Chapter Five- Into the Fire

All standard disclaimers apply.

-

Allen found himself in a fairly deep gorge, large rocks piled up on either side dangerously. He quietly made his way down the path and looked about.

The atmosphere made his skin crawl. The scant light from the guttering torches above cast deep shadows over the ground and the air felt thick and hot.

Allen was almost shaking as he scanned for the creature. “Where is it?” he whispered to himself.

His answer came in the form of a huge thud as the Gigante dropped into the gorge behind him with a roar.

The exorcist felt bile rise in his throat as his cursed eye located the parasite...not that it was hard, it was massive! The sickly yellow of the thing spread all the way from thin tendrils in the giant’s face, through it’s skull, and gathering thickly around the spine. It was obvious that this was once a human being, but to Allen’s eyes it was long dead.

“Die, you miserable creature!” Allen roared as he leapt forward with his gun raised. Three shots went straight into the thing’s forehead, but it didn’t so much as flinch.

It raised a club-like arm and swung it down clumsily at the exorcist, nearly flattening him.

“Is that how you want to play?” Allen spat. “Well, I don’t.”

He dashed around behind the beast. With three clicks the weapon on Allen’s weapon shifted modes once more, and he took aim.

“Take this, the first use of my cannon.”

He fired one shot at a gap in the gigante’s back, and watched as the bolt exploded on contact, ripping the parasite apart along with the host, chunks of flesh flying everywhere.

Soon the entire corpse was dissolving in a cloud of steam in the cold air, and the rest of the group opened the door.

“Whoa.” said Lavi, stunned. “That didn’t take long.”

Allen stood in the middle of the gorge, turning a single bar of gold over in his hand. “No Lavi, it didn’t. All I had to do was get a good shot in it’s back, blew the thing apart.”

“Interesting, so where’d the gold come from?”

“The monster I believe.” Allen said quietly, pocketing it. “Let’s go.”

--

Working their way through the abandoned quarry they eventually found themselves at the edge of an even deeper gorge, a large red door on the other side.

Lavi looked about him in interest. “Now what?” he asked.

“Let’s look around.”

Allen had beaten Leon to the punch and headed down to a small shack. Lavi scurried after him in an undignified scramble. “Allen! Wait up!”

Allen disappeared into the shack for a minute and came out with a small stack of papers. “Here Lavi, you can read Spanish, right?”

“Sure thing Allen-kun.” Lavi smiled as he took the papers. In a minute he had read through them, a grim expression coming over his face.

“What is it?” asked Leon.

“It looks like orders. I’ll translate. ‘It seems that the American agent has called for reinforcements, and one of them has easily defeated the gigante. We now have prepared the village’s last defense. In the abandoned house at the other side of the lift I will wait to deal with these intruders, for only before my sight will the last gate open. Chief Mendez.’ there are a few photos, a map, and positions for various groups. We have no choice but to take the lift and get the key to the door.” Lavi said grimly.

“Fine then.”

--

The ride down the lift was an interesting one. Small groups of ganados rode the upcoming cars and waited along the cliffside. Allen had to shoot them all down to keep them from throwing various sharp and heavy objects at the group. Thankfully the ride was short, and the party headed down the lower path to the abandoned house.

Just outside the doors Leon stopped. Turning to Ashley he gave her an order to hide.

Lavi laid a hand on the agent’s shoulder. “You can’t be thinking you’re going in there alone are you?”

“Yes.”

Allen stepped forward. “Well I’m not letting you. I’ll go too.”

“No” said Leon. “You’re just kids, I can’t let you go in there.”

“I can handle myself Leon, and I’ve probably had to fight for my life a lot more than you have, against genocidal maniacs with massive weapons.”

The two locked eyes for a moment before Leon conceded. “Fine, but one of you guards Ashley.”

Lavi gave the man a salute and pulled Ashley a safer distance away from the building.

“Alright, into the fire.”

--

The door opened with a horrible screech as Leon stepped in, followed shortly by Allen. The building was dark, and an air of decay made the back of Allen’s neck prickle. The door shut behind them in the breeze with a thud.

VREEE

“Leon, above you!”

The agent leapt aside just in time to avoid the seven-foot tall figure that crashed down from the rafters. The figure was dressed in an ankle length coat, several bullet holes in the back.

Allen stood at Leon’s side. “Chief Mendez?”

“Yeah.” with that Leon kicked over a fuel barrel in front of him and moved back, it’s contents spilling around Mendez’s feet.

“Take this!” he said, shooting the spilled fuel.

The fuel caught light violently and the barrel exploded in Mendez’s face. Leon and Allen shielded their faces from the blast, but were shocked to see the man still standing.

The charred coat fell from the man’s gruesome flesh, and his hands clenched, vicious claws springing out. Then his torso exploded in a spray of blood, his spine lengthening and spider like legs erupting from his back.

They both gagged.

“This could get ugly...”

And Mendez struck. One of the new limbs lashed out at Leon, who dodged and began unloading bullets into the monster’s exposed spine.

Allen took that as his cue and shifted his weapon to shoot the mine darts. Taking careful aim he shot once, and the barbed dart sunk into the column of flesh and bone.

“4...3...2...”

The dart detonated. It’s blast ripped apart the spine, leaving the legs stumbling about for a moment and the separated torso fell to the floor.

“Nice shot kid.” said Leon.

“Thanks.”

As if on cue the spider legs spasmed, then launched the torso into the rafters.

“Crap! Not good!” Allen jumped back, scanning the smoke-choked upper level. “Behind you!”

Leon jumped aside to avoid the swinging Mendez. Turning he shot the monster a few more times before having to jump out of the way again.

“What are waiting for? Shoot the bastard!”

Allen snapped into action and switched to his cannon’s grande mode and took aim. “To your right!”

At once the two let loose a flurry of bullets, and the village chief hit the ground, spewing blood and dripping slime. In moments he lay still.

Leon stepped forward for a closer look, bending over. “Nice...” he muttered, scooping up a false eye that had popped out of the chief’s socket. “It looks like this is the key. Let’s get out of here.”

--

The group’s trip back up the lift was uneventful, and had no trouble getting the gate open. They now found themselves at the bottom of a hill, and spotted torches at the bend in the road.

When a truck came barreling down the hill Allen used his cannon to blow the thing up, and then sniped off the ganados waiting at the turn ahead. Things seemed to be going smoothly until they came to a large drawbridge.

The shouts and growls of ganados sounded ahead of them, and they soon found themselves boxed in with only the bridge left open to them.

“Nothing for it, run!”

They dashed over the bridge, the ganados shuffling behind them. Allen spotted two draw mechanisms and motioned to Lavi.

“Help me raise the bridge!” he yelled as he headed to one of the gears. Lavi quickly manned the other one and the two managed to raise the bridge completely before the ganados could make it across.

“Damn, that was a little too close for comfort eh Allen?”

“Maybe, but now we’re stuck here.”

--

The group found themselves in the castle guardhouse, it’s dark grey walls providing little change from the colorless scenery outdoors. Allen scanned the area, but found nothing.

“It’s clear.” he called out softly to the others. Poking his head into an alcove, he noted a glint of gold under a pile of dead grass. “Odd,” he muttered, brushing the grass aside. Underneath was a beautiful gold bracelet set with large pearls. “Really odd.”

Thinking little of it he scooped it up and pocketed it, but stopped as he felt something move in that same pocket. Suddenly the little golden golem Timcanpy shot out and fluttered in front of Allen’s face.

“Tim! Where have you been? Never mind, stupid question...whoa!”

Tim’s mouth opened and he spat out a beerstein set with catseye gems several times larger than himself into Allen’s hand.

“Are you trying to tell me something?”

The little guy bobbed once in the air before spitting out several more things, a large ruby, a few pink and purple gemstones, a lady’s gold mask, an antique pipe, a pocket watch, a pearl necklace, two gold bangles, another pearl bracelet, an ornate hairpiece, and an old amber ring.

Allen raised an eyebrow at him. “Treasure hunting Tim?”

Tim bobbed up and down several times, obviously pleased with himself. Allen shrugged it off and piled the smaller items into the beerstein. “Suit yourself, just be careful and stay close.”

The golem bobbed again and swallowed the collection, snuggling into the collar of Allen’s coat.

“You never cease to amaze me Timcanpy.”

“Oi! Allen?”

“Coming.”

--

It was safe to say that they were in a bit of trouble. Coming into a courtyard they heard the raspy chanting of what appeared to be monks.

Lavi leaned over and whispered into Allen’s ear. “What’s the verdict?”

The white-haired exorcist peered around a corner and examined the monks walking along a parquet above, they were all pulsing in yellow light. “Definitely infected.”

“Then take them out.” ordered Leon, staying well out of sight with Ashley.

Just then Allen felt Timcanpy land on his head. “Hang on, what is it Tim?”

The golem fluttered down to Allen’s eye level and projected an image in front of him. It appeared as if Timcanpy had done an aerial sweep, and had seen several catapults in the vicinity.

“Thank you Tim.” Allen said quietly, patting the golem on the head. The little guy promptly dove into Allen’s coat, his job done for the moment.

“Lavi, we need to be careful. They’ve set up catapults in the area. I’ll need you to cover me while I take out the operators.”

“Got it.”

Setting up his rifle Allen crept up the stairs, watching out for any incoming objects. Rounding a corner he noticed the flicker of torchlight above and to the left. He motioned for Lavi to stop, then set himself up at the corner, the video feed from the sniper scope allowing him to remain mostly out of sight.

Taking aim, he noticed a red fuel barrel behind one of the monks.

“Dead.” he said, pulling the trigger. The round pierced the barrel, detonating it. The blast was more than enough to splatter the monks against the castle walls and severely damage the catapult.

Lavi smirked. “And I thought you said you didn’t like explosions.”

Allen glared at the irrepressible redhead. “Can we talk about this later?”

The two snuck across to hide behind a stone gazebo, only for it to smashed to pieces by a flaming projectile when they were less than five feet away.

“Holy Shit!” Allen yelped, unable to help himself.

Lavi looked at him oddly. “What was that? I’ve never heard you say anything remotely like a curse.”

Allen glared balefully. “Shut up and let me shoot.” he growled. He settled down amongst the rubble and took aim again. “What’s with these guys and keeping explosive fuel in direct line of sight?” he asked. “And don’t answer Lavi, rhetorical question.”

“Wasn’t gonna.”

Allen pulled the trigger and hit the barrel dead on, blowing it up. Unfortunately, this got the attention of several guards, and they began to rush forward.

“Crap! Lavi, go get Leon!” Allen called, getting up. “We have to move!” the redhead did as he was told and ran off, leaving Allen to hold off the oncoming attackers.

He felt his cursed eye activating. In his vision some of the monks approaching him seemed to be filled with yellow lines, and their torsos overwhelmed with thick tendrils.

“Nothing for it.” he whispered. He switched his weapon to magnum mode, idly noting a soft clink inside the mechanism, like a bullet being loaded into a revolver. “So that’s how it works.” he said and took aim. He fired at one monk’s head, and nearly gagged as he saw the yellow light erupt from the neck with his left eye, and the tapeworm-like creature emerge with his right, dripping slime.

“Now that...is disgusting.” he growled, face set in grim determination as he shot again. The parasite burst in a shower of blood, slime, and guts.

“Eww, gross.”

Lavi had arrived with Leon and Ashley, and immediately set about cutting off heads, of both the monks and the slimy creatures that emerged. Five assailants went down, and they then heard the metal door they had come through slam.

“Crap, reenforcements.” said Leon. “Move!”

They bolted, clambering up a staircase to the right and ending up on the parquet above. Peering over the side, Allen noted that the monks weren’t even running.

“Odd...” he muttered. “Lavi, what do you think?”

The redhead frowned. “The big-ass gate behind us is locked...and they know it.” he said while rummaging in one of his belt pouches. “Ah ha, here we go!”

He pulled out a grenade, ripped the pin off, and dropped it into the cluster of monks shuffling below. It went off with a deafening boom, and sent the oncoming attackers flying.

“Maa, now for the gate.”

He unbuckled another of his pouches, and opened it to reveal the explosives set Komui had given him. He selected a charge, and delicately set it up in the middle of the door where he believed the bolt was on the other side. He backed off and nodded to Allen.

“Shoot it with your cannon, the combined explosives should blast it open well enough.”

“Got it.”

Allen switched to cannon, and shot the charge in the door. The explosion ripped nearly half the stone door away, and the rest crumbled apart seconds later.

Leon stared at them. “You two...are insane. Who in their right minds would carry that much compressed explosive material?!”

To Leon’s immense irritation, Lavi only shrugged. “Blame Komui, he made them.”

--

Past the blown up gate the group had to get past yet another locked door, only this time they had to find it’s key. In a moment of uncharacteristic fury, Allen stormed off, returning five minutes later with key in hand and looking far more relaxed. When asked about it, all he said was something about a few barrels and some well-placed shots being a good method to vent one’s frustration. The others didn’t inquire any further.

Thankfully the door opened easily, and the foursome stepped into a marble front hall, half lit with flickering torches.

“Not bad. But the lighting could use some work.” Lavi quipped.

No sooner then he had said it a malicious cackling sounded through the room, echoing off the polished floors and walls.

Ashley squeaked in surprise, Leon raised his gun, and Lavi looked to Allen, who was scanning their surroundings, cursed eye active.

“See anything Allen-kun?” the redhead asked.

Allen didn’t respond immediately. “...not really.” he said , moving forward. “But I’m still look...”

He was cut off as three figures came into view on the balcony above them. Two were tall and cloaked, one red and the other black, and the third was very short, dressed in a blue tailcoat and tricorn hat, giving that same cackle the group heard before.

The short man stepped forward, still laughing. “I was wondering when you might notice us.”

Leon sneered up at him. “And who are you?”

The man spread his hands in a grand gesture. “Me? I am Ramon Salazar, eighth Castellan of this Magnificent architecture. I have been honored with prestigious power by Lord Saddler, and I have been expecting you my brethren.” he finished with a small bow.

Leon’s tone was venomous with his reply. “No thanks, bro” he spat.

“My, my, aren’t you a feisty one? If you care for you well being, and for that of your companions, I suggest for you to surrender yourselves and simply...become our hostages. Or, you can just hand over the girl, because the rest of you aren’t worth a penny to us, you can all die.”

At that, the man and his cloaked guards left.

Ashley shivered. “I’m never becoming one of them, never!”

“Damn straight, we’ll find a cure.”

Lavi and Allen shared a look before daring to ask. “To what?”

Leon scowled. “The parasites.”

-

-

A.N.

Sorry for the long wait, but I’ve been distracted by plotbunnies. I swear I’ve got the little buggers up to my ears, I can’t go half a day without getting attacked.

Other than that I’ve got at least five or six other fics I’ve trying to work on, so my attention has been a little off as of late. Again, my apologies for making you all wait.

I appreciate constructive criticism, god knows I could use it, I’m still learning the finer points of writing after all.

Lunan.