Symbiosis: At World's End

Endgame

Merrick glared at the queen, who didn't seem to be paying attention to him at all. It's posture, as well as what facial expression it gave off an impression of amusement. Merrick started running through scenarios of how best to get him and his friends out of the sticky situation they were in.

Brianna and Terry were both still trapped in the cocoons. They had given up struggling when the queen had stuck them a few times with small needles from the cocoons as a warning. By now, Medusa had pulled herself to her feet and was hissing and sputtering as hunched over, her claws scratching at the ground.

"We will kill you. No matter how long it takes, we will kill you!"

The queen sighed and snapped its fingers. Several tendrils rose out of the ground and wrapped themselves around her ankles, wrists, torso, and neck. Medusa sputtered and snarled with surprise and rage, but was swiftly silenced when a spike was pushed against her spine.

"You have only demonstrated your own incompetence at besting him. Not that it matters now. I believe that everything is ready. Now all we need is..."

Merrick made his move. He leapt into the air and formed his Necrosword before slashing through the cocoons. The queen let out a high-pitch hiss, followed by a snarl as its mouth became much more like a standard symbiote.

"YOU DARE!"

Merrick leapt forward as he spun, slashing at the massive tendrils that shot out of the walls at him. Terry and Brianna had also begun dodging the tendrils, as well as fighting the enraged symbiotes that were now leaping from their perches.

Merrick leapt over one last tendril and reared his fist back to bore a hole through the queen's face, but was instead met with a punch to the chest. The blow threw him clean across the room and through the wall, which began to repair itself. Merrick leapt through the hole and caused a multitude of blades and spikes to emerge from his body as he resumed his charge. The queen actually stepped off the throne as it shrieked and leapt into the air, claws reared back to strike. Merrick leapt into the air and the two of them collided mid-flight. However, Merrick was thrown back again, this time with four deep gashes across his torso.

"You thought you could best me?! ME?!"

Merrick snarled and launched the Necrosword from his hand. The queen, caught off guard, was struck in the chest and began shrieking in pain and terror before hacking and clawing the blade away from its body. Merrick took this opportunity to form another Necrosword, and deliver an upwards slash with the blunt side of the blade. The blow lifted the queen into the air and threw it across the room. As it lifted itself off the floor, Merrick was already closing in, blade ready. He reared back and plunged his blade through the queen's chest, causing the symbiote to writhe on its host, rearing back and knocking Merrick away with a wild and desperate flailing of limbs. Merrick landed upright, but not very gracefully. When he looked at the queen, he froze.

Underneath was a woman whose skin was pale as death, eyes soulless and empty, and blackened veins across her face. Merrick's various spikes and blades receded back into his symbiote in shock.

"Impossible..."

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Back in Site Alpha, the other team had gotten lucky and managed to redirect and scare off a large platoon of soldiers that would have made for a very annoying and squishy obstacle between them and the council's chamber. In addition to that, AS-04 was extremely helpful by creating shortcuts for them by melting through the walls. Mr. and Mrs. Cruz were covering their backs while they kept heading for the fourth level below ground.