Note:
It contains some spoilers about Dead Space's 2 ending chapters so I shortened it a bit. Review if you would like me to continue.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Clarke?" Tiedemann yelled in a video log as he watched me approaching heavy metal door. "I make the rules, I make the threats, I rule this station. I am Alpha and Omega here, Clarke. You ain't gonna do to my station the same you did to the Ishimura. Oh yes, I heard about what happened there alright. After all, you're the only survivor. Too bad that your journey ends here."
With every passing hour I was surer of the fact that I was not being followed. After all, the alien creatures suddenly just disappeared. This mother humper was the only thing that kept on putting spokes in the wheels.
I hacked the door and entered a large room. The view clearly shocked me as I saw what looked like Marker, similar to the one in Aegis VII. Except that this one was fucking huge. A real giant. Near the bottom of it I saw packs of filthy necromorphs gathered around it, as if the Marker was some sort of God. This didn't make sense. The Red Marker killed off all the necromorphs nearby it, but this one seemed to be the exact opposite. What the hell was this thing?
Daina said that I built it. Did I really build this thing? Impossible. But this seemed different. God, what have I done? No wonder why those fuckers from Unitology want my head so bad. I just that dad isn't their captive. Damn, I wish I'd know where he is so I could get answers. So far everything that happened brought me more questions than answers. And that sucks big time.
"Beautiful isn't it?" Tiedemman asked.
"Why is it here? Damn it, Tiedemann! You don't realize its power! Listen to me! I need to destroy it!"
"No, YOU listen to ME! You're the one who brought all this to my station. The Marker, without it Humanity's hopes to survive would quickly drop. This place was a dead husk before I brought this artifact here. Imagine the possibilities, Clarke! Imagine what Humanity would achieve if we learned its secrets."
"This thing brings only death and suffering." I retorted with frustration."You're blind, Tiedemann. The Marker will kill all of us if it won't be destroyed."
"This is our future, Clarke. We tried to get the schematics out of your head, but to no avail. Why can't you do galaxy a favor? Or just shoot yourself in the head and make my job easier."
"None of this is going to happen, Tiedemann. The only thing that's going to happen is the destruction of this Marker."
"I knew you were trouble from the start! But they told me you were necessary. That your mind was the purest. I spent years shifting through your demented brain! This is not the way it was supposed to happen!"
"Well, how was it supposed to happen, Tiedemann?"
"We had it under control! Clarke, this is not our fault! We were so close to understanding it! What? It's all those bodies. All those bodies you let in here! It's triggering a Convergence event. But, we never... expected... this many bodies..."
The Marker emitted a bright glow and a fog horn-like noise, raising the necromorphs in the air. Tiedemann retreated as he was touched by the flames and his RIG link with me was cut. Stupid son of a bitch had it coming. Now I have even bigger problems. Thank you very much Tiedemann.
I sighed and looked to my left to see the machine Stross was talking about. The eye poking thingy. Great, now I'll have to crawl inside and stab myself in the eye. I just hope that it won't kill me. That needle looks pretty long. C'mon Isaac you faced millions of deformed undead creatures. You can't turn back now. What if I lose an eye? Then I'll look like Ellie. Great, that was really comforting.
"Isaac."
Nicole appeared so suddenly that I jumped aside.
"Isaac. You have to trust me on this. This machine will help you to remember what you can't. It will help you to gain knowledge on how to destroy the Marker and end all of this madness."
"Will it hurt?"
She glared at me, looking reluctant to continue, but after a moment spoke again, almost whispering.
"Yes."
I sighed. What other choice did I have? If I won't do this people like Tiedemann will win. If the Marker won't be destroyed this station will meet the same fate as the Ishimura. Eventually, Convergence will be finished. I wouldn't want to know what the hell it is. Judging from the masses of necromorphs that gathered around it I got the impression that this is the creation of something bigger. Perhaps a new Hive Mind? That cannot happen. I can't allow it to happen.
"Step 1: Crawl inside. Step 2: The screws go tight, all around. Cross my heart and hope to die. Stick a needle in your eye"
I took a deep breath and crawled inside the machine. It will either kill me or help me access those parts of my mind containing information that is vital in order to destroy this Marker. And any other Marker. Just then, a thought occurred to me. How many of these things are out there? Could the Unitologists have more?
My breathing slowed down as I focused on the needle. It was right there. With one single command it will target my eye and stab it, reaching the brain. I wonder if I'll be able to see anything after that. I took another deep breath, blood drained from my face. I can't do it! But I have to... damn it! I can't!
The apparatus slowly thrusted downwards and inserted the needle in my eye. I felt a quick wave of pain that retreated when I suddenly was overwhelmed by information I never thought existed in my mind. It was somewhat fascinating. All this knowledge. But where did it come from? All this time I had knowledge about the Marker. Finally. Well, I guess I won't be able to see anything with this eye for some time. Heh, now I know how Ellie feels. Damn, I miss her. The thing that makes me feel sad is that I am about to lose Nicole too. And then I will be alone. Well, I suppose I'll die here anyway. However, I still don't quite catch the idea of how should I destroy the Marker. Blow up the station? It's already in critical condition. Heck, I don't know. Maybe Nicole will tell me.
"I did it, Nicole. I remember everything!"
As I left the machine I realized something was wrong. Instead of Nicole I saw a grotesque necromorph. However this one looked different. It had no wounds on its body and didn't look like a typical necromorph. It was something more. This creature had five glowing eyes that were staring directly at me. This reminded me of something terrible that happened right before I left Aegis VII. The massive necromorph that killed Kendra! Yes, this new creature that's standing in front of me has some similarity with it. With quick thinking I jumped back as the creature attacked me, swinging its blades wildly. I remembered seeing him back at the room where the necromorphs slaughtered Tiedemann's officers. He was in the middle of the charging swarm, moving slowly and calmly. It was different. Something more dangerous than the usual monsters. I grabbed my pulse rifle and took off his leg. Spewing out some unknown fluid the creature succumbed as I continued to dismember it.
"And stay dead."
I turned towards the door, but froze in place as I heard a familiar gurgling sound and splashing. Apparently the creature's limbs were recreating themselves. Soon it was like before. I panicked as memories came flooding back to my mind. This creature has the same abilities as the one Mercer created. Full regeneration of lost body parts.
I left the room in a hurry and went towards the elevator. I ended up in a wide open area with terminals all along the room's perimeter. Overall, this place looked darker, despite the glow emitted by the exposed circuitry on the walls. Why do I always have to end up in dark and gloomy areas without much light… But that doesn't matter when you're being chased by a violent alien who wants to gut you. I cursed as my first attempt to open the damn doors failed. If I wasn't an engineer I'd be eventually killed by this monster. This Ubermorph. Sounds weird but also kind of fits it, given its unusual features. It's almost as special as a brute is.
Finally, the door opened and I managed to run into a large chamber which I knew would be my salvation. The Ubermorph seemed to be aware of the Zero G environment so he disappeared in a nearby vent. I really wonder why didn't the security simply sealed off all the vents when the infection started. Oh, I had use them myself so it's probably a good thing they were left as they are.
After reaching the other end of the room with the help of my RIG's thrusters and barely avoiding the lasers I left the area. Wasn't really a big surprise to see the Ubermorph again. I got the feeling that its being led by the Marker, as if the Marker took control over one of the creatures, enhanced it to maximum levels and now was trying to personally kill me. That was quite possible since all necromorphs have a connection to the mysterious structure.
After passing through some corridors I reached the Marker. Now all I need to do is to cross this bridge, towards the light. I could see a figure standing there. Could it be Nicole? No, it didn't look like my former girlfriend. It fact it was a horribly burned man holding a javelin gun. Oh shit! Tiedemann!
"The research in that Marker is worth every life we just lost."
I gasped in pain as the spike hit my shoulder. With some effort I managed to pull it out. Hell, I ain't going to let some crazy moron finish me off. Not before I destroy the Marker.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" Tiedemann asked with a devilish grin.
He shot at my head but I blocked the spike with my hand. Damn, I'll need some serious stitching after this. As I pulled it out I noticed he's prepared another spike. However, before he could shoot at me again I grabbed his hand and broke it. Tiedemman yelled in anger and surprise, giving me time to shoot a spike through his throat.
"Hurts, doesn't it?" I whispered in his ear.
Tiedemann succumbed on the ground. I wasn't going to let the fucker die that easily so I fired another fire, electrocuting him. Satisfied, I turned back to see Nicole who spread her arms, welcoming me. I removed my helmet and walked closer, letting her hug me.
"Thank you, Isaac. Now... time to die."
"What?"
A wave of pain surged through my entire body as I felt the Marker's power. It was lying to me the whole time. Nicole was just a fragment of my memory that it used to fool me. And now it wants to finish the job. I looked around as everything changed.
"Yours is the last body we need to be reborn! The makers must be absorbed."
"The makers? You mean me? But Stross said we could destroy the Marker."
"Not if we consume you first!"
"Goddamnit, I trusted you! Fuck you... and fuck your marker!"
Oh crap! Here come the Necromorph kids from the shadows. Damn, I hate these freaks. Still, they are the weakest of all the disgusting monsters I've ever encountered. No wait, there was this wheezer fella back at the Ishimura. Well, I suppose that doesn't count because those were immobile. I shot down two of the monsters, but there were too many incoming.
Hey kids, want some candy? Taste this one!
I fired a grenade at the middle of the pack, blasting them all to bits. Soon more appeared. I then fired a whole round at Nicole. Suddenly they all disappeared and the Marker was exposed. I fired at it. However, that didn't last long as the shadowy apparitions returned.
"What is a thought, compared to a mind? Our power is infinite! Your weapons will fail and soon you will be consumed. Stross was just a puppet. We knew that he will fail to complete the job. But now we will kill you. We will be the only thing left after this ends. Resistance is futile, Clarke."
"I never asked for this." I replied, aiming at Nicole's apparition. "I never wanted to be a part of this madness."
"It was never really your call. You're just another victim, Clarke. You all are. With Convergence complete nobody will stop us. Our power will reach beyond this galaxy."
I fired at her apparition again, exposing the parts where Marker's influence was the highest. That was enough to destroy it. Or at least I think it was destroyed as I found myself back at the place where I killed Tiedemann. The automatic voice of the station informed me, and everyone else in the station, that reactor was in critical condition. Well, I never really expected to get out of here alive. Hey, guess it was my last stand against the Marker. I don't feel anything.
As the voice continued to announce evacuation, which is ironic because there wasn't really anyone to evacuate, I sat on the floor. Finally, it was over. Now I can rest in peace. That's why I was both angered and overjoyed when Ellie contacted me via RIG link. God, I'm so happy to hear her voice again. But why did she return? Does that mean that she actually cares about me...?
"You complete bastard! Was this your great plan? Dump me off and die?"
"I'm full of bad ideas, remember?"
"Yeah, well, here's another one: I'm crashing through the roof to get you. Now move your ass!"
I still couldn't believe that she returned. For me!
"Wait! No! Ellie, it's too late! Steer clear of the station!"
"Yeah, well you don't really have a say this time. Heads up!"
With a loud crash the gunship entered the station. The voice informed of a hull breach and decompression. Gravity failed and I was thrown up. My thrusters activated, allowing me to fly towards the ship while avoiding the debris. I saw Ellie opening the gunship's door and reaching out to grab my hand.
"Isaac! Take my hand!"
I tried to reach her, but to no avail. Damn, it was too hard.
"I'm trying!"
She finally managed to grab my hand and pull me in. What a relief! Still, that wasn't far from over as the hatch had to be closed. I did that, but not before witnessing the station blowing up in a massive explosion that reminded me of the one that happened at Aegis VII when a portion removed during planet cracking later fell back into the planet. I sighed and removed my helmet as oxygen returned to the room. I then glanced at Ellie.
"So... What now?"