Sitting inside a booth inside a burning morgue wasn't the most glamorous thing ever. Because there's literally a smoldering corpse in the vent, and a Xenomorph's boney as in my lap as I sat in the chair inside the booth. Why Cuddles sat in my lap I've got no clue besides me starting to rant about my past life. She liked to hear about it apparently because it taught her new things about me.

Compared to having knowledge shoved into her brain over learning naturally, she prefers learning instead of what a Queen would do. I don't know though I'd prefer instant knowledge sometimes, it'd be nicer than trying to comprehend math. Math is evil and only a true demon would like math. Because how can anyone like all those complicated equations? It's all nonsense to me even if it explains a lot of things like wormholes.

After two hours of ranting about my old life and teaching Cuddles how to say no in Human. Because it'll be hilarious to watch people flip the fuck out at a talking Xenomorph. We exited the booth and sitting at the door was an Infector with glowing blue eyes. Now I'm no geologist or biologist but I can tell that's not the Red Marker's doing, well the infecting flayed human is, not the eye's part though.

"I'm going to guess you're the Black Marker otherwise that thing would be jumping to turn us."

The thing blinked at me before gurgling and using its probisous-like-tongue infecting thing to scrawl something into the flooring. Looking at the scrawled carvings in the metal flooring I looked at the possessed Infector.

"Is this to help me keep people alive?"

The thing bobbed up and down as if saying yes. How'd…

"How'd you even know I exist and why are ya here interfering with your evil sibling?"

Turning away from the first scrawlings in the floor the creature used its weird tongue again. Writing a barely readable chicken scratch on the floor given it's probably never used a Necromorph to communicate. Huh Mind Immunity made it so even Blackie can't mess with my head.

"I knew you exist as I am still a Brother Moon and no need to be coy, I'm the one who requested outside help in the form of praying to the universe at large. The Hive Monarch and the Brother Moon in this section of the universe aren't happy with you. One wanted a mobile hive, the other due to not being allowed to torture you with your fears and memories. I can't talk with you more personally, but just being around you like this is strange as there is no strain to maintain a connection."

Reading that chicken scratch I scratched my helmeted head while Cuddles just hissed something. The possessed Necromorph bobbed at the Xenomorph as the two seemed to talk, with some obvious hostility from Cuddles but not completely like towards the Red Marker. But I need to basically sum this up or I'll get confused.

So Blackie prays, for what exactly I don't know, I'm thrown into this life, a multiverse mash up of Dead Space and Aliens and Predators, a Queen Xenomorph is angry with me, and Redie is going mad. All because I'm immune to mind fuckery due to whoever threw me here, and because Cuddles isn't a part of the other hive, but instead she's in my weird adoptive hive.

If I wasn't here I'd question if I was tripping on acid or not because that's hard to believe. Yet I'm here and the facts are in front of my face, it'd be delusional to say no to it all. Looking at the scrawled stuff for supposed protection, I crouched down and traced a finger through the scrawled markings.

[Black Marker: Mind Defense Encoding (1/100)]

[New Hacking Branch Available for Praxis Kits. Praxis Kits are awarded for advancing skills to certain levels or Story Milestones.]

[Praxis Kits no longer exists due to all data on their creation being lost when Sarif Industries was subsidized by Wey-Land Yutani as all data on more secretive or important projects was erased permanently. Thus the only way to upgrade, advance, or evolve pre-existing Augmentation Abilities is to train skills and complete Story Milestones you know of or that'll impact many lives.]

[If you are wondering why this method is the only way, it is due to Multiverse Rule 45687-6. As you, a Keeper, have been deployed to help maintain an Entangled Multiverse, you have been already sufficiently prepared body wise and skill wise. Thus any further upgrades to your specific changes will require you to complete trails known as Story Milestones regardless of difficulty, or better grow into your roll.

Think of it as the level up stripped from the Death March System along with other functions the entity known as Sato had access to. You're also a soldier now, relying on such a LAX system would hinder your growth as evident by case #365436743167855437, individual Reiko Saitmian of DXD. They got handed everything for free from the start and died horribly at the hands of Rias due to not knowing how to use any of his abilities fully.

This has been your only free communication - Admin Keltson of the Multiversal Law Enforcement and Executioner Branch]

Huh… neat I learned something about how I ended up here, sorta, and what the hell my situation truly is. Just what the hell counts as a Story Milestone? Unless… something like getting the tram battery for Kendra and Hammond, they'd die without it and Isaac would likely follow suit given he'd have no help anymore. Counted as one or even just preventing Hammond's death by making sure he'd have a rebreather or entirely not going into poison gas that'd fill hydroponics.

Or even just stopping Hammond from tackling the Necromorph guard Chen into a power core on the military vessel. The military vessel which picks up a Necromorph in an escape pod and the beacon Kendra was using to call for extraction and a kill squad. That probably counts as a Story Milestone I'm guessing as those are written into the fates of those people. That'd mean Aliens and Predators movie events, game events, and book events, and possibly saving an infested colony would count as well.

But I'd never truly know when I'd stumble into those until it's already happened. As frankly I don't remember stuff that great, unless it's completely random enough. Like the fact octopus's rip off their dick and throw it females before fucking off, or that female ostriches find humans more attractive which makes males murderous towards people during mating season, as that person is viable mating competition in their eyes. If it's not random like that I just may not remember it at all.

By the time I came out of my rambling thoughts the possessed flayed creature was dead. It looked to have beat it's head into the flooring repeatedly before being dismembered by Cuddles. Shrugging as I saved an image of the protective inscriptions we got a move on with me using Cuddles Hive Resin to miniature Black markers, about sixty in total. As if these people want to worship a fuckin rock I'll give them protective charms of the only good one to worship.

Making the inscriptions as we moved was challenging but doable with my prosthetic abilities. By the time we reached Security HQ I had forty quality and unbroken Black Markers. Sighing I cracked my neck as there was a lot of work to be done soon and not everyone will survive.

\\/ ISAAC CLARK POV /\\

Watching the same video of Nicole for the seventh time I sighed. Soon, soon we'd be together again and can catch up with each other. Looking around the USG Kellion I noted my companions doing their own thing mostly. Why we're even together is something concerning, but not much given that it's not unheard of. Ships as old as the Ishimura sometimes lose contact with everyone for periods of time. Yet the concerning part is that the Ishimura has been dark for over a month now.

That wouldn't be much of a concern if it wasn't for the last message from them briefly. A brief message that was during a moment they're communication blackout ended before resuming once more.

"Heavy damage… requesting aid… *heavy static interference*..."

The Ishimura has apparently taken some damage, however, I couldn't help but feel something wrong about this all. The voice was lifeless as if they were already dead, and they never said what kind of damage, just heavy damage. What's more, through the static it was hard to hear, but there's one bit that just pops as if something exploded or a shot was fired. Whatever is going on we'll know once we reach the Ishimura and get briefed by security and engineering.

/\\ BLACK MARKER POV /\\

Feeling my sibling becoming more crazed and hostile I couldn't help but feel pleased. The Human and the young Adapter were wonderfully doing something I had always so dearly wanted through multiple instances. They were keeping a sizable amount of eight people alive aboard the vessel the Humans called the Ishimura.

Forming a group called the Black Guard using my inscriptions and resisting my sibling. Among a sea of the dead Alissa Vincent, Jacob Temple, a Dr. Klein, a nurse David Samson, a miner Veronica Dradson, an Adapter called Dean, a defiled Dr. Nicole Branahman, and a miner Kurtis Rolgold were alive and sane as one could be against my siblings. Regretfully one had become a Stalker as my siblings call the defiled corpse but my interference has kept her Human enough in death.

How they gained another Adapter was amusing as a cultist willingly offered to die. They died smiling before being dismembered so that an egg created by the first could help them with another set of inhuman hands. It was an interesting use of the Adapters who can rival even a defiled legion. As the Adapters can't be corrupted unless the Hive Monarch dies, yet this isn't the case for the unusual hive duo. The Human sent for my wishes is the Hive Monarch and he is unkillable as far as mortal flesh is concerned.

You can not corrupt that which you can't influence to affect others. For the Humans soul which should be vulnerable upon death clings to his body which protects it while reviving itself. Thus frustrating my sibling moon whenever they manage to strike him down to influence him. Even turning him is met with complications as the Adapter scurries away with his reviving corpse.

Hearing my sibling moon scream out in hatred like a rabid animal is most amusing. I shouldn't enjoy it but I find myself doing so as they've destroyed countless versions of our universe already. So hearing them be so annoyed is heartening to me for that means my wish was truly granted.