-Chapter 40: More Tales by the Fireside-
It was another cold January afternoon out in the Great Sothern Forest. The exploration teams and hunting parties had returned from their small expeditions and outings into the unknown parts of the forest. Some had returned with more points of interest marked on their maps, while others returned with some interesting findings.
Findings that were now being further inspected and prodded at by the Slayer, who recognized the pieces, despite the clear years of degradation caused by the elements.
"You're sure you've never seen this pattern of armor anywhere inside the Walls?" He looked to the team leader responsible for the finding. The scout shook his head, for the thing in Maverick's hands was completely unknown to him, didn't even know it WAS armor until Mav said anything.
"Any of you?" The other scouts around him all shook their heads or voiced denials. His eyes went back to the aged piece. Despite it looking like a jumbled mess of metal strips and rotted leather he knew what it looked like in its pristine condition.
Lorica Segmentata.
It was cosmic joke that only the grand universe understood. Was this the sixtieth or the eightieth time he had seen this pattern of armor? At this point it just seemed that no matter what world he awoke on, or what far off universe he'd be flung to, Romulus and Remus would always be one step ahead of him.
He informed the others on the aged armors origin, much to their surprise. To have an armor hailing from an early human civilization was definitely an exciting find, but for it to come from the old Roman empire of Maverick's own original home world and beyond made this find an extraordinary one.
Erwin himself looked at the scraps with narrowed eyes, as a near existential thought began to form in his head. Just how similar were they, as a people, compared to the many other human cavillations their giant comrade had travelled to. Did their species have some sense of interconnectivity, a sameness of connecting origins? Maverick did say the people of the walls held "Germanic roots."
He set such thoughts aside for the moment, if nothing than to spare him from the headaches such maddened thinking would entail.
"There's gotta be some museum up in Sina or something…" Erwin heard Maverick mutter.
"Not that I've seen during my visits Maverick." The man gave him a glance before he sighed, for Erwin knew that he knew the real reasons.
"Well, the higher ups back home will definitely get a kick out of it, along with the rest of this." Came Dirk's voice, as he gestured to the many other aged trinkets and relics that had also been recovered from the mini expeditions.
"Definitely museum worthy."
"More like trash worthy."
"Oi! Show some respect! If what Mav says is true, then these are the only connections to our ancestor's we got!" The others agreed, no doubt they'd made great discoveries this day. As they continued to talk among themselves both Commander and Demigod looked to one another and nodded.
For this was but one small step into a greater conspiratorial ocean that they would soon one day fully descend into, and possibly drag the rest of the regiment along with them.
-oOo-
Sometime later…
It was late in the day, and the evening dinners had been served. All squads were in their own little circles either atop inside the tree forts or enjoying in one another's company and in general relaxation.
Maverick of course was in the company of his squad, listening to a humorous tale told by young Harold of his days of boyhood. Though not entirely as the discovery of the old bits of armor still weighed on his mind.
His squad mates noticed this, as he continued to sip from his long empty bowl. Realizing he tasted nothing but wood his mind reactivated, and excused himself to go for a refill, sharing some small talk with the cooks and scouts that had done the same.
Hange and the others spoke among themselves thinking of ways to get him to unwind. Didn't take long to come up with an idea. Upon his return to his comfortable seating Hange gave him a smile.
"Hey Maaaavvv." She began. That sing-song tone more than a clear sign to him as to what she desired. "Me and the boys were thinking. What better way to enjoy the rest of this day, with one of your stories, eh?"
He looked to his young members, each giving him a smile or a nod. Moblit himself gave an agreeable shrug. Well, suppose he could, if anything to take his mind off things, something he suspected his comrades wanted.
"Alright, let me just finish this nice hot stew and I'll spin a tale."
-oOo-
One hot stew later…
"Another round of tall tales?" Levi asked, watching numerous scouts pick up and set down numerous logs, bags and other seating arrangements around a large bonfire currently being made, the one responsible for this all sitting nice and cozy some distance away.
Word had spread, mostly Hange's doing, that the giant was going to regale them all once more with another of his now-famous stories. Moment that happened the younger of their numbers practically sprang into action, excitement clear in their faces and voices as they passed him by.
It was a little endearing. Reminded him that underneath the years of training and conditioning under their drill instructors, there were still a bunch of young brats.
"Aww Levi's just being coy." Came Four Eyes' voice from behind. It took everything in his willpower to ignore his instincts to throw her over his shoulder the instant he felt her hands on him. "We all know he just loves hearing your stories as much as anyone here."
A dry "hmph" sounded form the halfling in response to her teasing. He'd grown used to this behavior, so it wasn't really worth the effort to rebuke her.
Besides Maverick did more than often have a good story or two under his belt. His antics with the young cosmic prince was one of his personal favorites.
Seconds later a certain sniffer then took a seat next to him, letting out a relaxed sigh as he watched his younger squad mates find their own near the giant, talking among themselves and relaxing their muscles near the now blazing and warm bonfire.
"Any trouble lately?" The larger man shook his head.
"Forests' been quiet for most of the day." He wiped his nose, watching as Gelgar and Henning conversed while Tomas and Lynne took swigs from their canteens, recovering from the day's toils. "A good day for some extra maneuvering training."
Levi nodded. While the threat of titans had been brought to an extreme low, it was important to keep these kids on their toes. No use having that gear if they forgot how to actually use it.
Soon Erwin had joined alongside them, as did the rest of the scouts on this expedition who had found adequate seatings around the now brightly burning bonfire. Seeing all eyes on him the giant spoke.
"Alright." He began, slapping his knees. "So, before I go on rambling about the olden days, as usual… anything in specific?" He leaned in while giving a good hard look at the many faces surrounding him.
Immediately voices sounded off from everyone. One of the veterans wanted a retelling of his slaying of the great black dragon Deathwing, as the juniors of his squad had yet to hear of that epic fight.
Another scout voiced their vote on another story of his years on the world of Pandora, with more than a few voicing their agreements. The planet of eternal loot and adventure was always a joy for many to hear and brought fond memories to the giant.
He heard another amusing request from this time Nanaba, as she wanted to hear a rather mundane, yet unique tale compared to the other more grand suggestions, a simple tale of his business ventures. Perhaps she desired some words of wisdom from an accomplished burger joint owner for her own pursuits? Who could say?
These were but a few of the requests he heard among the sea of voices, but it was a single hand raised from a certain scout that had caught Maverick's interest the most.
"Yes Henning?"
All eyes turned to the young man of Miche's squad. His serious expression faltered, shocked he was even chosen, but soon reaffirmed himself and looked at the marked man in the glowing ethereal eyes.
"I want to hear more about those bioweapons you talked about way back when."
Bioweapon. A word that held so much meaning, strength and more than a little bit taboo to the Survey Corps, whom all went completely silent once it was spoken. Maverick himself raised a brow at the young scout's request, his face going to a more neutral look.
"Ahhh, really now?" The young scout shook his head.
"Yeah. I remember when you and the commander told us, h-how the titans might be exactly like those monsters you dealt with in the past."
It was something they were all told about in the days after their grand welcoming banquet. The commander, the Slayer, and their fellow veterans had decided to impart this theory to them, that the titans that had caused so much pain and terror to humanity, were byproducts from some far-off nation's attempts to create better soldiers for war.
Said byproducts being a result of human experimentation. To think the man-eating beasts were once just as human as him, and his squad mates, was…shocking, to say the least.
Even more shocking was the fact they were all entrusted to keep this revelation to themselves, for the time being.
It had been something in the back of his mind for some months now, always gnawing at him to know more of those monsters he'd face. Maverick of course had explained a few, but for Henning it wasn't enough. There were times he wanted to ask Maverick in private but couldn't quite find the time. But now here, sitting along a great fire with everyone under the trees, it was more than a perfect moment.
"I just want to know a little more. It's a bit morbid I know, but it's like an itch that just won't go away in my head." It seemed he was not alone, as some of his fellow young scouts also voiced their agreements.
His expectant look once more faltered as the marked man stared at him in silence, his glowing eyes shining through the flames, as a smile soon formed through his long, dark beard.
"Understandable. But I gotta warn you, it's not one of my more…pleasant, stories." A scoff sounded from somewhere among the gathering.
"Considering our line of work, it shouldn't be too bad." Came Levi's voice. "You've told us worse things…"
Voices rang out across the camp, all in agreement. They were the Survey Corps, the brave few who had the guts to take on the titan hordes. Besides many felt they were desensitized enough to whatever Mav had to say.
If they could stand his tales of that cursed city Yharnam, then they could listen to anything.
A low chuckled was heard from their storyteller. "Well, who am I to deny such a popular request."
Rising from his log he stepped closer to the big bonfire in the center, to everyone's bemusement. The markings on his right hand glowed for a moment, before a small blue flame lit up. He let the small flame dance around his fingertips before flicking it into the great fire, instantly turning it from its red, orange, and yellow hues to a familiar supernatural blue and white coloration. For this story he wanted to do something special.
"Alrighty folks, for tonight I shall regale you all with a tale..."
Showing off his skills learned from the many shamans, pyromancers, fire benders, and flame deities of past lives he waved his arms in specific and practiced movements, with the great blue fire following with his movements.
"To know of the monsters that share the origins of the giants, I must start at the beginning…"
The juniors were in utter bewilderment and awe, while the veterans looked on with amusement. Just another of his many unique powers at play.
"A day when my once cozy life of exploration and isolation, turned upside down…and I was sent into a world of survival horror."
-oOo-
"It all began on the year 1998, late July if I remember right. I was almost a year and a half into my life in this new world, a familiar world, but new all them same."
The blue flames twisted and turned, forming into an image of Maverick himself, a younger, less gargantuan, version of himself. His body was covered in a plethora of pelts and furs, a necklace of bone and teeth hanged low from his neck, and a massive flaming bear head adorned atop his head, with small flames trickling from his body. An amazing sight to behold.
"Spent most of my time living off the land, traveling from place to place, hunting the wildlife, making clothing out of their skinned hides and using the bones for weapons and necklace charms. Eventually my travels took me across the Midwest of the United States, my homeland."
"You didn't go off to settle down in a town?" Hange interrupted, only to hear a small sigh from her comrade.
"This was a point in my life where I wasn't so keen on revealing myself to the world so soon. Back when I could actually hide myself among the populace."
His eyes shifted to his right arm, the glowing tattoos shining bright. His Gods-given appearance was both a blessing and a curse, for at times it had brought about certain…issues, of the religious kind, especially in civilizations where the belief in the Almighty and that of the other Gods was in decline.
Of course, such issues would resolve themselves in time, but it always tended to save him future headaches (and attempts on his life) if he lived the simple life of a woodsman, for a time at least.
At the least it gave many a self-righteous atheist a kick in the head. Or a noose for some.
Regaining his focus he continued.
"Anyways I had wandered into a heavily wooded area I'd later found out was called the Arklay Forest, just some distance away from a place called Racoon City. I still remember the feeling in my gut the moment I stepped foot in those woods."
"A bad feeling I take it?" He nodded and turned to the one who spoke, Keiji.
"You ever just go somewhere and instantly get a feeling that there's something very, very wrong?"
"Every time we go into this damn forest."
Some chuckled from Levi's retort, even Maverick couldn't help but give a small smirk. The smile soon disappeared as he went on with the story, as the following events were less than pleasant.
"The first thing I noticed was just how unnaturally…quiet, the forest was. Couldn't hear any animals running around, or see any for that matter, just complete dead silence. Wasn't until nightfall when I found out why."
Some scouts leaned in their seats, watching attentively as Maverick morphed the bonfire into an image of himself gathering wood.
"I was making myself a place to rest for the night. Spent the last of my provisions on the way so I was a bit peeved that I'd go to sleep hungry, but figured I'd have better luck in the morning. I soon began to hear something out across the forest." A sigh escaped his lips as his glowing eyes closed.
"It was the sounds of barks, echoing through the woods."
The flame image showed Maverick's fire puppet rise up and look around before heading off in a direction, clawed gauntlets at the ready.
"It was those bioweapons, right?" A low grumble escaped Maverick's lips as he continued to keep his eyes closed, the memories of that day replaying in his mind.
"Didn't know it at the time. All I was thinking was just how lucky I was to finally get the chance to fill my stomach. Didn't know that's what they were thinking too."
He moved his arms in circular motions, turning the blue flames into as swirling mass as he continued to speak.
"Stopped when I began to smell something fowl in the air. A certain smell, a familiar smell that made my appetite disappear entirely…" Maverick's voice shifted to a lower pitch, nearly raspy to some, as everything was coming back to him.
"It was the smell of rot and decay."
He could remember it like it had occurred only yesterday. Rotting flesh had an utterly foul and stomach-churning smell. The kind of smell one's nose could never forget. Once your nasal cavities caught a whiff, it'd stay with you for the rest of your life.
"And just what a coincidence that the smell got more potent as the barking got louder, till I was soon met with them."
By his hands the blue fires formed into the shape of the fowl creature that had appeared to him that night, and the scouts looking on were surprised to see its depiction in the flames.
"What came out into the open was a Doberman, a scarred, bloody, rotting Doberman. People responsible for its creation called it a Cerberus."
In an impressive show of his fire puppetry the fire hound moved uneasily and snapped at the air, making some scouts lean back in their seats.
"Could see bits of its ribcage and muscle from the tears in its skin. Half of its skull was exposed, its only ear perked up as it had its milky white eyes on me. It's teeth gnashing and clicking as it drooled out blood and spit."
Those who had softer hearts for animals were appalled by the beast, to see it was far worse than hearing about it. Truly a horrendous creature. Some who knew of his tales in the lands of Ancient Greece found the name of this creature morbidly fitting.
"It was eyeing me up for a few seconds, probably thinking to itself what part of my body it wanted to sink its jaws into first." The fiery illustration showed the two circling around one another, the Cerberus lowering its head, while Maverick raised his clawed dukes and went into a defensive stance.
"Now sure I creeped me out a little, but I'd tussled with all sorts of monsters and nightmares by that time in my life, so I was more than ready when it rushed me."
The scouts watched as the Cerberus quickly closed the distance between it and Maverick and jumped, baring its teeth.
"Had plenty of weapons I fashioned out of bear bones. So when the thing lunged, I quickly grabbed it out of the air by its neck and just started shanking it."
Hange felt the goosebumps in her arms as she watched her comrade's fiery apparition grab the dog by its throat and repeatedly jab it in its stomach with his gauntlet, the Cerberus shaking violently in his grasp, still trying to bite him defiantly.
That was until he lodged his fist into the dog's head, causing some to let out some surprised yelps at the speed it happened.
"But it was all a trap, cause remember ladies and gentlemen, dogs hunt in packs."
With a flick of his wrists he made more figures be born from the flames, those figures being the rest of the Cerberi that quickly surrounded him.
"They were on me the moment I tossed the body away, craftly little creeps. Two rushed me straight ahead while two others circled behind me. Thought they were slick."
Maverick's animated image quickly spun to meet the savage dogs, his clawed hands ready to meet and strike down the foolish mutts.
"But I stood my ground. Started slashing and stabbing at any of the mongrels that got to close."
The scouts were presented with a great scene straight out of a violent play, as Maverick fended off the fowl mutts with the same amount of ferocity he had showed the titans during the breach.
Some of the scouts recoiled as the bonfire blazed and expanded, as his image struck the dogs down, even bisecting and separating their heads and limbs with single strikes.
"Some point I lost my left gauntlet in the fight, got lodged deep inside on of the mutts' skulls. Didn't matter one bit."
The flames showed their comrade toss another slain Cerberus aside, soon taking out a sharpened rib bone from his person. With quick swipes he continued his assault on the dogs, tearing and rending their bodies apart.
"Didn't stop ripping and tearing till everything around me was either dead or had run off."
The scene showed Maverick heaving, his shoulders rising and lowering as the slain burning bodies surrounded him, creating quite an imposing image to the gathering of scouts.
"Wow…." A small smile formed on Maverick's lips once he heard Hange's voice. For the next scene would no doubt get a kick out of her.
"It had been a while since I'd had to actually put up a decent fight and defend myself, so I was more than a little cocky, little too careless."
The moment those last words left his lips everyone had an idea as to what happened.
"Oh, don't tell us-" Moblit saw the edge of his moustache curve upwards, showing a bit of his grinning teeth.
"Yeah, few of the mutts actually got a couple scratches on me. *Sigh* It was more than enough for the virus that made them to get into my system."
"Oh Mav…" He heard muttered from the gathering. It surprised Hange, to think that he could be susceptible to diseases, considering she had never seen him get sick, especially during the flu season last fall.
Upon some questions from the gathering he elaborated on this supposed virus. In short, in was one of the main components responsible in the creation of the Cerberus, along with the many other creatures that he had encountered on that night in the woods. It was a part of them, and they were a part of it.
It was in their brains, in their flesh, in their blood, and in their drool...
"When did you realize you were infected?" Came Erwin's voice, as this was a certain detail that the man had failed to speak about when he enlightened him on the plaga virus some time ago.
"It was a couple minutes after the fight. Started to get this funny feeling inside my body, and not the 'ha-ha' funny, more like the there's something moving inside me, and I don't know what it is funny."
He moved his arms to provide an explanatory image. By his command the blue inferno shifted and turned to the shape of their comrade inspecting himself, till he stopped to look at his left arm, the one where his gauntlet was lost. The flames showed a closeup of said arm, a clear scratch mark visible in the flames. Holding out his hand his blazing eyes widened, and his fist clenched.
"Thankfully my blessings enhanced my immune system, gave my body a fighting chance to beat the virus back. Course I had to still expel it itself out of my body the old-fashioned way."
As if on que his fiery avatar crashed into a tree, leaned forwards, and spewed out a trickling flame from his mouth. Despite being a mere projection of events from the distant past some couldn't help but feel sorry for their comrade, especially those who had to deal with similar illnesses, be it the stomach flu or the occasional one bottle to many.
The act of vomiting was never a pleasing thing for Maverick. The acidic taste it'd leave in your mouth was revolting and the stench of the regurgitated mush coming out made his nose hairs curl. But the worst aspect to him was how unexpected it could happen. One moment you think you can handle it, confident your stomach can fight it out, only for everything to come rising up and spewing out of your mouth like a hose.
"I started wandering aimlessly, hoping I'd find a cabin or a cave, anywhere with a roof over my head really. Cause there was no way in all the nine circles that I was going to stay out in that forest for the night."
"And that's when I saw it..." His hands lowered, making the image of himself dissipate back into the massive formless blue flame. "As if in response to my prayers there it was, smack dab in the middle of the woods, was a mansion."
-oOo-
Everyone's eyes looked on with awe at the central azure flame, as the fire formed into the shape of a two-story building of intricate design surrounded by trees. Once more they were amazed by the amount of detail their comrade could make from the flames, like something out of a fine portrait.
And from the edge of the fiery frames of the scene did the small figure of their comrade appear, stumbling his way towards the building.
"Knew there was something off about that place the moment I saw it through the trees. But at that point I didn't care, I just needed a place to crash and let my body expunge the virus inside me in peace."
He chuckled to himself. "Whatever lived in there, I'd deal with them."
Following his words the flames collapsed and expanded to show a scene depicting Maverick stumbling his way across a seemingly small cemetery of the mansion, quickly dispatching two individuals in his path. Upon the questioning looks he informed his viewers and listeners that those two were in fact another creation resulting from the same experiments done to create the Cerberus, and those that held the strongest of similarities to the titans.
Zombies.
Zombies. One of the Slayer's many reoccurring foes throughout his never-ending journey. Whether they were man-made experimentations, born from the foul powers of necromancy, wicked voodoo, or a result of some primordial shenanigans, they were as the many horror tales and stories told had depicted them throughout the ages.
From the outbreaks of Willamette and Atlanta to the armies of Northrend and the denizens of Sylvania, they would always prove to be thorns on the side of the living, just like the titans.
One of the few differences however was the undead could be easily dispatched. By destruction of the head or removal of the brain, as proven by their storyteller.
The flames shifted to a moving image of him along the hallways of the mansion's interior, crushing the skulls of any and all zombies that got in his way. Despite the virus in his system, it seemed to do little to weaken his abilities to fight.
"Luckily I managed to find a cozy little room with a couch, think it was some sort of waiting room or something. Didn't really care, I had something to rest on and that was fine by me. And just in time, as I finally started to blow up chunks of the virus out of me."
Once more the scouts were gifted with the wonderous image of their comrade leaning over the couch, and spewing out more flame vomit from his mouth, this time with greater intensity.
"Remember seeing bits of black in the mix." A resounding cacophony of "ewws" an "echs" sounded off from his fellows. "Hehe, yeah pretty gross, but better out than in, eh?"
None could really deny that. As uncomfortable as the act was, it was one of the bodies most primal ways to eject any hazardous contents from inside oneself. Flush out the system, as Mav would say.
"Crashed on the couch and tried to ride it out for the next half hour or so, just focusing on getting everything out. Though it seemed that I was making a little too much noise. Cause next thing I know the door opens up and I'm met with a woman, and a gun pointed at my head."
Some questioning eyes turned to him, only to immediately go back to the animated flames, as the door to Maverick's temporary stay was swiftly opened to reveal another individual, and as he said they aimed their weapon in Maverick's direction.
The scene raised some eyebrows, not just in surprise at the sudden and questionable turn of events, but also hearing the change in his tone when he spoke of this woman.
"Not only was that the day I found out about the madness of this certain world, but it was also the day I met Officer Jill Valentine."
-oOo-
"Officer Valentine was part of a special police task force called S.T.A.R.S., Special Tactics And Rescue Service." He explained, while forming the task force's logo through the flames. The scouts took in every detail they could from the spinning flame image.
A banner with the initials of the force above a sphere with three stars in the middle, with the words Raccoon Police Dept written around the sphere. Quite creative, some though to themselves.
"Valentine herself was an old member of a special unit in the military before she signed off with this little task force."
"Really? She divulged that to you in such short amount of time knowing you?" Maverick chuckled in an unusually giddy tone at Dirk's question.
"Oh no, no, no, she spent the first few minutes interrogating the hell out of me, the gun still pointed at my head mind you."
The blue flames shifted to show the woman close the distance and speak to Maverick, her body motions and face clearly showing her in a not so pleasant state.
"What? Why?!" Hange shouted, nearly rising to her feat. Suffice to say whatever feelings she was having for this Valentine at the moment were less than positive.
"Because apparently." Maverick began. "In the months before I got to the forest there'd been a string of murders in the area." He listed events off with his fingers.
"Cabins broken in, bodies of hitchhikers and campers being found with bits and limbs torn off, sightings of strange figures moving around the forest. Officials claimed it was a band of cannibalistic cultists that'd set up shop in the woods. Which resulted in a full-on investigation by S.T.A.R.S."
"And she believed you were one of them." The giant nodded to the statement.
"I defended myself of course. Told her I was just an outdoorsman traveling state to state, but she was obviously still suspicious of me. Can't fault her for that, she's doing her job after all. Plus, I was wearing a bloody bear pelt at the time, so it didn't exactly help my case."
Some asked what he do to explain his markings. He responded that most of them had been well hidden by the numerous animal furs he'd stitched together to clothe himself. Other areas such as the arms and legs were also hidden through wrappings which did the job just fine.
As for his facial ones both his beard and the bear hood hid those too. Even when she pressed for him to take it off, he simply cited it as religious purposes as to why he couldn't.
Even in the face of creatures of old tales brought to life, he was still adamant to keep his supernatural aspects hidden.
"Then I told her that I'd encountered a pack of ghoulish dogs that attacked me. Of course, I was worried that she might call me crazy and go on with arresting me, but it just so happened that she had a very similar and recent experience."
"You see her task force had sent one of their squads, Bravo Team, to go and investigate the forest. After a few days of no response from the squad she and the others from Alpha went to go see what had happened to them."
A sigh escaped his lips as the fire returned to its original shape as he retold what the young officer had conveyed to him.
"They never knew what hit em. Their experience and training didn't prepare them for the monsters that went bump in the forest that night. The first few moments into their search the dogs ambushed and scattered the squad, lost on of their own to the pack."
The flames shifted to the image of multiple Cerberus heads barking and snarling in all directions, making for quite a startling image.
"To make it worse, their chopper pilot Brad, had abandoned them. Just flew off into the night, like the damn fucking coward he was."
The flames projected a less than clear image of the man in question. Some wanted to ask what a chopper was but seeing the shaky image of the pilot and Mav's shifted tone when speaking about him put them off from asking.
"Got chased around the forest before they too stumbled onto the mansion. Thought themselves safe for the time, but in their haste to outrun the dogs they quickly realized they were another man short. A friend of Valentine's."
The blue fires changed to a headshot of a man, one Chris Redfield.
"First they thought they had lost him to the dogs, until they heard a gunshot echo out from somewhere inside the mansion itself, though it was him. So they split up, hoping to find both their squad mates, and Bravo."
He spoke of how both Valentine and another of her teammates Barry Burton had explored one of the mansion's wings, which lead them to the dining room. Upon finding a small pool of blood her partner had sent her to explore down another door, leading further into the mansion's interior.
It led to a hallway where Maverick recounted how she told him her ears suddenly picked up a very familiar sound she had heard not too long ago while out in the woods.
Some scouts were already feeling their stomachs squeeze tight in anticipation, already knowing where this was going. Maverick knew better than to show graphic imagery after dinner, so he did not show the next turn of events through his flame play, something many scouts sent him thankful looks for.
In his words he retold that when she turned the wall, she found one of her missing team members from Bravo, Kenneth Sullivan, currently having his throat ripped out by a zombie.
He recounted from the officer's point of view as she described it. Watching in stunned horrified silence as the flesh eater's bald grey head slowly turned in her direction, milky-white pupils zeroing in on her while its bloody mouth hanged open. It would ignore the still spasming body of Kenneth as it found the woman to be a far more worthy prey.
Now this would be something Maverick had to absolutely show through the flames. With another set of practiced arm movements, he conjured up the image of the zombie as described by the officer.
The scouts were gifted with the scene of a man slowly moving towards them, arms stretched out, mouth gaping wide as it flaming eyes bore into them, with small flames trickling down its lower jaw. Its slow janky movements were more startling than they could imagined.
"Fucking freaky." Gelgar was preaching to the quire with that comment. To think that was once an actual person at one point.
"That was the fate of all who got the virus in their systems." Maverick said. "It breaks you down, rots your mind and body from the inside and out. Till you nothing but a moaning, shambling shell of what you once were."
"After they dealt with it the living corpse, she and Barry returned to the main entrance hall to report their encounter with their captain Albert Wesker, only to find the entrance hall empty."
Another shift of flames showed a headshot of the man, the most striking thing many though was the shades that masked his eyes.
He had the youngins at the edges of their logs, questions forming in their minds. Where had this captain of theirs gone?
The more experienced scouts rationalized that the leader had gone off to explore the rest of the mansion after securing the hall. Only for others to argue why this Wesker hadn't informed the others before he left or waited for their return. This raised suspicions and more questions were asked.
"So much for military training." Levi muttered, his taller comrade letting out a scoff in agreement. Miche himself wrinkled his nose, sensing something very troubling involved with this missing captain.
"Officer Valentine and Burton would then split." Maverick continued, silencing the chatter. "That's when she found me in the room, and when our little partnership began."
-oOo-
Their partnership would be a very rocky one from the start, he said. Miss Valentine would still hold some lingering suspicions of Maverick. Even before they left the room, she would force him to disarm himself of any and all weapons he had on him, reducing him to only his fists, while she went ahead to procure a shotgun mounted on the wall.
While some (Hange) found this a point to dislike the officer, the others felt Miss Valentine was in the right. Maverick was essentially a complete stranger draped in bloody furs and considering the apparent murder reports in the area at the time, Maverick would most definitely be a clear suspect to anyone.
Maverick would say their relationship would improve over time, and that none of them (Hange) should hold no ill will to the officer who was just following their training protocols.
With that in mind he recounted some of the events that played out from that night at the mansion, retelling some of the most memorable encounters and scenarios he and the officer had to endure.
Such as the moment when the ceiling of the room they tried to exit through suddenly began to lower, and the door just so happened to lock itself.
The scene in the flames showed the two looking up to see the top of the flame frame slowly begin to descend. Officer Valentine would begin to try to open the door, to no avail. Seemingly unperturbed by their situation Maverick motioned for the officer to step aside, as he easily kicked the door down.
He really wasn't showing the task force in a very good light.
Moving past the officer's bout of ineffectiveness the two would run into her partner Barry, who like Jill would be very wary of Maverick, and Maverick vice versa.
Maverick's suspicions on Jill's partner would form when she questioned him on why he was near their location, as he was meant to continue his search in the dining hall, to which Barry would simply say he had "something he wanted to check".
It would be the tone of his voice that would set Maverick off. Upon repeating the words in Barry's tone of voice many scouts also agreed that Burton had outed himself right there and then as a suspicious individual. Further events throughout the mansion would further cement those feelings.
Their storyteller continued to recount other moments, such as the encounters with the other virus-made monstrosities that made the Spencer Mansion their home.
Some were quite simple such as the numerous murder of crows that had ingested infected flesh. While easily dealt with by Mav and Valentine, their increase aggression was no laughing matter, exemplified with the discovery of another of the missing members of Bravo Team, one of officer Valentine's close friends both during her time in the military and on the force, Forest Speyer.
They'd find him on a terrace on the second floor of the mansion dead, seemingly at the hands of the bloody beaked crows perched on the rails of the terrace.
The fires formed into the figure of the fallen S.T.A.R.S. member. Maverick explained that the officer's clothing had been ripped and torn, displaying his scarred and pecked at body. The most grievous of wounds would be an exposed left half of his ribcage and missing eye. Not the most pleasant or valiant ways to go.
"Then he got up."
He heard a gasp from his squad leader. "Yeah. The bites from the crows had infected and reanimated his corpse. Had no choice but to put him down."
"Is there really nothing left of you after that?" Henning asked. Maverick shook his head in response.
"Whoever you were, your personality, your soul, everything that made you, you, are gone." His eyes looked back at the flaming image of poor Forest, when he felt a sudden small sting in his hearts.
He knew damn well he heard the trapped soul say, "Thank…you" before he released it through a curb-stomp.
Then there were the Hunters. Half man, half reptile mutants that, as their name implied, hunted the two across the mansion. Their claws were so sharp they could slice off heads and disembowel a man with little effort, as he'd seen one do with zombies that had gotten in its way while it was in pursuit of the two.
Mav saw quite a bit of value in their claws, as he recounted how he ripped of the arms of one and used them as makeshift weapons for the continuation of the night.
"Still had a knife made out of one of the claws in my twilight years, I'm sure it got made into an heirloom once I left for good."
Some asked if the officer in his company had any issues with him using weapons. He reassured that at that point he and Valentine had formed a growing sense of comradery, and she was more than trusting to allow him to use it, besides she was already more than aware of his abnormal strength.
Though he still somehow managed to keep his story, claiming his strength to be a result of outdoor training and fitness routines. Kept her from prying further, for a time.
The flames then shifted to an image of a very large snake, Yawn. They came to encounter this mutated reptile shortly after finding another of the missing Bravo members, Richard Aiken and Rebecca Chambers, their faces formed and displayed to the scouts.
"She's cute…" He heard someone mutter from the gathering. Maverick chuckled in his head, she certainly had the look of a young fair maiden, even maintained it throughout her later years.
He continued retelling how they found the two, With Rebecca trying her damnest to try and patch up Richard, who had an unfortunate run in with the massive venomous snake, a massive bite wound on his chest telling of how it went.
It was decided that Valentine would go and search for the antivenom serum, while Maverick went ahead and dealt with the snake, despite the pleas of the Bravo members.
The flames formed into a scene depicting Maverick taking on the massive snake. They watched as the beast slithered around before raising its upper body, its jaw opening wide displaying its venomous fangs, and quickly shoot its head towards the bear hooded man. With equally quick movements Maverick evaded the serpents attack and threw down his fists into the snake's cranium, quickly ending its life.
"Oh come on, that was anticlimactic Mav." Hange whined.
"After the dogs I was damned if I was going to risk letting that overgrown noodle try for another attack." He defended himself. Besides he was alone at the time, a golden opportunity to display but a small amount his evolved strength.
"So how'd they react to seeing the corpse dealt with so quickly?" Moblit asked. "No doubt it'd raise suspicions of you."
"I simply told them that I got a lucky strike to its brain. The loud noise they heard was simply the beasts' fall to the floor." His friend nodded, it wasn't much of a stretch to imagine that as the reason.
Their storyteller continued on, showing more of the monstrous mutants, each one odder than the last.
Such as the skin crawling, goosebump-making spiders the size of wolves, the largest and most deadly of their breed going by the name of Black Tiger. The massive arachnid would be encountered during the duo's journey into the underground caves of the mansion's courtyard, Mav himself making it his personal duty to see to it and its kin's extermination by fire. Such did his personal crusade against all arachnid kind demand.
The Crimson Heads, a special case of zombie the duo encountered throughout their time in the house of horrors. As the name implied these zombies would be colored red due to the blood seeping through its own skin, and its finger and toenails would grow to extreme lengths, bumping up their danger factor, if only slightly.
Maverick recounted a moment where he had to hold one back while his companion worked out one of the mansions many puzzles. He recalled just how aggressive the undead was compared to its lesser kin, constantly snapping its jaws close to his face as he restrained its arms, steam bellowing out of its bleeding mouth and nose.
The scouts were gifted an image of that event, seeing their comrade wrestle with the evolved zombie, before twisting its right arm and delivering a fist to its face, breaking the lower jaw off and causing one of its eyes to fly out of its socket.
Then there was the Neptunes. Named after the Roman god of the seas. These large aquatic carnivores had escaped their containments in the mansion's basement, making it their hunting grounds. To some this was the first time any of them had seen what a great white shark actually looked like, Maverick's words alone didn't do this beast justice.
Despite their homefield advantage they would all be slain to the last, the progenitor mother being consumed by her own children before they all received the shock of their abominable lives.
Next was Plant 42, an experiment born out of curiosity that would soon grow out of control, figuratively and literally. Through the flames he recounted how he and Valentine had run into this blood hungry plant, when its vines attempted to entangled the two. With the surprise assistance of her fellow squad mate Barry the plant would be put to the torch, or in this case the flamethrower.
During a short pause from all the fighting the two had found the good captain at last. Immediately the captain began to grill the supposed outdoorsman on his actions and identity. To the scout's surprise Maverick recounted how Officer Valentine would defend him and retell his cover story with a tone that left no doubt, though it was obvious to Maverick that the captain still had his eyes on him, and he vice versa.
For who could trust a man that wore shades indoors.
Then there was Lisa Trevor.
The fact Maverick called it by a human name made it clear to everyone this creature was unlike the others. Though its depiction in the bonfire wasn't exactly proving it.
Shown to the scouts was a hunched and gnarly looking figure, its long limbs restrained by old fashioned arm locks and chains. It's face was a mass of many faces, each with a tentacle writhing though its many mouths. A single blazing eye shined through a gap in the wailing faces and another much larger eye peered out of her back, constantly shifting its view, a sight that made some squirm in their seats.
Then he told her story. A story that would make this creature's existence both horrid and tragic.
As well as enlightening them on the ones responsible for the tragedies of that fateful night in the Spencer Mansion. Starting with the architect of the mansion itself, George Trevor.
Throughout their investigative journey the two would come across the writings of Mr. Trevor, who upon the completion of the mansion, would become the first of its many victims, alongside his family.
The scouts were left utterly aghast as Maverick repeated the contents of each letter they found word for word, as well as that of the note left by his wife Jessica to their daughter.
By the end of it all every member of the regiment in attendance would all grow to despise the name of Oswell E. Spencer. One of the co-founders of Umbrella Pharmaceuticals, known better to the rest of the world as the Umbrella Corporation.
"How were these psychos not found out?" Dirk asked, his tense tone silencing everyone around. "The disappearance of an acclaimed architect would have made news in such circles." His eyes turned to their storyteller. "Was there no investigation?"
Maverick shook his head, making his brows furrow.
"Umbrella's grip on Racoon City was strong. Hell, one of S.T.A.R.S. biggest funders were the company's American branch."
He would represent the organization responsible for everything with a fiery image of a hexagon, a symbol that Maverick would grow to loath throughout the rest of his life in that world. A symbol responsible for the many tragedies and viral outbreaks that would emerge in the years and decades following the mansion incident.
Once a seemingly innocent pharmaceutical company would grow to expand its sphere of influence by its subsidiaries, which took part in a multitude of industries and pursuits, such as bio-weapon development.
Revealed to the scouts the mansion itself was the location of one of the corporations' many hidden bio-laboratories scattered across the nation, where they had conducted a series of experiments utilizing a strain of disease classified as the Tyrant Virus, T-Virus for short.
One of the juniors had questioned why he had not encountered anyone associated with the company inside the mansion. A very good question, one he had a very surprising answer for.
For he did, he said. For throughout their journey through the mansion Mav and Valentine had discovered the bodies of Umbrella employees, either torn to bits or in one case, hanging by a noose.
Why, the scouts asked. What had happened at this seemingly remote mansion out in the middle of the woods? The answer was both simple and asinine.
A containment failure.
As written by one of the late researchers there a containment breach had occurred, resulting in many of the staff to become infected, to which they would all slowly succumb to the virus, becoming the many zombies that roamed the Spencer Mansion.
"Serves them right." Nanaba said in a harsh tone. A sentiment shared by everyone. What better fate to suffer than the one you caused to others.
The commander closed his eyes, tuning out the voices from the men and women around him, turning to his own thoughts. While Maverick had long divulged what he knew of the company through their talks with the Plaga Virus, the similarities he found between Umbrella and those that worked to conceal humanity's past was startling.
"Everyone, everyone, calm yourselves." Erwin's words and strong tone would quickly bring the noise down. With an apologetic look he gestured for their storyteller to continue.
"Right where was I now…right. So, after we uhh…helped, Lisa reunite with her mother eventually me and Officer Valentine found another member of Bravo, their leader Enrico."
Once more he waved his arms in practiced patterns, his fingers flicking the flames as they formed the face of said leader for everyone to see.
"The man was lying against the wall of the caves, wounded but still kicking. Did what I could to help him while he told Valentine something that no doubt made her blood run cold." Leaning his head he spoke in a much quieter yet hoarse tone.
"They were set up."
"*GASP*"
He turned and saw Hange's friend Marlene with a shocked expression. Nodding to her he went on his tale.
"There was a traitor among them inside S.T.A.R.S. Everything they had gone through, the losses they suffered, the nightmares they gained, all planned out by someone under the payroll of Umbrella."
The cackling of the flames was all that was heard as the scouts were left in disbelief. Trust was a virtue everyone in the regiment held dear. To think one of these officers had spat at that and willingly lead their team mates to die was…not very good, to put it mildly.
"Who was it?!" One of the juniors exclaimed from the sidelines. With a sigh Maverick answered the voice, though he knew they wouldn't like it.
"Enrico didn't get the chance to say…."
In a startling flash the image in the flames showed Enrico suddenly raise his head back and fall limp from Maverick's grasp, shocking all. Before any could fully react, Maverick's fire puppet fell and kneeled, grasping his arm in seeming pain.
"The traitor was watching us from a distance and silenced Enrico before he could reveal what he knew. Then took a shot at me. Luckily I had moved my arm in just the right position for my shoulder to take the hit." He unconsciously rubbed his right shoulder, feeling his skin itch at the mention of it.
"Officer Valentine ran off to where the shot sounded off, hoping to get whoever was there, but found they were already gone, didn't even leave a bullet casing for us."
"Sneaky bastard!" One scout exclaimed, saying what everyone was thinking at that moment. The sheer cowardice this traitorous shooter had was palpable.
"Despite the traitor in our midst, and the attempt on my life, Valentine and I pushed on. If anything, it made us even more determined to find out the truth."
"In time we'd reunite with Rebecca and Richard and fight our way into the underground labs, ground zero of the outbreak. Zombies in torn and bloody lab coats stalked the hallways and rooms. Insect and human hybrids hissed and clicked their teeth from atop the ceilings and walls." His shoulders rose and shivered, as the flames produced the image of said hybrid, the Chimera.
"Still makes my skin crawl whenever I think of those little bastards." The face of the late Seth Brundle flashed in his mind, making the itching sensation in his arms spike up.
The scouts felt similar feelings at the sight of this creature's appearance, and it's skittery movements portrayed. Truly a thing born out of the realm of nightmares. Made the worst looking titans they've encountered look plain in comparison.
Moving on from that horrid insectoid he continued on, recalling how they had also finally managed to locate Valentine's missing partner Chris, shown to the scouts to be on the other side of a door.
"Turns out he hadn't been done in by the dogs, but had been restrained and locked away in the undergrounds. Tried to get him out, but he told us that our focus should be on stopping the one responsible for all of this before anything else."
Quite the selfless man this Redfield was, the commander thought. Would be right at home with the scouts.
"While Rbecca and Richard tried to get him out Jill and I continued on, eventually finding an elevator shaft that went down into the labs themselves. Also ran into Barry on the way too."
The flames shifted to a scene of the three walking into a room filled with all sorts of oddities, then shifted to the figure a man facing his back to everyone.
"At last we came face to face with S.T.A.R.S. little backstabber." The figure slowly turned revealing himself to be the man with the shades.
Albert Wesker, the captain of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team, was the traitor, the mastermind behind all the chaos and suffering that had occurred that night. "Or traitors to be precise."
Eyes went wide as Barry turned his gun in Officer Valentine's direction, while Wesker had his firearm aimed at Maverick.
"Burton!
"So, the bastard shows his true colors!"
"Had a bad feeling about him from minute one!"
Voices cried out in indignation at the image of the Valentine's teammate, now accomplice to their traitorous captain's misdeeds. In truth none of them were truly surprised, for many hints to his double-crossing nature had been spoken of throughout this tale, if anything they were expecting it.
But just what did he gain from this act of deception, they asked themselves and to their storyteller. What could have possibly been offered to him to betray the lives of his comrades?
As always, the demigod had an answer for their needy questions.
"Well, when you're under the threat of having your family harmed unless you complied with someone's whims, you'd behave differently than usual."
Silence filled the forest once more as they all listened to him as he explained. As he said, Officer Burton was forced to become an accomplice to Captain Wesker's plans, mostly to destroy evidence and monitor the actions of the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members, Maverick especially as he'd grown to be a person of great interest.
If he refused, then the lives of his wife and daughter would not be guaranteed.
He recounted how he saw the clear unease and guilt on Burton's face when coming face to face with all of them. His apology to Jill and to him was a truly genuine one, as he struggled to truly look at either of the two in the eyes.
Then came the gloating words of the Captain, retelling how simple it was to get the burly officer under his control, his arrogance seeping through his pours, as the giant recalled. It served to make the scouts dislike of the captain increase tenfold, and their initial feelings toward Barry shift to pity.
"So there we all were, just listening to him go on about his plans, and about how I had been a very big thorn in them." The flames formed the figures of the two, Maverick's form looking down at the armed captain.
"The plan was to have the S.T.A.R.S. teams be pitted against the B.O.W.S. in order to gather promising battle data for Umbrella. Of course, he didn't expect someone like me to just pop out of nowhere and easily kick their shit in and muck everything up."
The captain, in his words, continued to rant on and on about how he had first observed Maverick through the many security cameras and saferooms positioned around the mansion, watching with both furious curiosity and loathing as the pelt adorned "outdoorsman" and Valentine practically cruised through the mansions many puzzles and threats. Mostly busting through or ripping the rooms apart.
In short Maverick, in the traitorous captain's perspective, had ruined everything with his mere existence.
"Seeing the writing on the wall from all this he was now preparing to defect from the corporation, take whatever company secrets he could get, and run. Just had to deal with the loose ends."
"To do that he planned to utilize one of Umbrella's last experimental monsters against us. A so-called ultimate lifeform."
Another figure formed inside the bonfire, this one a truly bizarre sight.
It was a tall, looming figure of a man, naked but lacking in certain features. Flaming veins traveled along the creature's body, all sourced by the large heart-like organ that inhabited its right pectoral muscle. It left arm replaced with a large, sharpened protrusion, alongside smaller ones piercing through the arm. Its face like that of the many zombies that had been encountered, and blazing pupilless eyes and visible teeth, just like a Titan.
A Tyrant.
"These things were meant to become the next step in front-line combat, replacing the normal soldier in all aspects. Was considered the first successful model to be produced."
Eyes went wide. This thing was no doubt the creature that their giant comrade had compared to the titans. Eyes were glued to its most defining traits, a creature like this could make anyone turn tail and run.
"Why is it's heart exposed?" Tomas asked, his tone judgmental. "For an ultimate lifeform it has a pretty big weak spot."
His response got some surprised looks from his other junior members, while Maverick gave the young man a smile. He was glad to know he wasn't the only one who saw the very clear flaw in this creature's creation.
"That's what I thought too. Hell, that's what I pretty much told him to his face…got a bullet in my left cheek for that."
The fire play showed his words in action as a flame muzzle went off and Maverick's form went down to everyone's shock. Hange and many others could only look at the shooter with utter contempt that soon faded, as the damage had long since been done.
"Did little to you I take it." The giant nodded vigorously to the commander's remark, bumping up his chest pridefully.
"As if the gods will let their champion fall by a mere single bullet to the face. Those samurai edges still packed a punch though." He rubbed his left cheek as he spoke.
"It's true, I've tried." Hange added. Everyone took a moment to give her a series of flat expressions. The vets did recall numerous sounds of musket fire from her lab and her spontaneous request for explosives from the quartermaster some weeks before the expedition.
Bringing everyone back from Hange's little remark the storyteller continued.
"Thankfully at that moment Barry showed where his loyalties truly lied." The image showed the man turn his aim to Wesker and fire his magnum revolver, wounding the captain in the shoulder, as well as sending him flying back from the magnums sheer power, a sight that brought a couple chuckles.
"Unfortunately, he crashed into the controls and deactivated the systems that maintained the mutant in stasis, and soon the fluids keeping the tyrant in were drained from its containment tank."
Another shift in the flames showed the Tyrant in its cylindrical casing suddenly begin to move inside, punching its containment tube, with flaming cracks getting bigger and bigger with each strike.
"Saw it open its eyes, and…"
With another shift of his hands the image of the Tyrant released itself from its prison, and immediately striking the traitorous officer from behind. Some backed away with shocked and surprisingly elated expressions as they watched the captain be lifted by the massive claw now lodged in his stomach.
"Idiot shouldn't have been standing so close to it." Levi said, watching as the Tyrant swatted the body out of its claw like the trash he was. Couldn't think of a better way to get rid of a weak link.
"Soon as he tossed him aside the Tyrant set its eyes on Valentine and the others…" His glowing eyes narrowed as the image of the mutant. "Giving me a damn good window of opportunity."
-oOo-
The azure flames formed an epic scene depicting Maverick rising from the ground and rushing the tyrant at rapid speed, slamming into the creature and sending it crashing into the edge of the fiery frame. He spoke of how his spontaneous revival shocked the remaining officers, Valentine especially, who tried to question him.
"Told her to save her questions and start gathering whatever evidence they could get from the lab while I took on the freak."
So they did, he said. Maneuvering around the dueling superhumans the members of S.T.A.R.S. searched the lab while Maverick held the tyrant at bay. In an effort to give them as much time as possible Maverick opted to not go completely all out in his bout with the monstrous experiment, allowing it to get a few good slashes and cuts into him. Unfortunately, their time would be cut short as he spoke that the labs self-destruction protocol went online, the young medic's doing from what Maverick learned later on.
"Told them to get everything they had and run, tell anyone and everyone of what happened in that house of horrors. Valentine was against the idea." Her figure appeared on the scene motioning for Maverick to follow the two.
"She didn't want to leave me behind. Through all the trial and tribulations of the Spencer abode she grew to see me as a fellow member of the team."
It was a touching thing to see from the giant's perspective. Showed how far they had come from their initial begrudging partnership. Just went to show just what sort of bond a life-threatening situation can make.
"She was still going to bring you in for questioning, correct?" Erwin asked, a smirk on his face.
"Of course. Even after everything she was and upholder of the law through and through." Chuckles and knee slaps erupted from the gathering. Least she was dedicated, had to give her that.
Everything quickly quieted down as Maverick focused on his flame imagery one more.
"While I very much appreciated the sentiments, I knew that getting the knowledge of Umbrella's dirty laundry was paramount. So I let the mask slip, shouted for her to just run, and not look back."
The scene shifted to show Maverick screaming at his companion, his bear hood falling off his head, exposing his blazing eyes to the officer.
"Still remember that look she gave me, when her eyes finally got a glimpse of mine."
The flames formed into the image of Officer Valentine's shocked look, her eyes wide with awe at the supernatural features of her suspect turned partner, especially since the bullet wound he suffered had since fully healed.
He believed from her perspective; it all began to add up. His unnatural strength, his experience in handling the beasts that'd been thrown at them, and the fact he tried so hard to hide his face from her.
One question was answered, only for a hundred others to spring up.
"With one last look she and the others left the labs with whatever evidence they could, leaving me alone with the mutant."
Yet another scene change showed Maverick holding the Tyrant at bay, watching as the others fled the scene. And once they did, he quickly turned his sight back to the monster that had been seemingly giving him trouble and smiled.
"Finally got the chance to let loose, just for a little bit."
-oOo-
It was then when the Corps were gifted a wonderous and familiar sight. No longer was the bear cloaked man just dodging and swatting away the monster, oh no, now he was actively taking it on, utilizing his martial prowess to the fullest.
What began as a semi equal fight quickly turned into a one-sided beatdown. For their comrade's fiery apparition began to unload a series of punches and kicks that quickly overpowered and overwhelmed the mutant.
The creature was completely at his mercy, something he wouldn't give for long as it soon found itself on the ground, being held in place while its massive claw arm was ripped out of its socket, and finally rammed into it equally massive heart, and a claw shaped blade stabbed into its brain.
"Ultimate lifeform, my ass."
The others agreed with that statement. The creature didn't last barely ten minutes before facing a quick end. Granted against someone like Mav, it could be commended to have lasted as long.
"Still had plenty of time to spare to get out the mansion before it all went to high hell. Two minutes if the intercom was anything to go by."
The flame apparition looked up from the flaming remains of its foe and turned and quickly ran off towards the edge of the scene.
"So I booked it. Didn't care at that point about hiding my powers, I just hauled ass."
The flames showed their comrade, running like his life depended on it. His flaming pelt flowing as he ran along.
"Barged through the entrance hall and just kept running, until I was certain that I was out of the blast range. Only when I was certain I was at a safe distance did I look back at the mansion, before it lit up in a blazing inferno."
The flames showed a view of the mansion once more, before it suddenly erupted into a blooming fiery flower, making some back away from the expanding heat of the flames. Followed by a scene change showing Maverick sitting on the ground.
"Took a moment to rest and just reflect on everything that'd happened, as the flames of the mansions' destruction soon began to spread around the forest." He scoffed.
"Remember just thinking to myself; Its gonna be one of those lifetimes again."
Some sympathetic looks passed his way. None could imagine just how many times that thought had run through his mind.
"With the fire expanding I soon set off to safer lands, but not before I came upon a sad sight." Hange could hear an almost despondent sigh from her giant as he moved his arms once more to craft the image from his memories.
"It was a living corpse, dragging itself across the dirt. Its clothes were shredded and bloody, legs had been torn off and bit of its arms were chewed of."
The flames showed the described body, in all of its disgusting and horrid glory.
"When I saw the equipment and shotgun dragging along, I realized that was the member of Alpha team who'd fallen to the hounds, Joseph."
Joseph Frost, the first casualty among S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team. One couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor young officer, who from what Officer Valentine spoke was a good man, a bit hotheaded but good nonetheless.
"Couldn't stand to watch the poor thing drag itself to try and gnaw at me any longer, so I lifted my foot, and put it out of its misery."
After putting the body to rest once more the scouts watched as Maverick's flame form began to scavenge the body of the undead officer, taking the shotgun, ammunition, and harness. Questionable, and perhaps even dishonorable, but not an entirely disagreeable action. As many scouts held the gear passed down and recovered from their fallen.
The last scene of the night showed his form leaving though a pathway in the forest before the image collapsed and the massive bonfire returned to its natural shape. Holding out his glowing hand the blue flames retreated back into him, returning the bonfire's original blazing warm colors.
"And thus, did my life in that world truly begin. For the next decades my days were spent fighting the machinations of Umbrella and bioterrorism around the world."
Images of the olden days flashed before his half-lidded eyes, only for the words of the one who had suggested the tale to bring him back.
"So those bastards get what was coming to them?" Henning's question was met with a low sigh from the marked one.
"In time. Be it me, my allies, or through their own maddened hubris they'd all get their comeuppances." He huffed. "Backstabbing and betrayals were a virtue of Umbrella after all."
"And what about miss Valentine and the others?" Marlene asked. Maverick didn't fail to notice the small smirk from the young woman, despite the distance between the two.
"Oh, our paths would cross once again. In fact, it would be a few months before she and I met again-"
Some leaned in their seats excited by the prospect of this continuing narrative, but one look from the commander more than told him that perhaps they should call it a night for now.
"But that's a tale for another day. Been rambling long enough."
Some voiced their displeasure at the clear teasing, but soon enough commander voiced out that it was time for lights out. Putting out the bonfire the scouts dispersed and retreated back to their own camping spots, ready to call it a night.
"I hope my tale satisfied your curiosity." Maverick spoke. Henning nodded.
"It did Sir. Though I'm still wondering…" He said, scratching his head. "What was that Spencer guy hoping with all that virus stuff?"
Maverick took a deep breath and walked towards the remaining embers of the once great bonfire, gathering the charred remains in his hand.
"Ol' Spencer had a dream. To see a new world be born from the ashes of the old, with him as its sole ruler, its sole god. The viruses and experiments were just one part of his plans." He crushed the wood ash in his hands, letting the wind take them away.
"And like every dream of such ambitious men, they would fall short, nor would they live to see their plans come to fruition."
Henning was a little taken aback but couldn't help but find some comfort in his words. For it seemed that the old man had faced the music.
Soon the two bid farewell with Maverick letting out a yawn soon after. Didn't realize how tired retelling the tale had made him.
With lumbered steps he made his way to their squad's spot near one of the western oaks, just under the now resting body of one of the many titans he didn't really bother to remember the number of and Caesar, who's fur coat had made for a good pillow throughout the expedition.
After saying his goodnight's he let himself sink into his mounts fur. But before he could begin to truly rest a small, hushed voice entered his ears.
"Mav…"
Turning he saw Hange, her head and fingers poking out of her sleeping bag. Her loose hair mixed with her goggle-less dark brown eyes making for a rather cute appearance. "Hmmm?"
She opened her mouth but seemed to struggle to get anything out. His brow raised curiously watching her fumble about till she recomposed herself.
"What was Valentine…to you?"
His brows raised up. Didn't expect to hear that sort of question from her so soon. He looked away from her and out towards the top of the forest, taking a few moments to gather his thoughts before speaking.
"She was a good friend and sister in arms…and someone I grew to care for, very much."
…
….
"Ah, I see…"
There was no hint of jealousy or spite in her voice, just a very understanding tone. She didn't go any further, simply wished him goodnight and turned in the opposite direction and let the sandman take her, leaving Maverick alone once more with the sounds of the forest.
His right palm opened, releasing a small blue flame that soon shifted into an image of young Valentine, fashioned after her appearance on the day they reunited in the chaos of Racoon City.
His thumb couldn't help but caress her cheek, as fonder memories of that lifetime filled his head once more. Especially that little heart to heart they had in the chapel inside the clocktower. A treasured memory.
"One day Jill, I'll see you again. I hope the kids are keeping you company in the meantime…"
With that last though he closed his hand and muttered another prayer, before he got comfy and let his mind rest for the night.
-Maverick the Titan Slayer: A Study-
Powers and Abilities
-Fire Manipulation: Not only has the Slayer shown the ability to summon fire from his body, but has also shown the capacity to manipulate and shift the azure flames he conjures into a multitude of shapes and forms. Most of his skills in flame puppetry have been self-taught, but the Slayer also claims to have been tutored by multiple individuals gifted in similar arts.
-Regeneration: The blessings of multiple and often overlapping deities has elevated the Slayers healing factor to ludicrous levels, rivaling that of humanities great enemy. While often spoken of, this certain ability wasn't truly realized until the early months of the year 847 where multiple tests showed the Slayer's capacity to sustain and heal from blows and wounds that would prove fatal to the average man.
A/N: Happy Halloween everybody! Hope you all enjoyed this latest fireside chapter. With it being spooky month and all I knew the subject of one of the most renowned survival horror games would be a perfect story to tell.
Was originally planning on expanding Mav's story into the events of the original RE2, Outbreak, and RE3 but found myself strapped for time. Hopefully you've all enjoyed this small glimpse into the life he lived throughout the RE universe.
Next chapter I got planned will be a more Maverick/Hange centered one. As you all know I've planned for Mav to have more than one love interest, and this upcoming chapter I got planned will essentially be a two-part finale before you know what.
Hope to see you all again for that, until next time.
And for those partaking of the holiday festivities, wear a jacket and stay safe!
Edit 6/12/24: Some spelling checks and a few additions. I must have been sleep deprived when I proofread this.