Unlikely Heroes

Chapter 18: Arctic Base

The plane on autopilot carrying the group began to descend and made an emergency landing at an unknown facility; a forgotten site. It was just another playground. Luckily nobody was hurt when the vehicle crashed. The group slowly came to. "Are you alright?" Steve asked to Claire.

"Yeah, I'm OK…" she groaned.

Cosmo took a look on one of the panels on the plane. "Latitude 82 degrees 17 minutes south," the male android said. "We're… We're at the South Pole!"

"What?!" some asked but then began to shiver. Logan and Uma casted a spell to protect everyone from the extreme cold and snow.

The group left the plane and Claire looked over the railing right by them. It was a long drop down into the mist. "Guess we're not in the clear yet…" she stated.

"This won't do us much good anymore," Cosmo pointed out when it came to the plane.

"Just what is this place?" Pachira stated. "It doesn't look like anyone's been around for a while."

"Probably another of Rindella's facilities," Napoleon suggested.

"At least we won't freeze to death," Uma pointed out.

"Aw shit!" Logan cursed. "Look!" Everyone else turned and saw zombies begin to pop out. They were all shot down. Steve then led the way around the walkway and found a ladder that would take them down to the next lower level. There were more enemies.

"They just keep coming!" Claire stated after taking another down.

"Do they keep them here?!" Cosmo asked.

"Let's go inside the doors, we might find something," Nicholas suggested. Before they did some kind of scream was heard. It was different than the ones the zombies made. "Did you hear that?!"

"Yeah, and I don't think that's the welcome party," Logan commented.

The group went through the door and there wasn't any light. "It's too dark," Claire said. This wasn't a problem for the nether world monsters with the ruin that helped them see even in this pitch black. The humans had to use their flashlights.

"You wanna go back?" Nicholas stated. "Be my guest." They went across the metal walkway and to a door. The rest of the path was destroyed. "It's a dead end."

"Can we get down there?" Liru asked.

"Let's find out."

"It's locked, we can't get through." The female werewolf had tried the door.

Suddenly both of their ears twitched as they heard something. Then everyone else did. "What?!" Akio asked.

Steve suddenly turned behind and saw a reptilian like enemy that stood on two legs like the amphibian ones. He shot it down quickly. Suddenly more began to show up and were all killed. The group went out the door in a flash only to find more zombies. These were also shot down. It wasn't until the last one was finished that the strange roar was heard again. "What the hell is that?" Claire asked.

"Let's go check," Steve commented.

"Steve?" the female human stated and got real close to him.

"Well it's not the wind, that's for sure. It's OK, I'm right here by your side."

"Yeah, my knight in shining armor, huh?" The monsters from the nether got grins and moved closer to the ones they loved as well. The humans lead the way down a flight of stairs. Then came a hallway that had some kind of growth on it. A couple of zombies were trapped in the stuff that looked like some kind of sticky webs.

"What the hell?" Nicholas asked.

"Looks like some kind of nest… This is not good," Liru said with disgust and a shudder.

Suddenly the sound of flapping wings was heard and everyone whipped around to see a huge mouth like enemy. "What is this thing?!" Steve asked. Uma and Logan whipped out their wands to use fire, burning the monster and nest areas to cinders. They then went through a door that led to an office like area.

"Some peace and quiet…" Aiko whispered. Suddenly the noise was heard again. "Or maybe not."

"It's coming from in there…" Claire said. "What should we do?"

"Get some answers," Nicholas responded. He and Liru led the way. It was a short path that had a grate for the floor that you could look into below. The group looked down and saw a humanoid creature with grey skin and bounded to a chair.

"What is that?" Pachira whispered as everyone could see and hear this was the thing doing the noises. The also observed it struggling against the bindings.

"What's going on? Who is that?" Uma asked.

"Let's get out of here," Logan said. "That scream is enough to drive anyone insane."

They returned to the office and Claire noticed something. "Guys, look at this!" she stated. They gathered around a photo that showed a younger Alexia and Alfred. They were with a man that had to be their father Alexander. The name was on the back of the frame.

"You don't think that thing that was back there and it being so close is…." Liru began but trailed off.

"If it is…." Nicholas said.

"What the hell is going on?!" Steve asked. "Well one thing is clear now."

"Yeah," Claire agreed. "This place is definitely an Rindella Facility."

The group then left and had to take down a few more moths. It was then down the hall and a couple zombies had to be killed. A door was then opened and everyone went to a familiar dark room. "Hey this is the place we saw earlier," Steve pointed out.

There were a number of monsters that were all shot. After maneuvering through the room, the group found themselves in a more open room. "Are we outside?" Uma asked seeing the ice like part of this place.

"How deep is this thing?" Cosmo asked, looking over the edge.

Claire tried the door nearby but it wouldn't open. She then looked and saw another one. The group began to climb some stairs to reach it. Suddenly a noise made everyone look to the left. They saw a bucket used for construction swinging towards them. "Duck!" Claire yelled and everyone did.

Suddenly a familiar voice sounded out. "I'm surprised you've made it this far." It was Alfred. The bucket then moved back to position.

"Fuck you, you crazy bastard!" Steve shouted.

"Game over!"

"You're damn right it is! This ends now!"

"It will soon be time for the Queen's awakening!" Alfred stated.

"The Queen?" Claire repeated.

"You've reached the end of the maze, my little rats!"

Suddenly Cosmo spotted the enemy and shot at the human. "If I have to play one more of his games…" Steve said through gritted teeth.

"How dare you!" Alfred snarled.

"You liked that, didn't you!" Steve had moved and was close to where the enemy was.

"On your left!" Nicholas said. The male human had to dodge the bucket again.

"You should feel honored to die here!" Alfred stated as the thing went back to the original position.

"Damn it!"

The enemy came out again and Napoleon fired. "Yes… it's getting closer!" Alfred said. "I'll see the Queen very soon."

"Shoot the crane!" Claire yelled. Nicholas and Liru came up and fired. They could see the enemy was right underneath. It came crashing down, knocking Alfred off the edge into the pit below. The final thing heard from him was a scream that went silent.

"How you like that?!" Steve commented. "We finally took out the boss!"

"The Queen…" the male werewolf said. "The Queen's awaking… What does that mean?"

"I don't know, the guy was insane," Steve stated.

"Regardless that statement doesn't sound good. Let's hurry."

The group began to make their way out. They also noticed the screaming from before had stopped. After climbing some ladders and fighting through enemies, they made it only to find a snowstorm had whipped up. The spells Uma and Logan had cast made it so the only problem was visibility and not the cold. "We need to find whatever Alfred used to get here," Nicholas said.

Liru then spotted something. "Look!" she stated. "A snowmobile! That's our way outta here!"

The group found a ladder and climbed down it to the snow surface. Before they could take one more step the same roar from before was heard. "What was that?!" Steve asked.

Suddenly the humanoid creature from before sprain from nowhere and landed. The skin was colored Grey. The bindings were around the arms, eyes, and head. But the mouth was still open. A torn coat of some kind covered the legs. There was a red kind of orb where the heart was. Three long appendages were sprouting out of the body. One was where the right arm should be, the second was right below that, and the final one was coming from the mid section. "Isn't that…?" Claire gasped.

"That's the guy we saw in the room!" Nicholas stated. He and Liru transformed and everyone fired.

"How'd he get free?!"

"I don't think he wanted to be alone anymore!" Steve commented.

Blood sprayed everywhere from the shots and the enemy went to the knees. Two of the appendages were used to help hold the body up. The group began to walk away. However something made Cosmo look back. He saw the monster wasn't' there anymore. "It's gone!" the male android said.

The creature came down from above, landing in front of them. It was clear this thing had quite the jumping power. "Aim for that red orb where the heart is!" Napoleon shouted while pointing at the spot.

Everyone fired and once again the enemy went down. "Let's get out of here!" Pachira stated.

They didn't go far when the monster got back up. Steve fired, causing the rest to look and see this. The opponent was flailing the limbs, trying to hit them, but was beaten back. Jumping up, the thing came down, blocking the path. Liru and Nicholas went in with claws, and his katana. They landed direct hits. The enemy roared and jumped up to land on them, but some shots caused it to stop and fall again. This time there was an opportunity.

"Aim for it!" Steve shouted as he went under and fired at the orb. Blood sprayed everywhere as the monster went down on its back. But only for a few moments and then using the extra limbs, rose back up. It roared at the group before the limbs grew sharp slightly curved blades. The thing jumped up and landed on a part of the roof of the base that was nearby.

"I think he could've gotten out a long time ago if he'd tried," Cosmo said.

"Maybe he likes being tied up?" Claire suggested half-heartily.

Suddenly the enemy began to throw barrels at the group who quickly shot these down. The monster jumped up, trying to impale three on the blades, but was stopped again. This time Nicholas went in and shot at the orb, knocking the opponent down. It reared, and stuck with one of the blades at the male werewolf after quickly getting back up. He deflected the blow with his katana. The rest shot at the enemy and it faltered again. "Now!" Uma stated and the group continued towards the snowmobile.

After some steps Claire looked back and saw the opponent crawling by using its limbs like insect legs. It then jumped in front of them and with great strength, brought up a huge chunk of ice and snow to use from the ground. Cosmo fired a grenade from his arm, which exploded right on target. The monster collapsed. "The fuel tank!" Steve said, noticing one right by the monster. "Shoot it!"

Everyone did causing it to explode. The enemy was still down. "Ugh… Now we can't go that way…" Logan commented.

Claire then spotted some cranes in the area that had hooks. She fired at one of them, causing a line to come down. "Brilliant!" Cosmo said. "We can use those to get over!"

"What the hell?!" Logan stated. Everyone else looked to see the enemy had gotten up again and was using its extra limbs to climb a cable nearby. "How can he still be alive?!"

The monster got right in front of the group while hanging from above. Some fired but Steve looked to the side and saw one of the lines that had been shot was still swinging. It had a huge hook at the end. "Grab on!" he stated.

"No… wait…" Claire replied.

"Now!" the male human shouted as the moment came up and grabbed on. The guy went for a ride. "Keep shooting!"

"He's gotta be out of his mind!" Nicholas stated.

After a few swings and shots, the enemy was knocked down. "Let's go!" Steve yelled.

"No wait!" Claire cried. The male human jumped and landed where the monster was with the rest behind him.

"Eat lead you son of a bitch!" He fired everything he had at the orb. Suddenly the creature got up again. Just in time to meet the same hook and line that had been used. It got impaled, right in the weak spot with blood dripping. After some struggling and a couple roars, the enemy went still.

"Is it dead?" Claire whispered and went to Steve's side.

"Yeah, it's alright now," he reassured her.

"It's time to get out of her once and for all," Liru said.

Little did they know nobody was leaving. Alfred was still alive and had stumbled to the office found before. He was wounded. The guy slumped into a nearby chair. "Forgive me, Alexia," he grunted. "I thought I could finish them alone." From his coat came a snow globe. It had a little house and two figures, representing him and his sister. "Awaken from your slumber. And bring forth the great Leronica!" The male human pressed a button on the front of the globe. The figures inside began to move on a axis while a lullaby began to play. Far down below in the base a machine started up. More came to life as a pod that held a woman turned on. After some seconds, her eyes opened.

At that same moment the group reached the snowmobile. They saw the key was in it. Before Steve could open the door Claire noticed something behind him. They looked to be like some kind of tentacles that were dull in color and had barbs. The male human turned and was suddenly dragged down. "Steve!" the female human shouted. Suddenly more came up and caught her along with those from the nether. Everything went black for them.

In the meantime on Leon's end he had been successful with finding Chris. After the Mansion incident, the other male was near impossible to track down. But using his new position in the government, Leon eventually discovered Chris's location. He would have contacted Claire, but she had become a ghost herself since being captured. That was part of the reason those from the nether had been sent to find her. It was how they learned of her confinement on that island. After learning they were going on ahead, Chris went after Claire himself.

Back in the present the same guy had caught up to the group and was trying to shake his sister awake. She slowly stirred and him saying her name got everyone else up. They were in some kind of mansion again. "Chris… Chris!" the female human stated after realizing he was here.

It was an emotional reunion for the siblings who met in a hug. "I've been so worried!"

"You kidding me?" the male human asked with a smirk. "I though tough girls like you didn't get worried?"

"It's great to see you again," Nicholas said and there was a reunion for those from the nether and Chris. "But what happened? How did you get here?"

"Leon contacted me."

"Leon?" Claire asked. "You know him…?!"

"Yeah," Chris answered. "He tracked me down right after you went missing." Nobody seemed to realize that another was watching from the shadows. "Look… we can talk about this later. But we gotta get outta here first."

"Wait… Steve…" Claire commented. "He's here, somewhere. We can't leave without him."

Nicholas suddenly let out a growl as he caught the whiff of the one watching. Liru did as well and both werewolves whipped around causing the rest to look. It was a woman, the exact same one that had been seen in that picture. She was letting out some giggles; but the sound of them was unsettling. "You're Alexia Rashford…!" the female human said.

"Oh, you know my name," the said person replied.

"We thought you were dead!?" Nicholas stated.

"No, I've just been hibernating for fifteen years… to become one with the Leronica virus."

"Leronica Virus?" Liru repeated.

"I still have some experiments to perform," Alexia commented. "Would you care to play along? Your friend awaits you in the Coliseum. You don't want to be late." She then walked away and down the hall with those same giggles.

"Hey!" Claire shouted. "Stop!"

Suddenly her brother cocked his gun and the rest turned to see more zombies approaching them. After some were shot down, it was time to move. The group went up some stairs. When they got to the top, some of the same tentacles from before appeared. "Watch out for those!" Uma stated.

"Take them out one at a time!" Logan said. Working together, each one was fended off. But for everyone taken down, another rose up.

"We have to hurry!" Claire commented. "I'm worried about Steve."

The group had to jump in order to reach a door. They were quickly through it and found themselves in some pallor like area. "These people need to hire a new decorator," Chris said.

"What do you mean?" his sister asked.

"This palace. They had the same one in that mansion. The one you heard about I'm sure."

"He's right," Napoleon agreed. "Definitely not my taste. At least us and Chris know our way around since it's the same."

Everyone slowly moved forward, taking out any enemy that stood in the way. One surprise was a swarm of ants. It had to be another one of the Rindella's crazy research projects. Then they were out of the area and in a place made of stone. More zombies were here and shot down. "Come on Steve," Claire said. "Where are you?" She then looked down the hall and saw at the far end the said guy was there and appeared to be sitting. "Steve!"

She ran towards him with everyone close behind. They were in a rounded area that had suits of armor, each wielding huge double-sided axes. The male human was pinned against a center column by one of these. He saw them coming. "No!" he stated. "Get back!" Claire stopped short when she saw how the male human was along with everyone else. "She injected me with something. I think… it's the Leronica virus. She wants to test me, see if I'll obey her orders. Claire, she wants me to kill you."

"Steve!" she whispered and took one step towards him. The second the female human did, Steve began to let out groans. Chris cocked his pistol at the male. Those from the nether world stepped back, hands on their weapons. Steve's left hand began to clench and unclench.

"I won't…" he groaned. "Kill you…!" His right hand grabbed the ax weapon and everyone could see it beginning to be pulled out.

"Steve!" Claire cried.

His right hand began to grow bigger. Suddenly a spike of some kind sprouted from the left shoulder as the whole body began to grow. Something began to move underneath the cheeks as Steve's skin became some dark, sickly green color. The whites of the eyes became blood red while the pupils changed to yellow. The ax was torn from the wall as the now transformed human stood up with a roar. His shirt fell off as more spikes on the left shoulder emerged. His feet changed to three clawed one, the entire body now the same green as the face. The right hand changed to a three fingered one as some kind of tiny limbs grew out of the left pectoral muscle. The heart bulged out of the right one becoming more visible.

"Claire!" her brother stated to her as she took a step back. Steve let out a roar as Nicholas and Liru transformed, his katana coming out.

"Don't make me do this…!" she whispered to the new enemy as he began to swing back his ax. Those with guns fired, causing him to stop and falter.

"Shot him!" Nicholas yelled. "Aim for his heart! The heart!"

A couple more shots then happened and the group got back with the male werewolf dragging Claire who was crying by this point. Steve jumped up and landed in front of them. He tried to strike again, but was stopped by some shots. "Ok, c'mon!" Napoleon stated. "Run!"

They then went to another side of the room. "Steve!" Claire sobbed. This time he jumped back and forth to get to them so a shot couldn't be fired. At the last second the rest dogged, and Liru and Nicholas struck. Her claws and his blade drew blood.

"We're in trouble here!" Chris commented. "Move!" The rest did so and saw the enemy was about to throw his ax. It came whizzing at them and they ducked under while Cosmo, using his strength, shattered the weapon with a punch. Steve just picked up another ax from one of the suits of armor. Everyone then ran again but were stopped when the same weapon was thrown to stop them. Another then came in and they saw their opponent getting ready to throw a third one.

"Stop!" Claire shouted at Steve.

"Jump!" Chris ordered and quickly they were up on a stone area that was above the floor.

"I think we need to make a run for it," Nicholas panted. He looked up and saw some kind of grate that covered an exit.

"No!" she objected.

"Claire!" her brother stated. " We're not gonna give up, but right now we've got no choice." That seemed to calm her down.

"Alright…" she replied as the group jumped to the next level.

"Good. Let's get upstairs before he catches up."

Just at that moment the enemy came up and was above them. His claw feet were anchoring him to the wall. "Steve…" Claire said.

"He's got one hell of a jump!" Logan commented as he and Uma fired lighting from their wands as the opponent came down to strike them. It did the trick and he stopped before heading down to the ground floor.

"Let's go!" the female human stated. The next ledge required a jump across to get to. The group made it. "I'll be back. I promise."

"He's coming!" Aiko cried out. Steve had jumped up to their level again. The guy was shot down and fell once more.

A couple more jumps latter found the group right underneath the grate. "Good, I think we can get out through here!" Nicholas said. There was a ladder to reach it.

"Watch out!" Chris shouted. Steve had come back and sliced right were the group was, knocking out the section they were standing on. Everyone fell and those from the nether managed to land safely while making sure the two humans didn't get hurt. Upon doing so, they fired at Steve and the blow caused the ax he was wielding to be embedded into his left shoulder. The guy managed to pull it out and went to his knees.

Suddenly more tentacles from before erupted from the ground. One managed to grab Claire around her left ankle. "Claire!" Chris shouted before having to bat one back with a punch to keep it from grabbing him. The others were just dodging the rest. Another grabbed the human female around the arm and both began to pull. It was obvious they were going to literally rip her apart. Steve looked up from his position and saw Claire in trouble. Picking up one of the axes that had been used, the guy ran forward, and sliced through one of the tentacles holding her. The female human fell to the ground and looked up just in time to see the other that had been holding her down launch forward and impale Steve against the column in the middle of the room. The tentacles then retreated.

"Steve!" Claire cried and ran up to him. He reverted back into his human form. "Hold on!" The rest of the group came up to the two. "We're going to get you out of here."

"No…" he responded back weakly. "I'm not gonna' make it. You know that." The nether world monsters looked and saw the damage was greater than at first glance. Not even Logan with a healing spell or one of the runes they had could save Steve. "The virus is in me. There's no turning back."

"No," Claire insisted. "You're coming with us." Steve turned his head to her.

"Claire…" the dying male human whispered. His left hand slowly reached up to touch her face. "Even though… we didn't know each other long… I lo…" The rest of his sentience went silent but everyone could tell he had meant to say, "I love you." His head rolled to the side and Steve didn't move anymore.

"Steve?" Claire commented with tears in her eyes. "Steve?! No…" She began to cry while holding onto his dead body. Chris went to her with a comforting hand.

"Stay here," he said and held up some detonators. "We're gonna go plant this in the power room."

"I'm coming with you," his sister suddenly said, the crying now finished. "It's time this ended. Alexia has to be stopped." She turned her head back to Steve. "I'm going to finish this Steve. And then we'll all be free."

The group began their way to the end. "We'll need to get to the Control Room first," Nicholas stated. "It's down the hall."

They went that way and noticed ants were again standing in the way. "Why are there so many of these things here?" Liru asked as everyone fired to get rid of them. A break then happened and the group went inside. The control room had the usual things found in one but also the walkway was a grate one. Alexis was looking over the railing at something at the far end of the room. And more of the same tentacles could be seen.

"My little experiment at the Coliseum was so much fun, don't you think?" the enemy commented. Before any of the group could fire one of the tentacles came out of nowhere, and struck at Chris. "Although I guess sometimes a worker ant will turn on his queen." Alexis raised her hand and the tentacle, which had managed to grab the detonators the male human had crushed them to bits. It was obvious now she was the one controlling them.

"Chris!" Claire exclaimed. "Are you OK?"

"Oh that's right. You two are brother and sister, aren't you? I had a brother once. He really wasn't much fun. He couldn't even wake me up on time! But, I've released him of all his responsibilities." Those words made the skin of those from the nether crawl; Alexis had killed Alfred.

"You think everyone else is here to serve you, don't you!?" Claire shot at Alexis, gun at the ready.

"Serve me? No. I think everyone else is here to serve my experiments!" The enemy let out those insane giggles while holding up her hands and walking forward. Fire suddenly came out but didn't burn those parts of her body. The fire then spread to the rest of the body. Nicholas and Liru transformed while taking a step back. Alexis's dress and clothes burned away revealing she had changed. The skin had become grey with strange growths on certain points. The hair had changed to matched with long strands of some kind of growth covering the right eye.

"Now, let start our exciting experiment, shall we?" the enemy commented and raised her right hand. Two tentacles came out, blocking the exit. "Lab rats aren't meant to run away, you know! How amusing! I can feel Leronica surging through my cells! Oh, god! Witness my power!"

Everyone fired which while it seemed to do some damage, didn't stop Alexis. She raised right hand, which began to bleed. The blood was then thrown and from it came fire. The group had to move to avoid it. The enemy showed she had quite the jumping power as she went up to a higher level of the room to attack. "Her blood is burning!" Claire exclaimed.

"Don't die too easily, my dear!"

The enemy then came back down. Logan and Uma casted water on the fire that was still there to put it out. This was a mistake as the enemy quickly moved and had them both in her grasp. "Let go!" the witch gasped.

Nicholas and Liru came up from behind, slicing and hacking away. Alexis had to let go of the wizard and his girl. Everyone else then took the opportunity and fired. The enemy went to her knees. "Did that do it?" Chris asked.

Their opponent just laughed. "How dare you!? I think you've gone too far this time." She rose up. As Alexis began to walk towards the group, more of the tentacles below rose up, actually making holes through the grate like walkway. "Thanks to you Leronica's angry, which makes me stronger!" They begun to surround the enemy as her giggling turned to mad laughter. A warning siren came on and one of the screens lit up with the message, "Biohazard Type-C Detected." Suddenly a video came on showing her father who appeared to be sitting in the same office that had been visited before.

"If you are seeing this message… That can only mean Code: Leronica has reached a critical stage," the past Alexander said.

"Father?!" Alexis asked in disbelief as the tentacles completely wrapped around her.

"The year is 1985… And I am afraid that my only daughter has become obsessed with the Leronica virus. She has even gotten to the point of experimenting on her own body." While this was going on, the tentacles had melted into a formless dark purple mound surrounding the enemy. It moved though like there was something there. "My daughter dreams of unleashing this… thing into the world." The mound became some kind of grotesque flower with a stranger growth sprouting in the front. Alexis emerged at the top like the petals of a flower. Other tentacles came out from behind the plant like structure. "This last step is the only way I can think of to help her." From behind the enemy a screen showed some kind of launcher being filled up with a liquid that would stop the opponent. The door that it was behind opened up. "Whether you are on Rindella's side or not… Please help her." The video message then shut off.

"Even though it was he who created my brother and I… But he was such a miserable old man," Alexis stated. The growth on her head no looked like some kind of red leaves and her arms and become four long limbs with hooked ends.

A female voice then came on the loud speakers. "Initiating Linear Launcher charge. Safety Lock will be disengaged once charge has been completed." The group began to rush towards the enemy but had to dodge the tentacles sent at them.

"Maybe, but we can't get to it from here," Claire pointed out.

"Either way we need to take her out and fast," her brother said. "Otherwise, we're dead."

Cosmo and the male human both tossed a grenade each. That seemed to do some damage to Alexis. The female voice then came back on. "Charge 20% complete."

Suddenly the enemy reached out and managed to grab the two. They shook her off with another blast as everyone else fired. "Charge 40% complete," went the female voice.

Nicholas and Liru ran behind the enemy. She tried to reach out for them with her long arms, but they sliced at them, causing Alexis to cry out in pain and back off. She covered her head with those same limbs. The werewolves then came back around just in time to help with attacking the main body again. Fire was tossed by the enemy but Logan and Uma got rid of it quickly with water. "Charge now at 80%," stated the female voice.

The structure on the front of the plant retreated and everyone could see the wounds inflected were disappearing. "She's… She's regenerating!" Pachira exclaimed with horror.

"She ain't going down easy, is she?" Nicholas commented.

"Charge complete," the female voice stated. "Safety lock will no disengage. Please avoid contact with anything other than the Linear Launcher."

"That should do the trick!" Napoleon stated when he saw it come out. "Quick! We'll cross above her!" He pointed the way out. Everyone then fired causing the enemy to halt. He and Pachira then ran for the path to get to the launcher. No matter what was shot at the vampires, the rest fired, stopping these things. The two quickly got the launcher and the male was grabbed. "You!" he snarled. "Take this!"

He fired and Alexis let out cries of pain. The group saw the mound course with some kind of blue electricity. She then went limp. "Come on!" Nicholas yelled. "Let's get out of here!"

The group began to head to for the exit but stopped when they heard familiar laughter. Looking back and in shock they same Alexis had risen from the mound, Her limbs had become like insect wings and the lower body had turned into a long stinger. "She's still alive?!" Claire exclaimed.

The enemy began to move like a dragonfly. "She's too fast!" Aiko pointed out.

"We can't get here from here, we need to move!" Logan said and pointed out a ledge that could work. Chris and Napoleon took that route while the rest covered them. Alexis used fire and tried to sting the group, but was stopped overtime. Soon the male human and vampire were in position.

"Just need a perfect shot…" Napoleon whispered, launcher at the ready. He then saw the enemy falter after taking some more hits. With a shout the vampire fired; a direct hit. Alexis let out shouts of pain and her moments slowed. Her body began to burst into flames. With a final shot she exploded in a shower of fire and blood. There was a trace of her left. Everyone let out a breath.

"Let's get back," said Claire. "Steve's waiting for me."

Everyone ran back to where he was only to find he was gone. "What's going on?!" Claire asked. "Where's Steve?!"

On the column a message had been carved with a knife that said, "I won this game." Chris grabbed the thing that had done it which was still there. The guy looked at it and knew in an instant. "He's been taken," the male human stated.

"A F.I.L.E.S. knife…" Nicholas commented. "But it looks different from yours."

"I'm pretty sure I know who it belongs to."

The humans and those from the nether world found a plane and were on board it just as the base begun to collapse and catch fire as a self-destruct mode had been activated. Liru then looked down and saw something that made her blood run cold. "Guys!" she stated. "Look!" Most did and to their shock saw Albert Desker looking up at them, somehow still alive. The vehicle left the content and the explosion of the base was seen. The humans dropped the others off first in Japan before returning to the Untied Stated.

Despite their best efforts it was obvious Steve had been secured by Desker as there was still a sample of the Leronica virus in the dead guy's body. Anything to do with the enemy would be silent for a while but everyone else kept their ears open for any news. However, things were about to get much worst as another of the enemy would begin to strike back at the group.