Ch 10
Chris may be permanently transformed, but Wesker is not going down without a fight!
Music muses:
1) Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles: Wesker's theme
2) Sayonara Solitaire – Chrono Crusade
3) Naraku no Hana – Higurashi No Naku
Epilogue; the sea's call
Wesker was suddenly slammed into the wall as Jackson powerfully backhanded him, his eyes took on a lavender color, but they had a sadistic gleam in them.
Jackson chuckled. "I thought you would be stronger than this. Perhaps you're too caught up in your lover's permanent muta—"
"SHUT UP!" Wesker shouted, bolting for him, fist drawn back.
Jackson easily dodged, but Wesker's kick to his gut sent crashing into the wall, breaking a few vases. He slowly got up, clutching his stomach a little. He snarled and dashed for him and fists and kicks were flying in such a blur that the human eye couldn't keep up. Jackson aimed a few punches for Wesker's jaw, but the blond blocked them and retaliated with a hard right hook to his jaw, sending him into the floor. While the man was down, Wesker drove another kick into his ribs, sending out the door and into the hall. He looked up and saw a few zombies stumbling towards them.
"I don't have time to deal with you," he growled before killing them all with a few shots of his Samurai Edge.
With them dead, he focused back to Jackson, but found he was gone. Growling to himself for not paying attention enough, he set out. As he got into the hallway, a fist came flying out of nowhere and it sent Wesker into the wall. Before he could recuperate, Jackson's hand was at his throat, holding him up against it.
"You and I would've made a good team. If only you were more subjective, we wouldn't be doing this right," he hissed.
"No... THANKS!" Wesker gasped, kicking Jackson off and landing on the ground.
He coughed and gasped for air as Jackson got up off the floor, wiping a trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth.
'Wesker, lure Jackson to where I'm at!' Chris said suddenly.
Wesker was about to question why, but the thought occurred to him; Chris had earlier trapped the shark that was swimming two rooms before! Smirking to himself, he spoke.
"Why don't we take this somewhere else? It's too crowded here." With that, he fled.
"I don't think so, Wesker!" Jackson said before running after him.
'Chris, I'm heading towards you! Are you sure about this?' Wesker asked.
'Positive! Not even Jackson who's infected with the T-Veronica virus can survive a shark attack! Not even a great white!' Chris replied.
'I hope this works,' Wesker said as he turned a corner.
Suddenly, a green tentacle grabbed him around the waist and flung him into the ceiling before crashing him into the floor. He looked up and saw Jackson's arm had mutated into a large tentacle. On his right arm, it was on fire! Wesker's eyes widened slightly as he realized what he was going to do.
"I would like my Albert Wesker extra crispy... time to die," Jackson hissed.
Before he could carry out his deed, a gunshot to the tentacle arm set Wesker free. Jackson growled and looked behind him; it was Claire and Jill! Claire had her shotgun raised.
"You...!" he snarled.
"Time for some payback, you bastard!" Claire shouted.
"You little—"BLAM! BLAM!
Two more gunshots, one from Claire and one from Wesker's Samurai Edge knocked him down. The girls ran to Wesker and helped him up.
"Where's Chris?" Claire asked.
Wesker looked away towards the room where Chris was waiting. "... It's too late. Chris's already permanently turned. I'm sorry, Miss Redfield," he said sadly.
Claire's hand covered her mouth as it dropped in shock. Tears came to both the girls' eyes as their comrade/brother was no longer able to go back to land. Suddenly, they heard a groan behind them. They turned to see Jackson slowly getting up, but his face was now partially parasitic like Alexia's was years back.
"RUN!" Jill shouted and they took off, following Wesker.
The mutating Jackson tore after them, tentacle lashing out at them.
'Chris, get ready!' Wesker said.
Getting to the water room, Wesker took their hands and jumped over to where Sherry was waiting. Jackson attempted to fall, but suddenly Chris jumped and grabbed him around the waist, dragging him into the water. A few seconds passed...
'Wesker, I need some help down here! The cage door's latch is jammed!' Chris called out.
Stepping to the edge, he looked to Sherry.
"Do what you need to do, Uncle Wesker. I can't stop you from helping the one you love," she said.
Nodding, Wesker dove into the water and his transformation took place. His eyes were still crimson yellow, but the iris was now sheer black. Swimming to Chris and with one mighty yank, the latch came loose and out swam the shark. Jackson looked on in horror and let out one final scream before ending up in the jaws of the great white. It chewed him in half, leaving no way for him to regenerate. But, for safety measure, Wesker sliced off his head. Tyrell Jackson was no more. Chris swam to Wesker and the two embraced. They knew that this was it. There was no going back. They surfaced and the girls smiled in relief, but the celebration was short lived. Claire reached out for her brother and he took her hand.
"Claire... we both knew this would happen one way or another," he said, referring to himself and Wesker.
"If there is no sacrifice, there can be no victory," Wesker said truthfully.
"I know, Wesker, but... is there any cure at all?" Claire asked hopefully.
The boys shook their heads sadly. Suddenly, alarms began blaring out.
ATTENTION! ISLAND SELF-DESTRUCT ACTIVATED! ISLAND SELF-DESTRUCT IN T-MINUS 10 MINUTES!
"We've got to get out of here!" Jill said.
"There should an underwater canal leading out. We'll try and find out! Hurry and go!" Chris said before the two dove under the surface.
"Claire, Sherry, you heard him! Let's go! They'll be alright!" Jill said, dragging them away down the hall behind them.
With Chris and Wesker, they found that the cage really was a tunnel and swam through it. It was dark, but their vision allowed them to see.
'There should be a current running to the outside. We have to find it,' Chris said.
Coming to an intersection, Wesker stopped him and closed his eyes. For a moment, he was silent and Chris kept watch in case anymore creatures tried to attack them. Finally, Wesker's eyes snapped open, sensing a current leading out.
'This way,' he said before they traveled down the west tunnel.
Suddenly, they heard a muffled explosion above them that made the tunnel quake slightly. They also heard the countdown.
ISLAND SELF DESTRUCT IN T-MINUS 8 MINUTES!
'I hope the girls are alright,' Chris prayed.
'They'll be alright. They've been in situations like this many times before. They'll get out with little to no difficulty,' Wesker assured.
'I hope so. I already lost two of my teammates and I don't think I could bear losing my sister and my best partner, Jill. And Wesker, I know you're concerned for Sherry's safety. You are like her uncle,' Chris said.
'... I'm the only family she's got left. After Raccoon City, she was left an orphan. So, I took her under my wing and raised her,' Wesker remembered.
Chris nodded in understanding, but his mind then focused back on himself and his love; they could no longer go on land. Jackson had infected them with the pre-stage M-virus, the one that gave them a limit to be on land. Tears mixed with the water as he realized that this is also the last time he would physically be with his sister. He was beginning to hate the thought of leaving his sister alone.
ISLAND SELF DESTRUCT T-MINUS 5 MINUTES!
At least she, Jill and Sherry are alright. Thankfully, they weren't going to suffer the same fate as he and Wesker. They would be on the lookout for any of Jackson's surviving men that may be evacuating the island right now. He hoped that they had a way off the island.
'Chris.'
Wesker's voice snapped him out of his thoughts and looked over to him. The blond wore a soft smile; he must've heard his thoughts for he slipped a clawed hand into his.
'We're going to be alright, and so will they,' he said.
Chris smiled. At least living in the sea won't be so bad; he'll have Wesker at his side. And this time, nothing was going to tear them apart. This was the fate they were going to share together.
'... I love you, Albert Wesker,' he said.
'... And I love you, Christopher Redfield,' Wesker replied.
Five minutes later, the island exploded, engulfing it in a huge inferno. Turns that Josh Stone, a fellow agent had a chopper ready and picked up the girls a minute before. The boys managed to escape the tunnel maze and were now in the wide open ocean. In the chopper, Claire looked over the side, looking for any signs of either her brother or Wesker. Suddenly, Chris burst through the water, a grin on his face. The girls and Stone cheered, Claire cheering the loudest. The brunette dove back into the water and both guys followed the chopper.
"Alright, Chris!" Josh exclaimed in happiness.
"I told you they would be alright," Sherry said with a cocky smirk.
Claire smiled, then a sudden thought occurred to her. "Sherry, you said to Wesker 'I'm not stopping from helping the one you love'. Are you telling me that—"
"Yup; Wesker and Chris are in love. They always have been. Just Wesker going power crazy caused them to break up for awhile. But truth be told, Wesker never stopped thinking about him. Every day, I can see that he has Chris on his mind by the look in his eyes. When he told me that he and Chris are back together, I noticed the change in the way he said his name. He didn't say it out of malice or hatred. He said out of something I thought I would never see coming from him; a rekindled love. In STARS, he and Chris were always together on missions. Turns out it was more than just wanting to be each other's partners," Sherry explained, trying to contain the smile growing on her lips.
After finishing her story, everyone's jaws were dropped in shock. Finally, Jill broke the silence.
"No wonder he's been acting strange over the past few months; when he thought we killed Wesker, he thought that he was gone for good and his promise was all for nothing. He was trying to help him!" she realized.
Sherry nodded. "Now you know why Chris was reluctant to kill him back in Kijuju," she added.
The others took on guilty faces. They practically forced him to do it, not knowing of the bond he shared for his supposed 'enemy'. Getting back to the HQ, Jill, Claire and Sherry piled into Jill's black Tahoe and sped towards the beach. Two minutes later, they got there and saw the two waiting for them while sitting on the sandy beach. The waves gently lapped around their tails as the girls walked to them.
"Are you two ok?" Jill asked.
"We're great, now that Jackson's gone. All you have to do is keep a lookout for any surviving men of his," Chris said.
Claire's eyes filled with tears as she fell to her knees and threw her arms around him. Chris returned the embrace, a soft smile on his face. He stroked her hair as her body was shaking with sobs.
"Why you? Why did Jackson do this to you? WHY WASN'T IT ME DAMMIT!" she cried.
"Claire... if it was you, then I wouldn't forgive myself. I rather take it than you. Losing my sister is the worse thing that could happen to me. Plus, you and Jill are like sisters. It's better if I took the virus," he said softly, brushing away her flowing tears.
Claire looked away as more tears came. Chris cupped her chin between his fingers and gently turned her gaze back to him.
"Just promise me one thing, alright?" he asked.
Claire could only nod, afraid of her voice cracking if she spoke.
"I want you to promise not only to me, but to Sheva and Leon, who gave their lives for us, and to them" he shifted his eyes to the two girls. "That you'll be strong. And you'll never give up," he said.
"I-I promise," Claire hiccupped.
Chris hugged his sister one more time before she backed away.
"Sherry, I want you to promise me something as well," Wesker said.
"I'm listening, Uncle Wesker," Sherry said as she knelt before her uncle, blinking back tears of her own.
"I want to promise to take care of Umbrella in my absence. Never let it go under. Keep up the research projects, understand?" he said.
"I promise, uncle," she said, tears finally breaking free and were now flowing down her cheeks.
The two embraced one last time as Sherry held back sobs. They broke apart after a moment.
"... See you later, Claire. Take care of her, Jill," Chris said before sliding into the water.
The two said people waved goodbye to him.
"Take care of yourself... my dear Sherry," Wesker said before following his love.
Sherry nodded, tears continuing to flow. The two swam out until the water was deep enough before jumping out and diving in with a unified splash. Claire collapsed to her knees again as loud sobs emitted from her. She and Jill embraced, both crying over the loss of her partner/brother. Sherry stood there with silent tears as she watched her beloved uncle disappear into the sea.
(7 months later)
It was summer and the beach was full of people, most of them swimming out in the warm water. Claire and Jill, both in different colored bikinis laid on their towels, soaking up the bright summer sun's rays. They finally got the vacation that they constantly pleaded with the Chief. Jill wore a blue and white striped bikini while Claire wore an all pink one.
"Mmmm... this is nice," Jill sighed in contentment.
"You can say that again... but, I can't believe it's been seven months since Chris left," Claire said.
"Claire, I told you! Chris will be fine. He's got Wesker with him, as much I hate to say it. Just relax," Jill huffed.
Claire smiled. She was right. She needed to chill out...
"HELP! SOMEONE HELP MY BABY!" suddenly screamed a woman.
Both girls sat up at the scream for help. Looking out, they saw a little girl flailing about, trying to stay above water. The poor little five year old was caught in a riptide! Before Jill could do anything, Claire was already halfway to the water. Sprinting into the waves, she dove in and started swimming for the girl. Just as the little girl was about to go under, Claire grabbed her waist and held her.
"I gotcha. It's ok," she soothed to the crying girl.
She made to swim back, but found out that she was now in the riptide as well. Then, something pulled her and the girl under. She started to struggle, but through her blurry vision, she made out a familiar figure...
'Chris!' she thought, grinning at him.
Chris smiled at them before pulling them out of the riptide with ease. Letting them go, she nodded in thanks to her brother. He winked at her before swimming towards another blurred figure, but she knew it was Wesker. Swimming to the surface, she tugged the girl to shore and into the arms of her mother.
"Claire! Are you alright! What happened!" Jill exclaimed.
"... Chris saved me," Claire panted.
Jill grinned; she knew Chris would be out there at this time of the year. With Chris, he made it to Wesker, who was waiting patiently for him.
'Always the hero," Wesker smirked.
'Oh shut it, Wesker. You were once a hero, too," Chris chuckled, punching Wesker lightly in the arm before swimming away.
'I guess that's why I fell in love with you,' Wesker purred before claiming his lips in a passionate kiss.