(A/N) I only had two characters to work with, so writing was a little easier to manage. The AI was still weird in places, but that's what makes it fun.

Disclaimer - This story was written with AI Dungeon just for fun, meaning that some stuff was written by me and others were written by the AI. This results in OOC moments, especially in James' case, and chaotic energy in general. It's also why my writing style is different since this is mostly AI generated.

I also do not own these franchises or their characters. Silent Hill belongs to KONAMI, Resident Evil belongs to CAPCOM, and Final Fantasy IX and NieR:Automata belong to SQUARE ENIX.


Chapter 10: Sample Search

One week later...

James felt terrible. The week prior had been his worst leadership moment ever. He got everyone lost in a large maze like tunnel and got Zidane bitten by a vampire.

This was the worst mission outcome thus far.

Piers still hadn't been found and had been declared MIA. Zidane hadn't woken up, which was worrying, and 9S wouldn't even talk to him anymore.

It had been a very lonely week.

James entered the kitchen to make a snack and noticed 9S sat at the table typing away on his laptop.

James cleared his throat.

"Good morning, 9S!" he waved enthusiastically, but he was ignored. "Look, how many times do I have to apologise?"

"James..." 9S sighed, closing his laptop.

"Yay! He speaks!"

"Apologising isn't going to make Piers reappear and it's got going to miraculously wake Zidane up," 9S stated.

There was an awkward silence between the two until James sighed.

"So what have you been doing?" he asked.

"I've been looking into making a vaccine for this vampire virus," 9S said. "It's going to take time, but if I'm patient, the results should pay off."

James nodded. "I need to talk to you about something important."

"I'm listening," 9S nodded, resting his arms on the table.

James took a deep breath. "It's about leadership."

"That's a bit broad, James."

James took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I was thinking that leadership is about making the tough choices. You know, the choices that are in the best interest of the group, instead of only your own."

"A good leader is someone who can read the situation, predict what will happen and can decide the best course of action," 9S said.

"You're the only other person who can do that. I'm not even sure if Zidane or Piers can do that." James frowned.

9S stood from his chair and approached James, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know I've been harsh, but don't sell yourself short yet. There's still time for redemption," he smiled.

James nodded. "You're right. I can do better."

"That's the spirit," 9S nodded. "So about that vaccine," he began. "In order to make it, I'm gonna need a sample of the virus itself."

"You want me to go get it?" James asked.

"I was more thinking we should go together," 9S stated. "As for the location, I hacked into the server of a pharmaceutical company that has it, Umbrella. It's only an hour away, so if we don't get caught, we shouldn't be gone for long."

James' eyes widened.

"That... that's genius, 9S," James smiled.

"We should get going," 9S said, grabbing his bag. "Time isn't exactly a luxury we have right now."

James' eyes narrowed.

"I'm not leaving without you," James said.

"Okay," 9S said. "Let's go."

James and 9S left the house. They walked in silence until they reached the car. James opened the door and gestured for 9S to get in.

"You know," 9S said. "This is the first time we've been alone together."

James nodded. "Yeah. It's... a quiet day."

"For the first time in a long time, I agree," 9S said.

James smiled.

They climbed in the car and drove off.


James and 9S drove to the location and parked.

"Is this the place?" James asked.

"Yeah, it is," 9S replied.

"Now what?"

"We sneak in from the back. Once we're in, I'll hack into the cameras and freeze them. All that's left to do then is find the basement, disable security, get the virus, and leave."

James nodded.

"Well then. Let's do it," he said.

They left the car and walked in silence to the back of the building. James held the door open for 9S.

Once they were in the building, James leaned back against the wall and waited for 9S to do his thing. Meanwhile, he reflected on his recent failures.

He had endangered his team on two separate occasions. He allowed for Piers to go missing due to his lack of decisiveness. He allowed Zidane to get bitten by a vampire due to his curiosity. And he allowed the vampire, Chris, a man who was once his comrade and leader, to get away. That left only 9S on his team now, and if anything happened to him during this mission...

James shook his head. He had to focus!

"The cameras are frozen," 9S whispered, motioning for James to follow him.

Without thinking, James grabbed his arm before he could advance further.

"What's up?" 9S asked, sounding confused.

"I..." James began, before pausing. "Never mind."

9S stared for a moment, his expression unreadable through his blindfold. If James had to guess, it may have been an expression of disbelief.

"Right," 9S nodded after a brief silence. "We've got to move now before anyone notices."

"Alright."

"Could you let go of my arm, please?"

"Oh, sorry!" James let go with an awkward chuckle. "Lead the way."

James and 9S ran through the building. They bypassed several corridors and staircases. James was glad for that, as he would have had a hard time explaining his actions if an alarm had gone off.

Finally, they reached a door that opened into a storage area.

James paused, listening as the silence continued.

"Is something wrong?" 9S asked.

James sighed. If he was going to continue doing this, he was going to have to get used to things not being how they used to for now.

He heard a clanking sound.

"I heard a..." James began, before pausing. "Shhh!"

He grabbed 9S' arm and hid behind one of the boxes.

"James, what's -" he was interrupted when James placed a hand over his mouth.

"Shh! I can hear something," James told him in a hushed tone.

James listened. He could hear whispering.

"I don't like this," one voice said. "I don't like this at all."

"Oh, you're just hyperventilating," another voice said. "You're such a wuss."

James' cheeks burned.

"What is going on?" 9S whispered. "What are they talking about?"

"Someone's in the storage area," James whispered back. "I think it's a duo."

"Oh, for crying out loud," a third voice said.

"Make that a trio," 9S whispered. "I didn't think anyone would be down here."

"We're only guarding the V-Virus so it doesn't get into the wrong hands," Voice #3 sighed. "It's not difficult."

"See, told ya!" Voice #2 laughed. "There's no one down here, so this is a piece of cake!"

"If you say so..." Voice #1 replied doubtfully.

James listened. He could hear muffled footsteps, but they were moving away from his location.

"I don't like this," Voice #1 continued to mumble, "I really don't."

It didn't take a genius to figure out that those men needed to be disposed of, so James took it upon himself to think of a plan, a stupid plan, but a plan nonetheless.

He stared at 9S and realised that he could use the boy's blindfold.

Without asking, James pulled off 9S' blindfold, exposing his eyes. It was the first time he'd actually seen the boy look annoyed

"What the heck?!" 9S exclaimed in a whisper, aware of the consequences if they caught.

Not that it mattered with the plan James had.

James placed the blindfold over his eyes, surprised to see an actual interface. A mini map, lifeform detection... so they really were goggles!

He saw two figures, both wearing ski masks.

"You two," James said, pointing at the figures. "Get out of here."

He watched as the two figures hesitated, then turned and ran.

"James, what -" 9S began, but James cut him off.

"You heard me, get out of here," James said.

The two figures stopped their fleeing and turned to face James. He could see they were both armed with pistols.

"Hands in the air!" James shouted, hoping to avoid an event that would get his friend harmed.

He watched as the trio raised their hands, but James still had to make a guess. He was about to tell the men that he wasn't going to shoot them when he saw that they were definitely holding guns.

He sighed. He knew that it was the only way.

"Are you going to shoot us?" James asked.

His eyes narrowed. He could see that one of the men's eyes had a twitch, but the other was completely still.

"Yes," one of the men said.

He fired.

James felt a bullet thud through his chest, sending him flying backward onto the floor.

"Shit!" James gasped, before the world went black.


The ending was an example of the AI continuing to make James daft.

Improvements are appreciated, please tell me what I did right, wrong and how I can improve. If you would like, you could also favourite and follow this fic, as well as suggest areas of improvement, which I guess is the same as the first sentence. R&R and thanks for reading!