All right! Next chapter is here! Sorry for the long wait, but thanks to everyone for all the support! :)
DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Visceral Games and EA.
Once Isaac finished flexing his fingers, he picked up the controller and continued to play, making his way over to a control panel right in front of a machine.
"Hmm," he said as he pressed a button. Everyone watched with wide eyes as game-Isaac began to do a little hacking before finally ripping something out. Music played in the background just as he placed something around his wrist.
"Oh my God!" Kendra cried excitedly, "It's a Kinesis Module!"
"That's back?" Hammond piped up as well, "Cool!"
"Kinesis Module?" Tiedemann asked, raising an eyebrow, "They have those in the game, too?"
"Looks like it," Ellie answered, "I use those all the time at work."
"It's really come in handy," Isaac said in a nostalgic tone, "Here, watch." Stross leaned forward in his seat as the engineer remembered which controls were for Kinesis, and he proceeded to pick up one of the sharp sticks on the ground and hurl it towards the glass in the corner.
"Cool," the scientist whispered just as game-Isaac encountered a few Necromorphs that burst from the vents in the corners of the next hallway.
"Watch out!" Nicole cried as one of the Slashers cut game-Isaac across the chest. Isaac immediately turned around as he used Kinesis to pick up the other sticks in order to toss them at the Necromorphs. He noticed that they seemed to just stick to the wall as they died instantly.
"That's it?" Daina asked, "That's all it takes to kill them?"
"Like that," Kyne answered, "You have to cut off the limbs with a weapon, though unfortunately, he doesn't have a weapon right now."
"Damn," Ellie cursed, "No headshots?"
"Not in this game," Isaac said to her as she frowned, "Not like that, anyway. Aww, are you upset now?" He grinned wolfishly as Ellie reached across Nicole and playfully punched his shoulder.
"Bastard," the pilot replied, but she used a lighthearted tone of voice, so the systems engineer knew she didn't mean it. Isaac couldn't help but laugh a little bit at her antics, despite the fact that he had only known her for about an hour now.
"Let's get back to the game," Nicole suggested, and Isaac wasn't sure if it was just him, but his girlfriend sounded a little…annoyed. He just shrugged it off as he continued into the next hallway, where he killed some more Slashers in the same fashion.
"This must be part of the new game play," Kyne realized, "But I like it a lot."
"Yeah, well, I'd like a real weapon soon," Isaac replied, "I miss my Plasma Cutter."
At this, Ellie's eyes lit up in excitement. "Hold on!" she cried, "They have Plasma Cutters as weapons?" The old timers nodded.
"Now this is my kind of game," she declared as the others shared a laugh.
As soon as Isaac entered the next part of the hospital, he suddenly heard screaming. "That doesn't sound good," Hammond whispered just as game-Isaac encountered a man strapped down to a lab table.
"Help! Help! Is anyone there?"
"Isaac's there!" Kendra cried.
Game-Isaac walked over to the man, who sighed in relief. "You!" he shouted, "Thank God! Please, come help me!"
"Calm down!" game-Isaac replied, "I'll cut you out of there, Is that a tissue laser? A plasma cutter?"
"Oh my God!" Kyne cried, "Weren't we just talking about this?"
"Are we getting a weapon now?" Stross asked him.
"I think so," Kyne replied.
Just as Isaac sat back and watched his game counterpart hack this panel, he suddenly heard a growling noise, which sent a shiver down everyone's spine. "Oh, God," Mercer whispered.
"Oh my God!" the man strapped to the lab table petitioned as a Slasher appeared.
"Isaac, do something!" Nicole cried.
"Fuck," game-Isaac cursed.
"What the fuck are you doing?" the man yelled.
"Oh, shit."
"Hurry up!"
"I'm trying, I'm trying!"
"Try harder!" Tiedemann cried, "Don't just let him die!"
Unfortunately, that was exactly what ended up happening as game-Isaac finally managed to construct a makeshift Plasma Cutter for the time being.
"Isaac," Kendra piped up, "You're awesome! Have we ever told you that?"
"Thanks," Isaac thanked her, "And you have on more than one occasion." He smiled as he raised the weapon and began shooting at the Necromorphs that were flooding into the room. A green box popped up next to his game character, which took him through the controls once again. Ellie, Stross, Daina, and Tiedemann watched with wide eyes as game-Isaac dismembered each Slasher and picked up the stray credits, med packs, and ammo that they left in place.
"What a unique way to kill enemies," Stross commented. The other newcomers nodded in agreement. Once Isaac was finished, he moved on after killing a Slasher that was strapped to another lab table, before following Bread Crumbs into the next area.
"Isaac, it's Daina," game-Daina said out of nowhere, "You have to dismember the creatures to stop them."
"I know," game-Isaac replied, "I've had a lot of practice."
"In your face, Daina!" Hammond teased.
"Very funny," Daina said, even though she was laughing as well, "I'm just trying to help, is all."
"Just try to stay in one piece," game-Daina advised.
"Thanks," Isaac thanked her before she went offline.
A few more hallways and battles with Necromorphs later…
"I love how there were almost no Necromorphs before, but now that you have a weapon, they're everywhere," Tiedemann mused once Isaac had his game counterpart reload his Plasma Cutter.
"It was like that in the first game, too," Kendra told him, "Almost like they know when he's armed." She shuddered.
Once Isaac was finished in this area, he moved on to the next part of the hospital, where lights began to flash and alarms began to ring. "That doesn't sound good," Nicole whispered. That was when another familiar figure appeared and began to wave to game-Isaac.
"Isaac?" he asked.
"STROSS!" everyone cried as the real Stross widened his eyes.
"There I am, in the flesh," he whispered, "I…don't know what to say."
"Isaac, come on!" game-Stross shouted, "Come on, they're after us!" He turned and began to run down the hallway.
"Wait, wait!" game-Isaac yelled, "Who is? Who's after us?"
"Doesn't your character recognize mine?" Stross asked Isaac, "You just watched a video about me!" The others shrugged as Isaac directed game-Isaac down the stairs and over to a bulkhead that was closing. Up ahead, game-Stross was just sliding underneath the small space between the gate and the floor.
"Isaac! Isaac! Through here! Come on, Isaac!"
"Damn," Kendra commented, "Smart and athletic."
"Hardly," Stross joked just as the gate closed, leaving both game characters trapped on opposite sides. "No!" Hammond cried.
"Aww, no!" game-Stross whined, "No! Isaac! Remember me! Patient five. I'm patient five, remember? Do you remember? Agh!"
"No, I don't remember, apparently," Isaac whispered just as the second gate shut as well, blocking game-Stross from everyone's view.
"Aww, man!" the engineer groaned a few seconds later, "Now what?"
"Daina!" game-Isaac snapped into his communicator, "Your fucking route didn't work! There's a security lockdown!"
"Whoa!" Nicole gasped, "Easy on the language, Isaac. They've turned you into a trucker!"
"HA!" Isaac laughed, "I see."
"I told you to hurry!" game-Daina replied in an equally short tone, "How'd you miss it?"
"Look, I don't need your help," game-Isaac growled.
"Fine!" game-Daina huffed, "Let's see how long you last without it!"
"All right, break it up, you two," Kyne chided, nodding at Isaac and Daina.
"You remind me of Kendra's game character from the first game," Isaac commented to Mercer's friend, "When she and Hammond were fighting."
"I don't know if I like how they're portraying me as being arrogant," Daina said worriedly.
While this conversation was going on, a few Necromorphs appeared, forcing game-Isaac to use the Plasma Cutter once again to take care of them. Once they were all down, game-Isaac reloaded his Plasma Cutter and then got back in contact with game-Daina.
"Daina?" he quipped, "Daina? Okay, you're right. I do need your help. Talk to me."
"Look, Isaac," Daina replied, "We don't have to be friends, but like it or not, we're stuck together. Tiedemann's your enemy, not me. All right. I've found you a new route."
"Fine," game-Isaac sighed, "So where the hell am I? How did another Necromorph outbreak get started?"
"You're on Titan Station, orbiting Saturn. As for the outbreak…" Suddenly, a burst of static interrupted her.
"Shit!" she cursed, "Tiedemann's jamming my signal!" And with that, she disappeared.
"Stop jamming my signal, Tiedemann!" Daina teased.
"Sorry," Tiedemann apologized, "I have no idea why I'm the bad guy."
Once game-Isaac was finished in that area, he moved on to the next hallway, saved at the Save Station, and then entered another room, where a humming noise greeted him. "Whoa!" everyone gasped.
"What is this?" Ellie whispered as Bread Crumbs pointed game-Isaac towards another control panel. This time, when he opened it, however, a green tutorial box appeared next to him.
"Cool," Isaac said, "I get to do the hacking this time!" It didn't seem too tough, even though he messed up and took a little bit of damage before continuing. Once he was finished hacking the system, he proceeded to make a Stasis Module of his own.
"Stasis is back, too!" Hammond realized, "I like that more than Kinesis."
As soon as game-Isaac fitted the Stasis Module on his wrist, a Necromorph burst from a vent in one corner of the room and charged towards him. "Look out!" Kyne cried, and Isaac quickly remembered how to use Stasis before using it to slow down this new Necromorph. After taking it down, he reloaded his Plasma Cutter before using Stasis again to open the gate in front of him.
"That is so cool," Stross commented, similar to when he had complimented the Kinesis Module. On the other side, more dark hallways were just up ahead, and Daina shivered as game-Isaac began to wend his way through them.
Grrr! "What was that?" Tiedemann whispered worriedly.
"That doesn't sound like any Necromorph I've ever heard," Kendra commented as she huddled closer to Hammond.
Sure enough, up ahead, a seemingly new Necromorph ambled towards game-Isaac as it expelled vomit from its mouth and onto Isaac's game-character. "Eww!" everyone cried as he or she looked away.
"I think I lost my appetite just now," Stross groaned.
"What the hell type of Necromorph is that?" Nicole cried.
"A Puker," Ellie answered, "Let's call it a Puker."
"I wonder if there will be any other new Necromorphs," Isaac wondered as he continued to kill more Pukers that were in the area. Once that was finished, he made his way into an elevator in the corner of the room, and he pressed the button to go down to the lower level.
It was not even a few minutes before the elevator shook and the lights shut off. "What the fuck?" game-Isaac hissed under his breath as a screen turned to static next to him.
"What's happening?" Kyne asked worriedly.
"How I wonder what you are," a voice began to sing, "Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky…"
"Nursery rhymes?" Tiedemann quipped, "What's up with the nursery rhyme?"
However, that was the least of everyone's concerns. Suddenly, something flashed in the corner of the screen. "Nicole?" game-Isaac whispered, causing everyone in the room to stare at the Senior Medical Officer.
"It's me again," she announced, pointing at the game, "Why do I look so spooky?"
In the game, game-Nicole was approaching game-Isaac with the same light glowing from her eyes and mouth. As soon as she was close enough, she leaned in close to his face in a flash of orange light. "Make us whole!" she hissed before everything went dark.
"Holy crap," Kyne and Mercer whispered to themselves as everyone else jumped in his or her seat. After another second, the lights in the elevator turned back on as game-Isaac arrived at his destination.
"Is there a reason you keep showing up like that?" Isaac asked the real Nicole, "It's starting to scare me a little bit."
"That makes two of us," Nicole said in response, "I don't like looking like a ghost."
"Does that answer your question, Tiedemann?" Isaac asked, facing Tiedemann, who just nodded sagely.
A little while later…
"Hey, check this out!" Isaac cried, "A Store!"
"Finally!" Kendra said, "I never thought we'd see one of those!"
"A Store?" Daina asked.
"Yeah," Kyne said to her, "You can buy everything here!" Daina just nodded in understanding.
"I have enough credits for a new Plasma Cutter, some ammo, some med packs, and an Engineering Suit," Isaac said to himself, purchasing everything before watching his game character climb into the Store. A beam appeared before game-Isaac stepped out, admiring his new suit. He then glanced up as his helmet covered his face in a flash of light.
"Badass!" Isaac cried just as he was finished at the Store, "I like how the helmet goes over my head like that."
"I like how they're showing more of your face period," Nicole added.
"Can't argue with that," Ellie joked as Isaac grinned to himself. Nicole frowned for a second as her boyfriend saved at the Save Station and then decided to continue. A whoosh of air greeted him as a timer on his back began to count down.
"Entering vacuum."
"Oh, boy," Stross piped up, "So they have airless sections, huh?"
"Of course," Mercer said to him, "This is space!"
"I knew that," Stross mumbled as Isaac quickly made himself run through this hallway and into another room just outside the hospital. The first thing he noticed was the Stasis Recharge in the corner, as well as the many boxes that were lying around.
"Hmm," he hummed as he made his way forward, "This looks suspicious."
"Any time I see a Stasis Recharge is suspicious," Hammond added. The others had to agree with that.
Isaac ran around the room as he stomped some of the boxes and collected the items inside, but a second later, suspenseful music began to play as a large, hulking Necromorph leaped up from behind a broken tram. "AHH!" all ten adults in the room screamed.
"What the hell is that?" Stross cried as the three-legged monster began a battle with game-Isaac.
"Aww, shit," Isaac cursed, "This is going to take a while." He noticed immediately that there were three yellow weak spots on the Tripod, which he realized he would have to shoot in order to kill it.
"Damn, that thing moves fast," Ellie commented as the Tripod stomped in large strides towards Isaac's game counterpart. The real Isaac quickly used Stasis before shooting one of the pods, weakening the Tripod. Once the Stasis wore off, the Necromorph moved forward and swiped at game-Isaac's chest.
"Ooooooo!" everyone cooed as the RIG on game-Isaac's suit started to turn yellow. Isaac cursed under his breath as he refilled his Stasis Module before using it to slow the Tripod down again.
"Come on, come on!" he growled as he tried shooting at another weak spot, but the Tripod wouldn't give up. Because Isaac had picked the Survivalist Difficulty, he realized he was taking extra damage now. Pretty soon, his game character's RIG was flashing red.
"Oh, no," Kyne moaned, "Don't die on us now!"
He had spoken too soon. After Isaac landed in a few more shots with the Tripod, the Necromorph swiped at him again, knocking him to the ground as his helmet fell off.
"Crap!" Ellie groaned, "He is about to die!"
"Oh, shit!" Tiedemann, Kendra, Hammond, and Stross all cursed as the Tripod climbed onto Isaac and lowered one of its legs into his mouth.
"AHH!" Daina and Nicole cried as they looked away from the screen.
"Why does everything have to take my head off?" Isaac groaned as he glanced up to see that his game counterpart's head was gone. After that, the Tripod dug its claws into his torso and pulled as blood splattered onto the screen and made it fade to black.
"Ooooooo!" everyone cried again.
"Great," Isaac moaned, "I'm not even past the first chapter yet and I already died!"
"This game is getting a little too intense, Clarke," Tiedemann commented, "How many more times are you going to die?"
"I don't want to know," the engineer replied just as the Sprawl's logo flashed onto the loading screen.