Diamond: "I hate to tell you all this, but Y/N is dead. Where we last left off, Y/N had killed some big fish at a lake. Then he coughed up blood and died on that boat. So, in order to keep this story going, I've set a new protagonist to take his place. His name is-
Y/N: "Whoa, hold on! Stop! I didn't die. I just passed out from dizziness. It was probably from that Plaga that's inside me."
Diamond: "Oh. I guess that could work. Anyway, back to the story."
Saddler came out of the shadows and approaches Y/N.
Saddler: "Sacrificial lamb. You will receive our most sacred body. It begins now. When day breaks, you too will join our covenant. To share in my holy blessing. Forever."
Y/N glanced at his arms as it looked like something in was moving. It looked like his body was about to be controlled by the parasite. However, Y/N soon shook it off as he fought off the Plaga in his body.
Y/N: "Your games won't work on me. The virus in me is a lot stronger than you think. You can't control me, Saddler."
Saddler: "Oh, you are indeed different. Perhaps, she will convince you to accept the blessings."
He stepped aside and let the girl walked to Y/N.
Y/N: "And who is this supposed to be?"
When he had a good view of her, his confident expression changed immediately to a horrified one.
Y/N: "No. Not her. Anyone but her..."
She was about to speak.
Y/N:" NOOOOOOO!"
Ashley: "Y/N! HEELLLLLLLLP-"
Back to reality
Y/N: "Gah!"
He woke up and looked at his surroundings. Y/N realized that he was still on the boat. It was night time then started to calm down.
Y/N: "Thank god that wasn't real." He sighed.
He remembered that he coughed blood and passed out after killing Del Lago. Y/N started up the boat again and head to the boat house.
Y/N: "He's already getting in my mind. Could it really be affecting me?"
When he arrived at the boat house, he got off the boat. The boat sunk in the water after he got off. Y/N turned to the sunken boat.
Y/N: "Glad that didn't sink while I was sleeping."
Suddenly, he was getting a call from the radio and he answered it.
Y/N: "Hello? This is Conder Two. You there?"
Hunnigan: "Conder Two?! You've been radio silent for three hours. Did something happen to you?"
Y/N: "I didn't know you were worried. Anyway, I must have lost consciousness after fighting that fish monster. One of the cult's experiments. Who's know what other freaks they have in store."
Hunnigan: "Did you say you lost consciousness?"
Y/N: "Yeah, got dizzy after coughing blood then passed out."
Hunnigan: "Hmm... Maybe it has some connection to what the village chief was talking about."
Y/N: "Could be. But I'm sure we'll get all the answers eventually. Now then, I'm going to get back to finding the key to the church."
Hunnigan: "Copy that. I'm glad you're okay."
Y/N: "Thanks."
Hunnigan: "Roost out."
After he put the radio away. Y/N exit the boat house and turned on the flashlight. He walked through the dark path and had his pistol ready for anything that attacks him.
As he continued on the path, he saw the shadow of a ganado ahead. Y/N was going to get ready to shoot it but the head exploded and a sharp tentacle came out of the body. It was swinging around him.
Y/N: "Great. Those things. That's going to be real fun." He said sarcastically.
He slowly walked towards Y/N while he shot it's head a few times. As it was getting closer, Y/N switched to the shotgun and fired a couple of shells. He finally finished it off as the parasite exploded.
Y/N: "I suppose I should start getting flashbangs now."
Another ganado was about to charge at him. Y/N dodged his attack then punched him to the altar ahead. His head exploded and the parasite was about to expand. Y/N walked to it then delivered a powerful kick to kill it.
Y/N: "Such a pain in the ass."
He walked past the altar and eventually entered a cave. The path that Y/N was taking was later small enough for him to crawl through. On the other side, he saw some kind of shrine. There were two stone hands in front a round insignia.
Y/N: "That must be what I need to get in the church."
He tried to pull it off but it wouldn't budge.
Y/N: "Let me guess, another puzzle? Wonderful. What else is new?"
He looked at the stone hands as they both had empty slots in the middle.
Y/N: "Now where am I going to find these pieces?"
He soon noticed a wall painted map at his right. It was the map of the lake. There were two red skulls on it.
Y/N: "Is that where they are? I guess I'll start my search there."
He took the path in the cave and was back outside. Y/N saw another boat at the dock.
Y/N: "Perfect, another boat."
When he walked to the dock, he saw a dock on the opposite side. It was where the Merchant was currently at. He got in the boat and started to driving it.
Y/N: "Okay, so the first one should be close by."
He went further into the cave and searched for an entrance to his left. Eventually, he spotted a dock and stopped by it. Y/N had his pistol loaded and he stepped out of the boat. He tried the door on his left but it was locked.
Y/N: "Another locked door. Okay, let's see if I can break this down."
He grabbed the iron bar on the door and slowly bent it forward. Moments later, the door broke opened and he threw it on the ground. As Y/N was about to continue on, he encountered a group of ganados on the right.
Ganado: "Agarradlo! [Get him!]"
Y/N: "Hey guys. You wanted to see me?"
He fired his pistol at them a few times until one of them died. He shot the next one to do the same thing. However, this one mutated like the previous ganados.
Y/N: "Of course."
Y/N switched to his shotgun fired a shell at it's head. The blast sent him to the ground. He was going to fire another to finish him off but another ganado got in the way and tried to slash with his weapon. Y/N back up and caught his weapon then performed a thrust punch and sent him to the water. Y/N turned back to the parasite ganado who was getting back up. Y/N used the TMP and kept rapidly shooting until it the parasite was destroyed.
Y/N: "Okay, that takes care of that. Now let's find that key."
He resumed at looking for the piece. Though there were still a couple of ganados on the way, Y/N dealt with them like the others. At the end, there was a ladder that he can climb up. When he reached the top, there was a wooden door ahead and a set of symbols next to it.
Y/N: "It must be in there and I guess this thing here is a puzzle?"
He examined the Stone Dais. He tried it out and pushed a few certain buttons. After he pushed the third one, it reset. He tried putting in something but it reset again.
Y/N: "I suppose the code is somewhere around here. Yeah, fuck that."
He went to the door and broke through the wooden door. Y/N went inside and grabbed the stone head.
Y/N: "One down, one to go."
After he took it, the statue started to bleed blood and pour to the ground.
Y/N: "Ew."
He jumped down the ladder and started to head back to the boat. On the way, he ran into more ganados who were carrying molotovs.
Ganado: "Ahi esta! [There he is!]"
Y/N: "Excuse me, but I don't have time for this."
He fired the TMP and hit the molotov. It caught them on fire, killing them. Y/N switched to his pistol to speed the process.
After that was done, Y/N got on the boat then was going to drive to the next destination. However, before he was going to get the next stone head, he stopped by the dock where the Merchant was.
He arrived at the dock then climbed up the ladder.
Y/N: "At least getting back to the church won't be much of a problem."
He walked to the Merchant who was still at the same spot for the past hours.
Merchant: "Welcome!"
Y/N: "What's up?"
Merchant: "I got something new for you."
Y/N: "Sounds nice. But first, let me turn this in."
He set the requests on the table and hands it to the merchant.
Merchant: "Got some requests done I see. I knew I could count on you."
Y/N: "Yeah, I did it off screen because the Author was too lazy to put in the chapter."
Diamond: "Hey!"
Y/N: "Anyway, here some more treasure."
He obtained more money by selling the treasure he had.
Merchant: "Heh, heh, thank you."
Y/N: "Okay, let's get to upgrading- Oh, is that the Red9?"
Merchant: "Good eye, mate. A choice of an avid gun collector. It's a nice gun, stranger."
Y/N: "I like it. I think I'll take it. An extra gun could come in handy."
Merchant: "Enjoy."
He spent the money and got the Red9.
Y/N: "By the way, is there any possible way to make this have infinite ammo?"
Merchant: "Afraid not, stranger."
Y/N: "I figured as much. I'll just have to collect ammo."
He focused on the upgrading the firepower and capacity for the TMP because he's going to need it for the upcoming fight.
Merchant: "Preparing for something big, stranger?"
Y/N: "You could say that."
Merchant: "That's good. You never know if you're wondering, 'what if' am I right?"
Before he was about to set out, he noticed an elevator next to his shop.
Y/N: "Where does that lead?"
Merchant: "Ah, I set up a minigame below. It's a target practice game. Only one rule, shoot the targets that pop up. Easy right? The more you shoot, the higher your score will be. Just be careful not to hit any that decreases your score. If you score high enough, you'll win some magnificent prizes."
Y/N: "I don't know. I mean, I'm kinda in a hurry and the girl I'm supposed to save could be in danger right about now."
Merchant: "Are you sure mate, it could be your only chance."
Y/N: "Hmmmm..."
Time skip
Y/N: "This is awesome! I never thought this would be so much fun!"
When he finished getting the second head and putting them in place to get the church insignia, Y/N tried out the Merchant's shooting game. He had played through many rounds trying to get a high score.
Y/N: "What's the score now?"
Merchant: "6,000. For that many, you get two silver tokens as your prize. Pretty good, stranger."
Y/N: "(Sigh) I just need one more gold token than I've got three. Alright, let's try it again. Let's do it!"
Merchant: "Stranger, didn't you say you had an important job?"
Y/N: "Yeah, it was umm... Let's see, I got the key to the church. So, I needed to get back to the church and save Ashley before... Oh shit."
He set the gun down and walked back to the elevator. He got in and wait while it took him back up.
Y/N: "I can't believe I lost track of time. Alright, I've got my weapons upgraded so I should be ready for that El Gigante."
When the elevator reached back to ground floor, he stepped out of the elevator.
Y/N: "Oh, I should call Hunnigan. I've haven't told her about the key yet."
He contacted her using the radio.
Y/N: "This is Conder Two. I've got the key to the church. Heading back now."
Hunnigan: "Copy that. Now hurry and rescue Baby Eagle."
Y/N: "Already on the way."
He exits the cave and begins to make it his way back to the church. When he was outside, it was currently raining. Y/N groaned as he was already getting wet.
Y/N: "Great, it just had to rain at this time."
As he entered the quarry, the gate ahead of him closed then the gate behind him closed, having him trapped in the quarry.
Y/N: "(Sigh) I saw this coming."
Moments later, he saw someone wearing a red robe and a skull above him. He was waving his staff, signaling something to come out.
Y/N: "What's he doing?"
He heard a growl coming from the iron gates. It was breaking through the gate as the wooden bar is cracking. Eventually, the gate broke opened and the large El Gigante stepped out.
Y/N: "Huh, I thought a bunch of ganados with ropes were supposed to bring him out. Guess they found another way."
The El Gigante roared at him as Y/N aimed his TMP at it.
Y/N: "Alright. Let's do this, big guy!"
He rapidly fired his weapon at the giant as it walks towards Y/N. It was hardly doing some damage to it but Y/N kept shooting until the El Gigante started to feel pain. When it got close enough, the giant tried to crush him but Y/N avoided it and ran past him.
Y/N kept his distance and aimed the TMP at it's head. When the giant turned to him, it would quicken his paste. However, Y/N heard a howl coming from the top of the cliff. He looked up and saw that it was the same dog he saved. He saw lighting in the storm.
Y/N: "The dog's here."
The dog jumped down then barked at the El Gigante.
Y/N: "Want to help? Then welcome to the party! Cue the music!"
Metal Gear Rising: I'm My Own Master Now plays
Y/N fired his TMP again and was hitting his head. Eventually, it took enough hits for the giant to be in pain. The parasite came out of it's back and revealed itself.
Y/N: "There it is. Just what I need to shoot."
He had to reload the TMP but the El Gigante was preventing him by attempting to step on him. Y/N ran past him then switched to his pistol to shoot the parasite behind him. The giant was going to face him again but the dog was distracting him so he tried to kill the dog first. Luckily, the dog was too fast for it.
Y/N took the chance to reload his weapon then rapidly fire at the parasite on it's back. The giant roared as it was in great pain. It was on his knees, trying to recover from the injuries.
Y/N: "Now's my chance."
He ran to it then got on the giant's back. He began slashing the big parasite with the fire knife. Y/N was doing inflicting major damage on the monster. However, it wasn't enough to kill it as the El Gigante was getting back up and the parasite was going back inside him. Y/N had to jump off and put his knife away.
Y/N: "Still want more, huh? Okay, I'll feed you more bullets!"
It roared at Y/N then picked up one of the cabins off the ground. The giant lift the cabin then turned to him.
Y/N: "That's... not really good."
The El Gigante threw the cabin at Y/N.
Y/N: "Shit!"
He dodged it and avoided the cabin being thrown at him. However, the giant was close enough to grab him and hold him with his hand.
Y/N: "Not good!"
The El Gigantae began squeezing the life out of him. Y/N screamed out in pain as the pressure was too much for him. He tried to get the knife but his arms were locked in place in the giant's grip.
The dog ran behind it and started biting the giant's heel. The El Gigante roared as it let go of Y/N then turned to the dog. The giant swings the leg the dog was biting and made the dog let go.
Y/N: "Thanks for that."
The dog was barking at the El Gigante, provoking it. The giant charged and tried to crush the dog. But the dog ran out of the way as soon as it charges. The giant hit the wall and it collapsed behind it. It landed on the giant and forced it on the ground. The parasite was soon exposed again.
Y/N: "Yeah! Good boy, buddy!"
Y/N ran to the giant then stabbed the giant's parasite with the knife.
Y/N: "Time to finish you!"
He kept the knife in placed then used the TMP to rapidly fired at the parasite until it exploded. The El Gigante got up then roared violently as the pain was unbearable. Eventually, the giant's movements slowly stopped then was about to collapse to the ground.
Y/N backed away from it to avoid the being flatten by the giant. The El Gigante fell to the ground as it was lifeless.
Music Stops
He sighed in relief as it was over. The gates opened again as he can now continue on.
Y/N: "Thank god, that's over."
He turned to the dog who was currently resting.
Y/N: "Thanks buddy.
The dog responded by barking.
Y/N: "You take care too." He smiled.
He left the quarry and walked through the cave. He groaned in pain as he was still injured from the El Gigante squeezing him. Y/N got out a first aid spray and healed himself.
Y/N: "Alright, now on to that church."
He walked through the cave and was back outside on the wooden platform. Y/N made it back to the gate and encountered another dog. But this one was infected by the parasite. The dog's back exposed a parasite and was about to attack him with it.
Y/N: "Sorry, I have to put you down."
He got both his pistols out and started shooting the dog. He avoided to the tentacle as he kept shooting it until the mutated dog was killed.
Y/N: "Alright, let's get in the church."
He walked to the gate then put the church insignia on it. Moments later, the gate opened and Y/N can enter inside.
Y/N: "Hello?! Anyone home?!"
He didn't get a response. It was empty like it was in the original. Y/N had to guess that Ashley was on the second floor. He saw a lever at the left. He pulled it and the podium opened, revealing two out of three dials.
Y/N: "Fuck. Another puzzle. I guess have to deal with this one."
The first thing he had to do was look for the third dial which he was easy to find when he searched around the right side of the church. Y/N set the blue dial next to the other two.
Y/N: "Okay, let's solve this thing. Shouldn't take too long I think."
Diamond: "No. No way. Not gonna happen."
The dials automatically turned until they were into the right place. The gate at the left side of the church opened.
Y/N: "Oh, I guess I did it. Hah, I'm a genius."
Diamond: "No, I just don't want to deal with your bullshit. At this rate, I might as well skip all the other puzzles for this story."
Y/N went through the opened gate and climbed up the ladder. When he was on the second floor, there was a room up ahead. Y/N figured it was the room Ashley was in. He made his way to the door then slowly opened it.
Y/N: "Hello? Ashley, you in here?"
As he was entering in, a girl tried to attack him with the object she was using. Y/N dodged it and faced her.
Ashley: "Just let me go."
Y/N: "Hey, take it easy. I'm not here to-"
She attacked him again but Y/N caught her weapon then threw it away.
Y/N: "Listen! I'm not going to hurt you. I came here to save-"
Ashley didn't listen to him as she ran out of the door. He simply sighed.
Y/N: "Well, didn't see that coming."
He followed after her until she stopped and looked outside the window.
Y/N: "Hey, don't go running off. You really don't want to go out on your own-"
Ashley: "What is that?"
Y/N: "Huh? What's what?"
He looked outside along with her.
Ashley: "Over there."
They saw the villagers were slowly approaching the church. Suddenly, they heard something in their heads.
Saddler: "Pursue them. The lost lambs are escaping. Deliver unto them... salvation."
When it stopped, Ashley turned to Y/N.
Ashley: "What was that?!"
Y/N: "I believed we overstayed our welcome."
Done. I wanted to post this before Separate Ways comes out.
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you next time!