"Into the Elephant's Graveyard we go." Sarah jokes as we step past the bodies of Diesel and his jackals.
Leaving the garage and heading further in, we find what looks like a giant drug lab. Laboratory equipment is everywhere, with various ingredients scattered around. Somewhere, a loud rap song vibrates the floors, walls, and our ears. I notice Sarah hold out her Smart Watch for a moment.
"Huh." She says. "Saigon. I thought this sounded familiar."
"Ugh, this place is a pig stye." Faye observes. Off to the side, a lone Hyena sits on the floor, slowly swaying from side to side. The inside of her mask is cloudy and hazy, likely from her latest dose of a drug they make called 'Spice'. She begins to laugh maniacally, a laugh that sounds almost exactly like a Hyena, and some of the hazy smoke comes out through the breathing port.
"So colorful!" She shouts to no one in particular. Kelly and I stop and simply watch the spectacle. Some part of me wants to help, to pull off the poor kid's mask and possibly save her life, but another part stops me, as if it wants to see what happens.
"So...many...LIGHTS! SO BEAUTIFUL!" The Hyena nearly screams at us. She puts her hands over her masks visor, as if trying to block out a light no one else can see.
"So….so pretty. Can't you see? It's like...music for your...eyes…" Her voice gets quieter, and she suddenly starts coughing.
"Too- *COUGH COUGH* Too much light! *COUGH COUGH* TOO MUCH! Light is...bad." The Hyena begins to slump against the wall. "Too...much...pretty…" She goes limp, falling lifelessly to the side. The impact with the floor cracks her mask, releasing the remaining drug smoke. The girl's eyes are heavily bloodshot, as if she hasn't slept in a week.
"Jesus Christ." Kelly whispers in a horrified tone, covering her mouth with her hand. "We should've helped."
"She probably would've tried to kill you." Sarah replies from further ahead. My Guardsman friend steps forward anyway and, holding her breath, carefully reaches into the mask and closes the Hyena's eyes.
"All the Hyenas are the same." Sarah continues as we press forward. "Amped out of their minds on homemade drugs."
"Maybe we should let them kill themselves off and save ourselves the trouble." Dima suggests, stepping into the next room.
"Unfortunately, we don't have time for that." My partner points out as she follows him, shotgun low but ready. "At least not while the Council still lives."
"Well that 'Diesel' douchebag back there makes…" I pause for a moment, counting on my fingers. "...four Hyena leaders we've killed so far. How many are there?"
"Nine in total." Faye replies.
"Well…" Says Sarah, picking up a beaker filled with a green liquid. "That means they're going extinct. Let's keep up the momentum."
"LOOK, BOYS AND GIRLS!" A Hyena suddenly screams from somewhere in the room. "IT'S SOME FRESH MEAT!"
"Oh, great." My partner grumbles, checking the chamber of her shotgun. "This again!"
A pack of Hyenas swarms into the room from all sides. Judging by their erratic movements and insane, barely comprehensible shouting, they are likely more drug fiends like Sarah suggested. We form a circle close to the center of the room, covering each other's backs as waves of Hyenas run into our sheets of lead.
The lab falls to darkness, the only light coming from our muzzle flashes. At my side, Kelly is the first to be overwhelmed, two of the savages tackling her to the floor. Sarah reacts before I can, cracking a slug into the first Hyena. It hits him like a sledgehammer and he lands on top of the overpowered Guardsman below. My partner then turns the butt of her shotgun into a club and swinging it at the other Hyena as he looks up at her. The stock hits him square in the face and he falls away from Kelly.
"And that one is OUTTA HERE!" She cries out in triumph, helping Kelly to her feet only to be attacked again.
On the other side of the circle, Dima is doing his best to protect Faye, who appears to be holding the right side of her face, near her eye patch. I land my sights on one of her attackers, only to have my rifle shoved back into my body by a Hyena of my own.
"Get OFFA ME!" I scream into the Hyena's facemask, planting my foot on her chest and delivering a powerful kick. She stumbles away and I reach for my pistol, shooting her several times. As the Hyena falls, another knocks the gun away. Before I can react, Kelly pounces on him, pushing him away from me. I scramble after my pistol as Kelly wrestles the Hyena to the floor. He rolls her to the bottom as I pick up my 1911 and fire the last round at him. Kelly pushes the Hyena away and stands, but my attention is drawn to the chaos beyond. Jay is pummeling a Hyena with his own helmet, Faye is firing Dima's AK from the hip and mowing down what's left of the pack, and Dima himself is in a very one-sided fist fight. He catches the Hyena's fist, giving her arm a sharp twist accompanied by a sickening crack. Dima kicks her knee next, breaking her leg and forcing the other to buckle, the young kid wailing in agony all the while. He steps behind her, wrapping his arm around her head and snapping the Hyena's neck. Her broken body falls to a heap at his feet, and the lab finally falls eerily silent, apart from our sharp, rapid breaths.
The riot helmet Jay is holding drops to the floor with a dull thud. She staggers towards Sarah and the two embrace tightly for a moment. As they check each other over for injuries, Dima moves to a nearby maintenance room, flipping a few switches and bathing the lab in light, which reveals just how much horrific violence just unfolded.
"Holy fuck." I whimper.
Hyena bodies surround me in a ring, mangled and twisted in a giant, bloody heap. I can't help but look down at my worn and blood-stained uniform.
"You're right, Sarah." Faye says slowly. She moves her hand away from her face, revealing a trickle of crimson coming from under her eye patch. "These Hyenas aren't people anymore."
All of us look around and take in the destruction all around.
"Jesus." Sarah says between breaths. "What is this? Deleted scenes from Cabin in The Woods? These guys are fuckin' animals."
"I've never been on a safari." Jay replies, placing a hand comfortingly on her partner's shoulder. "But I don't think even real life Hyenas would act like that."
"Sweep the room." Faye orders, giving Dima his rifle back. "Leave no survivors. Take all the ammo you can carry." Dima gives her hand a squeeze as the two of them head towards the next room.
A/N I think some could say that the 'Good Guys' can be just as merciless and bloodthirsty as the 'Bad Guys'.
The Hyenas are personally my favorite faction to fight, with the True Sons and Black Tusk tied for second. I despise fighting the Outcasts, with their Tanks armed with Sledgehammers. It's like Ubisoft had a meeting one day that opened with: "You know what'll piss off players the most?"
(JK Ubisoft I love you guys)