A/N: I'm a little late to the party, I suppose. Burial at Sea Episode 2 was released over a year ago, but I only just picked up the game recently. And boy oh boy, did it rip my heart out and stomp on it. Like many others I've seen around, the ending of Burial at Sea Ep 2 left me pretty upset and I needed a way to give myself closure – hence this story. It started out as a one-shot, but quickly became a lot longer than I expected. The story has thus been split into several chapters for ease of reading.

This story is my way of trying to keep things as close to the original story as possible, while finding a plausible angle through which Elizabeth and Booker can still have a happy ending. Not everything may make sense, of course – this is my way of interpreting certain aspects of the game. You may also find some similarities with the Unbroken series by MasamuneZERO; his stories were what gave me inspiration to put this whole thing together. So, thank you, good sir.

I hope all of you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.


The Sea of Doors

Robert Lutece is not a man who is easily surprised – he can count the number of times on one hand, in fact. The first time was when, in the midst of his experiments, he had been contacted by his 'twin sister', in reality an alternate universe's version of himself. One does not ever expect to meet themselves in the flesh, after all.

The second time was when he had been travelling together with one Zachary Hale Comstock. Rosalind was shouting at them through a tear – fitting name, a tear in time and space connecting 2 universes together – trying to convince him to step through with Comstock and the baby girl they had obtained. He had been reluctant, scientific curiosity only goes so far before your survival instincts kick in, after all. Just as he was trying to list the pros and cons of taking the leap of faith, a man shouted from down the alley, and he looked up to see Booker DeWitt charging down at an alarming speed, a terrifying expression on his face.

Robert doubted he would ever forget the shock and terror that filled his mind at that moment, all at once suppressing his doubts and causing him to leap right through the tear without a second thought just as Booker grabbed onto Comstock, yelling that he had changed his mind.

The third time would be the present moment.

"You cannot be serious." He said, somewhat incredulously. The brunette lady standing before him gave him a defiant stare.

"Mr Lutece, I am very serious." Elizabeth frowned. "I wish to return to Rapture."

"And what is your purpose, Ms Com…" Robert paused, seeing Elizabeth's frown deepen into a scowl at the name, "… ahem, what is your purpose, Elizabeth? If you wish to gaze upon your own corpse, let me assure you that while fascinating, it is not a particularly pleasant experience."

"I lack the scientific curiosity of you and your sister, Mr Lutece. I want to find Sally." Elizabeth absent-mindedly rubbed her chest, right where she had been impaled when the Big Daddy hurled her through the wall. The memory of her final moments caused a shudder to run through her body, and her hand fell limply to her side. "I have seen the doors. There is one chance, one way for me to fix all of this."

"How would that matter to you, Elizabeth?" Rosalind Lutece questioned. "The girl is but one of many individuals in an infinite number of universes. Your goal was to eradicate Zachary Hale Comstock from existence. You have succeeded. You could go wherever you wish. The possibilities are endless, and yet you wish to throw your life away on a fool's errand."

"… because I haven't succeeded." Elizabeth's whispering voice gave both Luteces pause. "I wanted to rid the universes of Comstock, of the monster who ran away from his problems, the man who used, blamed, and when the time came, eliminated those around him for his own end."

"Yes, and with the death of Comstock in Rapture, his existence has ceased to be." Rosalind remarked.

"No. Because he lives on… in me." Elizabeth raised her gaze to the Luteces, and even the unflappable Rosalind found herself discomforted by the anguish and pain in the young lady's eyes. "I used Sally to get back at Comstock. And when I had gotten my revenge… I simply left her there. Unless I fix it, I am no better than he was."

Rosalind and Robert exchanged glances. It was apparent to both of them that neither could understand her reasoning. Robert was the first to break the silence, sighing and climbing onto the boat. Rosalind joined him shortly after, and Elizabeth after that. Robert pushed off, straining with the oars as the boat sailed through the choppy waves. Despite himself, he couldn't help the annoyance bubbling from within.

"Are you still not going to help, sister?" He asked.

"If we're going to end up at the same place, I don't see the harm in enjoying the ride." Rosalind smiled faintly.

"Are you being cute?" Robert asked archly.

"I've come around to your way of thinking." His sister stated, after a brief moment's pause. Robert found himself surprised for the fourth time in his life, from a combination of his sister admitting as such, and how the statement had come rather out of nowhere.

"Have you?" He asked curiously.

"Yes. I do believe that one can change things." Rosalind sniffed. "But after all the bother, one often wishes that one had not."

"You're a fatalist." Robert said dourly. He did not much appreciate his sister's words. After all, it had been his idea to, in the words of Elizabeth, 'fix all of this', between the young lady and her birth father. He had thought it his duty at the time – any noble scientist can only call themselves that if they hold themselves accountable for their creations, after all. Otherwise, there would be no difference between himself and madmen like Yi Suchong.

"A physicist?" Rosalind asked, amusement in her voice.

"A fatalist." Robert frowned.

"So was Newton. Especially when it came to apples falling from trees. They always contrive to land with a splat." It sometimes infuriated Robert as to just how detached his sister could be. They were the same person after all, and yet sometimes their way of thinking seemed to be very different. "She left the child to rot." She added.

"Are you implying she's the apple?" Robert asked. The analogy made no sense to him. After all, Elizabeth's fate was of her own choosing – there was no inexorable force pushing her towards her ultimate demise besides her own will.

"I'm implying that she did not fall far from the tree." His sister stated, giving him a strange glance. Robert nodded. That made more sense. In that moment, both of their thoughts were aligned, and he knew of whom Rosalind was referring to – Booker DeWitt. A man who struggled to make penance for all that he had done, a man who never gave up trying to right the wrongs he had unwittingly inflicted upon his own daughter. And now, that very same daughter was trying to do the same for a girl she hardly even knew.

"And now she wants to go back." Robert sighed. It still made no sense to him. While he could understand what Elizabeth was thinking, he couldn't fathom why. With her abilities, happiness was well within her reach. Instead, she was throwing it all away.

"I need to go back. To fix what I broke." Elizabeth's voice came from the back of the boat, sounding angry.

"Back to where she has no right to be." Rosalind remarked.

"Back to where she doesn't belong." Robert said with considerable more disdain.

"Doesn't belong?" Elizabeth sounded confused. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Do you want to tell her, brother, or shall I?" Rosalind exchanged glances with her brother again. Robert grimaced, not relishing the duty. He was quickly absolved of it, however.

"Because I died…" Elizabeth breathed, understanding.

"There are rules." Rosalind glanced back at their passenger.

"Even for one such as you." Robert finished. Their thoughts aligned once more, they started finishing each other's thoughts.

"She'll forget."

"All the doors."

"And what's behind all the doors."

"All closed to her now."

"She'll be just like the rest of us."

"Forgetting the past –"

"– the present –"

"– the future."

"I'd wager she won't even remember this conversation." Rosalind commented as the boat drew up close to a lighthouse. She glanced back at Elizabeth once again. "We've arrived."

Elizabeth disembarked, her gaze drawn to the lighthouse's door. She was silent.

As Robert rowed the boat away, Rosalind made one last attempt to dissuade the young lady. "You're trading omniscience and croissants for death and mildew."

"I left Sally to rot. For what? So I could punish Comstock?" Came Elizabeth's voice in response, sounding pained, confused and ashamed. "He was trying to help her, to save her, and I… If I don't make that right…"

"We all have our crosses to bear." Robert said grimly.

"But – there is a thin line between a martyr and a fool." Rosalind finished. There was no response. Elizabeth had already entered the door.

The twins sat in silence for many moments. In the Sea of Doors, time had no meaning – particularly to those like themselves, existing across all time and space. They had borne witness to what was to befall Elizabeth, and simultaneously, the events had yet to transpire.

Rosalind broke the silence. "As you know, dear brother, I take no joy in knowing that she will ultimately come to a grisly end. I have wished, sincerely, that she would find a way, some way, out of that wretched city." Robert noted the faint note of disappointment and sadness in his sister's voice.

"As I said before, dear sister, surely it is better to have died trying. And you must give the young Ms Comstock credit where it is due – her perseverance would ultimately set in motion the events that would give Sally and her fellow young compatriots a chance at normalcy."

Rosalind frowned deeply. "And as I have said in turn, brother, it is better trying not to die. You speak of normalcy, yet Elizabeth has not known that all her life. Surely, when you had us embark on the lengthy experiment to get DeWitt to save his daughter, it was with the intent to give her a chance at a normal life?"

Robert nodded. "And she has it. Anna DeWitt is with her father. Booker DeWitt has his daughter. They have been, are and will be happy together."

Rosalind scoffed. "You know as well as I do that that is an empty notion, brother. Elizabeth is unique – a quantum superposition-"

"Not anymore." Robert interjected.

"Regardless, my statement stands. Elizabeth Comstock remains a unique individual, separate from the existence of Anna DeWitt." Rosalind saw the unhappiness etched across her brother's face, knowing what he was thinking about.

Prior to their arrival in the last universe containing Zachary Comstock, the twins had occasionally spent time observing Elizabeth as she peered through the doors. Her ultimate goal had been to track down any final traces of Comstock, but they had noted that on numerous occasions, she had peered through the same door – to that of Booker DeWitt and his daughter, living together in New York. Her reaction had always been the same – she would smile, a small, heartbreaking sad smile, and she would raise a hand, as if to push open the door and step through, to reunite with her father. But she would always catch herself, shake her head and turn to another door to resume her search.

To say nothing of the one time they had come across her, particularly distraught after observing her father once more. She had sung a song then, a hymn by the name of "Will the Circle be Unbroken", her voice cracking and her tears flowing as she went through the verses until the final one:

One by one their seats were emptied.

One by one they went away.

Now the family is parted.

Will it be complete one day?

Even Rosalind, the far more rational and far more stoic of the twins (as she liked to think to herself), had found her eyes stinging at the raw pain in Elizabeth's voice.

"I do not understand her thinking, sister." Robert said, bringing Rosalind's thoughts back to the moment. "Her mission has been completed. Comstock, as you said, is gone. She could have reunited with Booker DeWitt. Why?" Rosalind sighed.

"You ask the same questions that DeWitt once did, brother. I regret that I do not have the answer. If I did, then perhaps I could have dissuaded her from this course of action."

"Perhaps the key is not to dissuade, but to create a deviation." Robert said after a moment. Rosalind glanced askance at him. "We have observed many times before that a single action can result in two universes being very different. What if we were to introduce a variable? To create a deviation? One in which…"

"Elizabeth does not die." Rosalind said thoughtfully. "An interesting proposition, brother. What are you proposing?" Robert smiled.

"I propose we seek out a man whom we both know can be trusted. I speak, of course, of Booker DeWitt…"