Part X: A test of deja vu

The skies outside went dark; thunder was all that was left to pose a potential danger to Carlos and the rest of the group. As Carlos was scavenging for a new weapon, he reminded everyone there wasn't a whole lot of time to learn about the Sanctum's history. Kelley was tending to Abigail as both were looking through books to find a way to end the storm. However, Phylicia felt something was different in the air. That was when it hit her that Alex made the sacrifice for his namesake; it was inevitable. Phylicia came across a red curtain on the far corner where the head of Jormungandr was replicated and placed as a trophy, along with other trinkets that played a role in Ragnarok.

She looked behind to see everyone looking through other things before going in. On the other side lied a desk with three special items: a letter whom she recognized Alex's handwriting from, a long, weapon case that was in the shape of a spear of some sort, and a vital artifact. Just before she was about to open the letter, the curtain swung wide open. She got startled for a second.

"Sorry about that. The storm stopped. We can cross those bridges when we're ready." He said with her acknowledging the fact. "Look I uh, there's no way of me knowing what your father's going through over there. We'll get to him."

"I know we will. We have been trapped here for too long. Can you give me a minute? We've been running so much my brain is still trying to catch up. I'll join you guys shortly."

"Sure thing." Carlos smiled.

Carlos gave her space while he continued to look for a weapon. He went around the group, asking them how they were holding up. Damien wasn't suffering any more hallucinations; apart from a migraine he was getting he was still holding. It was both a miracle for both him and Carlos; how could a seventeen year old survive any of the ordeals he's encountered since entering Norway? He couldn't answer regardless.

As for Cara, she was looking through items that looked to have come from the late nineties. Ink ribbons for one. To her for some reason, this item in particular seemed vital in Raccoon City, like they were a godsend to those who managed to survive it. Another item was four zip lock bags that were filled with red, green, yellow, and blue herb dust. She then picked up a pair of black sunglasses that had a certain curiosity to them. When she tried them on, her eyes showed her a devastating image of the world.

It was burning with red and white fire; snakes from those two colors came slithering out of the burnt craters and consumed endless human lives. Cara tossed the glasses away immediately. Monica managed to find two swords called the Gram and the Balmung. She wasn't too picky on weapons at this point. The Gram sword was made out Sidgurd stones; it was dense and sharp enough to take on Alex if need be. As for the Balmung, Nothung as it was depicted in the 13th century, looked more like a Sultan's sword. She called Cara over to check them out. For someone like Abigail to remain eerily quiet when looking through books with Kelley, it was both understandable and strange at the same time. Kelley tried breaking the ice.

"He kept me safe the whole time we were together. We literally went through hell to get to this place." She spoke nervously with silence following after. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't..."

"I've no doubt he was a brave man. He can sure surprise you sometimes. It puzzles me as to why we were brought here in the first place."

"Guess we won't find out. The temple's gone now; it's underwater from the storm. What was it like being here?"

"Quiet most of the time; I've never met Archer Kurinthian but whoever he was he did save my life. I kept busy staring at trinkets and old books depicting Norse history. You can learn a lot in here when you have nothing but time. Did um...did Ethan go peacefully?" She asked holding back tears.

"After all that's happened, he did find some peace. Before he…left he told me to tell you he loved you more than anything. It's not much."

"It's enough. I'll mourn once we get out of here." Abigail said finding a couple books based on how the temple was built.

Looking through piles of throw-away antiques, Carlos found an old radio hidden in the back of old coins and doubloons. Looking at its contents it wasn't an old radio; it wasn't even one of those tuning radios from the fifties. He turned it over and it had a Russian inscription. It brought him back to when he confronted Nicholai in the Citadel. He didn't think anything of it at the time, knowing full well in what he had planned for his old comrade in arms. It was dinged up a good deal, but he tried his luck in turning it on to see if it still worked. Static from the radio pulled out all the stops and it clicked in his head to contact the rescue choppers who were probably getting close to the temple's location. He called everyone over as he was tuning the frequency to get into contact with one of the rescue pilots named Gavin. Carlos went on and got Gavin's attention; for the moment everyone cheered that they weren't going to be stranded forever.

"Damn glad to hear from you, Gavin!" Carlos said.

"Oliveira; son of a…I knew you wouldn't get killed; never doubted it for a second."

"Aw shit, I lost $40." A second pilot brought up with laughter on that same line.

"How are things down there?"

"We're about to head for the Vault now. The storm stopped so you should be able to fly on in."

"We're seven miles away from reaching the two main structures. You said before there were other people with you?"

"Yeah, I got six with me, but two will stay behind for rescue. One's a young girl named Kelley and a woman named Abigail. They're both prison survivors from the Vessel."

"Understood. I'll have Conklin pick them up."

"You're a lifesaver, amigo."

"You best get a move on then, man. Bury that elixir alive so we can all go home."

"You heard the man. Take whatever you found as a weapon and let's move. Time's officially against us now." Carlos announced to everyone.

All except Phylicia gathered their things and made their one last journey to the Vault. What lied guarding it was beyond them, but there was no other choice. The goal still stood for each of them, and all accepted to make sure the elixir didn't leave Norway. Kelley told Monica to be careful and kick some ass at whatever was coming at her.

"You got it, kid." She smiled and hugged her. "Protect yourself ok? This has been one hell of a trip."

"When this is over, you think we can hang out; as friends?" Kelley asked as Monica paused for a response.

"We'll see. See you on one of them helicopters."

She then told Abigail to watch out for Kelley. She wished her good luck. Carlos was the last to leave until he saw Phylicia walking out of the red curtain, containing a weapon she found it seemed. Her face was filled with regret and was asked if she was ready for the final stretch. She simply told him she was ready. Carlos went on ahead as she went over to Kelley and gave her a memento of the temple.

Praising its craftsmanship, Phylicia told her the Vanirian Scion reverses imprisoned curses; "you never know" she told her looking at Abby. They were all out on the bridge to be welcomed with semi-dark clouds and no strong winds attempting to cast them into the sea. It was a miracle to know the bridges were still sturdy enough to walk. Phylicia had a piece of old parchment crumpled in her hand; she then saw the floating body of Morpheus moving under the bridge. She looked down for a split second and kept moving.

The Odin Jewel altered the foundation of the Vault. On the outside, its' structure remained the same. Inside, it went from a housing room holding the elixir to a claustrophobic battlefield riddled with First Remnant undead standing with conviction under the jewel's command. They all surrounded a diamond encrusted cocoon which held a monstrous version of Alex inside. The Architects selflessly invited Archer as one of their own while selfishly condemning him to utilize the elixir's powers to make Alex pay for what he did since his intrusion in the temple years before. He chose not to take the jewel's power for his own; that didn't mean there was still a high price to pay for not taking.

Like they told him, damned if took it, damned if he didn't. Each First Remnant looked more advanced, more capable; the key Alex has been trying to perfect. In the right light, they can present the look of damaged human beings as opposed to acting like creatures of the night. They still contained the abilities of the weaker undead; they don't require flesh or a master to survive. Their fighting techniques were of a savage nature; which would make parting their embryotic sacs from their chests more difficult for the human survivors.

They all surrounded the cocoon in wait for their leader to reemerge. The eight Architects spoke through various languages about how Alex would never be human again, and that his punishment would be something of great irony to his past. If Archer had been killed before the ashes of his body had been carried into the jewel, he would have been an enslaved monster with little to no strength to defend himself. However, twists were a common thing in Norway's most prized monument, and fates have never been really set in stone. The Architects saw to that when they devoted their life force to the jewel itself. They gave him one last task before the Vault meets its burial at sea: kill his Progeny; the White Queen of the temple. After that, his will was to perish and never return.

Reaching the Vault's main structure, everyone was standing on a platform that was going to take them to the top. It was half submerged in water so Phylicia swam down to find the lever to raise it. Looking around, she suddenly was getting vibes that were trembling from every inch of the woodwork: who was guarding the Vault, what happened to Alex, but no sign of her father's life force. She was still physically weaker after the ship crashing into the Sanctum; she then felt she would have to push and act fiercer than before. Once she pulled the lever on the platform, she swam immediately back up to the surface and told everyone to get on.

The path way was covered in darkness. Whenever encountering the same feeling in the temple there was always that feel of someone or something was watching them right. In Carlos's case, when he found himself walking in a dark place with only a dim flashlight and a sense of hearing trying to be mentally heightened, there would be undead crawling and limping. In Raccoon City, he would somehow get a warning when a zombie was going to pop out from behind a broken street corner; a deep snarl or a monotonous groan. But in the temple he got ambushed four times by undead because they didn't make a sound.

Their feet were quiet, and there would be a shift in the wind whenever a zombie went hunter mode watching its' prey from a dank ceiling. With Phylicia on their side, she estimated no undead in the area. All five entered through the unknown that was the prelude to the Vault's contents with keeping their footing as slow and quiet as possible. Cara was the only of the group to still have her handgun after everything that has happened, and the flashlight from it was still working. She moved to the front of everyone and took point while moving at the same pace as the group. As they drew closer and closer they were able to see the Vault's main door; a thirty foot tall square shaped contraption made of limestone mortar.

"We're almost there, people. Keep this up." Carlos told everyone quietly.

"It's too quiet in here. Phylicia, can you sense anything?" Cara asked.

"Something is blocking my foresight; keep all five of your senses open." She replied.

The silence they were treading in was too eerily disturbing for anyone's taste. Carlos kept his senses open and another vibe hit him harder the second time around. He was feeling déjà vu; like he experienced this feeling before, but it was just a question if he encountered it in the temple or in the past life. Then his heart beating jumped to his throat when he felt only two people were walking with him and Damien and Monica were nowhere within grabbing distance. He gripped his axe tightly as he slowly turned his head, followed by a sudden familiar roar and got sent flying into more darkness.

On his back, sweating and the fast beating of his heart went faster when he was looking frantically everywhere in the dark. Suddenly, he took a chance by swinging the axe in front of him; nothing happened except cutting air. He got on one knee and swung a second time, this time behind him, and another roar sent the place trembling as his weapon was grabbed. He couldn't see the monster's face, but it uttered "S.T.A.R.S." in a familiar surly tone. He couldn't believe it.

The axe was snatched away and he was kicked full force to another part of the Vault's entrance. As soon as he opened his eyes he was brought before an unknown figure that referred to himself as Maestro. This time however, it was in one of the carts of a moving train. It looked familiar to him, but the people inside it were out of place. His former comrade in arms, Nicholai was giving orders to both an injured Mikhail and Carlos when he was a mercenary for Umbrella. Jill Valentine was there too. Carlos in the present tense tried getting up from his seat when Maestro wanted him to see what he was seeing.

"What is this?" Carlos asked.

"The past is a haunting thing. You can kill many bio organic weapons in many different countries. That type of trauma is something no amount of therapy can fix. I speak only to you Carlos; you are the only human among the group to have encountered a monster like this. Your connection to it is stronger than the undead I have created."

"The Nemesis…how could you…how does that thing still live? It was destroyed in..." He said before getting interrupted.

"Raccoon City. Yes, everything that has taken horrific precedence there still revolves around its' survivors to this day, until the end of their days. Umbrella may be ash, but that does not stop other businessmen to formulate their own corporate schemes to achieve what Umbrella has been trying to reach since its' inception. To truly expel these nightmares from our minds, we must take a stand when a viral outbreak arises. Yet, no matter how many outbreaks can be solved by a simple rocket launcher and little faith in making it, Umbrella's evil is infinite. I realize that now. It is too late for me to fight back anymore."

"Alex Wesker. What happened to you?"

"What "great" men before me have turned into: abominations of their own selfish desires. Like Archer Kurinthian's temple, I too am long gone. The Architects have full control of the Valhallan Elixir now. All these years, I wanted to prove to my father that human beings can strive to be more than they are if we all can find a common solution. I have never stopped fighting my cursed past; Venezia…Phylicia knows this. When all this is over, only her will truly understand my ambition."

"She's a remarkable woman; told me about you too. You've helped her reclaim the dignity the Ashford Family took. That's why I'm not attempting to rip your head off. So where do we stand?"

Alex asked him to look to his left. Carlos was greeted by none other than Nemesis himself. He was a ten foot tall behemoth of a monster with a shark smile and one eye. Carlos looked ahead and only saw Mikhail left with a grenade being held close to him. Nemesis grabbed him and restrained him against one of the train's windows.

"He's been dying to have a second go at you. Let's see if history can repeat itself." Alex said before Carlos got thrown out of the train.

He screamed at the top of his lungs while being dropped into a stormy abyss with the sound of an explosion taking out the train above him. Landing back in the Vault's entrance, his spine became bruised with no weapon to defend himself from Nemesis. Undead began limping out of the corners, but they weren't temple undead. He recognized a few of them: dead RPD cops, soldiers from S.T.A.R.S; he rolled over to get some traction in getting back on his feet. Then a gunshot went off thus killing one of T-Virus zombies. He turned around and saw Jill in spirit form. One by one each zombie got taken out by a headshot.

For some reason, Carlos tried getting her attention. She ran through him and kept shooting until he heard "STAAAARRRSSS!" He went scrambling for the axe he lost then suddenly Jill got pierced in her left thigh by one of its tentacles. Blood was spilling all around her; Carlos was starting to lose it at that point. However, she took out her one grenade she was saving and tossed it at a group of seven zombies, killing four instantly and leaving three hungering for flesh as they crawled their way over to her. Another tentacle went through her lower abdomen. At that moment, Carlos couldn't move and couldn't bear to see her in such tragic conditions.

Her eyes became loosely fixed on his as she moved away from the tentacle and stabbed it with her own knife. One zombie landed a surprise attack while she flipped him over and spent her last bullet in his head. The third time, the bloody tentacle went through her neck, leaving her cold and motionless on the ground. His inner rage increased with every passing second as he finally found his axe. He looked behind him and saw the Nemesis in full view standing over Jill. It raised its left foot and hovered over her head, snarling and taking in its small pleasures.

That was when Carlos jumped on top of him and began chopping profusely into his chest, bringing him back to the reality that had everyone else including Phylicia trapped in stone. The Nemesis grabbed him by the back of his armor and threw him five feet away. He quickly retracted and Nemesis punched a hole in the ground, leaving him stuck. Carlos raised his weapon, ducked his other fist, and nearly cutting off a limb without hesitation. He roared but Carlos wasted no time sending another chop through its mouth. Pulling it away violently soon after, Nemesis head butted him and suffered a swinging right hook in his stomach, sending him flying once more. His eyes bulged and couldn't breathe while the claustrophobia of darkness crept closer and closer, surrounding him but refused to give up. Even then he still had some fight in him…somewhere.

"So that's what a punch from the Nemesis feels like." He said grunting in pain while on the ground. "If only Barry were here; he would have taken care of this fight five seconds flat."

As the gritty duel of repeated history continued, the storm cleared outside the temple. Flight paths were given clear reign for helicopters to fly on in. Kelley was looking at the scion; it was within the context of a circular key with a sequent encrusted cross at its base with a sky blue griffon on top of it made out of sapphire. From what Phylicia told her before she left was that the scion was able to reverse curses placed on the innocent. She didn't tell the others because time was running against them. Abigail took a long glance at the object and was curious as she liked the history behind it.

"The Vanirian Scion: crafted by Lord Aesir during the second age of the nine realms being aligned with Yggdrasil. Did you know the first majestic creature to have flown around the tree three times was a griffon? I assume that's the animal symbol on the front there."

"Yeah, I forgot. You were living in a place full of wonder." Kelley chuckled as she joined in.

"It wasn't easy as you've already known. But the Vessel spoke to me sometimes, kept me sane in the first months I've been here."

"I was trapped by Archer along with Ethan. I want to hate him; I wanted to hate the people who took me away from my family. It's too tiresome really."

"The others; I haven't met them long but I feel they are capable in making a final stand."

"Monica is." Kelley brought up. "She's been a survivor her whole life. If she wasn't there to break us out…I wasn't ready to die."

Both heard distant rumbling coming from the outside. They went out onto the bridge and Kelley released a big smile that the three helicopters Carlos spoke with on the old radio were actually coming to their rescue. Suddenly, Abigail disappeared from her sight along with the Scion as well. Kelley ran back inside the Sanctum to look for her. Everywhere she looked it was making her nervous. It wasn't until she heard mortified breathing coming from where the empty show cases that housed special books used to be. She found an old knife on the ground and kept it concealed when she found her. Abigail was whimpering as the Scion was a few inches away from her feet. Kelley picked it up and tried calming her down.

"It's okay. It's only me." She said putting the scion in her side pocket. "Those helicopter people Carlos spoke to before, they're coming to our rescue. We'll be safe."

"It's not that, honey." Abigail said with a cold sweat running down. "Why did the Red Queen do this to me?!"

"Did what?" She asked.

"I was safe. Archer took me away from the trauma and despair. Maeori was everywhere, looking for her sister, Venezia."

"The Red Queen's dead. What are you on about?"

"Kelley, listen to me. When I lose myself, you will need to say three words to turn me back to normal." Abigail went on when her body went jaded. "Remember these words: KJETTERI være slukket!"

Suddenly, Abigail went nuts when her body moved in different places with rib bones breaking in unnatural ways. Kelley moved away from her with knife and Scion in hands; she then ascended up into the dark ceiling with a painful cry before everything went silent; literally silent. It was as if the helicopters heading their way weren't coming at all. She took out the rusty knife and treaded carefully to find whatever was tearing Abbey apart from the inside. Normally, a little girl would have screamed and ran away from the face of danger. That would've been the realistic thing to do; too bad for a haunted temple things weren't so realistic.

Having retained some of his natural breathing patterns, Carlos stood up with darkness surrounding him, no snarl or surprise attack from the Nemesis. One light shined over a stone structure, revealing the shape of Cara. Then another showed Damien, Monica, and finally Phylicia. He was confused and was scrambling in his head on what the hell happened to them. Then it hit him: the Architects. Alex told him through supernatural means he had no further control over the Vault or what protects its contents.

With no explanation or hints on how to free them, suddenly the entire entrance lit up like a fighting stage. Its corners were still dark, and Nemesis was still nowhere to be found; not even blood traces on the ground when he chopped away at both chest and mouth. The stone prisons for each survivor levitated in the air, showing cracks in the foundation presented in a way if one of them fell on the ground the survivor would be killed instantly. Footsteps were shaking the ground Carlos was on followed by a scratchy, dragging sound of a big weapon following behind him. The Nemesis was shown with mutated, rippling muscles with the lower body covered with the attire of the Raccoon City version of the BOW. Behind him was him carrying a large, swinging mace. Its shark-like smile indicated he was going to enjoy watching Carlos suffer.

"Great, a ten foot ugly pile driver back from the dead, and is carrying a mace that can take half this place apart in one swing. That's really freaking swell. Hey big guy, where's your chain gun?" He asked before Nemesis roared at the ready to swing his weapon. "I just had to open mi boca grande."

Carlos dodged the first swing of the mace after it went up seven feet in the air and drove it down to the ground full force, sending the structure uneasy. The mace retracted back to its' thick baton Nemesis was holding. He ran towards Carlos as he dodged out of the way, followed by getting kicked in his spine. He held out his axe and charged at the Nemesis as it dropped his weapon and lifted Carlos in mid-air. As luck would have it, things weren't going his way. He didn't see a way to pierce his chest and reveal the embryotic sac he hoped was inside. Nemesis brought Carlos's face closer to his and what came out of his mouth was deeply disturbing; something he didn't expect from fighting the first Nemesis with Jill.

"Valentine, your past reeks of her image. I died in Raccoon City when it should have been YOU!"

"He can talk? Is there anything he can't do?" He asked himself."Leave the past outta this!"

"You and the girl destroyed my city. You took down Umbrella, decimated for all it stood for. I will enjoy feasting on your bones."

Carlos dropped the axe into his free hand and chopped mid-way into the monster's right arm. He dropped back on the ground and tried lifting the mace with to no avail of succeeding. He then ran around and sliced the back of its shins, rendering it to his knees. He made quick work of its back by chopping profusely five times before climbing on. Nemesis grabbed his hair and launched him forward. He took his mace and sent it straightforward a good eight feet towards Carlos. He jumped out of the way and the mace broke through the side of the structure, making it stuck in the foundation. He had one more trick he was willing to get out of the way, praying to the lord almighty it would work. Standing on top of the chain holding the mace together, bloodied and tired, he gave the Nemesis his last rites.

"Umbrella created you. They used you for the things you've done. Many have tried taking you out: Jill, Nicholai, Mikhail, me. Yeah, my past does reek of my time as a mercenary in Raccoon City. You and I are both relics to be hated and feared by all who survived that night. But monsters like you don't get a second chance." He went on as the chain moved fiercely forward. "There's no way out right? You got me."

The mace retracted back as Carlos leaped away with all of his might to the right just as it was going to make its face into mincemeat. The Nemesis shot out a tentacle from the back of his left shoulder blade and twisted it around the circular ball of doom. Suddenly, his other arm shot out another tentacle that acted like swinging blades, and shook the ground on impact. He growled fearfully and got into a defensive stance. Gripping his axe like he was an actual warrior, he readied himself for round two.

"Say goodbye to my comrades when you meet them in hell." He said charging at him.

Luck finally arrived at the submerged temple's doorstep. Three helicopter pilots: Conklin, Gavin, and Jules were circulating around the two main structures holding the human survivors. The main pilot running the rescue operation, Gavin, wanted a sit rep on the Sanctum's insides to see if there were any human signatures coming up on radar. Conklin confirmed two life forms were present, but one was a bioorganic weapon. Then suddenly, he got a visual on the two life forms high tailing it out on the bridge.

One was Kelley running for her life. She saw the helicopters forming a way to box Abigail in as she was slowly mutating into whatever Maeori turned her into. Her body wasn't really human anymore. It was moving like a predator, growing thick claws and her forehead growing over her eyes. But the distinct mutated trait Gavin was able to confirm was a B.O.W. that was once a plague in the Raccoon City Police Department during the T-Virus outbreak: the Lickers. Abigail's tongue went thin and sagged over her mouth. She begged Kelley to say the words so she wouldn't turn into a monster. Kelley's mind was rattled and was struggling to remember the three crucial words to reverse the curse. As soon as Gavin saw it, he had a rifleman get one of the sniper rifles to take care of the B.O.W. Suddenly his helicopter became lopsided when Abigail lashed out her mutated tongue as it latched onto the bottom of the chopper.

"Focus man focus...!" Gavin told his gunner. "We're not dying after all this time!"

"Hang on, I got it!" Jules shouted.

Kelley had the words finally embedded in her head and on the tip of her tongue. She held out the Scion and said the words, "KJETTERI være slukket!" The sapphire griffon from the Scion lit up, and something magical grabbed everyone's eyes while the pilots got blinded from its light. The spirit of the griffon stepped away from its symbol and inhabited Abigail's body. She screamed as the curse was scratching and tearing to leave her. A mild shockwave sent the bridge they were on completely unsteady, but the effect took merely ten seconds to take full effect. When the light cleared, Kelley ran over to her to see if she was human again. Gavin was demanding responses from Conklin and Jules. They were whole and skyward.

"You did it." Abigail told her. "The curse is lifted."

"What was that thing?" She asked her.

"Sometimes the past just keeps coming back." She replied. "When we're out of here, I'll tell you more about the Vanirian Scion."

"One of the survivors is back to normal; preparing for extraction." Conklin said descending next to the bridge.

"How in the hell...?!" Jules asked in shock.

"Yeah, I can't describe it either." Conklin replied.

An evacuation pilot was sitting in front waiting to get Kelley and Abbey on board. Conklin confirmed to have his survivors and made his exit away from the temple's area. As the chopper was making its way to a safe zone in another part of Norway, Kelley looked intimately into the scion to relish in a personal victory in helping out. Abbey took a look at it as well and was willing to study it to see what it can do for other people. Though she did not fully know what it was truly capable of, one thing for certain was that the scion reversed ancient curses. Maybe it would help infectees too she thought.

The shockwave from the scion made the Nemesis lightheaded; so much he couldn't sense his surroundings too well. Carlos took advantage by slicing off one of its tentacles, but the other slammed his face with him landing hard on the ground. He flipped over and just when the second tentacle was about to choke the life out of him, he took hold and sliced the other one off as well. This gave Carlos a clear shot to its chest. He sent the axe through thus opening his chest cavity open to reveal three embryotic sacs filled with enriching amounts of elixir inside.

He pulled one sac out and chopped it to pieces to make sure its juices gushed out. He sliced one of the other sac supports and pulled it out just as quickly, performing the same motion as the first one. When he had both his hands on the last sac, Nemesis roared so loudly the entire structure was suffering from an earthquake. Carlos pushed through just barely, and ripped the last one out with whatever strength he had left at that point. Elixir exploded and gushed all over him. The roaring stopped and the Nemesis fell on his back with no dying breath to fuel his satisfaction. He dropped to his knees while offering his victory to his fallen comrades, especially Mikhail. The other four survivors got their bodies back from being in stone. Phylicia saw him standing up; she ran to help him.

"You look like hell." She told him looking at the Nemesis. "The Vault's guard is finally gone."

"That was fun if we're being honest. Before meeting Damien and Cara I've done nothing but tip toe around zombies, kill my sergeant in arms, and shoot a few undead along the way." He replied looking at her concerned expression. "Maybe I should get tossed around more often."

"No, I prefer you whole." She said kissing him on the cheek.

"Now this is historic." Monica said meeting the others. "Who says you can't find love in a dark and homey place?"

"I think I've seen everything on this trip." Damien said stretching his arms and neck, coming across the Nemesis' corpse. "I take that back."

"I'll say." Cara said agreeing with him. "Whew, what a way to go. That's the second time we got trapped in something."

"We were encased in Glacier-Stone: Jotunheim origin. It placed us in mental suspension; the brain would still function while the body remains dormant. During Odin's rule, he and the Frost Giants waged war that should have spanned throughout the nine realms. The Aesir gained the upper hand, forcing Jotunheim in a standstill. Since that day, the pathway between Asgard and Jotunheim was an easy path to travel. Anyone captured by the Frost Giants would be trapped in stone for all eternity."

"Like Han Solo being carbon frozen in Empire Strikes Back." Carlos brought up. "What? I've developed hobbies other than being good looking and killing zombies."

"Sit tight..." Phylicia smiled, patting him on the back. "Your brainwaves need to be realigned."

"They are right where they are, senorita." Carlos said in delirium.

All that stood between the human survivors and the Valhallan Elixir was the Vault's main door. Its guard was dead; Alex's demons and monsters were all washed away, and with the Temple destroyed and underwater there was no turning back for more supplies. Phylicia went up to the Vault and sensed what they were up against. All Monica wanted to know was if Alex Wesker was on the other side. She had her axe ready and was raring to kill the son of a bitch who killed Monroe, Terrell, and Ethan. Phylicia insisted they were going to take him on together.

By "them" she meant herself confronting Alex while the others dealt with the First Remnants which she told them they were the key to what made the elixir so impossible to obtain. Not only were these creatures immortal, but given a few more years, they could go from looking like a monster to a human being in no time, even take on other shapes that have haunted people in past outbreaks, but she was getting ahead of herself. Monica didn't care. She felt she waited too long for an opportunity to teach Alex a lesson; Cara knew this to be true thus the reason she didn't say anything to object her goal. Damien on the other hand, insisted they didn't know what Alex was capable of. He was nearly beaten to death by his first confrontation with him in Phylicia's domain so he wanted to handle the situation carefully if he had any chance in getting back home. It was long overdue to see his grandmother; dead or alive he stressed to Monica. Her mind couldn't take all this waiting around and strategizing. She wanted out as much as anyone did in that hole. Suddenly, Cara apologized to her out of the blue.

"What'd you say to me?" Monica asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not believing you would grow as a person here. I didn't even like you the moment we set down for Norway. After seeing you with Kelley and Ethan…I thought I was seeing things the whole time. I was wrong."

"No you don't get to do that. You have no idea what those two went through; what I went through to get them out. Ethan's gone and Kelley's still trapped in that Sanctum."

"Maybe not, Damien chimed in, that pilot Carlos talked to on the radio. They weren't far away from the temple. They must've picked her and Abigail up by now."

"I know them: Conklin, Gavin, and Jules. They were my aerial support when I got contracted down here. They have no love for Umbrella so that should tell you something." Carlos said.

"We got to stay positive, Monica. We've come way too far to be fighting amongst ourselves. This is it." Cara explained to her. "After this, we'll never see each other again."

"Your father would be proud of you." Phylicia told her when Monica looked at her with shock. "He didn't deserve what happened to him in Raccoon City. But now we have a chance to set things right. It's all or nothing."

Monica went up to Phylicia after lowering her weapon. Feeling confident about what was at stake, she shook her hand with a sense of understanding in her eyes.

"Together then; we bury that elixir once and for all." Monica promised looking her in the eye.

"Then we return home; all five of us." She promised back.

12