Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me. (Oh, that's it! I'm not writing this disclaimer like this again. Forget that!)
Resident Evil: Armageddon
Part I- Prelude to Destruction
Chapter 7- Old Friends Unite
Written by: Striker
Leon sat on the couch in the small living room. He was looking at the piece of paper he had in his hand. He had written Ark's number down and been staring at it all morning. He wanted to wait until Rebecca returned from her friend Barry's house. She had left earlier that morning. At his persistent badgering, she had agreed to rent a car. After the events of last night, it was clear that she had been followed. He knew that they couldn't risk leading Umbrella to Barry's front door. They had called a local rental car company to reserve a car. Rebecca had wanted something fast and flashy, but had agreed to something that wouldn't stand out. Leon had chosen a white Ford Escort. Leon had taken her to the place around 7:30 am. They had figured that it would take around ten hours for a round trip, plus time to talk to Barry. Rebecca wouldn't be back until 6:30 pm. It had been four hours so far. He hoped that she hadn't run into any problems.
Leon looked into the kitchen. He could see Sherry sitting at the table eating a bowl of Trix. She had gotten up fifteen minutes ago. Leon guessed that she had been exhausted by what happened at McDonalds. She had also been up late last night talking with Rebecca. She was disappointed that she hadn't of said goodbye before Rebecca left. The two had got along great. Rebecca had told her all about the other S.T.A.R.S. members. Sherry in turn told Rebecca all about Claire. The two were so much alike. Becky was only six years older than Sherry was. They had talked about what they liked, didn't like, if they had ever had a crush on a boy and if so, who. It was all girl stuff. Leon used to have the same talks with his friends. The only difference was that guys talked about cars, rock music, computers, and, of coarse, girls. It had been nice to see Sherry happy like that. She had been through a living hell. Now Leon wanted to make sure she never had to go through that again, but he knew he would need Ark's help, along with Claire, Rebecca, and the other S.T.A.R.S. members.
"I bet Ark thinks the same thing about the kids he's looking after."
Those two kids went through the same thing. That's what Ark had said in the first E-mail. They were two more reasons Umbrella had to be stopped. He knew that he had to fight not only to avenge what Umbrella had done to all those innocent people in Raccoon, but to give these three children a future to look forward to.
Sherry came out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Leon, when will Rebecca be back?"
"She should be back around 6:30, maybe 7:00." Leon said.
"Will this Barry guy be with her?"
He shook his head. "I don't know. He might not be there. We won't know until Becky gets back."
"When do you think Claire will sent us something?"
I don't know that either. I wish she would soon, but it's doubtful."
"Are you going to call Ark now?"
Leon looked at the number in his hand. "Yeah, I think I'll call him right now. I was going to wait for Rebecca, but it'll be too late then."
Leon reached for the black phone on the table next to the couch. He quickly dialed the number and waited while it rang.
"WAIT, WAIT. I'LL BE RIGHT THERE!" Ark bolted from the bathroom, pulling up the zipper on his pants. He had just finished taking a wizz when his phone began to ring. However, it was Rott who pick it up.
"Hello?"
Leon was confused by the voice. It's English accent made him think he had dialed the wrong number. "Who is this?" He asked.
"Hey, you aren't Leon, are you?" Rott asked.
"Yes I am. How do you know my name?"
"Oh, sorry. My name's Rott. Ark was in the bathroom, so I answered for him."
"Is Ark done yet?"
"Yeah, he's right here. I'll let him talk to you now. Bye." Rott handed the phone to Ark, who at a 'you had to tell him, didn't you?' look on his face. He took the phone and spoke. "Leon, I've been waiting for you to call. What took you so long?"
Leon smiled when he heard his friend's voice. "I should be asking you the same thing. Why did it take so long for you to send me that message? I was beginning to think something happened to you."
"It's a long story. Umbrella's been after us , so I didn't have the time. Besides, I wanted to make sure Umbrella didn't trace anything to you. I finally managed to give them the slip, with some help from my friend Carl."
"Where are you now?" Leon asked. He hoped that Ark wasn't still in Europe. If he was, it would take too much time for Ark to get here. That would be time they could not spare.
"Right now I'm in Boston. Where are you?"
Leon smiled. "No shit. I'm in Buffalo with, oh no." Leon turned to Sherry, an apologetic look on his face. She giggled at him.
"Let me guess, Sherry." Ark replied. "Trust me pal, I'm sure she's heard them all by now. Well, now that we know we're within driving distance, I say we link up."
"That would be great. It'll be good to see you again."
"I guess there's just one question left. Your place or mine?" Ark couldn't keep himself from smiling at his little remark.
"Ha, Ha Ark. Still the practical joker, as always. Listen bud, you'll have to come to my place. It'll be safe since Umbrella doesn't that your in the U.S."
"Let me guess, your waiting for Claire, aren't you?"
"Yes, I still am. I'm also waiting for some other people to arrive."
"When do you think they'll get to your place?"
"Sometime later tonight. You and the children should get here before then. I think it'll only take you a few hours to get here. Is that OK with you?"
"Yeah, that's fine. I think we need a change of scenery. We'll leave right away. Just tell us how to get there."
"OK." Leon told Ark the address of the house. He told Ark to look for the yellow VW Beetle with the smashed passenger window. When he was done, he said goodbye to Ark and hung up. "Well," he said to Sherry, "looks like we'll be having some more company."
"Hey Leon, I'm going to see if Claire sent anything, OK."
"OK Sherry." He watched as she ran to the computer. He then saw her hopeful face turn sad as she saw nothing. 'Don't worry, she'll send something soon.' Leon thought to himself. 'Then, Umbrella will pay.'
Ark put the phone back in his pocket. 'What a big break. We really lucked out here,' he thought. "ROTT! LILY! COME HERE!" Rott and his sister came out of their room. Ark continued. "I've got some good news. I just found out Leon's in Buffalo. If we hurry, we can be there by five o'clock. He told me he was expecting some other people too. What do you say?"
"I say we get our arses in gear." Rott said.
"Yeah. I want to meet Sherry and Leon. My brother said they're nice." Lily chimed in.
"Well then, let's get packing." Ark said.
They had starting packing at noon. The phone call had taken a good half hour. It had taken them another half hour to load all their stuff into the back of Ark's Ford Explorer. It was tan colored and had been waiting for Ark. It was a little gift from Carl, and it had come in handy. It was 12:30 by the time they finally left. They had been driving for five hours, stopping to eat for a half hour. Rott had acted like a co-pilot for Ark, reading the travel map that was in the glove box. The scenery had changed along the way. Halfway through Connecticut, the snow had ended, much to Lily's disappointment. It was six when the Explorer had entered Buffalo.
"Let's see," Ark said, reading the instructions Leon had given him while Rott held a light. "He said it was Maple St." Ark rolled by the streets, reading the names. "Oak. Pine. Chestnut. Here we are, Maple." Ark turned onto Maple. He then saw the house number. Just like Leon said, there was a yellow Beetle sitting in the driveway. And just like Leon said, the passenger window was broken. "I guess this is our stop." Ark pulled up in front of the Beetle and all three got out. They then went to the door and knocked.
"THEY'RE HERE!" Sherry screamed as she ran to the door.
"Hold on, I have to see who they are." Leon said as he intercepted the young girl. He then went to the door. He rapped out a series of knocks. They were answered back by another set of knocks. Leon smiled as he opened the door. "Ark, what took you so long?"
"I had to feed my passengers before they drove me crazy." He said, smiling back.
Both men then gave each other a big hug, laughing as they did. Leon let go and clasped Ark's shoulders. "It's been too long, has it. I'm just glad your still in one piece." He then looked at Rott and Lily, who were giving him a strange look. "These must be the two kids you're baby sitting."
"They are, but could we do this inside. It's freezing out here."
Leon let them in and introduced them to Sherry. After that was done, the two men sent the kids to Sherry's room while they got down to business.
"What did you find? It must have been important if Umbrella was so desperate to catch you."
Ark stared at Leon. "You have no idea. There was more to Raccoon an you know. Also, Umbrella may not be the only company we have to stop. The shit's really hit the fan big time. I think you should reconsider that deal Carl gave you. I seriously doubt that we can do this alone."
"First, we wait till Claire, Becky, Barry, and whoever else we can find get together," Leon said, his tone serious, "Then I'll talk to Carl. Hopefully, by tonight, we'll find out just how many people we have."
"You mean the people that are on their way now, right?"
"Exactly. From what I know, there's this group called S.T.A.R.S. Claire's brother is one of them. Two other members will be coming here soon. Chances are that these people have gotten themselves some allies to help them. All we do now is just wait for them."
"That may be a problem." Ark said, his voice grim. "Umbrella is after the S.T.A.R.S. as we speak. I wouldn't get my hopes up, Leon. Umbrella may have killed them by now. For all you know, the two people coming here and us may be the only ones left. If you ask me, four adults and three children are going to do Jack shit against a huge corporation like Umbrella. You may have to make that deal, whether you want to or not."
Leon knew Ark was right, but he couldn't give up hope, not yet. He had to believe that Claire and the others fighting Umbrella were alive, and soon they would be united. He was just about to say something when he heard a car pull up. He then heard a girls voice thanking someone, and then heard the car pull away.
Rebecca ran into the house. "LEON! I'M HERE!" She stopped when she saw a strange man standing in the den with Leon. "Who's this guy?"
Ark stared at her. "Let me guess, your Claire, aren't you?" He then leaned to Leon. "Damn man, you didn't tell me she was so young, and cute for that matter too."
Rebecca put her hand over her mouth as she chuckled, her face bright red.
"That's not Claire. That's one of the people I told you about. Ark, this is Rebecca Chambers. Becky, this is my close friend Ark Thompson. He just got here."
Ark felt like a fool as he offered his hand. Rebecca took it, shaking it nervously. "Look, I'm sorry. It's just that I heard so much about Claire that I thought you were her."
"That would be kind of hard. Leon hasn't heard from her for a couple of weeks. He's hoping that she'll E-mail him and set up a meeting place. If we're lucky, she might even bring her brother, Chris."
"Speaking of which," Leon said, "Three things. First, where's Barry? Second, how did you get back here so fast? And third, where's the car?"
"Well," Rebecca began, "I'll begin with the car. I took it back to the rental place, and the guy offered to drive me home. Wasn't that nice?"
"What about the time?" Leon asked suspiciously.
"Let's just say there weren't that many cars on the highway."
"YOU WERE SPEEDING?!" Leon yelled. "What if you got caught by the police?"
"Leon, we're trying to save the world as we know it and you're concerned with Rebecca getting a ticket?" Ark asked sarcastically.
Leon glared at Ark. "That, and the fact she could have wrapped herself around a tree."
"Well, if you think me going ten miles over the speed limit is bad, you're going to hate this."
"What?" Both Leon and Ark asked at the same time.
"I got to Barry's house, but he wasn't home. He left two days ago for Atlanta. That's the bad news. The good news is that he has a hideout for us down there. He also has Jill and Carlos looking for Chris in Europe. And if Leon's right, when they find him, they'll find Claire too."
Ark looked at her inquiringly. "Do you mean Jill Valentine and Carlos Oliveira?"
Becky was surprised. "How do you know their names?"
"I found them in a report at Sheena Island, an Umbrella base. It was written by some guy called Nicholai." Ark turned to Leon. "It had something about the Spencer Estate and the S.T.A.R.S. team. It also said that the outbreak at Raccoon was used as a testing ground, just like the mansion, but this time, Umbrella used mercenaries. Carlos was one of them. It also mentioned Jill and someone called Brad Vickers, who was killed by something called a Nemesis."
"Oh no. Brad." Rebecca hung her head, hearing that her friend was now dead.
"But that's just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. It also talked about some guy named Wesker."
Rebecca's eyes widened at the sound of that name. "Do you mean Albert Wesker?"
Ark turned to Becky. "Yes I do. How did you know." Ark was interested by her reaction.
"Wesker was the bastard that set us up. I was a S.T.A.R.S. member and so was Barry. I was part of Bravo team. We went into the mansion first because Wesker had rigged our copter to crash. I'm the only member of my team to survive. I would be dead if it wasn't for Chris, Jill, and Barry. That man was evil. He even used Barry's family, threatening to kill them, if Barry didn't work with him. I'm only glad he died in the house when it blew up."
"Well, I think you should sit down. Not only is Wesker alive, he's working for a new company called Bio-Tech. In fact, he attacked a place called Rockfort Prison and some base in Antarctica."
Rebecca went white. She felt like she was going to pass out. "No, he can't be." was the only thing she could say.
Leon had also gone pale. "Oh God. Rockfort Prison is the place Claire was sent to, and I sent Chris there to save her."
"I hate to be the barer of bad news, but that's what I found out. Becky, can you contact Barry?"
"Yes I can. His wife Kathy gave me his number. I can call him right now. Man, he is not going to like this at all."
At this point, the children had come down. Sherry's eyes lit up when she saw Rebecca.
"REBECCA! YOU'RE BACK!" Sherry hugged Rebecca like they had been separated for years. She then noticed Rebecca's sad face. "What's wrong Becky?"
"Nothing Sherry." She forced a smile, despite the pain she was feeling.
"Becky, that's Rott and his sister Lily. They came with Ark." Leon said, trying to change the mood. 'God, I just hope they didn't hear any of this'
Ark knew Leon's plan. "Hey, why don't we get supper. I'm starving."
"Yeah, I'll cook." Rebecca took of into the kitchen. Everyone but Sherry followed.
"Sherry, aren't you coming?" Leon asked.
"No. I'm going to see if we got something from Claire."
"OK." Leon then went into the kitchen. He didn't even set foot in the room before he heard Sherry's voice.
"LEON! COME QUICK! IT"S A MESSAGE FROM CLAIRE!"
Everyone ran to the den. Sure enough there was a E-mail. From the date and time, it had arrived around noon. It was also signed by two people. It read:
Dear Leon:
This is Chris, Claire's brother. Thanks for telling me she was in danger. We both got out of Rockfort and a base in Antarctica. Both places have been destroyed. Rockfort was bombed by some other company, I set the self-destruct mechanism on the island. I also dropped a nuke on the Antarctic base, so it's gone. Right now we're in London, but we can't stay for long. Umbrella somehow found out we are here. I also found some documents I believe you have to see. I also have some bad news. We need to set up a rendezvous with you. Tell us where you are, and we'll go there. After we meet, we'll have to find the other S.T.A.R.S. members or anyone else that survived. This is important. We HAVE to get together before it's too late. Also, DON'T call, send an E-mail. I don't know if our phone has been bugged or not. We'll see you soon.
Chris and Claire Redfield
"We have to send them a reply now." Sherry said.
"Even if we did, they wouldn't get it now." Ark said. "There's a five hour time difference between us and them. It's seven here, so it's the middle of the night over there."
"Right." Leon quickly came up with a plan. "Rebecca, call Barry now. Tell him we know where Chris is. Tell him we're coming down, so have him tell you where to meet. I'll also need his number. I'll send a replay telling Chris to call him. Ark, you and the children start packing. We leave tomorrow morning at four. If we do that, we may get to Atlanta in one day. If not, we'll spend a night at some motel. This is the break we've been waiting for. It's time we get back together and take Umbrella down."
Everyone got to work. Ark's group started to pack only what the group would need for the trip. Rebecca quickly dialed Barry's number and handed it Leon, who had disconnected from the net. He listened to Rebecca.
"Hey Barry, it's me Rebecca. I know, it's good to hear you to. Listen, I'm at Leon's house in New York. He's a friend of Claire, Chris's sister. Yes I know, I didn't know either. Anyway, we got a message. We know were he is. We're going to sent him a message telling him to call you. How did I get your number? I went to your wife's house. Yes, they're fine. Hey. We're leaving tomorrow for your place. All I need to know is where you want to meet. OK. I'll write it down." Rebecca motioned for a piece of paper, which Leon gave her, along with a pen. "You can begin now." She began to write the directions Barry gave her. When she was done, she spoke. "We'll see you either tomorrow or the day after. OK. Bye."
As soon as Rebecca hung up, Leon got back online. He then sent this reply.
Chris. By the time you read this, we'll be on our way to Barry's. He has a base in Atlanta. This is his number, 555-6194. Call him and he'll tell you where to meet. Good luck, Leon.
Leon hit "send" and the message was on it's way.
After everything was made ready, the group ate a quick supper and got ready for bed. It was 8:30 when they settled in for the night, a long drive before them.
Leon had set up the sleeping arrangements. Sherry would sleep with him in his room. He would take the large chair in the corner of his room while she got the bed. Rebecca would have her room. Lily got Sherry's room. Rott got the couch in the living room. And that meant that...
"I get the couch in the den." Ark said to Leon.
"Well, I didn't say this would be pretty." Leon replied.
Ark got comfortable on the couch. Leon was just about to hit the lights when he called to Ark. "Hey Ark."
"What?"
"I told you so." Leon smiled as he turned off the lights and headed upstairs to his room.
Authors Comments: Man, oh, man. This just keeps getting better and better. Or worse and worse, depending on whose perspective your looking through. Well, I said that this meeting would start other events in motion. Finally, after all this time, Leon got what he wanted. The only thing is there's a catch. What terrible secret does Chris know. You'll see later. Also, there are only three more chapters left in Chapter 1. That's three more chapters before the reunion of the survivors. Oh, can't you feel the suspense.
In the next chapter of our tale, we
find out what Chris and Claire know. Also, Chris is debating whether to tell
his sister about the other day. Will he? Won't he? You'll have to find out in
RE Armageddon: Part 1, Chapter 8- Plan of Action.