A/N: It has been a long time, but I'm finally ready to repost this story back onto the site. I had to take it down the last time to make a few changes and add a couple of things here and there, I didn't want to take it down, considering the sheer number of fellow authors out there that had managed to make their own based off of it, but it's about time for it to make a come back.

And for those that have just recently started following me, if you're a fan of Bioshock, you're gonna get your fill through this. It's one of my original works, and I hope you get a good kick from it like I did when writing it a while back.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock.

We're all given choices in life. Small, large, no matter what the scale they impact our lives in a multitude of ways we could never have imagined.

They are what defines us. As a species, and as individuals. Everything we do from birth to death maps our destiny, forming who we are and who we will become.

Not all choices are easy. Hell, hardly any of them are in some ways. But in the end, the results ultimately depend on what we decide depending on our morals, and what is in our hearts and minds.

To do what is good...or be selfish.

It is in our nature to ensure self-preservation and survival no matter what. But there are some who always put the needs of others before themselves, even if it costs them something in return. It is those people who truly know the meaning of being good and just.

In the end, what we do effects everything around us. But when your put into a situation where things have spiraled so out of control that the fabric of space and time itself depends on your next action?...That's when you have to step back and think, 'what the hell did I do to get here?'

That's what was going through my head at the moment. Standing in a city that floated above the clouds, a 21st century guy in the early 1900's wielding powers that only existed in video games or comic books. Facing an opposition that was more than what I was trained to handle.

But I had no choice. If I ever wanted to get back home, back to my life, I could not fail. I didn't have the luxary of walking away, I was in too deep the minute I stepped into that damn lighthouse after I woke up almost three days ago.

Despite that, I followed my gut and did what I knew in my heart was right...and here I stand. On a damaged airship thousands of feet in the air, escape blocked off as a squad of armed men moved in to take me down.

My charge and partner behind me, her body rigid as she prepared to help me fend them off for our final stand. She'd been there since the beginning, the two of us relying on one another to make it through. And there was no way in hell I was going to let them get too close to her.

Through the crowd, a large man in a mechanical suit stomped toward us. The only thing recognizable about him was his head and the still beating heart encased in a glass sphere in the center of his chest. An animalistic growl coming from his throat as he raised the massive fists and slammed them hard enough on to the deck to shake the entire ship.

I clutched the old-school shotgun in my right hand as I summoned a cluster of burning stone to my left. There was no way in Heaven or Hell these assholes were going to stop me. Too much was riding on it and I couldn't afford to fail now.

We were going to end this...here and now!

X 3 Days Prior X

The sound of water crashing against a shoreline echoed through the air. Waves lapping against jagged rocks surrounding a small island in the middle of the ocean. In the center of said island was a large lighthouse that stood tall, a beacon in the middle of nowhere that stood out.

As the water continued to splash, the body of a young man washed up on to one of the flat rocks and laid sprawled out and motionless on the cold stone.

He was roughly 6'1'' in height wearing denim jeans, steel toe black boots, and a black Burton Snowboards t-shirt under a grey hoodie and a denim jacket. His dirty blonde hair matted to his head from his time in the water.

Moments passed, then the teen began coughing violently. Shuttering as sea water came out of his lungs and spewed out his mouth on to the rock under him. This kept going for several minutes before he was finally able to breath normally again; rolling over on to his back as he took in deep breaths of air. His dark green eyes looking up at the darkened sky above him.

"...W-What...cough, cough...Whe-Where the hell..." he sputtered as he tried to fight down the burning in his lungs.

Slowly, he pushed himself up into a sitting postion and looked around where he was. Seeing nothing but ocean in all directions on the small island. Looking around the island itself, all he saw was a small dock and boat house that lead to a set of stairs that lead up to the large lighthouse that dominated the cluster of rocks.

Confused, disoriented, and with the burn still overpowering his chest, the teen staggered to his feet and treaded toward the path that lead to the building. If there was a lighthouse, then there had to be someone here running the place that could help him.

Stumbling every few steps, he made it to the large wood doors that lead inside. Raising his fist, he weakly pounding on the doors. "He-Hello!" he shouted before he began coughing again. "Is anyone there!" he said when he got his breath back under control.

Recieving no answer, the teen pushed on the door and saw that it was unlocked. Looking back at where he had woken up and seeing no one else around, the darkened skies lit up in the distance from a storm that was coming his way. Shaking his head, he muttered "Fuck it." before pushing the door open a little wider and slipped inside.

The lighthouses interior wasn't what you would expect in any lighthouse on the mainland. The room beyond the front door had wood floors and a warm atmosphere that felt almost welcoming.

Right in front of the door under the central pillar of the tower, a small table was set up with a water basin with a lit candle on the right side and a couple of white wash cloths on the left. A frame hung above the table with a sign made of cloth and stitching that read 'Of Thy Sins, Shall I Wash Thee'.

Shutting the door behind him, the teen treaded toward the table and looked into the basin at his pale and disheveled expression. Looking up at the sign he shook his head, "I don't have any sins to speak of...but my throat feels like the devil tried to rip it out."

Making a cross sign on his chest and shoulders in respect for the one that ran the lighthouse. He dipped his hands into the basin, using them as a cup to bring water to his parched lips.

His dry and ravaged throat soothed from the cool liquid as he brought up another double handful and gulped it down. Repeating this action a couple more times before sitting down on the floor with his back to the table, the candle's glow casting over his still wet and cold form.

"How the hell did I get here?" he whispered while leaning his head back against the solid wood behind him. Exhaustion starting to take him from his ordeal as he slipped into unconsiousness.

X

Reece Vega had been living a pretty average life. He grew up in Rhoad Island, his mother was an accountant for a small law firm, his dad was a doctor at the local hospital. He was the eldest in his family with two little sisters. One was now 16 and had just gotten her license, the other 9 and clung to him whenever he was in the room.

He went through highschool with the dreams of becoming a successful auto mechanic and was ready to go to college for it. His family respected his choices and saw real potential in him on the subject. Reecewas able to repair, reconstruct, and change anything on the family cars and read every auto manual from cover to cover like most would read a comic book.

Going through highschool, Reece had also indulged in video games like the rest of his friends. Though he wasn't as much into them like the others, he enjoyed the first person shooters and a couple RPGs from time to time when he was bored or had nothing better to do.

Aside from his gaming hobby outside of his auto engineering studies, Reece had also taken up MMA as a form of stress release and a way to stay in shape. One of the people that had been at the gym saw that he had a knack for the sport and started couching him every Wednesday and Sunday a week.

His skills in Mixed Martial Arts were above average, so much so that when a couple of his friends got into a bar fight he put an end to it after putting one guy through a table and knocking another one out cold with what he had learned. No one had the guts to get into a fight with him after that.

At 19 years old, he had been attending college in Maine when spring break finally rolled around. And it was a round the time where his family was having a get together to celebrate the news that his mother was pregnant again. Reece was excited about the news and was on the road to home two days after his last class ended before vacation.

"I should be there in about a day mom." he said on his IPhone as he drove his 4X4 down a winding road that had a nice view of the Atlantic Ocean on his left.

"Just becareful, okay? Don't force yourself to keep going if you get tired." replied his mother reminding Reece just how worried and over protective she was.

Rolling his eyes, Reece chuckled. "Everything will be fine, mom. Let the girls know I'll be home soon." hanging up, he slipped the phone into his pocket as he went back to focusing on the road. He was more than happy to be with everyone again, ever since he broke up with his ex-girlfriend a few months prior being home surrounded by familiar faces was what he needed.

Rounding another corner in the road, the teen was met with the bright headlights of an eighteen wheeler drifting over to his side of the road with its horn blaring. "SHIT!" Reece shouted spinning the wheel and swirving around the larger truck as it flew past.

But in doing this he found himself in the path of a jeep coming his way in the opposing lane. The teen twisted the wheel back to the right in time to miss a head-on collision; however, a loud crunch was heard as the jeep collided with the back end of his truck sending him into a spin.

Gritting his teeth, Reece tried to regain control but was jarred when the 4X4 went through the guard-rail that seperated the road from the ocaen and found himself airborne.

Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as the truck and its driver began to free fall. Hitting the dark waters hard and causing him to smack his head hard enough against the steering that he saw stars.

The pain in his head was nearly forgotten when the ice cold salt water got into the truck and sent a shock into his system.

Trying to stay calm, despite the life/death situation he now found himself in, he made quick work of undoing his seat belt as the inside of the vehicle began to fill up fast. After getting the safety restraint off, he pressed his back to the driverside door and slammed his booted feet against the passanger window several times before it shattered.

By that point, the 4X4 slipped beneath the lapping waves of the Atlantic. Reece managed to get what breath of air he could before going under water and working his way out of the sinking vehicle.

It was a rough fit for his large frame through the shattered window. But he managed and found himself in open water kicking as hard as he could for the surface. That alone was a challenge since his boots were steel toe and were weighing him down.

With a lot of excertion, the teen breached the surface of the water gulping in air as the waves knocked him around. 'Have to make it to shore!' he screamed in his thoughts as he began to fight against the pull of the ocean toward the slope that lead back up to the road.

Even with his boots and his soaked clothes weighing him down, Reece began to make his way back to land. But the waves were getting choppier by the second, a storm must have been coming because the salt water was churning like crazy.

A good sized wave knocked him off course and forced him to lose focus just as another slammed down on top of him sending him back under.

Barely any air in his lungs, the teen kicked with everything he had to get back to the surface. But the current kept pulling him back down, and with each kick be began losing more and more strength. His chest burned with the urge to breathe in as he kept his mouth clamped firmly shut to keep what oxygen he had left inside.

By sheer luck he breached the surface again and sucked in air...only for another good sized wave to crash on to him, forcing water down his throat in mid-breath causing crippling pain to shoot through his form.

Reece coughed unconciously, but since he was already under water he ended up sucking in more making the pain beyond excruciating. His vision started to blur and darken as what strength he had left began leaving him like a large hole in a fuel-line. Eventually his struggles began to fade as well as his body began to sink into the dark depths.

'This...can't be how it ends...' he thought trying to will his body to react, but it was as if it was out of his control. His form was nothing more than dead weight.

Darkness surrounded his vision and began closing in. Thoughts of his family, his friends, and the life he had flashed before his eyes as he began to lose conciousness. '...I...I love you all...I'm sorry...' he thought sadly as his eyes slid closed.

Before his fell into the embrace of oblivion, the teen saw something glowing in the water around him before everything went dark.

X

Reece's green eyes snapped open and he gasped as the memories of how he had gotten there came back to him.

Looking around, he found himself in the lighthouses bottom level where he had sat to rest. The candle on the table behind him had burned down to nothing and was put out plunging the room into darkness save for the light coming from the stairs leading to the next floor. The sounds of rain and thunder resounding from outside along with waves crashing hard on the rocks surrounding the small island signalling the arrival of a big storm.

Rubbing his face, the teen breathed deeply before remembering something. "My phone!" he reached into the inside pocket of his denim jacket and sighed in relief when he pulled out his IPhone.

Doing quick check, he was glad to see the 'life-proof' case protecting the device had held leaving it dry on the inside. He took out the cell and switched it on, unlocking the lock screen as he prepared to make a call.

However, the words 'No Service' was displayed at the top of the screen. "Of course." Reece muttered. He was in the middle of nowhere in the Atlantic Ocean on some small island, the chances of having a signal to make a phone call was pretty slim.

"Hope someone's home. They'll probably have a radio or something." he said outloud getting to his feet. Activating the LED app on his phone so that he could see better as he went to make his way toward the stairs.

Another sign similar to the one hanging above the water basin was on the wall next to the stairwell. This one reading 'From Sodom, Shall I Lead Thee'. "How come I get the feeling that whoever runs this place is a serious religious fanatic." Reece said to himself as he made his way up the metal steps slowly.

Reaching the landing, he was surprised to see a large room taking up the whole floor. Tables, desks, a large sink, a bed, and several crates were stacked up along one of the walls with a couple lamps on the walls above illuminating everything.

"Hello? Anyone home?" he called out. Seconds passed and no response came. Keeping alert, Reece stepped into the room and began to look around.

It was really odd. He'd been in quite a few lighthouses in his life and none of them looked like this on the inside. Approaching a nearby desk he was a little surprised to see a typewriter and a really old phone similar to the one he had seen in his grandparent's attic from when he was younger.

Picking up the old phone that looked almost brand new, he pulled the reciever from the base and pressed it to his ear. "Hello?" he tapped the cradle down a few times but nothing came through. "Weird. You'd think this place would be equipped with better equipment instead of antiques." he said putting the phone back on the desk and moving around the rest of the room.

Everything around the room looked like it should have been in an antique store. But it all looked brand new. Reece found himself playing with an old radio that was as big as a small bookshelf and was reminded of a similar one his grandmother liked to turn on every so often.

Shaking his head he turned around only for something on the bed to catch his eye. A stained, oakwood box sat in the center of the mattress looking out of place. Curious, he picked the box up and looked it over. Seeing a shiny brass name plate on the lid, Reece's eyes widened when he saw what was written.

In perfectly inscripted calligraphy...was his name.

A chill went up his spine. Why the hell would there be something in this lighthouse with his name on it? He just washed up on shore not too long ago. How was this possible?

Swallowing the lump in his throat, the teen lifted the lid on the box and looked at the contents. Inside were several things. Under the lid two papers were taped, one looked like a postcard with a golden statue of an angel with her arms outstretched. The one next to it was a blankn paper with symbols and numbers written; from left to right, ther was an open scroll with X1 next to it, a key with X2 next to it, and a saber facing blade-down with X2 next to it.

Ignoring that for the moment, he looked at the rest of the box and was shocked to see an old fashioned Red-9 pistol with two clips of ammunition. Removing the gun, Reece tested its weight in his hand before setting it on the bed with the ammo and went back to the box.

Under the pistol was and iron key. Picking it up, the teen looked it over with careful eyes. There was nothing special about the key other than the pictures on the handle, one side depicting an empty bird cage, the other had a bird flying free.

Setting the key with the gun he picked up then next item which was a black and white picture of a beautiful young woman that looked around his age wearing a white blouse and a long skirt. The name 'Elizabeth'was written at the top making him raise an eyebrow.

Flipping the picture over, Reece narrowed his eyes seeing words scrawled on to the back. 'Find her, protect her.'shrugging, he set the photo aside and picked up a small leather bag that had been next to it.

Inside the bag was a large handful of silver coins that looked to be about a dollar a piece, equaling out to about $75 total.

Looking at the items spread out on the bed, Reece was still beyond confused. "What the fuck is all of this?" he said outloud. Looking back into the box for some kind of clue, he found something he missed.

A large piece of paper folded at the bottom that fit the edges of the container so well he thought it was the bottom. Taking it out, the teen unfolded it and saw that it was a note.

- Mr. Vega

We can assume that you are very confused with the situation that you now find yourself in. But rest assured, your presense here was no accident. You have nothing to be afraid of. However, what you will experience from this point onward will seem strange, and in some cases very dangerous. Just do what comes naturally and you will survive. Or you will die. Both possibilities are very likely with what you are about to face.

Your task is a rather simple one. Find the girl in the photograph. Help her in anyway you can. Do this, and you will find yourself back with your family where you belong.

Welcome to Columbia

Sincerely,

- R & R Lutece

Reece felt his blood run cold. The letter slipped from his limp grasp and drifted to the floor as the full force of what he had read hit him. A barrage of questions coming to mind.

Who were these people? How did they know him? Did they bring him here? Why? How? And what did the girl in the photo have to do with it?

Speaking of which, he picked up the photo and looked at the girl again. What should he do? What could he do? He was stranded far away from shore with no way of contacting the mainland. And from the letter he had read, people were watching him in some way.

As his thoughts slowly settled he let out a slow breath. His eyes hardening as he came to a decision.

Taking the photo, the postcard, the paper with the symbols and the key, Reece slipped them into his back pocket as he picked up the gun. It wasn't like what his grandfather had talked about and shown him from his time fighting in WWII, but the mechanics were still the same regardless.

Testing the sights and checking to make sure that the grip was right, the teen slipped the weapon into the inside pocket of his jacket with the spare ammo. Also taking the bag of silver coins and putting it into the pocket of his hoodie.

If finding this girl and helping her got him back to his family quickly, then he would do it. He didn't like it, and he doubted that he could trust the word of complete strangers who seemed to have known where he was going to be and what was going to happen to him.

But what other choice did he have other than the obvious?

Looking toward the other side of the room, Reece began toward the next flight of stairs with a little more meaning in his steps. "Why do I have the feeling I'm not going to like any of this?" he wondered stepping over an overturned table and broken plates on the floor as he acended the next set of stairs.

As he went up, he started to notice red handprints on the wall and handrails. Taking out his new pistol, he pulled the slide back to chamber a round as he moved more carefully to the next floor.

At the top of the steps, a bookshelf and several books were scattered everywhere like someone had thrown it across the room. Keeping to the shadows, Reece kept the pistol aimed forward as he reached the landing.

The sight before him made bile rise in his throat.

A lone light shined down on a man tied to a chair with a burlap bag over his head. Blood pooling on the floor under him and running toward the stairs and several splatters on the wall behind him.

Swallowing hard, the teen slowly treaded forward. Boots tip-toeing around the blood on the floor as he drew closer to get a better look. There was a bloody hole in the center of the man's head, several large cuts lined his arms and torso. Judging by the bloody instruments on the nearby stool and table, Reece could safely tell that the man had been tortured before beind executed.

"Son of a bitch..." he whispered looking at the dead man sadly. His eyes moved down and saw a piece of paper pinned to the mans shirt. The same writing that had been on the letter he read stated, 'Be warned. Things may get worse.'

Gritting his teeth and shaking his head, Reece turned from the corpse and saw another flight of stairs and fast-walked toward them.

The farther up he went, the teen noticed that he was nearing the top of the lighthouse and was now outside. The storm was now going strong, lightning and thunder clapped in the distance as heavy raindrops struck the tower's frame making it hard to hear anything else.

Pistol still in hand, Reece reached the top of the lighthouse and stopped to see a door on his left leading into where the spot light of the tower was located.

In the center of the door was a angel with her arms open, three bells where lined in front with symbols carved into them.

Looking the door over, Reece realized that the symbols on the bells were familiar. "Wait a second..." he pulled out the paper that was in the box from before with the same markings written on it. "It...looks like some kind of password." he said looking between the two.

Giving one last look at the paper, he flipped the pistol around so that he was holding it by the barrel like a hammer. Taking a deep breath, he rapped the handle of the weapon against the bell with the open scroll first. Going to the middle bell, the one with the key, he struck it twice. Moving to the last bell, he hit it twice like the one before and waited.

At first nothing happen...then the skies lit up bright red and let out a loud horn that drowned out the sound of the storm.

Reece spun around and looked up at the sky as more loud horns resounded throught the air. "What the fuck!?" he shouted pressing his back to the window next to the bells.

The red glow and bellowing stopped, the light on top of the lighthouse then started flashing. Once, twice, then twice again. Just like the combination he had used on the bells.

A second later the sky lit up bright red again and the horn from before bellowed again in a similiar fashion. The teen was suddently reminded of a game his friend had been playing back before he left for home, it was a series he had gotten into himself. Mass Effect.

"If a damn Reaper comes down out of those clouds I'm seriously fucked." Reece said gripping his pistol as the bellowing came to a slow end.

Mechanics within the lighthouse started churning. The large light in the center opened up and slide up allowing the floor to flip over to reveal a red barbers chair where it had been set up. The bells lowered and the section of wall swung inside revealing that it had been a door the whole time.

Stepping in slowly out of the rain, Reece walked around the chair and saw nothing really special about it. It was just a chair with head, arm and foot rests. 'Am I suppose to just sit in it?' he thought oddly to himself. 'A lot of strange shit has happened today...why the hell not.'

Putting the pistol back inside his jacket. He zipped it up and made sure that everything was secured on himself before settling down on the comfortable seat. "Huh, this isn't so bad. I was expecting-" restraints on the arm rests snapped shut around his wrists. "WHAT THE HELL!" he shouted and began to struggle as more restraints snapped shut along his torso and his feet to keep him in place.

"Make yourself ready, pilgrim. The bindings are there as a safeguard." spoke a voice from surrounding loud speakers as several small walls came out of the floor surrounding the chair before coming together and sealing shut tightly like a vertical metal coffin.

The floor suddenly dropped open leaving the teen suspended above turning gears and what looked like rockets that were beginning to kick on. "Fuck me! Fuck me! FUCK ME!" Reece shouted as the boosters began to power up.

"Ascension...Ascension in the count of FIVE...count down of FOUR..." The chair righted itself back to its original position as the whole lighthouse started to shake. "THREE...TWO..."

Reece gripped the arm rests to the point his knuckles turned white. Eyes clenched shut as the voice continued counting down. "ONE..." The 'pod' was launched from the top of the lighthouse and was shot into the sky. "Ooooooohhhhh SHIIIIIIIIT!" the teen grunted as the force of the launch pressed him into the velvet cushions.

"Ascension...Ascension..." Reece took several deep breaths to calm his nerves before opening his eyes to see the clouds outside slipping by. "Five-Thousand Feet...Ten-Thousand Feet..." "Deep breaths Reece. Just like riding a roller coaster or flying on a plane. It's gotta take me somewhere..." he thought to himself as the pod continued to rise higher and higher.

"Fifteen-Thousand Feet..." the pod broke through the clouds, blinding the teen as the sun was suddently revealed. When the light died down a little, he looked out the porthole in front of him and felt his jaw drop.

Outside...was a city...FLOATING IN THE SKY!

"Oh...my god..." he said in complete awe. Forgetting everything that had happened up to that point. It was beautiful. Each cluster of buildings seemed to be connected by a railway and gondala system along with several bridges. Airships and blimps drifted around the 'islands' as they hovered above the clouds thanks to a system of gets and fortified balloons.

The 21st century teen was struck speechless. How was this even possible? The US government or even the damn UN would have mentioned something to the world about a city the size of Manhattan floating in the damn sky above them all!

The pod continued to move amongst the buildings. One of them floated by showing a large poster depicting a man with shoulder length white hair and beard with 'Father Comstock. Our Prophet'displayed proudly on it.

Not a few seconds later the pod perched on top of a building and slowly lowered inside once the thrusters deactivated. Passing scaffoldings with words written in gold on them.

'Why Would He Send His Savior Unto Us.'

'If We Will Not Raise A Finger For Our Own Salvation?'

'And Though We Deserved Not His Mercy.'

'He Has Led Us To This New Eden.'

'A Last Chance For Redemption.'

Reading each statement, Reece couldn't help but wonder what kind of world he now found himself in. As the pod continued to lower a large stained glass image was shown with the sun shining through it. The image of the same man he saw on the large poster before was standing tall with people surrounding him in prayer with a banner above him saying. 'And The Prophet Shall Lead The People To The New Eden.'

Everything came to a stop. The front wall of the pod hissed and slowly opened to the inside of what looked like a church. The restraints all opened allowing Reece to roll and flex his wrists before pulling himself out of the chair.

Staggering a little from the vertigo as he pulled himself out of the chamber and into ankle deep water that covered the whole floor. Looking up at the mural before him of the religious leader that people obviously worshipped for a moment, Reece pulled out the picture of the girl he had been 'asked' to find.

"Well...I'm not going to find her just standing here. And if I wanna get back home, I better get started." he said to himself before putting the photo away and sloshing his way toward the nearby archway leading farther into the church.

Completely unaware that the decisions that he was soon to make would alter the way the world worked. Not knowing that he was in a different time and place than where he had been before.

A time and place that would test his strength, his will, and his very soul.

A/N: Nothing much has changed except for the name, but there will be some in the future. And the spelling a grammar errors that plagued it before have also been amended thankfully.

If I managed to capture you're attention then stick around, there's gonna be a lot of action, suspense and then some. If you know my writing, then you can expect one hell of a ride.