Daisy spoke to her Vox forces at the airport entrance, the Handyman that Songbird encountered also with them. Also present were the Beasts she had spoken to earlier, two Vox Firemen, and what appeared to be the last Vox Zealot, armed with nothing but a sword. The front of his hood had an emblem of a white sword pointing down.
"So, we be goin' ta some lighthouse overseas?" an African-American Vox Beast asked.
"Maybe, or somethin' like that. It's called Rapture Lighthouse, located at 63° 2' North, 29° 55' West. I don't know how any of this is gonna work out, but apparently this is the only way to solvin' everythin'," Daisy replied. Her troops murmured.
"How's a lighthouse gonna fix dat machinery in deh skoiz?" an Irish Vox asked, but Daisy just shrugged.
"I sure dunno, but it's the only plan we got. Somethin' 'bout other worlds an' all. Guess Elizabeth and all just gotta take a leap a faith. We'll fly out and keep the horde away from the airport."
Off in the distance, the section of machinery in the sky that was slowly opening up, began booming with clanks and rattles. Farther into the city, some chunks of skyborne machinery fell. Sunlight beamed through, illuminating the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. Although the cathedral was not visible from the airport, something would happen there.
The Vox heard howls and roars echo from Manhattan. The Vox Handyman crossed his arms with a grunt.
"Sounds like the horde's coming to us. Those bastards sure never give up," a Vox Fireman remarked, his fiery Vigors firing up. "Can't wait to ignite them!"
"Then when they get here...let's give em what they want," Daisy said, unslinging her carbine.
Eleanor stood with her back to the wall in a hallway, head low, arms crossed. She hated whenever she saw Mother and Zachary get affectionate. Eleanor just wanted to be grumpy alone, but then felt someone tap her side.
"Grumpy?" Cindy asked, suddenly materializing out of nowhere. Eleanor chuckled. Cindy had washed her arms and face in the washroom, but was still quite dusty and dirty.
"Yes...grumpy," Eleanor admitted, but was glad to see Cindy.
"Why are you grumpy?"
"Oh...big girl things."
Eleanor didn't look like she wanted to talk. Noticing, then pausing for a second, Cindy got an idea and raised Little Daddy at Eleanor.
"But Little Daddy's here for you!" Cindy squeaked. Eleanor snickered, and smiled.
Though, it was not long until conflict came, interrupting the girls' moment. They overheard shouting.
"Someone's mad," Cindy remarked.
The girls headed to the lobby.
"...You touch her, I'll kill you! I should kill you! This is all your fault!" Booker's voice echoed.
"You keep your goddamn hands off me, son!" Zachary's voice boomed.
Eleanor and Cindy reached the lobby, seeing the others there. Booker and Zachary had gotten into an argument, Pinkerton Elizabeth and old Elizabeth looking a bit guilty and nervous. Blue Elizabeth stood with her mouth open, totally dumbstruck. The two Elizabeths tried to calm down the men, touching their shoulders, but that didn't work.
"You're the reason all this happened!" Booker accused.
"You're just accusing yourself, pal," Zachary said.
"Son of a bitch - you ain't me!" Booker yelled.
Cindy stepped behind Eleanor.
"It's the third time you deny it, Booker, how much longer will you?" Pinkerton Elizabeth asked with some firmness, clenching her hands and leaning at him. They made eye contact. "You've been to another world entirely," she briefly and slightly raised her arms, "you've seen all of this happen, you're obviously not in Columbia... And yet you still can't accept any of this? Don't you think that maybe reality is a bit more complex than you think?"
Booker dismissively waved an arm at Pinkerton Elizabeth. It seemed that every Booker DeWitt was as stubborn as the first.
"We are approaching the Apocalypse, and you want to fight against yourself?" old Elizabeth asked, then looked at blue Elizabeth, and sighed. "Elizabeth, Booker is your father, not Comstock."
Blue Elizabeth just looked at her old version blankly, then made eye contact with Booker for a moment.
"It's the truth, Elizabeth," Pinkerton Elizabeth said, then gave Booker a slight scowl. "Booker, tell her how you lost her."
Booker looked at Pinkerton Elizabeth rather angrily. Pinky just crossed her arms, not intimidated. Booker felt hurt by her words. She looked at his daughter.
"Go on, Elizabeth, ask your father how he lost his baby girl."
Booker's fists tightened, and he looked away.
"What happened to Anna, Booker? Please, tell us. The one who hired you is no more..." old Elizabeth said softly, then looked at blue Elizabeth, gesturing her.
"Booker..." blue Elizabeth squeaked, gently putting a hand on Booker's shoulder. He softly sighed, head low, but could not look back at Elizabeth's big blue eyes. "Booker... No matter what happened, I don't hate you. Never have, never will." She gently let her hand slide off Booker's shoulder. He did not make eye contact.
"I..." Booker hesitated.
"Yes?" his daughter whispered.
Booker looked at Zachary, and his knuckles turned white. He turned around and walked away, saying nothing.
"Booker! We just need to work together to get out of this alive!" blue Elizabeth pleaded, walking after him, but nothing was getting through his skull.
"Just let the truth out. You're only holding back the inevitable," Zachary said. Booker spun on his heels and glared.
"No matter what, I'm not that old bastard!" Booker assured, briefly gesturing at Zachary, ready to hit someone. His daughter backed off a little, wondering if he would actually hit her.
"No matter what, we're the same guy, and we're in this together," Zachary stated. "We let go of her. We sold her. We regretted our decision. We stole her back from ourselves. We've done this, what... Millions of times? The only difference is that this time... This time, there's no debt to pay..."
The vein in Booker's temple throbbed at what Zachary said. Pinkerton Elizabeth noticed, and stepped forth to contain Booker's anger.
"You can just go to hell, you son of a bitch!" Booker yelled, rudely stepping through Pinkerton Elizabeth.
"Don't hurt her, you son of a bitch!" Zachary yelled back, aggressively approaching Booker, who in turn pushed the old man back.
Booker would have thrown a punch, but blue Elizabeth grabbed his arm. Face red, Booker stepped around Elizabeth. He and Zachary stepped to each other, Zachary pushing Booker back. Booker grabbed Zachary, but Zachary shoved Booker's arms aside.
"You keep your hands off me! You hear!?" Zachary shouted, stepping into Booker, and the two men nearly headbutted each other.
Booker's hand looked like clay and his veins glowed, and Zachary's hand formed small electrical currents. Both men contemplated if they should withdraw their guns, worrying the Elizabeths.
"No! Stop this right now!" old Elizabeth exclaimed as if yelling at kids, the two big boys looking at her for a moment.
"Stop fighting! Please, just stop!" blue Elizabeth pleaded, pulling Booker's arm back, Pinkerton Elizabeth grabbing Zachary's arm. Both men jerked their arms free, but at least they weren't in each other's faces anymore.
Zachary contemptuously waved an arm at Booker, and stepped away from him. Angry, Booker grabbed Zachary by the shoulder, so Zachary spun around and shoved him. They started to fight. Booker performed a Bucking Bronco charge, but Zachary spun around him and pushed him, using his momentum against him. The two faced each other and threw punches, cracking each other's faces open. Before the Elizabeths could do anything, the men fell and wrestled on the floor.
Blue Elizabeth's mouth dropped, and she put a hand over it.
"I think we told Booker too much," old Elizabeth remarked sadly.
"Yes, I think we did," Pinkerton Elizabeth agreed. "But we didn't tell him that much... We can't tell Daisy anything about this."
"You're right. But... I thought Booker would handle it. I thought he would have reached far enough to know, yet...this one didn't," old Elizabeth said.
A few Irishmen came to the scene to watch the fight.
"Ey! Look at em fight!" an Irish Mobster remarked, and then about ten more Irish guys ran over to watch the fight, enjoying themselves.
"Dat girl's missin' an eye?" another Irishman mumbled.
"Why are they fighting?" Cindy asked Eleanor.
"Well, Cindy, men never grow up. They just become bigger boys," Eleanor replied.
Eleanor walked forth, using her psychokinesis to pull the two Bookers apart, both men pawing at each other as they slid. They got up, Eleanor stood between them. Her telekinesis kicked in, and she shoved Zachary and Booker off their feet.
"Is this how real men behave?" Eleanor asked, clasping her hands behind her back, looking at Booker, then at Zachary. "Or does the sixteen-year-old girl have to babysit grown men all day?" Eleanor's words sure grabbed their attention. In fact, the men said nothing as they picked themselves up.
Booker felt his nose bleed, then angrily approached Zachary, intending to swerve around Eleanor. She stepped in front of Booker, leaning into him so that her forehead bumped his.
"Stay out of my way, girl," Booker almost threatened, stepping around Eleanor. She grabbed him, pulled him in front of her, and leaned into him. Eleanor glared.
"Or what?" she asked the rather surprised man, who did not expect such strength from a teenager. The Irishmen overlooking the fight were as surprised as Booker.
Cindy hugged her Big Daddy doll, knees bending a little, shoulders raised.
Mr. DeWitt furrowed his eyebrows, and took a step back. Eleanor let go of him. His Vigor deactivated. He and Zachary scowled at each other, both men clenching their fists.
"They are their genes, Eleanor."
Eleanor turned her head, and saw Mother casually standing a short distance away, arms crossed, a lit cigarette in her hand. Nearby were what appeared to be Mother's bodyguards, several Irishmen with Tommy guns. The Bookers did not care.
"I can only hope you do not become like them, as your father would," Mother remarked, then lifted her cig to smoke it.
"As long as I'm not you, that's good enough," Eleanor replied. Mother softly huffed, then let a mouthful of smoke leave her.
"Zachary, do you reject your genes and the self? Would you do that for me?" Sofia Lamb asked in her usual sweet yet sinister voice, ignoring Eleanor. Sofia's words made Zachary sigh and lower his head.
"Yes, Sofia. I'd do anything for you," Zachary replied, his Plasmid deactivating.
"I do not wish to see my Zachary become his inner monster, " Ms. Lamb remarked, then took another go at her cigarette. She did not have to say anything else for Zachary to calm down and walk away.
Once they got close enough, Sofia hugged Zachary and gave him a soft kiss. Mother then looked at Eleanor in her passively self-righteous kind of way. Eleanor immediately got irritated.
That bitch... She did that on purpose... Eleanor thought to herself. Mother seemed to read her mind. At least Booker and Zachary stopped fighting. Booker shook his head and walked away.
"Were it not for what's going on now... I'd kill you," Booker grumbled, but kept going.
Blue Elizabeth sighed with relief, watching Booker go. She looked out the entrance, seeing Songbird leaning down outside, looking through the entrance, probably to make sure Booker wouldn't hurt her. His yellow eyes were as cautious as ever, but the buzzard seemed to trust Booker and Zachary enough to not freak out quickly.
"Booker?" blue Elizabeth called, then went after him, wanting to talk and calm him down.
"He's always a problem, hunh?" Pinkerton Elizabeth remarked.
"Always the same. Always," old Elizabeth agreed. She sighed, putting her hands to her heart. "We don't have much time. If we have to go back to Rapture, we need to, before he comes. As the sun rises, he begins returning."
"Then there's no way we'll go across the Atlantic in time," Pinkerton Elizabeth said. She started smoking. Might as well enjoy something before I die.
"Eleanor?" Cindy called. Eleanor turned her head. "Follow me, please, I found something important when I was gone."
Eleanor followed Cindy across the lobby, glad to have a reason to just get away from Mother.
"What did you find?" Eleanor asked.
"You'll see!" Cindy squeaked.
Soon, the child her Big Sister to a section of the airport that had various wounded citizenry. Most lied on the floor in makeshift beds, bandaged up. Cindy scuttled to one of the injured men, who sat at the wall, sleeping. He had bloodied wrappings around his head and midsection. Cindy started patting the injured man's bandaged head, and he snorted awake.
Cindy then spun on her heels, cocked her head, and grinned, "Look who's here!"
"Huh? What?" the man mumbled, lifting his head.
Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows, rather surprised.
"Julian? You're...here," Eleanor said.
"Hm? Oh, hey Eleanor, fancy meeting you here!" Julian Sinclair exclaimed, then groaned and coughed. "Sorry about being such a mess. One of those... big things... tried to eat my guts. I emptied six rounds into his head. Bastard still didn't go down, heh heh... I barely escaped."
"I'm glad you survived."
"What happened to your eye? Did the things take it out?" Sinclair asked.
"I got shot in the face," Eleanor answered. Sinclair's eyes widened.
"You survived gettin' shot in the face?" he asked, amazed.
"Yes, but there's no time to talk about that. A woman named Elizabeth believes we have to go back to Rapture for a leap of faith. I think she believes it's the only way to end all this. Though, I doubt those zeppelins can fly fast enough to get back to Rapture quickly," Eleanor said.
"Hm? Back to Rapture, you say? Let's take my plane. It was ready to fly to Paris before...all this happened. I can get it ready for lift-off quick," Sinclair said, picking himself up with a groan. Eleanor's eye went big, then she helped Sinclair stand.
"You want to fly? Like this?"
"Hell yes! If I'm breathin', I'm workin."
"How are we gonna land your plane at Rapture?" Eleanor asked, but Julian just chuckled.
"Same way Jack did," a woman remarked. Eleanor turned her head and noticed Pinkerton Elizabeth standing nearby, her back to the wall, arms crossed. "He crashed his plane into the ocean, then swam to the lighthouse."
"Sounds good to me," Julian acknowledged.
"Are you both insane? Julian, even if you do safely land on the water, there's no way you can swim to the Rapture Lighthouse."
"Who says I'll survive the crash landing?" Julian asked, and Eleanor let go of him. He stood on his own, but Eleanor did not like what he said.
"Sinclair..."
"Nah, nah, nah... Eleanor, I'm already done for. Without a hospital, and with whatever the hell is going on... There's no way I'm gonna make it another day. Just let me fly, one more time, before I die."
"Risking a crash landing into the ocean can get us all killed," Eleanor said.
"Hmm. Oh! Well, Songbird can carry us down to the Rapture Lighthouse, two by two. The old me says we have no time left. We need to take a plane, nothing else is fast enough, and I doubt Songbird can carry us all or pull a zeppelin," Pinkerton Elizabeth explained. "There's nothing else we can do. Either this, or we all wait for our deaths."
"I...you're right. Uhh... Alright, Sinclair, we'll do it your way."
"Yyyesss! Ahh hah hah hah!" Sinclair weakly cheered, then clutched his sternum from pain. "I always wanted to retire the day I die. Let's get goin', I can't wait to fly again. I can't stand what happened to New York."
"But... I won't forgive myself if you die," Eleanor said as Julian began walking.
"Sometimes, all you need is your life to lose," Sinclair said.
Then, they heard booming clanking echoing from the skies, as powerful as thunder, enough to shake the floor. Cindy jumped, and hugged Little Daddy.
"Time's up," a man said, causing everyone to look to the side. It was Michael, yet again, standing with his back to the wall, arms spread apart, empty eye sockets leaking blood. "Neh, heh, heh, heh, heh hehhhh, hih!" he laughed without as much vigour as he used to.
Eleanor grasped Michael with her psychokinesis, lifted him up, and slammed him head-first into the floor, his neck making a meaty crunch. Michael picked himself weakly, then cracked his neck back into proper position, Cindy shivering and grimacing at the popping sounds.
Pinkerton Elizabeth withdrew The Ambassador and shot Michael in the head twice, leaving two red holes in his forehead, but he did nothing. The gunfire caused some panic, the injured people nearby gasping and leaning away.
"Well, he ain't going down easy, just like those things!" Sinclair remarked, Michael looking at him, then at Elizabeth.
"Shouldn't you be focusing on your journey, rather than wasting ammo? You can't kill what can't die, nor make the dead any deader," Michael asked as Elizabeth approached him.
Pinkerton Elizabeth kneed him in the crotch, and he leaned over from pain. She then headbutted Michael in the nose, put her foot behind his ankle, and pushed him over. At the same time, she summoned a Tear of the floor. Michael fell through the Tear, and Elizabeth closed it.
"But I can shut you up...for a while," she remarked, holstering her revolver. "Alright, Mr. Sinclair, you're flying us back to Rapture. Let's go." They began walking toward the entrance. "I hope Booker calmed down by now..."
"What do you mean it can go faster than Songbird?" Booker asked, following the Elizabeths, Eleanor, and Sinclair outside, Cindy waddling behind Eleanor.
Songbird stepped back from the entrance, letting everyone pass, but Sinclair flinched at the sight of the buzzard. Then, the Vox Handyman looked at Sinclair, and he flinched again.
"Hi, Big Angel!" Cindy exclaimed, waving at Songbird. He cocked his head at her.
"Let's just say, that airplanes have gotten better since your time," Pinkerton Elizabeth answered Booker. "It's our only hope of ending this, once and for all."
"Huh. Well, this leap of faith to Rapture better work," Booker said.
"It will," Pinkerton Elizabeth assured.
"Where's Zachary?" blue Elizabeth asked.
"We don't need him, let's keep going," Booker replied.
"The plane's this way. Walk shouldn't take more than a few minutes," Sinclair said.
The booming clanking returned, echoing throughout the skyborne machinery, causing Cindy to jump from fright. Sinclair and the others spun around, as did the Vox over yonder, looking at where the noise came from. Where sunlight shone through the skyborne machinery onto the cathedral, the machines up there began to unfurl. More roaring and howling echoed as well, but soon died off.
"We need to go, now!" old Elizabeth shouted at everyone.
"Right this way!" Sinclair agreed.
"Hey! Where you all going?" Zachary called, having just ran out the airport.
"We're leaving, and you're not coming with us," Booker yelled back.
"You ain't going without me," Zachary shouted, and then everyone heard the echoes of chaos, which was so powerful, everyone had to cover their ears.
Where the skyborne machinery unfurled, immense sections collapsed, mechanical columns raining down and striking the skyscrapers and streets below. The howling and roaring returned. Once the loud noise stopped, everyone could concentrate again. Songbird looked off in the distance, eyes yellow.
"I'm scared..." Cindy said, stepping against Eleanor's leg. Big Sister stroked Cindy's head.
"We'll be safe, I promise."
The massive clanking returned, many covering their ears. More sections of the skyborne machinery started erupting asunder, immense, serpentine mechanical arms breaking through. The arms each had a big red eye in the palm, and slowly protracted and retracted under the skyborne machinery while swaying.
"Just like the one that grabbed me..." Pinkerton Elizabeth mumbled, her skin crawling at the grotesque sight.
"Does everything have to get weirder and weirder?" blue Elizabeth asked, rather startled.
About a hundred mechanical arms appeared throughout the city, spaced apart by a mile or so. Every few seconds, another would burst through the skyborne machinery, and begin scanning the streets.
The howling of the horde returned, now constant. Songbird made a loud wheezing sound.
"Everyone into the zeppelins, now! Doubletime!" Daisy barked, and the Vox began boarding their airships.
"I meet horde, hold them back, smash them! Buy you time!" the Vox Handyman said, then darted off to engage the horde by himself.
"Godspeed!" the Vox Zealot exclaimed, Murder of Crows forming around him.
"And we gotta get into the plane! Let's go!" Pinkerton Elizabeth exclaimed, and off everyone went.
"Into the other Big Angel! But these ones doesn't have moving arms," Cindy said to herself.
Another massive crash. Chunks of metal rained down around everyone, everyone covering their heads. Songbird shielding blue Elizabeth with his wings. Directly above everyone, a mechanical hand appeared, beaming red light down upon them.
Eleanor covered her face with her arms, and kept moving with everyone. So long as she did not stare directly into the light, she did not go all static and weird, but her skin and spine tingled.
Songbird wailed, eyes going red as well, and he flew up to confront the giant arm. The mechanical arm turned to face Songbird, both their eyes beaming at each other. The arm swung, but Songbird swerved around it, the dove into the wrist. Songbird's tackle caused the arm to flinch, and the buzzard started grabbing its mechanical parts and breaking them. Blood squirted out onto Songbird, and the arm waved, trying to throw the buzzard off itself.
"Keep it busy, Songbird!" blue Elizabeth exclaimed, and the run to Sinclair's plane continued, even though the injured pilot limped and bled.
Songbird wailed and fought up above, bits of machinery and torrents of blood falling from his airborne fight. Eleanor used her telekinesis to divert some falling debris away from everyone, and for once, the path to their current objective seemed easier than usual.
The Vox zeppelins began to lift-off, firing rocketry at the incoming horde, who had crossed via the Triborough Bridge. It would only be a matter of time before the fleshy monsters reached the airport, but had to run the gauntlet of rockets and Vox guns.
More massive booms and echoing clanks sounded. This time, several mechanical arms shot down, striking into a few zeppelins. Three zeppelins crashed down in flames, two landing nearby everyone. Fire, smoke and debris erupted, spraying across the runway.
"Dammit! Everyone alright?" Booker yelled, shielding his face from the flames.
"I am! Anyone else?" blue Elizabeth asked, then began coughing. One by one, everyone else said they were alright, but Eleanor had to pick up Cindy.
A number of people emerged from the two wreckages, most coughing and struggling for breath, but alive. Surprisingly, amongst the survivors was Daisy, as well as the Vox Zealot, a Fireman (unaffected by the flames), and three Beasts.
"Hey! Over here!" Booker yelled, so the surviving Vox ran towards them.
"Looks like I'm stickin' around ya'll after all!" Daisy exclaimed.
"The plane's just over there!" Sinclair said, and then everyone heard hissing and howling. A score of fleshy monsters appeared, darting down the runway.
Booker withdrew his Burstgun, blue Elizabeth and old Elizabeth took out a Broadsider Pistol each, Pinkerton Elizabeth got her revolver, Daisy raised her carbine, the Beasts lifted their rocket-launching, the Fireman launched Devil's Kiss, the Zealot unleashed his murderous crows, and Eleanor lobbed fireballs. The mix of bullets, Vigors and Plasmids struck the fleshy monsters heavily.
The Beasts and Fireman charged, tackling their ironclad frames into fleshy monsters, Beasts beating them with their guns. The Fireman ended up atop a fleshy monster, and repeatedly headbutted the monster, or helm-butted. The fleshy monsters threw their foes off, but the monsters were nonetheless gunned down by sheer numbers.
Booker slung his Burstgun over his shoulder, then withdrew both Hand Cannons, suitable weapons against such bulky monsters. Booker and Pinkerton Elizabeth would sometimes fire at point-blank range, waiting for the fleshy monsters to go up-close, then ramming their revolvers into the monsters' mouths and firing, shattering the spinal cord at the back of the mouth, resulting in immediate death.
The Zealot relied on constant teleporting with his crows while chopping up fleshy monsters. The Fireman simply charged, going face-to-face with the meaty beasts and burning them up while swinging his ironclad fists and head like flails.
Zachary and Booker threw various Vigor traps. Shock Jockey electrified, Devil's Kiss exploded, Bucking Bronco levitated, and Possession turned fleshy monsters against themselves, creating chaos.
Amidst the chaotic flurry of action, everyone heard wailing, and looked up. The buzzard swooped down, dragging its talons along the ground and ripping open several fleshy monsters. Songbird then landed atop a few others, and started swinging his arms, legs and wings about madly, smashing more and more fleshy monsters into paste.
The two younger Elizabeths each summoned a Motorized Patriot to help even up the odds!
"Made to fight against the Prophet's enemies, remade for the cause of the Vox, now destined to face monsters!" one of the Patriots stated, cranking his weapon and mowing down some fleshy monsters.
"You fight for Daisy? But I had fought The False Prophet moments ago!" the other exclaimed, joining in the gunfight.
"Yet we both understand the greater threat! If only the Founders and the Vox had joined forces, the former Boy of Silence, Michael, would have surely fallen!" the previous patriot said.
With so much combined firepower, everyone blasted their way through a few dozen fleshy monsters. The Motorized Patriots gunned down more, then ran forth to club beasts down, distracting them further. This allowed everyone else to head to a series of planes along the runway.
Sinclair led everyone to his plane, Eleanor getting memories of when Sinclair flew all around the world to return the Little Sisters to their true homes. To think that Spirry had transformed the world into the ugliest of hells...
Sinclair's airplane was already on the runway, ready for takeoff. Even its staired entranceway was left open. Sinclair was first to go up, everyone else following, though the Zealot teleported into the plane. The Fireman deactivated his fiery Plasmids, for obvious reasons.
"I just need a few minutes to get the plane runnin'!" Sinclair exclaimed, running to the cockpit.
Entering the airplane, Eleanor put Cindy down. The child ran to a seat, looking out the window. Eleanor felt a sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. Halfway down the airplane, at a seat, having a cigarette, was...
"Oh, look. Mother reached Sinclair's vessel first. Again."
"She abandoned her congregation again, too," Eleanor commented, rather annoyed. Mother just briefly lifted her eyebrows while looking at and smoking her cigarette.
Zachary stood nearby, holding his sniper rifle, which was smoking at the barrel. He must have been sniping out the entrance of the plane moments ago.
"You're here, too?" Booker asked angrily. Pinkerton Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
"Ugh... Just take a seat, Booker. Mind your own business for once in your life."
Eleanor closed the plane entrance, "Alright, we're ready to fly Sinclair."
The plane engines roared to life, and it soon began to drive down the runway. Sinclair steered away from the crashed zeppelins, and could see the other Vox vessels shooting like crazy at the horde below. The zeppelins flew low to avoid the mechanical arms.
As the plane drove, some fleshy monsters stupidly ran in the way, and got run over. Everyone heard tapping sounds.
"Sounds like they're trying to climb in. I'll deal with them!" Eleanor said, and teleported outside.
Reappearing on the runway, Eleanor could see several fleshy monsters who managed to jump on the plane. While running after the plane, she used psychokinesis to pull them down, one by one, then threw fiery Plasmids at them.
The Zealot reappeared on the wing of the plane, knees bent low to stabilize himself, robes fluttering. He cast Murder of Crows at the fleshy monsters, and while one climbed up the wing, he drove his sword into the monster's mouth. He then kicked it off the wing, and Eleanor threw fireballs at it. Another fleshy monster climbed the wing and jumped at the Zealot, but just as he sliced its hand open, he teleported to the other wing, crows following him, and the fleshy monster fell off the wing. Once all the fleshy monsters were off, the Zealot and Eleanor teleported back into the plane.
Wheels struggling to get off the runway, the plane shifted up and down. To make things worse, a few dozen fleshy monsters ran across the runway together, then ran down, as if intending to charge into the plane!
"Not sure if totally fearless, or totally brainless!" Sinclair exclaimed, and his plane's wheels lifted off the runway. He heard some meaty thuds, too. But, at least the plane was airborne, many passengers looking out the windows.
Off in the distance, they could see the section of unfurled skyborne machinery. Descending from the sunlight, were a series of chains, lowering a fifty-foot hypercube that had the texture of Shadow Tears. The shadowy machinery then cracked apart.
As if hatching from an egg, some sort of entity emerged from the hypercube. It pushed apart the hypercube, and gracefully hovered, slowly moving its arms. The sunlight revealed the entity to be something almost as big as Songbird. Like Songbird, the entity had a bipedal body, two arms and shoulders, and large wings at its back. He had long claws at the hands and feet.
Even when in direct sunlight, the entity had a pitch-black, glossy body, and a large tapering tail longer than its height. The entity had a face similar to that of a black dragonfish, though most of the face was concealed by long hair. His cranial hair reached his hips, and was as glossy and black as the entity's body.
As if a newborn, the entity suddenly made a sharp inhale, opening his mouth to such an extent his jaws overextended and made popping sounds, and his long, black, reptilian tongue curled upward. His large circular eyes beamed a faint yellow colour. Curiously enough, his nervous system, brain, heart, and spinal cord glowed red, visibly shining underneath his glossy black body.
The entity's heart started audibly beating. His mouth leaked darkly glowing red blood, flowing through his fangs and down his chest. Blood also trickled out his eye sockets.
Closing his mighty mandibles, then lifting his chin, the entity cocked his head. He inhaled, then opened his mouth again, letting off a mechanical scream, sounding like something between screeching machinery and sharp static noises. The monster's screech echoed throughout Manhattan. Still using just a single breath, the scream gradually intensified and became deeper. As more and more blood gushed out its mouth, its scream became guttural and bestial, with the last few seconds having strong vibrato.
Still hovering with its wings, the entity went into a fetal position, and started shaking. He suddenly dove forth, and flew off, wings beating with the rapidity of a small bird. He flew after the plane...
Back inside the plane, Cindy stared out her window, playing with her Big Daddy doll. She then stuck her forehead into the glass, and smiled.
At the other side of the plan, blue Elizabeth sat by the window, and seemed quite interested in the plane. She excitedly looked out her window, preoccupied with wonder. A while later, she saw Songbird, flying alongside the plane. The two made eye contact, blue eyes staring at green eyes, and Elizabeth waved at Songbird. He cocked his head, then waved back. Elizabeth giggled. She never knew a day like this would happen, when Songbird was actually a friend.
"Oo! Another Big Angel is coming!" Cindy suddenly exclaimed, blue Elizabeth turning her head to look at the child.
"What the hell is that?" Booker asked nonchalantly, who happened to be looking out a window and saw the black entity flying towards him.
"Yeah, what is that? It's flyin' towards us..." Daisy said, and then others looked. Sofia Lamb was the only one who didn't seem to care.
"It's flying really fast, and it's not Songbird," Pinkerton Elizabeth commented. Old Elizabeth kept silent, looking scared, and breathed lightly and slowly.
Eleanor took a look outside, then darted to the cockpit.
"Sinclair! Can you go faster? Something is flying after us!"
"Not really, and I can't go any higher, or I'll fly into those sky-machines!"
"Dammit! If I teleport outside, there's no way I'm getting back in!" Eleanor spat at herself.
Outside, the black entity came closer and closer, breathing with greater vigour, yellow eyes beaming on the left engine.
Meanwhile, blue Elizabeth knocked on her window, making a childishly frightened face. Songbird noticed, and saw Elizabeth pointing to the back of the plane. Songbird's eyes beamed red, and he shrieked, flying over the plane. Elizabeth heard and felt the whoosh of Songbird.
The black entity was about to dive into the back of the plane, but he looked up, and Songbird tackled into him. The two clutched against each other, clawing and pawing, and fell in each other's grasp. Being larger, heavier and stronger, Songbird could have overpowered the monster, but two Shadow Tears appeared above them. Numerous mechanical lengths whipped out the Shadow Tears, hooking Songbird's arms and wings, and pulled him back. The whiplash made him let off a mechanical croak.
Songbird wailed, looking side to side, unsure of what was going on. He kicked and flapped, but could not free himself. The black entity swooped up, seeing the buzzard thrashing violent to free himself, but he was quite stuck between the Shadow Tears. Each system of machinery retracted into either Tear, firmly holding Songbird in place. He looked off to the side, seeing the plane fly away.
As the monster fly past Songbird, his right palm formed a Shadow Tear, and a mechanical length slid out. The black entity whipped his mechanical length around Songbird's neck, then it retracted into the Shadow Tear on his palm, pulling the entity toward Songbird with great speed.
Left hand conjuring a hulking mass of whiteness until icebound, the entity punched his ice-covered left hand into Songbird's face, and the buzzard's head bounced back. Affixed to Songbird's front, right hand grasping the mechanical length around Songbird's neck, the black entity began smashing Songbird's face with his icebound left hand, cracking both its lenses.
Upon regaining his mechanical senses, Songbird screamed in defiance, and headbutted the black entity. The monster reared a bit, then Songbird lunged his beak into the entity's face, giving it a bigger headache. The black entity shook his head from pain, and that was when both Shadow Tears closed, cutting clean through the systems of machinery. Down everything fell.
Songbird clawed at the black entity, but it quickly let go of him and dodged Songbird's mighty claws. The buzzard writhed free and rolled mid-air, swooping from the waters below, cut machinery splashing against the waves.
As Songbird ascended, he looked around for the black entity, and found him flying after the plane again. Wailing, The Bird flew after his opponent, who looked back, seeing his pursuer. The black entity's hands formed ice and whiteness, and he began tossing Old Man Winter traps behind him, the traps floating mid-air.
Songbird had a hunch he should avoid the Plasmids, and swerved, feeling the traps erupt into freezing masses that then fell into the ocean. Dodging a series of icy Plasmid traps, Songbird caught up to the black entity, and dove at him, but the monster evaded Songbird on the last moment.
Grunting, Songbird dove at the black entity again. Again, he missed. Songbird barrel-rolled, avoiding another icy trap, but learned that the entity was much more agile than he ever could be. So, he stretched his arms forth, mechanical claws reaching out to clamp on the monster's tail or leg, anything to slow it down.
The black entity aligned his wings and steered off to the side, twirling around and blasting an electrostatic discharge at Songbird. He shook from electrocution and plummeted, but quickly snapped out of it, and flew after the monster, screeching angrily.
Swerving to the other side, the black entity threw masses of freezing at Songbird, but The Buzzard dodged them. For something so huge and mechanical, Songbird sure was agile. Irritated at the monster's ranged attacks, Songbird barrel-rolled, dodging a few more Old Man Winters, but he then gently grabbed one. It formed first on his hand, but did not erupt into freezing.
Songbird got an idea, and flew after the monster as fast as he could, dodging a mix of freezing and electrical Plasmids. The black entity swerved side to side, and so did Songbird, gradually closing the distance. Songbird flew higher than his prey, and feigned a dive, making the monster move to the side. Songbird tilted, swooping at the monster and grabbing its immense tail, pulling on it.
The monster tilted his head back and grunted from his tail being pulled. Songbird pulled on the beast's tail again, pulling him back, and slammed the Old Man Winter Plasmid against the monster's back. The Plasmid erupted into freezing, spreading to the base of both wings and the shoulders.
Unable to fully utilize his wings, the black entity began to fall. Songbird dove into the monster's backside, just enough to prevent the ice breaking. Lifting his knees, Songbird placed his talons against the monster's back, then drove him down into the water. After the water splashed, Songbird swooped up and flew away, following the plane.
Songbird did not hear or see the black entity anymore.