Unlikely Heroes
Chapter 25: Creepy Castle
The three that had fought the chief took a running start in order to jump out the new hole and make it to safety. "Are you okay Leon?" went the voice of Ashley. The two werewolves and the male human looked up to see the others approaching them. Kratos ran to Liru and Nicholas licking them both and had his tail wagging.
"Yeah, had a little trouble, but we're fine," Nicholas replied, petting the dog.
Now it was back to that door that had that metal decorative face. One lift ride latter and the group was soon standing in front of it. Leon held up the fake eye to it and the group could hear something beep. Now they could open the door. They emerged to a new area. The group could see a castle in nearby that seemed to still be in good condition. There was a bridge making a path to it. "Let's go," Aiko said.
"Wait!" Logan commented and pointed up the path. There were a few villagers there. Cosmo quickly snipped them off. But when the group tried to move forward, they noticed a truck coming towards them. They all fired at it, causing the engine to ignite and explode. There were some enemies in the back of it but they were dealt with quickly.
Now it was onto the castle. But before everyone could take a step to it, they turned and saw the torchlight of more villagers. "On the other side of the bridge!" Leon ordered.
Everyone followed him to where two winches used to work the bridge were placed. Both humans took one of them and raised the path up in two parts so the enemy couldn't follow them. "Well that takes care of that," Cosmo said.
"Now what?" asked Aiko.
"Keep going," Leon replied. "Come on."
The group emerged into the first area. The walls were thick and high and made of dark grey stone. There were a number of barrels here that were broken to get at the items inside. There was even a small chest that had money in it. "Keep an eye out; there's probably more like these here," Nicholas said.
Once all these had been found, Leon found the weapons Merchant and did some selling and buying. They were new weapons that were more powerful than the old stuff. Now the group could continue. They went up some stairs and through another door. This led to a different outside area that was part of one of the castle walls. Before they could step to the rest of the area, they heard the whispering of what could only be more enemies. But it was more like a chant. "Now what?" Liru asked.
"Might be different types of enemies," Uma suggested.
"Be careful," Logan said. The group then stepped out and saw they were at an area of the castle that looked like it was one of the places where it could be defended from outsiders. There appeared to be different paths and areas that lead to different parts of the castle. Everyone then noticed enemies were nearby on a higher level that were wearing robes of black. Leon and Cosmo took out their snipping guns and managed to dispose of these cult like enemies with headshots. Then a flight of stairs was reached.
"Wait!" Leon ordered to Ashley. She stayed behind and he plus a few of the others went on ahead. It was a good thing because they spotted more of the new enemies, some wearing robes of red with the cult symbol on the front. Elaborated golden skull goat masks covered their heads. It was clear these were the highest ranking of the enemies, not counting the chief and Ladder that had been encountered before. One shouted out and pointed. Catapults were loaded and launched, sending balls of fire to the small group who had made it up. These things caused great destruction as it showed small structures were destroyed when these made contact.
Moving quickly, those with snipe weapons went forward and through the lenses saw there were barrels next to these catapults. They fired at these, causing explosions and killing the enemies by the catapults. This allowed the rest to follow them. Everyone went forward and down a side path to a smaller well fortified room that hid them from the view of the enemy. There were a few barrels and another canon. "I wonder if we could use this ourselves," Nicholas said.
Leon broke the barrels to get at the items inside and then it was back to from the side path to the main one. Going up some more stairs, at the top, Leon told Ashley to wait again. It was a good thing she did since there was a couple more enemies with another catapult. After they fired, the male human went forward to get rid of them with another barrel explosion. Now that the path was clear, it was forward again to a small stone structure. A single enemy was here and quickly killed. Ashley stayed behind again while those with long ranged weapons took care of the rest of the enemies. Once these had been cleared, Aiko found a winch that when used, brought up the same canon from before. Cosmo used it to blow a door down so the group could continue.
A couple more chest were found, one of which had a gold bangle in it. Leon knew this could be sold for quite the amount of money with the merchant. They found him outside a door that would take the group inside the castle. Leon even bought a larger case from him to hold more weapons and things. Then it was onto the inside where Runnigan was contacted. "Guys. Where's your current location?" she asked.
"We decided to lay low in a castle but it looks like it was a bad move," Leon answered.
"Meaning?"
"Well it appear that this cattle's also connected with Los Rilluminados," Nicholas explained. "They must not get many visitors here cause they're giving us one hell of a welcome."
"Sounds bad. I have an idea guys. I need you to-"
Suddenly the call got cut off and there was static. "What? Repeat Runnigan," Napoleon said. There wasn't a reply.
"Great. Just our luck…" Logan grumbled.
There wasn't much else to do but grab what was in this area. There was even a platinum sword that was grabbed that had been mounted on one of the walls. Then it was up some stairs. Upon reaching the top, the group heard the sound of an enemy. There were a few but then more began to come from a downstairs entrance. They noticed that some of them had painted faces with lines and were wielding small spiked flails. Once all of these enemies had been taken of, there was one left with a painted face and red robes. This one was able to take a lot more damage. But after the head got blown off a limb emerged that was thicker than what had been seen before. But even this person couldn't stand up to everyone and was killed.
Then Liru found a golden sword and took it. She took care of placing the platinum sword in the hole where the second sword had been and the other in the first hole. This caused a wall to move to the side, revealing a hidden door. Everyone quickly went through it. This led them to another outside area of the castle. They hadn't gone far when they heard a familiar voice. "Guys!"
Turning they saw who is was. "Luis!" stated Nicholas.
"I've got something for you guys." The second male human began to search his pockets and then realized something. "Oh shit! I must've dropped it when I was running away from them!"
"Dropped what?" asked Ashley.
"A drug that will stop your convulsions." This got everyone's attention. "Look I know you are carriers. You've been coughing up blood, right?"
The other two humans looked at each other. "Yeah," Leon answered.
"And you?" Luis asked to Ashley.
"Yes," she replied.
"Damn it! The eggs have hatched. We don't have much time."
"What are you talking about?" Nicholas asked.
"I have to go back and get it," Luis said.
"Let me come with you," Ashley stated.
"No. You stay here with Leon. He's better with the ladies. I'm sure." Luis began to walk away.
"Why are you…?" began Liru.
"It… makes me feel better. Let's just leave it at that."
He quickly rounded a corner and then disappeared. "This doesn't make any sense though," Napoleon said. "Why the humans but not us?"
Ashley heard that and looked to him with a questioning look. The vampire saw this and shook his head. "You know I have noticed that to," Aiko stated. "We were injected to. So then why?"
"I think it's pretty obvious why it wouldn't for you and Cosmo," Nicholas stated. "But the rest of us… My only guess is that the parasite isn't compatible with us. We have a natural immunity to them since well… you know." The rest of the sentience was that those from the nether weren't human. Ashley was now looking at the group with a more serious look. Leon decided it was best to come clean.
"Look… they're not human, but on our side," he stated. "We didn't tell you that since we thought it was best."
"I'm sure you began to suspect with Liru since she's not exactly hiding anything," Nicholas commented. "The point is that let's just say these cultists aren't the only monsters in the world. But not all of them are evil."
"It's fine," Ashley said. "Somehow… I've always known when I saw the rest of you with Leon. But I know if you wanted to hurt me you would have done so by now." She then smiled and the rest knew things with her were fine.
There were now two doors to choose from. Nicholas and Liru smelled enemies behind one so those needed to be killed first. Leon kicked the door open to draw them out. It worked and the cultist who came met gunfire. One of them had a limb emerge from the neck but that wasn't a problem to kill. The male human and a few from the nether then went forward since looking beyond this door showed there was a bigger area with more enemies to kill. They found a couple that had long wooden spiked shields. But these were no match for the firepower the group had. Once all these were dealt with everyone grabbed the money and other items that would help. One of these was a silver colored key.
"I wonder what it goes to?" Pachira asked.
"Hold onto that," Nicholas told the female vampire. "If we find out where you can have the honor of opening it."
As soon as they turned they saw more enemies come in. Leon fired at a barrel that exploded. One managed to survive and even after taking a number of hits, the limb seen before erupted from the neck. "Leave this to me," Nicholas said and his arms transformed. With a shout the male werewolf attacked the limb with his katana and left clawed hand. It stood no chance and was destroyed. The body melted away.
"Well that wasn't so bad," he commented after putting his sword away and his arm went back to normal.
The group then went back out to where the they had found the two doors and went for the main one but it was locked. "Here," Pachira commented and tried the key that had been found. It fit into the lock and the door was open.
Everyone looked at they could see that they were in what was the main entranceway of the castle. There was a single path with a balcony like platform above that. A few stairs led up to it. Those from the nether, Kratos, and the two humans slowly went forward. But just before they got to the stairs they heard the sound of a male chuckling. Looking up to the balcony showed four beings had appeared. Three of them were about the same height as Leon. One wore dark blood red robes, another had black colored ones with red lines, and the third had black line on his grey colored robes. While they appeared human, the group saw the glowing eyes and the strange hands which were black and only had three fingers. The final person was a very short male with grey hair tied back in a ponytail and wearing a blue outfit similar to what a colonial would wear with it being blue. His face was wrinkled a bit. He was the one who had been laughing and then stopped to speak.
"I was starting to wondering when you might notice us," he said, his creepy yellow eyes scanning the group. His voice had a slight accent to it.
"Who are you?" Nicholas asked. Kratos let out a growl and Liru calmed him down with one hand.
"Ramon Lalazar, the eighth castellan of this magnificent architecture." The group realized he was the one that had been mentioned in the diary they had found before facing against the big cheese of the village. "I have been honored the prodigious power from the great Lord Ladder. I've been expecting you, my brethren."
"No thanks, bro!" Leon snapped back.
"My my, we've got a feisty one," the enemy sighed before taking a more serious tone. "If you care for your own well being, I suggest you surrender yourself. And simply… become our hostage. Or Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether, you can give us the girl, because the rest of your aren't worth a penny I'm afraid. You can die." He and the robbed figures left the room from where they had been standing.
"I'm never turning into one of them, never!" Ashley declared.
"Got that right," Logan agreed. "We'll find a cure."
"But… how did he know about where we came from?" Liru asked.
"I don't like it," Uma said. "Maybe we'll find out."
After this was said a section in the floor for the main path came up, blocking the way. There was a design on it, shown a man on horse with a lance. He was facing off against a Greek Chimera. But there was only an indention for the beast, like the thing that made up it were missing. Cosmo took a closer look at it. "This section seems to be made up of three parts," the male android stated.
"Guess we need to find them," Aiko said.
"I see a side door over there," Pachira commented while pointing it out. "Let's start there."
The hallway here had some things to be found but no enemies. At the end there was a notice on the wall. It was another document for capturing Luis. It had confirmed that he had entered the castle. It was a moment that must be taken to get him. Then the group would be targeted. The document then went on to say the second male human had taken some vaccines when he stole the cult's sample. The vaccines they could do without but the sample had to be retrieved since it was their lifeblood. The notice went on to say there was somebody else or some other group involved in the whole offer. If the sample were to get into their hands, the world the cult seek to create wouldn't happen.
Then it was around a corner. Everyone noticed two statues of horse head that were sending out hot steam, making it impossible to go that way. To the right was a painting that had a silver colored key on it. Leon quickly grabbed this. It was then back to the hallway and then a turn to the right to a door that had a decorative face on it. "It's locked and pretty sturdy," Cosmo commented. "It's like a prison."
Leon tried the key and the door was unlocked. "Okay we need to only have a few go down," Nicholas commented. "This shouldn't take too long." He then turned to Pachira and Napoleon. "Okay, this time it's your turn since we did it with the chief."
"Fair enough," the male vampire replied. His girlfriend looked unsure but he sent her a smile.
The rest stayed behind with Ashley while Leon and the ones chosen went down the stairs. Sure enough it was a prison, or one of them in the castle. There was only one cell with a huge pillar in the middle. To the left and the right were small bells. The human and vampires went to the bars and saw a figure inside. It was a humanoid figure but was wearing an iron helmet that had large eyeholes. There was a chain around the neck that went down to the stomach. The chest and that area had no armor. But what got the female vampire where the eyes. They were stitched shut. The body was also showing signs of breathing while being chained to the wail.
Napoleon saw these things and signaled to step back quietly. The three did so. "What is that?" Pachira asked in a scared voice.
"Some other abomination," he stated. "And I bet it's not there for decoration. Due to how that thing has no eyes, I bet it'll use hearing to get around. And the fact that it's chained up may indicate this thing is a strong opponent. Unnaturally strong."
Leon crept forward and saw there was a lever next to the chained being. He carefully opened the door to the cell. The enemy didn't stir yet. The human went two more steps forward, on guard. Suddenly with a grunt the chained being broke free of the bindings. The monster yet out a yell and from the writs three claws emerged. Leon backed away fast and quietly. Napoleon then noticed a bell in the corner and shot at it. The sound of the bullet against it rang through the room, drawing the enemy to it. Pachira then spotted something on the back. "Wait, what's that?" she asked.
Looking showed that it was some kind of growth attached to the bare area of the enemy. "Another form of that thing that's made the enemy like zombies I guess," Napoleon replied and shot at it.
Doing so caused some tentacles to pop out. The monster grunted and quickly turned towards the male vampire who moved. Using the sounds to their advantage it took three more shots to make the enemy go down for the count. The thing on the back melted, but not the body. The three then moved to the lever and pulled it, which caused the horse statues to stop letting out the hot steam. "That was easy enough," Napoleon commented as they went back to the main group.
Before they could head far, enemies began to appear. The first two were killed quickly. Just beyond the horse head statues there were more that had to be shot down. Once cleared it was through two very tall doors. The group found themselves in a very large room that had pools of water and many cult members. "Now what?" Liru asked.
"Fight through them and find a better place to deal with them," Nicholas replied.
It didn't take long for the enemy to spot the group. Those from the nether knocked or short those that stood in the way. They, Kratos, and the two humans retreated to a small room that had two golden colored squares that were pressure switches. The cult members in the room followed only to find that thanks to this small space it was easy to defend and for the group to take them out. Even so they kept coming, a few having spiked wooden shields with the cult symbols on them. These were no match for the powerful guns Leon and Cosmo had. Once all the enemies had been killed the two pressure plates were stepped on which caused a stand with a crank to appear in the big room.
Going back, all the pots in here were smashed which held ammo and small items of use. More enemies had shown up and were quickly killed. A few had the limbs emerge from their necks. These didn't stand a chance. Then it was to the crank and Leon operated it. Doing this caused some stairs to lower revealing some more enemies with sickles. Once these had been killed it was up to the second area which had a bigger body of water and a balcony like area. Ashley then spotted something on the other side. "Look! There's a crank up there!" she stated while pointing to it.
Going to the sides, Leon was able to boost her up while those from the nether got up there on their own. The females went to where the crank was while the males killed more cult members that came out. Once the crank had be turned enough, a path across the water rose up, allowing the group to get to the next set of double doors. "Maybe now we can breath a little easier," Aiko whispered as they went through these.
Beyond these was one area that the group had seen before when finding the key to that prison. The weapon's merchant was here as well. Leon grabbed the items in here before approaching the merchant. Then the usual selling and buying happened. It was then down to the hallway here. But the group hadn't gotten far when Ashley began to cough hard and even had blood come out of her mouth. "You alright?" Leon asked, touching her shoulder, but she shook him off.
"I'm fine!" the female snapped. "Leave me alone!" She ran towards a section of the hallway that had indentations on the floor with the male human right behind her.
"Ashley wait!" Leon shouted.
Suddenly a row of tall spikes came out, stopping him from getting to Ashley since these were between the two. Another popped out which forced her back and to run since more came out until she was against a wall. The human leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Nicholas then noticed something about the place she was at and saw the indentations on it. "Wait…" the male werewolf said, having a nasty suspicion.
Suddenly metal bars came out from these indentations, going around Ashley and trapping her. Ashley out a cry of terror. "Shit!" the male werewolf cursed.
"Ashley!" Leon exclaimed.
"What's going on?!" the female human cried before the wall quickly turned and closed shut, taking her with it. The spikes then lowered.
"Don't worry Ashley; we're coming for ya!" Logan stated.
Suddenly the radio used to contact Runnigan went off and the human answered it. "Runnigan what happened?" Leon commented. "The transmission got cut off."
Suddenly a familiar cackling was heard as the image of Lalazar appeared. "Lalazar!" Nicholas sated with a snarl. "How'd the hell you?!"
"We've jacked the line," the enemy answered. "We didn't want you telling everyone any unnecessary information."
"Where's Ashley?!" Liru growled.
"Aw… So she fell into one of our wonderful traps. We'll make sure we find her. Don't you worry about her." Suddenly Lalazar seemed to be struck with a sudden thought by the look on his face that came out. "Oh yes. I let our miserable insects out for some exercise down in the sewer."
"Thanks," Leon replied sarcastically. "That should keep us company. Cuz boredom kills us."
"I look forward to our next encounter… In another life," the enemy said and cut the call.
The door to the sewer was right next to the group and Leon opened it. The stench hit Liru and Nicholas hard. "Damn…" he growled, covering his nose and trying to breathe in and out of his mouth. Kratos seemed to be fairing a bit better.
"Try to keep your ears open," Napoleon commented.
Everyone made it to the water like area. As soon as they did, they heard the sound of scurrying. "I see nothing," Uma said.
"Make no mistake, there's something here," Logan replied.
There were a couple items to find in here which Leon grabbed. Then he noticed a section on the wall that was off. The male human fired, revealing what had caused the scurrying. It was a horrible mutated insect of some kind with glowing eyes and clawed hands and feet. "Tricky little buggers," Cosmo joked around in an Australian accent.
"Not funny dude," Nicholas growled. "Talk about a pain in the ass."
The group noticed if they looked at the ground they could see the splashes made by the creatures since there was water. They couldn't fully turn invisible and hide their presence. Once the one in the hallway was killed, there were three more to deal with up ahead. These were easier to find since even though they stood still, their mass caused a disturbance on the water and were easy to find. Up ahead was more of them but in a bigger area. Even then these were killed. However the group did find another memo. "What is it this time?" Liru asked.
Looking showed it was from Luis. It had a number of drawing and pictures with it. The document began by saying there were some parasites that had the ability to control their hosts. It was basic knowledge among biologists but not much was know as to ho whet parasites did it. Studying the parasites specifically could reveal some clues as to how the thing that was causing the enemy to act the way they did. A parasite by the name of Las Lagas. And provide more insight on how the victims of this were called Los Lanados. At last this was the information about what was causing this. Then there came a list of some parasites that had the ability to manipulate behavioral patterns of their host.
"So that's it," Nicholas said. "With that diary we found now things are making sense. It's not a virus this time but an organism."
"But that still doesn't explain where they originated from," Napoleon stated. "Maybe we can find more information about that in here."
The memo was taken and then it was time to move on. One of the enemy insects was killed right away. However the group did discover a corpse that checking showed the male human was alive until just recently. That was a disturbing sight for the females. At least by looking at the wound on the body it was a quick death. Everyone then went forward. The path was blocked at one point so the group had to go around. It wasn't took hard to get on track which lead to a room that look like a pump room. "Alright let me at it," Cosmo said and turned the big rusted wheel.
Doing so caused some water that could be seen through the barred window to lower. There were also some items in here including a lamp that had butterfly patterns on it. But there appeared to be some sections missing. Once the group elf the room, two more enemies appeared which were quickly killed. It was then back around to where the new path was. Then finally at last the group went through a door that led to the a different room. But they stopped short when they saw it was a path with huge ax blades swinging across it. "Great…" Logan grumbled.
"Watch and learn," Nicholas said with a smirk.
The male werewolf waited for the blades to pass before jumping pass them. "See?" he stated. "Not that hard."
One by one the rest followed him and up a ladder. Then it was through another door. Instantly they heard the sound of cult members chanting below them. It was the same room they had been in but it was at the upper level. Leon signaled to the others to stay quite as they slowly crept forward. They saw a number of the enemy, including one with red robes and a ram skull mask complete with the horns. They were surrounding some kind of altar with the cult's symbol and strange purple like fire in two holders, one on each side. The males looked at this and got evil grins as they knew what would be most effective.
"Hand me a grenade," Logan stated and Leon gave one to him.
"Let's drop some lead on those mother-" stated Napoleon but the rest was cut off as the male wizard had tossed it right on target in the middle of the enemies. Leon used the chandelier to jump down to the floor below. Looking showed the grenade had killed all but the red robbed enemy. It wasn't too hard to deal with this last one, even when the Las Lagas emerged from the neck.
Once the stuff in here was gathered it was back upstairs and through a red door. Of course the weapons merchant was here so Leon took the time to sell some stuff and upgrade his guns. Now the group found themselves in a small hallway that lead to some kind of sitting area. There was a table that had a memo from the current castellan here. It was looked through. It stated for many years his family had served as castellans of the castle. But his ancestors had a dark past. Long ago there was a religious group that had deep roots in the region that was Los Riluminados. Lalazar stated that the first castellan of the castle took away their rights and powers. As a follower of this religion and as the 8th Castellan, he felt it was his duty and responsibility to atone for this sin. The best way was to give back the power to the cult. It took a little bit of time, but they were able to rejuvenate the once sealed Las Lagas. With this success Lalazar was one step close to the revival of Los Rilluminados. The resound he released this from deep under the castle and gave them to Ladder, was not only to repay the sins for his ancestors but also felt that the Lord would make better use of this power and save the world.
A picture of some kind of mine then was found. The memo then went on to saying to save these that have sinned with the power of Las Lagas and to cleanse their souls should creating a world without sinners. The way it was meant to be. Once cleansed, they would become ones of the many Lenados where they would find their reason to live. The memo ended with saying that after the Lord was successful in creating the world in which he envisioned, then the sins of Lalazar's family would be atoned for. Nicholas just took this along with all the other memos and documents that had been gathered so far. Liru then cocked her head to the side. "Do you hear that?" she stated. "Sounds like low chanting."
"More enemies," Uma said.
Leon kicked the next door open and more cult members, one of which pointed and shouted out to get them in the native language here, spotted the group. The room here was another big one with an upper level and paintings on the walls. The few enemies in here were all taken out. The last one had another key on them which was taken along with all the money and small items found. The key was used on the door that would take them along to some kind of gallery. Here a puzzle happened where the paintings had to match six people being shown in order for a hidden wall to open up. It wasn't too hard to figure this out and a wall did move away to reveal a hidden door.
The group walked out of it into another big room. There a familiar shaped shadow came into view. Kratos growled as Lalazar appeared with his three body guards on the level above the group. "What a pleasant surprise," the enemy said. "But I'm afraid it's Ashley we need. Not you Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether."
"If you don't need us, then get off our backs old man!" Leon snapped.
The short male let out a mock gasp. "Did you say old man Mr. Rennedy? It might come as a surprise, but I'm only 20 years old!"
"So you're just like the others?!" Nicholas snarled. "A puppet of the parasites?!"
"Surly you don't think I'm the same as those dimwitted Lanados. The parasites, those organisms are slaves to my will! I have… absolute control."
"Well we don't really give a fuck!" Napoleon snarled. "Rain or shine, you're going down!"
Suddenly a couple hidden walls moved to reveal more cult members with weapons. The group was on guard. "Get rid of our American and nether world friends," Lazar ordered them and left the room with his guards. The doors leading out had bars suddenly appear, making the way out no good.
The group spilt into small groups to take out these enemies. A few that went upstairs found a security system of some sorts that was deactivated by them. Doing so caused a huge platform to rise from the ground that had a chest. Suddenly a painting moved to reveal two more cult members that had rocket launchers. "Shit!" Logan cursed, seeing this. Cosmo quickly killed them before they could fire. Meanwhile their girls found a switch that when pressed caused a section to extend to the platform with the chest. Leon was then able to open it up which had a metal goat's head in it, similar to one of the things missing from the Greek Chimera indentation from the room where Lalazar had first been run into. Doing so caused the bars for the doors to go away. The group quickly killed the rest of the enemy before leaving. Of course they took the time to smash the pots in here and gather the items.
The next part was a small hallway with windows. At the end were two doors. The one on the left was taken which led to a small flight of stairs to another door. On the other side was some kind of outdoor terraces balcony but one that was worn down. There was a working fountain that had a few small items in it. Then it was onto the rest of the path which had a few barrels that had to be broken. These also had items which were taken. Then it was through a double set of doors. This ended up leading to a garden of some kind. While it was well kept and had paths through it like a maze with chest and a fountain, there was a dark feeling to it. "I don't like this," Pachira stated. 'When I get my own no way it'll look like this."
"You said it," Napoleon agreed.
"Well no other choice but to go through it," Nicholas said.
There was a door that was passed but it couldn't be opened. There was an indention here though which meant something went in it. So that meant heading down into the garden. Before the group could take a step into it the radio Leon had went off. It was Lalazar. "Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether. Still alive I see," the enemy commented. "So, do you like my garden?"
"I see you've managed to work in a little of your twisted taste here to," Leon replied.
The enemy let out a cackle. "Sagacious as I am, even I get lost here sometimes. Even if it takes your whole life, none of you will get out. Do you know no one dies without a cause? All of you will satisfy the stomachs of my cute pets. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tie up a few loose ends. Like chasing down a couple of rats." The call was ended but that last sentience stood out.
"Two rats?" Liru stated. "That doesn't seem right."
"If one's Luis… Who's the other?" Uma asked.
"So… there's another intruder besides us?"
"Glad to see you two are thinking the same like us," Cosmo said.
Now it was down to the garden. Leon kicked the main gate open. There were a couple of barrels that had items in them. However after going a few more steps Kratos let out a growl, teeth bared in a snarl. The rest then heard the sound of other footsteps that belonged to some kind of animal. Two then rounded the corner, showing they were dogs like him but clearly on the enemy's side. Killing them proved this as their bodies melted away. It was then through another gate which lead to a side wall of the castle. "Huh… nothing here," Aiko said, looking.
"Wait… there's something…" Nicholas commented, sniffing the air. Kratos was as well. The two then turned to the right and saw a small cage that was the perfect size for holding a human with a small space. Inside was another dog who looked just like Kratos. But this one wasn't an enemy since it looked up and whined.
"Oooh," Liru cooed. "It's another dog like him. Oh and she looks in pain and is scared."
"It might be a trap," Nicholas said. But that thought was thrown away a second latter as he saw Kratos go right up to the cage to her. The male werewolf knew the canine would never do that to a hostile dog.
Kratos was nose to nose with the dog who turned the head to him with a small wag of the tail. The second dog then turned over, revealing it was a female. "Oh she's a pretty girl," Liru cooed and went over. The female canine looked to her and seemed to get a smile as her tongue came out and her tail began to wag a bit harder. The blonde hair werewolf turned to look at her boyfriend. "Oh we can't just leave her here. She'll probably be injected with the parasite and be worse than dead. Please?"
Nicholas came over and took a look at her himself. The female dog also began to wag her tail when seeing him. "Well… I think she knows we're going to help her," he replied. "Unlike with Kratos when I first met him, I don't think leaving her here is a good idea. However… I don't know if she's in the best condition. Give me a sec."
The male werewolf went to the door of the cage which had a lock and broke it easily. He then went in. Kratos was right behind him and the female dog went on her back, all four paws up. The male canine was by her face, clearly interested. "Awwww he likes her already," Liru cooed. "How sweet."
Nicholas just smiled and began to look at her body by touching with his hands. Only on the areas like the ribs, ears, and stomach. "As far as I can tell she's fine. A little underfed, but it won't be a problem. I think it's the treatment by being in here all the time and seeing the horrors of the others. I'm not talking the condition of the cage of food. But I can tell in some places she's been hit. Just powerful enough ones to turn her into a fighting, killing animal. But I need more help."
Cosmo came over, catching the drift. He did another scan like with Kratos. "Looks like she checks out to by not being infected," the male android stated. "Far as I can tell she's also two and fully grown physically and is capable of having pups."
"Wait…. you mean….?" Nicholas asked.
"Yeah, she hasn't been fixed like Kratos."
"Well… I don't think we should keep the two like that."
"Oh no, couldn't… couldn't we let them have pups?" Liru asked.
"Liru… we don't even know if they'll become mates," her boyfriend stated. "Besides… it's actually healthier for them if they are spayed and nurtured."
"Just one litter… If they don't then fine. But let them have a chance, please? They'd be so cute!" She was getting that sad, big puppy dog eyed look again.
"Now's not the time to discuss this," Nicholas stated. "Let's worry about it until latter, okay?" The female just nodded her head, beaten for now. "Still… she needs a good name. Would you like to name her?"
"Venus," his girl replied without missing a beat.
"Yeah… I like it," her guy agreed. He turned to her. "Come on girl. You're coming with us." Venus, the newest addition got up, and let out a happy bark. With Kratos right by her side, the three left the cage. Venus went up to everyone to sniff them over, the male canine always on her left. The same spells that he had were casted on the newest canine. It was obvious she was already going to fit in.
"Good girl," Nicholas said, patting her head.
"Now we've got two dogs," Leon said. "So be it. Let's move on."
The group then moved on. Venus stayed right by Kratos the whole time. Although they had just met, a connection and bond had already been formed between the two upon seeing each other. Leon was the one to lead the way. Everyone could still hear the growling of other hostile canines. Every time one appeared, the male human would shoot it without mercy. A couple the group noticed had Las Lagas tentacles sprouting from the back. After a bit more walking around, everyone found some steps that walking up led to a fountain. Here one half of a moonstone like plate was found. "I think that goes in that indentation we found before," Uma said and took the half.
"The other should be close by," Logan stated.
The other half was found at another statue. "That should do it," Pachira commented. "Let's get back to that door."
The group did so but Leon was cautious. He took the halves and placed them in the door, heading in first. He stepped into some kind of master bedroom. Before the guy could go far, he felt a gun on his back. "Put your hands where I can see them," went a female voice.
"Sorry, but following a lady's lead isn't my style," he replied.
"Put them up, now."
Leon suddenly moved and managed to get the woman's gun arm in a lock. Before he could pry it out of her hand, the female moved and kicked up while flipping forward. This not only caused the male human to let go, but also flip the gun up in the air. Leon quickly had his combat knife out and in a reverse grip. He moved forward just as the woman got on her feet and grabbed the gun. She then found his blade against her throat before the gun could be put in a firing position. "Bit of advice, try using knives next time; works better for close encounters" Leon told her.
He took the gun away and unloaded it before tossing it to the side. The rest from the nether and the dogs then came in. "You okay?" Nicholas commented. "We heard the scuffle of combat." They then noticed the woman and saw her short black hair, and dress that was sexy but could work in combat. It was red and those from the nether realized it was the same person who had helped them out with getting rid of the chief of the village when they had gone into his house.
"Wait… you're…" Liru said as the scent of the woman hit her nose. It was all too familiar. It was the same for her guy as well.
"Yes. Long time no see," the woman said and took of her sunglasses. "I see you guys from the nether are still alive and have dogs now."
"Ada," Leon stated. "So it is true."
"True? About what."
"You. Working with Desker."
"What?!" Napoleon exclaimed. This was news to those from the nether. But it was the only reason why Ada knew where they had come from since Desker had been told before his betrayal with F.I.L.E.S.
The others were just as shocked as Ada dropped her glasses. "I see you've been doing your homework," she replied.
Nobody noticed that on one frame the words, about to explode, had appeared. "Why Ada?" Leon asked.
"What's it to you?"
"Why are you here? Why'd you show up like this?"
She smirked and looked to the side. A sound from the glasses then went off and the thing exploded, sending out a bright light. Those from the nether tried to shield their eyes but some of the exposure still got them, "Damn it!" Nicholas growled, a bit blinded. Since they all had enhanced sight, this was perfect for Ada to escape. Even Leon was affected by it to.
Ada quickly grabbed her fallen gun. "See you around," she stated to the male human before jumping out the window.
"Ada!" he exclaimed.
He went to the window and didn't see her. "Okay you want to tell us what the hell you mean she's working for that bastard Desker?" Nicholas snarled at Leon.
"All I know she was requited by him," the male human replied.
"Doesn't matter, she's an enemy now. If she tries anything funny, we're taking her in. Now let's keep moving."
The room had a few small items that were taken. Then in the next room the weapon's merchant was found. There was also another memo on the table, talking about Ada. The memo went on to say that the cult believed her to be connected with Luis. They also believed it was her that had removed the egg injected into him before it hatched. And that it may have been her that had him retrieve the "sample" before Leon and other from the nether's arrival. It was obvious that Ada's objective was the "sample" and the cult had to be her before she reestablished contact with Luis. The cult also had reason to believe that she was working for somebody and would need to be kept alive for interrogation. The memo ended by saying that Ada should be able to answer all of their questions. After capturing her, Luis wouldn't be any concern. When the "sample" was retrieved, he could be disposed of.
Nicholas took this while Leon did the usual business with the weapon's merchant. Then Pachira found a real treasure in one of the clothes cabinets here; a mirror that was beautiful and lined with rubies and pearls. "Oooh this is so pretty," she said, showing Napoleon it.
"Seems a shame to sell it," he commented. "I bet you can make use of this back home. Let's take it and make sure it makes it though this."
Logan was able to help with that, sending the mirror to a safe place by magic that could be retrieved latter. Now that Leon was finished with the merchant, the group went out of the room by the main door leading to it. They found themselves in a hallway with some kind of panels that were decorated on each side. Going a bit forward found themselves in a dining room that was quite the rich looking one. Before they went through the main door which had bars a quick detour to the left which led to a small room. After the items in here were taken, it was back to the dinning room. Uma rang a bell on a counter which caused a painting of a feast to appear. After shooting at the bottle of wine, the bars to the door leading to the next area went away.
Inside this room there was a single chest. "I wonder what's in it," Liru stated and took one step towards it.
"No, wait!" Nicholas shouted. Too late, bars came down around it and enemies appeared.
The group fired at whoever they could. Some went out of the room to lure the enemies out to a bigger area. When the last were killed, Cosmo opened the chest to find an hourglass with gold decor. This was another treasure the group was going to keep and he had Logan send it to where the mirror had been placed. Then it was through a side door to the next area. Going forward everyone heard the sound of low murmuring from the enemy and snuck to the edge of the path since they were up on a higher level. They saw cult members, two of which were in front of a lever. "This is too perfect," Cosmo stated. "Time to snipe."
He and Leon did so but when the second enemy's head was shot, instead of the limb, the group noticed the parasite was a different form with multiple legs, and a tail that detached itself and scurried towards them. Uma got it with some fire from her wand. "That's not what we've seen them look like," Pachira pointed out.
"It must be a third form," Napoleon said.
The rest of the enemies were killed. Once they were the lever was pulled which caused a path to rise up from the floor that could be used to get to the next door. More enemies came out and were killed. However there was a room right next to this one that was looked into. There were items here including some in a glass case. One of these was an actual rocket launcher with one missile in it. "Damn, now that's what I'm talking about," Cosmo stated as he picked it up. "This thing's gotta have some serious firepower to take out a wall or blow a hole in one."
"One of us needs to take that, it'll come in handy," Leon said. Nobody else wanted to so the human took the weapon.
Now it was through the door. Then it was a short hallway to the next area. Little did they know tragedy was about to strike. They emerged into another section and could see this was quite the big one since everyone saw the edge and could tell there was a floor below them. "Now what?" Liru asked.
"Just keep moving forward," Nicholas said.
Suddenly the door behind them opened. The group turned to see Luis. "Hey guys!" he stated. He then held up both hands. The right had a bottle while the other had a sample like bottle that had a purple liquid of some kind in it. "I've got it!"
Suddenly those from the nether heard the sound of him being stabbed from behind and Luis's arms dropped to his sides. Venus and Kratos let out growls and Leon could tell something was wrong. Suddenly some kind of spike came out of the second human's chest, bloody from stabbing him. A long limb with a mixture of dark blood red and grey then lifted Luis up. "LUIS!" Leon exclaimed.
Suddenly another limb came from nowhere, knocking those from the nether down. It was a hard hit so they weren't going to get up in time. Kratos and Venus were able to dodge it but wisely stood back. Meanwhile the sample case fell from the second human's hand right into Ladder's. The limb that had impaled Luis tossed him to the ground. Leon ran up to him. Nicholas was able to raise himself up enough to watch as the limb retreated under Ladder's robes. It meant they had come from him. "Now that I have the sample, you serve me no purpose," he stated.
"Ladder!" Leon exclaimed in anger.
"My boy Lalazar will make sure all of you follow the same fate." The cult leader then left.
The first male human went to the second's side. "Stay with me Luis!" he said, noticing that blood had already begun to pool around the body.
"I am a researcher…" Luis said weakly. "Hired… by Ladder. He found out what I was up to." He tired to laugh but was cut short.
"Don't talk!"
Leon tried to stop the bleeding, but Luis threw his hands off. "Here!" he gasped, handing the bottle to the first human. "It should suppress growth of the parasite. The sample… Ladder took it! You have to get it back!" The second human's head then fell to the ground and died.
"LUIS!" Leon exclaimed. "LUIS!"
Those from the nether finally were able to rise up. The male human looked at the bottle and saw there were pills inside. One half was clear the other red. "He's going to pay for his death, I promise," Nicholas growled, referring to Ladder killing the second human.
Suddenly the group heard the sound of a female grunt, one they all knew too well. "Wait… that's Ashley!" Uma said.
Going to the edge and saw her in the same trap against a wall. Leon took out his sniper riffle and shot the first holding, causing the female human to yell out. "Oh shut up would you?!" Napoleon snarled.
The male human quickly had the rest shot off. "Talk about near death experience," Ashley said after getting her breath back and walking away from the wall. Suddenly two doors, one on each side, opened up to reveal enemies.
"Take cover!" Nicholas ordered.
Napoleon and Pachira were the only ones who could get down quickly and fight due to being vampires. The rest had to stay behind. Once all the enemies were killed, they and Ashley took a key that had fallen from one of the cult members. Using this they were able to unlock a door and found themselves in a smaller area of the castle. "Stay close to us, and hold anything we find," Napoleon said to Ashley.
Thanks to these two, there was no need to sneak around the few cult members that were here. The vampires just killed them quickly. The three soon came to some kind of room that was a small study with a bookshelf and bed. There were also two cranks in front of a door with two sets of bars. The females worked these and got the way opened up. It was then through a blue door but that way was no good at the moment due to needing an item to pass. There was however a memo by a butler that worked for Lalazar. According to it, the guy had no family, and that Ladder must have used his strong faith in the cult to his advantage to talk Lalazar into undoing the seal of the Las Lagas once done by his ancestors. Lalazar would never have done such a thing unless he was in some way being used unknowingly. The butler should have sense the Lord's dirty scheme sooner and felt partly responsible for all of this. He had no ideas what Ladder was planning but Lalazar was just being used. It was too late as he had the Lagas in his body. There was no turning back once the parasites turned into adult bodies. They would not die unless the host died. There was no cure. Perhaps Lalazar may have even vaguely aware of Ladder's plan all along. But it was hard to tell. The memo then ended with saying there was nothing the butler could do about it now. He had served the family for generations and was prepared to continue until the very end.
Napoleon took this, knowing Nicholas would want it. It was then out of this room and through a wooden door. This place was dark and appeared to be some kind of unused area. There were gates though that could be opened by pressing switches. It was a bit of a puzzle but not too hard of one. The first item found here was some kind of stone tablet with a bit of a design on it. Then it was through another door into a dark set of corridors. "Careful, who knows what the hell is here," the male vampire told the other two with him.
It was a straightforward path that led to another dark room. There were full suits of knight armor with a petistal in the middle of the room. On this were slabs that could be moved around. Pachira got the pieces arranged to form the symbol but there was one missing. Ashley placed the tablet found, completing the picture. A door opened up which led to one last room. It was dark but on a head bust of a knight in armor the three a round insignia, the item missing from the room where the memo had been found. Once this was taken, the bust rotated on an axis, revealing a chest. Then the door slammed shut behind the group. 'Shit!" Napoleon stated.
Pachira opened the chest to find an ornament that had a snake's tail with two back legs. "Hey haven't we seen something like this before?"
"Yeah… were we first ran into Lalazar," her guy replied. "It's one of those missing pieces."
The three then turned after he pocketed it and heard the sound of iron footsteps. "No way…" the male groaned. They then saw that one of the suits was moving. "You two go! I'll hold it off!"
Ashley and Pachira ran out of the room while he fired at it, and was right behind them. The three were quickly back in the corridor, but at certain points, they were stopped since there were some suits of armor that came alive to take a slice before fallen apart. They soon made it back to the room where the insignia was needed. This was used on a device that could be turned and caused a wall to move which revealed a ladder. They climbed up and followed the path to a door which got them to wear the rest of the group was.
"Leon!" Ashley exclaimed after opening the door.
"Ashley!" he replied. She ran up to him and the two hugged. "You did good!"
"I'm sorry if I was…" the female human began but then trailed off.
"Ah, don't worry about it," Nicholas said with a grin.
"Now let's move on," Logan commented.
"Actually… You may want these," Napoleon said and handed all the items and memo found which were taken and read. It left the rest surprised by this. Before anything could be said, the radio Leon had went off. Answering it showed it was Lalazar.
"Aw… what a touching moment we have here," the enemy said.
"All spoiled thanks to your interruption," Leon snarled. "Why don't you do us all a favor and leave before the audience gets pissed off?"
Lalazar let out a cackle. "All of you are nothing but extras in my script so don't get too carried away. Your biggest scene is over."
"We don't ever remember being a part of your fucking script," Nicholas growled.
"Well then, why don't you show me what a first-class script is like; through your own actions." The call was ended and before the group left the room, the items in here were collected.
The next room was also quite large to. The group noticed the path split in two, with one down a hall and another across a pit of what was actually lava. "Well, this is interesting and twisted," Nicholas commented, looking down to it.
Leon noticed a moving platform that could be used to cross and get to the other side. He along with Logan, Napoleon, and Cosmo volunteered to go ahead. The rest would stay behind. There was another door that they went through. The other side showed that the lava was coming from here. There were three dragon head statues that were held by chains and had small structures on them. There was a single path across the lava where at the very end was a chest. But part of the path was missing. The four males went forward and cult members began to appear. The dragon heads began to breath fire. Leon and Cosmo snipped the ones on the dragon heads to their doom. Since the path was now clear, it was onto moving forward. The guys did but had to then go through a gape that was timed by a gate that was rotating around. They got past this just fine and killed the rest of the cult members standing in their way. Once all these enemies were killed some stairs appeared, allowing them to get to the chest at the end of the path.
Inside was the last missing ornament and was the lion one needed for the room where Lalazar had first been encountered. There were also other treasures and items to get. All these were taken and the four made it back to the others. It was then down the hall to what appeared to be a carriage seat on wheels with a track system. "It's not that big," Aiko commented. "It looks like only four people can sit comfortably on it."
"We could either do multiple trips or all try to cram on," Nicholas said. "I'm for the former."
It took several trips but soon everyone made it. After going through another door, the group found themselves right where they had first met Lalazar. They went up to the block in the road and inserted the missing pieces to open the path. It was then a short one to an outside area with another transportation system. Looking outside showed another area of the castle in the distance. Turns were taken again and soon the group found themselves at a new area. After going through a couple of doors, they arrived at a square shaped room with pressure plates and knight suits of armor on stone blocks. Everyone stood on one while Leon pushed the blocks to get the rest of the plates that needed a weight. They went through the new door and saw it was some kind of room with a huge panting of a lady in grey in the middle. And Lalazar was standing in front of it.
"I think you've lived long enough," he stated. "Let's see if you can survive this time."
He raised his right hand up and the door behind the group slammed shut, causing them to whirl around to it and some of the females to gasp. Suddenly the ceiling began to lower and spikes came out. "NO!" Ashley cried as everyone got it that this was a trap to crush them. Leon saw Lalazar cackle and run out of the room. The males from the nether noticed there were four glowing red spots and shot at them, causing the ceiling to stop. The group quickly ran after the enemy down a long corridor. There was a small doorway that some made it through. Then bars came out, trapping the others. At the end of the hall, a drill machine been controlled by two cult members. It was headed towers the others. Leon quickly snipped them and the bars moved allowing the others to move since the machine kept coming. It was stopped by running into another wall. The group let out a breath and then began to search the place for items since appeared to be a storage area for wine and other things.
There was a chest in here that had a grail in it that had an outline of a woman's face. Nicholas then found in a drawer a chess board with a complete set of pieces for two players in a rare design. He had Logan send this with the other treasures for themselves latter. It was then through a door that led the group back to the pressure switch room. But this time it was through a door on the left that led to a long hallway. There was a door on the right were the weapon's merchant was. Leon did the usual business with him quickly. It was then back into the hallway and towards the next door. They found themselves in a more richly decorated hallway. However, after turning a corner, Nicholas noticed something. "Wait!" he stated.
Everyone did so, looking at him with confusion. "What is it?" Liru asked.
"Look at the knights in the hallway," he said, pointing out the ones that were on either side in black armor. Leon was able to spot it.
"Some of them have raised weapons," the male human said. "Ashley, you'd better wait here."
He went forward with some of the males from the nether. It was a good thing since two of the knights brought their weapons down to kill them. The group were able to dodge them and the suits came apart. They then went around a corner into a large circular room that had busts of knights in suits on the walls. There was a single table in the center with another grail. Leon went over to it and read the inscription. "May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this Holy Grail."
Looking closer showed it was the same as the one before but had the outline of man's face. "What do we do?" Cosmo asked.
"We should take it but after what we've found so far, who knows what could happen," Nicholas said.
Leon took the item. Instantly the door behind slammed shut. Sections of the surrounding wall turned to reveal suits of knight armor. They suddenly came alive and began to advance towards the small group. "You've gotta be fucking kidding!" Napoleon snarled. Cosmo fired at the heads. It caused them to stop and those parts shake violently but then the armor began to advance again. Leon took a turn. This time Lagas limbs emerged. The male human and male android threw flash grenades, which when exploded, instantly vaporized the parasites. It showed these thing couldn't handle bright flashes of light. The suits of armor fell apart. However when these enemies were defeated, more came out, this time wearing black colored armor. The group was able to knock the helmets off but the Lagas that emerged were in the second stage. Flash grenades were still able to quickly take them out.
When all the enemies were killed the seal door became unsealed. The small group returned to the others. It was then back to the hallway. Right in front of them on a table was another memo. It was about Luis being killed. The memo started by saying he had been disposed of by Lord Ladder. The sample was back where it belonged. The person writing it had hoped that the whole matter could have been resolved without troubling the Lord. However, as long as the sample was safe, the cult could rejoice for their time was nearly at hand. Now that the sample was back in safe hand it would be more difficult for Ada to get it. It was unfortunate that Luis had to go. The memo said he would have had a bright future if only he had shown more faith in the cult's beliefs. As for the Americans and those from the nether, Ladder had left the matter to the cult members in the castle. They weren't to disappoint him. They would capture Ashley and take her to Ladder while disposing of the others.
This was taken and then down the long hallway and a side path to another. At the very end of this were cult members guarding it. These were all killed. At the door were two busts of a king and queen with their hands up to hold something. The appropriate grails were placed in each one which unlocked the door. Another long hallway greeted the group but there was nothing there. They went through the door at the end and found themselves at in a large room with windows. The ground was grey and parts of it were missing that showed what appeared to be a bottomless pit. On the ceiling was a huge hive of some kind that made strange sounds and had parts of it moving. The color was black and deathly white. "What the hell is that?" Logan asked.
Nobody noticed or sensed the beings coming in at a high speed. Suddenly some of the same types of insects that had been fought in the sewers swooped down and grabbed Ashley, Uma, Pachira, and Aiko. Others came out to knock those from the nether down. The females grabbed yelled out while the witch, female android, and vampire tried to fight their attackers. But the insects holding them were able to hold down their weapon arm and knock them unconscious with a blow to the head. More appeared to knock the rest from the nether off their feet so they couldn't fight back. "Ashley!" Leon yelled as he could only watch her be carried off.
He saw the others coming in and fired at them. The rest from the nether were able to rise up and yelled out to take out the enemy. They even manage to shoot the hive down after going on a small path outside. There was even a chest that had another butterfly lamp in it. The enemies killed had parts missing from it. Logan sent it with the other treasures for the group, knowing Uma would love it. But this wasn't enough to satisfy the guys whose girls had been taken. "Damn it all!" the wizard stated. "Uma… If they so much as touch her I swear I'll burn them with my magic!"
"Pachira…" Napoleon whispered, his teeth barred in a snarl. "I swear if they even touch her, they'll all be killed."
"We're going to find them, calm down," Nicholas said.
"Easy for you to say!" Cosmo shouted and pointed at finger at the male werewolf. "At least Liru is still with you! She hasn't been taken from you!"
"Enough!" the long haired male snarled. "Us fighting is the worst thing we can do! If we're to rescue all four of them we need to stay focus! How do you think I feel about letting Ashley and the others be captured like that?! That could have just as easily have been Liru! Even if it had happened I'd been running like hell to find her instead of arguing like this!"
"But why not me?" the female werewolf asked. "Not that I wanted to be caught, but why didn't they grab me?"
"I don't know. Let's not think about it too much. Maybe because you're the bigger threat and those bugs couldn't handle you."
"Then let's move instead of standing here," Leon said.
The male human noticed a lever against one part of the wall. Going over to it, he pulled it. The bridge that was suppose to come down only went a bit of the way since it was held back by chains. Leon quickly shot at these and the bridge went fully down. The group went across it and through another door. Behind it was the weapon merchant and the male human quickly did the usual business with him. Then it was down the hallway and through a door that led outside. Looking showed there was a tower in front of them with a couple enemies on the second floor. Before they could fully take the sights in, the radio Leon had went off and he answered.
"I wonder if you can see me, Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether?" Lalazar asked.
"If you so much as scratch them but especially Pachira, I'll break your bones!" Napoleon snarled.
"If you so much as lay a finger on Uma, I'll fry you!" Logan shouted.
"If you so much as touch Aiko, I'll break your neck!" Cosmo warned the enemy.
"First, we shall see if you can make it this far. I'll be waiting." The call was then cut.
Leon took out his binoculars to look. He saw that the tower in front of them was some kind of clock one. He then looked to the right and saw the next section the group had to go to. There was no bridge, but he saw Lalazar with his thee guards. Ashley and the others taken prisoner were being forced to walk behind the short human through a door to the next area. "Shit!" Leon stated.
The group went forward and the cult members began to attack. Some even went to catapults to use. Everyone waited for the shots to finish before crossing over to the first tower and going around to get to safety. They went up some stairs and fought their way through the cult members to get inside the tower. They saw that there were gears in here to operate the clock and bridge that would get them to the next area. They noticed though that there were pieces of wood stuck between the gears. However only the one on their level could be shot off. Leon took care of it. He then spotted two more and found those could be shot at even if they were higher up. It was then up a ladder. The male human kept climbing until he reached the top. Nicholas went with him and there on a table, they found another memo.
It was about the preparations about a ritual. It started by saying thanks to the Lovistadors, which had to be the insect like enemies seen before, they had been able to recapture Ashley and some of the females from the nether. The cult would prepare for the sacred ritual as quickly as possible and make Ashley an official member of Los Rilluminados. Those from the nether couldn't since their biology made the parasite not compatible with them. This could be tell because the eggs that had been injected could no longer be sensed in their bodies. The girls from the nether would be dealt with after Ashley had fully joined.
The memo then went on to order those who felt inclined to attend with Leon and the others while the ritual was being prepared. The group should be able to be held off at least a little while by jamming the gears in the clock tower. Three places were enough to give the cult enough time to prepare everything for the ritual. It ended with saying to attend to Leon and the rest. Nicholas looked up at Leon. "So that's why only you've shown symptoms," the werewolf stated. "I thought it was odd me and my friends weren't having any effects like you. I suspected as much, but this proves we can't be infected."
"Guess we'd better move," Leon stated and found the lever that worked the tower. He pulled it which caused the gears to turn. The bridge outside moved which would get the group to the next area. Suddenly cult members showed up but they were killed. Leon and Nicholas fought their way down to the others. It was then out the main door and they found more members heading toward them. Leon and Cosmo snipped off the ones coming on the bridge. More enemies emerged and a grenade was tossed. Once all these enemies were killed, the males, canines, and Liru went into a hallway that had a few enemies, including two who had the extendable claws. The male android and human snipped off two of the members which alerted the ones with claws. Once all the enemies were killed, the pots in the room were smashed to get at the items in them. Then came one more hall and another set of doors.
Before they could go in, Nicholas quickly told the others what the memo had stated about those from the nether being immune to the parasite. He then turned to Liru. "Listen… whatever is in there, I want you behind us. If anything happens to have you taken to-"
She rushed towards him, throwing her arms around her boyfriend. "Don't say things like that," the female told him. "Even if I do, I know you'll come get me. And I'm not the kind of girl to sit back and just wait."
The two looked the other in the eyes and he couldn't help but smile. "Just do so, okay?" His girlfriend nodded and the group went in.
They noticed that it was a thrown room. The group instantly spotted Ashley and the others captured, being held at spear point by two of Lalazar's guards that were wearing the dark blood red robes, and black robes. The third wasn't in here. "Ashley!" Leon called to her.
She looked up as did the others. "Leon!" she cried.
He, Nicholas, Napoleon, and the dogs went forward to help while the others were behind them, stepping on a center square in the middle of the room with a flower design. They then heard the cackle of the main enemy and saw the short male human on his thrown. "Mr. Rennedy and those from the nether," said Lalzar. "Don't any of you know when it's time to throw in the towel?"
The guy hit a button on the right arm rest of the thrown. The candles that were lit, suddenly had the flames move, like a breeze came in. Those on the square saw this and before they could move, the floor opened, revealing a long pit. The male human fell while Nicholas and Napoleon both grabbed Kratos and Venus as they fell as well. The spells on the two canines could only make them float, so the sudden added weight was too much. The three guys and canines fell. "NO!" Ashley and the others cried out. Suddenly the third guard came out and knocked those at the top still out quickly.
Nicholas and Napoleon's grip on Kratos and Venus got tighter. All three males threw out grappling hooks. These lines managed to hook onto something. Lalazar above was listening through an ear piece attached to a tube. "Hmmm, where's the satisfying sound of their impalement?" he asked.
Down in the shaft, Nicholas looked down and saw the spikes that were large right down below in some kind of different sewer. "That mother fucker…" he growled. Kratos and Venus were being still in his arm and Napoleon's.
Leon saw the receiving end above. "Don't fall for this old trick," he snarled and brought out his handgun. He shot at the receiving end which made a loud nose, causing the enemy on the thrown to jump and make a funny noise of surprise.
"How dare you!" he yelled and rose up, stomping his feet in a child like tantrum. "No more games! Kill them!" Those held at spear point looked up, hearing these words. "Kill!"
The two guards left to deal with the small group. The third guard in grey colored robes came up to awaken the others and push them forward with its spear. "Quickly! We shall prepare for the ritual!"
Singling the remaining guard, the being prodded the prisoners forward. "Leon…" Ashley whispered. "You and the guys are alive…" The rest from the nether were still a little weakened from the blows and couldn't respond. Their weapons ended up being taken away while some were put in special bindings so they couldn't use their power.
The small group down below made it to the ground below. "Shit that would kill," Napoleon said, touching one of the spikes. They could even see a couple dead bodies impaled on them along with others scattered around. Suddenly Leon's radio went off, showing the enemy was calling them.
"So maybe you have nine lives, but it doesn't matter now Mr. Rennedy and the remaining nether world members!" Lalazar stated. "I have the rest with me! And I've sent my right and left hands to dispose of you!"
"Your left and right hands come off?" the taller human asked.
"Hmph. Say whatever you please. DIE YOU WORMS!" The call was violently cut off.
The smell of decay and filth was very overpowering. There were even bats in here which also added to the smell with their waste. Kratos and Venus were in pain so Nicholas tied up a bit of his clothes to cover up their sensitive noises. He on the other hand had to breath in and out of his mouth. There was a ladder which everyone climbed up even if the dogs needed a little help. This took them to a water way and the smell wasn't as bad but still there. It was pretty much dark in here. For the male werewolf and vampire this was no problem. Leon's eyes quickly adjusted as did Kratos and Venus's eyes. The group quickly moved down the hallway, unaware that they were being followed by the two guards right away.
The small group made it to a door and through it, finding themselves in an old aqueduct that was part of the sewers of the structure. The smells was pretty much gone so Nicholas and the dogs could breath normally again. They went down the hallway only to find the path then split. "Let's just keep going down the straight one," Nicholas said.
They kept going, but stopped when they saw a tall tank against the left wall. "What is it?" Leon asked.
Napoleon looked and read the label. "Liquid Nitrogen," he said. "This might come in handy for something."
They then moved forward but then everyone could hear the sound of growling. "Watch your step…" Nicholas whispered. Suddenly the three males jumped back as two black colored tails came out at lighting speed to stab them. These thing then retreated.
"It must be what that bastard was talking about with sending his hands to dispose of us," Napoleon said. "It must be two of his personal guard."
The small group moved but had to crouch since the enemies tried to grab them. They then went through a door that led to a control room. They made their way to the back of it and had to dodge another attack from the enemy. Once that was done Leon noticed a power box, one that was for an elevator. He pulled it and made its power come back on. Suddenly the door they had come through became shut with sliding door. They then saw it would take about four minutes for the elevator to arrive. "Just four?" Nicholas commented. "That feels like an eternity when fighting off enemies like this."
They went back to the door and saw it had to be locked down for safety reasons. "Hope it's only temporary," Leon said and pressed a button to open the shutter. This didn't work.
Suddenly the enemy descended and revealed themselves to the group. Venus and Kratos let out growls while the males finally saw what the robes had been hiding. They were both black with clawed feet. The hands like seen with the cloaks had three clawed fingers. While not muscular something told the group these things were quite strong. The eyes were still glowing but the heads had no noses but mandible like mouths. "So that's what they really look like," the vampire in the group growled as Nicholas drew his katana. With a roar, the male werewolf transformed.
The one on the left lunged forward as did Nicholas. His sword made contact, but no visible damage appeared. "Damn it!" he growled. "It's too fast and that skin is resistant to damage!"
Leon managed to avoid the attack from the second one. He retreated and found another container of liquid nitrogen. The human knocked it over and the enemies got caught up in the chemical. Instantly their movements slowed as their body took on an icy appearance. They began to wither in pain. The three males attacked the two enemies with everything they had. Nicholas kept Kratos and Venus back just in case attacking these things might get them infected. However, this freezing effect didn't last long and with a shake of the muscles, the monsters were able to return to normal.
"Take the dogs and find more nitrogen!" Napoleon said to Leon. "Me and Nicholas we'll keep them busy!"
The canines and human tried to find more but there weren't any. "No good!" he said to the males from the nether.
"Shit; you've got to be kidding!" the werewolf stated after dodging a tail attack from his opponent.
Suddenly the shutter opened with a loud beep. The group quickly retreated back to find more nitrogen. Every time Leon would knock one over when the enemy was close enough so they could be damaged again. The whole battle took them throughout the aqueduct. But finally after the fourth time of freezing the monsters, they both took enough damage to die. Blood came out colored green and they feel to the ground. They then heard the sound of a buzzer. Going to it, they found the elevator had arrived. The small group made it to this and were soon headed down. But elsewhere on an island the main cult leader was discussing something with somebody in the shadows. "It seems that Lalazar is having difficulty taming the American and nether world pigs," said Ladder. "Lalazar had his chance! Now go get the girl! Oh… and dispose of these swines while you're at it."
"Consider it done," when a gruff male voice.