"Where did Eleanor go?" Cindy asked rather lately, popping her head out from cover. "Did you see her?" she asked the Big Daddy doll. He did not reply.
"Wait, we're crashing?" young Elizabeth squeaked as the plane tilted further down. The Vox looked around nervously. The other engine exploded.
"Yup. We're crashing," the Pinkerton remarked nonchalantly.
Elizabeth sharply inhaled through clenched teeth. "Songbird… Where's Songbird?"
"Not here, obviously. Guess our plan backfired," Pinkerton Elizabeth mumbled. She lit a cigarette despite hand tremors.
The ice keeping the plane together was melting, so Zachary gave the plane another round of Old Man Winter, actually able to see through the ice in some parts. The plane was literally held together by ice.
Nevertheless, smoke, flames, and embers flurried out the plane and soon inside as well. Cindy started crying, old Elizabeth holding her.
"Hang in there, sweetie!"
"Dammit! Work!" blue Elizabeth whined, trying to form a Tear on one of the engines, to revert it back in the past, but it wasn't working.
Pinkerton Elizabeth began the transposition for a portion of the plane's hull. The hull became like greyscale and had an aura. Once it went away, the plane's hull reverted to an icy but fixed form, but the flames kept growing anyways, eating up the new material.
"There! Got it!" One engine was reverted to the past, roaring with vitality. Though, the flames along the wing went into the engine anyways and it was back on fire in no time.
"Can't you help us out!?" the Pinkerton bitched at her older counterpart.
"I'm trying! It still isn't working!"
Zachary continued freezing the plane's flaming parts, the younger Elizabeths reverted parts of the plane to their past form, and most of the others did what they could to douse the flames. Working together, the plane's flight prolonged, bit by bit, but it never gained altitude.
Pinkerton Elizabeth ran into the cockpit, seeing the Rapture Lighthouse off in the distance. Sinclair was leaning over the controls. Zachary came and grabbed Sinclair, pulling him back, Julian groaning. His hands shook and bled. He would not last much longer.
"You alive?" Zachary asked.
"Sort of… Just a little more, we're almost there…"
Zachary and the Pinkerton looked at each other. Elizabeth had a sad face for Julian, but it disappeared. She slowly exhaled a mouthful of nicotine.
"So...back to Rapture. Try not to kill me this time, okay?"
"Yeah. Gotcha."
"I'll still fly her as best I can! Ya'll get a Mae West and get ready!" Sinclair weakly yelled, shaking his head and grasping the controls tightly.
"A Mae West?" Booker asked from down the aisle.
"He means lifejacket, they're under the seats," Pinkerton Elizabeth answered, getting one for herself. Everyone else followed suite. Zachary helped Cindy with hers, then checked on Sofia and old Elizabeth.
"How does this work?" the Fireman asked, trying to fit the thing over his helm, but then his boilers burst the device. He and the Beasts resorted to carrying a life vest under each arm.
Daisy looked out a window, seeing more and more of the ocean rising.
"Aw, shit!" she cursed. "Water better not be too cold..."
Everyone braced themselves, except the Zealot. The smoke and flames intensified. Zachary waved his arm, wanting to cast Old Man Winter, but he ran out of EVE.
The past-reverted engine exploded. The plane returned to gliding, then falling, tilting downward, everyone leaning on seats. Old Elizabeth and Cindy clutched each other.
Julian Sinclair groaned angrily, using the last of his strength to guide the plane. And then, baptism.
Eleanor stood under the rain at the steps of Rapture Lighthouse, though the black entity was nowhere in sight. She could do nothing as the plane crashed, striking the waters violently. Its hull imploded, metal creaking and sizzling, quenched flaming steel steaming and smoking. Eleanor didn't wait. She took her shoes and socks off, and dove into the water. She writhed through the waters like a dolphin.
The Zealot appeared atop the sinking, flaming plane, coughing while his Murderous Crows fluttered around him. He teleported off the plane, reappearing at the stairs of the Rapture Lighthouse. He turned to face the sinking plane, a few crows perching on the railings.
The side of the plane exploded, then, one at a time, the three Beasts jumped out the hole, their rocket launchers smoking. The armoured men plopped into the water, life vests around their arms, and the plane sinking behind them. Daisy, the Fireman, the Elizabeths, Cindy and Booker swam out the hole, avoiding the flames around them.
"Ahh! God! It's cold!" the Fireman yelled, shivering in his sizzling armour. He actually swam into flames to stay warm!
"Cold! Cold! Cold! Cold!" Cindy squeaked, dog paddling ineffectively.
"Keep kicking!" old Elizabeth encouraged, swimming with Cindy and holding her up.
Although four Vox troops wore heavy armour, their helms developed air pockets in the tops, making them a little more buoyant. They struggled to stay afloat even with life vests, but managed. The waves were not too bad.
"Eleanor! Wrong way!" Cindy cried once she saw Eleanor swimming towards the plane.
"Cindy! I'll be back!" Taking a deep breath, Eleanor dove, swimming after the sinking plane. Swimming into the plane, she looked around, but could not see Zachary, Mother, or Sinclair. She felt the top of the plane hit her head, and she sank with the plane.
Swimming to the cockpit, Eleanor produced a small electric current amidst her fingers to form light. She saw Julian, buckled to his seat, hands still gripped on the controls. He wasn't moving. Eleanor's heart sank. Julian Sinclair had a peaceful face in death, satisfied that he had finished his last flight.
He probably died from impact… But I can't help him now.
Eleanor placed her hand on Julian's shoulder. She then wriggled out the cockpit then swam out the plane. While a second plane sunk toward Rapture, she swam to the steps of the lighthouse.
"Damn, this is cold…" she grumbled as she got out the water. She looked up, seeing the skyborne machine far above the lighthouse. They swayed on their own.
"Eleanor!" Cindy exclaimed, jumping into Eleanor, who caught the girl mid-air while kneeling. She was not wearing her life vest anymore.
"We made it Eleanor! We made it!"
"Yes! We did!" Eleanor laughed, putting Cindy down. It was rare for her to laugh, how could she not for the triumphant child? Though, the thought of Julian gave her a heavy heart.
"Little Daddy knew you'd come!" Cindy lifted the Big Daddy doll, giving him a little shake.
"He's smart, isn't he?" Eleanor said. Cindy grinned.
"You're alive? Good. I thought that monster ate you or something," Zachary said while walking to the scene, also not wearing his life vest anymore. Everyone else seemed to be inside the lighthouse. He kept looking up. "Where's that thing, anyways?"
"Gone. I take it everyone's inside? Let's go in, get warm. I'll explain more in there." Eleanor grabbed her socks and shoes.
Cindy skipped along with Eleanor, and the three entered the lighthouse. Eleanor paused halfway through the doorway. Cindy spun around to see what was wrong, but Zachary kept walking.
"What is it?"
"I'm...home…"
Memories came. The glass tunnels, the leaking ceilings, puddles, Splicers, vendors, the Gatherer's garden song, that one gunshot she heard as a child…
Wait, something's wrong… I should have all the memories of the citizens of Rapture… Hold on. I did not know Ó Gallachóir, even though his brother went to Rapture...I would have had his brother's memories, but… Where are all those memories?
Eleanor stopped thinking, and just put her socks and shoes on. She looked around, feeling empty. She did not know why, but home felt like a place she had never seen before. The round interior seemed alright, though the main light at the ceiling occasionally flickered. Everyone had tossed their life vests nearby. There was no working lighting down the stairs, either. All of this alluded to something ominous.
"Let's go down the stairs, Eleanor!" Cindy chirped, snapping Eleanor out of her thoughts. Cindy chuckled. "Don't worry, Eleanor! Wanna bet who finds Mr. B first?"
For the first time in a long time, Eleanor felt afraid. She did not want to go into Rapture. The fear of the unknown gripped her guts. The sounds of rain echoing against the ocean soothed her.
I have to do this. One more time...
The shivering Elizabeths turned around to see Zachary and the two girls.
"Y-you m-m-made it," Pinkerton Elizabeth stammered. Undoubtedly, a skirt was not the best thing to wear to keep warm. Poor legs. "Close the door quick, it's cold!" Zachary shut the door.
Everyone stood nearby the Fireman to keep warm, he leaning against the railings. He even formed two flaming masses to provide extra heat. Zachary, Booker and Eleanor formed their own minor flames to create even more heat and light. Sofia was alone with her thoughts, completely ignoring Eleanor.
"Did you see Julian?" young Elizabeth asked.
"He didn't make it," Eleanor answered.
"He did well," Booker remarked.
"Is that big thing gone?" Daisy asked, squeezing water out her hair.
"F-for n-n-nnnow. After he p-put me d-d-down, he s-s-swam down to Rapture," Eleanor stammered, hearing a Beast snicker. Eleanor felt herself blush a little. But, she shrugged off the embarrassment easily enough. Old Elizabeth stared at her, concerned, but said nothing.
"He can swim? Great… How are we going to get through Rapture with something like him after us? I bet he won't have to try hard to break the glass," the Pinkerton remarked.
"I...communicated with him once we made eye contact. It wasn't easy, but he listened. For now..." Everyone looked at Eleanor, who now controlled herself, and her speech.
"He...listened to you?" young Elizabeth asked, surprised. Eleanor nodded.
"Huh. Speak of the devil," Zachary remarked.
"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Booker grumbled, young Elizabeth putting a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"I… Yes, I was rather late… I just wasn't thinking as efficiently as I normally would."
"Hm. So he really did bond with you," old Elizabeth said, rather curious.
"Yes, but...but…" Eleanor hesitated, then looked at Booker. "Booker! Did you...have a dream? I was in your dream, wasn't I?"
Booker kept quiet for a couple seconds. The lighting flickered.
"Yeah."
"And see Spirry you did," Eleanor stated, intending to cross her arms, but then felt the heat of her active Plasmid. "What did he look like?"
"He's a demon. A big, muscular, skinless demon. No eyes, bleeds everywhere."
Eleanor then looked at old Elizabeth.
"Do you remember Spirry looking like that?"
"No. He was always a huge black monster with wings."
Pinkerton Elizabeth seemed a bit confused. Eleanor looked at her.
"And the Spirry I saw...white. He was white, with a snake-like face. Had a glass covering over his stomach."
"So...three different Spirrys. But...how...how is that possible?" Eleanor asked herself, thinking deeply. Yet, no answers came to her mind.
Pinkerton Elizabeth and old Elizabeth seemed quite disheartened.
"So there's more than one Spirry. Guess I shouldn't be surprised. There's probably a billion Spirrys. That...complicates things," the Pinkerton said, crossing her arms.
Considering everything they saw, the Vox did not bother questioning anything. Craziness was now normal.
"Well, ain't nothin' stopping me from taking every one of him out," Booker assured.
"Yeah. Exactly what I was thinkin'," Daisy agreed. "If we can't kill the black Spirry, then taking one of his other heads'll be a good start."
"Before we do that, Booker...what happened in your dream after you left the building?" Eleanor asked.
Static and tuning returned, Booker wincing from the pain. Blood left his nose. Zachary's and Eleanor's nose also bled. They deactivated their flames, the Bookers rubbing their noses at the same time, Eleanor wiping hers with her sleeve.
"I… I don't remember. I saw zeppelins. Odd. I'm pretty sure Columbia didn't exist when…"
"When you sold your girl," the Pinkerton finished rather grumpily. The vein in Booker's forehead bulged. The Vox looked at Booker, the Zealot eyeing the tattoo on his hand.
"I didn't sell her!" Booker yelled, his hands engulfing with Devil's Kiss. He caused his Vigors to dissipate. He huffed, head and shoulders dropping. "Eleanor took her! Well, then gave her back, and... I… I ran away from him. I don't remember what happened afterwards."
Eleanor almost found it funny that Booker did not admit she beat him up in some other world. Nevertheless, Eleanor's heart sank upon thinking about Spirry's words when she first encountered him.
"Spirry took her…"
"What?" Booker demanded, young Elizabeth looking up at him nervously.
"I had this dream before, and in it… Spirry coerced me to take your baby, as you saw me do. He did something to me. Made me lose my mind. Once I recovered, I gave the baby back to you. He threatened that if I didn't take the baby, he would do it himself…"
Booker paused, and did not even feel his next heartbeat. He thought heavily.
"No, wait… This… This doesn't make any sense…" Booker gave up on thinking. He turned around and put his hands on the railings. Young Elizabeth went to him, unsure if she should comfort him or not. Booker turned his head. "You couldn't have been alive twenty years ago. Even if you were, you don't even come from my world, right?" Booker looked at blue Elizabeth, who nodded with uncertainty. Booker looked back at Eleanor. "How… How were you even there?"
Eleanor shrugged. She looked at Mother, who seemed alone in her thoughts. Hunh, Mother's awfully quiet. Probably doesn't know what to do now that she knows no one will listen to her… Ha!
"I think I know," Pinkerton Elizabeth said, breaking the silence. Everyone looked at her. "When I worked with Michael, he mentioned something about new Tears that could connect to the past, present, and future, all at the same time. I have a feeling Spirry succeeded, at least once."
"If he could do that… Spirry could literally do anything he wants," young Elizabeth warned.
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds…" old Elizabeth whispered, quoting the Bhagavad Gita. She saw Cindy scuttle to the wall, playing with her toy.
"Well, I guess that makes him a god," Zachary remarked, then noticed Pinkerton Elizabeth kept looking at her other young counterpart. If this Booker's daughter was stolen as a baby, then this young Elizabeth…
"Elizabeth, can you now tell me what happened to Ellie?" Zachary asked.
The Pinkerton looked back, then her eyes and head lowered.
"After the boy died, and she realized she couldn't bring him back… I tried to stop her, but the Big Daddy… Ellie went out of Rapture to find her imaginary dragon friend. Blamed him for betraying her. Said she would find him in the abyss."
Zachary's head dropped. He sighed.
"Not even a Little Sister could survive miles down a fault. She actually believed her imaginary friends were real… That poor child…"
The listeners gave Zachary a few seconds of silence.
"Booker, I'm sorry. But...we better get moving. I don't think we should delay," the Pinkerton said.
"Yeah… Let's skin us this demon," Daisy said.
"Hell yeah!" the African-American Beast commented.
Everyone went down the stairs. The pretty symbolism on the walls soon came, accompanied by an instrumental version of La Mer, the iconic song of Rapture. Pinkerton Elizabeth found herself humming to the tune. Though, the lighting did not activate, even when they neared the end of the stairs. Everyone spread apart, looking around.
"It's dark! Can you even see, Little Daddy?" Cindy spoke.
Eleanor felt her foot hit something. She knelt, hand forming a little flame. Neatly folded on the floor, next to the wall, was a Big Sister suit, a bloodied handheld radio, and a recording atop the garb. Eleanor raised an eyebrow.
"Is that your suit?" Mother asked, even she a bit surprised.
How did this get here all the way from that church in Ireland? Eleanor thought to herself, but did not have an answer.
Eleanor picked up the audio diary, and hit play. The mechanisms whirred to life. Everyone stopped looking around and paid attention to Eleanor, the Bookers and Fireman activating their fiery powers to provide illumination.
"Dat sounded loik a voxophone," one of the Beasts commented.
Eleanor stood up to listen to the audio diary.
"As you have noticed," the voice was familiarly deep and gurgly, "one of your unbaptized sisters was kind enough to bring your suit, and leave you this...sound-repeater. Do you recall the newspaper Ms. Tenenbaum read? Well, it was not long until Her Majesty's Naval Service got involved. Someone told the British military...what would happen. They tried to stop me. Unfortunately for them, well...the marines learned the hard way, just like the Schutzstaffel twenty years ago. Pick up the radio, set it to channel three. After that, well, maybe we can end all of this." The recording ended.
"He knew exactly when I would arrive?" Eleanor whispered to herself, the Elizabeths having similar thoughts.
"Is he always a few steps ahead of us?" old Elizabeth commented.
"Hunh… So Spirry is here..." Booker said.
"Surprised?" the Pinkerton remarked. "I knew we had to go back to Rapture."
"And then what?" Zachary asked.
"Actually, I don't remember what exactly…"
"Well, that's great," Booker remarked sarcastically.
"Consider everything a constant leap of faith. We're still in the jump."
Elizabeth's words made Eleanor think about her medallions.
"Though, without a bathysphere…" Pinkerton Elizabeth went to the opening at the centre of the floor. A Tear formed far down in the water, visible only because it glowed. "Oh? A Tear. I didn't open that…"
A meaty skull the size of a bathysphere arose, splashing water everywhere. The fleshy skull's eyes shone yellow, and then the skull let out a blood curdling, gurgly screech, blood gushing out its mouth. Eleanor spun around, dropping the radio.
"Oh, shit! What the fuck!" Zachary yelled, shielding Sofia.
"Scary monster again!" Cindy squeaked, running away.
Those with weapons raised them, the Beasts withdrawing shotguns, the Elizabeths their pistols, Zachary his sniper rifle, Booker his Burstgun, Daisy her carbine. Gunfire powerfully reverberated in the lighthouse, Cindy jumping from fright and covering her ears, dropping her doll. Eleanor and the Fireman began hurling fireballs, the Zealot unleashing Murderous Crows.
"What little flesh you have left will be black!" the Fireman yelled, charging the skull and flailing his gauntlets while blasting Devil's Kiss point-blank. His strikes did not do much against so big a foe. The skull faced him, catching the Fireman with its jaws. Chewing on a burning suit of armour did not go well, the skull's tongue and gums sizzling while the Fireman threw Devil's Kill down its throat. The monster spat the Fireman out.
Peppered with gunfire, scorched from flames, and gnawed by crows, the skull reared, extending upwards, revealing it had a neck rising from the waters yet had no shoulders. Roaring, the skull slammed itself down repeatedly, headbutting two Beasts and the Fireman into the floor, but the others manages to skip away. It then flailed its head sideways, knocking the Bookers, the Beast, Daisy, and the Pinkerton down, but Eleanor and the Zealot teleported out of the way. Old Elizabeth, Cindy and Sofia skipped backwards to keep their distance, making sure to stay away from the skull's beaming eyes.
The Bookers and Daisy fired their guns while lying on their backs. The Zealot reappeared above the skull, gripping his sword by its handle and blade. Ramming it into the skull's forehead, the Zealot slid down the monster's face while his sword cut down it, leaving a nasty opening.
"Feel the blade, hellspawn!" the Zealot shouted, launching his feet into the skull's nose to somewhat sit in it. Everyone who had fallen had picked themselves up and continued the fight.
"Jeez! Don't just get in the way!" Booker yelled while reloading his Burstgun.
The Zealot lunged his arm into the skull's eye socket, releasing his Murderous Crows inside. The skull groaned, shaking itself to and fro, throwing the Zealot off itself and he hit the wall, but his crows feasted on its brains. Zealot out of the way, the gunfire maximised again. The Fireman, Booker and Zachary tossed Devil's Kiss while Eleanor hurled fireballs, the constant bombardment at such close range gradually ripping the skull open.
Overwhelmed by the assault, the skull growled, then pulled itself into the water. After a big splash, the skull disappeared, leaving behind only bubbles.
"He gone?" a Beast asked.
"I'd say he ain't gone just yet," Daisy remarked, reloading her carbine, and sure enough, the monster burst out the water, splashing water everywhere again.
The gunfire commenced, and the skull recklessly snapped its jaws in all directions while falling itself. The skull struck the walls and floor, sometimes knocking down the armoured Vox, but the others dodged the monster.
"There!" blue Elizabeth exclaimed, summoning a Gun Automaton in the corner, which promptly joined the fight.
The skull slammed its head down, the dragged it along in a curve, knocking down the Vox and Bookers in one swing. It stopped before blue Elizabeth, the Pinkerton firing her revolver at the monster.
"Booker!" blue Elizabeth cried as the monster's jaws opened. She extended her arms, dropping her pistol from fright, feeling the monster's breath blowing through her hair and clothes.
"ELIZABETH!" Booker screamed as he picked himself up, Elizabeth ending up in the monster's mouth.
Booker cast Possession at the monster. It was partly affected, hesitating and shaking its head, but at least it did not start chewing. This gave Zachary just enough time to throw Old Man Winter at the side of the monster's jaw, freezing it partly open, saving blue Elizabeth from becoming bubble gum.
Eleanor focused her telekinesis to grasp the monster's jawbone to hold it open. Booker then cast Bucking Bronco to slightly pull the monster upward a bit, though it clearly was too gigantic to be wholly affected by the Vigor.
No one continued shooting, not with Elizabeth in the way, but the Gun Automaton continued shooting. The Pinkerton caused the automaton to disappear. Old Elizabeth looked like she desperately tried to open a Tear, but failed.
The Fireman ran forth and drop-kick the monster, whilst the Zealot hacked away at it, though these did little. The Vox Beasts charged as well, clubbing the monster with their shotguns, trying anything to free the girl. Another swarm of Murderous Crows gnawed on the skull.
Elizabeth grabbed the teeth and tried to pull herself out, feeling the coldness of dry ice. The skull applied force to its jaw, gradually breaking some ice apart. It tilted backwards, and the skull began to retract into the water. As the monster descended, Booker ran through the Vox and jumped forth.
"I gotcha!' Booker shouted as he fell headfirst down the monster's mouth just as it forced its jaw closed, shards of ice flying. Elizabeth extended her arm, feeling herself sliding backwards. Booker landed on the back of the monster's tongue, sliding after Elizabeth.
The skull flailed itself violently, Booker and Elizabeth flopping around in its mouth. Shaking off the effects of Vigors and Plasmids, the monster pulled itself back into the waters. After a splash, it was gone.
"Oh, they got eaten," Sofia commented.
Zachary, the Vox, and the Elizabeths ran to the edge of the hole. They only saw bubbles, but the Tear was gone.
"Aww, shhhit!" Zachary cursed, trying to think of something. "What the hell can we do!?"
Eleanor ran to her Big Sister suit, kicking her shoes off. She threw the suit up, outstretching it with her psychokinesis, then teleported inside it. All of a sudden she was conveniently back in her Big Sister suit.
"I'll swim after them! I'll try to send-" Eleanor was cut off by a wail. Everyone looked up, hearing the wail again, followed by crashing and breaking noises.
Crawling into the lighthouse was the buzzard, leaking water out every opening and joint. Eyes red, Songbird crawled headfirst down the shaft, diving into the water. Wings and arms tucked against his sides, Songbird barely fit down the vertical passage, but he noisily writhed into the depths.
"-send a bathysphere up here, if I can!" Eleanor finished. Teleporting, she disappeared.