This may be the last one for a bit. Will hope over to my other fic a chapter or two. Need to keep a happy medium between the two.
Chapter 17: Cold and Cryptic
It was quiet in the lift, no music played, and it was surprisingly bare, considering the extravagance of the Unitologists Church. There was a small placard on the side detailing times when people went down into the crypts, but other than that, there was no sign of anyone coming this way.
Which did not help the foreboding feeling creeping up the three as the doors opened after a minute of waiting. The extravagant design returned when the doors opened, with stairs leading down to what was presumably the crypt. At the same time, a giant orange stained glass panel hung over the decorative door in the shape of a Marker.
"Do they have to have everything in the shape of a Marker?" Kairi asks with exasperation as they walk down the stairs. "I wouldn't be surprised if they have a Marker shape in their heads."
"Neither would I." Isaac says as he opens the door. Soon as it opens, cold air flows out as a light mist flows through the room. Soft blue lights hum above while a thick sealed door lies at the end. Walking towards it and noting the flickering of the lights, Isaac opens the door while Sora and Kairi stand guard. Steam hisses from behind the seal as the door slowly opens, revealing a folding panel that retracts to show the crypt beyond.
"Even with these suits, I can still feel the cold." Sora says as he rubs his arms along with Kairi. "Give me a tropical Island over a freezing room any day." This was why he hadn't returned to Arendelle in the past year. Even if Elsa had gotten better at controlling her magic, it was still too cold!
"Well, best keep moving then. It will keep you warm." Isaac replies with a joking tone while walking in. The moment he did, he felt the suit compensate for the extreme cold of the room like it always did when they entered a vacuum. That's why they hadn't commented on feeling cold when we were spacewalking on the Ishimura. I forget about how good these suits are at regulating heat within reason. Filing that bit of info away, he walks further into the room, with Sora and Kairi following him while giving weary glances at the frozen cylinders jolting out of the walls. The glass was frozen, so they could not see inside, but judging how each one was taller and broader than Isaac, they could guess what was inside.
All the more reason to get out of here before any Infectors arrived.
Moving further in and taking one of the side passages, they arrive at another door similar to the one they used to enter. As it opens, they scan the hallway for any movement. But seeing no vents in here, they felt a feeling of safety wash over them. Ironic, considering they were in a crypt. But that feeling vanished as soon as the door opened, for before them was another row of containers, but one of them was broken open. Sparks seeped from the exposed wires as mist escaped from exposed tubes.
A feeling of dread fell over them as they entered the hallway, but then a pain in their heads made a roaring return. Soon, all the pods around them were exposed, showing their occupants bound to them with a fleshy membrane. But it was who was in the pods that grabbed their attention.
Sora and Kairi could only look in horror as their friends took the spots in the pods, their bodies merging with flesh wall as they cried out for help, their bodies rotting and deteriorating as their ragged clothes clung to them. Isaac was faced with a similar vision as members of the Ishimura, his friends, screamed for help from the pods as the flesh wall consumed them, pulling them in further. But like last time, the vision fades as the room returns to normal. Yet what they saw still haunted their eyes.
"This is starting to make me feel sick." Isaac says as he rubs a face down his helmet. "Just how much will it throw at us until we break?"
"Isaac, can we please get out of here?" Kairi asks as she and Sora keep a wide berth of the pods. "I don't want another vision of our friends stuck inside these things." Isaac doesn't argue with her, himself already sick of this place. Continuing, they find the door leading to the next room but take a double take when they see it exactly the same as the first room, glass-windowed wall and all.
It was a similar story when they entered the fourth room, its layout identical to the second. Until a Puker burst out of one of the pods in front of them. But as it turned around to face them, it found its legs shot off by Isaac and Sora, while Kairi turned the flamethrower on its head, ending it before it could attack.
Walking over it, the three soon find the entrance to the fifth room, the layout of a large room rather than a line of corridors. But the walls were still lined with pods, each holding the body of a Unitologist. Who knows how many were even being held here.
The moment they stepped into the middle of the room, several pods burst open, with three Slashers and two Pukers emerging from the pods, hunger in their eyes. The Slashers didn't wait as they charged towards the three as the Pukers shambled forward. While Sora and Isaac hit two of the Slashers with Stasis, Kairi unleashed the flames on the Slashers, attacking her, tearing its arms off quickly as Isaac and Sora dealt with their Slashers.
That was when the Pukers attacked with globs of acid, catching the three off guard. While it missed Isaac, the blobs hit Sora and Kairi, who suddenly felt themselves slowing down considerably as the globs hissed and churned on their armour, almost becoming solid.
As the Pukers turned their sights on Isaac, he used Kinesis to grab one of the fallen Slasher blades and fire it at one of them, pinning it to the wall before blasting the head of the other along with its legs. Seeing the threats eliminated, Isaac turns to the couple, still moving sluggishly. "You two okay?" he asked with worry, seeing how slow they were moving.
Thankfully, whatever mixture was thrown at them evaporated, leaving them free of movement as they returned to average speed. "We are now." Sora says as he gives his should a shake as Kairi stretches her arms. "That glob they shot at us really slowed us down. It felt like my arms were turning to stone."
"And that's just what they can do at range. Don't forget what we saw when it had that nurse in its hands." Kairi reminds them with a grimace. She didn't even want to know that pain that woman felt.
"Just another reason to make them a propriety." Isaac says as he looks over what they have. The Pulse Rifle he was carrying was suitable for medium range, but what about if they could attack from even farther? All they had were Cutters and a Flamethrower. All close or medium range. They need more tools or guns. Placing it on his back and pulling out his Cutter, Isaac walks over to one of the hallways before peaking around.
Thankfully, there were no more Necromorphs, but that could change at any moment. Motioning to the couple, they continue through the crypt, eventually reaching another decorative door. Seeing how it resembles one in the church, they could only assume it led out of the vault. A theory vindicated as the door opens, revealing a large cylindrical room with a device at its centre, with a console controlling gravity at its front. Glancing upward, they could see a catwalk above them.
"Think that's the way to where Daina is?" Sora asks as they look up. Kairi shrugs her shoulders while Isaac moves to the control, body movement passive.
"Well, only one way to find out." Isaac says before opening a comm channel. "Daina? I think we found the exit, but it's way above us. Gravity controls are locked out. Daina?" Looking at the comm, he could only hear static as a screen soon appeared, showing nothing but black and white lines. That told Isaac all he needed to know. "Fuck! Comms are being jammed. Can't get through to her."
"But how do we get up? You said the controls are locked, and if we can't reach her, she can't change it from her end." Kairi says as she motions to the orange screen before them. Isaac sighs deeply before scanning the room, noticing a service lift behind them. While it wasn't going up, it was going down. And that gave Isaac an idea.
"Well, if we can't change it normally, I'll have to hack it." He says before walking over to it. "You two stay here and keep an eye out. I'll be back in a moment." And with that, he steps on the lift and descends to the floor below. Before him was a white light hovering inside several spinning halos, no doubt responsible for the gravity in this room.
Above, Sora and Kairi scan the room, keeping their eyes open for any Necromorphs that decide to enter. All they could hear was the sound of something giant spinning below them as the seconds passed on. Before, an announcement echoes through the room.
Attention: Crypt systems set to diagnostic mode. Gimble capture arms released. Authorised technicians only.
Sora and Kairi glance at each other as the lift on the other side return to their level, its screen offline and empty. Soon, they could hear the sound of machinery downstairs, as the previous sound seemed to get faster and more strained as the light became more violent. Then, they felt a small shockwave from below, as water droplets around them suddenly froze mid-air before floating away. They could feel the weightlessness falling over them as the announcement echoed through the room.
Gravity in the shunt is now offline
"Wonder what Isaac did down there?" Kairi asks as the two begin to float, thrusters on their boots activating along with mini wings on their shoulders. "It sounded crazy down there."
"Probably something that will go over our heads." Sora replies as he folds his arms. "There's so much here that I still don't understand. Honestly, it's all a bit much."
"It's the same for me." Kairi replies, floating close to Sora. "The only reason I haven't said anything about it is how crazy everything has been. And now we are racing against a clock against something in our minds trying to kill us." Sora nods in understanding as they look below them, a spinning fan blade swirling around. Soon, a blast of Stasis from below hits the fan as Isaac floats upwards.
"Nice job Isaac. We were beginning to wonder when you'd join us." Sora says as the three float upwards, noting that a metal shield had now closed before them, with a small opening allowing rectangular blocks to pass through.
"Well, had to find a stasis station to recharge. Stopping the Gimble took up all my stasis." Isaac replies before noticing the look the couple were giving him at the word 'Gimble'. "I'll tell you about it later. For now, let's move on." Pushing their curiosity to the side, the couple follows Isaac through the hole, finding the catwalk before them. Landing on it, they couldn't help but give a suspicious glance around them. There was only a single door leading here, which was locked due to no gravity, and a control panel to bring gravity back.
"Did people have to go through the crypt to reach the room below?" Kairi asks as Isaac turns gravity back on. "It doesn't feel right having to go through there. Just to do some work on that."
"Maybe this place was something else before the Unitologists took it over." Sora says optimistically. "I mean, they can't have built it like that purposely. Right?" Isaac remains silent as he thinks it over. It could have been something different, but that was guesswork. His thoughts were soon interrupted when Daina called him, the video coming in clear and crisp. For a second before it started to break up again
"Isaac? Dammit! I think they're jamming our signal with a mobile device. Someone get me a frequency on that jammer!" She shouts to someone behind her before turning back to the feed. Then, her eyes fell on the couple beside Isaac for the first time. "So you are Sora and Kairi. You really are alive. I was sure Tiedemann had terminated you last year."
"You said that back in the hospital. Why? Why does Tiedemann want us dead more than Isaac?" Kairi asks irritably. This wasn't the first time someone had tried to kill her. Xehanort's attempt was still fresh in her mind. But it's worse when you don't know the reason.
"It's due to your situation. While Isaac and the other patients were making Markers, you were making Keyholes." Daina replies. "Tiedemann found out that you are from a different realm and wanted to access your realm for resources."
"That's why? So he could invade our homes and strip them bare!?" Sora asks, angry at what Tiedemann had planned, but that soon disappears as another question enters his mind. "But how did you know we came from a different realm? Or what we were supposedly making at that hospital. We don't even remember the past three years!" Daina was taken aback by Sora's question but soon regained her composure.
"Easy. We hacked Tiedemann's systems. That's how we found out about you two. But this is not the time for questions. That jammer has to be on a gunship nearby the compound."
"Now what? Change of plans?" Isaac asks sarcastically.
"No, if they knew where we were, they'd have killed us by now!" Daina shouts back, only for the video call to deteriorate faster. "Shit! Signals fading! Follow your locater and hurry!" And with that, the comm goes dead.
"Just when things couldn't get any worse." Sora says as he puts a hand on his head. "How long has he known about us? How did he even find out? More importantly, how long was he trying to get to our realm?" Kairi places a hand on his arm as she looks to the ground. She didn't know what to say.
"Not much we can do about that now." Isaac says with a sigh. "And we're stuck until we find out what we did during those three years. The least we can say is that he never found a way to your realm. Which is both a good thing and bad." He looks back to the couple as he swaps his cutter for the rifle again. "Good that no one will be able to do anything to your realm, Earth Gov, Unitologist or Marker. But bad because we don't have a way of getting to it."
"Maybe." Sora replies as he crosses his arms. "If there's anything I've learned, a way will open up when we're done here. The only question is what." That could be anything. Defeat the Hunter after them, escape the Sprawl, get rid of the Dementia on them or, and they were hoping it was not this, destroy EVERY Marker in the realm.
With nothing left to go on, the three exit the room and enter another corridor. The walls were short and plain but industrial until they came to another room. Inside on the left was another pod, empty, with the glass panel above it ready to be placed on top. And to the right was a workbench. Isaac eyes the bench before looking at the couple's tools. Time we did a bit of upgrading. "Sora, Kairi, come over here." He says as he walks over to the bench. The couple look at him curiously before joining him as the bench opens up.
"What's up, Isaac?"
"I'm going to show you how to upgrade your weapons and explain your alt-fire Kairi." Isaac replies before gesturing to the bench. The couple looked at each other before placing their tools upon it, where two screens appeared before them. They already had some nodes in them, yet the rest of the tools remained untouched. They look at Isaac, who hands them a couple of nodes. "The screen before you shows you where the nodes are being placed. Just place the nodes into the empty slots to improve the tool." He then spots a node placement that wasn't on the cutter he used back on the Ishimura. It must be a newer model. He thinks as he watches Sora and Kairi place the nodes. While improving the ammo limit, Sora focused on increasing the speed at which the packs were ejected and how quickly the shoots came out. Meanwhile, Kairi concentrates on increasing the heat of the flamethrower to deal more damage, decreasing the rate at which it consumes fuel while allowing more to be carried.
"Like that, Isaac?" Kairi asks as she points to the screen. Isaac looks over hers and Soras before giving a satisfying nod of approval.
"Yep, just like that." He says before walking away from it. "Now then, I need to explain your alt-firing mode Kairi. It's a lot different to the Plasma Cutter of Pulse Rifle." Kairi nods along as Isaac begins. "To start with, you launch a projectile out of the tool, similar to your fire spells. It explodes on impact, so it will be good for those out of range or for clusters of Necromorphs."
"You mean like Swarmers or the Pack, right?" Kairi asks as she looks over the flamethrower. Isaac nodded and was about to continue when the lights suddenly went out, plunging them into darkness. Immediately, the three huddle together, weapons pointed up and aiming around. For a while, all they could hear was their own breathing until the sound of metal twisting drew their attention to the door they came in through.
Something was trying to force the doors open, its low and hungry growl echoing through the door. But seemingly, it gives up when the lights return, leaving the door slightly opened with the perpetrator gone.
While they were safe for now, Isaac was not going to risk any chances. Using his Kinesis, he removes some panels from a wall, revealing a maintenance tunnel for them to use. Crawling through, sparks fell from above while grates on the left showed another hallway with a dead guard lying next to the wall. The shaft itself was longer than the last tunnels they took, the end bleached in darkness as their visors tried to light the tunnel.
But soon, crawling through the tunnel was the last thing on their mind. With an unceremonious crash, Isaac fell through a weakened part of the vent, landing in a blacked-out room. Sora and Kairi quickly join him, their visors helping to illuminate the room.
"Look at all this." Kairi exclaims with an open hand. "There are supplies all over the place." All around them were tool supplies, ammo for security guns, med packs and numerous historical and cultural items.
"Looks like we landed inside one of the Uni's storage rooms. Lucky us." Isaac says with a smirk before picking up as many plasma packs and pulse rounds as he can. "Best pick up some more fuel tanks and packs, you guys. I think we will need it." The couple agreed before picking up what they could carry. Carrying all the ammo they could only made them realise how lucky they were with the Keyblades and their magic.
Leaving the room, they find themselves in another storage room filled with statues before exiting into a hallway with a red carpet. If they needed any indication they were still in the church, the rug was all they needed. That and the doors. But it was not long before an old foe made their return.
Bursting out of the vent before them were two Lurkers, backs opened and spikes ready to fly. Kairi, grimacing that these variants had returned, opted to try the alt-fire on her tool, sending out a ball of orange fire at one of the Lurkers. It was soon consumed in a blast of fire before falling to the ground, its attack spikes blew off. The second Lurker manages to fire three barbs at them, striking them in the arms, before Sora and Isaac return fire at the Lurker, killing it.
"Was starting to hope we wouldn't see them again." Sora says in a sad tone as Kairi casts a healing spell on them. "But I guess that was being too hopeful." Isaac gives him a tragic nod before continuing up the ramp before them. A carving of a Marker in a wall greeted them as they entered through another extravagant door. Before them stood the bright hallway of the Church, candle sticks aglow on lights. Walking through, they find a statue with a golden mask awaiting them as they enter a large room.
With pillars on the second floor and a giant open space with a stained glass window at the far end, it reminded Sora of Notre Damn in his Mark Of Mastery and the area he fought Riku in at Radiant Garden. Back when it was Hollow Bastion.
"These Unitologists sure love to be fancy." Kairi quips as she glances around the blue-hued room. "Almost like they spend more time making themselves look old rather than try and prove their 'Convergence' is actually good."
"Well, what do you expect from a bunch of fanatics." Isaac says grumpily. He wouldn't be surprised if these were built from his mother's funds. Glancing back at the glass window, Isaac could see the growth they saw on the Ishimura spreading from the top left corner, a mass and hole covering the top left of the wall. But before he could point it out, another Tripod jumped before them.
Unlike the first one that had a man's body, this one was a female. As it lunged towards Isaac, who had fallen to the ground when it landed, Sora and Kairi opened up on the Tripod. However, it had no exposed pods, resulting in their shots doing nothing but tickling her. Even the flames from Kairi seemed to do nothing as it grabbed Isaac with its back legs and dragged him forward.
Then it revealed its bladed tongue, a glowing yellow pod hallway down. But the pod itself looked to be the remains of a baby. Putting away the question of how that happened, which they did NOT want the answer for, Sora and Kairi turned their fire towards the pod. Destroyed and taking its bladed tongue with it, the Tripod releases its grip on Isaac as it flees.
But not before a Pack jumped on top of the balcony before them, screeching to the ceiling as its fellow Packmates swarmed towards them. Kairi and Isaac opened fire with their alt-modes, sending a grenade and flaming orb towards the Pack, killing several, yet more continue to charge.
During the fight, one of the Packs managed to leap onto Sora, who held back its arms as it tried to smack at his head. Eventually, Sora grabs the chest of the Pack, using the open cavity in its chest as leverage, before pushing it off him. Then glancing at the Cutter in his hand and hiding a wince, he smashes it against the Pack's head, severing it.
Eventually, the horde of zombified children halts, leaving the three surrounded by numerous bodies. All frozen with looks of rage and hunger.
Calming down from the battle, Isaac looked around the room, now that they were not under attack, as Kairi healed their wounds. If he could summarize the room with one word, it would be Marker-central. Everywhere you looked was a Marker. The pillars, on the walls, on the tablets, carpets. Heck, even the candles. CANDLES! I'm really growing sick of Markers.
"How far is this safe room Isaac?" Sora asks as he looks up the stairs on each side of the room. "We've got to be getting close now, right?" Isaac opens up his waypoint and illuminates the blue line. The line runs up the stairs that Sora is standing next to.
"There's your answer." Isaac replies before walking up the stairs. Following Isaac, they reach the second level as an Exploder, with several Slashers ambushing them from the vents. They didn't last long as a single shot from Isaac at the Exploder's sack destroyed the ambushers, leaving the way open.
Moving to the back, where there was a small outcrop for a man to give speeches, they pass through a door leading into another red, gold and black room, with the same spiral pillars dotting through the middle. To their surprise, there was a lone Stalker in the room, although it had lost its legs as it crawled towards them. It did not get far before Kairi fired a bolt of flame at it from her flamethrower.
"Is it bad that I'm starting to like this?" She asks as she holds the tool up in question. Sora chuckles at her as he walks forward, looking at her over his shoulder.
"No. You've ALWAYS loved to use fire magic. Just like how Riku loves to use lightning magic." He says with a smile as he walks on while Kairi puts her hands on her hips.
"Coming from the guy who loves to use ice magic?" She cheekily retorts. Sora stumbles for a moment as Isaac laughs at the two's interaction. As Isaac walked between them, he decided to cut in before they continued their banter, which he would belying he would rather let continue if the situation was not so grim.
"Alright, you two. We can talk about magic favouritism another day. For now, let's keep moving." He soon moves towards the door at the far end, with the couple following him shortly, but not before he adds his thoughts to the mix. "And for the record, I think your Reflect magic is more impressive." If it wasn't for the helmets they wore, Isaac would be able to see the smirks on Sora and Kairi's faces.
Until the pain from before returned as they entered the next room.
What's happening to yourself, Isaac? You tried to kill yourself. Why do you think that is?
As Nicole's voice echoes in their minds, the three turn away from it, fighting to ignore both her and the building pain in their minds. All the while, their vision seems to tilt as the orange mist intensifies in their sight.
That's right. Ignore the pain. Bury it deep inside. Let me fester – let me rot.
And with one more primal scream, the pain vanishes as their vision returns to normal.
"You're not going to win, Marker." Isaac hisses as he looks at the centre of the room. A 1:1 replica of the marker lay at its centre, while the wall was decorated with skulls and spears. Glancing around, he spies a lift waiting for them o the other side. Wasting no time, Isaac ushers the couple into the lift before starting it up. "Let's hope this lift takes us closer. I can't stand being here one second more than needed."
"Same with us, Isaac." Sora says as he and Kairi lean on the wall. "If it wasn't the feeling this place gave off that put us off, then its decoration certainly is." With a nod, Isaac opens his comm.
"Daina, so you read me. I think we are nearing the top of the church."
"Yes! You're approaching it right now! I'll be waiting with the shuttle." She replies with eagerness. Too much enthusiasm if someone asked them. But nothing they could do about it now. Soon the lift came to a stop, revealing another corridor of red, black and gold. Following it, they soon found themselves in a room with a circular holo table, and a window opened up the entirety of the Sprawl.
Sora and Kairi could only look in amazement as they took in the station. In the distance, they could see a tall structure sticking out from a giant asteroid, like a stalagmite. At the same time, several metal tubes seemed to spread out like a spiderweb from it to the area they were in. And it was large, seemingly curving around the central asteroid like a curved moon, while several rib-cage-like pauldrons, like they saw on the Ishimura, ringed the back of the Sprawl.
And in the distance, they could see what looked to be a vast cloud made of dust as the sun shone in the distance, giving the area a seemingly sunset-like visage.
Along with an air of death as almost all the station lights were gone.
"A powerful sight. Isn't it?" Isaac asks the couple as he walks up beside them. He points towards the asteroid at the centre. "That right there is the remains of Titan. One of the moons of Saturn. It was the first planet to be cracked open. Now it serves as the hard point of a station."
"But why? Why did people feel the need to do that?" Kairi asks, awed and shocked at the sight before her. Isaac sighs wearily before turning around.
"I've asked myself that many a time." He replies glumly while walking to another hallway. Sora and Kairi exchange a look before following him, the sight before them left behind. Soon they find themselves at another ornate door, hopefully, the one they were looking for. Opening it up, they find themselves in another observation room, with a shuttle visible through the glass. Not far away was Daina, looking out impassively.
But as the three walked in, six men came at them from the sides, grabbing their arms and holding them still. Just as their Helmets retracted or vanished. The guards were briefly shocked at seeing the helmets on Sora and Kairi vanish into light but continued their grip on the arms, keeping their tools pointed away.
"We knew it. You're a Unitologists." Isaac hisses through his teeth as Daina turns around, a smug look on her face. "We should never have trusted you."
"Well, you didn't have a choice, Isaac." She replies with a calculating look. "I told you there was a cure, and you came running." She then casts a glance at the couple. "But I honestly was not expecting them to be with you. Not that it makes a difference."
"Stop talking around the bush already." Sora says in irritation. "Why do you want us.? Isaac especially? Why can't you just leave us alone?"
"You're a dangerous secret. All of you." She replies with a look. "If anyone were to find out there are realms other than our own, they would do anything to reach them and claim their resources. And as for Isaac, Earth Gov is afraid he will destroy their Marker. After all, he did build it." She replies with a smile, shocking the three.
"What are you talking about? Isaac would NEVER build one of those things!" Kairi shouts back as the guards hold her back. Daina gives her a look before turning back to Isaac.
"Well, so you say, but that is what has happened. And that's why we brought Isaac here. To build Markers for us. To spread glorious Convergence to the entire Galaxy. But now that you two are here…." She looks at Sora and Kairi like a predator stalking its prey. "We can now go beyond our Realm and spread Convergence to even more! After all, you two almost did build a way to your home realm." Sora and Kairi's eyes widen in shock.
"What!?" they both scream at her. Daina simply smiles before looking back at Isaac, who has had enough of her speech.
"If you think we are going to help you, think again. Now just give us the damn cure and let us go!" He demands as he struggles against his captors, yet they are stronger than they let on.
"Oh, we don't want to cure you, Isaac." Daina replies before stepping forward, placing a finger on his head. "We want your minds to be just the way they are." She steps away before walking back to the window. "Now escort Isaac and the others to the shuttle and put them into Stasis. The last thing we want is for them to die." She says smugly, thinking that everything has gone her way.
Until a gunship destroyed the shuttle with a hail of bullets. The explosion caught everyone's attention as it flew in front of the window, opening up with its guns at everyone. Daina screamed in defiance but was soon cut down as the bullets ripped off her arms and head.
As the air was rapidly sucked out, three guards fell to the hail of rounds. Isaac, Sora and Kairi reactivated their helmets while their boots magnetised to the floor. They turn around to flee, only to suddenly see pitch-black blades slamming into the door. They were soon slowly pulled apart as the Hunter revealed itself on the other side. The gap was not big enough to slip through, but it grew more expansive.
The bullets continued to fly around them as floor panels were sucked up by the roaring vacuum. They were trapped between a hammer and an anvil. But just when it looked like they would die here, an opening presented itself.
In the floor was an emergency escape hatch, its panel partly ripped off. Pulling it off, the three escaped into the hatch just before the door was fully opened, or the gunship could hit them. Tumbling down the long shaft, they soon found themselves in a long corridor full of pipes. Yet they had no room to breathe, as the blood-covered walls and floors told them they were not alone.
Soon, a large Necromorph appeared above them, its head like a Brutes while its body was that of a Tripods. It roars at them before swiping at them with its long arm. The three dodge its attack before bolting down the corridor, the beast chasing them. Several times they were trapped by the falling pipes as it chased after them, yet the glowing orb on its left arm gave them a chance to fight back.
Eventually, they break free of the beast, sprinting as fast as possible down the corridor. However, at the far end was another glass window, with the gunship from before showing itself again. It opens up on them, shattering the glass as it tries to kill them. However, the rushing of air only pulls the giant Necromorph towards them, knocking them outside and onto the gunship, which tries to flee the moment it sees it.
Grasping onto the gunship, the three continue to escape their Tormentor as it pounds into the gunship, realising its cargo of fuel containers. But just as the three managed to jump away from the ship, the Tormentor grabbed Isaac with its remaining arm while Sora and Kairi grabbed him.
In desperation, Isaac opened fire on the containers floating from the gunship, triggering a chain reaction that consumed the gunship. The Tormentor.
And them.