A/N: As promised, here is the third chapter and the official entry into the crossover genre. And let me tell you, changes to canon will already be present and will change what is coming in ways you can't imagine.
But I'll let you all be the judge.
X
Ash looked around the ornate room he suddenly appeared in. From the marble and gold trimmed walls and columns, to the beautifully crafted stained glass windows. Of course he also took in the dozens of armed guards dressed as medieval knights holding swords and spears that lined the walls near a pair of thrones where an older man with a long beard and regal robes sat observing him and the three others standing beside him.
Arms crossed over his chest, eyes shadowed by the hood of his jacket, he thought back only an hour or so ago before everything went completely sideways.
X Flashback - One Hour Prior (Two Months After New York Outbreak) X
Dozens of people walked up and down the streets, passing by and looking through the various shop windows around them. Downtown Boston was always busy this time of day.
A pair of cold-blue eyes watched several people walk by the window he was sitting by in the local cafe. Coffee in one hand and an open book on the table in front of him. He couldn't help but envy them. Going about their usual routines with only the usual worries that come with day to day life.
Finishing his coffee, he closed the book and pushed it aside before standing up and leaving the cafe, stepping into the busy street outside.
Autumn had just settled, the leaves changing colors and the air getting a bit cooler. But temperature didn't affect him much anymore, though he still had to play the part of someone wearing slightly heavier clothes to keep up appearances.
A pair of worn jeans and black steel-toed boots covered his legs, a black long-sleeved thermal shirt beneath a thick leather jacket with a hood. The back of the jacket having a crimson colored hawk embroidered along the upper-back and shoulders.
To the outside world, not much had changed. But to Ash, everything had changed. In the last two months since the New York outbreak had come to an end he'd been on the road, going from one place to another and not staying longer than he had to. Blackwatch and Gentek may have been dismantled, but there were no doubt that there were a few rogue cells still operating underground somewhere.
Not to mention the US Government would have done all in their power to track him down. Whether to capture him for experimentation or to destroy him like with the rest of the Blacklight byproducts left over he wasn't willing to find out.
Though he wasn't completely idle during his travels. Using his powers over Blacklight to deal with numerous problems wherever he went. From killing murderers and rapists to wiping out whole gangs, making each place he went a little safer for people out there.
Using the powers that had been forced upon him in the best way he knew how. Hoping he was making his mom, sister and Father Guerra proud.
His powers had also changed a great deal. Ever since he consumed Mercer, and then every infected throughout Manhattan, his abilities had been enhanced to nearly overwhelming heights. His strength, which was already inhuman since he'd first become an Evolved, could be considered almost God-like now. He'd managed to throw an armored truck through a building a month prior with one hand as easily as throwing an empty soda can. Then there was his shapeshifting abilities, each 'weapon' he could turn his limbs into were easily ten-times stronger and more durable than they were before.
Ash had also discovered new abilities as well. His ability to glide through the air had been extended to the point of nearly being full blown flight. He'd also managed to unlock a full body armor mode that was nigh impenetrable to gunfire, though explosions could still crack the hardened chitin that covered his frame.
The last ability he discovered was by far one that he vowed to only use in an extreme circumstance. Using his own biomass, he could summon viral creatures that once prowled the New York streets. Fliers, Brawlers, Juggernauts, he'd managed to summon each one to fight at his side. Though he swore to never, EVER, summon a Goliath. That was one abomination that would never see the light of day again as long as he could help it.
Taking in a deep breath of the cool autumn air, Ash pulled the hood of his jacket over his head before walking up the street. Hands in his pockets with his head bowed forward a little. Various people walked by, talking and laughing amongst themselves, none of them knowing about the apex predator that was in their midst.
The Evolved was essentially on autopilot. His mind going over where he was going to go next since he'd pretty much traveled to 43 of the 50 states in the country in the last couple of months. The idea of seeing South America sounded appealing, and there was no shortage of drug cartels that could be culled from the region.
Turning the corner at the end of the street, Ash froze in place. His head rising a bit when something echoed at the edge of his senses. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on his senses, the world around him slowed down and took on an orange tint. A pulse not unlike echo-location left his body and stretched out into the distance around him, a second or two passed before the pulse came back from somewhere nearby.
Ash tilted his head in confusion. Whatever he was picking up wasn't another Evolved, or anything else infected with Blacklight, but it gave off a signature that managed to trip his hunter-senses.
Curious, he followed where it was coming from. Sending out another pulse after a few minutes to be sure he was going in the right direction. The Evolved eventually finding himself standing in front of an old book store, whatever he had been sensing coming from inside.
The bell over the door rang as he stepped inside, the smell of old paper and leather greeting his nose and reminding him of the various occasions he entered places similar to this in the past. Looking around he didn't find anyone running the counter or register, and the store seemed to be pretty empty, which given how out of the way the shop was it wasn't a surprise.
Glancing around a second time, Ash sent out another hunter-pulse that came back a half-second later. Walking down the row of shelves, the Evolved stopped at one that was in the back of the store and nearly hidden from view. Once again, there was no one in sight.
Now confused, he sent out one last pulse. It immediately rebound off one of the books on the nearest shelf, the spine glowing white in the tinted vision before the world came back to its original color again.
Ash approached the shelf and pulled the book off it. Bound in worn, red leather and was no thicker than an average hardcover novel, it didn't seem out of the ordinary…
But why was it triggering his extra senses?
Turning it over, the Evolved found an odd sigil in gold lettering on the cover below the title;
"The Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons?" he read out loud, curiosity peaked again as he opened to the first page. "The Waves of Apocalyptic Catastrophe. To save the world from the Waves, four heroes will be summoned from another world. Each of the four heroes wield a characteristic weapon: a sword, a spear, a bow and a shield."
The words were coupled with drawn images of each weapon and the heroes that wielded them. "Looks like some kind of Lord of the Rings knock off." he muttered as he turned a couple more pages. " 'Cardinal Weapons' though? The sword, spear and bow I can understand, but a shield isn't really a weapon…not unless you use it the way I do."
Turning a couple more pages, he saw images of what looked like a royal family with a crest situated above them. "And the stereotypical royal family. Queen runs the nation, leaving the King in charge when she's away on business who fucks things up behind her back." his eyes trailed to what could have only been the two daughters of the monarchs, "The bitchy, selfish older princess, and the kind loving younger princess. This thing is just full of cliches."
Another page turn, "Three of the heroes seem to get a lot of attention, but the one with the shield-" the next page was blank, and every one that followed…then the pages started to turn on their own, like a strong wind was flipping through them.
"The fuck?!" Ash dropped the book as it started to glow with an ominous gold light, the pages continuing to flip faster and faster until the light became blinding. The Evolved covered his face before feeling weightless, then the floor seemed to disappear beneath him and he suddenly dropped. Plummeting through a strange, bright void at a speed he usually felt dropping off skyscrapers.
Everything was a blur for several moments before he slammed into solid ground again. The floor beneath him cracked beneath the impact as he landed in a crouch with his fist buried into the stone.
The fuzziness of his vision faded quickly and he quickly noticed a strange rune stretched out around him that glowed green.
"We did it! The summoning was a success!" Ash snapped his head up and found himself surrounded by people wearing black cloaks with the hoods covering their heads.
Ash slowly stood up, arms at his sides with biomass shifting beneath his skin in preparation for a fight. "Where the fuck am I?" he demanded, already coming up with 20 different ways to get out of the room after slaughtering everyone within.
"O brave heroes, please save our world!" the one leading the congregation pleaded.
Raising an eyebrow, the Evolved looked to his left and saw three other young men standing beside him. Each one holding a different weapon; a sword, a spear and a bow. Blinking, he looked down and saw a small gray shield with a large green gem in the center attached to his right forearm.
"What do you mean, 'save our world'?" asked the one holding the bow.
"There is a long and complicated story behind this," said the leader of the cloaked group. "But we've summoned you Four Cardinal Heroes here using an ancient ritual."
"Four Cardinal Heroes?" Ash thought to himself, "Like in the book I had been reading?" he glanced back down at the shield on his arm again, his own thoughts coupled with the knowledge of the countless scientists he'd consumed trying to make sense of this odd discovery.
"Our world teeters on the brink of destruction." the ritual leader continued, "We beg you, O brave heroes! Help us!"
X Flashback End X
After that, the four otherworld travelers were led out of the basement of what could have only been a castle. Ash took every second to observe their surroundings and found that they were truly in another world, everything looking like something out of medieval times or the renaissance.
The lack of cars and factories had the air feeling clean and refreshing, the Evolved couldn't help but find it relaxing.
Along the way, their guide had been explaining to them about the kingdom they were now in. Melromarc. And that they were being taken to their king to discuss the reason for them being brought here.
Ash had remained silent, deciding to take in as much information as he could for the time being. But the other three? They were more concerned about any rewards they could get for 'saving this world'. The Evolved could only roll his eyes, this guy had sounded desperate in summoning complete strangers to this world to help them solve a crysis. And all they cared about was what they could get out of it in the end.
Then again, a wise man had once said that if you're good at something never do it for free. And Ash was very curious about the reason why they were here and what this world could offer. It's not like he had anything left back home, anyway.
"So these men are the Four Cardinal Heroes of ancient legend?" the king's voice echoed, bringing Ash back to the present. "I am the king of Melromarc, Aultcray Melromarc XXXIII. Heroes, name yourselves."
The one with the sword stepped forward, "Ren Amaki, sixteen years old, high schooler."
"I'm Kitamura Motoyasu, twenty-one, and a college student." said the one with the spear with a smug grin.
The one with the bow stepped up next, "Itsuki Kawasumi, seventeen years old, and also a high schooler."
Ash opened his mouth to speak, but the king cut him off. "I see, Ren, Motoyasu and Itsuki, huh? Welcome to Melromarc." Aultcray stated with a welcoming smile.
The Evolved narrowed his eyes, suspicious at the passive aggressive dismissal. "What about tall, dark and emo over here?" Motoyasu said, all eyes going to the last member of their group.
"Hmm? Oh, yes. Forgive me." the king said with no real apology in his tone. "Please, introduce yourself as well."
Ash raised his head, his eyes locking with the kings and making the older man tense. The gaze feeling similar to that of a predator stalking its prey. "Ashton Fenix, twenty-three, Private First Class - United States Marine Corps." he said with a level tone he had used countless times in the past when addressing a superior.
"No way!" Motoyasu exclaimed, the other two in similar states of shock. "You're a US Marine?!"
The Evolved nodded once, keeping his eyes on the king. "And I don't appreciate being dismissed so callously. Especially since you obviously went through all the trouble to bring us here in the first place." The man on the throne looked as though he swallowed a lemon.
"Uh, you're speaking to royalty. Shouldn't you be respectful?" wondered Itsuki. Ash's cold eyes turned to the teenager and made him tense up as well.
"Respect is earned, kid. And so far we have been shown no reason to give this man any." the Evolve stated, causing several people in the room to become agitated at his words. The former marine addressed the king again, "You brought us here for a reason. Explain to us what that is so that we can negotiate whether or not we will be able to help you."
Aultcray cleared his throat, "Yes, I do believe I owe you all an explanation. "My country, Melromarc, and the entire world are headed toward destruction."
The king went on to explain that their world possessed a doomsday prophecy, and that several "Waves" would sweep across the land and bring everything to ruin unless they were stopped. Each country was in possession of a mystical hourglass, designated the "Dragon Hourglass", which could predict when each Wave would arrive and give the people time to prepare for them. The first Wave had hit before the four young men were summoned, the local armies and adventurers managed to fend it off, but the Waves to follow would be stronger and more potent than each one before it.
As long as the Dragon Hourglass keeps ticking, the Waves would keep coming. And the next one was only a few weeks away.
"We underestimated the Waves." the king continued, gripping the arms of his throne. "We realized once we experienced one that only the Four Cardinal Heroes could counter them. And so, we followed the legends, and summoned you four. We have no time to lose!"
Ash put a hand to his chin and soaked in all the information. As hard as it was to believe, he had indeed been brought into the book he had been reading. Most people would have a hard time accepting this, but given everything he had been through in the last few months, this seemed rather mundane in comparison.
"Have you developed any strategies to combat the Waves and prevent collateral damage?" he asked.
"Excuse me?" asked the king.
"This 'Dragon Hourglass' can predict the Waves, can it also tell you where they will appear?" Aultcray nodded, "Then it should be in the realm of possibility to get your men to surround the area, evacuate locals and set up defense positions to keep the enemy in one location."
One of the guards stepped forward with a sneer on his face, "Who are you to question our king's ability to lead?!"
Ash settled a cold glare on the man, "I'm not. But as a soldier myself I've learned a thing or two about combat tactics. Keeping the enemy bottlenecked and stopping them from gaining a foothold in your territory can save lives and give an advantage."
"I may not be a soldier, but he has a strong point," said Motoyasu. "Then again, I'm not saying no to helping out either. If it's worth our while that is."
"He's right." added Ren. "Surely you didn't summon us expecting us to save you for free."
One of the king's advisors grinned, "Of course. Once you've repelled the waves, you will be handsomely rewarded."
"Will you now?" said Motoyasu with a smirk. "Well, as long as we have your word."
"We'll work for you, provided you don't turn on us," said Ren. "But don't think for a moment that you can tame us."
Itsuki nodded, "Exactly. We can't have you looking down on us."
Ash looked at each of them, reminded of the long list of nameless Blackwatch grunts he'd killed back in New York. Ego, arrogance and thinking they could get away with whatever they wanted. All of which flew out the window when faced with a deadlier, stronger, adversary.
"They'll be lucky to survive the next assault or two." The Evolved thought with a shake of his head.
"Then heroes, you should all check your statuses," said the king. That caught their attention.
"Huh? Statuses?" wondered Itsuki.
Ren looked at him, "You haven't noticed? It should have been the first thing you saw when we arrived here. Look at the bottom right of your field of vision and focus on it."
Everyone followed his instructions and found a strange icon. When they focused on it, status screens similar to an RPG game appeared. Including their personal status, health, magic and experience bars, and even inventory slots.
"Whoa! This is cool!" Motoyasu exclaimed.
"Level 1? How are we supposed to fight like this?" wondered Itsuki. "What even is this anyway?"
The advisor answered for them, "Status Magic. An ability exclusive to only heroes."
Everything else faded into the background as Ash focused on his own stats. At first things seemed normal…then the 'screen' started to go haywire. Flashing red with the various symbols and bars flickering in an out of existence.
"Something's wrong." he said, cutting off the discussion that was taking place.
"What do you mean?" asked the advisor, sounding annoyed at the interruption.
"My status. It's going haywire." the Evolved answered, his eyes flickering around as he tried to understand what was happening.
The advisor approached, "There should be nothing wrong with your status." He waved his hand through the air and Ash's status screen appeared before everyone…everyone gasped when they saw the strange phenomena.
"It's almost like a video game that became corrupted." said Itsuki as they all watched the red flickering screen.
Another second passed before the status screen blinked out of sight, reappearing a second later completely different. "What in the Lord's name!" the king exclaimed when they saw the information.
Ashton Fenix
Male - 23
Species: Human/Evolved
HP: 500,000/500,000
MP: 100/100
SP: 100,000/100,000
Class 1 - Shield Hero:
LEVEL - 1
EXP: 0/20
Perks:
N/A
Class 2 - Founding Evolved:
LEVEL - MAX
EXP: XXX/XXX
Perks:
Living Arsenal
Superior Strength
Superior Defense
Summoning
Hunter-Sense
Camouflage
Hyper Regeneration
Infinite Dexterity
Status:
ATK: 1 + 10,000
MAG: 5
P. DEF: 10 + 10,000
M. DEF: 10 + 5,000
DEX: Infinite
Ash looked at his new stats with eyebrows raised, "I'm gonna assume that this isn't normal?" he asked. When he received no answer he looked around and saw everyone in the room looking at him with an array of emotions from shock and awe to downright terror. The king looked as pale as a ghost, obviously not expecting what they had all just seen while several of his guards gripped their weapons tightly.
The Evolved closed his stats screen and resumed his original stance, ignoring the looks he was now getting. An instinct in the back of his mind making him feel as though he had just become public enemy number one all over again.
X
It took some time for things to settle after the odd reveal of the newly christened "Shield Hero's" stats. The advisor explained that each hero would have to assemble a party and go on a journey to gain strength to fight the Waves. After that they were escorted to a room where they could rest for the night while a series of specialists were gathered to join the heroes on their respective quests.
"I guess you get special treatment being heroes of legend." said Motoyasu while he, Ren and Itsuki sat around the small table in the room they were sharing. "The girl who showed us here was a cutie pie too."
"This world is so much like a game." said Itsuki, "Very similar to Dimension Web."
"No, it's more like Brave Star Online." argued Ren.
"Can we even take VRMMO literally here?" asked Motoyasu.
In the corner of the room by the window, Ash learned against the wall with his arms crossed and his head bowed forward. Blocking out the conversation as he used the vast knowledge he had collected from his world to put things in perspective and making a list of key points he needed to focus on.
First, he and three others were transported to a world similar to that found in RPG style games, levels, stats and magic powers included.
Second, several Waves of opposition were set to be unleashed at varying intervals to bring said world to run. Waves that only he and the others would be able to stop.
Third, somehow his powers over Blacklight had effectively corrupted his status as 'Shield Hero' and came up as a whole different branch class in addition to his new abilities which were nearly non-existent.
And fourth, there was an unusual amount of animosity being thrown his way for an unexplained reason.
The last two points didn't concern him. His powers were always a bit of an unknown, even after consuming Mercer and acquiring all his knowledge on the virus and the powers it had given them. And as for having the people here against him for some reason? He was used to it in spades.
Having an entire army, including genetically enhanced super-soldiers, plus Mercer's army of Evolved hellbent on hunting him down along with the public's terror of his very existence gave him a strong sense of not giving a damn of what people thought.
As for the first two points, the people of this world needed help. An overwhelming force was coming to kill every man, woman and child and they needed someone to fight for them.
"The Lord works in mysterious ways. You may have been cursed with Mercer's virus, but it is YOU who choses how to use it. The people out there, they need help. You might be the only one who can save them."
Father Guerra's words echoed through his mind. The priest had always been a guiding light for his family for years, after Mercer had infected him he kept reminding the former Marine that he was still the same person as before and how he could choose his own path.
That he may have become an Evolved with untold power, but he was still a man with morals that he should never be forgotten.
"Hey Fenix!" Ash blinked and looked up to see Motoyasu, Ren and Itsuki all looking at him. "You've been pretty quiet all night, you wanna weigh in here?" asked the spear hero.
Breathing slowly though his nose, the Evolved leaned off the wall and lowered his hood, running a hand through his mohawk. "We know too little about the situation, only what the king and his advisors have told us. Gathering more information on this world and what the Waves are capable of will help us in the long run."
"Pretty sure we heard all we needed." said Ren, "Train with our respective parties, stop the Waves, get rewarded. No different than any other RPG."
Ash gave him a look, "You're still under the assumption that this is some kind of video game?" he asked incredulously.
"All of the facts point to that." answered the sword hero with a deadpan tone. "So why shouldn't we reap the benefits for doing our part?"
"And if you happen to die in the field?" asked the Evolved.
Ren shrugged, "Then we'll respawn to our last save point. Why should we be worried. Especially you, considering the massive hacks you've already got in your favor."
Shaking his head at the younger man's ignorance, the former Marine crossed the room in three long strides. Grabbing the sword hero's wrist and twisting it behind his back at an odd angle, forcing him to drop his sword as he fell to his knees with a shout of pain.
"Dude, what the hell?!" Motoyasu shouted.
"Illustrating a point," said Ash. "This is REAL pain. This is a REAL situation. Therefore, if you were to be knocking on death's door due to foolishness and arrogance, you will be killed for REAL." he released the younger man and took a step back.
Having said his piece, the Evolved turned and headed for the door. "Where are you going?" asked Itsuki.
"Gathering intel. You three may think this is all a game, but I intend on making sure innocent people aren't killed. My morals and training won't allow it." replied the former Marine.
Motoyasu scoffed, "Please. You got the weakest weapon out of all of us. The best you can do is let us handle all the real hero work." he said with a cocky grin and his eyes closed.
When he opened them, he yelped when he found Ash in his face. His expression emotionless and his eyes cold and piercing.
"I've seen people like you. Most never made it past basic. Others died on their first few missions. The point is if you don't take things seriously, you won't make it to the next Wave, let alone survive it." The former Marine's words were sharp, worse than the slightly younger man's weapon. "But you go ahead, have fun playing the hero. While the enemy is killing you, it'll give everyone else the chance to mount a good offense."
Motoyasu swallowed thickly, his earlier bravado long gone as Ash smirked back at him. "We may be on the same side, but that doesn't mean I have to save YOU from your own stupidity." The Evolved turned on his heel and left the room, leaving a trio of scared and uncertain young heroes behind.
X
In the main room of the castle, King Alutcray upon his throne with several of his advisors around him along with a few people in priest robes.
"This…This shouldn't be possible!" One of the priests exclaimed. "The Shield Hero was supposed to be the weakest! How in the Lord's name is he already this powerful?!"
"Unknown, but it was no illusion. Something affected the status magic." said the advisor that revealed Ash's statistics earlier.
The Priest grit his teeth, "This cannot stand! That Devil should not have even been summoned with the others! The only reason he is here is because the ritual would only grant the summoning of all the Cardinal Heroes. Even then, he should have started at level 1!"
The King held up his hand, "Be at ease. Plans are already in motion to hinder the Shield Hero. No one will join his party, and I will ensure that he is outcasted by his fellow heroes. The Church of the Three Heroes has nothing to fear."
"And his sudden rise in power? How do you plan to handle that?" asked the priest.
"It will not be difficult to convince the people of Melromarc that he is truly a devil to be feared. He will find no allies in this kingdom. Only scorn and hate." replied Alutcray.
The priest nodded, "I'll inform his holiness of this development." The clergy left the throne room, leaving only the king and his advisors.
"Your highness, are you sure your plans will work now?" asked the advisor. "The Shield Hero's power is troubling, he may cause more issues than we may know."
"All the more reason to pin him beneath our heels. We cannot allow the Devil Shield to interfere with Melromarc. The Lord demands it." replied the king.
Unknown to the Alutcray and his people, someone had seen and heard everything from the shadows of the upper balcony. A pair of glowing red eyes narrowed at the king and his people as a hand crushed into the masonry of a nearby pillar.
His highness and his little group were about to get a rude awakening.
X
A/N: And there we have it. Lines have been drawn, and the sole surviving Evolved is about to be unleashed on the corrupt scum of Melromarc.
At first I was wondering how Blacklight was going to play into everything and how it'll play into Ash getting the shield hero's power. So, since the shield is able to absorb certain things to make itself and its wielder stronger, and Blacklight allows its host to consume things to make both powerful as well, I decided that the two would in turn absorb a bit of each other.
Creating a second class for Ash to allow his Evolved abilities, while at the same time allowing him to use the magic of the holy shield as well. The two forces essentially feeding into each other. But he'll still have to level up the shield as he goes.
Even though things are changing for canon, I intend to keep a couple details the same. And Ash's personality, as you may have seen, are nothing like either James Heller or Alex Mercer. He's got strong morals, and a will to help the innocent with his power. And with what he will be facing, he'll need both to save this world.
Next update will take some time, but it'll be ready soon. So stay tuned.