Chapter 21: Transportation Preparation

Entering into the Fuel Pressurization felt like returning to the Ishimura's Engineering deck. A yawning abyss filled with smoke while cables and turbines flowed with energy. The only difference was it was smaller and less noisy. Not that it made a difference to them as they moved across the catwalk to a nearby service lift. Not that they had anywhere else to go.

We only had two years, Isaac. Two years. But they were the best years of my life. I was happy – I had everything I wanted. Until you made me doubt myself. Pushed me onto the Ishimura, blamed me for your mother's death. And now you try to forget I ever existed.

Nicole's voice taunts Isaac over the comms, going unheard by the couple, as two Leapers and a Slasher ambush the trio when the lift reaches the top. One Leaper pounces on Kairi while the other leaps onto Isaac. The lone Slasher charges at Sora but soon finds himself without arms as Sora expertly dismembered it. Sora soon turned his attention to Kairi, who had managed to kick the Leaper off her and pin it to the safety railing. With a shot from both, the Leaper loses both arms and falls into the abyss below. Turning to Isaac, the couple was relieved to see him not only forcing the Leaper off him but grabbing it by the tail and smashing its head off with his foot before turning his Plasma Cutter on its tail and severing it off.

"Damn, these things are getting smart, ambushing us at our weakest." Isaac mumbles as Sora casts a healing spell over them. "And that's not including the Marker…."

"Isaac, I can't help but feel that the Marker is aiming for you more than me and Sora. Why is that? It's managed to seal our Keyblades and Magic, so why is it focusing on you and now us?" Kairi asks, puzzled at the Marker's taunts towards Isaac. Isaac hums thoughtfully as the trio proceeds, moving along the catwalk to the other side.

"I wish I could tell you, but I've got nothing." Isaac replies glumly before a baby's laughter echoes above them. Glancing upwards, the trio look on with shock as a hoard of Crawlers clings to the wall. One of them notices them before dropping to the floor and crawling towards the trio, followed quickly by its friends.

Without missing a beat, Isaac brings up his Cutter and fires at the Crawler in the middle of the pack, hitting them right in the explosive sack and destroying them with a single shot. "I'm never going to get used to seeing those…." Sora comments sadly as they move past the remains. Kairi places a hand on his arm, offering comfort, as they move into a room similar to the one they left Ellie and Stross in. Only this one had a Bench, alongside some curious devices.

"What do we have here?" Isaac asks with curiosity, walking up to the Bench and examining the items. His eyes widen behind his helmet before calling Sora and Kairi over with building excitement. "We've struck gold, you two! These are attachments we can attach to your flamethrower and cutter. Give them to me for a second."

Not wanting to come between an engineer and his curiosity, the couple hand over their respective tools before turning around and equipping their secondaries. With hidden childish glee, Isaac began to work on attaching the attachment to the tools, his Cutter included. After a few minutes, Isaac walks from the Bench with a hidden smile as he hands the tools back to Sora and Kairi. "Alright, I know you're wondering what I've done, so I'll skip the dramatics. For Sora's Cutter, I added an attachment that now makes it so that every shot from his gun will ignite the area around where it hits. Basically, he can now set Necroes on fire with his shots."

"And what did you do to mine? It looks like I can't fire a canister from it anymore." Kairi notes as she looks over the Flamethrower. Isaac gives her a nod of approval at her observation.

"And you are right. Instead of firing a canister, you can now set down a firewall. That will allow us to set up areas of denial on the Necroes, provided they aren't Hunters, Tripods or Brutes." Kairi looks at the Flamethrower with intrigue at the new function. Just by how Isaac explained it, it sounded much more useful than firing one of the cylinders from it. And probably saving a lot more fuel as well.

"What about you, Isaac? Your cutter looks a bit different as well." Sora points out, noting the metal steel on the end of the Plasma emitters. Isaac looks at Sora before bringing the cutter up, the metal glistening.

"Well, it's nothing much. Just some metal to add some weight to this. I hope it will help me knock them back and give me some breathing room." Isaac admits. His was more of a weight increase than the new functions on theirs. Still, they couldn't fault his logic. Creating more space between them was always a plus.

With the upgrades done, the trio leaves the room and enters a small corridor with vented lights lining the floor while a small room with a giant vent lies halfway. But just as the trio moved forward, a Divider rushed in from around the corner towards them. Acting fast, Kairi brought her flamethrower up and hit the secondary function, sending a line of blue flame forward before impacting the floor. The moment it did, a wall of flame erupted before them, from wall to wall, just as the Divider ran into it. It screamed in pain as the flames tore into it. Even as it divided into its individual pieces, the flames would not stop until the Divider was but ash.

And as soon as the Divider ceased moving, the flames died away, satisfied with its job. After taking a moment to appreciate the new function of Kairi's flamethrower, the trio proceed to an elevator, leading them into another room with large glass windows looking out over the Sprawl. And waiting for them was an Exploder.

"Shi-!" Isaac swears as he brings his cutter up. Still, he was too late, as the Exploder smashed its arm onto the central window, destroying it and leaving the room exposed to the vacuum of space. The vacuum suction also started pulling the trio towards it, only for Sora to grab onto a metal railing with one hand and Kairi's arm with another. Isaac had managed to grab onto another railing with his left arm before aiming at the emergency override with his Plasma Cutter and activating it, sealing the room from the vacuum of space. "Fuck that was close. You two alright?"

"We're fine, Isaac. A little shaken but otherwise okay." Sora confirms with a nod before turning back to the sealed window. "Still, that Exploder was waiting for us."

"I know." Isaac replies before moving past. He didn't want to stay in this room any longer. They exit quickly, finding themselves in another tunnel, similar to the one before, but with two passages leading to two floors.

Why would I choose the Ishimura over you? Over helping your mother escape the Unitologists? It was you. You said I'd regret passing up the chance – that the choice would haunt me forever. It was as if you wanted me dead. What's stopping you from doing the same to them?

Gritting his teeth, Isaac pushes the voice out of his mind before glancing at the couple. Sora seemed to be rubbing his head while Kairi was shaking hers rapidly. He didn't even want to know what she was saying to them. Or if it was her, they were hearing.

Moving past the first path, blocked by laser trip mines, the trio move up to another catwalk, overlooking the same abyss from before. And waiting for them at the far end was another Guardian, his pained moans echoing throughout the room as the tentacles whipped out from his stomach. "Sora, use the secondary function on the Contact Beam." Isaac says in a tense tone. Sora raises an eyebrow at Isaac but brings up the Contact Beam regardless.

Taking aim, he holds down the trigger and builds up energy at the front. Yet, instead of unleashing a concentrated beam of energy, it is held in a magnetic field as its power continues to build. Letting go of the trigger, a ball of pure energy is fired from the gun, travelling so fast that it was seen for a second as it collided with the Guardian. It didn't stand a chance as its combat tentacles were ribbed from its body, sending the poor soul into the embrace of peace. Isaac nods wordlessly at the handiwork before advancing forward, his steps heavy. The couple shares an uneasy glance at Isaac before rushing to join him.

And when you received my final transmission, you couldn't bare to watch the end, could you? You knew what had happened, yet you went looking for me anyway. Latching on to the words of outsiders for a fantasy that could not happen. You already knew, deep down, that I was dead.

With a vicious shake of his head, Isaac punches a nearby wall, startling the couple before continuing.

"Isaac. Are you okay?" Kairi asks softly as they step onto a service lift. Isaac hesitates for a second before pressing the lift button. Releasing a heavy sigh.

"No. I'm not." He freely admits. "These visions, voices. I just can't ignore them anymore. It's starting to get to me. I can only get through them by taking my anger out on the Necroes. But even then, it only delays it." He places a hand on the front of his visor. "I'm worried that eventually, I'll snap. And in my madness, I'll hurt either of you. Or worse…"

He could only imagine the looks he was getting from them as he refused to look them in the eye. Yet, despite that, he could feel the two placing their hands on his arms. "How can you still stand by me when I could lose my mind at any moment?"

"Because that's what friends do." Sora replies. "Friends, they look out for each other. Support each other. Where one falls, the other is there to pick them up and continue on."

"We know you're stronger than you say, Isaac. Even now, the Marker continues to dig itself into you, yet you still fight it." Kairi adds on. "If what everyone said is true, we should have devolved into madness the moment we woke up. But we haven't. We will beat this. No matter what."

"Our hearts are our guiding key." The two say in unison as the lift comes to a stop. Isaac looks between the two before releasing a shaky sigh. That sigh soon became a chuckle as whatever weight had begun to rest on his shoulders was suddenly lifted. Not in its entirety, but more than enough.

"I've forgotten who I'm paired up with." He says with a hidden grin. "That's another time you've helped lift me up. At this rate, I'm going to owe you a big I.O.U." He remarks jokingly as they leave the lift before turning his gaze forward. "But still, thanks." I'm not going to let you beat me, Marker. We WILL destroy you!

With that mental declaration, the three continue entering a room similar to where Ellie and Stross were. Although this one had neither a store nor a bench. Instead, a single terminal lay at the centre, looking over the windows like a lone warden. As Isaac walked to the terminal, Sora and Kairi stood behind, tools ready and aimed at the vents in the room. Seconds passed as Isaac dealt with the terminal, the sounds of flesh beating against steel echoing through the vents, accompanied by the occasional growling. Eventually, Isaac bypassed the systems on the console before activating a call to Ellie.

"Alright, I've released the transport. We'll meet you at the landing pad. But be careful the Necromorphs are getting smart. One tried to take us out by destroying a window."

"Understood loud and clear. We'll be there soon. Stross, come on." There were some mutterings from Ellies call before her audible groan drowned it out. "I said come ON!" The call ends abruptly after that. But two Enhanced Slashers burst out from the vents a few seconds after it ends.

In comparison, two normal Slashers and a Pregnant appear outside the room, exiting from the transport that had just arrived. As Sora and Isaac turned their weapons on the Enhanced Slashers, Kairi moved to block the only way in. Bringing the Flamethrower up, she fires another flame wall, blocking the only way in.

But the Necromorphs were unphased as they charged through the flames. Their flesh and muscles melt off the bones, while the Pregnant's sack bursts open like a zit. Kairi, fighting the urge to vomit right there and silently thanked that their normal foes never have this type of reaction from fire, switches her Flamethrower for the Seeker Rifle, aiming at the exposed bones on the Slasher's arms.

While Kairi dealt with the outside foes, Sora and Isaac tangoed with those on the inside. Isaac's new weighted Cutter was proving its worth. A single punch had nocked the Slasher onto the ground in a daze, leaving it open to Isaac's fury. Sora's Cutter was showing to have more of a punch than Isaac's, with the Plasma searing through the upper flesh and bone of the Slasher's arms. While leaving the wounds surrounded in a fiery ring, burning away at the decaying flesh.

Soon, all the attacking Necroes were dead again, leaving the transport free for them to bored. A chance the trio took without hesitation as they scrambled into the open door. As it seals behind them, Isaac initiates the lift from inside, begging their descent to the lower floor. But as it began its descent, a light shone behind them

Why did you come looking for me if you knew I was dead, Isaac?

The trio spins around to the light's source, finding Marker-Nicole walking towards them in a slump, the deformed Keyblades spinning behind her.

Did you think I would forgive you? That I would drop the accusation you placed on me?

Isaac grunts as he looks away, Sora and Kairi walking up to stand by his side. Glancing quickly at the two, he looks back at Nicole, his helmet retracting to reveal a pissed-off-looking Isaac. "Get out of our heads. You're not Nicole!" He shouts in anger, pointing a finger at her in defiance. Sora and Kairi nod in agreement as they move to block the illusion from getting closer to Isaac. Marker-Nicole seemed to stop at the wall, tilting her head slightly as the Keyblades stopped spinning.

Who am I, Isaac?

The hallucination screams at them angrily before vanishing in a flash of light, leaving the three with nagging headaches. Sora and Kairi retract their helmets before rubbing their foreheads. Isaac places a hand on his, massaging his aching brain. They reach the bottom of the lift just as the headaches pass, with the side door opening to let an alert Ellie and jittery Stross enter. Ellie gives the three a nod of gratitude before moving to the console as the rest of the group sits on the various benches around the transport. They were just getting ready to rest before an all too familiar sight appeared before them. One that brought back unwanted memories.

"Oh my god. It can't be – that's the Ishimura!" Isaac says in growing alarm as he and the couple look out in shock as the planet cracker comes into full view. Ellie glances at the trio curiously before joining them at the window.

"Yeah. Used to be the pride and joy of the CEC. Sad story, actually. I heard everybody onboard died. Some sort of terrorist attack, I think they said." Ellie informs them, only to be met by the looks of confusion, anger, shock and sadness.

"Terrorist attack? What happened on the Ishimura was no terrorist attack. Whatever that means." Kairi says in anger, muttering the last part to herself that only Sora heard. Ellie looked at her with a confused look before Sora stepped in to elaborate.

"Ellie, what happened on the Ishimura is the same thing happening here." He reveals, earning a shocked expression from her. "We had to fight for our very lives, trying to keep it from falling onto the plant it was at while looking for a way to escape. What we saw on that ship will haunt us forever."

"It's where all of this started, Ellie." Isaac says, a growing anger building within him. "All of this started when Earth Gov dropped a Marker they made onto Aegis VII and left it for dead. Then the Unitologists got wind of it and set up an illegal mining colony on the planet and did it up. They then sent the Ishimura, with a good part of its crew swapped out for Unis, to Aegis VII to retrieve it. And Nicole was on that ship when they did." Ellie could not say a word as she heard the truth from them, her eyes shifting from shock to sadness and finally rage.

Rage at the higher-ups who made this Marker in the first place. Rage at the Unis for sending innocent people to get turned into Necroes. Rage for the people on the Ishimura who were dragged into this against their will.

But before she could even voice her anger, the lift suddenly halted, sending almost everyone to the floor. "What's going on?" Kairi asks in alarm. Rushing to her feet, Ellie looks over the terminal with a concerned look.

"I don't know. There must be something blocking us." Isaac looks around with weary eyes, hairs at the back of his neck standing on end. Griping his Cutter, he slowly walks towards the door before activating his helmet.

"I'll go have a look. Sora, Kairi, with me. I hope it's nothing, but I've got a bad feeling about this." The couple nod before following Isaac out of the transport. Leaving the lift, they enter a storage room filled with crates, with a few Cysts lying on the ground. Not taking a chance, Isaac switches to his Pulse Rifle before launching grenades at the Cysts, destroying them. After killing the second one, an audio log is ejected from the Cysts' body, landing before the trio before playing.

"I'll leave this for who's left – our crew is chasing us. Our DEAD crew is chasing us. It's just me and Ellie right now. We're not going to make it." The recording begins, the man on the other end clearly in pain as he grunts while recording, Ellie's sobs heard just under his voice.

"No, get up, Kaleb, just a few more meters!" Ellie screamed over the audio log. The trio could only close their eyes as they listened, Isaac more so. To him, it was just like how he lost Nicole.

"I hear them coming. Don't kill us both, Ellie. Just run. I'll save you. Just go." Kaleb says with great pain. In clear denial in the logs, Ellie continues to break down, only to be heard to move away with great reluctance. With Kaleb bringing the recording to its end. "This is Kaleb, from shift 1. We lost."

"You can rest easy, Kaleb. Ellie lives." Isaac says with sympathy as he picks up the audio log. "Ellie will want to have this." He states. The two don't argue with him as they leave the room. It wasn't long until they came to a wall of corrupted flesh erupting from a passageway with a Guardian glued to it. With a blast from Sora's Contact Beam, the man was released from his prison as the trio made their way to a nearby lift.

Riding down in silence, the lift opened to another hallway filled with Cysts, soon becoming acquainted with Isaac's Pulse Rifle. A lone Slasher tried to ambush them from the side, but it was met by a blast of Stasis from Sora, slowing it down just as it raised its arms above its head. It was soon engulfed by Kairi's flamethrower. Walking past the burning body, they soon encounter an airlock leading back to the lift. Walking through, they discover what it was that had blocked the shaft.

And it was something they did not want to see.

"Of all the things it could be, it just HAD to be a Drag Tentacle." Kairi says in annoyance as they look at said tentacle blocking the lift. It had also wrapped itself around a tank of some sort, but it was not important at the moment.

"Better call Ellie and tell her." Isaac says, himself not happy at their discovery. "Ellie, come in. We found the problem. There's a giant tentacle blocking the transport door. It's also wrapped around a large tank."

"A large tank?" Ellie replies over the comm. "That must be Nitrogen Trichloride. Those explode if they overheat!"

"Then it looks like we have our answer. Be ready. Things are going to get loud." Isaac says with a hidden grin as he spies several explosive canisters nearby.

"Wish we could use our magic. A fire spell would make this a lot easier." Sora bemoans. Giving him a sympathetic pat on the back, Kairi walks past before using Kinesis on one of the canisters and bringing it close.

"Good things we have these then, isn't it?" She asks with a hidden smile as Isaac does the same with another canister. The two glance at each other before throwing the canisters towards the tank. The second the canisters impacted the tank, it ruptured in a large explosion, removing a chunk out of the tentacle and forcing it to run and heal.

"That's one. We should check the lower platform in case there are more." Isaac says as he moves onto a lift. The couple joined him as they moved to the lower area, where another tentacle had wrapped around another tank. "Okay, Ellie, get ready! We've got one more to take out, then we are out of here!" Isaac says with some excitement as he grabs another canister. Ellie, however, was not sharing his excitement.

"In the middle of all the tank?! That's crazy, Isaac! You'll set off all of them!" She says with growing alarm as the transport moves into the room. It was even clear to move straight outside! Isaac, however, was not budging even as he felt the looks he was getting from Sora and Kairi.

"Well, it's either that or we stay trapped. Get ready!" He replies quickly, and before anyone can stop him, he fires the canister towards the tank. Just as a group of Tripods emerge from above. Unfortunately for them, they had landed right on the tank. The moment the tank exploded, the Tripods were torn to pieces as secondary explosions began to rip through the room. "MOVE!" Isaac cries as the trio rushes back to the lift.

The lift slowly rises to the top as explosions rip throughout the room. Some are a little too close to the transport or them. Eventually, it reached the top, and the trio sprinted into the transport, an explosion knocking them into it.

"Hang on!" Ellie cries as she guns the control, sending the transport out at top speeds. But even then, the flames were licking around them, threatening to consume them in a blaze of death. Thankfully, it was not to be as they shot out of the CEC building at great speeds, the flames of the CEC behind them. The group sighs in relief as Isaac, Sora, and Kairi retract their helmets. But it was soon dashed as Tiedemann called them again.

"In another situation, I would admire the persistence of all of you. But this is bigger than you and bigger than the lives of everyone on this station." He says in his usual voice. While the trio sneered at him in anger, Ellie, on the other hand, had had enough.

"And do you have the right to speak like that, you boot-licking asshole! It's because of Earth Gov that these happened anyway! They told me about what REALLY happened to the Ishimura! How it was all of Earth Gov's fault alongside the fucking Unitologists! Does any of this give you ANY room to stand on?!" The trio look at Ellie with looks of surprise while sporting grins at her speech. Tiedemann, for his part, actually looked struck by her sudden outburst. But before he could reply, a guard informed him that evacuations were ready.

"Running away?" Sora asks with a bit of a mocking tone. Tiedemann looks at him before folding his arms.

"So what if I am. It all ends here, regardless. At this point, it's all just…dead weight." He ends cryptically. As he ends the call, the group, minus Stross, glances at each other with nervous looks, wondering what he means. The answer soon became apparent when a beam of pure solar energy rips through the tram lines connecting the civilian sector to the government one.

"Oh shit!" Ellie curses as she brings the transport to a sudden stop. Isaac curses mentally at Tiedemann before his gaze falls on the nearby Ishimura. Sora and Kairi catch his gaze before widening their eyes in surprise.

"Isaac…"

"Don't tell me…."

Isaac looks at the two with a sad smile before looking back at Ellie. "Ellie, take us back to the docking tube." Ellie looks at him with a raised eyebrow before doing as he asks. "Once we're there, I'll head to the Ishimura and start up the gravity tethers. I'll drag gov sec over here myself."

"Isaac, no!" Ellie says in shock. "You can't do that! Even if the gravity tethers are online, how can you be sure they will even work? The Ishimura is still being refitted after they found her three years ago."

"It's the only option we have right now." Isaac says, resolute in his choice, before looking at the couple. "You two stay here. I am not going to—"

"Stop right there, Isaac." Kairi interjects suddenly. "I know what you are going to say, and yes. Going back to the Ishimura is going to be bad, mentally. But there is no way we will let you go through that ship by yourself!"
"Kairi is right. We went through the Ishimura once. We can do so again." Sora adds, a fire burning in his eyes. Isaac looks between them before shrugging in defeat.

"Should have seen that coming." He replies before looking at Ellie. "Stay ready, and take care of Stross. Something tells me he will snap if we're not careful." Ellie still looked unconvinced as the trio reactivated their helmets.

"Isaac, no! This is a really bad idea!" Isaac looks at her before giving her a shrug as the couple watches on with hidden, amused looks.

"Stick around. We're full of bad ideas." He replies, ignoring the 'Hey!' from the couple as he leaves the transport, Sora and Kairi quickly following him. Entering the docking tube, the trio set off for their new destination.

Or in this case. An old destination.