Fricking RE8 LETS GOOOO I have nothing else to say. Chapter time baby!
Song Suggestion: Graveyard by Halsey
Disclaimer: I own nothing. CapCom Owns RE8 I just like their stuff. This story has a happy ending. this is not the last chapter.
Just like Chris said. The Hound Wolf squad only spent a few days in the village before leaving to go and find Miranda. They came, they saw, they didn't help. February had recently begun when Charlotte awoke in the middle of the night.
"Charlotte, wake up. Mother Miranda is summoning us." Alcina calls into the maid's quarters.
Charlotte jolts awake. what time was it? did she oversleep? nope it was still dark, she could barely see. she stumbled forward to quickly dress and make her way to the door which was her only light source. "She's back?" charlotte asks curiously. no duh. Being tired really did seem to make her stupid.
"She's returned with the vessel." Lady Dimitrescu confirmed and leads the way. "You'll take the Servant's exit. and this time. if you arrive before me you are to wait outside of the building is that understood?"
"Yes ma'am" Charlotte replied while internally cursing. she wanted to beat her there again. Oh well. Charlotte once more made her way out of the servant's door and up to the stronghold. She waited outside like she was told to and winced as she heard the sounds of a crying child. the poor thing... She'd have to try and think of something there had to be a way out. She thought for the one-hundredth time since she wound up in this place. to be fair her track record wasn't completely horrid but it seemed to have a 50/50 chance of someone ending up dead.
Once Lady Dimitrescu arrived the two went inside and took their places as they waited for the others to arrive as well.
"My children, it is good to have you here for this glorious moment. it is time to see if little rose, child of the mold is a suitable vessel for my little Eva." Miranda announces as she puts the baby down on the ground and kneels in front of them so she could reach out a hand. the baby wailed and flailed about as mother Miranda pressed a large metal claw-like finger ornament into Rose's chest causing her to shatter into several crystal segments.
Charlotte was horrified by what she saw but also extremely confused. why did that baby turn into crystal? She saw some weird stuff but that was really taking the cake.
Miranda happily cheered. "My child, my Eva. I've finally found a vessel for you," she says jubilantly. She began picking up the pieces and placing each into a familiar yellow flask. the ones that activated the elevator that got her stuck here in the first place... "Each of you will play a vital role in this ceremony, my beloved children, together we shall place her shards into the mold and she will reform as my Eva" she says and hands each one a flask. "Heisenberg, Summon the Lycans." Miranda adds with a smile. "Purge the village. they're of no use to me now."
WHAT?!
Heisenberg faltered for a moment as he looked to Charlotte. he knew this would crush her, she worked so hard but, he couldn't risk losing a tactical advantage. the time to fight back was now. "Lycans," he calls and the ones in the area responded. "Tell your brothers and sisters, It's DINNER TIME!" He shouts and causes a bell to toll above the stronghold. the Lycans ran off and hurried down towards the village.
Charlotte's eyes darted around the room. If Miranda wasn't going to keep the village. what was going to happen to her. she didn't have to wait long for that answer.
"Dimitrescu, I relinquish my say on how you handle your servant, charlotte. she's yours to do as you see fit." Miranda says as Dimitrescu smiles.
"How kind of you mother. It will be good to still have at least one servant alive once my dear brother's pets are done with the village."
Eternal servitude and most likely be devoured in less than a week. cool, cool cool, yeah, no, time to ditch this place.
"You are dismissed, though stay close to your phone should you be needed once more," Miranda says. as soon as permission was given the lords moved to leave and Heisenberg quickly grabbed Charlotte and ran for it.
"Stupid MAN-THING! Get back here with MY servant!" Lady Dimitrescu shouts.
"Go cry to mother about it!" he says with a laugh and made his way back to the factory. he knew exactly what she'd say 'focus on the ceremony we'll deal with the matter of your servant after'. he thought in a mocking tone. Luckily by then, it would be too late. it was a few months early but he had an army and it was time to fight back. The whole way back the air was filled with the screams and cries of villagers whose lives were meeting a horrifying and gruesome end.
Eventually, Heisenberg put Charlotte down as they instead walked to the factory. Charlotte remained quiet. He frowns slightly before giving a tired sigh "look try not to think about it too much. This will push the ones that survive to join the revolution."
"What revolution there's no one else left," Charlotte finally replied.
he gives a tired huff. it was way too early in the morning for this. "Just stay in the factory okay, I'll come and get you once it's safe." He says as he opens the gates so they can make their way up the hill and to the first floor. He barely walked in when his phone started ringing. "If that bitch is using my own technique against me I swear to god," he grumbles as he picks up the phone.
"Heisenberg, I understand you've taken something that belongs to Alcina," Miranda says no waiting for a greeting.
"what can I say, she pissed me off," He replies with a grumble.
"We'll discuss this matter further after the ceremony, I'm quite disappointed with you." She says in a haughty but even tone. on nooo not disapproval from mother. "For now, go out and start searching the area for any survivors. finish them off."
"Yes mother," He replies before hanging up. he still needed to keep her off his back just a little bit longer. The metal lord gives a quiet sigh. "stay here okay. do not under any circumstance leave this building. stay on this floor got it." he lists off.
"Yeah, got it." She replies as she looks at him and nods before moving to take a seat. Heisenberg left after getting that confirmation. She was alone. She looked at her phone and poked around before finding the test text message from that Chris guy. She glared at the number. He was supposed to help them. they're dead because of HIM. If he had just stayed and helped none of this would have happened.
She gives a quiet sigh as she eventually got bored and started digging around the scrap piles to look for anything interesting. A few hours passed midnight became morning and morning turned to noon before Karl returned. the doors slammed open before closing behind him which caused Charlotte to jolt to look at him.
"We just scored big time," Karl says with a smile as he motions for Charlotte to follow him deeper into the factory. She was hesitant to do so, she never really went past the first floor. All the same, she followed behind him to walk into a small study-like room where different notes were hanging from a corkboard with pictures. He drew a big X over the pictures of Lady Dimitrescu and Lady Benevento. "Two down," he says and stares at the board before going to his laptop to print out another picture.
"what are you going on about?" Charlotte asks confused as she looks around the room.
"That kid's father showed up, thought I managed to squish him but he's like a god damn cockroach and just can't die. Refuses to really. I think he's like the kid, similar powers and such," Heisenberg says as he moves to take a seat in a metal chair and starts writing in a journal. "Him and those BullShiters are running around mopping up the place."
"Theyre back?" She asks surprised before a realization came to mind. "Wait what about Moreau is he safe?"
"haven't seen him," karl replies shortly.
her heart sank. dear gods no he's harmless he wouldn't hurt a fly unprovoked. "Okay, so where are they?"
"hard to say but I need to start making a plan. I think we can get that kid's father on board with helping if we can get that kid, use her powers along with the army we'll be unstoppable."
"We'll need the BSAA onboard too or they'll just go after us next..." Charlotte points out.
He frowned as he realized she was probably right. "Shit..."
"Let me go talk to them, You worry about the father. if we can get both on our side, then we'll be unstoppable," she says with a smile.
"You wanna try and convince Roid Rage to work with us?" Karl asks seeming less than convinced. "what are you going to do bribe him with protein bars?"
"He's not too difficult once you get past that his initial stubbornness." She replies as she thought over the last time they talked. it was definitely that guy's fault that the villagers were dead and not evacuated in time because he couldn't figure out how to prioritize properly but he listened to reason eventually during their conversation. "Trust me. I can help."
He pauses as he hears her request. Trust her. "... Alright. Go find him. Bring him back here and take him to the B5 lowest floor on the place. He can't cause too much trouble down there."
Charlotte nods and hurries off.
"Watch for the Lycans they're still running around," He calls after her as he gets up and looks around. where to get started.
Charlotte made her way back up to the first floor of the factory and managed to slide the door open enough for her to squeeze past and hurries out to the fence which opens for her as she ran. The Lycans were still out and on their frenzy... the cold winter wind was biting but she looked to the shortcut across the sluice gate. it was sadly her best bet of staying alive and not getting ripped to shreds. she went to the lower sluice gate towards the mountains and started to slowly make her way across. It was frankly terrifying as she clung to the railing and fought the winds that the man-made, ice-covered wind tunnel created. She eventually made her way across. as she walked to the body of water she notices Moreau approach the water's edge and jumps in for a swim. at least he was alive.
She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that she was about to go and check inside the building to see if the BSAA was using it as a safe house again only to watch as Moreau crashed through the building, destroying it. As the building goes down she notices a body fly back into the water from the impact. Oh that had to hurt.
"Shit." She says while ditching her coat to jump in and dive in after. Not her best idea the water was freezing cold but she eventually was able to grab ahold of a soft, soggy fabric. and start pulling them up towards the surface again. "hoo that's cold" she says once she breaks the surface. "Come on, wake up." She says why trying to swim back with the very well unconscious and potentially just, dead body. It was getting difficult to move forward as the cold caused her muscle to tense up and she feared that at this rate Moreau would end up eating them both. but it seemed like he was more preoccupied with something, or rather someone else.
"I'm the best!" he cries as he leaps out of the air and splashes back into the water. the wave put her head underwater again but it pushed her towards the shore as well and eventually she was able to start dragging the body onto land that was now sputtering for air.
"Oh thank god you're not dead," Charlotte says as she flops back to sit and rest for a second. everything hurts. after that. she pats around her neck to make sure her compass was still there. Good, didn't lose that in the water. that would have sucked.
"You. You're still alive?" Chris asks as he pushes himself to get up.
"What can I say, I'm really. Really stubborn," she says with a laugh. "and I need your help..."
"Alright," He agrees as Charlotte pushes herself to stand as well before getting her coat. at least that wasn't wet.
She put that on, this was going to suck. "We need to get to the factory. Quickly. Follow me."
"You can get into the factory?" Chris asks stunned. he'd kinda figured he'd have to fight tooth and nail to get in there.
"Like I said before. I can get into all the buildings here, and Karl isn't so bad once you get to know him. same with Moreau actually... sorry about," she gestures to the area where the building is. "That... it's not him... he can't control that form and he has to use it sometimes or it hurts him," she explains before motioning for Chris to follow her. "There isn't a lot of time, but we can still stop Miranda."
Chris nods and follows charlotte over to the slice gate which just got a few dozen times more dangerous as there was now a rampant fish monster slamming around in the resevior. "Hold on tight. this is the fastest way across with the least Lycans. that's gonna help a fair bit since we're both unarmed at this point."
"I still have a knife," Chris counters and follows.
"Oh good," Charlotte replies. "they can pick their teeth after they finish eating," she adds before bracing for another impact. "it's best to just avoid them completely right noOW!" her last word became more panicked as an unexpected impact came along while she was stepping on Ice. She nearly fell off the gate only to be caught by the wrist and pulled back before she could fall.
She clung to the railing once more and looks between where she almost fell and Chris.
"Guess we're even," he says and she frowns. she'd correct that statement once they got off this stupid bridge.
It took much longer to get across this time but eventually, the two did.
"We're absolutely not remotely close to even," Charlotte says as she caught her breath now that they were safely on the other side of the gate. "I told you there were well over a hundred people that needed help. I told you what was happening here and you left," she says before continuing to lead the way. "But you're here now... so maybe you can still help us."
Chris remains silent but followed. he needed to get into the factory to shut it down.
She wanted to get on his case more but she needed him as an Ally. keeping that IOU gap was important but she needed to avoid being overly patronizing even if she was 10,000% done with all of this garbage. At least Lady Bitch got hers in the end... She was annoyed she couldn't be the cause of that but, it was what it was.
As they made their way to the gates the sound of rushing water and alert siren announced that the sluice gates had been opened.
And there goes my shortcut. she thought with a tired sigh. She shook her head and continued pushing herself to walk forward until she got to the main gate. "Karl! Karl open the gate.
no answer.
"Well crap... he must be out... sorry I can't open the gate," Charlotte admits with a frown as she tried to figure out what to do. This never happened before... She moved to check her compass and sure enough, it was pointing away from the factory. he wasn't there.
"You've never climbed a fence?" Chris asks confused before moving to do so. there was barbed wire at the top but that was easy enough to get around with well-placed footing.
"have yo- dumb question of course you have," she says as she watches him begin to do so with easy. she shook her head and attempts to climb the fence.
Chris managed to get over in a matter of a few seconds and hopped down to nimbly land on his feet. He stood up to dust himself off as Charlotte not so gracefully belly flops behind him with a yelp, due to getting her skirt caught in the barbed wire. The sound caused him to pause and look back to find the woman lying there. "come on," he says as he offers a hand to help her get up.
She honestly half expected to get scruffed and picked up by the coat as usual so the offered hand was actually a nice change of pace. Maybe she would be able to get this guy to agree to work with Heisenberg. She accepts that and gets up before leading the way to the factory. She attempts to nudge the door open again with little success.
"move," Chris says and Charlotte complies to watch as he effortlessly gets the door open.
"bolder punching. got it." She says with a nod. This was definitely someone she wanted to be on the same side as.
"you know about that?" he asks a bit surprised as they walk in and he closes the door behind them.
"saw it on your company website profile," Charlotte explains earning a few grumbles in response.
"I thought I told them to take that part off." He says with a frown.
"Come on, it's not much further. He asked me to bring you to the 5th level." Charlotte explains and Chris nods. luckily this place was considerably warmer than it was outside. the two had to pass by several rooms with Soldat prototypes to get to the elevator and luckily, thanks to the chip in Charlotte's coat pocket, none of them activated. "How are you holding up?"
"I've been better, also been worse so." he shrugs.
"I mean do you need anything? medicine, bandages. I'd offer a change of clothes but I honestly have no idea where he keeps anything in this place aside from the medkit..." that and she didn't know when and if Karl ever washed any of this stuff she thought with a wince.
"No" Chris replies as they step onto the elevator.
"mk" she replies as she worked the elevator. it was pretty similar to the one in the mines at the reservoir so it wasn't too hard to figure out. lift the lever up to go up flip the lever down to go down. magic.
as the elevated descended Chris Crossed his arms and waited. "... You've really been here for a year and a half?"
"Yep." She says with a slight bobbing nod. "feels like longer. yet like no time at all..." she says as they waited. "There were a few times I could have run for it, but. I couldn't get myself to do it... I couldn't leave everyone here knowing I was in a rare position that I could fight back for people that couldn't..." It was the truth but at the same time she made sure to include that to try and push the earlier, 'you ditched me you owe me' idea. hopefully, this would work. Come on bleeding heart. it's his job to save people right?
"I see," he says with quiet hesitance. "So did they end up experimenting on you too?"
"Luckily no," Charlotte replies as she stops the elevator at the 5th level and pushes the button to get the door to open. "That was my deal with Miranda. I'd help her and in return, she'd leave me alone. pointed out if she did experiment on me I'd be useless. Managed to get myself into a pretty cushy place where I was able to really make a difference until about 7 months ago. she started catching on to what I was doing and sent me to the castle." She says with a short laugh. before holding up her hands to show the now callused, cracked, and scared digits. luckily she still had all of her fingers. "They didn't look like this before I got here." She adds with an attempt at a smile as if she was saying 'ta-dah'.
Chris nods and looks around a bit. this place was a mess.
"but now you're here and we can work together," Charlotte says with a nod, "You, Me, Karl, Moreau, and that other guy he was talking about. the kid's father." she listed off as she had some time to look arou- what the hell was that and why did it have a chainsaw on it. God damn it Karl that's not even remotely practical... he probably didn't even show her this design because he didn't want to hear her complain about the unnecessary chain saw.
"Ethan," Chris says surprised.
"Maybe? Karl never mentioned his name, only that he wanted to try and get him on our team." She says as she finally turned her attention back to Chris instead of the impractical battering ram hedge trimmer.
Chris shakes his head no. "That's not happening, Look, you've been through a lot but this place is crawling with Bioweapons, it's not safe."
"So you don't want to take down Miranda... because that's what we're trying to do," Charlotte says as some annoyance started to eat away at her. How DENSE could one guy get? they were on the same team!
"I'm taken down Miranda and all of this as well. Bioweapons are dangerous, we can't let any of them leave the area..." Chris counters.
That's it Heisenberg can kill this guy when he gets down here for all she cares... she's done. she tried. "Fine. Fine just." she paused while trying to think of a new plan. one that would still give Karl an advantage. "you're going to want that thing then." she says gesturing off to the impractical tank. "It's made of a metal Polymer Composite. So Heisenberg can't control it. he ended up abandoning the project because of that so, if you can figure out how it works. be my guest."
Chris nods in approval "nice. that will definitely help," he says with a smile as he walks over to check it out.
A metal-polymer by definition still has METAL IN IT. she resisted the urge to scream that at him to point out her own blatant lie. she really didn't think he'd be that dumb to believe that a magnet wouldn't have an effect on something that was still metal. she didn't even know if this stupid thing actually was a polymer she made that up!
Chris knocks his knuckles against it. "Weird. feels like metal."
"Oh yeah no that's the polymer part. see it looks and feels like metal but it's really more just reinforced plastic," She says as she just goes with it.
"Weird..." he says and moves on.
Oh my god, that worked. she thought trying to bottle her laughter. "Yeah I don't really get it either," she says with a shrug. "Anyways... I should probably go. sounds like you made up your mind."
"Yeah..." Chris pauses before speaking again. "If you don't mind, helping a bit more. we set up a secondary base in the village church. One of my Squad members should be there. goes by Lobo. can you try and reach him to get a supply drop?" Chris requests. Charlotte thinks it over. maybe if she helps him he'd reconsider...
"Alright." She agrees and heads back to the elevator and heads up to the first floor once more leaving Chris on his own.
"Lobo? hey. yeah, I'm fine I've made it into the factory. There's a civilian in route. get them back to the helicopter and order everyone to regroup. we're going to need to work as a unit on this one. it's bigger than we thought." Chris stops to listen as he tinkers with the odd tank-like tractor. "I'm still good to clean out the factory. got a good tip from that civilian before sending them off to meet you. I asked them to go to you to pick up supplies. they seem resistant to leave this place so just work with that. must be the trama. yeah. Survivor's guilt is a bitch. keep me posted. bye."
Charlotte cautiously makes her way out of the Factory and back to the gate which she still couldn't open. great. this again. another tear in her skirt and belly flop later she finally made it over. she pushed herself to get up and make her way across the bridge as she made her way into town she makes sure to keep her back to a wall at all times and heads to the church to see a large sign made of metal and covered in yellow paint that reads 'Rose is waiting for you'.
"Subtle." She says amused but makes her way to the church. somehow there didn't seem to be that many Lycans around. which could probably be explained by the bodies littered on the ground that she was trying to mentally suppress. Don't think about it. Keep it down a bit longer.
Charlotte stopped to take a deep breath and calm her nerves before moving on and knocking on the door of the church. "Lobo?" she says since she didn't want to just throw the door open and end up getting shot.
the door opens and she finds a person covered in gear and a heavy winter coat, their face was hidden behind glasses and a heavy cloth along with a large bulky helmet.
"Hey, Alpha said to expect you," he says as he motions for Charlotte to follow him. "Come on. it's going to be a bit of a hike." She looks at the sign with a slight frown but nods. she'd be right back.
"Right," she agrees and follows alongside this new individual. Usually she'd be worried about stranger danger but at this point, she was kind of desensitized to this stuff.
"You're that chick that called alpha 'Mr. Professional' right? I think I remember you from a few weeks ago," Lobo says and Charlotte nods. while she can't see it the man smiles behind the mask. "that was fuckin' hilarious." he adds figuring a bit of small talk might help calm the girl's nerves. Trauma and Survivor's guilt. what shit luck.
Charlotte chuckles at that "Well it was either that or Sargent Goiter," she replies with a smile as the other openly started cracking up.
"I'm saving that one holy shit," he says through his laughs. "Nah he'd probably kick my ass for it during training," he adds after his laughing subsides.
"Is he usually so. You know," Charlotte pushes up the tip of her nose with her index finger.
Lobo shakes his head. "Try not to be too hard on the guy. He's not so bad when you get used to him."
"Funny... I keep saying the same thing but no one believes me..." Charlotte says solemnly in return.
the two walk-in silence after that back to what appears to be a supply point where 3 others were waiting.
"where's Tundra?" Lobo asks as he looks around. if anyone would be helpful to have around right now it would be her...
"She's out setting up supply points for later." Umber eye says as he sits and waits.
"so which boxes are we bringing back?" Charlotte asks which causes Lobo to pause.
"we're not. you're staying here." He says in return as charlotte's eyes widen.
"what?" she asks horrified. "No I have to go back, I promised," she says as she moves to leave only to feel a sharp pressure on her wrist as the world suddenly spun before she found herself pinned to the ground with her arms behind her back.
"LET GO OF ME, WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM!" She shouts while struggling to get away and failing. Her hands were zip-tied together before she was picked up over Lobo's shoulder and sat down on the floor of the helicopter.
"Stay there," he says as he points at her. and goes to join the others. the sun began to set as loud notable explosions could be heard from the factory.
Charlotte continued to sit and way in the open helicopter, waiting for these guys to either leave or fall asleep so she could book it back to the village and make sure Heisenberg and Moreau were okay. Instead as the sun sets she sees chris hurry over to rejoin his team.
"you lied to me!" Charlotte shouts as she sees Chris join the others.
"Yeah well, you did too," Chris says with a sneer. "fucking Metal polymer."
"A Metal-polymer still has METAL in it dumbass!" Charlotte shouts the point that had been bothering her the whole time. Seriously how dense was this guy.
Chris storms over as his shoulders tense and he slams the button on the side of the helicopter wall to close the door and hops out to rejoin the others. Why did civilians always have to make things so complicated?
Charlotte continued to wait, night was officially upon them as she eventually heard chatter thanks to the radio inside of the helicopter.
"Captain, I've confirmed the death of Ethan winters," says the radio. " I wasn't able to retrieve the body but, I've recorded evidence.
"Share your screen, and I'll go over the situation" she hears Chris reply over the radio. she kinda wished she could see to get a better idea of what they were talking about...
"My team and I were careless. Yesterday, We took down the transformed Miranda. but we didn't kill her." Chris says which causes charlotte to move and try to stand up. careless. what an understatement.
"Who knew she could fake being a corpse," the voice replied.
"Since Miranda could've infected Ethan, I forcefully took him and rose with us, But the Vehicle they were riding in was attacked. When I got to the wreck, Ethan and rose were gone." he continued to explain. Charlotte paced around inside of the helicopter as she listened. This guy forcefully took people from their homes and he thinks that he's not part of the problem here? "The last time I was able to contact Ethan... I heard Miranda's voice. She murdered him. and she is not going to get away with it."
OH, WHAT A BIG SURPRISE! MAYBE IF YOU WORKED WITH US THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED! Charlotte angrily thought while trying to fight her restraints.
"God damn it when does it end," She hears him lament which just pisses her off more. It could have been done, this could have ended if he just got he head out of his AAAARRRGH!
"Three years trying to put this thing in the ground..." she hears over her rage. "Three years too long."
Charlotte frowns as she calmed her thoughts enough to continue listening.
"We'll get her Captain, the squad is ready for you," says the voice from before.
wait... did that mean they were gone? she pauses to listen and hears nothing from outside... haha! she walks over to the button and presses her forehead against it.
Click.
The whirling of motors broke the silence as the door opened. you don't need hands to push a button frickin idiots. all of them. She was going back. as she walked out a familiar jovial voice could be heard.
"Why Misses Wiltse. It's good to see you." says duke from the back of his carriage.
charlotte jolts. "Duke? when, how?" she asks surprised. she didn't hear any carts move through and surely she would have heard a commotion from the stupid brigade if someone was approaching the area.
"I have a habit of being where I am needed. It's good business after all," he says with a smile "And I believe you may be requiring some assistance?"
"Can you get me back to the village?" she asks as she walks over.
"all in due time," he agrees with a nod before kicking over a box and shifting around to get a knife that was conveniently behind him. "here, allow me." he offers.
Charlotte walks over and steps onto the crate. After doing so she feels a snap as the zip ties were cut and fell to the ground. she moves her tired aching arms in front of her so she can rub her wrists where the zip ties once were before turning to face duke. "thank you."
"Always a pleasure." Duke replies, "Now if you require transportation feel free to enter the carriage and I'll take you where you need to be."
"You'll take me to Karl?" she asks and the man simply gestures to the carriage.
she knew that was shady as hell but... he was her best bet. she got into the carriage and sat down. as it rocked she felt herself slowly drift off to sleep as the event of the last 24 hours finally took their toll. by the time she woke up she looked around to find that the sun was up again.
"oh god how long have I been asleep?" she asks as she sits up.
"Quite some time Misses Wiltse. there was another passenger I picked up and dropped off while you rested. you've had a long day so I didn't want to wake you, I simply moved to you the front of the cart instead for a bit." the duke explained. "It is currently the morning of the 11th of February.
"the 11th!" she exclaimed horrified. holy hell was she in a coma? how did she sleep a whole day? "Where are we?" she asks wondering where exactly he managed to take her while she was asleep for that long.
"Exactly where you asked to be." The duke replied, "Come on out. It's safe now."
Charlotte hesitantly walked over to the door and opened it to find herself in a gray barren wasteland covered in flames and soot. "Where are we?" she asks again horrified as she looks around before recognizing the remains of a few structures in the distance.
"This is all that remains of the village," Duke replies. "While we're here, I have some new wares that may be of interest to you."
Charlotte steps out of the carriage and takes a few steps more to look around. Everything was gone. Except for Duke's usual setup, where four odd crystal statues now sat on display.
"Where is Moreau?" charlotte asks horrified "where's Karl? You said you'd bring me to him."
"Why Miss Wiltse. He's right in front of you. surely you of all people would recognize him," duke replies while gesturing to the crystal.
she stares at it as she notices a heart and mechanical parts embedded in the crystal. her eyes widened from terror. That couldn't possibly be. She took out the compass and sure enough it was pointing directly at the crystal. She screamed and quickly stepped away.
"the assemblage of life and machine. I can Feel lord Heisenberg's essence through it," Duke says with a smile.
"Your fucking sick!" charlotte hisses. "you what to sell me, this!" she says gesturing to it.
"Miss Wiltse I'd ask you to take a moment to collect yourself and consider the facts you already know." Duke requests calmly with a smile.
"You're disgusting," she says with a sneer as she storms off towards the factory hoping that maybe Duke was wrong. As she walked she felt tears burn her eyes as she made her way through the ashen remains. once she found herself in the middle of what once was the yard of the factory she looked down at the compass once more.
It was pointing in a different direction.
She quickly ran to follow the direction it was pointing only to stare in confusion as it suddenly turned around to point behind her. She turned around and found no one there. what was going on... she humored the compass by walking to follow the arrow and eventually her foot snagged on the ground. she looked down and found a large crystal shard with mechanical parts bone and flesh embedded into it.
She kneeled down to pick it up and cried.
it felt like an hour had passed before she came to her senses again. She remembered Miranda turning Rose into Crystal shards. 4 of them. her plan was to put them into some mold around here... well that was long gone the place was basically a cra-
she was connected to the Louisanna outbreak too? so this is another baker incident.
Another, outbreak. Miranda was connected to it.
I can Feel lord Heisenberg's essence through it.
together we shall place her shards into the mold and she will reform as my Eva!
There might still be a chance. She looked at the crystal shard and stood back up to carry it back to where she left duke.
He was still waiting there, patient as ever.
"Good to see you again Misses Wiltse, have you reconsidered my offer?" He asks.
"I'll buy it," she says with solid determination.
"I regret to inform you that you don't have the funds." He replies with a smile "However I think we can work out a deal. My asking price for the shard is 85,000 Lei"
"85,000 lei?" she asks outraged. $20,000 USD. he wanted $20,000?
"One can not put a price on life can they," Duke replies as he digs out a cigar and lights it.
"Well, you certainly managed," Charlotte replies with a frown.
Duke smiles "For each Crystal Skull you bring me I will pay you 900 Lei. For each Large Crystal skull, I will pay you 3,000 lei. and if you can manage to find it. a perfect crystal skull will fetch 10,000 lei easily." he explains calmly. "Now I don't expect that you'll be able to find all this in a single day, not with your own searching to consider. As such, I'll offer you 3 meals a day and a place to sleep each night, and to store your personal belongings during the day for a paltry sum of 900 lei a day."
she could feel her eye twitch. this fat basta- "Fine."
"The day has only just begun then," he says with a smile. "Good luck."
She continued to carry the shared she found and went off to go looking for these Skulls that the duke was after. She'd get Heisenbergs remains, she'd... god how was she going to get back to the states without raising some sort of alarm? A cruise? a boat of some sort. They had much looser security than an airport at the least. Get home. figure out where in Louisiana that mold is and get Karl back.
She made a deal with him that they were both going to get out of here and she was going to keep it.
Eyy so we made it through RE8 We're keeping literally all the canon events this way and we get to keep our cute love story. who's ready for hijinks and a cute reunion in the next chapter~ ^v^ I would do a fanNatic lore but I think I actually did a decent job explaining this one in the chapter. Duke has a very peculiar line of dialog in-game when you sell him Heisenbergs remains. To me, that single line is a game-changer.
Review Responses:
Black Moons Daughter - make that 3 chapters whoot /o/ oh my gosh I need a nap. 18k words in 24 hours X'D I am so excited that I finally got to write this chapter. this plot point has been itching at the back of my mind and it's why I even started writing the story X'D they were very subtle about it in-game but they did suggest that it would be possible to bring people back so long as you had enough crystal remains and the mold. Get your travel bags we're going to America~
nadillaandlaprasthefireandice - Yey for Chris!