Chapter 2: Prologue 2
I've had nightmares. Night-terrors. I've grown out of them, however. Maybe not "grown-out of them", per say, rather, became used to them. Immune to them. They are dreams now. I just drown them out. It's sad, really.
I couldn't shake the feeling that it was looking at me. I couldn't even tell if it had the ability to look. It blinked like an eye. It moved like an eye. I just hoped that was all it could do. Still, I had to stay focused. I had encountered these things before: large, X-Parasites encased in a hard outer-shell. More recent variations have shown me that these eye-like formations can not only look around, but fire energy, as well Just what I needed. More problems.
The parasite began to float off the floor. The eye blinked rapidly as spikes grew around the shell. A blue tint lit up the shell that surrounded the bold purple of the parasite inside. I quickly tapped at the inputs on my cannon, causing my gun to once again shift in all different ways. The barrel became that of the missile launcher. The same icy-blue gas rose from the muzzle. A bitter cold spread up my arm. I tapped my cannon and it sprang to life. Neon blue coursed throughout the gun. The barrel turned clockwise, counterclockwise, then clockwise again. It was ready to fire. I was ready to fight. And, from the looks of it, that ugly beast in front of me was ready as well.
It shut its eye for a good few seconds before opening it up quickly and releasing a shower of blue energy, similar to the green waves the SA-X spewed beforehand. It had a more ballistic look to it, almost like they hid bullets inside them. I wouldn't doubt it. A hit from one of those shots certainly felt like being it by a bullet.
Still, I had very little time to think. A rally of shots flew towards me as the bubble floated around the room. The missile in my cannon charged. Frozen air gushed from its vents. Finally, the ice missile rang out of the cannon. The force was so great, it took me back a step. The rocket spun in the air and crashed into the shell. Bits of ice exploded in every direction. I began to charge another shot, but my mind was focused on the pulsating eye. It almost had me in a trance. I could feel it getting inside me.
There was no cover against a flying opponent. The platforms that gave me shelter against the SA-X were barely obstacles for the flying parasite. Every time I tried to hide from it, the bastard would zing around and get me in its sights. In its sights, I was a clear shot for another one of its eye beams. I wasn't taking damage, but I was slowly become tired. Taking on the SA-X twice and now this thing was bringing me to my breaking point. I had to end this. Time was of the essence.
The parasite began to pick up speed. It looped around and raced towards me, beams of energy continued to be fired from its crazed eye. The beams became wider and more profound. The rate at which they were fired was also increasing. This wasn't helping the fact that I was getting tired. Rest was not an option, however. As luck would have it, I could never rest. Not until the job was done.
Another missile flew from my gun. It soared through the air. The missile connected. A direct hit. The rocket punctured the white pupil of the parasite and ripped through its insides. The shell shattered as the missile broke out of the other side.
The shell began to die, as if it were a light bulb and the off switch was flipped. Yet, the gooey body of the parasitic being inside slipped out and reformed into the common blob form X-Parasites are known for. The weird thing was, it seemed different than all the other parasites I've seen. There was no eye anymore, but I swear, it was looking at me with that same gaze. Unlike the other creatures, it didn't try to escape my grasp. Still, I couldn't seem to grab it. Parasites were usually absorbed into my armor when I got to a certain distance, but this one was able to outrun my suit's pull. After buzzing around for a few moments, it slipped through a crack in the wall. In a flash, it was gone. Where it went was anyone's guess.
Suddenly, the lights flickered on and rings of light sparked on. The doors let out odd clanks as they came to life. Shadows became more apparent than before. Mine didn't feel like my own. I stared at it, but it didn't stare back. The parasite did, but this didn't. I must have been crazy, thinking it could look back at me. It was a shadow for god's sake. Was I losing my mind?
No. No time to think about it. Time to act. Time to put this right. Time to send this station...and the X...packing.