The Deleter is back for even more callous murder! Having suffered a defeat at Samus' hands, James is out to make up for his setbacks and it is time for another member of 07th Platoon to bite the, in this case, flamingly lava-like dust. The current scores are...

James-1 Lyle-0

James-1 Maurice-0

James-0 Samus-1

James-? KG-?

This one aint gonna be a walkover and little KG has more than his fair share of courage. In this chapter, I thought I would also explore James' outlook on the galaxy and it is a bleak one at that.

Read on and enjoy.

The pounding of feet on metal resounded through the steel corridors of the Pyrosphere like the banging of a colossal war drum. Now and again this would be interspaced with the manic sound of gunfire as both the pursued and the pursuer faced off before the chase continued. James' heart was hammering in his chest as he vaulted a barrier and fired yet more bullets at the diminishing figure of KG Misawa who was running for his very survival and doing a very god job at it.

James had fled from Samus into the Pyrosphere and it had not taken long before he had stumbled across KG who was apparently still exploring the sector. James was especially aware Samus was likely to be on her way and for all he knew had worked out whom her assailant had been. Could she have found the time to scan his armour during their fight? Surely she hadn't had enough of an opening? James couldn't take that risk and decided to go for the quick kill on KG before Samus could complicate his mission further by blowing his cover.

Somehow, bewilderingly and immensely embarrassingly his first shot missed and KG nimbly threw himself out the way of the next few. There was a tense moment as the two marines faced each other with their visors up; James unsure how to proceed now he had so spectacularly revealed his intentions and KG too horrified and shocked to move. Suddenly KG perhaps remembering the stories and rumours he had heard about Deleters, as well as realising James' burst of fire had not been an accident, started running and pulled out a considerable lead over James who set off in pursuit.

Try as he might, James could not keep pace with the speedy KG whose training as a recon was obviously serving him incredibly well. He deftly leapt over obstacles, dived past creatures and took shortcuts leaving James to force his way through, more often than not, with brute force. Cursing with frustration, James clambered onto yet another head high barricade that KG had climbed effortlessly, and dropped down the other side to land on the sandy ground with no sign of his target ahead of him.

He realised immediately something was wrong as his sixth sense told him to immediately throw himself to the ground. The hail of bullets flew over where he had just stood and he saw KG emerge from the shadow cast by the barricade. James cursed and threw himself at KG before he could get a chance to fire again. Pinning the considerably smaller marine to the barricade, James began to punch him with his armour-reinforced fists and forced KG to drop his machinegun. Every time his fists connected with KG's armour there was a resounding dong and a grunt of pain from his victim. "Hell these armoured fists are golden," James thought as he landed a vicious uppercut and sent KG sprawling. KG forced himself back onto his feet, using a metal pipe to support him which he then proceeded to swing at his attacker. James dodged the first two swings but KG then delivered a thrust with the pipe and hit James in the stomach. James was knocked off balance and this allowed KG to follow up with a hefty swing to the helmet that sent James staggering away.

KG, perhaps still a little hesitant to attack his fellow marine, stayed where he was. James, sensing an opportunity, exaggerated his stagger and lumbered around a bit before he collapsed face down in the sand that filled the narrow room the two marines were battling in. He heard a gasp from KG who perhaps thinking he had killed James, sprinted over to his fallen form and, having knelt down, rolled James onto his back. James chose that moment to spring his ambush; lunging up he grabbed KG around the neck and flipped him over so that it was now KG lying in the dirt. James further disarmed KG by removing his freeze gun from its holster and chucked it away. Grabbing the metal pipe, James forced it against his prey's neck and began to push down with all his might. This caused KG to gasp out for air as he struggled to get air into his lungs at same time as trying to wrest the bar away from where it was slowly strangling him.

KG desperately kicked out and knocked James back. KG got to his feet and doubled over as he tried to get his breath back. James threw the metal pipe at him but it bonged off KG's helmet doing very little damage. KG pulled out his pistol; the only weapon left to him, and pointed it at James. Unfortunately for him, he was still very dazed. James was on him like a flash.

James twisted KG's wrist back at vicious, unnatural angles until a satisfying crack was heard and the pistol dropped to the floor. He could just make out KG's muffled scream inside the helmet. James then lifted the agonised marine up above his head and hurled KG to the ground. He picked up KG's pistol, ready to execute his former squad mate.

To his surprise KG sprung back up and began running again. Not wanting to go through another chase, James fired at KGs heel with the pistol and was rewarded with a scream of pain as KG's pace slowed. James shot him twice more in the back for good measure but the badly wounded man continued to hobble away at a most surprising a rate. James collected KG's weapons and transferred their ammo into his own weaponry. Content to follow the droplets of blood KG had left behind, James followed on, in no rush, now he knew his target was finished.

James finally cornered his prey at the end of a long, incomplete and badly damaged bridge that hung out over a searing lava lake below. KG had nowhere to go save to oblivion and James wouldn't keep him waiting. Seemingly resigned to his fate, the badly injured marine was propped up against one of the girders that made up the bridge; his good arm cradled his broken wrist. As James raised his faithful freeze gun and fired the final shot, he just about made out KG ask a question before his body collapsed to the ground. "Why?"

James wondered if he could really give a justifiable answer to that question, as pointless as it was to ask it in the first place. "Why anything?" he bitterly mulled, "Why anything in this cruel, pitiless galaxy?" Not everyone could be a galactic saviour like Samus, not everyone had the luxury of a super powered armour suit to protect them. Normal people had to crawl on their knees through life, completely at the mercy of the uncaring rulers of the galaxy whose trivial wars and powers struggles only served to decide who the common people of the galaxy should suffer under next. Samus could pretend her missions were for the greater good but all she was doing was propping up one corrupt regime by defending it against others that were no different from the very one she strove to defend. If killing people in cold blood was the way he would continue his survival then he would do it without hesitation. Survival of the fittest was everything and he sure as hell wasn't going to fall down the food chain anytime soon.

James took one final look at the marine at his feet before he kicked the body into the lava. He watched it fall and heard a large splash as it hit the lava and sank into fiery nothingness. He hadn't even checked if KG was alive or dead. It didn't matter; not really. The lava would finish James' job. James turned and walked away without a backward glance. The fiery light of the lava that played across his reflective visor and armour, gave an almost demonic quality to his appearance as he strolled back the way he had come. All the time he retraced the trail of KG's blood.