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The One and Only
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JILL VALENTINE
No remorse.
Gray hues pierced, unseen, through dim, red cylinders which were the eye holes of a pointed mask. The metal exterior, concealing half of an emotionless face, represented well what lied within; there was no warmth, no compassion, and no regret. However, within the midst of the controlled being, there was a heart that ached to crack the stone surface and beat once more – to shed the light across the darkness that had involuntarily grown.
Damn you, Irving. A mind incapable of producing much thought due to the smog that traveled through each vein, produced one of the three emotions besides anger and urgency it could: frustration. Only anger was part of the six emotions that a human manufactured, but the three the figure possessed was known in the life of a zombie; not just any zombie, one bursting with life but toned down to be a former shadow of one's self.
It was time to make a move; there was enough chit-chat between the trio.
Swift, pale fingertips brought back a hooded cloak that draped across a busty and curved frame; it latched upon the side with such invisibility one might say the cloak was thrown on over head. A zip-up battle suit lies underneath, coated with the shade of purple and black, which was rather bizarre considering purple represented a strive for a more spiritual, mental, and emotional connection. Despite purple's domination of the black shades, which represented the holding of things within and the distaste in touch; the being was well represented by this other skin of a suit.
Upon a wide hip was a miniature canister with a pull-tab upon the top; it was soon jerked back with an index finger, then hoisted upwards and out with a 'tink'. The object's circumference was easily hugged by the same pale hand that removed it from a belt latch. With a retract of an elbow, a momentum was established to send the grenade, seconds from leaking, into an upper story window.
Moments after the smoke-spitting can made hopping thuds across the floor, the figure below reacted with inhuman speeds, jumping up and bursting a curled-up body through the same window, avoiding flying shards with crossed arms out in front. A perfect landing was made.
"Hurry," The feminine voice, distorted by the metal beak that shielded the mouth, strained with order as the man known as Irving was snatched by a hand.
Little care was administered towards the couple sputtering upon the wooden floor; they were the ones pursuing the terrorist from Tricell and members of an elite time known as BSAA.
"Suckas!" Irving erupted with a shrilling laughter, one that forced the cloaked figure to send him tumbling over the ledge of their escape window to safety before he could fire the gun he had aimed at the helpless duo they were leaving behind.
Something within her, despite the care that seemingly failed to course, pleaded with the being at hand, -- the new 'her' -- not to harm.
"Get in!" She ordered as snow white hands were concealed by a leather gloves. One hand used the grips on each finger to firmly grasp the wheel of the transport vehicle, the other was used to hoist down the shift stick between Iriving and herself.
"Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, beautiful couple doncha think?" Iriving...
Knuckles gave in a soft crack upon the grasp of the wheel at Irving's irritating, accented voice and downright unappealing humor,
"At least they'll die togetha."
In silence, the couple proceeded on, leaving the BSAA behind to deal with Majinis that occupied the area with machine guns. The same frustration seemed to boil in the woman's core, but all was focused upon the sensation of her womanly features and breathing, which bounced with the vehicle upon the dirt road. Then, an unknown rumble joined the squeaky wheels beneath them. Her beak tilted towards a few of the locals upon motorcycles which showed no care nor interest in their advancement upon their turf.
"We get off here and head down to the water," A low tone echoed into the mask with a lacking sentiment.
The pair advanced into a tunnel where the scent of dry dirt and rust was the aroma of choice. The eerie light fixture was hardly of concern; it was the cloaked woman who suddenly came to a halt. Urgency, the need to satisfy, and to do as one was told burned like the fires of hell within her chest, but she was able to withstand it at this time. Yet, she could not deny the anger that soon became of the frustration that had been biting at her like millions of fire ants.
Without warning, a gloved hand wrapped around Irving's neck and pinned him against the rock wall of the cavern. Well off the ground, his surprise sent his briefcase tumbling down and opening, spraying golden blocks across the ground.
"What are you going to do about them?" The tin voice asked sternly.
"They are just Excella's play things," His voice, high and amused mocked her from above. So, she rose him higher.
"I'm going to ask you one more time, what are you going to do about them?" This time, the voice was a bit bored; she was tired of games and this routine.
"I'll take care of it!" He choked and she allowed him to drop.
"Use it," Within her hand, plucked from the pouch at her side, was a tube of Uroboros.
Irving stared at it with the usual crazed expression, trying to make of its capabilities somewhere behind those glazed blue orbs.
"No one will look down on me. I'll show them," Irving expressed under his breath, making it clear that the declaration was more for himself as his greedy hand snatched it up. The cloaked figure was told to use any means possible and the BSAA's close involvement, as well as vigilante mission, was becoming a nuisance to the one holding her own personal whip.
"Come, there is a boat waiting," The long, flowing black cloak made a woosh as her figure veered away from the scrawny, blonde man. There was no time to waste and once more they continued on.
--
When they reached the docks, they loaded a speed boat where she was able to guide him to a much larger boat, equipped with a two grenade launchers and two machine guns. Irving did not question this purpose, but the dead being did. Was something within her trying to protect the members of the BSSA? To give them a chance? After all, she was more than aware of what was happening, but there was a detached plug somewhere… Her chest began to tingle at her defiance and straying thoughts. Behind the red goggles upon her metal mask - her eyes glazed.
A grunt was administered from the depths of her chest as she aided Irving in his leap onto the massive boat's platform.
"There he is!" The dark-skinned woman's voice sounded; it was the one they called Sheva Alomar. Damn, the BSAA moved more rapid and precise then they gave them credit for.
As Irving calming paced the length of the boat, she could not risk staying around to see what would become of him – or the others, she revved the boat's engine and hurried off.
"Hey isn't that?..." Sheva's words could be heard only slightly over the sloshing water below as her journey continued, alone, towards the ancient ruins.
The cloaked woman was aware of the ruins, aware of the flowers that were used to create the Progenitor virus and several of its forms. Each day, she faced the reality of what was to come of the world with such viruses in terrorist's hands. Millions would die and half the chaos around them was her doing. The village's infected inhabitants falling from her own hand as her body moved like a voodoo doll being toyed with from afar.
The boat was parked along an old, fragile, and wooden dock to which her heeled, black boots made muted clunks against. Mildew, the flower's scent ahead, was made clear upon a few steps into the cave. However, the beauty of the area was undeniable: It was filled with an array of Progenitor flowers, each kissed by the hues of the sun, growing from cracked, stone steps. However, it could not be truly appreciated as her seemingly lifeless body gracefully darted on by. Tricell tents occupied the Southeast corner of the exit, they had been untouched for quite some time, plans had moved more south bound.
Her black, deadly frame moved through the worshiping grounds, towards the pyramids, and into the Uroboros Research Facility; the place where an instinct within her drew her on forward. She followed the long set of stairs up to the viewing station that overlooked an assortment of tubes with the similar flowers as before in the innards. They flowers seemed to make an appearance nearly everywhere throughout the facility.
"Perhaps you have," Wesker's voice said in a gut wrenching purr, indicating his displacement upon whatever happened in the conversation she would be intruding on.
"BSAA are here," The low, lifeless voice informed soon after she infiltrated the room without another thought and no regret
"It seems your friend Chris Redfield –" The rest of Excella's words, Wesker's temporary partner, was irrelevant.
The name Chris Redfield was all that was needed to spark a flame that could never be doused within the soul that refused to leave the controlled body. Chris… Tears unintentionally bubbled at the base of gray, motionless eyes as her attention turned towards the window. If she wasn't mistaken, the enemies posed no threat to the BSAA duo; they had proceeded on as she had, minus locals thirsting to kill her; Chris and Sheva were right on their tail.
The three of them waited for the BSAA to arrive, after all, Wesker had something up his sleeve.
"They will have a taste of Uroboros," Wesker purred lowly once more. He then departed.
"Well, well, glad you could make it," Excella approached the viewing glass in a confident strut, placing her hands upon her hips, "Up here, you two!" She directed them.
"Excella!" Chris called out.
The revealing bust of the woman, breasts draped by white silk, shifted with her pivot towards the looking glass made another advancement.
"Where is Jill?" Chris shouted with a sense of gruffness within his voice and blankly through the mask the cloaked figure stared on.
"Jill, Jill, Jill... You're like a broken record, you know that? Just as simple minded as he said," The woman's bun up-do moved with each head jerk that accented each of her words in a type of sass. The figure could see it out of the corner of her eye, "You spent so long trying to track down Uroboros. Well, here it is," She waver her hand out as if displaying a brand new car.
"Enjoy," Excella cooed.
Sheva burst with panic, accusing Excella immediately of selling Uroboros to terrorists, but they had no idea what plans truly lurked when Excella said, "My vision and his combined…"
The figure stood cold and solid like stone, unable to protest, express emotion – just obey.
"Mmm, too bad, looks like he wasn't worthy. Only the chosen ones are fit to live in the new world," Excella referred to the test subject below, a boss for the BSAA, and just one out of the millions who wouldn't be chosen across the world.
"Excella wait!" Chris called out as the woman turned to depart, as if a switch went off, the cloaked guardian turned on the woman's heels and followed her out – once again leaving the two behind to join Wesker who departed seconds before the BSAA's arrival.
The BSAA behind, the two women advanced towards the moving platform and twirled their way to the Monarch room. It was typical of an Umbrella based facility, complete with stairs and a stone balcony that resembled mansions before and after it. The light was scarce, a place where her figure could tuck away on the balcony and hibernate for what it was worth. Excella peered up at the balcony from below, awaiting Wesker's presence, without doubt.
The sound of footsteps echoed from behind down the hallway into the Monarch Room.
"Excella Gionne! Stop right there!" Sheva commanded.
Excella's face contorted with surprise, she could see that, but the woman remained composed as she turned to face the two with clapping hands.
"Bravo," Excella acknowledged.
"Damnit, where's Jill!?" Chris aimed his pistol again after a jerk of his wrists, sending a command towards Excella.
"Hm.. Jill? Maybe I'll tell you… Maybe I won't," Excella mused, knowing the cloaked guardian would soon come to her aid.
Anger coursed through adrenaline induced veins, an urgency once again boiling up and leading her to hoist herself over the balcony from her post. She absorbed the landing with her knees and posed in a crouch upon the floor between the two BSAA. Instinct drove her hands instantly to Sheva, coiling them around her wrists that pointed a gun that the dark skinned woman threaten to fire. As Chris picked up on his partner's attempt, he too raised his weapon towards her, being the new arrival, to which she denied with an upward thrust of a straight leg, using the tip of her pointed toe to slap way his gun.
Chris needed more deflecting. She moved in shortly after the disarm and sent a shin into the seemingly steroid user's burly ribs – this gave Sheva time to once again point her weapon on, but with the speed of lightening the cloaked guardian pivoted on her planted foot and brought her moving leg back into a twist, completely kicking Sheva's handgun to the floor where it plinked and twirled.
Chris was on the move, she was aware of that; she had to be quick to disarm him entirely as she had Sheva. As her petite, but curved figure turned towards him to administer another blow, he fired a round and her body ached with frustration at the sound. However, this fire off would not be the last resonance she would hear-- no.
The sound of a tink indicated the connection between bullet and metal, blowing the mask clear off her pale face with a slapping sting on her cheeks.
Her body twisted and slightly contorted, preparing itself for escape as a new chemical seemed to occupy her blood. She flew backwards with record stopping speeds, back hand springing against the thick, heavy fabric of the cloak while both Sheva, who had scooped up her gun, and Chris shot after her. The room came to an end at the opposite end of the entryway, sending her into a stop as soon as her mind screamed alarm, and her body rested in a small crouch. Her hand rose to her fair face with extended fingers but didn't touch, as if the cat was out of the bag – as if, the hand wished to coax the pain within.
"Stop playing around, we want some answers," Chris warned.
"You haven't changed..." That voice was unforgettable; it made home in one's mind and became forever a nightmare. It was Wesker.
"Wesker! … you are alive," Chris was disappointed as he moved his gun's barrel to Wesker to gaze down.
"So this is Wesker?" Sheva noted.
"We last met… at the Spencer estate… wasn't it?" Wesker began to descend the stairs, Excella's face lit up with pride, "Isn't this one big, happy family reunion?" He made his way to the black guardian, face shielded by the shadow of the hood's cloak to make up for her missing mask, "I thought you would be more happy to see us..."
"Us?" Chris's eyebrow rose, his head cocking with interest towards Wesker's cryptic words.
"So slow to catch on..." As he voice rang out, she felt a soft pull on hood upon her tied back hair.
Her head was hung in submission to the man who carried the invisible whip and was standing beside her so closely. And as he removed her hood, revealed her identity, she placed a step forward while shifting her gray hues towards a man who raised his eyebrows with surprise to her.
"Jill… Jill it's me, Chris!" He placed a step forward as his gun dropped.
"What? Are you sure that's her?" Sheva mimicked his action.
"The one and only," Wesker dropped his hand across her figure as she glared blankly on at the two, as if an internal struggle was going on.
A pale hand found the latch in her cloak and tore it violently off. The fluttering cloak was used to distract the two as her frame darted through the fabric before tossing it off to the side. Her legs moved in, hurling two heeled feet into Chris's chest and pushing him backwards. Before he could recover from his stagger, she inhumanly flew into the air and descended upon his thick frame, her feet replanting themselves in his chest and shoving him down into the ground. Then, as she pressed, she used his body to hop back into the air and flip acrobatically where Sheva could not reach in defense.
When she landed, she kicked the gun painfully from Sheva's hand with a backwards twist kick, and then with sheer flexibility coiled a leg around the dark-skinned woman's neck; this time, the dark woman would have to put more effort forth to scavenge for her gun. The other leg lifted to greet, using the momentum of the meeting of her legs to remain balanced upon Sheva's shoulders while placing the woman's face between her legs. With a similar speed, she used the weight of her body to bring Sheva downwards, landing on her own hands and tossing Sheva like a rag doll in her front hand spring with her thighs alone.
Chris was next. In her landing position, the similar anger rose like bile in her throat, helping her advance with inhuman speed to catch Chris by the throat and turn his gun away. Sheva, more agile then she suspected, wouldn't allow such a move on her part; Sheva was placing her retrieved gun to her head and fully recovered. That was until Wesker came to the rescue with an elbow to Sheva's face. Seeing opportunity, her leg lifted up and administered a blow with her heel into Chris's back, her hand sinking in between the closeness of their bodies to shove Chris towards his partner with advanced flexibility.
Wesker joined her side as she crouched defensively, straightening only to his presence.
"Now, let's finish this once and for all. I think the odds are fair: two… on two?" Wesker extended his index and middle finger to account for the number two between them, something she caught in the corner of her glazed gray eyes as she continued her death glare "Isn't that right Jill?" She ignored him, chemicals pumping through her blood with the need to pursue.
--
It didn't take long for Sheva and Chris to realize their partnership was no match for that of Wesker and her's. Chris had made the mistake of traveling too close to the wall and Wesker waited no time sending him through it. However, in the innards of the Monarch Room, laid twists and turned with the two hid and shot up when his back was turned.
In the main area, she lurked, daring them to come and play with her VZ61 (MG)s. To which, the duo did, and then the rain of bullets sprinkled down from the balcony, sending them back in to where Wesker occupied, only to hear: "Ah! Found you!" moments later – A shame, really.
"I have no time for this," Wesker announced and her VZ61s were withdrawn as the BSAA occupied the lower floor and Wesker advanced upon the top to gaze down at them.
"I expected more of a challenge from you after all this time, Chris. How disappointing…" He shook his head, a light coming on upon his side as someone called him on his cell; he wasted no time to answer.
"Yes?" Wesker answered.
"Go!" Chris called to Sheva, but he also notified her, where she crouched and waited. The two raced up the stairs while exhuming pants.
"Wesker, stop!" Chris commanded, their guns rose to him. Wesker slowly turned, his annoyance towards them alone triggering her internal instincts.
With breathtaking speed, she advanced from the other side of the balcony towards the middle where Wesker was occupied, Sheva just barely turning in time to shoot – but she hesitated. She bounced off the wall, kicking Sheva once more from her weapon and then back kicking Chris from sandwiching her in. After booting Chris, she moved back to Sheva, front side-winding her to the floor before elbowing Chris, arieling over him, and twisting his arm in place to keep him from moving. He grunted with pain.
"Jill, common, it's me! Chris!" He painfully pleaded through his teeth; she ripped at his arm from the socket, "Snap out of it!"
"Nice move, Chris, but now that your partner has arrived… I'll leave you two to catch up," Wesker evilly announced and she complimented it with another arm twist to which Chris cried in agony.
"Common Jill, get yourself together and wake up! Jill Valentine!" Chris pleaded again and something changed within her.
Her unconscious mind screamed to ignite, to bring the plug that was disconnected and connect emotions with the pictures that distinguished each face. Staggering breath parted from her as her gray orbs peered down at him in a bundle upon the floor, her heart aching and denying the chemical that kept her damned.
"Ch—Chris," She tried, knowing it fit perfectly where it should.
Anxiety rose as well as tightness in her chest the motions of her body became her own; she felt like for the first time in a long time, she could breathe – just for a few moments. Releasing Chris with an unknown force, Jill Valentine staggered back and moved her frame as far away from his as she could.
"Impressive… still resisting at such an advanced stage, but resistance is futile," Wesker warned as she screamed against the agony coursing through her, the burning fire that ripped her body apart but left it well in contact.
Wesker removed a device, pressing buttons of sorts and she knew exactly what would become of her. The device injecting her with a rapid amount of an advanced mixture of the Progenitor virus, giving her temporary powers and succumbing her body to the control it administered. No, no, no, she pleaded with the mind that she called her own for the first time in a long time. Chris, Chris just kill me, she begged but the words didn't come out. Darkness fell, urgency becoming her bones as she dropped to her knees in the last attempt to recover herself.
Prying fingers coiled around the neck of her second skin - battle suit, tearing it in such a way the zipper gave to reveal her chest and cleavage. There, in the middle, sat the device that consumed her so. Sprouting her arms from her body, she screamed with sorrow at the top of her lungs; she would succumb to destroying them, unable to do anything about it...unable to tell Chris that she…
Her head flung forward, glaring at the two as panting breathes violently erupted from her chest, soon followed by snarling lips.
"What's that on her chest?" Sheva asked.
"I don't know, we have to get it off her!" Chris declared.
They lunged at the brainwashed woman, Sheva sending her legs into her face and sending her down so Chris could climb on top of her and pull at the machine that had cords deep within her chest. She fought, struggled, and protested with growling gasps against the pain they were truly placing upon her. Soon, she was able to burst free and fling Chris into the balcony's railing and down to the bottom floor.
She pursued with angst with machine handguns within her hands, firing away at the pair who rightfully dodged her blind rage.
"Jill, it's me Chris! Snap out of it!" Chris repeated, his voice making home in her head, causing her body to flail with the want to break through the control Wesker had on her. Seeing this opportunity, Sheva moved in an grabbed her from behind, holding her tightly as Chris again ripped at the device on her chest.
"We need to do it quicker, try shooting at it!" They knew it was too risky, and the sound of that greatly turned her off and sent her wildly jumping back into the top balcony. They followed cautiously, but it did them no good - she pounced out and flung Sheva over the balcony as she had done Chris earlier.
"Come on Jill, don't you remember me? It's me Chris!"
Her body weakened, an unknown force within making her susceptible to Chris's powerful hands. Sheva took her turn tugging on the device planted upon her chest, which was offered to Sheva openly; her chest was arched out due to Chris's hold of her arms in the crook of her back. The pain was unlike any other and she was growing tired. In desperation, driven by the chemical, she sent a leg out to punt Sheva away. Then, an elbow to get Chris off her back.
They both skillfully and quickly dodged.
"Jill…" Chris tried again, Sheva surprising her from the front before her tired being could turn and slamming her into the ground by head throw with her knees.
Now, Chris could climb on her and pull at the device again, raising her body off the ground with his full-out tug on the device.
This time, it was successful. She gave up as the device moved through her arteries, through her ribs, and against her muscles. The sensation was disgusting, even the thought of tubes parting from somewhere so delicate made one queasy, and it was also excruciating. Once he tore it off, the device giving him a few sparks, she scooted out from underneath him and tried to escape – tried to part from the pain as her metabolism devoured what was left of the chemical, cleansing itself from the P30 that was useless without a constant dosage.
A groan parted from Jill, reality and all expression, in which she should have expressed during the moments that called for them, was crashing on her in one moment. The vat of emotions bringing her to her knees and eventually she collapsed to the floor.
"Jill!" Chris noticed her immovability upon the floor, "Jill!"
He rushed to her aid, scooping her up into his arms, "Are you alright?" He rolled her head, trying to find her eyes as they slowly opened. She gave them to him.
"Oh… Chris…" She said breathlessly, attempting to blink away the weak and throbbing pain that took over her body as she panted once more to Chris, "I'm so sorry…"
Her mind was more alert that it had been, remembering Sheva was also here, and she had just tried to kill the dark skinned woman.
"You're Sheva, right?"
Chris immediately noticed that her eyes glanced past him and he followed the gaze back to his other partner.
"Yes…" Sheva said, her eyes filled with sorrow and sympathy.
"I couldn't control my actions...But.. oh my god I was still aware… forgive me," She breathed with a tear strained voice, panting away the pain that still lingered.
"It's alright," Sheva spoke softly.
"Thank you…" She smiled weakly while Chris wrapped her arm around his thick neck and helped her up.
"Listen," She struggled, "I'm going to be alright…you two need to stop him." And she was half lying.
"We can't just leave you here!" Chris was extremely against the whole topic.
"You have to. This is your only chance... If Wesker succeeds Uroboros will be spread across the globe. Millions will die!" She protested.
"Well yeah, but –" Chris tried once more, but he had nothing truly to add.
"I'm alright! You need to stop him…" She pressed on and leaned towards him.
Chris's face contorted into that of someone at a loss. She rushed in and grabbed onto his uniform.
"Chris, listen to me … you're the only one who can… don't you trust your partner?" Her recovery was increasing, but her mind was still wildly jumping. She needed to rest.
Their eyes shifted to Sheva who had readied herself silently in the background of Chris and her conversation.
"Alright…" He said softly as he began to back up towards the elevator, his eyes having trouble parting from her own gray hues, even to glance at Sheva.
"Take care of him," The urgency within her voice had returned with a sharp glare to add towards Sheva, who took it as a more concerned expression. Sheva nodded slightly and soon joined Chris.
The elevator doors closed, concealing them within.
"You're our only hope to survive this..." Jill whispered to herself.
Once they were out of sight, her body collapsed to the ground, green and red ooze pouring from each hole upon her chest as her teeth gritted with pain. Visuals from her infecting innocent people flashed before her, making her send a fist into the ground. She had to pick herself up and find a way out for all of them, to help if she could… no… her body gave at the elbows, her hands that were propping her up caving slightly and shaking her own body.
"If I would have killed you…" The future flashed before her, a world of Uroboros denied specimens and Wesker laughed at it all, betraying all. And they would all fall to his fate, unable to tell friends how much they cared, patch up the mistakes they have made, and she… she wouldn't have been able to tell Chris… to tell him…
That she loved him.
That his face, buried deep within the brainwashed mass of her mind, was all that kept her fighting. His voice constantly rang out to her, even if she didn't recognize it all the time. She adored it, so much, that when it became real her body began to fight against P30. Oh Chris...
Take care of him, Sheva.
Her head draped with sorrow as she forced herself into a stand, a dark skinned man moving quickly through the hallways with the name "Josh" upon his BSAA sleeve, which caught her attention. A half smile formed. There was hope… for all of them.
.Author's Note.
Anonymous reviews welcome. No flames. I do not own RE or its pairings. I hope you enjoyed and share a lovely comment with me by pressing the review button!