A Ghost in the Mist Chapter 1:
Los Angeles すばらしい新世界(Brave New World)
(A/N: Thank you everyone who reviewed this story. I sure hope that you guys are enjoying it so far. As you all know this story is a crossover between Call of Duty Ghosts and Axis Powers Hetalia with some Resident Evil and CLAMP characters/influence. You'll definitely start to see some tell-tale elements from Resident Evil coming up in the next couple of chapters and maybe a couple of surprises in terms of characters so look forward to it! ^^)
"Dad taught us many things, but one lesson always stood out. Good men are defined by the choices they make." – Hesh Walker
Things were never the same as Logan remembered them. The attack by ODIN left a deep scar on the land that was once called San Diego. The once bustling streets teeming with surfers and tourists were now deserted, fractured, and the city itself was one big crater. Logan and his brother Hesh had made up their minds, long before the ODIN attack, that they would follow in their parent's footsteps. They signed up in the army as soon as they graduated high school. Their father, Elias, had been preparing them since they were kids to be soldiers, whether or not they would have chosen that path. After ODIN, Hesh and Logan knew that they were fated to be soldiers, fated to fight, and they knew that the road wouldn't be easy. They were hell bent on revenge for one, for all the innocent lives lost, the destruction of their city, their country, and mostly their lives as they knew it. They had a lot of close calls, Hesh and Logan had the scars to prove it. The Federation had the upper hand from the start; they were already on America's doorstep just as ODIN was ushering chaos and disaster. The last resort the United States had decided upon was constructing a "Wall" over five stories tall that spanned the border. Needless to say that a lot of men had died fending off the Federation during the "Wall's" construction.
-A Ghost in the Mist-
-Los Angeles, California-
It's been 10 years since the ODIN incident. Logan and Hesh had been assigned to guard duty on a flank on the wall. Lately Federation attacks have escalated all along the wall. They fought two squads last night who had breached the wall with minimal difficulty, but they were only fending off the enemy not fighting the enemy. Hesh and Logan were both craving to actually do some real damage, turn the tide of the battle. Little did they know they'd get their chance soon.
Hesh was beyond exhausted of the near sleepless night they had endured. But he sensed Logan was ready to collapse out of sheer exhaustion so he suggested they take a quick break. Logan was beyond grateful and was asleep in a matter of seconds. They were assigned to scout an abandoned building near the wall that had been rumored to be a safe house for the Feds that made it past the wall. Riley, their faithful dog and friend, didn't necessarily think a break was a good idea, he was still full of energy and raring to tear something apart missing his usual toy. Hesh chuckled when Riley tried to wake up a sleeping Logan to try to play catch with him.
"Here boy, he's not gonna be up for a while. Here, fetch!" Hesh took a ball out of his front pocket and threw it down the hall. Riley dashed down the hall and in a matter of seconds returned to Hesh ball in hand, more like in slobbery jaw. Hesh took the ball from Riley and begun throwing it along the wall to try to get Riley to follow the ball, much like a cat trying to follow a laser. Hesh and Logan meet Riley five years into their military career. They were best buds from the start, an instantaneous friendship. Hesh thought they had been war buddies in some past life, Logan only hummed in agreement.
They had settled into a rhythm of Riley trying to snatch the ball out of the air as Hesh changed the direction and trajectory of the throw, when his comm link began beeping. Hesh relented in letting Riley have the ball, which Riley responded with a satisfied bark, while he turned on his comm link.
"Viking Six, you there? Hesh? Logan?" asked the soldier on the line.
"Copy, yeah, we're here. Go ahead." answered Hesh eyeing Logan and Riley briefly.
"Reports are coming in. Dallas got overrun last night. Command wants another sweep of the wall ASAP."
"Ah, shit. Any survivors?" asked Hesh.
"Negative." was all that was said before the transmission cut off. Hesh balled his fingers in a fist, his knuckles turning white. It was always the same, no matter how much they had fought it seemed like the death toll kept rising because of some screw up or weakness they hadn't thought of. Hesh steadied his breathing as he heard Logan begin to stir.
Logan blinked himself into consciousness, the blurry world slowly coming into focus. They were still sitting in the same hallway, still in that abandoned building they were ordered to investigate. The sound of a ball whizzing by and bouncing on the wall next to him along with Riley's excited pants drew his attention to Hesh.
"Sorry I didn't wake you. Thought you could use the sleep." said Hesh. If Logan could talk he'd apologize to Hesh for falling asleep during the middle of a mission. All he could do was smile sheepishly at Hesh as he rubbed the back of head. There was a muffled crash in the distance that caused Riley's ears to perk up and in alert stance. Hesh was immediately by Riley, a steady hand on patting his dog's side.
"Quiet, boy. Listen. I think Riley's got something. Grab your gear, let's move." Logan and Hesh both readied their Honey Badger assault rifles, Hesh gave Riley a supportive pat before Riley ran toward the direction of the sound. Hesh turned on his comm link to call their support.
"Team Two are you near our position?"
"Negative. We're outside. You boys got something?" asked the soldier on the line.
"Riley does. We're checkin' it out now." said Hesh.
"Roger. We'll secure the exit. Two-one out." the transmission ends with a beep.
Hesh and Logan follow Riley to a collapsed room and what looks like a tarp painting covering the door way. Logan concluded that this building must've been some sort of art museum before ODIN, pieces of burned paintings and broken frames lying scattered about seemed to only prove that point. Hesh took out his tactical knife and cut an opening in the tarp.
"Through here." Hesh guides Riley and Logan follows them into larger room, a collapsed auditorium. The seats were all disheveled and tattered and the collapsed rubble seemed to form ramps that lead to multiple levels of the room. Hesh took a quick scan, taking in their surrounding environment. 'Observation is key to being a good soldier.' their father always taught them.
"Cover me. Riley." Hesh quietly orders and goes on ahead with Riley. Ever since they were kids Hesh has always been the one to take the lead in their play and in their exercises with their dad, playing the big brother role, even now was no exception.
"It's clear, come on up." Logan quickly catches up, and soon the trio encounters some a rustling sound coming from the double doors ahead.
"That's close, take the door to the right." Logan got into position and waited for his brother's signal. Hesh gives a small nod and Logan busts the door gun at the ready. Logan was expecting a small battalion of Federation troops with guns pointed at his direction, instead what he got were two frightened deer. The pair of deer leapt erratically, alerted by Logan's unwelcomed intrusion into what was an otherwise peaceful moment and quickly vanished from sight. Riley barged into the door barking at the deer, if he didn't have Logan and Hesh with him he probably would've chased them down. Hesh gave a small chuckle and patted Riley right behind his head.
"Guess Riley was getting hungry. You don't want anything out here, boy. Let's head back and get you some real food." said Hesh. Logan was surprised and glad that despite the chaos of the war at least life at least continued on. Even the deer seemed to find peace in the battle worn ruin around them.
"Six-one, sitrep?" asked the soldier on the other line.
"Just some local wildlife. We're good." Hesh responded as he watched Riley running up ahead.
"Check. We're moving up to RP 'Silver', copy?" asked the soldier.
"Yeah, we'll join you. Meet us at the wall. We're on our way out." said Hesh.
"Rog'" said the soldier before ending the transmission. Hesh looked around briefly seeing not too far behind him kept a steady pace with Riley in toe.
The beat up shops and dilapidated buildings seem to open up a path toward the one thing the US had invested all hope to protect its cities and borders: the "Wall".
"There she is. Lookin' like hell but still standing." said Hesh gesturing to the wall. Each of the battered, eroded slabs of concrete that made up the wall are a testament to the bloody stalemate that the US and Federation had been fighting. Neither side was making any ground, and each sharing their fair share of losses. In a fair fight, the war would have ended years ago in a draw. But neither side was fighting fair, each coming up with one grandiose tactic after another. Out of the corner of his vision Logan spots the soldier waiting for them at the rendezvous point.
"Yo." Hesh greets him with a wave.
"Seargent." the soldier acknowledges back with a nod.
"Your area secure?" asked Hesh.
"Just about. Need to sweep this side of the wall and we're good." replied the soldier.
"We'll take this side," Hesh said gesturing to Logan and Riley, "should go quick. Regroup at the gas station."
"You got it." said the soldier with a curt nod and he went on his way.
Hesh and Logan walked down the fragmented roads of what was once downtown Los Angeles. The broken Hollywood sign was only one of the reminders of how alive the city used to be. Logan could imagine the streets filled with people, like he and Hesh used to watch on TV when they were younger, gathering for some sort of glam A-list party; the rich and famous showing off their latest toys and accessories, reporters and the paparazzi ogling over who wore who and scattering all the latest gossip to the air waves. ODIN changed all of that of course. Survival became everyone's number one top priority, since the Federation could strike anytime and anywhere. A small tremor shook Logan from his musings back to reality. He heard Riley's whines and knelt down to help Hesh calm him down.
"Hey boy it's alright, shhh that's a good boy." whispered Hesh.
Logan brought his hand up to scratch at Riley's favorite spot, just behind his ears. That had an instantly calming effect on Riley and within seconds he was wagging his tail and his head was held high sniffing out for Federation soldiers. Almost instantly, Riley's ears perked up, he was focused onto a rundown building to their left. His bark got Logan's and Hesh's attention.
"Hey Riley, come on, search." Hesh quietly orders.
Riley gives a bark and slowly and stealthily crawls ahead. Hesh sees him turn a corner before he and Logan cautiously move through the rubble. Radio static came up in Hesh's communication, causing him to lean into his radio. He could make out some words in Spanish; "prisoner" and "weakness" alerted him to possible fed soldiers and captured civvies. He raises a hand to Logan, signaling him to wait.
"You hear that? Someone's out there. Wait for Riley, if he attacks a target shoot to kill." whispered Hesh. Logan nodded and the brothers split, one going to the left the other to the right. A soldier comes into view, he was clad in a uniform that Logan knew screamed Federation. One of the essential rules that Logan's dad had always preached was patience on the battlefield. It could mean the difference between success or failure, victory or defeat, life or death. He had a lot of experience and the scars to prove that advice is sound. He spots Riley out of the corner of his eye, and in an instant jumps the soldier catching him by surprise. He yells in pain and tries to get Riley off just as his comrades spot Logan and Hesh and open fire.
"Drop these guys! Riley, go!" Hesh yells as he fires his Honey badger. Just as the words were coming out of Hesh's mouth Logan was already firing his honey badger, dropping two soldiers in the process. The fight was no contest, Hesh, Logan, and Riley cleaned up the small team in little less than five minutes. The three of them were an excellent team, one of the best in the unit and were usually called on for the toughest missions.
"Riley, stay. Fed recon again. That's five this month, already." Hesh said.
Hesh and Logan both reloaded their honey badgers, Hesh raised his hand to his ear piece to alert their team mates.
"Two-one, we just engaged another Federation recon team. Meet us at 'Overwatch', we need to regroup now."
"Check, we're on our way." The soldier said.
They were just outside of what looked to be a restaurant, the area where they had their skirmish used to be a patio of some sort. Hesh didn't waste much time taking the details in he was already moving forward, Logan didn't take much time either soon behind his big brother. They made their way into a ruined building that opened into the patio. Hesh made sure Logan and Riley we're good before kicking down a wall that was in their way. Logan only gawked at his brother's strength but he wasn't surprised. Hesh whistled to get Riley's attention. The sight that soon came into view was one of their worst fears. A bunch of Fed soldiers were holding three civilians captive.
"Leave him alone!" one of the civilians yelled trying to get one of the soldiers to focus their attention on him. It worked, only that they ended up shooting them in the head execution style.
"Come on! They're executing civvies! Move in, move in! Riley, go!" yelled Hesh.
Logan took out his honey badger and was in a sprint toward the gas station taking out targets to his left. Riley ran out in front jumping a soldier that Logan didn't see. Hesh wasn't too far behind, taking out a couple of soldiers himself. The fight made its way into the gas station. Logan reloaded his honey badger and took out a couple of soldiers near the gas pumps. The gas station had but all but abandoned, gasoline hadn't flowed here in years, so he wasn't worried if shot a couple pumps. Logan dodged out of the way as his brother fired his honey badger taking out some soldiers in their front. Each of them knew what the other was thinking, and each of them had a plan to help the other in a moments notice. Their back up took care of the ones in the left and on the sides. Once again, the team cleaned up in record time.
"This way. Riley, come!" called Hesh.
Riley was instantly by Hesh's side panting and receiving a well-earned pat from Hesh. Logan was reloading his gun when he heard a transmission over the comm line, he squinted in focus trying to make out the message over the static.
"All available units, we have a Federation contact at the wall! We need back up, now! Repeat, we are under attack!" yelled the soldier in desperation.
"We've got you lima charlie! Pop smoke, we're headed to you!" Hesh yelled back, trying to calm the soldier a little bit. No one on their team may have noticed, but Logan could hear a future leader inside Hesh, he'd make a great commander if the war continued. He had the determination and calm to see a situation through and always took care of the guys under his command, although he could be a little dense when it came to reading people.
"Roger that! Popping green smoke in our position!" said the soldier.
In the distance Logan could make out a plume of green smoke that signaled where their comrades were. He and the rest of the team took off in a sprint racing away from the gas station toward the plume of green. Logan could feel the sting of the sun as he ran down the street, the pipe offering little shade and comfort from the heat. He heard gun fire as they emerged from the pipe. Hesh once again springing forward from the two to engage the enemy head on, Logan not too far behind him and he too was taking aim at some of the soldiers hiding behind some of the cars, shooting a couple of them while dodging some of the bullets that flew his way. Logan noticed movement on the bridge and saw some Fed soldiers equipped with sniper rifles, the barrels facing him and a nearby soldier. He almost quite literally flew, honey badger in hand, knocking the intended target of a Fed sniper round while firing his gun in that general direction. He landed with a grunt and helped the other soldier up to his feet and noted that he had hit his target, one less sniper on the bridge, but just like a Hydra two more replaced him. Hesh took out a couple more, his honey badger firing in a constant hum as he took out three more feds. Their team was focusing on the soldiers beneath the bridge, they were forming a human barricade trying to keep them from reaching the rest of their team who were cornered at the wall. It wasn't easy and it seemed like neither side was willing to give up any ground, but the feds couldn't hold their positions much longer and it was obvious they were outgunned. It didn't take long before the whole squad was finished.
"Man it's good to see you again Sergeant. And you too Riley." Said the soldier giving Riley a smile to which Riley acknowledged with a bark.
"It's not over yet." Hesh said as the whir of battle hind soon filled the sky. Logan was able to grab a RPG strategically placed on a nearby table.
"You got this Logan! Take care of the birds, we'll give you some cover fire!" Yelled Hesh over the helicopter's engine as it lowered to drop more soldiers. It then turned its attention and its machine guns towards their team.
Logan didn't hesitate with the launcher, firing a rocket at the nearest helicopter. The rocket was guided by Logan's precise targeting with the laser and slammed itself in the cockpit of the helicopter, exploding on impact. Logan quickly reloaded his RPG, taking aim at the next helicopter. Hesh and the guys were holding their own as well, taking out the soldiers on the bridge as quickly as they dropped from the helicopter. Hesh ducked behind a burned out car as a grenade detonated near their direction, momentarily distracting Logan from his aim, but he trusted Hesh. He returned to his task and fired another rocket, bringing down the helicopter right on the bridge, the explosion taking out a good number of the fed soldiers that just dropped from the same helicopter.
"Nice one, Logan!" Hesh hollered in approval.
Logan nodded and returned Hesh's words with a small grin of his own. The smoke cleared and what the light had shown was a completely wiped out fed squadron and their helicopters, now a pile of twisted and burning mangled metal. There was a small wave of celebration amongst the team, high fives and battle cries dominated the scene until Hesh composed himself to give commands as they headed toward their MATV. He raised his arm and cleared his throat, signaling an end to their celebration.
"Corporal Davis, you're on transport. Logan you're on security in the back." said Hesh.
"Yes sir, commandeering for transport." replied the corporal and got to the driver's seat. Logan gave a nod of acknowledgement hopped onboard in the back, while Hesh made sure that Riley was fine. Hesh checked the time on his watch as the MATV roared to life. The gates ahead of them, keeping what was left of society from the badlands of L.A., creaked open revealing the road to Fort Santa Monica. Logan gave Riley a pat before turning his attention to the road ahead and behind, though the battle was over and they were heading into their own turf, he learned it never hurt to expect the unexpected. The ride back to HQ was bumpy, even before ODIN the drive between L.A. to Santa Monica wasn't a flat plain. Hesh turned to Logan to make sure he was alright, his big brother instincts kicking in. Once he was satisfied he turned his eyes back on the road.
-A Ghost in the Mist-
The drive didn't take too long, within 20 minutes the whole crew was entering the base they referred to as Fort Santa Monica. They had to cross a civilian zone to get one where there was always a crowd of civilians protesting about the lack of resources and the distribution of aid given. Nothing new Logan thought, times were tough and they were just trying to get as much as they could to help their families. Logan knew better than to dabble in politics, a soldier's job was to fight and defend people, not laws and policies. Fort Santa Monica was a city and a make shift army base all in one. The apartment buildings had been turned into barracks to house soldiers and supplies. The streets were teeming with soldiers, either on break or heading to their next assignment. A pair of jets flew overhead, part of the patrol over the skies of the base, though Logan could do without the constant jet noise.
"Hey, Riley!" called a soldier from the street.
Riley, during the ride had climbed up on the hatch to get some fresh air as they drove to the base. Logan only smiled as Riley barked at hearing his name, dogs will be dogs he supposed. The MATV came to a stop and he moved to get out.
"This is us, Seargent." Hesh got out of the MATV thanking the corporal, while Riley jumped down from the hatch and was following the brothers into HQ.
"Riley, stay. Come on, let's find the old man." Logan nodded and followed Hesh up the stairs, leaving Riley in the garage. The walls of the command center were lined with monitors, each displaying a map or news reports coming in about the recent attacks, the newest one detailing the carnage in Dallas. Logan kept his focus to finding their dad, who was huddled together with a bunch of guys in the largest monitor up front.
"Dad!" Hesh called, getting their dad's attention.
"I heard about the attack. You boys OK?" he asked surveying Hesh's face before looking at Logan and inspecting his body for injuries.
"Always." was Hesh's reply, the Walkers were men of few words but they were able to convey the depth of their emotions with something more powerful, their actions.
Elias gave Hesh a pat on his shoulder and gave a nod to Logan, "Walk with me."
Elias led them out of the control room, away from the flashing monitors up a set of stairs.
"Dad, they were executing civilians…" said Hesh, their dad didn't miss a beat as he jogged up the stairs, both Logan and Hesh doing the same.
"I know. Their recon teams round up scavengers, drifters, hoping to find a way into the city. It's how they took Dallas practically overnight." The news didn't sit well with Logan, his mind was putting the pieces together about what possible plans the Feds had with their own city.
"So how can we help?" asked Hesh. The trio entered into a kitchenette usually used for coffee breaks and the occasional snack. The kitchenette opened up to another room that was a miniature version of the one downstairs, there were papers sprawled about the large central table. There were also more monitors on the walls giving updates and satellite images of the various areas in the US and Mexico, probably a briefing room.
"Listen," Elias began gesturing to Logan and Hesh "you boys… you are the only thing I have left in this world-"
"Dad. Listen…" Hesh interrupted, hoping to give his dad some assurance that they were strong and capable, no way they were gonna bite the dust soon. Logan felt the same; if he could talk he'd back Hesh up.
"But you are also the only ones I can trust." Elias finished giving Hesh some vindication to what he was gonna try to say.
"Hey, look, whatever it is, Logan and I, we're ready." Hesh turned to Logan, who nodded again, giving his father a determined look and all of his attention.
Elias hesitated, but not long, "You two are going to No Man's Land." he said as they followed him out a set of sliding doors onto a balcony with a view of the pier. The once famous beach amusement park of Santa Monica lay in ruin and in view, next to a couple of air craft carriers stationed at the bay's mouth.
"Wait for real?" asked Hesh, at the moment in a state of disbelief and anticipation. Few men ever got to go to No Man's Land, in a way this would be one of his and Logan's biggest tasks, even more so since their dad was giving it to them in person.
"We've been on the defensive for far too long. So I'm sending you outside the wall. You'll link up with a recon team, gather any intel you can on the enemy and get your asses back here." Elias said surveying the beach and the makeshift air field and barracks below them.
"So where exactly in No Man's Land are we going?" Hesh stealing the words, more like the thoughts, from Logan as he was absorbing the news of them going to uncharted terrain.
"Somewhere that you know better than anyone. You're going home." Elias turned his head back to the beach, looking like he was regretting his decision already. Hesh looked at his father intently, words trying to form in his mouth.
"Don't worry, we'll make you proud." he waved his hand to Logan urging him to follow him so they could come up with a battle plan and organize their gear, leaving their father alone with his thoughts. They didn't have much time, in less than a day they were going to No Man's Land to fight back, something they'd be irking to do since the war began.
-A Ghost in the Mist-
Meanwhile in No Man's Land…
Ren hadn't expected a ride in a cargo plane to go so smoothly as it had been so far. Usually, at this point they'd encounter some turbulence or something to jolt him in his seat. He'd chalked it as a plus and adjusted the strap to his parachute.
"I need you to be my eyes and ears in No Man's Land. Your mission is to survey the area, report back any activity, Fed or US, in three days." Was all the orders Ada had given him. Ren unbuckled his seat belt as he neared the back of the plane. He grabbed onto his supply bag as the ramp of the plane opened, the air escaping and creating a vacuum inside. Ren looked at the ground below before checking his coordinates on his P.D.A before flipping it closed. He took off in a sprint and jumped off, freefalling for a couple thousand feet trying to look for a place to land before he deployed his chute. He glided to a small clearing but still surrounded with brush to at least conceal his presence. Making an airdrop was risky, enough even more so during the day, and it would definitely ruin his objective if he was seen landing. Ren unbuckled the straps and tossed the chute aside. He grabbed his supply bag and took out his ammo box 50 machine pistol just in case.
"So this is No Man's Land…"