With little to do other than continue exploring, Jill and Dante decided to search for Enrico to report Barry's betrayal. However, they couldn't find him, even after looking for several minutes. They did find an odd rack to place a weapon next to a metal door, connected to a panel on a cave wall; with a smug look, Dante placed the broken flamethrower on it. Despite its poor state of repair, it served its purpose well enough; they heard the door unlock.
"Wonder why they had a lock that needed a flamethrower to undo?" Dante thought aloud.
Jill sighed. "It was probably intended for something else, and the flamethrower was the closest thing to it. Now stop drawing attention to the insanity and let's go."
Through the door was a strange room with an unlit fireplace; full of upturned chairs, racks of old spices and preservatives, old dolls, chains, and lit candles. This last thing drew the attention of both Jill and Dante.
Who lit these? she thought. Someone must have just been through and lit the candles on the way. But then why is the room so warm?
Dante frowned. Candles…I haven't seen ones like these since Temen-Ni-Gru. And I'll bet they're using magic, too; otherwise these candles would have gone out a long time ago.
Going further through the room, they found a set of stairs leading down into a flooded corridor. Jill could see through the water well enough, but… "Say, Dante…that weird lightning sword of yours…does it still have juice?"
He smirked, pulling Alastor out of his coat and placing its tip in the water. Within seconds, blue arcs of electricity leapt back and forth through the water. He waited in this spot for about ten seconds, and then pulled the sword out of the water, returning it to the folds of his coat before de-summoning it. "Ladies first."
"Nice try, but I need to keep my eye on you. I'll be right behind you." She gestured towards the water, one hand resting on her pistol.
He rolled his eyes, but led the way. As they waded through the water, they found several snakes were floating belly-up, but otherwise nothing interesting. At the end was a small bedroom, lit up by more candles. They split up to look for valuable clues or items; where Dante turned up a ladder hidden in a corner, Jill found a small box next to the bed. Inside were a stone ring and a small sheaf of paper with a torn old photograph attached by paperclip. "Dante."
He walked to her, looking over her shoulder at the things she held. "That picture looks ancient. I can see the three people, but where are the faces?"
Jill turned it over, reading the back. The Trevor Family. George, Jessica, and their daughter Lisa. She shrugged, handing the stone ring to him and reading through the papers. "The first page looks like a research note. 'Progenitor Virus administered. Patient Zero-One infused with Strain A. Viral fusion negative; subject disposed. Patient Zero-Two infused with Strain B. Viral fusion delayed but positive; body has undergone mutation and shown constant results. Re-designated Patient Zero. Advised to continue protective observation. Number Three terminated.'" She frowned, and moved to the next few papers. Every paper after the second held only two sentences.
I feel dizzy after the shot they gave me. I haven't seen my mother anywhere. Where is she?
Mother and I ate together. I was happy.
She wasn't my real mother. Face was the same, but different underneath I swear.
HAve to fInd Mother. My real mother.
TOOK fakE moTHer's face. Haveto finD rEAAl mother to give hEr fAce back so SHe isnt sad
4 stones. 4 stones hide mom.
It was similar to that note Dante had read a while ago; the one that had devolved into repeating "itchy" and "tasty". But who had written this?
"Jill…we should probably put that back." He couldn't explain why, but something about the whole thing just made him feel…sick.
She shrugged, setting the notes back in the box and replacing it. With nothing else in the room, they climbed up the ladder, and went through the door at the top.
"What the-?!" Jill shouted.
The instant they were through the door, they could tell they were in a room of the mansion, though a dark one. The door closed behind them.
"But…we were several hundred feet down. That ladder couldn't have been more than twenty feet high…"
Dante spied a desk, with a small lamp atop it. He clicked it on by its chain, and they both saw a small metal object (with the…what was it? Spencer crest and Umbrella logo…or was it the other way around?). He scooped it up, and flung open the door they'd walked through. Predictably, it led out to part of the mansion (the large foyer on the first floor), rather than the ladder they'd just climbed up.
"…I just…what…I don't even…" Jill muttered, and then clenched her teeth. "You know what, screw it. Let's grab everyone and blow this place to hell," she snarled, marching through the door. "I'm sick of this."
Dante followed her, glancing at the back of her in admiration. Jill, you are my kinda woman. He chuckled to himself, shaking his head.
A few minutes later, they were in front of a pair of double doors, with octagonal slots set into them. Jill examined them, tapping her chin in thought for a few moments, and then turned to Dante. "You remember that thing we got from the crypt? The one with the Umbrella logo?" He rummaged in his pockets for a few seconds, and then pulled it out, handing it to her. She placed it into one of the slots; it was a perfect fit. "But then the other one…wait a moment…" She turned back to him. "You know that ring we got in the room with candles? And that metal object you grabbed just now?"
He didn't bother answering her; he pulled both out and fiddled with them until they fit together. Nodding in satisfaction, he installed it into the other slot. Jill and Dante each gripped one of the doors and threw it open.
It was a stone stairway, leading down once again.
"With all these downward passageways, you'd almost think they were trying to dig their way to the center of the Earth…" Jill mused.
"Or Hell…" Dante muttered under his breath. They walked down the first flight, coming across a box at the first landing. Dante opened it, and sure enough, all of the items he'd stored in it before were in there. He scooped them all into his pockets, deciding he didn't want to risk having them stolen by that sorcerer bastard. They continued downward to another metal door.
There was another dank, candlelit passage. This one led downward (no surprise), and seemed to be leading them through more caves. There was a metal ring surrounding a ladder, and they went down it. They were in a large cavern, with a stone pathway cutting through it and a large square platform in the middle. Gates seemed to hang precariously above the paths leading into the square center, and four stones perched on the corners of the square. Chains trailed from them to a stone crypt in the middle. And…there was a certain someone examining the crypt…
They walked towards him quietly, anger boiling in both of them. They were ten feet away before a stray stone cracked under Dante's foot. He whirled around to look at them, his eyes going wide when he saw who they were. "J-Jill! Dante!" Barry gasped, hiding his revolver behind his back. "You're alive!"
"For better or worse," Dante replied, fixing him with a cold stare.
"Well…I was just worried, 'cause I thought…you were…" He trailed off as the tension in the air grew so thick it was almost visible.
Dante was a hair's breadth away from pointing Ebony at the guy. So what if he wouldn't actually shoot? Barry didn't know that.
Jill's hands were just itching to draw her own pistol, but if she even attempted to, his gun would be on her too quickly.
Barry was by far the worst off. He knew that after the elevator fiasco, there was really no way of talking his way out of this one. But…after all the trust they had shown him…after saving each other's lives…he didn't quite have the heart to kill them.
…But…
…
It was either them…or it was…
…
He quickly pointed his gun at Jill. Perhaps it was his subconscious that at least wanted to give her a chance to stop him, or perhaps he was just too tired from all the things that had happened that night. For whatever reason, he was a bit slower at the draw…
…Allowing Jill to catch his arm and twist his gun out of it.
Within a few seconds, both Jill and Dante were pointing guns at him, the former using Barry's own weapon. "Start talking!" Jill snapped. Dante nodded grimly behind her, his black pistol not wavering so much as a millimeter.
Barry knew better than to make any sudden movements. "C-Calm down, Jill! I didn't want to do it, I swear! Believe me, I…I can explain!"
"Then explain," she ordered coldly, her voice slowly but steadily increasing in volume. "Explain why you had to pick off your own teammates one by one…Explain why you tried to murder Enrico! Explain what your 'boss', whoever he is, could POSSIBLY have over you to make you his damned lapdog!" she finished, now shouting at the man she had considered her comrade.
"Jill…I swear to you, I never even knew Enrico was still alive until you told me! Jill…please, I had no choice! They…" His voice wavered, unsure as how she'd respond to the answer to her last question.
"They WHAT?!" she yelled. She was tired; she was sick and tired of this damned mansion and all the monsters inside it. She was tired of fighting, tired of puzzles constructed by a madman; but most of all, she was pissed. Pissed at the fact that the cause of her friends' deaths was not a matter of circumstance, but planned out all along. By one she had thought was her friend.
"They…Dammit, they've got my family, Jill!"
She stopped, her anger momentarily giving way to shock. "…What?"
He opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of chains rattling behind him made him freeze. No…not her again…
A hunchbacked creature shuffled into the cave. Its arms were long; far longer than a normal human's, reaching all the way to the ground, where its hands drug, locked together by old-fashioned wooden manacles (similar to a stock, but only for the hands). An eerie, bloodshot, tumor-like eyeball pulsated on its back, and what seemed to be several human faces were sown together and worn as a grotesque mask. Its skin was beyond pale; it seemed as if this monster had not seen the light of day for decades.
With a brute strength rivaled by very, very few, the thing smashed apart the statues with its bound arms. Screaming out in a high voice, several tentacles sprouted out of its face and back. With all the movement shaking the area next to the opening, the old iron gate came crashing down. They were trapped.
The hideous abomination began advancing towards them. Dante turned to train Ebony on it, drawing Ivory as well.
Barry knew he didn't have much of a chance, but he'd be damned if he didn't at least try to redeem himself for what he'd done. "Jill, our discussion can wait until later! Give me the gun, before that thing kills us!"
Jill wasn't sure if she should trust him. He'd pointed a gun at her, and all but admitted he was going to kill her. But…he'd already saved her life twice…and if she didn't trust him now, they were all dead anyway.
Nothing to lose.
She gave him a curt nod, pointing his gun straight up. He wasted no time in grabbing it and whirling around to take aim at the advancing monstrosity. "Thanks, Jill."
She drew her own gun on the shuffling thing. "Don't make me regret this, Barry."
He gave a small smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."
Dante grinned from ear to ear. "In other words: shooting time, lady and gentleman!" He fired a shot from each of his handguns at the creature's head, knocking it to the floor, unmoving. "Huh…that was…kind of a letdown."
…At which point, it got back up, hissing.
All three of them began pouring bullet after bullet into the monster, and each time it stumbled back a bit. But by the time Barry and Jill had reloaded, the thing was still trying to come after them.
Dante didn't notice; he was practically giddy. Finally…FINALLY something else here is a challenge! He put away Ebony and Ivory, bringing out Hound-B. Still…can't let the sweet innocent coppers die. "Sorry Charlie. You're history."
BANG! *crkcrik* BANG! *crkcrick* BANG!
And putting just a little demonic energy into the gun, he blasted the thing one last time. It went down.
…But two seconds later, it got right back up again, shrieking as its tentacles lashed out in fury.
Jill turned to Barry. "Hey…this isn't working! We need to find some other way to drive it out!"
Barry frowned. "What do you suggest? I doubt we can just ask it nicely to leave."
That was true…still, there had to be some way to get it out of there…
…And suddenly, she knew what they'd heard in that cabin. What had been writing those barely coherent notes in what resembled a diary. And somehow, in a way she couldn't explain, she knew exactly what that thing was doing here.
That coffin…its "mother" is in that coffin!
"Barry, we need to get that coffin open!"
He blinked, confused. "But, Jill…how is that going to-"
"Barry, please; I've placed my trust in you. Now trust me back!"
Well, how the hell was he supposed to refuse now? "…All right, but what about Dante?"
Both of them turned to see Dante pull the sword off his back and hurl it at the beast; it spun viciously around in the air, striking the thing over and over like a helicopter with a vengeance, defying nearly every physics law to the contrary.
"…He's got this covered. He'll keep that thing off our backs; now let's hurry!"
Barry scanned the coffin lid, and the chains attached to it. The lid hadn't moved when he'd tried levering it one way. Maybe…Of course! That was where the person's head had to be; the lid would slide off the other way! But it would take a lot of force to slide that stone tablet off… "These stone weights; we gotta push them off the left side!"
Jill's eyes widened. "…All of them?! I…don't think that monster will let us get the ones near it!"
"Well, then we'll get the ones we can first!" They both ran to the weight already on the left side nearest them, and began pushing against it with all their might.
Dante, meanwhile, was having the time of his life. Ebony & Ivory didn't work, Hound-B didn't work, Rebellion didn't work…he'd have the chance to go through his entire arsenal against this thing! He pulled out Nevan, turning it into the wicked scythe he knew and loved. The guitar form was out of the question; the music would've been sweet, but the electricity might hurt his allies. Better safe, and all that he thought as he cut through the creature over and over.
With a mighty lurch, the first stone weight fell off the platform, snapping its chain tight and pulling on the stone lid. But it wasn't enough weight to make it move, yet. The S.T.A.R.S. officers ran to the other weight on their side of the cave, pulling it away from the opposite side.
With Nevan having little effect (aside from the electricity in the weapon itself stunning the monster a little), Dante switched it out for Alastor. Scrapping the idea of actually using the sword like…a sword, he instead hurled it at the beast like a javelin, skewering it straight through and pinning it in place as electricity coursed through it. Having done that, he blasted it repeatedly with Hound-B.
Giving a powerful shove, the second stone weight fell right above the first one, putting more force on the coffin lid. But only half of the weight needed was in place.
"Dante!" Jill yelled. "Any chance of getting that thing to switch sides with us?"
The thing in question had somehow managed to grab the handle of Alastor and pull it out, despite being shocked and shot over and over. It prepared to hurl the sword at Dante, but he snapped his fingers, and Alastor returned to its chosen wielder rather more peacefully than intended.
Master, Alastor rumbled as Dante caught him, while I do enjoy fighting our enemies together with you, if you do such a foolish thing again, I will electrify you the next time you so much as set a toe in water. I assure you, I will hold NOTHING back.
Sorry, sorry. I was an idiot for doing that; but in my defense, you were strong enough I thought it would work.
Though he would never have admitted it, that soothed Alastor's pride. Somewhat. …Very well, master. But my warning shall nevertheless remain.
I do something as stupid as that again, I get my ass fried off. Sounds fair. He switched Alastor back for Rebellion, and swapped his trusty new shotgun for Spiral. He grinned like a lunatic, backing up slowly. "C'mere, ugly," he said, beckoning and whistling at it as one would treat a dog. "Come over here…Dante's got a little treat for you if you follow him." The creature, whether it understood him or not, did follow him. "Yeah, that's it…c'mon…"
While Dante and the monster circled around one way, Jill and Barry edged around the other. As soon as the two groups had switched sides, they resumed their respective activities.
Dante heaved Spiral into firing position. "Open wide; I got a serving of red hot lead! Eat it!" He fired a round at the creature, knocking it clear off its feet and almost off the edge of the platform. However, it began to get up once again.
He chuckled. "All right, then; let's have some fun!" He pointed Spiral straight up and fired. The round bounced off surface after surface, causing Barry and Jill to dive for cover. Soon, the bullet, making a mockery of several scientific facts, struck the beast with even more force than the first shot had. The thing careened into the wall, even causing a big enough indent to be stuck there.
"Dante, what in the blue hell-?!" Barry shouted.
"My bad! I'll be more careful next time!"
"Good! I'd rather NOT deal with a cave-in, thank you!" Grumbling various profanities, Jill and Barry resumed their work. The monster, meanwhile, pushed itself out of the wall and back down to the platform. It shrieked, and its tentacles lashed out at Dante.
He hopped backwards, switching Spiral out. "If one gun won't work…" He pulled out the briefcase of Pandora. "I'll use several!" He converted it into its gatling gun form (which Trish had called "Jealousy") and sprayed a hail of bullets into the beast.
Meanwhile, the two S.T.A.R.S. officers gave a hefty shove, and pushed the third stone weight off. The coffin lid gave a little shake as the weight jerked to a stop, but did not slide. They raced to move the final weight.
Dante, for the first time in a while, was running out of options. Can't use any of the explode-y type forms, seeing as how it might cause a cave-in; I was damn lucky I didn't make one with Spiral. Which reminds me; the grenade launcher's out, too, for similar irritating reasons. Getting back to Pandora, Omen would be freaking awesome, and I pretty much know for a fact it could kill this thing…but it would kill the other two, too. Damn…
Then he grinned.
Heheh…time for a little…Revenge! He cycled through Pandora's bazooka bow…then its actual bazooka…and then finally…
"Hey, Visene! Eat laser beam!"
CSSHEEWWWWW!
The blast tore through the monster's torso, not to mention several feet of the cave wall behind it, before he returned Pandora to briefcase form. The thing fell, a gaping hole in its chest.
"…Phew…" Dante sighed. "Talk about determination…damn thing just wouldn't quit…" He frowned, seeing Jill and Barry still struggling with the last weight. "Yo, what are you guys doing? The thing's definitely dead after THAT one. Dunno about you, but I could go for a-"
He jumped backwards, missing the tentacle that would otherwise have shot through the bottom of his jaw and out the top of his head.
"That…that thing's still not DEAD?!" He'd met some persistent demons before, but this thing wasn't even a demon and it STILL wouldn't give up! "This is just getting ridiculous!"
Strands of tissue and blood shot back and forth through the gap in the monster's chest, healing it nearly perfectly. Dante stared, impressed. This thing heals almost as fast as me… For the first time in a very, very long time…he'd found someone nearly as un-killable as him! This is…
This is…
His eyes went wide.
...FREAKING AWESOME! Nearly giggling, he once again pointed Ebony and Ivory at the mutated abomination, ready for round…5, was it?
With one last shove, Barry and Jill pushed the final stone weight off the platform. As the chain attached to it snapped taut, the stone lid of the coffin shuddered, slowly sliding off.
Both Dante and the creature paused at the noise, sharing a sense of confusion for the briefest of moments…
Heralded by a loud stony crash, the lid slid clear off its coffin, smashing into the floor, and finally being drug off the edge of the platform by its weights.
Inside the coffin was a very decayed skeleton. Dante quirked his head in confusion…as the creature seemed to do the same, holding its breath. "Mo…"
…He blinked. The thing could talk?
It shuffled over to the coffin, Barry and Jill hurrying back around to Dante. "Mo…"
He trained his pistols on the thing as it stared into the coffin. …What's it up to?
The creature seemed almost to sniff what was left of the corpse. "Mo…mo…"
And then, in a voice that belonged to a scared little girl who by all accounts had died a long, long time ago…It began crying. "Mo…therr…"
Dante's blood went cold. Memories long since buried came rushing to the front of his mind.
Mom…you can't be dead…don't leave me alone, Mommy…wake up, Mommy…
The creature, sniffling, very gently reached into the coffin, taking out what was left of the woman's head. It turned around, shuffling to the edge of the platform. "M-m-mothherr…"
The voice of the creature seemed to have triggered Barry's reflexes. Noticing that the thing was dangerously close to the edge, he instinctively made to start running towards her. He had to pull her back to safety…
…But he didn't even get an inch before Jill held her arm in front of him, shaking her head.
"But…Jill…"
"Barry." Her voice was quiet, but firm. "Whatever that thing is, there's nothing we can do to help it."
He sighed. "I…I just…"
"Leave her be, Barry," she said softly.
And with that, the creature simply leaned off the edge, falling into the abyss below; not with a scream or roar, but still that soft, burbling sob.
Jill watched the mutated girl's departure, and then turned back to Dante. The guy had gone rigid as a statue, and his face nearly matched his hair in color. "…Dante?" No response.
So the shit had finally hit the fan. Well, more so.
Spying a few papers in the coffin, she took them, keeping an eye on Barry as she did. They were a letter and…A photograph of a family of three. The same photograph she had seen two other times. Which meant that the woman in the coffin had to be George Trevor's wife. And the thing that had been trying so desperately to open the coffin was…
Lisa Trevor.
She opened the letter, reading aloud. " 'To my dearest Lisa; Day by day I can feel my consciousness drifting further away. The shots given to me by men in white clothes made some of Mommy's itching go away. Today they gave me another shot, saying it was "nutrition". When they give me the shots, Mommy can think straight, but Mommy's scared and sad because Mommy is unable to think about you during the whole time.'"
Barry frowned. This was getting worse and worse…what had they been doing to a mother and daughter here?
" 'Mommy's afraid. Afraid of forgetting everything, especially the memories of you and Daddy…What your faces look like, how we used to be together…They're all starting to disappear into somewhere dark in my mind. Oh, Lisa, I wish I could touch your face and hold you in my arms right now, so that I can hold onto our wonderful memories of you and Daddy. Lisa…we can't stay here any longer. We have to escape!'" She glanced at what remained of the woman in the coffin. Nausea and sorrow began to pool in her stomach; it didn't need to be spelled out how successful the escape had been, and the fact that it was just made her sick.
" 'Listen to me, Lisa. Our chance to escape is the next time we go to that lab together. We'll both pretend that we're unconscious, and when that man in white clothes is off guard, that will be our chance. When we're on the outside, let's look for Daddy together, okay, sweetie? Be strong, Lisa.'" She forced herself to read the last bit of writing even as a torrent of emotions threatened to overcome her. " 'Jessica Trevor…November 13th…'"
She gasped. "…'1967.'"
Barry clamped a hand to his mouth, forcing the rising bile back down. A tear ran down Jill's cheek as she saw the innocent face of the girl in the picture, knowing how it had been twisted and misshapen. Dante…
Dante had to force himself not to unleash all of his weapons on the scenery.
"Thirty years…" He all but whispered. "Thirty years they ran their damn tests on her...on a kid…and she stayed alive, so she could see her mom again." He clenched one of his fists, his whole arm trembling. "The thought of her mother was the only thing keeping her going…"
He then slammed his fist into the top of the coffin, cracking an entire side. "And for WHAT?!" he shouted, his mind racing nearly as fast as his heart. I was hurting her. All she wanted was to see her mother, and I kept shooting and stabbing…I probably would have done the same damn thing if it had been me.
That thing was...I was fighting a...a little girl...
"BASTARDS!"
He charged at the gate that had dropped down after Lisa Trevor's entrance. He reared back his fist and punched the steel bars with all his might.
The steel bars, in response, crashed inward as the entire gate flew back into the cavern behind it.
Barry gaped. What the hell was THAT?!
Jill stared at Dante. Once again, that feeling was itching at the back of her mind. She'd mostly ignored it so far, but she couldn't deny it any more...something was off about Dante, and it was more than a simple statement of "magic" could explain away. What was he?
...Was he even human at all? Or was he-
She shook her head. Whatever he was, he'd saved her life more times than she could count on one hand. Even if he was what she suspected, he had still earned her trust.
"Dante...?" she asked hesitantly.
He was shaking all over, his fists clenching and unclenching as he breathed heavily. Kill them all...kill them all...kill them all...
For a single, brief moment, Dante contemplated breaking the oath he'd made all those years ago.
…
But in the end, he reconsidered.
No…I can't kill humans. Not now, not ever. Not even them. But… in this case…
He whirled around and looked Jill straight in the eye. She actually took a step back; for a split-second, she could have sworn his eyes glowed red. "Jill…you find these people. Promise me that. You find them and kill them. All of them. No mercy."
It was strange; after everything she'd seen him do, after all the monsters she'd seen him cut apart, after the ridiculous powers he kept pulling out one after another, this was the first time she was genuinely frightened of him. She nodded mutely.
"Hey, you two…" a voice called, bringing both back to their senses. Barry felt very awkward, but pressed on. "Look, I doubt she's really dead, and I know it's probably hard for you to trust me right now. I'll keep this place secured; you two go ahead." Jill frowned at him, and the color began to return to Dante's face as he watched the bearded S.T.A.R.S. member. "I mean it, go. If there's any sign you know about…I mean, if the people watching me think that you…" He trailed off, but the meaning was clear.
"All right," Dante said. "But don't get crazy."
"Oh, I won't."
He shrugged, and motioned for Jill to follow him. "You heard him. He's a big boy."
She gave him a look somewhere between worried and skeptical, but followed Dante. "Stay safe, Barry," she called.
He nodded, breathing a sigh of relief. Maybe…just maybe, I can get them out alive without putting my family at risk…if only I knew how…
CHAPTER END
And there we have it! Twenty chapters done. Fun fact: the second half of this chapter was actually the very second thing I wrote for this story (the first being the prologue). It's been a couple of years, but I finally managed to connect it in the rest of the story.
Also, as you may have noticed, I decided to do this chapter with absolutely no scene breaks as a challenge to myself. I don't know if it turned out for the best or the worst, to be honest; let me know what you think!
Until next time!