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:

With everyone ready to go, can Leon and the rest of the good guys help Ashley get through the castle and escape out there? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.

Chapter 21: Way out...


Lobby, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


While everyone decided to catch their breath and take a break, Sho was the one who was quite active in securing the area. He found a Yellow Herb and a note that address the death of Luis Sera. But like all the other notes the party found, it was written in Spanish.

That meant a trip to see Eriko, who was the only person who is fluent in the language.

"Sho-san." Eriko greeted the ninja when she took the note from him. "Another note?"

Sho nodded.

"Very well." Eriko began to go over the note.

As you may have heard, Luis Sera has been disposed of by Lord Saddler. The "sample" is back where it belongs. I had hoped that the whole matter could be resolved without troubling the Lord. However, as long as the "sample" is safe we can all rejoice, for our time is nearly at hand.

Now that the "sample" is back in our safe hands, it'll be a bit more difficult for that troublesome woman to get it. In light of all this, it's unfortunate that Sera had to go. Like us, he would have had a bright future if only he had shown more faith in our beliefs.

As for the others, the Lord has left the matter in our hands.

We must not disappoint the Lord. We shall capture Ashley and take her to the Lord and dispose of the foreign agents.

"Is it significant, Eriko-san?" Sho asked the homicide detective.

"Nothing of significance." Eriko folded the note after she finished reading it. "It's nothing but an internal communiqué the cult has for its forces. As of now, Sera is officially killed and Ms. Graham is now the current priority. We're the next ones in line to be taken out."

"Te-me..." The ninja murmured.

"What happens next?"

"As usual," Leon began to speak up to everyone gathered in the area. "we need to scout ahead. Get a feel of what's going to happen next if we're going to get out of here alive."

"I agree." Jill backed up Leon's answer. "We'll need a two-man team who can scout the first few rooms that aren't unexplored and report back anything that may be out of the ordinary."

The party was silent for a few seconds until the two Raccoon City survivors saw an arm raised up.

"What is it?"

"I volunteer to go ahead and search the area first, Jill-san." Fujino was the one who raised her arm up to indicate her willingness to volunteer.

Leon and Jill looked at each other when they heard Fujino. She was usually quiet. But on the other hand, she was a handy asset when a fight's about to come as a skilled SHADOW agent.

"Java go with her."

The caveman also raised his hand.

"Okay... Java."

"We can totally trust Java to watch Fujino's back." Martin backed up Java and faced his Center colleagues. "Right guys?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"Why not?"

Diana and the other agents agreed.

"Then it's settled." Leon said when he saw no opposition. He then faced Fujino. "Just stay sharp."

Fujino nodded when she walked towards an unexplored door, with help from Leon of course.


Knight Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Fujino and Java were now in an empty corridor, part of it being decorated by old medieval knight-type suits of armor. What caught the attention of the former was that at least a couple of those suits were posing, with their halberds raised up.

"What they doing?" Java asked Fujino.

"I have no idea, Java-san. Regardless, we must proceed with caution."

Java nodded as they walked slowly down the corridor. Fujino kept an eye on the suits of armor with the raised halberds. You never know when something spooky might happen.

Here it comes!

Fujino saw one of the suits of armor moving, preparing to strike her down with the halberd.

Bend...

Her mental command to wreck the halberd was directed at its axe blade. Before the weapon could hit her, she jumped a few feet back. She watched as the axe blade was twisted in various directions, rendering it useless.

Despite wrecking the halberd's blade, the suit of armor remained motionless from the strike. It later crumbled into bits and pieces afterwards.

She motioned Java to follow closely as she walked slowly down the hallway, waiting for the other suit of armor to strike at her.

Bend...

She didn't wait for the opportunity to allow it to attack her. Instead, she used her psychic powers to bend the halberd's axe blade until it was rendered useless.

"NOW!"

"RAAAHHH!" Java let out his war cry before he punched the second suit of armor in the chest area before he used a strong kick with his right foot to render it useless. His kick destroyed it, leaving it to several bits and pieces.

The two continued their trek until they arrived in the circular knight room.

Fujino inspected what appears to be a grail in the center of the room. She read the inscription that was on the grail, which was in Spanish.

May wrath of evil befall the one who disturbs this holy grail.

The female SHADOW agent took the grail from the pedestal without showing any sign of hesitation.

The sound of a castle portcullis gate was heard when it sealed the room from the rest of the hallway.

"They're here." Fujino placed the grail down near the pedestal. She didn't want her to be pre-occupied when getting involved in a fight.

The slabs on the wall moved, revealing the suits of armor armed with broadswords, collectively known in the cult as Armaduras. They made to move, making their way towards them while they raised their weapons. Fujino counted a total of three Armaduras.

"O-Watch activated! I-Cutter selected!"

After Fujino got the I-Cutter, she held it in a reverse grip before the energy blade was activated.

Java cracked his knuckles, anticipating a drawn-out fight.

Fujino crouched with her I-Cutter at the ready. As soon as the Armaduras were within arm's length, she ran towards them.

Wait for it.

"SEIYAH!"

Fujino did a running slide, allowing her to slash the Armaduras' armored leggings.

With the leggings cut from the rest of the armor in one strike, the Armaduras were now forced to crawl on the ground.

"JAVA! BACK ME UP!"

Java nodded and picked up the dropped broadsword, holding the handle with his two hands.

"ERRAHHH!" Java brought the broadsword's blade down on the Armaduras, striking at its helmets.

WHACK! WHACK! WHACK!

Three strong strikes did the job in getting rid of the helmets, but things soon changed when Type A plagas emerged out of the suits of armor. Their sharp blades lashed out at anything that was near its vicinity.

"Get back!" Fujino yelled to Java. She used her psychic powers to mentally bend the plaga's organs. The organisms were in a lot of pain when their tentacles were destroyed. She kept it up until the plaga screeched in pain.

Any more?

She saw the same slabs on the wall move again, revealing three more Armaduras armed with halberds.

More trouble.

Fujino concentrated on warping the axe blades, destroying them before she did another running slide to cut off their leggings.

Java once more stepped in to use the broadsword to whack the helmets off. Seeing the Type B plagas emerge, the caveman wisely backed off while Fujino did her handiwork to kill them from a distance.

Once the Armadura hordes were taken care of, the gate opened up.

Fujino went back to the pedestal and picked up the grail.

"Let's head back."

Java nodded.

On the way back, Fujino spotted a box of 9mm ammo. She picked it up, knowing that some of her allies may need to reload.


Lobby, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Fujino and Java were immediately greeted by the rest of the party.

"I take it that the room you checked out was a dead end at best?" Jill asked Fujino.

"Yes." Fujino nodded while she said. "However, I found this grail inside the knight room a while ago."

Tea took the grail off her hands while Fujino handed the 9mm ammo box to Leon.

"Thanks. You never know when you might need to reload before we set off again."


Deserted Room, Lobby, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Welcome back..." The hooded man greeted Tea when she came back.

"I found this grail. I thought it may be of interest to you." Tea showed the grail to the Merchant.

"Ah..." The Merchant examined the grail. "This is the King's Grail. A very highly prized item, if I may say so myself."

"And how much money are you willing to spend to buy this from me?"

Her question made the Merchant hesitate. Sure, the King's Grail looked fine and exquisite. But the man didn't know how much money he has in his personal coffers.

"As much as I'd like to buy it, strangah..." The Merchant handed it back to Tea. "I believe that this has a purpose later on if you and your friends need to escape from this place. The same thing goes with the Queen's Grail."

"Very well, kind Merchant. I shall take your word of it."

After Tea left, the Merchant sighed in relief.

I need to bloody stop buying things from them and make it the other way around instead.


Long Hallway, Lobby, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


While Tea was finished with her conversation with the Merchant, Kevin and Jill were tasked to scout the only place that they haven't set foot in yet.

"Several bad guys lined up ahead." Kevin peeked his head around the corner to see several armed cultists guarding the only way out. They were all wielding sharp scythes with at least one of them using a wooden shield from protection. Otherwise, some of them had skulls and hoods to conceal their faces.

"Looks like one of them has a hood on." Jill was seen crouched next to Kevin when she conducted a brass check on her HK SL8-4.

"Yeah." Kevin sighed and gripped his Steyr SSG P IV on his arms. "No kidding. We gotta weed them out before we can proceed through."

Jill moved into a prone position and scoped out the opposition. "They don't seem to be moving at all, even when I'm going in for a head shot."

"With how the cult operates, they probably don't give a damn."

"The usual?" Jill asked Kevin when she sighed a skull-wearing cultist.

"Yeah." Kevin took aim as well at another skull-wearing cultist.

The two waited until they were ready to shoot.

"Now." Kevin said when he took the first shot.

Okay. Jill took the other shot.

The two skull-wearing cultists were shot in the chest each, but they merely made the others mobilize, walking slowly in a menacing manner.

"Alright, Jill! Taking the next one!" Kevin opened fire at one of the hooded cultists and fired at his head. He quickly cycled the bolt in order to get it functioning again.

Jill gritted her teeth when she opened fire at the other hooded cultist at his head.

The shield-armed cultists proceed to move in.

"Oh no you don't..." Kevin murmured when he opened fire at the shield. Despite having 7.62 NATO subsonic rounds, they were powerful enough to go through wooden-made objects. "And scored another one..."

The cultist dropped his shield after he got hit in the head.

"Wait for it. Wait for it." Jill waited for the skull-wearing cultists as they were seen walking slowly that they lined up. "And perfect..."

Jill pulled the trigger of her SL8-4, scoring a direct hit when a couple of 5.56 NATO bullets went through their chests.

The only opposition was another hood-wearing cultist and another shield-armed cultist.

"Okay! One more for the home stretch!" Kevin focused the Leupold riflescope at the hood-wearing cultist. He opened fire and scored his third headshot.

"I'll take care of the other one!" Jill scoped the shield and fired a couple of bullets to destroy the upper part and get a good shot at the head. She fired her third shot to kill the cultist.

"Great work." Kevin reloaded his weapon when he saw a portcullis up ahead, sealing off a set of double doors.

"I'll go and call the others and tell them the path is clear." Jill retreated back to the lobby while she reloaded her weapon.

Kevin nodded and leaned back on the wall to rest and recharge his energy.

"Glad to see that your path was cleared." Tea complimented Kevin for a job well done.

It was either him or something, but Kevin swore that Tea walked a bit wee, wee fast than your average woman. By the time he assessed her, she was the other side of the hallway putting up the grails on the statues.

I must be fucking tired.

The portcullis opened up, allowing access to the doors leading to the dance hall.

"All clear." Kevin greeted Leon when he led the rest of the party down, accompanied by Ashley.

"Thanks." Leon gave Kevin a high five.


Hallway, Dance Hall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The hallway towards the actual dance hall was pretty quiet, clear of all enemies.

Which was something of a comfort to the party when they came there.

"No rest for the wicked." Leon murmured when he led the group, his sidearm drawn out. "Area looks clear."

Yu checked the first cupboard they came across. He crouched and opened the sliding door, revealing 1500 pesetas.

"Looks like I can spot a walkable ledge outside." Sho said when he took a peek outside. He signaled to the others that he'll be back after doing some recon outside.

"I'll do a quick spot check." Yu told Leon when he ran down the hallway, stopping to check another cupboard to reveal 2800 pesetas. He checked the last cupboard down the hallway and smashed it open with the gloved left hand, after he did a clenched fist. There was nothing the vase had to offer.

"Are you guys going to check those?" Ashley pointed to the vases placed on top of the cupboards near the hallway door.

"Good eye, Ashley."

Cammy stepped forward to one of the cupboard and executed a roundhouse kick. The contents revealed a Velvet Blue and a live snake.

"Oh, bloody hell." The Delta Red operator muttered when she saw the snake.

"I got this one." Dan drew out his Heckler & Koch USP Expert and fired a couple of 9mm rounds at the snake, killing it on the spot.

"You better police those shots." Kevin reminded Dan when he used the butt of his SSG P IV to break the other two vases.

"I know, I know." Dan holstered his weapon when he examined the remains of the dead animal. "Okay, we're good."

"Found this." Kevin picked up a frag grenade and 900 pesetas.

"You think it's all clear?" Dan asked Hiryu, the two SHADOW agents resting on the side.

"How should I know?" Hiryu shrugged his shoulders. "Best to wait until he comes back."

A few minutes later, Sho returned with a red herb and an unused Butterfly Lamp in hand.

"I found this lamp on a chest on the ledge." Sho placed the lamp down on one of the cupboards nearby. "And I found a herb that we can use in case one of us gets injured down the road."

"I can handle the red, yellow and green stuff." Kevin approached Sho, the latter handing the herbs. He began to look for a place where he can crush and mix the herb leaves together to create a fine powder mixture.

"Sensei." Dan approached his master. "Don't you have another herb with you? I can help clear some room."

Sho didn't say anything, except to hand in another Red and Green Herb to the Malaysian SHADOW agent. The other Red Herb was with him for the meantime.

"How's the area up ahead?" Chun-Li asked Sho after he handed the herbs out.

"The circular room up ahead is pretty quiet." The ninja frowned. "I also spotted something on top of its ceiling. It looked like some kind of insect-type hive."

"I knew that it was too good to be true." Diana sighed. "It's a potential problem when we go through there with the First Daughter in tow."

"We'll need someone to at least provide us some cover to that room." Leon briefed the others while he pointed to the door up ahead with his left thumb. "That way, someone can watch our backs."

Hiryu and Hien looked at each other for a few seconds before the latter said to the DSO agent. "We'll do it."

Leon nodded when he heard the Filipino Spriggan's willingness to volunteer. "You guys better move up ahead. Just radio us when the coast is clear."

"Understood."


Dance Hall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The twins went for the ledge, climbing up the ladder to get a vantage point to the dance hall interior.

There wasn't that much different in terms of the height and distance to get inside from the ledge. Ideally, it was good enough for them to hop through the unfinished window without much trouble.

Hiryu crouched and shouldered his Heckler & Koch G36C, taking aim inside. Hien got his Pindad SS1-M5 ready before he made radio contact.

"This is Hien to party leader. Hien to party leader..." Hien took another sweep of the dance hall again before he continued. "Dance Hall is clear. I say again, dance all is clear."

"All right." The Spriggan could hear Leon's slight nervousness on his comms. "Kevin and I will come in with the package. Be sure to check on our six."

"Understood, party leader."

Hien shouldered his assault rifle, peering through the red dot scope.

"Ready?" Hien faced his brother.

"I hope so." Hiryu replied, not moving his head away from the ZF 3×4° dual optical sight. "Last thing we need is another creature of the plaga coming in at the last second."

Hiryu and Hien were now on overwatch as they kept an eye on Kevin and Leon securing the dance hall. The latter had the Benelli M3 shouldered, ready to be fired in case some creature decided to show its ugly head.

"Looks clear so far..." Hiryu murmured when he kept an eye on the two DSO agents. "I hope."

Kevin was sighted examining the giant hive mounted on the room's ceiling, obviously looking very alarmed at the size of it.

He later gestured to Leon that the area is clear of any hostiles.

"Come on. Come on."

Hien murmured as he continued to provide overwatch on his part.

Unknown to the DSO agents nor to the twins, a lone Novistador began to climb down from the top of the hive. It kept an eye on Kevin and Leon from the time they entered inside. It waited until Leon was able to call in Ashley.

That was the perfect opportunity to strike.

The Novistador began to fly down after it moved away from the hive, heading straight to Ashley.

"HELLPPPPP!" Ashley screamed when the Novistador grabbed her and flew away from the dance hall.

"What happened?" Jean's voice could be heard from outside the dance hall.

"Don't go inside!" Kevin shouldered his Benelli M3 once he saw a swarm of Novistadors emerge from the depths of the dance hall. "We're being swarmed! It's not go if the door's open!"

"Shit..." Hiryu gripped his G36C once he scoped out the Novistadors.

"Ready to fire?" Hien asked his twin brother.

"Yeah. Let's do this."

The twins opened fire on the flying Novistadors after they congregated overhead near the DSO agents.


Somewhere in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan


"Daisuke Sawamura, you came as expected."

The Center mole was seen waiting in one of Shinjuku's many side roads when he was approached by Albert Wesker. He was seen dressed in a brown trenchcoat with a black suit and red necktie underneath. He wore shades to conceal his eyes from the public in case someone would notice him and alert the police.

"Please, Mr. Wesker." Daisuke pleaded with Wesker. "I've done what you asked. The Center's teleportation equipment is already thoroughly sabotaged. It'll take them a few days to determine what went through and how much time is needed to repair them again."

"Hmmm..."

Wesker stared at the Center employee through his shades. He did what he asked after the ex-Umbrella agent showed full proof that his father was a prominent politician with the LDP before he resigned to avoid being implicated in a corruption scandal. It was called "blackmail" when Wesker showed him the evidence, but he preferred to call it as "motivational material".

Because according to him, blackmail is such an ugly word.

"Well I haven't heard of any troubles with Washington over the abduction of the First Daughter. So I suggest that it's all in order..."

Wesker slowly drew out a suppressed M1911A1 from his shoulder, which was equipped with a brass catcher attached onto the slide.

"However, I can't let you live in case you're going to get a change of heart. So I apologize when I have to resort to this extreme measure that I always use when I need to say a final goodbye to my associates."

"Shit..."

"Don't take this personally. It's just business after all."

Before the mole could do anything, Wesker fired his pistol at him thrice with rapid speed when he pulled the trigger. He immediately holstered the weapon and walked away, using one of the nearest side roads to evade pursuit and detection by the locals.


Dance Hall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Damn! There's a lot of them!"

Hiryu and Hien began to thin out the Novistadors trying to swarm in on Leon and Kevin. In the course of gunning the insects down, they had to reload twice with one of them doing the actual reload while the other covered for him until he was done. This was also repeated until they had their weapons fully reloaded.

The loud gunfire was now getting the attention of the Novistadors as they moved in towards the twins. With most of their attention away from the DSO agents, Leon took aim with his Silver Ghost and Kevin with the Benelli M3.

"Okay, Kevin! Now's our chance while not many of them are concentrated on us!" Leon shouted to his partner before he opened fire with his custom pistol.

"Gotcha, partner!" Kevin shouted in reply when he opened fire at the nearest Novistador when it got a bit close to his weapon's firing range.

Leon opened fire with his sidearm as well at another Novistador approaching him while it got peppered from the back by 5.56 NATO gunfire.

"Move back!" Leon slowly retreated, allowing Kevin to cover for him when he emptied the Silver Ghost of its empty magazine. He reloaded it and quickly pulled the slide to load the chamber when Kevin shouted that he needed to reload.

Kevin retreated to reload his shotgun when the surviving Novistadors went back on the offensive to face off against the twins.

As the four continued to unload their weapons on the swarm, their numbers dwindled on and on until they gunned down the last one when they filled its body full of lead.


MOM's Office, The Center


"MOM! MOM! Bad news from SID!"

Billy's hovercraft flew into MOM's office at high speed.

"What is it, Billy?" MOM had to stop whatever paperwork she was doing in order to get the papers from him.

"It's Sawamura." Billy handed the folder to his superior.

When MOM went over the papers, which was merely a translation of a Tokyo Metropolitan Police incident report filed by officers from the Criminal Investigation Bureau, she saw that numerous civilians tried to help Daisuke up. They later noted to the police that he had gunshot wounds to the chest. The officers on the scene noted, after further investigation, that they were all fatal.

"We're now back to square one." MOM sighed when she finished going over the report.

"What happens now?" Billy asked her. "Do you want me to get SID to back off?"

MOM massaged her temples. "Tell the agent in charge to pull out their field agents in Tokyo if they can find any traces of where Wesker went off to."

"Understood, MOM."


Dance Hall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"Clear?"

"Clear!"

Hiryu and Hien began to scan the room for any incoming Novistadors.

"All clear!" Leon said when the last Novistador was gunned down. He then pointed to the hive. "We just need to get rid of that in case those bugs decide to come back again."

"I'll do it!" Kevin shouldered the shotgun and fired the entire magazine at the hive, rendering it full of buckshot holes. When he stopped to reload, Hiryu fired his G36C to help Kevin take out the hive. Hien joined in as well.

"Cease fire!" Leon shouted when he saw the hive began to crack and fall down. The twins did so when they saw the entire structure fall down to the floor's large gap.

"What the fuck..." Hiryu slung the G36C behind his back as he hopped through the unfinished window. Hien followed him inside after he slung his SS1-M5 at his back.

"Get the others inside." Kevin told Leon after he finished loading up. "We'll need to collect whatever those things we can find from the dissolved remains of those creatures."

He then saw a lever on the side.

"And I think we found ourselves a way out of here."

Kevin had to carefully run as he navigated around the floor, due to the large holes on the side.


Delta Red Team Headquarters, Secret Intelligence Service Headquarters, Vauxhall Cross, London, United Kingdom


Colonel Wolfman had just returned to Delta Red HQ after he participated in a teleconference with the DSO alongside a SIS representative regarding the crisis in Spain.

From what he had been told, the Secret Service has suffered an internal leak when DSO agents arrested one of their own for providing sensitive info regarding the routes used by the First Daughter. What's worse is that the mole pretended to call the office and requested for some time off due to a sudden illness that came in the day her USSS escort was ambushed and wiped out.

"Bloody hell..."

The colonel began to have a massive headache when he heard about this news. He sent the DSO his sympathies and told them that he'd help investigate on anything based in Britain that could potentially crack their case and rescue Ashley from the hands of the cult.

He walked towards his desk and sat down on his chair.

"Colonel."

Wolfman looked up to see Ginzu outside his office.

"Come in. And be sure to close the door."

"Yes, sir."

Ginzu closed the door and handed him a map of Spain, including the red circle in its southwestern area.

"Any updates?" Wolfman checked the map.

"None yet. Apparently, our Spanish counterparts refused to play ball with us."

"Is it because of what happened..."

"I think so. When they heard about what happened to the First Daughter, they didn't want to get involved. Officially, they don't have orders from the Prime Minister. Unofficially, they're going to clean house and make sure they don't suffer the same fate."

Wolfman sighed and leaned back on his chair.

"This'll be a bloody hard thing for us to handle. And that's not even using NATO to help the Americans."

"I know, sir. But imagine sir, a cult was able to pull off a kidnapping operation." Ginzu said when he showed him a newspaper article from The Telegraph regarding the whereabouts of Ashley. "This means that someone got some people to help them pull it off."

"Indeed." Wolfman thought over what Ginzu said before he spoke to his subordinate. "We need to do this secretly, but do you have still have your contacts with SOCOM?"

"Yes, sir." Ginzu nodded.

"Have them check for anyone who's been declared MIA or AWOL in any operation they did within the last three to four years. Just tell them that it's some place to start with, considering the abduction issue."

"I understand, sir."


Dance Hall, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Kevin inspected the lever that he found, seeing that it was still movable.

Alright. Let's see if I can crank it up.

He grabbed the lever and pulled it to the left.

This made the drawbridge drop down from the wall, but he saw that the chains were stuck and were holding the drawbridge back.

Great. More problems.

Sho saw what the problem was and immediately dashed to the bridge. He executed a high jump and drew out Lightning Light to hack the chains.

"Nice one, sensei!" Hiryu pumped his fist after Sho landed near the double doors leading out of the dance hall.

"Let's move." Jean reminded the masked SHADOW. "There's no telling when those creatures may come back."

As the party moved towards the exit, Tea stopped to kneel down and examine one of the Green Eyes she found.


Lobby, Near Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The party entered what appears to be a small lobby area, with one part of it being used by The Merchant once again as his own personal space for haggling his goods.

Tea approached to the Merchant and showed him a Velvet Blue and the Butterfly Lamp with the Green, Red and Blue Eyes embedded.

"I wonder how much she'll let the merchant buy from her this time?" Jill murmured when she saw Tea and the Merchant haggle over the goods she brought out.

"Wow. It's like she's the group's mom responsible for buying and selling whatever we need." Jean smirked when he saw the Merchant get the Velvet Blue and the Butterfly Lamp, inspecting the latter very carefully before he handed to her the money.

Martin and Diana swore that they saw the Merchant sobbing when they heard him mutter over giving away 34,000 pesetas to the British witch. They decided not to bother the Spriggan agent.

Leon went to the wooden chair and took a box of 9mm bullets, which he needed to reload his pistol.

"I'll go and have a peek outside."

Hien said to the others when he looked around. He saw a hallway that led out with double doors.

It's not that heavy to move, right?

The Filipino Spriggan operator slowly opened the door, since it was made out of pure metal. He wore his ARCAM-issued Armored Muscle Suit, so moving the door with his hand gripped on the handle wasn't an issue for him.

It was just making sure that he wasn't making a lot of noise that the cultists would be alerted to their presence.

"Hey guys...!" Hien called for the others. "I found our way out..."


Outskirts of Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The clock tower area was made up of a narrow cliff. There's a bridge nearby, but the problem was a lever switch was needed to make it properly accessible.

"We got tangos up ahead." Cammy pointed to the cultists up ahead on the upper level.

"Relax." Kevin got the SSG P IV from Leon. "I got this."

"You mean we got this, right?" Jill raised an eyebrow at the ex-SPF operator.

Kevin shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah. Sure."

The two shouldered their sniper rifles and fired them to take out any cultists they can see through their riflescopes.

Leon suddenly got a transmission on his radio.

"Good evening, Mr. Kennedy..." Salazar smirked on the radio. "Are you able to see me now?"

The question alarmed Leon. He didn't even know where you look for starters.

"Where the hell are you, you bastard?! And where is she?"

Salazar chuckled. "Let's see if you can make it out of the clock tower with your friends. I'll be waiting."

When the transmission, Leon signaled to the others that Salazar made contact with him.

"I'll go look." Fujino got to her O-Watch and secured her own pair of binoculars.

"O-Watch activated! Binoculars selected!"

Once the binoculars were in her hands, she leaned over the railing and peered through them. She caught sight of Salazar bringing in Ashley, who was restrained with her arms tied behind her back.

She also noted that the big bodyguards in black robes were also present, apparently to provide security for the family patriarch.

"Salazar has her!" Fujino informed the others after she lowered her binoculars.

"We'll stay here and provide cover." Jill turned to face Leon. "Kevin and I will provide sniper fire until the area ahead is clear."

"Some of us will need to stay here and hold the ground in case the enemy should show up from the rear." Chun-Li faced the others. "Maybe one or two of us should move in and take out the opposition."

"I'll go." Yu said when he got his Heckler & Koch G3A3 ready.

"Likewise." Jean checked the chamber of his Franchi SPAS-12 and configured it for semi-auto fire. "Our weapons should be able to take the cultists down with a few well-placed shots."


Upper Area, Outskirts of Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


After Kevin and Jill took care of stragglers walking around the upper area with well-placed head shots, the two Spriggans made their way up. They slowly walked up the stairs, making sure their bodies aren't used as an easy target.

"There's one." Yu pointed to the cultist armed with the scythe. His back was turned, which meant that it should be easy to sneak up on him.

Jean patted Yu on the right shoulder and slowly walked up towards the cultist. When he raised the SPAS-12's barrel, the ponytailed man fired a 12 gauge buckshot at the rear of the head.

The cultist was instantly decapitated.

But this meant that the nearby catapults were manned and ready to go by firing flaming projectiles.

"I need backup!" Jean fired his shotgun at the cultists manning the catapults, hoping to keep them pinned down.

"ORAHHHH!" Yu fired the G3A3 at the cultists, relying on the battle rifle's accuracy and the power of the 7.62 NATO caliber to get good shots at the cultists. He watched them go down before he kept his fire up to ensure that they were dead.

When the coast was clear and the catapults were not manned anymore, Yu reloaded his primary weapon as Jean opened the lone door leading to the clock tower's interior.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party began to move towards the clock tower after Kevin and Jill told them that they didn't hear the catapults being used anymore.


Clock Tower Interior, Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Yu and Jean did an initial sweep of the clock tower's interior before they declared it clear of all hostiles.

"I'll stay here and keep an eye on things here." Jean told Yu when he reloaded his shotgun.

"Okay. Just cover me."

Yu began to climb up the ladders to secure the structure. On the way up, he stopped to get two boxes of 7.62 NATO bullets, both for his rifle and for subsonic weapons. When he reached the top floor, he secured a Green Herb with a note left behind on top of a small wooden table.

Like all the notes, it was in Spanish.

Thanks to the efforts of the Novistadors, we have been able to recapture the First Daughter. We shall prepare the sacred ritual as quickly as
possible and make her an official member of Los Illuminados.

While we prepare for the ritual, those of you who feel inclined can attend to our... foreign guests. We should be able to hold them off for at least a little while by jamming the gears in the clock tower with something.

I think if we jam the gears in three places, it should give us enough time to prepare everything for the ritual.

Now go and entertain our guests.

Whatever was on the note, Yu didn't like it. He kept the note and looked at the clock tower's gears to see if was moving at all.

They're not moving. Were they rigged with something?

Looking at the gears, Yu saw something was rigged in between them.

Looks like some wooden blocks. Nothing that can be dealt with by my G3A3.

He used the G3A3's iron sights to line up a shot on a wooden block jamming the gears. With one block taken care, he proceeded to take shots at the other wooden blocks he can see from the top floor.

Afterwards, Yu came across a lever switch. He pulled it all the way to the left, getting the clock tower back into operational status.


Lower Area, Outskirts of Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The bridge linking the clock tower to the dance hall was moved so that the bridge would connect to the main castle.

"Okay! Let's move!"

Leon shouted after he saw the bridge connect. He took the lead and entered the clock tower to get to the lower areas.

The bad news was that hordes of cultists began to swarm near the bridge in response to the bridge being moved.

This meant that the party needed to fight their way through.


Upper Area, Outskirts of Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Kevin and Jill took up sniping positions, overlooking the bridge. Hiryu, Hien and Dan volunteered to give firepower support, the latter doing a brass check on his Sig SG 552 to ensure that the chamber was already loaded.

"Dammit. There's a lot of them swarming at the bridge." Dan said out loud when he noted a variety of cultists ranging from those armed with wooden shields, maces and crossbows.

He then spotted a cultist with a RPG-7 rocket launcher.

"Spotted a cultist with a RPG-7!" Dan told the snipers when he shouldered his weapon.

"Noted!" Jill replied when she shouldered her SL8-4. She opened fire twice, hitting the cultist in the chest. It did little to slow him down, even when he was forced to kneel.

"Taking the shot!" Kevin took aim at the head with the SSG P IV and fired, scoring a headshot.

The other three unloaded their assault rifles at the cultists in order to give the others time to navigate the bridge and enter the castle successfully.


Lower Area, Outskirts of Clock Tower, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Leon and Kevin took the lead in busting out of the clock tower's lower levels, seeing some of the cultists being gunned down from the upper level.

"Spread out!" Kevin shouted when he drew out his Glock 21 Mariner and fired several .45 ACP rounds at a cultist trying to grab him at his throat. "And don't make yourself an easy target!"

"That's easy enough!" Chun-Li immediately moved in towards the nearest cultist, who was armed with a partially broken wooden shield.

"KIKOKEN!" The Interpol officer launched her projectile at close range, breaking the wooden shield into several pieces. This gave her the opportunity to move in.

"Sen'enshu!" She executed a quick headstand before she used the heel of her right leg to slam into the cultist's head. Right into the wooden floor. The strong momentum and power destroyed his head.

Martin got his U-Watch ready to use the I-Cutter.

"U-Watch activated! I-Cutter selected! X-Rod selected!"

"Okay, Java! Let's go!" Martin got into a crouching position with his I-Cutter. He got his X-Rod and handed it to Diana, remembering that she had recent training with it a few weeks ago thanks to help from the SHADOWs.

"Yeah, Java! Back us up!" Diana twirled the X-Rod after she extended it, turning into a staff.

Java grinned when he cracked his knuckles.

Martin took the lead by running to another unarmed cultist and stabbed him in the leg. The cultist screamed in pain, trying to get the blond Center agent's I-Cutter away from his left leg.

Diana used the extended X-Rod to whack the cultist hard enough that his back was at the bridge's railing.

Java stepped up by making one big step to get close to the wounded cultist and punch him in the face, making him fall over the bridge.

"My turn..." Cammy grinned when she executed her Cannon Spike, performing a high thrust kick that allowed her to move upward. "CANNON SPIKE!"

The Delta Red operator followed this with Spiral Arrow after she lunged at the cultist, spinning in a cork-screw pattern before she kicked him in the chest. "SPIRAL ARROW!"

Eriko had her Sig Sauer P228 drawn out and fired at the downed cultist several times after Cammy kicked him in the chest thanks to Spiral Arrow. She stopped when the cultist wailed in pain before he expired.

Sho helped out by ambushing the newly arrived cultists by dashing towards them and using Smoke Bomb to kill them off instantly. He used this in conjunction with Lightning Light to cut off their heads, knowing that it's the only sure way to make sure they're dead for good.

Fujino stood still, allowing her psi skills to do her work for her when she willed her powers to "bend" the arms and legs of the remaining cultists to prevent them from attacking her or the party.

"Bend." She murmured the word softly.

The cultists yelled and screamed in pain as their limbs were twisted like pretzels. They fell down to the floor, thanks to their twisted legs.

Automatic gunfire erupted after Fujino disabled the cultists.

Tea stood back, allowing the others to take the glory. She knew that her Calling Beasts wouldn't be effective against the cult since they've been turned thanks to the plaga. For now, she acquired a Gold Bangle from one of the dead cultists.


?


"Come on kid, we need to move ASAP!"

"What's happening, Krauser?"

Krauser and Ken were seen walking fast down a corridor.

A semi-dark corridor, mind you.

The teen saw that the ex-American commando had a slasher-type smile written all over his face.

"We got word that someone I know is already mustering his allies to break through the castle. And for once, I can't wait to see him in action."

Krauser grinned again.

"'Cause it's been far too long."


Castle Interior, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Sho was the first to enter the castle interior to scope out the opposition while the others secured the outskirts for anything useful.

Two cultists and two at the back with medieval armor and weapons. Are they suppose to be Salazar's insurance?

When he heard the door creak behind him, he urged the others to keep quiet since the cultists nearby didn't seem to notice their arrival.

"Keep quiet." Sho whispered to the party before he pointed to the other side of the area. "We don't want them to know we arrived."

Jean carried the RPG-7 with him, his shotgun slung at his back. "The others are waiting outside."

The Frenchman closed the door behind him as he moved to the side. He then took aim with the PGO-7 optical sight mounted on top of the launcher tube, gripped the weapon by the front and rear pistol grips.

Merci for standing still.

Jean aimed the RPG-7 at the middle between the two standing Garradors. After the sights lined up, he pulled the trigger on the front pistol grip.

The PG-7VL rocket flew towards the other side of the castle's interior, detonating on impact after the doors at the rear of the Garradors were destroyed. The strong impact, coupled with the strong amount of shrapnel and fire, engulfed the plagas attached to their backs.

"It seems that we got their attention." Jean tossed the spent rocket launcher away before he brandished his SPAS-12 again.

The hooded cultists ran towards Sho and Jean.

"Easy as pie." Jean grinned when he dispatched the first hooded cultist by shooting at him three times.

Sho took care of the other cultist by dashing at him and slashing at his waist, cutting him into two.

"All clear!" Jean said after he pumped the shotgun to eject the used round.

Sho twirled Lightning Light before he sheathed it in his saya.

"How'd it go?" Tea said after she kept the Gold Bangle, which she got from a dead cultist's corpse.

"Fine. Looks like we're all clear to explore the area and get whatever we can get."

"Let's start over there." Kevin pointed to the Garrador corpses. "I bet we'll find some money as usual."

"Anyone who can spare some time checking the area out, go ahead." Leon said when he drew out his sidearm in order to load up a fresh magazine. "The others can take a break before we proceed."

In the course of searching the area before proceeding on, Martin and Fujino checked the Garrador corpses and saw that each one held 15,000 pesetas for a total of 30,000 pesetas. Other items found were 9mm, .45 ACP and some 7.62/5.56 NATO ammo, the former being loaded for subsonic use.

The two statue busts before the staircase held two Spinels.

The only thing left for the party was to ascend the staircase, confront Salazar and hopefully get Ashley out in one piece.


Throne Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The double doors to the throne room were kicked open by Yu and Jean with their weapons aimed at Salazar. Anyone else armed with a gun joined in and aimed their weapons at Salazar's two retainers, their halberds restraining Ashley.

"Game over for you, Salazar!" Kevin took aim with the M3 at Salazar, who didn't look fazed at the fact that the party stormed his throne room.

In fact, he even yawned.

"You better release your hostage, squirt!" Hiryu shouted when he aimed his G36C at Salazar's chest.

"Not actually..." Salazar smirked when he drummed his fingers on the armrests of his throne. "I believe that..."

He then pressed a red button on the right armrest.

"I have you where I wanted you to be!"

"What the hell?" Leon was alarmed by what he said.

The rest looked around until they saw the floor give way, opening downward with the trapdoor split into two.

"HOLY SHITTTTTTT!" Dan yelled as the party fell down the open trapdoor.


Trapdoor Hole, Throne Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"We gotta do something!" Hien shouted while descending faster and faster down the hole.

"Make sure you guys are close!" Martin went for his U-Watch. "The U-Shield can last for at least a minute!"

"U-Watch activated! U-Shield activated!"

A green sphere covered everyone once the device was activated. This allowed them some level of protection since they were now falling fast towards the sharp spikes down the hole.

"Hang on!"


Old Aqueduct A, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The sphere landed on the spikes, breaking them on impact. It later rolled slowly onto the side.

"Everyone okay..." Martin asked, who fell down from the impact on his back.

"I...I think we're okay." Leon groaned as he tried to sit up. "At least most of us are."

The rest of the party began to either sit up properly or help each other out in standing up slowly as Martin worked on getting rid of the U-Shield.

"What is this?" Hiryu looked at the remains of the spikes, which were now broken.

"Judging from these corpses..." Eriko said when she looked at the corpses of the cultists. "I'd say that these cultists were killed for doing something to anger the cult."

Fujino inspected a cultist's corpse that held a Crown. She gripped the item and removed the fingers from it.

"We need to move." Yu advised the others when he got his battle rifle ready. "There's no telling when the little guy's going to send in his goon squad after us."

"Over there." Diana pointed to a familiar blue torch nearby. "A blue torch."

"Let's go." Leon was the first to go, approaching the blue torch when he spotted the Merchant.

"You need to tell us your secret on how to move around the area without getting into much trouble."

Diana and Fujino obtained a Green Herb, a box of 5.56 NATO ammo and an incendiary grenade.

"Heh, heh." The hooded salesman chuckled. "I can't tell you that strangah. Like I said to all my customers, that is a trade secret."

"Shall we deal with our business?" Tea approached the Merchant and handed her the Spinels and the Gold Bangle. In return, she requested for three First Aid Sprays. The Merchant agreed to use the proceeds to pay off for the sprays.

"Found something?" Jill asked Fujino when she saw her examine the item.

"It appears to be valuable." Fujino showed the ex-STARS officer the Crown. "But there is indication that something can be attached to it."

"You're right." The brown-haired girl examined it. "We better hang on to it for the meantime. It may be useful for something."

"Okay, guys! Let's go!" Kevin got to the ladder and climbed up first. When he got to his destination, he shouted that it was clear of hostiles. He guarded the area until the others could make it up.


Sewer Tunnel, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


The party moved slowly through the sewer tunnel, collecting a Velvet Blue, Red Herb and a Spinel. Most of them noted that it was a long tunnel.

A pretty long tunnel.

Leon, Kevin, Yu and Jean took the lead, using a wedge formation to cover both sides of the tunnel.

"This place gives me the creeps." Diana said, having a scary déjà vu feeling as she walked down the tunnel. Never mind that she wanted to complain that her best sneakers were getting wet by the sewer water, but beggars can't be choosers after all.

"Let's just go slow." Dan advised her when he was walking next to her. "Who knows what we can expect down here?"

"Keep an eye on the back." Eriko advised the twins. "We could get an ambush while we're still here."

"Copy that." Hiryu and Hien both replied in unison. They were the last ones to move with the party, walking much slower than the others on purpose so that they can check each and every nook and cranny they passed.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Jean raised his arm up to let the party stop.

Leon approached the door and opened it, taking a look at what's beyond the door.

"Looks like a long corridor." Leon said while peeking through the open door. "Not sure if it's a good idea to let everyone pass through."

"The usual, then?" Kevin asked his partner.

"Afraid so."

The two agents wondered who should go and explore the corridor up ahead.

"I will go." Sho stepped up to the game. "My ninjato is specially made to cut and slice through anything after all."

"Sensei!" Hiryu ran up to the ninja vigilante.

"Ha?" The ninja turned to face him.

"Please allow me to go with you!" He slightly bowed in front of him to show his respects.

Sho didn't have to think twice. "All right. You come with me, but you stay at the back. I shall take to the front."

"Understood."

"Take this." Leon tossed to Hiryu a frag grenade. "You might need it."

"Thanks." Hiryu strapped it on his belt.

Sho motioned to his former student to follow him through the open door.


Old Aqueduct B, Sewer Tunnel, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Sho walked up ahead down the corridor past the sewer tunnel with Hiryu covering his back.

"Brace yourself." Sho told Hiryu when he placed his hand on his saya. "I believe we are not alone."

"Yes, sensei." Hiryu made sure that his G36C was set to fire on single shot mode to conserve ammo.

They walked down the corridor, almost halfway, when they heard something from the ceiling.

"Take cover." Sho gripped the saya and executed a backflip when a scorpion stinger-like appendage busted out from the ceiling. Hiryu did as told and crouched to avoid getting hit. He aimed his weapon at the stinger.

Sho raised his hand, gesturing to him to not fire his weapon and wait for the appendage to just go away.

"Let us move."

They passed by a couple of nitrogen cylinder tanks and another corridor that led to an elevator. They noted that it wasn't functioning at the moment.

The ninja paid attention to the ceiling.

"Another attack is imminent." Sho spoke to Hiryu. "Just follow after me."

Hiryu nodded.

The stinger appeared again, forcing both of them to duck and stay low.

Wait for it. Wait for it.

Hiryu was too tempted to open fire at the stinger, but chose to follow Sho's instructions and wait until it went away.

"Up ahead, sensei." Hiryu pointed to a door at the end of the corridor.

Sho nodded when he went inside the power room through the open shutter door.


Power Room, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


"We need to locate the switch to get the elevator outside working." Hiryu told Sho when he checked the power room interior.

The room had a big generator inside, which was fenced off via chain link fences. There was a power unit console nearby, but it appears to be deactivated.

The two heard noises from the ceiling again.

"Dammit. Doesn't that bastard die?" Hiryu was getting tired of getting ambushed by whatever was trying to attack them with its stinger.

"Stay put!" Sho executed a dash, running as fast as he could to get to the main switchbox. He saw the lever and immediately pulled it down to get the elevator running.

"HAH!" He executed a backflip just in time to get away from the stinger.

Hiryu turned around to see the electrical shutter door activated. The panel's light was red, meaning that there was no way to get it open for now.

The SHADOW agent clenched his left fist and smacked the panel. The light changed to green, but the shutters didn't open.

The creature emerged out from the ceiling, revealing itself.

"By the great kami..."

Sho was stunned to see that their opponent was a humanoid creature known as the Verdugo. Created through gene splicing with human and insect DNA with a combination of plaga by Los Illuminados scientists as a potential B.O.W. in its ranks, it was truly a fearsome enemy. It clacked its mandiles and roared to show off its tenacity.

"Shit..." Hiryu murmured.

"No time! We must distract it!" Sho shouted to get Hiryu back to reality.

"How?"

The Verdugo began to focus his attention on them, moving his stinger.

"Remember the tanks we passed by a while ago?"

Hiryu nodded.

"We need to make more room when the shutter behind us opens up."

The shutter door eventually opened up.

"RUN!"


Old Aqueduct B, Sewer Tunnel, Salazar Castle, somewhere in Spain


Sho dashed towards the first nitrogen tank that he can see while Hiryu kept the Verdugo busy by firing his weapon at it.

"Keep him a bit busy!" Sho said when he reached the tank.

"ORA! ORA! ORA!" Hiryu shouted as he walked backwards and fired his G36C at the Verdugo's chest.

"NOW!" Sho pushed the nitrogen tank towards the direction of the B.O.W.

The Verdugo shielded its body with its arms. But that wasn't enough to save itself from being frozen by the nitrogen coolant that came out of the tank after Sho pushed it to the ground.

The ninja waited until the Verdugo was thoroughly being frozen by the nitrogen.

He's frozen by the nitrogen coolant. Now's my chance.

Sho drew out Lightning Light in one stroke, using the momentum to slice the frozen B.O.W. into half.

Hiryu was about to use the frag grenade when Sho faced him and shook his head.

No. Save that for later.

Hiryu sighed and left the frag grenade alone. He walked towards the sliced remains of the Verdugo and picked up a Crown Jewel piece.

"Tell the others that the path is clear." Sho gave him instructions before he sheathed his ninjato.

"I'll take care of it." Hiryu pocketed the piece before he used the radio to make contact with the SHADOWs.

Sho went ahead to clear the area in front of the elevator. He picked up a First Aid Spray and a box of 9mm bullets.


?


Krauser was seen kneeling in front of a throne, currently being occupied by Saddler. Kenny was seen standing a few feet away from Krauser since the latter was called for and not him. Kei was also seen standing next to Kenny since she was not being called.

"It seems that Salazar's having difficulty... in taming the foreign pigs." Saddler sighed before he continued. "He had his chance..." Saddler said to Krauser, feeling disappointed that he wasn't able to get rid of the party hounding his group. "Be sure that you and your group can take care of those pesky insects while you secure the girl."

Krauser stood at attention. "Consider it done."

Kenny and Kei also stood at attention.

Chapter 21 END


PS - Once again, apologies for the late update again. I concentrated on the fics that I had in SpaceBattles. Then came the other end where I was told to leave my probationary job in a think tank firm since I was doing so well in the few weeks after I got employed on a temporary basis. While this means I got free time to try and finish up most of the chapters, this also means that I need to look for another job via the net or make some phone calls here in Manila.

I feel very bad and I don't know how much longer I can live being unemployed with the help of my folks. I really need to get jobs, even if it's short term to get some more work experience and perhaps, think about whether to do masters or do a short program with certification. Although the current plan is to gain more credits to reapply for university credits to get my BA.

And that's the current story of my life. And I really, really hate it so much that I just want to return to Canada.

Let me know what you think of the story when you leave a review. Do read and review on my other stories in progress (e.g. The ones without the "complete" markup should give you that hint) and leave me a review when you can.

Hopefully, you guys enjoyed Java getting on the actions, thanks to his caveman strength. Story-wise, we're about to venture into Chapter 4-2.

PPS - Anyone interested to see an AC/Persona story which has the Templars trying to find out why Daniel Cross refused to talk about what happened in Denver? HINT: It has something to do with someone who summoned a Persona in front of his eyes.

Of course, it'll depend on how many peeps are interested to see this. For now, it's a one-shot type of thing.

I'm doing a P4 story right now in SB, but it's in the vein of a detective story with some aspects of Martin Mystery and Assassin's Creed mixed in. I'll upload the story here depending if peeps like the story idea.


Pesetas in Total = 327,500