Dead Space 1.5, A Forgotten Tail

by shadowpheon

Exit Wounds

Vandal activated the elevator and began down the shaft. He breathed heavily, being so close to death. “Now entering Government Sector” Announced the elevator.

“Attention, RIG number 438462. This is Director Tiedemann in the Public Sector. We’ve traced recent acts of sabotage to your suit. Identify yourself.” Came the voice. Vandal knew he was in trouble now.

“Uh… Call me Vandal. But listen, they didn’t tell me what would happen! I just did what the Church told me, and now the bastards have left me for dead out here! So screw them, all right? I’ll even testify if you want me to!” He explained. The elevator came to a stop and opened. The nice white walls had a message written in blood on it. ‘Cut off their limbs’.

“I don’t think my colleagues will accept that. You’ve caused a lot of trouble. But there is a way to make up for some of the damage you’ve done. The emergency quarantine seal of Crossover Tube A has malfunctioned, and as an Engineer, you have the tools to repair it.” Tiedemann informed him. Vandal entered the hall and saw some sections with the lights out.

“Isn’t there someone on your side that can do that? I’m fighting for my life down here!” He protested. He turned the corner into the darkened hallway.

“You’re much closer than anyone from the Public Sector. If you’re truly remorseful, this is your chance to show it. Repair that seal, and it’ll keep those monsters from reaching the population. It may even gain you some leniency… Assuming you survive. Now hurry!” Tiedemann cut out. Vandal almost jumped out of his suit as a body fell out of a vent from above.

Vandal sighed, and continued on. He picked up some plasma energy and walked to a corner. As he was about to round it, a body flew into the wall. “Jesus!” Vandal sighed. He turned the corner to an empty hall. Blood was all over the floor and the lights were out halfway down the hall. Several bodies lay against the sides.

Vandal got to the darkness, right as a creature jumped from a ceiling vent. It growled loudly, and began at Vandal. He took his plasma cutter and shot at it, remembering the message and hitting the thing’s limbs. It groaned and fell over dead. He walked down the hall and came to a malfunctioning door. A body was cut in half, the victim obviously trying to escape when the door closed.

He spotted another door, and opened it. He found a nice room, and a desk at the back of it. The room was separated by a large window. Vandal found a Stasis module in a locker and attached it. “The Stasis module allows its user to reduce relative temporal flow in a small, localized area. Personnel are advised to refrain from using stasis on live organisms, as this may have unforeseen consequences.”

Vandal left the room and approached the malfunctioning door. He blasted the door with stasis, and continued on down the hallway.
* * *

Twilight, Apple Jack, and Rainbow Dash crawled their way through the tight vents in the strange structure the found themselves in. They passed many openings where they saw the native population running down more of the hallways, their two legs carrying them fast, and they understood the doors now as they saw the creatures touch the floating blue circle and the doors slid open.

“Uhg… We need to get out for a moment…” Groaned Rainbow Dash. Her wings were aching as they had been cramped in the vents for about twenty minutes now.

“Just hold on. We’ll get out soon.” Twilight assured her. As she did though, a monsterous growl echoed through the vents. Twilight looked to their side and found a vent covering. “Never mind… Let’s get out for a moment.” She told the two, smashing the cover off. The three steped into a hallway that seemed empty.

As they entered the hallway, several of the natives opened a door and entered, unaware to their presence. Twilight forced the others to duck into a crevice. “We need to get back to the Public Sector!” one of the natives said in a worried tone.

“You think I don’t know that? Only problem is the crossover tubes have been sealed by the quarantine. Those damned things are setting off alarms all over the Mining Sector and trapping us in so they can slaughter us.” The three ponies looked at each other, confused. Could there be other ponies here as well? And why we’re they killing?

Their questions found no answer as they tripped the alarm again. “Foreign matter detected!” Yelled the voice they had become familiar with.

“Shit! They’re here!” A voice cried out. The group began running down the hall, turning the corner right into the ponies. “Oof!” Came the grunt from the humans and ponies as the mass stumbled together. The humans stood in fear as the ponies backed against the walls. “Wait a minute… This isn’t the monsters…”

Twilight spoke up, “Of course we’re not monsters… We got lost and can’t find our way home. Can you…” She was cut off as a vent above the humans burst open, and two ugly, growling creatures came forth from them.

“AHG!” was the scream of a few humans as they were cut down in an instant. Their blood was spilt over the other living ones.

“RUN!” Yelled another human as he was cut down. The ponies and two remaining humans took off in a sprint. They turned a few corners and ended up in a dead end hallway. A vent was at the end. The group backed themselves in while the creatures slowly advanced on them. The vent behind them burst, and Apple Jack reared up, bucking the creature in the face. It’s head exploded from the force of her kick.

“Go! Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!” Yelled one of the humans to the ponies as he grappled with one of the monsters. He was cut down along with his comrade, and the ponies dove into the vent. Twilight used her magic to freeze over the opening.

“That was too close!” Rainbow gasped out.

“We need to find a safe place.” Twilight told them as she began crawling down the vent.

“Are you crazy? We have no idea how many of those things are in these vents!” Rainbow protested.

“Would’ja rather head back that way?” Apple Jack asked her, pointing to the cracking ice, numerous growls coming from the other side. Rainbow Dash sighed and followed Twilight as she led the way.
* * *

Vandal entered the room. It was large with four rooms in the corners. He spotted a control panel, and figured it may unlock the door at the other end of the hall he came from. He approached it and activated it. “Systems, online.”Came the voice as he did. He left the small room and headed for the door back to the hallway. As he got to the door, “Foreign matter detected!” Several monsters began popping from the vents. With nowhere to run, Vandal aimed his plasma cutter and began shooting the limbs from the creatures.

“Everybody listen up! Use your tools and take off their limbs! It’s the only way to slow the bastards down!” Came a random voice over the Rig’s radio.

“Cut ‘em off at the joints, man! They don’t like that so much!” Spoke out another.

“Hey, everybody! You can kill these things! Just keep slicing with a plasma cutter, or whatever!” Vandal followed the advice that came over the radio as more monsters poured from the vents.

“The plasma cutter is an excellent all-round tool, designed to fire rapidly with minimal charge.” Instructed his Rig. Vandal shot the last monster’s head off, and the voice exclaimed, “Quarantine lockdown lifted.” Vandal sighed and walked out of the room, glad to be momentarily free. He walked past the malfunctioning door, and through the previously locked one.

He made his way while a male voice came over the P.A. “Attention! Emergency quarantine lockdown is now commencing. All Crossover Tubes between Government and Public Sectors will be closed immediately.”

“Open the lockdown! There are people still in here!”

“Bastards have shut us off!”

“Gotta be a way out! Keep checking!” Vandal lowered his head slightly as he walked down the halls, the lights blinking. He passed a hole in the wall and opened a door. There was a small hallway before another door. He opened the next, and walked into a small room. The room had bodies around in the corners.

Vandal figured it was a dead end and turned to leave, but found no more door. “What?” He began. When he turned around again, three bodies had written above them, ‘Take Us.’ Vandal approached the first, unsure of how this had happened. The body jumped to life and attacked him. He shot it dead and looked at the other two.

Vandal figured out their trick and shot the other two quickly. The lights then went out, flashed a bit, and when they came back on, Vandal was still standing in the small hallway. He shook his head and laughed nervously, “No way… What the hell?” He ignored it and opened the door, entering an actual room this time.

As the door shut, “Quarantine lockdown initiated.” Monsters began crawling from the vents, and Vandal began making quick work of them. But this time it was different. A, baby almost, crawled out and rose three tentacles. Vandal groaned and shot at it. “Switch to the plasma cutter’s secondary mode for an alternate horizontal beam.” Vandal shot more of the creatures until they stopped coming.

The lockdown didn’t lift though. “What the fuck?” Vandal asked, walking into a room to search it. He stood directly below a vent. He looked up as he heard… Voices?
* * *

Twilight panted as they rushed down the vents. They had encountered closely a few of the monsters before she had blasted them apart. Her heart hung heavy as she did so, not believing she had just taken life. “Twilight! Pay attention!” Rainbow grabbed her as she almost fell down a small shaft.

“Sorry… I’m just… What will the princess think of me when she learns I killed?” She sighed out. Her answer never came as a monster came up behind them, and Apple Jack bucked it. Her buck messed up a bit though, and forced the three down the shaft. “Ahh!” They shared the scream as they blasted out of the vent, and right on top of something that grunted as they hit it.

Twilight lay dazed as she heard a clicking noise. She looked up at a tall figure in some form of armor. It was another human, but not like the ones they had seen.
* * *

“What they fuck? No… I’m imagining things…” Vandal uttered as he stared at the three colorful ponies who had just landed on him. His suit sparked a bit, taking some damage in the impact.

“Please! Don’t hurt us!” Begged the purple one. The others scooted close to her as Vandal noticed his plasma cutter was trained on them. He lowered it.

“Hey… I’m not gonna hurt you… Are you even real?” He asked, kneeling to them. He touched them, and they reacted by trying to scurry to a corner. They felt real enough. Vandal stood and looked around. “What are you? And how did you get here?”

The purple one stood, a little less afraid. “I messed up a spell, and brought us here by accident. Umm… My name is Twilight Sparkle. And these are my friends, Rainbow Dash and Apple Jack.” She motioned to the two other ponies. “What’s your name?”

“My name’s… Uh… Just call me Vandal. Listen, I don’t know if you know what’s going on here, but you can’t be here. It’s not safe! Why don’t you just do a little spell and go back home?” He looked around, the lockdown alarms really starting to urk him.

“I… I can’t… I’m too scared to focus on that powerful of a spell…” Sighed out Twilight.

Vandal sighed now. He looked up in confusion as the lockdown ended. “Quarantine lifted.” The door unlocked.

“Come on. I’ll try to get you out of here. But stay close to me.” Vandal began out of the room, the three in tow. He left the room with them, and came to an elevator. “In. We need to get out of the Government Sector.” Vandal activated the elevator once the three were in. He shook his head. Could this day get any stranger? And how could he possibly complete his goal while trying to watch after three damned ponies? The elevator made its way down the shaft.

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