And now, for a little Halloween Horror… Featuring the characters of Mass Effect: Creed! You'll probably have to read that story to know who the Original Characters are, why Kaidan and Ashley are alive at the same time, etc.
Warning, this contains major character death. A lot of it. There will be blood and gore. Also, coarse language. Enjoi.
At first I thought about letting Slenderman loose on the Normandy, but it wasn't Genre Savvy. That, and the hype was dead. I also thought of Five Nights at Freddy's… but seriously, Elephant in the Room: Why would there be animatronics on the Normandy to begin with? What threat would they pose to biotics, hackers, engineers, assassins, and soldiers? SO I thought:what popular Horror Game is out that is Sci-Fi rich and even more suspenseful than Slender? I'll give you a hint: Big, Black, Powerful, Biologically Perfect. Hives, Parasites, and Eusociety. Hiiiissssssssssssss…
Normandy SR-2, 2185
Everyone was on edge. Joker had managed to spook the crew in time for Halloween with a little playthrough of ALIEN: Isolation, having found the data chip on the Citadel one day on Shore Leave. The Zakera Ward's game store was where he got it. The Salarian running the stand was cheery enough, and gave Joker a discount, having played Amnesia with him a few weeks back. 10 credits, down from 50. A steal.
He had played through the entire game the next day, recording 20 minute segments and grinding through the game's storyline ceaselessly until he finished it. Revealing one of the later episodes to the crew, the Humans were engulfed in the nostalgia, remembering how ALIEN had been one of Humanity's greatest science-fiction cinematic achievements in their history. The Non-Humans were just disturbed by the game's antagonist(s) and eerie atmosphere. Well, excluding Grunt. He was enjoying the fact that the Xenomorphs were biologically perfect and impossible to kill. "A worthy opponent", they were dubbed.
It was decided that Jane was to bust out her copy of the original ALIEN movie to show what happened 15 years prior to Isolation's events. Only a few people showed up, but they were definitely terrified by the prospect of the killing perfection that was the xenomorph.
Then it happened.
Miranda had called the ground-squad in to discuss possible uses for the Sur'Kesh Apple (of Eden). Why it was built, was a major question. The Pieces were used to manipulate mankind, there was no reason for the existence of one on Sur'Kesh. What did it mean?
Mordin, being the only Salarian aboard, chimed in. Interstellar Empire, weakened by the Protheans, or perhaps the Reapers. Pieces of Eden used to repel Protheans from Sur'Kesh and other worlds? Perhaps to damage Reapers. Neither hypothesis was remotely testable, and there were no recorded occurences of Apple usage that messed with machinery. Whatever the case, it was on Sur'Kesh, in an archaeological digsite.
Alexander had just roused from a session in the Animus. His Russian ancestor, Eldar Koslov, had been sent to the Ottoman Empire after being expelled from Russia. He was recruited into the Assassin Brotherhood and assisted Ezio Auditore and Yusuf Tazim in their day-to-day activities, being stationed in the Grand Bazaar. His Eagle Sense was… identical to Ezio's, but the images were not as crisp, nor were any trails very clear. Alexander himself had begun to use Eagle Sense, and after rescuing Kairee, he had been able to keep it under control, able to use it at will.
Only downside was that the longer he used it the more he felt like Eldar.
He noticed a faint glowing from the Apple, it grew ever brighter the longer his gaze was fixed on it. He figured he was the only one seeing it and kept quiet. Miranda began to look down at the Apple, which was sitting on a cushion in the center of the briefing room table. She quirked a brow, and her eyes widened as the glowing became more intense, little shapes of light sparking from the carvings around the Apple.
Alexander swallowed his spittle nervously, taking a step back from the Apple. "What is it doing?!" he cried.
"It's reacting to something in the room, a-an emotion, a thought, something strong!" Miranda said.
No matter. The Apple exploded in a burst of energy, striking everyone in the Briefing Room.
Everything went black.
With a loud groan, the ground squad picked themselves up off the ground, groggy, but otherwise unharmed, alive and well, it seemed.
"Who's not dead, sound off?" John suggested, and he heard a collective "aye" as the entire squad rose to their feet.
Only one detail was missing.
The Apple.
"Where's the magic space-rock?" Joker, who had been standing in a corner, watching the meeting when the Apple exploded, said.
That's when everyone else took notice of the lack of Apple on the table. No fragments or anything, it was just… gone. Not even any scorch marks, in fact the whole room looked cleaner for some reason.
"I… I'm not sure, where it went…" John Shepard said, looking under the table while his sister Jane looked around the edges of the room for the Apple. They didn't find it.
"Just… damn it," Miranda said, rubbing her temples and closing her eyes in irritation. "Damn it… everyone, dismissed. If you happen to find the Apple, just in case it ISN'T disintegrated in the next dimension, bring it to me at once."
And so everyone left the briefing room, a lingering sense of discomfort overtaking them. A mind-manipulating, ancient artifact just vanishes? It felt… alien…
"Uuhhh, Commander? We got something WEIRD on the Crew Deck. I wanna say I recognize it but that's impossible," Joker said over the comms system. Rolling his eyes, John took the elevator down to the Crew Deck, where numerous crew members were gathered around the mess hall table, eyeing a strange, oblong object. Black, scaley, with a flesh-colored X on the top of it. It was beginning to pulsate as John approached, eyes bulging when he saw it.
"Nobody… move… a muscle…" he said, reaching for his M3 Predator. Among the crowd, Jacob, Alexander, Kairee, Grunt, Jack, and Kairee's mother, Coracia, stood silently, following the command to freeze in place.
John fired a bullet from his pistol, which entered the base of the object and cracked it along the sides. The X opened up on all four sides and all surrounding crew members leapt back in shock, breaking the silence, and the stillness.
Nothing happened.
Coracia moved forwards, despite the protest of the crew, and she laughed. "Ha! Puny thing couldn't han-" she said, as she was cut off by an earsplitting screech. From the object, a hideous monstrosity erupted from the top, throwing itself onto Coracia's face.
"MOM!" Kairee screamed as she drew her pistol, but couldn't bring herself to fire a shot lest she hit her own mother. Every other crewmember fixed their own pistols and SMGs on Coracia's head to see when a clear shot was available.
Coracia was launched back by the force of the impact and put her hands on the monster's back, attempting to peel it off. Her mouth was jammed shut out of her own will as she fought the atrocity. Her eyes bulged as she felt the thing begin to slide something against her mouth plates, forcing its way just barely through. She kept biting down, tears welling up in her eyes as her own force began taking its tole on her facial muscles. With a final screech, the monster shot its proboscis back, then forwards again, slipping through and sliding down into Coracia's throat.
A toxin was being delivered into her system, she could feel it. She wasn't panicking like she knew she should be. And… she could breathe. Was it feeding her oxygen?!
That's when she felt it. The proboscis throbbing, as she felt something round deposit itself into her belly. The last thing she felt before she fell forwards and faceplanted.
"Go get Chakwas, hurry! NOW!" Kairee shrieked, running to her mother's side, flicking her wrist to reveal her blade. As she drew her arm back, Jacob caught it.
"Unless you want that thing's blood to burn through the hull of the ship you won't do that!" he warned, and Kairee broke down into tears as she looked around the monster's body for a weak point to pry it off with. Dr. Karin Chakwas came out of the medical lab with Jack and Alexander in tow, and the three of them picked Coracia up, delicately, and brought her with them back into the lab, where they laid her down on one of the beds and sealed the door behind them.
"What is this thing?" Chakwas asked. Everyone else knew. The only reason they didn't destroy the pod was because of the acid blood. In fact, they were pretty pissed with John for forgetting about that detail and shooting anyways.
"Facehugger, or something similar," Alexander said, breathing heavily in pure fear.
"That's impossible, they don't exist!" John said, trying to rationalize the situation. Well… it was on Kairee's mother's face right now…
"There's your proof, Captain Dumbass!" Alexander cried, pointing an accusing finger at John.
"That's Commander to you, first of all, and how was I supposed to remember the whole 'Facehugger' deal when I see that pod on the table?!"
"EVERYONE STOP FIGHTING!" Chakwas screamed, pushing the two men apart.
Jack and Grunt blinked. The two most bloodthirsty on the ship and yet they weren't even the ones fighting… they wished they were, though.
Jacob and Mordin entered the room. Jacob had gone to tell Mordin about what happened, and, clearly annoyed, he left his tech lab for the med lab with the Cerberus operative.
"Jacob. They don't exist. Scientific impossibility. No organism perfect!" he said, and froze in place when he laid eye on Coracia's limp body. "…will have to… reevaluate my knowledge of biology…" he murmured, slowly approaching and studying the facehugger.
"We have to kill her," Alexander bluntly stated, and Kairee punched him in the chest, staggering him back.
"ALEX. THAT'S MY MOTHER."
"Who tried to give you up to a Templar Grandmaster!" he reasoned.
"AND WE MADE UP. YOU SAW IT? YOU CRIED?"
…whup, that ship was sunk. "If we let her live, we risk the crew. We're already kiiind of booked with the Collectors, no sense in dealing with the evil within her!"
Mordin cried out in anger, "ENOUGH! FIGHTING UNNECESSARY! WILL REMOVE CREATURE FROM HER FACE. NEED TO STUDY IT, LEARN MORE ABOUT IT WHILE THERE'S A CHANCE!"
Alexander blinked. "If you remove it, she dies. She's in comatose and it's giving her oxygen. The only way to handle this is to kill her!"
Meanwhile, Grunt.
Rolling his eyes, he stepped forwards and put his hands on the six, crab-like legs of the facehugger and pulled them back, peeling the Facehugger off as it screeched, its tail separating from Coracia's neck.
"WHAT, are you DOING?!" came the united scream. Grunt flung the beast on the ground and held his foot over it until it died on its own, which was a relatively short time. He kicked it away and crossed his arms. "Killing the bug. Figured I should be the one to stop this worthless 'debate' and cut to the chase. Kill it."
Alexander brushed his hands up his face and over his head, resting them on the back of his neck as he exhaled in what he felt to be a mixture of rage and mortal terror.
Coracia was breathing. Her eyes fluttered open and she rested a hand on her forehead. "What… what was that thing?" she muttered, sitting up, hissing in pain.
"M-mom… you're alive…" Kairee said, backing away still.
"Why wouldn't I be?" came the reply. She seemed healthy enough. Maybe it wasn't attached long enough?
John turned to Chakwas. "Watch her. Do not let her leave this room. Quarantine is in place effective immediately," he whispered, looking over to the Salarian scientist, "Mordin, feel free to do whatever to study the… thing, there, and call for help as soon as shit starts to happen."
With that, he took his leave with Grunt and Jack. Kairee approached her mother and hugged her. "Are you okay? What do you remember? How do you feel?" she asked, and Coracia patted her on the shoulder.
"Well, I feel fine, I think I'm okay, and I don't remember too much except for fighting the… atrocity over there on the floor. It is dead, right?"
Kairee nodded and smiled.
Alexander flicked both wrists, both hidden blades coming out. He stood watch, open hand near his M11 Suppressor. "This is a bad idea… 'sa BAD idea…" he muttered, eyes fixed on Coracia.
Idiot, Coracia thought to herself. "Look, if this is about that awful movie you lot watched, then calm down. Spirits, it's a movie. This is probably just a prank. Your pilot IS named 'Joker' is he not?"
"It's RIGHT there," Alexander said, pointing to the dead facehugger, which had been moved to the table on his left by Mordin.
"Appears Organic as well… Joker was on Shore Leave quite a while… potentially could have purchased it somewhere on a black market? Refuse to believe the existence of the Xenomorph. Too… perfect. Biologically incapable of being killed by artifical means. More adaptive than Vorcha… method of reproduction questionable. Will uphold Shepard's Quarantine, but only for so long. Now, begone. Much to do…"
Alexander gave Coracia one last, troubled glance, and left the medical lab. This was all too… surreal. How did an egg get on the Normandy in the first place? Was it brought on board by a crew member? Was this all a prank? He told himself that he'd confront Joker tomorrow. It was late, and he needed rest.
He locked his door with an especially high-security encryption that night, and checked the vents with an almost OCD-like fervor. He found himself unable to sleep anyways.
And that was a good thing. He heard the scream. Leaping out of bed, he tossed his fatigue aside, adrenaline taking over. He threw on his Levantines and kicked his footlocker open, taking his Automattock in hand before leaving his room. Kairee, John, Jane, Ashley, Kaidan, Wrex, and Tali had also left their rooms, albeit unarmed. Alexander pointed towards the medical lab and bolted to the door, running inside, guns raised. Coracia was thrashing about on her bed, clutching her chest as she struggled to breathe.
"Mom!?" Kairee said as she witnessed this savage display. Wrex and John ran to hold her down before she could strike any medical equipment. Alexander aimed his rifle at Coracia, eyes widened, sweat pouring down his face as he anticipated the next event. Kairee ran to her mother's side and held her face as she convulsed. "Mom, say something, anything, please, hold on!" she panicked, unsure of what to do.
Kaidan and Ashley stood at the doorway. They had not been briefed on what was going on with Coracia. The Egg had been disposed of, and the Quarantine was kept on the down-low. "What the hell is going on here?" Kaidan hissed. He looked down at his wrist and activated his Omnitool. "It is 2:45 in the morning! Some people have to sleep and I am QUITE surprised nobody else is awake!"
John glared at Kaidan and then returned his attention to Coracia. She was trying to speak, but only a gasp and choked scream erupted from her mouth as her eyes bugged out. Her chest began to throb in its center, small splits forming at her carapace. Kairee was freaking out, and that was an understatement, she was running around the medical lab, trying to find something, anything, to help her mother. She turned around just as her mother delivered her final shriek as the splits in her chest ripped open, a massive hole being formed as her heart and ribs burst, as well as a little bean shaped head with silvery teeth. It hissed and lunged from the cavity in Coracia's chest and scurried out of the open door. Alexander opened fire as soon as it jumped, the bullets following the creature mere centimeters behind but never hitting it. Kairee screamed and held her hands over her mouth, horrified.
"SON OF A BITCH!"Alexander screamed, throwing his rifle on the ground. "WE'RE ALL DEAD!"
At this point, more and more members of the crew were leaving their dorms, rubbing their eyes, stretching, or whatever they normally did when waking up.
"What the hell is your goddamn problem, bloody mongrels?" Zaeed cursed, "I was in the middle of the greatest dream of my life wh… oh God… Coracia…"
He took one look at Coracia's body and his mouth began to tremble. "What… was that thing, earlier… that I kept hearing about…?"
"Our worst nightmare if we can't catch it," Alexander said. He walked to console Kairee, holding her in his arms. She accepted it, and just stood there in his embrace, tears streaming down her face. She had witnessed something that nobody deserved to see. She buried her face in Alexander's neck as he held her close, looking up at John with an ominous glare. He mouthed out three obvious words. Go Catch It.
John signalled for Wrex, Zaeed, Kaidan, Ashley, and Jane to follow him, leaving Alexander and Kairee alone in the medbay. "We're going to catch that monstrosity, and we're going to kill it. I promise. I'm not going to let it hurt you. I'll die before that happens," he whispered, walking with her, slowly, out of the room. He had no real feelings for Coracia… also she did aim a gun at him back on Palaven… but he understood how Kairee must've been feeling. Part of Eldar was telling him that losing family was a horrible experience not to be taken lightly. He guided her to his room, and the two took seats on the foot of Alexander's bed as he rocked her gently in his embrace.
…this was so unlike Kairee, he thought to himself. He didn't like this side of her, and he found her misery contagious. He hated to see her cry. Obviously as her lover, he should hate to see her cry, but this was a burning hatred for what wrought this weeping.
John had taken his team up to the armory to don their armor and find their weapons. They told Joker to take the ship off FTL flight and keep the ship stationary. No sense in letting the monster out on Omega, or the Citadel… actually, Omega would obliterate this thing, but the Citadel was a different story. Taking a shotgun from the weapon's bench, he walked back over to the entrance and scoped out the CIC deck.
"So… what was that dream about?" Kaidan asked Zaeed, walking out of the armory with his Vindicator battle rifle.
"None of yer damn business," the bounty hunter replied, M8 Avenger aimed forwards.
"Come on, at least try to lighten the mood?"
"Fine. If you think that anything having to do with Coracia and I would work," he said with a frown. Kaidan blinked, taking the hint and keeping quiet.
Out of curiosity, Ashley stayed behind in the armory, just to check the room in case John missed anything. She crouched down and checked under the tables, and, to her shock, found a grey-ish tan, withered, leathery skin under one of them. She pulled it out and grimaced at the sight of it. Wrex turned to see it and called John back over.
She dropped the skin on the table, and John returned with Zaeed and Kaidan. Jane picked the skin up and after a moment's realization, her eyes shot wide open.
"It's… gotten really, really big."
John looked up to the ceiling. "EDI, you have cameras all over the Normandy, give us a visual!" he said.
And they waited for a voice that would never speak.
"Oh God… what happened to EDI?" Jane whispered.
The intercom finally started up, but EDI was not the speaker.
"Commander, EDI's offline. Her bluebox is critically damaged. Chakwas is missing. I've locked down the bridge. If anyone wants in, confirm you're not pregnant with a chestburster and THEN show up. I am NOT leaving this room!"
That answered that. "Well, if you're able to see and hear us, give us updates. Call the crew up to the CIC. It can't take us all at once," John replied, leading his team out to the galaxy map and waiting. The elevator worked, and soon members of the ground squad were pouring into the CIC deck.
Kairee had calmed down enough to show up, although she was still holding Alexander's arm, not willing to let go. Not that he minded of course…
"…Chakwas is missing, we have what seems to be a Xenomorph aboard the ship, and it just shed its larvae stage skin. I want all of you on high alert, go in pairs and trios and hunt this thing down. If you see it, do not be afraid to shoot it." John commanded. Jacob raised his hand. "Jacob?"
"Sir, I think most of us to the exclusion of a few of the non-humans know that shooting it will draw blood. If it compromises the hull…"
"Alright, alright. Jacob, can you go get some incendiary units bring them back here? Animals are afraid of fire, right?"
Jacob saluted and walked to the Tech Lab to procure the flamethrowers. He made it back safely, holding at least five of them in his arms, walking slowly as to not drop them. He gave them to John, Garrus, Wrex, Alexander, and Zaeed.
"Right, so… what is this thing exactly and what can it do?" Garrus inquired, checking his flamethrower's fuel levels. Topped off. Fantastic.
"It's the Alien," Jane said, shrugging, "Nothing it really can't do to ruin your day and kill you in the process. Just… remember to look up and behind you."
"That's comforting to hear, Jane," Garrus retorted, rolling his eyes.
"Look, this is a 15+ to one fight. I want this problem taken care of. Okay?" John said, checking his flamethrower as well. "Find Chakwas, while you're all at it."
And so the hunt began.
This can't be happening, thought Jacob, biotic energy swirling around his hands as he lead his biotic fireteam of Kaidan and Jack through the Crew Deck, specifically the corridor leading to the forward battery. Checking the spare cryopods cautiously, they moved on into the battery. Everything seemed fine… but, something felt off. "Jack, watch the door, Kaidan, take the left side, I'll take the right…" Jacob ordered. Jack rolled her eyes and leaned on the door frame. Kaidan complied and walked over to the left side of the room, Vindicator aimed up at the ceiling. Jacob came up to a loose floor panel, and pried the rest of it off, tossing it aside. He aimed his Eviscerator shotgun down into the hole and steadied his aim. Nothing happened, so he stood and prepared to leave.
A sharp, intense pain started from the base of his spine as an airless gasp tried to leave his lips. He looked down to see a silvery spike drilling its way out of his stomach as he crumpled down onto his knees, blood gushing from the wound. The last thing he saw as he blacked out was a black, three fingered hand with long, gangling fingers in front of his face. It came down on him with great force, claws piercing his flesh and hooking onto him as he was dragged into the floor without another sound. Kaidan had finished up his search and left for the door.
"Jacob? Jacob?" he said, looking over to Jacob's position… only to find what was left of him in the form of a pool of blood. His mouth parted in fear, and he backed out of the room. Jack turned to see what he was staring at, and she too realized that the Alien was close, or at least was close, which was even more terrifying.
The two ran to postpone the inevitable. They forgot that was moving through the floor…
Samara, Thane, and Eleria had taken an alternate route on the Crew Deck, scoping out the various dorms and other rooms, such as the observation decks, and life support.
Eleria was crouched behind the bar, looking through the various bottles and glasses. Damn, she needed a drink right about now…
She took out a wine glass and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and placed them both on the counter, holding the bottle up and calling for Thane, who was busy on the other side of the room, his pistol aimed up at the ceiling. He turned to face the novice, and rolled his ebony eyes, dark green irises fixed on her. Seriously? Alcohol in the middle of a dangerous situation?
Although… that was definitely incriminating. Eleria looked down at her glass. It had been filling with a viscous, clear substance. It smelled horrible, and… she could she a string of it coming down from… above…
Eleria's heart raced. She swallowed nervously and, at a painfully slow speed, looked up. What she saw paralyzed her. A huge, black head peering down through the vent. It was oblong, like the description of the chestburster provided earlier… but it was broken up into fringes that looked strikingly like Coracia's… it was smiling, with thick, black mandibles and silver, needle-like teeth. Its drool dangled from the sides of its mouth as its mouth opened.
There was another mouth.
Eleria shrieked like a banshee as the inner jaw shot forwards along with the Alien as it grabbed her shoulders, sinking its inner jaw's teeth into her nose, yanking her up into the vent, resisting all attempts Eleria made to free herself. A biotic warp? Shrugged off. A biotic nova? She fell down, headfirst, and was promptly grabbed by her feet as she gripped the bar counter for dear life. Thane had taken action, firing several rounds into the Alien. Unfortunately, his missed most shots. Those that made contact didn't seem to affect it save for small spurts of green, acidic blood that melted right through the floor.
Several drops of blood hit Eleria's fingers at the middle joints, and she screamed louder, in both excruciating pain, and dread. Burning through the skin, cartiledge, and bone, the top halves of her fingers came off, and the Xenomorph achieved victory, dragging her, kicking and screaming, into the vents. Her deafening cries for help that would never come filled the ducts and faded away minutes later. Thane was standing still, breathing heavily, ashamed that he couldn't save the novice, and that he was the reason she was taken.
Samara entered the room, and one look from Thane said it all. She glared, and stormed out. Thane, completely unsure of what to do, dropped his pistol and prayed to his gods for forgiveness. He tried to keep it brief but found himself locked in a memory of a similar event.
It seemed that his lengthy prayer was what sealed his fate. It would seem the gods said 'no'.
"Damn it, Commander, we've lost five people already," Joker's voice called. "Six, if you count EDI… I wouldn't, but still."
John trudged on. Tali and Ashley followed. He had a bad habit of bringing these two with him on missions… eh, Jane wasn't any better, letting Garrus and Kaidan interact often when paired together.
"Team, report, this is John. Anybody, respond!" he ordered, and waited for a response.
"This is Samara. Thane and Eleria are gone. I'm coming to join you now. I'm in the elevator," she said. A hissing noise was heard on her end of the line. "Wait… no, no! NO!"
Static.
John lifted his shotgun and marched over to the elevator as the doors opened. Samara was just… gone. There were claw marks and biotic scorch marks, evidence of a struggle. But they had disappeared…
"Ashley, Tali, cover me," he said as he stepped into the elevator. Ashley and Tali kept their weapons trained on the floor and walls of the elevator while John looked up. A hole had been beaten into the roof of the elevator. The entry and exit point, he decided. Unbeknownst to him, the Alien was closer than expected.
"John, if we find it… when, we find it… what are we going to do?" Ashley inquired, looking from side to side, just to check.
John spun the fuel tank on his flamethrower, and sneered. "We light the f*cker up and throw it out the airlock. Just like in the movie."
"And that plan got everyone killed."
"Only five, untrained ore miners. They got 6 of us by surprise. But we're going to take it down the way that only N7 can," he said confidently, stepping out of the elevator. Tali was staring silently into the CIC deck, looking at the galaxy map. A massive, black beast was frolicking in the middle of the holographic display of the Milky Way galaxy, probably unsure of what the hell it even was. It resembled a Turian, with its carapace, fringed head, and mandibles, but… it wasn't anything like a Turian. It had no eyes, first of all, and along its back were massive dorsal spines accompanied by a long, lanky tail that was dragged on the floor behind the Alien. It looked every bit like the Alien from the film… but the fact that it was so Turian terrified John.
Its head snapped up, and it began sniffing until its face was aimed at Tali. It charged, and John, enveloped in Biotic energy, rushed to meet it head-on. Wrestling with it upon collison, he had dropped his flamethrower. "ASH! TALI, TORCH THE BASTARD! QUICKLY!"
Tali dropped her shotgun to pick up the flamethrower, aiming and firing at the Xenomorph. In a frenzy, it lashed out, staggering backwards and turning at a breakneck pace. The bladed tip of its tail struck Tali across the thigh as it ran off and launched itself upwards into the vent.
Her envirosuit was compromised.
John laughed and threw his arms up in a victorious gesture, but his joy quickly died when he turned to see Tali becoming weak. Blood oozed from her wounds, and the bacteria oozed into the wound.
"J-John…" she squeaked, the infected wound quickly doing its work. She broke into a coughing fit, her heart racing at unhealthy levels as the sickness took its toll on it. Both John and Ashley knew there was nothing they could do to save her. That and the shock kept them frozen in place. This wasn't happening, they told themselves.
"Tali!" John shouted, breaking his statue-like stillness and dropping to hold Tali up. The lights of her eyes began to fade, fluttering lightly as a final, light coughing took the place of her last breath. Holding her body to his, John's eyes were smashed shut, fighting the tears that he knew would come. "Ashley?"
"Yes, John?" Ashley mumbled, feeling the pain of losing someone like a little sister…
"Alert the squad that we're fighting together now. This just got personal…"
Meanwhile, Jane, Garrus, and Mordin were up in John's room.
"Mordin? Got any ideas about where it could be?" Garrus asked, dropping to a prone position and shooting his sniper rifle under the bed. Nothing. Thank the spirits…
"Haven't seen it. Based on Jane's description… agile, quick-footed, may use vents for transportation. Black, can blend with the shadows. Lights are on, would nullify camouflage…"
At that moment, the power was cut. The whirring noise of lights and ship systems shutting down echoed through the room as emergency red-lights faded in, providing very basic lighting.
"Flashlights on, stay vigilant!" Jane ordered, raising both N7 Hurricanes and aiming them at both of her sides, checking to ensure that nothing was there.
She heard a voice in her helmet's comm system. Good, she still had connection with Joker. "Jane, anyone, pick up? Yeah, the Normandy's experiencing some problems in Engineering. The door's jammed shut, I can't open it anymore. Alexander, Kairee, and Miranda are with me. Dunno about the other search teams. Jacob's team, Thane's team, Zaeed's team, and Wrex's team are all unaccounted for. Tali's… Tali's gone. Ashley and John are just outside the bridge. I tried to contact the team for a rendezvous but they all stopped responding about twenty minutes ago."
"Engineering. Let's swing around, pick up John and Ashley, and head for Engineering…"
Mordin and Garrus stayed silent, but nodded in agreement. Jane jogged back to the elevator and summoned it up. Mordin stood in front of it and watched as it opened. Studying the inside, he stepped in and gave the thumbs up. Jane and Garrus entered and the former hit the button for the CIC deck.
It was going so well, too. Shame nobody noticed the thin, black tail that wrapped itself around Jane's neck…
"Jane?" Joker asked, activating his comlink. He got no response and assumed the worst, which was likely truth. "John…" he tried. A knock on the door signalled that they were okay.
"I figured as much…" John replied, clearly hurting. No use crying about it. Surely he would die for a second time soon…
Alexander was deep in thought, hood over his eyes as he contemplated what he thought to be a ridiculous idea.
"I can't even believe this is happening," Miranda murmured, holding her knees to her body. "How did that damned egg get aboard in the first place!?"
"What if it didn't?" Alexander said, earning the silent attention of everyone on the Bridge.
"What do you mean 'what if it didn't?' it already took the entire crew with the exception of us! Of course it happened!"
"The Apple," Alexander elaborated, "It exploded on us, knocked us out, and a Xenomorph egg just happens to show up? It's obvious none of this is actually happening. The mechanics of this alternate reality I'm unsure of. We either die in real life if we die here…"
Joker blinked and threw his hands up, "Or?"
"Or we all go into comatose until someone shuts that damn thing off."
Miranda smiled, "That's reassuring. Now all we have to do is find the Apple…
"And get out of the bridge."
Shit.
"Hey! John! You hear that? We're not really going to die!" Joker cried out.
No response.
Instead, the door began to sizzle… green, viscous liquid began bubbling to the bridge's side of the door, a small hole expanding until the door was melted down. A lifeless facehugger was dropped to the floor by the Alien.
"Oh mother of Christ, you're kidding me!?" Alexander wailed. The Xenomorph… actually smirked. Besides him were the limp bodies of John and Ashley. John's face… oh God, his face. A gaping hole was torn into his forehead by the Alien's inner jaw as he was thrown into the wall, sprawled out in a ragdoll position that shouldn't be physically possible for even the best contortionists. Ashley was slumped against the other wall, impaled in the throat, likely by the bladed tail.
The Alien lunged forwards and grabbed Miranda, dragging her by her feet as it attempted to escape. Alexander dashed towards the beast and jabbed it in the cheek with his knee. It tumbled to the side and dropped Miranda, clawing at Alexander, who pulled it out into the hallway and tried (aimlessly I might add) to bludgeon it with his fists.
Joker stood, grabbing Kairee's hand and helping Miranda up onto her feet. As Alexander lured the Alien away, Joker brought the remaining survivors with him, aiming for the elevator. However he realized something… "We need to get to the Engineering deck. Miranda, are there any alternate routes down to the lower decks besides the elevator?" he asked, eyes on the Alien as it brawled with Alexander. It seemed to be winning, evident by the scratches and bruises Alex was accumulating.
"No. The Illusive Man never anticipated anything like this. We can still make it down to engineering through the ducts, however. There's a vent in the Armory we can use."
"What the fu- NO! You think I'm gonna crawl through the same ducts this thing's been using to screw us all over?!"
"You can die now," Kairee chimed in, walking back to fetch the flamethrower Alexander left behind.
"On that note, lead the way, Miranda."
Kairee emerged from the bridge, sprinting towards the Xenomorph with the flamethrower. With a scream, she let the flames loose, burning the Xenomorph as it shrieked and ran away. "THAT WAS FOR MY MOTHER YOU SON OF A BITCH!" she taunted as it jumped into the ceiling, ripping out the metal plating and escaping through the ducts.
"…that thing is technically your brother… sister… whatever," Alexander commented. He couldn't hold back that clarification. Kairee looked down at her feet in shame. Alex chuckled in a darkly humorous way, wiping the blood off his cheek with the sleeve of his robe. Joker and Miranda approached behind Kairee.
"We're going to have to use the ducts," Joker sighed, and Alexander quirked a brow.
"Or just smash the shit out of Mordin's window…?"
"…that works as well."
This was a crazy idea, but it just might work, Miranda thought to herself as Alexander threw a biotic shockwave into the door to the tech lab, bending it forwards. He threw a warp into the crater and the resulting biotic explosion ripped the metal to shreds. He stepped through, looking both ways before jogging lightly over to the window. He peered through…
Down at the drive core… the console in front of it. The Apple. It was sitting there, pulsing with little prismatic shapes and patterns of golden light. Something wasn't right, though. In the blackness of the Drive Core's chamber, only the Apple illuminated the console. There was… this black, sticky-looking material covering the console. It looked as though it had already spread to the floor around the console. He couldn't see anything else though. He stepped back and smashed through the glass in a biotic charge. He tumbled down and landed on the top of the drive core. He sparked an orb of energy in his hand and used it as a flare of sorts to signal to the others that it was safe. Miranda, then Kairee, hopped down onto the machinery surrounding the Drive Core. Alexander slid down the side of the Core to the console where the Apple was.
Miranda tip-toed through the slimey substance coating the floor of the deck. "Joker?" she called, "Shine a light. Is this thing hiding somewhere?"
Joker activated his Omnitool and started the flashlight app, shining it down next to Miranda. What they turned to see scarred them.
"K-kill… meee…" whispered a raspy voice with an unmistakable subharmonic. Garrus was merged with the wall, cocooned in the black substance the duo were standing in at that moment. His face was… disfigured. Torn, mandibles chipped. He was missing an eye, that half of his face crushed. It was a miracle… a curse, really, that he was still alive. To his top-left, glued to the same wall, was a very dead Grunt, his chest ripped open.
"Shit, there's more of them…" Joker murmured to himself upon seeing the hole in Grunt's chest. He did a quick check to see if he was being watched, and upon seeing that he wasn't, returned the light to the wall. Everyone who hadn't been straight out killed was there. Chakwas was long dead, her chest destroyed by another Alien. Kenneth, Gabby, Rupert, the crewmen… they hadn't been brought up to speed on the whole Xenomorph issue. They thought it was all a joke… they were captured believing so, and a few of them were still squirming.
A lump formed in Miranda's throat as she gawked at the wall, the fates of the crew revealed. Jack was hanging upside-down, a facehugger still attached to her, Kaidan was alive, but unconscious, squirming in a fit of nightmares. Wrex, Zaeed, Thane, Samara, Eleria, all with facehuggers.
"Kill… me… p-please…" Garrus pleaded. Alexander had been distracted from his goal of acquiring the Apple. He was too baffled by the horrific display to take action. Everyone he had come to know and love was stuck on the walls of the Drive Core chamber. He shook himself out of it and walked closer to the Piece of Eden. Its glow became more intense as he approached it. As his hands came up to touch it, he heard Garrus rasping.
"B-behind, you…"
He whirled around to see a count of two Xenomorphs standing over him. He raised his arm to block a slashing claw from striking his face, but the second grasped him by the throat. This one… clearly looked Krogan, its massive hunchback giving it away, as well as the head-plating and burly appearance. Alex struggled in vain to escape its grasp, reaching for the Apple, which glowed tantalizingly, before its light faded. The Kroganmorph's mouth opened, revealing its inner jaw. Alexander's resistance reached an all-time high as he thrashed about, eyes wide, He stabbed the Kroganmorph's wrists with his hidden blades, but all that did was cause them to melt.
Kairee tried to scream, but was dragged down into cover by Miranda, who wrapped a hand around her mouth plates. She struggled against the Cerberus Officer's grasp, and watched as the inner jaw shot out from the Alien's mouth, biting into Alexander's face, right between the eyes. A burst of blood erupted from his head, splattering on the Kroganmorph's own face as the jaw went through. The scream died on his lips as he was thrown onto the floor. To Joker's horror, as he watched, the first Xenomorph began slobbering all over his cadaver. The drool hardened into the same material that held all the other crew members to the walls.
At that moment, a third Xenomorph, this one much more like the one from ALIEN, and likely Chakwas's chestburster, approached the two other aliens. Sniffing feverishly, it picked up the scent of fear… and promptly leapt with the other aliens down to where Miranda and Kairee were hiding. The two fell out of cover and stampeded away from the three xenomorphs. Unfortunately, Kairee was unlucky enough to trip over a cocooned wire. Falling on her back, the Aliens were set upon her as they held her down. They covered her from neck to toe in the substance as the Kroganmorph charged after Miranda, smashing her onto the wall and proceeding to do the same.
Kairee's helpless screams filled the room. In an effort to shut her up, the Turianmorph's mouth plates parted. "JOKER! GRAB THE APPLE!" she bellowed as the inner jaw crashed into her throat, effectively gagging her but not killing her. The Xenomorph left to find another Facehugger, noticing Joker watching from the window.
He had to jump, down two stories to the Apple.
He had Vrolik's Syndrome. His hands would shatter if he clapped them too hard. This was not survivable.
But neither was the Alien. It hissed, scaling up the wall to the Tech Lab. Joker swallowed hard and built the courage to jump. Just as the Alien's arm came to grab him, he had already jumped over it, plunging to the platform where the Apple lay. The Impact was impossibly painful and Joker roared. It felt as though someone had doused him in kerosine and thrown a match on him. It burned like hell.
Yet he was alive. The Xenomorph leapt down to the platform, its foot smashing Alexander's torso as it landed, the blood soaked its leg up to its thigh.
Joker, despite the pain, found that his left arm and leg was fine. He hand landed on his right side, crushing his arm, leg, and right side of his ribcage. Using his good arm he hefted himself up onto the Console, the Apple just within his reach.
The Xenomorph appeared to stop. The Kroganmorph and Turianmorph crawling alongside the Drive Core, hoping to sneak up on Joker, but he knew what was going on. He smirked, knowing he had won.
"There's a saying we Humans had," Joker said, picking up the Apple, light pouring from its numerous carvings. He held it up to the Xenomorph and chuckled.
"In space, nobody can hear you scream."
A blast of light discharged from the Apple, the shapes and patterns enveloping the three Aliens as they shrieked. Joker's head felt like splitting open from the Apple's energy, but he kept pressing the attack, limping closer to the Xenomorph. With one final roar her clubbed it over the head with the Apple. It disintegrated along with the other two.
Everything went black.
Joker's eyes shot open. He was lying on the floor of the briefing room, amongst the unconscious bodies of the ground squad. He picked himself up. He felt that his ribcage was broken when he fell over. He limped to the table and scooped the Apple up in his hands, silencing it. He dropped it on the cushion and staggered back, breathing heavily.
The rest of the crew, starting with Jacob, who placed a hand on his stomach and rubbed his face. Pins and needles everywhere it seemed.
Eleria woke up, rubbing her knuckles and studying her fingers. Just as clean as when she woke up this morning.
Tali sat up with a start, feeling her thigh. She also didn't particular feel ill…
Jane shivered and her eyes fluttered open. She placed her hand on her throat and massaged it as she struggled to get up. The pain was just too real…
John stood up, stretching out his muscles and rubbing his forehead.
Ashley did the same as Jane, only she put more focus on her Adam's Apple and sat up slumped against the wall.
Alexander scrambled to his feet, breathing heavily and erratically as his hands went to the space between his eyes and he sighed in relief.
Slowly, the rest of the crew rose to their own feet, either relieved that they weren't dead, confused by the whole debacle, or overjoyed that it was all a mere illusion.
All attention, naturally, went to Joker, when Kairee was roused and explained that he was the one that deactivated the Apple. After gleefully being carried to the medical lab for treatment of his broken ribs, only the Shepards, Alexander, Kairee, Miranda, and Jacob remained in the briefing room.
"We never speak of this again?" John suggested, cautiously watching the Apple to see if it would act up again.
"Not for now, at least," Alexander said, picking up the Apple and studying it carefully, "This thing played on our fears. Turned the Normandy into a Nostromo. Imagine what it is capable of at the peak of its power…"
Miranda glared at him, "You're starting to sound like the Illusive Man. I'm not sure if I like it or not."
Alexander chuckled. "Nah, TIMmy would take this thing and stick it in a laser cannon or some shit. Me? I'd rather see it locked away somewhere safe."
Miranda shook her head. "Take it," she said, waving her hand dismissively, "take the accursed thing and let the Brotherhood sort it out. I want no part of it."
Jacob patted her shoulder and gestured to the Apple in disbelief. "You got killed by a Xenomorph and I got slobbered on, wedged into a wall. Do you really want to keep this thing?" Miranda replied, and Jacob backed down.
Jane rubbed her throat again. "I'm never watching those films again. I've lived it…"
"Amen, sis…" John added, exhaling as he stepped out of the room. Jane followed, leaving the Assassins alone with the Cerberusian Templars.
"How do you two feel?" Jacob asked, looking downcast. He sympathized with them, knowing they must have experienced hell after he "died".
Kairee shuddered, touching her mouth plates. "I feel… violated… on so many levels," she replied, and Alex wrapped an arm around her waist.
"I'm not sure what happened after my face caved in, but trust me. I got my face caved in and felt every bit of it. Only reason I'm not a crying mess would be because I've seen, and done, much worse to others," he said. Jacob blinked at the Assassin and took a step back.
"I for one am glad it wasn't reality," Miranda declared, and with that, she left with Jacob in tow.
Equally grateful for their lives, the Assassin couple shared a quick kiss and followed the two out of the briefing room. Alex took the Apple with him, intending to stash it someplace safe.
Today had been... interesting? Hellish? Terrifying? However one would describe it was a matter of opinion in the Normandy Crew.
The Pieces of Eden had proven themselves to be volatile, potent devices. The Normandy team had seen terrifying things in their careers… Reapers, Geth, High-Level Criminals, Experiments, Terrorists, the works…
But sometimes the scariest things come from within.
Sutori-Artifex here! W00t, Halloween Special written ON TIME for once…
At first I wanted to get my Chapter Four rewrite out, but decided that since I deleted my Halloween Special, I should replace it with something much more appropriate.
Here's some food for the ALIEN: Isolation hype.
Uuuugh, this was a bit of a pain to make. Sorry if quality took a hit halfway through the story. I was in the ZONE writing this thing when I was called out by Real Life to go do stuff… like Trick o' Treating.
Went as Commander Shepard in an N7 Leather Jacket. 3