Hello everyone, and I would like to apologize again. This chapter had already been completed, but there was an error in the computer which cleaved it from existence. Naturally, after taking a few minutes to process what happened, then a few more to sound off angrily about it, I pulled myself together to complete it again.
This was especially heartbreaking since this is the final chapter. Yeah, I originally didn't think I would get to it before 40, but I wanted the final chapter to be a longer one than usual. That's why it took so long to upload this after my computer had a fit.
Creativity: Don't screw this up, computer.
Author: Indeed. Well, barring any other misfortunes that would stand between you and this story, enjoy chapter 37.
Ethan, Ana and Will all looked up at the colossal beast that was currently towering over them. It was jet black with white eyes, and didn't seem to be able to hold it's shape very well. Its top half was somewhat humanoid, with normal arms that ended in claws, and a head with two symbiote eyes and a massive, toothy, gooey maw, but it's lower half was basically a shapeless blob that kept twisting and contorting.
They watched as massive blobs of ooze dripped from it's arms and splashed to the ground, which immediately began spreading and latching onto anything it could find. The giant symbiote lurched forward across the ground, sliming over the earth and recollecting any fallen goo.
"Ummm, anyone have any suggestions on how to deal with this?" Ana asked meekly.
"I vote we run." Ethan suggested.
"I'm good with that." Will and Ana replied before they all turned and began running as fast as they could away from the giant blob that was surging forward, heading north.
They kept running until they reached a collapsing city, not too far from the nest turned monster.
"How are we supposed to stop this thing?!" Ana asked hysterically. Ethan shook his head and sat down.
"I haven't the foggiest. Markus might know, but we have no way of contacting her. The three of us are no match for that thing."
Will looked at the body of the queen's former host, which Ethan had taken with him when they escaped.
"Why bring her with us?" He asked. Ethan made a sideways glance at it.
"Better than leaving her behind just to float around inside that monster."
Ana frowned under her mask. Something seemed off about that statement. She didn't press it, however. They had bigger problems. Literally, bigger. Will looked over at the towering beast, which while slow moving, was causing unearthly amounts of damage.
"We need to at least keep pace with it. You're going to have to leave the body behind." Will directed that last sentence at Ethan. Ethan nodded and stood up before wrapping the body in a web cocoon. The three of them took off at full speed, trying to keep pace with the behemoth.
Markus and the rest of her team looked at the screen in horror as the colossal symbiote slowly continued to make its way North. What was more disconcerting was the fact that it seemed to be specifically heading in their direction.
"You have got to be kidding me!" Marie exclaimed as the symbiote smashed a building out of it's way. Markus shared the sentiment. It really felt like they couldn't win. The sheer amount of symbiote-tailored weaponry that would be needed to bring it down was staggering and Ethan's anti-venom abilities would be useless against a creature of that size!
"Let's stop freaking out and start trying to figure out how to stop it, or at least slow it down." Mr. Sturm said, breaking everyone out of their lapse in attention. Markus immediately sat down and put her fingers to her temples.
"The only thing I can think of is if the total military between all sites were to converge and throw everything they have at this thing, but that isn't going to happen. They wouldn't trust us and they certainly won't go for an all-out assault if they can help it. They'd all be convinced that they can hunker down and wait it out before launching their own tactical strike." Markus said aloud, but mainly to herself. She kept talking, figuring out scenarios and looking at the pros and cons before she was broken out of her state of rambling by Mrs. Sturm, how was pointing at the screen. Markus' innards dropped even further.
The other sites were calling in sightings of giant symbiotes, all heading in their rough direction. However, most of the sites that were calling in were no where near the first nest, nor on it's current trajectory. Markus brought up the satellite feed and discovered that all the major nests had undergone similar transformations. There was a grand total of six giant symbiotes, all heading towards a site. Not one for every site, but that didn't seem terribly relevant at the moment.
"This situation just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?" Marie remarked dryly. Markus would have responded if her voice hadn't stopped working.
"Markus? You have anything?"
After a few moments, Markus started talking again.
"I… don't. We can't win this. We're completely outclassed, humanity won't unite against this threat and even if they did, we can't be sure our weapons would work on a symbiote of that size. We've lost…"
The others looked at her, silent. Then Mr. Sturm spoke up.
"There has to be a way. There's always a way. We just need to find."
Marie glanced at him sideways.
"Kinda corny, don't you think?"
Then, Markus remembered something.
"You said that killing the queen would cause a chain reaction that would destroy the majority of symbiotes currently on earth, right?"
Marie nodded.
"Yeah. Me, Ethan, Will and Ana found a recording in that old mountain base that said so. You have any ideas?"
Markus shook her head.
"No, but it does mean that we only need to take out the first of the giants…"
"Hold up." Marie interrupted. "Don't you think we should come up with a name for that thing? I mean, it's kinda getting tedious to just use variations of giant symbiote."
Markus huffed.
"Fine. I say we call them… Gigas. Are we in agreement?"
The others nodded.
"Good. So, we just need to take out Gigas prime. The combat aircraft are back in the hanger and can carry about three of us, each. We have three people who can pilot them and that would maximize our chances of victory and survival. Each aircraft has incendiary and sonic missiles as standard, plus a sonic projector mounted on the bottom, right Audrey?"
Mrs. Sturm nodded.
"Correct. I helped design those."
"Good. If we hit Gigas with enough runs, it may be worn down enough for Ethan to use his anti-venom abilities to finish it off for good. However, we need to maintain a consistent stream of firepower, otherwise it can just regenerate. Also, we don't know what Gigas' full capabilities are, so we'll need to be on guard at all times."
They started to leave before Marie held up a hand.
"Hold on. What should we do about them?"
She motioned to the unconscious council members, who were nowhere near waking up. Markus smirked.
"I have an idea."
After a few minutes, they all walked out of the room with somewhat pleased faces. They made their way back up to the hanger as carefully as possible. They didn't want to deal with more interruptions. Once they got back up, they divided into three groups. Markus and Marie went to one aircraft, Mr. and Mrs. Sturm to another, and AS-04 to a third. One by one, they all left the hanger and took off in the direction of Gigas.
Meanwhile, back in the base, a station wide announcement was being made. It was a recorded message from Markus detailing the exact details of Project Ark, as well as the existence of Gigas. Pandemonium ensued. However, the team was already on their way towards Gigas, ready for their final stand.
While all this was happening, the other bases had realized that they were going to be under attack and were mobilizing their respective military forces in an effort to defeat the other giant symbiotes. The bases were all calling each other, demanding backup from the others. However, none of the bases were willing to send reinforcements until they had received their own. Each was more concerned with their own survival over the others. As the Gigas symbiotes continued to approach their targets, they could sense the fear of those inside. Fear meant potential hosts. It lured them ever closer to their prizes. Some of the bases opened fire from mounted defences, some unleashed a varied air force, others used colossal mechs fight back. However, none were making meaningful damage. Slowly but surely, they were losing ground.
Marie couldn't stop fidgeting as they approached Gigas prime's location. She just hoped their friends were still alive. They had all just assumed they were still alive, or perhaps it was hope. Either way, no one had dared to entertain the notion they didn't escape before the nest became Gigas.
"We're coming up on Gigas!" Markus called from the front. Marie nodded and stood up before walking to the boarding ramp. She had been given the assignment of informing the other team what the plan was.
"I've got contacts! I'm pretty sure it's our friends! I'll drop you off close by!"
Marie braced as the aircraft started to shake as Markus slowed it down rapidly. The ramp lowered and she leapt out and looked around before she saw Gigas.
However terrifying it had appeared on a computer monitor, Gigas was much more bone chilling in person. The sheer size alone made it unnerving, but the unnatural roar it unleashed and its entire body being somewhere between a solid and a liquid that was constantly falling apart and pulling itself back together made it feel like her skin was squirming in an effort to escape the rest of her body.
After shaking herself back to reality, she saw the team standing on a nearby building, looking mildly shell-shocked. She leapt over to them and smacked them across the back of the heads to snap them out of it. After some grumbling, she outlined the plan for them, just in time for the fireworks to start. The three aircraft had begun making runs, unleashing alternating bursts of fire and sonic blasts. Gigas shrieked and swung an arm at one of the planes. While the blow didn't connect, they were all shocked to see the arm stretch and curve after the plane. Luckily, the pilot pulled up and out of harm's way. Then they looped around and fired two incendiary missiles straight into Gigas' mouth!
Gigas roared in pain and 'stumbled' back, giving the other two aircraft a chance to swoop in and unleash twin concussion blasts from their main cannons straight into Gigas' chest. This created a massive dent in the monster, but the wound was swiftly repaired. Marie just watched and felt what little hope she had been clinging to slip away. Feeling motion next to her, she turned to see Ethan had leapt from the building and cast a webline onto the belly of a passing aircraft!
Ethan snarled under his mask as he used the momentum from the plane to swing around and launch himself at Gigas. His legs transformed into large blades and he slashed a large gash across Gigas' side before webbing himself back onto another plane. He waited for another opportunity and made another pass, this time using his anti-venom abilities. This attack definitely got Gigas' attention. Gigas began flailing about and searching for the source of the stinging pain. However, as it's gazed scoured the area for what had carved the gash in it's side, it hissed as it felt it's back being peppered with annoying insect stings. Its body twisted and its face pushed backwards through it's head and out the back to look Marie and Ana, who had unleashed a barrage of spikes and bioelectricity.
Gigas raised its massive, droopy arm above its head and brought it down, intending to squash them like bugs. Fortunately, do to how sluggish Gigas was, Ana and Marie had ample time to get out of the way and continue their barrage. Meanwhile, Ethan was going in for another pass. This time, he struck at the back, cleaving a massive wound in a diagonal line from right to left. Gigas snarled and spun an arm around. The blow sent him hurtling through a building and crashing into the ground. Ana immediately swung over to his crash site and helped him drag himself out of the crater. He slumped over and held a hand over his ribcage as he glanced over at where the planes were still making attack runs.
"We aren't doing anything to that monster." He said with raspy breath before having a small coughing fit.
"I think that blow broke a few ribs." Ethan groaned. Ana shook her head.
"I heard that thing screaming bloody murder. We have to have done something! Those gashes you made drove it crazy!"
Ethan shook his head and straightened up a little.
"All they did was piss it off. The only attack I saw cause any damage was that missile strike in… its mouth."
The two of them looked at each other in realization and began webbing their way back to the battle. It was time for their own plan.
Meanwhile at site beta, dr. Larkson was holding his head in exasperation as the other sites were arguing with each other, each demanding aid from the others. This situation was getting completely out of hand. To make matters worse, he had received a report that the lead science officer of site epsilon had taken their own life, thus leaving the site in a state of disarray. There was no one to represent them in this crisis and they were going to be pivotal in the survival or destruction of everything humanity had built since symbiotes had attacked. They constructed heavy weaponry and military vehicles, thus making them the default most important piece on the board. Unfortunately, no one was able to play a piece at all, since there wasn't anyone at the board.
Just as he was about to snap, someone rushed into his office.
"Sir, we just received word that there is a very small detachment attacking the first creature that appeared! They aren't responding to any comms and are shown to have originated at site alpha."
Larkson reviewed the footage and noted that there were smaller specks in the video, occasionally dealing damage! He zoomed in to see something swinging around, digging blades through the giant symbiote's flesh. Most interesting however, was when a missile strike went straight into it's mouth. The symbiote seemingly hadn't recovered from it yet.
Larkson opened his communications again and raised his voice over the arguing numbskulls.
"Listen, use whatever weaponry you have and aim for the inside of their mouths! There's a weak point in there!"
Hopefully, he had been heard over the din of the voices. He opened another channel straight to his own pilots and informed them of the same. Finally, he sent a message to the three pilots that had engaged the first monster.
"Good luck, Emily. You're going to need it."
Back at the fight against Gigas prime, things still hadn't improved. Ana and Ethan were now using their webs to redirect the missiles straight into Gigas' gaping mouth, but while it did make the monster easier to dodge, it didn't seem to be causing any lasting damage. By now, the pilots had caught on and were aiming their shots directly at Gigas' mouth, so they only had to redirect when a missile went off course.
Ana snarled as she heaved with all her might, swinging an awry missile around and straight into one of Gigas' teeth. That had to have hurt. She leapt away and fired several spikes upward and into Gigas' eye. Gigas shrieked in pain and thrashed its arms in a blind rage. Ana leapt away and fired a larger spike into Gigas' arm. Then, Ethan came swooping in with a large blade and slashed a wound almost deep enough to sever the arm entirely! However, the flesh just reconnected and seemed to harden into a sort of armor! Ana looked around and noticed that several locations that they had attacked were slowly becoming less… squishy, and more like proper flesh or even armor.
She leapt into the air and fired several more spikes, these ones aimed at the tougher looking area. They embedded, but not a lot. Ana watched as Will hefted a massive piece of concrete above his head and hurled it at one of the tougher areas. This caused it to crack immensely. Ana immediately set about filling those cracks with spikes. Suddenly, a burst of electricity struck the cracks as well.
Marie had landed right next to Ana from a leapt and unleashed a blast she had been charging for quite some time now. The effect it had on Gigas was quite spectacular. The colossal beast began sputtering and shrieking, throwing massive pieces of itself in all directions. Ana smirked, feeling mildly victorious.
The feeling didn't last long. The fragments began to twist and contort, becoming humanoid, each armed with six-inch-long claws. The four friends looked on in dismay as over two dozen symbiotes shambled toward them, claws scraping the ground. They waited several long moments before leaping forward and tearing through the horde.
Ana snarled as she leapt back and forth, slamming her fists and feet against her targets. However, nothing seemed to be working. In fact, the only one who seemed to be having any success was Ethan, who was making liberal use of his anti-venom abilities. Suddenly, all of her chosen targets leapt forward, wrapping around her before dragging her back toward Gigas! Will had also been similarly ensnared. Ethan and Marie turned to aid them, but they were cut off by the rest of the attack force. The slime latched onto Gigas and started to draw her in. Suddenly, Ana felt like an iron spike was being driven into her skull! A cacophony of voices raged in her head. She cried out in pain and her symbiote began to wildly strike back against the Gigas. Taking control of her arms, the symbiote slammed them against Gigas' side and shot spikes from them at point blank! The moment the spikes struck Gigas, the mass surrounding them began to change color, becoming the same blue as Ana's symbiote! Gigas yelped in surprise as Ana tore herself free. The color turned back to normal shortly after she had extracted herself from Gigas. The black mass that still clung to her, rapidly became the same color and merged with her symbiote!
She looked down in surprise, but was snapped out of her shock when she realized that Will still needed help. She leapt over and slammed spikes into the area around Will's hand, which was still sticking out of the black goo. The color began to change and Will manage to claw his way out with some help from Ana. The two of them returned to the battle that Ethan and Marie were waging against Gigas' splintered puppets. Instinctively, Ana dodged a clumsy blow from one of them and slammed a spike into it's back! Much to everyone's surprise, blue lines began to spread out from the spike and formed a massive blue spider shape on the symbiote's body. It immediately turned and started attacking its own! Ana immediately set about using the same tactic against the other enemy symbiotes and soon had converted the ones that Ethan hadn't turned into dust into a small attack force of their own! However, the blue mass continued to spread after a short time and the attack force fell apart into blue symbiote mass, which immediately crawled over to Ana and was absorbed by her symbiote. The extra mass appeared as tendrils that came from her shoulders, elbows and the sides of her knees.
"Okay, not sure what just happened, but we need to try and do it to Gigas! Any ideas?" Ethan immediately asked. Ana nodded.
"My symbiote just told me what happened. That evolution thing you mentioned happened when Gigas tried to assimilate me, at least that's what the symbiote says happened. Anyway, it's some sort of variation of what queen symbiotes do. They can assimilate other symbiotes and add their powers to their own. My symbiote actually can use its spikes to take over other symbiotes and assimilate their mass and use it for its own purposes, such as larger projectiles!"
Ethan suddenly had an idea.
"I'm going to shear off as much mass as I can from Gigas, you absorb it. I'll tell the second part of my plan if we survive long enough to get there!"
And so, they set to work. Ethan swung about carving off massive pieces of Gigas, which Ana would intercept and assimilate into her own symbiote. As time went on, she had new tendrils from her shoulder blades, more on her elbows, some coming off from where her ribs were, and the original ones had increased in size. Soon, her symbiote's appearance was looking more 'liquid-esq'. Now, it was time for the second stage of Ethan's plan.
"You need to form a single gigantic spike and drive it into Gigas' back! We might be able to destroy it once an for all if you can convert it into mindless gunk. Disposing of it afterwards will much easier than the way it is now!"
Ana nodded and landed on a building behind Gigas. She shot twin weblines onto two large crumbled pieces of debris nearby and walked backwards before pulling and releasing her grip on the ground, catapulting herself forward! She held her arms out in front of her and the excess mass began gathering on her hands, becoming a gigantic spike! The spike slammed into Gigas, who threw it's head back and screamed bloody murder as it the blue mass began to spread over it's body. It screeched and roared, but was seemingly powerless to stop the spreading blue mass. However, they were shocked when it was almost halfway complete. The spike began to tremble and was ejected from Gigas' body, thrown through a building and the mass was returned to normal. Gigas turned and slammed a fist on the shocked team, who were driven into the ground!
Gigas roared and swung it's arm around, knocking AS-04 out of the air and crashing into a building in a fiery explosion. The rubble began to stir in the wreckage of the collapsed building as Will heaved a heavy fragment of concrete up and away from the team. They crawled out and looked up to see Gigas roaring in victory. They saw the fire and felt the pain of losing one of their own. Ethan fell to a knee, holding his ribs. He looked back up at the remaining planes.
"We've got nothing left… We can't win…" Will whispered. Ethan groaned as he stood up.
"Not yet… I've got one last trick."
He looked at his hand, which became wrapped in anti-venom mass, then looked up at Gigas.
"There's always a way… Even if it's the only way." He whispered to himself. He suddenly shot a webline up and took to the air. Higher and higher he swung, gaining altitude rapidly. He saw a plane passing and used it to boost himself up even higher.
Down on the ground, the team had realized what he was about to do. Will was aghast, Marie was shocked, and Ana had a hand to her mouth, her mask peeling back.
At the height of his swing, Ethan paused, letting himself drift in the air. It was oddly peaceful. He closed his eyes. He could see everyone. Marie, Will, Ana, Mr. and Mrs. Sturm, AS-04, the siblings, Markus and lastly, his parents. All the people he had come to value as friends and family. He felt himself begin to fall. As he did, anti-venom mass began to wrap around his entire body, turning what was black into white, and what was white into black. He went into a dive and held his hands out in front of him, forming blades. Gigas looked up and saw him fast approaching. It cried out in fear as he fell past it's teeth and began to swipe his blades wildly as he plummeted through Gigas. Slashing at everything, he carved up Gigas from the inside. As he approached the bottom, he could see a pulsating red and black core. He extended his arms in front of him as he slammed into Gigas' heart.
On the outside, Gigas began flailing about and screeching as it's body began to fall apart. Its body drooped and sagged. Then suddenly, it began to dissolve into dust. After one last prolonged cry of agony, there was an explosion of symbiote mass, which immediately shrivelled up upon hitting the ground. They rushed to the center, where there was still some raw mass that was unmoving. They began to dig through it until they found Ethan. He was still, unmoving. He didn't even seem to be breathing.
Suddenly, he gasped and his breathing resumed normally. They sighed in relief. He was still unconscious, but he was alive. His symbiote shot a small strand onto Ana's arm and communicated that forcing his entire body to become wrapped in anti-venom mass had overwhelmed him and rendered him unconscious. It also added that if held any longer, it could have killed him.
Marie and Will had gone to the crash site of AS-04, and reluctantly confirmed that he had perished in the crash. They removed his body and buried it in the open field, leaving behind a tombstone that read "A true hero and soldier."
Several days later, Ethan awoke and was able to recall the events that unfolded. He promptly left, requesting he be left alone until further notice. He returned to the web cocoon he had left behind before the battle with Gigas and took it to a nearby forest, where he buried it and left behind a tombstone that read "One who put the survival of others over their own."
He rejoined the group and together, they made their way to the ocean where they would remain for several months. After some time, Mr. and Mrs. Sturm left to find a new home. Ana opted to stay with her new friends, but was safe in the knowledge that she could always find them again, as they could her.
Shortly after Gigas prime's defeat, the other Gigas symbiotes dissolved into goo and split into a small number of symbiotes. The sites rejoiced and discovered what the council had attempted, leading to their execution. The sites reorganized into a new government and reclaimed their city. They also set about building smaller shielded settlements and releasing the humans frozen in suspended animation as a part of project Ark from their slumber. They were integral to the success of the new settlements as well as several new projects they started working on.
(Six months later)
Ethan swung as fast as he could. He and Ana were both hurtling through the trees as they heard a roaring above them. They split off and picked up speed. Ethan veered left as a projectile whizzed past him. He turned and formed two claws from his knuckles before driving them into his pursuer. A third-generation Gorgon Soldier. The soldier collapsed dead, but he heard Ana scream. He took off in pursuit of the cry, but when he arrived, Ana was already loaded onto a ship that was taking off. Ethan bellowed in rage. Marie, Markus and Will had both been captured already. He looked in the direction that the ship had been travelling and immediately set off in pursuit. He ran as fast as he could, leaping into the air and swinging after his quarry.
He followed them for hours until they reached a new facility that had a large metal tower with smoke coming from the bottom. Then he realized. It was a rocket. Not a missile like he was accustomed to, but a full-on rocket!
He approached from the ground, moving slowly and stealthily. He climbed up the building and watched in awe and horror as they unloaded his friends, who were in cryo-tubes. They were wheeling them towards the rocket, which had massive slots that were perfectly sized for the tubes. He could see several smaller tubes with different colored substance in them. They were loading symbiotes onto the ship to launch it into space!
He waited with held breath until he saw and opening. No plans, no strategies. He just had to get them out of there.
He leapt into the air and drove a spiked fist into the top of the tube, causing the victim inside to spring to life. It was Markus, who immediately set about freeing the others while Ethan fended off the Gorgon soldiers.
Soon, they had everyone freed. Immediately, they set about getting away, but they were instead chased into the facility. They made their way to the hanger, in hopes of stealing a jet, but realized that they didn't have time to prime the jet and take off. They resolved that the only choice was to stand and fight, but that plan was swiftly undercut.
Ethan formed massive tendrils on his arms and used them to throw everyone through before slamming the door shut and webbing it up for good measure. Immediately, he could hear shouting and pounding on the other side of the door, but he ignored it. A whip-blade forming on one hand and a blade on the other, he charged his attackers, intent on driving them away from his friends.
The fight was long and gruesome. By the end, Ethan was barely able to stand, surrounded by three Gorgon soldiers. He swung his whip-blade at them, but was knocked out by an electrobaton to the back of the head.
He was dragged away and thrown in a cryo-tube and loaded onto the rocket. A man stepped out and snarled.
"For too long, these monsters have befouled our planet! Now, we show once them, once and for all, that they are not welcome on our world!"
He was met with resounding cheers as the rocket began to shake. The smoke began to bellow out even more. On the aircraft, everyone watched in horror as the rocket lifted off the ground and into the air, taking their friend with it. Will's eyes were fixated on the object of their horror. Marie slumped to the ground in a state of shock. Ana felt tears welling up in her eyes. Markus could only feel like she had failed. Failed not only Ethan, but everyone in the ship. As they watched the rocket leave the atmosphere, all that could be felt was pain and loss.
And so, we come to the end. Even though I saved the world from being conquered, I never got a happy ending. My friends were torn from me, and in my attempt to save them, I was torn from them. I was cast out into the endless void of space, doomed to sleep for an eternity.
And that, is where my story ended.
But, there was another story, just waiting to begin. After all…
And so, we have come to the end. I won't lie, I actually teared up a bit while writing this story. When I originally intended for this story to end on such a downer note. I wanted it to be a downer, but I didn't foresee it being this sad originally. After all he had done, all he had sacrificed, all he fought for, he was cast away from earth.
Creativity: I expect this to be received with very mixed opinions.
Author: As do I.
And so, dear readers, I would love to thank you for coming on this journey. I would especially like to thank Beastofchaos101, Blad3Zer0, DragonmasterJohn, FreedomFighterLance, .SAOM126, Joeclone, KRPrime, N2LvpR, Nanarchy, NuntisPersona, RangerDimitri, Ryzlow, SeregaKR, Strawbs55, .SAO, TheBadBritKid, TheCrankyWriter, ThisIsLightful, bubbaray9000, catvader11, , jozs001, px2006216, reeseisthatbeast, and splashycat98.
These are all the people who decided that this was a story worth following, and I am grateful for the support. (These are all the followers as of this writing)
I am going to be taking a break to let my brain decompress, as well as come up with new ideas. I will announce it in this story when I am working on something new, so look forward to that.
And so, I officially announce New Dawn (Title may yet change) to be completed. Thank you all, who stuck with me through this two-and-a-half-year long journey.