A/N: With things starting to heat up in the story, it's time for yet another update!

Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock.

It was quiet...too quiet. The whole square which had been filled with people from the various jobs they were doing and the open auction that had been going on was completely empty leaving the two teens feeling uneasy as they stepped out of Chen-Lin's shop.

"Where is everybody? We were only in there for a few minutes." said Elizabeth searching around for anyone.

Reece gripped his hand cannon a little tighter, his senses on high alert as they stepped farther out into the open. "How the hell could they have cleared out so quickly? We didn't even hear anything happening out here from inside the clock tower." he thought with his eyes scanning every shop, rooftop and doorway around them. "Come on, we need to find the Club Ms. Lin was talking about and find her husband."

Getting a nod from his charge, they set off toward the back of the square when they noticed the signs pointing toward the Good Time Club where the gunsmith was being held.

Knowing that they were heading in the right direction from the various signs around them, they began making their way to the large building at the back of the square when Elizabeth stopped in

mid-step. "Do hear that?" she asked.

Reece looked at her oddly before straining his hearing. Then he heard it. Loud thudding footsteps on wood and concrete from somewhere close by. "Where is that coming from?" he asked when his charge looked up and gasped.

"Lookout! Handyman!" Elizabeth screamed as the half man half machine landed on the ground before them. The ground shuddering from the impact as the new threat stood at his full height, towering over the teens and making them back pedal a few feet.

The Handyman looked at the two before him. His massive hands opening and closing with loud clicks from the machinery that operated his body. The heart contained within the glass sphere in his chest beating at a steady rhythm for all to see.

Reece took notice of the dings in the machine hybrid's armor and realized that it was the same Handyman that had tried to throw him to his death not too long ago. Pushing Elizabeth behind him as he aimed his hand cannon at the large man. "Back off tiny, we got no problems with you." he said keeping his guard up.

Tilting his head to the side, the Handyman cracked its mechanical knuckles before raising them in the air. "For Prophet!" he roared bringing the fists down. The teens dove out of the way from the shockwave sent out from the strike.

The hand cannon in Reece's hand registered loudly, the round punching a good-sized dent in the Handyman's side before he cocked the hammer back and fired again.

Feeling the rounds hitting his body, the Handyman turned and began charging toward the teen like an enraged gorilla. "Elizabeth run!" he shouted, jumping out of the way of the large fist aimed for his head. Firing another round into the mechanical man's midsection.

Another punched was aimed down to the ground that the traveler had to roll through the Handyman's legs to avoid. Firing three more shots into his back when he got back to his feet causing the weapon to run empty.

Reece popped the chamber open, sending spent bullet casings flying everywhere and went to reload. But the one moment was enough for his large opponent to spin around and backhand him, sending the traveler hurling through the air and crashing through an empty cart. His shield shattering on impact, already weakened from the backhand, and leaving him vulnerable.

But the Handyman wasn't interested in him. He turned toward Elizabeth who backed away slowly having seen what happened to Reece. "Lamb. Return Lamb to Prophet." he said stomping his way toward the young woman.

"Stay away!" she screamed, opening a tear and conjuring a brick wall between them. The Handyman paused a moment before bringing its massive fists down and shattering the barrier easily as he continued after his target.

Elizabeth's back hit the wall, her eyes closing as the half man-half machine reached out to grab her.

A shotgun registered loudly, the Handyman roared as the buck shot peppered his back. "Hay asshole!" The large man turned slowly and saw Reece standing a few feet away. Blood dripping down his chin from his mouth with his shotgun clutched in one hand as he conjured a fire-grenade to the other. "Pick on someone your own gas mileage!"

The Handyman roared, leaping into the air with both arms raised high. Reece had all of four seconds to get a safe distance away as the mechanical man slammed into the ground and sent out a shockwave that sent several tool benches and carts shattering against the walls and buildings around them.

Now clear, the teen hurled his fire-grenade into the large man before firing round after round until the shotgun ran empty. Switching to his Carbine instead of wasting time reloading and emptying the whole clip as the Handyman stood back upright.

Channeling the Shock Jockey Vigor through his body, Reece fired a powerful bolt into the Handyman causing him to seize long enough for him to reload his weapons. "REECE LOOK OUT!" He looked over his shoulder in time to duck under a club aimed for the back of his head by a cop that managed to flank him.

Snapping his arm back, he slammed the butt of his rifle hard into the officer's face. Breaking his nose and knocking him to the ground while two more cops came out of the same building the first came from. Pistols in hand as they opened fire on the traveler.

Rifle in hand, Reece shot both men quickly and dodged another swipe from the man whose nose he had shattered. A second swing followed and was caught in the teen's grasp, Carbine dropped to the ground as he delivered a right cross that sent the man staggering. Following up with a round house kick that snapped his head to the side before he hit the ground again unmoving.

Either dead or unconscious he didn't know which as he turned back to the larger threat.

During the small firefight, the Handyman had shook off the effect of the electric bolt and was now towering over him. Right fist raised high before coming down hard. Reece leapt and rolled out of the way as the large appendage hit the ground. Crushing his dropped rifle flat before its owner turned to go after his target.

The traveler sent out a flock of crows from his hand, the Handyman began swatting at the air to keep the birds at bay allowing the teen to pull out his shotgun again and quickly drink a Salt to replenish his powers. Now fully charged, he fired a shockwave curtiousy of his Bronco ability causing the large man to stumble back a step.

"I'm not getting anywhere!" Reece thought while gritting his teeth. "Can't take this guy conventionally. I'll have to get creative." His eyes locked with the still beating heart in the Handyman's chest. "That's a weakness if I ever saw one."

Bringing another fire-grenade to his hand, the teen launched it directly into the mechanical man's chest. The explosion going off right over where the vital organ was being housed. The reinforced glass cracked a little around the edges while the Handyman attempted to cover it with one of his hands.

Shaking off the damage, the large man charged Reece fully intent on crushing him to death. What he didn't expect was the traveler to sprinting directly at him as well. Dropping to the ground mid-run, sliding through the mechanical legs of the Handyman firing two blasts from his shotgun into his chest before coming out the other side.

The glass around the heart splintered more from the surprise attack. But the Handyman ignored it and spun around, grabbing the teen by the leg before he had a chance to get up and tossed him across the square. His body going through the wooden railing surrounding the clock tower and slamming against the wall .

Reece groaned, pain shooting down his back after making contact with the tower. Through the haze in his vision, he saw his shotgun laying not too far away and reached for it; only to be grabbed by his right arm and pulled up to eye level with the Handyman.

The bald, scarred face regarded him with little interest. Yet anger and purpose burned within the previously emotionless eyes as they leered into Reece's defiant green ones. "Time to Die." he growled out.

"I don't think so!" The teen shouted using the Handyman's grip to bring himself up high enough to deliver a hard kick to the side of his head. The steel toed boot snapping the mechanical man's head to the side long enough for Reece to fire an electric bolt into the man's face.

But the Handyman was faster. Recovering from the sneak attack quickly and raising Reece up higher making his bolt miss its target and throwing him hard across the square. Sending him crashing through the set of large wooden doors leading into a nearby warehouse.

His body landed with a sickening crack and rolled across the ground before coming to rest against a stack of crates. Darkness started to creep around the edges of his vision as it became harder to stay conscious while his right arm went completely numb after being pulled from the socket on impact.

"... this isn't good." he thought while struggling to get back to his feet with what little strength he had left.

X

The Handyman looked at the hole in the large doors where he had thrown the 'False Shepard'. Large feet clunking loudly as he stomped toward his target, preparing to put him down once and for all in the name of Father Comstock.

A bright flash in the corner of his eye made the mechanical man turn in time for a hail of bullets to pelt his body. Forcing him to raise one of his massive hands to shield his head. "In the name of freedom!" called out the voice of a motorized patriot as it continued to fire upon the Handyman with its chaingun.

Bellowing in rage, the Handyman charged after the new threat. Not seeing the form of a young woman slip inside the warehouse Reece had disappeared into.

Elizabeth closed the damaged door behind her, blue eyes searching the warehouse's interior frantically for her companion. A gasp leaving her lips when she found him attempt to stand up with only the use of one of his arms. "Reece!" she said running over and kneeling by him.

He looked bad. Right arm hanging limply from his side clearly from dislocation. Blood dripping from the side of his head, nose and mouth as he managed to get himself into a sitting position against a crate.

"Damn...that thing hits hard." the traveler groaned before spitting out a glob of blood on to the floor next to him.

"We need to get out of here. You're too injured to keep fighting." his charge said looking over his form. Her fingers poking gently around his shoulder where the socket was unaligned.

Reece shook his head, "He'll keep coming after us. If we don't take him out he'll take us out. I've already found his weakness, just need to-URGH!" he grunted when Elizabeth found where his arm was separated and squeezed a little.

The young woman hummed to herself before helping Reece out of his denim jacket and getting the backpack off. "I think I can fix this. We need to get your arm back in place in order for you to heal properly." she said rolling up the sleeve of his t-shirt exposing his toned bicep.

Her eyes caught sight of a black mark coming down his arm from under his shirt contrasting with his skin and felt her curiosity peek. But the sound of gunfire and metal clanging snapped her out of it as she wrapped her hands around her companions arm and the top of his shoulder. "It's...It's going to hurt." she warned with a tint of worry in her voice.

Reece winced and breathed out slowly, "Just do what you can, I trust you Elizabeth." he said smiling at her despite the pain.

Nodding, the young woman pressed down on his shoulder, turning the limp arm slightly in different directions until she got the joint and socket lined up properly. Giving one last look at the man before her, she took a deep breath before jamming the limb forward with all her strength making a loud pop.

The traveler clenched his teeth hard to avoid crying out. Tears coming to his eyes as pain shot through his whole arm when it was re-connected. "Ssssssssssonofabitch!" he hissed, flexing his hand as the feeling seeped slowly back into it.

Elizabeth dug through their backpack and pulled out a health vial. Giving it to Reece when they heard a loud crash outside. "We have to hurry." she said as her companion downed all of the vials contents. His pain fading and strength returning as the doors to the warehouse slammed open.

The Handyman stood at the threshold, the mechanical president Elizabeth had brought into the world via a tear was in two halves in either of his hands shooting sparks as it went offline. "False Shepard!" he roared throwing the chunks of salvage at the teens.

Reece grabbed Elizabeth and dove out of the way as the parts of the patriot shattered the crate that was behind them. Rolling to his feet, he fired a bolt from his palm and causing the mechanical man to seize up long enough to toss a salvo of fireblasts that burned his body.

Elizabeth looked on helpless. There weren't any tears in the warehouse to provide support, and her friend hadn't recovered enough to fight at his best.

Looking back at the crate that had been shattered from the automation she brought forth. She caught sight of a weapon stock sticking out of the pile of wood. Pulling the odd looking gun out she looked over at Reece who was still managing to dodge the Handyman's attacks.

"Reece catch!" looking up, the traveler caught the weapon tossed to him. The shape reminding him of a grenade launcher from his time as he hefted it in his hands. Its bulky and slightly heavy frame feeling a little odd at first as he aimed at the Handyman as he began closing in on him.

Squeezing the trigger, an explosive round launched from the barrel and detonated against the large man's chest sending him back a step. Readjusting to the recoil, he fired again and again, each explosive round striking the Handyman's center of mass no matter how hard he tried to defend himself.

The mechanical suit burning and large dents forming along the surface from each hit while the suit began failing from all the damage.

One last round was fired and struck the casing surrounding the mechanical mans heart causing it to shatter completely. Seeing his opportunity, the traveler tossed the spent weapon aside and ran at the Handyman, firing a shockwave that made his target rock back on his large heels.

He followed up with a focused fire-grenade sending the mechanical man crashing on to his back. Jumping on to the damaged suit, Reece channeled electricity up his arm and fired a bolt straight into the exposed heart in the Handyman's chest. Pouring every last ounce of power he could into the attack as the mechanical body started convulsing wildly from the discharge.

When his Vigor finally ran out, the large man laid dead on the floor. Smoke and sparks coming out of his body, the heart no longer beating and a little charred from the Shock Jockey fired into it.

"Bout time that thing dropped." Reece said leaning against a nearby work bench as his adrenaline started to wear down along with his strength. "Christ, how the hell do you make something like that?" he wondered wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"I think it's best we don't know." said Elizabeth approaching him with a another health vial in one hand and a bottle of Salt in the other. "How's your arm?" she asked handing him the bottles.

Her companion drank both items, wiping the blood from his face while rolling his shoulder working out what little kinks the first health vial didn't manage to heal. "No complaints yet. I gotta admit, you'd make one hell of a doctor." he said making her blush from the compliment.

With both bottles empty and his strength and Vigor abilities back at full. Reece reached for his jacket allowing Elizabeth to see the mark under his sleeve again. "What is that?" she asked pointing at his arm.

Looking down, the traveler saw what she was pointing at and smiled. "A tattoo." he said setting his jacket back down and pulling his shirt off.

Elizabeth's face went bright red seeing her friend's exposed upper half. Her blue eyes unconsciously scanning over the muscles that were well defined from his time training in MMA as he turned his back to her.

Stretched across his upper back and shoulders was a pair of black angelic wings. The tips of the end feathers going around both his biceps on either side giving the illusion they were wrapped around him. In the center space between the wings was a kanji the young woman recognized.

"I know what this means." Elizabeth said getting over her embarrassment and running her fingers across the wings and then the symbol. "It's Japanese, it means-"

"Bravery." Reece said finishing her sentence. "Me and a few friends went out one night and decided to celebrate getting through our first year of college by getting tattoos. The kanji was my first. The wings and the one on my hand came after."

Running her fingers along the black markings again, Elizabeth couldn't help but ask. "How are they done? It's a work of art, but it's bonded with your skin."

"The artists that do them use a special machine that injects the ink under the layers of skin. They dip the needle into the ink and they literally draw the design into you." her companion explained.

Elizabeth cringed, hand coming away from the skin and the black markings. "Doesn't it hurt?" Reece shrugged while putting his shirt and jacket back on,

"A little at first, but soon you get used to it and after a while it's done before you know it."

"And you do this...for fun?" his charge asked raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

The traveler chuckled as he slung on the backpack next. Ignoring the slight twinge when he moved his shoulder too quickly. "For some, yes. Others do it as a form of expression. And in some cases a memorial to someone they lost or someone they love. Though you have to choose wisely, because it's permanent." he explained.

"What do yours mean?" asked Elizabeth.

Reece looked down at his hand where his cross tattoo was still covered by Elizabeth's now blood stained ascot. "My beliefs. I have no faith in structured religion like most, but I do believe in God and in a life after death. But I also believe that humans were granted freewill to enjoy the lives we were given to their fullest."

Shaking his head after being lost in his thoughts a moment, Reece turned to the destroyed doorway not seeing the stunned look on his charge's face. "We should get going. We have a gunsmith to liberate." he said heading back outside.

X

After getting their second wind, the teens spent a few minutes gathering dropped weapons and ammo before returning to the back of the square and up the steps toward the entrance of the Good Time Club.

With only two weapons left, Reece was intending on taking things slow if they ran into anymore opposition inside. Shotgun at the ready, they stepped through the doors and into the lavish atrium of the club. "Welcome to the Good Time Club, sir or madam! Where the lions roar!" said an automation at the back of the room between two curved staircases. "The show is about to begin!"

The duo stepped into the center of the atrium looking at the architecture around them when the PA system kicked on. "Ah! Reece, my boy! You know, the best kind of interview is one where the applicant doesn't know he's being evaluated!"

Reece raised his middle finger in the air. "Evaluate this Fink! So take that application and shove it!"

The business mogul chuckled, "Such fire! Such youthful rebellion! Most would turn away one such as you, Reece. But I've watched you since the other day at the lottery. Heh, heh...You're a brute! And in times like this I could use a brute!"

"What do you want, Fink?" Reece asked already fed up with the man's words.

"Why, labor unrest is coming, Reece! Heh, heh. Now...Fitzroy has got the jungle all riled up. A man like me could have use of a young fighter like you." Fink said as the duo walked up the stairs and to another set of doors that lead on to the balcony that overlooked a huge room filled with tables and booths with a stage set up in the middle of it all.

Reece looked around the environment and saw that the whole place was empty, save for them. "There are tears in here." Elizabeth whispered to him pointing out the slivers of light in various points within the room. The closest one being behind the large bar to their right.

Nodding, the traveler looked at the stage as an image of Fink appeared on the screen behind it. "Let's find Chen-Lin and get the hell out of here."

"Now, now! All I ask is that you finish what you started, Reece...Wouldn't want to disappoint the other applicants!" Fink exclaimed from around the room.

"Other applicants?" the teens wondered at the same time while having a feeling of dread filled their guts.

Lights came on around the stage and moved about as drumrolls rang out. "Our first candidate is a veteran of Peking." announced Fink gleefully. "Now, what's that they say about old soldiers? Ha ha ha ha! Frankly, my money's on you...He's something of an old hand at handling explosives...Only man I know who hasn't..heh heh...lost a limb working with them...Yet."

Elizabeth gasped, "Reece! Fireman!" she shouted as the Vigor infused armored man stomped down the stage from the back with a squad of five armed gunmen came out behind him. The Fireman summoned fireblasts to his hands before hurling them at the balcony forcing the two into cover.

"I'll deal with them! Find someplace to hide and open any tears that could give us an edge!" Reece shouted spraying buckshot down at the floor below, managing to drop two of the men while the others scrambled for cover.

"Already done!" Elizabeth called back. Lashing her hand out and causing a tear down below to open and bring forth an MG turret on top of one of the tables. The automated gun kicking on and began spraying slugs into the gunmen from their flank and cutting through them quickly.

The Fireman turned to address the new threat, channeling more fire to his palms when he felt buckshot pepper his side from the balcony above. Reece switched to his hand cannon when the shotgun ran empty. Lining up his shots and bracing for the recoil from the powerful handgun as he pulled the hammer back and fired.

Repeating the same motion as each round struck home causing the man's armor to dent inward and a grunt of pain to come from beneath his helmet. But the guns rate of fire was too slow and gave the Fireman time to recover long enough to send a fire-grenade up to the balcony that

Reece had to roll behind the bar next to Elizabeth to avoid being blown apart.

Elizabeth stood up and saw another tear across the balcony and wasted no time opening it. "Reece, there's an RPG launcher on the other side of the balcony!" she said as they heard the turret down below firing on their enemy before being cut off immediately by a small explosion.

The traveler took out his shotgun again and reloaded it before peering over the bar and saw the section of wall his charge had brought into existence where the launcher in question was waiting. The sound of the Fireman's armored boots hitting the stairs was all the reason he needed to get moving quickly.

"Stay down, don't let him see you." he said lowly getting a nod out of Elizabeth before he stood up and bolted as fast as he could to where the tear had been opened.

He was halfway to the launcher when the Fireman reached the top of the balcony and spotted the young man moving. "You can't run from me!" he roared launching a fireblast Reece's way.

The teen dropped to his knees and slid across the polished wood floors, the heat of the blast going over his head and burning a section of the wall ahead of him. He spun around, electricity charging down his arm as he fired a bolt into the Fireman, the metal armor acting as a conductor for the power and electrocuting him.

Not dealing enough damage because of the leather underlayer, but just enough to distract him for Reece to shoot bolts into the floor causing glowing crystals to form and charge before heading for the launcher again.

When the Vigors power wore off, the Fireman began stalking after his target. Passing by the crystals the teen had created and sending more bolts into his body when he triggered the traps.

Reaching the section of wall brought in from the tear. Reece pulled down the launcher and made sure it was loaded before facing the Fireman as he pushed past the electric trap. Staring down the sights as he pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The rocket flying from the barrel and hitting the armored man dead center and blowing him back against the wall hard enough to cause cracks to form in the hard wood. Not even bothering to see if the first shot had done the job, the traveler fired the second rocket which blew the downed man apart.

Breathing deeply, Reece dropped the launcher to the floor with a loud 'clank'. The ammo expelled after only the two shots as Fink's voice echoed through the room again. "Oh-ho-ho! Good show, my boy! Truly top-notch!"

"Go fuck yourself Fink!" the teen shouted at the ceiling. "Is this how you treat the people who work for you? Sending them out to fight to the death like this is some kind of sick game? What kind of business man does that?!"

"Every business has a different process for finding the best folks for the job, Reece." the mogul replied. "It isn't a game, just a way for weeding out those undeserving of the position available. Now on to the next candidate!"

The stage lit up again as a large blue box rose from the end of the walkway, "This young go-getter is a former devolen of Lady Comstock. But without the old gal, they don't know quite what to do with themselves. Picked this one up at a hiring fair. For a song!"

A flock of crows converged on the top of the box and dispersed revealing a Crow standing there. He vanished into the flock again and reappeared before Reece on the balcony, brandishing his machete as he charged the teen.

Ducking under the strike, Reece elbowed the cloaked man in the chest knocking him back a step and launching a Bronco shockwave that suspended him in the air before throwing a fire-grenade that exploded on contact. Sending the Crow flying over the balcony's railing and falling toward the ground.

The cloaked man dispersed into crows before he hit the ground and reappeared on a nearby table. Reece's shield flared as another handful of gunmen ran up the steps close-by and opened fire on him with machine guns and pistols.

A second shockwave suspended the men in the air allowing the teen to raise his shotgun and put each of them down before having to reload. The Crow appeared behind him, machete raised to decapitate him.

"Behind you!" Elizabeth screamed seeing the danger about to befall her companion.

Reece heard her clearly and threw himself forward. Spinning around and firing two blasts from his weapon directly into the cloaked figure's chest and knocking him down to the floor. Getting back to his feet, he holstered the empty shotgun and drew the hand cannon as he approached the downed man.

Putting one last round into the Crow's head and turning it into a bloody spray of bone and grey matter.

For what felt like the millionth time since this nightmare started. Reece fought down the rising bile in his throat at the carnage that he had just committed. Stepping around the bodies of the men he had killed while reloading his weapons robotically as he went back to where Elizabeth stood waiting for him.

Concern clearly on her face as she watched him finish loading the last shell into his shotgun. "Reece? You okay?" she asked touching his arm.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not." he said squaring his shoulders and heading for another flight of stairs. But he was stopped when the young woman's hand slid down to his. She sent an understanding look his way as she squeezed gently.

The look alone eased some of the tension off of the traveler's shoulders. Knowing that he had at least one person with him through all of this that understood. "Now if I can just get us out of this hell..." he thought to himself as they made their way down the stairs to the bottom floor.

"You're a pistol, Reece! A pistol!" Fink praised. "Why, that sort of ambition, my boy, will serve you well at Fink Industries!"

Reece gripped his shotgun to the point where his knuckles whitened. Teeth gritted as he felt anger burn through him like a gas fire. When he spoke, his voice was so cold that Elizabeth shivered from her spot next to him. "I would rather blow my own damn head off with this shotgun before even thinking about working for a slack-jawed, ego maniacle, asshole like YOU!"

The silence that followed was deafening. The music that had been playing around the stage stopped making it almost suffocating.

"That's...disappointing to hear." Fink said with true disappointment filling his tone. "However, with the opening acts already over, your true rival will not rest until your skills are pitted against one another."

The lights all centered around the box at the end of the stage. "The final candidate...is a man who has taken Father Franklin's experiments to a whole new level! The embodiment of Edison's great creations!" Locks began to disengage around the container as the walls fell away.

Revealing a man dressed similarly to the gunmen that had attacked before standing in the spotlight. His body covered in glowing blue lines as electricity crackled around his hands.

Glowing eyes looked down at the teens as a grin appeared on the living lightning-rods face. "Time to play kiddies." he said in a dark tone as the power output around his form caused several lights on the stage to explode.

Elizabeth took a step back from the bursts of light while Reece remained where he was. Eye locked on the new enemy knowing full well that the only way to reach Chen-Lin was through him.

Flames licking down his left arm as he held the shotgun against his shoulder, the traveler regarded the electric-man. "Alright pal, let's play."

A/N: After barely surviving the Handyman and the other men on Fink's payroll, there are still a few more obstacles before they can locate the gunsmith they had been sent to find...but with how things have been going for them up to this point it's doubtful that it'll be anywhere remotely easy.

Update coming tomorrow.