Chapter 55: Arrival, Meeting, Rika Or Quiet, RTB or Not?

(Early Upload for the 10th, have been sick and don't know if I will be able to wake up to post the chapter as usual. Enjoy.)

The sound of footsteps grew louder, deliberate and steady, echoing through the damp and oppressive tunnel. Guldrin gripped his blade tighter, every muscle in his body coiled with anticipation. He glanced at Asami, who had Alice pressed close to her chest, revolver trembling in her other hand. Zeke growled low, his ears flat against his head as he faced the approaching noise.

Emerging from the shadows was Rika, her rifle slung across her back and her eyes sharp with an intensity that seemed to pierce the darkness. Behind her trudged Kohta, nicknamed "Pudgy," his face pale but determined as he hefted a bag of ammunition and supplies; it looked like she was using him as a pack mule. He looked both terrified and oddly exhilarated, clearly out of his depth but refusing to back down.

Rika stopped just a few feet from Guldrin and let her gaze settle on him, her lips curling into a sly smile. "So, you're the one causing all this noise. The way you fight, it's raw, reckless, almost feral. It's messy, but effective. I have been tracking your movements for days… First, you raided my house, that was the first step that led me to you. Then, you stole my Humvee, I had GPS in that and followed your trail to Takagi mansion until the EMP hit, then I lost you, but followed your tracks… Destroying a factory makes a lot of noise… You left so many Zs in your wake, I had to kill them to be able to follow. Then I took refuge in a high-rise, which Pudgy here decided to use as his sniper's nest. You better hope you are who I think…."

Guldrin didn't reply immediately. He was frozen in place, his mind swimming with fragmented memories. When Rika raised her hand to adjust her scarf, he caught sight of her familiar tattoo, the Diamond Dogs insignia, and the way her posture subtly shifted, as if bracing for something unseen. Her voice was cold but laced with a strange warmth, a cadence he recognized but couldn't place. "That tattoo… Why?"

And then she spoke the words that shattered his composure. "It is a remembrance of another life… I am Quiet…" She paused and stared into his eyes, "I am the absence of words."

Guldrin's weapons clattered to the ground as if they had become unbearably heavy. He staggered back, his chest rising and falling rapidly as an overwhelming flood of emotions surged through him. The voice, the words, it was like a ghost from a life he had tried to bury. Even the original Big Boss blocked out the transferred memories of Venom Snake, but Quiet, she was his regret, a loss both felt. Even if these memories weren't entirely his, they clawed their way to the surface: long nights in the desert, the sound of gunfire, the silent companionship of someone who had stood by him in a world of chaos and betrayal. She always had his back, even if they met when she tried to kill him, both times, even if her whole goal was to kill Boss, but she never followed through with it.

Rika's smile faded slightly as she observed his reaction. "So, it's true," she murmured, her voice softening for the first time. "You do remember. Maybe not everything, but enough."

"Quiet... I kept you waiting, huh?" Guldrin whispered, his voice trembling, the words just flowed from his mouth before he could understand them. "How... how are you here? You... you were gone. I searched, we searched, but you disappeared…"

Her expression didn't change, but her eyes revealed a flicker of pain. "Kept me waiting… Sure did Boss, sure did… 30 plus years Boss… 30 years…" She looked off as if seeing something that wasn't there.

"Gone doesn't mean erased. Not in a world like that… I died in that desert, but for some reason, I woke up here, as a child… People like us, we don't get to leave clean slates behind, do we? Even in death, I wasn't free, I repressed those memories, but now, I can't anymore… A part of me never forgot, I even got the emblem tattooed on my person, I couldn't let go, wouldn't…"

Asami glanced nervously between the two, unsure of what was happening but sensing the heavy weight of history in the air. "Uh, is someone going to explain what's going on?" she asked hesitantly.

Guldrin ignored her, his focus entirely on Rika. He took a step forward, his voice growing steadier. "This isn't possible. I'm not him. I'm not Big Boss. I am his incarnation, he is my past… And you, how do you still remember?" 

Rika sighed and folded her arms. "You're not the same Big Boss, he wasn't a brat. And I'm not the same Quiet you remember. Maybe we're echoes of them, or maybe this world has a twisted sense of humor. But does it matter? We're here, now, and there's still a fight to win. This time, I can speak, I don't suffer from those parasites, and I can be honest…"

"Fight?" Guldrin repeated, his voice rising. "Fight for what? This world is broken. Everyone is dying. There's no war left to fight."

"That's where you're wrong," Rika said sharply. "The fight isn't over. Not for people like us. We're not just survivors, we're the ones who stand between what's left of this world and total annihilation."

Before Guldrin could respond, a guttural roar echoed through the tunnel, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps. The bloater's corpse hadn't gone unnoticed, and its absence had drawn others. It was like the flip of a switch, Rika regained her composure and turned to Kohta. "Pudgy, take the girl and the lady to higher ground. This is about to get messy."

Kohta nodded, his face pale but determined. "Y-yes, ma'am." He grabbed Alice from Asami, who hesitated before following him up a crumbling stairwell. Zeke trailed after them, casting one last glance at Guldrin before disappearing into the shadows.

Rika turned back to Guldrin, her expression hardening. "We don't have time for an existential crisis, kid. Pick up your weapons. If you're anything like him, I know you'll need this." She tossed him a compact suppressor, which he caught instinctively.

"Haha, I just burnt out my other one in that last fight," He screwed the suppressor on and quickly ran through a preliminary check of his gun, "Perfect condition, okay Quiet, or Rika, let's see if we still have the same synergy." Rika nodded and aimed her rifle.

The horde that surged into the chamber was unlike anything Guldrin had faced before. They moved with an eerie coordination, as if drawn by a singular will. At their center was another bloater, larger than the last, its skin covered in grotesque fungal growths that pulsated like a beating heart.

Rika lay flat on the ground, her bipod deployed, her rifle barked, the high-caliber rounds punching through the first wave of sprinters. Her movements were precise, almost graceful, as she reloaded and fired with practiced efficiency. Guldrin found himself mesmerized for a moment, memories of Quiet's lethal elegance overlaying the scene before him.

"Snap out of it!" Rika barked, snapping him back to the present. "Focus on the big one. I'll handle the rest."

Guldrin gritted his teeth and charged, his blade flashing as he carved through the smaller infected, knowing Rika had his back. The bloater turned its attention to him, its massive arms swinging with bone-shattering force. He dodged to the side, his ribs screaming in protest, and drove his blade into the creature's leg. The blow slowed it but didn't stop it.

Rika was at his side in an instant, her rifle discarded after handling the remaining normal zombies, in favor of a combat knife. Together, they danced around the bloater, their movements synchronized despite having never fought together before. It was as if their shared memories guided them, each anticipating the other's actions.

The bloater roared, spitting a glob of toxic bile that splattered against the wall. Rika moved with inhuman speed, leaping onto the creature's back and driving her knife into its neck. "Now, Guldrin!" she shouted.

He didn't hesitate. With a roar of his own, he drove his blade into the bloater's exposed throat, twisting it with brutal force, and emptied an entire magazine into its head. The creature let out a final, choking gurgle before collapsing in a heap. Black ichor oozed from its wounds, pooling around their feet.

For a moment, there was silence, broken only by the sound of their labored breathing. Guldrin staggered back, his vision swimming as the adrenaline began to wear off. Rika caught him before he could fall, her grip surprisingly strong.

"You're pretty good, kid," she said, her voice steady. "Better than I expected."

Guldrin laughed, and looked up at her, his vision blurry. "What are you, Ocelot? Why... why does this feel so familiar?"

Rika's expression softened, and for the first time, she seemed genuinely vulnerable. "Because some connections don't fade. Not even in death."

Before he could respond, darkness claimed him, pulling him into a void filled with fragmented memories and the haunting melody of a familiar song.

(Quiet's Theme)

Guldrin's senses danced on the edge of reality, flickering between the present and flashes of a time long past. Every inch of his body ached, but there was something in the way Rika moved that resonated with him on a level he couldn't describe. Her silent strength seemed to emanate from every step, and even in his confused state, he felt the intensity of her presence. It wasn't just that she was carrying him, she was holding him, in a way that made him feel both vulnerable and protected. He could hear the crunch of gravel underfoot, the sound of hurried breaths, and the distant whine of wind as it blew through the skeletal remains of the world around them. It all felt too familiar, way too vivid as if she had done this before she disappeared…

'The warehouse'. He could hear Kohta talking about it, but his words were distant, muffled by the fog that clouded his mind. Something about bringing them back to the base. Shizuka was there, he remembered. It didn't take long for Rika to make her decision, her grip tightening around him as she moved again, the cadence of her footfalls steady and assured. He couldn't say anything, his lips unable to form words, but he knew where she was taking him. The warehouse, the place they had claimed, the place that would be the start of everything, and with Rika, it was assured to grow into something great.

Guldrin's head felt heavy, his thoughts a swirling storm of confusion and fragmented memories. The only clarity he had came from the strange connection he felt to Rika, like an invisible thread binding their fates together in a way that transcended logic. Quiet. She had been a part of him in some distant past, but now she was here, alive, and carrying him through the devastation of the world they found themselves in. It wasn't just a coincidence, it couldn't be, something was manipulating these events... Their destinies had been intertwined before, and now, in this broken world, they were bound once more.

Rika's voice broke through the haze, her tone firm but not unkind. "We're getting out of here. Hang on."

The words seemed to anchor him, a small thread of reality pulling him back from the depths of his fading consciousness. He could feel her warmth as she carried him, the slight sway of her movements, the steady rhythm of her breathing. It was almost like a song, a melody that resonated deep within him, awakening something dormant and primal.

The others, Kohta, Asami, Alice, and the dog, Zeke, were scattered around them, but Guldrin couldn't quite focus on them. They were a blur, shadows moving in the periphery of his mind. He could hear Kohta's voice, distant and faint, asking for permission to gather the crystals from the fallen. Rika didn't hesitate to grant it, her expression unreadable as she held Guldrin and waited patiently for Kohta to finish.

Guldrin felt a flicker of something within him, a stirring of unease. What was it? Something gnawed at the edges of his mind. He strained to listen to the words being spoken, the quiet exchange between Kohta and Rika, but it was as if the world around him was deliberately muffling everything. The air itself seemed to press against his ears, refusing to let him hear. He knew he should have rested after consuming that abomination flesh, leaving the warehouse with a headache and exhausted, it was probably one of the dumbest things he could have done.

When the stillness of the moment finally broke, it came with the sound of crunching gravel and heavy footfalls. Guldrin's mind snapped back into focus, a sharp clarity slicing through the fog. He felt the tension in Rika's body, the way she stiffened as if preparing for something. He could hear the faint rustle of Kohta as he scavenged the bodies that had been killed in their trip back, he searched them for the precious crystals, materials that held power, or perhaps the key to their survival.

Guldrin's body tensed, his muscles straining in an instinctual response to the threat he felt in the air. His mind screamed at him to act, to move, to protect those around him, but his body didn't respond, not yet, it just couldn't. His limbs were heavy, his head throbbing in time with his racing heartbeat.

"Move," Rika snapped, her voice low and urgent. Her hand shot out, guiding him with an intensity that left no room for argument. "We need to go. Now."

Rika's voice was the only thing that anchored him to reality at that moment. She spoke as if nothing had changed, as if the chaos and death around them were just a passing storm. And yet, Guldrin knew that this was no fleeting moment. They were survivors now. There was no room for hesitation, no time for second-guessing. Every decision had consequences.

The world around them was a graveyard, a twisted mockery of what it once had been. Buildings stood like hollow shells, their windows shattered, their structures crumbling from rouge missiles, and accelerated decay. The very air was thick with the scent of decay, a putrid reminder of the plague that had ravaged the world. In the distance, faint sounds echoed, low growls, distant snarls, the unmistakable signs of the infected, drawn to the scent of life.

But they were moving fast, Rika's grip steady as she carried him toward the warehouse. Guldrin could see the shadow of the structure now, a looming presence that offered some semblance of hope in the bleak landscape. His thoughts, though fragmented, began to latch onto the promise of safety it represented. Shiro, Saeko, Saya, Yuriko, Akane, Shizuka, and everyone else. The warehouse was a fortress, a place that would offer refuge for them all.

But even as they neared, a sickening feeling twisted in the pit of Guldrin's stomach. He could feel it, that creeping unease, the sensation that something was wrong. Something was coming. His Abyssal Insight, showed itself for the first time since he got it; an urge, a warning, something was wrong, it clawed at his mind, a bleak, sludge-like feeling, that filled his very being with dread.

But it appeared at the wrong time… They were too late.

The sound came first, a low, guttural growl that rumbled through the ground beneath them. Guldrin's heart stuttered in his chest. The infected, the bloated horrors that had once been human, were closing in. Rika's grip tightened on him, and she jerked her head in the direction of the sound. Her voice was sharp. "Kohta! Get moving! Help Asami and Alice; DON'T STOP NO MATTER WHAT!"

The words were barely out of her mouth before the first infected appeared, stumbling into view from behind a wrecked truck. It was huge, far larger than any Guldrin had seen before, its body bloated and distended with swollen masses of infected flesh. Its face was a mess of pulsating fungal growths, eyes glazed over with a mindless hunger. It let out a horrible shriek, a high-pitched scream that split the air as it charged toward them.

'That is… too big' Guldrin thought as his eyes widened, but his body refused to move.

Rika moved without hesitation. She dropped Guldrin onto the ground, his legs buckling beneath him as he fell. But he was too dazed to fight the fall, too weak to regain his balance. His vision swam as the world blurred into a smear of motion.

Rika was already on the move, her knife flashing through the air with terrifying precision. She weaved between the infected, cutting down one after another with cold efficiency. She was everywhere at once, slashing, dodging, her every movement a deadly dance. But the bloated abomination, the massive creature that led the charge, was closing in. Guldrin could hear the creature's breath, ragged and wet, its heavy feet thundering against the ground.

"Rika, get out of there!" Kohta's voice rang out, frantic, as he scrambled for his gun.

But it was too late.

The bloater lunged, its massive hand reaching for her, fingers like twisted claws. Rika ducked, narrowly avoiding the attack, but she was still too close to it. The creature swung its other arm, slamming into her with bone-crushing force. She was knocked backward, tumbling through the dirt, her breath knocked from her lungs.

Guldrin could barely move, his body protesting every attempt to rise. His mind screamed at him to act, but he couldn't, his limbs were leaden, his vision clouded. The darkness that had gripped him before was pulling at him again, dragging him back into the abyss.

But Rika… Quiet… was still fighting, still alive. Would he let something happen just because he was exhausted? Would he lose her again?

He could feel her presence in the chaos, her bloodied form silhouetted against the monstrous creature. She wasn't done yet. She wasn't going to let it end like this.

And Guldrin? He wasn't going to let her fight alone. He wouldn't, couldn't lose her.

With every ounce of strength he had left, he rose to a knee. His legs trembled beneath him, his vision spinning, but he couldn't wait. Not anymore. He had to act.

He reached for the spent rifle that had fallen beside him, his fingers wrapping around the cold metal. 'I need ammo, something beyond normal… I can manipulate what I get by the situation and what I am holding…' He removed the spent magazine and held it in his hand before uttering,

"Sign… In"

"Ding! Sign-in successful. Reward: One 30-round magazine of 5.56mm armor-piercing ammunition."

It worked, his heart hammered in his chest as he swung the gun around, grabbed the magazine, and reloaded, aiming for the hulking creature attempting to kill Rika. His hands were shaky, but he forced himself to steady them.

He pulled the trigger.

The sound was deafening, the recoil jolting his entire body. The round slammed into the bloater's side, but it didn't stop it. It didn't even slow it down. Guldrin cursed under his breath, his fingers trembling as he felt time slow, and the next round cycled into the chamber. He fired again, and this time, the bullet found its mark: right into the blister. The bloater staggered, its grotesque body jerking in response, but it was still coming.

And then, he saw it, the opening. The massive creature's side was exposed, the flesh soft and weak where the fungus had overtaken its body. Guldrin's eyes narrowed as he took aim. His heart pounded, the world narrowing to a single point. 

With everything he had left, he fired, and fire, and fire, and fire; each shot hitting a different blister and staggering the creature. Finally, the creature let out a massive roar, opening its maw wide, just enough for Guldrin to put a single well-placed shot in one side and out of its mouth and out the backside of its head.

The shots had rung out, the bullets finding their marks in the bloater's exposed flesh. The creature let out a gurgled scream as its body spasmed, and then, with a final, wet crunch, it collapsed to the ground. The ichor that poured from the wound was thick and black, staining the dirt beneath them. Then, when everyone thought it was over, it exploded as if a grenade went off, covering both Guldrin, and Rika in gore along with black and green guts.

Rika was panting, her body battered but alive. "Perfect," He muttered as he saw Rika giggle and then fall onto her back, the distinct sound of the warehouse opening and everyone piling out armed to defend, Guldrin knew it was over, they made it.

(Give me your POWER, Please, and Thank You! Leave reviews and comments, they motivate me to continue.)