DIX + [Fourth Wall Catch-All]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth]

[Action]

[Elizabeth is joining the ranks of those overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people in Luceti. Really, the crowds are starting to make her feel very nervous as someone used to more open spaces and limited interaction during her errands. What's worse, her puppy Nemo keeps trying to sniff at strangers, so Elizabeth keeps apologizing as she tries to navigate to the grocery store and back.]


[Voice]

I'm sure everybody's noticed that there are tons more people in Luceti than there used to be-- what's going on? Are there even enough apartments for everyone?



[Vastra]

[Action]

[And conversely, Vastra is completely unsurprised by what's happening. Typical Luceti, after all. It's an extremely eclectic mix of people at least, and Vastra is happy to see that. Still, it does make walking around a little difficult, and ever since the Edmundo Incident she can't feel 100% comfortable just walking around unarmed. So she has her sword prominently displayed on her back when she moves around the village and observes the crowds and interactions amongst the newcomers.]

Comments

[tearmeanewone]

[As soon as Elizabeth is crouching down to look after Booker's wounds, he's urging her to go. The order is so foreign, so strange--go? She never left him, not when Songbird was literally tearing their home apart looking for her. No, he would kill Booker if she wasn't there to put herself between them in the last second.]

[She's about to tell him what Gai told her--that she's not going anywhere--when Songbird renews his attack on her room. The room Gai is probably trapped in. Her heart stops and her body won't move. It's hopeless. They're going to die, both of them, trying to keep Songbird from her unless she does something. The flash of another laser beam shakes Elizabeth from her sick fear, and Robert and Rosalind are suddenly flanking her. She doesn't have a choice, she has to lead him away and risk not being able to outrun him again.]

[But Rosalind made a good point. Elizabeth could buy them some time, could buy Gai a temporary shield. There was, inevitably, a world in which Booker hadn't left the house, that she was in that room shielding Gai as Songbird tried to kill the only person standing in her room between him and Elizabeth. She closes her eyes, reaches out and seizes the crack her panic has created. The familiar stream of light and air sails through the destroyed wall and opens the tear. She's on the other side of it, standing in the center of the room as a static overlaid blue decoy with her fists clenched at her sides. Screaming at the top of her voice.]

STOP! STOP IT!! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU KILL HIM!!

[Outside her room, Elizabeth holds onto Robert and Rosalind to steady herself, or perhaps to convince herself that there was nothing more she could do now but run.] Please, Booker-- [She swallows as she starts backing up, scared out of her mind, afraid to run and afraid to stay.] --don't keep him here any longer than he has to be. You know I can run fast.

[dropyoufromthesky]

[Gai knows exactly how to get on Songbird's bad side. The laser beam fired from Gai's gun hits him squarely in the eye, and he falls back screaming in pain. He's enraged now, furious, and he's going to murder Gai in the name of his cracked, broken, and oozing eye if it's the last thing he does. He rips the wall open more, unaware that behind him Booker, Robert, and Rosalind are plotting to take Elizabeth away. He's going to eliminate Gai, then deal with Booker if he has to.]

[But the appearance of Elizabeth's decoy stops him from reaching inside to crush Gai in his large hand. He listens, almost considering her words for a moment before reaching in gently to push her aside. She doesn't know what she's saying, she'll understand once Gai and Booker are dead and she's safe.]

[But it's a decoy, so his hand passes straight through. A tear! Songbird turns around to see Robert and Rosalind pulling Elizabeth away. She looks scared, and Songbird can't bear to see her afraid. Gai will have to wait, because he's going after Robert and Rosalind Lutece now.]

[amonglions]

Elizabeth, you're gonna need to be doin' that right now.

[Booker looks right at the Lucetes when he sees Songbird wheel around and start barreling towards them, he has enough time to tell them this.]

Keep her safe!

[Booker turns then and charges up a shot of Shock Jockey, one hard enough to lay a few lines of electricity down as tripwires a few yards between him and Songbird. Hopefully it'll stall him a few steps. Enough for Booker to lay more shells into Songbird and hopefully distract him a little while more. If Gai can get out here and help, they might be able to keep him away from her.]

You're gonna have to go through me to get her you ugly bastard!

[He knows the odds of him dying are going up. Steadily by the second.]

[voidseeing]

[Gai is no fool. He doesn't need to be told to get out of the house; the moment Songbird turns around, he makes a run for it, racing past the giant creature and out into the open, where he has room to run and dodge. The odds are more even now, in his eyes. Songbird may be big, but it's slow, and he's got enough faith in his own ability to be quicker than it is when push comes to shove. The one thing he's gleaned from all of this is that Songbird doesn't seem to be out to kill Elizabeth. It's for that reason and that reason alone that he allows the Luteces to lead her off and instead focuses his own attention on firing off a few more shots at the massive thing.

Between him and Booker, they could at least distract it for a little while, hopefully long enough to get Elizabeth to safety out of its sight. The scent of ozone hangs heavy in the air from the combination of Shock Jockey and his own Void gun-- it's invigorating, in a strange and perverse way.

This is what he's good at. This is what he knows. And this is one fight he doesn't plan on losing.]

[ablankpage]

[Robert puts an arm around Elizabeth, ready to grab and pull if she resists. Will it make her angry? Yes. That is wholly possible. But to save her? He'll take any and every bit of anger she can throw at him.]

We're going to run.

[The words are low and even. Worst case scenario, he can abandon Rosalind and Elizabeth, act as another human shield against Songbird, another distraction. It shouldn't come to that, but if it does, he'll do it without hesitation.

His eyes narrow briefly, and he looks between the bird and Elizabeth.]

We just need to get to the barracks. Be ready to run. Once we run, Elizabeth? You do not stop. Do you understand me?

[quantumgrammar]

I think she understands running.

[It would be a dry, cutting remark were it not so breathless, hissed as Rosalind slamming the door shut for all the good it will do them. Another obstacle, another barrier to line of sight and paltry few dozen pounds of resistance to a beast that has the strength to barrel through it like butcher paper.

It's what she can do, though, before she's pulling both of them into a sprint with her, uncaring of who it upsets or offends. DeWitt, if he ever was their priority to begin with, certainly isn't now.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Songbird starting after them is the last push Elizabeth needs to back into Robert and Rosalind and start running. Yes, she understands running very well. She can't even really remember where the barracks are, but she's afraid of what happens if Songbird finds her and carries her off. Without a Monument Island or a Comstock House, they could fly around for days...]

[But even if she's running, she can't help but look over her shoulder at Gai and Booker still fighting. She sees the telltale flash of Shock Jockey and Gai's laser gun, and Elizabeth wonders for a horrible moment how long they can hold Songbird off before someone dies.]

Just take me halfway! Then go back for them, if I can get halfway there before he comes after me, I can make it!

[dropyoufromthesky]

[Why hadn't Booker learned that when he faced down Songbird, bad things happened?]

[There isn't anything that's going to stop him from getting to Elizabeth. The Shock Jockey slows him down, and he jerks with every single line he struggles through. But then there's nothing between them except for a shotgun. Booker first, then Gai.]

[Songbird draws his claws back and strikes, intending to crush Elizabeth's deadbeat father into the ground. He wouldn't be interfering again.]

[amonglions]

[Booker is not known for thinking things through and he's fully aware of that. Even more so when Songbird draws his big spiked fist back and sweeps it towards him.

Booker is almost out of Salts and bullets, but he needs to try and make this last. He stumbles backwards, attempting to try and dive away from the fist but only just flailing out of the line of the claws. Next time he won't be so lucky.

At least he's close enough to aim the barrel of his gun true to Songbird's face. Or at least, what should qualify as it's face. He remembers, vaguely, that the glass orbs that functioned as it's eyes were sensitive. He was a little busy drowning at the time but that did happen.

Hopefully the spray of the shotgun might do some helpful damage.]

[voidseeing]

[Meanwhile, Gai fires off another barrage of shots aimed at Songbird's eye, glad that his Void isn't a weapon that requires reloading. Shock Jockey or not, he's not sure how long Booker will be able to hold out against this thing, and he's not sure of Booker's fighting abilities when that and his gun are removed from the equation. (Although on second thought, that's probably a moot point as there isn't much of a chance of either one of them being able to take Songbird on unarmed.)

If he can lure it away from Booker, maybe it will give the other man a chance either to reload or to find some more of that Shock Jockey potion. He at least is confident in his ability to keep Songbird occupied for a while, if nothing else.]