Same disclaimers as before.

Chapter 12: All's Fair in Love and War

Silas scanned the coop where they'd left Melody. He and Elizabeth had worked their way through the city using the backstreets, alleys, and skylines to avoid detection. They had climbed into the coop and were currently hiding behind massive shipping containers of motor oil. Elizabeth was curled in a ball, leaning against the container. In the distance, the sirens and alarms were still blaring across the city.

"The coast is clear," Silas whispered, "Just the manager in his office, eating doughnuts. Melody is just across the hangar."

Elizabeth sighed and moved into a crouch. "On your mark then?"

Silas glanced back and forth and tensed his legs. "Now!" he hissed. As one, they ran as quietly as they could across the broad hangar. Elizabeth glanced over to the rear wall. A fat man in a stained white shirt was sitting behind a glass wall, eating while watching a television. Silas led her towards one of the cubbies where Melody woke up briefly and glared at them for interrupting her rest.

Silas slid under the songbird and landed with a crouch at the back wall. "All we have to do now is wait for Booker." Elizabeth grunted and walked around Melody to join Silas on the wall. Silas looked back at her and slid down the container to sit next to her. "You alright?"

"Fine," she said testily, "Peachy. You?"

"Eh, better than when I had to give Aunt Lucy her monthly sponge bath." Elizabeth tried to crack a smile, but all she could manage was a slight upturn in the corner of her mouth. Silas reached over and tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear. "You aren't fine."

Elizabeth scowled. "If I said I'm fine, I mean I'm fine."

"Your nose gets all scrunched when you're anxious."

She subconsciously raised her hand to her nose. "I'm just…working through some things is all."

Silas draped an arm around her and gently guided her head to his chest. She leaned on him and closed her eyes. "So much for no distractions," he said with a smirk.

"Shut up," Elizabeth grunted softly, "I'm tired is all."

"Elizabeth? Can I ask you a question?"

"Mmm?"

"What do you want in life? What are you going to do after you kill Comstock?"

Elizabeth sighed and a smile tugged harder on her lips as she recalled her wishes. "Paris," she said quietly, "I don't care which world. In fact, once I kill Comstock, I might never travel between worlds again. I'll just find a nice Paris, settle down near the Seine. Maybe get a job at a café or something." She breathed a sigh and cuddled closer to Silas. His chest rose and fell with every breath, lifting her head slightly every time in a comfortable rocking motion.

"That's beautiful," Silas whispered in her ear, "Maybe I'll do something like that."

"I thought you wanted to go back to Kiln City and reunite your family."

Silas smiled. "They can handle themselves."

Elizabeth sighed and pulled herself away from Silas. "I can't do this, Silas," she said.

"Do what?"

"Dammit, Silas. You know exactly what I'm talking about. We've had this conversation before."

Silas scooted up so he was level with her. "Why are you like this?" he asked quietly, "And don't say you need to focus on the mission. We both know that's bullshit."

"Look at me, Silas," she muttered angrily, "I'm almost thirty years old, and I didn't even know it until a few days ago! I've spent ten years hunting down alternate versions of the same man, who just happens to be my father! My life…my life is a mess! I can only handle so much!"

Silas nodded and stared at the ceiling. "And you don't want to add your feelings to the mixture because you wouldn't be able to handle it," he finished softly, "I understand."

They sat for some time in silence. Through the coop's hangar, they watched the sun set over the clouds around Columbia. Slowly, the sky went from blue, to pink, to black.

"Where is he?" grumbled Elizabeth eventually, "He's the one that's always talking about a deadline."

"And we have to meet it." Elizabeth jerked to the side and hit her head against the wall. As she rubbed her head, Booker rounded into the cubby, his arms folded and a schoolboy smirk flitting across his face.

"What took you so long?" asked Silas as he stood up.

"I had a few errands," said Booker with a wave of his hand, "More importantly; we have to leave, like, now." He rapped Melody's metal neck and she raised her head with a scrape of steel. She flexed her wings and shambled to her feet. Silas helped Elizabeth to her feet and they climbed onto Melody's back.

Silas guided Melody out of the cubby and to the edge of the hanger. With a wakeful cry, Melody launched herself into the cloudbanks of Columbia. She swooped through a few buildings before ducking below the clouds.

"So," said Booker, "Do we have a destination?"

"54 Clay Street, Kiln City, Wyoming," Elizabeth called over the rushing winds.

Silas nodded and piloted Melody to face and fly towards the west. "How long do you think it is to Kiln City?"

"I don't know," said Elizabeth, "You're the one who used to live in Kiln City."

"I spent the majority of my life in about 91 square blocks," said Silas dryly, "You'll have to forgive me if I'm not privy to the exact scope and scale of the rest of the world."

"It doesn't matter," said Booker as he glanced nervously towards the clouds above them, "Are we still under Columbia?"

"Probably. Why?" At that moment, the clouds erupted in red flames. Elizabeth screamed and ducked down closer to Melody as an explosion rocked the songbird. Silas quickly put Melody into a steep dive. "Booker!" he shouted, "What did you do?"

"I found some C4 in the armory," he called back with a grin. Elizabeth resisted the overwhelming urge to slap Booker.

"Hang on!" shouted Silas as he tilted Melody. Elizabeth clutched the edges of Melody's back as Silas barrel rolled her to avoid falling, flaming debris from the city. Elizabeth scrambled to keep her legs flush to the metal. She glanced behind her as Melody righted herself. Booker's face was split by a wide grin. His eyes twinkled as he gazed up at the flaming sky. As Silas dodged Melody in between falling pieces of Columbia, Booked breathed in deep.

"You know," he said as he glanced down to Elizabeth, "It occurs to me that I have done something not a lot of people can claim to have done."

"What?" she called, "Be a terrorist?"

"No," he let go of Melody and raised his arms, balancing as she wove through the air while he reveled in the destruction around him, "I have set the clouds themselves ablaze."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Good for you," she muttered as she turned back.

"My God," whispered Silas as an entire platform of the city tumbled from the sky in front of Melody. He pulled her up abruptly and Elizabeth shrieked as the heat from the flaming buildings scorched the air around them. Booker just laughed.

"Get us out of here!" Elizabeth screamed.

"Trying!" Silas replied as he drove Melody around the fires, "Booker! How many explosives did you plant?"

"Enough to de-stabilize the entire city!"

Elizabeth turned back to him. "Why?"

"You're the one that hated Columbia!"

"But I didn't want to flat out genocide the entire city!" she screamed. Booker shrugged and reached into his bag. He pulled out a handgun and raised it towards Elizabeth. She quickly ducked her head as Booker shot away a flaming brick that was headed towards her.

Elizabeth turned back to shout at Booker, but her eye was captured by a distant sight. Behind them, the fires of Columbia were raining down on Washington D.C., razing a second city. As she watched, the sky-scraping Washington monument was struck by a falling platform and crumbled under the blow, falling over to crush several dozen city blocks under hundreds of tons of solid stone. Her heart leapt to her throat as well as a significant amount of bile. She leaned over and vomited over Melody's side, just under her flapping wings.

It took almost ten minutes for Silas to pilot Melody through the falling debris. Pieces of Columbia continued to fall off above them until they finally reached the edge of the floating city and left it behind them. Once they were past it, Silas tentatively directed the songbird back above the clouds. Elizabeth glanced back and her hands clenched into fists. There was only one platform of Columbia left: a massive statue of an angel with her hand outstretched. Normally, she was probably a symbol of strength or unity, her hand gently directing the people of Columbia into the future. Now, she looked like she was desperately trying to grab the clouds as she slipped under them.

Elizabeth swiveled herself around on Melody so she was facing Booker. "Why?" she whispered.

"Why?" Booker grinned, "I did it for you. You really should be thanking me." Elizabeth felt like she was going to be sick again and turned around.

Silas continued to pilot Melody, but it was clear the constant dodging had taken its toll on her. She chirped with every wing flap, her metallic arms exhausted from the sudden movements. "We need to set her down," said Silas at last, "She needs rest."

"She rested in that coop for almost a full day," said Booker, "She'll be fine."

"Shut up, Booker," Silas said simply. He put Melody into a shallow dive that eventually saw them to the earth in the middle of a corn field. Elizabeth slipped off of Melody and stumbled as her legs adjusted to solid ground. Looking around, she saw that they were in a very different part of the country. Where the eastern seaboard had been flat for miles on end, this region was hilly. In the distance, she could even see tall mountains outlined in the starry sky.

"The Appalachians," said Booker as he came up behind her, "We must have passed them." Elizabeth rounded on him and slapped him in the face. It felt satisfying, but it didn't wipe the smirk off Booker's face. "There," he said teasingly, "Doesn't that feel better?"

"Booker," she whispered as Silas brought Melody to her knees and laid her on her side to rest, "What did you do?"

He shrugged. "I destroyed a city full of people who wanted you dead."

"Booker, we're in the first world," she said quietly, "You didn't just kill off a city, you just killed off that city in every single universe!"

"I fail to see the point."

Silas collapsed to the ground and leaned on Melody. "The point is that we're here to kill one person, not entire cities. What you did was nothing short of a terrorist attack."

Booker threw up his hands. "Whatever. Would it make you feel better if I apologized?"

Elizabeth sank to her knees. Booker had destroyed not one, not two cities, but every single version of those cities that could or would ever exist. All in her name. "I…I need to be alone," she said finally. She stood up and started to walk off in a random direction. Suddenly, she turned back and ran at Booker. When she got to him, she slapped him again.

"Didn't feel like I'd had my just desserts?" he asked dryly, "Or was that one for good luck?"

"Why didn't you tell me about my mother?"

Booker's smile vanished in an instance and his face grew dark, although he tried to mask it. "From what I understand, your mother was a five dollar prostitute that the version of me that fathered you rented out a lot. She died in childbirth. Why do you ask?"

Elizabeth shoved Booker backwards. "My mother wasn't a whore! Her name was Eleanor Lamb!"

"Don't say that name," said Booker, dangerously quiet.

"She was the child of a Big Daddy! And even if she died giving birth to me, another version of her can travel through tears and can even track people through them! She's the assassin, Booker! Eleanor Lamb is the one-" Booker slapped her across the face. Elizabeth stumbled to the ground, her cheek red and stinging.

Silas quickly stepped between them. "Enough!" he said firmly, "Let's just…let's just sleep it off, alright? We're all a little tense right now, we just need some sleep and we'll be fine."

Booker glared at Elizabeth, his eyes flashing. "Yeah, yeah okay."

Elizabeth rubbed her cheek. She stood up and brushed herself off before storming into the corn. Silas sighed. "I'll talk to her."

Elizabeth began to run through the corn once Silas and Booker were out of sight. She didn't dry or even tear up, although the pain was incessant. She kicked off her moccasins in the corn and ran barefoot over the soil. She ran in a straight line, not really caring where she ended up. Eventually, she came to the end of the field where a dirt road separated it from another. She tripped as she left the corn and landed with a grunt on the road. For a moment, she just lay there, trying to forget all of her troubles as she buried her face in the dirt. She heard the rustle of corn moving and footsteps walk around her

"That doesn't look very comfortable." She looked up to see Silas standing over her. He sat down on the road and helped her sit up. In his hands were her disposed of moccasins which she put back on gratefully. "Want to talk about it?"

She sighed. "Do you want to talk about it? It turns out my mother may have killed your family."

"That's not important right now. What's important is that you need to get some stuff out."

Elizabeth glared at him. "For the third time, I can't do this, Silas."

"I'm just here to offer advice," he said, raising his right hand as a vow, "I just want to help."

Elizabeth fell back with a groan, landing spread-eagle on the dirt. "I never asked about my mother before," she said quietly, "I had a bad experience with a mother when I first escaped Columbia when I was eighteen. After I found out Booker was my father, I never really wanted to know what kind of woman would have a child with a man like him. I guess I was afraid I'd grow up to be like her if I had even an inkling as to what she was like." She smiled and grunted a chuckle. "It looks like it happened anyway. We're both dimension-traveling killers."

"It's only natural," Silas reassured her, "We all want to be our own selves, separate from our parents."

"But now I've met her," Elizabeth continued sadly, "Her name is Eleanor Lamb. Her father is a Big Daddy. She can travel between worlds like me. Maybe I even got my powers from her, who knows?"

"Do you know why she wants to stop us?"

"Not a clue. Although from how he reacts, I'm guessing she has a history with Booker."

"They are your parents, after all. It would make sense they would know each other."

"Yes, but this Eleanor Lamb isn't my actual mother. My birth mother really did die in childbirth; this Eleanor is from a different world. Same with our Booker; he isn't really my father." She raised her arms and rubbed her temples. "This is all so confusing, even for me."

Silas rolled to the ground next to her. "Look at the stars," he commanded her lightly.

"They're all lighthouses," she said in a bored monotone, "Each one with their own world."

"Don't see the lighthouses," Silas breathed, "Look at the stars, Elizabeth." She sighed and tried to turn to lighthouses back into stars in her mind. After a few seconds, she was no longer looking at millions upon millions of worlds, but rather a simple night sky filled with countless stars. "Do you see them?"

"Yes," she breathed, "Compared to all the lighthouses and worlds, they seem so small and insignificant, but they stretch on forever and ever nonetheless. Infinite beauty over infinite beauty, continuing on till the end of space and time."

"One might confuse you for a poet."

Elizabeth smiled. "I studied a lot of literature when I was a girl."

"That would explain it, although I'm guessing you got your knowledge of infinite beauty from looking in a mirror."

That was the final straw. Elizabeth turned her head to the side to face Silas's smiling face and pressed her lips firmly against his. Their mouths met and they both froze, enhancing the moment and processing each other's actions as they kissed. Silas was the first to break away. "I have to focus on the mission, she said," he grinned, "I have too much stuff in my life, she says."

"Shut up and kiss me you idiot." Silas complied and their lips met once more. After a few seconds, Elizabeth pressed her forehead against Silas's and they cuddled together as their lips broke apart. "I've never really done this before," she whispered.

"Me neither. Maybe we should just kiss."

"I've never kissed before either."

"Me neither." Elizabeth rolled over until she was resting on top of Silas, her head under his chin.

"I know I shouldn't be tired after my first kiss," she said, "But I am."

"Go to sleep, Beth." Elizabeth usually abhorred nicknames. She felt they violated the sanctity and significance a name had. But when Silas called her Beth, it felt natural and sweet, like it was a name that was special and only for them.

"I could stay like this forever," she murmered sleepily on his chest.

"Then you wouldn't get to see Paris."

"Forget Paris."

"Really? I was looking forward to that place along the Seine."

"You're a hopeless flirt, you know that?"

"Would you have me any other way?"

"Not in a million years."

. . .

When Elizabeth awoke, the sun was rising over the mountains to the east. Beneath her, Silas was still sleeping, his chest rising and falling in rhythm. She groaned as she sat up and Silas grunted awake. "Booker won't like that we spent the night together," he yawned.

"We just kissed," Elizabeth stood up and stretched her back.

"We'll have a hard time convincing him of that. Look at your clothes." Elizabeth looked down at herself. Her white blouse had long since been discolored, but now it was absolutely smeared with dirt and soil. Her hands, feet, and undoubtedly her face were all dirty as well. All in all, it looked like she'd been rolling around on the dirt all night.

"It doesn't matter," she decided, "He's not my real father anyway."

"No, but if he's not mad about us, he'll be furious we left him alone with Melody," Silas pushed himself up and dusted off his knees, "Shall we?" He offered Elizabeth his hand with a mock bow and she accepted with a smirk. Together, they walked back through the corn field to where Melody was.

Booker was leaning against the songbird, his fingered taping impatiently on his knee. "Where were you?" he snapped when he saw them.

"Just talking," said Elizabeth, daring him to challenge her.

"You talked, she snored," he jerked his thumb at Melody, "I didn't even know machines could snore."

"She is technically a cyborg," Silas pointed out, "She does still have some human functions and behaviors."

Booker sighed and stood up. "It doesn't matter. We should get going. It's a long way to Wyoming." Silas went to raise Melody and Booker turned to Elizabeth. "Listen, I'm sorry for last night."

"Me too," she said with a sigh.

A slow grin grew on Booker's face. "No you're not. You still hate me for destroying Columbia."

"Yes," she said simply, "Yes I do. But it doesn't matter right now. I need to focus on what's important."

Booker scowled. "Hey, Silas!" he called, "I don't like the influence you're having on my kid!"

"I'm not your kid," Elizabeth said dryly, "Now shut up and get on the damn bird."

. . .

I am soooooooooooo sorry I didn't update sooner. I got really sidetracked by some of my other stories that I totally forgot about this one. But the good news is that I have a lot of fresh ideas for this story and I finally figured out how I'm going to lead into the ending, so know that more updates are coming in the future.

Please review!