Author's Note: Hey everybody, welcome to the twelfth and FINAL chapter of "The Girl in the Tower"! Now you might be thinking that this will be the last of our story. But don't you fear! This is actually part 1 of a 24 chapter story. This will simply mark the first half of it, which means that the second half of it will be the sequel to this one! I'll start writing the sequel as soon as possible and hopefully get it up in a few days. So stay tuned for that! And please review, follow, and favorite! Thank you all! Enjoy!

Chapter Twelve: Rescue

I know him in my dreams, my thoughts, and my visions. I know him from the photograph that I've hidden somewhere in my heart, and I know that his memory is safe with me. Even the secrets that he keeps, which I can see in his green eyes, are safe in the deepest corner of my mind. His worn out face is a canvas of past sin and regrets and he is shameful of them, wanting to leave them in the past where they belong. But behind that face, however, is a man I know I should not be with. Though my heart, over and over, strongly disagrees. These feelings inside me go against every instinct and value I've ever kept sacred. Morality is a virtue I do not want to disobey, and it is a line I cannot cross. But what I'm feeling is certainly crossing that line I've drawn between myself and the man that now stands in front of me. And without a doubt, I know this is absolutely wrong.

"Elizabeth? Are you Elizabeth?" The man says to me. His gruff voice is exactly how I imagined it, or that is, how I dreamed and thought it to be.

I'm too much in shock to answer back so I just nod. My heart pounds relentlessly against my chest.

Aunt Rose and Uncle Robert, who have been standing there the whole time, say, or at least Aunt Rose says, "Elizabeth, this is Booker DeWitt."

"To put it simply, love, he's here to rescue you from that terrible Songbird of yours. Sister, I told you He was a dreadful idea." Uncle Robert quickly cuts in and Aunt Rose simply rolls her eyes.

"Hush, brother. Not exactly. Elizabeth, the tower, this tower, is unstable. Comstock, before he died, programmed the Siphon to detonate after a certain period of time, which is soon." She says.

"Or today, perhaps, or maybe even tomorrow if it's not too late, you see?" He interrupts, again.

"Brother, I'd rather not argue with you today. Elizabeth, Comstock did accomplish to do exactly that with us. We will explain that later, but for now, we highly suggest that you leave with Mr. DeWitt. We can't risk you getting hurt," she then briefly pauses and sighs, "However, Songbird will be your only challenge. It would be easy to simply leave Him here and have Him destroyed by the Siphon's desctruction, but it won't be that easy."

"Which is the worse part of this whole mission, dear." Uncle Roberts says, frowning slightly.

"Need I remind you, brother, this is your idea after all. Not mine. Well, not entirely."

Booker, visibly annoyed by the long-winded conversation, draws his weapon from his holster and cocks it. "Goddammit you two, I came here for the girl, not for the speech." They then clear their throats and take my hand, giving me over to the man with a gun in his hand. I immediately resist.

"No, no! I don't want to go, yet... I don't know him! He might be here to hurt me for all I know! Please, Aunt Rose! What are you doing?" I push away from them and back into the wall behind me. I shield myself with my hands, keeping the strange man away from me.

Aunt Rose quickly intervenes, grabbing my hands and placing them at my sides, "Please, Elizabeth. He is only here to save you, not to hurt you. That is out of the question."

"But-"

"But nothing. Dear, please understand that you have no other choice. I understand that you do not trust him, but you can trust your aunt and uncle. Are we clear?"

I then remember what my father said as he was dying before my eyes. He questioned Aunt Rose and Uncle Robert. He said something about a truth... A truth about what? Them? My own aunt and uncle?

"May I ask something of you first, Aunt Rose?" I gently remove my hands from her grip and place one of them on her chest.

She looks at my hand and places one of hers on mine, squeezing it softly and whispering, "Yes?

"Who are you?" Her eyes widen at my inquiry.

"What? How do you mean?"

"Comstock, my father, before he died... He said I was misguided and mentioned a truth, a truth about you two... He wanted to tell me something important... What did he mean by a truth, Aunt Rose?"

"Elizabeth, dear..."

"No, tell me... Now. Please, I only want the truth. I'm not a child anymore. Please..." My eyes suddenly become warm with tears, my throat starting to tighten. I know it's coming...

She stares at me intently and says, "I only wanted what was best for you, Elizabeth. I only wanted you to be safe. It was only done in the same of protection, dear."

The tears finally escape my eyes, "It's true, isn't it...? No, no... No."

She slowly nods and looks down, avoiding my glare, "Yes. We are no more than scientists looking for a lab rat to experiment with, unfortunately. Comstock wanted our help, he wanted an heir, someone of his blood. And that someone was you, Elizabeth. You and only you. No one else." She then turns away and stands next to Robert. They aren't my Aunt and Uncle, they are only Comstock's slaves. They have cared for me nonetheless, but that doesn't erase the nineteen years of isolation and imprisonment. I was nothing but their specimen to be tested on and poked at.

At this very moment, I feel betrayed and hurt. I was lied to and taken for a fool. My youth and naivety was taken advantage of by the ones I thought I loved, the ones I thought loved me. Even Songbird, who's only my captor. I'm just His hostage.

"Well, you won't be seeing us for a long while regardless, Elizabeth. After you leave here with Mr. DeWitt, don't expect us to write you. Or at least her," says Robert. I hope he doesn't expect me to laugh at that, because I definitely won't write back.

Rose doesn't dare to look at me now, so she simply says to the man that's been standing and keeping quiet the entire time, "Please go now, Mr. DeWitt, while there is still time. Songbird will be here any minute. He is programmed to keep Elizabeth away from intruders. Hurry now. Go."

"I just heard what you said to her. How am I supposed to trust you now?" Booker then aims his pistol at them.

"There is no time to be wasted, DeWitt," says Robert, not seeming to be fearful of the fact that he might be shot.

Booker sighs and holsters his weapon, muttering under his breath. I can hear him say, "This job's getting worse all the time."

I just stand there, still unsure of who I should trust at this point. I no longer trust Rose and Robert after being told the truth, but I suppose I have no choice. I have to trust the man with the gun now. And as the phrase goes, from what I've read in several novels, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."

A light then suddenly flickers and I blink my eyes twice. I nearly lose my balance but a warm and sweaty hand catches my arm and pulls me back, "I gotcha," Booker says. I can't help blushing when I find myself in his grasp. Oh gosh...

"Let's go, Elizabeth. Let's get the hell out of this place." I'm speechless at the moment so I just nod. I then look around me and notice something's missing. Rose and Robert... They're... gone. Where are they? Where did they go? "Wait, where did those two go?" He adds and I shrug. But they were just here... How did they... How could they...

Boom! Smash!

Damn it, He's here... Songbird!

"Oh God, He's here!"

"Who?"

"Songbird! We need to leave before He finds me! Now!"

A four-note tune plays and I can hear His loud shriek in the distance.

Booker's eyes widen at the noise, drawing His weapon once again. No bullet can match the strength of the Songbird, "Over here, Elizabeth!"

I follow him toward the door. I then notice a painting at the corner of my eye hanging from the wall above my bed. It's a painting of Paris, a painting I made myself.

Paris!

"Mr. DeWitt! Wait!"

He turns around, "What? We have to get out of here before-"

"I'll explain it all later!" I can see a small slither of light dancing across the picture. I walk to it and motion my hands outward, opening it.

It's a tear.

He raises a brow in confusion, stepping back with his mouth agape. I slowly open it as a bright flash of light nearly blinds us.

It takes us a few seconds to realize where we are now; it is revealed to us in all its grandeur and glory before our very eyes.

Oh my gosh... It's... It's... It's so...

Beautiful!

It's Paris... The City of Love, the City of Lights.

I can see the Effiel Tower in the distance. We stand next to a building with bright lights that read a title in French. It says, "La Revanche du Jedi." And a familiar song plays in the backdrop. It sounds like that song I listened to on the phonograph, but it must be a different version. And the look of Paris looks nothing like... Wait, are we in a different world? A different... time?

I look at Booker with a huge smile on my face. I can hear him say as his eyes stay wide in a frozen state of shock, "What the..."

"We're in... Paris! Mr. DeWitt!"

"What is this place, Elizabeth? Where the hell are we?"

"Paris! Don't you love it?"

He gazes out into the far distance and his face falls, his expression changing from shock to fear in seconds, "Elizabeth... I don't think we're safe. This is not right... Elizabeth... this is a trap. Let's get out of here! Now!"

"What? Why? What can be better than this?" I follow the direction of his eyes and I see it too.

It feels like a gush of wind blowing me right off my feet, throwing me into the air. I scream when I realize I've left the ground...

I'm flying...

Oh no... Oh please no...

I'm trapped in the mighty grip of a massive creature, taking me away.

He shrieks into the air, His glass eyes turning a bright red.

Songbird.

To Be Continued...

Author's Note: This concludes the final chapter of "The Girl in the Tower." I apologize once again for not updating since the 26th. Been busy with homework and such. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, and I hope it wasn't rushed or poorly written. But if there were any mistakes at all, please bring them to my attention ASAP! Well, guys, this marks the end of part 1 of our story! There is more to come, though, and hopefully in the next few days! I'll start writing the sequel as soon as possible! Anyway, please share me your thoughts on this chapter and the story overall. I'd appreciate it! And don't forget to review, follow, and fav! Thank you so much for everything! Love you all! I'll see you all again soon! :)