"Get me out of this fucking nightmare! - Ethan Winters"
Chapter 7
(Dante's pov)
We got off the Skyranger and landed on a safe area where we weren't seen as the Skyranger flew away. Okay...I'm gonna say this once...I hate Blacksite missions. Ugh...when you think you have the better advantage, a tougher enemy like an ADVENT MEC will ruin your day and believe me...it's rage inducing when that happens. Anyway...Central tells us that we should investigate the Blacksite and see what we can find to delay the AVATAR project. As he said that, we moved to cover to avoid being seen when Tygan suddenly said...
"I'm picking up a huge psionic energy not too far from your location. Looks like ADVENT just finished experimenting on someone. At this rate, they'll be putting the implant on the new comrade."
"Get away from me!" Echoed a familar voice.
Just as I heard that shout, an ADVENT officer was thrown in mid air slammed to a wall with a huge hole in his chest. My guess...Psi lance. What a way to go...
"Wait...I know that voice...is that...Giovanni?" I muttered with shock.
"Who?" I heard Marco ask me.
"Giovanni. You know him. The musician. The Technician. Knew each other since we were kids." I said as I look through my scope to get a view on what's going on.
"You told me about him but I never met him." Marco sighs.
"If he's here...then Roman must be here."
"The Russian?" Marco asks me.
He knows him? No...don't question it. Just play along.
"Yeah. Him." I said as I start lining my sights.
"Well it looks we got more work to do here than just investigate what we're looking for. Dante. Maria. You two help this Giovanni fellow before he gets himself killed. Marco. You and your team investigate the Blacksite. Help your brother if you have to." The Commander ordered us.
"Roger that." We said at the same time.
"Good luck, bro." Marco pats my shoulder.
"You too." I told Marco as he rushes to his team's location.
As I zoom my scope to get a better view and what I saw made me sick to my stomach...Giovanni...is an Ethereal...but have you ever wondered what an Ethereal looks like without his usual clothing(or whatever the fuck it is they have on)? Well...they look almost like the Etheral from the Bureau. I'm not joking when I say this. Giovanni doesn't have anything on him and seeing nothing on him but showing his insides gives me the chills.
"Oh no...il perché di tutte le persone? (Oh no...Why you of all people?)" I muttered in sorrow.
Seriously...Giovanni is one of those guys...that doesn't like making enemies...someone you can make friends easily with...someone you can joke around with...and someone who can help you whenever he sees someone in trouble...seeing him become some sort of alien cause of some sick experiment...fucking angers me.
As a stun lancer was going to subdue Giovanni, I shot the stun lancer's neck as he starts gurgling...clutching his throat...struggling to survive...only to be dead in a matter of seconds...that felt...satisfying...
When Giovanni looked behind him to see the dead stun lancer, he went to hiding as the troopers averted their attention to me and Maria. They went to cover but one of the troopers got shot in the head by Maria's rifle as I loaded another bolt on my crossbow.
"Commander. You're not going to believe what happened to Giovanni..." I said as I hid behind a wall with Maria.
"Tell me." The Commander said as the GREMLIN hovered near me.
"They...They turned him an Ethereal..."
"An Ethereal?! In the Blacksite?!" Central shouted with shock.
"Looks like ADVENT were making their own Ethereal soldiers...well tried to. Looks like your friend's freak out is causing him to trigger his powers. If you can get him to calm down, I'm sure he'll come to his senses." The Commander tells me.
"I'll try. Keep me covered, Maria. I'm-"
I was interrupted when Giovanni summoned a rift on the ADVENT troopers killing them all with ease as their dead bodies were thrown in the air. I think my hearing is fucked of how loud that was when that rift was summoned.
"Or that could work." I sighed.
I slithered my way to Giovanni as he looks at me with real fear.
"No! Get away from me!" He shouts at me.
Shit...it's going to be hard when his fear of snakes kicking up a notch...
"Giovanni! calmati! (calm down!) It's me...Dante."
He looks at me with surprise as I look at him with seriousness. He got suspicious about me for a bit but he seems to realize that he was talking to me.
"Dan...te...?" He said slowly.
"Yeah..." I nod.
"You're...a snake."
"I know. I know you are scared of snakes but I need you to keep calm and help me get rid of these assholes that want you to be their slave." I said as I look around to see ADVENT MECS coming to our direction.
"...O-Okay...I'll try...but Roman..."
"Is he here too?" I asked him as Marco fired his grenade from his grenade launcher at the ADVENT MECS only to damage them a bit.
"Yeah...he could be being experimented still." Giovanni said as we were taking fire from the ADVENT MECS.
"Okay...once we get rid of ADVENT here, we'll find him. Sounds good?" I said as one of Marco's teammates fired an armor piercing bullet from her sniper rifle severly damaging it's armor.
"Yeah..." Giovanni nods.
I look at the Commander and gave him a thumbs up letting him know that we are good.
"Stay down, Giovanni. Those machines will tear you apart if you show your face now."
"Can I help?" Giovanni asks with determination.
"You've done enough help with those ADVENT peacemakers. For now...stay down." I said as I heard a ship in the distance while Maria kills the ADVENT MECS with her rifle.
"ADVENT reinforcements inbound!" Maria shouted.
Shit...it's gonna be one of those days when I have to deal with an squad if we don't finish objectives fast enough.
However just as reinforcements arrived, I heard...
"умереть, ублюдки! (Die, Bastards!)"
I look where I heard the shout, I see a Muton chuck a grenade near some explosive barrels causing the ADVENT troopers and officer to rush to cover while the grenade explodes destroying some of the walls in one of the facilities.
"Roman..." I muttered.
I know I may be guessing out of my ass but have you ever heard a Muton shout in Russian? Didn't think so.
"Huh...that was unexpected." The Commander chuckled.
You could say that again...
"Commander. You are not believe what I just found." Marco said with disbelief.
"Report." The Commander said as he hovered near Marco.
"We found this vial near the test subjects. Think it has to do with those experiments?" Marco says with curiousity.
"We won't know til we have it analyzed. For now, you and your team need to get out of there ASAP." Central said with seriousness.
"You might want to hold that thought, Central. Looks we have two more aliens who are defecting the ADVENT cause."
"And who would that second be?"
"A Muton. But no ordinary one. It spoke Russian."
"A Muton that spoke Russian? Commander...are you...?" Central asks rather confused.
"This is not a joking manner, Central. Looks like the Muton escaped from being chipped like the Ethereal. He's going need so some help dealing with those reinforcements We'll let Dante convince them on joining us." The Commander said with authority.
What? What is he talking about? Anyway...Roman kill the officer with his rifle (clean shot to the head and let me tell ya...it was brutal.) as Marco kills the last of ADVENT troopers with his grenade launcher. Roman rushed into one of the buildings as me and Giovanni went after him.
"You better hurry up, Dante. More ADVENT forces are on their way." The Commander warns me through my comm link.
Finding Roman was...difficult. because of his skills in combat when he was young, the element of surprise was his specialty and hiding in this dark facility was just the surprise he needed. As I started looking around, I felt the blade of bayonet on my back as I hear...
"не двигаются(don't move.)."
I slowly raised my hands up as I sighed rather annoyed. Giovanni looks at Roman shocked as Roman has his finger on the trigger of that rifle.
"Roman...I'm not your enemy."
"How do you know my name? Who are you?" He growls.
"Dante. Dante Vera. Your old friend..." I said with seriousness.
He wasn't convinced and looked like he was ready to shoot me if I said something wrong.
"Докажите это.(prove it.)"
He wants me to prove it...but how? ...wait...Roman loved poems in our school days. Russian ones mostly...that could work.
"Мой друг, забыты мной следы минувших лет И младости моей мятежное теченье. Не спрашивай меня о том, чего уж нет, Что было мне дано в печаль и в наслажденье, Что я любил, что изменило мне. Пускай я радости вкушаю не в полне: Но ты, невинная, ты рождена для счастья. Беспечно верь ему, летучий миг лови: Душа твоя жива для дружбы, для любви, Для поцелуев сладострастья: Душа твоя чиста; унынье чуждо ей; Светла, как ясный день, младенческая совесть. К чему тебе внимать безумства и страстей Не занимательную повесть? Она твой тихий ум невольно возмутит; Ты слезы будешь лить, ты сердцем содрогнешься: Доверчивой души беспечность улетит...(My friend, I have forgotten all that's passed,The passion of my youth was rather brief. Don't ask about the things that didn't last, Or how I felt in the times of joy or grief, Or what I loved, on how I was betrayed. I may not know true happiness today: But you are innocent, conceived for only bliss, Believe in it and seize each moment's portion Your soul was made for friendship and devotion, To feel the passion of a kiss. Your soul is pure and unexposed to sadness Your conscience is still clear like light of day, Why listen to the lunacy and madness Of all of my uninteresting hearsay...)
He was silent for a minute as he adds...
"Ты слезы будешь лить, ты сердцем содрогнешься: Доверчивой души беспечность улетит. И ты моей любви... быть может ужаснешься. Быть может, навсегда... Нет, милая моя, Лишиться я боюсь последних наслаждений. Не требуй от меня опасных откровений: Сегодня я люблю, сегодня счастлив я... (It will replace your peaceful thoughts with stress,Your heart will tremble, you will cry in bed, Your soul will lose its trust in its distress, Perhaps, my love will fill you with regret. Who knows? perhaps forever... No, my dear, I fear to cast my final happiness away Don't ask for dangerous confessions here, Today I love, I'm happy for today...)"
"Alexander Pushkin. Used to read that stuff back at high school." I smiled.
He got silent and seemed to be thinking about what I said. As he lowers his gun, I lowered my arms slowly while I turned around to look at Roman.
"Dante? Is that you?"
"You bet you ass it's me, comrade." I smirked with my crap attempt on sounding like Niko Belic.
"You always had a shit attempt on trying to do that accent. What happened to you, guys? Were you experimented like me?"
"Yeah...I can't believe Giovanni here was experimented into alien too. Those sick Bastards will pay for this..."
"Indeed..." Giovanni growled.
"But enough about that. We're getting out here and fast before more ADVENT reinforcements come."
"With X-Com? How am I sure they won't kill us?" Roman asked.
"They won't. Me and another viper who was also experimented like me saved their life from a retaliation on Rome. The Commander let me and her join X-Com and I'm sure he'll let you guys in after what you guys did to ADVENT soldiers just now. Trust me on this..."
Roman and Giovanni thought about it for a minute then nod at the same time once they came to an agreement.
"...Alright. we're right behind you." Giovanni said as I smiled more.
"Oh and Giovanni? You might want to wear those clothes over there so that we don't have to see...your insides..." Roman said as he pointed what looks like the uniform the Ethereals wear.
With a sigh, Giovanni got on that uniform as he looks at himself with ease. Now he looks like one of the Ethereals from ADVENT...and sure hides his insides.
"I can see much more clearer now with this headgear on." Giovanni said with a chuckle.
Really? Huh...I thought that was just for show but I guess I was wrong.
"Let's go." I chuckled.
We rushed to the extraction point as Maria gets pulled up to the Skyranger. Marco and his team got extracted next. And finally...Me, Roman, Giovanni and The Commander got extracted last. It's good to be see my friends again...if only they didn't share the same fate as mine...