If you missed the last chapter of REEF MOB, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/220889356/0/0]here[/url], or if you need to find a previous chapter, you can find them all in the [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forums/Post/218618986?sort=0&page=0]Table of Contents[/url]. Please give a bump or leave a comment if you enjoy this and any other chapter! ***  [i]Tap, Tap, Pat Pat.[/i] The brief rhythm on the floor does nothing but punctuate the repetitive mantra. [i]etheretheretheretheretheretherether– Tap, Tap, Palm, Pat.[/i] I curl closer to the wall, wishing the sounds would stop – [i]etheretheretheretheretheretherether–[/i] All I want to focus on is my [i]etheretheretheretheretheretherether–[/i] Ari’s hand suddenly descends on my shoulder, and I flinch, drawing quickly away and shrugging him off. “Ia…” he finally whispers, sorrow and regret cracking his voice. [i]etheretheretherEtherEtherEtherEther–[/i] I shiver in the cold of the Trophy Room, drawing the small, thin rag I’ve been given to wear tighter, rubbing my arms to get warm – [i]EtherEtherEtherEtherEtherEther–[/i] Ari keeps watching me, but I don’t meet his eyes. There’s only one thing on my mind: when and where I can get my [i]EtherEtherEtherETHERETHERETHER–[/i] The door to the Trophy Room bangs open and Ari scoots away quickly with the rest of the Tanises as Taniks walks in. I bolt toward him hungrily, eyes wild and fingers grasping for more [i]ETHERETHERETHERETHERETHER–[/i] Taniks sees me and snickers. [i]“Patience, fiend,”[/i] he growls, smacking me away. I hit the floor and curl up, waiting for my turn as the endless wanting echoes in my mind [i]ETHERETHERETHERETHERETHER–[/i] I writhe in mental agony, the will to consume driving all reason, logic and identity from me. I can feel there’s a voice somewhere within telling me to be strong, but all I can hear is the siren’s call, the promise of escape, the possibility of chemical happiness, or at least reprieve, so close and yet so far – [i]ETHERETHERETHERETHERETHER–[/i] I pinch my skin to try and distract myself, hissing through the pain. Looking through tears of anguish out of the corner of my eye, I see Taniks approaching Ari, reaching down to grab him. [i]“Two today,”[/i] he says before turning to me. [i]“Take the fiend.”[/i] Dregs enter and seize me as Taniks carries Ari by the arm, his newly-repaired legs still weak and dragging on the ground behind him. We’re hauled down the corridor and into Taniks’ private chamber, where I see two racks facing one another, restraints open expectantly for us. Taniks attaches Ari to his side as the Dregs strap me in, pulling the restraints tight. My hands and feet start to go numb immediately as my mind keeps repeating [i]ETHERETHERETHERETHERETHER!!!!![/i] “….please….” I croak as I rest myself against the rack. “……give……” Taniks approaches me, watching me coldly before finally removing a small Dreg’s mask from behind his back. My limbs start trembling as I see it, and I fight against my restraints to reach out and snatch it from his grasp – “…..please…..” [i]“What is your name?”[/i] “…..no name…..just Tanis…..” Taniks lowers the mask to my face and I breathe deeply, a sigh of contentment finally escaping my lips as I feel myself start drifting again…. [i]The Darkness is growing – the thick smell of Hive chokes us as we make our way through the tunnel on….where are we? I look around, see the bodies of those around me, but there are no faces – just blank, warped and distorted blurs where faces should be – I try to lean closer to one of them to inspect its non-face, but it turns and warbles gibberish as it points insistently – HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] Ari’s scream rips through me as he bellows in my face. I open my eyes and am forced to face him, forced to gaze at his agony – I look past and see Taniks slowly drawing a shock blade across Ari’s back, opening the skin with a sizzling, crackling hiss. The smell of burnt meat fills my nostrils, choking me, fighting off the ether inside – [i]HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT! No![/i] I cry inside, struggling to follow the ether, to keep myself in its embrace, to use its escape to free myself from – [i]A figure wreathed in light raises a weapon – the Darkness screams, charging as the light grows, exploding forward with the force of a bullet – HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] Their screams blend with Ari’s as I’m forced into the present again, whimpering. Taniks finally ceases his work on Ari and takes the Dreg mask off of me. I lean forward greedily, struggling against my bonds to get it back, but Taniks simply chuckles and places it over Ari’s face. Ari breathes in deeply, his eyes drifting away as a look of tranquil numbness comes over him. I struggle against my straps, raging at Taniks and Ari for taking my ether. [i]“Good,”[/i] Taniks says, smiling at my desperation. [i]“Now we begin.”[/i] He steps behind me, and there’s a brief moment where I hope he’s going to give me ether, that he’s just tricking me, that it’s all going to be okay – [i]HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] The shock blade rips into me and the cry of sudden pain escapes my lips. The fiery blade feels almost cold against my skin, the air in here hot against the blood and muscle exposed beneath. [i]HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT! [/i] I scream, arms helplessly pulling and twisting against my straps, muscles taut as they rage and fight against my bonds. [i]HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT! … ….fight. HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] It feels like Taniks has been cutting me forever, but even forever must end – as he finally pulls his blade back, I look up and meet Ari’s eyes – they’re dazed, unfocused as they look at me over the Dreg mask, and I catch myself wondering for a moment where he’s at – [i]….fight.[/i] Taniks walks back to Ari, removes the Dreg mask, and places it back on me. I can already feel myself drifting away as – [i]The figure stands against the Darkness, firing bolts of lightning from his weapon as the monsters bear down – the light knocks them backward, everyone disappearing in light and screams – HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] Ari’s screaming again as Taniks starts flaying his back – chunks of skin are pulled off as Ari’s horrible, mangled voice continues – [i]HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT! Fight! HHHHSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT![/i] That voice is so familiar, something I used to – [i][u][b]FIGHT!!![/b][/u][/i] The sensible part of me throws her all into the bellowing call, and I finally hear it. [i]The figure turns to me, wreathed in light, as – A little girl stands on 115 Rhea, watching the monster pick up her mother, watching him tear her limb from limb as her blood rains down – No![/i] I struggle away from the ether-induced hallucinations as the bloodstained child watches me within. Taniks stops cutting Ari to look at me curiously. He pulls the Dreg mask off my face, checking its connections and levels as I glare at him, the pain, anguish, injustice and regret I feel all combining again to form a unique, singular rage. Taniks meets my eyes, and his brow furrows as he sees a determination rising. [i]“More,”[/i] he says simply as he calls a Dreg forward and rips their own mask off. The Dreg clutches its throat, gasping and falling as Taniks places the new mask on my face. I just continue to glower, forcing everything to the surface. [i]This is the monster that killed your mother, a voice within me says. This is the creature that took your memories, took your name, and now wants to turn you into a junkie… … Fight him.[/i] I feel a power within me building, coming from somewhere even I’m not entirely sure – it gathers like a storm, winds of mounting adrenaline blowing away the vestiges of ether in my system, blowing away the memories and false images it’s pumped into my mind – Taniks just gazes at me, trying to understand what’s going on – [i]BOOOOOM!!![/i] And then the ketch shudders from the force of a gargantuan crash as alarms begin blaring. Taniks roars as he wheels around, gripping his shock blade tightly as his eyes rove for his scorch cannon. Screams echo throughout the ketch as Fallen comms crackle to life and Taniks’ forces call out to him in Eliksni. He barks orders back to them, but screams punctuate the chatter before falling silent. Taniks calls on more of his crew as channels continue to go dead, screams of terror preceding the silence. While he’s focused on his crew, I look back to Ari, meeting his eyes as he weakly looks back at me. “…..how…..” he manages to get out as he sees the look of newfound determination in my eyes. I smack my palm against the top of the rack. [i]Palm, Tap, Tap, Tap, Pat, Palm. We will not be broken.[/i] Ari gazes back at me in wonder. “….how…..” he repeats. Something roars in the distance, and then the ketch violently shudders again from another blast, and the rack I’m on creaks and sways. [i]FIGHT![/i] the sensible part of me commands, and I obey, fighting with all my will to break my bonds.