Ohhh, this one was fun to do. A bit longer than I actually remember playing, but my mind has played tricks on me before. But NOTHING like what any main playable character of the F.E.A.R. games get! Anyway, this story is almost over from when it started. So just a bit more to go and then I can say that this will be over for me for a while.
Oh, yeah, you just lost the game too. Have fun!
F.E.A.R.
FIRST ENCOUNTER ASSAULT RECON
INTERVAL 08 - DESOLATION
POINT OF ENTRY
The "Point Man"
I was now in the dark alleys of the Auburn district. Graffiti on the gray walls, dozens of trash bags, and litter scattered all across the cold cement. The sound of a helicopter flew past the buildings as I looked up to see it flying away. Seems like the Replica forces were soon converging into this section of the city, probably to look for the entrance for the Vault. I'm going to have to hurry and get there before they do. Betters then contacted me about the situation out here.
"I'm picking up major enemy movement on the satellite. They're all over that area. Watch your back."
Don't have to tell me twice. Continuing through the filthy alleys, I turned the next corner to a long alleyway with the other end leading to a way back onto the main street. When I got about halfway here, I heard a voice to the right. It sounded like a "I'm over here" as I looked over to see a darker corner of this place. Turning on my flashlight, I slowly went down the garbage filled area to where there was a small TV on the ground. There was some static on the screen, but it wasn't even plugged in to anything.
The static cleared up to show that little girl from before. She was walking slowly into what looked like that building I was at. There was someone on the other side of the door doing something, but it was hard to tell what it could be. Just as she reached the door, the channel then got disconnected. All that was left on the TV was a black screen with some more static. Last thing I heard as it transitioned to that was hearing the girl's voice from inside the box.
"Give him back."
I can't believe that I actually just stood here to watch my crazy thoughts now projected onto a broken down TV with no connection. But considering everything else I've been through, this actually isn't the strangest thing to happen to me. Who was it that the girl wanted back though? It's all so weird...
Going back to the previous alley, I turned to the right back the way I was originally going. Before I made it to the next corner, I heard laughter ahead of me. It sounded just like hers...
There was a locked fence gate in front of me where even with my flashlight, made it too difficult to see past it. Maybe I was just hearing things. Turning back around, I heard that laughter again beyond the gate. Looking back, this time I saw the 8-year old girl in red standing on the other side. I couldn't see her face, but something told me she found some humor into this. Before I could do anything, she dispersed into black dust as her form withered away. I don't know how much more I can take from seeing her...
Heading back, I turned the next corner into a tight alleyway that led out onto an open street. There was more trash and graffiti layered out here as I made my way through here. I stopped for a moment when I saw 2 Replica soldiers walking towards this end of the street ahead. They hadn't noticed me yet, so I took this chance to wipe them with some good, clean headshots from my assault rifle. With them taken care of, I reached the end of the street.
At the far end of this street was a bridge above me with the lights to the side still functioning. It looked like there was a tunnel I could take to get to the building where the entrance to the facility is. Good thing I can memorize maps. As I was walking over there, I heard a car coming down from there. An armored van came into view past the corner under the bridge, and I knew whose it belonged to. The Replica vehicle went 180 as the rear end of it was facing towards me. As it did that, the other broken-down vehicles along the path were tossed over from the van's turning. Now my path was blocked off, and I had a squad of pissed off clone soldiers ready to attack me.
I grabbed one of the grenades on my belt with my left hand and threw it over to the armored vehicles back end. As I predicted, a squad of Replicas were beginning to come out as the doors to the van opened up. The grenade made contact with the soldier in front, the explosion catching both him and whoever else was inside. The driver didn't come out of the vehicle, so I'm guessing that he was part of the team that was supposed to attack me. Looking over there, I saw blood and flesh all across the interior of the vehicle. The hatch to get to the drivers seat was locked off, so I couldn't drive this thing to where I had to go. Guess I'm still going to have to walk.
To the right side of this street was a door to the side of this next building I could probably use to get around this place. It was blocked off with supplies stacked against it on the other side, but the spot where a window should be was acceptable. All I had to do was knock off the wooden boards and then I could enter inside. Moving through the yellow hall here, I saw a set of double doors that I could open into a small garage. It looked like the kind where semi trucks would back up into deliver supplies. I'm going to have to find an exit to get back outside from here.
Next thing I know, a fucking van broke through one of the gates to the right of me! An explosion went off behind it as the vehicle crashed into the wall next to me. The back doors opened up as a squad of about 4 Replicas coming out of the vehicle. Shit, how did they know I was in here?
Using my reflexes, I put away my rifle and brought out the shotgun on my back. With time moving slower for me yet faster for me, I blasted each and every one of them at close-range with Vokkler-12. Each one of them had died quickly as their bodies were flown back to the wall behind them. Got to say, these guys are definitely pulling out some new tricks to stop me.
Looking outside where the van came from, I saw about 3 more soldiers and a Heavy Armor unit outside in the open area. They must not have known that I was still alive, for they could barely see inside of the building due to all the smoke here. Taking to the offensive, I holstered back my shotgun and pulled out my G2A2. From this distance, it was easy to shoot down the remaining soldiers out here with ease. Now I just got to figure out how to kill the Heavy unit.
As I was contemplating a plan, I heard the sound of rockets coming towards me. Trusting my instincts, I went over to the other side of this garage as the missiles made contact with the wall I was at before. It sounded like three of them were all fired at once, and I knew what this meant. That Heavy didn't have the HV, but instead the MOD-3 Multiple Rocket Launcher. This was going to be a tough one to beat.
The other end of this garage had a small office I entered to where there was a back door behind the heavy doors that led outside. Looking out through the glass window here, I saw the Heavy Armor slowly walk up towards where the exposed garage was. It probably didn't know that there was a smaller door here that I could see it from. From what I remember, that rocket launcher only carried about 15 rockets at a time due to its wide length. The Heavy just fired 3 of them, so that left about 12 more it could use. If I can get it to run out of rockets, I can take away its only long-range capabilities. I just got to stay alive to make it all possible, first.
Kicking open the door, I got the things attention as it looked over to me. As it was beginning to fire the rockets towards me, I used my heightened speed to run back into the previous office. As the rockets went off behind me, I went back out towards the destroyed garage door where the thing saw me again. It fired 3 more rockets where I was to where I ran back inside, away from the blast radius. I did it about 2 more times until the thing ran out of missiles to use. With no more ammo for the MOD-3, it slowly made its way over to where its dead comrades were to pick up their weapons to use. Not wanting to give it the chance, I ran outside and fired all the bullets and shells from both the G2A2 and the Vokkler. Soon enough, the Heavy died as it gave off that radio-like scream.
The coast clear, I salvaged some ammunition from the dead Replicas nearby for my rifle, but was now out of shells for the shotgun. There was no other type of weapon I could take, so I'm going to have to keep my eyes open for now for new guns. There was another one of those armored vans parked into the corner of the exit here, with the back end exposed. This must've been where the other squad of soldiers came from. It was blocking the entryway for the next street, and I couldn't reach the drivers seat from here. Looking for another way out of this huge area, I saw some boxes and barrels stacked up by a 10-foot tall wooden fence. If I can climb on top of those and then hop over the fence next to them, then I can reach another back alley. Hopefully I can use this to get closer to my destination.
Reaching the other side of the fence, I was now on the tight back alley between two buildings left and right. At the far, far end of this alley was a corner I could go to that could lead me back into the streets. Unfortunately, as I was on my way to there, another of the Replicas armored vehicles had just drove into the corner up ahead. Despite its width, it was speeding towards me in this tight space as it was getting ready to hit me. My heart racing, I tried to figure out what I could do.
I looked to the right to see an exposed section of the building where a door was supposed to be. Not sure where it leads, but its better than the front bumper coming my way. I jumped inside as quickly as I could as the vehicle had just passed where I was last at. Landing on my feet, I saw out the window of this place to see that the van had stopped. It began to back up slowly to where it came from until it stopped after a few feet. I then heard some Replicas in the room above me on the right say "In here!" as footsteps were marching towards my position.
From where I was, there was a small open spot next to some stairs available that I could probably hide at. Waiting for a couple moments, there were about 4 Replicas slowly scouting the area that I was last at. As all of them were close enough to each other, I took one of the last 2 grenades in my pockets and rolled it along to the ground next to them. When they figured out where the grenade was, the explosion ignited as they all died from the blast. Looking at all their bodies and bodies part fly off into the air, I can safely say that they weren't going to be any more trouble.
I went up the steps and slowly went through the area in case if any more of them were close by. When I reached over to the next room to the right, there was a door leading outside to this fence along the left of me. Through the open spots of the wooden fence, I saw 4 more of the Replicas climbing on top of some supplies. They must be reinforcements. Hiding behind some barrels nearby, I watched as all of them hopped over the tall fence one by one. Waiting until they got closer, I came up to surprise them with multiple bullets fired from the G2A2. Streaming the shots going left to right, I only emptied about half of the magazine in the gun as the Replicas were soon disposed of.
I couldn't go back out the alleyway I came from, so I had to look for another detour. There was another spot in between two buildings to the north and east of me I could take to leave this place. Thankfully it was too thin for any more fucking cars to run me over. Exiting this back alley, I saw another poorly built fence in place next to a wide, green trash container. The smell was atrocious, but nothing that would tear off my nose. Betters contacted me over the radio channel.
"The Rammelmeier compound is just ahead. Looks like the largest concentration of enemy forces in that area." he said. He just had to say that last part...
There was an exposed hole alongside the fence here to there was a small drop below. Jumping down there, I now appeared to be behind the back end of this giant billboard here. Moving along the ledge behind it, I looked over to the left so see a large, old construction site. This was obviously back when they were trying to build new buildings for some of the rich politicians back in the day. The place was mostly unfinished, for only steel bars were set up in its place.
The path ahead only led to another ledge that was too far of a drop for me to go to without breaking my legs. There was a cabinet along the right edge here to where there was a glass window here. Breaking the glass from this side, I climbed up inside and entered the building. Leaving the run-down room with its overturned supplies, I went up the stairs to the upper floor to where there was a door here. Opening it, I was back outside to a balcony that overlooked the previous area I was at.
To the right was another in-between section of this building and another next to me that I could drop down below. A fence behind me blocked off the area before me, so I had to go the opposite way. At the far end was another wide open area I could go towards to where the Rammelmeier area should be.
Another one of the armored vehicles turned the corner ahead of me and was coming towards me! Dammit, I had no where to hide this time. Running back the way I came, there was a small opening along the wall here I could take cover from the vehicle. Hopping over to the side in that spot, the van had just passed me as it went through the fence. The speed of the vehicle caused it to fly down towards some of the construction site below to where it crashed. Getting back on my feet, I looked down to see the vehicle in flames as it blew up. The dark smoke made it hard to see what was going on down there, but I was pretty sure that the Replicas that just tried to kill me got karma to bite them in the ass.
How on earth do these guys keep figuring out where I am? I check all around me to see if they probably had put a transmitter on me without me looking. There was nothing on me, so I was left clueless as to how they keep determining my position. Back to the task at hand, I went back towards the section in between the two buildings towards where I was going. If another one of those motherfucking cars tries to run me over again, there's no telling what I'm going to do to the next driver.
Heading onto the other side, I was now where I was supposed to be. This was the section of the city on our map on the way over here to were the Rammelmeier compound is. The wide building to the side here was hard to read the label, for I could only make out "Machinery, Inc." due to the old paint fading. Either way, this will lead me closer to where the opening of that facility should be. Looking for an entrance, I saw a door along the middle of this wall here to see some steps that led to the open door.
Before I entered inside, I heard in the sky another helicopter flying away from here. For once, I just want it to be one of ours, and not the enemy. That too hard to ask? Entering the run-down building, I was amazed to find out the power was still working in here. The majority of the lights were still on. There was even an handheld radio inside the small room in front of me still active. It was set on to one of the news stations to where a male reporter has been talking Auburn.
"The situation in Auburn seems to be intensifying. Shortly after a U.S. military helicopter crashed on the roof of an abandoned hotel, fierce fighting was reported in the surrounding area. Police have expanded their cordon to include Auburn and have begun evacuating residents from the primarily industrial district."
Smart move on their part. At least with the civilians out of here, there isn't any risk of innocent people getting hurt. That should make my job less stressful.
Going down the hallway here, I turned to face a set of double doors. Opening one of them, I was now in some kind of generator room. This part of the building was dark, with only the light coming from outside making it possible to see. The windows above the machines were broken or covered with dirt to see out of. Looking along the rusty fence-like section of the floor, there was a small opening exposed with the latch partially open. There wasn't any doors or windows for me to exit out of, so I guess this will just have to do the trick.
Entering inside, I crawled through the tight space here until there was a drop below. Carefully, I went down to where now this place was easy enough to walk through. The yellow bricks and pipes almost gave it a kind of trippy experience to walk around in. After several turns in this place, I stopped to hear one of the Replicas in the other room to the right. Peeking my head out, I saw three Replicas standing on top of a ledge above some of the bigger pipes in the next area. It looked like another section of this building with about three floors. One of them had said:
"The commander has entered the Vault. All elements, secure a perimeter around the main entrance."
"Understood."
Oh crap, Fettel got there before me. And God knows if Alice might still be alive with him. I'm going to have to hurry to catch up with them. Aiming down my sights, I opened fire at the soldiers up ahead with my assault rifle. I got two of them as the last one tried to take cover behind a steel beam to the side. He came back out to return fire at me where I took cover by the previous pipes. Waiting for him to stop firing, I came back to fire the remaining bullets in my gun towards his head. After he was killed, I reloaded my G2A2 and went out slowly to where they were. Looking up, I saw that there were some ladders I could climb up to the 3rd floor towards a small room.
Hopping up on the pipes next to me, I reached up to the first floor and walked up to one of the yellow ladders placed along the wall. Climbing up it, I went to the highest floor here up onto a metal balcony. On the other side of this place, another squad of Replicas were coming out from the room I intended to go. They would've been a bit overwhelming - especially since these weren't the lower-classed Replicas - if it weren't for the well-placed gasoline barrel they were unintentionally walking towards. Firing a single bullet of my rifle at the container, all of the soldiers were consumed in fire as they were screaming in pain. Eventually they all died as the burns got to their skin.
Dropping onto the ledge along the 2nd floor, I went past the open hall to the right of me and walked over to the next ladder across. Reaching the balcony on the 3rd floor, I went into the small room to see a locked door inside. All that work for nothing. Only thing of any value was one of those Penetrator weapons lying on the floor with some ammo for it. Heading back down the ladder, I went back to that hallway I passed before to see it too lead back onto where the first ladder was. Next to me was an exposed open hole on the floor here that I could take. Jumping down there, I hopped onto another drop to where now I was in another section of pipes. I hope I'm not stuck in some damn maze.
Moving through the area, I was now near a ramp that led down somewhere. Slowly, I went around the next hallway to where I was another parking garage. One of the Replica Army's armored vehicles was parked here for some time, probably for that last squad I killed. Only other thing of relevance was another path by some more pipes I could take to leave. I stopped to where I saw 4 Replicas stationed by some exposed parts of the walls in the next room. It looked like a 2-story section of the building, for there was an upper floor with a small ledge above them. Putting away the assault rifle, I took out the HV Penetrator and aimed carefully at one of the soldiers.
Using my reflexes, I fired as fast as possible towards each of their heads. They were all shocked with what was happening and tried to figure out where I was. I didn't let them get the chance to find me, for I fired a nail into every one of them as their bodies were stuck to the walls next to them. I'll say, this thing sure has quite the push when it comes to hitting something. Heading on down, I looked around near the next area to see a Heavy Armor come around the next corner. It looked like he was just came from some stairs from the upper level, so at least I know where to go after I kill it.
Using the Penetrators piercing nails, I fired several rounds to the Heavy's chest and limbs. The injuries caused by the weapon was too much for it to bear as it fell down to the ground behind it. It screamed out the static scream as all the others as it soon died from the pain. That was definitely one of the easiest encounters I've had with these things in a while. Taking some of its ammo from its own Penetrator, I saw that there were some of the Replicas grenades and proximity mines safely placed on top of some empty barrels. Stacking up on those, I was beginning to make my way to the stairs. Only thing stopping me was one of the nails from the Penetrator hitting the wall next to me.
Looking back into a closed off room, I saw another one of those Heavy Armor's coming inside from another entrance there. Quickly, I took cover the wall to the right to where I was out of view of the metallic beast. Clutching a grenade in one hand, I threw it over into the room where armored Replica was. The explosion went off as I looked back inside to see it barely standing. I finished it off with some more rounds of the Penetrator I was using. After it was dead, I reloaded the Penetrator and walked up to the next floor.
On the other side of here, three more Replica soldiers were coming up from the stairway nearby. I took cover by some boxes before they could spot me. One of them had said "He took out the Heavy!" as him and companions were scouting the area. They were looking over the area I was at to where I killed the previous Heavy Armor, possibly expecting me to still be there. Taking out my assault rifle, I fired several bullets to each of the soldiers across from me before they could have a chance to shoot me. After they were all dead, I walked across the ledge connecting both sections of this floor and went up next to the stairwell.
Heading down the stairs, I passed the room where that last Heavy Armor was and now appeared to be at another generator room. Up ahead of this place, I heard more Replicas coming my way. One of them had said "He wiped out the whole squad!" as him and his rushing towards where I was. There was a small ledge to the right of me next to some barrels. Placing a proximity mine along the path they were going, I put it next to one of the machines while hiding behind the barrels nearby.
As someone would predict, the reinforcements didn't expect me to lay an explosive on the ground for them to walk over. The mine went off as about three of them died from the massive explosion. Seeing that the coast was clear, I carefully walked through the area they came from in case if any were still around. Since there weren't, I now felt at ease and was walking through the place some more until I reached another open area. At the far end of this room was a set of glass windows that showed another room beyond them. As I began to walk over towards them, someone slowly peeked their head to see me.
It was Jankowski... But like before, it wasn't the lively Jankowski me and Jin had gotten to know. It was that ghostly version of him. The one where his eyes were plucked out, his skin like a corpse, and blood covered across his body. He left behind a message for me as his body soon dispersed into the air.
"She's close now. Her presence is strong here..."
This time, I realized what he had meant. He was talking about that little girl. Spencer was saying that her "presence" over this area was unlike the others I went to. Hearing his last words, my thoughts were trying to deduce the meaning of the facility we were supposed to go.
We weren't going to just some abandoned research facility left behind by Armacham. We were going towards the source of that little girl's powers. If Fettel is inside being motivated out of revenge to kill ATC's employees, then it had something to do with the 8-year old's influence of his actions. Fettel hasn't done anything like this before, so maybe this is really out of revenge for that kid. But why him, and why now? What is it that Fettel will do if he were to find her there?
I have to keep going. If I dilly-dally any longer, it may be too late to stop him. The door next to me by the room to where I saw... Jankowski, was locked. There was another door nearby I opened to where some stairs led down. Going that way, I turned down the next corner towards a large metallic door at the far end of this place. This place was unlike any of the other rooms. It looked like a freaking security checkpoint, for it was a wide area for defensive purposes. I didn't have the luxury to explore the place, for there were 2 Replicas stationed ahead of me next to some supplies.
These soldiers looked much different than the others I've fought. While the previous Replicas I faced looked more like just some regular soldier, the ones here were way more advanced. They had a special red helmet on with a white mask over it to where it looked like a face. Their uniform was more black and white than before, with white sleeves on their upper end of their arms bearing the Replica Army symbol. Their body armor completely covered their chest area and looked a lot thicker than the others, making it seem more difficult to pierce through their torso with regular fire. From their appearance, it looked like these were the highest-ranked Replica's in the service. These must be the elite.
One of them brought up some kind of big weapon with his hands. It was about as big a standard rocket launcher, only it didn't look like one from where I was standing, Seeing the other raise his weapon which was similar to his teammate, their both aimed down to where I was standing. Not wanting to know what would happen if I did nothing, I took cover over by the white crates near my position.
A loud kind of boom had hit the walls nearby as I saw a huge impact land the surface of it. What the fuck just happen? They fired again near where I was hiding with more impacts hitting the wall close by. It was as if they were firing some kind of shockwaves from those big-ass cannons they're carrying. Even just a few feet from the blasts, I could feel some kind of weight coming off from the attacks. Great, so even if I'm just slightly close to where the shots go, I still get hurt? Where on earth are these guys getting these things, anyway?
Peeking out to where the soldiers where last at, I saw them still blasting the wall nearby as I tried to my best to keep my focus. I opened fire with some of the last few shots of the Penetrator as some of the nails hit both of the arms of one of the Replicas. Even with 4 of them on his body, he still tried his best to stand on his feet. I guess with them being elites, their endurance is also better than the others. Firing some more nails to him, he soon died as his body was flown back to the wall behind him. The remaining Replica didn't let this flinch him, for know he took cover by the white container nearby as well. I stood out and waited for him to expose his head, for that was the only way I can end this in one shot. Slowly, he brought it out as I fired the last shot of the HV towards his helmet. The nail pierced through his face as his body slowly fell over to the ground.
I couldn't imagine what it would be like if I encountered any more at once. These Replicas were much more trained than before, and certainly heavier equipped than the others. I walked on over towards them to see that the weapons they were carrying looked brand new. On the underside of the weapon had the description: "MP-50 Repeating Cannon." From being blasted by this myself, it seemed like this thing could fire certain types of shockwaves from the interior and release it medium to long range. If fired too close, the shockwaves can also significantly injure the user as well, which was why the Replica Elite's were firing from such a distance.
With no more ammo available for the Penetrator and running low on the G2A2, this is the only other weapon I can take. Lifting it up from the ground near one of the dead soldiers, this thing weighed a lot more than that particle beam weapon I used before. This thing wasn't something I could just put on my back, so I'll have to be wise on adjusting to the weight. There was a small yellow indicator to the top of this thing that gave the number "21." That probably meant how much shots were leftover in this thing. There was a small armory nearby, only it was all just too much for me to carry for it was more of those MP-50's. There was a red ladder here I climbed up to, while trying to keep a grip on this giant cannon.
After opening the door close to where I came up, I saw that this was some kind of secret entrance to the previous place. The filthy looking wall turned out to be some kind of security door placed possibly to prevent any trespassers. Some pretty fancy security for an old abandoned warehouse. Continuing on, I was now on the other side of the room to where I saw that "phantom" of Jankowski. To the left was a corridor I took to go around this place until I had passed an empty supply room in the middle of this place. Betters got a hold of me over the comlink.
"ATC patrol cars are approaching from the west. I got a feeling this situation is about to blow up."
Damn, now they'll be here too. Guess I shouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't want to take care of any outsiders entering their classified facility. Not to mention Fettel is now inside that place with Alice possibly still alive as his hostage. I've got to hurry.
There was another corridor near the empty room I took towards a set of doors. Opening those up, I was in another hallway where some cardboard was covering the windows to the side of here. Moving on, I opened a lone red door to where there were some pipes placed along the walls and ceilings. After getting past those, there was another door ahead that was left open. I was now in some kind of open area with an upper balcony above me. There was a path available along the wall here that I could probably use to get up there. Just as I was about to reach the opening, glass shattered from the dirty windows along the wall across from me. A figure hopped into the building, and I remembered all too well what it was.
It was one of those things that had the same appearance as those creatures that can make themselves invisible. It crouched down on its legs with its arms outstretched for battle. The device on its back caused its transparency to wear off for now as lightning coursed through its back. Its face was as expressionless as the others, with its two yellow sockets for its eyes staring right at me. On the way to this place over the chopper, HQ managed to get some information on these guys.
Apparently, that "Icarus" program was indeed the precursor to that of "Perseus" which created the Replica Army. Before they got to work on just clone soldiers, they developed these guys as a type of stealth unit. Their bones would be adjusted for them to climb and jump on any surface with ease, making it easy to kill a target and run off. But due to how expensive these things cost the scientists of Project Icarus, it made them almost impractical to use to go any further. By the time "Perseus" came around, they were able to salvage the prototypes and assign them to the Replica Army, with some obvious upgrades such as stealth technology. Fittingly, Betters gave them the nickname of "Replica Assassins".
Anyway, I noticed one of those Assassins rushing towards my position. Seeing as how I got a heavy weapon available, I might as well put it to good use. I pulled the trigger of the MP-50 Cannon as the shockwaves made contact with the sprinting Replica. The force from this weapon caused me to almost lose my balance, but I kept my feet firmly on the ground. The Assassin was blown away as it was tossed to the wall behind it. At this range, if the blast didn't kill the thing, the collision from hitting the wall that fast sure did.
Glass broke on another window to the left of me as one of those things came in. I couldn't see it though, due to its invisible field. With how dark this place was, it was a bit difficult to decide which direction it might be coming from. I fired the Cannon towards the pathway the Assassin would probably take to get here, and I was lucky, for one of the blasts made contact with it. It stopped halfway from me to where it came from as its body limped over to the ground, implying its demise.
Quickly, I decided to run up ahead to the path that led to the stairs so that I would get the high ground on these things. Going up the stairs, the glass on the ceiling shattered as one of them landed onto one of the support beams spread horizontally throughout the building. It didn't have its invisibility cloak on at the moment, so I took this chance to fire another shockwave from the MP-50.
It was blown back to the ground as it landed on its back. It definitely looked dead. Continuing through the hall nearby, I was now on a separate path that would lead me into another room up ahead. I stopped when one of the Assassins hopped on to the railing next to me. It was too close for me to risk blasting this thing with the Cannon, and it was about to swipe its claws at me. I used my accelerated reflexes to drop the weapon for a moment and brought my right fist up. I punched the Replica across the face as it fell down to the floor below. For a moment I was pretty sure that my punch broke its jaw. While these guys are agile and dangerous, they were also very easy to kill once you know what you're doing.
It seemed like they were all dead, so now was the time to relax. I picked up the Repeating Cannon off the ground and saw that there was 14 shots left. I have a feeling these were the only ones sent after me. Putting two and two together, I probably figured out how it is the Replica soldiers were able to know where I was. Since these things were invisible the whole time, they must've been sent out as scouts to let each squad know where I was going. It was a wild guess, but it wasn't that farfetched to think about.
I went through the building some more by opening a door in the room ahead and passed through several pipes. There was long set of stairs that went down towards another door below. Going down, I opened the door to where I was now in a grayish corridor. Explosions went off outside as I began to hear gunfire from outside the dirty windows in here. Looking out, I saw two ATC security guards shooting something from the distance to the west. I saw what they were shooting was one of the Replicas Powered Armor units, the REV6. One of the two guards yelled out "We can't stop it!" as the other shouted "Where'd that fucking thing come from!". From where I could see the Powered Armor, it appeared that some of its circuitry was damaged from the firefight outside. But those two guys outside won't last for long.
The REV6 fired several missiles by an ATC cop car near the two grunts as the explosion got the both of them. There was building up ahead that I was sure I had to go to find the entrance for the Vault, only this thing was now blocking the route over there. It was easy to guess what had to happen next. The armored unit did take some significant damage, and all that would be needed to destroy it was just a few more blasts from this Cannon to take it out. I fired a couple blasts towards the mech unit as it figured out my position. It fired multiple rockets from its dual-wield missile launchers where I was standing.
I ran as fast as I could with the heavy weapon towards the far end of the corridor to where there was a storage area. I could take cover in here for now, but I have to go outside to finish off that Power Armor. I climbed down the metal ladder to head down to the lower floor here and then reached a silver door. Opening it up, it lead me outside to where the REV6 was waiting as it saw me just come outside. As it fired more of those rockets towards me, I ran over to the side while returning fire with the Repeating Cannon. All it took was a few more shots until the entire unit was blown up into several pieces.
Since that was taken care of, I continued on my way towards the next building by going past some more of ATC's vehicles. Some of their bodies were laying across the ground out here with limbs blown off and shocked expressions across their faces. They were all male in their 20's or 30's, some Caucasian or African skin tone. Continuing ahead, some loud noises were coming from where I was going. That was when I saw another REV6 unit turning around the corner of the building nearby to the right.
Oh man, not another one... I didn't have time to moan like a little kid, for now this thing was firing several rockets towards me. Like with the last one, I avoided the rockets while returning fire with the Repeating Cannon. Even from here, the shots weren't doing as well as they should for the shockwaves were really only hitting the missiles coming towards me. I fired blast after blast as the REV6 was starting to slow down a bit. I would've kept on my offense if I didn't run out of ammunition for the heavy weapon. I tossed the empty cannon to the ground as I took cover by some big, metal supply crates stacked alongside one of the buildings. Remembering that I had picked up 2 explosive mines from a while ago, I set one of them down on the ground nearby to where the Powered Armor was coming.
I quickly ran off away from the mine as the REV6 got close enough for the explosion to go off. Looking back, the mech unit was still working but barely able to function. I threw another mine on over to where it was standing as the device activated near its mobile feet. The blast caused the Replica mechanized unit to explode as parts and limbs were scattered about the area. Thank God I managed to get through all of this, for I am really starting to get tired of all this shooting and explosions. Can't wait to try an early retirement plan after this is over.
Taking out my G2A2 off my back, I walked on over to the large warehouse nearby to where some ATC vehicles were parked by. One of them was practically on fire, possibly due to earlier conflict with the Replicas. I entered the huge building by ascending some steps to the side and walked through the area. I heard some activity going on in the next room ahead as I put my back on the wall placed onto the center. One of the voices was definitely familiar, even if I could only hear it over the radio. I then recognized the voice of Norton Mapes, that fatass ATC employee from before.
"What's going on up there?" he shouted. One of Armacham's security goons shouted onto the channel saying "We're getting our asses kicked!".
Peeking around the corner, I saw about 4 of ATC's patrols standing around some cabinets and boxes. Wait a minute, I thought Armacham was trying to kill off all the members of that task force Norton was a part of? Unless... the reason was that Mapes is actually trying to help them with cleaning up their mess? It was the only explanation I could think of, for it could explain why Mapes was trying to kill me back at Armacham Headquarters. If he is ordering these guys to help him, then there's a good chance he was inside the facility as well. Mapes shouted back to the troops over the radio.
"Listen to me, you minimum wage commando! Do not let them through or..." he started to sound nervous. He must be in a hurry to try and get rid of whatever evidence of ATC's involvement as possible. He then said "...Or you're fired! You hear me!" and then signed off.
If they all these guys are stationed here in this building, then the entrance to the facility where Origin took place must be very close. I brought my weapon up and fired at all the soldiers in the next room. Good thing about these guys was that they were a lot easier to hit, due to them not being as hard to kill as the Replicas I've been fighting all day. After wiping out all of them, I went on to the back room to where there seemed to be nothing of importance.
There was a small blue object in the back corner here to where a button was displayed. I pressed the button for a small section of the wall to reveal a control panel behind it. When the panel turned from red to blue, the entire wall next to me opened up to reveal a secret room. It looked like a freaking armory, for their were several weapons stacked up on the wall. I replaced the G2A2 with the RPL submachine gun and stocked up several caches of ammo for it. I also grabbed one of the combat shotguns and stored some more shells onto a bag on my belt for later use. Continuing on down the hall here, there was a monitor station to the right of me with a couple screens. The left one wasn't working, while the right one was for a camera back to where I killed those ATC guards.
Through the door nearby I was now near some old section of this place. A crow flew away from the glass ceiling on top of me as I was walked over to the nearest stairway. I walked up the metal steps to where I was now on the upper floor of this section of the building. A lone door was just a few feet away from the stairs that I then walked over towards. I opened it to I was now in a dark area with only one light functioning into the other small room. As I walked towards it, the light moved to the side as if something had pushed it. I slowly went over to check the room to see that nothing was there. No invisible Assassins, no ATC, nothing. Before I could make sense of it, Douglas Holiday got a hold of HQ over the comlink radio system.
"This is 'Baby Bear.' Medevac just got here." I guess "Baby Bear" was an old nickname he got back in his beginning days of Delta Squad, to where was still called that sometimes by his old teammates. Anyway, at least him and Jin will be safe. Betters then spoke to Holiday.
"Glad to hear it. Thanks for the help."
"Wish I could've done more. Kick some ass." Holiday said disappointingly. Even after everything going on, he was still upset that he didn't get to help me. Him being here definitely would've been nice.
There were some stairs that led up into the attic of this building. Looking around, I saw an old kind of service elevator to the right of this place. I could tell... this was an entrance to that secret facility. It just had to be, I could feel in my bones. Walking over to the machine, I saw that the only switch available was for this thing to go down. Just as I began to press it, a flashing light covered my eyes.
I was falling. Falling far, far downward a bottomless pit. I did not know if I would land on something, but it seemed to go forever. There were barely some lights down this empty shaft as I continued to descend further down. I saw something red at the very bottom at last... Getting closer and closer, I knew what it was. All of it was blood...
Before I collided with the red liquid, I held my breath for as much as I could possible. I landed into the small lake of blood as my sight made it difficult to figure out where to go. There was an exposed hole at the bottom here I could swim through. As I reached it, I saw someone was looking at me. She looked similar to that little girl, only taller. I couldn't make out what her face looked like, for the dark bangs of her hair covered it completely.
I fell down towards the room below me to see I was back at that building with the flames and the monsters I encountered before. I landed softly onto the ground below as I tried to not throw up from being around all that damn blood. I looked at my body to see that none of it was over my uniform and equipment. Above me only small droplets of the container of blood were coming down, as if something was holding it in place.
I was now back into the hallway where the two doors were at the far end. The corridor leading towards them was still just as long as last time I was here. But just as I began to walk over there, light flashed through my eyes. I was now standing face to face with the two doors in front of me. Looking back, the unusual hall reverted to its original length.
Despite all my instincts me telling me not to keep going, I disobeyed all of them for the sake of knowing more. I had to know why all of this was happening to me. I opened the two doors with my very hands to where I was in another dark corridor.
I remember this one, too... It was where the room was completely covered with blood from the waist-up, just like the first time I was here. There wasn't any here anymore, so it was easier to keep walking forward. The room at the far end showing someone on the other side of the windows for the next set of doors. Passing through the bloody table in the hall, I reached the doors as the cries of a baby were heard. A woman was screaming ahead of me, so loud that my ears were in such deep pain from being near it. She screamed out "No!" as everything faded to darkness.
For a moment I thought that all of this I was seeing would end. But I was not back to where I was at both at the warehouse or the bloody building. I was now standing in nothing but blackness. The only thing I could see was fire spread out across the "floor." I don't know where I am, or what all of this means. What will happen if I can't leave? Could I leave...? Or...?
There was something coming towards me through the flames. It was another one of those things that takes the form of a person. The only thing I can give a description about is the word "nightmare." That's what these things are. Nightmares.
It was floating towards me with his claws sticking out to try and reach me. I still had my guns in whatever this place was, so I'm sure not going to go out dying like some scared child. I fired several bullets towards this thing as it dispersed into nothing. Two more spontaneously appeared and were now coming closer. Even after firing some more at these "Nightmares", more kept coming.
They are going to kill me unless I keep fighting. Just have to...
I was no longer back in that other place. I was now standing inside the elevator I intended to take before. Did all of that really happen...? At this point, I can't excuse any of these strange anomalies as some wacky imagination or if I'm some fucking pill. All of that was real...
I pressed the switch on the elevator here as the doors closed inside. The lift was now descending as I began to relax for a bit. After this is all over, I definitely need to talk to Betters or Jin about all that has happened to me. As I was going down, I passed through some kind of room... to see blood splattered all over the place. The little girl in red was inside as she was just staring at me until I could no longer see here. God help me, man... Not long after seeing that, Betters got a hold of me over the radio.
"I want you out of there as soon as you've got Wade and the girl. Get them back to base so I can debrief them in person. Good luck in there..." he told me as he signed off.
At this point, I don't know if I'll be able to have the mental strength to even walk...
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