No. She can't keep searching like this. She still hasn't found anything. She still hasn't found them...
Her thoughts flicker in and out of existence. Only the pain stays constant, rooted deep within her mind. The [Crown] is still feeding on her flesh. She can feel it. But even now, she cannot control it.
That "power" bleeds outward, uncontrollable, shredding the fog. Rifts open in its wake, and "monsters" pour through.
Stop. It has to stop. She has to stop. Keep using the [Crown's] power like this, and F.O.S. will...
A multitude of voices erupt inside her skull, all at once.
■▃▂■■▇▃█▂▄▇■▃█—
Another shriek rips from her throat, and the [Crown's] power surges through the Fog once more.
Then she stops. The great head turns, slow and deliberate, toward the space above the starship's deck.
She sees three specks of light. Each burning at a different intensity.
She moves closer toward the deck, desperate to discern their faces...
She thinks she recognizes them... Her old friends.
F.O.S. Starship
The Fog
With each second, the zone of safety draws tighter. The wounded huddle in makeshift trenches pieced together from supply crates.
Just beyond the crude barricade, monsters pound the splintering defenses, wave after relentless wave.
The filter's holding steady. As long as those monsters are still made of Punishing Virus, the safe zone will hold. But...
The problem is the mass of their bodies. They're piling up fast.
Severed limbs and seeping blood inch into the cramped sanctuary, stealing what little ground remains.
The air reeks of burning, sharp and suffocating. Back to back, the wounded students hold their silent vigil, eyes sweeping the fog, bracing.
Despair tightens its grip. The cold settles into their bones. Their breath, pale ghosts in the frigid air, is the only warmth they have left. Someone finally breaks the silence.
It's... so cold...
...That's the blood loss talking.
He struggles upright and gropes blindly through a corner of a supply crate, his fingers closing around a roll of stained bandages.
Last bandage Instructor Elianna left us. Before she gets back...
Working with his good hand and his teeth, he helps cinch the girl's bandages tight to hold back the bleeding.
Before she gets back, we'll have to make it last.
The rations in that crate... almost gone too, aren't they?
We can stretch them a bit longer. As for the rest...
It all comes down to who gets there first. Us getting out, or them getting in.
We make it back, we get to eat. They break through first, we're the meal.
Either way, someone's belly gets filled.
...
The hushed whispers fade in the flickering light. The student, blood loss taking its toll, slips into unconsciousness.
Commandant!
A blade arcs through the air. A grotesque monster slams against the supply crate behind you, pinned clean through. It had clambered over the corpses of its own kind to breach the safe zone.
Argh! They're breaking through!
Warped mechanical limbs screech and scrape like rusted iron. The Central Purification Filter hums at full capacity, its safe zone slowing the advance.
But it's not enough to stop another creature from springboarding off the first one's arm to lunge straight at the wounded.
They're using the corpses as stepping stones!
A flash of steel splits the air. The blade arcs, near-perfect, as Lucia grips it level and severs the enemy's joints with one clean strike.
Until a real solution presents itself, your only option is to keep shrinking the perimeter. At least the purification filter still holds.
I'll clear the perimeter first. There are too many closing in!
Lucia vaults the trench. Her voice is swallowed whole by the grinding cacophony of the mechanical monsters.
Leaning on one another, the students drag themselves toward the distant Central Purification Filter.
...Ah!
The student's knees buckle. For a heartbeat, she hovers on the edge of collapse.
Hold onto me!
The boy endures the searing pain of his severed arm and hooks his good arm around her shoulder in an unyielding grip.
Don't... Just go! I can't move anymore. They're right behind us!
The swelling in her ankle has turned vicious. She shoves her companion away; when she speaks, despair clings to every word.
RAAARGH!!!
Claws rip through the air, bearing down on them—
You drag the student down, tumble together with her across the ground. The instant you rise, you squeeze the trigger.
The claws slice past inches from your faces.
BANG!
The shot staggers it back, barely. It recoils, shrieking in pain, then surges forward again—
...
A blade cuts through the air. The enemy's charge halts, dead in its tracks.
You heave the now-unconscious student upright, mutter a quick thanks to Alpha, and hand her off to another instructor still on his feet.
I said I'd help.
My prey hasn't shown up yet. That's all.
Yeah. It's closing in on the starship—
Bzzz—
Another tremor slams through the deck. Alpha steadies herself, pressing a hand to her forehead.
...It's fine.
Pain throbs behind her eyes. Alpha furrows her brow, willing it away by sheer force.
The evacuation quiets for a moment. You seize the pause and finally ask Alpha that question.
Why did you?
...
Alpha freezes for a moment, seemingly surprised by your frankness.
...I was following some "phantoms," and they led me there.
We saw it all. How the rift opened and swallowed the F.O.S. starship whole.
We meant to warn you. But the "power" pouring out from this place... it started affecting Luna.
That "power" spawned all these strange phantoms. Some I recognized. Others... I've never experienced.
The image surfaces again: herself, standing beneath the F.O.S. Monument and talking.
Then... I ran into you.
With her frame upgraded, Luna should command most of the Ascension-Network. So for something to affect her like that...
I'm not sure, but whatever it is, I'll hunt it down—
■▃▂■■▇▃█▂▄▇■▃█—
The Chimera's shriek splits the air, cutting your conversation short.
...It's here.
Alpha grips her blade. Without another word, she charges into the fog.
She gropes through the fog, searching.
Open fire!
Vanessa gives the order, her face grim as the Chimera materializes from the fog. The cannons roar. Deadly fire erupts, and the massive beast barely flinches, turning its head just slightly.
...Damn it! Why is it charging straight at us now—
What is it doing?!
Horror seizes Raynor's face. He can only watch as the Chimera plucks a struggling student from the deck.
The dense Punishing Virus devours the protective suit in seconds. Three minutes are all it takes. The student melts into a shapeless, bloody ruin before the beast flings his body aside.
STOP!
A storm of gunfire rakes the Chimera's body. Its blood showers the deck, metal dissolving into pitted ruin wherever it lands.
The beast doesn't even flinch. Unhurried, unfeeling, it stoops and seizes another human.
■▃▂■■▇▃█▂▄▇■▃█—
Power erupts from her, uncontrolled. With it, the starship groans and shudders.
And she sees. She sees—
Alpha stands on the deck, her gaze cold as she looks over.
Guard the comms tower. I'll handle this.
She leaps down from the deck, chasing the Chimera as it retreats into the fog.
...Dammit, a rift!
Every alarm is swallowed by the Chimera's shriek. Alongside the comms tower, a colossal rift splits the air, slowly yawning open.
It gapes like the maw of some ravenous beast, waiting to feast on its next meal.
Valen! Do you copy?!
Vanessa doesn't hesitate. Heavy weapon in hand, she sprints for the base of the comms tower—
The terminal coughs back harsh static.
Well, well... They really don't want us making it back, do they... Haha...
Vanessa pours every ounce of strength into her sprint. Above her, at the top of the comms tower, a small figure leans perilously over the edge.
...Valen! What are you doing up there?!
Sharing the good news, of course.
A low chuckle escapes Valen. He's slumped against the window frame, unable to stand, one finger still holding down the comm terminal's button.
The scout team's two other members are here with him as well, or what remains of them.
Our distress signal got a response.
!!!
Toby went out to install the signal booster... He fell. All I could grab was his left arm.
El and I stayed to hold the tower. Enemies broke through... we were out of ammo.
To keep the equipment safe, El took a micro explosive and sealed herself outside the hatch with them.
All I have left of her... is her terminal.
But... we pulled it off. Scout Team 5... mission accomplished.
He drags a hand across his bloodied mask. The smear clears, revealing a satisfied smile.
We've got a signal from Babylonia.
Valen!!
With Valen's movement, the tower's long-dark signal light flickers awake. That thin blue glow burns impossibly bright against the ravenous dark rift—
Vanessa. Listen.
I'm routing Babylonia's channel straight to your terminal.
The tower has to hold until we get the full transmission from Babylonia, and it will hold.
Beneath the tower, the first enemy claws its way out of the rift, limbs twisted and grotesque.
Vanessa.
Do me a favor... Tell Elianna I said hi.
He hits the detonator.
Tell her... I'll be waiting at the end of the stars.
He leaps into the open air.
BOOM!
