely forgotten that surfacers wore shoes everywhere. In Rapture, shoes had…fallen out of style for lack of a better word. Even during the glory ages of Rapture, it became customary to walk barefoot in a city where every was in walking or bathysphere distance and the floor was flat and clean. And after the glory ages…

Let's just say splicing got rid of a lot of old human needs and leave it at that.

"Um…I forgot to wear them," Eleanor stammered out lamely. Immediately she cursed herself- what happened to the silver-tongue little girl that always manage to talk her way out of trouble?

Luckily, or rather, unluckily, Andrew and Peter weren't paying attention to what Eleanor was saying. Instead, they were take closer look at the new girl. Her eyes were red- really red. Like she had been staring at the sun for too long…or had been crying for hours. Even now her eyes seemed to be tearing up. She had a pretty face but her skin was terribly pale, as if she hadn't seen the light of day for…years! Combined with her lifeless expression, she looked like she had been through hell and lost everything.

Andrew and Peter glanced at each other. The bare feet, the broken expression, the massive suitcase that was way too big for a small, defenseless girl to be lugging around- but was forced to anyway because it held all of her possessions. The girl was the picture-perfect poster child for abandoned children.

It wouldn't want to be the first time it happened. Their town was a small fishing place, without much contact with the rest of the world. Plenty of families came down here to dump off unwanted family members then drove away, never to return. The twins stared at each, communicating wordlessly. This girl looked like she had it worst off then the others. It would be an evil thing to leave her flailing out in the wind.

Of course, the fact that she was one of the most beautiful girls the two boys had ever seen had nothing to do with it.

Honestly!

Peter scratched the back of his head. "Umm…Well, what's your name?" He stuttered, unsubtly changing the topic.

Eleanor didn't notice anything wrong. "Eleanor."

"Wow, that's umm...that's a pretty name," Peter felt incredibly awkward. How do you politely ask someone if they needed help? He didn't want to make poor Eleanor feel embarassed about getting kicked out of her home.

Andrew mentally sighed. His brother could be such a ignorant cretin. He stepped forward. "Well, Eleanor, since you're new to town, my brother and I just wanted to tell you that if you need a place to stay, for whatever reason, you can come to our house, free of charge."

Eleanor was shocked. They couldn't be serious could they? Eleanor had always been good at judging a person's character- as how she was able to discover that Stanley Poole was attempting to bankrupt Mot- (Lamb! It's Lamb!) when she was a young girl. Her perception had only increased with Lamb's experiments and the increase of Adam in her body. With the massive amount of Adam flowing through her body, Eleanor was sure she could detect any lie thrown at her.

And right now, she couldn't get a single vibe of deciet from these two twins. It was as if they were speaking the truth...

No. It couldn't be true.

Or could it?

In Rapture, nothing was free, not even the air. If anyone was offering something for free out of the kindness of their heart, it only meant they were planning to take something from you when you weren't looking. There were no such things as "petty morals" in Rapture- Andrew Ryan had made sure of that.

"Why would you do something like that?" Eleanor asked, her voiced guarded.

Andrew and Peter looked at each other awkwardly again. "Well...it looks like hard times have fallen on you. Everyone needs a hand sometime, don't they? We're willing to give you one."

"You shouldn't have to pay for kindness," Peter spoke up.

Of course, the twin brothers were imaging a small crying Eleanor being beaten by some big shadowy brute. For the twins, those words were to be given to a beautiful woman who needed a hand.

For Eleanor, the words caused memories to flash before her eyes. She saw her father switching from harvesting the Little Sisters for full Adam to saving them, even though he recieved only half the Adam for no reward in return. No one in Rapture would have done anything like that- it was unthinkinable to do something for nothing. Even Lamb believed people should only do things that benefited the collective- the reward for the individual was that the group was stronger as and therefore the individual benefits for each member were greater as well.

Oh, what the hell. Her eyes and skin were burning from standing in the sun for so long. Her nose was stuffed and irritated, spoiled after years of breathing filtered clean air. She needed a place to stay and gather her thoughts- these two boys didn't seem that dangerous. Sure, they were bigger than her, but the surface didn't have gene tonics or plasmids. If they turned out to be a problem, she could just teleport away.

She gave a bright smile to the twins. People always liked when she smiled. "That's so nice of you guys! Okay, I accept your offer!"

"Excellent!" Both Andrew and Eleanor jumped as Peter's voice boomed out louder than expected. He grabbed Eleanor's hand and pulled her along. Andrew rolled his eyes at Peter's shamelessness. "Come, with us Eleanor. We'll show you the way. Our house is a nice, little thing, very homely and cosy. You'll love it! Our mother and father live their too, they'll be sure to love you..."

As Peter prattled on, Eleanor reflected on the situation. Perhaps this kindness was the "altriuism" that Andrew Ryan spoke of. Altriuism was helping others just for the sake of "giving them a hand", like these boys claimed they were doing, was it not? You would never see it in Rapture, but surfacers were suppose to be different than Rapturians.

Well, thought Eleanor with a smile, as she the felt the heat of Peter's hand warm hers. If this is altriuism...its not so bad.


CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 4

[The_Noob]

She's gonna get raped. I knew it!

[Dr.BridgetteTenenbaum]

She's gonna get raped. I knew it!

Silly Eleanor, i bet rape wasn't in Amir's book !

[The_Noob]

Silly Eleanor, i bet rape wasn't in Amir's book !

You.... I thought..... I just died a little inside because you know what rape means.

[Dr.BridgetteTenenbaum]

You.... I thought..... I just died a little inside because you know what rape means.

Lolz, i guess you are one of the many that know my age

[The_Noob]

Well, you have a topic that EXPLICITLY states you are 11. My brother may know about really creepy stuff because he's been around older kids, (and 6th grade is a madhouse at my school, it's a good thing I'm at 8th now) but you are a 5th grader! I wouldn't let my kids touch an M-rated game until they were at least 12! But, let's let bygones be bygones and see Ellie learn about surprise buttsecks..... the hard way!

[Crazy Demon]

She's gonna get raped. I knew it!

But, let's let bygones be bygones and see Ellie learn about surprise buttsecks..... the hard way!

I don't want to spoil anything...but how the hell did you reach that conclusion?

[Mr. Person]

By logic my freind....perverted logic.....

[Crazy Demon]

>.> (Now wondering what I should have re-written to avoid such drastically radical conclusions)

[Mr. Person]

re-write the eagerness to show home?

[Crazy Demon]

Maybe I did lay it on too thick...

[The_Noob]

Yeah, they were taking Eleanor home, and, since they were the town hotshots, and she was a dumb-acting woman who seemed to be too poor to afford even shoes....... She needs to learn life isn't always a bowl of cherries, there are pits..... Really awkward pits..... Also, it would be funny as hell for her to be completely messed up next chapter, especially if those two doing bad things to her at their house does the trick. (I'm not looking forward to it either, I feel really bad for her, being so smart yet so guillible )

[Crazy Demon]

Or because they're thinking she's poor/abandoned, they're giving her a helping hand (cough cough, nudge nudge).

[The_Noob]

You monster. I can't wait! And, I already guessed.

[L33t B0uncer/R0sie]

*Nods* Mmmmm....Ambiguous....I Liek It

[The_Noob]

smee 10char

[Mr. Person]

Hmmm....so the plot thickens......and becomes alot more perverted......

[Crazy Demon]

I prefer the term "Romantic Tension"

[Mr. Person]

Is that what they call rape nowadays?


Thats right, i said it.

[ZzBioSh0cKzZ]

I think it's a great story, but what'd be cool would be if Andrew Ryan was still alive and came out of rapture after his alleged death and elenor met him!

[AdjundantReflex]

I think it's a great story, but what'd be cool would be if Andrew Ryan was still alive and came out of rapture after his alleged death and elenor met him!

... No. Ryan's dead. Get over it.

[Handful O Hellfire]

Nice work-- your writing is very centered towards how the characters think and feel, which effectively colors the prose. Can't wait for more.

[Daddy Is Strong!]

Mhmm... I really like this! will 4 be out NAO? (it should be when you read this)

*Reads other comments*...The_Noob is my new friend now

[The_Noob]

I learned all I know from Epstein the Swami.

[Crazy Demon]

Is that what they call rape nowadays?


Thats right, i said it.

:O

...

SO- anyone think its weird that with the Scrounger Tonic, you can re-open a cabinent and find different things? It sort of makes sense with a body, but a drawers a drawers- where else can you put things?

/unsubtle topic change

Chpt 4 will be up later in the afternoon.

[Crazy Demon]

Chapter 4

Living with the Appleton family was quite the experience for Eleanor. They were a close-knitted family, like all the other families that Eleanor had read about in the books about the surface. Still, Eleanor found it odd that no one asked questions about her past, or where she was from. Everytime the topic was even hinted at, the Appleton family would begin throwing nervous glances at her as if she would spontaneously combust at any moment. Then they would unsubtly change the subject. It was very strange in Eleanor's opinion, but since she sensed no ill will, she had no problem with it; it made things more convenient for her. In any case, she chalked it for a surfacer thing. Perhaps spending too much time in the sun affect peoples' minds? She knew all this blasted light was certainly irritating her.

As for the family members themselves they were quite interesting.

Andrew Appleton was clearly the most educated of the family. In fact, the first thing he had done was introduced Eleanor to the Appleton family study, of which Eleanor had been absolutely grateful for. The Appleton's had the largest collections of books in town, passed down from generation to generation. It's collection was only increased as the study was considered the unofficial library of the town and townsmen often donated their books to the study, so long as anyone who wished to read was allowed in.

Eleanor had taken to the library with unrestrained glee. She absolutely loved books. Everybody loved books in Rapture, before splicing replaced all the wants in the world. They were not only a way to escape the dreary city, they were ways of spreading a man's knowledge, the core resource that Andrew Ryan had used when inviting civilians to live in his underwater city. The best and the brightest only, after all.

It also helped that everytime she opened a book in the Appleton Study, there was an odd rumble of approval in the back of her head that sent shivers of satisfaction down her spine. Something inside of her just felt good whenever she learned something new.

Mrs. Appleton was a tall, strong-looking woman. She had an aura about her that Eleanor couldn't help but admire- Mrs. Appleton seemed to be able to both intimidate and attract all around her. Make no mistake though- she was a kind and sweet woman underneath those her strong arms of hers. From the moment they met, Mrs. Appleton had taken to Eleanor as the daughter she never had. After Peter and Andrew had explained her situation (presumably that she was new to town and needed a place to stay), she had swoop down on Eleanor, startling the poor seveteen year-old girl, and sweep her off her feet in a massive (slightly bone-crushing) bear hug.

"Oh you poor little thing!" She exclaimed, confusing Eleanor greatly. Did the surfacers think she was poor? She had started out with nothing but after re-appropriating the rich woman's goods, she was certain she had a sufficient amount of money to disqualify her from the status of poverty.

It must be a surfacer thing.

Mrs. Appleton placed Eleanor down. "Oh you must be all filthy and tired from your long ride," She said louder than was necessary. She began stroking Eleanor hair much to her discomfort (though Eleanor would later reflect the sensation didn't really feel that bad). "Don't worry your pretty little head about it though, my darling, we'll get you cleaned right up and you'll be feeling fresh as new in no time!"

What proceeded to follow was one of the most comfortable baths that Eleanor had taken in her life. Not only had it been awhile since she had bathed in hot water, but Mrs. Appleton absolutely pampered her with love and attention. Eleanor began to follow her around the Appleton house (much like a lost puppy she would later reflect to her own embarrassment), learning the "Art of a True Woman" as Mrs. Appleton told her. She began to learn how to clean, how to do the laundry, how to cook, everything a good house wife was suppose to do. Eleanor had never learned any of these things- after all, she was suppose to be the special one! The Savior of the People! The first Utopian! But a housewife? Perish the thought! Still, Eleanor loved learning these new activities, if only because she got to spend more time with Mrs. Appleton.

In contrast with Mrs. Appleton, Eleanor barely saw, much less spend time with Mr. Appleton. Mr. Appleton was a fisherman and spent most of his time out on sea, trying to bring home the bread every night. He was spending even more time out of the house as business was booming. The recent storm had destroyed most of the town's boats, leaving Mr. Appleton with no competition out in the high seas. Still, from the short time she spent with him, Eleanor had learned that Mr. Appleton had a loud boisterous laugh. The man loved a good joke and loved telling them more.

Eleanor, on the other hand, rarely understood any of these surfacer jokes and found it hard to laugh.

Ever.

As a result, the two had a unspoken agreement to spend as little time with each other as much as possible. Their two personalities just didn't mesh well.

And Peter...Eleanor wasn't sure what to think of him. At first, Peter had mostly avoided her. Everytime the two were in the same room, Peter's face would become red and he would start to exert a nervous aura. He would stay around for a minute, unable to sputter more than two words to her at a time. Then, he would leave. Eleanor had been puzzled by the whole affair but Andrew had advised her to simply ignore the situation, so she had. This went on for three days before Peter finally built up the courage to speak to her. It had been an interesting experience...

CLICK HERE FOR CHAPTER 5

[The_Noob]

You throw a mean hardball at my every belief you were going to trash Eleanor. I will find you and give you a high five!

[Crazy Demon]

:S While, I thought I was hinting that I wasn't going to go that route with my post, there are still chances for it to happen. After all, the last two lines are

This went on for three days before Peter finally built up the courage to speak to her. It had been an interesting experience...