Chapter 2: Normalcy Within Fear

Welcome back for another chapter of A Different Existence. Yes, this fanfic actually got quite a positive first impression and I wanted to continue it even further. To all readers of my other fanfics, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about you and will be updating those stories at the exact same time. Except maybe the Starcraft one. That one may be further down the line. Still looking for inspiration there. Thanks for all the support so far and I hope you can give more in the coming chapters. Oh, on a side note... To EpicKlauke5, I did go back and watch the ending about twice more and I see what you mean. However, my opinion is that the first Elizabeth was his Elizabeth due to the way the story pans out. It would make little sense to put an entire group of unrecognizable Elizabeths in front of him for the finale. Plus, she was the last one to either disappear or not. Why would the developers want to break character and pull her away from us in the final moments? Again, this is just my opinion. You do make a fine point however and I appreciate that. Enough chatter... Let us continue this story before the aftershocks wear off...

"Are you afraid of God, Mr. Dewitt?"

"No, but I'm afraid of you."

Five Years Later

Those words shouldn't haunt her. It was merely a look into what she could do. After all, anyone who saw her powers firsthand would have been afraid to mess with me. Heck, even the two doctors who tried to control her ended up in shredded pieces from her impromptu hurricane. But still five years after her new start, those words were the impetus of so many horrific nightmares regarding the supposed future and the act in which she committed. Why was this? Did they not both agree that it needed to be done? There should be no doubt, no guilt for what she did. The alternative was far worse to consider. The mere thought that Comstock could be allowed to exist... The mere idea shivered and enraged her to the bone. But had she been too objective in her reasoning? After all, when you see all the possibilities before your eyes, you tend to lose sight of the small picture in most cases and become so detached that you resemble nothing more than complete cold, calculating logic.

Perhaps she was overthinking this. After all, as far as the world knows, she was six year old Anna Dewitt, daughter of Booker Dewitt, happily playing with her toys like any good little girl would do. For her to be a woman trapped in a child's body was a surreal feeling. 'Look at it this way. Maybe this is a good thing. I get to have the father I never did and live a normal life. If that means giving up what I used to be, then so be it.' She told herself mentally while pushing a wooden toy cart across the room. 'Besides, an actual childhood is an added bonus.' She considered that extra pro. Just as she finished that thought and began to walk shakily to pick up the toy cart, the front door slid open gently. In walked Booker, all dressed in his Pinkerton outfit and clasping a Mauser in his holster. He looked deeply dishevelled and worn out, his face a clear state of exhaustion from another day of beating down rioting workers and solving rich people's problems. But as soon as he saw his little girl, all that was gone in a flash. In its place stood a warm smile and a cheerful exterior, buoyed by love and care.

"Hey there, baby girl. How's my little princess today?" Booker cooed playfully, ruffling Elizabeth's hair warmly as she finally managed to stand upright.

"Daddy!" She screamed. 'Okay, so maybe my brain is just a little less mature.' Elizabeth sighed as she hugged Booker tightly within her vice-like grip. Booker seemed to reciprocate the gesture with a hint of pain, but still took it as it was intended. A gesture of love...

"Ohhh, you've got a strong hug there, Anna." Booker smiled as he wrapped his own arms around his daughter in return. Elizabeth smiled as best she could, but felt somewhat guilty when the word strong filtered through. 'Oh, no. Did I hurt him?' she wondered to herself in a panic.

"Oh, sorry Daddy." She apologized, relinquishing her hold on Booker. Booker shook his head slowly as he sat down on a nearby chair. Perhaps it was emotions that drove her. After all, the only interaction they ever got to have was under a hail of gunfire pouring down upon them.

"It's okay. Daddy likes your hugs. Were you going to get something?" He asked her. Elizabeth merely shrugged and gestured to the toy cart nestled at the edge of the room with her lithe pinky finger. Booker smiled, stepping out of his chair and walking the distance towards the little engine that could, cradling it in the crux of his hand.

"Here you go, little pea." He beamed warmly, extending his palm and letting the toy cart rest quite nicely in the middle. Elizabeth took the toy with an equally warm grin. Sometimes even the little things meant more than big gestures. And she wouldn't have it any other way.

"Thanks, Daddy. I love you." Elizabeth joyously proclaimed in a childish tone. She could not do any other voice. It would sound weird if a child were to all of a sudden adopt a young woman's voice. In any case, she couldn't do so.

"And I love you too, Anna. Now clean up your toys and I'll read you a bedtime story." Booker told her, stepping away and walking into the study room to lay out his items. Elizabeth watched onwards as her protector put away his belongings in a safe place far out of her reach and whistled with pride and joy from time to time. It was a more nuanced Booker than she had ever known. 'Right, better get on with it then.' She reminded herself. Her small hands dexterously scurried away her toys to the chest from which it came, removing the wooden protruding pieces from sight. As she did so, life seemed far too blissful to even consider the possibility of it going any further worse.

"All done, Daddy." She exclaimed proudly, looking around at her handiwork. You couldn't even tell that she had been playing merely a few minutes earlier.

"Be right there, sweetheart. I need to stow some paperwork away." Booker called out from the next room over. She could hear his hands shuffle about his desk and the ruffling of papers on and off again. Whatever his latest case was, it wasn't something easily done and dusted.

"Okay, Daddy." Elizabeth responded gleefully, skipping across like a pebble across a lake to her room. Storytime was just around the corner and she could not wait to hear what his brain was cooking up for her this time around.

Six Years Later

"Come on, Dad. It's not a big deal. It's just a scratch, honest." Elizabeth nursed her scratched arm as Booker bandaged it repeatedly. A small medical kit laid wide open on a wooden stool nearby, various antiseptics and bandages scattered about in a messy manner. The first few days at a new school was always hard but she didn't expect to get into a scrap so soon. Booker was muttering under his bated breath as he continuously wrapped the thin cloth over her arm, almost robotically so.

"It's not just a scratch, Anna. It's a serious thing. Who did this to you?" he demanded, just as he tightened the knot on the wrap.

"No-one." Elizabeth gritted through her teeth as the cloth dug into her bruised skin. He looked deeply upset this time, especially when he caught onto the lie. He sighed and let her prop herself up on the small chair next to her before he bent a knee and looked directly into her light blue eyes.

"Anna, don't lie to me. What happened?" he asked politely, clasping her shoulders in a fatherly gesture. Elizabeth tried looking away at first, ashamed to even admit what had happened. But eventually, she thought it best to face the music and be done with it. 'I need to start owning up for my mistakes now.' She reminded herself. With a deep inhalation of air, she spun around to meet Booker's own brown eyes.

"It was just a joke, Dad. Julia wanted to see if I was brave enough to be her friend." Elizabeth awkwardly replied to him, looking uncomfortable in that chair. Her body twitched at every moment, a case of fear creeping into her. 'Ironic, isn't it? He used to be afraid of me. Now I'm afraid of him.' She pondered to herself.

"So you let her do this to you? That's it. I'm going over there first thing tomorrow and talking with her parents. They'll think twice about messing with a Pinkerton detective." Booker made a thinly-veiled threat towards Julia's family. Anyone who hurt his daughter would suffer the consequences. That was something he swore to carry out regardless of the risks. And he was just about to do so, standing up and making a beeline for his study before a firm hand held his back.

"Dad, no. I can handle this myself." Elizabeth looked at him with pleading eyes. Booker nearly balked upon seeing his little girl make a stand. 'That girl hurt her. Why isn't she demanding for revenge? Why...' Booker's mind considered, only to hit a wall as memories not his own drew a line in the ground. Static burst through his ears and he felt something strange erupt in his skull. Despite all that, he kept his composure, suffering naught but a slight nosebleed which he immediately wiped away out of Anna's sight. Spinning back around again, he relented in his crusade and kneeled back down to Elizabeth's height.

"I...I know. You're not a little girl anymore and I can't hope that you'll stay that way." Booker conceded. He couldn't protect all the time. Sooner or later, he'd have to let her go. But it didn't preclude him from feeling sad that his daughter was finally becoming more independant. Elizabeth clutched his hands within her own and smiled warmly.

"I'll still be your little girl, Dad. But you have to let me deal with this in my own way." Elizabeth told him in no uncertain terms. Booker seemed to take it with as much gusto as he could muster. Perhaps it was best if he let her deal with the matter herself, rather than hold her hand all the time.

"Okay... Okay... But if she hurts you again..." Booker began at first.

"She won't Dad. Don't worry." She reassured him. A deep sigh of relief washed over Booker. Maybe this will work out in the end. Just maybe...

"All right. I'd better get back to work. Uncle Slate's been hammering me all day for results." Booker remembered. He quickly dashed in a mad sprint to the study and quickly got ready. His sleeveless bandolier was the first thing to quickly be affixed to his person, the straps tightened all around as so not to let it droop pathetically. His coat was the next to go on, neatly encapsulating his entire body within its leathery confines and hiding the bandolier out of sight. Next of course was his trusty Mauser sidearm, which he holstered to his right hip. Patting the weapon down, he finally grabbed his hat from the hat stand nearby and stormed out.

"Okay, Dad. Bye." Elizabeth smiled warmly, pecking his cheek lightly with her lips as he was about to walk out the door.

"See you later, Anna." Booker reciprocated the gesture and winked at her before walking out into the busy streets of New York. Elizabeth observed through her periwinkle blue irises as her father vanished amidst the thronging crowd bustling in the streets. Closing the door, she was left to her own devices at last. Maybe a nice, comforting read would help ease her nerves. Eyeing a nearby newspaper, she flipped the pages open and reclined back in the sole feather chair in the room and began to read. Each and every page seemed to hold something new for her. Even after so many years locked up in that tower with only books and lockpicking to keep her company, she still found new things to learn each and every day from the paper. Granted, some of it was about the latest fashion designs and the occasional rant of a new product but it was still reliant enough that the twenty-something year old trapped in a twelve-year old body could still believe in the words scrawled across the paper from time to time. One article however did not bring a rapturous joy of discovery to her beating heart. Nay, it brought a level of fear, terror and slight apprehension to her soul. Blatantly advertised on one of the pages was this particular little tidbit.

Come and see the newest wonder of the world!

Marvel at the floating city in the sky's inauguration!

Be amazed for it is not just a sky line!

For the oceans beckon to it as well!

Rejoice, for the city of Ascendance has become reality!

If you want to be a part of this fine sight of ingenuity,

Get your ticket today at your nearest government house!

We eagerly await your arrival, future dwellers!

If it wasn't enough to spit that in her face, the next picture would surely take her breath away. It wasn't just a name change either. This was an entirely new city from both the underwater city she had travelled through once and the Columbia she knew. The architecture gave out a vibe that screamed futuristic. Buildings looked right out of some strange alien design, incorporating themes of classic 1900s design and a mix of various designs taken from other countries.

Flipping the next page with a deft hand, she frantically looked for the crux of this society. According to the news report, it seemed far too similar to Columbia, save for the various races now populating its regions. White, yellow, black... All were welcome to its shores. But as she read further, she saw nothing but a cry for ascendance to a new race far superior than ever before. Was that their dream? Their ideals? Elizabeth had little time to think of this before her soul was dragged back into the precipice of dimensions and returning face to face with the voice from eleven years ago. A quick glance downwards revealed that her true form had returned briefly, clad in her signature blue dress and white corset.

"I see that you have witnessed the first of many signs to come for your little world." The voice echoed its sentiments before Elizabeth could even get her first word in.

"We stopped this. This... This is not possible." Elizabeth bitterly replied, her faith in conviction wavering at a rapid pace. The nightmare was coming back in a new form. It would bring even the most strong-willed person to their knees in seconds flat.

"You indeed stopped Columbia and Comstock. That much is true indeed. Perhaps you need to listen to the words Ms. Lutece once uttered." The voice commanded, opening a small tear right behind Elizabeth. Her body spun to meet the opening and out burst Rosalind Lutece's voice in the midst of recording on her voxophone.

"But time is more an ocean than a river. Why try to bring in a tide that will only go out again?" her deep scientific brain racked the idea. Elizabeth remained confused and in the dark, so much so that when the tear sealed itself after the brief snippet of dialogue, her mind was a garble of questions and made-up answers.

"What does she mean?" She inquired painfully of the voice.

"Come now. Think, child. You know the answer to this as plain as sunlight." The voice tapped his own temple three times to drive home the point. Her own mind spiralled into deep contemplation, trying hard to piece together the bits and pieces that it had left scattered. It was trying to solve a puzzle piece. One piece went into the top left corner. One went for the middle. Where did that next one go? Each click in the mystery further deepened her desire to see the full picture. And when it was placed right in front of her, she could scarcely believe it herself.

"Someone else took our place." She murmured incoherently, stepping back completely numb and in pain.

"I believe your words were... There will always be a man. There will always be a lighthouse. There will always be a city. And there will always be a girl." The voice made a callback to her omnipotent self, all brimming with self-confidence about her knowledge of the multiverse. How foolish it must have sounded now when confronted with more guilt-laden entendres?

"No..." She whimpered incessantly once more, desperately clinging to some strand of control she still possessed.

"Condemnation is a principal sin, is it not? But I see our time runs short. Goodbye..." The voice chuckles to himself as he walks away, leaving Elizabeth to face the dark room alone as it crumbled away to meet the searing white light of reality.

"Wait! Come back!" Elizabeth stretched out her arm to reach the shrinking figure, only to overtaken by the light and seeing her body disintegrate for the second time in a row. Time barely passed before she found herself back in the land of the living, amongst the furniture with a newspaper nestled on her lap. Her breaths were short and raspy, like she had been in a terrible nightmare. She grasped her chest in fits of hysterics, feeling her heart beat madly with every nanosecond that passed.

'It wasn't a dream. Was it? It couldn't have been...' she pondered aimlessly, staring back down at the insulting image of Ascendance peering right back at her delirious face. Tossing it across the room seemed apropos for this kind of messed up storm. 'Calm down, Elizabeth. It's none of your business. We broke ourselves from the circle. Our job is done. Just live the life you've been given and everything will sort itself out.' She reminded herself. She had worked too hard to reach this point just to lose it all on the whims of a stranger's words. And for once, Elizabeth chose to pass her day dreaming about Paris. Oh, how it seemed so close right now...

Eight Years Later

The tapestry was quite lovely, even in the dim light that emanated from the fireplace. Elizabeth was relaxing in her chair, waiting for her father to come home. Over the years, she had finally grown into the young woman she used to be. Everything about her was left intact. The curvaceous body that clung to her clothes. Her warm, gentle smile. Her periwinkle blue eyes. Her shoulder-length brown hair. Of course, there were exceptions to the rule. For one, her finger was still more or less intact from day one. She did not miss that thimble, not one single bit. Nor did she miss the powers that she once held in her grasp. That was a mere penance compared to the new life she had with her father. But it was getting late, the clock chiming anxiously in response to her impatient stance. 'Maybe he got held up at the office? Shouldn't be. He told me his new boss was more generous than Uncle Slate.' Ah, yes. Cornelius Slate. He had left to the city of Ascendance a few years ago in the hopes of starting afresh in the world. More newspapers spoke of the massive wonder, which had by now disappeared along with its inhabitants to the waters below or the sky above. She didn't know and honestly she didn't care. Her life was good enough that she would not tempt fate. A rap on the door caught her attention, her feet bounding towards it in a flash. Standing out in the middle of the rain was an elderly officer in his mid 50s, his bowler hat clasped in his soaked hands.

"Miss Anna Dewitt?" he spoke in a portly manner.

"Yes, that would be me." Elizabeth answered with trepidation. 'I have to get used to people calling me Anna.' She figured. Even after nineteen years living in this world, she still had trouble responding to her alternate identity.

"Officer Tenpenny's my name. We... uh... picked up someone named Booker for drunken misconduct. Said he was your father." The old man furrowed his brows slightly, seemingly lost in any other way to break the news to her.

"Yes, he is. What happened to him?" Elizabeth responded quietly. 'Please, not again.' She found herself wishing.

"He's here with me, Miss Dewitt. Gave me your address before he passed out." Tenpenny remarked kindly. Without waiting for another response, he walked towards the carriage behind him and swung open the door. Inside was a clearly intoxicated Booker, stumbling about in the carriage, his head spinning in a turnpike motion as he felt the after-effects of the alcohol finally sink in. Elizabeth sighed as she watched her father's eyes glaze over from one spot to another, unable to keep it level headed. This was the sixth time in two months already and it was really starting to grate on her nerves.

"Thank you, Officer. I apologize for the inconvenience." Elizabeth bowed down in thanks to Tenpenny, who shook her off with a wave of his well-endowed hands.

"Don't mention it. Just see to it that this doesn't happen again." He told her, helping Elizabeth drag the drunken Booker out of the carriage and into the living room where it was warm and dry.

"You have my word, Officer." Elizabeth tried her best to reassure him, just as she did the last two officers who came a-knocking. Officer Tenpenny looked absolutely reluctant to leave her alone with her drunkard of a father but eventually relented, seeing her steely resolve start to form.

"Okay then. See you around, Miss Dewitt." He politely remarked before stepping outside and closing the door behind him. Elizabeth beamed warmly to him as he left. But as soon as he was out of sight, she exhaled a deep sigh of both relief and disappointment. Looking back at her father slumped in a chair facing the fireplace, she scurried back to her room to grab a towel. Over the years, the room has changed to reflect her personality overhaul. No longer were books lining the walls as frequently as the tower once commanded. Now they were decorated with trinkets of immaculate design and ideas, curiosities that offered her new glimpses into what used to be the Sodom below. Where once a painting of Paris used to be her only sight of the vast city stood a carving of the Eiffel Tower, a black-and-white still image of the city itself and memorabilia from her trip two years ago. 'At least one dream came true.' She remarked positively in her head.

Finding a towel in her bathroom, Elizabeth rushed back to her father's side and dabbed him with the cloth. Booker seemed more lucid this time around than before, so she was none too surprised to hear a reply to her usual comment.

"Just had to go get wasted again, Dad." Elizabeth muttered as she finished dabbing his forehead and whipped the towel around his wet body. She didn't even bother to change him out of his musty, dank clothes. He could stay in them until tomorrow morning.

"Hey there, Anna." Booker fervently muttered incoherently as his eyes blinked rapidly. Elizabeth glared upon him for a split second before opting to tend to his wound.

"Hi, Dad. Hold still." She warned him. This time, it was she to wrap the bandage around his wound and tug at it with immense force.

"Uggghhh. Did I... Did I spend..." Booker spelled out asbest he could amidst pain and drunken stupor.

"Too much time at the bar? Yes, you did." Elizabeth told him plain and simple. Booker looked deeply disappointed in himself, especially when Elizabeth refused to look him straight in the eye.

"I'm sorry." He rasped out.

"I've heard that before." Elizabeth scoffed. 'Five times to be exact.' She muttered under bated breath.

"I mean it." Booker said to her as she finished dabbing at the edges of the bandage as so not to get it wet. Those years at the hospital down the street was sure paying dividends for her.

"Sure you do, Dad." Elizabeth drawled, content with her work. She was just about to walk away and lay down on her bed in silence when Booker's hand shot right out of his blanketed confines and grabbed her own lithe, thin extremity shakily. Elizabeth paused, wondering what excuse she was going to hear this time.

'Look, I just needed to... just needed to wipe the memories away." Booker sobbed tearfully, his hand still clasped tight around Elizabeth's wrist. It was unexpected. She was so used to hearing things like how hard it was raising her on his salary, how he missed her mother. That sort of thing... But she never considered that he may still be feeling guilt over the massacre at Wounded Knee. Even before all this in Columbia, all his regrets seemed to stem from that hallmark of death and destruction. A monument to his sins if one may be permitted.

"Dad?" Elizabeth felt his hand tug at hers for the briefest of moments.

"I did some... some horrible things, Anna. And every time I close my eyes, I see what I did that day. The things I perpetrated." Booker sobbed uncontrollably at his last statement, the memories opening the floodgates to his tortured soul. Elizabeth felt her annoyance and anger flush down the drain, replaced by understanding and wisdom. Feeling his hand droop to the floor and his sobs echoing in the small house they called home, she stepped back towards him and hugged him from behind.

"Dad, maybe it's time to move on. What's in the past is the past. We can't change that." Elizabeth offered her advice on the matter. If there was one thing she learned to do, it was to let go of the past. She did with Lady Comstock once. She could do it again with Booker. Booker didn't seem convinced, merely upset at the prospect of moving on. She hugged him tighter this time around.

"Dad, you raised me quite well all things considering. That's something, right?" She told him, reminding Booker of the positives in her life. His eyes started to twist back from a gloomy outlook to one filled with some measure of hope, albeit small and cramped. 'One step at a time, Elizabeth.' She told herself. One day, he'll move past this. One day...

"Yeah... I guess... How did I ever get such a smart little girl like you?" he asked out of left field.

"Maybe you're just lucky, Dad." She shrugged, lost for words on her own.

"Yeah... Lucky..." Booker stuttered before finally losing that last bit of stored energy and falling back into his chair for a deep slumber until next sunrise.

"Sleep tight, Dad." Elizabeth placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, draping him in the cloth yet again. He looked so peaceful from her perspective, so relaxed. And that only helped to make Elizabeth's grin all the more wider in her mind. Another rap on the door filtered through her ears yet again.

"Who's there?" Elizabeth called towards the door. No answer. 'Who could it possibly be at this late hour?' she pondered as she nervously closed the gap between her and the doorknob. Her fingers clenched around the brass item and twisted it clockwise, swinging it open. Her hand instinctively grasped the frame for support in a curious fashion, something which she never dwelled upon.

"It's late. Can you come back..?" Elizabeth began at first, not bothering to look up. When she did though, her polite manner dissipated almost instantly, replaced with one of pure shock at her guests. Two familiar faces looked upon her with most curious eyes and seemed to stand upright in the same fashion.

"You!" She cried out in a state of panic.

"Bring us the girl and wipe away the debt." The two figures echoed out the horrifying statement at the same time. The nightmare was coming back in full force. And this time, Elizabeth had no idea what form it had taken, what she had to do. One thing's for sure. There was no escaping what was coming... No way out...

Thanks guys for all the support you've given for this fanfic. It really means a lot to me... I hope this chapter was up to your liking. Please leave reviews, likes and favs and let me know what you think about this latest chapter. Hope to see you all real soon. As always, have fun and be CO-OPERATIVE!