Chapter 22: Déjá Vu on the Ishimura
Silence. That's all there was as the transport came to a stop. All that could be heard was Isaac's breathing as the trio exited the transport. Leaving through the door before them, they enter into a tunnel made of white plastic, with rollers lying around the floor. Following the lights illuminating the tunnel, they soon come across a lift. Entering it, they ride the lift up, finding themselves in an all too familiar place. On either side of the tunnel were landing pads, while long platforms stretched before them in a vast hanger, covered in yellow boxes and plastic covers. And overhanging a wall before them was a sign. USG ISHIMURA.
"Never thought we would come back here." Kairi says quietly as she looks at where the Kellion was. Even though it was no longer there, she could swear she could see it. Smouldering away. Sora pats her on the back as he glances up at the flight control, the windows showing nothing but darkness as the sign below flickered in several spots, just like when they first arrived. Isaac sighs heavily before opening a comm link to Ellie, his voice heavy.
"Ellie, we're in. The flight lounge should have a computer, assuming it's still working. I can check the ship's status from there."
"Are you okay? You sound a little nervous." Ellie asks, picking up the tone in Isaac's voice. Isaac smiled a little, seeing Ellie worry for them, but he knew they had to endure this.
"Last time we were here, things didn't go so well." He admits sadly before shaking his head free of the thoughts. "We'll contact you soon." Ending the call, Isaac led the three to the flight lounge, their footsteps echoing in the empty hanger bay. But as they got closer, the silence was broken.
Be proud, Chen. You got us here in one piece.
Hammond's voice suddenly echoed around them, bringing the three to a sudden stop. Before they could even speak, another voice joined Hammonds.
Johnston might disagree. But if you're offering to buy the first round tonight…
I wouldn't mind something to steady my nerves, especially on CEC's tab.
"That was Chen, Hammond and Kendra's voices." Isaac breathes as he looks around rapidly. Looking at the couple, he could tell by their body language they, too, heard the voices and were equally spooked.
"Something tells me this is going to be harder than we thought." Sora says quietly. Kairi and Isaac agree as they make their way to the flight lounge. Entering the security room showed the walls covered in the same plastic, some with tubes sucking the air out of the walls and vents into quarantine containers. The flight lounge told the same story, with the lockers and vending machines all gone as the room was stripped bare.
The door leading to the Tram station was open but had several containers blocking the door. Not that it mattered, as they entered the corridor they used before first encountering the Neomorphs. Not long before, they found the console glowing a gentle blue as always.
Walking up to it, Isaac logged in, thankful his I.D. was still usable, before bringing up a diagnostics report on the ship. Soon, the familiar voice of the Ishimura's A.I. spoke out to them.
Gravity and life support on reserve power. Primary systems offline. Main centrifuge offline for repairs.
"Well, that's a familiar problem." Isaac remarks before opening a comm link. "Ellie, we reached the console, but we have a problem."
"What's wrong?" She asks, her voice on edge.
"The gravity centrifuge is offline for repairs. We'll have to head down to Engineering. Just like last time…." He says, remembering the last time they went to Engineering.
"Hey, at least this time, we're not under a time limit to bring the engines back on before getting dragged down onto Aegis VII." Kairi reminds, hoping to lighten the situation, if only just.
"Wait, really?" Ellie asks, surprise in her voice. Isaac chuckles at the reminder before returning his attention to the call.
"We'll tell you later. I'll call you when we reach Engineering." Ending the call, the trio turn to the door nearby. "We'll have to take the long way and walk our way there. Not ideal, but I'd rather not take a chance with the Trams." The couple nod at Isaac as they turn back to the door. Memories of rushing through while being chased by Slashers come back as more voice echoes in their minds.
Chen! No!
It's still after us! Run!
Chen's screams could be heard among the voices as Hammond's rifle fired on the Slasher that killed him. Soon, the voices faded away, leaving the three in silence. The three shake their heads as they open the door, showing the hall in the same state as the other rooms. Covered in plastic and tape. A few ladders littered around, while portable light illuminated the corridor. Walk down, they couldn't help but remember seeing the vents burst open as blood covered the floors and walls. The lights above barely working.
You can pretend not to be bothered, but being here rattles all of you, doesn't it, Isaac? All this plastic and tape covering the scars – trying to hide the blood and bodies so no one will ever know. But you remember what happened. No matter how deeply you try to bury it.
Ignoring Marker-Nicole's taunts, the trio continued walking past the now open supply closet they passed all those years ago before arriving at the lift that saved their lives. Walking back onto it, they descend to the lower level, finding themselves in the room where Isaac found his Cutter.
Even though the people here had cleaned away the bodies and blood, glancing at the wall where the Cutter once was, they could still see the outline of the message that helped them fight against the Necroes. Even if it had been wiped away.
Treading the familiar pathways as though it was only yesterday, the three retrace their steps to the tram control room, the old halls of the Ishimura showing no change other than what the cleaners had tried to cover and repair. They couldn't help but feel disgusted that Earth Gov was going to these lengths to cover up what had happened.
I can't sleep, I can't eat. Ever since we got here, I've been having horrible nightmares. I need it to stop! Please make it stop!
A Crew member's voice echoes around them as they enter the control room, the tram consoles flaring with blue and white static. As the trio moved past them, a communication seemed to play from them.
Flight control, this is flight I-S-H-one-five-one. Requesting permission to land.
This is flight control. Welcome back. Your shuttle has been authorised to land. Did you get it? Are the rumours true?
Roger. We have the payload, and it's glorious. Altman be praised.
Roger that. I am notifying Captain Mathius and sending a team to retrieve the payload.
And then they fell silent.
"So, that was when they recovered the Marker, huh? Damn Unitologists. All this because of them." Isaac says, his voice confided to resignation. Sora and Kairi look at the floor, their helmets hiding their faces as they leave the tram control and enter the baggage tunnel. Walking down, moving voices echo around them.
We're getting conflicting reports from the colony. Can you say again?
Over a hundred dead on the colony. Most from violent crimes. Suicides.
God, what's happening down there?
I don't know. I was just glad to get the hell out of there. It's like they're all going crazy down there.
As the voices fade away, the trio move down to the Tram tunnel, walking past more creates and plastic. "I'm starting to get more creeped out with all the plastic than how it was before." Sora comments as they enter the Tram tunnel, a plastic quarantine tunnel greeting them as they walk toward Engineering. "Feel's like a Necro can burst out of the plastic at any time."
"Speaking off, where are they? You would think that the Necromorphs would be swarming everywhere." Kairi comments as they approach a connecting door, separating the tunnel from the next.
"Something tells me we will be seeing them very soon." Isaac says as he opens the door, showing a torn-up tunnel as the Tram corridor opens up before them. Weapons raised, the trio approached a pile of cargo boxes not far away. No sooner do they reach them, a Brute suddenly reveals itself, throwing the boxes towards them and knocking them to the ground. It roars at them in triumph as it stomps its way towards them, only to be hit by a blast of stasis from Isaac.
As the Brute struggles to fight back, Sora runs around its side and blasts it in the back with his Contact Beam. The concentrated energy beam rips through the pods on the Brute's arms as it falls to the ground in defeat.
No sooner does it fall, another Brute roars in a rage, revealing itself at the far end as it knocks away lights in its path. It was followed by Slashers bursting from the vents around them as they moved to pin them in place. After unleashing a flame wall behind them, Kairi switched to her Seeker Rifle and took aim at the Brute charging at them from the far end of the tunnel while Isaac and Sora, who switched to his Plasma Cutter, engaged the Slashers that were charging at them from the front.
I'm done playing around!
Hammond's voice seemed to echo around them as they engaged the Necromorphs, Kairi's flame wall covering their backs as Sora and Isaac dealt with the nearby Slashers. Kairi's Seeker Rifle tore into the Brute at the far end, the bullets easily destroying the pods in its arms as it fell to the ground in defeat. A Pregnant reveals itself as it lumbers towards them while ripping its abdomen open, sending a swarm of Swarms towards them. In response, Isaac fires a grenade from his Pulse Rifle while Sora removes the Pregnant's arms. Soon, all was calm as the trio took a moment to apprise themselves.
And it wasn't good.
"Isaac, I don't have many clips left for the Seeker Rifle. And I've only got two more tanks left." Kairi says in a worried tone while looking over her gear. Sora reports a similar problem, himself down to two Plasma packs. Isaac himself was also running low, down to his last clip for the Pulse Rifle. He had four Plasma packs left, but still, they needed to find a store and fast.
Knowing that time was against them now that the Necroes were after them again, the three sprinted down the tram corridor, eyes peeled for movement. Soon they approached a solid wall with a lift nearby. Stepping on, they rise to find themselves at the Engineering Tram Station. As the couple steps off and scans around, Isaac makes contact with Ellie.
"Alright, Ellie. Good news and bad news. We've reached Engineering and are on our way to the centrifuge."
"And the bad news?" Ellie asks with a knowing tone. She already knew the answer.
"It's not as safe as we thought. The Necroes are onboard." He says grimly as he looks around. Gazing behind him, he could see the Station for the Mining Deck. I forgot that the Mining Deck Station was right next to the Engineering Deck.
"Just be careful, okay?" Ellie asks with concern in her voice. She doesn't know what they went through, but going through the ship again was not doing any good for them.
"We will. I'll call you when the centrifuge is online." Ending the call, Isaac nods to the couple before moving their way into the deck. Finding the all-so-familiar plastic sheeting covering the walls and vents was quickly becoming stale before the A.I. made an announcement.
Warning: The Engineering Deck has not completed final clean-up and decontamination.
"You know, I really missed the voice of the Ishimura." Sora comments as they enter the command room, the doors around them covered in plastic. "It always sounded nicer than the others we've heard."
"I won't disagree." Isaac admits before spotting a shop kiosk to their right. Walking over, he expected to see a limited selection, but to his surprise, he was greeted with the same selection he found on the Sprawl. Guess they really intended to refit her and send her back out. So much for that plan, though…The Ishimura's time is over. She needs to rest… Shaking his head, Isaac, with the limited credits he had managed to find so far, purchases several more rounds of ammunition for them, all while also picking up a small med-pack for safety.
With a satisfied smirk, he hands the ammunition to Sora and Kairi, relieving them of their ammo problems for now before activating his waypoint. The old familiar blue line zooms towards the lift leading down to the Decontamination room. Following it, they find, to their surprise, an abandoned audio log on the floor of the elevator. Picking it up, Isaac activated it to see what was recorded.
Dr. Heidi Latchford Research Summary Organic Matter analysis: There are several shocking findings relating to the sludge-like material found throughout the Ishimura. First, it is HUMAN DNA. Second, and far more disturbing, it re-animates in the presence of the Marker signal. The only conclusion we can conclude is that the entire Ishimura crew was infected and "reconstructed", and then fell into a soupy DNA-sludge when the Aegis VII Marker was destroyed.
"So that's what happened…." Isaac says as the recording ends. "Destroying the Marker killed off all the Necromorphs… That means what we are doing IS going to work!"
"That also explains why the Ishimura is infested free. It was all removed." Kairi adds on. Excitement builds within the trio at this revelation. The only thing left was to get to the Marker and tare it apart. The only question was how and with what?
"Before we get too excited, let's get the centrifuge online. Without it, the gravity tethers won't activate." Isaac reminds the couple as the lift comes to a stop. But the moment they do, they suddenly feel that they have gone back in time. The sign before them was still cracked, even if it was wiped clean of blood. The lights were flickering and had sent the halls into a dim orange glow. And on the floor were bloody footprints in a set of three.
"These prints, they are ours." Sora points out as he kneels down. The prints had dried and hardened into black marks, yet the outlines were too familiar. As well as the size. It was a grim reminder of what they had to do when they first walked through these halls. With resigned sighs, the trio follow their own footprints before arriving at the Decontamination Room. Its interior glowed a gentle white indicating that it had long been repaired.
"Time for another decontamination." Isaac voices with sarcasm as the three enter. Soon the cycle starts as the grates fall over the windows while water sprinkles from above. Remembering last time, the trio aim their weapons at the windows, anticipating an attack. Only, nothing came. "That's, worrying." Isaac mumbles as they exit the room. Sora and Kairi silently agree as they move into the centrifuge hallway, weapons raised. And still, no attack came.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." Sora says as the trio walk past the giant holes in the walls. Blood was still smeared around the holes, showing that this part of the ship hadn't been cleaned yet. Seeing the holes again made the trio on edge, never forgetting the terror that the Drag Tentacles gave them. Eventually, they reached the airlock leading to the centrifuge, and the familiar feeling of zero gravity fell upon them. Entering the centrifuge, their immediate concern was the wall of flesh that had blocked the catwalk. To their immediate relief, said wall had been removed, the remainder of it covered in a plastic tarp with the catwalk free of obstruction.
"That's a weight off our chest. For a second, I thought we would have to run around and not get hit again." Kairi comments as she looks at the centrifuge itself. While it was intact, and the devices they had to insert last time were still there, a pillar had emerged from the top of the centrifuge.
"Looks like they removed from of the pipes when doing repairs." Isaac says as he looks over the problem. "We'll have to use Kinesis to put them back. You're with me, Kairi. Sora, keep an eye out for any Lurkers or Leapers that try to stop us." With a plan set, the three activate their ZG thrusters and float about. With Sora keeping a lookout, Kairi and Isaac begin reassembling the internal mechanism. Thankfully, it didn't take long to grab the pieces that were floating about the empty room, with the centrifuge becoming operational seconds later. Knowing what comes next, the trio float to the activation terminal, with Isaac inputting the commands.
The second he does, guard rails extend from the floor as the pilar sinks back into the centrifuge while it begins to spin once again. The moment it does, the floor beneath opens up, sucking all air out of the room as it is plunged into a vacuum. The trio hold onto the railing, the force of the vacuum stronger than they remembered last time, as Isaac's onboard oxygen kicks in. No longer needing to stand around, the trio moved back to the airlock and left the centrifuge for the last time.
"Next stop is the bridge, right?" Sora asks as the three wait for the room to repressurise.
"That's right. We can activate the tethers from the Captain's Nest. We'll take the tram if it still works." Isaac confirms as the airlock door opens. But just as they began to move out, a Drag Tentacle bursts around the corner and wrapped itself around Isaac's foot. Caught off guard, Sora and Kairi stood in alarm as the Tentacle swung Isaac into the air and slammed him on the floor, ready to pull him away.
Only for their vision to flash as Marker imagery flashed before their eyes, revealing that the Tentacle was an illusion. Or so they thought.
"Owww…" Isaac mumbles as he rubs the back of his head, standing tall as though he wasn't grabbed. A second later, a feeling of warmth spreads over him as Kairi casts a healing spell over Isaac. "Thanks for that."
"Don't worry about it." She replies before her voice takes on a more sombre note. "I thought we were going to have to deal with that again. It was hard enough last time with our Keyblades."
"But there's something I want to ask." Sora says as he looks at Isaac. "Why was your head hurting if it was only an illusion?" Isaac glances at his hand before looking to the hallway, dread hidden behind his helmet.
"I have no idea. Nor do I want to know." He says in a subdued tone before walking forward with heavy footsteps. "Let's get to the bridge and then off this fucking ship." Not arguing with Isaac, the trio continues after dismembering an Enhanced Slasher that tried to ambush them before moving back to the decon unit. During this, Isaac called Ellie. "Ellie, we've got the centrifuge online. We're heading back to the Tram Station."
"Okay, I've almost got us disconnected from the mag-rail. How are you guys holding up?"
"Well, other than having a hallucination of a Drag Tentacle, we're doing fine. Not much Necromorphs here, which is really worrying." Isaac replies with a worried tone. He couldn't help that these Necroes were planning something. But Ellie had other concerns
"Drag Tentacle? Should I ask what that is?" Ellie asks with a concerned voice. Before Isaac could answer her, Kairi stepped in.
"Ellie, take it from me, from one girl to another. You DON'T want to know about the Drag Tentacles." She says with a stern voice, hiding a wave of anger beneath. Isaac glances at Sora, who sheepishly shrugs before returning to the comm, with a slightly startled Ellie on the other end.
"Oookay then. I won't ask. Keep me posted." The three end the call and enter the decon chamber, which initiates its cycle. Only this time, it was not a simple clean. The rumbling in the vents gave away their position long before they busted through, allowing the trio to stand back to back as the mist built up around them. The glow of the orange light pierced through the mist like a lighthouse.
Soon, the Pact was amongst them, busting through the vents two at a time. Isaac fired first with the Pulse Rifle, shredding limbs and tearing off heads with control bursts, while Sora used his Plasma Cutter to shoot off the legs of the Pact. Knowing that the close quarters were her weakest point, Kairi switched to her Flamethrower and readied herself to assist when needed. It was soon wanted when an Enhanced Slasher burst through one of the vents before meeting the flames of Kairi's Flamethrower. Eventually, the horde of Necroes ends, leaving the three standing in a room soaked in blood and decon fluid. A sight they had grown to know all too well. But as they exited the unit, Ellie contacted them, worry and concern in her voice
"Guys, Stross is starting to worry me. Listen…" She moves closer to Stross, seemingly talking to his dead son about his wife. How he was not a murderer. Sora and Kairi look at each other with concern, Stross ramblings alerting them to how far he was gone. Isaac, for his part, would not let him go without a fight.
"Stross! He's not real!" He shouts, hoping to snap him out of his delusion. But Stross snaps back. Claiming that no one could see him because they hadn't taken the third step. That the needle will let them see. The last thing they heard was Ellie telling Stross to put down a Screwdriver before the call went quiet. "Ellie? Ellie! Shit…"
"You don't think…." Kairi says before Sora puts a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. Isaac takes a shaky breath before rubbing his head.
"We need to move. We can't stay here any longer." He says resolutely before marching out of the Decon Unit. Sora and Kairi are hot on his trail. Moving fast, the trio head back to the Tram Station, rushing onto the old familiar Tram as Isaac selected the bridge. Just as the Tram began to move, Isaac's comm flared to life.
"Aw Isaac…dammit, that hurts. The bastard bit me." Ellie says over the call. Relief floods the trio's veins as what they thought had happened fades away before Isaac replies.
"Are you okay? Nothing serious?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing bad. But he's stopped talking and won't look at me. How's it going on your end? And please tell me this plan is going to work!"
"We're already on the Tram, heading to the bridge. We're lucky that the trams are still working." Sora says, with a hidden smile on his face. He wouldn't lie. Having the Trams working makes things a hell of a lot easier.
"That's good to hear. I've found where the Necroes are entering. A hole in the Medical Deck. At least you won't have to go through there."
But it was at that moment that Murphy decided to show up.
Unexpected obstruction ahead. Shutting down. Welcome to the Medical Deck.
"Shit…" Isaac says numbly as Sora and Kairi facepalm themselves. And from what was heard on the comm call, Ellie was probably doing the same thing. "The one deck I did not want to see… This is going to be painful…." Ending the call with the Tram coming to a stop, the trio exit onto a clean station. No sign of blood or body bags in sight. But they were not alone.
The Ishimura Medical Deck. These were my final hours. Cold. Frightened. Alone. Well, go on. Don't be shy.
With resigned groans, the three begrudgingly follow Marker-Nicole's advice and enter the deck. What they were met with was not what they expected. The entire hallway was lit in a deep blue haze, while along the walls and floor were glowing light blue marks. Marks that were placed right where the blood had been.
Stepping forward, they were soon greeted by a group of Necroes charging down the hall towards them. Kairi steps forward, letting out a firewall to block them. The Necroes charge through unphased, their skin and muscles peeling off from the flames. With the bones revealed, Isaac and Sora opened fire with their Cutters, severing the limbs off as Kairi grabbed a Slasher's blade arm with Kinesis and launched back at them. Pinning a Puker to the wall.
"Well, that was a welcome committee." Isaac deadpans before moving forward. "Let's just get off this deck." Moving on, the trio find themselves in the control room for the Cryo Bay. The blood marks stained the floors and walls.
Only for the faithless. Humanity will be made whole, my friends, with or without you. And I'd say you've made your choice already.
Mercer's voice echoes around them, taunting them as his pet Hunter grows alongside him before vanishing like the rest. Pushing the unease behind them, the trio enter the cryo bay as Isaac notes something in the freezing chamber. Walking over, he finds a frozen piece of tissue, to his amazement. A deep red with bone. And there was only one thing this could have come from.
"Guys, mind if we make a quick detour for a second? There is something I have to find out." Isaac says, startling the couple who see the piece of flesh in his hands. "I have to find out who the Hunter was. There has to be a DNA scanner nearby."
"Will it work? It's been three years since then." Kairi says, unsure if it will even scan. Isaac nods before returning to the exit leading to the Chemical Lab. And the Hunter's birthing room. Moving into the corridor, still sealed off by a makeshift barrier, the trio begrudgingly head into the Chem Lab. Just as they were about to leave, a holo recording began to play, startling the three. Tuning to the source, they were shocked to see themselves standing in the room, with Isaac at the controls. But just by looking at it, they could tell something was different. They were not picking up a sample but instead were turning off a ship-wide broadcast. But they had no memory of doing this!
Suddenly, a blast of stasis came from their right, hitting recording Isaac and freezing him in place. As Mercer steps into view, two more blasts hit recording Sora and Kairi.
Isaac Clarke…. Ah yes. Dr Brennan's nearest and dearest. And you have brought some friends, I see. We were colleagues, you know. Dr. Challus Mercer.
Recording Mercer steps up to Isaac, holding a nail gun in one hand to lower Isaac's outstretched arm.
Are you three the reason why the Marker won't begin? That's it. Convergence isn't stalled – she's meddling.
Mercer passes around the three before walking up to the destroyed tank that once housed the Hunter.
How is the question? But even if I was to ask, I suspect you are not the talkative type. And I haven't fully explored the cause of death as that missing factor. Dismemberment… Now I think you're on the right track there.
He grins in the hologram before walking up to the three and passing them towards the exit.
Try and relax, my friends. Convergence is so close. Maybe, your deaths. Will tip the balance.
Soon, recording Mercer leaves, as the trio in the recording finally break out of stasis, as the Hunter emerges behind them. Just as the trio turn towards it, the recording ends.
"What was that? I don't remember any of that." Sora says in alarm. PLEASE let this not be another Castle Oblivion situation!
"I don't know, but I'm not staying here to find out." Isaac says as he opens the door to the Chem Lab. Sora and Kairi quickly follow him towards the lift up to the top floor before heading into the Image Diagnostics bay
Just like the rest of the deck, it two was filled in a blue hue. All around were the marks of blood and a trio of footprints dotted on the floor. Footprints that belonged to them. Walking along and again having to use the giant cylinder as a platform, the trio moves to the service lift. Riding down, they spot a problem as a fount of electricity arcs from a part of the wall. A lone Slasher tries to sprint through, only to fall to pieces in its attempt.
As the trio ponder what to do, Isaac spots a cylindrical object nearby. Recognizing it as a DNA scanner, he walks over to the device before inserting the piece of flesh inside. Sora and Kairi spot Isaac doing this and walk over to join him.
Beginning DNA Analysis. Match found for: Brant Harris, mining contractor, Aegis VII. Registered physician: Dr Challus Mercer. Warning: Severe DNA abnormalities found. RiG tracking is unavailable.
"Harris…What did Mercer do to you?" Isaac sadly says as he looks on in pity. "Sorry about that. I just had to know."
"It's alright, Isaac. We know that he was innocent before the Marker and Mercer turned him into that." Kairi says with understanding before turning her gaze back to the arcing bolts. "Now, how do we get through that?" Isaac tilts his head in, though, pondering what to do, until Sora grabs the duo's attention.
"What about this battery?" He asks, pointing at the said cube with his Cutter. "Think this is what's causing it to go crazy?"
"It could be." Isaac replies before grabbing the battery with Kinesis. The moment he did, the arching stopped as it was no longer receiving power. But it was at that time the Necroes chose to strike. Bursting from the vents, a group of Enhanced Slashers and Leapers charge at the trio, eyes blazing red. After chucking the battery at one of the Slashers, Isaac opens up with his Pulse Rifle as Kairi ignites her Flamethrower. Sora, deciding to take a risk, switches to his Contact Beam before firing a concentrated beam at a Leaper crawling along the wall.
As the final Necro falls, silence fills the empty room. Fresh red blood mixing with old cyan creates a morbid paint canvas. Not wanting to stand around, Isaac leads the two out of the Imaging Diagnostics into another corridor stained with the crew's blood.
You never found my body, never said goodbye. Was I stacked in the morgue with the others? Another random casualty? Or was I turned into one of them? Wearing my bloodied face, stalking the halls for more victims.
"Nicole would never let that happen! She's smarter than that!" Isaac yells back, not believing Nicole wouldn't have made it impossible for an Infector to get her. That seemed to silence the phantom as the trio entered the security room.
So, you have decided to be difficult. Take a seat. I'll deal with you momentarily.
When Mercer's voice ends, a Puker bursts in from above, only to be diced by Sora and Isaac's Plasma Cutters. Walking past the Puker, they make their way to the second Tram Station, leaving the neon blue halls of the Medical Deck behind. But the moment they do, they find themselves in a Zero Gravity environment.
Caught off guard for a second, the trio activate their jets before flying out into the damaged tram corridor.
The barrier between us is wearing thin. Behind every tarp… a memory. Behind every door of the passage of time from my life to where I died.
"You're not going to break us." Isaac says defiantly. Sora and Kairi nod in agreement, but the Phantom is not amused.
Why do you keep insisting these unpleasant memories are somehow my fault? This isn't about the Marker, Isaac. Neither is it about that gateway your friends failed to build. This is about you.
Isaac grits his teeth as the Marker tries to get into his brain, but he fights it off. Focusing instead of manoeuvring past the debris of a crashed Tram car, Isaac, Sora, and Kairi soon arrive at the Bridge Tram Station. Only for more voices to echo in their heads again.
I'm not losing the Ishimura. Not now.
The Ishimura, Hammond? Or the Marker?
That Artifact they found?
Don't bullshit us. CEC knew all along about the Marker, didn't they? Isn't that why you're here?
And how does losing two of my crew fit into this?
"They were both right. If only they could work together, they would be alive right now." Isaac says as he looks to the ground. Sora and Kairi give him comforting pats on the arms before focusing. Moving into the winding corridor of the Bridge Deck, they soon approach the glass wall, still with a giant hole in it. No sooner do they approach it, a Brutes arm smashes through, trying in vain to smash them. Only for it to vanish in a flash or Marker symbols, the hole in the glass vanishing alongside it.
Shaking their heads, the trio sprint down the corridor and onto the bridge, its floor littered with boxes. Through the windows, they could see the Gov Sector floating away. They could only hope that the tethers could still reach it. Sprinting to the lift, Isaac activates it just as a Leaper rushes towards them. Only to face a wall of flame before it could reach them.
"That was close." Isaac comments as Kairi changes the cylinder of her Flamethrower. "Ellie, we're on our way to the crow's nest to activate the tethers. Be ready." Ellie soon appears on a video call, smiling as she looks out to the Ishimura.
"Okay. It looks like the gravity centrifuge is all powered up. We're ready on this end."
Ending the call, the trio stepped off the lift and headed to the nest, noting that a new escape pod had been placed inside one of the chambers. Walking into the next, a hologram of the Sprawl stretched out in front of the Captain's chair while a console stood ready on the left. Walking towards it, Isaac looked back at Sora and Kairi, who nodded before he activated the gravity tethers.
As soon as he did, the ship began to shake, as it slowly moved into a better position before three beams of pure light shot out towards the Gov Sector. The moment they connected, the large piece of rock was dragged towards the Ishimura, powerless against the tethers designed to snag asteroids larger and faster than it. As the trio moved out of the next, Ellie called them, telling them to return to the tacks. But Isaac told her there was no time. They would use an escape pod to get to the Gov Sector.
With no room to argue, Ellie ends the call as the three moves towards the only escape pod left. But as soon as they did, Marker-Nicole appeared again, the Keyblades standing on either side like guards.
Where are you going, Isaac? Do you think I'm still something you can avoid?
Isaac glares at the hallucination, not noticing Sora and Kairi holding their heads in pain, before looking at Marker-Nicole in the eyes. "I don't know! I don't know what you are, okay!?" He shouts. That seemed to pacify her, as Nicole soon vanished, leaving the three alone again. "Hurry into the escape pod. It's going to be tight." The couple nods, their headache diminishing before joining Isaac in the pod.
While equipped for three people, this one was still not designed for three people wearing engineer RiGs. But despite the uncomfortableness, the three buckle in as the pod jettisons away.
"Ellie, we're away. Did you make it?" Isaac calls out on a comm. Ellie picked it up, saying they had made it, but they were coming in hot. But just as things were looking up, Stross finally snapped.
"I just need you to see what I see, Ellie. I promise this won't hurt…."
"Stross! Put down that Screwdriver!" Ellie cries out, anger and fear in her voice as the comm cuts off. Panic seeps into Isaac's veins as the transport cart appears in view. But things only went worse as something smashed into the pod.
Warning! Impact detected! Guidance system malfunction!
"Shit! Hold onto something!" Isaac shouts as he grips his harness. Sora and Kairi copy him, just as a platform on the Earth Gov side comes into view.
The next thing they knew was the sound of crashing metal, followed quickly by darkness.