Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil, Capcom does. (Lucky bastards. Oops! Forget I said that.) I do own this story. It's MINE, MINE, MINE!
Resident Evil: Armageddon
Part II- Hands of Fate
Chapter 2- What Have You Been Doing?
Written by: Striker
The team had unpacked everything and had eaten lunch. Barry had insisted he cook as they were all his guests. Rebecca had ended up getting herself into the kitchen to help. They had all eaten in the dinning room, with Chris sitting at one end. He had sat scanning the others. This had made some, including Jill, nervous. No one had bothered to talk while they were eating, they planned to do that after. When lunch was done, everyone gathered around the kitchen table. Clockwise was Chris, Claire, Sherry, Leon, Rott, Lily, Ark, Rebecca, Barry, Carlos, and Jill, who had immediately sat next to Chris, raising a few eyebrows in the process.
"I guess now would be the time to get better acquainted. First I have some things I bought." Chris got up and went into the living room.
"I have some things too." Claire got up and went after Chris. The two came back with the souvenirs they had gotten. Claire passed hers out first. "Here you go Leon, this might look good on you."
"Thanks." Leon took the hat and put it on. There were mixed reaction from everyone. Mostly laughs from the girls and stares from the guys.
"Hey Leon, that looks just as stupid as the hat you had to wear at that fast food joint you worked at." Ark remarked, a big grin on his face.
Leon took the hat off, glaring at Ark. "At least I didn't dress up like a maid for Halloween."
Rebecca edged her seat away from Ark.
"Aye caramba." Carlos obviously heard something he wished he didn't.
"No kidding." Jill added.
Ark's eyes narrowed at Carlos. "You got a problem, pal?"
Carlos returned the look. "It's just that I don't think we need to know that much about each other. Some things should remain private."
"Don't tell me you haven't dressed up like a woman before."
"If I did, do you think I'd tell anyone?"
Chris looked over to Barry, who was panicking right about now. "Claire, I think you should get on with it before we have a fight." He whispered to his sister.
She nodded. "Alright then," she said, getting everyone's attention, "I got this for you Sherry." She handed the girl the model. "This looks like the house the Queen lives in. When this is all over with, we'll go see it for real."
Sherry smiled as she took the model. "Hey Lily, want to go play with it?"
"Sure." Lily said. The two girls got up and ran into the living room.
Chris watched them before turning back to the others. "I only got stuff for Jill, Barry, and Becky cause I didn't really didn't know what to get the rest of you. Sorry."
"That's fine Chris, We didn't expect you to get us anything anyway." Carlos replied.
'Well, it looks like Carlos is trying to get on my good side, but it'll take more than that.' Chris thought. "Here Becky, catch." Chris tossed the bear to Rebecca, who caught it and looked it over.
"This is great. Thank you Chris. You really shouldn't have." Rebecca's face was beaming as she hugged the bear tightly."
"I know you like bears, so now you have one from England." Chris turned to Barry. "I don't know how much you'll use this, but since you love guns, I had to get it for you." Chris handed over the lighter to Barry.
He took it with a smirk. "I'll add it to my collection of other gun lighters I have at home." He pulled the trigger and a flame shot out of the barrel.
"Where's my gift?" Jill asked.
"It's upstairs, I'll give it to you later." Chris answered.
Jill's face lit up as she began to think of what it could be. Carlos saw this and smiled himself. 'Boy Chris, you are smooth. Maybe tonight you can make her dreams come true.'
"Now that we finished that detail, we should get back to what we were doing. Who wants to start?" Chris saw Ark raise his hand.
"I'll go first. As I said, I'm a close friend of Leon. We went to the academy together and both graduated the same year. I work for the government and have been for a couple months before I ran into Leon. I went to an island called Sheena. I escaped before the base Umbrella had there was destroyed. That's were I ran into Rott and his sister."
"Umbrella had some other base? Where was it? How was it destroyed?" Barry asked.
"The guy in charge, Vincent, was too much of a sicko, even for Umbrella. They were going to give him the shaft after he murdered some of the prisoners who tried to escape. In retaliation, he let the T-virus loose on the island."
"Oh God." Jill was horrified. "Who were these prisoners, and why were they there?" She really didn't want to know, but had to ask.
"They were young boys from a couple different countries." Ark said. "Umbrella was creating a new Tyrant, but to do this they needed brain fluid from the boys, so they took it from them."
Rebecca was stunned. "They stole brain fluid from young boys. That's horrible."
"You wanna know the bad part," Ark said, "They took it while the kids were still alive."
"Why the hell did they have to do that?" Barry couldn't believe what he heard. "It would have been more humane to kill those boys first."
"Umbrella couldn't because the fluid was only produced if the person was scared. I managed to kill the Tyrant they had made. We can all thank Vincent for blowing the place up. After we got out of there, we were hunted by Umbrella. They chased us all throughout Europe. We managed to loose them in Spain. My friend from the government, Carl, got the kids and I out of Madrid and to Boston. I got a hold of Leon there, and drove to his place. While I was ducking Umbrella, I found some things you guys are not going to like at all."
"I guess I'll pick up from there." Leon looked around the room as all eyes were on him. "I had arrived in town during the outbreak at Raccoon just like Claire. I had been transferred to the RPD from New York City. I was in the NYPD for a week before my superiors shipped me off. I guess they couldn't afford to send one of their older officers."
"I remember hearing that the RPD was getting some new officers." Jill said. "I didn't get any of the names."
"Well," Leon continued, "I got in town and found out it was filled with zombies. I ran into Claire on the streets and we tried to get to the police department together. We got separated, but linked up in the S.T.A.R.S. office."
"That's where I found your diary, Chris." Claire added. "We ran into Sherry in the RPD. If her last name sounds familiar, it should. Her parents created the T and G-viruses, and had a lab under the police department. It seems that Chief Irons was in on the whole thing."
"I knew that fat bastard knew something. That answers everything." Chris said, disgusted with what he just learned. "I guess Umbrella DID own that city."
Leon continued his story. "Well, we got into the sewers. I got shot by Annette Birkin and Claire ran into her. She found out how the virus got into the city. It seems that Umbrella was getting impatient with William Birkin. Birkin wouldn't give them the virus, so they sent some people to go in and get it."
Claire picked up the story. "The agents shot Birkin and stole the virus. Birkin then injected himself with the G-virus turning him into a monster. He killed the agents and broke the vials containing both viruses. They were carried into the city by rats."
"So that's how Raccoon was infected. Christ, I can't believe anyone would be so insane as to inject themselves with the G-virus." Barry said.
"Claire found out that Birkin needed to impregnate Sherry with an embryo to reproduce. He did, so Claire had to find the vaccine. Claire got the cure, but had to kill Birkin first. I had my own problems to deal with. I was dodging a new Tyrant called Mr. X. He chased me to the lab, where Claire was. While she was fighting Birkin, I was killing that damn monster. I then had to go get Sherry and get to the emergency escape train. Claire had left Sherry in a security office to be safe while she made the vaccine. We managed to get on the train and get out before the lab blew. Claire gave Sherry the cure, needless to say, it worked. Of coarse, we got attacked on the train by what used to be Birkin. He was just a big blob with tentacles. We stopped the train and escaped before it blew." Leon had left Ada out of his story. He didn't want anyone to know about her. "We all stayed in some small city in Pa. before Claire left to find Chris. Sherry and I kept one step ahead of Umbrella, moving when they got close. I ran into Ark when the government made a deal with me."
"The government made you a deal?" Chris asked, surprised. "I bet they wanted you to keep quiet."
"No, they wanted me to help them investigate Umbrella. I told them no, but they said that it was still there. I was going to wait until we were together before I took it. I asked Ark to look into Sheena Island. Sherry and I were staying in Buffalo when we got back in touch with Ark. I also ran into Becky there."
"So what's your story, Rebecca?" Jill asked. "You suddenly disappeared, we didn't know what happened to you."
"I didn't want to deal with Umbrella anymore," Becky explained. "After the mansion, I wanted to get as far away as I could. I moved to a another town south of Raccoon. When I heard of the outbreak, I moved to New Jersey. After a while, I started to feel guilty about abandoning you guys. I remembered what Barry told me about his family. He had told me where they would be living, so I started heading there. I ran into Leon and Sherry in Buffalo. I also found out I was being followed by Umbrella. I guess it's a good thing I met Leon, huh?"
"Yeah, or Umbrella would have found my family." Barry said. "I don't know what I would do without them. That's why I'm fighting, to make sure they don't get hurt anymore."
"So that's your story. Your defending you family. If you ask me, that's as good a reason as any to kick Umbrella's ass." Ark said.
"I might as well fill you guys in on all the details." Barry said, appreciating Ark's comment. "After Wesker threatened my family, I knew I had to get them out of Raccoon. Wesker was just bluffing, but the danger was there. I took them to Canada and left to help Jill get out of Raccoon. After I dropped them off, I brought the helicopter here. I then went back and spent time with Kathy and the girls before I came back here. Since you guys called me, I knew you were all coming and got this place ready. That's about it."
"It's our turn I assume?" Jill began her story. "After the mansion, Chris, Barry, and I decided to investigate Umbrella. Unfortunately, all the evidence went up in flames when the mansion was destroyed. It was decided that Chris would go to Europe to Umbrella's HQ. Barry would take his family to Canada and then join Chris. I would stay behind and look into the abandon factory Umbrella owned in the city. I didn't get anywhere, especially with Irons on my back, literally. I quit after he tried to smack my ass.. He couldn't keep his hands to himself."
"If you ask me, I don't blame the guy." Ark whispered to Leon.
"I know what you mean." Leon agreed. They began to laugh, but stopped when they saw the hard looks Chris, Carlos, and Barry were giving them. "Sorry." Leon said, hitting Ark's arm.
Jill continued. "Well, the virus hit and I got stuck. I did what anybody would do, go to the RPD. When I got there, I ran into Brad." Jill tone changed as she talked about Brad's death. "He was hysterical, saying that someone was after him. The next thing I know, the Nemesis appeared and just killed him." Chris put his hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and smiled, feeling better because of it. She resumed. "I ran from him into the station. I got out the back and that's when I ran into Carlos."
Carlos took over for Jill, who was still upset over remembering how Brad had died. "I was with an group called the Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasures Service, or U.B.C.S. We were all mercenaries that Umbrella had recruited from around the world. I myself was from South America. I was taught English while in the U.B.C.S. We were sent to Raccoon to rescue anyone we could find. Most of the team was killed as soon as we landed. All that were left were I, Mikhail Victor, and Nicholai Ginovaef." Carlos almost spat the last name out. "I decided that Jill should tag along. We were heading for the clock tower to signal a helicopter to get us out of there. Mikhail was killed when that Nemesis attacked us on one of the cable cars while we were getting to the tower. He sacrificed himself so we could get out. We got separated when the car crashed. I couldn't see Jill or Nicholai, so I headed to the tower hoping to meet them there."
Jill had composed herself. "I didn't know where the guys had went. All I knew was that I had to get to the tower. I arrived and signaled the copter. Just as it was about to land, it was blown out of the sky. The Nemesis had shot it down. It then attacked me and managed to infect me with the T-virus."
Carlos took over. "I saw this and attacked it. I assumed it was dead, so I took Jill inside the tower. I then went to the hospital to find a cure. I did, but I ran into Nicholai. That's when I found out he had used us as test subjects. He then tried to blow me up with the hospital. I got out and got the vaccine to Jill. After she took it, she was out for a few days."
"Maybe that's why we didn't run into Jill or anyone from Carlos' unit." Leon said. "We must of arrived in Raccoon while Jill was out of it."
"I guess that was possible." Carlos said. "After Jill came to, we had to split up. She had to go to the factory and find some other way out. I had to find and stop Nicholai."
"I headed for the factory," Jill said, "but not before killing some huge worm in the cemetery."
"A giant worm?!" Rebecca exclaimed. "How did you kill it?"
"A lot of firepower." Jill replied. "I finally got to the factory, dodging the Nemesis which wasn't dead, but really pissed off. I got to the factory and met up with Carlos. He told me Nicholai was inside. I went looking for him while Carlos went to radio for help. He had found out that the government was sending a nuclear missile to destroy Raccoon. I tracked Nicholai down, but he trapped me in some waste disposal room with the Nemesis. I finally killed it by shooting a pipe that had some nasty chemicals in it. They hit the Nemesis and finished him. I got out just before the room was activated. The Nemesis' body fell into the chemicals in a tub below the room. I met up with Carlos again."
"I had tried to radio for help, but the radio was out. I asked Jill to go and activate the relay on the antenna. She did, but was attacked by Nicholai who had stolen the only helicopter that was left in the city. I managed to get a hold of someone to come get us. I headed for the helipad and waited for Jill."
"I had made my way down the antenna tower after Nicholai had left." Jill said. "I came up to a room and went inside. It was horrible. It looked like some soldiers from the Army had come to Raccoon. They had brought a rail gun with them and had it hooked up to the factory generator. They never had a chance because they were all killed by four Tyrants. I was about to leave when the Nemesis appeared! It was horribly mutated and paid no attention to me. It started eating the bodies, so I took the opportunity to aim the rail gun at it and finally kill it. I got to the helipad just as Barry was landing. Carlos and I got in and we lifted off. We just got out of range when the nuke came. I had to watch Raccoon get decimated. After that, Carlos and I went looking for you." She pointed to Chris. "We followed your trail to Paris. That's where we found out Barry had heard from you. We left right after that."
'At least she came to find me.' Chris thought. He saw it was his turn to speak. "As Jill said, I was to go to Europe. I did. It wasn't soon after that Umbrella was after me. I went all over Europe trying to collect information on Umbrella. I didn't come up with much. I reached Paris where I decided to wait for Barry. I also had decided to write Claire and tell her the truth. I knew she didn't know where I was and would be worried sick. I had just sent the letter when I got a call from Leon telling me she was in trouble."
"I had gotten caught and sent to Rockfort Prison As soon as I arrived, it was attacked. I was let go by a man named Rodriguez. He was hurt and needed some hemostat medicine. I found some and gave it to him. I also gave him my lighter to give to my brother when he arrived as proof I was still alive. I ran into a fellow inmate, Steve Burnside. First he acted like an idiot. He saw me as something to slow him down. Later, I found out he had been brought to the island with his father. He told me the whole story. I guess his attitude was his way of hiding his pain." Chris put his hand on his sister's shoulder, just like he had with Jill. He knew talking about Steve was hurting her inside. She remained strong as she continued. "I met Alfred Ashford, the psycho who owned the island. He accused me of being a spy sent to tell the other company where to attack. He tried to kill me several times. I also found out about Alexia, his twin sister. Steve and I got to the mansion Alfred lived in. We found out that Alexia wasn't there, Alfred had only pretended she was there. He even dressed up as her and talked to himself!"
Ark leaned over to Leon. "Is it me, or does Umbrella have a habit of hiring wakos for the top positions?"
"If you ask me," Leon replied, "I'm not surprised Umbrella hasn't wiped themselves out already."
Claire glared at them. "If your finished, I'll continue. After that little scene, we wanted off that island. We found the hanger and got on a plane. We took off and thought we were safe. Alfred, however, redirected the plane to Antarctica. There, we found Alexander, Alfred's father, and Alexia. Oh, and Barry, if you think Birkin was nuts, the Ashfords were really insane. Alexander had injected himself with a virus he had made. He was turned into a freak that Alfred and Alexia tied up in the basement of the Antarctic Base. Alexia then injected herself with the T-Veronica virus she created herself. That was fifteen years ago. She had Alfred lock her in a cryo tube so her body would accept the virus. Well, Alfred got there and released Alexander. I killed him and sent Alfred over a cliff, but Alexia had been thawed out and captured Steve. She then poisoned me."
Chris picked up with his part. "I got to Rockfort when this was happening. I was too late. I ran into Rodriguez, who I saved from some large worm. He gave me Claire's lighter and told me where she went. I managed to find a plane and flew to the Antarctic base, but not without blowing up Rockfort. I found Claire when I arrived. I got her the antidote for the poison and together we started looking for Steve. We found out that Steve had been turned into a monster by Alexia and was sent after Claire. She had to kill him."
"He asked me to. I knew I was doing him a favor. I just wish he didn't have to die." Claire was starting to break down, but pulled herself together. "I confronted Alexia and killed her two times. Each time, she would get back up. The T-Veronica virus had made her very dangerous. In the end, she just mutated into a blob that I killed by shooting her with a rocket launcher."
Leon could tell there was something between Claire and Steve. The way she was acting gave it all away. 'I guess I'm not the only one who lost someone they loved. Now I really don't know if I should tell her how I feel.' He thought, looking at Claire.
" I knew I couldn't let the T-Veronica virus exists, so I dropped a nuclear bomb on the base." Chris said, finishing the story. "The bomb was on the VTOL jet we escaped in. It destroying the base and the T-Veronica virus with it. We headed back for Europe, but knew we couldn't go back to Paris. Leon told me that the reason Claire had known I was in Paris was because Umbrella was watching me. Instead, Claire and I went to London. Umbrella had found us somehow, and tried to kill us twice. Now we're here, so that's our little tale."
"Let me ask you this," Jill said, thinking about what she had heard in Paris about someone breaking into Umbrella's HQ, "How did you get caught?"
Claire answered smugly "I got caught sneaking into Umbrella's HQ in Paris. I'll tell you this, that place sure is easy to get into."
"Your the.." Barry stared, wide eyed at Claire before looking down. "Shit!"
Jill started to giggle while Chris was confused by Barry's behavior. "Is there something I missed?"
Jill answered. "Oh, it's nothing. Barry was just going to ask Claire if she was the idiot who tried to get into Umbrella's HQ."
Chris and Claire fixed their eyes on Barry, who had begun to sweat.
"I'm a what?" Claire demanded.
"You know, Barry's right. That was sort of foolish." Ark said.
"You really shouldn't have gone in alone." Leon added.
"Because of you, Umbrella has doubled security at that place. we'll never get in." Carlos said, while looking nervously at Chris.
"I can't believe all you people. I was looking for my brother. I didn't know if he was dead or alive. I did the right thing. Chris, am I right?"
Chris looked at Claire. "Barry and everyone else was right. That was a stupid move. For all you know, they could have shot you right there."
Claire had become enraged at what Chris had said. "You want to know what's stupid, I'll tell you what's stupid. How about not telling the only family you have where the hell you are. How about disappearing without a trace and worrying me half to death. How about leaving Raccoon to go off to Europe instead of staying with your friends. Maybe, just maybe, if you stayed, this whole thing with me looking for you and getting caught wouldn't of happened." Claire had just let Chris have it, all her frustration with her brother coming out.
"Damn Claire, maybe..." Barry stopped when he looked over to Chris. Everyone froze when they saw the cold look on Chris' face. He was breathing heavy and looked like he was about to explode. Claire backed off. She had seen that look before. He had that look just before he went into one of his uncontrollable rages. She had seen it too many times at the orphanage they had grown up in. Only now she was more terrified because Chris was giving the look to her.
Chris then spoke. His voice was low and harsh. He only said three words, but they said it all. "I should have." Chris got up and stormed out of the kitchen, heading for the stairs.
"CHRIS!" Jill called out, worry in her voice. "What are you doing?"
He stopped and replied. "I'm getting something important. It's time we stopped chatting and do what we came here to do." He continued up the stairs, leaving everyone else in the kitchen, stunned by what they just saw. They heard a door to one of the rooms open, then get violently slammed shut. It was a while before anyone moved.
Claire closed her eyes. "I'm sorry Chris. I'm so sorry."
Author's Comments: We can just see Chris starting to crack. We also see that Claire seems to hold her brother somewhat responsible for what happened to her. Either that or she was just trying to justify her own actions. Ego-defense mechanisms are interesting, aren't they. I believe Claire used displacement. Anyway, mixed feelings abound. Some people are keeping secrets, some are doing the opposite. Crossed lines and old heartaches equal a very interesting stay at Barry's place. Guilt is an ugly monster, especially if you try to fight it yourself, like Chris seems to be. Also, battles are being fought in the heart. Jill loves Chris, but he thinks she's with Carlos. That's going to be interesting. Plus we got Claire and Leon. These two young adults have each lost a loved one. Will they find comfort in each other, or will memories of those lost keep them apart? I told you the drama would pick up. Now we have to see what happens.
The next chapter turns the mystery up
a notch as we learn about the team's new mission. What dangers will they face?
How will they handle the fact that they will be meeting old foes? What is the
mysterious Project X? Will Chris loose his temper again? The mission is stated
in RE Armageddon: Part 2, Chapter 3- New Mission, Old Threat.