A/N- not gonna lie guys, while people are voting there's a massive tie in the polls, so this one was selected from random generation considering I had a five-way tie. So I'm gonna do this; if you have voted on a chapter and it's been posted, since the site won't allow you to vote again you can send a pm to me to vote again, even if you already voted on a chapter and it was posted, so remember, that's option if you want to vote again.
This chapter is gonna be separated into two parts, cause…why not? Don't think I've done one of those yet, so it's about time I did one. This particular double-chapter is a massive reference to a popular videogame that came out recently, and will have multiple references to it. It's derived from it really. So, read on with joy…
MASS MISCALCULATION
Episode 26 part 1- A different evil
Krimson colony…to simply put it, it was a decently-sized human colony set in the Traverse on a habitable meteorite. It featured a decent-sized city, decent people, and good defenses from pirates. In short it was probably one of the best colony's in the Traverse.
So, Boss took it upon himself to put a Saint presence there; nothing big, just three Saints. He thought that they could give the colonists a good impression and allow him to spread to their territory, going into the Traverse. So far the three had received good praise from the folks there, having stopped some small-time gangs and even helped out some citizens. For gangsters the people saw them as true Saints, helping anyone they could.
Not that the weren't blood-thirsty killers. They just killed the people the colonists didn't like.
So as it was, it was nighttime as the three Saints walked down the streets, three humans dawned in standard purple armor, not zin tech, but still decent armor colored purple, the Saints being two men and a woman.
"This is nice" the woman replied, "helping people like this and giving the gang a good name. Feels good"
"Yeah, no kidding" one of the guys agreed. "I just hope Boss appreciates what we're doing here. Seems too good to be true"
"Nah, I talked to the guy when he sent us here, he seems legit" the other male said, who unlike the other two had no helmet, showing a average face with brown eyes and a shaved head. "Not to mention most of the guys in this gang are cool, no dicks allowed. 'Least that's what Boss said"
Before anyone could say anything else, a ear-piercing scream ripped through the air, which was quickly silenced.
"That sounded like it came from over there!" the woman shouted, pointing towards an alleyway.
"C'mon, let's go guys!" the bald man yelled, the three running towards the alley.
When they arrived, what they saw horrified them. In the alleyway was the body of multiple humans, blood pouring from all of them. In the center was what looked like a human male, his body shrouded by a tattered, white cloak, a white hood covering his head.
"My god…kill this monster!" the woman shouted, un-folding her rifle and firing at the man, the other two Saints doing the same. However, the bullets didn't seem to have any effect on him, as if they were bouncing off of him.
The woman was about to shout something else when they man moved next to her, moving faster than anyone could see. His feet didn't even move, it's as if he glided towards her. He whipped his hand up in front of her face, holding two fingers out, and to the horror of the other two men her throat seemingly opened all by itself, blood spraying from her neck as she hit the ground and died.
"No!" the helmeted man screamed, continuously firing, however he met the same fate as the woman when the man glided in front of him and opened his throat without even touching it, than turned invisible.
The shaved Saint started panicking as he turned around, looking everywhere for the hooded man, but couldn't see him. Something tapped his shoulder and he turned around to see the hooded man standing over him, holding a pointed device up.
The Saint barely had time to scream as the hooded man brought the needle down.
Saints HQ
"And now, may I present…" Matt started, gesturing to an object covered in a white sheet, Boss, Aaron, Pierce and Shaundie standing before him, Boss eating popcorn. Matt had been working on a side project and had just now finished it, and wanted the four Saints, and his close friends, to see it.
"Is it a supercomputer? It's a supercomputer, isn't it? I bet it's a supercomputer" Pierce interrupted.
"It's not a supercomputer!" Matt yelled, angered at the interruption.
"It's totally a supercomputer" Pierce whispered to Aaron, who nodded.
Matt cleared his throat. "As I was saying! May I present to you…" he said, giddy with excitement and unveiled the sheet…to reveal Josh Birk in his NyteBlade armor standing on a stand holding his swords, comic book stands filled with NyteBlade comics next to him.
"Dammit Matt!" Boss yelled, throwing his popcorn down. "I thought this was going to be something important like a supercomputer, but NyteBlade! Agh! I know I gave you the full rights to this, but come on!"
"Hey, are you implying this imposing form is a waste of time?" Josh asked, posing some more.
"Yes" Shaundie deadpanned.
"Oh, my Shaundie. I know you just hide your emotions from me but I know how you really feel. You know you can't contains your love for me forev-" the rest of what Josh was about to say was cut off when Shaundie socked him on the head, causing him to hit the ground with a cartoonish bump coming from his head as his eyes swirled as he moaned in pain.
Boss chuckled, remembering the small crush Josh had for Shaundie. And how he would never get her. Or else.
"Hey hey hey hey! Keep your hands off the man!" Matt objected, helping Birk up.
"Shaundie, play nice" Boss ordered, Shaundie backing off. The leader than turned to Boss, asking, "so how does this help us?"
"Well, think about it, comic books like this appeal to a wide range of human audiences alone, so we would likely net the asari as well, and hopefully some other cultures, eventually the fame nets us a TV show, maybe a few movies and videogames starring and voiced by Josh depending if we do live action or CGI," he gestures to the wounded Josh, "and the profits we net from the box office would gain us significant funds, double if we set up a stock trade and get some heavy investments"
Boss didn't find words as the situation, opening his mouth and closing it again and again. "I…you…fine, do whatever the fuck you want, it's your franchise anyways"
"Another wasted afternoon…" Aaron muttered, getting up and stretching his back. "I'm going back to my room. Makin' me get up for a stupid-ass thing like this…"
"Same here" Shaundie announced.
"Yo Boss, wanna play some b-ball? Zin set up that court you wanted" Pierce offered.
"Oh sweet!" Boss ran over to Pierce, but before they could even get out of the room Kinzie ran in.
"Boss, something bad happened" Kinzie reported.
Boss grunted in aggravation, stomping his foot. "Kinzie, you know how long it's been since I've played basketball!? This better be damn important!"
"It is really important" she assured.
"Well okay than, shoot, what is it?"
Kinzie held up a datapad. "You know those Saints you set to Krimson colony?"
"Those three hype dudes? Yeah, I remember them!" he put his hands on his hips, grinning. "Those three remind me of what I was like when I first joined! Exited and ready to take on anything in life, wanting to help everyone with gangster skills!"
"Only difference is they weren't mute" Aaron cracked.
"Shut up" Boss growled, before continuing, "so how are those awesome people?"
"Two are dead and one's in the hospital" Kinzie deadpanned.
Boss physically deflated as he heard the news, now feeling depressed. The three seemed like good kids, but now they were dead? He had to know. "How?" was all he could mutter.
"They don't really know, to be honest" Kinzie admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "They found all three in a alley. Two were dead while the third was raving insane, he's been in a hospital ever since. You're the only person he'll see, apparently"
"Then screw it, guys!" he turned to Aaron, Pierce, and Shaundie, "we're going to Krimson"
"Seriously?" Aaron asked. He had things to do, he didn't want to go out to the ass-end of nowhere and investigate some murder case, they were likely just gunned down by some other gang, they were inexperienced after all. Aaron continued, "I don't really feel like avenging some no-name grunts who were probably gunned down by some no-hood gangsters"
"Well I don't care if it was no-hood gangsters! Hell, I don't care if they have a hood! It's the principle of the matter, our dudes were gunned down so now we're going to retaliate"
"Well if it was a gang, what's your plan? Wipe 'em out?"
"Yeah, c'mon, all four of us" Boss tried to walk out of the room when Shaundie held his shoulder.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa" she objected. "Your seriously willing to exterminate some gang with just the four of us?"
"Shaundie, I'm wounded. I save you from falling to your death and this is the faith I get"
"You dropped me"
"Then I caught you again!" Boss defended, holding his arms up. "Look, between me, you Pierce, and Aaron, that's all the manpower we'll need! That's me, the awesome guy, you two, and the other awesome guy in the room. With super powers"
"Fine! Let's, go to this random colony to avenge the random death of some random Saints killed by random gangsters, why not…" Shaundie grumbled, muttering expletives as she stormed off, Pierce and Aaron following behind them, Boss going with the group.
Krimson
"I hate. In-flight movies" Boss groaned as he left the docking airlock of the Fleur De Lis. Zinkle had drove them to the colony, and on the way there they downloaded a movie to watch. They all hated it.
"Yeah. No respect whatsoever" Aaron agreed as the other three Saints exited. The ship had arrived at the Krimson docking bay awhile ago and the four were exiting now. However something perturbed Boss.
"Seriousness forward, anyone notice anything whack with the transmissions we got when docking?" he asked, turning to the other three.
"You mean the fact they asked a million questions a minute? Yeah" Pierce said, nodding.
When docking they had been assaulted with many irregular questions, suck as time they planned on leaving, how long they wanted to stay, business, intentions, hell even locations they would be staying at and going to. It was very…invasive. However they were able to silence the questions when they told them they were Saints. And which particular ones were onboard. Enough said.
"Ah-huh. Hey, look" Boss pointed towards a greetings kiosk, a human female at the desk. "Let's go ask her"
"For what?" Pierce questioned.
"Ah, you know, the usual" Boss explained, walking forward. "The weather, current events, sports, why the hell we were given invasive questions and where the hospital is maybe!" he yelled.
Pierce held his hands up, shrinking back. "No need to yell homie"
Boss grumbled as the four went up to the kiosk. "Yo" Boss started, throwing a peace sign up.
"Hello, and welcome to the Krimson Colony greeting's center, how may I help you today?" the woman asked in a friendly tone.
"I was just wondering, what's with all the…questions we got when we got here? Kind of weird"
The greeting woman instantly looked uncomfortable. "Um, I'm not at liberty to discuss that…if you want to file a complaint there's a sign-up sheet over there-"
"Yeah instead of filling out some virtual paperwork that's never gonna get checked I'd like to direct your attention to the WMD I am currently with" he gently grabbed her head and directed it to Aaron, who was just standing there, rocking back and forth, looking around all nonchalant.
The woman visibly paled, Boss asking, "so why don't you answer the question, hmm?"
"Okay, look…" all four Saints leaned in, "there was a accident and somehow a spectre found out, a salarian team has been here ever since the accident and a spectre's leading them, they've been making us ask everyone invasive questions, like they want to know where everyone is at every time. It's weird"
"Well you've been very helpful, thank you" Boss complimented, patting the woman's head. "One more thing, where's the hospital?"
"Just follow the street sign's, it's the big building, can't miss it"
"Thanks" with that, the Saints left. As the four left the station, sure enough as they walked towards the hospital they saw salarians everywhere, examining everything. Aaron noticed that they looked like a weird mix between soldiers and scientists, and instantly realized who they were.
"STG…" he muttered.
"That bad?" Boss asked.
"Ah, you know, they're the salarian equivalent to the black-ops Illuminate human thing. So yeah, if they're here something heavy's going down"
"Damn…" Pierce swore.
"Yeah. And what did the lady say about who was leading them?" Shaundie questioned, now actually interested and wanting to know why the STG was here.
"Said a spectre was leading them" Boss answered, shrugging.
Aaron held his face in his hand. "A spectre…fuck…" he looked towards the hospital as they got nearer, a building that was extraordinarily large for a hospital, being twice as big as normal ones, and looking quite old from the discoloration. However Aaron's eyes widened behind his sunglasses when he saw a large group of STG outside the hospital, tents even being set up filled with various equipment, a certain salarian in black and orange armor in the center.
"Ah, double fuck…" he groaned once he saw who it was.
"Yeah, tell me about it, still can't get those Fornax images out of my head either" Boss lazily said, daydreaming as he gazed up at the sky, humming a song.
Aaron smacked him. "I didn't mean that, fool! It's that salarian over there" Aaron pointed to where the salarian was, but he was gone.
"Your afraid of salarian-shape thin air? Real fierce Aaron" Boss said, shaking his head while Aaron threw his arms up.
"Okay I'm telling, he was right-"
"There?" Aaron yelped and jumped a bit, surprised when the salarian popped up from behind him and startled him.
Aaron calmed down and panted, "don't…hold on" he formed a pistol and pointed it at him, repeating, "don't do that"
"Still jumpy as always I see. Hm…why is it you are here?" the salarian asked, seemingly ignoring the gun.
"Sure are nonchalant about a gun in your face" Pierce noted, wondering if he should get his own gun out.
The salarian chuckled, confusing the white-clad Saint. "I've been faced with worse threats. Now, I'll repeat myself, why are you here?" the salarian had a no-nonsense look on his face, and his tone low with his hands clasped behind his back.
Boss looked around, and noticed a glint in a building window on the top floor. He glanced up and saw a salarian poking a rifle out the window, watching them. The salarian noticed Boss was watching him and slinked away into the shadows.
"What the hell? Why do they have snipers outside a hospital?" he wondered. Wanting answers, he demanded, "so who exactly are you, mister oh-so-special?"
"Well Boss, this right here is Council spectre Jodum Bau. Also known among his colleagues as 'the one who almost got me'. That status almost worn out yet?" Aaron explained, crossing his arms, the rest of the Saints glaring at the spectre.
"That was an opportune opportunity I took, one which failed. You would have done the same" Bau tried to explain, but he felt nervous from the glares he was receiving and backed up a bit.
Aaron rounded in on Bau. "Well, there's no space station to blow up here now, is there? Ah, but enough of that…" he looked back at the hospital. "Two of ours were killed here, one wounded. He was sent to this hospital"
"Ah yes, the murderer. He got some Saints? Disturbing…" Bau put a hand on his chin and turned around, thinking, but Shaundie raised a hand to interrupt them.
"Um, murderer?" she questioned. "Your saying there's a murderer? As in a person who murders?"
"Yes, but you all would know all about that wouldn't you?" Bau shot back, than continued in his thoughts.
"Hey, there's a difference between murdering in a gunfight and sneak murdering guys in a alley. Our way is more fun" Boss objected. "But seriously dude, murderer?"
Bau let out a annoyed sigh and, turning back to them briefly, explained, "there has been a spring of murders recently. Someone's been killing people and we were sent to investigate"
"STG and spectre's don't investigate some murder case on a backwater colony. Especially human ones" Aaron noted, crossing his arms.
"It's a sign of good faith" the salarian waved off, turning around and walking away. "Go, see your comrade or whatever it is you refer to them" the Saints glared at him as he walked off.
"Yeah I'm calling bullshit" Pierce spoke up, the rest nodding. It was all too fishy, the secret teams, snipers…they Council didn't put this much action into any case like this, so why now?
Unfortunately, the Saints had no answer and brushed it off, entering the hospital, a giant sign atop the entrance reading 'Beacon Mental Hospital'
"'Mental Hospital'?" Boss wondered aloud as the four entered the lobby. "Why the hell is our guy in a loony bin?"
"I don't think this place is a loony bin" Aaron objected, noticing the doctors running around everywhere. "What is it anyways, rush hour?"
Boss tried to talk to a doctor. "Hey man, can-" the doctor ran past. He tried to get the attention of another. "Hey my man, can you-" no avail. "Dude, can you-" after trying this about five more times, Boss got fed up and grabbed a different doctor, holding him still.
"You mind? I'm busy" the doctor scolded, trying to brush Boss off.
"Look, can you PLEASE just tell me where the patients are before I shoot the place up?"
"Yeah, down the hall where everyone is running! Now let go!" the doctor wrenched his way out of Boss's grasp and ran off.
"Man, that's rude" Pierce said, shaking his head.
Boss grabbed Pierce and stormed off where the doctors were rushing, the others following.
When they finally did get to the patients wards, what they had saw shocked them. There were countless people in beds and rooms, all comatose with machines hooked up to them as doctors checked their statuses, going from patient to patient. The sheer number of unconscious people were staggering.
"What in the actual fuck…" Shaundie gasped as she watched the doctors work around the comatose people.
"This is…what the hell? What caused this?" Was all Aaron could ask, but he was cut off before anyone could answer from a frantic call.
"Excuse me! Excuse- pardon me, excuse me! Over here!" the Saints looked to where the voice was originating from to see a young doctor in his twenties rush over to him, the doctor having a large, bushy, brown beard .
"Greetings, mountain man" Aaron waved at him. "Whatcha want?"
"Are…are you the Saints?" he asked, wheezing as he caught his breath.
"Yeah" Boss answered. "And you?"
"Uh…Jimmy. Yeah, Jimmy. Anyway, one of our patients, probably the only one not in a coma, said he was in your gang, are you here to see him?"
"Yeah, that's us!" Aaron confirmed, his excitement showing.
"Okay then, follow me then" he waved the Saints over and led them through the corridors, Boss looking skeptically at the young doctor but then shrugged it off, following him.
As they were walking towards the room the wounded Saints was in, Jimmy was explaining the situation.
"So, as you can see, we have a abundance of comatose people here at the moment. Normally this hospital is suited to care for the more mentally wounded individuals than physically, but for some reason they decided to herd everyone here. We're overstocked as it is, you've seen the overflow of patients we have" he looked lived.
"Your saying you don't want to help them?" Pierce asked, gazing at the rooms of unconscious people. Men, women, children…even solitary cells had been converted into rooms for spatial reasons.
"What? No!" Jimmy objected, appalled at the very thought of a doctor not wanting to help people. "It's my job and passion to help these people! All I'm saying is that there's too many patients and not enough medical staff to handle it all"
"What started all this anyways?" Aaron has just asked to question on everyone's mind.
Jimmy sighed. "Wish I knew. Some years back the same thing happened, something about some chemical native to this meteor seeping into the water supply, that's what the STG said when it happened"
"Wait, this happened before? And STG were involved when it happened too?" Boss didn't like the sound of that at all. STG were known for using poison, maybe they were trying to refine the chemical into a weapon of sorts? While walking he heard some doctor jargon, however one stood out among most.
"Toxicology report came back, doctor. Nothing out of normal in the patients. They're clean"
That right there is what had Boss on edge.
"Anyways," Jimmy continued, "STG are back and say there might be another leak. From what I'm seeing I'm inclined to believe them"
"What, uh…happened to the last people?" Shaundie nervously asked.
"Oh, uh…they didn't make it. One by one they started dying off, STG had taken care of all the bodies"
"Damn…" Aaron swore, wincing at the loss of life.
"Anyways, here we are. Let me just…" Jimmy muttered, unlocking a door into a small room, only containing some medical machines, and a bed. On the bed, was the rocking form of the shaved Saint, only he wore a straitjacket now.
"Needed to get away, wanted to get away, can't go back, don't wanna go back, no no no no no…" he muttered as he continued rocking. "Didn't have a choice, had to agree, don't wanna go back, too much blood, to much meat, too many bodies…"
"Hey man pull yourself together!" Boss shouted, running to the patient and slapping him.
"Hey, you can't do that! He's mentally scared from whatever happened to him, slapping will just make it worse!" Jimmy protested, but one look from Boss sent him back.
The shaved Saint stopped mumbling and rocking, looking up at Boss. "I need to tell you something" was all he said.
"Tell me what?" Boss asked, taking his sunglasses off and looking him in the eyes.
"He told me to tell you, only tell you what he want me to tell you, can't say less, can't say more…"
"What is it man? Spit it out!"
"Hey, watch it!" Aaron shouted as two black-armored and helmeted salarians forced themselves into the room. Boss noticed and put the sunglasses back on.
"We've been ordered that this specific patient has been deemed too mentally unfit to remain alive. He presents a danger to the hospital, and himself"
"What!?" Boss shouted, pulling his zin pistol out and pointing it at them. "Your not killing him!"
"This is a hospital!" Jimmy shouted, seeing the gun and realizing what the salarians wanted to do.
"You…fuck all you black-op lizard pussies" Boss muttered, holstering his gun. "If this wasn't a hospital I swear…"
Aaron put a hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, man" he lead him out the room as the two salarians walked closer and closer to the shaved Saint.
Seeing he was going to die, he shouted to Boss, "the kid! They know who he is, he's the key! He's the key to stopping it!" the salarians took a pistol out as the Saint thrashed in the jacket. "Find the man in the white hood! Find him! Then you'll see it wasn't him who did this, it was-" the salarians fired, bullet holes ravaging his body as they tore though the jacket. He slumped out of the bed, dead.
Bau was reading the latest reports from the hospital via datapad when he saw two of his salarian STG agents fly out of the hospital, unconscious. A raging Boss stormed off after them, the other three Saints and Jimmy keeping their distance.
"Is he gonna be okay?" a scared Pierce asked, cowering behind Shaundie.
"Um…maybe. Yes. Probably, just give him some chill time" Aaron glanced off to where Boss was heading. "You know, long as he doesn't kill anyone"
"You! The one in tacky armor!" Boss shouted.
"What is it-" Bau tried to say, but hit the ground when Boss clothslined him.
"Your boys just killed one of mine! What the fuck is wrong with you, he was fine!"
Getting off the ground, Bau spit some dark green blood out and glared at Boss, stepping up to him. "While we try to contain the contagion and prevent what happened last time, I have been given full permission by the Council to oversee all operations here, including the workings of the hospital. If I deem a patient too unfit to remain alive, he will be terminated, regardless of his status with you"
"That's some grade-A bullshit, you dick" Boss poked Bau in his chest crest. "The fuck right do you have creeping all over the place like this, bossing everyone around?"
"Spectre authority, overrules anyone's authority except the Council's"
"Well can you overrule a laser to the face? Huh!?" Boss aimed his pistol at Bau's head, then heard a click as a STG agent stood behind him and aimed a pistol at his head.
"Nu-uh, asshole" Shaundie said, aiming a gun at the STG agent behind him. Unfortunately another STG agent got behind her and aimed a gun at her.
"Denied!" Pierce shouted, getting behind the second agent and pulling a pistol at him. Yet, a third one got behind Pierce and aimed a gun at his head. Aaron got behind the third and aimed a pistol at his head, but a forth agent got behind him to aim a gun. Aaron looked backwards to see it was the end of the line.
"Damn, we came up short" he cursed. "Shoulda brought more Saints" he turned to Jimmy. "Real help by the way!"
"I'm a doctor, not a fighter! I took a oath you know" the doctor argued, folding his arms.
"Meh, fair point"
"Are you quite done with this?" Bau asked. "I have everything perfectly under control here, the last thing I need is you undermining-"
Bau was yet again cut off when a high-pitched scream resonated throughout the complex, the source coming from the building Boss had seen the salarian sniper in.
"…Under control, huh?" Boss mused. "Yeah. Your doing a great job. Snipers screaming all over the place, I swear…"
Bau shook off Boss's comment and motioned for the four agents to follow him as he ran towards the building, the Saints and the doctor following.
The scene didn't look good. When the ten had arrived at the top floor to the building, Bau had allowed the doctor to observe the body of a recently-deceased sniper as he and the other agents investigated the area, the Saints being forced to hang back. The body was sitting it's back against the window, blood staining it while the face had a look of absolute horror on it, the side of the head having a hole in it. In his hand, a pistol was grasped, a thermal clip next to it.
"This bites, just hanging back" Aaron muttered.
"Yeah, I know" Boss agreed, shaking his head. None of this made sense, no matter how many times he tried to piece it together. First, there was the murderer, who had killed two of his own and mentally scarred a third, which caused him to be killed. Now the colonists in comas, with STG sniffing around. Now a sniper had up and killed himself. He liked to think somehow this was all connected, but it didn't make sense…
He groaned, rubbing his head. "Detectiveing is hard. This is why I let Kinzie do all the smart shit, or Matt. Someone else. Jeez, what do I look, Shermit Hokes?"
"This is some confusing stuff right here homie" Pierce said to break the silence, speaking what was on everyone's mind. They could only nod in agreement.
"Are you quite done? I think it's obvious what happened" Bau snapped, who instead of looking around like his agents was pacing somewhat nervously around the body and doctor. "Being a STG agent is stressing work, the pressure must have gotten to him"
"Yeah, 'cause whenever I have I bad day I always go 'well let's eat a bullet, relieve some pressure'" Shaundie mumbled, shirking away from Bau's glare. Those salarian's had way too creepy eyes.
"While unorthodox, it isn't improbable" he defended.
"Well, he did shoot himself" Jimmy concluded, rising from the body. "Angle fit's the wound, same gun wound, same gun…it all fits. Shot himself"
"Wait, hold on a second…" Aaron pointed to the thermal clip. "At the risk of sounding uninformed, doesn't a thermal clip only pop out of you either do it yourself or the guns runs out of ammo?"
"Correct…" Bau confirmed, narrowing his eyes.
"So, why would one eject after only one shot? He wouldn't have lived long enough to pop it out himself, and I'm pretty sure you guys don't just run around with half-empty guns. Which means…"
"he was shooting at something" Boss finished. "But exactly what was being shot at with which gun?"
"Um…" Jimmy stammered, pointing to the body. "that gun"
"Oh yeah. But what was he shooting at?"
"Godammit Boss" Aaron face-palmed. "Okay, so he was shooting something, got scared, shot himself. Makes no sense, but at the same thing it makes the most sense"
"This doesn't make any sense" Pierce argued, deflating Aaron's logic.
"That's 'cause both you and Boss are dumbass's because-"
"Because why, Aaron?" Boss asked, rounding in on him.
"Because-"
"It's 'cause we're black, isn't it? Me and Pierce are black so that automatically makes us bad at mysteries" Boss spat, crossing his arms.
"Jesus, no! No that's not what I meant at all, that's just racist! I mean because-"
"It's the bees, isn't it? Just 'cause we both have a fear of bees that makes us incapable. I'll have you know we conquered that fear when chasing down a giant clone and handling a bee gun" Pierce said matter-of-factly.
"I didn't…what!? That doesn't- what the hell does that even mean!?"
"It it because they're guys?" Shaundie guess.
"NO!" Aaron screamed. "It's…your cloths"
"Our…cloths?" Both Saints asked.
"You both, wear weird cloths. Pierce just look at your hat!"
"What's wrong with my hat!?" Pierce grabbed the hat just to make sure something wasn't wrong with it, inspecting it closely.
"You look like a French mobster! And the bling, the gold chains! First will come the piercings, then the genital piercings…eventually you'll be classified as a cyborg you'll have so much metal in you. For all I know Boss is planning on cyborgs"
"It's on the list" he confirmed.
"Exactly! Then will come the spikes, the leather, the assless chaps, you'll start fearing other colors and brands of soda! You…are turning into the visage of a biker"
"What!?" Pierce yelled. "That's just…no! That's doesn't make any sense! I hate bikers!"
"Oh ho ho, it does! Classic biker denial"
"I hate them!"
"Bikers love saying their not bikers"
"Well I really do!"
"Pierce, it all makes sense now. Your gentrifying! Traveling the galaxy, spreading your ways through advertisement commercials, ect. cetera…you might not be a garden variety biker, man, now that I think about it. You, are what the bikers aspire to be!"
"What!?"
"You, Pierce, are the proto-biker!"
"How did these guys take the criminal empire over again?" one of the STG agents asked another, to which he shrugged.
Pierce waved his hat in front of Aaron's face, his own face red and sputtering. "Listen here thin limbs, you want me to suit up in the armor we can go, I don't care what you have to say about my hat! It's awesome, it's- there is blood on this. No wonder you called it out"
The Saints grew confused when Pierce announced there was blood on his hat, showing the Saints the stain on it.
"Why is it green?" Shaundie asked.
Her question was answered when two strangled cries emanated from the doorway leading to a hallway, everyone in the room turning to a figure in a tattered white cloak and hood, his face being obscured. Beside him were two salarians agents who's throats were opened, blood spewing out as they hit the floor. The hooded figure glided faster than they could track into the hallway, dragging the body's away with him.
"It's him! After the subject!" Bau shouted, motioning to the two last agents as they ran after him.
"Subject?" Aaron wondered as the Saints and Jimmy chased after them.
They saw the three salarians in the hallway, the white figure at the end. The figure raised his hands, the two bodies convulsing and steaming until they turned into two bubbling piles of bright red blood. One of the STG agents ventured to step towards him, firing pistol rounds at him, but it had no effect. One of the puddles moved towards the salarian, and what looked like four long, pale, feminine arms reaching out from the blood pile, long, claw-like nails at the end. The pile moved under the salarian, two arms grasping his waist while the other pair grabbed each of his arms. The agent, screaming, tried to wrench himself free but to no avail while screaming, and the arms forced him on the ground, the force snapping his legs off. The arms clawed at the body, ripping it to shreds as the salarian let out a death gurgle. The last agent, horrified at what happened to his comrade, noticed the other blood pool moving towards him, four clawed arms in this one too. He panicked and screamed as he tried shooting it, but the pool zoomed up the wall and on the ceiling, looping behind him as two arms dug their claws into his legs. He screamed in pain as the pool dragged him everywhere, from the floor to the walls and ceiling, bashing him on anything it could find. It then dropped him from the ceiling as it slowly got on the floor and creeped closer to the agent. He was battered and bloody, one his large eyes having been ruptured as he whimpered in pain. He tried to crawl away but the four arms from the pool grabbed his broken legs, dragging him back screaming. He held a hand out for Bau, but the spectre could only watch with fascination and fear as that agent was torn apart as well, being added to the blood pile. Then both piles dissolved into clouds of small, blood spheres, the spheres floating and being absorbed into the body of the white figure.
"What the hell is that thing!?" Aaron shouted, unloading en entire minigun into him, with no avail.
"Got no idea, but bullets ain't workin'. Let's see what laser do, switch it up!" Boss ordered, the Saints bearing their zin weapons and unleashing a barrage of lasers at the white figure. They had the same effect as the bullets, but they did stagger him a bit. The white figure let loose a unearthly growl and held his arm back, the arm glowing with red energy.
The Saints slowly lowered their weapons, mouths agape. "Damn, we're fucked" Boss cursed as the figure waved his arm in front of them, a giant shockwave tearing apart the hallway and the room they were just in, everyone being flung everywhere.
Boss hit the ground and slid to the edge, trying to grab onto something but couldn't find anything, and fell off. He let out a loud yelp as he started falling, but was jerked when someone grabbed his hand, pulling him up.
"Thanks, doctor. Wait doctor?" Boss asked in surprise. He didn't expect the doctor to be the one to pull him up, he didn't look that strong, and he barely knew the doctor.
"Yeah, sure…sure thing" he said, holding a thumb up.
They both heard a yell and saw Aaron running at the hooded man, sword over head. The white figure flew in front of Aaron, bringing two fingers to his throat. When nothing happened, the figure tilted his head and tried again. Nothing.
"Yeah, being all virtual slitting my throat doesn't really to anything for me. Now then!" he brought the sword down, the plasma blade managing to cleave through his shoulder, taking his right arm off. The figure roared, sending Aaron back as the arm dissolved into red orbs and flowed into him. More orbs flowed out of his body, going into the stump on his arm and forming into a twisted, incomplete arm full of claws and spikes. He flew into Aaron, knocking him into what was left of the wall and pinning him to it as he slashed madly at him.
He kept slashing madly until a orange blade pierced through his heart, he threw Aaron at whoever was behind him, slamming Aaron into Bau, to which both tumbled down.
The figure stumbled toward them, nursing the wound in his chest as it healed, when a purple plasma blade cut his legs off, causing him to fall. He turned his body to see Boss holding his purple blade.
"Light his ass up!" Boss yelled, the Saints getting their laser guns back and shooting lasers into his body while Aaorn and Bau stabbed him, the figure screaming more and more until he finally stopped thrashing, dead. Everyone backed off, panting at the dead figure. Most of them were trying to figure out what just happened or what he was when Bau reached for his hood.
"Bau, I wouldn't…" Aaron warned, but was too late when the hood was flipped back, revealing…
Some random brown hair and eyes human.
"I…I don't understand…" Bau muttered, eyes widening as he tumbled back.
"Don't understand?" Boss started, stepping closer to Bau. "Don't understand? You know what I don't understand?" he madly gestured to the dead murdered. "I don't understand why this guy just became some freaking mozzarella monster, made puddles of blood that fucking ATE your men, notice you aren't sad about that by the way, AND BLEW UP THE ENTIRE FLOOR WITH HIS GODDAMN FUCKING MIND NOT TO MENTION THE FACT HE WAS BULLET PROOF! So explain to me what the hell that thing was before I blast your face off!" Boss screamed, shoving a pistol to Bau's head while the other Saints aimed guns at him, Jimmy backing off.
Bau didn't flinch from the threat, sighing. "Fine, since I have no other choice, the STG are mainly here because we are chasing a psychic"
"Okay, what?" Boss tilted his head, pressing the gun further.
"Years ago we made a program for psychic soldiers, and had a volunteer. He was the reason more the outbreak of comas, he released a chemical and killed everyone there one by one, the procedure had rendered him insane. He went underground when we couldn't find him and it seems he's doing it again. We were sent to kill him, and I had thought that was him. He's dead now, so there is no more need to worry"
"That's a bullshit story if I ever heard it" the story had multiple holes in it, and altogether was unbelievable at best. However Bau did look sincere…
"Fine, you dick" Boss put the pistol away. "So, we killed him, didn't we? Problem solved?"
"…Yes" he hesitantly answered, the salarian turning around to walk away.
"Then why were you all shocked when you unhooded him?" Pierce questioned as everyone followed the spectre, avoiding the body.
"He looks different from the last time I saw him, possibly changed his appearance. I'll send a team to collect his body. Thank you for your…assistance" he walked off upon saying this.
"I dunno Boss, something doesn't add up…" Aaron muttered, rubbing his chin.
"Yeah" he agreed. "But what else can we do? Guys dead, colonists will hopefully be helped, STG will be gone with him…yeah, we're golden"
"If, a…if you say so" Shaundie said with a shrug. "What now?"
"Guess we leave. Except…Pierce you mind if you can stay here until we get some Saints here? Maybe help Jimmy with the patients?"
"Me, why me?" he asked.
"'Cause, you know, your…just do it, presidential order"
"Fine, I'll stay" he sighed, defeated. "Guess I'll be coming with you Jimmy"
"Sure, I don't mind" the doctor said.
Feeling their job was done, the Saints left the building as STG agents entered the building, heading back to the ship instead of Pierce, who went to the hospital as the sun set in the distance.
"So it was crazy, you know? Hospital full of guys and everything" Aaron said, retelling the story to the pilot Zinkle. Boss was sitting away from them, thinking. Currently Fleur De Lis was flying towards the relay, with the goal to exit back to Illium.
"Hopefully," Aaron continued, "those poisoned colonists will get some help"
"…wait a minute…" Boss whispered, thinking as events on the colony flash backed to him.
"Released a chemical and killed everyone there one by one" Bau explained, the reason the colonists were in the hospital explained.
"Sir, toxicology report came back. Nothing out of normal in the patients. They're clean" the doctor had said. They weren't poisoned.
Bau's shocked look when he unhooded the man.
Same hospital…
Psychic…
A human volunteer for a salarian project…
"Find the man in the white hood!" the shaved Saint had said. "Then you'll see it wasn't him! It was-"
"Yeah…" Aaron sighed, reclining. "Can never trust those STG morons. Psychics, sheesh"
"You may be more right than you realize…" Boss shot up, shouting, "we need to go back! Zinkle! Turn this thing around!"
"Boss, what's wrong?" a alarmed Aaron asked.
"I was right, that story was bullshit! Bau lied!"
"'Course he did, but how do you know!"
"I'll explain on the way! Zinkle! Hurry!"
"Right Boss mon!" Zinkle shouted, the ship flipping in space as it headed back towards the colony.
Hospital
Pierce stepped into the large room full of coma patients, doctor Jimmy at the door. "I can't thank you enough for this" the doctor said.
"Eh, it's nothing. Anything for Boss, guess. And the patients" Pierce waved off.
"Yeah, STG didn't want to help at all, asked them a minute ago"
"Wait, they're still here?" Pierce turned to Jimmy. "I thought they got they're psychic soldier?"
"That's what they said?" Jimmy said, rather darkly. "They're liars, Pierce. And I wasn't thanking you for helping with the patients" he closed the door, locking Pierce in.
"A…doc? What are you doing?" Pierce went to the door, but Jimmy had locked it, and grew a alarmed look as he stared at Jimmy through the window in the door.
"I mean thank you Saints. I needed a solution and here you came. Now…now I just need the boy" Jimmy walked off as Pierce shook the door.
"Doc? Hey doc! C'mon man stop playing around and unlock this thing!" he shouted frantically. Pierce heard moaning behind him and turned around to see all the patients open their eyes, a ominous white light in their eyes as they got up from their beds, shambling towards him.
"What the fuck!" Pierce shouted as the patients shuffled towards him, growing closer and closer. He looked around frantically, and saw a discarded glass full of juice. Purple juice.
He screamed at the top of his lungs as the patients shuffled closer and closer…
"Sir?" a salarian agent asked Bau, the spectre looking as the hooded individual's body. "You were right; it's happening"
Bau breathed in deeply, then opened his eyes. "We need the boy. Send for him"
Under the hospital, lied a giant machine, pods making a circle around it, wires hooked to the pods going to a large, pillar-like machine in the room, monitors all around the machine. In the center was a human brain in a spherical glass case, needles sticking it to connect it to the machine. Flicker's of a man in a tattered open white robe kept appearing, with this hood up, but his face was visible, being the face of a sharp-faced man with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"Soon…" he muttered. "Soon I'll be free…you thought you could just hide me down here, out of sight out of mind, Bau? You did didn't you?…I'll have my revenge. You can't take my creation, use it against me, than discard us like trash. See you soon. R"
Walking out of his tent, Bau received a message on his omni-tool and read it, the message being the same as the words the man had said. He looked at it in horror.
"No…no it is him…" salarians started shouting as the doors to the hospital burst open, patients with glowing white eyes pouring through, stumbling towards the salarians.
"Kill them!" Bau ordered, bringing forth a smg. "Kill them all!"
A/N- Okay yeah, rushed ending, and overall just…yeah not my best work. Just, just humor me, okay? I know this makes absolutely no sense, especially if you know what I'm referencing here, to those people especially this won't make much sense. But rest assured, next chapter all will be explained, and it will make sense then. So just bear with me, okay? It'll all work out next chapter.
On another note got SR4 reelected for ps4, mainly to just get the dlc I was too lazy to get and to play Gat Out Of Hell. Been playing that…purely for research reasons. Let's just say it did give me some ideas…
Again, yeah, pretty bad chapter, especially in the end there. I promise next chapter will explain all of this. Also another little reference in there somewhere if you can find it, videogame related. So yeah, cya.
