Here's another chapter! I'm starting to get into a rhythm of doing one of these when i hit a wall with Emblematic Hearts. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 3: Course Correction
"For once in my life, I wish these trams were not so slow!" Isaac yells in frustration as the three wait for it to approach the Engineering deck. It has been several minutes since they left the Medical Deck, and they still haven't arrived. Thankfully, before Isaac could punch a wall, they could feel the tram coming to a stop before the door opened, revealing to them the Engineering Tram Station. "Finally!" Isaac exclaims as they rush out of the tram. But, no sooner do they leave does Hammond call them.
"Isaac, Sora, Kairi, we've got two problems and were working on borrowed time here." He says in a desperate tone to the. "First, there is no fuel in the engines, but that's not the main problem."
"How can empty engines not be our main problem?" Kairi asks. What could be worse than no fuel in the engines?
"That's where our second problem lies. The gravity centrifuge is offline line… which means there's a couple of trillion tons of rock pulling us down." Hammond clarifies to Sora and Kairi, who places a hand on her helm, trying to strive for a headache. "I need you three to get that centrifuge online, refuel the main engine and fire it up so I can get us back into orbit." Before they can respond, Hammond cuts the call, catching the three off guard before turning their focus to the task at hand.
"Alright, follow me. I've worked in the Engineering Bay before, so I know where we need to go." Isaac says before moving towards the corridor. The couple nod at him before moving to follow, lamenting at the tight confines of the tunnel. There was no room for them to swing their Keyblades! Thankful, after the turn, they come to an open area with several yellow screens stationed in a small control booth while the mangled corpse of an engineer lounges on one of the chairs before the screens.
"Another corpse…" Sora comments sadly. Just how many people were on board when this happened? Suddenly, a chill runs down Sora's spine. He turns to Isaac, fear in his eyes. "Isaac, what are the chances that an Infector will come around and turn this body?" Isaac and Kairi look at him, concern and fear in their eyes despite the helmets concealing their faces.
"As much as I hate to say it, but very high, Sora." Isaac turns his gaze to the dead body, a grim reality settling in his stomach before he lifts his Cutter at it. "Look away, you two. I'm going to make sure that nothing will reanimate it." The couple stare at Isaac in confusion until the three blue lines emit from the Cutter, landing on the dead bodies head. Instinctively, they turn to look away, just as Isaac pulls the trigger. Several move shots are fired until a soft tap on their shoulders turns them around. "It's done. From now on, we encounter any more dead bodies, let me handle them, okay?" Isaac assures the two, to which they hesitantly nod at him. "Alright, we're going to refuel the engines first. Then activate the centrifuge. It's going to be tight down here, so stay close." Satisfied, Isaac motioned them towards the right side door before opening it.
Exiting through, they find themselves on a descending walkway into a long room filled with machinery and blinking lights. They proceed down the walkway carefully, the cramp confines limiting Sora and Kairi's ability to fight. Walking past several bloodstains, they find what looked to be a dead Slasher lying where a broken metal grate used to be. Sora and Kairi nod to each other before blasting the 'dead' Slasher with Fire, scorching the alien and making it permanently dead.
"Not going to fall for that anymore," Sora comments before they move onwards, passing by more machinery before entering another door. They find themselves in what looked to be another repair bay, with a deep bottomless pit below the metal gangway they were currently standing on. Proceeding slowly, they walk up to a branching path before the crinkling of metal stops them cold. On reflex, the three of them raise their weapons, anticipating an attack, only to see a Leaper rushing long the underside of the walkway, not even bothering to notice them. "Okay…Not that I'm complaining." Sora comments before they move on again.
Taking the left path, they pass by what looked to be a suit storage before moving to an upper level. No sooner do they reach it dose a Slasher break through a vent above them. Unfortunately for it, it jumped too early and was met by a storm of plasma and ice. Falling before it even had a chance to see its prey.
"Okay, where do we go from here?" Kairi asks as she stares from the protective railing into the abyss. A gondola stranded away from the docking station is not far from them, while a blue Kinesis symbol glows on it. As Isaac activates his tracker, Kairi walks over to the docking area and raises her left hand. Finding the gondola in range, she pulls it towards her before connecting it with the station. Then, smiling to herself, she turns around and walks up to the boys before following them to a higher point. Stepping up the walkway, the three enter into a small observation post overlooking the abyss, where a lever requesting the uses of Kinesis stands alone. "What's this for?" Kairi asks as Isaac moves up to it.
"This is what will start the refuelling process," Isaac replies before activating his Kinesis and dragging the lever down. No sooner does it reach the bottom dose the room seem to come alive, metal piping moving about as the wall before them seems to move.
Refuelling Sequence Activated.
The trio smirk in satisfaction before retracing their steps to the gondola, before stepping onto the gondola, which barely had enough room for the three of them, as it slowly moves them across the abyss. Taking the journey as a chance to rest up, they gaze at the far wall as central tubes are moved about, likely replacing the empty with full, until the sound of Slashers draws them to their exit area. Before them, waiting for them to arrive, is a hoard of five Slashers, each swinging their scythes in anticipation. Until a blast of thunder from Sora catapults them off into the abyss.
"That's what you get when you don't read the signs." Kairi quips, earning a chuckle from the other two. Reaching the end, they are happy to see no further Slashers waiting for them before moving out, heading over to a second observation outpost with a similar leaver.
"I got this," Sora says before raising his left hand and activating his Kinesis, dragging the leaver down until it reached the bottom. The moment he did, the walls again began to move, this time extending two long cylinders from each side until they connected at the middle, as electricity sparks around them.
Refuelling Sequence Activated. Sufficient fuel to primary engines.
"Hammond, we got the refuelling sequence started; how's does it look on your end?" Isaac asks as he opens up a non-video channel to Hammond. He responds that the engines are only a quarter full, but it will be enough to get them back into orbit. "Alright, we're on our way to the centrifuge now. We'll report in once we've got it running again." Isaac cuts the call before leading the Sora and Kairi away, only to come under attack by three Lurkers. The zombie babies fire their spikes at them, but fortunately, they miss the trio and are encased in blocks of ice by Sora and Kairi before Isaac runs up to them and smashes them with his foot.
"I will never get over the fact they used to be babies…." Kairi comments in sadness as Sora envelops her in a comforting hug. Isaac nods sadly at them before motioning with his head for them to keep on moving. Retracing their steps, they return to the gondola and move back across the chasm before moving back to the first observation post. Turning to the left, they then go up another pathway to another level before finding another Slasher bursting out of a vent with several Swarmers writhing at its feet. However, it soon found itself without feet as Sora and Kairi blast the Swarmers with fire, leaving the Slasher open to Isaac's Cutter as he removes its arms from its body.
Moving past the Slasher, the trio continues their upward climb before arriving at a door leading back to the 'Control Room' they were in previously. Walking past it, they catch the unmistakable shadow of an Infector, creeping around on the inside, the corpse left untouched. Isaac turns to the couple and nods; his idea of removing the limbs has proven fruit. Moving to the Control Room's entrance, they open the door and rush inside, blasting a shot of stasis at the Infector before Sora and Kairi remove its wings with their Keyblades. "Okay, where do we go for the Centrifuge?" Sora asks as he de-summons Kingdom Key to remove the blood. Isaac activates his guidance line, showing the way to an elevator. Moving into the cramped space, they move down to the lower level before entering another corridor, this one more clean and smooth looking than the rest of the Engineering deck.
"Okay, we are in the decontamination room," Isaac comments before walking into another room with a sealed room inside it with a long table. "We will need to wait until the process is finished before we can move on." He opens the door to the brightly lit room, eyeing the vents along the side with worry. Sora and Kairi share his anxiety and point their Keyblades at the vents while Isaac activates the console.
Decontamination Sequence Activated. Please Stand by.
Just as the sequence begins, the lights turn orange as an alarm sounds, followed by metal grates closing the windows. The three instantly stand back to back, readying themselves as Slashers burst from the vents outside the rooms. First, they try to break in through the windows, but the metal grates stop them, so instead, they return to the vents. The trio doesn't drop their guard, however, as the sound of them moving through the ducts does not stop, with the lights giving out as they damage the shower systems above them, turning the room pitch black if not for their visors, RiG lights and Isaacs Cutter. Minutes pass for what seemed like hours as they wait for the Slashers to strike, sweat forming on their brows until one of them breaks through one of the vents inside the room behind them. Instantly, Isaac turns around ad removes the Slashers head, causing it to flail its arms around like a spinning blade until Kairi fires a ball of fire at its legs, ending it, while a second bursts out in front of Sora, only to receive a block of ice to its head and arms. They didn't have a chance to breathe, though, for a Leaper had managed to sneak into the room and pounce on Kairi, who screamed in fright as it tried to bring its fanged face onto her before Sora's Keyblade removes its head from its body as Isaac blasts the tail.
Kairi, shaking, stands to her feet before Sora envelops her in a hug as Isaac pats their shoulders. They survived another ambush, for now. Suddenly, the lights in the room come back to life, albeit very dimly, as the greats try to pull themselves up.
Decontamination Sequence Complete. Thank You for Your Patience.
"Isaac, please tell me we don't have to do this again?" Kairi asks as they leave the damaged room. Isaac chuckled and said they couldn't even if they wanted to, pointing at the damaged vents around the room. The two share a dry laugh before moving on to another door and entering into a curving hallway. Looking at Isaacs waypoint, they take the right path before coming to a turn, revealing another hole in the wall similar to what was on the Medical deck, only with a second one directly opposite it. The three slowly move past them, wondering what could cause such damage, before turning another corner and arriving at a large circular door. Opening it, they enter into an airlock as the door behind them closes before entering into the centrifuge room proper. The room is large and circular, with an upper walkway holding the terminals and a lower walkway for maintenance. In the centre is the centrifuge itself, a large arm with a giant counterweight connected to a spinning platform in the middle. On either side are what look to be the power blocks, disconnected and spinning out.
"Okay, it looks like we need to reconnect the power points. Sora, you move the one on the left, Kairi, the one on the right. Once done, we meet up back at the-" Isaac cuts himself off as he turns to his right. The couple look at him, wondering why he stopped speaking, only to see what stopped him. In front of them, blocking up the walkway is a large wall of flesh and bone. However, they had no time to comment as two Leapers leap at them from the ceiling, screeching at them with hunger. Only one problem with their attack, though. The room was Z-G, so instead of flying like bullets, they simple glided towards them unthreateningly. Sora and Kairi smirk at each other before fire blasts of fire at the two Leapers, singing them before they even reach the walkway. "And now that that problem is out of the way let's get this done. I'll wait at the control panel while you tow move the power blocks."
Sora and Kairi nod at Isaac before leaping towards the ceiling before moving back down to the floor, with Isaac making his way over to the control panel. The two Islanders look at the generators and notice the rapidly spinning cylinders at the front. Seeing what connected to the centrifuge, they decided to use stasis on the cylinders before moving the generator into place. Nodding at the plan, the two get to work, driving the generators into place while the spinning cylinders are slowed down.
"Alright, that's them both locked in, head on up here," Isaac calls to them from the walkway. The couple moves up to join Isaac as he puts lines of code on the panel before turning to them. "Once I activate it, we are going to race against time." He turns his head towards the wall of flesh blocking their way. "Once it's activated, this room will be opened to the vacuum of space, and Z-G will deactivate, meaning we will only have our onboard air supply. Normally that wouldn't be much of an issue, but with this wall of flesh in our way, we will need to take the long way to a second elevator that connects to the other side." He turns to face them, hard eyes behind his helm. "And that means having to run around while the centrifuge is spinning."
"Wait, you mean we have to-, " Sora says while staring at the central object, to which Isaac nods hesitantly. Sora and Kairi both heave a heavy sigh before motioning Isaac to start it. Again, Isaac nods before turning around and activating the centrifuge.
Centrifuge Activated. Re-establishing balance with planetary cargo. Gravity restored. Entering vacuum.
Almost instantly, the air begins to rush out as the three back away to an elevator behind them as gravity is restored. Heading to the lower level, they find themselves in an enclave in the wall as the ground around the centrifuge retracts to reveal the vastness of space, leaving only a small walkway around the edge to walk on. At the same time, said centrifuge was spinning around at a deadly speed. Seeing how they only had 90 seconds of air to reach the other side, Sora and Kairi started to panic as they waited for the centrifuge to spin past them before running over to the next enclave in the walls around them.
"Your doing great, guys!" Hammond suddenly calls over the comm channel. "Centrifuge and gyros are at one hundred percent."
"That's great and all, but can the praise wait until AFTER we are not stuck in a vacuum Hammond?" Sora asks as they sprint to another enclave, which holds an oxygen replenisher to the relief of the three. They hook their suits up to it as Hammond curses to himself for bad timing before apologising over the com before ending it. Refiling their oxygen tanks to full, the three sprint again to the next enclave, just missing the centrifuge. Before they could sprint to the final one, though, a Slasher and three Leapers start charging at them from the other side. Only to find themselves crushed by the centrifuge as it runs them over. Wincing at the mess, the three finally run to the enclave and onto the service elevator. Not wasting any time, the three of them sprint into the airlock, closing the door behind them as air rushes in around them like a comforting blanket.
"Isaac, next time we see a bench, like add some more nods to our RiGs," Sora comments as he opens the airlock to the hallway. "Something tells me we are going to need more air." Isaac was just about to reply until something shot out from the hallway. Something long, bony, and made of flesh. It wraps itself around Sora's right foot, catching him off guard before dragging him to the floor before it starts pulling him down the hallway. Sora summons Kingdom Key before slamming it into the ground, anchoring himself as the tentacle tries to pull him away, right into one of the holes in the wall they passed. "Help!" he cries as the tentacle tries to pull him more, Kingdom Key gashing into the floor as it tries to fight back. Kairi and Isaac managed to catch up before they started to attack the appendage, only to their horror, nothing was hurting it. As it dragged Sora closer to the wall, Kairi's attacks began to get more desperate, as she started to fire both ice and fire at it, scorching and freezing it, but still, it refused to let go.
Isaac narrows his eyes in anger. There had to be some weak points. His eyes followed the length of it until he noticed a glowing yellow pod halfway down it. Taking whatever they could, he turns his cutter on it, blasting at the pod. Instantly, the tentacle seemed to recoil in pain as Isaac let loose several shots at it before it exploded, freeing Sora and retreating into the wall while a monstrous roar echoed through the ship. Isaac nods to himself in satisfaction before turning and kneeling next to Sora, who was busy returning an embrace from Kairi while shakes encompass the both of them.
"You alright?" he asks gently. Sora doesn't answer him immediately, only taking deep breaths before loosening his gip on Kairi while nodding to her before turning to face Isaac.
"Yeah, I am. Thanks, guys…" Sora shakenly stands up while Kairi holds onto his arm, still keeping his gaze on the hole in the wall. "Now we know what's been causing these holes. I don't even want to know what that was connected to."
"Can we please get going? I don't want to risk another one of those tentacles coming out at grabbing one of us." Kairi asks pleadingly. Not need to be asked twice, Isaac begins moving away from the hole and toward the door leading to the Decontamination Room, followed closely by Sora and Kairi. Entering into the damaged room, they catch a glimpse of a Slasher running outside the room—the three nod to each other before readying their weapons. Slowly moving out into the corridor, they aim their weapons at the door, waiting for the Slasher to come. It soon comes around the corner, growling at them before twin bolts of lightning send it to the ground.
Moving past the scorched body, they re-enter the lift to head back to the main room, only for a video call to open to them—one with a familiar face.
"Isaac? Sora? Kairi?" the voice comes from the video, grabbing their attention. It was Kendra, with a look of relief and exhaustion on her face.
"Kendra? You're alive! We thought you were dead when Hammond called after you were attacked." Isaac exclaims as Sora and Kairi huddle around him, each expressing their relief at Kendra's safety.
"Kendra?! Where are you?" Hammond suddenly asks over the call, seeming to pick up on the com channel. After Kendra deadpans Hammond being alive, she responds that she had barricaded herself in the computer core and how she has access to everything.
"Even from before they cracked the planet, the colonists were experiencing widespread dementia." She goes on to explain to them. "It seems to be related to something they found on the planet. Something they called, 'The Marker'."
"Wait, did you say, 'Marker'?" Sora asks. Kendra confirms with a nod that she did. "We found a video log in the Medical Bay between the Captain and someone called Terrance with them talking about it. It seems they were both Unitologosts, although Terrance was expressing his discomfort about what was happening on the surface."
"Another thing they talked about was them bringing it up to the ship to study it. I think either you or Hammond should check to see if it was. If this, 'Marker' is what caused the dementia on the planet, it may also explain what happened here." Kairi asks as she taps her knuckles on her chin.
"Good point; I'll see what I can find here while Hammond does the same from his end. I've unlocked the door to the Fuel Storage; you can reach the main engines from there. Good luck, people." Kendra finishes as the orange light on the door leading to Fuel Storage goes blue.
"I really hope that this, 'Marker', is not on the ship. If it is, then the captain is going to be really glad he is already dead." Isaac comments before walking over to the door while Sora and Kairi give him agreeing nods. Entering into another airlock with Z-G warning signs, they open the door, only to suddenly find all the air rushing out as they come face to face with another gaping hole in the ships side, a vast wall of twisted metal, and no walkway. "Okay, this is really starting to get old," Isaac mumbles to the others before noticing a piece of walkway still connected to the ship hovering at an angle not far from them. Nodding to himself, he propels himself towards it, followed quickly by Sora and Kairi, before looking around. Luckily, the piece of walkway they are on gives them a good angle to reach the other door past the twisted metal debris before them.
Hopping from the platform to the door, they are ambushed by two Leapers emerging from two intact vents. While Isaac deals with one, Sora and Kairi throw their Keyblades at the other, slicing its arms off with a twin Strike Raid; quickly turning around as their oxygen timers start to run low; the three rush into the airlock and seal the door behind them.
"I'm starting to wonder what caused all this damage," Kairi comments before looking at Isaac. "What do you think caused all that? Those tentacles or something else?" Isaac hums to himself for a bit.
"I don't know. The Ishimura's hull is strong and thick, so it would take an explosion of some kind to do the kind of damage we've seen. But we can worry about that later. First, let's get the engines fired up." Isaac replies before moving to activate the door before them. Opening it, they enter a room with an almost ear-deafening sound as machines run rampant below them. Thankful for the sound insulation in the helmets, they move on to an open area with several levels. In contrast, the same fleshy substance they found in the centrifuge area lies all over the place. Covering walls and floors, while on one of the walls is the legless torso of an unfortunate person, seemingly still alive even with their spine and veins showing below their waist.
"What the hell is going on?" Sora asks in disgust at the sight as Kairi attempts to hold her stomach contents down. Isaac merely grips his free hand in anger as the man on the wall groans and moans at them in an echo-like voice. The tendrils hanging beneath him seem o have a mind of their own as they flail about, almost like wanting to attack them.
Taking pity on the poor soul, Isaac fires a shot at his head, ending his suffering. Taking a moment to morn for the man, they press on but find their movement hindered by the flesh substance on the floor, as it grips to their feet like tar. "Just what is happening here?" Kairi asks as they descend on an elevator to the second level, the same mass of flesh covering the entirety of the level. "Is this some form of environmental change?"
"I don't know, Kairi. For all we know, this could have been people once." Isaac replies sadly before stomping over the fleshy floor. The couple follows him in silence, any hope in finding any survivors on this deck dwindling ever further. Their thoughts are interrupted when several Swarmers rush them from a room in front of them, only to be taken out by a fire spell from Sora. Peering into the room the Swarmers came from, they see a body of a miner slumped next to a vent, with several wounds on his body. Isaac approaches the body while Sora and Kairi stay near the door until suddenly its jumps out at Isaac. He steps back and raises his Cutter as the couple rush in to help him, only for them to stop and stare in sadness, as the miner struggles even to stand, groaning in pain, before collapsing to the floor, dead.
Shaking their heads, the three then exit the room and take the second elevator to the third floor, finding two more men glued to the walls like on the top floor, while the main door to the Engine Room is malfunctioning rapidly, opening and closing at an alarming rate. Taking time to end the suffering of the men on the walls, they then move over to a locked door with an empty power node slot. Using thunder once again, they open the door to find some med packs and plasma ammo for Isaac, as well as several power nodes for later uses. Nodding happily at the spoils, the three then leave the room and move to the malfunctioning door, only to see a Slasher try to charge at them from the other side, only to end up as sliced salami.
"Suppose we should be thankful that they seem to rely on primal instinct rather than smarts." Sora comments before blasting the door with stasis, slowing it down before rushing through with Kairi and Isaac. They begin moving down the enclosed hallway, only to find a Slasher and several Swarms descending upon them from above. Seeing an explosive tank nearby, Kairi grabs it with Kinesis before throwing it at the aliens, taking them all in one blast. "Nice shot Kairi." Sora complements while placing a hand on her shoulder. She beams at him before hugging him as the three continue their climb up the hallway. Eventually, they reach a large steel door.
"Alright, we've reached the Engine Room. Get ready; I'm going to open it." Isaac moves towards the lock as the couple tighten their grips on their Keyblades. The door opens slowly, revealing a large room with several machinery and platforms, while one of the main engines lines the back wall. Before it is the command council, awaiting instructions, as two Slashers drag a body with them towards one of the gangways. Isaac wastes no time, blasting the lead Slasher while Kairi freezes the second one as Sora throws his Keyblade at it, shattering the Slasher as Isaac finishes off his. A third appears from an outcrop, alerted to the fighting but is brought down by a bolt of lightning from Kairi. The three smile at their victory until the grumbling sound of another alien grabs their attention. Shambling out from behind the control panel is another slasher, but unlike its thinner brethren, this one has a sizeable pulsing stomach, while its arms were not bent upwards like the others but were more in the style of a stag beetles horns.
"What is that? Another version of the Slashers?" Sora asks while aiming his Keyblade at the new threat.
"I'm not sure, but I'd rather not find out," Isaac says before aiming his cutter at the things feet. Kairi glances at the beam, noticing how it was lining up with the stomach instead.
"Wait, Isaac, your not aiming at the-" She didn't get to finish her sentence, for Isaac had fired at the being, puncturing its stomach. He winces after realising his mistake, but that soon becomes horror, as a large swarm of Swarms erupt from the things belly and charges at them. Reflexively, Sora unleashes a blast of fire at them while Kairi freezes the new creature before throwing her Keyblade at it, shattering the offending foe. Finally, she turns her gaze on the Engineer, her helmet masking the annoyance in her eyes. "I appreciate you were firing first, but next time Isaac, let me finish what I was saying before you do something we might regret."
Isaac, for his part, rubs the back of his helmet sheepishly, embarrassed at having to be chewed out at doing something stupid by someone younger than him, while Sora hides his chuckles from them. "Anyway, what should we call that form?" Sora asks, pointing at the shattered remains of the new foe. Kairi places a finger on the 'chin' of her helmet and thinks, with two names coming to the front.
"Well, I can think of two. Carrier and Pregnant. I'll leave it up to you what we call them." She says before walking over to the terminal. "Now, how about we get this running. If you don't mind, Isaac, I like to try my hand at this."
"Well, if you want to, go ahead," Isaac commented before turning around to what their backs. "It should be straightforward. Just follow the on-screen instructions, and the system will take care of the rest. It's so simple anyone could do it."
"Well, that's good to know." Throwing a pointed look at Sora, who rubs the back of his head sheepishly.
"Come on, Kairi. I'm not the only one who struggles with computers. Remember that one time you tried to look from the computer in Ansems lab?" Sora remarks in a slightly teasing tone, to which Kairi pouts at, even though they can't see her. They still haven't forgotten how she had somehow managed to mess up Tron's colouring, and her tries to turn him back to blue only made it worse. Shaking her head at her boyfriend's comments, she turns her gaze back to the terminal. True to Isaacs words, it really was straightforward. A few simple button presses and the system took over.
Ignition Sequence Initiated. Please Stand by.
Soon, the entire room was taken over by the sound of the engines roaring to life, as though a great fire had been lit rapidly as it burs mercilessly through wood while a thunderstorm rocks the skies. Unfortunately, the same sound of the engines igniting alerted several Slashers to their presence, and they charge at the three. Around six Slashers charge at the heroes while a Leaper lurks behind them, only to see its comrades fall to Isaacs plasma while the Islanders unleash a storm of thunder on the rest. The lone Leaper tries to leap on Isaac, but the engineer is too quick for it, blasting its head and left arm off while in mid-flight.
Engines Ready. Please Confirm Ignition.
Sora looks at the screen, being the one closest to it, before walking up to it. Seeing the screen asking for confirmation, he presses the confirm button as the sound of the engines roars even higher, the sound echoing and reverberating throughout the room.
Engines Firing.
Even with the soundproofing in the helms, it was almost too loud for them. Using his hands to motion for them to leave, Isaac leads the couple out of the engine room and into the hallway, where the sound immediately dies down to more manageable levels.
"Hammond, Kendra, come in. We've reactivated the Engines. We should be green to go. Also, we have encountered two more versions of these things." Isaac speaks into his communicator as a video appears with Hammond on it. "We encountered a version of the Slasher that carries the Swarmers in its stomach. We are calling it Carriers or Pregnants, whatever works. As for the second one…."
"It's not much of a reanimated corpse, but it's more of a large tentacle that will grab onto your foot and drag you into a hole in the wall. We don't know what will happen, but seeing how there is a lot of blood around those holes…." Sora finishes as Kairi places a comforting hand on his arm.
"I see. Thanks for the tip. Anyway, we are all green up here. We are online and functioning. Get back to the tram, you three; I'll get us back into geo-sync orbit. About time we had some good news around here." Hammond responds in a happy mood for a change, but Kendra, unfortunately, cuts him off, her mood far from happy.
"Wait, wait! We're not safe yet." She speaks with panic in her voice.
"What's wrong now, Kendra?" Kairi asks with worry in her voice. What part of the ship needs fixing now? Kendra looks at Kairi with a severe face.
"It's the ships asteroid defence grid. It's offline. When we go up, we will pass through the debris field that was formed when the Ishimura cracked the planet. That field will tear us to shreds when we pass through it. We need that system online!" The screen then changes back to Hammond, his face contorted in anger and stress.
"Goddamnit! I'll start work from here. You three get up here to the bridge; Isaac has more experience in this than I do."
"We're on our way, Hammond!" Isaac exclaims before rushing ahead with Sora and Kairi behind him. Thankfully, a new way to the Command Center had opened up to them, bypassing the ruined walkway. Just as they reached the Center, though, Isaac's com flickered to life, a familiar voice speaking from it.
"Isaac…Isaac…where are you…it's me…Nicole..."
"Nicole?" Isaac asks before his come shuts down. Then, before anyone could speak, Sora and Kairi's coms flicker to life.
"Sora…you here?"
"Kairi…where are you?"
The two are left stunned at the voices coming from their comms before they go dead; they recognise those voices from anywhere. But why are they here? A sudden shake from Isaac breaks them from their trance as he stares at them with worry.
"Are you two alright? You looked spaced out from those com calls." They both nod hesitantly at him.
"Yeah, we are. It's just those voices. That was Riku and Aqua who called us, no mistake." Sora says, his voice laced with shock.
"But, how? How did they get here? And why? I thought only we could enter." Kairi comments with confusion. The Yen Sid they saw said they would be able to watch but joining? They have no idea what they're getting into. "Riku and Aqua may already be masters, but these things are nothing like what we have thought before! We have to find them!"
"And we will. Who knows, they may have found Nicole and are searching for us. I know that it was her who contacted me. But we can search for them later, right now; we have to get to the bridge." Isaac replies before leading them back to the tram station; all the while, one thought permeated his mind. I will find you, Nicole! This was his vow as he activated the tram, setting their destination; the bridge.
What's this? Aqua and Riku are on the Ishimura with Nicole? Or are they? Hope you enjoyed this chapter!