All right! Finally, I'm here with the next chapter of this story! I'm so sorry for the long gap in updating. I hit some writer's block, but I've gotten out of it now, and I'm here with the next chapter! A huge thank you to everyone who sent in their requests for this story! I really appreciate it! Credit goes to Gone Rampant and protector91 for some of the plot points in this chapter. I tweaked some of the ideas around, but I hope you guys like what I did! Thanks again!

DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Visceral Games and EA.

Maybe if Nicole told me why she thinks Ellie and I are flirting, then things would make more sense, Isaac thought to himself as he watched Ellie save at the Save Station and collect a few more items from the lockers around the room his game character was currently in.

"Last chapter for the night," the engineer suggested, "Then we can pick it up again tomorrow."

"Sounds like a plan," Hammond yawned, stretching his arms over his head in a catlike motion. Stross closed his eyes a few times, almost as if he was nodding off, before sitting up straight again. Daina eyed him warily again.

"You okay, Stross?" she asked.

"Hmm?" Stross replied, "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just anxious about the next chapter."

Tiedemann suddenly sat up straight and clapped his hands, earning a perplexed look from Kendra. "What's got you in a happy mood?" she asked.

"I just got an idea," Tiedemann declared as if a light bulb had just gone off in his head, "Do you have any vodka, Clarke?"

Isaac eyed Kendra's friend. "Yeah," he said, "It's in the refrigerator. Why?"

"Let's play a drinking game," Tiedemann suggested, "Any time Nicole makes an appearance for the remainder of the game, we have to drink."

"What?" Stross whined, "That's silly, not to mention tacky. And what if we don't like to consume alcohol?"

Tiedemann shrugged. "It's open to anyone who wants to play," he replied noncommittally.

"Well, I can't," Ellie told him, "Because I'm still playing. Besides, at the rate we're going, you all are gonna be passed out on the floor by the end of this game."

"We don't know that," Nicole interjected, "I could decide to back off."

"True," Ellie agreed, "But when that'll be is the question."

"I think I'll pass, too," Isaac also spoke up, "Just in case Ellie decides she wants me to take over the controls again."

"I'll play!" Hammond cried.

"Oh, why not?" Kendra said, fixing her ponytail.

"I suppose I'll give it a shot," Stross decided, "No pun intended."

"This should be interesting," Daina said as she, Kyne, and Mercer also volunteered to be a part of Tiedemann's little game. Nicole declined shortly after that.

Ellie paused the game as Isaac went to the kitchen to get a bottle of vodka, followed by some shot glasses from the cabinet next to it. He opened the bottle and handed it to Tiedemann, who poured some of the alcoholic beverage into the shot glasses. He handed one to Kendra, Hammond, Stross, Mercer, Kyne, and Daina before taking one for himself.

"All right," he said, "Ready?"

"I hope so," Nicole replied, "Just be careful with that vodka. Good thing you didn't start this little game earlier."

"I'll try," Tiedemann said, "Thanks, Nicole." Nicole smiled weakly, and they all fell silent as Ellie resumed playing, passing through the door up ahead in order to get to the transport.

"Tell me, Isaac," Daina piped up, "Is it at all strange to see someone else playing as you?"

"Not anymore," Isaac answered, running a hand over his head, "Nicole, Kendra, and Hammond all played the first one, so after Nicole was finished, I got used to it."

"Good going, Nicole," Stross complimented. Nicole allowed herself to beam this time before the familiar screeching from the Leapers brought them all back to attention.

"Get 'em, get 'em!" Tiedemann cheered, setting down his shot glass as Ellie frantically pushed all the buttons in order to get rid of the Necromorphs attacking game-Isaac.

"I'd like to see you try and kill them all," Ellie replied as she was forced to clear a quick time event in order to get a Leaper to let go of her. She managed to successfully get past it, finishing off the last of the Necromorphs in the area before reloading all her weapons.

"Not bad, Miss Langford," Kyne complimented, "Not bad. You certainly have mastered the handlebars."

Ellie couldn't stop the smile from spreading across her face. "Thanks, Kyne," she thanked him before replenishing her health and climbing onto the cargo lift in the corner.

"We only had two years together, Isaac," game-Nicole whispered, "Two years, but they were the best years of my life. I was happy. I had everything I wanted. Until you made me doubt myself." All ten people sat up straight as Tiedemann grinned from ear to ear.

"HA!" he exclaimed, "There she goes!" He tilted his head back as he downed his drink, followed by Kendra, Hammond, Stross, Daina, Kyne, and Mercer. Stross shivered a little bit before handing his glass to Tiedemann, who proceeded to refill it. He did the same for the others.

"I hope there aren't too many more hallucinations," Kyne said, accepting his refilled glass.

"I hope you all can hold your liquor," Isaac mumbled.

"I heard that, Clarke!" Tiedemann cried, pointing at the engineer, who just stared at him innocently.

Meanwhile, Ellie was guiding game-Isaac across the second floor, switching to the Pulse Rifle in order to take care of a swarm of Crawlers that had appeared. "Are those the Necromorphs that made that woman explode back in the school?" Stross asked.

"Yeah," Ellie answered, curb-stomping some boxes on the floor nearby in the process, "Exploding babies."

"If Alexis saw this…" the scientist started, but didn't finish.

In the game, game-Isaac finished on the catwalk he had been standing on and entered a room up ahead, where a Store greeted him. "Finally!" Isaac cried, "Never thought we would see one of those again."

"Wait, what's this?" Ellie asked, moving Isaac's game character over to an audio log and getting him to pick it up.

"This is Sorenson, Shift 2! Kaleb, what's going on? Dead bodies are chasing us! Dead bodies I recognize! It's fucking Shift 4!"

"Kaleb!" everyone cried, but quieted down to hear the rest of the audio log.

"Just get out of there Sorenson, get out of there!"

"But we're trapped, they're closing in all around, which way did you go? Which way is clear?"

"Use the starboard catwalks, we cleared a path, but hurry, they're closing in behind!"

"We'll try, wait for us!" That was where the message stopped.

"I really have to invite him over one day," Ellie commented, "He has to see this!"

Knock knock knock!

Everyone jumped slightly as Ellie paused the game. "Was that the front door?" Daina questioned.

"Sounded like it," Isaac answered, getting up, "I've got it." He stepped over Stross before he approached the front door and opened it. The faces on the other side shocked him.

"Oh my God!" he petitioned.

"Hey, Clarke," Jacob Temple greeted, "Long time no see."

"Temple!" Isaac gasped, "Elizabeth! Didn't think I'd see you guys back! What are you doing here?"

"We heard rumors that you guys were playing Dead Space 2 and wanted to see if they were true," Temple explained, "I know we said we weren't gonna come back, but it was like something was compelling us to return, you know?"

"I guess so," Isaac muttered, "Come in! We've got a pretty crowded room. We've made some new friends this time around."

"You know who isn't here, right?" Elizabeth whispered, and Isaac realized she was talking about Mercer.

"Yeah, he's here," he told her, "Don't worry, he's much better this time."

"Better be," Temple growled, clenching his fist, "Or I'll blacken his other eye."

"Oh no, that's not necessary!" Isaac insisted. Temple and Elizabeth entered the room, and everyone stopped what he or she was doing in order to stare at them.

"Jacob!" Kendra gasped, "Elizabeth! Good to see you guys again!"

"Hey!" Hammond shouted, "Welcome back!"

"You guys are here!" Nicole added.

"It's good to see you two in good health," Kyne piped up. Only Mercer didn't have anything to say, except covering his other eye in response. Temple laughed.

"Relax," he said, "I'm not here to fight you again. You're not worth my time." Mercer just rolled his eyes.

"Daina, Stross, Tiedemann, Ellie," Isaac cut in, "This is Jacob Temple and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Cross. They're both with CEC. You may have seen them around, Ellie."

"I have in passing," Ellie retorted, "But it's nice to meet you formally."

"Were you both in the first game?" Stross asked as Temple and Elizabeth sat near Kendra, Hammond, and Tiedemann.

"We were," Elizabeth confirmed, glancing at Mercer, "But then we were both killed."

"Trust me when I say this," Kendra piped up, taking Stross's hand, "We do not need to revisit that."

"Why not?" Daina asked, looking confused.

"Later," Mercer insisted.

"Do you guys want to play our drinking game?" Tiedemann asked, "We have to drink whenever there's a hallucination of Nicole."

"Why?" Temple asked, "What's been happening in this game?"

Isaac explained everything that had happened up to this point in the game and watched as Temple and Elizabeth widened their eyes and gasped at the appropriate times.

"That's so fucked up," Temple finally commented, "But it must be a good game."

"Oh, and another thing," Kyne added, "We're not doing the complaint list this time. We've decided to retire it for the time being."

"Unfortunately," Mercer said to himself as Temple accepted a shot glass from Tiedemann. The former just rolled his eyes as Ellie unpaused the game and continued onward.

"Oh, shit!" Stross cursed, "Oh, shit, what the fuck is that?"

He was referring to the Divider that was now storming towards game-Isaac.

"What happened to its signature moan that was like The Thing?" Kendra asked, hugging her knees, "They completely cut it out of this game!"

"Maybe it was too scary for some players," Temple answered, miming quotation marks with his fingers, "Seems like they took a lot of the scare out of this game from what you guys said." Everyone else shrugged.

"What do you four think of this series so far?" Elizabeth asked, nodding at the newcomers.

"It's…definitely been interesting, I can say that much," Daina replied truthfully. Temple only shook his head and turned back to the game, where Ellie was finished dealing with the various Components.

"This is getting to be a workout," the pilot mused, putting the controller down for a second to rest her hands, "But it's a lot of fun."

The others watched as game-Isaac made his way up the elevator on the other side of the room, emerging on the next floor and taking out the Exploders and other Necromorphs in the room. Ellie picked up a Power Node and continued onward into the next dark hallway.

"Why would I choose the Ishimura over you?" game-Nicole's voice whispered, "You said I'd regret passing up the chance, that the choice would haunt me forever. It was almost as if you wanted me to leave."

"Damn," Tiedemann cursed as he and the others downed their second drink.

"Accusatory, much?" Elizabeth commented, raising an eyebrow.

"I have no idea what my character's talking about," Nicole denied, "Isaac would never want me to leave, right?"

"Of course not," Isaac assured her, smiling as his girlfriend decided to scoot a little closer to him. Maybe she was finally starting to realize nothing was going on with him and Ellie.

"Sounds like I encouraged you to go on the Ishimura in the first place," the flesh and blood Isaac deduced from the comments, "This was not established in the first game."

"New developments!" Hammond suddenly shouted, holding up his shot glass.

"Yes, Hammond," Kendra laughed.

Once the latest hallucination from game-Nicole was over, Ellie moved game-Isaac forward a little more in order to take out the enemies in the area, including a Guardian by the elevator on the other side. "Not too close, Miss Langford," Kyne warned.

"Terrence," Mercer spoke up in a warning tone, and Kyne backed off.

"Sorry," the Unitologist apologized, "I know we talked about this…"

Game-Isaac picked up one of the canisters in the hallway to his left and used it to kill the Guardian in one hit. "Oh, I always hated those Guardians!" Temple cried, shivering. Elizabeth patted him on the shoulder.

"You and me both, Jacob," she agreed.

There was also another audio log, which Ellie picked up so that everybody could listen.

"This is Sorenson to any remaining CEC personnel. Track towards Ellie Langford's RIG. Her group is farthest ahead and has cleared a path, but it's closing off fast."

"Oh, Ellie, it's your story!" Elizabeth realized, gasping.

"Yeah, this is explaining why she doesn't trust anyone," Nicole spoke up, staring at the pilot before directing her attention back to the game.

"You don't seem to trust her yourself," Temple whispered out of the Senior Medical Officer's earshot.

"Drink up, guys!" Tiedemann announced, "I hear another appearance!"

"And when you received my final transmission," game-Nicole hissed, "You couldn't bear to watch the end, could you? You knew what had happened, yet you went looking for me anyway. You knew deep down, all you would find was death."

"Ooo," everyone cooed at the same time.

"She got you with that one," Daina said.

"What is it with all this aggression, though, Miss Brennan?" Kyne asked, scratching his head.

"Don't look at me," Nicole replied, "I have no idea."

Placing all the gears in the appropriate spots later…

"And…there!" Ellie announced happily, "All done. Let's get you out of here, Isaac." She guided him over to the control panel, pressing the appropriate buttons as "Objective Complete" flashed in front of her.

"All right," game-Isaac announced to game-Ellie, "I've released the transport. Meet me at the landing."

"We'll be right there," game-Ellie replied, "Stross, come on! Come on!"

"Oh, God, I'm slowing you down, aren't I?" Stross asked with dread, "That's what you said a few chapters ago."

"Maybe," Ellie tried to answer as nicely as possible as she had game-Isaac set up some mines from the Detonator. It was the strangest thing, but she was getting the feeling she was going to be ambushed.

"Damn, Ellie, your instincts are getting better and better with this game," Hammond complimented as two Necromorphs burst through the vents to attack game-Isaac, but got blown up from the mines.

"Thanks, Hammond," Ellie thanked him, "It was all because of the nerd right next to me." She patted Isaac's shoulder as he laughed in response. She hadn't been making fun of him. Everyone knew that.

Once the siege was over, Ellie made game-Isaac get on the transport, where he shut the door. As he did that, the screen flashed orange, and everyone in Tiedemann's drinking game tilted their heads back as they downed another round of shots. "Oh, no," Nicole groaned, face-palming herself.

"Why did you come looking for me if you knew I was dead, Isaac?" game-Nicole hissed as she appeared a few feet away from the digital Isaac, "Did you think I would forgive you?"

"Uhh…yeah?" the real Isaac answered instead.

"Get out of my head!" game-Isaac snapped, "You're not Nicole!"

"Ooo, burn!" Kendra cried as some of the others chuckled.

"I was wondering if you were going to respond," Daina mused, "I know you did back in the chapter with the school, but these messages are more vicious."

Everyone fell silent as game-Nicole calmly approached game-Isaac and then leaned in close to him.

"WHO AM I, ISAAC?" she shrieked just as the screen turned orange again.

"What the fuck?" everyone yelled, especially Temple and Elizabeth, who had thrown their hands up to block out the sight on the screen.

"AHH!" game-Isaac screamed as he returned to reality and just shook his head.

"Holy crap," Temple gasped, "That was scary!"

"You thought that was bad?" Ellie scoffed, overhearing him, "Back in the beginning of the game, she tried to kill him with a needle to the eye!"

"What?" Elizabeth cried.

"It's true," Nicole confirmed, "But we realized Isaac was actually trying to kill himself after the fact."

"I lied, then," Temple declared, "This game is still scary."

In the game, the transport stopped in front of game-Ellie and game-Stross, and with the touch of a button, both of them were able to enter the transport. "Hey, you made it," game-Ellie sighed with relief. Game-Stross followed her, still clutching his arm as he widened his eyes.

"He's staring at me, Isaac," he whispered, "Through the holes in his head."

"Jesus," Stross hissed, "Why does it seem like I'm gradually losing my mind? I'm not crazy."

"Stross, listen to me," game-Isaac tried to say in a calm voice, "Listen to me."

Game-Stross ignored him and then suddenly faced the camera, looking directly at the real Ellie. "Stop staring at me, stop it!" he snapped as he moved towards the closest bench.

"Relax, relax!" game-Isaac shouted.

"Holy shit, Stross," Tiedemann suddenly spoke up, "You just broke the fourth wall!"

"Dun, dun, dun!" Kendra sang, making everyone break out into laughter to the point where Ellie had to pause the game for a minute to regain herself.

"You're the first character to do that," Daina laughed, patting Stross on the shoulder, "You should be proud!"

"I'm…honored?" Stross asked, unsure of whether or not he should feel flattered.

"It's not a bad thing," Isaac told him, "It makes us feel more part of the game."

"Well, then, I'm glad you all feel that way," Stross sighed, smiling as Ellie stopped laughing and continued to play the game.

"Isaac, we have to get out of here," game-Ellie reminded him.

"Right. Let's go." All three of them were quiet as the transport began to descend downwards. Where it was going, nobody knew. Until game-Isaac gasped and opened his mouth again.

"Oh my God!" he gasped, "It can't be!"

In the real world, Isaac was also gaping at the screen as a familiar planet cracker suddenly entered the picture. "Oh my God!" he echoed, "Do you guys see that?"

"No way!" Nicole cried, "Is that…?"

"Yes!" Kyne shouted, "Yes, it is!"

"Seriously?" Elizabeth and Kendra shrieked at the same time.

"Strange…" Mercer mumbled.

"I don't believe it!" Hammond added.

"That's the Ishimura!"