[Opening: Project M Theme]

FusionFall Infinite

Season 7 – The Final Barrage

Chapter 53: What Walks Among Us

[Plumbers Base Camp, Pimpleback Mountains, The Wilds]

"I can't believe the Plumbers couldn't just send a team themselves to do this." Saki said arriving at the base of the mountain.

His team had floated down beside him as the night sky was full of stars. The camp was barren of people and it was far too quiet.

"Because assets had to be put elsewhere…considering the Fusion War is over." Shar remarked as Saki rolled his eyes.

Saki whirled around to her with a look of complete seriousness pointing up to the Infected Zone up the mountain and pointing out that it still exists. Fusion Matter was still something dangerous and Saki had vented a bit that no one was moving operations to get that restored to normal or destroyed. The four were walking up to the hill to the portal platform.

"At a bare minimum, some kind of security log for the Caverns at least considering there's no mobs in there and there's pl-"

Saki went quiet before as they were coming up on the hill to see there was a small spacecraft near the warp portal into the infected zone. He put a finger to his lap as the three behind all those out their weapons. For Shar, it was her Proto-Tool. For Craig and Kelsey, a pair of Hog Wild Handguns.

"I don't sense anyone in the ship, but…considering RN I don't doubt they'd made cyborgs with no ki to sense." Saki whispered before tapping into his Oracle powers. "I see….FUCK! Everyone get down and lower your power levels."

Craig, Kelsey, and Shar all went down as Saki rolled down as the warp portal activated.

[Cues: Metroid Fusion OST – The SA-X Approaches]

Out came people that made Saki's heart sank. The metallic shell that held what was left of Elvin followed by a Rei, their footsteps against the sound being the only sound the group heard aside from their heartbeat. Then the Elvillatrix turned towards the hill as the four were sweating.

"Come on, come on, just go." Kelsey thought.

"For the love of God, stop staring and just go already!" Craig inwardly screamed.

"Calm down. Focus on your breathing."

Saki and Shar were both thinking the same thing as the bot looked at the hill only for the Rei clone to say that they needed to go. The bot growled before getting in the ship with her and taking off. The four did not move an inch until they could see the ship vanish through a portal jump.

[Music Ends]

The four got up with Craig and Kelsey panting with their knuckles a bit raw from gripping their pistols. Saki calmed the two down and looked to the warp portal.

"What do even do?" Shar asked.

"We have go in…and at least locate what they were in. It's a risk, but…they wouldn't be able to tamper with the warp portal program…not without tipping off Dexlabs." Saki said putting on a pair of gloves before working the console. "Yup, it's all logged. Thankfully, I should be able to bypass our in and out being logged."

"And how do you know this?" Shar asked with concerned.

"What I will say does leave this group? Understood?" Saki warned as they nodded. "Good. After the last incident of people using the Infected Zone to do shit, Dexter had approached my group. He gave me a bypass code to help with my investigation citing it won't tip off anyone using them."

He keyed a command in before punching in the code as the portal unlocked. The four entered being warped into the Infected Zone which was full of crystals on the ground and floating in the air big enough to be platforms.

"There's only two Infected Zones here. So it's either one or both of them. Craig, you're with me. Kelsey, with Shar. Let's move quickly! I don't want to be here when they get back."

The two teams split up.

~[FFI]~

[Space, Parts Unknown]

Ryker had to admit that RN was smart to hide their crap not at NERV, but on the universe's moon. If anything, the EVA universe was completely unaware that warpers had used their world to stash major supplies. Thus, the team opted to blow the universe up and moved on to the next verse on the map they got the moon base.

Ryker, Kaze, Jasper, and Wilhamena sat in the living room of the ship as the A.I. was piloting it. Ryker was looking through the data as he got a text from Saki. He took one look at it and froze before his face twisted to anger.

"What's up?" Kaze asked.

"Son of a bitch!" Ryker growled out before saying, "We got a problem. That robotic shell that had what's left of Elvin was spotted on the planet with RN goons leaving it."

Kaze nearly choked on his drink as Jasper looked completely panicked. Wilhamena looked at the three and asked for some details to which Jasper give her the short version.

"First off, these universes are a part of an artificial chain that RN has made called Parts Unknown. But we have bigger problems…that ship that left Zen-Kuro…and if they were to come here…" Ryker said as the group paled. "LISA, where's the gate to the next world in the PU chain?"

"Up ahead. I've opened the gateway. And I do want to remind you that they went via portal and would have to come here to get to the other gates given the security system RN put in place."

"And the A.I. saves us again." Jasper said dryly. "I'm just hoping for a real fight."

"Be wary of what you wish for." Kaze said sternly before asking Ryker what's the next world they're going to. "Ryker?"

"A Metroid universe. I can't help but feel a case of incoming dread." Ryker said with a sigh. "Especially because the data about this universe is under lock and key…we'll literally have to go in just to get any answers."

[~FFI~]

[Leaky Lake, The Wilds]

The four stormed out of the camp all silently walking into the night. What they had found left them a bit shaken and they needed the sounds of nature to cool off. They were already rounding Leaky Lake when one of them finally started speaking.

"They were two steps ahead of us." Shar mumbled.

"Not exactly. They were prepared, but I don't think they'd know we'd come to this Infected Zone first. But it doesn't matter, we've destroyed it and took any piece of data we could." Saki stated flatly. "I also left an explosive surprise if any RN pieces of trash come in there."

"We do have a problem. If we expose what RN is doing, any operatives on the other Zones around go straight for a kamikaze attack." Craig said forlornly.

"Meaning we literally have to wait for all the zones to clear of RN before we can say anything." Kelsey said shaking her head in disbelief.

"Thankfully, the Darklands is no more, or we would have a serious issue. The KND Training Area was thankfully already resecured. All that's left is the Hani-Baba Temple, The Canopy, and the Monkey Summit for the Wilds." Saki said. "There's also Nowhere, but it and the summit can wait another day."

"So are we even flying there?" Kelsey asked before Saki got a capsule from his coat pocket.

"No, I realize that us flying would be a bit of a risk. I'll drive us." Saki mused.

[~FFI~]

[Space, Metroid Universe, Parts Unknown]

The air in the ship was tense as keys were being tapped on the keyboard, but not from the crewmates…but from a small spherical sphere with tendrils. It had introduced himself as Dr. Chaldene…or what was left of her. Ryker had answered the distressed call to end up with this.

"So what exactly are you doing?" Kaze said reaching for his watch.

"Nothing nefarious after than securing my account. More than likely the X parasite probably got to my DNA and is probably trying to access what it can to get me back. I planned for this eventuality…thus I made a backup body in another universe off the books. Seeing that you all are here…you've declared war on RN which ironically proves to in my benefit."

"Then the why the hell were you even workin-"

"Because I'm a scientist, not a hero. I wanted to study and experiment in my pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment. They were offering me money and all the research material they could give me. Considering I was in a bit of debt and in trouble with a few past clients, I agreed."

"Yeah, you lost your right to call yourself a neutral when you signed on for a terrorist organization that's been literally terrorizing the multiverse." Wilhamena said putting her hands on her hips. "You may not have directly taken live, but you were aiding and abetting those who did. There's a difference being a neutral and being an amoral asshole."

"Spare me the lecture, I am offering my help."

"And why shouldn't we just ki-"

Ryker cut Jasper off.

"Because we need her…and she knows that." Ryker said icily.

"Of course, and Blackthorns are honor bound by their word." Dr. Chaldene said. "Some ancient ways…long past in the modern age."

"Oh spare me the pseudo-philosophical bullshit, you discount Rick Sanchez. You are a piece of shit, trying to justify she's not one by claiming to above good and evil. You are not, you are just selfish wannabe nihilist." Ryker said sternly. "And the Blackthorns may be honor bound…but do not think that you can bring that up to you to justify you talking down to me. Because I won't hesitate to erase you from existence, understood?"

"Crystal."

He could hear the hesitancy in her voice, and he knew he had her cornered. She acted like a nihilist, but when the chips came down…she cared about saving her own skin whereas a nihilist would not care if they lived or die.

"Now spill it." Ryker said. "Everything."

And spill she did.

[~FFI~]

[The Canopy, Really Twisted Forest, The Wilds]

The Canopy Infected Zone was among one of the more massive zones that the government was having the most difficulty in cleaning as if they were not careful…it'd all spill into the Forgotten Falls making an environmental disaster. On top of the monsters, there were three Fusion Lairs to check out.

"I found a lair…aside from the gunk and rock…nothing out of the ordinary." Craig remarked as they met up on the higher levels of the zone.

"Shoot. All that's left is the Secret Lair...and…"

[Cues: M83 - Solitude (Felsmann + Tiley Reinterpretation) (Tiktok Variant)]

Saki was cut off by his Omnitrix rapidly beeping with it say that extreme radiation was detected. Shar got out a device to scan around and her eyes widened in complete panic. She did not need a say a word….they all got the message. They started scrambling for an exit as felt the ground shake. Craig and Kelsey ziplined down while Saki used his Omnitrix to transformation in a Kineceleran to grab Shar while racing down to ground level. He rushed to grab his other charges before rushing the other portal. Rapidly entering the command to let them out only to be denied.

"Pieces of shit locked us out!" Saki said slamming his fist on the console. "It's been tampered with."

"So how fucked are we?" Kelsey asked bluntly.

Saki swapped to a Galvinic Mechomorph and merged with the machine to attempt a forceful override. The console sparked which slightly burned him as he furiously worked the console with Shar's assistance before getting it to forcefully activate a warp as the pad began to glow. Saki detached himself from the machine as the warp portal activated sending all four to the outside. Without checking now hurt he was, he swapped to the form of an Arburian Pelarotas. He barely had enough time to grab all three before coiling into a ball.

However, all over the Wilds and nearby Suburbs would hear the deafen explosion and felt the aftershocks from the quakes it caused.

(A/N: Being this is the final season, it was time to ramp things up significantly. This story is going out with a major bang, and thus I'm kicking the horror factor up to eleven. By all means, this is going to be some characters' final hurrah.)