Apologies about the wait, Fire Emblem Engage and the Dead Space Remake had me drawn in. But anywhere, here's the next chapter!

Chapter 20: Through the CEC

Heavy breaths echo in the lift as it descends into the CEC area. Isaac glances up, hands on knees, while Sora and Kairi lean on the wall. "You two okay?" He asks between breaths. The two nod back at him wordlessly before pushing themselves off the wall. Straightening up himself, Isaac opens up a video call to Ellie. "Ellie? Are you guys there? Did you make it?" He asks, concern in his voice. The call is picked up as the static fades, revealing an anguished Ellie on the other end.

"Shit, Isaac. Just… shit." She replies bitterly.

"What's wrong, Ellie?" Kairi asks gently as she and Sora walk over. Ellie glances at them before breathing deeply.

"I was here this morning when it started with a crew of thirty people. People who I had known for years. But we were overrun within minutes. And before I knew it, they were transformed. I had to cut off the arms and legs of my friends just so I could escape. I'm sure there are pieces of them still lying around here. Somewhere." Sora and Kairi glance at each other, listening to Ellie's account. They knew someone who went through a similar experience.

"I know how that feels, Ellie." Isaac says, startling Ellie and drawing the couple's gaze. "This isn't the first time we encountered these Necromorphs. At the time, it was just a simple repair job to an outer mining colony that went dark. A colony that housed many of my friends and my girlfriend, Nicole." He adds sadly, missing Ellie's startled look before morphing into one of understanding. "The moment we landed, we lost two of the security detail with us, and I started doing the same as you. Blasting limbs of friends long gone."

"Are Sora and Kairi the same?" Ellie asks, looking at the couple. Kairi nervously rubbed her arm while Sora rubbed the back of his head before sighing.

"Actually, we were sent there as trainees. We didn't know anyone there. But that didn't stop us from getting caught in the middle. Even now, we're having nightmares of what will happen if our home if attacked by the Necromorphs."

"All the more reason for us to get through this and destroy the Marker. So that these things will never rise up and kill again." Isaac finishes with resolution. "Let's figure up how to meet up. And Ellie, I'm sorry about what happened. And that I'm dragging you though here again."

"I've just walked in a big fucking circle, haven't I?" She asks sarcastically before turning sincere. "But still, thanks, Isaac. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about what you had to go through. All of you. There's a central hub in the main facility. We can meet up there. I'll send you the coordinates."

"All right, see you there." Isaac ends the call just as the lift ends, opening up to a large catwalk over a smoking abyss. Sighing with inevitability, Isaac moves forward, Plasma Cutter up, followed closely by Sora and Kairi as they move across the catwalk. Passing through the industrial door before them, they enter a main atrium area, with three doors leading deeper into the facility. But no sooner do they step into the room than the Marker's influence returns with a vengeance, searing pain into their minds while screaming for obedience. But just like the other times, it soon passed in failure.

"I'm starting to REALLY hate that now." Sora admits while shaking his head free of cobwebs. Kairi grunts in agreement as she rubs the top of her helmet in turn. After shaking his head, Isaac glances around the room for any sign of approaching Necroes before his eyes fall on a nearby Shop Kiosk. Glancing at what he had taken from earlier, he walks up to the Shop and inserts it. Grinning behind his helm as more options appear before him, he clicks on a button before the back of the shop opens.

"Here we go again." Kairi says, exasperated, as she and Sora watch Isaac move into the shop before the doors in front close. "What will it look like this time?"

"Dunno." Sora replies as the light from inside the shop dies out before opening and revealing Isaac's new suit. When judged to his last ones, this new one looked outdated, for lack of a better word. It was bulky, the leather suit a dull brown with pieces of darker brown pads on the shoulders, arms and legs. Thick metal vambraces encompassed Isaac's wrists and feet while an iron collar wrapped around his neck. On his bac was a visible oxygen tank connected to the collar. At the same time, a tight armour jumpsuit lay underneath, covering his head while exposing his face. Walking out with some difficulty, Isaac looks over himself briefly before the helmet activates, looking similar to his old Engineering helmet in design, only with more metal and a bulky look.

"Um, Isaac. If you don't mind me saying, that looks like something you'd see in a museum compared to the other suits you wore." Kairi points out as Isaac looks over the shop menu again. He presses a few buttons on the screen before turning around to look at the couple again.

"Well, that's because it is Kairi. This is an older CEC model. But even thought its old, it still has more protection than I was wearing before, surprisingly enough." Isaac informs the two before removing a large red device from the shop. While it had a stick, it was connected to the bottom of the handle that held the trigger instead of at the top, like the Pulse Rifle or Seeker Rifle. The front of it was equally strange, sporting a fork-like appearance with a metal venting block on the bottom. Isaac looked over it with a calculating eye before glancing at the couple, who looked on with questioning looks. "I'll explain what this is in a moment. You might want to check if your armour can also have some upgrades." Looking between them, Sora and Kairi give a quick shrug before walking to the shop.

Unsurprisingly, there were options available to them which were not surprising. They were still missing the capes that Aqua, Terra and Ventus had on theirs. But after they had gone through the process, they found no capes at all.

Instead, they had obtained woollen shawls on their shoulders, gold for Sora, and Silver for Kairi, with embroidery racing along the bottom in blue. A small shield had formed on their left arm, similar to what Terra has on his, while the prongs on their helmets seemed to extend just a tad longer, ending in silver. The animal heads on their helmets did not change. Still, the bottom half had morphed into normal Keyblade armour, while the glowing eyes remained.

Glancing between them, they couldn't help but wonder what their armour was turning into but decided to question it later. Getting out of here alive was more important. Turning to look at Isaac, he was still looking over the tool he had acquired before looking back at the couple with a nod.

"Interesting addition. Not sure what the shawl is for, but it is eye-catching." He comments before walking to the two. He looks at Sora before holding the tool up to him with one hand, although it could be seen that it was still heavy on his arm. "This is for you, Sora. I figured we could use something with a bit more power, and you're the only one without a secondary weapon." Sora looks over it with a tilt of his head before picking it up with both hands. Immediately, he could feel the weight of the tool, and while it wasn't as heavy as he thought, it still wasn't something to be held with one hand without assistance.

Just as Isaac was about to explain what it was, a Slasher burst from a vent behind them, catching their attention. Before anyone could do anything, Sora pressed the trigger on the tool, reacting on instinct. It emitted three blue lights in a triangle at the Slasher, similar to the Plasma Cutter. What happened next took all three back by surprise.

With a low hum that quickly built with intensity, the tool in Sora's hands released a beam of blue light and energy directly at the Slasher. In seconds, the flesh and muscle were pealed off as the bones beneath were broken shortly after, leaving nothing left but smoking ash and broken bones. And a large mark on the wall behind.

"Woah…" Sora says softly as he looks over the tool in his hands. "What is this, Isaac?" He looks at him with awe and slight fear as Isaac glances between the tool and the smouldering Slasher.

"That, Sora, is the C99 Supercollider Contact Beam." Isaac breaths. "It's designed to break through asteroids and minerals that are too tough for normal equipment and turn them into smaller, more manageable chunks. But it's not supposed to fire a beam like that…."

"What do you mean, Isaac?" Kairi asks as she looks at the Contact Beam in Sora's hands, the sheer power it held emanating from its frame.

"I mean that you're supposed to charge it up before unleashing a concentrated ball of energy into your target. At least that's what the original did…." Isaac mumbles before shaking his head. "Anyway, keep a hold on it, Sora. Its batteries are expensive and rare, but it has more than enough power to take down a Brute or Drag Tentacle if we encounter them. Best save it for them." Sora nods slowly before placing the Contact Beam on his back. Despite its size, it folded up neatly into a smaller frame that didn't hinder his movement, even though its weight didn't change. At least he didn't feel like he would get dragged down at any second with it on his back.

With their new acquisitions, the trio leave through the only working door next to the shop, entering a small room. A makeshift barricade stretched along the centre, yet a hole had been carved right in the centre, blood and bodies striped of their flesh laying around the hole. Sending silent prayers to the fallen, they move past the barricade, ignoring the view of the Sprawl through the curving window before moving into the Operations Control Room.

In front of them, a glass wall separated the room. At the same time, a circular holographic table lay in the centre of the room they entered. But no sooner do they step in, Infectors fly into the sealed room, attaching themselves to the corpses like a spider would wrap its legs around its prey. The trio could do nothing as the Infectors quickly turned all the corpses into Slashers before vanishing into the ducts. As for the Slashers, they two dived into the vent system while the trio stood back to back in their isolated room, weapons aimed at the vents.

Sure enough, the Slashers soon came, bursting through the vents with ravenous hunger. Only to be met by plasma, pulse and flames. Soon, all that remained were severed limbs and burning flesh as the trio quickly made their way out of the room into a connecting corridor. But they were not safe as a Pregnant soon appeared, lumbering out from the darkness before them.

Unfortunately, while Isaac had managed to shoot off one of its feet, the Pregnant forced itself onto its back before slicing its own stomach open, releasing the Crawlers within it. Kairi, within seconds, turned the Flamethrower on them. At the same time, Isaac finished the Pregnant. Still, no one noticed a Slasher appearing from a vent behind them until Sora cried in alarm as it grabbed him.

Spinning on a dime, Isaac fired on one of the arms wrapped around Sora, freeing him while forcing the Slasher back before Sora threw a punch with his Cutter, further forcing it back and hitting its head off. Just as Isaac severed off the last arm. "You alright, Sora?" Isaac asks as he and Kairi move up to him, as Sora rubs his neck.

"Yeah, I am. He tried to bite me, but I managed to hold him back." Sora replies, a little shaken but otherwise unharmed. "They're getting smarter, though. I didn't even hear it until it was right behind me."

"We'll have to be more careful then." Kairi comments as she pulls Sora back before the three of them continue. "I don't want you to end up like Johnston, Sora."

"I won't, Kairi. I promise." Sora softly says as the trio enter a server room, a blank orange screen encompassing the back wall. But before Kairi could reply, the Marker once again made itself known as the screen was soon filled with images of skulls and Marker Glyphs. All the while, a video of Marker-Nicole played on one of the smaller screens

The cracks are showing. And the memories are seeping in. And when they do, we'll be waiting for you. You can't run forever.

And just like the last time, it ends as soon as it begins. The trio shakes their heads in frustration, Sora hitting the side of his with his left hand in frustration before moving to leave the room.

"The Marker is getting frustrated at us. It knows we aren't bowing to it, and it hates it." Isaac comments as they enter into another catwalk. Steam rises from bellow as it wraps around a large cylinder, cables and wires branching from it like a tree.

"But what's stopping it from trying to make us kill ourselves, like back at the Church?" Kairi asks with worry. "We almost came to close to…I don't want to even think about it!" She shakes her head while grabbing her arms as a chill runs down her spine. Sora wraps her in a one-arm hug as they continue to walk, light flickering below them, washing them in an orange glow.

"So long as out hearts and minds are strong, the Marker will never control us." Isaac says with resolution, slightly surprising the two Keyblade wielders that he mentioned the heart and the mind. But such thoughts were pushed away as they entered another room, a green mist greeting them. The room was split in half like before. However, this time beyond the glass wall, was a clean white room. Along with Ellie and Stross, the latter of which was holding onto himself as though he would fall apart.

"Guys, Over here!" Ellie cries with a wave as the trio walks over to her. "Glad to see you make it and wearing some new duds to boot." Ellie comments over the new gear before her a frown forms on her face. "But we have a problem. The door here is locked down. The poor bastards tried to make a last stand with whoever was left down here."

"Can you get it open from your end?" Isaac asks as he looks over the door, the orange lick flickering. Ellie shakes her head before walking over to it and hitting it with her foot. At least, they think it was her foot.

"No, the circuits are fried. Must have fused the panel to keep the Necromorphs out."

"Is there another place we can meet up?" Sora asks as Kairi looks around the room with weary eyes. Ellie tilts her head in thought before looking over a control panel in front of her.

"There is, but it won't be easy. The only way around it is through the processing plant. It's not meant for human traffic, but I think I can control it from here."

"It's better than nothing, and our options are limited. Do it." Isaac replies with no hesitation. Ellie nods before inputting the commands.

Shut down accepted. Some systems may calibrate without notice.

"There. That should give you a path straight to us. Be careful, alright?"

"We will, don't worry." Kairi reassures before the trio moves into the next room, leaving Ellie with Stross. Inside, they find a room full of inactive machinery while a bulkhead awaited at the far end. But no sooner do they begin to move than the machinery erupts to life, startling them just as several Necromorphs bust through the vents around them.

Realising they would be swarmed, Sora and Isaac let loose a wave of Stasis on the attacking Slashers before opening fire with their Plasma Cutters. Switching to her Seeker Rifle, Kairi zoomed in on the ones that were slowed by the Stasis before shooting off their arms. She winces internally at seeing the limb and blood fly in slow motion, despite seeing it done countless times by now. But seeing it through the scope was different than seeing it from far away. Eventually, all of the Slashers, and a random Puker, were dealt with before the trio left the room through the bulkhead. Entering into a Zero-G environment, they encountered a problem that was blocking their progress.

"I think we've hit a dead end, Ellie. Looks like some kind of venting system up ahead." Isaac comments through a RiG link while Sora and Kairi glance around the room. On the other side, Ellie silently curses to herself as she looks over the system.

"Right… Manually shutting down the plant froze all the pressure valves in place. Of course, it would… You'll need to find a way to force it open, a manual override or fuse… or something."

"Isaac, I think one of those thrusters that we used on the elevator is floating over here." Kairi suddenly calls out, pointing to said thruster floating through the air. Isaac hums in surprise at the find.

"How about that? Must have been here for maintenance or something. We'll be there soon, Ellie." Isaac says while cutting off the call as Kairi grabs the thruster with Kinesis. Guiding it gently to the vent, Kairi places it down as it attaches itself to the metal. Pushing herself back to get out of range, she nods to Sora, who aims his Cutter at the vale on the thruster before shooting it off.

The booster ignites with a flash of light and fire, flipping the vent open and allowing the trio to float past. Moving into the tunnel, they float past inactive machinery and floating blobs of water before finding themselves facing a forest of grinders while bodies float between the gaps. But before they can move forward, the machinery roars to life as orange lights flicker on while the grinders begin to spin and tear.

"What the-!? Is this a calibration?" Sora asks as he watches a random piece of rock float into a grinder before being turned into dust.

"No, this is something else!" Isaac says in alarm as he holds onto the couple, stopping them from floating forward. Soon, a RiG video link is activated, with a smug Tiedemann on the other end looking at them.

"Clarke, there you are. Along with your two friends. I see your other friend had deactivated the facility. Remind me to thank her for telling me your location. It ends here, Clark. I've powered up the facility and locked you within it."

"You think this will stop us? We've faced things more dangerous than these. Especially Sora and Kairi." Isaac defiantly states. Tiedemann raises an eyebrow at Isaac's bravado.

"Really? I find that hard to believe. But regardless of what you think, you won't be leaving that place alive."

"It doesn't have to be this way, Tiedemann. We can destroy the Marker and the Portal. We can stop this outbreak like we did on Aegis VII!" Kairi says, trying to appease the man. But Tiedemann refused.

"I can not allow that to happen. I need the Marker to create a source of unlimited energy. And I will not allow you to destroy it. Goodbye."

And with that, he ends the call.

"He's being just as stubborn as Riku was back on the Island." Sora comments offhandedly, earning a look from Kairi.

"Before or after we got the Keyblades."

"Both." Sora's answer earns a chuckle from Kairi before a sigh escapes from Isaac's mouth.

"As much as I appreciate the banter, we need to keep moving. That horde of Necroes could be moving on Ellie and Stross as we speak." The couple nod in silence before watching Isaac float closer to the grinders in concern. "Watch me, and match your movements. One wrong move and you're dust." With a nervous gulp, the two follow Isaac past the grinders, the spinning metal too close for comfort for either of them.

But that was only the start. After getting past the grinders and a lone Lurker that was waiting for them, they encountered a wall of flame with a separate piece moving up and down, blocking the flames where it passed. With a quick blast of Stasis from Sora, the trio flew past the metal between the flames before encountering a roar of rapidly spinning grinders.

"Ellie, can't you shut these things off?" Isaac asks in an exasperated tone before firing Stasis at the grinders, allowing them passage. He could hear Ellie cursing on her side as she slammed a fist into the console.

"NO! Tiedemann has somehow managed to pronounce me dead in the system! It's not accepting my access codes." Suddenly, groaning metal could be heard on her side, causing her to swear again.

"Ellie? What's going on?" Sora asks as the trio floats to another vent, Isaac grabbing another booster from a dispenser and placing it upon its surface. They didn't get a reply as shouts could be heard from the comm, along with the growls of a Necromorph, before it suddenly cuts out.

"Ellie? Ellie!? Shit." Isaac mutters as they enter into another tunnel. Three rings at certain intervals jettison fire into the middle before turning off, one ring at a time. Yet it was what was clinging to the wall at the far end that caught their attention. "Is that a fucking Leviathan back there?" Isaac asks as he points at the wall of flesh at the far end, a bulging spot growing in the centre.

"It looks too small. Maybe it's still developing?" Kairi suggests as the trio float closer, timing their movement to the rings. But as they got closer, the centre seemed to peal back as a figure erupted from it. A naked female with long black hair that formed into three glowing blobs that seemed to move on their own accord. With a shake of its body, it reveals several squid-like projectiles that homed in on the three of them, only for Isaac to open up on them with his Pulse Rifle.

As Isaac fired on the squids, Sora pulled the Contact Beam from his back. He knew that Isaac would want him to use it on the Brutes or that Hunter, this thing had to go. Aiming the Beam at the bulbs, Sora squeezes the trigger, feeling the charge build-up before unleashing a beam of blue energy at the Nest. Within seconds, the beam tears through the bulbs and any squids they had unleashed before the Nest fell silent and unmoving.

"Well, that's one way to do it." Isaac comments as he looks at Sora, who places the Beam back on his back. "Nice thinking there, Sora."

"Well, I figured it would have been easier than trying to get closer with all these flames around us." He replies, a smile hidden by the helmet. While the two talked, Kairi used Kinesis to grab a nearby booster and attach it to the third vent next to the destroyed Nest. With it opened, the trio moved into the last room, thankfully empty of machinery and flame-spewing vents. And at the end was another bulkhead door.

"This should lead us to Ellie and Stross." Isaac comments as the three lands outside it. Worryingly, they could hear nothing on the other side. "Be ready." With a tap, the door opened, revealing a room covered in blood and severed Necro bodies. A large hole now existed in one of the windows, stained with blood, along with two broken vents. But what worried them the most was no sign of Ellie or Stross.

"Do you think they made it out?" Kairi asks as they scan the room. Other than where they came in, there were only two more doors. One that was still jammed and one that was working but covered in scratch marks. Without a word, Isaac moved to the door and opened it.

The moment he did, he was met by three blue lights and a flashlight directly on his face, blinding him briefly before it was quickly lowered.

"Isaac!" A relieved Ellie exclaims as she rushes over to him before looking over his shoulder. "Sora, Kairi. Glad to see all three of you still have your parts." The couple gives her a thankful nod as their helmets vanish into light. "You seriously need to tell me how your helmets do that."

"Maybe some other time." Kairi comments with a smile as Isaac deactivates his helmet in turn. "It's a long story." He gives the room a quick scan, large and designed for recreation, while a window gazes at a surge of power before looking back at Ellie.

"You alright?" he asks softly. Ellie, startled briefly, looks to the side before looking back with a grin.

"Yeah. I'm doing alright. But Stross…" She trails off before motioning to him. Stross was curled up in a ball, muttering about four steps and the order they needed to take, unnerving the four as they watched him sway back and forth. "He's been like this for a while."

"It's the Marker. Damned Unitologist piece of bullshitted crap." Isaac curses with fury, startling Ellie while the couple looks on with concern. They share a glance before nodding, Sora walking forward.

"Isaac, there's more to your hatred of the Unitologists than you've told us, isn't there?" He asks softly. Isaac looks at Sora, his eyes myriad emotions, before letting out a large sigh of frustration.

"I had a feeling you would be asking me that. I suppose it's only fair that I told you." He replies before sitting down on a bench nearby. "I said before how my mother was a Uni, but I didn't say HOW she became one. It was back when I was a kid. My dad was an engineer on ships coming to and from Earth. One day he was sent on a year-long trip into space. Mom got really depressed about it. To compensate, she started working for charity groups to keep her mind off it and do some good for people."

"And that's when she encountered the Uni's, right?" Ellie asks as she and the couple stand around Isaac. He gives a nod before rubbing a hand on his face.

"Yeah, she did. And it's because of them that everything went downhill. They turned her into a fanatic, so much so that she sold off nearly everything to them, which in turn affected my education as well. Until she met Nicole."

"Wait, Nicole?" Kairi asks with a tilt of her head. "What did she do?"

"Believe it or not, but Nicole was not only a nurse but also helped people break away from the Church. She helped my mom get her sanity back, and it was how we met as well. At least until I recommended her for that job… When she left, the Uni's came right back. And this time, there was nothing I could do." With a shaky sigh, Isaac turned his gaze to the three before him. "My mom killed herself, and my dad, for the 'sake of the Church'." The three looked on with eyes full of shock and horror as Isaac turned his gaze to the ground.

"And you know what's worse? They had my mom write a will that gave them control of not only our estate but of their bodies as well. But that's not the worse of it. When I called Nicole to tell her what happened, I BLAMED her for it… That last time we talked was an argument… And now I can never tell her I'm sorry…." Tears fall from Isaac's eyes as emotions held back begin to break free. No one could say anything to him after what he had just told them. Until Ellie placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Isaac, for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to go through that." She says honestly. Isaac looks at her with mild confusion. "I don't really know what else to say. I want to say anything to help you feel better, but I don't know what. But this is all I can say. I'm sorry, Isaac." Isaac looks at her before offering a tired smile.

"Thanks, Ellie. I needed to hear that." He says before lifting himself up, his usual personality coming back. "Well, after that story, I think we should move on. What do we do know?" Ellie nods at him before walking o the window, looking over a large elevator.

"There's an Industrial Transport upstairs. Runs on the same spoke as the commuter train. It should get us to the Government Sector. One of us will have to deploy it from the gear house." Isaac nods at her before looking at the couple. They both share a grin before activating their helmets.

"Well, it should be easy enough. We'll handle the gear house. Should also make it harder for Tiedemann to find you since he's focused on us." Ellie nods before walking over and kneeling next to Stross. The trio shave a sad shake of their heads before following Isaac's waymarker to the Fuel Pressurization lift.

Stross was running out of time. And so where they.

You can tell I've let some things from the Dead Space Remake slip into this chapter. Can i say i LOVE the Contact Beam in the Remake. Its so satisfying to use. The Hunter still scares me though...