CHAPTER 50 - THE SUNBEAM

[A.N Changed Fireworks ship name to Sunbeam and some other minor terms I found weird, also some people mentioned translation quality going down which I noticed as I have been kinda lazy lately, so hopefully quality should improve from this Chapter. If it goes down again please point it out. Enjoy some early Chapters.]

After lunch, on her way home, Natalie quickly posted on twitter that she was going live soon. The moment she walked through the door, she booted up her stream without hesitation.

"Whoa, Natalie's actually streaming this early? What's gotten into her?"

"She never goes live in the afternoon!"

"Thank god I had alerts on, almost missed it!"

As one of Twitch's top streamers, her feed exploded the instant it went live. Viewers poured in by the thousands within minutes.

"Of course I'm hyped! I'm right at the end of Subnautica! I've been dying to see how this ends!" she said eagerly, slipping into her full body VR suit and diving into the game.

Her surroundings shifted in an instant, she was back on the remote island, standing outside the two story house she had built. A countdown blinked on her wristband, the Sunbeam was due to arrive soon.

1:12:32...

"You really think you can finish this alone, Natalie?"

"Isn't this section a bit... suspiciously easy?"

"Don't forget who made this game. The devs are never that straightforward."

"Exactly! There's always a twist."

Natalie waved them off. "Relax! I'm telling you, I unlocked some kind of secret ending. Like that tape recorder shortcut in Silent Hill. It's gotta be something like that!"

Skepticism remained, but no one could rule it out. The devs behind Subnautica was notorious for pulling off wild, unexpected turns.

With over an hour to spare, Natalie took her time exploring the nearby area. She didn't venture far, just wandered around, soaking in the atmosphere.

Gradually, the sky lightened. Darkness gave way to a clear, golden sunrise.

Then, with only minutes left on the clock, Natalie made her way to the beach to wait. Her eyes drifted toward the massive alien structure looming nearby. It shimmered faintly green, and no matter how often she saw it, it still felt ominous and strange.

"Guys, any clue on what that thing is supposed to be?" she asked the stream.

"No idea. Maybe a underground base?"

"Some alien sanctuary, maybe?"

"Prison? Museum? No one's ever gotten inside, so who knows?"

Theories flew. Ever since launch, that alien tower had been the center of countless discussions. Some saw it as a refugee shelter, others thought it held ancient alien tech. But it remained sealed, completely impenetrable.

'I forgot to ask Tony about it!' Natalie suddenly thought. She'd rushed home without messaging him, too focused on making it back in time.

But there was no chance to ask now. The countdown ticked closer to zero.

She turned to the sky.

Fifteen seconds. Fourteen. Thirteen...

The stream chat held its breath. Everyone could sense something big was coming, a pivotal moment in Subnautica.

Then, her wristband buzzed. A message lit up from Sunbeam Captain Eli.

"Survivor. We see you."

This time, the message wasn't pre-recorded. Eli's voice came through in real time.

They were close. Close enough to speak directly.

Natalie squinted upward. Sure enough, a tiny dot appeared in the sky, slowly growing larger.

"I see it! I see the ship!!" she yelled, then spoke into her wristband, "Captain, I see you too!"

"No way. She actually triggered a secret ending."

"The devs are finally letting us talk to humans?"

"Human NPCs with live dialogue?? This is history!!"

The chat exploded. For ages, the dev had avoided friendly NPCs. Silent Hill, Subnautica, they all had shared one thing, isolation.

"We're entering the atmosphere now," Eli's voice came again. "Approaching landing coordinates. By the way... what's that structure beside you?"

"I have no idea," Natalie said, glancing toward the towering alien tower. "Looks like some building from outer space."

"Understood. We'll land first, then investigate."

Natalie exhaled slowly. For some reason, her heart was pounding. Even knowing Eli was just an NPC, the realism of their voice made it hard to believe.

They're not real, Natalie reminded herself. I'm from the 21st century, she's from the 25th. If anything, I'm her ancestor. Why am I getting nervous?

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM.

Suddenly, a deep, reverberating quake rolled through the island.

"Wait, what?! Is that an earthquake?!"

Natalie's gaze snapped downward. Something caught her eye, and her breath hitched.

She froze.

"Oh my god... what is that?!"

The towering alien structure was moving.

It was transforming, just like something out of Transformers. The massive block began folding and reshaping itself in ways that defied physics. Panels slid, joints rotated, and the surface reconfigured into something new.

At the center, a deep, circular void emerged. It wasn't just dark, it swallowed light completely, like a blackhole.

And that void... was starting to shift.

"What the hell is that thing doing?!"

"Is it aiming?!"

"That black void, it's moving!"

Everyone in the chat was confused. Natalie stared, stunned, struggling to process what she was seeing.

Until a single comment cut through the chaos.

"Wait... does that look like a cannon to anyone else?"

Like a jolt of electricity, the realization clicked in her brain. Natalie's eyes widened. Her gaze followed the void's angle.

It was aligned with the Sunbeam's descent path.

"No. No way. It's not, it can't be a cannon... right?!"

Her chest tightened. A cold dread gripped her spine.

High above, the ship now drifted into full view. Sleek. Beautiful. Gliding through clouds toward the island.

But Natalie wasn't watching in awe anymore.

She slammed her wristband and screamed into it: "Sunbeam, abort landing! That alien building, it's a cannon! It's targeting you!!"

Before she could finish, a sharp shriek burst from the structure. The air around the barrel warped violently. Light spiraled inward, condensing into a radiant orb of energy.

"What the hell is that?!"

"Is that a miniature sun?!"

"GET OUT OF THERE!!!"

Panic overtook the stream. No one had ever seen anything like this.

Eli's voice returned, shaken, frantic, "Emergency! Full reverse! Pull away now!"

The ship began to tilt upward.

BOOOOOOM!

A blinding column of light ripped through the sky.

There was no time to react.

The Sunbeam was struck dead on.

The explosion consumed everything. Metal shards rained down like glitter. Smoke and debris rolled outward in waves.

Natalie flinched, shielding her eyes. When she looked again, the ship was gone.

Gone, without a trace.

Her wristband flickered once... then went silent.

A moment later, Cortana's voice, delivered a grim update.

"Extreme energy signature detected. No life signs aboard the Sunbeam."

"What... just happened?" Natalie whispered.

Then her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the sand.

Stunned. Hollow. Numb.

"Wait. That building really was a cannon?"

"One shot... and Sunbeam is gone?!"

"No one could've predicted this!"

"Those devs... they're monster!!"

"We were this close to finally meeting human NPCs, and now it's all destroyed!"

"The devs cruelty knows no bounds."

"But damn... what a cinematic moment."

"Epic. Devastating. And just... brutal."

The stream erupted into chaos. Shock, fury, admiration, all flooding in at once.

No one saw this twist coming. No one could have.

It wasn't just a story beat, it was a legendary moment.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!"

Natalie suddenly screamed and began punching the sand.

She knew exactly who was behind this.

Her little brother, Tony.

"I talked to Captain Eli for so long! I trusted her! And this is what you do?!" she shouted. "You really don't have a heart!"

It reminded her of the game's beginning, when she met the woman in Pod No.2, only for her to vanish before they could bond.

"And worst of all... I gave them the coordinates," she muttered, voice cracking. "They came because of me. I got them killed..."

Guilt tore through her.

But her viewers rallied to support her.

"You couldn't have known, Natalie."

"No one saw that coming. Don't blame yourself."

"It was disguised perfectly."

"That's just how the devs operate. They're a master of emotional ambush."

"This is on them, not you."

Encouraged, Natalie wiped her face and slowly stood.

"You're right. It's just a game," she murmured. "I've survived worse."

She clenched her fists.

She wasn't going to break now. Not after everything.

But then.

The ground rumbled again.

Natalie looked up.

The alien weapon, after firing once, began to fold inward, its parts shifting.

Piece by piece, it reassembled itself.

Until it looked exactly as it had before.

A harmless, silent tower.

As if nothing had happened.

As if it had never been a cannon at all.

1452 Words.