I'll be honest this time around, I haven't wanted to work on this for some time. Let alone edit it. I have started college and a lot of things at home have been going under lately and it's been to the point where I'm thinking about moving out. So, things have been a tad rough. But, this fic is still at the front of my mind, and I am determined to finish this. I'm just oh so terribly sorry for how long it's been. I really can't stress it enough when I say that I really do appreciate you guys for just the reviews, the faves, the alerts, and to just read this fic. Especially with how much I've been lacking and I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Disclaimer: I'm still not awesome enough to own Dead Space. XD Most characters and some dialogue are owned by Visceral Games. Vivien, Zillia, and everything else are mine.

Italics: Vi's thoughts

Bold: Zillia's thoughts

Chapter 10: Eluding Discovery

As the moments passed, Isaac's face grew softer. He was happy, relieved, just to see me, his apparent girlfriend. "Nicky, I can't believe you made it," He began, getting flustered quickly after the sentence slipped. "Well, I know you have your persistent moments, Nicky, but… You have no idea just how relieved I am to see you."

As nice and sweet Isaac was being for Nicole, I was sick to my stomach. What would happen if Isaac found out?

Vivi, I'll be honest, you're probably one of the best hosts I could've ever hoped for. There's always something going on with you.

I'm not some story for you to read, Zillia. Not some play thing to make metaphors out of. So, while I'm in this situation, it'd be great if you could just shut... whatever it is you're using.

Oh~ Someone's touchy. Fine, I'll just... what was it? Kick back and enjoy the view? Meanwhile, I'll be festering in your brain while you worry about relationships.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at her, especially under Isaac's watch. "Look, Isaac... I'm really sorry bu-"

"No, it's all right, Nicole. Let's not worry about any of that, it wasn't your fault," Isaac interrupted, before growing quiet. The strong composure that this man had was cracking, and not just because he's been battered from the hell he's just traveled through; something was obviously bothering him... (And, might I add, there was no way this conversation was going to be getting any easier.)

Isaac inched closer unexpectedly, which frightened me. How close would he be until he saw through the illusion? More importantly, will I really have to play Nicole's role as girlfriend and play his heart, just to get away uncaught?

"Nicole, you sure you're all right? You seem... pretty beaten up," He asked concerned, bringing his gloved hand up to hold my chin. The other to brush away my bangs to gaze right at my scar. My red tinted eye. The monster part of me. I closed my eyes, thinking that this was it and trying to brace myself for his outrage, for his discovery.

"Nicky, you're badly bruised, what happened?" The tip of his finger now tracing the lines of my scar, the bruise he sees in his eyes.

His response was a shock, the mere fact that he could not see the scar whatsoever was both a relieving and sickening feeling. I open my eyes, spitting out the first lie that came to mind. "The other survivors, there was a fight... One of them had got me pretty good." I tried my best to stare him down, to not be intimidated under his watch. The longer I studied his face, the more my stomach knotted. I could see them going this way and that under his skin, his veins. To make things worse, I could feel Zillia's attention prickling at the back of my head; how badly she wanted me to make a move and watch the blood pool. The idea was sickening and her mental images were nauseating.

Isaac studied the "bruise" more closely, then after a few moments finally spoke again. "Yeah, he must've nailed you good, your eye is even red. I know I'm not a doctor, that's your job," He chuckled once before becoming concerned again. "You sure you're all right? You shouldn't have done that, it could've been worse... but, he's lucky I wasn't there; that's for sure."

"Yeah, I'm just fine, Isaac," I reply, lying to the poor guy some more. Of course not... As long as Zillia's around, that will never happen. "Isaac, it's just a bruise, I promise I'll be fine. That's nothing compared to those Necromorphs."

After a few quiet moments, Isaac brought his hands down, seeming reluctant to do just a simple task as that. It must pain him being so close to his beloved Nicole yet so far from our true destination; safety. He seemed under so much pressure, trying to engineer his own escape plan where we could both get out alive. Meanwhile, the truth was gnawing at me on the inside... He needs to know! "Isaac, I am so sorry for putting you through all of this, I just-"

I stopped dead when Isaac cupped my face in his hands, pulling my face closer to his where we were barely an inch apart. "Listen to me, Nicole," He stated, automatically getting my attention with how he sounded; how stubborn he was for his girlfriend to not be sorry about anything. "I would and will do anything for you... I would go through this hell all over again, just for you," He continued on, whispering to me, trying to soothe the obvious guilt I had over everything. As if this whole infection was his fault to begin with.

I just look into his wild blue eyes, I couldn't think of anything to say! I didn't realize I was crying until his gloved thumb brushed a few tears off my cheek. "I'm the one that should be sorry Nicole, I'm sorry that I convinced you to go on the Ishimura, to take this damned job," He pauses for a moment, seeming to fight back his own tears and self-loathing. "You wouldn't have gone through any of this if it weren't for me..." Isaac trails off, his guilt becoming an unbelievable burden on him.

Without thinking, I bring my hands up to cup his own face, so that he couldn't look away and could focus only on me (or, Nicole, in this case). "Isaac,"I began, sounding a bit frail from all the emotions I was suffering from. My thoughts quickly drifted off to Brant, and how I would try to make him feel better in this situation. "It's okay, Isaac. I'm here, right?" I give him a small smile, trying my best to sound soothing for him- rubbing my thumb against his cheek. What a sad sight, seeing a knight falling apart before the princess he tried so hard to save. "I want you to promise me that you will not feel guilty about any of this. You couldn't prevent any of it, you didn't know this infection was going to break out. You didn't engineer the Marker, either, Isaac," I couldn't keep up with staying strong. Slowly my voice got quieter, more feeble. "Promise me that... you'll never blame yourself for any of this..."

To my dismay, Isaac remains quiet, like he wanted to make that promise, but knew he'd break it in the long run. Instead, he makes me stand, before I knew it, he'd pulled me into his arms. Fuck! Vivien, what the hell are you doing? This is so bad, no, horrible! No, no, no, no, no. Isaac, you're killing me... how much do I have to play on you? To lie to you? Despite wanting to reject this embrace, there was familiarity to it. Isaac and I both lost a loved one on this haunting day, all we desire most is to have our loved ones in our arms.

He tightened his hold on me, as if he had to really feel that Nicole was there, in his arms, but she isn't. "You know I would do anything for you, Nicky," He reminded me, barely speaking above a whisper in the quiet ship. As if someone were listening and waiting to snatch me away at any moment. "I love you, Nicole, I never want to let you go."

...And I said the first thing that came to mind, that would've come to Nicole's mind... "I love you, too, Isaac..." I whisper back, my lips quivering from all the stress and emotions drowning me, all the self-loathing I have for this damned acting. The shuttle was preparing to land, meanwhile, I thought it'd finally be the end of all this misery.

Of course, that's never the case.

Before I knew it, I was tasting the lies on my lips. Isaac held my chin up for a kiss, perhaps for good luck with what lay ahead of him, or just the strong desire for how long the two had been apart. I resisted the urge to back off and yell at him for such an unexpected kiss, but... the real Nicole wouldn't have done that, now would she? After it was all I could take, all that I can take in before revealing my real position, I pull away. "Isaac, remember, we're here to finish this, to contain it. Don't get carried away, not when we're almost done," I respond upon seeing his longing composure, as if a child got cheated out of a cookie.

Isaac remained hovering over me for a few moments, as if he wanted to throw everything away just to guard me, to be in my presence. But, he was a smart guy, (Shouldn't he be? He's an engineer, after all.) he released his grip on me and grabbed his helmet, sighing as he looked down at it. "You know, Nicky, I hate it when you're right, but we do have some catching up to do later," He said with a smile, glancing between his helmet and I. "One of these days when things get back to normal, I want to see you wearing this, you wouldn't look half-bad," He chuckled, putting his helmet back on and getting his suit readjusted.

I rolled my eyes at him and his comment, smiling a little despite the situation. "I'm not an engineer, Isaac, you big nerd," I tease him, getting ready to leave the shuttle. The image of me wearing such a big and odd suit was a foreign concept to me, and a silly one at that. I stop at the door of the shuttle, turning over to him. "Promise me at least this, Isaac..." I start, watching his attention go from his suit to me. "Don't be late."

He gave a quick, reassuring nod to my promise, before looking around for his Cutter. Then I left the protection of the shuttle to see how mangled the colony was...

Just taking one measly step outside made it all seem like a dead war zone.

The place rank of death, the Necromorphs. Everything was deserted, versus the Ishimura having potential survivors, there was no one here. No chance, the starting point of the infection was here. You'd have to have some amazing talent to have lived for so long here. Then I looked up at the sky, the planet cork hanging precariously up above, hanging on by the strings from the Ishimura.

"That's right... we have less than an hour left, to place the Marker where it belongs and escape it all..." I whisper, staring up into the sky. Not just to stare down our possible demise, but to look up at the sky in general. How long has it been since I stood on a planet and looked up at a sky?

Then I looked down and stared at the other buildings circling the planet cork site, all the buildings on the horizon, trying to take everything in. Why? This was where Brant lived after all, where he worked day after day. How I would give anything to have him with me right now... He never did like it here, and his last few days were spent like a prisoner. Could I have changed any of that? Help him escape while I had the chance?

I began to walk around on the docking platform, my mind losing itself in Brant and the events from the shuttle. If he knew, would he be mad at me? Would he hate me? The thoughts made my stomach turn, might as well have been doing dog tricks with how much it hurt.

Isaac finally made his entrance from the shuttle, "Isaac, get one of the loaders to get the Marker off the shuttle." I instruct him, walking along the tracks. I watch Isaac go around the back to grab whatever pick me ups he saw, getting the Marker unloaded at the same time. I couldn't help but stare down the hunk of rock. I know that the whole reason why we were here was for the Marker, that we had picked it up before everything went to hell, but to see it in front of me... Something I used to pray to as a kid, it was unreal.

Get over your petty thoughts and get to work, don't you want to run back into the shuttle?

I froze when I heard Zillia, not only was I distracted to the point of forgetting her presence, but the way she sounded wasn't the norm for her. However, I shrug it off, focusing on the task at hand and to have it done within the time limit given.

As Isaac drags the Marker along the rail, he stops mid-drag to go into the building for the power cell. I walk up closer to the Marker, taking in all the symbols decorating the rock. My head hurt the closer I- no, Zillia was the one in pain. My left hand was numb, like the blood flow was nonexistent, my left eye wouldn't open up to see the symbols. "Why...?" I mumble, not understanding why I was having this reaction.

Just... move, go back to the shuttle.

But... My childhood fancies were playing me, like any other Unitologist, I longed to see the Marker. A childhood dream come true...

Now.

After another quick look, I stagger away from the Marker and over to the ramp for the shuttle. Regaining the feeling in my... in her hand and her sight, almost like restarting a computer; everything seemed clearer than normal. "What was that all about?" I snap at her, wanting an answer.

I could hear her sigh softly, my left hand twitching as if she were making sure everything was functioning. Which was weird in itself, might I add... That, was one of the side effects of the Marker. Don't you think that thing would have affected you in some way? With me being here? I thought you were smart enough to realize that with your objective here. You humans lose sight of everything so easily.

I roll my eyes, looking over at the Marker again. It got me wondering about what might happen later... If the Marker was able to contain the infection from the pedestal, then what will happen to me? Will I have come all this way just to die from her deadweight?

Hey, I'm not deadweight, you-

Arooooo...

"What was that?" I asked, afraid to know the answer. Startled, I got back on my feet, looking around for the source.

A killer space whale... What do you think it is? Especially on a Necromorph infested planet? The Necromorph called out again, louder this time, getting closer. After all, it's the brilliant Engineer's fault for not leaving you with a weapon... Oh, aside from me, of course.

After scanning the area, I turn around to head into the shuttle, maybe just to look for a weapon or some sort of cover. Had to be the best timing I've ever had in my whole life. I see something blowing in the wind on top of the shuttle. I couldn't help but freeze up from curiosity at the sight of it.

Within mere moments, the tall, slender figure came into sight from the top of the shuttle. Its body stripped of its flesh. It was a wonder how its limbs didn't just fall off. The suit the Necromorph wore was tattered, the cloth was what caught my eye beforehand. We stared each other down, and I hoped that this one may actually be nice like Aiden...

Trust me, you won't like his hugs, it'll end in us losing our head. Why he's not moving, I have no idea.

The Necromorph just peered down curiously at me, but after a moment, I decided it was time for me to run. I'd much rather not gamble my life away on a hunch, especially this far into the game- not when we're so close. The Necromorph had reached its three-fingered claws towards me and I slide my way into the shuttle. I turn around to lock the shuttle's door, but the Necromorph was already in hot pursuit. Whether its desire was to sate its curiosity or blood-thirst, I'd rather not find out.

I fire a shot of stasis at it, fleeing to the captains cockpit and locking the door in there instead. Never have I been happier to see an orange locked hologram before in my life. Soon after that, the Necromorph was banging on the door, its eerie howls echoing from the other side.

Huh, maybe it was just curious. He's sad now, nice going, Vivi. What kind of monster are you?

The bangs continue, the time in between each bang increasing. Figuring I was safe, I peer out the window, watching Isaac make his entrance into the area once more; plugging the battery into the wall. The bangs stopped then, and another long call from the Necromorph riding on the air. Isaac turned toward the shuttle and began firing.

An interesting bout to watch, at the very least. The Necromorph would swipe at Isaac, and he'd move out of the way in time. In turn, when Isaac fired from the Cutter, the Necromorph would be taken aback from the shots, stumbling back a step or two. And then, the interesting twist happened, (or, perhaps it was just the Necromorph's specific design to do this...) the Necromorph had collapsed, but even then the fight wasn't won. The Necromorph's limbs fell apart, the body becoming undone. But the hands, feet, and head slithered along on tendrils towards Isaac; still sponging up his shots. Not too long from there was Isaac left with the monster's head, even then the head jumped at Isaac and the tendrils constricted his neck. I gasped and began unlocking the door, when I looked back out the window again, Isaac had regained control of the situation. He grabbed the head by the tendrils and began whacking at it with his Plasma Cutter. The head fell down to the ground and no longer moved.

The fight really didn't last long, Isaac didn't even seem phased. He continued on, using kinesis to drag the Marker along the tracks and get the doors to open, advancing in the objective. Then disappearing through the new doors, guiding the Marker back to its pedestal.

I locked the door back up and sat back down in Isaac's chair, grazing my hair with my shaky fingers. Am I even safe here? I groaned at the thought of dealing with more of these Necromorphs, but if the one... divided Necromorph couldn't get through the door, is it even possible for the others?

Why would we bother with you, Vivi? The troublesome Engineer is the one with the Marker. What I'm curious about is how many of us will it take to bring him down... I could hear her scoff, contemplating over the numbers and the odds against him. I'd really like to see how well he fairs with Him.

I continue to gaze through the glass, keeping an eye out for anything that moved; resting my head on my hand. It was odd, having my hand wrapped up like a mummys . Well... more ridiculous than anything, my hand looks stupidly swollen compared to the other. I continued to watch the nothingness outside, my heart beginning to race over some paper riding the wind. "So, Zillia," I began, trying to keep some sort of composure in front her... but, her being in my head; it's probably impossible to hide such things. "Who is this 'Him'? If Isaac was able to... you know, uhm, subdue Brant, whose name is also the Regenerator, then what hope does 'He' have?" The truth pained me, the selfish thought of getting Isaac back for Brant's death began swimming around my head.

Oh~ I like that feeling, seems like we've both got our eyes on something.

Don't you dare play on those emotions, Zillia. That was Mercer's fault, if I had been in charge, I wouldn't have allowed Brant to go. Now focus on my question, God dammit.

Hm, fine... He, is a wonderful product of our kind. Yes, the hunting Necromorph, your precious Brant, was an amazing Necromorph- especially at the hands of a human. However, He is the reason why I'm here, tinkering away at your body, instead of being stuck in a... what was the term, "God forsaken", right? Well, just a silly little tube on Mercer's shelf. Can you imagine how boring that would've been?

At this point, I wasn't focusing on anything outside the window. Just looking out and taking in Zillia's answers, then I thought about that one Necromorph... the one that was studying me. "And, that dividing Necromorph, what was up with him?"

We can't be curious about your kind as well? No, you're right, normally we aren't. There are "special" cases where some of us won't attack and we have a form of... what? Senty... Sentiel... It felt like Zillia was picking her way through a filing cabinet in my mind, which felt a lot stranger than it sounded. Ah, there we go, sentience. If, and only if, we managed to salvage the host's personality from life... Take your loving Brant for example, his love for you followed him into the after life. Maybe that guy was a curious sort when he was alive or...

"Or...? Or, what?"

Or, he wanted to see me. Don't you remember? When the infant saw my eye, he stopped misbehaving and became your own. They realize you're infected that way, so there's no need to attack when I could be damaged.

"Zillia! You couldn't tell me this sooner? Do you realize how much trouble that could've saved me?"

Hey, most of my family that you found was before I woke up. Besides, it's not as fun to watch if you always parade past them, right?

I shake my head at her, looking at some of the crates laying around. "You're impossible to deal with at times..." I sigh, looking around at the shuttle controls now.

Well, now, if I were impossible dear Vivi, you would have forfeited the game by now, right? Besides, how could you possibly deal with Brant in the first place? He was so jealous of the Engineer when he woke up from his nap.

He wasn't jealous. Brant was just...

Doing what Mercer told him to do, you told me that story already, sweet heart. But, listen here, Brant had the opportunity to kill Mercer, more than once. It was his own choice to hunt the Engineer down. He was doing it to protect you, out of love. Oh, I can only imagine what his reaction would be to what happened on the shuttle.

He was just trying to protect me?

I could feel Zillia's smugness from my question, that she knew so much and I so little. To protect you, he probably saw Isaac as a threat. Or, maybe he just willed to sleep with you forever.

It grew quiet for a few moments before a shrill cry sounded off in the distance. The ground shook, and I felt a rising alarm from this. But, Zillia's voice just giggled childishly at the response, like it really wasn't much of a big deal.

Calm down, Vivi. You're fine for now. She paused for a few moments before finally telling me what she'd been thinking about. What do you believe they feel about me?

They...? Who's they?

The ones that are always watching you, watching us. Don't tell me you don't know who "they" are.

The Unitologists? If anything, they'd be amazed that the Marker got destroyed and I did nothing.

Not them, really. They know who I'm talking about. They're probably wondering why it's taking so long to take you away and pit you against the Engineer. Or, how they feel about me in general; do they hate me? Like me? Understand my jokes?

"What in the world are you talking about? Please stop speaking in riddles... I'm tired of it," Only she doesn't respond again.

Looking up at the sky, in the distance, there was a beam of light shooting up toward the sky. Before I could gaze up at it in awe, I was overwhelmed with pain and this God awful headache. My vision suddenly blurred and I held my left hand close to me as a sharp pain began. My mind was feeling that of a lost transmission signal; nothing was clear. All I could do was wince at the sudden pain and the great nausea that came with it. If this is what it takes to purge myself of Zillia, then so be it.

But, just as the pain had started, it vanished. I slowly began to unravel myself, I didn't even realize I had curled up this way. However, I'm frustrated at this. How can I not? It meant that Zillia was still being housed in my body. I want to scream, maybe even find the nearest object to get rid of the infected parts and retaliate. Soon after that feeling, I felt miserable... and the tears to match.

What if I have to endure this pain the whole time after we leave?

...What if she wins?

As if someone had flipped the switch; she was back live again.

Paper!

What? You leave me with a break down and say that?

Oh... what a nice welcoming committee, I missed you too.

Despite her attitude making a reappearance, I could feel that she was nervous and afraid. This fact is absolutely unnerving, but... gave me some sort of hope; it means I might actually have a fighting chance. And her team was losing.

You humans... She began, pausing in the silence of everything while I wiped away my fresh tears. Stopping as another shrill cry sounded off in the distance and the shuttle shook. You humans are very much like paper.