Italicized: POV/Flashbacks/Thoughts/Spell

Bold: Monster

POV: Claire Redfield | December 6th, 1998

Claire Redfield stood beneath the stairs of the Main Hall of the Antarctic Transport Terminal, standing behind large tendrils of goo and slime. She had been captured by Alexia Ashford after attempting to escape the facility with her partner Steve Burnside. Steve had been knocked unconscious and taken somewhere, while she had been tied up, left to sit there in her thoughts.

In the aftermath of Harry's disappearance, Raccoon City was forced to adapt to no Mayor, no figurehead, no protector, and no Harry. It had all happened so fast that Claire couldn't remember what had happened, but it had been a blur. She had had to go over the traffic cam footage to see exactly what happened, and it was terrible. The General had manipulated Leon, taking him in as some sort of mercenary in a deal to leave Sherry behind, only to just take Sherry anyway. They had used tranquilizer darts to knock Claire and Jill out cold while using four on Harry. He had turned into his first mutated form and had been slammed into the wall by some mysterious force. It seemed as if he had lost control as he apparated away...out of the city.

The barrier - the ward - had gone down when he disappeared, leaving the city vulnerable to more troops, pharmaceutical jackasses, and even some wizards who wanted to drop in and see what was happening in the new and improved Raccoon City. It had been too overwhelming for Claire. She had lost everything that she had gained in the month that she had been in R.C. Harry, Leon, and Sherry. Sure, Jill and Kendo were still around, but Jill was busy trying to find Harry, and Kendo was running his shop. Claire wanted to help Jill, obviously, but it was all too much, and Claire needed to take a breather and do something she knew would be productive. Find Chris. Find Chris, and get him to help her find Harry. It made sense in her head.

After setting off for Paris, Claire found and attempted to infiltrate the Umbrella Pharmaceuticals Headquarters. It hadn't gone in her favor though, as she was immediately captured and sent to Rockfort Island. She had been unconscious through the day, waking up the night of December 5th to find the entire island was burning down and that the T-Virus had been released. She had had to survive another outbreak without the help of Harry, having to find and conserve ammo and supplies while fighting off hordes of zombies and T-Virus monsters. Then she had run into Steve, another inmate who had been there for a few weeks before the outbreak had occurred. They had started rocky, with Steve coming off as a bit of an ass, but he grew on her a bit as the two helped each other get to Antarctica. For all the good it did them.

Chris was still gone. Leon hadn't responded to her call for help. Harry was still gone. And both Claire and Steve had been captured. Steve was somewhere deep in the facility, and she was trapped, stuck given how she didn't have her knife, guns, or anything. She was trapped and had no one to help her. And so...she was left on her own, falling unconscious as the goo continued to grow around her, trapping her behind it as her vision faded. The last thing she heard before the darkness overtook her was screaming and gunshots.

POV: Chris Redfield

After the Mansion Incident, Chris Redfield believed that he could put an end to Umbrella once and for all if only he could find evidence. The evidence he, Jill, Barry, and Rebecca had gotten from the Mansion had been 'mysteriously lost' within the RPD archives. Chris knew it was Irons who had done it, after all, he and Jill suspected Irons was under Umbrella's payroll. It was lucky for him that Jill had thought ahead, creating copies of the evidence they had collected. Seeing his chance, Chris requested a work vacation from Irons, stating that he needed a few weeks to regroup after the loss of most of his friends and colleagues. Once he was out of Raccoon City, Chris immediately headed for Umbrella's Pharmaceutical Headquarters in Paris.

He infiltrated the facility with ease, gaining access to a world of information to use against Umbrella. And he was close to getting it all when he had received a very serious call from one Leon S. Kennedy. The U.S agent had told him that Claire had left Raccoon City one month after a T-Virus outbreak that almost destroyed the entire city. Leon had told him that a message had been sent to him by Claire from an island somewhere in the southern hemisphere. After a night of investigation, Chris discovered that Claire was being held somewhere named Rockfort Island. After some brief time acquiring a route to the island, Chris had taken off by boat to reach it, determined and ready to find his sister.

Once he had reached the island, he had been forced to crawl through the catacombs, taking down T-Virus monsters After moving through the entire facility, Chris discovered from a prisoner named Rodrigo that Claire had most likely escaped via plane to another facility in Antarctica by plane and that Chris could follow her by reaching the hanger. Chris took the man's advice and proceeded to move up to the surface, but was interrupted by one Albert Wesker, former S.T.A.R.S leader. He had been thought dead by the entire team since the Mansion Incident but had seemingly survived and was now all-powerful, able to weave in and around everything Chris dealt towards him. No punch landed, no bullet hit. The man was insanely fast. But it was a stroke of luck that Chris landed a punch, knocking off Wesker's glasses to reveal bright yellow eyes. Eyes that haunted Chris.

After Wesker left him in the room, Chris moved down into the sewers, retrieving the hangar key before moving up to the hangar. He took a 'Harrier' from the hangar and took off from the hangar towards the Antarctic base. Once he arrived, Chris began to move through the freezing base, picking off zombies as he scoured for any notes and books he could find, trying to find a way to get to Claire. He eventually learned that the only way to get to the 'secret room' located in the base was only accessible with three jewels. Chris found the first on the frozen and deceased corpse of Alfred Ashford. Taking his ring - which contained the jewel - Chris proceeded up to the main levels, entering a mansion that reminded him of the Spencer Mansion he had been within only five months before.

Chris entered the Main Hall of the mansion, examining every nook and cranny in search of Claire. It was when he examined behind the stairs that he found her. She was surrounded by tendrils of slime and goo, being held there against the wall. Claire was unconscious but was muttering words in her sleep. Deciding he needed to get her out, Chris slashed the tendrils surrounding her, yanking them off of her as she fell directly into his arms. Holding his sister close, he picked her up and led her around the stairs, sitting her down against the wall. Chris examined her for any signs of injury or trauma, and after ensuring she was alright, knelt beside her as she began to slowly come to. Smiling, Chris watched as her eyes widened.

"Chris...Chris!" Claire jumped off the wall, grabbing Chris in a hug that he returned. He hadn't seen her in person in almost a year and hadn't spoken to her in almost four months. It was good to see her. "I've been so worried!" Claire told him.

"You kidding me? I thought tough girls like you didn't get worried?" Chris joked, patting her on the head as she laughed.

"What happened? How did you get here!?" Claire asked, no doubt worried.

"Leon contacted me," Chris told her with a shrug.

"Leon? You know him?"

"Yeah...he tracked me down right after you went missing. Look...Claire, we can talk about this later. But we've got to get outta here first," Chris spoke.

"No...wait...Steve. He's here...somewhere. We can't leave without him," Claire told him, her eyes heavy as she fell into his arms. Claire's head snapped up, her gaze falling past his shoulder. Chris turned back and found Alexia Ashford. She was standing on the balcony above, her wrist against her mouth as she stifled her laughter. Chris's eyes narrowed as Claire's widened. "You...you're Alexia Ashford!" Claire called out. Alexia chuckled, shaking her head as a wicked grin passed over her face. She gripped the railing of the balcony. "Oh...you know my name," She pointed out.

"I thought you were dead!?" Claire exclaimed.

"No...I've been hibernating for fifteen years...to become one with the Veronica virus," Alexia replied.

"The Veronica Virus?"

"I still have some experiments to perform," Alexia spoke, sounding bored as she backed away. "Would you care to play along?" She asked with a laugh. "Your friend awaits you in the Coliseum. You don't want to be late," She told them, before disappearing down the hallway. Chris frowned and turned to Claire just as she fell unconscious. Chris frowned, gently setting her back against the wall. Claire was being affected by some sort of toxin, something that was making her ill. If he ventured into the base again, he could probably find an antidote.

"No need," A voice spoke. Chris spun around, his gun was drawn as he pointed it at the figure. There, he was met...with a normal man. He was dressed in a grey cloak with red lining and a gold interior. His black hair fell to his shoulders, his face was covered by a short beard, and his eyes were emerald green. In his hand, he held a bag of red liquid, labeled 'Watch Out!'. Was this Steve? And if so, how did he get out of the facility? And how would he know to get the vaccine before Claire even fell ill to it? "I'm sure you've got a lot of questions Chris, but we don't have time for that. Give this to her, and take this,"

"Who the hell are you?" Chris questioned, thoroughly confused.

"Harry. Harry Potter. Now give her the antidote and get her to the hangar bay. A plane's waiting for you," Harry told him.

"Wait. Claire said her friend Steve's down in the facility. We need to get him," Chris replied. He wouldn't leave his sister's friend behind. Not after just finding her.

"I'll handle getting him. Just get her out," Harry spoke, motioning to Claire.

"Why do you care? Do you know her?" Chris asked, pulling Claire up as he hoisted her over his shoulder in a firemen's carry.

"I'm her boyfriend. See you later!" Chris spun towards Harry, surprise ridden over his face. Only the man was gone as if he had suddenly disappeared. Frowning in a bit of annoyance and anger, Chris moved out of the mansion and out into the courtyard. Once there, Chris was met...with arrows. An arrow pointing to the right. Chris followed them, looping around a wall before coming across an opening in the floor. To the side of the hole was a sign. 'Jump. Don't worry about the fall'. Chris frowned. It was a long jump, and with Claire, on his shoulder, he wasn't sure if he would be able to make it without either dropping her or breaking his legs. But he decided to trust who he assumed was Harry and jumped.

He thanked himself as he hit the ground, sticking the landing with ease as he followed even more arrows. They led him through the hallway, over a makeshift bridge that sat over a destroyed walkway, and through a door that led directly into a missile silo. Three were two directions. Left down the hallway and into another room, or down the latter to the right. The arrow pointed right, and so Chris went right, dropping down with ease before looping around the walkway. He stepped through a set of doors, Claire on his shoulder as he stepped into his hangar. "Well then...fuck me," Chris spoke, surprised. Harry had led him there and hadn't led him astray as Chris had thought. It was refreshing really, having someone you didn't know do something like that.

Chris rushed Claire into the jet, setting her down on the bench as something caught his eye. On the bench across the hold was a redheaded man wearing a blue jacket. He was unconscious, and there was a note lying on his chest. Once he was sure Claire was fine, Chris picked up the note, and read it. "Hello, Chris. As I said before, I'm sure you have a lot of questions you would like to ask, but unfortunately, I'm running on a tight schedule. So I'll tell you this. My name is Harry James Potter. I'm your sister's boyfriend - yes I'm sure that's odd - and I would like for you to inform her that I'm fine and well. This is Steve Burnside, Claire's friend. He has been cured of the Veronica virus and is in fine health. Alexia has been dealt with, and your old Captain Mr. Wesker ran off like a little bitch after I gave him a good beating," Chris grinned. It wasn't surprising. After all, Wesker had run in fear when Alexia had arrived in the Specimen's Lab. Though it made Chris wonder just what this Harry Potter guy was, and how he and Claire had gotten together. Shaking his head, Chris continued to read. "Make sure they're both safe and that you get out of the facility in time before I blow it all to hell. Don't want to leave Umbrella anything they can get their hands on and use in the future. Tell Claire not to come looking for me. I'm safe and healthy and will return in due time. Take care of her, Chris. Sincerely, The Magician"

Sighing, Chris folded the note and placed it in one of the pouches on his belt, intending to give it to Claire later. He didn't have to. "Chris? What was that? Steve?"

"Hey. You're fine, sis," Chris told her, pulling out the bag of antidote as he opened it. He pulled Claire up into a sitting position, edging the bag forward as she almost passed out again. "Come on Claire, you've got to drink it," Chris spoke, pouring it down Claire's throat as she gagged. He was afraid she was going to puke it up but was thankful when she swallowed it all and fell onto her back. Taking a deep breath, Chris tossed the empty antidote bag aside, and shut the cargo hold door, strapping Claire and Steve into the benches as he moved up to the cockpit. He took a seat, clicking buttons and flipping switches as he took off. Chris rose the plane out of the hangar, before shooting off into the sky away from the complex just as it exploded, sending a fireball into the air that even Chris could see through the side windows of the cockpit. He sure hoped 'The Magician' made it out in time.

POV: Jill Valentine | December 8th, 1998

Jill Valentine was confused. She had gone from having almost nothing to having everything, to having almost nothing again. She had lost her whole team - except for Chris, Brad, and Rebecca - had essentially lost her job, and had been stuck in an endless loop of over-eating and not sleeping. And then the 'Incident' occurred. Jill had suffered from exhaustion, several broken bones, and the loss of her pride and the rest of her team, but she had gained a lot more. She had gotten Carlos, Harry, her job back, a larger role in S.T.A.R.S than she would have hoped for, and believed she had a bright future ahead of her. And then...it all went to hell. Carlos left for home, Leon gave himself up to the Army, Sherry was taken, Harry disappeared, Claire left to find him and Chris, and the Army had been making moves to get back into the city, making Jill's job harder.

All in all, the past month had been terrible after the month she had spent recovering from everything that had happened, and Jill didn't see a way for it to improve. That was...until she looked towards the sky. Jill had assumed the worst, believing that the large jet flying towards the city would be something new the Army had cooked up to get past Harry's now weak and brittle wards. She examined it with interest as it hovered over Main Street, descending lower and lower before landing between the City Hall and the Raccoon Police Department. The cargo hold slid open, revealing...Chris Redfield. He was accompanied by Claire Redfield, and...a red-haired man wearing a blue jacket. "Chris!" Jill shouted, rushing forward as she stuffed her pistol into the back of her jeans.

"Jill!" Chris exclaimed, accepting and returning the hug that Jill gave him. She pulled away, looking between Claire and the mysterious red-haired man with a frown.

"Where's Harry?" Jill asked, receiving a draw of breath from Claire and a sigh from Chris.

"It's hard to explain. But last I saw him, he was in Antarctica," Chris replied.

"Antarctica? Was that where you two were?" Jill questioned.

"As I said, it's hard to explain, and I'll get into it in a minute. But first...Jill, this is Steve Burnside, a friend Claire made while she was looking for me. Steve, this is Jill Valentine, my old partner with S.T.A.R.S," Steve extended his shaky hand towards Jill, who extended her arm as the two exchanged a handshake. After a moment, Chris continued. "I went to France looking for more info on Umbrella's shady practices, but I was locked out of their Headquarters. I tried getting back in, but I was called by one Leon S. Kennedy, who informed me of Claire's situation. I went after her and eventually found her being held captive within an Umbrella facility in Antarctica. Steve was there too, and had been injected with what Harry called the 'Veronica Virus'. Harry gave me a cure for Claire - who had been infected by a poisonous toxin - and had already cured Steve of the virus before he disappeared. He led me to the jet, where I found this note,"

Jill took the note from Claire, who seemed emotional as she let it go. Jill examined the note, taking in its instructions with a frown. Wesker had been there? Alive? And he had seemingly run off after Harry had attacked him. And now it seemed that Harry was fine, and didn't want anyone - especially Claire - to find him. This made her even more skeptical than she already had been. If Harry didn't want to be found, then it was reasonable to assume he was ok, but the fact that he hadn't come by to at least tell them he was fine was concerning. It only increased her personal need to go out looking for him. "We're going to go looking for him though...right?"

"Hell yeah, we are," Claire replied fiercely. "I've rested enough and am ready to find him before he or someone else gets him in trouble. I'm assuming you're in?"

"Definitely," Jill said instantly.

"Chris?"

"Sure. I need to make sure you don't run off by yourself again," Chris replied, patting Claire's head as she smiled.

"Steve?"

"Sure, if what that note says is true, then I'm alive because of this guy. So if I can help the three of you find him, then I'll help," Steve replied.

"Great...then let's get started," Claire spoke, determination burning in her eyes as she led the three of them into City Hall. They would need to prepare for the upcoming adventure, and more importantly...they would have to find Harry first. Jill was just as determined as Claire was. She needed to get back what she had lost. If only they could find Leon and Sherry along the way. Then their whole little family would be complete. Family...that sounded like a fun idea. Jill would have to think about starting her own in the future. But there was still time. Time that would go to finding Harry Potter.