Unlikely Heroes
Chapter 37: Flashback and Fighting in the Marshes
Chris and Sheva got on one of the boats while those from the nether divided themselves up on the others. Before heading out, Cosmo took the time to upgrade everyone's weapons. Then they were off. They were making good time over the waters and could see a few ruined places that looked like old huts that had once been homing natives. Those from the nether in their boats were following Chris who was leading the way. But now it was time Sheva learned what happened to Jill. "What happened to your partner?" she asked Chris.
He paused for a moment then spoke. "Jill, myself, and the rest here you've met were pursuing a man named Albert Desker. He was a top official with Rindella, and the leader of our F.I.L.E.S. unit. I met him again after that city incident on an island. Since then we've been trying to track him down. Then a few years ago we got a tip from a reliable source. The whereabouts of Rindella's founder. Jill, I, and the rest here were ordered by the DSAA's European Headquarters to apprehend him. We accepted that mission in the hopes of uncovering some info that would lead us to Desker. So we paid him a visit hoping us he would lead us to Desker."
In Chris's mind the memories of that day came flooding in. He, Jill, and those from the nether had made it to the place. "Another mansion, typical," Cosmo stated.
The group made it to the front entrance. While the rest kept a lookout, Jill began to pick at the front door lock. "Chris to HQ, come in," the male human said into his communicator. "We're at the target's location."
"Copy that Chris," came the reply. "Move in and procure the target."
"Rodger that."
"What can you tell us about the area?" Jill asked.
"The satellite scan isn't showing anything out of the ordinary, but regardless, you should expect the unexcepted," came the reply.
"Understood," she stated.
A click was then heard and the female human rose up. "We're in," Jill stated. Chris reached for the door handle.
"Let's move," he said.
"We're right behind you," Nicholas commented and the group went in.
Right away they noticed the layout and design of this place was exactly the same as the last one they had been in so long ago. There was also blood on the floor and it still seemed fresh. "What the…" Napoleon said.
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Logan stated.
The group moved forward and it wasn't long before a body seemed to drop down from above as they went up some stairs after unlocking the way forward. "Where did this come from?" Liru whispered, shrinking next to Nicholas.
More dead bodies were found. "Eagle 5 to Nest, come in," Jill stated into her communicator using her code name.
"Go ahead Eagle 5," came the reply.
"We've encountered some corpses. Possibly bodyguards for the target. From what I can see, they've appeared to have been killed by unconventional means."
"Roger that. We knew this mission wouldn't be a cakewalk. Use extreme caution."
"Like we don't do so anyways after what we've encountered," Logan said after the call was ended.
"Damn straight," Cosmo commented.
The group eventually made it to a bedroom where they found a piece of paper with a password. There seemed to be two others after looking at this one. "Kinda takes you back, doesn't it?" Jill asked everyone as the group left the room.
"That city?" Chris replied. "Unfortunately ya. That's where all this started."
"Hard to believe that was just several years ago," Nicholas stated. "Even though we've gotten older at least we won't go before our time. I think we all want to be old someday."
"You're not the only one," the male human commented.
The group then found the next password in a different diary that told of how once things here had been great but now this place had gone to hell. Another diary entry was then found in a different room with a piano by the same one who had wrote the last one. It was a disturbing read due to how this person had assisted the target in his experiments and he handled it on an emotional level. Jill read the title on the music sheet and mentioned she had played it before. "Think you can still play it?" Chris asked
"You mean right now?" she replied. "I dunno, it's been awhile."
"Allow me," Napoleon said. "I think I can since I can play the piano."
The male vampire sat down at the bench in front of the instrument. It sounded beautiful and caused a wall to move out of the way. Chris retrieved an emblem from it as soon as Napoleon finished it. "Still go it," he stated.
"That was lovely," Pachira told him with a smile.
With this new object the group eventually found a piece of paper that was heat sensitive. Uma and Logan made some fire that showed this had the second and final password on it. Then it was to a computer in a room where the lock had to be picked. Jill took care of that and then it was to the computer where the passwords were entered, bringing up another entry. "Wait a minute…" Nicholas stated as he read it.
The information was taken off the computer as it not only had information that related to things that happened in the past, but a list of 13 names. Albert was on it. Then a door was opened so the group could continue on. Chris led the way and a gate slammed down, separating him from the others. Spikes appeared on the ceiling and started to slowly move down towards him. The others quickly found the level to get him out. "Thanks," he said. "Let's hope all the rooms aren't rigged like this."
A bit more exploring allowed them to find a crank. Using this at a certain section allowed the group to finally get to the basement. But there was something that stunk upon getting there. "Ugh, what's that smell?" Uma asked.
"Dunno," Chris replied. "But I hope we don't run into whatever is making it."
"And when have we ever been that lucky?" Jill stated with a smirk.
The group went ahead and saw there were in some kind of castle dungeon. "I guess the mansion was built over some ruins of a castle," Nicholas said.
"Kinda like what we went through in Spain, huh?" Liru commented.
The group went forward and eventually found their first enemy. A horribly mutated humanoid figure with clothes on the body and head that was hunched over with a few eyes visible that dragged a heavy blunt object in the shape of some kind of anchor. This was quickly killed. A few more of these things were encountered and dealt with. The group also found a key that allowed them to continue and the one half of a silver crest and a gold one that when merged together also opened up the way. But when they stepped beyond the gate that was opened, the ground began to give way. "Oh shit-!" Logan exclaimed before it fully did and everyone went falling down the hole with yells of surprise.
He and Uma used their magic to help create wind so everyone could land safely. But the bad news was that the group go separated. The place they landed at had water and was another section of the castle like dungeon. Chris contacted Jill and they said who was with them. "Try to find a way out of there and me and the rest will try to find a way to meet up with your group."
"Copy that, watch your back," she replied and the call was cut.
It turned out the group was able to be reunited very quickly. Then they had to deal with the four enemies in here that held different shards. There was one on each. These were inserted into a holder that opened up a gate so the group could reach a ladder. Going up it found them at the last area before the target. More dead bodies of guards were found here killed in the strange way like the others. The group slowly went up a small spiraling path. Their weapons were drawn. "This is it," Nicholas whispered.
"We work as a team for whatever's inside," Napoleon stated softly. The group arrived at the door they would need to enter.
"Wait here," Liru told Kratos and Venus who sat patiently. It was best just in case something was in there that the dogs couldn't handle.
The rest paused for a moment and then rammed the door open, guns out. They saw they were in some kind of study that had cases on either side with books. In front were three sections of windows as the front of the room that seemed to be part of some castle tower. There was a wheelchair and a dead body next to it. It was the target the group had been looking for and he was elderly in age, the last founder of Rindella. And to the group's shock there was another man here who turned to face them who was all too familiar. "It can't be…" Nicholas stated in shock softly.
The new human fully turned to face them, smirking as the lighting flashed, revealing his eyes that glowed red for a second under his shades. "DESKER!" Chris stated.
"Time to kill this guy," Napoleon snarled.
Everyone shot but the enemy moved, becoming a blur and then stopping. "What the hell?!" Logan stated and they all fired again. Desker did the same thing and went for Jill. She was just barely able to avoid his punch before kicking him in the face. While this didn't faze the opponent, it showed that Desker could be hit.
"He's venerable; let's get him!" Nicholas shouted.
Those from the nether began to use the ruins they had to increase their speed and strength. But Desker moved, interrupting them as it took some seconds to activate them. But it was all the enemy needed to stop them. "Damn it!" Cosmo said as he had to roll out of the way of the human's attack.
Jill then noticed something about Desker's attacks. When he reared his fists back to strike, there was a pause before and after. It was tiny. But just big enough to counterattack. When the enemy human went for her next, Jill not only dodged his blow but managed to land a solid kick to the face. While this didn't do any damage, it showed Desker wasn't invincible. Those from the nether noticed this but the males silenced their girls with a look not to say anything. They didn't want the enemy to realize they saw this and have him correct it. "Ignorant cretins!" Desker snarled after that attack from Jill.
Chris then got hit by Desker in the face and the former felt that. But then the enemy human had to back off since Nicholas went in. His katana came out since it was on his black like always and the human dodged each blow. Desker then caught the blade. Liru was waiting for that and managed to get him with a punch of her own. Their opponent back off and moved away. He then prepared for a different strike and went after Jill again. She not only dodged the blow but managed to get several hits on Desker with her kicks. "I can't lose!" he stated. "Not to you!"
"That's not like him to lose his cool," Liru whispered to Nicholas.
A few more rounds of this happened and then Desker retreated to where the dead body was. The enemy had taken some more hits. "Are you trying to make me angry?" he snarled.
Those in the group now fired but the human enemy dodged all the bullets. "Damn!" Nicholas stated.
"He's on guard now!" Cosmo said.
Desker went after Chris first and managed to knock that person to the ground. He then went after the others who were just able to dodge his moves before turning his attention to Jill. He managed to grab her by the throat and lift the female human up with one arm. Luckily Chris managed to recover in time before her neck could've been snapped. The male human threw some attacks but Desker dodged them with a smirk before catching one of the punches sent to him. Desker did managed to punch Chris in the face but then the rest came to Chris's defense by firing so the enemy had to move. The bullets all missed. Then Jill ran out of ammo and had to draw her combat knife as she came in. Desker quickly took care of her, sending the female human flying back into a bookcase. The rest from the nether tried to get an attack in but Desker handled them like they were nothing. The last blow to each of them really knocked the wind out of their bodies so all they could was kneel on the ground, trying to get their breathes back. Chris came back in again but Desker was too quick. With a shout, the enemy managed to slam the first male human onto a long table. Chris was dragged across it and thrown right in front of the windows. Jill managed to look up and saw Desker slowly approaching Chris. The enemy's left hand flexed and he grabbed the first human up with the other. The one being held couldn't break free. "No!" Jill exclaimed and ran forward.
"Jill!" Liru gasped seeing this.
"Can't… move…" Nicholas stated between gasps.
"Let's finish this," Desker stated.
Jill managed to tackle the enemy. He was forced to let go of Chris and both crashed through a window, falling down to the ground bellow. There was mist so nobody could see anything. "No…" Uma whispered.
Chris ran up to the broken window. "JILLLLLL!" he cried, one hand out as though to bring her back.
Back in the present Chris finished his story. "Jill's body was never found and she was presumed dead," he stated. "The person I saw in that data looked like her. I… have to know if she's still alive."
"That goes for us to," Nicholas said as those from the nether had sharper hearing and could hear Chris despite being on different vehicles.
"You and her were close," Sheva commented.
"We were partners." The male human then changed the subject. "What about you? Why'd you join the DSAA?"
"My parents were involved in an accident caused by a pharmaceutical company when I was young."
"Rindella?"
"Yes," Sheva answered. "I only found out later that the accident was to cover up the manufacturing of biological weapons for terrorists. They were using Africa as a test bed for their experiments. Bioweapons were responsible for the deaths of my parents. And someone has to pay for that!"
"So you joined the DSAA," Chris said.
"There's only so much that one person can do. Even a superhero like you Chris."
He scoffed in amusement. "I'm not superhero," he stated. "But together with the others here, we can end this."
"Then let's make a stand for our fallen brothers!"
"Well-spoken Sheva!" Nicholas commented.
"Hang on!" Chris then said to her and really punched the craft they were on forward.
The group soon arrived at a wooden platform and they hoped off. "At least it's day now," Uma stated and they saw this to be true. But it was grey for the clouds here in this area.
"What do we have here?" Nicholas asked. Looking showed the structures on this section of land in the swamp appeared to be made of wood from some native tribe in the area.
"Wait… Oh my god…" Liru whispered as she then spotted something in the middle of this place.
The group went over and found a dead body. "He's DSAA," Cosmo said, taking a look.
Next to his body was part of a slate that was picked up. The body had a PDA and on it with an unsent message. This stated that Delta Team had been mostly wiped out between the time they requested backup and the time they reached this area. Since one of their beacons was still transmitting an active signal, this guy and whatever team he'd been a part of had arrived to check for survivors. While en route, the beacon's transmission had ceased. Judging by the last transmission, the beacon should still be ahead just of the position now. There was a sealed door though so going ahead forward would be difficult. "I be that seal we found is part of unlocking it," Liru said as she kept a hold of the item found.
"Let's see if we can find the other pieces and maybe the beacon," Nicholas stated.
"Then let's move," Napoleon said.
The group went back to their crafts and went to where the gate was. There they found a map that had locations marked of for the other missing piece and there were three in total. "Shall we split up to find it?" Cosmo asked.
"It would go faster," Akio suggested, but looked nervous.
"That would be best this time," Chris stated. "Sheva and I will take the north."
The group then went their separate ways and the humans made it to the location they needed to go. They noticed this section was bigger with more buildings. But the two also noticed that not only nobody was here, there were some skulls displayed on some roughly made tables and displayed like the natives here were savages. But at the end of this piece of land in the swamp, the two found some buildings that were elevated and Chris helped Sheva get up to each one. The first one had a chest that had a silver idol in it that was taken. The second had the next part of the slate needed. But as soon as the female human grabbed it, shouting was heard. "Look out!" came Nicholas's voice on the communicator. "There are villagers coming in!"
"Same here!" Chris replied. "They're all infected!"
"It's time to put more out of their misery!" came Napoleon's voice on the device.
"How could someone do this to them?" Sheva asked sadly.
"I can think of one," Logan's voice came in on the communicators angrily.
"Here they come!" came Cosmo's voice on the devices.
Everyone began to fire at the natives. They noticed that some transformed, mutating horribly with the upper bodies transforming and splitting into some kind of flesh human flower that could open and close like petals. The weak point was an orb in the middle. These enemies were no problem and all were killed. The group managed to get the rest of the slates and met back up at the gate. Nicholas inserted each one and that unlocked it. With a nod, they all went past it. They saw here they were deeper in the marsh and not as in an wide open area. "Careful, they're might be enemies here," Napoleon said.
"I'd do that if it were me," Cosmo commented.
The group went forward and soon found themselves at what appeared to be the main village for the infected locals. "Another village," Uma stated.
"We seem to have done this quiet a bit already," Cosmo said.
"Well some of us at least," Logan commented.
"No helping it, let's go," Nicholas stated.
The group went forward, where they found a new gun on a dead body, more enemies to take out, and a few treasures. Then Chris went ahead to make a bridge that was split in two rise up so everyone could go on. But then in the next building the group found a diary. "This is too much like what we found in Spain," Liru said, remembering how they found one there to.
"Well let's read it and maybe get some answers," her boyfriend commented.
It was from a village youth. It started by saying some foreman from an oil plant came to visit the village, wanting to inoculate the villagers against some kind of disease. It then went on to say how during his parent's time their land had been stolen so perhaps this was a way to make up for that. A gondola had been built to help the villagers cross the swamp. But while the foreman meant well with the medicine and even alcohol from foreign countries, the youth who had been writing this didn't want the stuff because he didn't like the look of the person. The entry went on to say they villagers went to go get the injections. That's when things began to take a turn for the worse. First the youth said he couldn't sleep at night but then the children came down with a fever. These children then ended up dying so everyone went back to get vaccinated again. This time the youth was forced to get it. Then the men started fighting, the women sat around doing nothing and the youth wondered if it was because of something else. Then things got worse. The youth stated he couldn't sit still and felt something move inside of him. Also one of the men had a weapon and war paint on. But when the youth talked to him, the man didn't look human. Then other men joined in this and the women died. Then the entries became shorter and more basic with the youth saying his head hurt and he had a fever while feeling angry. It then ended with the saying the streams had stop and it felt good. The final entry stated the youth wanted to kill.
"Oh my god…" Liru whispered after the entries had been read, grabbing Nicholas's arm.
"This is even worse than what we read in Spain," he agreed. "It seems obvious Dirving came here and infected these villagers." He grabbed the diary to hold onto.
"Let's see now if we can find this gondola," Logan said.
A treasure in a chest was then found, some kind of golden mask. But then everyone found the gondola. "Well need to take turns, there's only one ride," Uma commented.
"Before we do, let me take this time to upgrade our weapons," Cosmo stated. Everyone gathered around to do so.
When the job was finished, Logan looked at the thing that would take the group to the next area. "I'll go first; who's with me?" he asked. They were divided up and rode the thing to the next area in turns. Soon they had all arrived on the other side.
They had made it to another village like section. It had also started to rain. Chris led the way forward carefully in the covered building the gondola had stopped at. They could see more infected villagers at some kind of platform above the water. They were watching a hanging body above it who was DSAA. Suddenly a crocodile came up from the water, grabbed it and pulled it down. The villagers who were infected let out shouts of approval, the savage kind. "My god…" Logan whispered.
"Horrible," Uma said softly with a shudder.
"Now we have to deal with a reptile, great…" Nicholas grumbled.
"Get into position," Chris ordered. "Some of us need to take out the enemies from here."
"Allow me," Cosmo said. A couple of others volunteered to.
The group waited a few seconds. "Do it," the male human stated.
The guns were then fired, taking out all the enemies. When the dead bodies melted away, the group moved. During this fight, one of them had hit a button on the other side of the crocodile feeding area that caused a small path forward to rise up like a bridge. The group knew they would have to get to it in order to continue. They made their way to a crank that worked a raft that would help them reach it. "I'll go," Chris stated, spotting the raft.
"Be careful on that thing," Nicholas said. "We could shot the crocodile but we might hit you."
"Good luck," Liru whispered, glad she wasn't the one doing this.
Chris found the raft and Sheva operated the crank. The male human was able to dodge the attacks from the crocodile though it got scary to watch at points. The human made it to the button and lowered the path so the group could forward by hitting it. The group went through a small tunnel and on the other side found some kind of camp site. The tents found here had a name on them. "Dricell?" Chris asked when seeing it. "They helped fund the DSAA… what the hell are they doing here?"
"Let's see what we can find," Cosmo commented.
There was nothing here though so the group continued. And in just a bit they reached their destination. "This is it," Logan said.
"Looks like we've arrived at the oil fields," Sheva stated.
The group saw the wall surrounding the area. There was a large pipe from where they were that went to it. They could see the different sections that helped run the place, the smoke, and fire burning as well. "Yeah," Chris agreed. "And Dirving's not getting away this time."
The group made their way inside and saw there were enemies here. There were also valves with wheels to turn spread around the area and huge tanks. They took a quick scan. "Look!" Sheva stated. "There's Dirving!"
They saw the male human walking up some stairs. "Let's go in and get 'em," Liru said.
"Time to move," Cosmo commented, getting his sniper riffle ready.
The group then went in with hell breaking loose. During this fight, some of the wheels for the valves were turned to get the fire that was blocking the way forward off. There was also another that had to be turned which could only be reached by a zip line. Chris went forward to take care of it but as soon as the human male reached it, another enemy appeared. But it was the chain saw wielding kind. "Not another!" Akio exclaimed.
"Here we go again," Napoleon growled.
"That's the last thing we need!" Sheva stated.
It didn't take as long to kill this enemy unlike the last time. The new wheel was turned which made some of the fire on the path needed to go forward to shut off. Then the final valve was found but another chainsaw wielding enemy had to be killed. But when that one was, Chris got the way clear by turning off the rest of the fire. The group went forward and found a door that took them inside. Everyone was on guard as they slowly looked around to make sure no enemies were here. It was too quiet and the group was on edge. Just then the sound of something else made them all whirl around. It was Josh. Everyone after a few seconds realized who they were looking at and lowered their guns. "Josh?" Sheva asked with uncertainty.
"Sheva?" he replied in the same tone. People let out a breath.
"Shit, that scared me," Napoleon said.
"You're alive!" the female human stated with relief. "Are you ok? Wha- How did you get here?"
"We were at the port when we were attacked, and then… well… I ended up here," Josh said. "Where's the rest of the team?" Everyone else got a sad look and thanks to that he didn't need an answer since the guy figured it out. "Shit!"
"It's just us now," the female human told him.
"Why did you not retreat? I mean, we're no match for them!"
"I've got unfinished business," Chris told him.
"The hard drive containing data on the B.O.W. experiment had a picture inside," Sheva explained. "The picture was of Chris and the other's friend."
"A friend?" Josh asked.
"I'm not leaving until I catch Dirving and find out what the hell's going on here," Chris stated.
"That goes for all of us," Cosmo agreed, meaning the ones from the nether.
Just then Kratos and Venus let out growls. Then they all heard the sound of someone running behind them. Everyone whipped around on the spot, guns at the ready. A metal door suddenly slid down, blocking the way out. "Let's save the chit-chat for later," Josh stated.
Suddenly one of the hostile Ajini appeared. The male let out a shout and ran forward but was shot down. "Looks like we've got company again!" Liru exclaimed.
More began to show up. "Sheva, cover me!" Josh ordered.
"Hurry!" Chris ordered to him since the human went to a system and began typing on the keyboard there to override the elevator in the room. Cosmo went over to help.
"Cover us while we disable the elevator's lock," Josh ordered the others.
"Leave it to us!" Napoleon replied.
Despite the small space, the group were able to protect Josh and Cosmo. It didn't take the two long to get the door to the elevator open. "Got it!" the human working at the panel stated. "You guys, get on the elevator! Move!"
They had to board in parties to get to the level above. "Move! Move!" Josh ordered.
"No need to tell me twice!" Uma said.
The group went forward only to find more enemies. "Blood hell!" Josh exclaimed. "These bastards don't quiet!"
The group fought their way through these new enemies until they got to the exit but found it locked. "Damn it!" Cosmo stated. "Is everything on lockdown?!"
The male android and Josh got to work on getting it open by using the control panel next to it. "This is gonna be a pain in the ass, but we'll see what we can do," Josh told the others. The rest of the group helped by keeping the enemies off of those two.
The human and Cosmo got it and the group went through the door. Logan made sure to seal it shut with magic so the enemy couldn't follow them. They were all breathing hard. "Are you ok?" Josh then asked.
"Yeah, I think so," Chris replied.
"I'm ok," Sheva stated and those from the nether were to.
"It looks like Dirving is trying to blow up the place and make his escape," Josh said. "You must stop him before it's too late. I'll try to find us a way out of here."
"Alright," Chris stated. "We'll go after Dirving."
"Good! Ok, now there's a dock up ahead. That is probably where he is going to make his break."
"Copy that," Sheva replied. The second male human began to leave. "And Josh!" He stopped and turned to look back at her. "Be careful."
He nodded in response and went through a different door. "Let's hurry," Chris stated.
"Time to get him," Nicholas growled.
The group went down some stairs and found themselves on the outside again. They then went through a gate and saw they were by water again. "That's Dirving's boat!" Sheva stated, seeing it. "Let's go!"
The group ran up to the docks where the boat was parked and saw the enemy. "There he is!" Liru exclaimed. They saw Dirving on the back of the boat which was a yacht.
They then noticed the cloaked figure from before jump down to a motor boat here. "Wait, isn't that…?" Sheva asked. The person in the smaller vehicle drove off.
The person drove of and Dirving noticed the group. "Splendid timing!" he told them. "Youse guys are just in time for the fireworks show! BOOM!" The guy let out a laugh as his yacht began to pull away.
"Wait!" Chris exclaimed. But it was too late. He just stated his next sentience. "I hate that guy."
Just then Nicholas smelled something coming in and it wasn't good. "Shit," the male werewolf growled, whirling around from where the group had come from.
Everyone else turned and drew their weapons. A whole group of Ajini were heading their way. Just then Josh's voice was heard on their communicators. "Sheva!" he stated. "Do you read me? I secured some boats! I'm on the other side of the dock! Get here on the double!"
The group ran towards where Josh was, taking out the enemies that stood in their way. Just then one of the tanks at this place exploded. "That man…" Cosmo stated, meaning Dirving.
"He really is trying to blow us to hell!" Napoleon snarled.
The group made it and got on the crafts. "We must go!" Josh told them.
He, Cosmo, and Nicholas piloted one and they pulled away just in time. They saw the whole place blow up, leaving nothing behind and burning wreckage. "Amazing…" Uma simply said.
"Here, let me take this time upgrade out stuff before we go," Cosmo stated. "It won't take long." This was done and then the boats were off.
By this point the sky had taken on a dark grey colored tone, like rain was coming to this area. "What happened to Dirving?" Josh asked Chris and Sheva who was in his boat. The two didn't answer and it was all the second male human needed to hear. "Ahh. Well he can't have gone that far."
"Josh…" Sheva said softly.
"Thanks," Chris stated.
Just then a flaming arrow came out of nowhere, missing Josh who jumped in surprise. "What the-?!" Nicholas stated and looked up.
"Aw shit; god damn it," Napoleon snarled.
"You gotta be kidding me," Cosmo grumbled.
There were other boats with enemy Ajini heading towards them. "Thank me later!" Josh told Chris and Sheva. "We've got company!"
The boats with the humans and those from the nether began to head off with the infected enemies heading right after them. "I'm on it!" Chris stated.
"We got you covered!" Sheva exclaimed.
Another chase had begun. "Here we go!" Josh stated. "Hang on tight!"
"And don't hold back!" Liru added.
"Time to fight," Logan said.
The group on the boats were able to take out the enemies following them. But then up ahead they saw some kind of gateway. As they got closed sections of the water exploded from things fired from this. More Ajini could be seen at this gate. Even though there was a section that was open, the enemy had to be taken care of. There were barrels here and these were shot at. The things exploded which took care of the problem. Then came some other sections that were part of the Oil Refinery building to carry the stuff to it. The ones driving the boats then spotted a section that was closed by a gate with enemies. The ones shooting did to. "Damn it!" Josh stated. "The gate's closed! See what you can do to get it open!"
"Leave it to us!" Nicholas told him.
"Shouldn't take long," Napoleon commented.
The enemies here were killed off and then Chris went to a lever and pulled it down. This caused the gate that was blocking the way to rise up. Now the group was able to move forward once everyone returned to the boats. "Alright, let's go!" Josh stated.
The boats went forward and the group had to fight against the enemies and even duck under a couple of pipes in their way. They then came across a second gate but a much larger one. The ones clearing the way made sure to pick up everything useful as there were quite a few including a new type of gun. The levers here had to also be pulled down at the same time to get the gate open. But that was okay as it wasn't too hard once the infected humans and other small monsters were all killed. "Is that it?" Liru asked as the group returned to their boats.
"I think so," Uma replied.
They made it. "Okay!" Josh stated. "Now let's go get this Dirving!"
"Time to make him pay," Nicholas growled.
"And get some answers to," Napoleon added.
The boats made it out to a more open area. The clouds by this point had really become dark. Then the group noticed lighting flash across them. It began to rain. "Typical," Logan grumbled.
Just then from behind some trees that grew in the water here, the boat Dirving had appeared. "Oh shit!" Josh exclaimed, turning the boat he was driving to the side.
"Look out!" Akio stated and the vehicle Chris and Sheva were on got rammed into but luckily that was it.
The enemy boat then pulled ahead slightly and the group saw the two enemy Ajini on the mounted machine guns. They began to fire. "Damn it!" Chris stated as the humans took cover. "They're gonna sink us!"
"We've got to do something!" Josh exclaimed.
"We gotta get aboard that ship!"
"Hold on; we'll take care of this!" Nicholas told the humans. The ones driving the boats for those from the nether which were Cosmo and Logan got into position so the rest could first at the Ajini firing.
The enemies were shot down. "Got 'em!" Liru stated.
"Now… there's just one left…" Akio whispered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
On the boat that was somehow still moving, Dirving was behind a corner just watching everything. He knew that this time there was no way out and thought back to when the masked figure had confronted him about the group. "What are you going to do about them?" they demanded, holding him up by the neck against one of the walls at the building where the oil had been taken to. The voice was actually female.
"You're just one of Alexis's playthings!" he had replied. "It was your master who was-"
The masked figure's grip on his throat had gotten tighter and hosted him up higher. "One more time!" they stated. "What are you going to do about them?"
Dirving had struggled but hadn't been able to get free. There had been no other choice. "Alright!" he whined. "Alright! I'll handle it!"
The male human was let go and he let out some coughs, massaging his throat. "Use it," the masked female stated, holding out an object to him.
"This…?" he had asked, seeing it. It was some kind of syringe.
In the present the group had made it onto the boat and saw Dirving walk out to confront them. "Won't you guys just die already?!" he stated. "You're making me look bad! Who do you think got this entire operation off the ground? Research like this doesn't fund itself, you know. Yet everyone looks down on me." The guy stopped walking and pulled out the syringe from one of the pockets on his outfit and looked at it. "But not anymore."
"Don't do it!" Sheva stated as everyone drew their guns. It was too late, the enemy chuckled and used the syringe by placing it on his neck and pulling the plunger. His laughter then changed to loud groans as whatever it was inside entered his body and began to affect him. The human dropped the syringe and grabbed his neck. The guy went to all fours in pain. His body began to shake and the back began to bubbly like something was coming. Those in the group looked to the other in shock and horror. They had a feeling whatever it was, they weren't going to like it. Suddenly a tentacle of some kind erupted from Dirving's back who arched up with a yell of pain. More burst out causing the group to turn their attention back to him. The guy was hosted up in the air by these, his body now violently shaking as these tentacles kept growing.
"I'm far beyond anything you could ever hope to become!" he stated before laughing with madness. The tentacles then lunged forward, trying to grab the group. They all dodged these and fired at the mutating human. Dirving moved and dove into the water.
Everyone ran up to the edge of the boat on the side where he had gone. "Now what?" Liru asked nervously.
Suddenly something massive rammed into the boat making the group loose balance. They turned around in the direction it had happened and saw to their shock a gigantic tentacle, the same color as what had erupted from Dirving rise up out of the water. The thick limb descended down and everyone moved out of the way to avoid the slam. They all looked up to seem more tentacles emerge and slither on the deck before retreating and the main body surfaced high above the group. The head had no eyes but from the way this thing behaved, the body was some kind of twisted fish like one. The mouth opened in three sections which had some sharp teeth with a roar. "Shit," Chris stated.
The group saw were the tongue was Dirving himself. The human's clothes were gone, and he was part of the tongue. This thing throbbed in a gross way. "I just had an extreme make-over!" he exclaimed and let out a mad laugh. Chris fired at the guy but the main body let out a smaller roar before moving and jumping over the yacht. It landed in the water which caused the boat to rock a little.
"Here we go," Nicholas growled.
"Guys!" came Josh's voice on the communicator. "Status report! What the hell is that thing?!"
"Just get out of here Josh!" Chris exclaimed into his. "It's too dangerous!"
"We'll try to stop it," Sheva said.
"Understood," came Josh's reply. "Just try not to get yourselves killed!"
The group then saw the mutated enemy surface and swim by the side of the boat that was still somehow moving. It must have been on some kind of auto pilot. They also noticed besides the machine guns on here there were two more with one on either side. Then then noticed four tentacles emerge after the main body went underwater. Each ended with six black spikes that moved and almost looked like fingers. Each of these had a section that was a different color. "Aim for those!" Cosmo stated as he right arm transformed into a gun to fit this situation.
Chris and Sheva each went to one of the guns on the boat and all three of them fired at what had to be the weak spots for the tentacles. When they had all been taken care of, the main body emerged. "Something that undergoes such a rapid transformation must have a weakness," Sheva stated.
The group then spotted near the top of the mouth a throbbing bulge. "Aim for that!" Napoleon exclaimed.
They did and they could tell the enemy was taking damage. The huge body rammed into the boat to stop the group from firing and it worked as they were knocked off their feet. The thing then submerged underwater. It then surfaced behind them before diving again. Then one of the huge tentacles came out and tried get those fighting against it by sneaking out onto the deck. But they were too quick and avoid that. The thing came back out again and this time it was hit with gun fire to make the limb back off. The main body surfaced again. After the throbbing area took a few hits, the enemy went back underwater. "Tch!" Logan stated. He knew that using lighting right now was a bad idea with all the water and rain. It might backfire and hit the group as well.
The limbs with black sharp like fingers then emerged again. "Didn't we already did with these?!" Pachira asked.
"They must be able to regenerate!" Liru exclaimed.
"Take them out like last time!" Nicholas stated.
They were and then Sheva managed to hit the spot near the mouth and the creature really let out a roar. "I think that's doing it!" Akio said.
The main body then moved and the mouth came over to try to bite at some of the group. It was that large but they were far out of reach. This pattern of the body surfacing and dodging continued a bit more. Then at last things changed up. Two tentacles grabbed the back of the boat and the head emerged with Dirving's remaining human body emerging. He let out a mad laugh. "There's the little weasel!" Sheva shouted.
"I'm done playing with you!" the enemy stated.
"Let's get this son of a bitch!" Nicholas growled.
Now that the real weak point was exposed, everyone targeted the mutated human. After some hits, the head went underwater before emerging again to try and bite at the group. They were all able to dodge the blow. Then the pattern of hitting Dirving and dodging his attacks happened until finally after a number of hits, the enemy was finally beaten. The mutated human let out some painful shouts. "This can't be!" he exclaimed.
The mouth of the main body bit the tongue off and the thing landed on the deck of the boat as the rest of the mutated monster sank below the surface. The guy was groaning in pain, the part that was still human looking moving while the mutated part throbbed. The group went up to him with their weapons at the ready. "Tell us what you're planning to do!" Chris ordered.
"Damn Alexis!" Dirving groaned. "I guess I wasn't worth the good stuff!"
The new name caught the group by surprise. "Alexis?" Sheva asked in a tone to match.
Chris went up to the mutated human and pulled out his PDA with the picture of Jill on it. "Where is this facility?!" he demanded. "Answer me! What is the Drodros project?!"
"The DSAA… wow youse guys are just on top of everything, aren't you?" Dirving replied seeing that pic. "The balance of the world is changing and you're completely oblivious to it!"
"What's changing?" Sheva stated. "What are you talking about?! Is it the Drodros Project?! Is that it?!"
"No one can stop it," the mutated human groaned. "Drodros is about to change everything we've come to known…" The guy then let out some moans and the mass moved like he was about to mutate again.
"Chris!" Nicholas warned the male human who took a step back.
"Chris?" the mutated human stated as though he got something. "So you're Chris." He let out a mad laugh.
"What's so funny?!" the said guy demanded. "How do you know about me?!"
"All your answers await ahead, Chris… in that cave." Dirving looked in the direction to where it was. "If you can survive long enough to get them!" He let out another mad laugh. "Dying's not so bad. But it's not gonna change anything! You're still screwed!"
He let out some more of that crazy laugh. "We're wasting time here," Napoleon snarled and drew his gun.
"Wait," Pachira told her boyfriend and placed one hand on his wrists to stop him. They saw the mutated human and the mass bubble like it was melting away like all the other common enemies but this time Dirving didn't. Instead he just died right there.
"Poor bastard…" Chris simply said.
"Now what?" Sheva asked.
"We keep going," he stated. The rest in the group nodded as now it was time to maybe get those answers like Dirving had told them.