Same disclaimers as before.

Chapter 9: First and Foremost

Elizabeth had trouble keeping up with Silas. That was to be expected, he was flying on a Songbird and she was running in a grassy field in moccasins, but she was still annoyed that he didn't bother to swoop down for a half a second to pick her up and take her to Cosmopolis. Booker was running behind her and catching up. "You know," he panted, "We've only got maybe ten minutes before the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal turns this place into a floating hunk of radiated space dust. Do you have any idea how we could possibly save the entire city and escape this dimension before they get here?"

Elizabeth glanced at him, beads of sweat starting to dribble down her forehead. "I'll open a tear and send the missiles to another world where they can't do any harm."

Booker shook his head vehemently. "No good, you'd have to be outside the dome to open a tear that could stop the bombs before they shatter the glass."

Elizabeth tried to shrug as she ran, not an easy task. "Then I'll open a tear to evacuate the city."

Booker shook his head again. "Nope, that'll let her find us."

Elizabeth stared at him. "I thought you said she would never come here."

"Did I? I don't think I did."

Elizabeth growled. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Booker sneered. "What? Still don't trust me?"

"No."

"Ah, okay then." Above them, Melody screeched. The trees started to become fewer and fewer and the grass gave way to dirt paths, then gravel roads, and finally paved streets. Small houses passed by, each one bigger than the last. The outer houses clearly belonged to farmers. Anyone outside gave them funny looks as they passed and anyone who looked up to see Melody stared in horror.

Soon, Booker and Elizabeth were surrounded by multi-story buildings. People walking through the streets were dressed in strange outfits, women wore slick dresses with puffy shoulders and men were in straight, well-creased single-breasted suits. Regardless of dress, they gave the two strangers a wide berth as they went about their business.

Above them all, Melody landed on a rooftop. "Hey!" called Silas. People on the street below looked up and gasped collectively. Booker and Elizabeth skidded to a halt, both panting. "Who's in charge here?" There was a moment of silence, and then a single woman screamed. This was the catalyst for the chaos that followed. People trampled and screamed to escape.

"Alien!"

"We're under attack!"

"To the escape pods!"

"Someone tell Mr. Smelt!"

Silas stared down at the scurrying people. "Hey!" he cried, "Calm down! I-wait, escape pods?" Elizabeth and Booker exchanged a quick glance.

"Everyone to the escape pods!" shouted Elizabeth.

"Escape the alien!" Booker called with his hand cupped around his mouth. The streets began to empty as people ran inside the buildings. Soon, Elizabeth and Booker felt the ground rumbling beneath their feet. Looking up, they could see tiny pinpricks of light shooting off from the dome towards the moon. "Huh," said Booker, "They must have a backup base on the moon. Go figure."

Elizabeth turned around and gasped. "They're not moving fast enough!" she yelled, pointing towards the Earth. Points of light were projecting from North America, slowly growing larger as they got closer. "Damn it!" Elizabeth rubbed her temples, thinking fast. "What if I made a tear to another world and made the dome thicker? The missiles wouldn't be able to pierce it!"

"Won't work." Said Booker.

"Why not?" demanded Elizabeth angrily.

"Listen, when you first came with me, you agreed to do everything I said." He reminded her with a glare, "Trust me on this one, okay? No tears." Elizabeth groaned in frustration. She looked up at a confused looking Silas on the rooftop. "Without tears, there's no way we can get everyone out of here, is there?"

Booker sighed and looked at her sadly. "Now you know why I never try to save Cosmopolis."

Elizabeth continued to stare up at Silas. "He'll never understand." She said with a sigh.

Booker whistled a familiar tune and Melody spread her wings, jumping down from her perch atop the building with Silas to the street next to Booker, causing the entire street to break out into a fresh wave of panic. "C A G E," he said, "No Songbird is made without a failsafe control program." He walked Melody over the Elizabeth and held out his hand to help her on the Songbird. "He'll understand if you explain it."

Elizabeth folded her arms over her chest. "What makes you say that?"

Booker sighed. "He's confused, Elizabeth. He wants to do good, but he doesn't know how anymore. But to him, you're a constant. Ever since this whole thing started for him, you've been there to help him make sense of everything."

Elizabeth unfolded her arms and stared. "You really think he'll be able to get over this if I talk to him?"

Booker took her hand and pulled her over to Melody. "Only one way to find out."

Elizabeth climbed onto Melody uneasily. She still had a deep-rooted mistrust of Songbirds. "Okay, girl." She said slowly, "Up." Immediately, Melody spread her wings and pushed herself off the ground. "To Silas, that's a good girl." Melody swiveled in midair and landed with a thump on the rooftop.

Silas turned as Elizabeth slid off. "What's going on down there?"

"People are getting into escape pods and going to the moon," explained Elizabeth, walking over to him, "You and Melody scared them off."

"Oh," said Silas, "Good."

"Silas," murmured Elizabeth. She led him to the edge of the roof. "Silas, there isn't enough time. Not everyone is going to get out." Silas stared off the roof towards the dome. The pinpricks were the size of dimes and growing larger by the second as the missiles approached their target. "I know you wanted to make up for your grandfather's mistakes here, but there's only so much we can do."

Elizabeth rubbed circles on his back. "When I made my first kill," she said gently, "It was to protect a man and a child. I was too late to save the man, but I kept the child alive."

Silas was quiet for a moment. "Do you ever regret it?" he asked finally, "Why try if the job is only going to get half done?"

"Not a day goes by where I don't regret ever kill I ever made in my life," she said, "Well, except for the times I killed Booker, he deserved every one. But for the kills I do regret, I just remember that boy. I gave him a chance at life, and while I wish I could have saved the man, I'm glad I was able to help that child." She moved closer and embraced him from behind. His muscles rose and fell against her chest with every breath and she shuddered. She had never been quite this intimate before. "You helped save dozens of people," she whispered in his ear, "That's the best you could have done, and you did it, but now we need to leave."

There was a flash of light behind them and they both turned. A tear opened up on the rooftop and Booker stepped through. "To true, let's go."

Elizabeth stared at him. "How come you can use tears?" Booker rolled his eyes and grabbed her by the arm. "Hey!" she cried as he tossed her through the tear. She was soon followed by Silas and, after a moment of effort, Melody. Booker climbed out of the tear and closed it behind them. Looking around, they saw they were once more on the Eternal Pathway. "Was that really necessary?" muttered Elizabeth angrily, rubbing her arm.

"Sorry," said Booker, dusting himself off, "But we needed to go."

"So you think the assassin can find us here?" Silas asked.

Booker shrugged, "She can try. The Eternal Pathway is…well, eternal. You could spend your entire life walking it and you wouldn't touch the same wood twice."

Elizabeth looked up and her eyes widened. The fog was drifting away and she could see a lighthouse glowing brightly. "You see that?" she said, pointing.

"A lighthouse," said Booker, "Why is it brighter than the last?"

"Significantly."

"Then we're getting close. Lead on." Elizabeth walked forward until she got to the lighthouses, the others following behind her. She looked around and smiled when she saw what she was looking for. In the distance, a light shone through the fog. It was a visibly brighter than the lighthouse she stood next to. "That way," she said, pointing.

They walked for some time. Each time they got to a lighthouse, Elizabeth would spot one though the fog that was just a tad brighter.

"Ugh!" grunted Booker eventually, "How much longer?"

Silas grinned. "We followed you for days, DeWitt. Have a little patience." Booker rolled his eyes. Elizabeth gazed off into the distance at the next lighthouse. They were getting too bright to look at directly. She couldn't understand how Booker and Silas didn't have to avert their eyes.

As she watched, the light moved. Elizabeth's eyes widened and she ran forward to take a closer look. "Hey! Wait up!" called Silas. The fog parted around Elizabeth as she dashed forward. The light began to swing back and forth as she grew closer.

"What are you?" she muttered as she ran.

"The juicier question is when." Elizabeth tripped over her skirt in surprise. She landed with a grunt on the walkway at the toes of a pair of coifed green loafers.

She rolled over and glared up. "What are you doing here?"

Robert Lutece waved a hanging lantern over her. "Providing perspective."

Elizabeth sighed. "Will you ever stop speaking in cryptic riddles?"

"What would be the fun in that?" Robert offered her a hand and Elizabeth took it. He pulled her to her feet and smiled at her. "You look well." If looks could kill, Robert would be rotting in his grave. He sighed and tossed his lantern into the water, putting it out with a hiss. "Here." He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, thin rectangle

"What's this?"

Robert handed it to Elizabeth. "It is called a cassette. You put it into a cassette and it makes pre-recorded sounds, it could be music, a message, or a reminder from yourself."

Elizabeth looked it over. "Well? Which is it?"

"The truth."

Elizabeth glanced up at him. "God, I hate you."

"I know." Robert checked his watch and he gave a reluctant sigh. "I'm afraid I have to leave due to reasons of vengeance, but this cassette should explain everything. See if you can find a cassette player in the first world."

Elizabeth slipped the cassette into her holster next to her gun. "You know where the first world is?"

"Indeed."

"Are we close?"

Robert gave her a sad look, his eyes full of pity. "Unfortunately," he said softly.

"Elizabeth!" Silas emerged from the fog. As he did, Robert drifted away, merging and shrinking into the shadows, becoming one with the mist. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?"

Elizabeth looked out into the endless mist. "My God." She whispered. The lighthouse had to be at least a mile away, but it was so bright and blazing that she had trouble not seeing it. "Please tell me you see that."

"See what?" Elizabeth turned. Silas's face was lit up like he was staring directly at a setting sun, yet his eyes were open and he wasn't even flinching from the light. Elizabeth closed her eyes and turned back to the lighthouse. She could see the light through her lids, and it was just as blinding and scorching.

"I think," she breathed slowly, "I think we found it. The first world, Silas, its right over there."

Booker emerged from the fog behind them. "Then lets go!" he grinned.

Silas laughed as Melody squawked behind him. "What're we waiting for?" Elizabeth laughed as well and dashed off towards the lighthouse, the others hot on her heels.

The lighthouse was actually much further away than she had thought, but they all laughed and ran the entire way, overjoyed to have finally found what they were looking for. When they finally arrived at the lighthouse, it was so bright that Elizabeth had to walk backwards to keep her hurting her eyes. "Okay, are we ready?"

Booker didn't reply. He grabbed the doors of the lighthouse and flung them open, jumping inside. Silas took Elizabeth by the hand. "I think that's a yes." He led her into the lighthouse, Melody bringing up the rear.

Once beyond the door, the light faded an Elizabeth blinked the spots from her eyes. Once she could see, she looked around and gasped. The lighthouse was on a dock on the coast of a great and mighty ocean. Powerful waves the size of buildings crashed up against a rocky beach. For a moment, nothing looked particularly out of place; the clouds hung like candy in the sky, the ocean, while rougher than Elizabeth remembered, was still made of water. It looked like a perfectly normal world.

That's when the Big Daddy groaned its way out of the ocean, pushed forward by a heavy wave. In its wide arms was a massive bathysphere. The Big Daddy plopped the vessel on the stone beach and the hatch popped open. A man dressed in a beige suit and straw hat stepped out with a smile on his face. A boy and a woman climbed out behind him. The man inhaled deeply. "Ah," he sounded content, "Rapture's a fun place, but it's good to get some fresh air again."

The woman sighed and pushed her chest out, cracking her back. "I wish they could find a better way to travel there," she complained, "I hate being cramped up."

The Big Daddy lumbered forward and reached into the bathysphere, pulling out a giant handful of luggage and suitcases. He gently laid them on the stones and the man turned back to the mechanical beast. "Thanks for the safe trip!" he said, "Billy, thank the nice Big Daddy."

The boy grinned nervously at the Big Daddy. "Thanks." The Big Daddy saluted and turned, walking wordlessly back into the water and disappearing under the waves.

At the lighthouse, Silas, Booker, and Elizabeth watched the interaction in shock. "Really?" muttered Elizabeth, "I'd hoped we were done with this nonsense."

"That was…unexpected." Said Booker. Melody let out a loud shriek.

On the beach, the family was picking up it's luggage when they heard the cry. "Hey there!" called the father looking up, "That's a nice Songbird you got there! Going to Columbia?"

Silas and Elizabeth exchanged a glance. Columbia was in this world along with rapture. "Let me try something," he whispered. "Ah, no! We're going to Kiln City!"

The mother smiled. "Oh! I have family there! Quite a trip you've got in front of you!"

Booker rubbed his temples. "Forget this," he muttered. He started walking down the pathway towards the beach. Silas and Elizabeth looked at each other, shrugged simultaneously, and then followed. As they walked down the dock, a slick-looking car pulled into sight from around a rocky dune. A woman in a chauffer outfit emerged from the car and helped the family begin loading their luggage into the trunk.

Booker walked up to them. "Hey, what year is it?"

The boy gave him a funny look as his parents climbed into the car along with the driver. "It's 2014 silly! Even I know that!" The boy crawled into the back seat and strapped himself in.

The father leaned out of the window. "Best of luck to ya, strangers!" he called as the car took off back the way it came. Booker stood still for a moment before falling to his knees.

Elizabeth walked up to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," said Booker, "Just…are you sure this is it?"

Elizabeth stood tall and closed her eyes. The late afternoon sun poured over her and her hair blew out in the wind. She took a deep sniff of the sea air and felt the smooth stones beneath her mocassins. There was something about this place, about this world, that was unexplainable. It was like there was a certain spirit, a specific tone that only this world could provide, yet she felt like she had heard it a thousand times before. She opened her eyes. "Yeah, this is it. The first world."

Silas bent down and picked up a rock. "The birthplace of all reality, he murmured, tossing it into the sea, "I thought it might be more impressive."

"It is," said Booker, "Look." He pointed to the sky. The moon was appearing in the sky as the sun set. Even though it was still just a faint outline in the sky, the curved shadow in front of it was evident. "Cosmopolis, and it's not hiding its orbit."

Elizabeth stared at the celestial domed city. "How much you want to bet Jack's city is here too?"

Silas shook his head with a rueful smile. "I don't make bets I can't win."

Booker stood. "This is one big world," he grunted.

Elizabeth nodded in agreement. "It might be hard to find Comstock."

"But we have the element of surprise, a Songbird, and two inter-dimension travelers on our side." Said Silas with confidence. Elizabeth smiled, his courage was infectious.

Booker looked off into the sun set. "Let's find a place to rest for the night. We'll do some research tomorrow and figure out our next move. For all we know, Comstock could be President or something."

"From what we just saw, I'd say Rapture is some kind of vacation spot here." Said Silas, "And this beach is some kind of drop-off and pick-up zone for tourists. There's probably some kind of hotel nearby that could accommodate guests on their way to the city."

"Right," Booker looked away from the sunset and gazed over the ocean, his eyes playing with the horizon, "You guys go on ahead. I'll catch up. I need some alone time." Elizabeth nodded and motioned for Silas to go with her. They followed the path of the car through a pair of dunes and out of sight. Melody beat her wings, sending rocks flying as she flew into the air to keep after them.

When they were gone, Booker sat down and stared over the darkening sea. "I'm here," he whispered, "I'm finally here." He picked up a rock and tossed it up and down. He gently lay on his back and stared at the pink sky. "Phase 1 is complete."

. . .

Please review!

I already know how I'm going to end this (don't worry, I still have a few more chapters to get through before I even start to wrap this up) but out of curiosity, I want to know what direction you guys think I'm going in. Am I being too subtle? Too obvious? Should I be one or the other or is somewhere in the middle ideal? Let me know and thanks for reading!