If you missed the last chapter of REEF MOB, you can find it [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/224556415/0/0]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! ***  Blood and bodies surround me as I gaze at the carnage of the decimated prison cell – I have only a moment to take it all in, though, before the remnant of a Silent Fang sees me and charges, vanishing as it draws closer – I sprint away, muscling my way up an embankment made of the cell’s broken hull, flipping backward just as I feel the telltale whisper of the invisible shock blade passing through where my head just was – as I spin in midair, my hand cannon flies into my grip and I fire three shots instinctively – [i]Just like Clash Club[/i], I think as the Red Fang’s body collapses, turning visible once more. There’s no time to celebrate, though, as an earth-shattering rumble nearly knocks me off my feet – I regain my balance and turn to see a giant, red ogre standing tall and roaring at the Talons attacking him, his bellows eerily silent in the depressurized cell. I ignore them for the time being, casting my eyes around for the red monster, for the leader of this terrifying army – I find him after a few moments, standing calmly in the center of the arena, two figures flanking him on either side. One wears armor similar to the monster, with the Eye of Osiris bloodied by the strange red growth spreading throughout their bodies, but the other wears the rags of a simple shift, his body completely exposed to the vacuum of space, his face – I feel a jolt as I look him in the eyes, the only name I knew him by immediately springing to mind: [i]Ari. The monster turned him into a slave[/i], I think savagely, a fire racing through my veins at the sight of him. [i]From a Tanis to a slave.[/i] A shot of anger courses through me as I start toward the monster – [i]He took my friend. He took my chance to avenge what Taniks had done to me. He took – He [u]saved[/u] you[/i], a voice whispers in my head. I stop for a moment amongst the chaos, stunned by the sound, the eerie feeling of familiarity and affirmation coursing through me – [i]What?[/i] There’s nothing, but in the vacuum, the old compulsion revs itself up again – [i]ether etherether[/i] I feel around my suit for my vaporizer, but realize I wouldn’t be able to use it through my helmet – [i]Gods damn it[/i], I think savagely as the battle still rages around me – a Vandal spies me suddenly and rushes over, firing his wire rifle – I take my frustrations out of him, flinging his lifeless body to float away into the void above us as I focus back on the red monster – [i]He took my friend. etheretherether He took my chance to avenge what Taniks – He SAVED you! the voice repeats, louder this time – ETHERETHERETHER SHUT UP!!![/i] I race toward the red figure, feeling the simple, unbridled desire to commit violence – I pistol whip the Dreg that pops his head out at me while firing four headshot into the Captain that bellows his battle cry – he collapses to his knees and I use his shoulders as a boost to launch myself toward the upper levels, bringing my hand cannon up to fire at the monster – He looks at me, and it feels like time stops – There’s a haunted, empty expression on his face, like he’s a puppet following the will of the strings that pull him in various directions – those strings, long, writhing red tendrils wrap and twist themselves toward the enemies that challenge them, just as they’ve done with the rest of the cell. [i]It really is a monster,[/i] I confirm, [i]But not a conscious one. It runs on this…red, whatever it is. SIVA.[/i] The word comes unbidden to my mind as I land again hard on the floor, my shot stalled by my hesitation. [i]Stupid[/i], I think, taking cover while shooting two Talons who see me and aim – they fall as I slip behind a nearby pillar, still half-thinking about the voice that seems determined to finally get my attention inside my head – [i]You knew it was there. You always knew.[/i] But the voice remains silent this time – [i]What, nothing to say now after all?[/i] I peek out of my cover to canvas the battle, and see Lokis directing his Talons from the back of the arena, sneaking with several of his assassins around the sides to approach the red monster, but being entangled in the trails of SIVA spread all around them – [i]Some operation[/i], I think before reverting back to the voice – [i]Where are you? When and where you choose to hear me[/i], I finally hear. [i]When you’re capable of listening.[/i] My heart skips a beat – [i]What are you? And why do I –[/i] I don’t get to finish – instead of an answer, I feel a pull to the right, and I spin to see the shimmer of what has to be another Red Fang right next to me – I duck just in time, rolling away and seeing the Fang’s shock blade embedded in the bulkhead where my body just was – reloading my weapon quickly, I pump four shots into the Fang and it quivers as it falls down, dead – I rise again as the battle continues to rage around me – in the dead silence of the depressurized cell, I can hear nothing more than my own breathing as I see the red tendrils monstrously seizing the Talons and tearing them apart as SIVA worms its way deeper into their decimated bodies – [i]This is hell,[/i] I think suddenly as droplets of blood drift slowly out into space above me. I look again at Lokis as he and his assassins charge, seeing their forces quickly falling to the red monster – [i]They’re not going to make it,[/i] I realize as I see Lokis baring his weapons and bellowing silently at the monster in defiance. Caught amidst my own internal conflict, I can only watch as the red tendrils whip forward, seizing Lokis and his assassins – With horror, I watch the SIVA worm its way deeper into the assassins, their panicked cries silent as they slowly succumb to SIVA – Lokis fights valiantly on, but SIVA works deeper through his body, consuming him, swallowing him whole – [i]There’s no way to stop it,[/i] I think desperately, realizing my own vulnerability. [i]It’s going to consume everything until there’s nothing left. Run!![/i] the voice in my head cries, and I instinctively bolt away from my cover as my mind slowly begins to realize there’s no chance I’ll get away in time – I sprint through the red army, downing every one of them I can as I leap over the red tendrils reaching out for me – I fight and claw my way back to the cell’s opening, hoping there’s a chance, a prayer despite the inevitability – I trip as something catches my foot, and I turn to see the red tendrils already lashing themselves around my legs, pulling me back toward their source – I fire at them repeatedly, but for every one I hit another whips forward to drag me away – the tendrils pull tighter, and my metal leg pops off – I struggle in the moment to use the sudden advantage to flee, but the tendrils are too fast, too strong – My screams extend to only my helmet as I finally begin to panic – [i]NO!!!! LET ME GO, LET ME – FIGHT!![/i] the voice inside my head cries, and I struggle with all my will to obey – But there’s nothing that can be done. The red monster hoists me in front of it, its blank expression a terrifying mask of its complete indifference to all the suffering and death it’s caused. I force myself to look at the two behind it, to look into their equally blank faces and see if there’s any hint of humanity left – But there’s not. They’re just puppets on strings. There’s no one there to even beg for my life to. [i]So be it[/i], I think defiantly as the red tendrils wrap tighter around me, and I can feel the SIVA beginning to try and consume me. [i]But I’m not going down like some punk.[/i] I feel with my free hand toward my chest armor, where I’ve always carried my contingency plan. [i]No way to pull the grenade out, but maybe the blast at this range will at least be enough to hurt it. And then at least I won’t….[/i] I push the thought aside as I try to push the grenade’s detonator beneath my armor. [i]Ia[/i]… the voice inside my head begins, and I feel a momentary jolt from the name. [i]My name is Mariel,[/i] I think instinctively. [i]I’m Mariel Cay, the Baroness’ daughter – Ia…. it repeats. You must….[/i] I can feel the sense of despair and hopelessness threatening to overwhelm me as I still struggle to find a way to set off the grenade. [i]I don’t want to become like Ari, please, don’t let me –[/i] The memory of when I first met this monster returns to me, and I wonder for just a moment why it didn’t consume me then… [i]You must[/i]…. the voice inside my head begins again. [i]What must I do? What?! WHAT?!!!! TELL ME!!!! …. …fight.[/i] The red tendrils suddenly loosen, and I can feel them letting me go – I drop to the deck of the cell as I look up to see the red monster looking past me, the red army around me turning and taking battle positions once more – I turn and see the cell doors opening, and a large group of warriors entering, each with the Eye of Osiris emblazoned across their armor.