Resident Evil/Biohazard: Hostage Rescue
Rating: T
NOTE:
All characters of Resident Evil/Captain Commando/Street Fighter are under the copyright of Capcom. All characters of Martin Mystery are under the copyright of Marathon. All characters of Kara no Kyokai are under the copyright of TYPE-MOON. All characters of Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa. All characters of Jiraishin are under the copyright of Tsutomu Takahashi. The appearance of Kenneth "Kenny" Feng is under noctorro's jurisdiction. All others are under my jurisdiction.
Summary:
The group is now inside Salazar Castle, the only place where they can go in while trying to find a way out of the area. Can they navigate the interior of Salazar Castle safely or will they become one of the castle's victims after it was until the control of Los Illuminados? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.
Chapter 13: Castle Quarters Combat
Upper Level Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
The group could hear some moaning, chanting and shuffling of feet coming from the lower section of the room.
"Incoming everyone! Take cover!" Leon barked, pumping his Benelli M3 after he reloaded a few buckshot shells into the weapon. Jean did the same and got ready his Franchi SPAS-12. Both men were crouching near the staircase's stone-made railing.
"Now what's the catch?" Yu grumbled, crouching behind a long table he just overturned alongside Hien. He looked to the side and saw another long table overturned, this time with Diana, Eriko and Jill. Ashley was seen on the ground, covering her heads with her hands.
"Some of them are coming." Kevin told Yu, readying his Steyr SSG P IV.
"I can use this." The Japanese Spriggan agent got out the incendiary grenade, ready to take the safety pin out at a moment's notice.
The other Center agents crouched behind Yu, with Fujino being able to get out her I-Cutter after activating its energy blade.
Now what? Cammy wondered as she and Chun-Li took cover behind a pillar.
"Throw it in!" Kevin shouted at Yu, pointing to the incendiary grenade he was holding.
"R-right!" Yu nodded, taking off the safety pin. "Fire in the hole, people!"
Everyone crouched as Yu hurled the primed incendiary grenade towards the staircase, hoping that it would land on the bottom and engulf the monks by burning them.
A few seconds after the incendiary grenade, the group heard some loud moaning and wailing for a short time before they died down. A few more seconds later, the flames created by the grenade began to die down slowly.
"Are they dead?" Kevin muttered, wondering if the incendiary grenade really did the trick.
Leon gestured to Jean to move in with him, leaning over the stone-made railing to aim their combat shotguns. Both men saw that the black-clad monks have indeed died from the detonation of the incendiary grenade.
"That red bastard's still alive." Leon muttered, aiming the iron sights of his M3 at the monk clad in red robes with a weird mask made out of animal bones.
"It looks likes his robes are partially burnt from the incendiary grenade." Jean told Leon on the mask-wearing monk.
"He's still a bit weak from the incendiary grenade." Leon aimed the M3 at the red robed monk. "Let's waste him.
"Okay!"
The two of them fired their shotguns at the bottom of the stairway, targeting the monk. They watched the buckshots make contact with the monk's body, forcing him to stagger a bit backwards.
"He's still up!" Leon shouted, firing the M3 at the red monk's bone mask. The subsequent buckshot fire also blasted off the monk's entire head off like a balloon.
"Is he dead?" Jean asked after he stopped firing his SPAS-12.
The French Spriggan's question were answered in a grotesque manner when the ponytailed man saw the plaga parasite emerged out of the monk's neck. It had the appearance of a Venus flytrap plant that was hungry for a morsel to come to it.
Only this time, it had no problem killing off humans.
"Fire! Fire at the head!" Leon shouted, emptying his shotgun as he began to blast away at the parasite head. Jean joined in to keep the pressure up by firing his own shotgun at the parasite head as well until it exploded.
"Well that went well." The blonde DSO agent sighed in relief, seeing the headless red monk collapse on its knees before it dissolved.
"About time." Jean snarled. "I think we're going to run short on buckshot shells unless we acquire some during our journey to get out of Salazar Castle."
"Question is how the heck do we get out of this room? There's no visible doors that we can use."
"Pardon me..."
Diana approached Leon alongside Fujino, the latter carrying the Platinum Sword with her hands by holding it by the hilt and by the fake blade.
President's Office, West Wing, White House, Washington D.C., United States of America
President Graham was in a private meeting with the Director of the DSO. The latter was a Caucasian with blonde hair in his middle 50s with a gray suit and blue necktie, seated across the president's desk.
"Are you sure that there's nothing the FOS can do to break the stalemate with the lack of communication with your agents in Spain, Director?" The president asked the DSO director.
"I'm afraid not, Mr. President." The DSO director sighed while he shook his head. "According to what I've been personally told a while ago, it seems that the cult has acquired some high-tech devices to block our communications."
President Graham sighed, massaging his temples. "Goddammit. And I thought that they're just a damn extremist religious cult."
"That what's everyone in the DSO thought as well." The DSO director replied. "In fact, our allies in the Spanish intelligence community have concluded that it was possible for the cult to acquire some assistance from mercenaries or PMCs to set up electronic jamming capabilities."
"Anti-jamming capabilities?"
"That's right, sir."
The president felt very frustrated that the DSO had a major setback.
"I just don't believe this. The DSO is suppose to be one of the best out there and now you're telling me that someone else has outwitted you?"
"It seem so, Mr. President. It's also apparent that the cult has prepared for this contingency after your daughter was kidnapped."
"First my daughter was kidnapped with a traitor in the Secret Service in custody and now, the cult has anti-radio jamming capabilities. What's next?"
Upper Level Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
The group waited for Diana and Fujino to completely make the exchange with the Platinum and Gold Swords while the others stood guard to make sure the two Center agents were not going to be harmed with the exchange already taking place.
"So you think this'll work, Leon?" Kevin asked Leon, watching Fujino place the Platinum Sword in place of the Gold Sword. The former eyed the exchange, hoping it would work. Tea, meanwhile, collected 4,500 pesetas from where the remains of the dead red monk was and 1,800 pesetas from a long table near where the Platinum Sword is hanging. Jill had checked a small cabinet and secured a Red Herb, keeping it for future uses since the group doesn't have much herb supplies, leaving only a couple of First Aid Sprays left to ensure everyone was healthy and injury-free when the group took a break from the gunfight.
"Well it's either that or we stay stuck forever." Leon told Kevin.
"We're all done." Diana spoke to Leon after she and Fujino already completed the switch between the two swords.
"Alright."
The hanging Platinum Sword seemed to have worked for it slid back to the left, revealing a working door behind it.
"Seems to have paid off." Martin said, whistling. "Thanks, girls."
"Not a problem, Martin-san." Fujino replied to Martin's thanks.
"Here." Hien secured a Spinel, handing it to Tea while chucking a box of 9mm ammo to whoever needed it. In this case, the ammo was divided between Eriko and Jill.
"Time to stack up, people."
Leon directed the group towards the newly discovered door with him being the first to open the door while gripping his M3. After visually noticing that the outside was clear, he gave the signal that they can get out.
Outside Upper Level Room, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
"All clear."
Leon directed the group as they walked outside the room with no obvious choice but to keep moving forward.
Until they heard a voice of someone familiar.
"Hey you guys!"
Everyone turned around to see it was Luis, who was running towards them. And apparently from the same room where they sought refuge in.
What the? How did he... Martin was confused to see the Spanish man coming up from behind.
Unless he's some kinda wizard or something... Yu shared the Canadian teenager's sentiment.
"Why are you here, young man?" Sho asked Luis when he showed up, carefully looking at him for any sign of trouble.
"Oh..." Luis said before he began to pat his sides. "I just got something that you guys may need to..." The Spanish man began to frown when he was patting his pockets.
"Is something wrong now?" Ashley asked Luis, the latter looking very worried.
"Dammit..." Luis muttered. "Must've dropped it when I was running away from them."
"Dropped what?"
"A drug that will stop your convulsions."
Now everyone was feeling a bit worried, considering the blood coughing they've been through.
"Look." Luis tried to explain. "I know that all of you are active carriers. You've been coughing up blood, right?"
"We all are." Diana told the man. "And I'd like to say that it's an experience that I don't want to see again."
"And it also includes her." Jean pointed Ashley to Luis. "In case you're wondering."
"Crap." Luis muttered once more. "So the eggs have already hatched." He sighed. "We don't have much time."
"What are you talking about there, man?" Kevin asked, wondering what's the important thing Luis needs to retrieve.
"Let me come with you." Ashley began to insist to Luis.
Luis refused Ashley's request. "No. You stay here with the group." He then began to turn around and walk away.
"Why are you..." Leon questioned Luis' stance in helping them out, but he saw Luis waving him off.
"It makes me feel better." Luis said as he walked away. "Let's leave it at that."
Command Center, Field Operations Support Division, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in the United States of America
Hunnigan was speaking with FOS technicians and hackers to see if they can get a breakthrough in getting pass through Los Illuminados' anti-jamming capabilities.
"No good, Ms. Hunnigan." A man in his late 20s with East Asian features tried to show her what his progress was when was typing it away in a desktop with an OS customized for DSO purposes, which also includes message encryption. "No matter how many times I've tried, it seemed that the cult's got some good people in sabotaging our communications."
"That bad huh?"
"I'm afraid so. The others are still trying to look again on whether the equipment can still be taken of."
"Anything else?"
"Nothing yet. Spanish intelligence is also looking for any mercenaries or PMCs that could aid the cult, especially those who are suspicious."
"Okay. Just keep me informed about this."
"Yes, Ms. Hunnigan."
Outside Upper Level Room, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
"So what now?"
Kevin asked Leon after he saw Luis leave the area.
"Well there are two doors." Jill pointed to the double doors on the side and the door up ahead. "Somehow, it feels like I'm getting back memories in the Spencer Estate."
"Not to mention that it's pretty creepy." Ashley murmured, who stayed pretty close to Leon to be on the safe side.
"We can check the double doors first." Tea made the suggestion.
"Okay..." Leon was a bit hesitant.
"But it may be the only way to see if the door's locked or not." Hiryu spoke up.
"Bro is surely trying to be straight." Hien sighed.
"Bro huh?" Kevin nodded a bit, hearing the masked Spriggan agent's comments.
"I can go and check." Yu walked up forward, aiming his Sig Sauer P226 after making sure his Heckler & Koch G3A4 is slung around his neck. When he came to the double doors, he placed his gloved hand on the ring handle and pulled and pushed the door to see if it was locked.
"I guess it's pretty obvious." Jean said, looking at Yu trying to push and/or pull the door in front of him.
"Let's go then." Eriko pointed to the red door, earning nods from the gun-wielding members.
Adam Benford's Office, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in the United States of America
Adam Benford was certainly not a very happy man today.
He had been told by the director of the DSO that the president was furious about the updates on the case. Even with the progress of the FOS couldn't help break through the anti-jamming capabilities of the Los Illuminados.
The man wondered if there was someone in the DSO who could have tipped off the cult, betraying the agency in that manner.
"I wonder who Leon and Kevin can break through the anti-jamming problem made by Los Illuminados?"
The DSO veteran sighed, hoping that Hunnigan and the rest of the FOS can be of some help to the two DSO agents deployed in Spain.
Yes. It's certain that Adam Benford was not a very happy man.
Outside Upper Level Room, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
Kevin handed his SSG P IV to Leon, who decided to check what's beyond the red door alongside Eriko and Jill. For some reason, Fujino insisted to help him.
"Great, so I'm leading a team of girls to check out what's beyond the red door." Kevin said out loud, seeing Leon look at him with a raised eyebrow before the former accepted Leon's M3 as a substitute weapon. The others looked at Kevin, wondering if he's trying to be sarcastic, funny or both at the same time. Sho volunteered to help him out as well.
"Never mind me, people." Kevin waved Leon, already armed with the M3 on his left as he stacked up near the door. He began to touch the door to see if it was locked or not.
"Okay." The brown-haired DSO agent murmured, pushing the door slowly to get a peek what's behind the red door.
After a few minutes of checking, Kevin gestured to the ladies (and the ninja) that they would proceed to go and check out what's beyond the red door.
"Let's see what's behind door number 1."
Kevin exhaled before he slowly opened the door, holding the M3 with his left hand.
Outside Armory, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
Kevin caught sight of a monk armed with a flail, which had a spiked ball attached to the stick via chain.
"Ah shit..." Kevin whispered.
"What is it?" Sho asked the shotgun-armed DSO agent.
"Got someone guarding some room up ahead." Kevin told the ninja. "Just worried that we'll need to rush it and take down whoever's in the room by surprise."
"I think I can handle that." Sho murmured, drawing out Lightning Light from his saya.
"And what are we gonna do?"
"When I take down the guard outside, you and the girls rush in and take down everyone inside."
"Okay..."
Within seconds, Sho kicked the door out of the way and dashed in. The flail-armed monk heard the noise and turned his hear around to see what it was, only for him to get caught by Sho as he was tackled with the addition of being stabbed in the forehead with his ninjato.
"GO!" Kevin yelled, directing Eriko, Jill and Fujino to the armory.
Inside Armory, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
Kevin took the lead in storming the armory through a doorless opening, firing the M3 to gun down one of the monks. Eriko and Jill fired their sidearms at the second monk, who had his face exposed. Fujino charged in and activated her I-Cutter before the purple-haired teenager used the I-Cutter's energy blade to slash the monk's right hand in order to disarm him of his own flail. Kevin finished the semi-handless monk off by firing a few buckshot rounds at his face until he was killed off.
"Clear!" Eriko shouted, lowering her Sig Sauer P228.
"Clear!" Jill shouted, lowering her Beretta Px4 Type F.
"All clear!" Kevin shouted, lowering the M3 after firing the fatal shot that killed off the second monk.
"Looks like a medieval armory." Fujino said after observing the weapons inside the armory. It ranged from halberds to sabers with some spears mounted on the wall.
"Let's see what we can obtain from the room." Kevin slinged the M3. "Although I don't think we can take the halberds and the sabers in the armory..."
"Nothing much." Eriko told Kevin, collecting pesetas ranging from 1,600, 1,800 (taken from a smashed wooden barrel), 1,200 to 2,500 pesetas.
Sho came in the armory, gripping Lightning Light by its tsuka. Some blood was dripping from the ninjato's kissaki.
"We're all good here." Kevin informed the ninja.
"And I took care of the guard outside." Sho replied. "But I noted that he had some kind of tattoo all over his head."
"You too huh?" Jill spoke to Sho.
"Yes." Sho nodded. "I'm bothered by it and I'm wondering if it's some symbol of some kind."
"We could ask Luis." Kevin suggested. "If we can find him again..."
"I don't think we have the time for that, Kevin-san." Fujino objected. "We're not even sure where he can be in the castle."
"She's right." Sho agreed with her. "We can still continue down the path and explore what else is down there. Perhaps we can find a key that can unlock the main double doors."
"Well, what are waiting for then?" Kevin had collected some 9mm ammo and handed it to the girls, hoping that he could get some more .45 ACP ammo for himself so at least he won't have to worry about ammo shortage.
En route to Storage Room, somewhere near Armory, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
Kevin and his little group walked down the path away from the armory. Taking the lead, Kevin had already shouldered the M3 and aimed at the top of the arch bridge. Slowly walking, the brown-haired man aimed the M3's iron sights until Kevin caught sight of a monk armed with a crossbow. His crossbow had been loaded with a bolt that had a burning arrowhead.
"Great. They're trying to go medieval on us..." Kevin murmured, complaining while he fired the M3 twice at the monk until he saw him fall from the top of the arch bridge to the ground.
The ex-SPD officer saw Sho approach the downed monk and stabbed him at the back of his head.
"Ow..." Kevin winced, seeing Sho stab the ninjato's kissaki. "Painful much?"
"Better to be on the safe side than to be sorry at all." Sho replied, whipping Lightning Light on the side a few time to remove the blood from the ninjato's blade.
"Okay then..." Kevin shrugged as the group moved on down the path.
Storage Room, somewhere near Armory, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
The only door leading to the storage room was kicked open, making Kevin take the lead in securing the storage room as he aimed the M3 inside. Jill joined up with him and aimed her sidearm. Eriko, Fujino and Sho got inside to visually inspect the room to see if hostiles were inside.
"All is clear." Sho advised Kevin. "Just a tresure chest and some wooden shelves and barrels."
"Alright." Kevin sighed as he lowered his M3. He caught sight of a red barrel nearby, which had a white exclamation point painted inside a white triangle.
"Better be careful of that." Jill pointed the red barrel to Kevin.
"Can't imagine the last time I saw one of those."
"Yeah. Back in Raccoon City, those things sure came in handy."
"You need to look at this right away." Eriko called for Kevin and Jill to see her.
Kevin and Jill noted the treasure chest, which was not open yet.
"Is it locked?" Kevin asked.
"I made some checks." Fujino told Kevin. "It's not locked and it's not hooked to a booby trap of any kind."
"That's a relief." Jill sighed in relief before she asked the next question. "There anything else we can take from this room?"
"We found a few items." Eriko answered Jill, telling her what she found in the room. "Among the items collected include a Green Herb and a Velvet Blue."
"Perfect. Least I can have the Green and Red herbs combined together later on."
"The only thing left for us to do is to open this treasure chest and acquire the spoils for our use."
"Perhaps I can open this chest." Eriko suggested as she started to approach the chest.
"But..." Kevin began to protest. Except that Jill started to cut him off.
"Let Eriko do it." Jill said, pointing a finger at Kevin before she pointed at the M3 he was porting. "Besides, you got a shotgun. Who knows if some crazed up monk could attack us from the back?"
"You got a point, Jill." Kevin said, shouldering and aiming the M3 at the red explosive barrel while Eriko started to open up the treasure chest. The Japanese detective was relieved to see that the chest was not booby trapped to injure or kill her.
"There's a key inside." Eriko told everyone inside the storage room after she completely opened the treasure chest's lid.
"Could it be the key to open the main double doors?"
"We'll have to see about that."
As soon as Eriko pocketed the key, Kevin stared at the door and swore that he heard some chanting and feet shuffling.
"Get ready guys." Kevin said, making a quick check on the M3 to make sure it had been loaded. The brown-haired man loaded two buckshot rounds into the M3's ejection port.
Jill stood next to Kevin and aimed her sidearm at the door. Eriko aimed her sidearm at the red barrel after the door was kicked open.
"Fire only when they're near the barrels!" Kevin advised Eriko, aiming for one of the monks that just came inside the storage room. He casually introduced the monk to a couple of buckshot rounds to the chest, sending him down to the ground.
"Eriko, now!" Jill shouted after she fired her sidearm at a monk at the chest before directing a shot to his forehead to stop him for good.
"Okay." Eriko nodded and fired her sidearm at the red barrel. After she fired twice, the barrel exploded. The explosion took out a total of three monks that got inside the storage room.
"Go! Go! Go!" Kevin yelled, stopping to pick up two boxes of shotgun shells while Eriko scooped up the 1,800 pesetas she found.
Outside Storage Storage Room, en route to main double doors, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
After Kevin was the first to exit the storage room, he found a couple of monks waiting for him and the others with flails at the ready. He fired the M3 at them, hitting them in the chest before firing a few more at their heads.
"We're clear for now! Let's hurry!" Jill shouted, following close behind Kevin to watch his back.
The five-man team moved out from the storage room with the door key in tow, moving fast before more enemies could show up to harass them.
Near side entrance, Inner Curtain Wall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
"It's been only a few minutes and I'm hearing gunshots..."
Leon murmured as he and the others who remained behind with him and Ashley awaited for the return of Kevin and his team for anything they can use to open up the double doors in front of them.
"What the heck is happening?" Martin stared at the door Kevin used to enter when he heard shotgun blasts from the other side.
"Be on your guard, everyone." Leon said, slowly reaching for his Silver Ghost in case hostiles would come bursting through the door.
"Yo!" Kevin came running out of the door, tossing Leon his M3. In return, Leon tossed Kevin his SSG P IV.
"What happened?" Cammy asked Kevin and team after returning back to meet them.
"We..." Kevin panted for a few seconds before he continued. "We got a door key."
"To the locked doors?"
"I have it with me." Eriko showed the door key to Leon.
"Great." Leon nodded. "I can hardly wait to see what's on the other side of the locked doors."
"Stack up, people. Let's go!"
Everyone began to move in towards the locked doors while Eriko began her work to use the door key, inserting it into a keyhole. She then turned the key in a clockwise manner, hearing a faint clicking sound when she moved the key handle to the right.
"It's open." Eriko said, testing the door to see if it was open.
"Let's go."
Leon led the way, opening the door inside. He got inside the castle, aiming the M3 as he got inside. Cammy and Chun-Li offered to cover for Ashley as they were among the last to get inside.
Audience Hall, somewhere inside Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain
The group got inside Salazar Castle before Java closed the door from behind.
"Wow..." Yu whistled. "This is one amazing castle."
I'm getting goosebumps from just looking inside. Jill took a few steps inside, trying to look around the foyer.
"Guess we should get up the stairs." Ashley pointed to the small staircase nearby.
"Given from how the foyer looks like..." Martin surmised. "Guess I'll have to agree with Ms. Ashley."
"Come on." Kevin told the group. "We need to move."
Leon nodded in agreement with him and together, the entire group moved up the staircase slowly in order to avoid any traps or enemies.
"I don't like this silence." Hiryu murmured, taking the side.
"Me too, bro." Hien told Hiryu, walking slowly beside him.
Sho looked up as they walked up the staircase to see there was a small balcony above them.
Just then, the group suddenly heard someone laughing from above.
"Who the heck's laughing?" Jean said, not liking the way the laughter was done.
"It seems we're about to receive the castle's master." Tea calmly told Jean.
Leon and company followed Tea's advise, looking towards the balcony above and saw someone of small height walking on the balcony. He was flanked by two tall men wearing red and black robes, which covered everything including their heads. The group also noted that the small man was wearing what looked like Napoleon-era clothing.
"I was... starting to wonder when you might notice us." The small man greeted his "guests".
"Who the hell are you?" Yu snarled at the small man.
"Oh my. I have a rude guest." The small man said. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ramon Salazar, the 8th Castellan of this magnificent architecture."
"How's about I say it's not a pleasure to meet you and we're not enjoying the Spanish hospitality of your castle?" Hiryu mocked Ramon, pointing a finger at him.
Ramon sighed and shook his head. "I never thought that I have another rude guest with me. Regardless, I have been honored with the prestigious power from the great Lord Saddler. I've been expecting you my brethren."
"No thanks bro." Leon said, who just glared at him.
Ramon continued to grin and stare at the group from below. "My my, we've got a feisty one. If you care for your own well being, I suggest you surrender yourself and simply...become our hostage. Or Mr. Scott, you can give us the girl, since you're not worth a penny I'm afraid. You can die."
Ashley shouted at Ramon. "I'm never turning into one of them, never!"
The group could hear Ramon laughing for a while before it faded.
"Now you're talking." Kevin gave Ashley the thumbs up. "Now we better move and get out of here before..."
The ground was shaking and before the group knew what was going up, something was rising up to block the pathway up ahead.
"Great. Another puzzle." Martin groaned. "Why can't we just chop this up to pieces?"
"Because we can't." Leon reminded Martin. "Who knows if destroying it the easy way could spring a trap or two?"
"Oh, all right."
"Our castellan host appears to be quite young." Chun-Li commented. "And his physical features don't look appear to be normal at all."
"Agreed." Cammy shared Chun-Li's concern. "I have some feeling that the parasite may be responsible for that."
Tea approached the puzzle slab that blocked their way and began to study it, seeing that something was missing from it.
"Anything?" Jean asked, waiting for Tea to finish up whatever she was doing.
"A puzzle." Tea pointed to the missing pieces. "I approximate at least three puzzle pieces are needed to remove this slab."
"Looks like some kinda goat creature or something." Kevin observed, looking at the outline. "I'm not sure."
"Be sure to arm yourselves, ladies and gentlemen." Leon told his allies, who had been given shotgun shells by Kevin a while ago.
"I'll go and scout the room." Sho advised the blonde DSO agent. While Leon and anyone else with a gun began to check if their weapons were fully loaded, Sho hurled some shurikens up on the wall behind, seeing some sparkle. He immediately dashed and picked up a Purple Gem. This followed by shuriken throws at the vases, picking up a box of 7.62 NATO subsonic bullets and a Velvet Blue with some 5.56 NATO ammo. The ninja gave the subsonic ammo to Kevin, the Velvet Blue to Tea and the 5.56 ammo to Jill since she was already armed with a Heckler and Koch SL8-4.
"All done?" The ninja asked.
"We split up." Leon debriefed the group. "We can't waste any time in exploring one area or another if we're together."
"Let's do this." Hiryu suggested. "How's about a game of roshambo? That way we can determine who goes where."
Leon sighed. "All right. Guess it's better than making arguments all night long."
"Okay mate. Best two out of three."
Hiryu wiggled his right gloved hand since he would challenge Leon to two of three roshambo matches. First match was won by Leon, with him using scissors and Hiryu doing paper. Second was won by Hiryu, who used rock to protect himself from Leon using the same scissor act. For the third match, Leon won by using paper to defeat Hiryu's rock.
"Looks like you lost, mate." Dan told Hiryu.
"Never thought there would be an American who's good in roshambo."
"Heh. Never hurts to have some practice." Leon said, taking a glance at Kevin. Kevin, for his part, tried not to look at Leon.
"So what now?"
"I've checked the other door." Sho told the group. "The left door is somehow not opening up, which means it's locked."
"Then to door number two then." Kevin said, pointing to the other door with his thumb. "But wait. How are we doing this again?"
"It's simple." Leon told Kevin, patting his right shoulder. "My group will take the lead. You guys cover our butts."
"I-uhh..." Kevin sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I guess that's fair enough."
"Well then." Cammy spoke up. "Shouldn't we be moving then?"
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
When the group entered the right door, Leon first noted that the hallway they were in was not like any other hallway he saw. For a castle like the Salazar Castle, it looked quite extravagant.
"Let's go scout the area and make sure it's clear." Leon began to give out orders, already arming himself with the M3.
"I can go with you." Eriko said, her sidearm at the ready.
The two then moved ahead, leaving the others behind for the meantime.
"The others secure this area and make sure Ashley's fine."
"Right." Kevin said, already making way for the bluish door he saw, trying to open it up. When the sniper tried to open it, he frowned and observed that the door was firmly locked.
"Anything?" Hien asked Kevin.
"It's locked. We'll probably need a key to open this up."
"But what's down there..." Dan pointed to the open basement prison. "in that prison?"
Kevin got his SSG P IV at the ready, positioning himself by placing the sniper rifle's bipod on top of a long cabinet table. Peering through the Leupold scope, the brown-haired man saw someone was chained up behind a prison cell.
Leon and Eriko got into the other part of the hallway, seeing two horse statues flanking each side of the hallway. The bad news is that the horses were spewing out flames from its nostrils.
"Great. Now we're in a dead end." Leon sighed, seeing the flames blocking the way.
Eriko observed the painting. But the more she stepped closer, the more she was suspicious of it.
The black-haired woman swore that there was something embedded in the painting.
"Something you find?" Leon asked Eriko, seeing her check the painting.
"I... think so." Eriko ran her fingers in the painting, feeling the shape of a key. "There's something I got, embedded on the painting."
"A key?"
"Yeah."
Eriko grabbed the key and pocketed it.
"Come on, Eriko. We need to go back and talk to the others."
Makeshift Electronics Room, Unknown Facility
"And there you have it." Octavia told her "allies" on her work. "From what I've been told by my subordinates in the CIHL, the jamming devices I brought with me are effectively making the Salazar Castle and everything else beyond this place a dead zone for communications going in and out of this area."
The blonde woman showed off some high-tech electronics, which are not easily described by a lot of words. They appeared to be based on technology made from alien tech CIHL had acquired in the past. Several portable boxes with antennas are hooked up to a few tower servers. A few desktop PCs were also operational, used by CIHL officers in establishing a wide area jamming zone.
Or at least what Octavia claimed.
"Quite the tech you got here, Octavia." Krauser took the time to observe the makeshift electronics she set up, watching CIHL personnel monitor jamming areas in the castle and beyond while checking on the status on jamming any spy satellites from observing the castle from space.
"Ms. Octavia." A CIHL officer called for her attention, who was wearing the standard red and white CIHL uniform and helmet. "We're able to block out American FOS attempts to sabotage our jamming. Even the CIA couldn't break through with the best hackers they have in their payroll." The CIHL officer was monitoring the status of the room, which was operating at 100% efficiency status.
"Excellent. Keep up the good work."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Now we have the tactical advantage here." Geki said, feeling excited for an upcoming fight.
"Indeed." Kei added, cracking her knuckles.
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
"Yo!" Leon ran back to see the others with Eriko. "We got ourselves a key."
"Then it seems it'll open the door to the basement prison." Kevin said, still peering through the Leupold scope. "But I suggest that you have to be careful."
"And why's that?"
"Because the basement prison's housing someone." Kevin began to explain. "Someone who's been blind, but restrained. I suspect that since he doesn't appear to have any eyes, the prisoner could use his hearing and probably other senses to compensate." He then added. "It looks like his eyes are stitched up or something."
"Disgusting." Diana said, who heard the comment from Kevin. She felt her skin crawl, given the current situation.
"That's quite scary." Leon said as he swallowed his saliva. "So how we do it?"
"I volunteer." Sho stepped forward, telling Leon. "Just hand me the key to the basement prison and I can do the rest from there."
Jill joined up with Kevin, aiming the SL8-4 at the prison cell. "We got you covered."
"My thanks."
Sho approached the door leading to the basement prison cell, unlocking the door before disposing of the key as it was no longer needed.
Basement Prison, Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Sho slowly descended down the steps to the basement prison, under close watch of Kevin and Jill with their rifles trained on the only prison cell. The ninja looked at the prison grounds and saw two bells placed near the cell.
"Bells?" The ninja was confused with their presence. "Why would someone need bells?"
Then Sho stared at the restrained prisoner inside the cell.
"Hmmm." Sho murmured. "I see."
He slowly drew out Lightning Light, remembering that the prisoner's eyes were all stitched up that he uses hearing and other senses to compensate for his lack of sight.
"Then I will need to tread here carefully."
The ninja slowly walked towards the prison cell, having a closer took at the restrained prisoner. Sho was a bit apprehensive as he made his approach, knowing that he could be attacked at anytime.
Sho was now in front of the prison cell, standing in front of the restrained prisoner.
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
"Do you think he'll be okay?"
Ashley asked Diana as the former saw anyone armed with a small arm positioning themselves by aiming their weapon in front of the prison cell where Sho is currently positioned.
"I know Sho." Fujino tried to reassure the First Daughter. "He is one of SHADOW's best combat instructors. I trust Sho-sensei with my life. And so do Dan-san and the others."
"Let's just hope he can get out of there alive." Diana told Fujino, not sure of how things are going to go from there.
Basement Prison, Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Sho carefully reached his right hand to the prison cell door, noting that it was not locked.
"Strange." Sho murmured. "The door's not locked at all." While he slowly pushed the door inward, the ninja caught sight of a lever inside the cell.
Dammit! So there is a reason why it's inside...
Sho executed a double backflip when the prisoner, aka the Garrador, started to break free of his wall restraints. He heard the masked prisoner growl out loud while showing off its metal claws.
I have an idea on how we can deal with this nuisance.
Sho readied a shuriken in his left hand, eyeing the left bell. With his sights on the object, Sho quickly hurled the shuriken at the bell.
The ninja saw his actions had worked. The blind prisoner lashed out at the bell, charging towards it while stabbing the wall near the bell with his right claw.
He saw the parasite that was lodged at the prisoner's back, which makes a big target for Kevin and Jill. He heard a slight echo from above, which meant that Jill had fired her SL8-4. Even though Sho couldn't hear Kevin's SSG P IV fire since it had a silenced barrel, he was sure that the brown-haired DSO agent had fired his weapon at the exposed parasite.
"RRRHAAAAAA!"
The prisoner roared, lashing out at the air with his claws. This made Sho use his shuriken once more to hit the right bell in order to distract him.
"GGHRRRRA!"
Like the last time, the trick still worked. The claw-armed prisoner made a beeline for the right bell and pierced the wall once again with its claws. He also had a hard time getting them removed from the wall, giving Sho the opportunity to attack.
"Now..." Sho whispered as he made a leap towards the prisoner's back. Sho grappled with the prisoner by using his left arm to hold onto his neck while he positioned himself next to the parasite.
Here goes.
Sho made a hard stab at the parasite, noticing the prisoner try to break free from Sho's hold. Knowing that it was just a matter of time before the prisoner is dead for good, Sho was about to execute another stab when he was forced to let go.
While the ninja fell down, he rebouded by executing a flip to make sure he landed on his feet. He also got Lightning Light back in his right hand, which was good.
Let's try to distract the monster...
Sho began to run around the prison, earning the prisoner's attention by running after him while listening to the ninja's feet.
While running, Sho did a double jump to make him land on one of the wooden beams above. When he landed on it, he saw that there was a box of shotgun shells on it.
Who's crazy enough to place this here?
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Jill and Kevin monitored the fight between Sho and the prisoner through their Leupold riflescopes.
"Should we shoot?" Jill asked Kevin, ready to fire the SL8-4 if need be.
"Hold on." Kevin said, carefully adjusting his aim so that his SSG P IV is aimed at the prisoner's parasite. "Okay, let's go and take down that monster."
"I'm ready."
"Got it."
Kevin began to give the countdown while watching the prisoner walk slowly around the pillar with his back exposed.
"One, Two and Three..."
Kevin fired first, watching the 7.62 NATO subsonic bullet crash into the parasite, making the prisoner kneel after getting shot in the back. Jill did her work, firing a 5.56 NATO bullet into the parasite.
"All right!" Kevin pumped his fist to the air as the prisoner collapsed on his knees before he fell down to the floor. He then flipped the bipod up, knowing that his job was done.
Basement Prison, Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Sho, still holding onto Lightning Light, examined the corpse of the Garrador to see if he left anything behind that may be useful.
"Gold bars?"
The ninja was confused, especially with a restrained prisoner like him having gold bars on his person. Regardless, Sho decided to pick them up and store them until he can meet with Tea upstairs.
"This is becoming more confusing than the last time."
Sho approached the empty cell, this time walking towards the lever. Gripping the lever, Sho pulled it down hard until he could hear a clicking sound. When he removed his hand, Sho saw that the lever was positioned at the bottom and locked there permanently.
"Now to leave this infernal place..."
Sho began to run back to the stairs, seeing that the door was already unlocked.
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
By the time Sho had got back up, Martin and Java began to loot the area they were in for any ammo or herbs they can collect.
"Try to search for any hidden items behind paintings!" Eriko advised Martin, checking around for anything the group can use later on.
"Right!" Martin shouted before he told Java. "Java, go check the painting of Saddler and see if there's something hidden behind it."
"Java know." Java nodded, marching towards Saddler's painting. When the caveman lifted the painting to check the rear, he saw that there was a gold bar behind it. Delighted to see something behind it, Java had no problem gripping both sides of the painting before he threw it away like it was some piece of garbage.
"Nice find, Java." Diana saw what Java did, inspecting the hiding place to see some gold bars. These gold bars are worth 5,000 pesetas if sold to the Merchant later on.
"An interesting hiding place." Tea said as she saw the hiding place instead of Saddler's painting. "No one would ever expect that the master of this castle would just hide gold bars in plain sight."
"How quaint." Cammy said, looking at the discarded Saddler painting. The only thing the Delta Red operator did was to step on Saddler's face hard with her left foot. The blonde woman watched the combat boot tear through the painting.
There was some chanting the group heard beyond the hallway, which alarmed Leon and Kevin as usual.
"We're getting uninvited guests." Leon said after Sho handed him the shotgun shells.
"Of the monk variety?" Kevin asked after he slung his SSG P IV and instead, drew out his Glock 21 Mariner.
"Looks like it."
MOM's Office, The Center
MOM began to read over reports filed by the SID and handed to her by Billy before he was summoned elsewhere in the Center. The black-haired woman and leader of the anti-supernatural black ops agency was alarmed that with the best hacker and alien equipment they had, the Center was not able to penetrate the jamming zones the CIHL had established in order to isolate Leon and the others from making contact with the outside world.
"I wonder who could be behind all this?"
MOM pondered the suspects responsible for getting the jamming zone established in rural Spain. She knew that unless Los Illuminados was able to corrupt and make an entire intelligence agency go rogue against the government they're trying to help, MOM surmised that it may be a group with access to high-tech weapons and equipment.
"Could it be... the CIHL?"
MOM thought of the possibility of CIHL's involvement. But she remembered that she personally led anti-CIHL operations with the Special Reaction Squad spearheading raids to shut down both their covert bases and arrest their high-ranking leaders. That happened right after Diana was cured of any mutations caused by Octavia when the former was a CIHL operative.
"No. It can't be." MOM frowned. "Unless she was really in hiding when the SRS raided a college campus that was a front for the CIHL..."
She decided to make contact with the SID ASAP.
"Yes, MOM?"
MOM replied via headset. "I want to make a check if there are any CIHL facilities that are still intact."
"Understood, MOM. I'll ask for an immediate satellite sweep."
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Leon and Kevin had their sidearms at the ready the moment they saw three monks appear in the hallway.
"Hey Leon." Kevin said, gesturing to the red lamp fixed above the ceiling via chains. "Look there."
"A red lamp." Leon replied, nodding. "Let's go and try that."
"Sure thing."
The two DSO agents saw two of the three monks charge them. When they did this, Leon shouted to the others to keep back. Kevin aimed the Glock 21 Mariner's iron sights.
He calmly fired the pistol, making two .45 ACP bullets crash onto the red lamp. Its flammable contents spilled out of the broken lamp and onto the two monks. Kevin kept up the assault, shooting his Austrian-made pistol at the burning monks until they collapsed due to the flames burning their entire bodies.
The third monk slowly approached the group, but only slowly due to the flames that were burning the monk's bodies. Taking the opportunity to strike back, Cammy and Chun-Li decided to take the initiative by charging the lone monk.
"Spiral Arrow!" Cammy charged first after the flames died down, launching herself like a projectile in a corkscrew manner. This made the monk collapse after he was hit in the chest.
"HAAAAAHHHH!" Chun-Li made a running start after Cammy knocked down the third monk, she stopped in time to execute a somersault.
"What's she doing?" Ashley asked no one, curious about the move Chun-Li's about to make.
"HAZANSHU!" The Chinese Interpol yelled, using her outstretched left leg to smack the downed monk's head. But for this case, the monk's head was completely destroyed in the attack. She executed a backflip afterwards, anticipating an attack.
"That went well." Leon commented, seeing all the corpses of the downed monks dissolved into nothing.
Chun-Li sighed when she saw her left boot had some blood in it.
"Great. Blood."
"So um..." Hiryu saw Martin and Java were done searching the area. "What did you guys find?"
"Not plenty..." Martin began before he told him of the items he and Java found. "But Java and I found some 9mm bullets, 7.62 bullets, 5,000 pesetas in gold bars, 800 pesetas and an incendiary grenade."
"Quite a list." Hiryu then said. "Although I'm a bit surprised that we've got that much pesetas."
"Not anymore." Yu spoke up. "I've checked where the monks' corpses were suppose to be. They left behind 1,500 pesetas."
"I was able to get this message." Eriko showed up with a piece of paper in her left hand. "It was stuck on the wall and just left there."
"With what?" Leon asked.
"Tape. Tape that wouldn't be able to make it stick there for long."
"What does the message say?"
"Hold on. I'll read it over."
Eriko began to read over what the message had said from Spanish:
I have confirmation that Sera has entered the castle. Why he would return during his escape leave me to question his motives. But we must seize the moment and capture him.
We will get the others after we apprehend Sera. It appears he took some vaccines when he stole our "sample". The vaccines we can do without, but we must retrieve the "sample" for it is our life blood. I feel there is somebody else or some other group involved in this whole affair.
If the "sample" were to get into the hands of the other entity, the world which we seek to create will not come. We must apprehend Sera as quickly as possible.
"So there is a cure after all." Tea commented after Eriko read the message. "And it seems we're priority number 2 until they capture Luis."
"The question is," Jean began his question. "where is the cure and if Luis is responsible for holding them?"
"Looks like our cult is still obsessed with creating their own world." Dan sighed after hearing the message. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I despise religious cults of all types. You never knew when the leaders will start going nuts."
"At this point, I don't think they're nuts at all." Kevin countered Dan's suggestion. "With the technology and the help they're getting, it seems the vision of their ideal world's going to be a reality unless we get rid of them for good."
Is Ada helping Los Illuminados?
Leon began to wonder about the Chinese-American spy he met back in the last days of Raccoon City before it was destroyed by missiles launched by the US Military.
And if she is, do I have to kill her?
Somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
"Aaa-hacmp..."
Ada almost sneezed when she was infiltrating Salazar Castle by traveling down one of the castle's many hallways, gripping her Springfield Armory XD pistol.
"Dammit, I still can't get through Wesker." The Chinese-American was very frustrated that her smart phone can't either get a signal or make a call to Wesker's hideout, wherever it is.
She continued down the hallway, stopping to peek around the corner.
No one so far. Let's hope this continues.
Ada kept her smartphone while using both of her hands to hold the XD's pistol grip firmly.
The black-haired woman was on the move, cursing to herself why she wore high heels for the operation when she could have worn something else instead.
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
"We need to check ahead."
Kevin offered to check ahead. Jean would back him up with Hiryu helping out. The trio moved out, about to turn left on the reverse L-shaped hallway corner when Kevin spotted a couple of monks wearing black hoods, armed with crossbows that had flaming bolt arrowheads.
"Ah, shit..." Kevin shouldered the SSG P IV when he saw another monk come between the crossbow-armed monks, about to light up a piece of dynamite.
"Dynamite..." Hiryu muttered, hearing the hissing sound coming from the dynamite when the fuse has been lit up.
"Not on my watch." Kevin took aim at the monk's dynamite that was held in his right hand. Kevin grinned when he fired the SSG P IV, watching the bullet tear the dynamite into many pieces. This also resulted in an explosion that took out all three monks since they were near one another.
"Okay. This area's clear." Kevin told Jean and Hiryu, still holding onto his weapon. "You two check up ahead, but be careful."
"Right." Jean said, aiming his SPAS-12 while slowly moving forward onto the next area. Hiryu covered the French Spriggan, slowly walking backwards to ensure any surprise attacks would be dealt with.
Tea stayed behind, collecting 1,200 pesteas each from where the corpses of the crossbow-armed monks were.
Adam Benford's Office, DSO Headquarters, somewhere in the United States of America
Adam was now back in his office when he heard a knock coming from Bruce, who peeked inside.
"Bruce." Adam greeted Bruce without looking at him, concentrating on his paperwork.
"So, sir..." Bruce began to ask, still peeking inside the office. "Are we gonna do a rescue..."
"That's out of the question, Bruce." Adam seized whatever he was doing and eyed the blonde DSO agent. "Leon, Kevin and the First Daughter have been infected by a a parasite created by Los Illuminados."
"Jesus..." Bruce murmured.
"And the two requested for the evacuation to come later since they want to purge the parasite out of their system."
"Boy, I wish I can help those two in Spain."
"Well we can't. FOS informed me that the cult made a jamming zone in their territory."
"But how?"
"That's the thing. Analysts believe that the cult's receiving help from mercenaries or from some covert agency."
"I do remember that I heard of another anti-paranormal agency..." Bruce began to ramble off before he scratched his head. "It's not the Center, but I know it starts with the letter C."
"Hmmm..." Adam pondered on what Bruce had said to him. "I think I may know the agency you're talking about, Bruce."
"You do, sir?"
Adam nodded. "I'll have analysts run that down. At least we'll know who we're dealing with."
Hallway, somewhere in Salazar's Castle, somewhere in Spain
Jean and Hiryu passed by the horse statues and into the end of the hallway, which had a square-shaped room.
"Jean! On the left!"
However, there were a couple of monks waiting for them. One of them was going for his dynamite while the other was unarmed.
"Shit..." Jean cursed. "Get back!"
Hiryu got away as Jean fired the SPAS-12 a few times at the recently lit dynamite. He fired a few times until the dynamite exploded, taking both monks out. The force of the explosion forced Jean onto the floor.
"You alright?!" Hiryu came to check on Jean.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Jean waved him off when he got up. "Tell the others that the coast is clear."
"It's clear!" Hiryu yelled.
Jean looked around to see if he can get anything useful. He spied on a box of .45 ACP bullets on a ledge between two pillars.
Kevin and the others came running down after they were told that the last two enemies were taken care of. Here, Jean tossed the box of .45 ACP bullets to Kevin, who accepted it.
"Are the doors locked?" Leon asked Jean.
"Not that we found any keys lying around here."
Kevin, in the meantime, began to reload with whatever .45 ACP bullets he can muster for his Glock 21 Mariner.
"I'll go check." Fujino said as she approached the double doors. She gripped the ring handle and noted that they were not locked. "It's not locked!"
"Give me a second." Kevin said as he ported the SSG P IV. He then directed Java. "Mind getting the door open?"
Java nodded, walking towards the door and opening it just as Kevin began to kneel down with his right knee on the ground. He shouldered his SSG P IV and propped it alongside his left leg.
"Hold for now until I can loosen things up." Kevin said when he peered through the Leupold scope, seeing a monk with red garbs and a couple monks wearing black hoods. They were also armed with the same crossbows and flaming bolt arrowheads.
Here goes nothing.
Kevin fired a shot at the red monk, watching his head explode. He kept his cool and waited for the venus flytrap-like parasite to show up from its neck. He then took another shot, killing him. The brown-haired man kept firing, killing the crossbow-wielding men. Each time he fired the SSG P IV, Kevin pulled the bolt and worked it until he could push it back. Round after round was fired from the silenced sniper rifle, killing any of the monks he could see in his scope.
When his 10-round magazine was empty, Kevin shouted to Leon that he and the others needed to get inside the other side of the door and clear it before enemy reinforcements show up.
And Leon just did that. Kicking the door, he shouldered the M3 and aimed for the nearest monk. The ex-SPD officer fired his shotgun at a monk wielding a wooden shield until the shield was broken. Hiryu assisted him by firing his Heckler & Koch G36C at the monk until he was downed.
The others came running inside, beginning another fight to secure the room for themselves.
Chapter 13 END
PS - Let's see... Chapter 13's at an end, folks. And I got Ghost Recon: Future Soldier in the mail and I'm enjoying it a heck of a lot, especially with the custom gunsmith feature. Now perhaps I'll go and pick up the Japanese version to hear the new voices... Anyway, sorry for the late post. Was busy and lazy, trying to rest from uni stuff. I was also thinking on a Super Robot Wars story that may or may not work since I'm thinking on adding another plot from another game franchise.
If you guys enjoyed reading and reviewing this story, please take the time to do the same for Peacekeepers since it's my other currently written story as well.
Also I've heard that the DSO was officially created in 2011, according to Word of God stuff released for Resident Evil 6, but I'm tweaking it a bit so that the organization was created in the late 90s that got a start in the 21st century.
I wish to point out that I'm describing parts of Sho's ninjato in Japanese terms, so go check wikipedia under the article "Glossary of Japanese swords" and "Japanese sword mountings" to know what I'm talking about (e.g. saya, kissaki, etc).
I also created a forum at the Super Robot Wars fanfiction category with a thread on plans for a story I had in mind, although I'm sure that I won't have the time to do it since I am trying to graduate from university as much as I can... But it would be thoughtful if I can get some feedback for it and in case someone does decided to pick it up for writing. I'm also discussing it in TV Tropes under the Fanfiction category with the the thread "All Purpose Super Robot Wars Fanfiction Thread". If you're a TT member and you'd like to check it out, feel free to head there.
