[ No, he doesn't need to know all the details. It hasn't yet occurred to Booker to ask how this Comstock, of all of them, had survived; what had been so different in his world that he'd come to Rapture instead of drowning like the rest. Hopefully he won't think to ask. The mental image of his young daughter dying, her head sliced clean open by a closing tear, would likely send him into a rage, if not drive him completely mad.
As it is, the confirmation of Sally's fate is bad enough. It's not the answer he'd wanted, but it's not a surprise, either. Booker nods, his face blank, though his jaw twitches violently when Elizabeth describes young girls being taken from their parents, his grip on the pistol tightening. ]
Elizabeth...
[ He turns to look at her, his expression somber. She won't like this, but it has to be said.
Are you sure she can even be saved?
[ It's an ugly question, but they need to be honest with each other. If Sally is anything like the creature gleefully harvesting ADAM just a few yards away from them...well, he can't help but think that death would be a greater mercy than any attempt at a rescue. ]
[ It's unexpected, perhaps, and even more surprising in how firmly she says it. If she's created a cure, Tenenbaum hasn't released it for public consumption (how could she?), but that doesn't have any bearing on the answer. Elizabeth isn't about to admit that there isn't a cure now, but she knows, thinks she knows, that she'd seen one. There will be a cure. There will be some good from this toxic city, one day. ]
There is, but that's to say that we can get her back from Atlas and his men. [ Which could actually happen, given Booker's presence. ] Before they try and take the ADAM from her.
[ He's seen her drinking it and might be able to piece together that their "taking the ADAM" leaves no room for the girl to live. ]
[ He studies her for a moment, as if measuring the truth of her words. From the looks of things, it seems that it'll take much more than retrieving Sally from Atlas to truly keep her safe. And he's known Elizabeth to be overly optimistic before.
But her tone is firm, and after a moment he merely nods, accepting her at her word. He has no interest in wasting time on a lost cause, if that's what this turns out to be, but he knows better than to argue with Elizabeth on this. At least until he knows more. ]
Then it sounds like we don't have any time to waste.
[ He risks another peek at the Big Daddy and his charge, expression contorting in disgust as the girl raises the syringe to her mouth and drinks greedily. But her work is apparently done, and she trots off, babbling cheerfully to herself, her bodyguard lumbering behind. ]
We don't. [ Elizabeth doesn't watch the girl drink, waits just until the pair move along to continue on. She motions for Booker to follow as they slip in the front of the Silver Fin. Without delay, she pulls open the door and, after checking behind them for splicers, enters the building.
There isn't anyone inside, at least, not in immediate view. She casts her gaze to Booker; he'll know as well as she does that they need to do a cursory sweep to make sure they'll be safe before making assumptions. So, she begins moving throughout the room, peering into smaller alcoves, finally emerging into the center where the device is situated and crossing her arms. ]
Seems we have the place to ourselves. [ There's a lot to the place, and none of it restaurant-related. Notes are posted onto boards with drawings of Columbian buildings ("Giant balloons? Ridiculous!"). That isn't all; there are pictures of both Booker and Elizabeth, back before she'd cut her hair, which is a surprise; she approaches the images hung up behind the front desk, distracted. ]
He knew about Columbia, about us - He was able to use the Lutece device here in the restaurant to re-open my tears.
[ The photographs attract Booker's attention as well; he follows behind Elizabeth, frowning as he brushes his fingers over a picture of himself, twenty years older than he appears today.
The pictures, the giant Lutece device towering in the center of the restaurant - none of it gives him a good feeling. ]
No. [ There's so much he doesn't know, so much she still doesn't know. ] A man- a scientist called Suchong. You told me-
[ There's a stiff pause after which she corrects herself. ]
He's the key to raising the city. This is his lab; he must have gotten a device through one of the tears.
[ And has been using them to communicate with someone in Columbia, based on the surveillance. Well, it isn't as if she hasn't been spied on her entire life; why should now be any different? ]
[ Booker gives her a quizzical look, but doesn't pursue the subject. There's too much else to focus on, at least for the moment. ]
A scientist.
[ He doesn't sound too enthused. The Luteces may have brought him here, may want to help just like Elizabeth had said, but he's still half-convinced they're crazy. ]
Why's Atlas want to raise the city, anyway? Must be easier ways of getting to the surface.
He isn't trying to get to the surface. This place - Fontaine's Department Store - used to be part of Rapture. You remember; the city we first traveled to when Songbird destroyed the siphon.
[ Where she drowned him. Elizabeth sighs softly, looking away. ]
A man called Andrew Ryan built the city and sank this part after he took down the man who owned it. Atlas is just looking to get back up.
[ To keep from dying, to get revenge, to abduct more children... who knows why. His agenda is nothing to her except that complying had saved her life. ]
[ He remembers; the strange underwater place they'd come, where Songbird had finally met his end. Elizabeth had seemed so sure of where to go and what to do. Booker had been able to do nothing but follow along helplessly.
Much like now. He shakes his head, grimly accepting all that she'd said. ]
A favor for a favor.
[ They help this Atlas raise his building, and he gives up the girl. Booker shakes his head, still uncertain. ]
[ Just then, the machine hums to life. She takes a step back to examine it, eyes scanning the threads of electricity that arc around the device until they settle... relatively speaking. Elizabeth turns back to the controls, glancing at complicated notes, dark hair half-tumbled in her face. It's gotten too long. ]
There. [ No need to continue talking about how Atlas is absolutely going to double-cross them (her). It wasn't much of a compromise, anyway; he'd been about to kill her. Not even, she remembers, since it had been a splicer who'd had the revolver at her head.
She steps forward, heels clicking against the floor, then half-turns back to Booker. ]
[ No, he really isn't. He'd been glad to leave Columbia behind, more than happy at the prospect of never setting foot there again. To return now, especially on behalf of someone who's sure to turn on them before the end? He doesn't relish it.
But - as with so many times before - they're left without any real choice. They're far past the point where he could talk Elizabeth out of this plan, and he knows there's no alternative if they're going to save Sally.
He takes a breath and nods, then reaches out a hand, holding Elizabeth back. ]
Let me.
[ It's the least he can do; what he'd always done for her before. Lead the way, take the brunt of whatever danger lies before them, to protect her as much as he can. Without waiting for an answer - or permission - Booker steps forward, into the tear.
He emerges into a small room, one unfamiliar to him, though he's arrested by the sight of Elizabeth's outfit on a stand before him. No - her mother's outfit. They're on the First Lady.
Or at least, he is. He turns, anxiously waiting for Elizabeth to follow him through. ]
[ Before she can argue, he's gone. She hesitates for a split second, wondering if there could be a way to change the tear's destination from this side so that when he re-enters, it's back to his home, but she can't think of the logistics in the same way that she could before she was completely human. So, instead, Elizabeth just sighs shortly before following.
Yes, they're her clothes, but they're also not. The outfit she'd borrowed had been left in Rapture, somewhere, probably stolen by now by one of the city's many virtuous residents. It doesn't matter; she has no intention of returning to those clothes any time soon.
Still, it's strange to see the mannequin. It must be waiting for her - for another Elizabeth, that is. ]
Hm. [ She turns from it without comment; better not to dwell. ] ... The particle should be on the ship, somewhere. Up top, most likely, but we'll need to find a way there without being seen.
[ By anyone, really, though it wouldn't be very good to have their alternate selves walk in as they will at some point. ]
Should be easy enough, as long as we don't meet ourselves here.
[ He's not sure quite what the outcome of that would be, but it's all too easy to imagine how he'd have reacted if he'd met another version of himself and Elizabeth here the first time he'd boarded the airship. Not well.
He looks around, until he spots a small, crank-operated elevator and points. ]
There.
[ They board and Booker pulls the crank to send the elevator up, frowning as a thought occurs to him. ]
Isn't the particle the only thing holding this airship in the sky?
[ To her, it's as simple as that. Constants and variables. That would be an enormous variable, one that could derail their entire journey together and destroy the end result. ... Unless, of course, there was a universe in which that did happen, where the collision was enough to ruin the minds of one or both of them before Comstock ever could. It's hard to remember, now, without her old powers.
Drip. Almost mechanically, she raises two fingers to her nose; they come away with a streak of red. ]
What? [ Hurriedly, she wipes it away, hoping to do so before he notices. The fact that her mind isn't enjoying the trip isn't exactly a surprise, but it's never happened before, and she, somehow, hadn't prepared for it. ] It - Yes, but there should be a spare. Taking the active particle would drop the First Lady out of the sky.
[ The logic's a bit past him, but Booker just grunts and shakes his head skeptically. There's nothing either of them can do to stop it, anyway, except trust that she's right and get in and out of here as quickly as possible.
Elizabeth seems flustered beside him as she explains about the particle, and he turns to look in time to see her hurriedly tucking her hand away at her side. He frowns, but there's no time to pursue it as the elevator grinds to a halt. ]
All right, let's get this over with.
[ He steps forward, approaching the machinery before him warily. It looks...complicated, and the mental image of the airship suddenly dropping like a stone is still fresh in his mind. ]
[ Though she points to the pulsing, bright containment in the center of the room, plugged in to the ship, the core of the vessel, she doesn't remove it. Instead, Elizabeth turns to look off to its side, humming thoughtfully when she spies an extra and slips that into her pocket, instead. ]
Lucky they keep a spare. [ Or they really would fall out of the sky. ] With this, we can-
[ But she gasps sharply, pained, shutting her eyes tight. A sudden headache jolts through her brain and it's bad enough that she lowers to a crouch, pressing hard to her temples. When it begins to dull, she raises a shaky hand to the wall for support. When she opens her eyes, her vision is hazy, seeing double, for a moment. ]
I - I don't know what happened. [ Evenly, regaining composure and all-too aware of how he'll react, she gets to her feet. A distant drop of red falls, a perfect circle on the ground between them. ]
[ He reaches for her, feeling like he's moving in slow motion as she doubles over and then shakily pulls herself back up. The blood splashes to the ground, and he looks down at it, then back up to what he knows he'll see - the telltale trickle of blood just under her nose. ]
I thought that kind of thing didn't happen to you.
[ He's shaken, worried, and it translates into sounding harsher than he'd meant, almost accusatory. He frowns, reaching out to grasp her upper arms and hold her steady, just in case. ]
[ Of course he's seen, he was going to eventually. That doesn't make it easier or simpler and she knows there's not much chance of him not worrying about her now. ]
Yes. [ It's mostly true. ] ... We don't need to worry about it. Without my powers, it's difficult to be in the same universe as myself, especially when we're bound to be close to the First Lady. But, we only need to go back to Rapture, where I belong.
[ Not "where we belong," because he doesn't belong there. At all. For her, it's the last stop on a very long ride, though, and she's made her peace with that.
Mostly. ]
It never did you any permanent damage. [ Elizabeth points out, which is true (though, he'd also been dead in a lot of those parallel worlds. ] I'll be fine for now.
He goes quiet at that, unable to offer any response. Things are different now. Elizabeth - she's not who she was.
It doesn't mean he won't worry, and it sure as hell doesn't make him any happier about going back to Rapture. But it does mean there's nothing he can do about it right now, and he lets the hand on her arm go slack, dropping it back to his side.
Where I belong. She doesn't - she doesn't belong there, but she doesn't belong here either, and he knows she's right. Staying in Columbia won't do either of them any favors. For a fleeting moment he considers persuading her to open a tear somewhere else, getting them clear off all of this for good, before he remembers - she can't. And there's Sally to think of. ]
Let's get this over with.
[ But he keeps his eye on her even as he turns back to the elevator, watching her with a critical eye. As if he's just waiting for her to collapse, or for something else to go terribly wrong. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
As it is, the confirmation of Sally's fate is bad enough. It's not the answer he'd wanted, but it's not a surprise, either. Booker nods, his face blank, though his jaw twitches violently when Elizabeth describes young girls being taken from their parents, his grip on the pistol tightening. ]
Elizabeth...
[ He turns to look at her, his expression somber. She won't like this, but it has to be said.
Are you sure she can even be saved?
[ It's an ugly question, but they need to be honest with each other. If Sally is anything like the creature gleefully harvesting ADAM just a few yards away from them...well, he can't help but think that death would be a greater mercy than any attempt at a rescue. ]
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[ It's unexpected, perhaps, and even more surprising in how firmly she says it. If she's created a cure, Tenenbaum hasn't released it for public consumption (how could she?), but that doesn't have any bearing on the answer. Elizabeth isn't about to admit that there isn't a cure now, but she knows, thinks she knows, that she'd seen one. There will be a cure. There will be some good from this toxic city, one day. ]
There is, but that's to say that we can get her back from Atlas and his men. [ Which could actually happen, given Booker's presence. ] Before they try and take the ADAM from her.
[ He's seen her drinking it and might be able to piece together that their "taking the ADAM" leaves no room for the girl to live. ]
no subject
But her tone is firm, and after a moment he merely nods, accepting her at her word. He has no interest in wasting time on a lost cause, if that's what this turns out to be, but he knows better than to argue with Elizabeth on this. At least until he knows more. ]
Then it sounds like we don't have any time to waste.
[ He risks another peek at the Big Daddy and his charge, expression contorting in disgust as the girl raises the syringe to her mouth and drinks greedily. But her work is apparently done, and she trots off, babbling cheerfully to herself, her bodyguard lumbering behind. ]
C'mon, looks like they're moving on.
no subject
There isn't anyone inside, at least, not in immediate view. She casts her gaze to Booker; he'll know as well as she does that they need to do a cursory sweep to make sure they'll be safe before making assumptions. So, she begins moving throughout the room, peering into smaller alcoves, finally emerging into the center where the device is situated and crossing her arms. ]
Seems we have the place to ourselves. [ There's a lot to the place, and none of it restaurant-related. Notes are posted onto boards with drawings of Columbian buildings ("Giant balloons? Ridiculous!"). That isn't all; there are pictures of both Booker and Elizabeth, back before she'd cut her hair, which is a surprise; she approaches the images hung up behind the front desk, distracted. ]
He knew about Columbia, about us - He was able to use the Lutece device here in the restaurant to re-open my tears.
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The pictures, the giant Lutece device towering in the center of the restaurant - none of it gives him a good feeling. ]
Who built all this? Who did all this? Atlas?
How?
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[ There's a stiff pause after which she corrects herself. ]
He's the key to raising the city. This is his lab; he must have gotten a device through one of the tears.
[ And has been using them to communicate with someone in Columbia, based on the surveillance. Well, it isn't as if she hasn't been spied on her entire life; why should now be any different? ]
no subject
A scientist.
[ He doesn't sound too enthused. The Luteces may have brought him here, may want to help just like Elizabeth had said, but he's still half-convinced they're crazy. ]
Why's Atlas want to raise the city, anyway? Must be easier ways of getting to the surface.
no subject
[ Where she drowned him. Elizabeth sighs softly, looking away. ]
A man called Andrew Ryan built the city and sank this part after he took down the man who owned it. Atlas is just looking to get back up.
[ To keep from dying, to get revenge, to abduct more children... who knows why. His agenda is nothing to her except that complying had saved her life. ]
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Much like now. He shakes his head, grimly accepting all that she'd said. ]
A favor for a favor.
[ They help this Atlas raise his building, and he gives up the girl. Booker shakes his head, still uncertain. ]
How do we know he'll keep his word?
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[ Just then, the machine hums to life. She takes a step back to examine it, eyes scanning the threads of electricity that arc around the device until they settle... relatively speaking. Elizabeth turns back to the controls, glancing at complicated notes, dark hair half-tumbled in her face. It's gotten too long. ]
There. [ No need to continue talking about how Atlas is absolutely going to double-cross them (her). It wasn't much of a compromise, anyway; he'd been about to kill her. Not even, she remembers, since it had been a splicer who'd had the revolver at her head.
She steps forward, heels clicking against the floor, then half-turns back to Booker. ]
Are you ready to go back?
no subject
But - as with so many times before - they're left without any real choice. They're far past the point where he could talk Elizabeth out of this plan, and he knows there's no alternative if they're going to save Sally.
He takes a breath and nods, then reaches out a hand, holding Elizabeth back. ]
Let me.
[ It's the least he can do; what he'd always done for her before. Lead the way, take the brunt of whatever danger lies before them, to protect her as much as he can. Without waiting for an answer - or permission - Booker steps forward, into the tear.
He emerges into a small room, one unfamiliar to him, though he's arrested by the sight of Elizabeth's outfit on a stand before him. No - her mother's outfit. They're on the First Lady.
Or at least, he is. He turns, anxiously waiting for Elizabeth to follow him through. ]
no subject
Yes, they're her clothes, but they're also not. The outfit she'd borrowed had been left in Rapture, somewhere, probably stolen by now by one of the city's many virtuous residents. It doesn't matter; she has no intention of returning to those clothes any time soon.
Still, it's strange to see the mannequin. It must be waiting for her - for another Elizabeth, that is. ]
Hm. [ She turns from it without comment; better not to dwell. ] ... The particle should be on the ship, somewhere. Up top, most likely, but we'll need to find a way there without being seen.
[ By anyone, really, though it wouldn't be very good to have their alternate selves walk in as they will at some point. ]
no subject
[ He's not sure quite what the outcome of that would be, but it's all too easy to imagine how he'd have reacted if he'd met another version of himself and Elizabeth here the first time he'd boarded the airship. Not well.
He looks around, until he spots a small, crank-operated elevator and points. ]
There.
[ They board and Booker pulls the crank to send the elevator up, frowning as a thought occurs to him. ]
Isn't the particle the only thing holding this airship in the sky?
no subject
[ To her, it's as simple as that. Constants and variables. That would be an enormous variable, one that could derail their entire journey together and destroy the end result. ... Unless, of course, there was a universe in which that did happen, where the collision was enough to ruin the minds of one or both of them before Comstock ever could. It's hard to remember, now, without her old powers.
Drip. Almost mechanically, she raises two fingers to her nose; they come away with a streak of red. ]
What? [ Hurriedly, she wipes it away, hoping to do so before he notices. The fact that her mind isn't enjoying the trip isn't exactly a surprise, but it's never happened before, and she, somehow, hadn't prepared for it. ] It - Yes, but there should be a spare. Taking the active particle would drop the First Lady out of the sky.
no subject
Elizabeth seems flustered beside him as she explains about the particle, and he turns to look in time to see her hurriedly tucking her hand away at her side. He frowns, but there's no time to pursue it as the elevator grinds to a halt. ]
All right, let's get this over with.
[ He steps forward, approaching the machinery before him warily. It looks...complicated, and the mental image of the airship suddenly dropping like a stone is still fresh in his mind. ]
Any idea what we're looking for?
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[ Though she points to the pulsing, bright containment in the center of the room, plugged in to the ship, the core of the vessel, she doesn't remove it. Instead, Elizabeth turns to look off to its side, humming thoughtfully when she spies an extra and slips that into her pocket, instead. ]
Lucky they keep a spare. [ Or they really would fall out of the sky. ] With this, we can-
[ But she gasps sharply, pained, shutting her eyes tight. A sudden headache jolts through her brain and it's bad enough that she lowers to a crouch, pressing hard to her temples. When it begins to dull, she raises a shaky hand to the wall for support. When she opens her eyes, her vision is hazy, seeing double, for a moment. ]
I - I don't know what happened. [ Evenly, regaining composure and all-too aware of how he'll react, she gets to her feet. A distant drop of red falls, a perfect circle on the ground between them. ]
no subject
[ He reaches for her, feeling like he's moving in slow motion as she doubles over and then shakily pulls herself back up. The blood splashes to the ground, and he looks down at it, then back up to what he knows he'll see - the telltale trickle of blood just under her nose. ]
I thought that kind of thing didn't happen to you.
[ He's shaken, worried, and it translates into sounding harsher than he'd meant, almost accusatory. He frowns, reaching out to grasp her upper arms and hold her steady, just in case. ]
Is this the first time?
no subject
[ Of course he's seen, he was going to eventually. That doesn't make it easier or simpler and she knows there's not much chance of him not worrying about her now. ]
Yes. [ It's mostly true. ] ... We don't need to worry about it. Without my powers, it's difficult to be in the same universe as myself, especially when we're bound to be close to the First Lady. But, we only need to go back to Rapture, where I belong.
[ Not "where we belong," because he doesn't belong there. At all. For her, it's the last stop on a very long ride, though, and she's made her peace with that.
Mostly. ]
It never did you any permanent damage. [ Elizabeth points out, which is true (though, he'd also been dead in a lot of those parallel worlds. ] I'll be fine for now.
no subject
He goes quiet at that, unable to offer any response. Things are different now. Elizabeth - she's not who she was.
It doesn't mean he won't worry, and it sure as hell doesn't make him any happier about going back to Rapture. But it does mean there's nothing he can do about it right now, and he lets the hand on her arm go slack, dropping it back to his side.
Where I belong. She doesn't - she doesn't belong there, but she doesn't belong here either, and he knows she's right. Staying in Columbia won't do either of them any favors. For a fleeting moment he considers persuading her to open a tear somewhere else, getting them clear off all of this for good, before he remembers - she can't. And there's Sally to think of. ]
Let's get this over with.
[ But he keeps his eye on her even as he turns back to the elevator, watching her with a critical eye. As if he's just waiting for her to collapse, or for something else to go terribly wrong. ]