Chucking her last incendiary grenade, Alomar prayed and ran, searching for her partner. The creature behind the woman howled in pain, the burst of flames engulfing its transformed body in fiery death. Redfield moved in from behind, somehow having acquired a rather large flame thrower. Pulling upon the trigger, a cascading wall of fire separated the human's from the animal. It ate away at the now blazing flesh of the creature, finally reducing it into a boiling, dead mass.

Breathing raggedly, Alomar looked at the back wall. A refueling station was blinking..evidently this experimentation had been well thought out. The quarantine doors lifted seconds after, sending a soft current of fresh air into the unbearingly hot room. Chris unstrapped his new weapon, looking reluctant to leave it behind. If there were more of those things..it would come in handy.

Sheva's calling voice interrupted his train of thought, finally surrendering that it was too cumbersome to bring along anyway.

"C'mon."

Redfield nodded, bolting towards the newly opened exit before it had a chance to close once more.

"Roger."

Both the individuals were breathing hard, sweat running down their faces and backs. Alomar growled, her lovely face contorted in pure rage.

"We have to find Excella and take her down. We have to end this for good."

The woman's eyes blazed, her lips drawn together as the pair headed in the direction of the observation deck. It was more than likely their adversary had moved on, but at least they could try and run her down.. Chris narrowed his eyes as he could see several of the Las Plagas controlled locals, a few holding stun rods within their decaying hands. It was as if they were protecting the path to the observation deck, morbid bodyguards protecting their mistress like rabid dogs. Sheva did not even take the precaution of distance shooting, bolting forward and opening fire as soon as the closest were within range.

Within the last few days, Chris had come to respect Alomar a great deal. She was a courageous woman, well trained, and she had a fire within her spirit that reminded him so much of Jill.. Moving behind one of the distracted infected, Redfield's large hands clasped around the man's head. With one swift jerk, the neck was snapped, sending the body convulsing to the floor. Raising his boot above the squirming man's head, Chris silently apologized to the soul that no longer inhabited the body. The steel encased shoe came down upon the skull, splattering it into nothingness.

—-

A Decade Ago at the Original Spencer Estate

The pain, it had been the most memorable.. The sickening feeling of claws ripping a mortal hole through his ribcage. The blood had pooled into a slippery mess, then the darkness came.. All he could smell for an eternity was flowers and blood.. More pain entered into his veins, coursing into his failing heart. His body felt like a feather, moving through the deepening liquidity that followed a morbid current.

He slipped into the abyss, feeling nothing but the fire within. Then..he could feel his body being let down, reconnecting with his failing mind. He could sense the heat of the facility.. Smell the explosions from above. . She was there...he could smell her, could feel her. The senses began to crash into him like waves of nauseating clarity. It was like the world had been gray before.. Now focusing into full color. Barely breathing and blind, all he wanted was to reach out of his nightmare, to touch her. To see something, feel human as his dna was literally being transformed. But his death paralyzed him, his rebirth incomplete. And when he awoke..he would find himself alone...

—-

Opening his eyes, Wesker stared blankly. It had been almost ten years before he had given that memory a thought during a waking hour. Without a doubt, he could still recall that day as clear as if it had happened only moments before. Casting a glance downwards, Wesker's intense gaze faltered as he reviewed the hour's previous recording. His living quarters entrance area had security cameras in use.. The humanity of his coupling having been caught in glimpses during certain.. Activities with a woman.. His woman.. She was at least in those stolen moments..

His lips twitched ever so slightly in regret, fingers hovering over the computer's button.

' Perhaps you are correct, Angelica, but it's far too late now..'

Erasing the surveillance backlog that had contained their passionate encounter, Wesker holstered his magnum that had been laying upon his desk. Resetting his metallic sunglasses, he exited the room. Straightening his spine in resolve, Wesker pushed the emotions that had welled up to the pit of his stomach. He had told her the truth, he could never afford the time.. There was an appointment with an old friend he was not going to miss.

Redfield grit his teeth as the last obstacle in his path died wetly at his boots. The Lickers had invaded more of the facility and impeded his pursuit of Excella. The experimental area had opened up into more ruins, construction material littered around the area. It looked as if Gionne had been working hard to expand the facility even larger..

The light change made both he and Sheva blink hard, the smell of fresher air stealing around the chamber they had just entered. Jogging quickly, both the partner's began to see Excella's outline, quickly Becoming into reality. Raising their weapons, the BSAA operatives tensed with adrenaline of the chase. They finally had her cornered..

"Stop right there.",

Chris growled. He could see the woman before him tense, her shoulder muscles going rigid at his voice. Slowly, she began to turn to face her pursuers, clapping her hands together in a false applause.

"Braaaavo."

Her mockery was not received well, both raising their weapons for her head, both fighting the urge to shoot her on the spot. A cold eye was kept closely on Gionne, Redfield taking small, careful steps towards the irritant.

"Where's Jill?"

Cocking her head to the side, Excella eyes Chris' advances closely, the question ripping a cold laugh from her fake lips. Blue eyes flashed with malice, sending Redfield silently into a blind rage.

"Maybe I'll tell you, maybe I won't.."

Chris's finger squeezed the trigger of his handgun, the desire to kill the inhuman thing in front of him blazing through his tired brain.

"Cut the crap and tell us what's going on! Where is Jill?"

Then, it came from the shadows. The blow that sent him reeling from his stance, so hard that a haze of red clouded his vision momentarily. A flash of blue, then more pain upon his wrist, but somehow he managed to keep hold of the gun that lay in his palm. Sheva drew a knife, but the glinting steel never hit the mark as the mysterious ghost black flipped away. The creature was slim, shrouded in navy blue hues that covered the rest of it. A native mask hid the stranger's face momentarily, their identity hidden. Aiming at the assailant's mask, Redfield shot one bullet in defense.

It landed, sending the metallic trash clattering loudly to the ancient, stone floor. The attacker was obviously female, but the cloak above her head still kept both Alomar and Redfield guessing desperately. An amused voice filtered from the staircase above, causing Chris Redfield to stop directly within his tracks. It was the voice from his nightmares..

—-

She couldn't stop. It all felt like some morbid dream, a joke, but only too real. Valentine lept from her hidden crouch and into the air. Both her feet planted painfully into the man before her, chest, knocking his heavy body prostate. Pushing off into a corkscrew spin, Jill vaulted her body backwards. Her secrecy was somehow wrenched from her face, falling away to the floor. The fresh air felt good to her skin..somehow clearing her mind barely... Valentine blinked from underneath her hood, the stench of Excella's perfume making her eyes water. Something inside felt..off.

Like the haunting specter of her old self was fighting to take control of her body once more. Thoughts she hadn't been allowed to think had started to resurface.. It was as if she was screaming with her mouth closed. Diverting her azure eyes to the man she had been directed to assault, Valentine's breath caught in her throat. Chris Redfield stood before her, breathing heavily from her sudden attack. But still she could do nothing, only a living mannequin.

Angelica's words came rushing back within her soul, giving the fated hope for herself once more.

'Chris is coming for you...'