Narrowly eluding a grim demise at the hands of the aquatic B.O.W., his breath was ragged from the strain of hefting the equipment he wore, as well as the long rifle he clutched with gloved hands. All of this because of a snot-nosed spawn of a psycho. Canting his head to the side, he emerged from the depths of the water a few long moments which felt like an eternity after Chris, sputtering briefly as he crawled miserably to his hands and knees. Feeling like a wet rodent, he scowled and climbed to his feet, a sidelong glance given to his captain who voiced brief concern before he nodded his head in acknowledgement and spoke: "Never better." Fine and dandy, by golly. Clutching his anti-material rifle as the strap felt heavier upon his sturdy shoulder, he soldiered on alongside his leader and exhaled an exaggerated breath. Without warning, seawater began spurting like an open vein into the underwater facility, and the area all around shuddered from the force as both men bolted in the opposite direction. It was impossible to completely outrun the flow of water as both were swept from their feet, just managing to slide through a large, pressurized door to safety. Piers tucked and slid as he was taught in the military, his captain a tad less graceful. As the two soldiers slid into the room, they attempted to gather their bearings amidst the situation, only to witness an enormous hand reaching it's way under, it had been right behind them all along. Elongated fingers which looked as if they consisted of rippling jelly gripped the strong, thick hanger door to pry it open with monstrous strength as the large head peeked in to emit an ear-piercing screech, a humanoid skull beneath the bio-mass of it's 'flesh' was visible, making it all the more haunting.
Grunting in effort as he scrambled to his feet, his bright gaze fixated upon the monstrosity as he managed to stand upright. Chris also managed to gain footing, although what happened next registered like lightning. Piers watched in horror as the mutant turned it's gaze upon his captain, knowing that in a matter of a split second it would reach to crush him like a ripe grape. He wouldn't allow that to happen, if this thing wanted Chris, it would first need to get through him. Yelling out, he sprinted as best he could towards Chris, who hadn't even managed to stand upright yet, and unceremoniously rammed his shoulder and arms into the hulk of a man, using his momentum to push Chris out of the way. Before he could react and face the creature, it's cold, mutated fingers coiled around his outstretched arm, lifting him off of his feet like a rag doll. Piers would be damned before going out without a fight, especially to a freaking squid. Angrily kicking his legs as he was yanked up into the air and grimaced as he felt the flesh in his shoulder joint tear, dislocating from the socket while he continued to defiantly kick his legs out. Somewhere behind him, he could hear the all-too familiar growl of his captain rising like feral bear before the rounds from an assault rifle punched their way into the creature's jelly flesh with automatic fire. Piers' free arm managed to clench his fist, just aching for a chance to take a swing at that gigantic jaw, that was before he heard most of the bones in his arm crunch within the large grip of the hand. Unable to free himself, he could only grimace further as his brows furrowed, shortly before the B.O.W. decided to fling him away, his body flailing through the air frantically like a discarded toy from a child.
Piers was flying, the world spinning in continuous circles making it impossible for him to focus on anything. Cruelly, his back hit the steel wall which had been in the direction he was tossed in, causing his head to snap backwards in whiplash before gravity jerked him down the sleek wall. As he plummeted downward, he suddenly felt the flesh of his already damaged right arm rip open. A jagged shard of steel debris jutting up from the floor gored the sensitive flesh of the joint barely connecting his shoulder to his torso. Unfortunately, shock didn't cover the pain, and he felt every second of it as his angular countenance contorted in agony, his eyes clenched shut while his pouted lips gaped open, baring his teeth. It was the worst pain he had ever known. Trapped in place by the steel embedded in his joint, he didn't have to look down to know that the shard had not only pierced his shoulder, it had torn through his flak jacket and flayed the flesh covering his ribs. He was crippled, and he knew the possibility of bleeding out right where he sat was inevitable. Chris fought on like a warrior, firing scattered shots into the large, aquatic mutant with no effect. As the creature briefly regarded the assaulting S.O.U. captain, the crooked teeth within it's rippling maw almost seemed to give a devilish grin as it outstretched it's gangly arm to grip a damaged generator. Lifting up the heavy piece of machinery, it pitched the generator in the direction of Chris Redfield while he was on the run, managing to fire off a shot which landed between the eyes of the beast, directly into it's humanoid craw, it's only response was that chilling grin. Piers' muscled legs curled inward from pain before they shakily stretched back out, his captain was in trouble, and there was jack shit he could do about it in his position.
Steel corners bounced and skipped across the floor of the room like a stone skipping across a lake, narrowly missing Chris as he pivoted his boot and darted to the side out of it's trajectory. Rather, the generator tumbled still in the direction it was slung, and Piers was unable to focus upon the projectile in his peripheral vision as his head moved from side to side. In a sadistic turn of events, the generator collided against the wall Piers was pinned against, and it crushed what was left of his arm. Blood gushed violently from his shoulder as his arm was nearly severed completely, save for a strip of flesh and tendon pathetically holding it together. Piers cried out in anguish whilst his attractive visage was the picture of pain, any other man of weaker will would most likely have been driven frenzied by the amount of pain which racked his body. Chris stared at the sight of his youthful, determined partner who he was certain was mortally wounded. Piers shuddered violently while his bare teeth gritted, his captain running towards him, and in that moment he knew the man he looked upon wasn't the drunk shell of a man he met in that bar in Edonia. Piers knew now, in satisfaction within the very core of his mind, that Chris Redfield was coming to try and save him. Just as that bit of light in the dark clouds of the situation shone, Chris was unaware of the massive creature that still turned it's attention to him. Swiping a stretched appendage which seemed to wobble, it wrapped it's elongated fingers around Chris' torso and hoisted him up into the air, pulling the captain closer to it's deranged face even as Chris began lifting his arm and pounding his gloved fist down upon the finger constricting around his torso. Piers looked on even as his gaze blurred from a mix of blood loss and pain. Shaking his head grimly, the realization came to him that he had one chance in this life to do the unthinkable, to save his captain. Piers never questioned his judgement no matter what happened only an hour before. With all that in mind there was only one final mission. Kill Haos, save Chris. Get him home so he could retire and live to be an old man, who could look back on today and remember that he had saved the world from disaster with honor and dignity. He wanted to be there with him, but to hell with all of that, when it came down to Chris, or Piers... the choice was simple.
Scowling in frustration, that sound became a growl of determination as he braced himself the best he could, staring forward as his chest pushed forward, hard, the flesh and tendon which held his arm to his body stretched thin before it ripped and tore away from his pectoral muscle, the momentum of his chest hurling forward and causing him to land face first into the watery floor. Blood pooled from the gristle of his exposed ribcage, along with the shredded flesh of the gash where his arm once was. This is it, Nivans, there's no turning back now. Struggling to move at first, he turned and placed his muscled left forearm upon the floor, his right knee twitching before planting the side of his boot down. Breathing raggedly, his blurry eyes looked upon his captain who fought like a caged gorilla in it's deathly grasp. Determination drove him on even as the water beneath him darkened with his own blood, and he crawled towards the syringe that lay still upon the floor ahead of him. Fading in and out of consciousness, his forearm slammed into the floor to get feeling back into his flesh, shoving forward with his boot, the red fluid in the syringe looked menacing, yet it was the only chance for survival. By the time he reached the syringe, his body was thoroughly exhausted, and every movement took strength he never knew he had. Snatching the syringe with his one arm, he allowed himself to flip onto his back, nearby the monster still holding his captain in the air, soon enough it would simply crush Chris within it's hand. Lying upon his back, Piers stared down at the syringe as he discerned what must be done, he lifted the syringe with his good arm and inhaled a shuddering breath. For you, Chris. With that, he drove the syringe into the exposed filament by his bloody ribcage. Crying out in pain, his teeth gritted once more as the red fluid of the enhanced strain of the C-Virus was injected directly into his body.
As the virus began assimilating his cellular structure, he sprawled back and outstretched his one arm and legs. Canting his head to the side, he nearly smiled at the fact that he once more overcame a challenge, accomplishing a personal mission he set out on. There was always the possibility that he waited too long, that he would bleed out and simply be a carrier of the virus as a corpse, but that concern changed once he suddenly began to feel physical strength returning. His heart pounded with new-found determination, the virus coursed through his body, and he turned to place his forearm upon the floor, rising to his knees, he slowly managed to push upwards and once more stand upon his own two feet. Hunching his one shoulder, he bent forward a bit while his knees bent, a few footfalls taken as he faced the sight of the B.O.W. which captured his captain. Piers felt his wounds begin to tremble, the exposed flesh felt as if it were crawling, a burning sensation beneath his skin as he clenched his left fist tightly. Do it, you son of a bitch, I can take it. From within his exposed right shoulder socket, gray flesh began to accumulate, throbbing as it began to create new, mutated flesh. Within the enhanced C-Virus contained the infamous G-Virus, created by expert geneticist William Birkin. Although unstable, the virus was known for mutating replacements for damaged tissue. Piers felt his skin crawl before a mass of gray flesh jutted from his shoulder socket, causing Piers' shoulder to spasm as the pulsating mutation had mixed the flesh with parts of bone from within his body, extending from within the gelatin consistency his new 'arm' was made of. Strangely, as the mutated arm extended, bio-electricity briefly circled part of the gray tissue. Flesh was stripped from the bottom of his right side from the top of his shoulder up along to his left temple, the open wounds bled as it trickled down his pretty countenance. There no longer was flesh around his right eye socket, and the eye itself was damaged, his iris remained, yet the pupil was as white as the outside of his bulging eye. There was no time to feel disgust for the spasm within the replacement arm of gray, thick mutated flesh and elongated bone. Hunter green ooze seeped along with his own blood, he stood as a B.O.W., the very thing he had spent his life trying to prevent and exterminate, now he was a gory creature, and he knew what must be done.
While the giant beast manhandled Chris with one hand, threatening to crush him, a flickering light of bio-electricity grew and surrounded the mutated Piers Nivans, who stood angrily with a look to kill, a hateful glare upon his bloodied face while he pointed his squid-like arm forward, a double helix of electricity surrounding the pulsating gray flesh. Numerous bolts of electricity streamed from the mutated arm and struck the menacing B.O.W. with a vengeance. Howling, it flailed before suddenly the hanger door which had been held up by the creature forced it's way down, in the process cutting down through the creature's midsection, bright red blood spattering against the door. Chris was released almost immediately from the grip of the creature as it reeled from the blast of electricity, it obviously had not expected such an assault. Despite the success of gathering the electricity to use as a weapon, it took a toll upon Piers, who himself emitted a cry of torment, nearly stumbling backwards. Chris fell to the floor upon his back, yet quickly recovered and gathered up his assault rifle, nearly unloading a clip into the chest cavity of the creature while he stepped backwards. Chris turned and sprinted to approach Piers, yet he gave pause immediately when he saw the state of things concerning his partner, who looked heavily damaged, a freakish appendage where his arm once was. Yet, there was no time for that, as the B.O.W. was still a threat to them both. While Piers recovered due to the virus repairing him with it's low-level healing factor, Chris drew away the attention of the creature as he tossed a flash bang from one of his utility pockets, a blinding light bursting just below he creature, yet it had little effect upon the creature itself, who shrieked at Chris as it began to pursue him. Chris had spent most of his life in the military, his skill for strategy was matched only by his dangerous temper. Ducking behind a large cargo box, Chris slapped a new clip into the assault rifle, diving to the side as the creature swiped it's long arm, it's fingers clawing at the corner of the box where Chris had stood, missing him narrowly.
Piers leaned his backside against one of the cargo boxes while looking down upon his mutated arm, the gray flesh giving a spasm each time, synched to his heartbeat. Rapid fire rang out from across the room as his captain battled the creature, yet he knew it would not be enough. He hadn't come this far only to come up short now. The end of this was written the moment Haos took Chris in it's hand and he had sealed fate with that syringe; it wasn't time to regret or hold back now. Stepping forward, he weaved between the boxes until he saw Chris hurling an incendiary grenade towards the creature, that which caused it's composition to stiffen and crystallize, battling like titan he was. Chris trained his assault rifle upon the frozen beast before the back of it exploded, the creature emerging once more, having regrown the tentacles that had been blown off due to Chris' firepower and battle prowess. Piers stepped out from the shadow of box into the clearing, yet the entity cleverly turned and climbed upon the nearest box, bombarding Chris with acidic discharge spat from it's ghastly maw. Try as it may, the captain was far too intelligent to stand in the line of fire, Piers looked on as Chris ducked and ran forth towards the box the creature stood upon, avoiding the acidic projectiles as he slid down upon his back, the momentum of him running causing him to slide forward until the soles of his boots hit the box. As he laid back, he lifted his pump-action assault shotgun, firing upwards and directly into the gelatin craw of the monstrosity, earning a few shrieks as it shambled backwards and off of the box, landing in clear view of Piers. Unlike the first charged blast, Piers lifted the gray arm with the bone spines and kept it propped up with his humanoid arm just as he would a rifle, the elbow of the mutated arm bent, he began to allow all of the pain to gather as electricity sparked and crackled around his arm in the double helix shape. Bracing himself with the heels of his boots, he snarled as the bio-electricity surrounded him like an aura of energy, he was in essence, a human battery.
Continuing to charge until the electricity touched and grazed the steel cargo boxes on either side of him, he brought his arm back for a moment before it was thrust forward, a barrage of electric teeth piercing the rippling frame of the B.O.W., causing tentacles to fry and limbs sent flying, significantly weakening the beast until it was immobilized. Chris seemed stunned by the sudden flow of energy from his partner, but never ceased fire. Piers was noticeably weakened, yet it wouldn't stop him from approaching the downed Haos, his exposed ribs had been blown out the back from the mutation. While the Haos was motionless, it's brightly colored heart exposed, Piers approached it lifting his mutated arm, preparing to drive his spines down into the organ, yet the beast still yet had fight left. Tentacles lifted as they meant to slam down upon the soldier and end his life once and for all, but not on Chris Redfield's watch. The captain hoisted up his shotgun and proved that he was the award-winning marksman, as each shot fired tore through a tentacle of the Haos before they had a chance to touch Piers. Tentacles fell all around him as the spines at the tip of his gray arm charged with electricity, and without hesitation, drove it deep within the demented heart of the Haos; tearing the organ open as the blood from the exposed heart splattered all over Piers' already felled clothing. Chris ran forward and caught Piers around the waist as he began to show spaghetti legs, holding him up even as the Haos shrunk down in defeat after a few howling shrieks. In a rush of adrenaline and in the tunnel vision of the war that had ensued neither soldier had truly had time to take in the devastation that they and the animal known as Haos had created, nor the ruin of what was left of their survivors. After a few moments, Chris held Piers up and supported him as they made way to the open door, and it was only then that Chris could truly appreciated what had happened.
Hold your breath... this was the second to last chapter. How can Chris ever say goodbye after that?
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