A/N: A little late, but I always try to come through in the end for my readers.
Disclaimer: I don't own Bioshock.
Even though their new heading would prove to be their most dangerous up to this point. Neither Reece or Elizabeth could find any other way to get where they needed to be. So with as much courage as they could muster, the teens began making their way toward the police station impound that was located in Shantytown.
Following the signs posted around the square, they made their way into a docking station that would lead them to the next sector in the city. A line of freight cars blocking their path before Reece pulled a lever that moved them along the track.
"You know, ever since we met you haven't asked me." Elizabeth said all of a sudden.
The traveler regarded her with a raised eyebrow as he began scouring through a vending machine while the freight cars moved. "About what?" he asked buying upgrades for his Shock Jockey and gulping them down.
"My finger." said the young woman holding her hand that had the silver thimble covering the remaining half of her pinkey.
Reece looked back at her and shrugged, "It isn't my place to pry. I figured that it was something personal." he said honestly.
Elizabeth smiled at him, "It's alright. What happened to me is as much a mystery as it is to anyone else." she admitted. "Songbird might know, but he's not talking."
"And he's kind of an asshole." she gave him a dirty look, "Sorry." he lamented realizing he spoke bad about something he shouldn't have.
Elizabeth sighed, "No...it's alright. I shouldn't be so sensitive about it." She looked at her damaged finger and smiled, "As for this, at least I get to wear this stylish thimble to cover up my hideous deformity. I hear they're all the rage in Paris."
Reece hand gently clasped around hers making her look up at him. "There's nothing hideous about you, Elizabeth. And as for this?" he ran his index finger over the silver thimble. "Sometimes it's the small things that make us unique in our own way. It tells a lot about us and makes us special."
For what seemed like the hundredth time since this all started, Elizabeth was awed at the companions words. "R-Really?" she asked with a slight stutter, a blush covering her face feeling his hand holding hers.
"Of course." Reece replied. "My grandfather came back from his time in the war with the left half of his face scarred from a grenade. Yet not once did he ever feel bad about it. He always said that he wore his scars like a badge of honor, a testiment to what he was fighting for along side his brothers in arms."
Looking at her hand, feeling the soft skin he grinned. "And your right about it being stylish. In my time you'd probably bring these things back in style." That got a good laugh out of the girl before they lapsed into silence.
The freight cars finished moving allowing passage through the other exit in the room. Reece took up his burst rifle and pushed the doors open enough to peer through and saw the docking bay beyond. Several guards patrolled the area with guns at the ready, unaware of what was coming their way.
"I see a couple of tears. Both would help us get through without too much trouble." Elizabeth whispered next to him.
"See any that could give us an opening to move out there?" Reece asked looking at the men stationed around the bay. She pointed out one tear in particular that was off to the side on an elevated section of the docks. "Open it, and get ready to move." he said pressing the rifle to his shoulder.
Elizabeth held out her hand, a beam of light shooting out and opening the small portal and bringing forth an automated gun turret that swung around and began laying waste to the guards before they even knew what was happening.
Kicking the doors open, Reece stepped out into the open. Raising his rifle and putting a three-round burst into a guard that was crouched down behind a low wall. The rest of the men were too busy dealing with the mechanical threat that they couldn't find cover from the travelers aim.
On the catwalk above the main floor, another guard came out of hiding brandishing a volley gun. Taking aim at the teen below and letting loose a small salvo of explosive rounds.
Seeing the danger, Elizabeth snapped her hand out and opened another tear that erected a pile of rubble in front of Reece that stopped the rounds from reaching him.
Sending a quick thank you to the young woman, Reece leaned out of his newly formed cover and fired several bursts into the gunman above. The rounds tearing through his target and causing him to fall to the wood planks below.
With all the hostiles cleared out, the duo had no trouble passing through the rest of the docking bay and into the departing section where the elevator to Shantytown waited for them. "This better work." Reece said hitting the button on the lift with his fist causing it to decend.
They waited in silence as they drew closer to their next destination. Reece dumped the spent clip from his rifle and slammed a fresh one home as the window before them showed Shantytown coming into view the closer they got to the ground.
"You must think I'm some kind of freak." Elizabeth said from her spot, arms crossed as she looked to the floor. "A girl who can bring dead men back to life. Whose only aquaintance is a giant bird creature. I must seem ridiculous."
Reece sighed, "You're not a freak. You just got dealt a bad hand with a lot of strings attached."
"I am not going back to that tower. No matter what happens." She said defiantly. "What did I do to get locked up there in the first place? What did I do to them?"
The traveler touched her arm making her turn. "You scare them." he said honestly.
Elizabeth's eyes hardened, "Good." her gaze locked with his and turned hesitant. "Are you...scared of me? Of what I'm capable of?"
"No. Because I can see what kind of person you are. Your kind-hearted and care about life, I could never be afraid of you." Reece said making her smile. "And they won't take you back to that place. They'll have to go through me first, and I'm beginning to make a career out of handling self-rightous ass-hats."
The elevator dinged after reaching the ground floor. The doors opening revealing what Reece would describe as this era's version of a ghetto. Garbage littering the streets around crudly built shacks, the people dressed in clothes only a step above rags covered in dirt and grime because they had no money to even afford the simplest things.
A man stood on top of a crate in the center of the small street before a barrel with flames coming out of it. People gathered around as he preached to them. "This is what they want, brothers. To keep you so HUNGRY you can't speak, but to beg. To keep you so IGNORANT you can't think of solutions to all your problems. To keep you CHASIN' that ALMIGHTY SILVER EAGLE, so you can BUY EVERYTHING they're sellin' to keep you down, brothas."
Stepping out of the elevator, the duo made their way along the path on the side of the street. Staying out of sight as they observed their surroundings. "These people are like this because of Fink?" Elizabeth asked feeling disgusted. "Maybe Daisy's right. Maybe she should pay him back for all of this."
They passed by a stoop where a woman sat on the ground. Her little boy curled in a fetal postion in her lap, whimpering helplessly as his mother held him with tears in her eyes.
Reece stopped, looking at the scene before him. Elizabeth looked on as well feeling tears build up in her own. "How can anyone allow this to happen to people?" she asked not believing her eyes.
Her companion didn't answer, instead he approached her and dug through the backpack she carried. Pulling out a couple of items before approaching the small family. The woman looked up and tensed seeing the young man with a gun approaching her, he held up his hands, setting his rifle aside as he knelt down by them.
"He's sick...isn't he?" Reece asked seeing the boy's pale face and shivering form.
His mother nodded, "Y-Yes. We can't afford medicine. My poor baby's gone so long without food his body is too weak." she said hopelessly.
The traveler held out his hand, in it was a small health vial he pulled from the bag. "Take this. It should help him recover."
Taking the vial hesitantly, the woman proped up her son enough so that he was sitting up. The boy whimpered at being moved as his mother opened the bottle and held it to his lips. "Drink baby. It's medicine." the boy began drinking the concotion slowly. When it was gone color returned to his cheeks, eyes opening wider as the pain he had been feeling faded away.
"Momma? I feel...better." the boy said sitting up on his own as the health serum finished it's job. The woman cried in joy hugging her child close, she looked up at the young man as he dug around in his jacket. Pulling out his hand to reveal that it was filled with Silver Eagles.
"What's the catch? What do you want?" the woman asked with a hard look while holding her boy a little closer.
Reece shook his head, "No catch, ma'am. Just doing the right thing." he took her hand in his free one and placed the good sized sum of coins in it. Being sure no one else saw what was happening so that the two weren't robbed. "Get yourselves fed, and take care of one another." he said closing the woman's hand over the coins. Giving them one last smile before picking up his rifle and standing up.
"Thank you." said the boy as his mother pocketed the Silver Eagles. The traveler looked at the kid a moment, reaching into his jacket and pulling out an apple before tossing it to him. "Be there for your mom, kid. She needs a strong man to help her when she needs it." without another word he gave them a small salute before heading off again.
He turned to Elizabeth who was giving him the warmest look he had ever seen. "My parents raised me right." he answered her unasked question. "I couldn't just walk past them like that. Not when they needed help."
"They would be really proud of you." she said as they got moving again. "I know I am. Most would have just left them be."
"I'm not like most." replied her companion.
Elizabeth looked at the mother and child over her shoulder and smiled, "No...you're not."
X
The rest of the trip through the run down town was a little tense. People watched them walk through the cobblestoned streets with a combination of intrest and confusion. They had encountered a group of people attempting to break open a vending machine and rob it at one point.
Elizabeth used her powers to open a tear nearby and bringing large sacks of food into this reality that had everyone in the vicinity running over to get some of it.
"Are there places like this where you're from?" she had asked as they drew closer to the police station.
"All over the world." Reece said keeping his eyes open for any threats. "There are organizations that do what they can to help those in need. But in the end there is only so much people can do. As cruel as it sounds...you can't help everybody."
They walked down a flight of steps and stopped when they heard someone speaking. Pressing their backs to a wall, the teens peered around a corner and saw a group of soldiers assembled on the lower level with a Commander addressing them.
"The Vox Populi are the bastard child of the foreigner and the heathen. And like all bastards, we serve it best by smothering it in its crib." spoke the Commander. "We hear tell that the gunsmith was making weapons for the Vox. We squashed that gunsmith like a bug and took his tools for our own."
Reece shook his head and spotted the impound not too far away, he also got a good look at their opposition. "There's a damn army between us and the impound." he said leaning back around their hiding place. "We're going to have to plan this seriously or they'll blow us to hell and gone before we get within 30 feet of the door."
"I can see a few things that will help us. Could a good enough distraction give us an edge?" asked Elizabeth.
"Maybe...but we don't know how many police are in the station or how many of them will come out when they hear what's going on." said the traveler. His eyes caught sight of a skyway going around the impound. Leading up to two towers on either side of the building making perfect overwatch positions. "There are two towers that overlook the station and the coutryard in front. If we can get up there it should provide us with a good enough vantage point."
Looking where her companion was pointing out, Elizabeth's eyes looked back down as the Commander continued to speak with his men. "How are we going to get up there with so many guards in the way?"
Reece held up his hand, channeling his Possession abilities into it as he looked at the gathered soldiers. "I have a plan for that, stay low and follow me." he said crouching down and moving along the handrails close to them. Unseen by the guards as they went down a ramp leading to their level and stopping behind a stack of crates.
Leaning out just out of sight, he raised his hand and sent a Possession into the soldier that was the farthest away from them. The man began twitching from the Vigor's effect before turning to the one next to him. Taking out his pistol and shooting him in the head causing all hell to break look among the group.
"Go! Now!" Reece whispered/yelled grabbing Elizabeth's hand and pulling her along to another stack of crates. The soldiers too preoccupied by their turncoat collegue than to notice the two teens as they moved along behind the crates. Reaching the rails for the skyway and taking out their sky-hooks.
"Intruders! Stop them!" the Commander yelled after subduing the possessed man and seeing them in the open. Reece spun around and put a few rounds in his chest, giving Elizabeth time to jump on to the rail with him right behind as the rest of the soldiers fired on them.
They reached the top of the tower in seconds. Feet touching down, Reece turned and saw the guards taking out their own sky-hooks and chasing after them. He raised his rifle and looked down the sights, shooting them out of the air as they tried to reach them.
"Reece!" the traveler looked to the police station and saw a few red lights switch on. He had all of a few moments to realize what was happening before the turrets ontop of the building fired rockets at the tower.
Ducking down behind a pillar, Reece saw Elizabeth squeezed into an alcove off to the side as an MG turret kicked on and started peppering the tower with heavy rounds. "Can you see any tears close by?!" he called out, leaning out of cover and blasting the automated gun with an electric bolt.
Elizabeth peeked out and managed to catch sight of a shimmer in the air above the police station. "Yes! There's one above the station!" she cried, ducking back as a rocket flew past her hiding place and exploded against the far wall.
Leaning out again, Reece switched Vigors and fired a Possession into the turret. It turned and began shooting the soldiers stationed around the building, but the rocket launchers on top of the station were still a problem. "I'll draw their fire, open the tear while their focused on me." without giving her a chance to argue he bolted from his cover.
The missile arrays immediately began tracking his movements and started raining fire down on to the tower. His shield absorbed most of the splash damage from the explosions as he slid behind another pillar on the other side of the tower.
A flash of light in front of the station filled the air from the tear opening and a floating turret came into existance. The mounted guns opened up, the rounds tearing into the larger turrets which swung around and obliterated it with a salvo of rockets.
A second flash came from the lower platform on the tower across from where the teens were hidden. This time, a stationary rocket turret appeared and picked up where the floating turret left off. Causing a good amount of damage to the closest missile array until it finally shut down.
Watching this from his vantage point, the traveler heard his name called and looked up in time to see an RPG launcher tossed at him. Snatching it from the air, he rolled around the pillar behind him and fired both rockets at the remaining turret on the station. Fire and sparks billowed out of the stationary gun, but it still managed to lock on to its target and fire.
Thinking fast, Reece conjured a fire blast to his hand and threw it right into the incoming missiles path. Destroying it before it could get too close.
"Ammo!" he called over his shoulder. Elizabeth dug through the crate she had found and located another canister for the launcher. Throwing it to her companion while he ejected the spent one and allowing him to slam it home and take aim again. Two more rockets flew from the end and detonated against the rocket turret, the resounding explosion could be heard for several blocks as the array was taken down like its twin.
"That's one problem solved." Reece thought tossing the spent launcher aside and taking out his burst rifle again. Elizabeth stepped up next to him with sky-hook in hand. "You think they heard us?" she asked.
Down below, the door to the police station burst open and a group of six officers stormed out. Following them was the hulking form of a motorized patriot with its crank gun primed and ready to fire.
"I'm taking that as a yes." said the traveler launching a Possession into the machine and turning it against the police. "Now's our chance to get in, let's go." taking out his own sky-hook, the duo leapt on to the skyway and dropped on to the stations front steps. Ducking aside as the body of a cop riddled with bloody bullet holes flew past them.
Moving around the patriot as it continued to decimate the police around them, they slipped into the impound and sealed the doors. Reece grabbed a nearby flag pole and slipped it through the door handles. "That should keep people out for a little while." he said turning to look at the stations interior.
The tiled floors, barred doorways and statues of decorated soldiers lined the walls and stretched from the floor to the ceiling were clean and nothing seemed out of place. Red strobe lights and an alarm could be heard throughout the building meaning that everyone who was within the building knew that there was a situation.
"If Lin's tools are here, then they must be kept somewhere secure." Elizabeth said as they slowly made their way down the entrance hall.
"Given the size of the machines and the number of tools, I'd bet that they're being kept in either a large safe room or the basement." Reece said switching his burst rifle for his machine gun as they passed through the security gate at the end. Approaching a door under the large seal of Columbia's Authority.
Stepping up to the entrance, the traveler pressed his ear to the door and listened.
Movement was heard on the other side. Boots running across the floor and stopping suddently. Feint talking and the sound of weapons being loaded. They knew that they were coming.
"They're setting up to ambush us." Reece said leaning back. "Hard to tell how many exactly, but enough to take us down fast if we just go charging in."
"Is there another entrance?" Elizabeth asked looking around.
"Not without going back outside. And most of Comstock's military are probably on the way considering what just happened out there." he replied trying to think of something. But nothing would come to him. They were working with borrowed time which was slowly running out the longer they stood around.
Lifting up his weapon, Reece made sure the clip was full before looking to his charge. "We're going to have to go in there. We don't have the time to try and find another way." The young woman looked tense, he gave her a reassuring smile and grabbed the door handle. "Just stay behind me, when we get in there look for cover and stay hidden until it's safe."
Despite her growing anxiety about the situation, Elizabeth nodded and got behind her companion. After taking a few deep breaths, he pushed the door open. Machine gun up as they entered the central part of the station.
The moment the door was opened, five cops spread out through the atrium leaned out of cover and opened fire. Reece's shield flared, deflecting the rounds as he opened fire on the hostiles before him. Elizabeth opened a tear in front of them revealing a metal wall that was wide enough to provide them both with cover.
Taking down three of the cops, Reece dropped behind the wall to reload as rounds pinged off of the other side. Fresh round in place, the teen jumped up and sprayed bullets into the front desk at the end of the room. Tearing through the wood and glass and into the officers on the other side before they could get down.
Two more cops came out of a nearby office on their right with guns drawn. Elizabeth screamed in surprise as her companion spun and launched a fire grenade at the two men and sent them hurling back into the room, their bodies on fire as their dying screams filled the atrium.
The sounds of more boots hitting the floor rang out as more officers came out of the offices on the level above. Guns aimed down to the ground floor as they opened fire on the duo. Reece grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her over to the flight of stairs on their left, backs pressed to the wall as rounds tore up the wood floors and walls.
Reece followed the wall, keeping his back to it so nothing could surprise him as he went around the corner on the stairs' landing. Bringing up his left hand as he felt another power course through it.
He sprinted out of cover and up the rest of the stairs, the cops on the balcony saw him coming and opened fire. But their bullets deflected off of his barrier as he reached their level, firing a shockwave that sent them all into the air and allowing the teen to spray them with bullets.
The bodies of the officers fell to the floor with loud thuds leaving the whole atrium silent.
Elizabeth came up the stairs and stood next to her companion as he reloaded his machine gun. "That seemed a little too simple..." she wondered still feeling a bit uneasy.
"Fink must have sent an APB out about all the Vox prisoners that escaped the theater. Most of the police in the area are probably out looking for them." said Reece as they began searching the rooms searching for any more hostiles or useful resources.
After finding a few useful supplies, including more ammo they found after breaking into the armory that was close by and two Infusions. One of which was obtained after Reece put two rounds from his hand cannon into the lock of a sealed chest tucked away in a small office. The two teens made their way down to the ground floor and another flight of stairs that took them farther down into the impound.
Entering a small hallway with several iron gates that were wide open leading into a windowed balcony that overlooked a large room. Where all of Chen-Lin's gunsmithing equipment was chained up in the center.
"There they are, the tools!" Elizabeth said in relief.
"Now all we have to do is get them to the Vox, and then we get our airship and get the hell out of here." Reece replied as they began making their way down to the lower level. Taking notice of the open jail cells, some were empty, others had bodies of prisoners that had been executed.
One cell in particular had 'The Founders will Bleed' written in blood on the wall with the body of a woman slumped on the floor under it.
Fighting down their unease, the duo stood before the large stack of tools and machines that stood almost two stories tall. Reece scratched the back of his head, "Well...we sure as hell aren't carrying all this back. Ideas?" he asked looking at his charge who was biting her lip in thought.
Before she could answer, a sliver of light appeared in the center of the equipment before it expanded into a familiar looking portal. Stretching out around the pile and changing it into something else as they got a view into yet another world.
"Another tear...to another version of this room that doesn't have any tools in it." Elizabeth said looking over the rip in space and time as it snapped closed a moment before opening wide again.
Reece looked hard into the portal, "If the tools aren't in this room within the tear...then they must be-" realization hit them both. "Back at the shop!"
The young woman looked back at the tear and held her hands out, "Reece, if we go into this tear...there's no turning back."
"Are you sure about this, Elizabeth? The last time you opened a tear like this it drained you." he asked concerned.
"I'll be alright. And there's really no other way for us to get these tools where they're needed." she smiled as she gripped the edges of the tear, "Ready?" she asked looking over her shoulder.
The traveler gripped his machine gun a little tighter and gave a nod. Elizabeth strained a little as she began to pull the tear open wider like the one that got them into this reality. The portal opening more and more until she was able to send the edges around the room.
The world around them turning black, white and grey as reality itself shifted. The stack of tools and machines vanished from sight and was replaced with a large rack filled with crates and barrels as everything else around the duo changed and became something else.
Soon the grainy look and tingling feeling faded away as the new dimension came into focus. Elizabeth held her head and swayed a little before Reece's strong arms wrapped around her middle to help stabilize her. "You good?" he asked keeping her up.
"Y-Yeah...it was a bit easier to do this time." she replied managing to stand on her own. Looking around the storage room at all the changes that had been done. "At least that did something."
"Let's get back to Chen-Lin's place and finish our deal." Reece stated while checking his weapon. They made their way back to the stairs when he suddently gripped his head, a sharp ache lancing through his skull out of no where.
"Reece?" Elizabeth asked seeing him in pain.
Shaking his head, her companion felt the ache slowly fade to a dull throb. "I'm fine. Just a headache, let's keep moving." he said as they continued their trek. Reaching the next level and heading for the stairs that would take them back to the atrium.
They barely made it to the middle of the next flight of steps when the whole building shook like a leaf on a tree. "What the hell was that?" Elizabeth asked grabbing on to the railing next to her.
Reece strained his hearing. He picked up gunfire and explosions going on outside the impound. "Sounds like there's a damn war going on out there." he said switching his machine gun for his burst rifle as they entered the atrium. Going past the forms of police officers, moaning in pain as they were forced to relive their deaths that occured in the previous dimension.
"Oh god...like it never was...how is it gone?" groaned one of the men as the teens walked past him and into the entrance hallway. The building shook again, but over the sounds of battle outside the walls they could hear chanting. Dozens of people, perhaps more, saying only one word that spoke volumes.
"VOX! VOX! VOX! VOX!"
Elizabeth looked at Reece in awe, "Can you feel it? Daisy's moved these people! Things CAN change, Reece, and we can be a part of it!" she said feeling the energy in the air.
"As much as I want to, and believe me I want to get back at Fink and Comstock for what they've done to you and others, I think we should stick to getting out of Columbia." Reece said honestly. His green eyes seeing several large mines placed in by the entrance of the impound. "And from where I'm standing, Fitzroy and her forces don't need any extra help."
Reaching the door, they pushed it open and bore witness to a literal war. Comstock's forces were being decimated by the Vox. Some of the Prophet's men being kicked off one of the towers, plummeting to his death as his comrades on the ground were gunned down by the rebel's superior numbers and firepower.
"Comstock say all this trouble, all this strife, is on our heads." Fitzroys voice echoed throughout the area. "Says we're to blame. Says ain't nobody got nothing to complain about and if it's not time for you and yours, why, that's cause you a backslider, and you've fallen into sin..."
Reece raised his rifle and shot a sniper on a nearby building as he tried picking off Vox members in the courtyard. He and Elizabeth took out their sky-hooks and jumped on to the skyway, riding the rails all the way to the other side of the open area and hopping off where they had first come in as the leader of the Vox continued speaking.
"Hmph. Let me tell you about sin. It's a sin that when you turn on your tap and ain't no hot water come out. It's a sin when you work 18 hour days and can't feed your young ones. It's a sin that Comstock sleeps in his mansion on a hill, and you got to make your bed in hay and straw."
"But I'm here to tell you something, brothers and sisters. The biggest sin of all, the mother of all sins, is that we sit back and take it." with that Fitztroy's voice cut off.
"Gotta admit, she's got a damn good point." Reece thought as he slammed the butt of his rifle into a soldiers face as he attempted to shoot a downed Vox member. Putting a three-round burst into the man's chest to finish him off.
With the street now clear for the moment, the duo followed along the cobblestoned path that would take them back to the gunsmith's shop. Passing through an open expanse with a few carts and man-made gardens.
They were halfway through when they spotted a rebel kneeling by the body of a fallen comrade. He looked up hearing their approach, reaching for his weapon in surprise before he stopped cold. His eyes locking on Reece's face as though he had seen a ghost.
"You...It's you! Reece Vega, the hero of the Vox!" he exclaimed standing up. "I...I have to spread the word! Vega has returned! VEGA HAS RETURNED!" the man ran off yelling at the top of his lungs leaving Reece dumbstruck.
"...just what the fuck was all that about?" he wondered trying to make sense of it all.
"Reece..." he glanced over at Elizabeth and saw her looking at something wide eyed. Following her line of sight, the traveler felt the breathe taken from his lungs like a punch to the stomach.
On the side of a building was a large red poster, the image of a young man with his fist held high in the air as though commanding those before him to follow his lead. But that wasn't what had the teens so stunned.
What left them that way was the fact that the young man in the poster...was Reece. The words next to his image reading clear as day;
"VEGA! Martyr of the REVOLUTION!"
A/N: And the plot gets ever more thicker. I had been debating about when and where Booker would make an entrance, and sadly it won't be for some time, though certain rolls he plays in the game will remain the same, for obvious reasons. I'll update again later tonight, given that I was unable to update like I normally do last night.
