Elizabeth XVII

"Langford, why are we heading back to you when we still need to get the other stuff?" Jack asked. "What was it? Bottled water and bee spit?"

"Distilled water and Apis mellifera enzyme samp-"

"Right, honey bee spit," Jack replied, cutting the scientist off. "Shouldn't we go get that before coming back? Make everything in one trip?"

Elizabeth fought a grin as the older woman huffed at Jack's terminology. "Ideally, I'd like for you to bring the rose back so I can start working on the formula with the components I have with me here in the lab, adding the water and the enzymes later. It seems like the safest option to me. However, I haven't been the one traipsing through the infested bowls of Rapture. While I see my own logic, I will allow you both to do what you feel is best."

Jack nodded automatically and turned to her. "What do you think?"

There was an eager trust in Jack's voice that made Liz's heart clench in shame. She and Tenenbaum and Langford and so many others may have their penance to bear down here in Rapture, but Jack didn't belong at the bottom of the cold, dark ocean. He was too bright.

"You should tell him," Booker said, appearing by her side.

Liz jumped at the sound of his voice, her eyes tearing away from Jack to look at the ghost of her father. The usual lines of his brow deepened, and he nodded toward Jack with a concerned look on his face.

"You should tell him," the specter repeated. "If he knows, then Atlas and Ryan will have a harder time manipulating and using him. Of course, so will..."

Booker trailed off as the shame intensified in Elizabeth's heart. 'So will I. When Jack finds out who he is... what he was, he'll hate me. And he'll be justified in that.'

Elizabeth knew from the moment they met face-to-face that she'd have to manipulate and twist Jack to keep him on the ideal path. The idea had seemed, at the time, simple and easy. Logic. Never in a million years did Liz think she had such a hard time keeping it up.

'My god, I really am no better than Ryan and Fontaine. I never saw Jack as a real person either, just as a means to an end.'

"Liz, is everything okay?" Jack asked slowly. Tentatively, he took her free hand. "Hey, come back to me. Please? Liz, will you-"

"Elizabeth," she blurted out.

"Huh?"

"Elizabeth, you can call me that. Or stick with Liz, whatever you prefer." She was babbling, she knew she was and it took all her focus to get back on track. "And I agree with you. Making repeated trips back to Langford's safehouse will only draw unwanted attention to it. Her defenses are good, but I don't want to test how well they'll hold up to a very determined hoard of splicers. The quicker we can get everything we need, the better."

Jack nodded again. And, over his shoulder, Elizabeth saw the somber look on Booker's face before he disappeared, like smoke fading into the air.

'Sorry, Booker. I told him my name, and that is the only truth I can spare for now. Let me pretend, just for a little while longer.'

"Hey, Langford, Liz, and I agree that we should get everything before coming back. The less attention we bring to you, the better. We'll be as quick as possible though. Can you point us in the right direction?"

There was a hesitant silence on the other end of the radio. It went on long enough that Liz leaned over to speak into it. "Dr. Langford, can you hear us? Are you still there?"

If someone -Atlas, Ryan, or maybe just some random splicer- had gotten to her while they were gone... Everyone and everything left in Rapture would be doomed.

"Well... therein lies another problem. I used to be able to make distilled water in my lab but, since everything has gone to shit, I've since run out of the necessary components," Langford said.

Confused, Liz took the radio from Jack. "Wait, what 'necessary components'? To get distilled water you just boil tap water to the point that it turns to vapor. When the vapor condenses back to water, it leaves behind any mineral residue. All that condensation is distilled water, you can do it with a pot, a couple of bowls, and a thin sheet of plastic. Why do we need to scavenge it?"

"You know your science, girl," the older woman replied. "But this distilled water is a little... different. I could explain it but we'd be wasting precious time. And, as I'm sure you can imagine, Apis mellifera enzymes are not easy to come by."

Elizabeth ground her teeth and fought the urge to growl. "But you do know where we can find them right? This entire thing wasn't just some giant goose chase?"

If it was, then woe to the next splicer that crossed Liz's path because she was going to start shooting in all the most painful places.

"Of course not! I know exactly where you can find these components... Well, 90% sure, at least. The problem is... they are in the Farmer's Market."

"Oooohhhh, you've got to be kidding me!" Elizabeth groaned.

"I'm afraid so."

Jack spoke up. "What is the Farmer's Market? Is it like the ones up on the surface?"

"Uh, basically. It used to be the best -and sometimes only place- to get fresh produce in Rapture. When it was at its peak, there were dozens of vendors all selling meat, cheese, eggs, milk, butter, fruits, and vegetables. You could get herbs and spice there too; sometimes even entire animals," Elizabeth explained. She clipped the radio back to the front of Jack's belt, hiding a grin when the man's ears turned red. "It was... nice. I used to visit every Sunday."

"What happened to it?"

Liz took a moment to answer, instead nudging Jack forward. "Well... For a long time, actually nothing happened to it. Even after Ryan closed the parks of Arcadia to all but those who could afford it, he left the Farmer's Market open to everyone."

"Really?" Jack asked, surprised. "If I didn't know better, I'd say that was almost charitable."

"Ha! That's a good one," Elizabeth said wryly. "If I had to guess, Ryan left it open because all those vendors had to rent their spots from him. And he got a cut of all their profits and produce."

"Not to mention the fees for using Arcadia land in their farming," Langford added bitterly. "But anyway, you should be able to find the distilled water in the Worley Winery-."

"Makes sense," Liz said, mostly to herself. At Jack's questioning look, she continued, "The biggest alcohol crafter and distributer in Rapture. Honestly, their stuff was pretty awful. Too watered down."

"-and the enzyme should be plentiful enough at the Silverwing Apiary... It's a large bee farm, Jack. Absolutely vital for keeping Rapture alive. I'll give Ryan credit for understanding the importance of honeybees as pollinators, at least. Getting a thriving population of the little creatures up and thriving was one of his first priorities."

"It is always where the inspiration behind the name for Rapture's football team, the Stingers," Elizabeth said. "You know, in case you were just dying to know."

Jack chuckled. "I'd be lost without you ladies."

Langford returned the amusement. "Quite literally, I'm sure. Now, you'll need to head east. I can point you to a maintenance tunnel that will spit you out near the entrance of the Farmer's Market. Move quickly! Every moment we delay, the more my trees suffer."

Jack gave a half-amused, half-exacerbated look at the older woman's assistance. Liz chuckled but nodded in the direction of the Farmer's Market.

"C'mon," she said. "Let's get this done."

So, with that, the two fought on. By this point, they'd grown so used to fighting alongside one another that they could do it without thinking. Regular splicers stood no chance against them.

"I should feel worse about this," Jack said, wiping the blood of a female splicer off his wrench. "I mean, yest- a week ago, I was just a farmer's son. Now I'm doing all of-" he gestured to the corpses around them "-this without blinking."

Elizabeth looked up from the body she was looting and shrugged. "The brain can adapt quickly to protect itself, especially in dire circumstances. Try not to think about it too much."

She remembered how horrified seeing Booker kill a man for the first time had been. Blood and brain had gone everywhere as the body hit the ground, no longer a man and now just meat and blood and bone. Liz had screamed and ran, suddenly terrified by the man she'd found herself in the company of. And yet, an hour later, Elizabeth had bandaged his bloody hand and was following Booker around the city again. Another hour still had her actively participating in those firefights, throwing Booker ammo, salts, and healing packs. And now, much like her father, Liz could put a bullet into a man's eye and then search his pockets without blinking.

'Like father, like daughter.'

"Still... Do you think we'll able to go back to normal after everything?" Jack asked. "I can't imagine going back to the farm to spend my days planting and harvesting."

'You have no idea.'

"Whatever happens, let's try to stick together," Elizabeth said, pocketing some scavenged bullets and standing. "Okay?"

"...I wouldn't have it any other way," Jack said with painful earnestness. It made Liz's heart hurt once more.

Before Elizabeth could stop herself "Yeah, well, keep that in mind the more you learn about me."

"Huh?"

"Nevermind," Liz said. "C'mon, we're not out of the woods yet."

As if in answer to her words, the heavy, thunderous footsteps of a Big Daddy echoed through the halls,

"Damn it," Jack grumbled as he checked his shotgun. "Let's get this over with.

The massive ka-boom! of the gasoline tank when Liz shot it was loud enough that she swore her teeth rattled in her skull. The wave of heat that rushed over Elizabeth had sweat beading on her brow. The loud thud! of the Big Daddy's corpse as it hit the metal ground echoed through the halls of Arcadia, and the sobbing of the Little Sister as she threw her tiny body over the metal giant's chest broke Liz's heart.

"Is that...?" Jack whispered, trailing off as he nodded towards the Little Sister.

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. That's still not Sally."

For all the Little Sisters they'd come across since she and Jack started traveling together, it was never Sally. The dark part of Liz's mind was starting to wonder if it ever would be.

'Damn you, Fontaine! You stole so many lives, and now you want Jack's entire existence too.'

Jack squeezed her hand and gave her a sympathetic smile but said nothing. "Give me a second to heal her, then we'll be on the move again."

As predicted, the Little Sister shrieked and struggled against Jack as the young man got close, getting catching her little fist in his hands. It was such a pitiful display that Elizabeth considered telling Jack to let her be, only to bite her tongue -this was for the best.

"Mr. Bubbles! Mr. Bubbles, help me!" she called out, reaching for the felled Big Daddy.

As Elizabeth looked on at both the dark, featureless helmet of the metal giant and the twisted little girl, she could feel nothing but pain and pity for them both. It was strange, she hadn't noticed how her intense, paralyzing fear of the Big Daddies faded into a simpler fear and caution of a strong opponent. Fear, caution... and sadness. Sadness for whoever had been warped and bent and remade into a tool of Rapture. Much like the Little Sisters, much like Songbird, that had once been a man. Liz had felt pride and a sense of accomplishment when she and Jack took down their first Big Daddy. Twice these terrifying metal monsters had gotten the drop and nearly killed her, but now she was standing tall, and it was dead!

Not anymore.

"Shhhhh! Shhhhh! It's okay, sweetheart," Jack said, desperately trying to comfort the girl. Tightening, his grip on her, Jack pulled the Little Sister into the gentlest bear hug he could. Cupping his hand around the back of her neck, his skin lit up. "I promise, it'll all be over soon."

Slowly, the girl's cries stopped as Jack pulled Rapture's poison from her body. The glow faded from her eyes, and her gray skin warmed to a soft peach color. When it was done, the little thing curled limply into Jack's chest -her fingers gripping his filthy sweater.

"Thank you, mister," she mumbled. "Thank you."

"You're very welcome, sweetie. I'm just glad you're better now," Jack smiled, rocking her in his arms. "Can you tell me your name?"

The girl hesitated. "I think... I think it was Madison. No one has called me that in a long time though."

"Well, Madison, I think that is an incredibly pretty name. It suits you well."

It struck Elizabeth that Jack looked far more relaxed, more content like this than he did holding his shotgun. Glancing up to meet Liz's eye, Jack nodded for her to come closer.

"Madison, this is my friend, Elizabeth. She is going to tell you how to get somewhere safe, so I need you to listen close, okay?"

The little girl went stiff, her grip on Jack's sweater tightening. "Why can't I stay with you?

"Because Jack and I are on a dangerous adventure, and we don't want you to get hurt," Elizabeth said quickly. She knelt down beside Jack and Madison, giving what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "But, if you go to the special hideout I tell you about, I promise you can see Jack again soon."

Jack's eyes widened and he mouthed, 'Really?' at her. Liz gave a small nod, it wasn't like she could have realistically kept Jack away from Tenenbaum's safehouse forever. She wouldn't promise when they'd go, but they would. If for no other reason than Elizabeth wanted Jack checked over to see if there were any health concerns for the man. Being as... unique as he was, Liz wanted to make sure Jack was biologically stable long-term.

"You hear that? We'll see each other again," Jack told Madison. "So, what do you say? Are you ready to listen to Elizabeth?"

"Elizabeth... Lizabeth... Liz, Liz, Lizzy..." the girl babbled as she seemed to study Elizabeth with tired brown eyes. After a moment, she looked up at Jack and said, "She's pretty."

Liz fought the urge to grin as Jack chuckled, leaning down to stage-whisper in Madison's ear. "I think so too. And someone that pretty can't be mean, right? That means you can trust her."

That wiped any trace of a smile from Elizabeth's face. But she hid her feelings well as Madison crawled out of Jack's lap to come close, eyes wide and questioning.

"Are you ready for me to tell you, Madison? Because you'll need to listen really well so you won't get lost," she said, forcing herself to sound cheerful.

Madison nodded, looking very serious. "I'm good at doing what I'm told."

The sentence turned Elizabeth's stomach even as she leaned in close to whisper directions to Tenenbaum's safe house. Repeating them once and confirming Madison understood twice, the little girl was gone, scampering off into the pipes.

"She'll be okay, right?" Jack asked. "I always worry when we have to send them off like this."

"I believe in her. Little Sisters know how to get around Rapture better than anyone. So, yeah, she'll be okay," Elizabeth replied. 'It's us we have to worry about.'

Whelp, onto a new step in the adventure! I wonder if Liz's internal struggles will ease up or get hard, especially as she losses the will to continue to lie to Jack.