Dead Space 1. Chapter 1

**Author Notes/Disclaimer:(remember that this is rated M for a reason)**

**This is rated M due to blood, language, death, vivid descriptions, as well as other things. Remember this is Dead space, you've been warned. This is a side story to my main story: _Dead Space: The Lock Box. _The purpose of this side story and those to come after are made to introduce new things that protein to the whole of the series and my expanding of the Dead Space verse. This meaning that the overall purpose of my fan fiction series for Dead Space is going to involve a lot of additions to it because very little will involve main canon, but events and people of that main canon will be mentioned. Of course necromorphs will be involved, but as I mentioned before new things will be introduced. I do not own anything of the Hindu religion or Dead Space, but all original works belong to me. Dead Space ****is owned by EA and Visceral. I hope you enjoy.**

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_"The Raktavija is a demon of Hindu mythology who's blood, if it were to stain the soil it would grow a mirror image of it's self and wreck havoc on the souls of the living. If one were to slay a Raktavija, then they are running a fool's errand and are simply watering the seeds of destruction. By the time you'd have slayed hundreds, you would grow a hundred more."_

_"Raktabija is a demon-general who sought to overthrow the gods with the demons who rallied to do the same, and take control of the earth. To accomplish such a feat would require a special trinket, a trinket that could only be granted by the creator himself, Brahma. Through the practice of austerities Raktabija was granted a boon that allowed the demon's power to increase by a thousand every time a drop of blood was spilled."_

_"Such a demon could only be slayed in a absolute victory."_

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All was in utter silence save for drops of a metallic liquid that stained the metal floor in dark crimson that slowly darkened to a eerie black. Lights were flickering at a pace similar to gentle tidal waves waning against grains of sand. The narrow corridor was once again revived with the faint essence of lifeless sounds that echoed continuously into eternal darkness. As the lights continued to shine their final glimmers of light they ever so slightly told a tale of immense imagery. A tale of despair, a tale of lost, a tale of hopelessness, a tale of untimely ends, but this is a tale with no end.

In a instant a blinding beam of energy blazed through the narrow corridor leaving no crack or crevasse unchecked. In it's wake the walls were illuminated by a luminescent glow. The once dark hallway still stood tall as it's barriers illuminated the essence of the beam. Standing motionlessly yet firm and silently critical was a figure that stood where the beam had emerged from. The figure slowly marched forward with heavy steps that echoed and rippled through the hall, each step was steady and powerful. It's nature mechanical, it's frame was smooth and refined, it was in truth a creation of man based upon various military rigs. It was armored to the brink and stood at twice the height of a full grown man

The mechanical man raised it's large rifle that was being held up at the back by it's right hand that was firmly griping a vertical handle. As for the left hand it was carrying the rifle at the center by a horizontal handle that sat just before the cocking mechanism. The mechanism slowly lifted itself upward and outward as extremely volatile jets of steam excreted from the mechanism. Simultaneously two panels on each side had opened and were also releasing volatile steam. As the weapon continued to cool down the machine spotted nothing of relevant interest and exited the hallway and continued it's hunt for abominations.

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"All bots are reporting zero across the board, and at this rate they'll trash whatever's left of the east wing of _ECHO_ labs. I swear all these damn things are meant for is to kill any dumb shit who looks at Madam Elma the wrong way. Speaking of that bitch I heard she called back all commanders for debriefing on all new necromorphs and necromorphs classes. Talk about a busy day, huh Johnson." The operator turned in his seat to face his companion for his thoughts on the situation, and he already knew that he wasn't going to like what he was going to hear.

"Hell! They should rename this lovely shit hole _Delta_ labs for all the weird shit that happens everyday, I swear they don't pay us enough to be working outside the jurisdictions of the Church and Earth Gov! Crazy bastards every last one of them!" Johnson halted his rambling and took a deep breath trying to process all that's happened in the past month.*sigh* "I'm sure they have their reasons to do some of the shit they do, but honestly does any of this make us any better then the government and all those damn loyalists." Both men look at each other speaking a silent conversation with a very clear answer in mind. "Forget I said anything about-" Johnson was stopped mid sentence as his partner gazed at him dead in the eyes with his own half lidded ones that conveyed no emotion. "James?" James sat void of expression and gave a smug smile as he realized what he was about to say.

"You know we got it good here" James gave a half hearted chuckle as he continued. "I'm sure you've heard the rumors surrounding the head of _ECHO _labs, yes? Well I'm sure you have since everyone else has, and of course the rumor in particular are about his family. I mean don't get me wrong Dr. Enki is a nice guy who cares for nothing more then the safety of all, but then again . . ." The air around them grew dense as James continued to smile smugly, but before he could continue the monitor behind him started flashing red as a alarm went off. "Are you shitting me! They find something now, and not then when they practically blew away part of the facility!"

Already at door ready to get in gear, Johnson yelled from across the room" We'll finish are talk later lets just get the hell out their and take this son of a bitch down!"

"Remember the tier 3 security suits are on the right, and the munitions are on the left!" Johnson banged on the hallway wall twice to show he got the memo while James jumped up from his seat following behind Johnson and several other operators and officers. They made a mad dash for the nearby armory. Men and women filed in one by one wasting no time to get dressed and combat ready. The tier 3 security suit that they wore were similar to the security suit worn by members of the Sprawl security teams on Titan Station, but the tier 3's helmet had three visor lines instead of two, and was much more sharp, curved, and angular in design then the normal security suit. It's visor lights were a deep dark blue that contrasted the glossy dark crimson color scheme of the suit. The armor in general was a bit angular with sharp edges, and was lined with smooth armor plating. The spinal R.I.G on their suits were currently in motion storing their ammunitions, medical equipment, as well as other necessities. This was being done via forms of nanotechnology and small mechanical arms that sorted most equipment in their inventory located throughout their suits.

All of them wielded different variations of pulse rifles, each one was cluttered in varying assortments of attachments, but all of them bared switchable ammo types as well as bayonets fastened at the lengths of the barrels. A revolver was holstered at their sides which also bared a bayonet. Armed to the teeth and ever so ready to eviscerate,or perhaps obliterate any necromorphs that stood as opposition against them.

"Alright now that everyone's ready, activate the chimeras and lets show these bastards that the hunted are now the hunters!" The CO looked over at both James and Johnson who were face palming at how ridiculous the CO's statement was considering how well armed everyone was. Not to mention the group of mechanical drones that would soon be accompanying them. "Something wrong gentlemen?" Johnson was the first to speak.

"Sir with all due respect I'm aware of how dangerous these things are, but chimeras, really? I mean for crying out loud sir these things make any normal sized necromorphs a fucking chew toy!" James followed up.

"Not to mention we already sent out several mark 2 mechs Mason-" Mason brought his hand forward signaling James to hold his thought.

"Now, now James you can refer to me as your CO or Lieutenant, lets be formal here. I mean come on were not drinking buddies, and besides lighten up you two. Were here to kick some necromorph ass and most definitely not chew that shitty bubble gum that you find on the walls out their." Mason was grinning under his helmet. Thinking that he was cunning and sly for his joke, but it was quite clear that everyone else in the room could beg to differ with his foolishness. They wanted nothing more but to hit him right where it hurts. Before anyone could retort, the armory grew silent as a man in a suit and R.I.G of unknown origins walked in with a lab coat attire.

James' eyes widened at realizing who this was while he mumbled under his breathe, 'Speak of the devil.'

"Good day everyone I'm just here to inform all of you that a month from now my brother will be assigned here, and from my understanding their are many rumors surrounding him. Well don't worry, because he won't be coming for another month and that gives you time prepare for his arrival at Madam Elma's lovely establishment. Oh, and by the way Johnson. What James was trying to say was theirs always a black sheep in the family. Guess that makes me the white sheep huh, oh, but don't mind me. I just wanted to give you all the heads up. Good day." Everything he said was spoken casually and free of worry, as to how he managed to be so casual was anyone's guess. The good doctor calmly walked off leaving the security team to it's former task: eliminating necromorphs.

Mason snorted in disgust at the doctor as he walked off which only added to how much his fellow officers despised him and could care less for his well being, or whether or not he lived or died. "Are those fucking dogs ready or do we have to keep standing here like piles of shit?!" A operator walked up to Mason with seven chimeras following close behind. The operator was quite unamused at the absolute ignorance of his CO. "Good, now get the fuck out their and move your asses!" Everyone stormed out of the armory as if they were running straight out of the fires of hell, and maybe their souls might just be headed for those flames.

A total of fifteen men and women left the armory that day. The question was how many would return human, if they return at all? For they would soon find out just how powerful the Raktavija truly was.

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**I should note that while thing are progressing slowly over all I've been spending a month or so coming up with ideas for this fan fiction series. As for a future note if you like to see a update on progress then feel free to check my profile for status updates and see what I plan on doing. While those updates might not be much I hope they let you know that I'm always working on this mentally and physically, because no matter how slow I work on this I will see it through to the end. So with that said I hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review with your feedback and thoughts.**


	2. Chapter 2

The liquid of life pumped steadily through my veins fueling me with strength to charge on and through the halls. These were the very halls of life itself, for they too contained the precious nectar of life. Some spoke of this liquid as biter, others spoke of it as if it were the water of the holy grail. Like a vein this hallway's substance flowed, but much like a river it could be dirty or tainted at times. In this moment, tainted was too kind a word to describe this corridor or any like it. The hallway went on for miles, covered in remains that gradually floated along a 6-inch high river of red.

"Man . . . a lot of civilians came into work today." A soft voice spoke out over all the splashing sounds of boots and robotic legs motioning through the red river. I looked over at Johnson who for the most part along with the others present had remained silent since the fifteen man squad broke into two groups. For the time being I was left wondering if he was really phased by any of this at all, considering how he use to patrol a city near the _Omega _facilities.

"Hey James? I know I've only been stationed here for about a week now, but are things always like this, you know the outbreaks?" I stopped walking and turned to him, causing the entire group behind me to stop.

"Yes. It's as you might already know that it's been most prevalent in this past month, but one of the oddest cases involved the corruption growing inside of people." The women present in the group shuttered under their helmets while one of the men snickered under his which in turn earned him a glare from those around him.

"I don't get it, what's so funny?" Johnson spoke with a hint of confusion.

"They were all women, so let it process in your mind as to why this idiot finds it funny." I stated bluntly.

"Damn your one hell of a pervert!" Johnson was in disgust of such a thought.

"If you think he's bad, then you should have seen Mason on that very same day. I mean for crying out loud he was getting off on that kind of shit! Hell! Even this jokester cringed at that!" At that moment I could tell Johnson was utterly dumbfounded and disgusted.

"I-I-I . . . j-just no. Just God no!" Johnson was in utter disgust at the very notion.

The owner of the voice from earlier walked up to me. It just so happened that they were gripping their right arm in a bit of distress while their head hung low. Their walk was feminine, their figure slim, and they conveyed much shyness." May I help you ma'am?" She quickly lifted her head at me almost as if I caught her off guard, and despite her armor she was still several inches shorter than me. She just stared at me, but finally she spoke.

"S-sir I just wanted to ask if you know what were up against here?" Either she wasn't aware of the conversation I just had, or she was scared. By the look of things she was an operator who was a medic . . . hmm, guess that explains that, poor kid.

"If were lucky it's just another regenerator . . . if you don't mind me asking how old are you and what's your name?" I patiently waited for her answer.

"I'm 22 and my name is Althea, sir." As far as I could tell she must have been the youngest person currently enlisted in any operations branch of the origination we serve. It got me wondering if she had any sort of, well _natural talents. _Earlier I realized she was a medic, but was she adept at the craft or did she simply carry more than she could chew?

"I didn't realize they let someone who could get visibly nervous handle a syringe. No offence intended, but your still an adolescent as far as I'm concerned Althea. Should I be worried that your allowed to work at _ECHO_ facilities considering it's one of the most dangerous work environments on the planet?"

"No sir, but may I ask how anyone can even fathom or conceive the thought to allow the lieutenant to be in his current position?" I chuckled to myself. To be honest I was surprised she even ask. I laughed once more to my self. Well if she insists.

"Well it's quite simple really, you see here we allow suitable and capable idiots to take charge so they can get themselves killed, but that's not even the _fun _part you see! The best part is when we're allowed to kill them are selves in any manner which we like! To add insult their fatal injuries we turn them into necromorphs, so we can _kill them, and kill them, and kill them over, and over, and over again, until we get bored, but it sometimes doesn't even stop their! Oh yes that's right it gets even better than that you see. If we don't kill them . . . the dead doctor will take care of them while their still alive! He's dead yet he's alive, he's dead yet he's alive, he's dead yet he's alive! He never sleeps nor eats, he has no moral, he has no will, he's like a mindless abomination who can't think for himself, but yet he can think ... is he even human . . ._

_Even human ... are they even human? _

"Sir . . ."

_What?_

"James?"

_What?_

"James . . . James!?"

_Christ what the hell do you want! I just said what three fucking times! What do you take me for a fucking bat!? _At that very moment I felt a hand make contact with my face making me look to the side. I looked back to see the source of the hit. Johnson was yelling at me for reasons unknown to me.

"I thought you never snap out of it-"

"Snap out of what?"

"As soon as she asked you about Mason you just stood there." I looked over at Althea who was just staring at me, but yet she looked a little taken back. I could tell by her stance and by how her head was slightly reared back. Well I guess her question was rhetorical then.

"Something wrong Althea?"

"Your eyes, theirs something on your iris." I realized that my helmet wasn't actually on, guess that explains how I felt the hit.

" *sigh* Well you see, this thing on my iris is imprinted in my left eye."

"What?"

"look, this is what civilians on this planet have on their eyes, but everyone else gets a different implant on their eyes. Which means that everyone that's a civilian has circuitry wired in their heads that functions differently from the ones that soldiers have. Ours is to only keep track of us, so they can find our bodies. The funny thing about that is that asides from our suit R.I.G.s theirs also a spinal R.I.G. on our spines, as in our spinal cord. The primary spinal R.I.G. on the spine can be found on anyone, soldier or civilian. The purpose is to keep your body strait in the event that all your bones break, no problem, this thing will keep them in place, because it's connected to your entire nervous and skeletal systems. Hell. This thing also keeps track of you, but then again you can never be too careful."

Everyone in the hall had _fond memories _of having stasis surgery with a R.I.G. literally being stapled in their spine that becomes a part of you as it pumps a special substitute liquid source into your body to stabilize it since you lose a lot of fluid in the process. And to make matters worse you can't do anything to try to numb the pain afterwards that's caused by aftershock effects, or you'll cause the _special _liquid to force open your entire spinal cord and make it _slowly _harden the liquid that's so good at stabilization that your nervous system is completely preserved. Which means that you'll feel every bit of your spinal cord tearing and expanding causing your entire spine to explode. Then each rib gets blown off in every direction at a fast enough speed to decapitate a person with no protection, and that happens when their no longer in a state of stasis. After that if your lucky trauma and shock _might _kill you, and by kill you I mean that the shock or trauma will overload the liquid causing it to fully harden and eviscerate whatever's left of you. Now that doesn't mean that'll guarantee the liquid to harden in the right way since it only has a 2% chance of finishing you off right there.

"Don't prisoners in most cases scream like a banshee if they tamper with the spinal R.I.G. until a sadistic fuck shoots them in the head with explosive rounds." Those explosive rounds do more than just blow up your head.

"Yes Johnson, they try to commit suicide by dehydrating their bodies with poison, so that they can beat the _special _liquid to their death."

"So it's a case of picking your own poison then?"

"No it's a case of killing yourself quickly before you get put into a coma by the liquid that will then put aftershock rapture into effect. Which is the process that happens if you try to numb aftershock pains before their scheduled deactivation."

"You forgot to mention the part where they take old thermometers and crack them open so they can drink the mercury like poison." A officer walked up along side Althea. "And what's with all this _special _liquid talk? I mean why would anyone call it that in the first place?"

"Because no ones bothered naming it, and prison guards put out those relics called thermometers out just so they can kill the unlucky bastards. And it sure as hell isn't out of mercy no matter how much you sugar coat it. Oh, and by the way Althea, the only reason someone would not know about eye implants is if they were a natural telekinetic who isn't a Templar, because well they don't want to scare off anyone with natural talents like that now would they." She lowered her head slightly fearing the idea of having something wired in her head, but then again I can't blame her because without warning those implants in your head might just be used for mind control. Hell, it's one thing to go crazy under the effects of a marker, but it's another thing to be a puppet for the rest of your life. One is temporary, one is permanent.

"Blunt much, well everything you explain is done bluntly. You do know we've been standing here talking for quite a while now, and that Templars are just a myth? Right James?" Before I retaliate Johnson's statement I should get my helmet back on.

From the projector on my chest to the rim of my collar around my neck, metal plates and pieces shifted into place connecting like circuitry, moved by tiny mechanical arms that used greater precision to arrange the metal walls that would soon encase my thought center. As my head was surrounded by metal walls that fit to my face, I stood reminiscing my life in a matter of seconds. It was almost as if I stood here for a lifetime like I had a lifetime to remember everything in my life. Everything from the happiness to the pain, everything good to the bad, everything from right to wrong, and finally everything from triumph to failure. One of the most important things I must remember is my name. Without it I have no identity, without it I have no origins. It's quite funny really, every time I put this helmet on I remember who I am.

"This is why I'm the chief operator of the squad. If any of you haven't noticed yet, but we've walked for the whole conversation. Even when you thought you stopped walking earlier you were actually moving the whole time without even thinking about it because I enticed you into my very words, catching your interest by reminding you of what we were taught as we grew up under this origination that's been cradling us since day one, raising us._ They are the most honest of sinners, and the most honest sinners_ _care little to none for their actions or what we say in retaliation to oppose them. For they've walked the scourge earth long before we came into being_. You see it's quite simple really, they admit to all the things I explained and it goes even farther than that. They'll tell you first hand what they are going to do, but unfortunately many of us have forgotten what they have done and all they are responsible for." I looked over at the officer standing next to Althea, waiting to see if he had something to say.

"No wonder you're so good at telling who's who. You've been observing us this whole time, your testing us ... wait ..." He must have just realized it, took him long enough. "Mason's too much of an idiot to bother with planning, he was given orders to activate them, but no one cares enough about him to be cautious unless ... unless they were part of the group because they know what's really going on. James you son of a bitch, you ordered him to activate them by making it look like it wasn't from here, but from a higher up! What the hell do you know that we don't!?" I started clapping slowly and smugly.

"Bravo Calice, hmm what a strange name. Well yes I do know something, like, oh let me think ... everyone's name, codes for mechs, and every necromorphs that can be found locked up in the _ECHO_ labs. To no one's surprise it's a regenerator just like every other time there's an outbreak in the labs, but this is no ordinary regenerator. This abomination is so special it was named after a demon for just the lovely reason of being able to not just regenerate it's own limbs, but it's limbs could grow into another one of itself that could in turn do the same. And if you think that's fun then you should have been there when it was put in a fucking furnace at a high enough temperature to melt as if it were molten lava. All it did was piss it off to the point where it started hunting specific people for trying to melt it! HELL, it charged past everyone who was shooting at it while it chased down one of thirty soldiers! Let's just say that poor bastard got plunged legs first into that furnace and was dunked repeatedly until he literally snapped like a twig, it was very audible too" Johnson holstered his rifle on his back and walked up to me griping both my shoulders and looked down at me due to his slight height advantage.

"You're telling us that all that shit that was happening over at _ALPHA_ wasn't exaggerated, it was really like that!?" Johnson shook me back and forth yelling in my face .

"Yes! Now stop shaking me or I'll vomit!" He released his grip on my shoulders allowing me a chance to balance and regain myself by the wall on the right side of the never-ending hallway. Turning around I notice Althea walk up to me putting her left hand on my shoulder to help me balance.

_SMACK_

Althea slapped me across the face, it was a good hit since I felt a slight a vibration in my helmet. "If you did that because I deserve it then you might as well shoot me in the head or rip out my spinal R.I.G. connected to my spine, because I wouldn't mind a bit of peace in my life for once." I don't know why, but I'm genuinely smiling under my helmet hoping that she just kill me ... maybe I still blame myself for a lot of things, or maybe it was because I've already lost my soul when I lost my ... m-my ... my wife, and my son. I still remember that day they took them away, I remember everything that happened, _everything. _It's _forbidden _to talk about him directly, but if I do talk about him then that's a story for another time.

"No, I did it because I wanted your attention, and for you to listen." She took a deep breath, but it sounded so light. "You didn't tell us before because you didn't want us to worry about the situation so our minds would be clear for the moment so we could get some peace of mind while it lasts. You explained what you did because you wanted to make sure we were prepared, and said what you said because you wanted to understand us in your own way. You wanted to understand us better because you didn't just see us see us as soldiers. You ordered Mason to get the chimeras going so we would have a fighting chance against this thing, because you knew you would lose everyone without them. You did this because you care."

"What?" I-I don't get it. What is she getting at, what does she still have to say? She's said all she had to and

"You don't want to be alone again. Despite how blunt you can be, it's just your special way of saying you care." I see.

"So your rather empathic and positive despite everything, huh."

"Indeed I am. Come on we shouldn't pry on this and linger, we should keep going." I simply nodded and kept going with a bit more vigor in my step.

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Void of visual vibrations, but ever so subtly vibrations of sound echoed within the crux of time as an ancient puppet master sat awaiting the arrival of his audience that would soon lay witness to his masterpiece. A masterpiece that had yet to earn the earthly name of a masterpiece, for it required his puppets of illusion to take an arm and a leg yet quite literally so. He sat awaiting for years within the minds of his puppets, awaiting his grand entrance so that he may make one final attempt at pleasing his unwilling guesses who were readying their vile vegetation. Such vile vegetation, smothered in red, topped in green. Even the red cat with it's smile of greed could clearly see and perceive that a tough crowd such as this could never raise or crack up a smile. For they were blind yet all-seeing, heartless yet still beating, living yet dead, emotionless yet aggressive, the crowd was very real yet it was quite pseudo.

Several mechanical men stood with rifles raised, aiming at several twitching necromorphs that simply twitched in place awaiting a gesture from their unseen puppeteer. Each mech stood as tall as the average man, they were nothing more than simple security suits wired with circuitry lined throughout their interior. A holographic screen was being projected from the visor silts in their heads, it glowed a bright green. The animated armor that they were, bore a strong metallic red. Jokingly so they were seen as rotting vegetation in the eyes of a certain puppeteer who in truth had no real eyes.

The twitching husks sensed the unseen hand of their puppeteer who pulled on their nonexistent strings, and with that they faded from sight. The mechs opened fire a mere moment before the monstrosities left their current plane of existence, however in truth the twitching puppets had never left in the first place for they moved at such a speed that exceeded all their brethren that came before them. They've adapted to the tortures that all necromorphs of their kind before them have suffered, yet while they appear the same they are much different. The form they bore at this very moment was nothing more than an illusion of what they truly were.

A ceaseless hail of bullets blazed through the air causing it to literally glow forming trails in the air. The trails were the result of the air being stirred by each individual casing of a single round excreting heat in a controlled manner that ignited each particle within the air. As the air turned to raw heat energy it revealed the twitchers charging violently in the directions of the mechs. Which in turn continued to unload superheated bullet after superheated bullet at their aggressors who some could argue were not so different from one another for both were mindless puppets.

The result of the battle was unsure and unclear, but even machines could be out done by mere walking pounds of decaying flesh. At best these creatures were mindless and lingering at best.

Mindless and lingering however was not the movement being exerted by the abomination that calmly sat in the center of the barren room. It was barren of the living. It sat in what looked like a state of meditation with it's legs in a crisscrossed formation as it's arms were bent at the elbow resting it's hand-like claws on it's legs. The site that beheld itself within the confines of this space would be seen as odd by many if not all human, but their could be exceptions. It was almost as if the abomination was practicing some form of a religious ritual. It's head was similar to a human skull with flesh clinging to the surface of the bone making it appear as if the flesh was the color of the bone. This was also the case for it's entire body, skeletal, clinging skin, unmoving. For reasons unknown it was absence of a lower jaw. However it was not absence of what appeared to be it's neck, or rather a thin layer of skin that was not to dissimilar to a collar. This collar skin was based at the shoulder bones of the abomination. It appeared that the skin was some form of an extension of the scapula that formed a collar, but at the front of the neck area it was hollow save for it's neck vertebrae or otherwise known as the cervical curve. Oddly though it's cervical curve was disconnected from it's skull and quite possibly it's thoracic curve if it even possessed an entire vertebral column housed within it's catacomb of a torso.

The skin on it's body possibly was some form of a living coat that acted as it's own entity for it slowly detached itself from the supposed bones of the abomination and then reattached a mere moment later making it's subtle breathing like movements nearly impossible to detect. Although if one were to look in the right place they could distinguish it's inner working such as it's very alien vertebral column that was forming into several different forms that possibly represented states of bliss and aggression. Each state was diverse in comparison to each other as for some being glass like and fragile, while others were jagged beyond fatal comprehension. As one would study more closely, the skin moved in a manner much like breathing while pure muscle pumped echoing vibrations into it's entire skeletal frame.

A large gate at the front of the vacant tomb opened with a crackle as candles revived the ancient tomb. A single figure in robes of some sort stepped in to greet his unholy relic of distorted salvation, corrupt salvation, false salvation. The candles lined the room as if it were a mausoleum, and they illuminated the skull like face of the abomination.

"Greeting master, I would like to thank you once more for renewing my faith in Unitology. All others of your kind that had greeted me before were simply mindless followers like the inner circle. They were lacking in wisdom, but not you, oh no. You made me see past my lesser brethren within this humble religion for you tested my faith like no other. I realized that only those that reject what my kind call necromorphs can truly understand the test that you've given me, but of course only a Unitologist can take this eye-opening journey and understand what true necromorphs are. For you are the purest of its forms, no humans, no senseless mass, just natural telekinetic energy and dark matter working in unison to bless my kind with your gifts. A god among mere mortals."

The hollow eye sockets of the skull flashed an unholy light of energy that was bathed in an ugly pale yellow that slowly darkened. The skull like face now carried a permanent glare that was monotone and conveyed no emotion betraying the thought of what was considered a glare. The neck vertebrae housed within a collar of flesh than glowed with the same energy found in the supposed eyes. The vertebrae moved in unison forming an odd set of formations that emitted echoes and vibrations that turned to subtle clicks that crackled like a flame. This sound attracted the hearing and sight of the lone apostle. Like a moth fluttering towards a flame the apostle blissfully welcomed his master's call.

"What do you ask of me master?"

"**_Make, Us, Whole, Make all of us whole"_**

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**To put it simply the Raktavija is no normal necromorphs, but I can't reveal what made him, although I'm sure you can make a good guess.**

**Now I'm sure you noticed repetition with the word spine. I felt that it needed a bit of emphasis to get the point across. **

**The reason there are people with natural telekinesis is because as far as animated movies, games, and what little I've seen of the books there is no mention of natural but artificial telekinesis. And as far as I know, there is always the possibility of such due to their, again as far as I know, no full explanation of humanity in this subject, and It's the 26th century after all. So it's best to see this as me taking a bit of freedom with what's present and of course there's no telling how many different necromorphs have been around due to the events revealed within Dead Space 3. And as a final note, warnings in the first chapter are final as they are left to interpretation, so please be mindful if you find something just odd even for Dead Space if that's possible in the eyes and minds of you the readers.**

**With all said and done I hope everyone is mindful if needed, and that you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and leave feedback if you so choose to.**


	3. Chapter 3

Betrayal is only as sweet as the substance that coats the blade, the substance darkens like the air thickens. The greatest of betrayers will always be locked away in his fate, but he will always be honest to himself. No matter how many time he betrays his neighbors, he will never betray himself. For he fumbles in the dark of the light, and yet he was not truly the greatest betrayer, for the greatest betrayer is the one who wronged him from birth and doesn't even exist.

A lie for a lie brings clarity. lying is like denial, only kinder.

* * *

"Hurry the hell up! I'm tired of walking through this fucking shit!"

"Oh come now, Mason. I'm sure you were a great janitor before you were assigned the rank of lieutenant. I mean come on, you must be use to walking in shit, and eating it, cause with a mouth like that I can sure smell the filth."

"Listen here you smug sonuvabitch, or should I call you Captain Fucking Obvious!"

"_Oh _I see, you admit to being a janitor _and _a shit eater. No wonder you always have a shit eating grin, literally. Let's also not forget the fancy start in your sentence, my, my."

"That's not what I meant shit face!"

"Well than, I didn't know you swung both ways Mason. I mean, theirs nothing wrong with that its just well you know, I'm quite the looker."

"Your face is ugly as shit just like your queer poetry speech!"

"Wow Mason I didn't know you loved my face that much, Of course you love shit and I guess ugly is just your way of saying I'm pretty. Now to clarify, I don't swing that way unfortunately for you-"

"Enough of your fucking poetry speech, it's so fucking queer!"

"Horny son of a bitch! Keep talking with that shit filled mouth of yours and I'll have to muzzle you with a chastity belt." Mason stared at the smug operator with a twitch in his eyes and started audibly grinding his teeth. Mason and the smug officer argued on for a time, one argued with blind anger, one argued with a silver tongue wrapped in glee.

Following behind the lieutenant and his new-found hatred were three who spoke of the situation.

"I still don't understand the point in all this?" Spoke an officer.

"What's there to understand, it pretty simple if you ask me." spoke an operator.

"You two think you understand the situation, but it's quite clear that your only rambling pointless banter." The two mentioned turned to the operator that kept pace to them, but he showed signs of purposely slowed pace in step.

"Are we too slow for you my highness?" The mentioned officer spoke his words with a hint of sarcasm.

"Watch the jokes, you'll attract the attention of my partner who just so happens to be ahead of us." The operator shuttered under his helmet, remembering just how much he loathed the attitude and antics of his partner. Said partner was gaining infamy by dangling relevance in Mason's face. "Judas is a real piece of work, the guy doesn't even care for what others have to say. He just does what ever makes him feel like he's about to have the time of his life at any moment, he's a fire-starter and a train-wreck waiting to happen."

"So I take it that your Lucian then?" The mentioned operator spoke with a mix of pity and disgust.

"Yeah, that's me, guess rumor is just another word for gossip and news around here." Lucian looked at the operator and officer pair next to him.

_'Their just like everyone else ... what sad excuses of human beings. These two will die before they even blink proper pity. As much as Judas gets on my nerves, I know he has a point. I know he was right when he said: 'It's easy to find people who don't care about you, it's impossible to find those that do ... it's even harder to hold on to the ones that love you, I know this first hand ... You and I aren't the only ones though, James knows better than anyone here about what it's like ... I've read the records on how they tortured his family, it wasn't inhumane and wrong on one level, it was all inhuman and wrong on a nihilistic level.' To think that there are people out their that are so cruel is just unfathomable.'_

_'It goes to show that these two idiots wouldn't know empathy even if it ripped out their hearts, they've met me before ... at my sister's funeral. They didn't even have the decency to look me in the eyes and say sorry for shooting my pet dog, they didn't have decency to look me in the eyes for murdering my sister. That damned dog was only trying to mourn for its dead owner. They didn't even know how to deal with it, so they shoot the fucking dog while it looked at them dead in the eyes. It wasn't euthanasia, it was murder out of stupidity. _

_That dog knew only one thing: pain. It watched it's mother eat it's siblings for being too weak to live, it didn't understand a single thing of what unfolded before it's emotional eyes. The puppy clanged to it's mother despite this, because without her it would die. It knew this all to well. The mother fell prey to a similar fate only a day later, the vultures had their way with her. They picked at her eyeballs while she was still alive, ripping out the dog's brain from it's skull and devouring it, but not before they pulled out her intestines from both sides of her body. To make things worse the mother didn't get to leave a single bone of it's body left since the vultures ate that too. The puppy didn't die that day though, I kept an eye on it since it was born, watching from a distance. At seven human years it was finally a normal dog, not some stray. The dog had a new family, my family. Of course things aren't easy when you live in one of cities surrounding the OMEGA facilities. The vultures are all tank bred, and they were made with one goal in mind: devour, devour the weak, dying, and the dead. Everyday people are either murdered by kill squads or by tank bred wild life. These cities are all just testing grounds for the OMEGA facilities, but yet there seen as trivial when compared to the so-called 'Templars'._

The officer looked at Lucian as he was in thought and a deep realization hit him with such force it nearly made his heart stop. He took a deep-silent breathe as the memory bore within his mind. Yet the memory was not his alone, it was whole in perspective of all present within this dream-like memory.

* * *

_'Listen kid were trying to do you a favor, now give me that golden circuit so my friend can fix the god damn lights!'_

_'B-but I need the credits and you can't fix lights that don't exist, there aren't any light around for miles on this plain of snow!'_

_'If you need credits for food get a fucking gun and kill a stray, not sob in the middle of a field! I know there aren't any fucking light around here, but I need that damn circuit so me and my friend can get a place to stay! I know you got family kid . . . but at least you have a home I don't own shit and the guy willing to help me out here is Kyle! Name ring any fucking bells, he's a doctor who lost his job despite the fact he kept people going! How the fuck did you even get this damn thing kid!'_

_'I'm only 14 and I-I have to go out on my own in the snow while my brother keeps people from taking everything we own, can't you just find another circuit!'_

_'Hence the word 'own' I don't have shit, now answer the damn question!'_

_'Harris forget about it theirs no way the kids going to give up the circuit willingly.'_

_Harris's jaw dropped at Kyle's voice 'What the fuck Kyle we need this, if we don't, will get executed by a fucking kill squad!'_

_'Enough with your yelling it's fucking Christmas, let the kid keep the circuit.'_

_'*sigh* Kyle no one celebrates shit on this planet.'_

_'So, back on Earth it's the 25th of December.'_

_'Kyle they don't call this season winter over here, they call it tragedy.'_

_'It's a tragedy that you would stoop down to this level, I mean come on she's just a kid.'_

_'I'm not joking Kyle.' Harris was giving a firm look with a bit of despair in his eyes. Kyle's monotone face continued to freeze over like stone._

_The girl looked between the two friends and knew very well what was going on, her brother was always honest with her._

_'Harris, everyday a kid dies and no cares how and they don't care why. I rather see her make to at least adulthood, over seeing her turn to skin and bone just because you don't want to die when you aren't a kid anymore. People have to make sacrifices in life so that others can live on'_

_Silent was the air as they all stood in the snow. A medium-sized dog watch from a distance and soon made its way to it's owner. The dog nudged the girls legs getting her attention. She smiled as the dog gave her a sad look, a look that foreshadowed her fate._

_It was almost as if time itself ceased, save for a lone child and her time-frozen companion._

_'Hello, what's going on?' The child's eyes were laced in sadness, worry, and despair._

_Seamlessly out of thin air a cloaked figure towered over the child. The hooded figure gave off an illusion of a façade, a façade of love, a façade of kindness and care._

_'Mother is that ... is that you' Within the child's mind whispers echoed a single thought: mother._

_mother, mother, mother, mother ... father-_

_'No, their is no father, he's a monster, just like you said mother. Father didn't go to Heaven, he didn't go to Hell, but that's just where he belongs, Hell. So he can burn within the deepest of fiery circles for all his sins.' The child's eyes became half lidded, laced with apathy of love and hatred of empathy. The so-called mother gave a sadistic grin on her only visible facial feature, a grin full of snakes. 'Mother why did father say he loved you if all he did to you was hurt you?'_

_'Because that's how he showed it my dear. He was trying to save me from a disease with no name, a disease that made its way into to you as well my dear. I remember that when you were five years old you were infected, but is it so bad? I'm here with you now because of it, so you see, your father always wanted to take me away from you because he loved me.'_

_'No mother, that's not love that's jealousy.' The mother's grin grew larger._

_'My, my, you understand that and your only eight years old. I'm so proud of you my dear.' What the child failed to notice was that her mother's voice was monotone in sound despite how sincere her tone of voice was. 'Honey do you feel anger towards your father, do you feel hatred towards him?'_

_'Yes-' The child finally gazed at her mother's lips, stopping her self mid sentence. She finally noticed that grin, that growing grin, that grin that tear at her skin on her face, tearing at her face. Skin peeled away slowly with audible ripping sound, ripping of flesh, ripping of grotesque flesh peeling away like razor-sharp teeth of a predator chewing at soft delicate skin being torn away from bone and muscle._

_'M-m-mother . . .' The mother stood in front of the hooded figure. The figure stood where it always had been, the mother now stood in front of the figure in full form, clothed in a black dress that would be worn at a funeral. Her skin on her face began to form back to her skull making it appear as it once did, but only for it to form a line down the middle of her face. As if steam were blowing out of a crack of a pipe, a spray of gas-like red blew out of the line like steam. Her face suddenly split in two with the very same sound from before, reviling the muscle that covered her skull. Several tiny tendrils spiked straight out of the mother's eye sockets as her eyes busted into flabby pieces of red and white like confetti. The mother took her right hand and gripped her daughter's jaw with her thumb on her daughter's left cheek while her fingers were lined down the right cheek as the her palm was in skin contact with her daughter's jaw. The mother's left hand was placed at the girls forehead with her thumb placed firmly at the girl's left eye brow, keeping the girl's left eye wide open as the right was shut tight via muscle reflexes. The palm and fingers of her left hand lay flat and clamped at the girl's forehead._

_The child stared wide-eyed at her mother who spoke, ' It's Christmas honey, don't be scared. I brought you a present ... me. Your present will make you whole, it will **MAKE US ALL WHOLE.**' Her voice ended with a crackle that echoed in the girl's mind. A dim ugly light glittered through the tendrils of her eye sockets. Mother and daughter stared at one another for as long as infinity._

_A thought forced its way into the child's feeble mind, the thought began to unfold._

_She saw the tendrils in her mother's eye sockets drill and dig their way into her tear ducts, thrusting themselves forward straight into her naval cavity and slithering out her nostrils. The action was followed by the tread-like tendrils returning to her eyes. The tendrils dug in-between the rim of her left eye and the eye itself causing the eye to slip out of her eye socket. The chest of the mother was suddenly ripped open as a single tendril made from her rib cage commence to work like a bludgeon, and slam the back of the child's head. A splitting crack sound erupted from her skull, it was so loud that her ears began to gust out trickles of blood that went down her cheeks and on to the snow-covered ground, red snow formed as the red that softly dripped to ground formed splotches, like a flower blossoming in spring._

_This same thought went on and on in her mind like a recording stuck in a loop, yet still the mother and daughter were so enticed with the others stare._

_The mental sodomy that unfolded before the child only grew worse and worse. Her mind continued to utter thoughts of despair, thoughts that infected her feeble mind as it committed mental sodomy on her. This mental sodomy that devoured her ever so slowly took toll after toll on her being, that would soon fall victim to impurity. Impurity in which mental sodomy was but a kindness, an act of mercy compared to what would unfold on this child's family. What had already happened: The child along with her family had been defiled by tragedy in such a way that one could only wonder why the remaining family members didn't just end their lives, so that they could put an end to tragic sodomies and put to rest their family._

_The hooded figure continued to watch the two burn holes into each others eye sockets. The only ones who weren't frozen in time were the mother and daughter, and the figure._

_The silence was broken by three simple words._

_'I love you'_

_At hearing these simple words the girl saw her mother's normal face, her kind-warm face. All for just a moment, a moment that could last forever in this child's final embrace. The final embrace between a mother and daughter who were ripped apart from each other through tragedy, and brought together once more by tragedy._

_Tears softly went down by both their faces for the last time, the last time that they could see each other under their own free will._

_They stood in the plain of snow alone, standing in front of one another with a look of happiness and tears in their eyes, both wore the same black dress that was ment to be worn at a funeral. The daughter reached up to her mother, the mother reached down to her daughter. They held each others hands so that they could say their final goodbye._

_Back within reality, the figure slowly rose its arm forward, it's hand was held out wide open, stretching as far as it could. Within the mind of the child the mother spoke her five last words._

_The figure's arm was held out forward going straight._

_'I'_

_The index finger curled in._

_'Will'_

_The middle finger curled in._

_'Always'_

_The ring finger curled in._

_'Love'_

_The pinkie finger curled in._

_'You'_

_And finally the thumb wrapped around to close and form a fist. A fist with such a grip it could cripple hands, rip skin, tear muscle, shatter bone, so tight was the grip as it tightened and tightened. In one swift motion the figure exerted a tightening grip that finally reviled the invisible strings of energy that were connected to each finger and thumb. The motion ended with its fist held over its shoulder and a deformed woman stood in front of it._

_Time slowly began to wind like a gear once more, soon it would be in motion yet again._

_Kyle ignored Harris's words and looked over towards the girl to tell her to just leave and keep the circuit, but instead the girl wasn't what greeted his sight. No, instead he saw a necromorph holding the girl's head. His eyes widened in horror. Harris who also now saw this pulled out a sidearm and aimed for the necromorph and commenced to pull the trigger in rapid succession, but as he was pulling out his sidearm the necromorph had already been dealt with by another. One who was unseen._

_All that remained of the necromorph was a red mist, no bones, no meat, no remains, just a red mist. There was nothing standing in between the girl and a salvo of bullets._

_Every bullet fired was meant to tear off the legs and mostly immobilize the once present necromorph, instead they were going to turn the girl into a bullet riddled, torn net of gore and hollow flesh._

_The sound of whizzing bullets filled the air, making a zip sound in the process._

_ZIP_

_A bullet punched a cylinder like hole through the girl's nose and out the back of her head._

_ZIP_

_A bullet shaved off a portion of the tip of her skull leaving a small crater in the right side of her scalp._

_ZIP_

_A bullet slammed into her shoulder blowing off her arm and shattering the right side of her collar-bone._

_ZIP_

_ZIP_

_ZIP_

_ZIP_

_Bullets tore through her left elbow, left fingers, right knee, and then her left shin._

_ZIP_

_fourteen bullets zipped through her in total, she was more than whole. If this is what it meant to be whole then she was blessed with holy truth, holy truth of death._

_All in the manner of two seconds she was torn apart and she fell to the ground as the circuit she held flew straight up into the air, and rained back down heading right for her mouth. Like a guillotine the circuit decapitated her, severing her lower jaw from the rest of her head._

_This was what her companion foresaw: death._

_Harris and Kyle stood side by side in shock._

_'What the fuck! What the fuck did I do!?' Harris turned to Kyle with guilt ridden eyes._

_'I-I don't know.'_

_'What do mean you don't know!?'_

_'Fuck! What do want me to say!? First thing I see is a necromorph that came out of no where, then it fucking explodes into a cloud of blood! What the fuck am I suppose to say!?'_

_Harris grinded his teeth and shut his eyes tight, clenching his fists tightly. He screamed at the top of his lungs, screaming his very soul out, screaming his final shed of innocence, screaming out with guilt that burned with an intensity that could rival the flames of hell itself. He dropped his gun in the snow and unclenched his fist and spread out his fingers. Gripping his face in shame, forcing out screams of a volatile time. What ever innocents he thought he had left was now dead._

_Kyle took the fallen weapon and walked over to the girl's companion, and he was greeted by the same sad look it gave it's now dead owner. He kneeled in front of it. The look in its eyes were the same as all his patients: knowing and aware._

_'Its like they say: dogs are a lot like humans. Then you know where this is headed.' He watched the dog close its eyes softly as he raised the gun to its head. Kyle just closed his eyes and pulled the trigger._

_The lifeless body collapsed to the ground and fell to the snow to sleep for eternity._

_As Harris was deaf to the world around him as he listened to his screams, Kyle buried the girl and her companion._

_The strings pulled on this day were not of a puppeteer, but an observer._

* * *

Harris remembered his portion of the memory like a fragment of a puzzle. He turned his head to Lucian and knew what he was thinking about, he knew all to well what he was thinking about.

Mason and Judas continued to walk on in their argument as five people and three machines followed behind them. It was going to be a long walk, but soon they will not tread the halls alone. Something awaited for them at the end of the hall.

* * *

Shambling and twitching through the corridor, twitchers stalked the flowing limbs that floated along the red river. The apostle walked along side his master's puppets. He wore an armored trench coat over his robe-like clothing and had a metallic collar that covered his entire neck save for the center at the front, it formed a 'V' like shape that ended with a horizontal line instead of a point.

He held a peculiar knife in his gloved right hand, and a lanyard stemming off from the hilt was tied around his wrist in a way that allowed flexible use of the odd knife. The handle was of custom design lined from the handle to the hilt with symbols carved into it. The guard was exotic and bared an almost marker-like texture. The blade itself was very similar to a marker, it was as if a marker was split into two parts and one was fully straightened to form a blade. The ricasso that was at the junction of the blade and the guard was an uncommon piece of the blade due to the fact that it was more of a different piece from the blade itself, and it seemed to be rotating at the same pace as a heart beat. The fuller of the blade was not on the side of the blade, but instead run down the spine of the blade.

The apostle ran his left index finger down the fuller causing the creases of the marker-like blade to glow red. The sides of the blade detached from the blade's spine and extended off of the grind of the blade forming flap extensions on both sides. In-between the flaps and the now concave spine were electric wavelengths that emitted the red glow through the creases.

The apostle gave a sadistic smirk reviling his unnaturally white teeth. His canines were of normal size, but were inhumanly featured due to the points being naturally jagged. He eyed the foot long blade and snickered with evident pleasure as he watched the flaps of the blade close back in. He continued to snicker as his mind raced with demonic intent and greed.

'_I'll run their blood through their nostrils, cramming it down their throats through their naval cavities as they gasp for tainted air. Air soaked in a cloud of red, a mist of holy miasma. Drown them in the holy river to be baptized, slamming the bones of heretics down their throats. Like fish these bones swim by, the remains of liars. Liars who float down the river in pieces. Their so-called God abandoned them long before their blood lines came to be, their glutton blood thickens the air with the weight of their filth. The one-act of kindness that their God done them was ignorance, for it is their one true bliss. The seven blood moons shine upon me on this day-'_

"Fellow follower of the new faith, m-may I join thee?" The apostle's thoughts were in silence as his joy ceased. His mouth formed a straight line on his now deadpan face. The source of the interruption was a youthful women who held evident fear in her eyes that were hidden behind clear glasses as she trembled before the apostle and the puppets that accompanied him. Said puppets paid little to no attention to the cowering women. The apostle looked over her facial features as he inched closer to the now kneeling women. Her skin milky-white, her face pure, her eyes icy-blue, her hair long and brightly red. She wore the same robe-like clothing as him, minus the armored trench coat.

The more he inched closer, the more she cowered.

"What are you doing? The puppets haven't even shown an ounce of care of your existence, why do you cower so? Did you not ask to join me?" The apostle looked at her with annoyance masked behind his deadpan face.

"Y-yes."

"If you want to join me, then take me to the other survivors."

"How would you even know that their are any other survivors?"

"Simple, someone like you survived, and of course you have proof of faith since you aren't dead yet." The twitchers continued down the main path while the apostle took a detour with the women.

The two walked through a large metallic door that led into a storage room, it's size was equal to a warehouse. The women walked in first, greeted by a unitologist priest.

"Avis? I'm surprised to see you back so early my child." The priest stood in front of hundreds of people all dressed in the same robe-like attire. The apostle walked in behind Avis, he earned questioning looks and glances. "I see you brought a fellow follower of the new faith, but why would you come to us Apostle?" The priest glared at the apostle.

"Such a warm welcome. I didn't know anyone actually cared about little old me." The apostle spoke in monotone while he still conveyed a deadpan face. Everyone in the room save for Avis, glared at him. The apostle began to twirl his knife on his wrist, it formed a red, circular blur around his wrist.

Avis kept the apostle in her line of sight knowing full well of what he was capable of, unlike the others present in the room.

Silence

"Parasite!" This single word stood out among many others that were used to describe the apostle. The crowd's voices rang out filling the room and breaking silence.

The priest rose his hand, hushing the crowd.

"If I am such to you, then give me a mirror so that I may look upon my own filth."

"So you ask for a confession." The priest pulled out a mirror from his robes. "Look into the mirror and see exactly what you are." The priest handed the apostle the mirror and stood in front of him. The apostle held the mirror in his left hand, putting it up to his face. The mirror obscured his face from all but one.

The apostle's deadpan face immediately faded as he took in his own facial features. His snow-white hair went down to the back of his neck ending with upwards curls and strands. Side bangs went down the left side of his face and down the side of his neck, a frontal bang went down the middle of his face in curved fashion that formed a point that went off to the right side of his face under his eye and along his nose. His eye held harmonic insanity, dilating his pupils and bringing out the yellowish tint in his amber eyes. His toothy smirk from before was revived and rejuvenated with malicious intent.

He continued to twirl his blade while he unveiled his insanity to himself and to Avis.

'_Oh Avis, I believe it's_ _time to say goodbye to friends, and adieu to all the fuckers who think that's funny'_

If ignorance was the act of kindness the lord bestowed upon humanity for it was bliss, then the apostle was inhuman.

* * *

**I** **should explain the use of sodomy in the memory. It's used with the context of traumatizing and scaring in a form of mental assault which is kind of obvious, but I figured I explain it since the context isn't inline with the true meaning of sodomy which is purely sexual in term, as far as I know. So I hope that clears up it's use. While yes you could say mental rape accrued, it was far from sexual, well, unless you have a dirty mind when you interpret the situation. That nonsense aside. I hope that everyone who's been reading has enjoyed what's been done so far, if not please explain why with meaningful reason. Well with all said and done I hope everyone has a wonderful and prosperous new year. Until then I bid you all adieu until next year.**


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