#dbs ch10

[voidendron]

Deep Blue Sea: Ch 10

Chapter 10: Decoy Subnautica/JSE Egos Crossover

(( I struggle with dialogue. I enjoy chapters/fics like this that I don’t have to write any XD ))

Warnings: Swearing Characters: Marvin the Magnificent POV: Marvin the Magnificent

Reaper Leviathan.

Even the name was terrifying. The scanner couldn't have at least let up on that part? They went with names the AI “thought” as fitting (sometimes not exactly being the most creative, he'd heard), going off the information from the scans to select a name. But Reaper? God.

Marvin swallowed, kept a hand pressed against his aching head.

What had Four been supplied with again? Wetsuit, check. He was wearing it, even if it was a bit small on him. Maybe he should look for something sharp to cut the sleeves and legs on it; they were too short and too tight. Oxygen tank, scanner...oh! A decoy, as well. Food..? No, but there were two bottles of drinkable water, the tops shaped in a way that they fit in a spot on the suit’s waistband. It was a start, at least.

Running a hand through sweat-slicked hair, Marvin let out a deep sigh. Just breathe, keep calm, gather your supplies, he thought. Get to the Aurora. There had to be other survivors on it.

The light on the radio wasn't on. He had to wonder if he'd accidentally hit the button or if something had been thrown against it during one of the attacks. That meant the coordinates to other pods would be in his PDA, didn't it? It also meant a distress signal for Four would have been sent out. That...he wished hadn't happened. What if another survivor came for it and the Reaper returned? That would...not be favorable.

Head to the Aurora. He had his mind made up. That would be his best bet, wouldn't it?

His PDA said the air was oxygen- and nitrogen-based. Breathable to humans. Thank god, at least there was an upside in that.

Shoving open the—well, technically it was the bottom hatch. but with the pod upside-down, that left it as the top one—bottom hatch open, Marvin pulled himself up the ladder and sat on the flat surface bobbing just slightly above the water.

Okay, Marvin. Deep breath.

He could see the ship. The Reaper hadn't dragged him as far from it as he'd feared. In the distance he could see another lifepod; the ship was closer. That was his target. Worry about other survivors later. Save yourself first, figure out where to go from there.

Another deep breath before he slipped the mask to the air tank on. He couldn't hear the Reaper. Maybe he wouldn't even have to use the decoy.

Three...

Two...

Splash.

Marvin could never win a competition in swimming, but he could at least keep his head above water and swim fast enough that it actually felt like he was getting somewhere.

He wasn't able to make it far before his PDA started trilling with warnings.

...Radiation.

The fucking ship was surrounded with it, and if he went any closer that would be it. It was die to radiation poisoning, or risk going back the way he'd come. He wasn't particularly fond of either option.

He could still see the other lifepod. Five, if the coordinates in his PDA were any indicator. How were Four and Five the only ones that hadn't sunk? How was that possible? They had one job, and almost all of them were below the surface. Even Four, through numerous attacks by the massive Reaper, had continued floating.

Five. Five was about the only place he could go, now. The Aurora was irradiated. As far as he knew, they didn't have radiation suits, nor even blueprints to make them. They couldn't even get close to the ship.

...They couldn't get close to it.

How the hell would any of the survivors get off the planet?! Lifepods were useless for communication, let alone any sort of long-ranged communication!

Okay, Plan B. Get to Five and worry about that later, he thought with a growl. If you can't get to the ship, at least try to meet up with other survivors. Get to Five. Get to Five. Find other survivors.

Marvin turned away from the ship, stomach dropping at the stretch of water between him and Five. The stretch of deep, murky water where the Reaper could be lurking anywhere and he'd never even see it.

Swim for it. Go, Marvin.

PDA and water and scanner at his hips, decoy held against his chest with one hand, he ducked his head under the surface and started the long swim.

His eyes played tricks on him as shadows danced in the murk. Was it tricks? The light creating false creatures below and around him? He could only hope.

Lifepod Five. Get to Five. Don’t let your mind wander. Fear will make it betray you, he told himself. Calm thoughts. Even breathing. There’s a long swim ahead of you. Keep a clear head.

He could hear the Reaper again. With his head submerged and water filling his ears it sounded almost…funny. He bit down on the mask’s mouthpiece.

He could hear it, but was unable to see it. The water was so murky he could barely see his own hand in front of his face. It was like that because of the ship crashing, wasn’t it? It had to settle, the water had to clear. Sooner or later.

Not soon enough.

Marvin could have sworn his heart stopped when something swam under him, nearly brushed against him.

The Reaper roared again. The sound reverberated around him, made his blood run cold. It was there.

It was right there.

His mind immediately went to those mandible spearing through him like he was nothing. It would be effortless. A little human didn’t stand a chance against the massive creature.

He could see its shadow. Why was it circling him?

Marvin swallowed as he tracked the creature’s shadow. His arms pulled tight against his chest, wrapped around the creature decoy.

Decoy.

How does it work? he thought frantically as he turned it in his hands. It had a battery. It had to have an “On” switch, right?

There!

Flipping the switch, he shoved the device away from himself. It bobbed in place, a light blinking, as it gave off a weak pulse he could almost feel through the water.

When the Reaper lunged, Marvin covered his face and went rigid enough to start sinking a little.

Besides water shifting around him, forcing him away from the device, he didn’t feel anything.

The decoy had actually worked!

The Reaper took off with it.

A part of him really hadn’t believe it would actually work. Oh, boy, the survivors would be needing more of those buggers…

Keep swimming.

Keep swimming.

Five had to be safe, right? Well, safer than Four had been, at the very least.

Eventually, he could see sand rising beneath him. He didn’t understand how there could be shallows in the middle of the ocean, but he wasn’t going to question it (sunken island, maybe? whatever). Between him and the lifepod was a pillar of…stone? sand? both? that rose up almost to the surface.

Marvin was breathing heavily by the time he reached the pillar. There was colorful flora growing on top of it, but he didn’t pay it any mind as he threw himself down on his back and tore the mask away from his face.

Take a breather, then swim the rest of the way and check the lifepod for survivors. Yeah, sounded like a plan.

He was panting, his muscles ached; he just needed to lay there for a bit.