Eleanor's eyes shot open, but she sat unflinching despite the noise. Everyone else was either standing nervously or staring out the windows, murmuring about uncertainty. Songbird wailed and something else roared and howled, their heavy flight causing wind turbulence that shook the plane.
Eleanor shot up to her feet and looked around, but could not see Cindy or old Elizabeth. She saw Booker and blue Elizabeth standing together, he leaning to look out a window and the girl behind him, quite afraid. Pinkerton Elizabeth and Mother just sat in their seats, arms crossed, looking grumpy but overall neither seemed to care about anything, Zachary looking side to side and trying to figure out what to do.
Booker turned his head and made eye contact with Eleanor. The two just stared at each other. Eleanor had a feeling he had the same dream as her, but now clearly wasn't the time to talk about that.
Running up the aisle, Eleanor burst into the cockpit. She saw old Elizabeth by Julian, her hand on his shoulder. He didn't seem well, but kept flying nonetheless, guiding the plane as best he could.
Songbird screamed again, and Eleanor saw the buzzard fall past the front of the plane, grappling with a huge, glossy, black, winged monster. The two monsters clawed at each other, the black entity's paws flailing and launching fiery and icy Plasmids recklessly. They fell so close to the plane that the cockpit shook when they fell past it, old Elizabeth bending her knees and holding her head briefly.
"Oh, that was close, heh heh..." Julian remarked weakly.
"It's...Spirry?" Eleanor remarked quietly, mostly to herself, rather confused. Now that the glossy black beast was nearby, Eleanor could sense his thoughts, though they were unclear. She thought about her dream, and how she was able to predict Spirry's attacks, but that Spirry was not that thing outside.
If he bonded with me, then... Thoughts from him would come naturally for me to read, but...how can this also work for that thing?
"This is bad. If Songbird fails for even just a second, Spirry won't need to struggle to destroy this plane!" old Elizabeth warned.
Old Elizabeth placed her hands together then over her chest, quite afraid. Eleanor put a hand on the old gal's shoulder to comfort her.
"We'll get through this, madame," Eleanor assured. Old Elizabeth sighed, shoulders dropping.
Meanwhile, Pinkerton Elizabeth walked towards the cockpit as well, but then she stopped, standing before it and leaning against one of the first seats.
"And how do you know?" the old gal asked, looking at Eleanor.
"I know Spirry, I... I had multiple encounters of him. I just know."
Pinkerton Elizabeth overheard what Eleanor said, and her eyes lowered. She softly crossed her arms and seemed rather upset, but said nothing. She noticed blue Elizabeth making her way up the aisle.
"You had encounters with him, and he didn't kill you?" old Elizabeth asked Eleanor, rather confused and surprised. She slightly frowned. "Who are you?"
"I'm Eleanor Lamb."
"Huh... I've seen so many worlds, and I've never met you before, Ms. Lamb,"
"Well, this time, I suppose it's different." Eleanor heard someone step into the cockpit.
"Songbird can rip zeppelins apart. I'm surprised he hasn't pulled that thing to pieces already," blue Elizabeth somewhat complained, jogging into the cockpit and looking for Songbird, Booker stepping in after her.
"Spirry's exoskeleton is as hard as stone. Not even Songbird could get through that. I'm surprised he's lasted as long as he did in this world," old Elizabeth remarked. Her younger counterpart looked a bit disappointed. Something stronger than Songbird was not a pleasant thought.
"Convenient for him, then..." Booker mumbled, then everyone gasped as they saw the black entity flying straight towards the plane, mouth agape, jaw extended, howling. "Oh, shit!"
Julian steered the plane acutely, everyone leaning and then skittering to the side, the Vox troops rather clumsily rolling into the wall. One of the Beasts' helms smacking into a window and cracking it. Pinkerton Elizabeth lost balance and fell on her little ass.
Screaming, Songbird rammed into the side of the black entity, and the two fell below sight just as the plane flew past them. Once the plane's wings became horizontal, the passengers lifted their heads, feeling better.
"Y'know, zeppelins don't make us fly into walls..." Daisy somewhat grumbled.
Back in the cockpit, old Elizabeth fixed her hair and looked around. Songbird's wails became distant.
"Now that...was close..." Sinclair chuckled, then groaned. Eleanor noticed he gradually leaned over, barely keeping his grip. He clearly struggled to stay awake and alive, and blood soaked even his pants.
"It was. But, Sinclair, how are you feeling?" Eleanor asked.
"Honestly...pretty bad. I don't know if I can make it, kid..."
"Can you still get us to Rapture?" Booker asked nonchalantly.
"I bet I can."
"I bet you will," Booker agreed, and then Songbird's wail reverberated in the skies yet again.
Blue Elizabeth leaned over the control panel, looking for the birdy, but could not see him.
"Where is he? I hope he's okay..."
Outside, the black entity and his mechanical foe exchanged tackles, but they also made use of dodging. The monster frequently cast huge masses of Plasmids that lit up the sky, though Songbird dodged most of them, always avoiding the icy ones first. His metal hull withstood the flaming ones well enough, the black entity keeping his distance for now.
Swerving around a large mass of freezing, Songbird dove into the black entity's front, and the two fell, exchanging paws. The monster's claws and teeth scraped against Songbird's hull, actually causing sparks. Songbird's mighty hands pummeled the beast, but no matter how hard he tried, Songbird simply could not shatter the fish-faced fucker's stony body.
Songbird always kept himself between the plane and the monster, even if it meant being hit by Plasmids. He occasionally looked back at the plane, doing his best to guide the black entity away from Elizabeth. Once the monster looked at the plane, Songbird screamed, and charged.
The black entity spun around as Songbird dove at him, narrowly avoiding his charge. The monster then flew upward while hurling two handfuls of Old Man Winter. Songbird flipped, dodging the Plasmids which exploded mid-air, and then spun around and charged his glossy foe.
Forming Tears that remained affixed to his palms, each of the black entity's hands unleashed a mechanical length. Just as Songbird extended his clawed hands, in the instance of smashing into the black entity, he whipped the mechanical lengths around Songbird's arms, then swerved underneath him.
As Songbird past the black entity, the mechanical lengths extended, the whiplash pulling Songbird's arms down and back, causing him to flip forwards. Causing the black chains to retract and so pull him into Songbird, the black entity ended up latching onto Songbird's back, pushing his wings together and preventing him from flying. They both plummeted.
While falling, Songbird turned around as best he could, grabbing onto the black entity's right leg with both hands, just as the monster slammed an armful of Old Man Winter into Songbird's back. Songbird twisted, wanting to just snap the leg, but his giant mechanical paws failed to crack the monster's exoskeleton.
Songbird felt a rush of coldness as Old Man Winter froze his torso and the base of his wings. The black entity's mechanical lengths unraveled and slid back into his hands, then he hopped off Songbird. Immediately, the black entity felt whiplash from his leg. Songbird kept holding onto his leg, refusing to let go. The monster flapped his wings, but Songbird's icebound body was too heavy. They promptly splashed into the ocean.
Bubbles rose everywhere, but even while he sank, Songbird did not let go of the monster's leg. The black entity writhed, instinctively swimming like a snake, but he could not wiggle out Songbird's grasp. A Tear formed on the monster's paw and a mechanical length shot up through the water's surface, an attempt to find something to grab, but there was nothing, just water. Turning around, the black entity extended his neck and began biting and clawing at Songbird. Even as they disappeared into the dark depths, Songbird did not let go.
Back in the plane, blue Elizabeth kept staring out the windshield. By now, though, the plane past the duelling monsters by quite a bit.
"I can't see or hear Songbird anymore... I hope he's okay," she said.
"How much longer till this Rapture place?" Booker asked.
"'Bout an hour. We'll make it," Julian replied rather quietly, Eleanor checking on him.
"Are you alright, mister? I'll try to see if I can get something to help you," blue Elizabeth said, then left the cockpit, Pinkerton Elizabeth sitting down to let her pass. After the two made eye contact, the young Elizabeth began rummaging around the plane. As usual, the Vox were mostly indifferent to her, but the Zealot seemed to be looking at her once in a while.
With the action over for now, most of the passengers still standing went back to sitting down, but many were still on the edge of their seats. Eleanor stayed with Sinclair to keep him company, but also because she didn't want to see Mother. It began raining, the pattering of raindrops a little soothing.
"Huh...I wonder where Cindy sneaked off to?" Eleanor asked.
"She was always good at snooping and hiding, heh heh..." Julian mumbled.
Soon, blue Elizabeth scuttled back to the cockpit, brandishing a makeshift med kit.
"I'm back!" she chirped, "Here, let me help you out..." she continued, opening her med kit to start work.
"Nah, don't worry about me, kid, I'm about to pass away pretty soon. You keep it for yourself," Julian said.
"Please, let me help you... It's the least I could do."
Eleanor straightened her back with a frown, "He's coming..."
"Who?" young Elizabeth asked, looking up at Eleanor.
Explosions sounded at the back of the plane and around the plane. The windows revealed that some large fireballs visibly flew after the plane, exploding mid-air, but some had inevitably struck the plane. The smell of fire and smoke came, and the lights flickered. Banging and clanking came next, and the plane tilted backwards a bit, engines roaring, everyone feeling their guts rise. Embers, flames and smoke spewed out the sides of the plane, visible through the windows. It was not long until fire and smoke started traveling up the hull, and many began coughing.
"This thing's on fire!" Daisy warned, everyone looking at the Fireman.
"I did not use any Vigors!" he assured.
Extreme scraping sounded, and then, the top of the back of the plane began ripping open. Wind, fire, smoke, embers, and rain flurried in. Zachary hurled Old Man Winter, sealing the roof with ice. He ran down the aisle and tossed more Old Man Winters at other burning parts of the plane, temporarily fixing the holes. Then this big, black, head broke through the ice, extending into the plane, howling, neck and face dripping with water, eyes beaming red. This startled Zachary so much he fell on his ass.
"Ohh shhhit!"
"Scary! Scary! Scary!" Cindy cried, crawling over the seats.
The black entity's weight caused the plane to slow down and tilt back farther, creating a slope, everyone leaning against the seats or holding onto them for stabilization.
"Keep crawling!" Zachary yelled at Cindy, then she fell to the bottom of the seat.
Eleanor teleported to Cindy's seat, shielding her. Peculiarly, the black entity stared at Eleanor, but did nothing. Even when Eleanor cast an Electrobolt at the monster, it did nothing.
The plane continued tilting backwards, Zachary sliding towards the monster's dripping jaws, the beast just patiently waiting for its prey to roll in. Zachary threw Old Man Winter into its maw, filling its mouth and throat with ice. The monster reared, hitting its head on the roof, looking rather surprised.
Eleanor used her telekinesis to help Zachary up, then he stood behind a seat to have something to lean on. Everyone got their guns ready, as awkward as it was to shoot while leaning against a seat, but there was nothing else to do.
The Elizabeths withdrew their handguns, Booker unslung his Burstgun, Zachary unslung his sniper rifle, Daisy lifted her carbine, and the Zealot...brandished his sword. They all opened fire. The Vox Beasts would not use their explosives inside a plane, so wielded their shotguns.
"Ughh! I want to burn him, but I don't want to burn everyone else down!" the Fireman exclaimed angrily, not sure what to do.
Bullets whizzed, ricocheting off the monster's glossy face and also cracking the ice, some popping holes in the charred ceiling. With a growl, the black entity locked its jaws, crushing the ice in its mouth. It then regurgitated the rest of the ice whilst showered by bullets.
Extending his head, the monster bit the closest target, a Beast, around the head and shoulders. The black entity lifted its head and thrashed its armoured lunch side to side, the Beast kicking. Everyone fired carefully, but their bullets either shattered or ricocheted from the black entity's exoskeleton. Zachary and Eleanor cast Shock Jockey at the damn thing, but not even Plasmids did anything.
"He's troi'n ta eat Greg!" one of the Vox Beasts exclaimed, the Zealot unleashing Murderous Crows, but they didn't really do anything, even as they pecked at the monster's eyes.
"Dammit! His skin's too strong!" Daisy shouted, reloading her carbine.
"Ughh! You ain't gonna believe how bad his breath his!" the Beast in the monster's mouth exclaimed, an African American. He grabbed the monster's teeth to prevent being swallowed.
The two other Vox Beasts leapt forth, each grabbing their friend's legs, trying to pull him out the monster's mouth. They had to lean backwards to prevent sliding down the sloped aisle.
While the Beasts and the black entity played tug o' war, Zachary aimed his sniper rifle, and fired. The high-powered bullet hit the beast in its right eye, which cracked like glass. Surprisingly, the monster did not let go, even as blood leaked out the hole in its cracked eye. The Fireman and Daisy joined in the tug o' war, trying to free their comrade since nothing else was working. The Zealot teleported atop the monster's neck, mounting it and hacking away at the head, Murderous Crows dissipating.
Eleanor used her psychokinesis to grasp the monster's jaw, trying to wrench it open. No easy task, but neither side gave up.
"C'mon, get an automaton atop the ship with me!" Pinkerton Elizabeth yelled at her counterpart. She then looked at old Elizabeth. "You too!"
"I can't!"
"Why the hell not!?"
"I, I...when I formed a Tear to save you all from falling, that was the last of my powers. They don't work anymore," old Elizabeth explained, the Pinkerton rolling her eyes.
"Then try harder!"
"I am trying!"
Atop either of the plane's wings, a Gun Automaton was summoned. Both automatons opened fire at the monster's lower back and wings, giving it a little more to worry about. The back third of the plane was quite damaged, embers and smoke flowing out like crazy, tail flaming.
The black entity had clutched the back of the plane, but the onslaught of so many attacks certainly debilitated its animalistic thinking. It began writhing backwards, movement causing the hull to screech and creak.
"Don't let him take Greg!" Daisy yelled.
Zachary stopped shooting his rifle, and threw another Old Man Winter at the monster, freezing its neck against the roof. He and Booker jumped over seats until they were at either side of the Beast, grabbing the sides of his armour and joining the tug o' war.
Sofia just sat in her seat, having a smoke, unsure of what to do yet not really caring, either. She heard something move and looked down, seeing Cindy crawling on the floor. The two made eye contact, and paused.
"Oh, hi! How'd you think the upside-down house is now?" Cindy asked. Sofia raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Julian Sinclair looked back, seeing that everyone struggled with the black beast. He looked outside, clearly seeing the ocean below.
"I'll try to shake him off before he drags us into the ocean!" he shouted, steering sharply to the side. Everyone rolled over, Sofia and Cindy going across the aisle and Eleanor's head hitting a window.
"Oof!" Cindy exclaimed, rubbing her head. "Are you alright, Eleanor?"
"Yes, Cindy, I'm fine. How about you?"
"Uh-huh."
The Vox and Bookers kept holding onto their friend, even as they piled up against the wall. The Zealot managed to stay mounted atop the monster's neck as if a cowboy.
"This'll get that big boy off!" Sinclair yelled, sharply turning to the other side.
Everyone rolled over again, Vox and Bookers piling against the other side of the plane, neither they nor the monster letting go of the Vox Beast. The Zealot remained atop the black entity's neck, though.
"Ow! All this thrashing can't be good for my poor old joints..." old Elizabeth croaked.
The awkward angle, and continuous fire of the Gun Automatons, caused the black entity to lose grip. One set of claws slipped out the plane, then its other hand clawed down the hull. The monster grunted, then its other hand ripped out the hull.
The Zealot felt the monster's head suddenly yank backwards, the ice Zachary froze in that area shattering and sending shards everywhere, causing him to fall off. Everyone else kept grasping Greg, rising with him as the monster jerked upwards. With a hiss, the monster disappeared, leaving behind Greg and a rather big hole in the plane. Everyone who had been holding Greg fell to the floor with him.
"Fffeh, clumsy children..." Sofia scoffed, then took a mouthful of nicotine.
Engines roaring, rear end on fire, Sinclair did what he could to increase altitude and speed, but he was rather missing one-fourth of plane. The Gun Automatons continued firing at the monster as it plummeted into the waters. Distance from it increased like crazy, for now. The Gun Automatons phased out of reality.
Unsurprisingly, considering its rather aquatic face, the black entity was quite a good swimming. It used its torso similarly to dolphins, tail wriggling like an eel, paddling with its wings, kicking its legs, and stroking with its arms. Raising its head out the water, it took a big inhale, filling its hollow interior with air to remain buoyant.
Far behind, a familiar wail echoed, red light beaming upward faraway. Although not designed for swimming, Songbird could swim with his limbs and wings, sort of. He constantly moved as fast as he could, converting his rapidity from flying to swimming. Despite rabid thrashing and rather unprofessional strokes, Songbird managed to create enough speed to avoid sinking. However, becoming airborne directly from water was a whole new story, something he could not do. All he could do was continue swimming along the waves...
The black entity's swimming allowed it to move rather quickly. Like Songbird, the monster could not actually jump out the water and fly in an instance. Instead, whenever an arm raised during stroking, it threw Old Man Winter. The Plasmids hit the water and created icy platforms, growing larger with consecutive Plasmids. Once large enough, the black entity climbed atop the little island of ice. Wings vibrating up and down, the monster jumped and took flight.
Back in the plane, everyone caught their breath and took a break. Zachary went to work with Old Man Winter, resorting to freezing the back third of the plane to prevent the flames from spreading.
"That should do it, for now. Sofia! You okay?"
The younger Elizabeths each conjured an ammo pile, everyone helping themselves, Booker drinking a vial of Salts.
Eleanor walked into the cockpit.
"Julian, are you alright?"
"I'm doing good enough, kid. We're almost there."
"Aw, shit. If Songbird doesn't come back, we'll have no way to get off this plane," Pinkerton Elizabeth warned.
"I'll land her on the waters gently. Or try..."
"You better do it right, then," Booker remarked from the aisle.
"Dammit! He's coming again!" Eleanor warned.
"What? He's coming back again!?" Zachary exclaimed down the plane.
"Get ready!" Daisy cautioned, the Vox getting their firearms ready.
Everyone in the aisle stared at the ceiling nervously. Another round of explosive fireballs went after the plane, exploding outside the windows. The shaking broke the plane's lighting.
"Dammit! I don't think this plane can last another round of him!" Pinkerton Elizabeth cried.
"Why isn't Songbird here yet?" young Elizabeth whined, feeling quite helpless.
More fireballs exploded around the back of the plane. Further damage broke open new holes, Zachary sealing them with more icy Plasmids.
"Catch!" Pinkerton Elizabeth said, throwing Zachary a vial of Salts.
"Much obliged!" He drank it down, and continued freezing holes closed. More and more cracks and openings appeared, windows shattering. Soon, almost half the ship was held together with ice.
Unfortunately, fireballs struck the engines, too, and the wings began smouldering. It was only a matter of time before the engines exploded or the wings broke.
"Goddammit! Is there anything we can do!?" Booker exclaimed.
"I'll try this!" young Elizabeth stated, using her Tear powers to revert an engine back to its original form. A second later, a fireball hit the engine and it was back on fire again. "Well, that didn't work..."
"This plane isn't gonna last much longer..." Zachary remarked, young and old Elizabeth grasping their own upper arms and looking up nervously.
Everyone was on edge, but the monster did not yet tackle into the plane.
"Wait... Why didn't I think of this sooner?" Eleanor whispered to herself. "I have an idea!" Half the passengers looked at her. She closed her eyes and concentrated. After a flash of purple, she was gone.
The black entity flew after the plane, closing in, both hands blazing with Devil's Kiss. It was about to attack the plane, but then grunted. Looking up, it wondered what happened. Plasmids deactivating, the monster raised its arms overhead, then positioned them before its face. It was now holding Eleanor, who left her limbs limp. Legs swaying, drizzling with rain, Eleanor stared blankly, looking like a doll.
Eleanor pointed to the side. Off in the dark horizon, a bright white light shone, somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?
"Rapture, now."
Tilting its wings, the monster swerved, and flew off. It did not bother the plane anymore.
Inside, the Bookers and Elizabeths watched through the remaining windows, seeing the black entity fly off with Eleanor.
"He's...not killing her?" Daisy asked.
"And he's gone. Good," Booker said, then walked down the aisle. "Hey! Are we gonna make it or what?"
An engine exploded. Surprisingly, it was the one Elizabeth conjured from the past. The plane continued flying, but Booker felt his stomach lift as the plane slightly slanted.
Julian kept quiet for a few seconds.
"Hey, pal, ya hear me?"
With a groan and grimace, Julian turned his head.
"Prepare for emergency landing."