So things are going to be happening slightly out of order from here on out for the sake of pacing. :-)

Elizabeth XII

"I hate this place."

Liz snapped herself out of a daze she allowed herself to fall into, the slightest bit of relaxation that was the closest thing she'd gotten to sleep in around twenty hours now. Which wasn't great but she'd gone longer with it before and could... would have to now.

'Besides, it's not like I sleep all that well anyway.'

With the life she'd lead, with everything Elizabeth had seen, peace came hard. Nightmares came easy.

She tapped out a cigarette, the last of the bloodstained pack, and lit it. Taking a long drag gave her an excuse not to speak for a moment. "Neptune's Bounty or..."

"No. Well, yes! But I'm talking about Rapture as a whole!" Jack said, throwing up his hands. "I mean, look around! How could anyone justify making a place like this? What could have possibly been worth all this suffering? What kind of person decided to live down here?"

"It was beautiful once," Elizabeth said quietly.

She acknowledged the tainted foundation the underwater city was built on, yes, as well as the rotten element within it. But there'd been goodness there too, people and things worth saving. After all, everything deserved at least an attempt to exist. No matter the result.

She silently passed her companion the cigarette, which he took without hesitation. "How familiar are you with ancient Greek philosophy on the concept of law and order?"

Jack blinked at her. "...I grew up on a farm in Overlook, Kansas. Assume I know nothing unrelated to growing crops and tending to livestock."

"Don't sell yourself short," Liz chucked. She leaned back and continued. "Aristotle had this idea he called the Rule of Law. It was the principle that all people and organizations within a country, state, or community are held accountable to the same set of laws. Basically, in order to exist within a society, individuals agree to give up certain personal liberties and pleasure for the safety of existing as an organized group. Rules and punishment, law and order."

"Hmmm." Jack twirled the cigarette in his fingers, deep in thought. "Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow? 'No!' says the man in Washington, 'It belongs to the poor.' 'No!' says the man in the Vatican, 'It belongs to God.' 'No!' says the man in Moscow, 'It belongs to everyone."

"I rejected those answers; instead, I chose something different. I chose the impossible. I chose... Rapture," Elizabeth nodded, finishing off the quote. "I think... I think Ryan, and the people who came here with him originally wanted to live with the security of society without having to give up their more unsavory pleasures and curiosities. Then other people started buying into that rhetoric of freedom and the promise of social promotion without sacrifice."

"It's hard to blame them," Jack said. " We all want a better tomorrow for ourselves and the ones we love."

"The problem is that people want the better tomorrow they don't have to work for today," Liz replied. She sighed, rolling her shoulders, and hopped off the table she'd been sitting on. "Alright, break over. We gotta get this camera back to Peach Wilkins so we can continue on our way."

Jack groaned but followed her lead. "Part of me wishes we could have just... blown the door wide open. That guy creeps me out."

"Why did you stop me then?"

The young man paused for a moment before answering. "Because At-"

Jack made a gagging noise, cutting himself off. A look of panic crossed his face and he grabbed his throat, rubbing it like he was trying to relax a neck spasm.

'What did you do to him, Fontaine?!' Elizabeth wondered. She fought to keep the anger off her face, instead masking it with a look of concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," Jack said, his voice hoarse. "I was going to say that, annoying and weird as he is, Wilkins hasn't done anything wrong. I can't blame him for wanting to protect himself."

Elizabeth slowly nodded. "I suppose. After all, how do you know who you can trust down here?"

Her companion said nothing for a long while, just checking the research camera under one arm. "Let's go. The man wants his pictures, so I guess it's time for a photo shoot."

They made their way back down from the Upper Wharf, and their good luck lasted right up until they bumped into another Big Daddy. This one they couldn't avoid.

Zap! Zap! Zap!

Liz unloaded bolts of electricity into the head of the stunned metal monster, keeping it stunted in place as Jack uploaded round after round from his shotgun into every sign of vulnerability he could find.

After what seemed like forever, the Big Daddy finally fell with a mighty THUD!

"Fuck, I didn't think we'd have to fight another of those things so soon," Jack said, panting. "Most of my ammo is gone. What about you?"

Taking a peek into her supply pouch, Liz clicked her tongue. "Not looking good. We'll have to stock up at the next vending machine we come across. How many more pictures do we need to get?"

"At least two more," Jack said, turning the camera over in her hands. "I think we can get the-ack!"

A jolt of fear shot through Liz and she was at her partner's side in the blink of a moment. "What's wrong?"

Jack held out his arm, revealing a long gash that cut from the back of his hand and down the side of his forearm. "Must have caught some shrapnel in the fight. Didn't even feel it."

"Not surprising, your body is still pumped through adrenalin," Elizabeth said, pulling out a health pack to patch up the wound. "Hold still, we've got to take care of this now or you could risk getting sepsis."

"Should we just burn it shut?"

"Field cauterization isn't nearly as safe as people believe and should only be done as an absolute last resort." "There are too many chances for the burn to get infected, especially down."

Jack chuckled, looking around. "Yeah. Not exactly a sterile environment, is it, Nurse Liz?"

'Nurse?' Liz paused her bandaging to reach over and flicked Jack's ear. "Nurses deserve all the respect in the world but I'd be a doctor."

"Hmm, is that what you wanted out of life?"

'Is it?' Elizabeth mulled over the question for a moment before answering. "No, not particularly. I considered it, but I considered being a lot of things. Being an artist, a musician, a doctor, a writer, a singer, a film star... I always like math though, maybe I would have been a calculus professor had things been different?"

She finished tying the bandage and, after a moment, decided to try poking the secret elephant in the room. "What about you?"

"Huh?"

"You studied agriculture in college, do you want to be a farmer?" she asked.

It was dangerous, testing the fake story implanted in Jack's mind. If she pressed the right buttons, Jack might realize the manipulation and turn against Fontaine soon -for better or for worse. Elizabeth didn't know what that would mean to the course of time in the long run but could she, with a good conscience, allow him to go on believing the lie that was his life when she knew the truth?

"I... guess so? I don't know, I never really thought about it. But that's what farmers' kids do, right? Grow up to take after their daddies."

On the other hand, if Elizabeth pushed too hard too fast, Jack's poor, abused mind might break. Learning everything he knew about himself and his life was a lie wouldn't be easy on anyone, let alone under these circumstances.

"...I suppose so," she said, deciding to let it go for now. "Are you ready to move again?"

"So long as my doctor gives the okay," Jack replied, flashing her a charming grin that faded into a more serious expression. "But first..."

He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at one of the vents. Liz gave him a confused look; she started to ask Jack what he meant but, when she opened her mouth to speak, the man shushed her. Jack pointed at his ear, silently telling her to listen closely.

'Alright then...' Elizabeth closed her eyes, listening past the natural creeks and metallic moans of Rapture to hear the soft sniffling and sobs of a tiny, feminine voice. 'A little sister? We didn't see one when we were fighting the Big Daddy! She must have already been hiding then. How did I miss her?'

"Did you hear her over everything?" she asked Jack. "I'm impressed! You've got good ears."

Jack shifted awkwardly but didn't answer. Instead, he started heading towards the vent, "This shouldn't take long, just give me a second."

True to his word, within a moment the two were scrambling through the vents themselves, doing their best to avoid any unnecessary fight. They were low on ammo and EVE and, silly as it was, both would avoid having to beat any splicers to death if it could be helped.

"You were really good with that Little Sister back there," Elizabeth complimented, unscrewing a vent so they could drop down into a corridor just east of where they'd meet back up with Wilkins.

"Dolly," Jack said from behind her. "And before you ask, she hadn't seen Sally either. I checked before sending her one her way."

Internally, Liz wilted but kept her voice level. "I figured that would be the case. Thank you though."

Jack had been so sweet with all the Little Sisters they'd come across. Even though they were on a bit of a time crunch, he'd been patient with Dolly, speaking with her quietly with a calm voice as he coaxed her from the vent. He was gentle as healed the girl, making her whole again. Where did that come from? Was Jack simply good with children or did he feel a strange kinship with the Little Sisters because he too was a child cooked up by this damned city? If nothing else, his actual age was probably close to the modified little girls.

'Damn, that is a strange thought. That means it would be incredibly strange if we-' Elizabeth shook her head out, refusing to let that idea fully form. "Nope! Not the time or the place."

"Huh?" Jack called out.

"Nothing!" she called back, hoping the man wouldn't notice the burning tips of her ears in the dim light of the vent. "I was just grumbling because one of these screws rusted over. It's taking forever to get out."

"Take as long as you need. I don't mind sitting here. The view is- Ouch! Hey, go easy on me! Those steel-toed boots hurt like hell."

"You deserved it," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes ever as she tried not to grin. "Ah-ha, I think I finally got it."

The screw finally came free and, with a push, the vent cover fell to the ground with a loud CLANG!

"Uh, what do you think the chances are that we'll be meeting some 'friends' because of that sound?" Jack asked.

"It'd say it's a certainty but we'll deal with that when the time comes." Elizabeth twisted around as much as she could to flash a smile at Jack. "Get ready to duck and roll, it's a bit of a drop."

"Wonderful."

Liz laughed, "Don't sound so enthusiastic! If nothing else, at least the room is empty."

"It might not be for long."

"Good point, let's not dilly-dally then." Without another word, Elizabeth braced her hands on the edges of the vent opening and slid herself out. "Geronimo!"

She hit the ground, rolling to disperse the impact of the fall like she'd seen Booker do dozens of times. Her bruises and sore ribs still cried out in pain, but she breathed through it. Back on her feet, Elizabeth looked up and waved for Jack to follow her lead.

Thud!

"Umpf!" Jack stood up, wincing and rubbing his side. He gave her a look, "Not one word."

"I wasn't going to say anything," Liz promised, not even bothering to hide her grin. "C'mon, we need to put as much distance between us and here as possible."

"You say that like any place is safe in this damned city," Jack grumbled, even as he pulled his pistol out and ready.

'I know once place,' Elizabeth thought to herself, thinking back to Tenenbaum's safe house. Who'd have ever thought she missed a lumpy little cot in the corner of a workroom or tasteless sandwiches made from mostly stale bread? 'I wish I could show you. All the Little Sisters there would love you. But I can't, not yet. Not only do we still have too much to do out here, I don't think Tenenbaum would even let you in. You might be our Ace in the Hole eventually but, for now, you're still Fontaine's. Until we can fix that, I've got to keep you at arm's length.'

.

.

.

'We. We've got to keep you at arm's length,' she mentally corrected. "That's just the way things are for now. Maybe they'll change eventually."

And, with that, she opened the door to the tiny storeroom...

...and found herself staring into the button eyes of a large pink teddy bear that was clutching a green, ribbon-wrapped gift box.

"Huh?" she said dumbly.

"What the hell is that thing?" Jack said, echoing her confusion. "Do you think it'll explode? Should I shoot it?"

"I don't kn-"

C-c-crack!

Elizabeth was cut off by her radio crackling to life, stunned as Tenenbaum's voice broke through the static.

"You have shown kindness to my little ones, but are you really a friend to us? Regardless, a little one brings you a gift to demonstrate our appreciation."

"Gift?" Jack asked. "You mean... this thing?"

"Use them well. I only hope they aid you and my favorite Nightingale on your journey to save this city's soul. Good luck."

"Tenenbaum, wait-"

But the radio cut out again before Elizabeth could finish speaking.

"Well, that was weird," Jack said, staring down at the gift. "How do you think she got this set up so fast?"

"Honestly? It's probably better not to ask," Liz replied. "Well, go on. Open it."

"But-"

She nodded towards the gift, "It's for you, after all."

"...Here it goes then, I guess." Jack crouched down, pulling at the ribbon tying the present closed. He leaned back like he was still expecting it to explode in his face. The box fell open and he nervously peeked inside, "...Oh, there is some pretty cool stuff in here!"

Elizabeth leaned over to get a better view, "Is that a plasmoid?"

Jack pulled the bottle out. "It says, 'Hypnotize Big Daddy.' Shame we didn't have that earlier."

"It should come in handy in the future though," Liz said, she shuffled around the box some more, pulling out and examining a box of twelve armor-piercing pistol rounds. "Mind if I keep these for myself?"

"Go right ahead, I prefer my shotgun."

Sliding the ammo into her pouch, Liz kept shuffling around. "Aw, she does care."

When Jack gave her a questioning look, she held up a pack of cigarettes and a large chocolate bar that she snapped in half. The man laughed but took the chocolate she offered him. "Well, you know what they say about nightingales."

"What?" Liz asked, amused.

"Well, they say that a nightingale dies for shame if another bird sings better."

"Hmm... Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy. Impressive," Elizabeth said, identifying the quote. "I fail to see the connection though."

"Nightingales need to be the best, and I reckon the same is true for you." Jack shrugged. "And, if I'm going to save all the Little Sisters down here then I'll need the best by my side."

Ba Baum!

"...And you'll have it," Elizabeth said, like her heart wasn't racing. "For as long as you need me."

Jack smiled.