Sorry it took so long guys! I have my old summer job back and if any of you know what I said about it last year then you'll know how aggravating it is. Anyway a few news bits before we start the next chapter.
1. If any of you remember I had a contest along with the OC one where I asked artists to draw a second Devil Trigger form for Bloodtail. Needless to say nobody signed up for this at all. So I'm just cancelling it.
2. For now until the end of July, expect updates to be slow...not that they aren't already.
3. Read on
"The worst horrors are those that have no names or forms..."
-Unknown
(2 days ago, O.A.S.I.S. Research Lab 113)
Data Log Entry 2542,
The Spectre Protocol is almost done. The brass is going to want to see the data we have, and I suspect that they will not understand what I am doing. Many of them will see this as an evil abomination, but they are so blinded by their emotions that they cannot see that this experiment and the results. For it will be enough to save us not only from A.R.C.A.N.O., but if further analysis proves the current theories, then we will be able to stop all demons all together.
More and more of my team is afraid of the subject, but they are even more afraid of the results of our procedures. As long as we support the steady supply of food for the creature, we can keep it under our control. However, we must perform the ritual before the prototype can be tested.
The team tells me they fear the creature is growing more and more restless, but I cannot find any reason for that.
It has no form, and not even a defined body structure, so I can't say it's actually alive. It is a fascinating subject, but I must remember my real purpose, which is to destroy it, not just study it. However, just destroying it as it is now has no meaning; I need to see if I can kill it when it's in its true form.
I hope that damned demon managed to be right about this being the right way to attempt the fusion spell. This has cost me millions already, and if this goes wrong it will cost much more. I don't care about the money or my life. All I care about are the answers we will get once we start the final stages of the prototype experiment. If this works, then no matter what, the brass will see what we have done and will not punish me for any "questionable acts".
As for my daughter and the rest of the science team… All expendable. They should be grateful that they are witnessing another miracle in the birth of science and hard work.
Nevertheless, I suspect that some are willing to abandon us, or attempting to communicate with the outside. I may have to eliminate the problem. I suspect even Rebecca doubts me, but she mustn't. I am never wrong; never should any doubt be placed on me or my abilities.
I have come so close now, I cannot fail.
…Dark Side of the World Presents…
… A Sonic the Hedgehog fanfic…
…crossed over with material from Devil May Cry….
…as well as information of Demonology and Angelology….
...edited by REV6Pilot…
BLOODTAIL: THE DEMON HUNTER
Disclaimer: The author owns nothing that is not his, which includes Sonic the Hedgehog and Devil May Cry
(Geneva air space)
"ALL CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN INDOORS! THIS IS A CITY ALERT FROM OASIS! All CITIZENS ARE TO REMAIN INSIDE THEIR HOMES AND KEEP ALL ENTRANCES LOCKED AND SECURE!"
As the broadcast continued to play over and over again on speaks and news videos, a Valkyrie class airship flew through the city to its designated landing zone. Inside, the team was strapped down on their respective benches.
"Looks like Alexander is already working on making sure this "Outskirt Incident" isn't known to the public," Bloodtail commented to Amy.
"What do you think we'll be expecting when we get there?" she asked in a low tone.
"At most? A few dead bodies and a demon that will require a lot of bullets, slashes, and some one-liners. You know, the usual stuff," Bloodtail smirked. "Other than that… Something we've never faced before. God, I hate surprises."
Amy looked at the worried human on the other side of the ship. "What about Jake's dad and sister?"
"If she's alive, we'll get her out of there in one piece."
"We are approaching the lower levels,"the pilot announced through the speakers.
The two of them took a chance to look outside and saw that the bright lights and magnificent buildings were now gone. Dirty, crowded looking homes, with rugged looking people getting from one place to another, in large crowds, replaced them. Using his enhanced vision, Bloodtail could see starving children, women selling themselves cheap, a few people getting ganged up on, and even worse signs of social decay.
It was obvious that the lower levels of the city were for the unfortunate ones in the social class.
Shit, just like Detroit… Onlynot as bad,Sparda commented.
No matter how utopian your city looks, all civilizations have slums and poor residents. They always had, and always will,Cerberus mused.
"Approaching Drop Point Alpha. ETA 4 minutes."
Styer broke the lack of live voices. "Okay! We're almost there! Everyone get ready to haul ass, and do not stray from the rest. We'll meet up with the command post and see if anything changed before we get ready to enter the belly of the beast!"
"And out of its ass, right sir?" shouted one of the troopers, getting a chuckle from some of the others.
"Right you are Corporal, right you are," Styer nodded as he loaded up, the others following suit.
The band soon felt the Valkyrie slow its descent down. After landing and opening the hatch, the teams moved out to the command post. They found themselves surrounded by thick metal walls holding ragged lodges occupied with soldiers, gun turrets and searchlights. On the ground, there were tanks, trucks, more searchlights, and various tents with computers or ammunition stocks in place. Men and women ran back and forth, fulfilling their duties.
The real point of interest, however, was pointed out by several of the lights - a small, rusty, boarded up abandoned garage with KEEP OUT signs all over it. It was obvious that the garage was a cover for the entrance into the underground lab, since not only did it scream out from the obvious failed attempts to conceal it, but it was also heavily guarded by many soldiers, all with their weapons aimed at it.
Wow… You have to be a complete idiot to not know where the lab's entrance is, Sparda commented.
Really? Where is it? I can't find it! Beowulf replied.
BANG! BANG!
The hell? Bloodtail asked, startled by the noise.
Oh don't worry, sexy. That's just Sparda hitting his head against the wall, Nevan replied.
After enough sightseeing, Bloodtail and his friends followed Styer and his troops near the garage, where a bald man in a grey coat, identified by the gold and red epaulets and the red lining on his collar and cuffs, stood before them. He had a peaked black officer's cap with red lining, the symbol of O.A.S.I.S. on the center. Underneath the coat, he wore a black undercoat of red and gold finery, and black combat pants and boots.
"Commissioner Greystar of Squad 212. You're the next team that's heading in?" He asked, authority in his voice.
Styer saluted. "Affirmative, sir, we're the next ones."
The Commissioner looked at Bloodtail and Amy with narrowed eyes before looking back at Styer. "Furries with you?"
"Fox is the legendary Bloodtail, sir. The female is a member of the Mobius Inquisition. The brass thought they could help us," Styer answered.
"I see…so the rumors of an alliance between us and the nation of Mobius are true. Well, not my problem to deal with. Back on track, you be careful in there. We've already lost fourteen squads and the men are putting up a dead pool to see which squad makes it out," the Commissioner said grimly.
"Put me down for eight-hundred! I got rent to pay," said a heavy laser wielding soldier, chuckling.
The Commissioner turned to him with a smirk. "We'll see how you like your odds when you get in there, soldier."
"That bad, huh?" asked Bloodtail.
"Worse. We've lost all communication, but we sent a team with a video camera a while ago… Sights would make a snuff film lover puke. The code you need to get past the entrance chamber is four, three, one, five, zero. Godspeed."
Well, we're about to go into unfamiliar territory, facing an unknown enemy, with no backup and no way out but forward .Anybody else feel like we're in some sort of horrible universe where everything is just out to cause us pain? asked Cerberus.
Oh, quit your bitching. You sound worse than a lobbyist, grumbled Nevan.
"Team! Let's kick it!" Styer ordered, and he and the rest of the team moved forward. Bloodtail walked right beside him. "So, we find this thing and kill it? Simple, right?"
"That, and find whatever data they were working on. Survivors are another priority too, but I doubt we'll find anything alive underground."
"TEAM HEADING IN! OPEN DOORS AND STAND BY!" shouted an officer. Immediately the whole command post went on alert, every gun in the area now pointed to the garage. The group stood ready near the doors, which soon opened and revealed that, behind them, there was a reinforced elevator the size of a bus just waiting to take them down. They got in, one by one, and nodded to each other in confirmation, ready for whatever they were going to face.
"SEAL THE DOORS!"
The team watched as the doors closed. They were on their own. A second later, the elevator lowered itself, and the silence blanketed them.
"How deep is this lab anyway?" one soldier asked, and another checked a data pad he had pulled out. "About forty thousand feet. It will take awhile for us to get to the first point."
"Great. Anybody got a deck of cards while we wait?" asked a female soldier, holding a shotgun.
The lights went out.
Before anybody could say anything, the elevator screeched to a halt, disturbing the passengers' balance almost to the point of falling. The group held their breath for a while to see if anything else would happen.
Nothing did… until the elevator started moving down faster than it was supposed to. The sudden change of speed sent everyone, even Bloodtail, up onto the ceiling, and the elevator descended into the deep, its speed still increasing.
"SHIT! DO SOMETHING BEFORE I PUKE!" shouted Jake drunkenly. Everyone struggled to move, but the pressure of the inertia was stopping them. If they didn't find some way to slow their descent, they were going to crash on the bottom.
Ideas would be nice about now! yelled Bloodtail to his hosts.
We're trying here! Sorry if we can't think at lightspeed! Sparda complained.
Wait, I got it! Summon Beowulf and blow a hole at the bottom of the elevator! Cerberus ordered.
Wait, what?
Trust me!
Having nothing to lose, Bloodtail summoned up the light gauntlets and gathered energy into his left arm. He shot out a beam of light that managed to make a large hole at the bottom.
Now what?
Summon me and concentrate on sending the cold into the circlets to freeze them! This should make the elevator stop!
How confident are you that this can work?
It's a long shot! I don't even know if it's scientifically possible, but what other choice do we have!
With a quick prayer for good fortune, Bloodtail traded Beowulf for Cerberus. Pointing the triple headed nunchucks at the hole, he shot out a large blast of icy energy, which spread throughout the lower area of the elevator and its shaft, spreading onto the support beams.
At first the elevator didn't show any signs of slowing down, but soon enough the acceleration decreased to the point where the air's drag force was no longer keeping the passengers up on the ceiling, and they fell on the floor safely. A minute later, the elevator stopped moving.
"And this is why I love staircases," Amy mumbled as Bloodtail helped her up. "What caused that?"
"Either the elevator decided to just go out and try to kill the next group to walk in… or somebody was working it," said the fox.
"Or something," said a soldier who shook his head, still recovering from the impact.
Styer walked up to Bloodtail. "Quick thinking. How'd you do that?"
"Long story," the hunter replied as he peered down the hole at the icy shaft. The bottom didn't look too far, about thirty feet from the bottom, so he suggested they rappel down.
"I'll check it out to see if it's clear," he said and dove down. Looking around, he saw nothing and gave the others the clear.
They came down one by one. Bloodtail used his strength to open the elevator doors, as the others got ready to face whatever could be behind them. What they got was a pure white chamber that looked like it hadn't seen a single chip on its paint job. Entering the room one by one, they spread out and made their way to across to the sealed door enforced by a keypad.
"Let's see if the code we got works on this sucker," said Styer as he punched in the code the commissioner gave earlier and hit the "enter" key. A satisfying click was heard.
The next room wasn't nearly as pleasant.
The dimming lights on the ceilings managed to give the company a view on what kind of room they were in. It looked like a regular secretary's office, with two black desks and a waiting room next to a silver automatic shifting door. However, it was far from its supposedly usual tidiness. Rubble was everywhere. All the furniture, from the computers and cameras to the chairs, was ruined, along with the internal paint job. The ceiling, walls, floor, even cracks on the walls, all dripped with blood.
There were bodies all around, torn limbs and organs spread out, ripped apart like garbage bags by a hungry dog. One body was seen hanging upside down, with only its large intestine supporting it from the ceiling, while another was a bone pile mixed in blood and guts, reminiscent of a pile of waste. On the walls was a strange black liquid no one could identify at first sight. It looked fresher. Some of the mysterious fluid could be seen on the corpses as well.
The strange thing was it looked like it had come forcefully from inside the bodies.
"Jesus… Christ," a male soldier said out loud before he fell back and looked away, a few people reacted the same way. Others started puking.
"What the hell… caused all this?" whispered Amy. Memories of the undead horrors of Mobotropolis entered her mind. The likenesses of this to the scenes in her former capital city were too close for her to feel any comfort.
Bloodtail, to his credit, remained calm, his worry only apparent to his demons. Whatever had done this was not something easy to get rid of, like a Glif or a Khorne. No, this kind of death and carnage meant that this was a high level demonic being in the facility. He tried to sense something in the facility only to cry out in pain as he felt a force pound against his head the moment he tried to reach out with his senses
"What is it?" Amy asked, sensing his unnerve.
"I… I can't sense it… " Bloodtail stuttered. "I can't sense it at all… it's blocking me. This is not good…"
"How bad is not good?" asked a soldier, trying to keep his eyes away from the carnage.
"The only thing that can stop me from sensing a demon is something that has the ability to negate sensing abilities, or if what I'm sensing is powerful enough for me not to grasp a level," Bloodtail stated as he drew out his pistols.
Shit just got real… and not in the good way.
Styer, seeing how they were getting nowhere, gave out more orders. "Everyone, look around. Don't wander off, and whatever you do, do not touch anything. Especially this black shit."
The men nodded and started looking around, much to their displeasure. The sight made them tremble in fear and twitch and disgust, but they carried on.
Bloodtail and Amy were about to follow when they stopped and looked behind them. Jake stood still, his body and facial features paralyzed in fear, and they quickly understood why. If this was just the beginning of the slaughter, and they were sure it was, then who knew what might have happened to Rebecca?
Bloodtail went over to him, but Jake just stepped back. "No… please, not her… oh god… please, let her be alright… please… please… please…"
Tears were threading their way out, but Bloodtail grabbed the man's shoulder and forced his friend to look into his eyes. "Don't expect the worst yet, she may still be alive! I promise you, we WILL find her no matter what!"
This made Jake slowly calm down. In reign of his emotions once more, he nodded and went ahead, following the troops. The pair of mobians followed him, looking at each other with worry. The squad looked for clues, some checking the computers that still showed signs of life.
"Forget it, Sergeant," said one of the men looking at a broken computer. "All this stuff has been wasted. We're not going to get anything from this."
"Are you sure, soldier?" Styer asked.
"Positive, sir."
"Well, alright, nothing to be gained here. We're going to move out and continue," Styer warned the troops, rallying them on the next door.
"Uh, sir? Me and Reynolds here were thinking of hanging out here and, uh… guarding the entrance," said a soldier, a muscled black man with a massive machine gun in his arms.
"Yeah, we might need to keep it clear so we can get out of here if something goes wrong," Reynolds, a natural blond haired man with a submachine gun, quickly added.
Styer glared at both men, clearly not buying their talk. Even so, the point was valid, so he agreed and the two were left behind. The rest of the team went through the automatic doors.
The next room was similar to the first, except there was more open space. Across from the room was another shift door, and on the right of it was a large glass window separating the current room from another one with a few holographic interface computers that still worked. The black liquid was much more prominent, showing itself in large black globs on the walls around the room, globs that appeared to be holding something.
Curious, the group split up to look at the sacs, trying to determine just what they were.
"Hey..." Jake said nervously. "Don't these things look a bit… alive, to you?"
Jake's estimation wasn't that far off. They could see that some of them were moving as if alive. In fact, the movements suggested that they were eating whatever it was inside each sac. This made the others step back a bit, unsure if the things presented a threat, and how big it was if they did.
Any idea what this stuff is? Bloodtail asked. None of the demons managed to give any answers other than guesses.
I'm also curious as to what's inside it. Think you can slice it? asked Sparda, a question to which Bloodtail nodded in reply. He slashed at one of the black sacs with Rebellion, and the target, much to the surprise of all, gave out an unearthly cry as it slowly shriveled into the wall, dropping the half eaten corpse it had been feasting on.
"Ugh, I think I just lost all desire to eat anything for the rest of my life," Jake mumbled, as he looked in disgust at the body. Its skin was a sick greenish and its bones seemed picked apart piece by piece, discolored blood and half eaten organs slowly dripping from the ribcage.
"What the fuck was that thing? And where the fuck did it go?" demanded a solder.
"Whatever it was, that thing, for all intents and purposes, was alive. Nobody get near any of the black stuff. Don't mess with it in any way if you can," Bloodtail ordered.
"You mean to tell me this shit is sentient? Shit, this is just messed up," a soldier mumbled in worry.
"Where do you think it came from?" asked Amy. "The object they were studying, or another source?"
"Too many questions. Let's find answers for the initial ones first," Bloodtail answered as he went over to the door. It didn't open. He cursed, slamming a fist on the metal with enough force to dent it. "Well, if one way doesn't work," he mumbled, walking away from the door, then turning around and running, kicking it on the dent he had made, smashing the sturdy structure into pieces like a sheet of cheap glass and ultimately allowing them access to the holographic computer room next door, "you improvise."
A quick search made it apparent that that particular room looked normal. "Check the computers for data," Styer commanded.
A soldier piped up a few minutes later. "Sir, most of the data is encrypted… But I found a few logs that might explain what's going on." Ordered to play them, the soldier activated the logs and a recording played in the voice of a male scientist echoed.
"This is the audio log of research assistant Tobey Black. I can't figure Professor Irving out. You would think that with all the progress we've made he would be a bit happier… but he's still the same coldhearted bastard that gives you the creeps when he looks at you. I can't even believe him and Professor Rebecca are father and daughter! Why would a sweet and kind girl like her still stay side by side with that old fart? Family must run deep there."
"So she is here… " Jake muttered as he closed his eyes. He turned away and pounded his fist on the wall.
"Jake…" Amy said and went to comfort him, but the next log came in right then.
"Tobey Black, log update. This is insane! I can't even believe this. The Professor… he's mad! I know you make sacrifices in the name of science, but this… this is just inhuman! Why the fuck did I even sign up for this? I've got to get out of here!"
This peaked everyone's attention. What was it that the scientists weren't supposed to do? Another log soon came up.
"Log… forget it! It doesn't matter, the experiment went to hell! It's everywhere in the building, killing us one by one. Damn that demon… I wasn't there when it happened, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the fusion spell went wrong. I wonder if anybody else is alive as I record this. You who are listening to this, you need to head to the third floor down and find the main center data room. All the info should be there. Avoid the black liquid, and whatever you do, stay away from the elevators or any large cracks on the walls! Good luck."
The playback ended.
"Well, looks like we know where to go…" Styer said as he turned to the next door, which automatically opened to reveal a long, dark hallway.
(Meanwhile, at the entrance)
"So, Reynolds…what the fuck made you decided that joining the OASIS was a good idea?" the black soldier asked.
"Honestly? The idea of blowing shit up just made me interesting in joining. But if I had known I would be doing shit like this, I would have stayed as a bartender."
"Know any good bars? I want to forget all this stuff when it's over with enough jell-o shots to make me barf my lungs out."
"First round's on me, Richards."
Richards took a look at one of the black spots on the wall, intrigued, and walked over to it. "Hey… What do you think this shit is made out of?"
"Don't touch it," Reynolds warned, but Richards just huffed and slowly put his finger on it.
The black goo swallowed the appendage and soon started covering his whole arm, crawling upwards.
"GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!" Richards screamed and tried to pull away from the enveloping substance. He started screaming even more loudly as a crunching noise was heard, and he felt his entire arm being eaten from the inside. Reynolds tried pulling him away by his shirt, but he slipped and fell.
"RICHARDS!" shouted Reynolds, seeing his fellow team mate get dragged towards the black blob.
Black cracks in the wall began to emerge as the blob got larger and larger, until it stopped and started changing shape into a human skull. Richards screamed as well, but it was too late for him to pull out as the skull launched itself from the wall and took him into its mouth, the black liquid crawling all over him and dragging him into the wall. Sounds Reynolds identified as bones being broken and flesh being torn could be heard, as if someone had put a whole T-bone steak into a blender and turned it on.
Reynolds stepped back, terrified, and felt his foot land on something soft. Slowly looking down, he found himself standing in one of the small piles of the black liquid. He quickly lifted his foot in terror and tried to shake it off, but to his horror the black liquid not only remained there, it started to crawl up his leg. It changed its shape in the air and slithered even further up his body. The blonde tried to shake it off, even striking it, but it didn't stop until it was up to his face. Reynolds screamed.
It was exactly what the liquid wanted; it dove into the soldier's mouth and down his neck.
Falling to his knees in pain and nausea, Reynolds held his stomach as he winced and moaned, feeling the slithery mass swim around in his insides. It soon changed, and he looked up into the air as he screamed and sputtered in pain.
He felt his insides burning, the pain shooting upward to his brain. He could feel something literally try to break its way out of his eyes… and then, nothing.
A few seconds later, the black mass started to come out of Reynolds' eyelids.
His eyeballs exploded, and the body fell.
(Meanwhile, O.A.S.I.S. HQ)
When the ambassador said his last sentence to her, she had been trying to use all her patience to not scream and attack him right then and there. The idea that the only way her kingdom was to get any real help from the humans was to give up their rights as an independent nation was something she just couldn't accept.
Ever since the humans had given them the land so long ago, they had been free to live and thrive on it. Mobius was the only place Mobians in the world could go to have their own culture and history without human interference. And all the battles and hardship she and her friends went to in order to make Mobius a sovereign nation again, away from the tyranny of Robotnik, would be a waste if they agreed to it. Would every sacrifice and earned victory they had achieved in order to be free again just be worth nothing in the end? Was she willing to end her own family's two hundred year old respected authority, a cornerstone of Mobian life, in order to make her people safe?
"You're… You're asking something that… I just… I…" Sally stuttered, but Novak held his hand up, silently asking her to calm down.
"Queen Sally, I am not asking you to make a decision now, and I know it's not one that can be made lightly. But I'm afraid this is the only way for us to aid you completely in your war efforts against ARCANO," he said as Sally took a deep breath and sat back on her chair. "You're not the first person to go through this sort of negotiation, and I can assure you that if there was any way we could help you without asking you to give up your sovereign rights, then we would. Unfortunately, that can't be the case."
The man stood up. "You must understand… some of us don't trust your nation, and if I may say, there's a good reason for that. Many of your people don't see the difference between humans and overlanders. To them we are the same. Even though we fought the overlanders just as much as you did, there are quite a number of Mobians who wish us harm." He took out a small data pad from his pocket, messed a while with it and slid it for Sally to read. "This contains the list of Mobian terrorist groups that have targeted human territories. Some of them were supported, and supplied, by some of your former councilors…like Timon."
Sally noticed how Novak spat the name as if it was a ball of snot on his mouth. He didn't stop. "Oh yes, we know about Timon…very vocal elephant, wasn't he, before he got his due?"
Sally looked again at the data file, stumped. "You can't just think that my people are all like this! And besides, don't you have anti-mobian groups as well?"
"Yes, but at least we try and keep them from doing anything that could strike a war with your nation, instead of giving them political and financial backup. The human lands are host to millions of Mobians, in case you didn't know it already. You may have most of your population where you come from, but we do host a good number of your people here in the UNO. They are our citizens as well, and as such, we care about their well being, just as we care about the good standing of the relationship between us and their home nation. If things were to get sour, then trouble would arise."
Novak looked deeply into Sally's eyes. "If you want us to help you… If you want what is best for your people, even if they will hate you for it… Then you will join us. The only other options are either fight alone, or do it with what limited support we can give you as an ally. And you know that it won't be enough to help your country recover quick enough to deal with the present threat. We are the only choice you have left."
Sally tried to stay strong, but doubt was creeping into her mind. If she denied the request of joining the U.N.O., then her nation would never get the support they desperately needed. If they were to just remain an ally, the little help they would receive wouldn't be enough – that much was obvious.
But if she did give up her throne and her nation's right as an individual country by joining the U.N.O. and agreeing to their laws and rules, what would her people say? What about the pride of Mobius? What would her friends think of her?
Was the price of freedom worth the power of security? What was she willing to sacrifice for the good of her nation and her people? What was the right choice? Was there even a right choice?
Sally had no answers.
(Back at the underground lab)
Following the information they received from the log, the team decided to look for a way that would lead them to the third underground floor. Since the elevators were not an option, they had no choice but to find some sort of staircase to lead them downward. They traveled through various hallways and entered labs, computer stations, and just plain empty rooms filled with nothing but chairs and tables.
The worst of it was that, the further they continued down the rooms and halls, the more gore they saw. The black liquid was present in almost every room and hallway they went to, and it was beginning to make them paranoid. The morbid scenes they kept seeing were starting to affect the troops in many ways, primarily in terms of morale. Jake, however, was the worst of them.
Every time they entered a new room he started looking at the corpses and tried to see if any of them showed any sign of the body being Rebecca's. It once even took both Amy and Bloodtail to get him to stop staring at one female's half shredded corpse.
Approaching the last corner they hadn't checked yet, the team made their way to a large set of double doors, which opened, showing the biggest room they had found so far.
It looked like a rec area for the workers to relax and eat their meals, only now it looked like a tornado had decided to eat there. There were tables covered in rotten food, a kitchen that looked like it had seen much better days in the background, and the eerie but already expected black liquid on the walls and ceiling. Spreading out, the team looked around to see where they could find the next exit.
Bloodtail took a sniff at one of the plates of mush with a human hand mixed in and leaned away. "Ugh… I don't feel like having lunch."
"Yo, army boy! Did we take a wrong turn?" Jake asked, shivering. He had a bad feeling about the place, reinforced by the lack of any new exits.
"I know where we are, trust me. I've been keeping a map in my head. This is the only room we haven't checked yet, and we still haven't seen any way downward," Styer said as he turned to him.
"Well what do we do now, Mr. GPS?" Jake mumbled.
Before he could answer, one of the troops wondered if they should contact the ones they had left to guard the entrance. Approving and grabbing a comlink, Styer asked into it for the two to check in, but he only got static in response.
"Reynolds! Richards! Report!" he shouted, but again he got nothing. He tried a few more times before giving up. "Great, more things gone wrong."
Meanwhile, Amy spotted something amongst a pile of rubble and called for the others to take a look. Upon arriving, they saw that it was another door. The scouts assured it was the only other way out of the cafeteria.
"Looks like our way out. How long will it take to clear this out of the way?" Styer asked.
"About ten minutes…" Bloodtail said, about to go to work. He stopped.
"Siles?" Amy asked as she watched him take out both his pistols and look around the room.
Bloodtail looked around. "Guys… we got company."
As soon as he said that, the ooze from the left side of the wall started to stretch out. It launched itself towards the fox, who bent his back as far as it could in order to avoid getting hit, the grime sailing over him before stopping in place, mid air.
More black slime began to mass around the attacking portion and proceeded to get bigger. It started forming into a spherical shape, its length about ten feet – more than enough to trap any one of them for dinner.
"What is…that?" shouted a male solider before a tentacle made of the black liquid shot out and nearly smashed him to the ground.
"Scatter!" Styer shouted as the group separated.
The black sphere began to spin around, shooting out large chunks of itself across the entire area. The team took cover behind whatever they could use, narrowly avoiding the projectiles. Bloodtail did a series of backflips to avoid the shots which landed near him.
Upon landing on the ground, Bloodtail narrowly avoided stepping into another black mass on the ground, which promptly took the form of small black spikes to spear him, but missed. Charging Ebony with demonic energy he fired a charged shot at the spikes, which exploded and dispersed.
Eventually it stopped spinning and everyone saw the chance to aim their weapons and fire.
The bullets and lasers just went through it.
"The ammo's going right through it!" Amy yelled as she fired upon the globe with her pistols at a slower pace.
"No shit, Sherlock!" barked Styer, unloading his magazines.
The black sphere unleashed two liquid tentacles at the group and caught two soldiers, who were rapidly pulled in. Sounds of grinding, at a much faster tempo than the ones the sacs let out, could be heard with their cries, and sets of bones came out.
Bloodtail tried to get closer, but the tentacles were stopping him. "Styer! Get that thing's attention so I can split it in two!"
"Roger! Suppressing fire!" ordered Styer. They managed to get its attention; it unleashed the tentacles upon them, forcing the company to hide again. Seeing his chance, Bloodtail took out Rebellion and ran towards the monster. When he reached close enough, he jumped up over the sphere and flipped in the air once before falling down with his blade in motion, ready to split it in half.
However, the sphere split itself into two perfect halves that spread apart, and Bloodtail sliced nothing but air. When he passed it, the sphere reformed itself perfectly and re-summoned its tentacles to try and catch him, but he hightailed it out of there in time.
Okay… Let's try this! thought the hunter as he summoned Nevan. He started playing the guitar, unleashing lightning bolts upon the sphere in a series of electrical blasts.
The bolts were negated. It was as if the sphere was grounded. Nevan was indignant. How rude! You don't do that to a lady's lightning!
"What the fuck does it take to kill this thing?" shouted a soldier, firing another shotgun blast at it, as fruitless as any other shots.
Jake, hiding behind the kitchen counter, was taking a deep breath as he looked at the tiny Screaming Mantis he had in his hands. "Well, might as well see what this can do…"
Counting to three, Jake got up and aimed, but a tentacle suddenly came towards him before he could fire, and nearly knocked him off his feet. Jake quickly got up and tried to get out of the now unsafe kitchen, but the tentacle grabbed him and started dragging him towards the sphere.
"SHIT! HELP WOULD BE NICE!" he screamed as he tried to grab something on the floor that he could hold on to.
"Jake!" cried out Bloodtail and Amy. They made an effort to get to him, but another tendril slammed in front of them, the impact energy throwing them back into a soda machine.
"FIRE AT IT FOR GOD'S SAKE, YOU RETARD! FIRE YOUR GUN!" Styer bellowed in frustration.
Snapped out of his panic fit, Jake aimed at the large target and pulled the trigger.
The barrel unleashed a tremendously powerful blast that caused the black sphere to explode violently. The force wreaked havoc on all objects in the area, including the fighters. Jake sailed back into the kitchen, screaming all the way, and crash landed into a fridge that promptly poured its stored food on his head.
Nobody said anything for a few minutes, all occupied on getting their bearings straight. Jake slowly came out of the kitchen, covered in cheese, cake and meat. As he looked at the location where the sphere once was and then to his gun, he gave a big whoop. "HOLYFUCKDIDYOUSEETHAT? I WAS LIKE ALL DOOMED AND EVERYTHING AND THEN I JUST POINTED MY GUN AT IT AND IT WAS ALL LIKE 'SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND' AND THEN BOOM! THAT WAS THE COOLEST MOST AWESOME THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! I LOVE THIS GUN!"
Bloodtail turned to Styer, his face as deadpan as the voice that came out of his mouth. "You gave him something that powerful?"
"Figured he needed it, he's never been in combat… In hindsight, I think I will regret it in the future now," Styer said with a chuckle, watching Jake continuing to brag like a child that had beaten their first videogame without help.
"What was that thing, sir?" asked a female soldier.
"Honestly, I think we saw our 'nameless horror' we heard about." Styer commented, "At least it's gone now."
"Yeah and all over some of us, ugh." A male soldier said as he came forward, covered in the black liquid.
Bloodtail remembered how the separate pile he almost stepped into moved on its own. What if…
"GET THAT STUFF OFF HIM NOW!" he barked, but it was too late. The soldier fell to his knees, screaming. They could only watch as the ooze started corroding the man like it was acid, crawling over him like a crowd of ants. The poor man begged for help, but his neck was soon covered by the bile, which started eating through it as well.
It wasn't just that sphere, it's all of the black liquid! It's a living being! Sparda warned.
And they were in a room filled with it.
"We've got to get out of here!" warned Bloodtail, making his way to the rubble blocking the exit. He stopped as more ooze almost fell on top of him from the ceiling, and watched as it started taking a new shape. It looked a faceless black, fluid humanoid, the head taking the appearance of a skull. It stood up and tried to grab Bloodtail, but the demon hunter slashed it, throwing the pieces to the floor.
The victory was short lived; the liquid started to slowly form together again.
"Look!"
Turning around, Bloodtail saw more and more of the cursed goo was starting to come out of the walls and ceiling, slowly starting to form large piles of themselves and taking the liquid humanoid form.
They watched as more and more of the liquid humanoids started to form, creating a small army of them. They screeched before charging at them with haste, determined to tear them apart.
"Form up and open fire!" screamed Styer as he fired The Panther at a few. His holy bullets sailed through their heads, causing them to disintegrate. The team retreated near the blocked door.
Jake grinned as he slowly and confidently aimed his weapon. "Scream, my beautiful mantis!"
click
"Huh?"
click
click
"It's got a charging period after each shot!" Styer finally said.
"Damn it! Why does every single fucking BFG have that?" cursed Jake.
Bloodtail, deciding it was time to personally get into the fray, ran forward. Jumping high into the air, he turned upside down, proceeding to perform Rain Storm.
After his attack, he landed on the ground and narrowly dodged a tackle from one of the humanoids, which took a point blank shot at its face. Jumping a bit back, he replaced his guns with his sword.
Charging his sword up with demonic energy, Bloodtail started moving faster, left and right as he hacked his enemies in half. Throwing his sword in the air, he summoned Cerberus's nunchucks and started flipping them around, creating an ice storm. The liquid human formed creatures slowly started to turn to ice from the feet upward.
Grinning, Bloodtail jumped up and grabbed the sword, and proceeded to slam it into the ground, causing a shockwave that shattered all the creatures to particles.
After ordering his team to hold fire, Styer walked over to Bloodtail and stared at him before he smirked and nodded. "Not bad, fox… Not bad."
Before he could respond, Bloodtail's eyes widened. The black liquid was amassing itself again.
"Oh shit!" he cried as he fired on the ground, however too late; the piles were starting to reform into their humanoid forms again.
Bloodtail and Styer both rushed over to rest of the team, avoiding the fluid that tried to swipe at them by forming multiple hands. Both men blasted at them with their guns, as the team fired upon the liquid again to try and help them.
A small group of the humanoids reformed in front of them as the two went into action. Bloodtail took out his double barrel shotgun and blasted one's face off before he charged up the gun and blasted away two more with twin shots.
Styer unleashed a full magazine as he charged forward, taking out five. He stood up, but his gun was knocked away by another one who tried to grab him. The O.A.S.I.S. agent was quicker as he sliced off its hand with his knife before shooting it in the head with his .44 Automag. Looking for his gun, he fired another two shots into the body of another one before he dove down, emerging with his favorite
A screech in his ear alerted him of another behind him ande performed a split, narrowly missing having his head lobbed off from a swipe of the creature. He bent his back and aimed right between the legs, getting the humanoid to kneel down before Styer blew its head off.
Bloodtail, seeing that the effort of fighting the liquid was pointless, screamed "Do something to get that goddamn door open or we're all going to be swallowed by a carnivorous tar ocean!"
"I've got it!" Amy shouted as she took out the Rail Driver. Its shot power set to high, she aimed at the door and pulled the trigger. She felt the kickback and saw a blue beam go straight through the rubble and create a hole just big enough for them to get through. "Move your sorry hairless asses!"
One by one, they went through the hall and entered a new darkened empty hall. Bloodtail and Styer both ran towards the exit as well, the black humanoid army right behind them.
"You got a grenade?" asked Bloodtail as he lowered his speed to stay with the human.
"Yeah?"
"Hand it over."
Styer tossed one without question as he dove through the hole. Bloodtail proceded to cock the grenade, toss it above him and dove as well. Halfway through the hole he turned around and fired a bullet at the falling grenade as he rolled to his feet.
The explosion caused more rubble to block the door. Everyone waited.
Well, that wasn't too bad. So, you got an enemy that is immune to all weapons and powers that you have, is shapeless, probably in every room in this lab, and you managed to piss it off… But at least it's not a threat at the moment, Sparda said, confident.
That thought was soon dashed as the black liquid started to come in between the cracks of the rubble, forming up near the end of the hall.
I've got to learn to keep my mouth shut.
"Running would be a good idea about now!" Jake yelled as he took off, the others quickly following him. The black liquid started to fill up the end of the room even as it flowed quickly towards them.
The group ran as fast as they could with the river of black grime following behind them, but as they made a sharp turn to the left the group found themselves trapped in front of another door, this one locked. Some turned back, only to see the ooze gaining on them.
Bloodtail quickly kicked it down and they rushed inside, reaching a large steel-walled room with tank-sized metal crates everywhere. The lights were also out in this one, but there was no sign of any of the black liquid, or bodies. In the back stood a large vault like door, multiple locks visible on its frame.
They suddenly found themselves pressed against a blue energy shield that surrounded the entire vault.
"Shit! Must be a defense mechanism!" Styer cried out. He turned around and looked, in shock. "What the fuck?"
Facing his direction, the group watched as the black liquid, which filled the previous hallway, started to take another larger form as it rolled out of the doorway. It took the form of a large black liquid human upper torso, large clawed hands dripping with its ooze. The body started swishing around, and soon multiple human sized skulls appeared all around its body, victims of its terror.
It finished its appearance by creating a giant skull head, shrieking like a banshee at its next meal.
(Now playing: When World Collide, Artist: Nemesis)
"Okay… I'm guessing we should find cover?" asked Jake.
"No. Really?" Amy said as they split up, avoiding a claw smashing them to paste.
Bloodtail took both this pistols and fired at the large creature, but even his magical enhanced bullets did nothing to it. Figuring he needed to get physical, he summoned Cerberus's nunchucks and jumped on one of the crates.
"Cover me!" he shouted as he jumped from crate to crate, avoiding sticky hands.
"You heard the fox! Cover fire!" shouted Styer as he shot Panther from across the room. Others soon followed from their covering positions as the liquefied creature roared. Bloodtail jumped high into the air and threw one of the glowing heads of the nunchucks at its head.
Okay! Let's freeze this son of a bitchAAAAAUGH!
The black ooze the creature was made out of started traveling through the chain in its head, heading straight towards Bloodtail. He quickly desummoned it and fell to the ground, avoiding more swipes as he backtracked.
Is everything okay, Cerberus! he asked, worried.
I'm fine… But I felt like I was getting eaten alive… that thing… I think it's… Ugh…
Cerberus tried to say more, but he was too weak to do so.
Stay boy. I've got you, Nevan said with a soothing whisper.
Meanwhile, Amy was behind a crate replacing her useless pistols for her Rail Driver when one of the soldiers ran up to her. "Hey! Hedgehog! You got any ammo!"
Amy shook her head, "Nothing you got that could help."
"Shit! Sometimes I think god hates mEEEEEE!" she screamed as she felt herself getting dragged by the foot by something slimy. Amy watched as the solider was dragged by a black tentacle that managed to slip near them and take her by surprise. She quickly dropped her gun and grabbed the crying woman's arms, trying to pull her back. The black tentacle, however wasn't willing to let go, and pulled harder. Amy tried to hold on, the woman pleading for help, but in the end her grip wasn't strong enough and she lost to the tentacle. The soldier screamed as she was dragged to the larger creature and entered the creature's chest, instantly no more.
Amy closed her eyes and cursed before grabbing the Rail Driver and firing it off at the creature in a furious assault. The Rail Driver managed to cause some damage, even managing to blow off chuck of its liquid body. Yet, the creature recovered as the slime retreated back to the main body.
In response to this, it then started to gurgle before barfing out a large pile of its own essence, which started taking forming another mass crowd of humanoid liquid creatures.
"These guys again? Fucking black shit!" Styer cried out as he fired upon the creatures, along with a few squad mates. As they dealt with the mini-me's, Bloodtail was struggling to find a way to kill the large creature in front of him.
Everything has a weakness, what is this guy's? he thought before he bounced off another wall and landed near a crate. He then used his demonic strength to kick it straight at the creature which took the hit, but then absorbed the crate and started breaking it down with its body like acid.
If only we could stop it from gathering more of itself. Then we might be able to wheedle it down enough to defeat it. Sparta suggested.
A lightbulb went up in Bloodtail's head as he looked around and saw Jake cowering near a trash can. He quickly dashed his way to his human friend, flipping over another swipe.
"Jake! Is the Screaming Mantis recharged yet?" he asked.
Jake checked the gun and saw a small green meter on the grip. "Almost! Give or take a few seconds!"
"Close enough! Listen, as soon as it's charged, I need you to charge at the monster."
Jake looked at the fox like he was crazy. "Who do you think I am, Rambo? I'll be killed faster than a lemming trying to commit suicide!"
"Trust me!" Bloodtail shouted, running forward as he left a terrified Jake. "Amy! Shoot off its arms!"
Amy didn't bother asking why, and aimed.
She felt a presence behind her…
"AMY, DUCK!" Styer shouted as he aimed his Panther towards her. He fired, and Amy got to her knees just in time for the holy slugs to fly over hear and blow off the heads of five of the liquid ghouls that tried to sneak behind her.
Nodding a thanks to Styer, Amy aimed her Rail Driver at one arm and fired, soon firing at the other. Both were blown off – surprisingly, the monster screamed, creating echoes in the room. It seemed shooting the creature was affected by bullets after all.
Bloodtail, a charged Rebellion in one hand, saw his chance. "Now, Jake!"
Jake hesitated a bit, then took a deep breath. "Might as well do this right… LEERRROYYY JEEEENNNKIIINSSSS!" he yelled in anger and fear – mostly fear – as he charged as fast as he could towards the unholy creature.
Bloodtail threw the charged Rebellion and slid toward another crate, proceeding to kick it hard, sending it flying to the door they came through.
Just as it trapped itself inside the door, the sword managed to fly around and slice the demon's head off. Jake, seeing this opportunity, aimed and fired.
BOOM!
The blast knocked him back, reinforced by the explosion that incinerated the head in a fireball.
(End Song)
Bloodtail walked over to Jake as he summoned his sword back into his hands. "Leeroy Jenkins?"
"Best I could think of at the moment," Jake explained as Bloodtail helped him up.
The remaining team grouped up and looked at the path they had come through.
It was sealed.
"Well, that took care of it. For now, at least…" Styer said as they turned away and started heading towards the shield.
They heard a rumbling sound. It started to grow louder…
"Oh… hell… no…" the man promptly cursed when they turned around and saw the large crate shaking and rattling. It didn't take long for the object to be pushed out, sent flying into the air before crashing in a corner.
The black liquid once again started to come out form the dark halls. All the present prepared to fight again…
… Until they heard a series of clicks coming from the reinforced door behind them. They turned around and saw the vault open, having to close their eyes as a painfully bright light erupted from inside. Those who turned back saw the light hit the black liquid, and heard it shrieking in audible pain, squirming back to the dark hallway it had come from.
A soon appeared and told them to come inside at once, an action nobody wanted to argue against.
As soon as they entered the room the vault closed. No one kept their relief from showing, some wiping sweat from their foreheads like Bloodtail and Styer, others fanning themselves just like Amy did, or, in Jake's case, outright sitting on the floor, spent.
"I've been expecting you… You're late," said the voice that had ushered them in. Jake froze, now recognizing the timbre.
He gasped as he looked up. "… Father?"
End
Tired and hungry.
Read and Review.
Later.