December 31st, 2013, as Elizabeth's story of her time in the Capital Wasteland came to a close, she buried her face in her hands, bawling as she beat herself up with regret.
"Everyone I've ever cared about is dead, and it's all my fault. Booker, my Booker, my only friend, my father…he died for me, and I honored his death by pursuing petty revenge. Stephen, the man who taught me it was okay to love…he spent two hundred years trying to save his wife, he found a way, and I took that away from him. I don't deserve to be here…I don't deserve you…I deserve to be dead again…"
As Elizabeth wept, Frank attempted to comfort her.
"Don't say that. You are so strong to come this far after everything that's happened to you. You made mistakes, but you never deserved to suffer. You never deserved to be left to rot in some decrepit forgotten city at the bottom of the ocean. They gave their lives so you could have a second chance at life and be happy, you deserve to be happy, you deserve love. Elizabeth; I, I lo…"
Frank paused when he heard the countdown to midnight, and Elizabeth came to her senses long enough for the countdown. 5-4-3-2-1; Happy New Year!
January 1st, 2014, Elizabeth had done it, she had shared her past with Frank, something she thought she would never be able to do. As the new year began and the tension settled, Frank took the opportunity to try and calm Elizabeth down.
"Calm down…calm down. There you go…it's okay…it's okay. Elizabeth you…you did it…you kept your promise"
Elizabeth finally calmed down, it felt good to let everything out, to no longer feel confined or restrained. It had been almost one year since that day, and even longer since she went through all the anguish, suffering, and death in Columbia, Rapture, and The Capital Wasteland. She knew she would never get her innocence back, but for the first time in forever; she finally felt free.
In a moment of passion, Elizabeth embraced Frank, almost squeezing him. She knew that even if she let go of him that he would still be there. But she wanted this moment with him to last, not wanting to leave it, so she held Frank for a little longer, something he didn't object to. Elizabeth turned her attention towards times square, remembering when she first arrived there in 2012, she remembered she wasn't finished with her story.
Continuing with her story, Elizabeth talked about how she was dropped off in New York City on October 8th, 2012. Even though she had technically seen it in 1984, it was from a distance in the sky under harsh circumstances. Seeing it up close for the first time, it was massive. There were so many new things to explore, and she didn't know where to start. After Elizabeth set up her identity and bank account with the help and information given to her, she jumped from hotel to hotel, some luxurious, others not so much. But she needed a place to stay while she explored this new time that seemed advanced in its own way. Elizabeth remembered the first time stepping into Times Square, it was big, massive, loud, and colorful. But then she would go back to her hotel, she couldn't help but crawl into bed and weep from time to time. The pain of losing Dr. Wright, the memories of her father, Booker, and how he used to live in New York City, how he wished he could take her home. Elizabeth needed to be strong, this was her new home, and she was going to carve something for herself out of it.
Deciding what to eat proved to be more of a chore for Elizabeth than it should have been. Sometimes she would go to an expensive and fancy restaurant, other times she would choose a fast food joint. Most of the time she didn't know about any of the foods on the menus, so she would just order at random and hope she liked it. But whether Elizabeth enjoyed her meals or not, she was happy to see that there was so much variety when it came to cuisine.
Perhaps the easiest thing for Elizabeth was fitting in through fashion. Although 2012 had trends and styles, it also embraced the past with retro fashion. There were a lot of clothing stores to shop at, and it seemed like Elizabeth could pretty much blend in with anything she chose, it helped that almost every salesperson complemented on how beautiful, sexy, and cute Elizabeth looked and how incredible it was that she could make any ensemble work. Although to her credit, she had experience with fashion in the past, literally. She usually wound up purchasing more than she needed, but ultimately settled on wearing simple and comfortable clothing. Elizabeth fancied T-shirts, jeans, and lots of sundresses, all in different styles. Regardless of what she wore, she almost always caught the eye of dozens of men on the street; she even stole the attention of a few ladies on occasion.
Technology seemed massive for the era. Even though the world didn't have flying cities or mutated creatures, the fact that everyone was linked to the marvelously innovation called the internet was truly extraordinary, and that people could access it over their phones, which had become portable and grown to resemble rectangular frisbees.
The first time going to a movie theater was memorable. After indulging in television, she wanted to see what movies were all about. The only movies she ever got to see were propaganda films from Columbia, Rapture, and The Capital Wasteland, but the movies of this world were truly different. Elizabeth remembered walking into a theater called the Alamo Drafthouse and asking the cashier what the best movie was in her opinion, the cashier pointed at a poster of a movie called The Little Mermaid. It was about a mermaid named Ariel, and her journey to leave the ocean behind and become part of the surface world. The ocean setting and the fact that Ariel was being robbed of her dreams was something Elizabeth was all too familiar with. It hit her on a personal level, despite the cheerful musical number that took place under the sea. When the movie was over, she and the entire audience gave it a standing ovation. Elizabeth was in tears, she was moved by Ariel's journey, and how it ended; she wound up seeing it three more times after that.
Elizabeth would continue to explore different things like music. There was endless amounts of music, all at the touch of a button. Some of the music she remembered during her days in Columbia, the anachronistic covers of songs throughout the years. Or the period songs that played constantly throughout Rapture and The Capital Wasteland. Elizabeth preferred to find new things to listen to and not dwell further on the past. She started listening to bands like The Who, The Rolling Stones, and The Beatles. At first, it sounded loud and noisy, like people smashing their instruments together at once, almost deafening her senses before she had to stop it completely. Eventually, she found songs that were listenable to her, and gradually moved up to the songs she struggled with. It still sounded rambunctious, but it was also positive, poetic even. David Bowie and Queen had her dancing to their rhythm and beats, and the lyrics that accompanied them; America really seemed to enjoy music from the United Kingdom, and she could see why. Her education into music helped her expand further beyond her comfort zone, and over the course of two months she found herself letting everything out to bands like Nirvana, Oasis, and The Smashing Pumpkins.
Then there was Elizabeth's favorite; books. The New York Public Library was a haven of books, when she wasn't exploring landmarks or learning new things, she would spend hours at the Library. Whether brushing up on the history of the timeline she occupied or enjoying fictional work from various authors over the past few decades, there was always something to find and new things to read. But there was one book that caught her eye; Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. Elizabeth's eyes watered and her hand shook the first time she tried to pick up and open the book. She feared that opening it would reveal that everything that happened from the Capital Wasteland to now was nothing more than an illusion, a daydream, that this book would wake her from her near-death fantasy, and she would find herself back in that hallway, ready to face down Fontaine's wrench once more. Luckily for her, that wasn't the case, but that didn't make exploring the contents of the book any easier. Aside from the name Atlas, which was used by Fontaine, there were similarities between Andrew Ryan and his beliefs of Objectivism. Could this book and its author have sparked some kind of influence to Mr. Ryan in his time? Elizabeth realized certain questions were perhaps better left unanswered. And with that, she discarded the book. Unfortunately, she didn't think it through and wound up having to pay library fees to replace it; perhaps it would have been better to just give the book back to the library.
There was so much to explore with New York City, but Elizabeth realized there was more to see around the world, but she wasn't ready yet. Elizabeth made another promise to herself long before she met Frank. Ever since she was born, Elizabeth had dreamed of seeing Paris. She had come close several times, but her life took a turn for the worst. When she arrived in the year 2012, she vowed that she would only go to Paris when she met someone. For even if she reached the City of Lights; it would still feel dark and lonely for her after losing the people she cared most for.
In the meantime, Elizabeth wanted to have to have her own apartment and settle down for a while. But not in New York City, she wanted to set up in a quiet location. After doing some research, she found a small city that seemed perfect to settle down in for the time being; it was Frank's hometown, the rest was history.
