SEIZE + [Action/Audio]

[tearmeanewone]

[September 22nd - 24th]

[Locked to BioShock Infinitely Guilty House]

[Just by looking at the network, anyone would be able to tell that the anomalies in Luceti are coming faster and are starting to affect residents in stranger ways. Somehow, Elizabeth, Gai, Booker, Robert, and Rosalind's house has escaped unscathed. Until now.]

[One quiet, lazy morning, Elizabeth wakes up her husband by wrapping her arms around him from behind. Only as far as she's concerned, they aren't married. Very close, yes, she sings nearly every song he writes-- sometimes even the ones he doesn't write for her to sing. But more importantly, there are some serious-looking crystals growing from her severed pinky all the way up to her shoulder.]

Good morning, darling~


((OOC: If anyone wants to spot Elizabeth running around town with a half-crystalized arm and way longer hair, FEEL FREE. 8Db She'll be at her AU-self's usual haunts: Good Spirits, the library, and doing various gunbattle simulations in the Battle Dome.))



[September 25th - 28th]

[Locked to BioShock Infinitely Guilty House]

[Nobody gets a break. On the morning of the 25th, Elizabeth isn't in her bed. Though there's some smears of blood left on her pillow. She's standing in Booker's room, watching him sleep almost as though she can't believe he's there. She's absolutely still, as though saying something would break the illusion.]

[Wherever she's come from, she looks like she's been through hell. Blood all down one side of her face, bruising and blood at the inner corner of her left eye, her clothes have been practically shredded. Standing and watching Booker looking like this probably isn't the best plan, but...]


[Action]

[The last time this version of Elizabeth had been in Luceti, there was definitely more firm purpose to her step. This time, after cleaning herself up, Elizabeth wanders around the village as though she barely recognizes where she is. Or she's in awe of it. Or afraid that it's going to suddenly start storming and the entire village is going to catch fire. Over and over again, she bends and pulls at her fully-formed pinky. Maybe she shouldn't be making excursions into the village like this, but... it would no doubt be the last time she saw it.]


[Audio - Locked to Eleanor]

I'm sorry Eleanor, I need to talk to you one more time.

Comments

[Audio - locked]

[notyourutopian]

[Of all the voices to hear on her journal, that was the last one she expected. So familiar, yet...so different. She was never going to forget that voice.]

...Elizabeth?

[Audio - locked]

[tearmeanewone]

Yes, it's me. The one from Rapture.

I'm just wondering... if you knew anything about a man named 'Atlas'.

[Audio - locked]

[notyourutopian]

Atlas...

[Eleanor says the name as if it was something she hadn't thought of in years. The man who was indirectly responsible for half the horrible things in her life...]

Yes. I...yes. Why?

[Audio - locked]

[tearmeanewone]

What do you know about him?

[Basically... she wants to know how it ended. She wants to be sure of what she'd seen.]

[Audio - locked]

[notyourutopian]

[There is a delay before Eleanor answers, trying to decide how to put it.]

His real name was Frank Fontaine. He was the second most powerful man in Rapture, after Andrew Ryan. His...his company was the one that brought plasmids out into the population. They...they started the little sister program and...

[A pause.]

Anyway. He and Ryan had a...war. Everyone thought Fontaine died, but he changed his identity and came back as Atlas. Nobody knew, not until he revealed himself after Ryan was killed. But he died a few days later. At least...that is what everyone says. I was...

I was asleep at the time.

Now, why do you want to know?

[Audio - locked]

[tearmeanewone]

[There's some hesitation, but Eleanor no doubt wouldn't be able to alter the timeline. Not if she had been asleep.]

Atlas killed me. But before he did, I made sure he wouldn't last much longer. ...I just wanted to be sure.

[Audio - locked]

[notyourutopian]

He killed you?!

[That is sort of a detail that can't be glossed over.]

Action part duex

[amonglions]

[Booker hasn't ever stopped sleeping with a weapon since coming to Luceti. The place has made it clear that it's just as bad as the real world. He's gone from keeping a pistol or knife under his pillow to just hanging his holster behind the headboard in a way he can easily reach it.

It's more comfortable at least.

He's completely unaware that Elizabeth is standing over him, bloodied and bruised as she is. It appears that the now all too customary nightmares he's suffered from for months now begin to wake him up after thirty or so minutes of her standing over him.

All he remembers as he wakes is the sound of wings beating against the air and that mechanical screech coming from somewhere too close. He should have seen Songbird but all he could see was red....

it was strange enough to make him wake with a quiet jerk of motion.

He lays there for a few seconds before even noticing her there and when he does, he half reaches for the gun before registering who it is...]

Elizabeth?

[His voice scratches out as he squints at her, trying to make her out in the dark is stupid so he turns on the light by his bed and:]

Jesus Christ, what happened to you?!

[It gets him leaping out of bed and has his hands hovering close to her face - like he's not sure if he could touch her without something horrible happening. God, there was so much blood.]

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth looks almost startled by how quickly Booker moves, and how he doesn't know what's going on or where she's been. He'd always had the answers in Rapture, he'd led her where she needed to go and told her what she had to hear. The fact that this Booker looked bewildered and scared was different. That could mean...]

[Her hand hovers over his hovering hand, and it starts to shake. What if she can't feel his hand when she goes to take it?] Are you real?

[amonglions]

[His panic softens as she speaks but he's still worried. Just yesterday she had crystals covering her arm and was acting strange and now this...

He wishes he knew who ran this place because he was ready to punch someone in the face for doing this to her.

Still, just because he knew that shifts were happening didn't mean he knew this was a shift.

Her question catches him off guard - throws him back to their first meeting when she was throwing books at him and looked so vibrant. In retrospect, she looked just like her mother but he hadn't made the connection at the time.]

Yes! [He blurts out, like he'd meant to answer her sooner but was too caught up in his own thoughts. It seems to break the spell on them both and his hands cradle the sides of her head - his fingers tangle through the matted blood in her hair and he winces. There's gotta be a nasty head wound to go with that, maybe that's why she's asking.]

Yes, I'm real just -- what happened to you?

[tearmeanewone]

[Elizabeth jumps when she feels Booker's hands make contact with her face, but her own hand follows his to clasp it there. There should be a head wound, there should be a lot of wounds, but she's fine and healed-- just covered in her own blood.]

[So many things she could say in response to that question. So many things had happened to her since the river, things that she'd wished Booker could have been there for. She'd wished so hard, she'd driven herself crazy. But he was real, he wasn't telling her he was a projection of her mind. He was real.]

I died. [She reaches up and puts her free hand on Booker's cheek. Stubble and bewilderment, it made her smile in disbelief.] I missed you, I missed you so much. I wanted to see you every day.

[amonglions]

[Fear leaps up into his throat at hearing words that he dreaded. For a second, he thinks he might still be dreaming - that his mind is still keen on punishing him and showing him what he never wanted to see. But the need to comfort her overrides the paranoia and - if asked about it later, he'll blame being tired - pulls her close in a hug that is attempting to be gentle, as if handling a fragile thing. It seems most of his hugs are that way.]

Oh, Elizabeth...baby-girl, you're - you're okay now.

[It's the most he knows to do. Telling her she's safe and he's here when she's missed him so much apparently is the best he can do right now.]

I gotcha.

[tearmeanewone]

I'm okay now... I'm okay. [She repeats it only because there's nothing else she can say right now. The whys and hows and whos can't be said now, because she's too full from seeing Booker again. She'd wanted to see him at the end, she'd wanted to slip away with him holding her hand and telling her she did the right thing, that he was proud of her. But she'd made it through, smiling at Sally until everything had gone dark, and feeling so sure of her choice as she slipped away.]

All of my injuries are gone, I'm just still-- I'm still filthy, that's all. Don't worry, I'm okay.

[She fists her hands in the back of Booker's shirt and continues to shake.]

[amonglions]

[Booker doesn't want to do much else beside hold her as she continues to tremble. He does his best not to join her, it's much easier to be a solid thing for her. Someone she can lean on when she needs to.]

Let's get you cleaned up then.

[It's nice when he can actually help.]

[Action]

[wildbluevagner]

[Kurt's sitting on a bench by the fountain, casually looking through a box of CDs he found at the item shop, for stuff he could play at HQ. He doesn't notice someone's approach.

very tag
much setup]

[Action - I'MMA ASSUME OPTION 1? 8D]

[tearmeanewone]

Guess who~!

[Maybe Kurt doesn't realize because Elizabeth comes up behind him, climbing over the back of the bench and landing next to him. She's pretty nimble, for a girl with limited use of one arm.]

Ooh, CDs! Blast from the past!

[Action - The options weren't numbered! I think I was going for the 2nd one but I'll take either!]

[wildbluevagner]

Whoa!

[He laughs as she hops over.]

Yeah, pretty cool, huh? I think there's some classics in here! [It might take him a moment to notice the difference.]

[Action - HRF, YOU'RE RIGHT DEAR GOD WHY. D-DID YOU WANT TO START OVER? ;A;]

[tearmeanewone]

Really? Which ones? [Elizabeth reaches for one in the box and pulls it out to examine.] Is there even a player around?

action, September 25th late afternoon?

[ablankpage]

[Robert gives Elizabeth space once he catches a glimpse of her. Lets her go out, see this world.

And then... is waiting for her when she returns.

Not in any obvious way, no, but he has a tea set out and a pot all ready. Just in case.]

Sure! /o/

[tearmeanewone]

[She can't stay out very long, knowing Robert had spotted her as she'd gone out. They had been right, of course. She'd abandoned omniscience and croissants for mildew and death. How that must have disappointed them, but she'd thought Robert had understood. Maybe. Maybe he had been upset while Rosalind was disappointed, it was all still a little hazy.]

[Once she thought of something she'd never considered before, she came back to find Robert with the tea.]

...when you convinced Daisy to sacrifice herself, did you know I would see that when I went from Rapture to Columbia? Or was that just something I stumbled on? [Was that Robert and Rosalind's final lesson to a lost DeWitt?]

[ablankpage]

We knew the possibility was high. The probability was low.

Your pace, your interest, and your attention were all variables to be considered, ones we couldn't quantify.

[He makes a motion to the second cup at the table and then pours from the kettle into it.]

We were aware you might see it.

[tearmeanewone]

...amazing. [Elizabeth gives a sad laugh and sat down in front of the cup.]

One event, two purposes. How did you even manage that? Or... [She looks up at Robert, curious.] Did you not realize that I would follow her example?

[ablankpage]

We managed it because we were never tied to one place and one time after the accident. [It's impossible to describe. Being able to watch themselves at any given time, to be aware of past, present, and future at once.] But there are always variable.

And you, my dear, are the greatest variable. We could guide you. We could attempt to predict. But you and DeWitt? Always surprised us.

[tearmeanewone]

[She smiled, considering it a compliment. Too unpredictable to be boring to omniscient twins, that gave her a comforting sense of individuality.]

I stopped and watched. I thought I was watching something that had already happened, that was supposed to steel me to kill Comstock. But you were guiding me to... the end.

[ablankpage]

Past, present, future.

To finish, to continue, to begin.

It feels... almost impossible now. I know it was possible. I know it is possible. I know it will be possible.

But my mind... Has grown accustomed to a linear thought pattern again.