BIOSHOCK INFINITE AU

4.

Philly trudged down the steps, alert and on edge. Again, as stated several times, something about the city didn't seem normal. In the little field they discovered themselves in, there were two little girls, playing Hop Scotch.

"Songbird, Songbird, see him fly," The two chant, "Drop the children from the sky. When - the young ones - mis*be*have... Es*corts chil*dren to their grave." Philly furrowed their eyebrows. Sure, the rhyme is like any other nursery rhymes, but that line... "Ne*ver - back talk - ne*ver lie... Or he'll drop you FROM THE SKY!" Philly shuffled around them as they continued, walking to a Dollar Bill machine. They threw that tainted green soul at it and coins, Silver eagles, dropped out of it.

Sweet, free money... Philly smirked, squatting down and pulled them up before shoving the stolen coins in their wallet. Searching about the area, they quickly stole other stuff, making sure the kids don't notice. If we're being fair, Philly doesn't want to be the one accountable for making kids criminals.

Philly walked past a couple, both glancing up at them but neglecting their appearance. They continued, seeming focused on the path ahead of them. Philly stepped down the steps, before looking up at a poster over some bushes. 'SING PRAISE TO THE SONGBIRD FOR HE IS THE PROTECTOR OF THE LAND.' The statement made the brunette huff an unamused chortle, walking beyond it and nearly past two officers, hearing their conversation.

"When did you get that?" One policeman questioned.

The other raised his arm, revealing a Sky-Hook, "This little beauty?" He turned, glancing at his friend. "The whole division got them." He made the hooks on the end revolution, lifting his arm. "If we're going to flush the Vox out of the sky-line system, we gotta have the best." The Sky-Hook got Philly's attention, they wanted their hands on the weaponry. But, they weren't apart of that crew, and there wasn't any other way unless they stole it and, well... They weren't up for the risk.

They quietly strolled past the two, shaking their head softly as they saw a statue, turning from one look to another, a male to female... with the striking resemblance of Erin and Ralph. "Huh..." They huffed, walking up the steps and to the bench under the female statue.

On the bench sat a Voxophone. In it was an audio log, of a little girl, Constance Field, looking up to the lady of Madame Lutece. Constance wants to be like her, going as far to ask Madame Lutece if it was true that Lutece was the only person allowed to visit the girl in the tower, hoping that one day, she too could visit the girl in the tower, 'As we would have much in common' Stated Constance. Philly stopped it, looking up at the Female statue, that must be Madame Lutece. They sighed and walked down the steps, past a kid who giggled and gawked at the statue.

Philly walked past him and looked at the barrel beside a shop. Looking in it, they found some Salts, which made them smile. They heard Salts powered the Vigors. Walking near a banner, 'YOU SHALL KNOW THE FALSE SHEPHERD BY THEIR MARK!' The image itself was a hand with sharp claws, the letters AD on the backhand. Philly raised their hand, looking at the AD on their hand.

"What the...?" They glanced up, back, and around, before shoving the hand in a pocket insecurely. Taking a silver eagle, they flipped it in their left hand, so it wasn't as skeptical as it would appear.

They looked up once they were past the board, looking up at the fireworks in the sky. Philly mumbled, speeding up the stairs and extra set of them, seeing a line. A hawker was smiling at a man, who took a baseball with a number from the bucket. Philly only sighed, walking up the flight of steps and looked up. Behind the Angel Tower was the blinding sun, covered slightly. Even the corner of it makes Philly squint their eyes. The sound of someone yelling catches their attention, making them snap their head away from the tower.

Passing through a gate, they were met with the festival, a presentation. It was were the Raffle was taking place. Philly couldn't ignore the revolting feeling in the pit of their stomach, as they anxiously stepped down the stairs and joined the rest of the crowd.

Jeremiah Fink stood up on the stage, a mischievous grin of his face. "And now, the 1912 Raffle has officially begun!" He called out, making the party of people clap and roar with glee.

A girl turned, looking at the brunette. "Hey, Mister!" She called out, as Philly looked over. She was waving her hand up, allowing Philly the right to walk over. "Mister!"

"Sorry, No sale," Philly affirmed apologetically yet tiredly. The girl giggled at the remark.

"Silly," She grinned. "There's never a charge for the raffle. You been sleeping under a rock?" She joke, holding out the bin of baseballs for Philly.

Philly grabbed a ball, turning it over. Their eyebrows pinched together, as they glared at the red numbers. "Seventy-Seven..." They turned it, making the girl smile with interest.

"Seventy-Seven?" She asked, almost repeating. "That's a lucky number," She stated, starting to walk away before giving a final purr, "I'll be rooting for you."

"Bring me the bowl!" Jeremiah yelled, turning and smiled at the pale girl on the spotlight. "Is that the prettiest young white girl in all of Columbia? Haha!" The comment made Philly's stomach twist, their eyebrows furrowed lightly. That can't be anything close to good. "All right then..." Jeremiah stuck his hand in the bowl, "The winner is..." He pulled out a card, smiling at the number. "Number Seventy-Seven!"

"Well, what do you know?" Philly grumbled to themselves.

The girl from before beamed, aiming at the brunette. "Over here! Over Here!" She exclaimed out to Fink. "He's the winner!" Jeremiah looked at Philly, amusement in his eyes.

"Number seventy-seven, come and claim your prize!" He yelled, throwing the red card to the side as the theatre curtain raised.

"First throw!" The crowd cheered, clapping loudly. As the scenery of the play revealed two people, a Pale blonde and a dark-skinned girl, the feeling in the pit of their stomach worsened. Philly knows why the place feels odd, their dealing with a bunch of racist assholes.

"Please," Cried the bride. "Please, don't do this."

"It was me. It was all me!" The groom stated, struggling. "Please, Please! No..." Philly's eyes widened, the grasp on the baseball tightened. What the absolute fuck is this? "Please, what are you doing?!"

Jeremiah looked at Philly, turning his head. "Come on, are you gonna throw it... Or are you taking your coffee black these days?" The suggestion made Mister Jeremiah Fink laugh rudely.

"Let her go, please!" The groom screamed, making Philly look at the couple with worry. "I'm the one you want!"

"Oh, looks like we've got a shy one here! Hahaha... We've gotta do something about that!" Philly looked from The interracial couple to Fink.

Philly tossed the ball up, making the couple recoil, "I've got something for you, you son of a bitch!" They hissed, about to throw the baseball at Jeremiah.

"Wait!" Jeremiah disapproved, his eyebrows pressing together. Two hands grabbed Philly's wrists, making the action of throwing anything at Fink difficult, and they were met with officers.

"It's him!" A male yelled. Jeremiah walked over, as the officer of their right pulled their arm out, revealing the AD on the back of their hand.

"Now, where'd you get that brand, boy?" Philly struggled, as Jeremiah glared at them. "Don't you know that makes you the back-stabbin', snake-in-the-grass False Sheperd?" Philly tried pulling out of the officers' grips but to no avail. Fink stood, scowling down at Philly, before turning to the crowd. "And we ain't lettin' no False Shepherd into our Flock, Haha! Show him what we got planned, boys!"

Philly turned to the officer to their left, their eyes widened at the Sky-Hook, the hooks of the weapons whirling. The policeman aimed the weapon at Philly, forcing them to think fast. Their gaze shifted to the baseball, before they threw it into the air, distracting the two. They grabbed the back of the right officer's neck and slammed his head into the hooks.

A gory scene, yeah, but it was fucking worth it. The officer fell back, causing the other pull away and take another weapon, allowing Philly to take the Sky-Hook. They turned and swung the spinning weapon at the officer, killing him immediately.

This is gonna be a long and gruesome day for Columbia.