The Siren sharply and loudly inhaled, probably angry that her husband had abandoned Columbia all those years ago. The wobbly-effected soprano's voice in the Lacrimosa amplified, almost sounding like it echoed amongst the skulls of the resurrected Founder and Vox soldiery, more and more summoning into the world, numbering several dozen at least. The glow in their eyes intensified, and the undead shuffled amongst themselves, breathing heavily. Songbird's eyes glowed yellow.
I smell roses again, Eleanor thought to herself.
"The bitch, is back," someone remarked, causing everyone to look to the right. Back leaning against the supports of the mezzanine, was none other than Michael, arms crossed, long hair and ferraiolo rapidly flicking in the wind.
Snowfall increased, now dotting everyone's hair and clothes with white. Thunder and lightning punished the skies, and the entirety of the smouldering blackness rippled with a Tear-like effect.
"Who the hell is that?" Booker asked, noticing Elizabeth lean to him, as if afraid.
"Michael Vay Atar..." Pinkerton Elizabeth answered under her breath, giving Michael an angry look while withdrawing her revolver.
"Seems it will take more than fire to kill him," Eleanor remarked, rather surprised to see him again. Eleanor saw blue Elizabeth cowering next to Booker.
"He's the one who put me in that coffin!" Elizabeth accused.
"That son of a bitch..." Booker muttered quickly, wanting to shoot the freak, but being surrounded by so many undead made him hesitate.
"The slightest move...and the Siren's minions will open fire and kill us all," Michael warned, then coughed out some blood. Booker hesitated. There sure were quite a lot of undead.
Michael then looked at the Siren, as did everyone else. She was glaring at Zachary, who could not look back.
"Lady Comstock...what is she doing here? But, we...I thought..." Pinkerton Elizabeth whispered to herself, her stomach churning. Even after all this time, she still felt a little uneasiness of that woman. They had forgiven each other, that was the past, why was the Siren here?
"The Prophet...returns," the Siren remarked with a ghostly voice. "You left me, and Columbia! Left me for another woman! You abandoned everything! Liar! Adulterer! Murderer!Little creatures digging and biting in me!" she screeched, translucent blood trickling out her eyes and mouth.
Blue Elizabeth and Booker looked at Zachary suspiciously.
Zachary's gaze and eyes lowered. He really did not want this part of his past to catch up to him. Flashbacks of what had happened ten years ago returned, watching her tiny head thud against the pavement...
"I..." Zachary hesitated. When he left for Rapture, he also left a woman who truly loved him, a woman he had forgiven. She must have spent the rest of her life in total loneliness and hopelessness.
"Well, at least he didn't have you killed this time," Michael quietly remarked, taking a look around as the undead gazed at him and his friends. "Cum bona venia, probably wasn't a good idea, tho..."
"You..." Zachary quivered angrily and quietly, glowering at Michael. Michael looked back blankly, eyeless sockets dripping blood. "You had something to do with this!" Zachary accused.
"She seems to have...reverted to her angry state, as if someone activated a special Siphon," Michael said apathetically, then looked back at the Siren. "Ahh, yes... After you left for Rapture, you eventually died of heartache. A shame, really. So much sorrow and loneliness, waiting for the man who never came back for her, even after he forgave her of everything, always. She drowned in hopelessness," Michael then turned his eyeless face at blue Elizabeth's direction, "perhaps a foreshadowing of what is to become of you."
"All your fault, filthy bastard child! He loved you more than me, wanted you more than me, you ruined me!" the Siren wailed at Elizabeth, ethereal blood spurting out her ghostly mouth.
Elizabeth slightly raised her hands, like a child caught in trouble, afraid of the ghostly thing that was spawned from her own fears and anxieties. She did not know why, but her skin shivered painfully, as if little things were crawling under her skin. Pinkerton Elizabeth gasped, raising her shoulders, also feeling the strange sensation.
"I think we should focus on those conjured entities..." Eleanor suggested, examining the undead, but no one seemed to care about her.
"No, Eleanor, leave them be," Michael warned, Eleanor looking at him, then calming down a bit.
"A rocket better not hit us," Eleanor remarked, then looked back at the Siren, who glared at Zachary, the glow in her eyes and her aura intensifying, and blood trickled out her frame where her nervous system would be.
Songbird made a wheezing mechanical noise, unsure if the ghost of Lady Comstock was a threat or not. Eleanor didn't really know what to do, either.
"Shame, False Prophet! Shame! You sinner! Murderer! Everything of you was a lie! A lie! You ruined me! Abandoned me! Betrayed me!"
"Is she talkin' about...Comstock?" Booker asked, he and blue Elizabeth looking at each other, then at Zachary. Elizabeth looked back at the Siren.
"If she's Lady Comstock, then..." blue Elizabeth whispered, befuddled.
"Is she a Rapture ghost?" Eleanor asked, keeping an eye out on the undead. They, like the Siren, remained non-hostile, as if they did not want to fight. Eleanor noticed some of the undead jerking their weapons downwards, as if struggling against themselves.
"No. She is neither dead nor alive, multiple realities of hers merged, I guess," Zachary replied. He then looked at the Elizabeth in blue, "Elizabeth, I am not your father. I hope you can figure everything on out from here."
"Comstock..." Elizabeth remarked quietly, "But, how..." She did not know what to say.
"Comstock? You're Comstock?" Booker nearly shouted.
Zachary looked back at him.
"Yes, but not the Comstock you are thinking of," Zachary answered.
"Wait, wait, wait! What! What does that mean? You can't be Comstock! What does this... What the hell is going on!?" Booker demanded, putting an arm over Elizabeth, as if expecting Comstock to lash out at her, but he didn't.
The undead groaned, some raising their guns, but did not fire.
"Many worlds exist beyond the Tears. It looks like a few got together," Pinkerton Elizabeth remarked, the other Elizabeth thinking to herself. Then, the two felt tuning and static in their heads, causing blood to drip out their noses, and their veins and eyes to glow yellow for a few seconds.
"But...but how? None of this makes any sense, this isn't how it should be..." blue Elizabeth said, returning to normal. "What's happening to me?"
"Elizabeth? You alright?" Booker asked, quite concerned of Elizabeth, then frowned at Zachary. "Just...what the hell is going on?" Booker spat, still confused and upset about everything. He looked at Zachary as if everything was his fault.
"Do we really have the time discussing this?" Zachary asked, "I really don't know what's going on! I didn't expect Columbia to return."
"Bullshit! Whoever the hell you are, answer me! And answer me now!" Booker yelled angrily, then many undead groaned, some raising their guns, but still did not fire.
"Careful, Mr. DeWitt. Any more sudden movements, or anger, and the minions will open fire," Michael cautioned, Booker grunting but forcing himself to calm down a bit.
"There's lots of us, Booker, through many worlds, through the Tears. End of story," Zachary said to Booker. He noticed the Siren shaking from anger, clutching her head at times.
"Look, Annabelle, I'm sorry I left you! I really am! But I couldn't live with myself after what I've done!" Zachary said, but the Siren just flailed her head back and screamed, blood flowing out her mouth. Blood also leaked out Michael's mouth, but he did not appear troubled.
"He's telling the truth!" Pinkerton Elizabeth exclaimed, "Listen to him, and to me! We don't want you to suffer! He understands you are a victim of his wrongdoing! He's sorry! He forgave me, I forgave him, we let go, so can you," she continued while gesticulating with her arms, but the Siren growled.
"Please, Annabelle, please..." Zachary pleaded.
"Ahh!" Pinkerton Elizabeth cried. Her eyes began glowing yellow, the painful static and tuning noises returning, her nose and mouth leaking blood, reddening her already bloodstained shirt even more. She then felt electricity rub her skin. The other Elizabeth, and the Siren, undergone the same stress, Booker putting a hand on blue Elizabeth's shoulder. Many undead groaned again.
"Careful, everyone..." Michael advised, then looked up, seeing Songbird slowly cocking his head to and fro, investigating the undead, which surely were on Columbia's side?
Songbird groaned, looking down at the Elizabeths in their pain, unsure of how to help them.
"I think we should just attack them, now," Eleanor suggested, hearing the Siren's minions breathing and some moaning.
"Just, wait... There's no way we can take them on all at the same time and expect to win," Zachary warned.
"Insects under my skin...whispering to me... Get out of me...get out...Get out of me!" the Siren exclaimed. Her undead behaved oddly, swaying their shoulders and grumbling or moaning, the glow in their eyes and nervous systems flashing yellow.
Pinkerton Elizabeth returned to normal from the strange distortion, wiping her nose of blood, hearing the battle in the night sky raging on. It seemed that the Vox and Founders in the skies hesitated to shoot upon the strange, glowing figures on the flagship, for now.
"Disgusting insects in me! Disgusting bastard child before me! No child of mine from of my womb! No child of mine! Just insects in me! Not of my womb! NOT OF MY WOMB!" the Siren screamed, a shockwave erupting from her and staggering the living, including Michael.
The Siren stared at Michael, then pointed at him.
"And you...you brought me back for this suffering! All your fault! You made me suffer! Made me suffer!"
"Sounds like you are struggling on whose fault it is, Misses Watson. Well then, let me help you decide on who to blame..." Michael said upon regaining himself. He then swung his arm with a shout, unleashing a large green aura upon the Siren. The aura surrounded and sunk into her, the Siren wailing aloud and unleashing another shockwave, staggering the living again.
The Siren's eyes and outline of her nervous system beamed yellow speckled with green. She clawed at her head, screaming. The aura flowed upon her undead, their glowing lights mixed with yellow and green as well.
Michael then conjured a mass of glowing green in his arms, turning to everyone else...
"He wants to case Possession on us!" Eleanor exclaimed, throwing an armful of explosive fireballs upon Michael, stifling his cast of Possession. Everyone else ran off to the side and ducked, narrowly avoiding the Possession aura.
A dozen undead grunted and fired at Eleanor, but she teleported about wildly. She charged Michael, but to her surprise, he stepped forth and punched her in the forehead, causing her to twirl midair and hit the floor.
"Ow..." Eleanor mumbled as more and more undead groaned.
Pinkerton Elizabeth put one foot forward, pointing at Michael with her free hand and scowling.
"Kill him!" Pinkerton Elizabeth commanded loudly.
Songbird's eyes turned red, but he gave Pinkerton Elizabeth a quick but gentle nuzzle. He then leapt at Michael, who suddenly ran into a shadowy Tear, escaping Songbird.
The Siren screeched, blood spewing out her mouth, eyes and body as the Possession sunk into her, all her lighting now green. She screamed again, and then the undead began firing at Songbird.
Instinctively, Songbird swiped his mighty paws to and fro. He cleaved apart a score of resurrected foes while undead Zealots even using Murder of Crows against the mighty mechanical beast. But all attacks were futile. Songbird devastated many, clawing limbs off, sometimes grasping a handful of bodies, then crushing them, or smashing them against the deck.
The Siren unleashed a shockwave upon Songbird, but it did little. Songbird turned, clawing at the Siren and more undead. He seemed to have destroyed the Siren, for now.
The undead raised their arms and opened fired. Booker shielded blue Elizabeth, raising both hand cannons and firing at the ghostly foes. Zachary and Pinkerton Elizabeth fired their revolvers, Eleanor threw explosive fireballs, and Zachary hurled Devil's Kiss. Once one of Booker's hand cannons fired all its chambers, he threw it at an undead's head, then cast Murder of Crows to harass several of the undead.
Songbird spun around screaming, dragging his paws across two dozen undead and ploughing through them.
The Elizabeths conjured some cover for the Bookers, but Eleanor teleported off to the side to attack the flank of undead from behind. She cast a telekinetic pull, thrashing a score of undead backwards. A second telekinetic blast hurled them off the zeppelin.
"Where the hell's the ghost?" Booker yelled, he and Pinkerton Elizabeth firing from behind the same cover while Blue Elizabeth kept her head low, Zachary's big revolver taking out undead with a single each.
"Don't know! But I can see her footprints! She went to the bow!" blue Elizabeth yelled, covering her head as bullets flew overhead. "Booker, catch!" He caught a bottle of Salts and chugged it down. He cast Bucking Bronco, levitating a score of undead, so Eleanor sent a telekinetic blast upon them, hurling them off the zeppelin.
The Siren reappeared at the end of the bow.
"Come back to me! COME BACK! Punish them, now! No rest until they are dead!" the Siren screamed, huge electrical zaps appearing around her, then six undead soldiers appeared from nowhere, picking themselves up.
"You're all mine," Eleanor remarked, then sprinted forth, passing underneath Songbird's huge arms as he pawed the undead, and she darted towards the Siren.
Bullets fired at her direction, Eleanor did not stop charging, and drop-kicked one of the undead, knocking him overboard. She then caused a psychokinetic eruption all around her, hurling the other undead off the zeppelin.
The Siren screamed with great force, staggering Eleanor, but the teenager quickly recovered. Eleanor put her hands together and threw a gigantic fireball at the Siren. Smoke appeared, and the Siren vanished, floating away.
"Where are you going? We both know I could outrun you even underwater," Eleanor commented, chasing after the Siren while hurling Plasmids at the remaining undead.
The last of the undead did not last long, Songbird ripping them apart. Further gunfire came from the Vox ships as they shot down a few Founder airships, but the battle in the skies raged on. Since Eleanor and Booker had already dealt quite a lot of casualties already, the Founder flotilla was undermanned.
"All airships, rally above the Hand of the Prophet! Its generator sustained heavy damage, it must be protected at all costs!" the flagship PA boomed. Eleanor sighed at that.
"Whoever thought it was a good idea...to put an exposed generator atop the deck?" Eleanor mumbled to herself as she took cover behind a Sky-Line support. She picked up a Volley Gun and unleashed everything at the undead, and once empty, threw it at them and continued tossing fiery Plasmids.
The Vox realized their advantage and performed an all-out assault towards the Hand of the Prophet. They bombarded the flagship and its deck, forcing everyone to take cover under the roofing. The Sky-Lines were destroyed, and the generator heavily damaged, now spewing out smoke and sparks constantly.
Unsurprisingly, the undead fired upon the Vox, but some of the insurgents jumped down upon the flagship anyways. Many were spooked at the sight of the undead and the Siren, but they joined the fight anyways, shooting rockets and bullets like crazy.
"Ah-hah-hah-hah-hah! And look what's upon ya, now?" a black man spoke over a PA amongst the Vox airships. He routinely mocked and taunted the Founders. "Down with the False Prophet! Down with the Founders!"
"Songbird! Go get them!" Pinkerton Elizabeth shouted while reloading her revolver, and Songbird flew off, screaming, attacking enemy airships. Soon, Songbird began diving into the zeppelins, shattering the envelope and then gondola. Down the zeppelins fell into the flaming city.
Meanwhile, down below in the lower levels of the Hand of the Prophet, Founder soldiery attempted to enter the deck, but the doors were always locked and broken! Dozens of Motorized Patriots made their way up the zeppelin, but had no choice but to wait for engineers to repair or deconstruct the doors in their way. Eleanor's sabotage would keep many foes locked below, for now.
Back on the deck, the fighting against the Siren and her summoned undead, and the Vox, continued. Eleanor constantly ran after the Siren, casting fire and electrobolts at her, while the Bookers and Pinkerton Elizabeth shot at the ghost and her undead and the Vox. However, no matter what they did, the Siren kept disappearing and reappearing, just like her minions, and soon, the Vox soldiery and their Motorized Patriots were gunned down by the undead.
"He ruined me, now ruin him! Punish them all! Kill the insects, please!" the Siren screamed, summoning more undead.
"Elizabeth!" Pinkerton Elizabeth shouted, getting Blue's attention, "Tell her you're sorry! That's what worked for me!" she continued, then stood up and fired at the undead.
"What?" blue Elizabeth yelled, covering her ears from so much gunfire, the Siren's wails, thunder, and Songbird's cries as he destroyed airships.
"Dammit! Those things just keep coming back!" Booker spat, shooting down a few minions, then casting Shock Jockey at them.
The cover the Elizabeths' conjured phased away, but the Bookers' shields withstood the imminent gunfire as they ran for cover behind the various protrusive sections of machinery. Booker shielded blue Elizabeth, while Zachary shielded Pinkerton Elizabeth, and Eleanor cast electrifying, fiery and anti-gravitational Plasmids at the undead to divert their attention. Whenever too much gunfire went her way, Eleanor would teleport somewhere, and gradually spread the fighting.
"I'll try this!" blue Elizabeth exclaimed, conjuring a Motorized Patriot.
"You all shall taste the justice of Elizabeth Comstock!" the Patriot warned, unloading his crank gun and gunning down a dozen undead. He then ran after while shooting at the Siren as she floated around, Eleanor also hot on her heels and attacking with fiery Plasmids, while the Bookers fired at the Siren and her minions.
"Why did you come!? Why did you come!?" the Siren wailed, summoning yet another batch of undead, some of which were trampled by the Motorized Patriot. He continued firing at them and the Siren, smashing his gun at the enemy as well, but was soon shot apart.
The Siren suddenly whizzed forth, going face-to-face with blue Elizabeth and screeching powerfully. Blue Elizabeth fell onto her butt from the shockwave, then noticed undead rising all around her.
"Kill her! Kill the bastard child! Kill the insects! PLEASE!"
"Elizabeth!" Booker and Zachary shouted at the same time, charging, gunning down the rising undead.
The Siren withstood the bullets hitting her, then she grabbed Elizabeth by the throat and lifted her up.
"Elizabeth!" Zachary and Booker screamed, but then the Siren wailed aloud, the shockwave knocking the charging men, as well as the charging Eleanor, down.
Summoning three dozen more undead, the Siren then floated upwards, Elizabeth firmly in her grasp. Elizabeth gripped the Siren's forearm, trying to wriggle herself free, but was quite stuck. Face reddening from lack of breathing, the choking petite lady looked into the eyes of the Siren, a ghostly glare piercing her soul. The Siren pulled Elizabeth to her, and screamed at her face, the noise deafening and causing Elizabeth's hair to blow back.
"You thorn in my heart! You cancer! You disgusting little monster! You and the insects! Ruined everything!" the Siren screeched, floating off to the side of the zeppelin.
Elizabeth felt rising smoke flow through her, snowflakes pummeling her face, and her feet dangling in the air. Her heart felt like it jumped up to her throat, her guts following up as well.
"Bastard bitch of unholy science!" the Siren screamed, pulling Elizabeth to her face.
Elizabeth's lungs ached with the demand for air, something they did not receive.
"Everything ruined! Ruined because of you!" the Siren wailed, then extended her arm.
"I-I...I'm s-s-sorry..." Elizabeth croaked, trying to breathe. Her feet began twitching, knees jerking upward, and felt her eyes about to roll backwards.
"Elizabeth!" Booker yelled, charging through the undead and knocking over a few, then sprinting after his daughter. Zachary, Eleanor and the other Elizabeth continued the fight, but were overwhelmed by sheer numbers.
Zachary's shields shattered, and he was shot multiple times in the chest and fell over.
"Stay with me, Booker!" Pinkerton Elizabeth immediately went to work, getting a needle and medical supplies ready to keep Zachary on this side of the abyss.
"Hmm... Even after everything he had done to you, forgiveness prevailed?" a man asked, Elizabeth looking up. She saw a pair of empty eye sockets, that man standing nearby, arms spread apart but bent at the elbow, cape and long hair fluttering in the wind. "I respect you. I did not expect that."
Elizabeth grunted, ignoring him, continuing her medical treatment of the injured Zachary as rockets exploded in the skies. A few bullets fired from somewhere hit Michael's chest, but he remained standing as if nothing happened, blood leaking down.
"You will not make it in time to destroy the Siphon, Ms. Comstock," Michael said, Elizabeth pausing and thinking heavily. She slowly looked back up at him, eyes fierce.
In a fit of anger, Elizabeth raised her revolver and fired once, shooting Michael in the head. His head reared, but he realigned it, the bullet hole in-between his eyes and gushing blood. He remained standing, and remained grinning.
"What...are you?" Elizabeth asked.
"Not even a headshot of your revolver, The Ambassador, can kill me. Very few things can truly kill me," Michael replied.
"Whah...how? Wait... Ever since you started working for the Pinkerton's... With me... That's when so many doors started closing, disappearing... Now that you're here, I can't feel or see any Tears..." Elizabeth said as if talking to herself. Michael slowly tilted his head, and grinned again, blood leaking out his mouth and eye sockets.
"A peculiar Tonic indeed. The effects of the Siphon implemented in my genes."
"I... I can't believe I didn't notice this sooner..." Elizabeth said, head dropping. "You only worked with us to, to, to..."
"To learn from you. Long ago, I was a Boy of Silence, who broke free of his conditioning. I could only form basic Tears, so I went out to find you, and others like you. Only then, could I connect my consciousness with yours, and gradually acquire your connection with Tears. Along the way, I met...others... Ellie, Atlas, Anna, Eleanor...and learned from them."
"But...how?"
"When Ellie brought you back with her Tear-infused Plasmid, and brought back the other Elizabeth, and brought back Zachary, this allowed me to bond with all of you. And so, I learned, over the course of many years."
"And now you want to stop us from destroying the Siphon. You don't want me to regain total control of my Tears," Elizabeth said, then heard Zachary groan. "Oh, shit, I forgot to save you!" Elizabeth cursed, and she continued working.
"The ocean of time is against you, Elizabeth. It always was," Michael said, slowly clasping his hands behind his back and walking forwards. When Elizabeth looked up, Michael suddenly extended an arm, grasping her around the neck. He lifted her up and slammed her into the deck, impact causing her to drop her gun.
Elizabeth groaned, crawling backwards and looking for her gun, but then Michael grasped her again, this time with telekinetic power. He made her levitate, and stood before her. His eyeless face had no emotion whatsoever, just blank. Elizabeth wanted to cry out for help, but Michael's power gripped her tongue as well.
It seemed that Eleanor was busy trying to stay alive, Booker was shooting everything he could find at the undead and the Siren to free Elizabeth, and no one noticed what Michael was doing amidst the chaos.
"You would ruin all my work, Ms. Comstock," Michael spoke in a deeper voice, his speech causing blood to bubble out his mouth and eye sockets.
Michael's psychokinetic power grasped Elizabeth's bones, tendons and muscles, and she moaned through clenched teeth, feeling like her skeleton wanted to squeeze out her body. Her arms and legs extended, joints popping. She shut her eyes tightly from the pain, unable to scream for help.
"And for that, I have no choice but to rip you apart, inside out."
Elizabeth gradually made a cute little grin, blood trickling out her mouth, and she slowly opened her eyes. Michael furrowed his eyebrows and cocked his head. When he looked up, a huge beast slammed into him, smashing him a few feet into the deck. Elizabeth fell, freed from Michael's power, watching as Songbird flew off with Michael's broken body gushing blood. Songbird grasped Michael with both hands, ripped him apart, and threw the halves away. Songbird then flew off to destroy more airships attacking the Hand of the Prophet.
Regaining herself, Elizabeth grabbed her revolver and shot a few undead and Vox down. She then summoned a Motorized Patriot to defend her while she continued her medical work of Zachary, holstering her revolver.
"Ha! Look what they got? Nuthin'! Jus' old tales n' old lies, 'bout damn time we be treatin' ya'll like this!" the Vox announcer spoke in his PA, and dozens of Vox soldiery in several gunships flew by, firing upon the flagship. "Just as Daisy said, we be comin' back ta Columbia for vengeance! And here's what the real future is: all o' the Lady's city goin' crashin' down to the ground! We fire the last shots!"
Eleanor did what she could to keep the attention of her undead and Vox forces, but she was strained and tired. Bullets bounced off her and hurt, blood leaked out her mouth, but she kept teleporting and utilizing Plasmids. She picked up a fallen sniper rifle, just in time to see the flashing scopes of other snipers in their gunships. She picked them off until the bullets ran out, then used a rocket launcher against a Vox gunship, then a Burstgun to take out a number of undead shooting at her.
Amidst the gunfight, the Siren kept blue Elizabeth in her grip, watching the little lady writhing, dying for breath. Elizabeth began kicking violently in an attempt to breathe.
"Go to hell!" the Siren hissed, then threw Elizabeth overboard.
"ELLIZAABEHHTH!" Booker screamed, sprinting past the Siren and literally jumping off the zeppelin.
Daughter and father reached out to each other as they fell down the darkness, plummeting toward smoke and fire. Their hands were just inches away, desperately wanting to touch each other before death.
Eleanor teleported to the side of the zeppelin, and peered down. Elizabeth and Booker disappeared into the smoke below. Eleanor's heart skipped a beat, eyebrows raised.
"They're gone..." Eleanor's shoulders drop. After a second, Eleanor saw a great volume of smoke spread apart, accompanied by a powerful, metallic cry. He arose from the flames and smoke, like a metal saviour, hands gently together as if praying.
Eleanor heard the Siren scream with unkindled rage, and then two dozen Vox soldiers who appeared gunned down the undead in their way, and opened fire at the Siren while swearing. The ghost spun around with another angry howl, unleashing such a powerful shockwave, it threw Eleanor overboard, and knocked down the two dozen Vox soldiers.
Eleanor fell for a second, and then teleported back on the flagship, just in time to see the Siren dissipate into smoke and float away invisibly. Teleporting again just as Songbird swooped down, Eleanor reappeared behind the generator, seeing Songbird slam down upon the group of Vox. His titanic feet instantly crushed to death several Vox, then he began kicking, flailing his head, and pecking at the rebels around him, his attacks bursting men open and spilling their insides out, even turning Vox Motorized Patriots into broken toys.
Songbird gently put down Booker and Elizabeth, Elizabeth clutching her dad tightly. When Eleanor saw that, it reminded her of her father. She then felt a rush of compassion and adrenaline, and began hurling explosive fireballs with greater vigour, blasting many undead foes away.
"Just try to keep me from them! Just try!" Eleanor shouted at the Siren's minions.
"Songbird watches all! None can escape his wrath!" the Motorized Patriot Pinkerton Elizabeth summoned earlier exclaimed, trudging to the scene and gunning down a score of undead. Despite heavy damage, he fought on until destroyed by a RPG.
Patriot destroyed, Pinkerton Elizabeth summoned cover for Booker, then she and the revitalized Zachary ran across the scene, firing at the Vox and undead until they could hide behind the summoned cover. They leaned out of cover and continued shooting, protecting Booker and his daughter.
Zachary saw a Vox Motorized Patriot trudging his way towards them, so he took aim and fired at its left knee, his Smith and Wesson Model 29-2 busting the leg open. After a few shots, the leg broke apart, and the mechanical gunner hit the deck. He crawled along while firing his crank gun, but Eleanor quickly flurried explosive fireballs at him and he broke apart at the back.
The team defeated most undead, but then the Siren floated by.
"Come back! COME BACK! No rest until the insects die!" the Siren screamed. Now, many Vox resurrected as her minions.
"She's definitely stronger than I remember!" Pinkerton Elizabeth shouted, reloading her revolver. She scanned the area, then summoned a Mosquito to appear, and it immediately began shooting at the undead.
"And she'll keep coming back until we're dead!" Zachary warned, Smith & Wesson blasting undead down with a single shot. He then threw Old Man Winter, freezing a dozen or so undead in place, giving him time to reload.
Booker and Elizabeth let go of each other, father giving his girl a rough pat on the shoulder before picking up a machine gun and rejoining the fight. After emptying the magazine, Elizabeth handed him another one.
Songbird screamed, crashing down upon a wave of undead. He began swiping his arms and legs wildly all over the place, ripping asunder many undead and Vox soldiers, and shattering to piece the undead Zachary froze. The buzzard flew off, diving into a zeppelin and breaking it.
The Siren reappeared near the end of the bow, and with a mighty shriek, brought back a few dozen undead yet again. They fired at the living relentlessly, and shot down the conjured Mosquito.
"We can't hold up much longer, even with Songbird!" Zachary shouted.
"We gotta destroy the Siphon, now!" Booker shouted, unloading his machine gun upon the undead.
"What?" Zachary yelled, not hearing Booker, casting an electrobolt at the Siren but she did not seem to care.
"Siphon! We destroy it!" Pinkerton Elizabeth yelled, ducking as a sniper's bullet nearly took her head off.
"But we don't have a Whistler! Oh, wait, right! Okay, c'mon! To the bridge!" Zachary yelled, then ran out of cover, shields absorbing fire. His shields slowed down the bullets enough so that they failed to penetrate his cuirass, but left dents and holes in it. One strap over the shoulder was shot off, and the cuirass partly opened up and hung in Booker's way.
"Won't be needing this anymore." He undid his cuirass and tossed it aside, and then Songbird dove, striking the deck with such force he left a big hole in it. The impact caused Booker to stagger, and Songbird had crushed a dozen undead. He then crawled around while pawing furiously, movement alone hurling the Siren's minions down.
"Now's our chance! Go!" Booker yelled, and then he and the Elizabeths sprinted towards the bridge, firing back at gunships.
Booker and Zachary both cast Bucking Bronco downwards, causing the four to fly up back into the bridge. Eleanor teleported up there as well. Although dark outside, there was enough illumination in the bridge to clearly reveal that Zachary and Booker looked identical, something they and the Elizabeths noticed. Their only differences were hair colour and eye colour.
"Alright, you... Who are you, really?" Booker asked, stepping up to Zachary and grabbing his shoulder to get his attention. The two faced each other rather aggressively, noticing the sameness of their faces, but otherwise still gargoyles. Silence between them.
Then, the heavy tuning and static returned, reverberating in the heads of Booker and Zachary. This time, they both grunted from pain, bleeding at the eyes, nose and mouth, and their eyes and veins glowing yellow for a few seconds. Both men felt a rush of memories. Memories of the past and future, of the Booker DeWitt who sought Elizabeth, saved her, and with her discovered his baptism. Neither wiped the blood off one's face, and just stared back at each other, rugged faces bleeding.
"I am..." Zachary said, but could not find it in himself to finish the sentence.
"Booker DeWitt," blue Elizabeth weakly commented, Zachary and Booker looking at her.
"Zachary Comstock," the other Elizabeth said, Booker and Zachary looking at her.
Booker looked at his Elizabeth.
"No, he's...both. I'm both."
The two men stared back at each other. Unpleasant silence.
"No," Booker said, turning around and dismissively waving an arm at Zachary. "No, no, no no no... I'm not you, pal!" He walked away in disbelief, or at least attempted disbelief. He saw Eleanor staring at him with her arms crossed, but did not seem to care much. She slightly tilted her head and raised her eyebrows a little, then looked at Zachary.
"Gentlemen, if I may interrupt your self-realization... What's the plan, now?" Eleanor asked, her hands smoking a little from overuse of Plasmids.
"We fly to Monument Island," Zachary replied, he and Booker looking at each other, "and destroy the Siphon. This is the only way to reach an end, once and for all."
"Sounds easy enough," Eleanor remarked, everyone hearing Songbird crying out, and he flew off to destroy more ships.
Suddenly, the Siren reappeared at the bridge with a scream, the blast staggering everyone.
"Goddammit! She's back!" Booker yelled, firing into the Siren as she summoned several more undead out of nowhere. Zachary and Pinkerton Elizabeth reloaded their revolvers and joined the firefight.
"I have an idea! Cover me!" Pinkerton Elizabeth exclaimed, firing her revolver as she ran around the undead and the Siren. The Bookers opened fire, Zachary hurling Old Man Winter to freeze the undead, and Eleanor keeping the Siren busy by unleashing a rapid flurry of electrobolts.
The Siren screamed again, about to summon more undead, but then Pinkerton Elizabeth jumped at her. Elizabeth rammed her hands into the Siren, hands rippling at a Tear. Howling in terror and agony, the Siren released a powerful shockwave, blasting everyone back several feet and shattering the frozen undead to pieces.
Eleanor landed on her feet, though, and saw Elizabeth open a Tear inside the Siren. The Siren screamed as the Tear reverted the Siren into a ghostly, greyscale, version of Lady Comstock, but the Possession effect was still present. However, the undead she summoned got up as well.
Booker opened fire with his machine gun, Zachary and Pinkerton Elizabeth fired their revolvers, and Eleanor unleashed electrobolts at the Siren and undead, nearly hitting Pinkerton Elizabeth. The attacks destroyed her undead, and the ghostly Lady Comstock staggered backwards from the assault of weaponry, but she remained standing. Many more undead were about to be summoned, to take up the entire space of the bridge.
"I'm sorry!" blue Elizabeth squeaked, running forth, so everyone else stopped shooting, Eleanor pulling back a fireball and causing it to vanish. "I'm sorry...if that helps..." she said quietly, then hesitated, wondering what to say. "You tried to kill me, but...I still forgive you. I just want all this fighting to stop. We all know that, that, that... That creepy man...he wants you to hate us. But you are not like him, you are better than him. Can you forgive me, too, please?" she continued, gently gesticulating with her hands.
Lady Comstock said nothing. She now consisted of distortion and blurriness, phasing in and out of her Siren form, but bled like a fountain from the many bullet holes in her. The Siren inhaled sharply, aura flickering. Eleanor's hands ignited with flames, and the others got ready as the undead arose all around them.
"Wait!" Pinkerton Elizabeth exclaimed, dropping her revolver, "We've been through this before, Annabelle, we can go over this again! We don't want to hurt you! Just like last time, when me and Booker found the truths, we didn't want to hurt you! It's...it was Michael this time. He wants to hurt you, to hurt us. He's still, somehow, doing something to you... Fight him, Annabelle! You are stronger than he is! Let go of him!" Elizabeth encouraged.
The Siren's minions lowered their firearms, and waited, Eleanor keeping an eye on them.
The Siren whimpered, then screamed aloud, another shockwave erupting from her and staggering everyone, even her undead. She slouched, then fell onto a knee, hands hitting the floor.
Pinkerton Elizabeth looked side to side, the undead remaining non-hostile, but their glowing eyes were still creepy. She then carefully approached the Siren, extending an arm to place a hand on the ghost's shoulder. Just before her hand touched her, the Siren raised her head and screamed, the force knocking Elizabeth off her feet. The ghost picked herself up angrily, but then paused, watching as Zachary walked forth, Booker and Eleanor ready to fight, but held back.
"Annabelle! Listen to me! Just listen, please!" Zachary shouted, getting the Siren's attention. He dropped his revolver, then showed his empty hands, slowly approaching the Siren. He then embraced the ghost with a quivering inhale, eyes shutting tightly. "I-I forgave you of everything, in all the worlds, because I loved you, in all the worlds. Always have, always will... I will always forgive you, no matter what. I will always love you, no matter what... Will you?"
After a few seconds, the Siren raised her hands, clutching Zachary's back. Her Possession aura dissipated, easily and calmly, and her minions slowly faded away. Now, it was just Zachary and a ghostly Annabelle, gently swaying in each other's arms.
"Yes..." Annabelle softly answered.
Booker, the Elizabeths, and Eleanor calmed down, Eleanor's fiery Plasmids vanishing from her hands. The Elizabeths sadly walked to Zachary and Annabelle, the two slowly letting go of each other, but still holding hands.
Zachary just solemnly stared into the glowing eyes of the ghost that was once his beloved, little wife. He lowered his head, resting his forehead on Annabelle's. Lady Comstock then slouched, knees buckling.
"Annabelle..." Zachary cried, holding the Siren, then gently laying her down on her back. The Siren coughed.
The Elizabeths' head and shoulders dropped a bit, moved by the sight. Booker remained stone faced, and Eleanor could not stop thinking about Mother. Eleanor made puppy dog eyes, and slightly sucked in her lips.
They really loved each other, but... Is the door still open for...Mother? she wondered. She reflected how Mother said she would never forgive her after they escaped Rapture. But, seeing such love and forgiveness in front of her, Eleanor knew she could not be wrong, could she? She felt guilty for slapping Mother, and trying to choke her to death. Eleanor's eyes got shiny, but she held in her regrets, stroking a few fingers over her ear. Turning her head, Eleanor watched as Pinkerton Elizabeth put her hands together, wanting to say something.
"Michael...is dead. He won't cause you suffering anymore," Pinkerton Elizabeth said, hearing rockets exploding in the skies far away.
"No, Vay Atar will return. He cannot die. He always comes again, and again, and again..." the Siren warned, then coughed. "That's how he brought me back, he never gives up... I tried to stop him, not only in this world... He always brought me back to relive my suffering, my rage, my regret..."
"Then...how do we stop him?" Pinkerton Elizabeth asked with a frown.
The Siren shifted, slowly and painfully, Zachary not letting go of her. The Siren weakly pointed at Elizabeth, then at the other one.
"Both...at the same time...open a Tear in him..." the Siren said.
"Is that even possible?" blue Elizabeth asked.
"Find out, child. Find out..." The Siren softly exhaled, then her head went limp.
"A-Anna...Ahn-n-n-abelle? Annabelle, I-I-I, I... I'm so sorry, for everything... Please don't leave me, Annabelle..." Zachary whispered.
She weakly raised a hand and placed it on Zachary's cheek, ghostly eyes shiny. Zachary wrapped his arms around the Siren, lowered his head, and kissed his wife, both of them closing their eyes as teardrops came. She slid her hand up his cheek, then held the back of his head. After a few seconds, their lips parted, and their eyes slightly opened.
"I... I, I finally saved you, Zachary..." Annabelle Watson said, and then she faded away.
Zachary was left on his knees, holding air. His head and arms dropped, and just knelt there.
Pinkerton Elizabeth looked away, wiping teardrops from her eyes. She then placed her hand on Zachary's shoulder, feeling him put his hand over hers. She never saw anyone look so...crushed.
The other Elizabeth kept her hands together, trying not to cry, but her eyes were shiny.
"At least you're safe," Booker commented.
"We still need to destroy the Siphon. It's the only way to end all of this, once and for all," Zachary said normally as he picked himself up. He regained his composure rather quickly. He then ran to the big wheel and gave it a big spin. The flagship turned.
"You know how to fly that thing?" Booker asked.
"Well, it's my ship..." Zachary mumbled.
"Alright, back to work," Eleanor said, then she, Booker and Pinkerton Elizabeth took cover behind the broken front of the bridge, and continued the gunfight against the Vox in their gunships.
Eleanor hurled fiery and electric Plasmids, Booker fired a carbine his Elizabeth threw him, Pinkerton Elizabeth used her Ambassador revolver, and Songbird continued destroying enemy airships when able.
As Zachary steered the flagship through Columbia, Monument Island became visible.
"There it is," Zachary remarked, steering the flagship straight to the island. Wind and snow flurried into the bridge, and the lightning and thunder amplified.
"How do we destroy that, exactly?" Booker asked.
"Simple. I'll pull down a statue, and get its Whistler. Just like last time, Songbird will destroy the Siphon," Pinkerton Elizabeth stated, glad that Michael was dead. Now, nothing would stop them from destroying the Siphon. Elizabeth would regain her powers, and they would fix everything.
Everyone looked outside, seeing several Vox ships bombard the Hand of the Prophet. The generator promptly exploded.
"Oh, shit! I forgot about the generator!" Zachary yelled, the entire flagship losing power with a mighty groan. Everyone felt the ship begin to gradually tilt forwards, and the Vox continued barraging the ship.
The Hand of the Prophet was crashing, and everyone aboard felt the flooring tilt, the hull goraning, rockets blasting over the bridge.
"Flagship down! Flagship down!" the distorted PA sounded, "All hands, brace for impact!"
Everyone felt their blood rush as the Hand of the Prophet tilted downwards more and more, revealing more of the flaming city below: smoke, fire, skyscrapers, roads. The Whistler statue fell over then slid down the bridge, Elizabeth reaching for it, but it rolled past her.
"Oh, no! No, no, no!" Pinkerton Elizabeth shouted, the statue sliding out the bridge, breaking from the fall, then the parts slid off the flagship, along with many corpses and fallen weapons.
"No! Dammit! Michael was right! We're too late!" Pinkerton Elizabeth exclaimed, feeling her heart stop and skin crawl. Without acquiring a Whistler, there was no way to make Songbird destroy the Siphon.
"Not if I can help it!" Zachary exclaimed, giving the steering wheel a sharp turn, holding it steady so that it remained aligned towards Monument Island.
"What are you doing?" Eleanor asked.
"We're destroying the Siphon, one way or another! Alright, everyone, hang on!" Zachary warned.
It took everyone a second to realize what he meant. So, they balanced themselves, grabbing onto the broken front of the bridge as the Vox continued bombarding it, and the flagship continued to tilt downwards into a dive
"Ohhhh-hhhhh shhhhhiiiit!" Booker exclaimed as the Hand of the Prophet began to nosedive into Monument Island. The flagship's warning siren made everything worse.
Zachary ended up lying over the steering wheel once the flagship became vertical, the others holding onto the sections of the broken bridge, everyone hanging on for dear life.
Both Elizabeths and Booker screamed, Eleanor and Zachary hoping for the best as the flagship poked its nose into the giant statue's head. Many tonnes rammed down into Monument Island, causing it to violently nudge downwards and descend from so much weight, but it was nonetheless split open.
Chunks of construction and fiery debris rained down, and then the flagship penetrated into the Siphon. An electrostatic discharge promptly erupted. Blueness and whiteness swirled and flickered everywhere chaotically, lighting up the night sky, the eruption louder than the thunder.
The front third of the Hand of the Prophet was reduced to shreds and flames. The flagship was now diving down to the burning city.
"Ahh! Elizabeth!" Booker yelled, trying to hold onto whatever he could, but everyone ended up falling faster than the flagship.
Songbird wailed, diving after the flagship as fast as he could.
"Booker!" the two Elizabeths yelled at the same time.
"ELLIZZABEHHHTH!" the two Bookers screamed as everyone began plummeting.
Everyone screamed, the Hand of the Prophet above them, and the flaming city below...