Chapter 11: Legion of Caesar!


Jill took her comrades on a 6 hour trek through the desert wasteland until they finally reached a hill that overlooked a valley below. There were a couple of large tents sitting on top of the hill as well. "Well, here it is! Fawkes and I found these tents awhile ago during our travels, so we made ourselves at home here." Jill announced. "Boy, you guys sure are lucky!" Snake smirked. "This place has been abandoned for quite some time, my friends. Whoever lived here sure knew how to live!" Fawkes said as he opened up a tent flap and let them inside.

Inside of the tent was several crates full of medical supplies and food, as well as a work bench to construct weapons and gear. "Well, you sure are right Fawkes. These people sure do know how to live. It's kind of primitive, but who am I to complain?" Wolverine said as he observed the work bench. "I wonder who lived here?" Morrigan wondered as she laid down on a mattress. "Looks like these tents belonged to a group of soldiers." Spawn observed as he caught sight of a strange flag on the wall. "Yeah, that flag is pretty weird all right. I mean, has anyone ever seen a two-headed bear before?" Jill joked.

Snake approached the flag and looked at it with curiosity. He could not help but recognize the flag somehow. "Hey, what's wrong Snake?" Jill asked as she approached him with a can of beans. "NCR? Why does that sound so familiar?" Snake pondered. "I have been trying to figure out what that stands for, but I can't seem to quite get it right. It could mean anything!" Jill pointed out. Snake took the can of beans from Jill before he sat on a mattress and began eating. "How long have you two been staying here?" Snake asked with his mouthful. "Um, about a couple of weeks. Why?" Jill replied as she took a sip from a water bottle.

Snake sighed as he threw the can in a trash can. "This place is abandoned all right, but it looks like it's been abandoned recently. You think something might have happened to cause these supposed soldiers to leave in such a rush? I mean, now that I think about it...these place seems way too organized to be left like this." Snake said cautiously. Everyone else nodded in agreement. "When you put it like that, you're right. Something must have happened!" Spawn said. "Well, it's not our problem now. Right now, we need to focus on finding Wesker!" Wolverine grumbled as he finished scarfing down some stashed junk food.

Snake sighed as he shrugged it off. "You're right. Maybe I'm just being paranoid...but you never know what will happen out here. Oh, well. Let's try to get some sleep! We'll leave first thing in the morning." Snake announced as he laid down to rest. Everyone else except Spawn laid down to sleep, for they were tired from their constant traveling. "Hey, Spawn? Aren't you tired? Why don't you come over here with me and rest?" Morrigan offered with a seductive grin. "I'm not tired. Just go to sleep; I'll keep watch." Spawn replied sharply. "Fine...your loss!" Morrigan yawned before she went to sleep.

A few hours later, Spawn woke up Snake. "Wake up, old man...you need to see this!" Spawn whispered fiercely. "What's wrong? Is there trouble?" Snake replied with worry. "Don't wake the others just yet; I don't want to upset them." Spawn said carefully. This caused Snake to become even more worried; Spawn must have found something, and if it was this serious enough that he didn't want the others to know about, then Snake knew that something was definitely wrong. "All right, show me." Snake whispered.

Spawn led Snake out of the tent and over towards the edge of the hill. "Yeah, I know the view is nice but-" Snake joked. "Shut up! Get down and look over there, right at that town below...see that smoke?" Spawn snapped as he pointed. Snake raised his eyebrows before he took out some binoculars and crouched down. Maybe they were too tired to notice it before, but there was indeed a town below in the valley.

But as Snake looked through his binoculars, he noticed that there was thick black smoke coming from the town center, along with many fires throughout the rest of the town. "When did this happen?!" Snake exclaimed. "I don't know, but it looks recent. It might be raiders, or even Wesker's forces. What do you think we should do?" Spawn suggested.

Snake put away his binoculars before he stood back up. "I'll get the others; you stay here and let me know if anything else happens. Good eye, kid!" Snake replied before he began rushing towards the tent where everyone else slept. Snake then woke up the others, despite them trying to resist. "Hey, come on. Wake up!" Snake said as he shook Morrigan. "Grr...I don't want to get up now; five more minutes!" Morrigan complained. "Morrigan, get up!" Snake snapped as he practically pulled her out of bed. "AAAIIEE! I'm awake, damn it! What gives?!" Morrigan whined. "Come on you guys, get up!" Snake urged. "What's all the fuss about, Snake? You have any idea what time it is?" Jill grumbled. "We've got trouble in the valley below!" Snake replied. "Trouble, huh? Well what are we waiting for?!" Wolverine growled as he got up.

Soon enough, everyone joined back with Spawn. "Anything happen?" Snake asked. "No... it's too quiet. Something doesn't feel right about this!" Spawn replied with worry. "My God! What happened down there?!" Morrigan exclaimed now more wide awake. "I don't know, but we're about to find out. Come on!" Snake said gravely. Snake and Spawn led the way, while the others followed behind. "I've got a bad feeling about this!" Fawkes said out loud. "You said it!" Jill remarked. "Everyone be quiet! We don't know if there are still enemies around, so don't give our position away!" Snake ordered.

5 minutes later, everyone slowly arrived at the town...or whatever was left of it. To their horror, the entire place had been burned to the ground. But if that wasn't enough, there were piles of burning and rotting corpses strewn all around the place. But perhaps the most shocking thing of all were the crucified men and women that were left hanging to die, some of them barely still alive. "Oh my God! Snake...what the hell happened here?!" Jill gasped. "My God...this is awful! Who did all of this?!" Morrigan wept. "I have no clue...but they will answer for this!" Snake growled.

Spawn grew very grim and upset as the horrific imagery began to give him flashbacks of some rather unpleasant things he did as a young and angry mercenary/soldier. "Look at them; they're in suffering." Spawn said with a dismal tone. The crucified people groaned weakly as they looked down on the strange visitors. They knew that they couldn't be saved, for if they were to be removed from the cross, they would die. "Help...me...please!" a man croaked. Morrigan attempted to free him from the cross, but Snake stopped her, shaking his head. "It's too late. He'll die as soon as we release him from that cross." Snake sighed sadly. "Well, what can we do?" Morrigan sobbed. "The very least we can do is ease his suffering." Snake said and put a suppressor on his pistol. He pressed the barrel against the man's head. "Thank you." The man muttered weakly. "I'm sorry." Snake said before putting the man out of his misery. "It makes me sad to see such vile things, friends." Fawkes said sadly.

Morrigan could not help but cry as she looked at the suffering souls, though Snake felt pure anger towards those who caused all of this. Suddenly, a low growling noise was heard. Snake gasped as he turned to find a rather large and nasty looking dog facing him, snarling viciously as it bared its teeth. Snake pulled out his SOCOM .45 pistol and aimed at the dog, when suddenly something emerged from the ground and pointed a sharp spear at his neck. "Touch the trigger and I shall plunge this spear into your throat!" a voice rasped. "Dammit!" Snake growled as he threw down his weapon. "Snake, what's wrong?" Jill began before several more spears were pointed at her.

Everyone braced themselves for attack, but had no time to react before they found themselves surrounded by their surprise attackers. These men were wearing strange armor and were armed with spears and hunting rifles. Their armor resembled ancient Roman Soldiers, due to the crimson red on the armor itself and the strange iron helmets they wore on their heads. "Who the hell are you people?! And are you responsible for this?" Snake shouted. "Mind your tone...for the mighty Legion of Caesar does not tolerate disrespect!" a cold voice thundered.

Snake and the others looked to see who was approaching them; it was the apparent leader of these strange warriors. Unlike the others, this man wore a wolf's pelt on his head and donned a red kilt and iron breastplate. His eyes were shining bright and fierce, and his face was pale white and stern with bitter coldness. "Who are you?!" Spawn demanded. The leader of the Roman-like warriors let out a small laugh. "I am Vulpes Inculta; second in command of the Legion of Caesar. And might I say, that it is truly an honor to be in your presence...Spawn!" the man said.

Spawn's eyes widened as he said that, and the others were just as shocked. "How the hell do you know who I am?!" Spawn exclaimed. "I've been watching you for quite some time, now. And I am deeply impressed with your methods of enforcing justice. I dare even say that you have inspired me and my boys here...as you can quite clearly see here in this fine town, or what's left of it anyways." Vulpes sneered. "You call this justice?!" Snake snarled. "Look at what you've done to these poor innocent people! What kind of monsters are you?!" Morrigan shouted.

Vulpes burst out laughing. "Innocent?! You dare think that these vile, miserable imbeciles are innocent? Perhaps you do not fully understand us, so allow me to properly introduce our ways to your feeble minds. We, the Legion of Caesar, live for one purpose and one purpose only: the will of the Great Caesar himself! If he deems a culture undesirable, then it is our duty to wipe it off the face of the earth. Our great and mighty Caesar demands honor and respect, and those who dare oppose him will suffer a fate far worse than any sort of pain and suffering imaginable!" Vulpes explained.

Spawn glared furiously at Vulpes. "So that makes it ok to slaughter innocent civilians?" Spawn growled. Vulpes scoffed at him as he said that. "Oh, come now Spawn! You of all people should know that these...sub-human specimens are not innocent. But I can see that you're confused, and quite frankly who can blame you after being brainwashed by these fools and their stupidity?" Vulpes sneered referring to Snake and the others.

Snake and the others grew angrier as Vulpes continued to speak. "You're calling him brainwashed? That's rich coming from some kids in costumes following the orders of a guy who names himself after a Roman emperor." Snake growled. "Silence!" a legionnaire snapped as he poked his spear at Snake. "I'll tell you everything you want to know...starting with why we ravished this rotting cesspool of a town. You see, this land suffered great losses under Wesker's little regime, and the Caesar had no choice but to flee and seek shelter out here in the Wastes. Wesker had good vision of bringing law and order into this land, but he betrayed the Caesar by sending out his troops in an attempt to assassinate him and claim his kingdom as his own." Vulpes began.

Spawn began to understand a little bit more of what was going on. "And by kingdom, you mean the rich part of the city of Empire Plaza?" Spawn said. "Yes, precisely! While we thrived in that kingdom, the Caesar was fair to his subjects. But once Wesker became too comfortable in his own position, he sought to take everything for himself. Those who do wrong against Caesar do wrong against the whole Legion!" Vulpes continued. "You people were idiots to trust Wesker!" Jill insulted. "Well, it does seem fitting that someone who calls himself Caesar ends up getting betrayed." Snake said half-jokingly. "Quiet! One more outburst and you'll be the next ones we crucify!" a Legion member snarled.

Spawn glared intensely at Vulpes, but the cocky man showed no fear. "You still haven't answered why you destroyed this place!" Spawn snarled. Vulpes chuckled at Spawn. "I'm getting there, Spawn. Patience! Anyway, Caesar came here to lay low for a while, as did we. However, despite how generous these people were with sheltering us, they too betrayed us. They put their loyalty towards a group of gangbanging, drug dealing mercenaries rather than the Caesar himself, who by the way gave more than enough protection to this place. And so, we had no choice but to make an example out of these people...so that all who dare venture through here know the drastic consequences of betraying our Caesar!" Vulpes went on.

Spawn and the others didn't like the sound of this, even though they knew that the Legion had good reasons for doing this. "But you didn't just stop at killing men, did you? You went out of your way to kill everyone!" Spawn said grimly. "Exactly! Nobody was free from sin in this place. It was a filthy den of whores, liars, and cheaters to begin with...but we tried to be fair. And look at what's happened! One by one, we dragged them out of their homes. One by one, we tried each of them and named their sins and crimes against the Caesar. And one by one, we executed them...slowly. Bit by bit! And now, you witness before you the glory and purity of the Caesar's will...and that is where you come in, Spawn!" Vulpes explained.

Spawn grew very grim as Vulpes approached him. "We were very impressed by how quick and merciless you were with the fiends and fools who spread their filth across these lands. What you did to those raiders and slave drivers up North, that is to be admired. The Caesar himself has ordered me to deliver you to him, so that you can help him find Wesker, kill him, and bring back order to this Wasteland! Think of all the honor you will gain for Caesar when you join us...think of the greater purpose you will serve under the banner of Caesar. Our very children admire you and adore you...and our soldiers wish to be you. Join us, Spawn...and together we can destroy Wesker! We can save this wretched wasteland and rule in peace! You can finally find your true purpose!" Vulpes said with great passion in his voice.

Spawn didn't know what to say at first; all this time, he wanted to know what his true purpose was. Despite how cruel and violent they were, this Legion seemed to have good intentions. But Spawn looked to his friends, who had looks of anger and sadness on their faces. "But my friends...what will become of them?" Spawn asked. "Forget about them! They're too blind to see the truth and they're too softhearted and weak to understand the will of the Caesar! They flinch at the sight of our purity and justice, but you do not! You're perfect for us; we need you!" Vulpes insisted. "For how long? Until he's no longer useful to you and you toss him out like trash?! You idiots will probably end up doing the same to your precious Caesar. After all, history tends to repeat itself." Snake shouted as he stepped towards Vulpes.

However, several of the legionnaires stopped him and constrained him before he could reach Vulpes. "Think about it, Spawn. Do you really think you have any chance of finding Wesker with these fools? They're slowing you down, keeping you away from your real purpose. Isn't that what you've always wanted? To find your purpose in life?" Vulpes pressed.

Spawn took a deep breath before he spoke again. "I'm going to wear your fucking head like you wear that dog's!" Spawn snarled viciously. Vulpes' eyes widened as he said that, terrified of Spawn's sudden aggression. "Legionaries?! We have a problem!" he shouted. But before anyone else could make a move, Spawn threw a ball of Necroplasm at Vulpes.

Vulpes screamed as he was forced back explosively into a ruined building, allowing the other heroes enough time to retaliate against the shocked legionnaires. "NOW!" Snake shouted as he broke free of a couple of legionnaire's grip. Spawn kicked Snake's SOCOM over to him. Snake rolled and grabbed it and then gunned down several Legion members. While Spawn rushed towards the greatly injured Vulpes, Snake and the others killed the Legion and their war dogs. Wolverine cut several Legion members to pieces with his claws. A few Legion members tried to stab their spears into Fawkes, but he grabbed them right out of their hands and stabbed them.

Eventually, Vulpes was the only one left and Spawn dragged him towards the center of town. "It's time I made you answer for your crimes, fool!" Spawn snarled. "You stupid, blinded, arrogant miscreant! The Caesar will have your head for this. You hear me?! You'll suffer a fate far worse than death for your betrayal! Nobody betrays the Legion and lives; NO ONE!" Vulpes shouted even though he was dragged away by Spawn. "First things first; I'm already dead! And second; I just fucking did...and your little Caesar will be next!" Spawn snarled before he threw Vulpes into a roaring fire.

Spawn walked away and ignored the screaming howls of agony that came from Vulpes as he was slowly burned to death. "Let's go! We haven't got time to waste; we need to find Wesker and fast!" Spawn announced. "But what about Batman?" Morrigan wondered. "To hell with Batman; Wesker is my main priority now!" Spawn shouted. "Spawn, I know you're upset...but you're not thinking clearly!" Snake began.

Suddenly, Spawn grabbed Snake and pinned him to a wall. "I am thinking clearly, old man! For the first time in a lifetime I am thinking clearly! Don't you see? If we don't stop Wesker now, who knows what other kinds of men will want to follow his example?! The whole fucking world will be in flaming ruins just like this town! Wesker has to die, along with everyone else who follows or agrees with his madness!" Spawn shouted. "I know that! But we're not going to be able to find Wesker unless we know where he is, and right now there's only one man who knows where he is; Batman! You've gotten this far with me, so don't quit on me now...please! If not for me, then do it for the sake of those who fell victim to all of this! For the sake of the fallen, we must carry on!" Snake said, referring to the town destroyed by Caesar's Legion.

Spawn finally seemed to calm down before he let go of Snake. "You're right...I'm...sorry, I-" Spawn began. "It's all right! Look, I know you want Wesker dead. I want him dead too; we all do! In fact, you're right...anyone who serves Wesker deserves to die. But we won't be able to stop them if we don't work together, all right?! Now come on, let's get out of here before more of these Legion freaks show up!" Snake said. "But where do we go now? We have no clue where the others are!" Spawn demanded. "I think I might be able to help out with that!" a gruff voice announced.

Spawn and the others turned around sharply to face Rorschach approaching them. "You!?" Spawn exclaimed. "Well, nice to see you finally joined us! Where the hell have you been?!" Snake demanded. "We'll talk later! But right now, we gotta move! Follow me!" Rorschach replied. "Can we even trust him?" Jill demanded. "What choice have we got? Come on!" Morrigan replied. And soon enough, they were all off and followed Rorschach into an underground tunnel.