RE Armageddon: Part III- Gaining Strength

by striker

Now reformed, the S.T.A.R.S. team is drawn into a deadly trap where they are not the only targets. Please read and review.

7. Enter Death

Disclaimer: Resident Evil is a trademark of Capcom. This story is based on the game series. I get no money from this story so don't sue me. Besides, if you do, you won't get much money out of it.

Resident Evil: Armageddon

Part III- Gaining Strength

Chapter 7- Enter Death

Written by: Striker

The helicopter hovered over the roof looking for a place to land. Jeff looked down and saw something he didn't like. "Sir, three Hunters. We can't land until we get rid of them."

Hunk looked at Jess. "Man the gun. Eradicate those things."

Jess got behind the .50 cal. chain gun fixed to the side of the copter. He opened fire, shredding the Hunter instantly. "All gone." He said.

Hunk turned back to Jeff. "Land this copter now."

The helicopter set down next to another copter. The team filed out and lined up. They were dressed in combat fatigues with their names above their right breast. Nicholai paced in front of them, giving them their orders. "You are to descend to the first floor. Search out the enemy and neutralize them. Use whatever force necessary to complete your mission. Now move out."

Jess handed out the weapons. Everyone got a SIGPRO SP20009 pistol and a M4A1 assault rifle. These were standard weapons for the U.B.C.S. Nicholai had picked these because he knew how reliable the guns were. Everyone also received several clips and magazines for their weapons. They each had Bowie knifes that they each strapped to either their leg or belt. Finally, they each got a walkie-talkie so they could be in constant contact.

Rick got his equipment and turned back to Nicholai had been standing. "Sir, where… What the hell? Where did he go?"

Hunk heard Rick and looked around the roof. Nicholai was nowhere in sight. Jeff came up to him.

"Why would Nicholai disappear like that? That's just too strange for me."

"I don't know, but I'm glad he's gone." Hunk turned to the others. "Listen up. Nicholai told us to kill these people. Well I'm doing this my way. I want you to bring those people to me alive. We need to find out how many people they have. Chances are that only half of this group is here. If that is the case, we need to find out where their base is. Dead men tell no tales, so only shot to injure, not to kill. If they fire at you, only kill them if absolutely necessary. I'll go with Ada. Jeff, you're paired with Jess. Max, you go with Kelly. That leaves Janet and Rick."

"Hell no." Janet snapped. "I'd rather have a zombie as a partner. There's no way in hell I will work with that man."

"I agree." Rick said. "I don't want that woman as a partner. She'll end up shooting me."

"Tough." Ark said. "You two will work together or you can stay up here and watch the copter. Now I don't want to hear anymore complaints from either of you, understand."

"Yes sir." They said at the same time.

"Move out. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can start looking for Nicholai."

Hunk's team moved to the elevator. "Here we go." Ada said as Hunk pushed the button for the ground floor.

Chris opened the door just a crack. He nodded to Jill, who had her Berretta drawn. He shoved the door open and stormed in. He and Jill found two zombies, which they killed with a few headshots.

"Damn, I hope the others are having more luck than we are." Jill said.

"This is the sixth room we searched." Chris threw up his arms. "Why are we wasting our time? I'll bet you anything that anyone who was alive is now a zombie. We were lucky to come upon Eliza."

"Let's just continue on." Jill placed her hand on his shoulder. "We may find some survivors. We can't give up that easily."

"You're right. Let's go." The two left the room. Chris looked down the hall and stopped. He saw a man and woman standing about thirty feet from him. "Hey Jill, I think we found some survivors."

Jill looked at the people. "I know I've seen that type of outfit they're wearing somewhere before." Then she remembered. "Those are the same uniforms that the U.B.C.S. wears. Those are bad guys!"

Chris took a closer look and saw the guns. "No shit." Chris aimed his MP5 at the two soldiers. Jill followed suite.

"Christopher Redfield, Jill Valentine, drop your weapons and get down on the ground." The man said.

"How do you know our names?" Chris asked.

"Simple, I was shown pictures of you. I know all about group. Don't resist. I intend one bringing you in alive."

Jill glared at him. "I thought you would have orders to shoot us on sight."

"We do." The woman said. "But we don't work that way."

"Fine." Chris dropped his MP5. "But you'll have to knock me out first."

The man discarded his rifle as well. "I hope you fight as well as you talk." He motioned to the woman, who dropped her rifle. The two began to advance.

"Ready Jill?"

"Ready." Jill put down her MP5 and followed Chris.

The two couples met halfway. Chris eyed his opposition. "Since you know who I am, why don't you tell me yours? I want to know whose ass I'm going to kick."

"My name is Hunk, but you can call me Death. Her name is Agent #407."

"But you can call me Ada." Ada finished.

"So you're Umbrella's best agents." Chris said. "I'm not impressed."

"You should be." Hunk threw a left jab that Chris dodged. Chris returned with a left hook that Hunk easily blocked. "You'll have to do better than that."

Chris smiled. "I'm just warming up." Suddenly he dropped to one knee and nailed Hunk with a right jab to the inside of his right leg. Hunk yelled and grabbed his leg, pain shooting through it. Chris then came up with an uppercut, sending Hunk staggering backwards. "Like I said, I'm not impressed."

Hunk held his jaw. "You were lucky. Consider that a free shot."

Jill watched the exchange, a smile on her face. Ada took the opportunity and blaster her in the face with a right hook. "Never take your eyes off of your opponent." Ada said mockingly.

Jill gave her a fierce look. "You'll pay for that." She sneered.

"Oh, try me." Ada came out swinging. Jill blocked them all, just like she was taught to do in the Deltas. Ada shot forward with a right jab. Jill sidestepped to the left and gave Ada a blow to the kidneys. Ada gritted her teeth as she grabbed her waist. Jill wasted no time. She swept Ada's right foot while clothes lining her at the same time. Ada was sent crashing to the floor.

"Word to the wise, don't mess with a Delta. You loose every time." Jill said.

"ADA!" Hunk turned to Chris. "Time to take you out." He feinted a left punch, and caught Chris off-guard with right to the gut. He then followed up with a left jab and right cross to Chris' face. Hunk then finished with a left shot to Chris' lower right ribs. Chris let out a yelp and almost doubled over. Hunk smiled and began to deliver a spin kick. Chris saw it coming and ducked, performing a sweep. Hunk felt his foot lift off the ground before crashing hard to the tiled floor. He moaned, rolling around in pain.

"Come on Jill, get back to the storeroom. We'll wait for the others."

They grabbed their weapons and left, leaving Ada and Hunk lying on the ground. Jill turned to Chris. "Where did you learn how to fight like that?"

Chris laughed. "It's amazing how much you can learn just wandering around the country."

"Do you have any other hidden talents?"

"You'll just have to find out. I just hope the others did as good as we did. The last thing we need is to have one of us get caught."

"This is going nowhere fast. All we've found are zombies. Why don't we go back?" Leon said, following Claire.

"Cause it's our job. Now no more complaining from you, Leon Scott Kennedy."

Leon hated it when people called him by his full name. It reminded him of his days at the Academy. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't do that."

Claire stopped and spun around. "What's the matter with your middle name?"

"It's just that you sound like a teacher I had in Elementary school. She used to call me that all the time. I believe she was 65."

"Ha, ha. I am hurt that you would compare me to a little old lady. I am a very attractive girl. I can't begin to count how many boys asked me out on dates at collage. It must have been…"

"I get your point." Leon thought of something. "Come to think of it, I don't know your middle name. What is it?"

"Oh no Leon. That's a secrete. Only one other person knows my name and that's Chris. I made him swear never to tell anyone."

"You can tell me. I'll keep it a secrete too. Tell me."

"Marie."

"Claire Marie Redfield. What's so wrong with that? That's a pretty name."

"You think?"

Just then, Max and Kelly came around a corner and spotted them. Max raised his rifle. "DON'T MOVE. DROP YOUR WEAPONS AND TURN AROUND. IF YOU RISIST, WE WILL SHOOT!"

Leon holstered his shotgun and dropped his MP5. "Do what he says Claire. Trust me."

Claire nodded and set down her Uzis, rifle, and grenade launcher. Max and Kelly cautiously approached. Max set down his M4A1 and turned Leon around. Kelly did the same with Claire.

"As long as you don't pull anything, no one will get hurt." Max said.

Leon looked at Claire and winked. "You mean like this?" Leon shot up his right elbow, slamming it into the side of Max's head. Claire rammed her left elbow into Kelly's abdomen. Both staggered backwards. Leon stared into Max's eyes. "You're not taking me in without a fight."

Max straightened up. "Suite yourself." He assumed a fighting stance. Leon threw a punch that he blocked. He then spun and plowed his elbow right into Leon's side. He followed with a knife-edge chop to the back of the head. Leon stumbled forward, his vision blurred.

'Shit, this guy must know martial arts. I have to be careful.' Leon rubbed the back of his head and turned to Max.

"Had enough?"

"Not yet." Leon replied.

By this time, Kelly had regained her breath. "Your turn lady." She said. Claire's was contorted in anger. She threw a right jab that Kelly dodged. She then rammed her right knee into Claire' midsection. Claire doubled over, cursing to herself. Meanwhile, Max came at Leon with a right cross. Leon grabbed his arm and used Max's own momentum to throw him over his shoulder. Max hit the ground with a thud. He slowly got up, holding his back.

"You're going to pay dearly for that." Max growled. Leon could see that Max was getting pissed. That could be an advantage.

Kelly saw Max get thrown. She was so worried about her boyfriend that she didn't see Claire get back up. "Hey lady." Claire said, getting Kelly's attention. "One of my friends says you have a pretty face. Too bad I have to mess it up." Without warning, Claire decked Kelly right in the right eye. Kelly howled in pain as she fell down.

"KELLY!" Max yelled as he saw his girlfriend go down. Leon saw this and nailed Max in the stomach.

"Maybe you should be more concerned about yourself." Leon grabbed Max by the collar. "Cause you're going down just like her." Leon reared back gave Max a head butt. Max crumpled to the floor while Leon grabbed his head. "OW!"

"Good one Einstein." Claire said. "Why don't you go ahead and knock yourself out."

Leon looked at her. "Hey, it works in the movies." Leon and Claire grabbed their weapons and left.

Max crawled over to Kelly. "You OK?"

"Yeah." She said. "Sorry."

"Don't worry, we'll get them later. Let's go meet up with Hunk."

Together, they got up and headed back for the elevator.

Carlos leaned against the wall. He was waiting for Rebecca, who had to make an unexpected bathroom break. "Well, at least this place isn't getting ready to explode." He said to himself.

At the same time, Janet was waiting outside the men's restroom for Rick. "I had to get stuck with him. We should be searching for those terrorists, and he has to take a leak." Just then, Rick came out of the restroom, zipping up his pants. She looked at him in disgust. "Tell me you washed your hands."

"No, but I wiped them with a paper towel." Janet was appalled. "Hey, we don't know how these guys infected this plant. Besides, I'm not going to touch you, I don't want to catch your bitch virus."

"Let's just keep on searching." Janet felt like leveling Rick. He could be such an asshole. They moved on, not saying anything to each other.

"That felt good. If I had to hold that in any longer, I might of burst." Rebecca came out of the bathroom, a relieved look on her face.

"That's too much info Becky." Carlos said. "Let's go…" He was stopped when he saw Janet and Rick come around the corner. He recognized the uniforms. "Shit." He went for his MP5, but was stopped by Janet's voice.

"Don't even think about it." Janet had her rifle aimed at him. "Stay right there." She and Rick quickly approached. Her face lit up when she recognized Carlos. "Carlos Olivera. You can't imagine how much I'm going to enjoy this." She tossed her rifle down. "Rick, handle the girl."

Rick looked at Rebecca, then back to Janet. "Why do I get the girl? Why the hell can't I get him?"

Janet glared at him. "Cause I want to bring this traitor in."

"Fine." He turned to Rebecca. "All right kid, don't make this…" Rebecca kicked him in the groin before he could finish. "DAMMIT, SHE KICKED ME IN THE NUTS!" He screamed, holding his groin. "Oh that's it." He tried to grab her, but she then stomped on his left foot. "OW, YOU LITTLE BITCH!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME!?" Rebecca blasted him with a left cross to the face.

Rick dropped to his knees and held his head. "Damn that hurt. I'm not cut out for this shit."

"Weak bastard." Janet muttered. "You won't find me as easy to beat as him traitor."

"I'm not a traitor." Carlos said. "I joined the good guys."

Janet and Carlos began to fight. They blocked or dodged each other's punches. Janet was aggressive, not backing off at all. She finally tagged Carlos with a right body blow. 'Time to end this.' He thought. He stomped down on her right foot, making it impossible for her to move it.

"What the..?" Janet didn't have time to finish. Carlos nailed her with a right hook to the face. He then kicked her in the stomach. Janet hunched over, letting out a growl. Carlos grabbed her head and brought his right knee up into her face. She was sent crashing backwards, landing on her rear. She felt her face. She then pulled her hand back and saw blood. "You bastard," She said weakly, "You broke my nose."

"You're lucky that's all I broke. Come on Becky." Carlos grabbed his MP5. Rebecca nodded and grabbed her grenade launcher. Together they left.

Rick looked over at Janet. "Hunk is going to be pissed."

Janet just rolled her eyes and tried to stop her nose from bleeding.

Barry scanned the lab. "Nothing. At least we only have one more hall to go. Let's make this fast."

Ark looked down the hall. "You really think we're going to find anybody. I say we just blow this joint and get out of here."

"First we finish our sweep." Barry said. "Then we can level this graveyard. Besides, there are only two more rooms in this hall."

"I wouldn't bother with them." Eliza said.

"And why not?" Ark asked.

She looked at both men. "Because I was already through here. In fact, I've been through most of this floor. I saw no one else alive."

Barry couldn't believe what he heard. "Why didn't you say anything earlier? You could have saved us all this time. We could have blown this place and be out of here by now."

Ark tried to calm Barry down. "Take it easy. We should have asked her. Let's just go back to the others."

"Well, at least things can't get any worse." Barry looked down the hall, only to see Jeff and Jess round the corner. "Maybe I spoke too soon."

Jeff saw Barry's group. "Stop right there." He then saw them duck into a lab. "God, why don't they ever listen? I hate it when they run." He and Jess ran to the lab. They burst through the door to see nothing.

Jess turned to Jeff. "Where the hell did they go?"

"Right here." Jess turned around to see Barry standing beside the door. "Hi." Barry hit Jess in the gut, then in the face.

Jess took both shots. "You must be Barry. They say you're strong, now let's see if they're right." He punched Barry in the face.

"That was a good one, but you'll have to do better." Barry tackled Jess, both crashing into one of the tables.

Meanwhile, Ark and Jeff eyed each other. Ark spoke first. "You must be Jeff. Tell me, why would Umbrella keep your leader's file under tight security but leave yours easily assessable?"

"Tell me this," Jeff replied, "One, why would you purposely release the T-virus on this plant? And two, what do you mean about our files?"

"I hacked into Umbrella's computers. I had an easy time finding out who you were. Plus, we didn't release the virus. Nicholai must have had the virus released last night to make a trap for us."

"That's nonsense. Nicholai told us that you had a spy, Eliza Walker, spread the virus."

"I did no such thing." Eliza said. "This place was already infected when I got here this morning. I didn't even know this T-virus existed."

"I don't believe you." Jeff swung at Ark. Ark dodged and grabbed Jeff jacket. He threw him over one of the tables. Jeff slid over the table and fell to the floor. Test tubes and other instruments hit the floor with him.

Ark walked around the table. "Maybe you should. Umbrella has a habit of lying to people."

Jeff sprang forward and grabbed Ark's shirt. "How do I know you're not lying?" Jeff catapulted Ark over him. Ark hit hard. Letting out a groan, he rolled over and began to stand up. He looked up just in time to see Jeff dive at him. Jeff tackled Ark, both men sliding over the floor.

On the other side of the room, Barry and Jess were locked in a grapple. Jess saw a chemical cupboard set against the wall. He slammed Barry into on side, shattering the glass. Barry responded by slamming Jess into the other side. They then continued to struggle. "You can't win Barry. I will never give up." He shoved Barry off of him and threw a right cross. Barry got hit in the jaw. He dropped to one knee. While holding his mouth with his left hand, his right hand slowly wrapped around his Colt. Jess bent down. "What's the matter does that hurt?"

"Not as much as this will." Barry brought the handle of his Colt into Jess' right temple. He then stood up and brought his left elbow into Jess' back, sending him to the ground. "God I love my magnum." Barry looked over to Ark and Jeff. "Shit."

Jeff was on top of Ark, choking him. "I'm going to bring you in, even if I have to drag your unconscious ass behind me." Ark tried to push Jeff off, but Jeff had more leverage. He then remembered something he learned at the Academy. He grabbed Jeff's wrists and drove his fingers into them. Jeff clenched his teeth, trying to ignore the pain. Jeff then brought up his left knee and dropped it on Ark's groin. Ark let go, almost paralyzed. Suddenly Eliza rushed up behind Jeff and cracked him in the left side of his head with a broom. Jeff's body went limp.

Ark pushed Jeff off of him. "Thanks Eliza, that's two I owe you."

"You alright?" Barry came running up to them.

"I'm fine. Let's go." Ark stood up and left, followed by Berry and Eliza.

Jess waited until Barry's group left before going over to Jeff. "Hey buddy, you OK?" He said, still holding his back.

Jeff slowly got up. "Yeah." He stood up and looked in one of the mirrors fixed to the wall. He saw a small cut that was starting to bleed. "Damn. We better get back to Hunk. He was wrong, they knew we were coming." Jeff and Jess left the lab and headed for the rendezvous point.

Chris was still holding his ribs when Ark, Barry, and Eliza arrived. He looked around at his team. "I take it you all had a run-in with Nicholai's little group."

Carlos leaned against a wall. "Nicholai must have had this all planned out. First the zombies, then the B.O.W.s, and now these troops. He's determined to kill us."

"That's not the bad part." Ark said. "He has them believing that we had Eliza released the virus."

"Also, these guys are well trained." Leon added. "The one I fought knew martial arts. I was lucky I was able to beat him."

Chris looked towards the warehouse door. "There's one thing though, I think Hunk is doing this his own way. Nicholai gave Hunk orders to kill us, but instead he wants to capture us alive. This may be an advantage we can use."

"Now what's going through that head of yours?" Claire asked.

"Just that there may be more to this than we can see. Remember, nothing is what it seems. With Umbrella, you can never be to certain. How did the search go?"

"Just that we wasted our time." Barry pointed to Eliza. "She told us that she's been over this whole floor already, and she didn't find any living people."

"Look at it this way, at least we know Nicholai and his party are here." Jill said.

Chris looked at Jill. "All the more reason to complete this mission. If we're lucky, we can take out Nicholai in the process. Let's go."

The S.T.A.R.S. team quickly headed for the warehouse elevator.

Hunk was waiting with Ada, still feeling his injures from his fight with Chris. "Where are the others? If Chris and Jill are that well trained, then the other survivors must be the same way. I knew this wouldn't be easy."

"Here comes Max and Kelly now." Ada pointed to them as they walked up.

"You were right Hunk, these guys are tough. They beat both of us." Max said.

"Don't feel so bad, we got beat ourselves." Ada replied.

Janet and Rick arrived next. They were arguing like usual, with Janet still holding her nose.

"What happened to you?" Kelly asked.

"I got my nose broken by Oliveria," Janet said. "And he got his ass kicked by that teenager."

"She kicked me right in the balls." Rick shot back. "Besides, I'm use to working with computers, not fighting people."

Jeff and Jess came running up. "I have some bad news Hunk, they knew we were coming. The man I fought hacked into Umbrella's system and found out all about us. The strange thing was he said that your file and Ada's were both secure, but ours weren't."

Hunk was confused. "That makes no sense. Your files should have been with mine. I don't get it, Nicholai would have told us if they knew."

"There's on more thing," Jeff continued, "He also said that they didn't release the virus. Walker said herself that the people here were zombies when she got here this morning."

"I don't like this." Max said. "This is fucked up."

"Still, we have to stop them. Chris told his partner to head for the warehouse. They may be trying to reach the self-destruct switch. The elevator for B2 is in B1. I know where we can head them off. Let's go." Hunk led his team to the elevator.

"What do you mean the power has already been shut off?" Leon stood in the power room with Rebecca and Ark.

"Someone already shut it off." Rebecca said. "See for yourself."

"I bet I can tell you who did it." Ark said.

"Nicholai." Leon left the room. "Chris, someone was here already. They turned off everything we were going to."

"Nicholai must of come down here while we were dealing with his troops. Let's go and be careful." Chris waited for Rebecca and Ark before he moved his team out. They followed the route Claire had picked.

"Notice something?" Jill pointed to two zombies lying on the floor. "Someone's been through here."

"Why do I have a feeling that this mission was going downhill from the start?" Chris muttered. The group came to the chemical storage room. It had large canisters stacked on huge racks. The racks in turn formed isles that made a T-intersection, with an isle going off to the left. On the right side of the room was what appeared to be a crane room, with a metal stairway winding up to a short, steel platform leading to it. "Almost there." The group quickly began across the room.

"Stop where you are. This is as far as you go." Hunk's group came out from the isle, cutting off Chris' team in front of the platform. "Now drop your weapons." Hunk's group was in a cluster. Hunk, Ada, and Jeff were in front. Ada was between the men, with Hunk to her left and Jeff to her right. Jess was behind and right of Jeff. Janet was behind and to the left of Hunk. Max and Kelly were in the middle. Rick was in the back.

"No chance in hell, Hunk." Chris' group was also in a cluster. Chris, Jill, and Leon were in front, with Jill to Chris' right and Leon to Chris' left. Barry was behind Chris and Claire was behind Leon. Claire had her Uzis aimed at Jeff and Ada. Carlos was behind Jill. Rebecca was in the rear with Ark, who had put Eliza behind him.

Leon scanned his enemies. Suddenly he saw something that almost made him drop his shotgun. "Ada, how? I saw you die in Raccoon? You're dead."

Ada lowered her gaze. Hunk looked at Ada, then at Leon. Claire was shocked. From what she heard, Ada had died. Everyone else was confused.

"Don't you just love seeing old friends reuniting? Kind of warms your heart, doesn't it." Everyone turned to see Nicholai standing on the platform, watching the scene like a vulture. "Quite a situation you're in. Don't make any rash moves, they could be fatal."

Jill's face turned red. "You bastard." She pointed her MP5 at Nicholai. Carlos did the same, seething with rage.

"Good to see you too. I was hoping when we would meet again."

"Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now." Carlos spat.

"Cause if you shoot, the others will shoot and you'll all die." Nicholai smiled. "So close, yet so far."

"He's right Chris." Barry whispered to Chris. "All we need is one spark and this whole thing will blow up in our face."

Chris shut his eyes. Whatever he was going to do, it had to be good, or his team was dead.

Author's Comments: CLIFFHANGER!!!!! What a chapter. Four bone-crunching fights and a deadly standoff. Who could ask for more? Oh yeah, Leon finding out that Ada is alive. That's going to complicate things. Also, Chris seems to have that funny feeling that not everything is normal. Too much has happened for this to be called nothing but coincidence. And remember, there is no such thing as coincidence. We're approaching the pivotal chapter of Part III. In Part I it was chapter 7. In Part II it was chapter 8. Now, what happens in chapters 8 and 9 will have another major impact on the plot. By the way, if you're asking yourself why I didn't do shootouts between Chris' and Hunk's teams, it's simple. One, Hunk ordered his men to take the S.T.A.R.S. team alive. Shooting them would kind of defeat the purpose. And two, it was more action-packed. I'm a sucker for hand-to-hand combat scenes like those in John Woo films. Anyway, time to move on.

The cliffhanger will be resolved in the next chapter. What is Nicholai's plan, and how will it affect the fate of BOTH groups. How will Chris get out of this mess, and will Hunk's troubled thoughts play into it? A choice will be made that will surprise all. It will also setup another thrilling cliffhanger that will leave you wanting to read more. It all happens in RE Armageddon: Part III, Chapter 8- Double-cross.