my great thanks to HighFlyingWings, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
The Hunter's Dream.
At the foot of the great tree.
"You have grown so much, my daughter." I declared, looking down at Sherry, standing in front of me amidst a field of Lunar Tears shining brightly, looking very different from what she once was when I first met her.
There was so much confidence in her eyes now, along with a strong kindness and fierce love for those she cherished.
This was not a child, lost, afraid, and wrecked by doubt and the feeling of being unloved.
This was a woman grown, wise while being taught the wisdom of gods, grown strong both physically and mentally by their love and devotion.
No longer tormented by loneliness, her spirit strengthened by years of unconditional love and acceptance combined with the greatest teachers in this universe.
Her body, empowered by the Old Blood and the G-Virus, made her inhumanly resistant and capable of immense self-healing.
And her mind, full of Insight and the knowledge of the Cosmos…
Yes, she had grown much indeed.
I was so very proud.
But, nonetheless…
I wanted to test her one last time.
And where better than here, in this place so rich in history?
I could almost see the ghosts of the past around us, me and Gerhman, fighting it out as viciously as only the greatest of Hunters could, even as our eyes held only respect and kindness for the one we so fiercely sought to kill…
My left hand tightened slightly, in memory of wielding the Burial Blade against The Moon Presence.
Conflict was coming. My actions would lead to no less, sooner or later.
Even if the Great Dreamer was benevolent… Dark and mad gods would exist at the center of reality.
I needed to be ready… And so did Sherry.
I looked up at the shining white moon in the sky.
I could never see the moon and not think back on the battle between me and its goddess. Flora thought to enslave me…
How many would one day see Sherry and see a weakness to strike at, I wondered?
"But will it be enough, I wonder?" I said softly.
"Father?" asked Sherry, visibly confused. She could tell I was building up to something, but not what.
I looked down back at her.
"I am an ambitious man." I said softly, my words nonetheless carrying easily to her. "And for that, I apologize. I will put you in great danger to see my dreams realized, and while I will do my best to protect you, always… I do not know if I will always be able to. If that dreaded day comes to pass… You must be ready to fight and win your own battles. Your mother and I taught you much… But I do not know if it will be enough."
The Holy Moonlight Sword appeared in my right hand, glowing brightly with the power of the Arcane.
My eyes glowed brightly, my clothes turning into robes seemingly sewn from the fabric of the Cosmos itself.
"All I can do now is test you. Again, and again, in the hopes that it will be enough if… when, that day comes."
I tightened my grip on the Holy Blade.
My expression hardened.
"Ready yourself, my daughter, for I will not show mercy in this test. My enemies will show you none, after all, so I cannot afford to."
Sherry's expression hardened.
Her blue eyes narrowed, glowing ever so faintly with arcane might.
She extended her right hand… and another Holy Moonlight Blade appeared.
Created by me and Oedon, the blade bathed in a mix of both of our Blood…
Bound to her very soul, always but a thought away from her hand…
The moon above brightened.
The stars twinkled.
The Cosmos took a breath.
"If you are worried about me, father… Then I will prove your worries unfounded." she grimly declared.
I looked at her coldly.
I looked at her like a Hunter looked at prey.
"We shall see." I replied.
For a moment, we simply stared at each other, expression grim and determined.
Then I let out a small sigh-
And moved.
*CLANG!*
My blade hit hers, eyes of glowing circles of pure light surrounding a center of pure darkness hardened by concerns born out of love staring straight into glowing blue hardened by determination to ease the fears of one she owed so much to.
An instant after the initial hit, my blade once again struck, seeking her limbs and vital organs, to maim or kill without mercy, without hesitation.
Sherry danced around the blows, evading some and deflecting others, her own blade seeking my own death or dismemberment.
Good. Show no mercy, and strike as hard as you can.
Our blades, much like our bodies, became blurs as we fought across the flower-filled fields of the hill of the great tree in the Hunters' Dream, shockwaves from our blades hitting one another blooming around us like bullets from a machine gun.
I raised the stakes, became stronger, faster, and more agile. Raising the difficulty and viciousness of the fight with every swing of my sword, I repeatedly hammered down her defenses, masterful bladework combined with divine power pushing even my daughter to her limits.
To hesitate, to missteps, to allow a lapse of focus for even a fraction of a second was to invite death. I fought her as viciously as possible, leaving her no time to rest, to think, to do anything but fight, kill… or die.
A human would have fallen, their minds incapable of the pure, perfect focus required for this fight. But Sherry was so much more than a regular human, and every blow of my sword found only stalwart defense, and cunning counter-attacks.
Good. Let purpose guide you. Let your will grant you victory. Let your mind prove itself your keenest weapon.
Forget the limitations of mortal men. Only in seeking the realms of the divine can victory be found. Let none fool you into believing that the impossible is anything but the improbable. Let none convince you that the improbable is anything but a strong will away from becoming the possible.
Let none convince you that, for you who live in Greatness, the possible is anything but the inevitable if you have the will to see it through!
My eyes gleamed, and an instant later a dozen strikes were created from a single swing of my sword, seeking to cut my prey down to nothing but bloody chunks of meat.
Sherry's eyes narrowed, inhuman agility allowing her to escape some of the strikes, Destiny and Fate bowing to her will to ensure the others would miss against all odds.
My sword cut through the air, every swing a dozen strikes to her vitals, every attack more cunning and vicious than the last, flowing into one another like the most beautiful and deadly of ballets.
And Sherry danced, Space and Time breaking around her, Destiny and Fate bowing to the will of one who had mastered the knowledge of the Cosmos.
No matter how perfect the strikes, no matter how impossible to avoid, she kept dancing, her steps barely even hitting the ground as her movements brought her to move through dimensions allowing her to escape the inescapable.
Once more, I escalated, and so did she. Spell matrices bloomed around us, easily visible to our eyes, and fire met water, ice met cutting winds, and all of that met unbreakable Earth.
The grounds shifted and convulsed like a wild beast beneath our feet, as rocks and stone spikes flew or sought to skewer both of us, as both of us sought to challenge each other in the mastery of magic.
Soon, Arcane spells followed, great Arcane Stars crashing into each other in beautiful explosions of arcane energies, tentacles, and meteors battling across the air and the dimensions as our fight began to take place as much amongst the physical as it did in the Space-Time Continuum.
Bolts of weaponized Time met with sharpened shards of Space, Dimensional walls hardened and made deadly turned against one another as we sought to overwhelm each other as much magically as it was mentally.
Sherry knew that was a losing game against me however, and even as her Blood began coming out of her body to turn into deadly waves or spikes of Blood-enhanced fire or other elements, she stepped up her physical attacks.
Her own (Multistrikes) met mine, every swing of our blades now echoing a dozen times over across the dimensions, while her body Quickened or outright broke through dimensions, turning her human figure into a seemingly perfect modern art rendition of it.
I followed suit, my own body bending and twisting unnaturally, my attacks even following impossible paths breaking all natural laws of physics that all ended hitting her body anyway if she ever let but one hit her.
An armor of bent Time, Space and twisted Dimensions took shape around her body, her own attacks now striking towards me from impossible angles and twisted space.
Good. You are my daughter. The universe is yours to bend to your will. Its laws, yours to choose whether to follow or laugh at. Let none but your will guide you, let none but your purpose drive you.
Fate and Destiny bent to better allow her to escape harm or instead to inflict it upon me, but I easily replied by doing the same, before escalating once more.
Discarding mere elemental magic, I brought upon my prey the true terror and wonder of the highest of magics.
And under my will, Universal Concepts bent and broke.
Hostile Spells shattered as the concept of Destruction annihilated them. Mine resisted all attempts to stop them as the Concept of Protection became tied to their very essence.
My blade darkened, as the ever-hungry Void began consuming all that surrounded it, Light itself becoming consumed by the blade and making it all the harder to track if not by the way it distorted Reality itself.
Time and Space shattered, making my blade seemingly teleport every so often to where my Will guided it to. Kinetic energy disappeared, making the strength of Sherry's blows null and void.
My prey's expression darkened, sweat falling down her face as her limits were pushed and shattered under the unrelenting barrages of deadly attacks sent her way.
She growled, glowing blue eyes shifting to glowing Blood Red with unnaturally black pupils, a black-red aura surrounding her as she used her powers to brute-force her way into continuing the fight.
Using her powers to act as a shield, she kept fighting, her blade continuing to try and found weakness in my defense that she could exploit.
Unfortunately for her… There were none. There never would be.
There never could be.
Time stretched before our eyes, the future of this battle opening to our Eyes as we kept fighting, precognition fighting precognition, and while her blows gained a desperate edge to them her discipline ensured no openings were found in her bladework.
Snarling now, her blade cut through dimensions, using the very same attacks I once used against the Great Ones of Yharnam against me, and for the first time I saw the results of it being met by my own.
A part of me enjoyed the wondrous sights of dimensions shattering and being cut to pieces, the local Space-Time continuum around us long since shattered utterly, but that was of no concern to either of us, Eldritch beings that we fundamentally were.
The greater part of my focus continued to press down against my ever more increasingly desperate prey. Dimension after dimension, I overwhelmed her efforts, gaining the upper hand on every realm that this battle was fought.
Finally, I saw the gleamer of defeat spark in her eyes, before it turned into grim determination.
For an instant, she stepped back-
And then exploded into power, a scream of defiance escaping her throat as the area around us was shattered utterly, Concepts slamming into me, weaponized and made deadly by her will and negative emotions used as fuel for additional power and deadliness, all seeking to tear me apart body, mind, and soul.
Against any mortal, this would have potentially obliterated them down to their very soul.
I was not a mortal.
With the ease of a true master, I weathered it like an old captain would weather a true storm upon his ship without a blink, weaponized concepts hitting me and finding no purchase upon the corpus I inhabited empowered by my will.
For what power had these concepts against one who could challenge them to a contest of Will? One who knew himself perfectly? One whose self was made inviolable by the power of his Will fashioned as a shield against all that would seek to change him in some way?
Death, Destruction, Ruin and more splashed harmlessly against my body, my Will proving itself easily the strongest, and before it even the conceptual Laws of the universe could only bow and acknowledge themselves my lesser.
I was the master of Reality. And none of my lesser could harm their greater.
A few steps brought me before my prey, who once again raised her sword against me, unwilling to back down even in the face of certain defeat.
With vicious brutality, I brought my sword down against her, battering her defenses once more, using her growing exhaustion to easily gain the upper hand. Her last-ditch attack had failed, now only defeat awaited.
And yet, still I did not seek to win through power. That I was her greater on the matter was undeniable. There was no value to be found in such a victory.
No lesson to be learned, no growth to be discovered.
For the first time since this all began, I let myself internally smile.
I had taught her how to defend against power, speed, and agility. I had taught her to defend herself against magic and the Arcane.
But all of those were tools of battle expected during a fight. It was the unexpected that was the most dangerous.
And anything could be turned into a tool to claim victory with using the right amount of creativity.
This has never been about winning. It was a test, and I was satisfied with what I had seen.
With that said… Let the lesson begin.
I stepped forward, locking my weapon against hers, my face coming close enough to hers that I could feel her breath as she panted for air, her wide eyes once again blue and exhausted-
And that is when I struck, using a weapon she never saw coming.
Amongst my various stats, there was one that I never truly called upon in full, for amongst mortals the results of it would be wide-reaching.
As a result, Sherry was totally unprepared for me to suddenly stop holding back my inhuman Charisma right when her mental strength was already weakening.
In an instant, as the full weight of my Cha: 999 stat hit her in full, she froze, her blue eyes bulging in shock, the grip she had on her weapon slackening as her mouth dropped open while she stared up at me with a look that was rapidly becoming that of a religious awe-
And then I headbutted her, sent her weapon flying away and let her harshly fall on the ground, the tip of my sword swiftly coming to rest right above her throat as she lay on the ground grimacing slightly from her newly broken nose, even if said nose healed itself seconds later.
For a moment, we stayed frozen like that, with me standing above her, my sword aimed at her throat while she looked up at me with fading but nonetheless still obvious awe in her eyes, before she slumped and nodded at me.
"I yield."
And with that I smiled, my sword going back in my (Inventory) while my normal human looks returned, though I kept the glowing eyes.
Around us, the hill covered in Lunar Tears where our fight took place was once more pristine, as if the vicious fight had never taken place.
This was my realm after all, the damage it took existed only because I had wanted it so.
"You have fought well. I'm proud of you."
Sherry took a deep breath, then sighed.
"Thanks, dad. Though I'm still very far from your level. And that last trick of yours…"
She blushed.
I snorted, feeling her embarrassment mixed with a complex mix of emotions.
"Never forget that anything can be used as a weapon, my daughter, and that it is the unexpected that is most dangerous of all in a fight."
I extended my right hand towards her, and she quickly took it and got back on her feet.
A moment later, her own Holy Moonlight Blade appeared in her hand, before disappearing, ready to be called once more at a thought from her.
"Come, I prepared tea while you were fighting, I'm sure you can use it."
I nodded at Oedon, who had teleported in, and now teleported back.
Well, it was less teleportation, and simply willing herself elsewhere really.
I did the same an instant later, Sherry opening a portal herself since she did not have the perfect control of this realm that I did.
We sat down around the table where Oedon awaited us, several cups of tea already prepared.
For a moment, we said nothing, simply sitting in comfortable silence while drinking delicious tea.
Blood-flavored, of course. We were Eldritch beings after all… Well, Sherry was still technically human, but even so, she naturally could enjoy the Old Blood as much as us.
The Blood certainly added a very nice kick to the tea, that was for sure.
I could almost taste starlight on my tongue…
I looked at Sherry.
"You fought well. There's some things you can still improve on, obviously, but certainly I can't imagine most gods would be expecting dimensional-breaking attacks and conceptual strikes to boot. Not from a human, at least."
"Is it enough though?"
"Of course not. It is never enough. I am not satisfied with myself, after all."
"In all fairness, your father's standards are rather high." pointed out Oedon, blood-red eyes looking at me warmly.
"I am aware." replied Sherry with unmissable amusement.
I scoffed. "Bah, I simply believe that perfection is a goal worth ever striving forward, that is all."
I looked down at my tea, frowning.
"And I'm not sure if what I hold of it is enough, where we are going."
"We are far greater than even the Great Ones, dear Aeon." said Oedon. "Do not doubt your achievement. You stand as a god to even we who thought ourselves the Greatest in existence. I know better now, but even so, we both can tell that while weaker than the Great Dreamer, we are mighty indeed."
She smiled.
"And besides… We are still growing stronger. If we are to fight, that will become even more true."
I mused on that. It was true, our existence allowed us to adapt to our circumstances. If our current powers are not enough to win a fight, then we will rapidly evolve more powerful to achieve victory.
The Saiyans had nothing on me and Oedon.
Still.
"I worry, nonetheless. If not for me, for those weaker that we cherish."
"And it does you credit to care so much, but not to the point it does more harm than good." Oedon declared, kindly but firmly.
And you have your Vaults, no? She sent me telepathically, and my right hand clenched around my teacup.
The Vaults…
When I rose as a Living God, I gained much.
The Hunter's Dream now held countless different layers, most of them hidden utterly.
Not even Lucy knew of the Vaults Oedon just mentioned. They were… Well.
They were my own version of a complete and utter "Fuck you!" to the Eldritch Gods, or any other beings with the power to fight me and potentially win.
Weapons, artifacts, and more of such horrific power that the C'Tan and the Daleks working together would never even come close to the destructive power of even one of them, even with a multiverse worth of time to try their hands at creating the worst horrors inimaginable.
Things which could shatter the Omniverse as a whole, if given the chance. Most of what was held in the Vaults weren't even the actual weapons, but the memories of me thinking them up, locked away, hopefully never to be used.
I simply did not dare to actually create them, after all.
Not that I feared someone finding them, the defenses were good enough to give even Oedon pause after all, but even so…
I had two forms. One that acted as a representation of the Cosmos in all of its wonders.
The other was meant as Destruction incarnate. A representation of the Void, of the idea that all things could end… Even the Eldritch.
In strange eons, even Death may die. And, perhaps, Azathoth itself.
Creating the Vaults and its contents was the first time I had called on that form. Hopefully… I never would have to use it again for a long, long time.
But if the Eldritch Pantheon turned out to be evil, then I would.
I just really, really hoped it would not be necessary.
"As you say, my love. Then let's put those worries away and just enjoy the present, yes?"
Naturally, we began teasing Sherry as much as we could.
It was much easier to hide our worries when she was busy being a blushing, sputtering mess, after all.
And if I was the only one who caught the slight crack in Oedon's teacup before she fixed it after squeezing it too hard, or the way her eyes glanced at Sherry with unnatural intensity, well, all the better.
***************************************************
6 March, 2009.
Kijuju Autonomous zone.
I should've seen it coming, thought Chris Redfield with a slight scowl. It didn't take long after the events of Manhattan and the revelations of the existence of B.O.W's to the world for all kinds of bio-weapons to fall into the hands of terrorists. A new era of bio-terrorism descended upon vulnerable countries, shifting the balance of power wherever they were used. People in the destabilized areas soon feared another incident like Raccoon City and Manhattan was inevitable. As panic spread, governments across the world turned to organizations like the BSAA and ISIS, and agents of both groups were sent to restore order and peace across the affected regions.
And now here I am, in-
"Welcome to Africa."
Chris turned, looking away from the jeep which held some of his stuff for this mission to look at the woman who had spoken. A rather pretty African woman met his gaze with a smile, before introducing herself.
"My name is Sheva Alomar."
"Chris Redfield." he replied to the local BSAA agent, shaking her hand, before he glanced to the side and smiled. "And this is Jill Valentine, my partner on this mission."
"A pleasure." she replied, the two women shaking hands as well.
Something about the sight of Jill being here for this mission brought him deep relief, though he had no idea why. Maybe he was just glad to have his partner for this?
He shook those feelings away. He needed to focus.
"Your reputation precedes you, Mr. Redfield, Miss Valentine. It's an honor to meet you both."
"Just Chris, thanks." he kindly replied.
"And Jill for me. We're together on this one, no need to waste time on formalities." said Jill kindly.
"So, you'll be accompanying us to the destination?" asked Chris, once Sheva accepted their words and returned the favor.
"Yes. Tensions are running high ever since the change of government."
Chris scoffed. "I'll bet. Intels says it's a haven for terrorists, now."
"And they'll not be happy to see an American… Much less two. ISIS or not." Sheva warned. "That's why I'm here. It helps put them at ease."
Chris glanced at Jill, who nodded.
"I'm sure you'll do just fine." replied Chris with a smile.
Chris and Jill followed Sheva as she brought them deeper into the city they were in. For now, nothing seems to be wrong…
But Aeon wouldn't have brought in a few dozen ISIS soldiers secretly lying in wait nearby just because he thought this was going to be a smooth-sailing mission.
They were stopped by an soldier at a checkpoint, one who quickly began to check out Sheva for weapons-
"You don't have to get touchy!" she exclaimed, slapping his hands away.
-or maybe just checking her out, Chris thought dryly.
Sheva stared down the soldier, before turning to look at them. "Let's go." she declared, before taking out an ID and waving it at the soldier's face.
They passed through the checkpoint, into the quarantined area where B.O.W's were suspected to be present.
Chris and Jill shared a look. They felt as if they were being watched… and not by friendly eyes.
HQ contacted them, giving them a reminder of their mission: apprehend a criminal well-known for selling B.O.W's to various terrorist group.
Apparently, he was here for one such deal, and they were here to crash that deal.
They already had a full BSAA team already present, so Chris, Jill, and Sheva weren't on their own.
Not that either Chris or Jill needed the back-up, but it was appreciated nonetheless.
Either way, the first part of the mission was simply to get to their contact at the local butcher shop.
Which should have been simple enough, except that Chris couldn't help but be increasingly tense.
There was something wrong with the people around them, and Chris couldn't relax when he felt like a fight was going to break out at any moment. His instincts screamed at him that danger surrounded him, and a quick look at Jill showed that she was just as tense.
Eventually, they reached the shop… Before they all paused.
Then they glanced back-
And found no one. It was as if everyone in the quarantine zone had just up and left… at the same time.
Without a word.
Chris exchanged a look with Jill. If need be, they could summon the Messengers to get their weapons at any time, but explaining that to Sheva might be a bit hard…
"Quiet neighborhood." said Jill to Sheva.
"Too quiet." the BSAA agent muttered, eyes nervously jumping around trying to find anyone.
And failing.
"Let's keep going." declared Chris. "We can worry about the locals later."
They reached the butcher shop and entered, almost expecting a fight, only to find their contact alive and well.
"Good. You're all here. Come."
He led them to the back of the shop, talking along the way.
"It may be because of the new government, but people around here are a little on edge."
"You don't say." muttered Jill.
"You should do what you came here to do and go home."
"Yeah, they really rolled out the red carpet for us Americans." said Chris, thinking back to the way everyone had stared at them.
Their contact grunted. "I have your weapons right there. Check them."
They wasted no time, eager to have the familiar comforting weight of their weapons on them, though Sheva gave them long looks when Chris put the massive form of Ludwig's Holy Blade on his back (which wasn't actually a weapon belonging to the man, from what Aeon had said, just named after him) while Jill put the Blades of Mercy at her back.
"So you really do use swords…" she mused.
"You'd be surprised at how useful they can be." replied Jill while checking her lasgun.
"Yeah. Most B.O.W's tend to go for physical attacks, and having a sharp piece of metal between you and them can do wonders for deciding whether you live or die when they succeed at getting close." remarked Chris.
Sheva nodded, then looked at their contact. "Coordinates?"
"Town square's right up ahead. Alpha Team is already waiting at the location."
"Good."
"What do you know about Uroboros?" questioned their contact.
Chris gave him a look.
"A whole lot of rumors, something about visions of a Doomsday project…"
"Doomsday sounds about right, and it is no mere rumor… You must arrest that weapon dealer, Irving, he's our only lead."
Their contact gave them a nod, then left, citing that he needed to go back to the front of the shop to not attract attention.
"So, doomsday huh? That fits with some of what we heard." muttered Jill.
"You're kidding, right? I mean, surely it's not that bad?" said Sheva, sounding incredulous.
Chris and Jill simultaneously gave her a look.
"Oh, how I wish I could be that innocent again." said Chris.
"Someone needs to not be that innocent in order to protect the world. Ignorance is not bliss, as we both know, Chris." pointed out Jill.
He grunted. "I'm aware… Now come on, let's go save the world. Again."
Sheva gave them a look, but followed them without a word.
"Remember, we're a team. No matter what, we try to stick together." he said to Sheva. It was the first time he met her, so he had no idea how she usually worked. Still, she was no Hunter… Or ISIS.
"Don't worry, I may not be as big as you, but I can hold my own." replied Sheva.
Chris said nothing. Between two Hunters and a regular BSAA agent, the weak link was obvious, even if he knew it wasn't fair to her.
They just weren't bound to the same limits as a regular human was.
They paused less than a minute later, when the small passage they were using to stealthily make their way towards the town square had a dead animal in the middle.
Sheva frowned in concen at the sight, while Jill and Chris glanced at each other.
They had some information on what kind of B.O.W's they were potentially dealing with, and some of what they were seeing was bringing back memories.
Memories of Spain and the cult ISIS had fought there.
They kept going, finding more dead animals butchered in a way that was screaming "cult" to their minds.
And then they found a piece of paper about some zealot ranting that they would give death to the outsiders.
"This is…" Sheva glanced at them with rising concern in her eyes.
Obviously, this whole mess wasn't something she was used to dealing with.
"Las Plagas?" said Jill.
"Yep. Or something like it." confirmed Chris.
"The people?"
"What do you think?"
"Damn. Trap?"
"Oh, absolutely."
Jill grinned. "Aeon?"
"About to crash the party. Obviously."
"Obviously." Jill shook her head fondly.
Sheva blinked, looking confused. "I'm sorry, what?"
Chris and Jill glanced at each other.
Then Chris called BSAA HQ.
"Be advised, we have reason to believe that the operation is a bust, and in fact a trap by Irving. Consider all locals potentially compromised, and double-check the status of Alpha Team. Bravo Team will spring the trap, we can handle it."
Well, I hope that Sheva can, mused Chris while Sheva blinked in shock at his words.
There was a moment of silence from HQ, then-
"Understood, Bravo Team. Be advised, Alpha Team isn't responding to our comms. High likelihood of trap confirmed. ISIS back-up has been confirmed to be five minutes out. If you think you can handle the trap, you have the green light to spring it and see what bites."
"Copy that, HQ. Bravo Team moving out. We'll see if we can confirm the status of Alpha Team. With some luck they are still alive. Redfield, over and out."
"Right, let's go walk into a trap, it's been a while since the last time this happened." declared Jill with a smirk.
"Agreed. Though hopefully we might still find a few survivors of Alpha Team, they might have valuable data to give us."
"I guess we'll see."
"I'm sorry, what just happened?" exclaimed Sheva, looking thoroughly lost.
"It's as you've heard. Irving set up a trap for us, and we walked right into it. So now we focus on surviving until back-up arrives, and try to find out where the bastard really is. Pretty straightforward, really." said Chris.
Sheva blinked, before shaking her head.
"Right, I'll just… Let's just keep going. Into a trap, apparently."
"Well it's not a trap for us if we can kill everyone trying to trap us, is it?" pointed out Jill.
Sheva gave her a look.
"Seems like the rumors about ISIS were true after all…" She shook her head. "Let's just go."
They kept walking for a single minute before a piercing scream filled the air.
"What the- it came from further up ahead!" exclaimed Sheva.
"Oh look, a trap." deadpanned Jill.
"How shocking." dryly replied Chris, so used to all this shit he wasn't even surprised. If anything, he was just disappointed at how badly they set up the whole thing.
Seriously, those guys were such amateurs it was almost ridiculous…
They sped up, Chris kicking the door of the house and seeing two guys hold a third on the ground, while one of them held-
Chris brought his lasgun up, shooting the two men in the head before quickly coming closer, taking a knife out and impaling the squirming… thing that was dropped by one of the now two dead men.
Chris held up the dead thing, before grimacing.
"Spain." declared Jill at the sight of it, and Chris grunted in agreement.
"What is that?" muttered Sheva, looking in disgust at the palm-sized parasite impaled by Chris' knife.
"Las Plagas… Or something like it, at least." He explained to their less experienced team members.
He glanced at the terrified man who almost got taken over by that thing.
"Run and don't be seen. Trust no one. It's not safe around here, and anyone could be controlled by one of those." Chris held up the dead parasite.
The man gave a terrified nod and then ran out of there as fast as he could.
"Las Plagas… I read the reports." whispered Sheva. "But if that's true, then-"
"Then this entire place is most likely compromised. Yes, that's what I warned HQ about." confirmed Chris.
Sheva tightened her grip on her las-pistol. "But that's… How many of these people are already beyond saving? How many of the locals are doomed already?!"
The two Hunters gave her sympathetic looks.
They knew what it was like to discover that one's home had become a living nightmare.
"We'll find Irving." swore Chris. "And we'll put a stop to all of this. That's all we can do."
Sheva growled, but nodded. "Fine. Let's keep going."
They kept going, passing through tight passages to slowly make their way towards the town square-
And then they stiffened as dozens of voices began shouting at once, and an entire group of locals suddenly screamed while charging at them.
Chris and Jill acted immediately, guns firing and shooting the head of every infected local in a matter of seconds, Sheva quickly joining in with a grim look on her face…
Only for more locals to arrive, all of them screaming bloody murder.
And all of them with unnatural red eyes.
"We need to get out of here!" shouted Sheva.
Chris glanced around, noticing a nearby house that looked more sturdy than the others. "Over here!"
They ran for it, killing as many locals along the way as they could. If Chris was alone, or with just Jill, they would have stood their ground and kept on killing, but Sheva wouldn't be able to keep going like they could. Not for long, anyway.
After barring the door to keep it from being forcibly opened, Chris contacted HQ.
"Bravo Team confirms Plagas variant in Kijuju. I repeat, the locals are under Plagas control."
"Copy that, Bravo Team. Mission is still a go."
"Understood. We'll update as needed. Redfield out."
"HQ still wants us to go with the mission? Even as FUBAR as things are?" said Sheva, obviously surprised.
Chris shrugged, and Jill calmly pointed out that "Irving needs to be stopped, now more than ever."
If they hadn't been Hunters, Chris would have agreed that at this point this would have been suicide.
They were surrounded by hostiles, their target was probably not even here, and their back-up were probably already dead.
But they were Hunters. And these B.O.W's hadn't trapped them here with them.
It was they that were trapped here with two Hunters.
Oh, and Aeon was inevitably going to show up with back-up whenever it was most appropriately dramatic to do so. That too.
In short, their enemies had sprung a trap that was going to waste a lot of resources for very little gain.
All things considered, they might as well try to keep going and find their target anyway.
So they kept going, passing through empty houses and even one underground tunnel until finally-
"Here. The town square." Said Chris, hiding behind a wall and peering through a window at the town square beyond.
"Yeah, and apparently the population of this entire place is here." muttered Jill, seeing what had to be a few hundred people gathered there.
Sheva pointed at the center of the crowd. "Look! That's-"
"Our contact. Guess they knew he helped us." grimly finished Chris at the sight of the man kneeling in the middle of an execution platform.
"We have to help him! They're going to execute him!"
Chris glanced at the tall man with a black cloth on his head holding a bloodied ax near their captured contact.
He glanced back at Sheva. He and Jill could handle the crowd, but what about-
He froze, he and Jill sharing a look.
"Hold." he said firmly. "Someone else will save him."
Sheva sent him a bewildered look. "Who? Alpha team is dead, and-"
The executioner raised his ax-
And then his upper body vanished in a flash of blue light from the plasma bolt fired at him.
There was a moment of pure silence, as everyone just stared in stunned shock at the steaming lower body of the former executioner.
That proved to be a mistake, as seconds later a number of rockets and plasma grenades were sent into the crowd from nearby buildings.
*KA-BOOOM!*
Sheva flinched from the numerous explosions blowing up countless infected, before a veritable storm of plasma coming from various buildings around the town square slammed into whatever survivors survived the opening barrage of explosions.
The only man to be left alive a minute after the one-sided slaughter began was their contact, still kneeling bound on the execution platform he was on.
Then Aeon casually walked out of a nearby building, looking straight at them.
"Come on out, it's safe now."
Chris smirked, Jill rolled her eyes fondly, and Sheva gaped in shock at the uttter slaughter she had just witnessed.
They came out into town square, a few ISIS soldiers coming out as well, two of them going to help free their contact from his bounds.
"Well, it seems things aren't going as the BSAA expected them to." dryly pointed out Aeon.
Then he shook his head. "You should get moving. Go find Alpha Team, if they are still alive. We're going to cleanse this entire place, so we'll be busy for a while. You three should focus on your mission."
"And are they still alive?"
Aeon paused at Jill's question, before sighing.
Then he took out a grenade and gave it to Jill.
"You'll know when, or rather on what, to use when you'll see it." he said grimly.
Jill raised an eyebrow. "A black hole grenade? Damn."
Chris sighed. "Yeah, Alpha Team's gone, isn't it?"
Aeon glanced at him. "I tried to convince the guy in charge of the local branch of the BSAA to wait for ISIS back-up, but he refused. The guy has some issues with ISIS, and wanted to prove he didn't need us to take care of things."
"And now one of his teams is dead. Great." Chris wasn't sure if he felt more disgust or sadness over the petty reason for why a squad of soldiers just died. Inter-organization competitiveness wasn't too bad between ISIS and the BSAA most of the time, not when their Director was a good friend of Aeon, but whenever it reared its ugly head, it was always a mess to deal with.
"Wait, how are you sure that they are dead? We don't know that, yet!" exclaimed Sheva.
Aeon looked at her, then nodded. "Fair enough. In that case, as I said, get moving fast, you shouldn't waste more time here."
"Right, let's go." declared Chris, and they ran towards the last known location of Alpha team.
The sounds of battle picked up behind them not long after, but that was not their battle to win today. Right now, they have their own objective.
Passing through streets after streets, house after house, they suddenly froze when a blonde haired woman stood on the balcony of a nearby house screaming for help.
A local with bright red eyes came behind her, grabbing her-
And then Chris blew his brain out with a precision shot. Despite the fact he had a single second to take it, that his target was above him and a dozen meters away, and that he needed to be careful not to hit the one he was trying to save.
If he had been human, he would have never been able to take that shot… But he was not. Not fully.
"Holy shit."
He smirked at Sheva's awed whisper.
"We'll take it from here, keep going."
"What the- Fuck you scared me."
That smirk turned into a full laugh when a squad of ISIS soldiers spoke up from where they had tailed them, badly startling Sheva.
"Thank you. Come on, let's keep going." said Jill, nodding at the ISIS soldiers and running forward once more, Chris following and then Sheva doing the same.
"You two knew they were there?" asked Sheva.
"Of course." said Jill, Chris agreeing as well.
Sheva fell silent, before muttering something about "Reality being as insane as the stories."
Soon enough, they reached the area where Alpha Team was supposed to be in. Cautiously entering the building, they slowly made their way before across the corridors-
Until they turned around a corner, and found a body belonging to one of Alpha Team.
Chris knelt down, noticing that the body was covered in black… goo?
"No idea what that is." he muttered.
"Me neither." said Jill.
"I can't say I do either. But either way, we need to keep going. Something definitely happened to Alpha Team, but there might still be survivors!" pointed out Sheva.
Chris nodded, before putting a laser bolt into the corpse's head.
Sheva flinched. "Why did you do that?!"
Jill and Chris glanced at her. "Because otherwise he most likely would have arisen as a zombie sooner or later, obviously."
Sheva opened her mouth. Closed it.
"Right. Sorry, just… Let's just go."
Chris and Jill glanced at each other. Sheva obviously wasn't used to dealing with infected teammates.
Well, no time for the present to learn, they supposed.
They moved on, passing through empty corridors, the distant sounds of battle from ISIS fighting infected following them until finally, they reached the other members of Alpha Team.
Or their corpses to be specific.
"What happened here?" muttered Chris, seeing all the soldiers of Alpha Team covered in black goo.
Jill said nothing, and only kept a hand close to the grenade Aeon had given her.
Chris then glanced at Sheva, and together they began checking the bodies… while putting laser bolts in their heads.
It was on the corpse of Alpha team's leader that he found a USB, quickly showing it to the others before carefully putting it away.
"No sign of Irving… Obviously." grumbled Chris.
"I guess he got away… or was never there at all." grimly said Sheva.
Chris nodded in agreement, before activating his radio.
"HQ, we found Alpha Team. They're dead, though I found an intact USB that might have valuable data. No signs of Irving so far."
"Roger. Relay the data from the vehicle at the storage facility."
"Copy that, we're on it."
They looked at each other, before Sheva grimaced. "I don't like the look of all of this, but we have to keep moving."
"Agreed."
They moved on, all three of them ready for an attack at any moment. Going deeper into the building they were in, Chris suddenly held up a fist, Jill and Sheva freezing in place.
Slowly, Chris turned around, the two women doing the same…
Only for their eyes to go wide at the sight of a writhing, tentacled ball of black goo falling from the ceiling and hitting the ground, half a dozen tentacles rushing towards them.
"What the hell is that?!" exclaimed Sheva, while she and Chris fired on the nearest tentacles.
That thing could have been at home in Yharnam, both Hunters couldn't help but think, watching the unnatural writhing and oozing movements of whatever that fucking thing was.
The fact it was surprisingly fast didn't help.
Jill quickly took hold of the grenade Aeon gave her, activated it, and threw it center mass of the writhing, tentacled… thing trying to kill them.
Considering that every laser bolt that hit its tentacle only seemed to push it back without inflicting any real damage, it was quite obviously really hard to kill.
By conventional weapons, at least. The grenade sailed through the air, a tentacle engulfing it when it came close to the center mass of the creature and bringing it into its body-
And then it went off.
Sheva's eyes bulged at the sight of the black hole which suddenly appeared right where the monster was, sounds and light seemingly distorted by its very presence, making her feel like she had just gone underwater, an unseen wind picking up around the corridor while the tentacles of the monster were dragged into its darker-than-black depths-
*WOOOSH!*
-and then it closed as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving a mostly ooze-free corridor behind.
With, obviously, no monster in sight.
"Fucking hell, seeing it is really different than reading about it." Sheva whispered, sounding awed and slightly scared.
"Black Hole grenades are no joke." agreed Jill. "Only ISIS knows how to make them, and even then, only a few people are allowed to use them in battle. I don't think I need to explain why, do I?"
Sheva eyed the circular holes in the ground and ceiling where the Black Hole ate at both places. "No, no you don't."
Then she frowned. "Either way, that… thing… was responsible for the death of Alpha Team. We need to report it to HQ."
Chris agreed. "We'll do that along with sending the data."
They moved on, reaching the storage facility and the jeeps within a few minutes later.
"I've got it." declared Chris while opening the laptop he found within one of the jeep.
"What was that thing?" asked Sheva, still thinking of their latest encounter.
"No doubt a B.O.W that scumbag Irving left behind to try and kill us all." replied Chris. "Just be glad that Aeon obviously suspected anything capable of taking out a full BSAA team with ease to deserve the big guns to be brought out, or things would have gotten pretty damn complicated and fast."
Unless they went full Hunter on it, but as usual, it was preferable to not show magical abilities if at all possible.
The little Dust they had on them would have probably not been enough for that thing.
"Chris to HQ, do you copy?" he asked, once the laptop was ready and the data on the USB was sent.
"HQ here. Excellent work out there. We'll analyze the data immediately."
"This whole town's gone to hell." pointed out Chris. "The people here, they really are acting like those Ganados from Spain, and aside from that, we've encountered something new, something we never saw before."
He glanced at Jill. For both of them, that was really saying something.
"We're going to need an extraction plan, too. Requesting Mission Update." declared Sheva.
"The mission stands. Capturing Irving is your top priority. We believe he may have fled to the mines at the other side of the train station."
Chris raised an eyebrow.
"You found him? And what about back-up, are we going after him with just us three?" he questioned.
"Delta Team has been dispatched and are on their way. They will assist you in locating and apprehending Irving."
"But, wait, we can't-" tried to protest Sheva, who obviously wasn't eager to throw herself into the mines potentially full of hostiles with only two people to back her up, only for HQ to cut her off.
"I repeat, your mission stands. We can't afford to let him get away. Proceed to the mines beyond the station. HQ, over and out."
The transmission cut off.
"This is insane!" Exclaimed Sheva, somewhere between enraged and utterly shocked. The idea of going after a criminal potentially protected by hundreds, if not thousands of loyal B.O.W's guarding him with just three people was utter madness for her. And adding only one team was not helping change her mind, considering what happened to the last team they had for back-up!
Chris and Jill exchanged a look.
By BSAA agents' standards, yes it was. By ISIS standards? Depends on what lives in the mines.
By Hunter standards? This was Tuesday.
The real question here is whether BSAA HQ was sending them like this because they knew that they could handle it, because they really couldn't afford to let Irving get away no matter the cost, or if there was something else going on.
Either way…
"You don't have to go with us." Said Jill kindly. "It's pretty obvious that this mission isn't like anything you ever experienced before, but we can handle it. If you want, you can go to Aeon, he'll help you out."
Chris nodded. He didn't want Sheva's death on his conscience, and this was looking more and more like things will only escalate from here on out.
Sheva stared at them with utter incredulity. "You're going for it? Just you two?"
Jill shrugged. "We had worse in the past."
Chris thought back to the simulations of a city of Blood.
He held back a shudder. He'd rather deal with a thousand Ganados than a hundred beasts.
They'd be much easier to kill, for one.
Sheva shook her head. "I… No. We're a team, I refuse to abandon you to that. If you're going…" She took a deep breath. "Then so am I."
Her expression darkened. "Besides, I still want to make sure Irving pays for what he's done here."
"Are you sure? This will get a lot worse before it gets better."
"I am. Now come on, let's do this."
Chris nodded, then took point.
They left the building they were in, fighting their way against waves after waves of infected locals.
Their enemies seemed grimly determined to stop them, at one point even sending a speeding truck against them, though a well-placed shot sent the truck crashing over the edge of the bridge they were on at that point and into the water below.
And still, more infected came coming, the parasites inside them left these people no choice but to keep throwing their lives away as they were systematically cut down by Chris, Jill or Sheva.
After that they had to use the subterranean tunnels, being attacked by waves of infected dogs instead.
Thankfully they weren't of the Yharnam variety, making it much easier to kill them even in the tight space of the underground corridors they were going through.
They came out of the tunnels into open-air sewers, and promptly froze.
There were a number of infected laying on the ground… but what caught their attention were the giant flying insects eating the bodies.
"My God." muttered Sheva at the sight with a grimace.
Aeon's got nothing to do with that, quite the opposite, Chris thought before they all opened fire, gunning down the new breed of infected monsters.
There was a moment of silence-
And then the bodies bursted open, releasing a new flying creature for every corpse.
"Fuck!" cursed Sheva, flinched at the gore flying around the violent birth of the monsters.
Chris and Jill immediately opened fire once again, Sheva following soon after, only for one surprisingly agile monster to fly straight at Chris, avoiding their shots.
"Chris-" exclaimed Sheva… A moment before Chris took the sword on his back, drew it out and cut the monster in two when it tried to attack him.
There was another moment of silence, before Chris put his sword back.
"Now you see what I meant about B.O.W's getting close and bladed weapons."
"Consider me convinced." mused Sheva, staring at the two different pieces of the monster he killed with wide eyes.
"Come on, let's keep going." said Jill with an amused smile. It was always amusing to see the reactions of people the first time they saw a Hunter show off a little, so Chris easily understood the amusement dancing in her blue eyes.
Soon enough, they had reached a market place, where apparently the locals had decided to try and overwhelm them with sheer numbers.
It was the only explanation for why dozens upon dozens of infected suddenly screamed and rushed them from all over the place.
"Sheva! Get into that building over there-" he pointed out the most sturdy-looking building around "-and provide support!"
"And what about you two?!"
Chris and Jill glanced at each other and smiled.
"We're going hunting!"
***********************************************
Sheva grudgingly went into the building, feeling increasingly frustrated with this entire mission.
Their intel was worth nothing, considering no one apparently knew this entire place was infected. Their contact barely survived thanks to ISIS crashing the man's execution… except that ISIS wasn't supposed to be here in force, so obviously something was going on with that as well.
Then there were new B.O.W.s never before seen even by Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, and Irving was seemingly able to set up a perfect trap for all of them when this mission was highly classified, and the Western African BSAA HQ was apparently determined to send them to their death…
Also, being near Jill and Chris made her wonder just how good she truly was at her job, because those two were so fast and their aim so good that her own skills seemed almost laughable in comparison.
Both of them could kill several times her number of infected in the same time-frame with ease. What was she supposed to do when, by the time she could bring her gun up, half a dozen infected could already be dead on the ground?
Hell, their mission into the mines sounded like utter suicide.
The two Hunters of ISIS had not even blinked.
Were the standards between ISIS and everyone else so different? She knew that some in the BSAA had issues with ISIS, but this was all rather ridiculous!
At the same time, she couldn't deny that it was awe-inspiring. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine were world-wide celebrities, warriors known for being the best of the best, and after some time with them it was obvious that reputation was fully warranted.
It really showed her just how incredible human beings could be, and it really went to show that B.O.W's, for all their horrors, could not break humanity's dominion over the Earth.
So it was with rather mixed and complex feelings that Sheva was the only one going into the sturdy building to fight from.
The reason why the two Hunters didn't quickly became clear, though.
Putting away their guns, both Hunters took out their swords, dual ones for Jill… and then they went to fight against the infected.
No, that wasn't right. They went to utterly slaughter them.
Sheva was left to watch with wide-eyed shock as the two Hunters calmly, with perfect skill, began to cut off limbs and heads from the infected like it was as simple as taking a walk in a park, human body parts flying everywhere in an orgy of blood and gore.
Sheva tried her best to do her job and provide fire support, but that mostly involved killing anything with a long-range weapon. Anyone trying to get close to the two Hunters were being butchered like cattle, blood flying everywhere and staining much of the market place red while both Hunters barely even blink, seemingly utterly uncaring of the one-sided carnage they were inflicting upon their enemies.
There was no doubt, no hesitation, no mistake made. The infected might as well be snails before the two, and the wave of parasite-controlled bodies smashed into the two Hunters, broke, and died.
Bodies piled up around them like rings of death, and still they fought. Blood turned the ground a bright, slippery red, and still they fought. Body parts flew all around them and even smacked into other zombies, and still, they fought.
In the end, the enemy ran out of bodies long before a single drop of blood was drawn from the two Hunters, who stood tall, breathing calm, around a monument to their sheer deadliness.
Sheva killed around two dozen zombies armed with various long-range weapons while giving fire support. The two Hunters must have killed a hundred… each.
All without gaining a single scratch.
Sheva swallowed.
So that's what the best in the world looks like, huh.
How incredible… And terrifying.
She tried not to think about their leader.
Anyone capable of standing above those two like those two could stand above her… Was he still able to be considered human, at that point?
She shook her head. Maybe she'd think about all of this… One day. For now, she had a mission to accomplish.
She left the building, noting that not even a single infected came close to it, all of them killed long before they could get close to her.
As she came closer, both turned to look at her, swords dripping with gore, expressions calm and unconcerned by all the death they had wrought, Sheva wondered if they were even still truly humans, or something… more.
Either way, it was obvious to her that any who sought to become their equal was doomed to failure.
Sheva knew war. Knew death. She had seen, lived through both since she was a child. Was trained to bring both since she was a teenager.
And all of that meant nothing against the two spirits of death and judgment before her.
The people of Africa were more religious than many others. Across her life, Sheva had seen wonders and horrors both.
And she now wondered what truths lied behind the existence of beings like these two and their leader.
Coming to a stop before them, she glanced at the corpses surrounding them.
Then at the two beings before her, capable of bringing death like only the oldest of legends could match.
Then she kept walking.
"Come on. Let's find Irving. He must pay for what he did."
Were they truly human? Or something more?
She had no idea.
What she did know was that these two stood as protectors of the innocent, and that was enough.
Humans or spirits, they would bring justice to these poor souls damned by Irving. And in that, above all else… She found comfort.
/
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we start the events of RE5.
Obviously, the more into the story we will get, the more differences there will be.
For the start, I've been wanting to better show off Sherry's growth for a while, and what better than a spar against Aeon? Obviously, he didn't go all out, but he certainly used enough power and abilities to push Sherry as hard as possible without completely overwhelming her.
Also, I don't think I ever saw a Gamer weaponize their Charisma stat before, so… Well, there you go! Let it serve as your friendly reminder that Aeon can be quite the cunning bastard when he wants, or needs, to be.
Beyond that, RE5! With Jill Valentine with the good guys! And Wesker dead! Obviously, there will be changes, though for now I'm going to use a little background fact to help the bad guys not be steamrolled utterly in the first 5 seconds. I am somewhat hopeful about not needing too many chapters to finish the game, considering how many story elements are removed with Wesker dead and Jill not brainwashed…
As for Sheva, she didn't show off much in this first chapter, but she'll have her time to shine in the next chapters… Once she adapts to the general insanity of ISIS and Hunters, at least!
I do like writing about her character so far, especially the end, since she's one of the few characters who I can have be more… open-minded about things. Other people would double-down on trying to find logical reasoning for Hunters and their strength, Sheva on the other hand allows herself to wonder, and that makes things more interesting.
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, we go further into the events of RE5, and the many differences to come…