Tabitha instructed Tobias on where she planned to teach him martial arts, giving him directions until they arrived at the entrance to some abandoned subway tunnels, with a surprising sight waiting for them as they pulled to a halt near the tunnel's mouth.
"Malcom's here?" Tobias asked.
"Of course, he's gonna be teaching you some other technique for fighting... and he's bigger than me, obviously." Tabitha jauntily hopped off his bike and approached Malcolm, who was as usual wearing his trench coat to hide his five Desert Eagles. "Not everyone's as small as me, especially not the Doves."
Tobias gave no comment. Tabitha was barely under five feet tall, and Malcolm was easily over six foot six. Tobias himself stood at six two, thanks to the T-Virus changing his entire body on that fateful day in Sector Five.
"Sir, you should bring your bike further inside the tunnels, so that our presence isn't so easily detected." Malcolm spoke up suddenly.
Tobias swung his leg over the bike, then began to push it further inside, Tabitha and Malcolm keeping pace with him. After about a hundred meters, they came into a large open area, likely a planned station for the subway system.
So this is the place, huh?" Tobias commented, taking note of the flat platform and pillars. Strewn around the area were abandoned construction materials and some equipment.
"It's away from prying eyes, both CCG... and Umbrella." Malcolm replied, effortlessly jumping up onto the platform as he spoke. "Despite our allegiance to the Corporation, they have different ideas towards your creation, Master."
"Meaning what exactly?" Tobias and Tabitha imitated his action, jumping up to the platform behind him.
"Chairman Wesker planned for the four of you to become B.O.W's, entirely at the beck and call of the Corporation... But his plan failed, with you, Sir."
"Yeah, I figured as much. He's not very keen about me." Tobias commented as he shrugged off his backpack, placing it on a crate.
"Enough about that douche!" Tabitha suddenly spoke up, dropping her massive trench coat beside Tobias' backpack. "I'm gonna teach you how to fight using CQC! Alice told me to do this, so you can't argue!"
"CQC?" Tobias asked, unsure of what the acronym meant.
"Close Quarters Combat, my dad taught it to me." Tabitha replied, taking a stance as Malcolm leaned on a pillar to observe. "So get ready, I'm gonna show you how it's done!"
Without even giving any pause, Tabitha launched forward, and the next thing Tobias knew, he was on his stomach, his unarmoured arm pinned behind his back with Tabitha sitting on his back.
"You could've at least tried to block it." Tabitha released his arm and attempted to haul him upright.
"Are you even aware of how fast you really are, Mishka?" Tobias commented as he dusted himself off.
"Not really." Tabitha shrugged. "But obviously I'm too fast for you to fight me."
"You two are polar opposites. Defense against mobility." Malcolm suddenly spoke up. "Of course your agility will outclass Master, since of the four of you, you are the fastest. We Koukaku's aren't meant to be fast, instead relying on our durability and defense to succeed in combat."
"I see." Tobias smirked slightly. "Well, should we keep going?"
After several hours of training from Tabitha, they suddenly stopped when Tobias' cell phone began to ring from inside his longcoat's pocket. With a quick toss from Malcom, he caught it and brought it to his ear. "Tobias Darkwood speaking."
"Ah, Mister Darkwood, it's Joseph Kendo, you came in to my gunshop earlier today and placed an order for a barrel extension for a Smith and Wesson M500 magnum."
"Yes, I did. Is the modification complete?" Tobias replied, glancing at his bike for a brief moment.
"Yes, it is. Shall we be expecting you to pick it up, or shall it be delivered?"
"Pick up. I'll be there shortly."
Hanging up, he turned back to Tabitha and Malcolm. "You coming, Mishka?"
"No, I'm gonna go back with Malcolm." Tabitha jerked her thumb towards Malcolm, who gave no reaction. It seemed like they had it all planned.
"Then I'll see you later. Do svidaniya."
Arriving at the gun shop, Tobias pulled his helmet off, staring at the store for a moment. Just before he lowered the kickstand for his bike, his phone rang again, and a quick glance revealed it to be an unknown caller.
Narrowing his eyes, he answered with a curt. "Tobias Darkwood speaking."
Immediately, a stern female voice spoke up. "Subject Delta, your presence is required for a meeting with the Board of Directors. You are expected to be present within the hour, otherwise a retrieval team with be sent to your location, to escort you by force, if need be."
"I'm an hour and fifteen minutes away. Inform them of that." Tobias replied with obvious dislike in his tone. "And if you try sending a team, I will not hesitate to freeze them solid."
Taken aback, the woman cleared her throat before continuing in the same stern tone. "So you are en route, but are more than an hour's time away?"
"Correct."
"Understood, Subject Delta. I shall inform the Board." The woman immediately hung up.
The moment the line went dead, Tobias called Alice. She answered on the second ring. "Toby? Is something wrong? You don't normally call me at work."
"I've been summoned to a meeting with the Board, are you aware of this?" Tobias asked quite calmly, given the delivery of his summons.
"Was it a woman that called you? Unknown caller?" Alice seemed to be putting something together, as if she knew something.
"Yes. She even threatened me with Wolfpack. So I countered that with a threat of freezing their precious dogs solid." Tobias replied with a smirk.
"Well, don't worry too much. Seems Wesker wants to speak to you, but doesn't have the balls to do it alone. See you soon." Alice laughed a bit before she hung up.
With that, Tobias got off his bike and strode into the gunshop, finding Joseph Kendo behind the counter with a newspaper in hand. A quick glance around revealed the shop to be empty.
"Ah, Tobias Darkwood? Your magnum's ready." Joseph put his newspaper on the counter and retrieved a key from his belt. "Just be a minute, it's still in the back."
Tobias gave a silent nod, idly browsing the belt holsters nearest to the door. After he'd left the subway tunnel, he had opted to finally don his shoulder holsters, so he now wore them under his suit jacket, and in them were his VP9's.
After a minute or two, Joseph returned, carrying the now obnoxiously long-barreled revolver with both hands. Without a word, he handed it over to Tobias, who examined it with an experienced eye.
The barrel was much thicker, and blocky down the entire length. It was also easily twice as heavy as previously designed.
"My brother and I had to test fire it, twice. Heavy as it is, the recoil's reduced by at least 60%." Joseph commented. "Hang on, didn't you also pay for another holster? Meant for this gun?"
Tobias extracted the receipt for his purchase, and after a quick glance, he nodded. "Yeah, I did."
"Well, go grab one, seems that we both forgot! Haha, at least I have my age to blame for that one!" Joseph laughed heartily at his joke.
Tobias smiled slightly as well, then selected a revolver specific belt holster, and the attached black belt had small loops running along the length, meant for individual rounds of ammunition. He shoved his huge gun into the holster and made a mental note to load the belt with the loose ammo from the drawstring bag, whenever he got a chance.
Clipping the belt around his waist, he took a moment to realize he wouldn't be able to actually draw the gun the way he currently had it. After a moment of thought, he spun the belt around, changing the revolver to his left hip, to draw it like a sword.
Pulling his helmet onto his head, Tobias kicked his bike into life, and drove off to the Umbrella Corporation Headquarters.
"Do you mind telling me why I wasn't informed about this meeting with my son?" Alice was not quite amused about the sudden nature of the meeting, let alone the shady vibe she was getting from them.
"Because we knew that Delta would get in contact with you immediately after his summons." Wesker smirked.
"Still too proud for that one, I see." Alice muttered under her breath in Russian. She doubted Wesker would ever call Toby by his name, and instead called him Delta at every opportunity.
"Any notions for telling the purpose of this meeting with him?" Alice glanced at the door, she could sense Tobias already. He was now in the building... How did he get here so fast? They were informed he was over an hour away. It's only been 25 minutes.
A smile broke out on her face as she realized what Toby had done. "Smartass." She muttered in Russian, crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair.
Since none of these mere humans could sense it, Alice was completely and utterly relaxed, even going so far as to close her eyes, her face adorned with a serene smile.
Not even five minutes passed before a cold shiver went up everyone's spines, even Wesker and Alice. She opened her eyes, her Kakugan and glowing Telekinetic gaze standing out as she said. "He's here."
BANG!
If Tobias had put any more force into his kick, the door wouldn't have survived, let alone stayed on the hinges like it did. He lowered his foot, his hands tucked into suit pants pockets, which also put his obnoxious revolver on clear display.
"Quite the entrance, huh, Delta?" Wesker leaned his elbows onto the boardroom table, wearing his customary sunglasses covered smug expression.
"Your secretary tried to lock me out." Tobias spoke in a low voice, with heavy undertones of anger. "She's lucky I didn't eat her."
"Well, now that you're here, might as well take a seat." Wesker indicated the same type of chair everyone else was currently seated in.
Tobias shared a brief glance at Alice, who nodded minutely. The chair wasn't trapped, and even if it was, she'd prevent it from causing any... issues.
Taking the seat, Tobias immediately leaned back in the chair, his frigid aura causing a thin glaze of frost to coat the armrests and the edge of the table before him.
"So... Why am I here, when I could be doing something productive with my warm summer day?" Tobias stared directly at Wesker, who was smirking.
"It has come to my attention that you've been given an Umbrella keycard. What clearance level is it?" Wesker remained motionless, his body language was subtly shifting to intimidating, which didn't faze Tobias in the slightest.
"I'm more concerned by how you found out, rather than the clearance level." Alice suddenly commented, since it was painfully obvious she had a personal affiliation with Tobias, not just professionally like everyone else here.
"I have access to numerous databases, and I'm on a very short list of level 15 clearance profiles. That's how I found out." Wesker replied smoothly. "Now, it's obvious at this point that the Umbrella Corporation has some... questionable projects hidden away."
"Get to the fucking point, Wesker. I carry one of your 'projects' in my body. I'm not retarded." Tobias put his feet up onto the edge of the boardroom table, and reached into his suit jacket to unsheath his knife, idly picking at his thumbnail, his own body language was much more sinister than Wesker's, given his relaxed - but furious - pose and expression. Political power against literal power.
"You carry the property of the Umbrella Corporation, one that sadly cannot be physically returned, but rather, can be put to service for the Corporation instead."
"If you're talking about that lovely blue juice running through my veins, and what I think you're planning, then you have another thing coming, Wesker." Tobias glared at Wesker for a moment, his blue eye sharpening into an unsettling chip of ice. Most of the Board was silent, watching the exchange between Wesker and Tobias with awe.
Even Alice was watching, impressed by Tobias' display of diplomatic intimidation. Hell, she hadn't seen someone do this in years.
"So, if you know what I want, then should I even bother continuing?" Wesker tilted his head forward to peer over his sunglasses.
"Go ahead, amuse me." Tobias grinned toothily, his white eye momentarily flickering with his blue fire, which was a dangerous warning sign.
"Your abilities are excellent for protective detail, such as a bodyguard. Whether you like it or not, you ARE property of the Umbrella Corporation..."
Click.
The sudden sound was coupled by Tobias' scoff, leveling his massive magnum at Wesker's head from all the way across the table. His thumb was on the hammer, already pulled back.
"I'm not property." Tobias was smiling, and immediately Wesker's hands went up, his expression blank. "Especially not to the likes of you."
Alice sensed it before it happened, several Ghouls were approaching the boardroom... Wolfpack must be on standby to subdue Toby. Damn Wesker and his trap.
"Toby! Stand down!" Alice went against her better judgement and slammed her hands onto the table, standing up sharply. "You may be bulletproof, but you're not Kagune-proof." She had to think and act fast, otherwise he'd be attacked by Wolfpack, and she had little doubt in her mind that he'd slaughter them - and Wesker - without hesitation.
Tobias' eyes narrowed, but his smile widened. "No revenge for him shooting me?"
"He's human, Toby." Alice replied, her Kakugan and Telekinetic eye suddenly lit up. "He's barely even worth considering to be food."
"So... that means I can eat him?" Tobias' face lit up with obvious glee.
"No." Alice replied sternly, pulling off the perfect 'Mom' tone in her voice.
"If I may interject in this loving family exchange..." Wesker spoke up, but Toby launched a small icicle across the room, which thudded into the table, frighteningly close to his chest.
"Shut up, Wesker." Tobias lifted the huge gun as he stood up. He slid the gun into his holster, much like sheathing a sword. "Like Alice said, you're barely even worth calling food."
As Tobias turned to leave, Alice heaved a sigh before asking. "Are you heading back home?"
"No. I have a gun to break in at the range." Tobias tapped the grip of his M500 on his hip. "After that, I'm going to see someone about a personal project I've been working on."
"Alright... I'll see you at home." Alice slowly sank back into her seat, closing her eyes as she rubbed her temple slightly with two fingers.
Tobias smirked slightly as he left, boldly walking past Wolfpack around the corner. He stopped when he recognized their distinctive black uniforms and grinned.
"Ah, the faithful pack of dogs... Coming to protect your master. Cute." He spoke in a condescending tone as they all turned to face him, their fingers curling around the triggers of their various guns.
He kept walking, smirking with satisfaction as he heard one of them click their rifle safety off, but it was slapped down by another.
He stopped at the elevator, pressing the Down button. "By the way... I'm completely bulletproof. Just ask my mother and your loving master if you don't believe me."
"Or we could just shoot you, Delta." One of them leveled his M1014 shotgun at Tobias' back.
Tobias spared a glance at the weapon, then realized what exactly it was. His scars suddenly flared with the phantom agony of that fateful night from all those years ago.
Whipping out his magnum, Tobias directed the massive barrel towards the ballsy soldier, the sheer length of the weapon combined with his long arm reaching a quarter of the distance between them.
"Go ahead... Give me your best shot." Tobias sneered. His utter hatred of shotguns was enough to make him completely furious. His hand wasn't shaking, but his scars were on fire.
"You say you're bulletproof, shouldn't do anything if you really are." The heavily armoured soldier kept the gun level, even while the other five soldiers watched in silence.
"I am..." Tobias clicked the hammer back on his gun again. "But you're not."
BOOM!
BANG!
They both fired at the same time, Tobias barely even flinching as the heavy Quinque steel shotgun slug struck him directly in the chest, flattening itself against his chest and falling to the floor with a dull thud.
The soldier, however, went down almost immediately, his heavy body armour pierced by Tobias' .500 Magnum round with utter ease.
The entire Board of Directors came running out at the double gunshots, even Alice was shocked to see Tobias with a small hole in his shirt and a smoking gun while the downed Wolfpack soldier was writhing in pain on the ground.
"How's the gun, Delta?" Wesker smirked, watching as Tobias sheathed his gun, just as the elevator opened behind him.
"Functional. I'll need more of your jarheads to shoot... for further testing." Tobias smirked as he entered the elevator. "See you around, dogs..."
The elevator doors closed, and Alice immediately noticed the spent shotgun shell on the floor. Her gaze immediately hardened and she launched forward past the other Directors and hauled the wounded soldier to his feet by his body armour.
"Why did you shoot him? How fucking stupid are you, Beltway?! He's a Koukaku, and he controls ice! Ice that's harder than steel! You had no chance in fucking hell to hurt him, yet you fired anyway!"
"Director Abernathe, calm yourself." One of the other soldiers, a woman with a clear visored gas mask held up her hand, letting her G36c dangle from the strap against her armoured stomach.
Alice whipped out her USP and shoved it into the woman's face, her expression livid. "Back off, Lupo!" She snarled. "I don't need to calm down!"
"Director... I..." Beltway was wheezing for breath, his gunshot wound had pierced his lung, and Alice's grip at his throat wasn't helping. "I can't... breathe..."
Alice felt the tip of a gun barrel press against the back of her head, and she dropped Beltway, spun on her heel, and slammed her foot into the soldier's thigh, dropping him to his knee. Unlike the rest of his team, he wore a hooded uniform with a full faced gas mask.
"You never change, do you, Vector?" Alice sneered, watching as the two other women of Wolfpack - Bertha and Four-Eyes - held up both hands and slowly inched towards the downed Beltway, clearly intending to assist him. "What about you, Spectre? Feeling courageous?!"
"Nyet... Director. I know... my... place." The final soldier, with a Russian accent that rivaled Tobias' in thickness shuffled his feet, remaining nonthreatening the whole time.
"Now that you've witnessed it firsthand, I daresay controlling Delta will be quite troublesome, wouldn't you agree, Lupo?" Wesker's arrogant voice from behind Alice sparked her fury yet again. This time, for his insistence to refuse calling Tobias by his name.
"HIS NAME IS TOBIAS!" Alice's Bikaku activated, and she slammed the tail-like Kagune into Wesker's chest, knocking him to the floor. She towered over him in rage, one foot planted on his chest. "CALL HIM DELTA ONE MORE TIME, AND I'LL FUCKING EAT YOU MYSELF!"
A/N: No reference hidden in this chapter. If you first thought that the CQC Tabitha uses was a Metal Gear Solid reference, you're not exactly right. Yes, it shares the same name, but it's based on the martial arts technique that Vizord's original version of Tabitha used. He even described the moveset as almost completely different that the Metal Gear version of CQC.