Unlikely Heroes
Chapter 22: The Fall
Six months had passed since dealing with Javier. Those from the nether had kept up with Chris and Jill. From those two humans those from the nether found out more about Rindella. Their stock plummeted with U.S. government inquiries into their involvement in that city incident. Before long, they were able to redirect responsibility for the incident. Part of the blame was cleverly shifted to the same government. Rindella had strong ties and deep pockets, thus they were able to drag out the legal proceedings. Over time, it appeared that all evidence of Rindella's involvement had vanished with the missile touchdown. Even all the files that had been picked up before hand had little to no effect with this.
Then the news that Rindella had a base of operations in Russia where they were working on a new B.O.W. came in. They were preparing to arm the unstable regions of the world with their bio weaponry. Chris and Jill had joined a regional biohazard contentment unit and had hear the rumors about this nightmarish facility. The monster from the nether had been allowed to join in on the mission due to their experiences. They along with the human plunged in to shut it down. It now found them riding with each other and other people in helicopters. It was snowing over the area of Russia and all were dressed for the weather. Reunions had already been dealt with before this point.
The pilot of their helicopter was able to spot three black masses moving on the surface, even in the snowfall and grey, night sky. Using machine guns, they were targeted and fired at. All three were torn to shreds. Those riding in the back heard it and looked up. "Bioweaponry spotted," the piloted said through a communicator so they could hear him. "They've already made it to the surface."
"Everybody prepare for landing," Chris stated. "Stay on guard. We can't afford any mistakes."
The helicopters soon reached the base of operations and grapple lines were readied. The vehicles then stopped. "I really hope this new bio-weapon is just a rumor," Jill said to Chris before he could jump down.
"We'll just take out whatever they throw at us," he replied. The male human along with her and those from the nether jumped and landed. Looking up showed that the outside of the base was covered by snow. Pipes and other factory like objects were here. And there were already zombies.
"Enemies already huh?" Nicholas commented. "Time to do this."
The zombies that greeted them were all shot down quickly. "Let's move it!" Chris stated when they were killed. The group went up a set of stairs and had to take out zombie dogs. It was then down a ladder to a different part of the main area and down some more stairs.
"Enemy sighted!" went a voice on the communicators which was another solider. "Go!"
Down here there were pipes and it was a tighter area. Which meant the enemy here were even easier targets. It didn't take much to shot them down. While doing so Chris and Nicholas's group heard the cries of one soldier as he was killed on their communicators. They kept going until there was a fork in the road. "I wonder what's down in there," Liru said.
"There could be anything in there," Chris pointed out.
"We can infiltrate down below or secure the stairs," Nicholas commented, looking to the left to see the second option. There was a ladder that led down to the first option. "They might not suspect an attack from below."
Chris led the way down the ladder. "It's dark down here," he warned. "Keep on your toes."
While those from the nether had no need for flashlights, the humans did. They turned them on and everyone saw there were zombies down here. All of the enemy was killed. The group moved forward and here a new kind of enemy showed up. It was dull white in color and looked like some kind of walking spider. More began to show up after the first were killed and also shot down. Finally after navigating down the halls and taking out the enemies, the group finally went up some stairs that led to the inside.
"This is the place," Chris said. The area was in a hexagon like shape that also had enemies.
After these were taken out the group was able to head to the middle of the room. The symbol for Rindella was on the ground and there were stairs on the sides that lead up to the higher levels of the building. Suddenly the sound of something activating go their attention. They saw a huge hook that was used to life heavy crates heading toward them. With a shout they all jumped out of the way. Despite the fact nobody was hurt, more enemies showed up.
It was a mad house shooting them all down, but somehow they managed. The corpses were in piles by the time every enemy was killed. When they were the group was able to take a breather and Jill noticed something. "Guys, something about this floor…" she said after crouching down to take a closer look.
"Yeah, I noticed," Chris replied. The human held some kind of deceive in his hand and a paper in the other. After flipping a switch, the floor began to move down, like some kind of giant elevator. Everyone got in position and was heading down deeper.
"This place…" Nicholas growled. "It's a nightmare…"
"Abandon hope…" Napoleon said. "It's ending here and now!"
The concealed elevator they were riding led to a point hundreds of yards beneath the Earth's surface to an imposing facility designed with the exclusive purpose of mass-producing B.O.W.s. "Up to their old tricks I see," Chris said as the elevator stopped.
"Yep, got their sticky fingers in ever pot," Nicholas agreed. "This sure went down deep."
"It's starting to look like the right place," Jill commented.
"We've only just learned of this place," Pachira said. "I'm willing to be it's hiding something important."
"Yeah, they wouldn't build all this for nothing," Napoleon agreed.
"Just from the size of the facility, it's obviously not just some warehouse," Cosmo commented.
Enemies started to come out and all where shot down. Then it was through a door to the right. Looking again in that direction saw some kind of shower. Chris knew what it was but surprised. "A decontamination shower?" he asked.
The group went through it and found themselves in another hall. "What do you think of the rumors about a new B.O.W.?" Uma asked.
"I'm not sure," Nicholas replied. "But I'll bet we'll find out soon enough."
Now they were in a longer hallway. Enemies began to emerge and all were shot down. Then after going through another door, the group found themselves at a place that had a walkway that was partially submerged underwater. "I love our choices," Logan said sarcastically. This was due to the fact that there were two paths. The right one was chosen.
"It's moving so fast…" Aiko commented as everyone carefully went into the water so they wouldn't be swept away.
"If we fall, we're as good as dead," Jill stated.
Suddenly a zombie like shark came charging from the water. Everyone fire to make it back off. But then they saw there were more in here. Moving quickly, they got out of the water and through another door. Here they entered a room that had a huge area that had a fire in it. A rail on the celling was transporting some kind of containers. "Those things are getting moved," Liru said while pointing to them.
"Better check them out," Nicholas stated.
Enemies then came out and had to be shot down. As soon as they were they saw the containers were being destroyed in the fire. "Why are they destroying them?" Chris asked.
"This must be a disposal facility," Cosmo stated. Suddenly enemies began to show up and were shot down.
"What the?!" Uma asked. "Why would they destroy their own products?!"
"So anything that doesn't pass the test gets toasted?" Aiko asked.
The group kept going forward. Only this time they had to beware of falling containers that held monsters inside that were still alive. They were almost out of this room when someone contacted them. "Factory secure… many casualties."
It was then through another door. Here the hallways was grey in color. After taking a right, enemies began to show up again and all of them were killed. "With this many of them, we must be getting close!" Chris said.
"It's the final stretch," Jill commented. "Let's move it!"
The two humans then went into a room that had glass walls and light green colored lights in them. Before those from the nether could join, the door closed, trapping Jill and Chris. "SHIT!" Nicholas shouted when he saw this and some green lasers turn on. The werewolf pounded his fist on the door. "COSMO, HACK INTO IT NOW!"
The male android found a terminal and began to work as fast as he could. The lasers began to move and two humans inside were able to dodge them. When they landed the lasers turned off and the doors opened. "Great work!" Aiko said to the male android. "That was too close!"
"I didn't do that!" Cosmo responded.
Those from the nether rushed in. "You guys okay?!" Uma asked.
"Yeah," Chris responded. "The security system's active?!"
"That must mean we're getting close to something important," Jill said.
The group was on edge as they went around a corner but saw no enemies. However upon entering the next room, they saw dead bodies. Suddenly zombie monkeys came out and these were killed. Then other enemies began to emerge. "How many of these things are there?!" Napoleon snarled aster shooting at another monster.
"Looks like they built up quite an inventory," Chris said.
Finally the last were killed and then went through another door. So far it was like plunging down into the depths of hell itself. Little did the group know that they were getting closer to the B.O.W. here. Another elevator was found. "Looks like we're pretty deep inside," said Jill.
"It's time to finish this place off!" Nicholas stated. The guys got onto the elevator and they could hear the sound of siren going off in the place. The platform began to move down. Suddenly enemies that weren't the regular zombies began to drop down to attack. These were all killed and then it wasn't long before the elevator reached the bottom floor.
The group walked through a door and found themselves in some kind of control room. All the computer screens were red and had the word alert on them. More enemies began to show up including the zombie kind. The group took care of these things quickly. It was then up a flight of stairs. But here a trap was sprung. Uma took a step forward and broke a laser beam. Right above them a platform holding some kind of cylinder shaped containers to fall. Everyone dodged them by jumping down to the lower level. "Whew! That was close!" the witch stated.
"Could you please be a little more careful honey?" Logan asked.
The group then looked and saw more enemies, including the plant kind come in. Cosmo fired a grenade, which took care of them. More began to show up, but they couldn't stop any of the group. But before they could go through the next door, more enemies showed up. "Enough already!" Pachira exclaimed after taking down one of them.
"Let's just clean them up and move on," said Napoleon.
When they were all killed the group saw there was a choice again. The left path was chosen. However upon going it became clear that there would be more choices. "It's just the same room over and over," Liru stated.
"It must be set up this way to confuse intruders," Nicholas commented.
"What could be up ahead?" Aiko asked.
The group kept moving, defeating whatever stood in the way. They even found room that had a bunch of guns and ammunition. They took what they could grab. Then at last they reached some sliding doors. After these opened, the group was running down a hallway that had even more. After a bit they came to a stop and found themselves in a circular room that was white with bright lights. There were small curved pillars in the center. At the top was some kind of metal structure. "Where are we?" Chris asked.
"It's probably where they test B.O.W.s," Jill said.
Suddenly a voice with a Russian accent came on a loud speaker. "We don't get many visitors here. Welcome! As fellow soldiers, I'm sure you understand the thrill of battle and the rush that comes with the feeling of being alive after a good battle."
"Another Rindella psycho," the male human stated.
"Introducing the latest in Rindella's product line." From above a blue skinned humanoid descended. Everyone drew their weapons. "Codename Ralos. A pinnacle of biological weaponry, all controlled by the Crimson Queen computer. The ultimate weapon." The thing stood up and everyone could see it had grey armor on it along with a rocket launcher that was huge. The weapon could fire four rockets. The left hand only had four fingers that were in a square formation. The height of this thing was much taller than a human, the exact height of a titan.
It let out a growl and everyone could tell it was going to attack. It took aimed and fired with the launcher. "Rockets?!" Chris exclaimed as he shot it down, causing it to explode.
"We need to shoot them down!" Jill said. Cosmo fired a grenade and that seemed to do some damage. The rest took cover behind one of the pillars.
"So this is what they've been developing!" Nicholas commented.
"What should we do?!" Liru asked.
"Find a weakness!"
The group came around and fired at the enemy. Some of their shots did little damage but a couple actually managed to knock some of the armor plating off on the left arm, exposing more blue skin and what looked like a glowing center. They began to fire at it and the enemy faltered. They could see a couple blue tentacle like objects begin to emerge out of the left arm. The group could see that after firing again, the opponent was taking damage. "I hope this is wearing it down!" Chris stated as he moved out of the things reach since it had come forward and tried to grab him.
"He's a tough one!" Jill stated and shot the enemy's armor of the face revealing a humanoid like head that all the titans had in their regular forms.
The enemy began to run and fire rockets one at a time. With careful shots, these things were shot down. The creature ran to try to get another of the group in the grasp of its left hand. That person moved and the rest fired. "Isn't he done fighting yet?!" Aiko asked.
"It's just a matter of time!" Cosmo said and fired another grenade. Everyone could see this thing was going down. Finally after a couple of minutes, the creature did. The last shot made the launcher explode which knocked the monster on its front. All the armor it had was gone.
The group looked on. But before they could breath, they saw something moving from underneath the enemy's back. The voice with the Russian accent came on. "Unfortunately, Ralos is out of control. The D-virus inside of its body will continue to mutate it, until even a god cannot control it!"
Suddenly the thing's spine shot out of the back and went all the way up to the metal structure. It latched on, bring the enemy with it. The hands became square shaped with claws. Tentacles with three pronged ends came out. The monster lost the legs and lower body but the upper mass gained more muscle. On that part there were three glowing sections, one on each arm and the chest. The mouth turned into some kind of sideways one with sharp teeth. It let out a growl, flexing its hands. "That did the trick!" Nicholas snarled.
"He transformed?!" Chris exclaimed.
"I have a bad feeling about this!" Napoleon stated.
"Is this his real form?" Jill asked.
"This is it!" Liru said. "Let's take him down!"
"Whatever we do, we have to finish him off!" her boyfriend agreed.
"Wait!" Jill stated. "Aim for that tear in the shoulder and chest!"
Everyone concentrated fire on those sections. Before the chest area could be shot, the tentacles went up to the metal section and tore threw it. Rubble was thrown at the group but they shot these down. After a bit they came back but this time fired red colored laser beams, forcing everyone to move. These were fired a few times before the tentacles went back up. This time they broke through the wall of the place, trying to grab the group. While some fired to make them back off, the rest fired at the last area. After it took some damage, the tentacles retreated and the thing fell to the floor with a crash. Looking at the spine showed a huge glowing spot.
"Right there!" Uma stated.
"Yeah, we see it," Logan replied and everyone fired at it. "That must be its weak spot. Even the great Achilles had his heel!"
The enemy took a lot of damage but it rose back up on the two arms it had, the spine still attached to the metal section. It came over, each step from the hand causing the ground to shake. Using the spine the monster rose up and tried grabbing anyone with the hands. While these were dodged, the third time it managed to grab Chris and Jill in one hand. "Guy!" Nicholas shouted.
"Jill!" the male human said. "The mouth!" They both fired at the section while the werewolf went in with his katana on the weak spot. The enemy let got of the two humans and dropped to the floor again. The group fired but it still wasn't enough as the monster rose up again.
"They certainly made this one to last!" Cosmo commented.
The same process repeated again. Only it was for the last time. After the last shot, the group watched as the tentacles the thing had turn on the main body and began to attack it. Blood and sparks came out of the monster before the spine was torn from the metal section. The thing was dead. With that out of the way, the real clean up could begin. However no data could be found as it was discovered that it had all been deleted. Only information on the person who had run the place could be found. Of course looking found them dead as well. Regardless a fatal blow had been struck to Rindella. They were done for. The group watched from the outside to see the sun beginning to rise. "They're done for," Nicholas said, referring to the company.
"The end of Rindella is just a question of time," Jill agreed. "But…"
"Yeah…" Chris said. "He's still out there." Everyone knew he meant Desker. But for now they could rest easy as more news came in. According to the latest reports that came in within the next weeks, Rindella was found guilty on all charges of the crimes they had committed. What was more the US FBI and Japan's finest were working together to find Lencer, the creator of Rindella. But the problems weren't over yet. For there would be new threats, some of them connected to Rindella remains in the future.