Title: Into the Light

Author: Malenkaya

Rating: R for violence and swearing

Summary: (RE movie fanfic, 2nd in trilogy): What began as a mindless effort to survive has developed into a race against time to stop Matt's sudden mutation as Alice, Rain, Michael, Matt and J.D. re-enter the Hive in search of a cure.

Disclaimer: Consider the lacking amount of people using the characters out there, I should own them. But I don't. So don't sue :)

Feedback: Please! I live and breathe reviews! Flames, as long as they're explanatory, are fine.

Author's Notes: Sorry again for the late update! This chapter is a little action heavy, lol. A lot, actually. There will be a balance stricken next chapter, I promise!

Thanks again to those who have reviewed Into the Light thus far, particularly for chapter eight: The Seventh Angel, Nikolai Burnside, XMaster, masked-in-your-shadows, rain1657, Serpentia, Gabzilla, Isinha, Faded Writer, and Kagii. Please again remember to leave your emails with your reviews so I can thank you for them and answer any questions you have. Thanks goes out also to all those who read and don't review, even though I beg you—continuously—to do so. It's still very appreciated.

Also, sorry for my punctuation last chapter. I am getting so sick of fanfiction. net, which constantly seems to "edit" my writing and, in doing so, makes me appear illiterate. ;)

Thanks again, enjoy the fic!

Into the Light

Chapter Nine: Distortion

For the first time since this entire endeavor had begun, Olivia was nervous.

They were walking down the corridor along the bio labs now, each person carrying his or her own weapon, and as Olivia walked silently, two steps behind J.D and four before Rain, she had finally realized how nervous she was.

It wasn't a fear of what they might come up against, or even worry over the situation with J.D and Rain. Instead, it was a worry of whether or not she'd be able to hold up her own end of the team.

It wasn't something Olivia was used to. She'd barely worked down here—only for a couple of months at most—before being promoted to the top at Raccoon City's aboveground headquarters.

But even then, as she'd strode through these halls, she'd been confident, sure of herself and her abilities. Even when working with Michael on the papers the night before had been a territory familiar to her. She was one of the country's best biologists, and she was well aware of this.

But this—this was completely different. This was weaponry, intrigue, fighting. This was the stuff the games her little cousins had played had consisted of, games that she had thought herself too ladylike to play.

Now, she regretted that mindset. She had a gun, she had a grenade, she had everything the rest of the team had—minus about a minimum of three years experience.

They had tried to leave her behind, based on that inexperience. One of them had to stay behind to watch over the rest of their things, and it had come down to her or Michael. Both of them were more adept in sciences than weaponry—but while Michael had more firearms experience, she had more knowledge on Umbrella, and she'd used that as a key factor in her argument.

In the end, she had been chosen to come along instead of Michael. Besides one vote, the entire group had been in favor of it.

Olivia frowned slightly. The one vote still bothered her. Having expected a negative vote from Rain, she'd been surprised when the brunette had only shrugged and said, "Talk to Michael".

J.D, on the other hand, had been completely against her coming along.

He wanted to protect her, she knew that. Still, it bothered her that he thought she might be incapable.

Though, she thought silently to herself, as she checked—again—to ensure the safety on her gun was off, maybe he's right.

She had been the only one to know where the hidden doorway was, and she was probably the only person to know half the codes in the lab. But other than that, she was somewhat useless.

Olivia sighed—and then forced herself to straighten, to push away the negative thoughts. They weren't doing any good, and they were almost at the lab.

They all halted as Matt, heading the line, raised a hand; Olivia hurried up to the doorway where he stood, and began typing in the code.

Glancing up briefly, she noted that the walls were all glass, that inside was only a few virus carriers, stumbling around drunkenly.

Her stomach clenched as she realized that the lab they were looking for would have much better security, and wondered briefly if something was waiting inside.

She thought about voicing these concerns to the rest of the group but decided against it; they undoubtedly knew anyway.

She backed off as the doorway whooshed open, letting Matt and J.D hurry inside ahead of her before filling her place inside again and following.

Both men dispatched the first two or three zombies with simple headshots. Taking careful aim, Olivia pressed the trigger on her own handgun as one of the five left began to stumble towards her.

She wasn't prepared for the kick, and her first couple of shots went into the zombie's chest, the third missing completely, flying into the wall behind it.

Feeling herself flush in embarrassment—Olivia knew everything there was to know about shooting a gun, but she'd never actually tried it—she raised her gun to shoot again—

And Rain, stepping up beside her, finished it off with one well aimed shot to the head before moving onto the others, Alice finishing off the last of them.

The group ignored her completely as they exchanged slight glances of confusion, before reaching an unspoken agreement and breaking off to look around.

Feeling uncomfortable, all too aware of the silent bond they shared in combat situations, Olivia followed hesitantly.

The lab was a small one, not even fairly equipped. There were no specimen cages, none of the high tech equipment seen in any of the other labs she'd worked in before—it was pretty useless, as far as labs went. A few long tables, along with some basic chemistry equipment found in most high schools, were the only additions to the room.

Still, there could be something more. This was, after all, where all Umbrella's security protocol had been installed, according to the files they'd found.

Seeming to realize Olivia was still standing by the door, J.D turned slightly and flashed her a reassuring smile. She smiled back before forcing her legs into motion, inspecting the table directly in front of her for any hint of useful information.

There was nothing there, and she was starting to feel a sort of dread, wondering if maybe her and Michael had been looking at outdated files, when Alice broke the silence.

"Guys?" Her voice, sudden and almost raspy in the dusty air, brought their focus to her.

"I found another entrance."

Matt hurried over first, Alice backing way so they could all see.

It was simple, crude even, for Umbrella. Alice had pushed away a table to reveal a steady line, only slightly darker than the white walls themselves, tracing a high rectangle into the wall.

Next to the door was a flashing red button.

Matt was closest to the door, and he glanced around the room in question, his finger poised over the button. "Everybody ready?"

A slight rustle passed through the room, and Olivia could visibly feel the tension in the group as they shifted into position. Feeling apprehensive and, again, ridiculously out of place, Olivia did the same.

Matt pressed the button.

Instead of sliding to the side, as they'd all expected, the door whooshed into the ceiling, revealing another, much larger laboratory.

The lights were off, and they walked forward hesitantly, Olivia last into the room—

And a sudden flurry of movement crossed through the room as the lights slammed on, blinding them with it's intensity as the door slammed solidly shut behind her.

Another flash of tension—and then the group relaxed again when nothing happened, fanning out slightly, still standing in the grey tiled entrance just inside the room.

The laboratory they were in was massive, no doubt the one in the diagrams Michael and Olivia had looked over—they were in the right place.

Stepping forward slightly, Olivia looked over the room.

A white, blinding light filled the room, only intensified by the sterile white tiles covering the floor and ceiling.

Directly beside them was a steel doorway, leading to, most likely, another room.

It was a familiar room somehow; the white in the walls was seen in all the rooms in the Hive, but there was something about the hidden doorway they'd entered through that had jogged her memory.

And in front of them, all around them, was a series of glass cubicles, of cages that Olivia was sure she remembered from somewhere.

Olivia had seen a lot of things since joining Umbrella. She'd seen even more after taking the fated trip down here.

And they were all horrible. Inhuman. Terrifying.

But there had always been something biologically comforting about them. The zombies had been people in appearance; the animals only more cruel, more dangerous. And that thing they'd run into in the corridors… that reminded Olivia oddly of some invisible comic book villain.

They were all mutations, virus carriers.

But the things in these cages—these were monsters.

Ten of them housed the same mutation, something that looked like a monkey and a spider crossed together. With six legs, glistening, furry bodies and a whip-like black tail, they would undoubtedly have been less threatening if they weren't over three feet tall.

Or, she noted quietly, almost methodically as one opened it's mouth in a steady yawn, if it's fangs weren't the length of my hand.

The last cubicle hosted the worst of the group. Tall, over eight feet, with pebbly black skin, long, sharp claws, and a thick tail.

"It's like those things," Alice said quietly. "The ones Matt found."

"Only bigger," Matt said shortly, his voice grim.

The four of them turned to look at her, J.D asking quietly, "Olivia. Do you know anything about any of these?"

She shrugged. "Not really," she admitted. "The spider monkeys though—I'm willing to bet they're poisonous."

"Great," Rain muttered, glancing back at the cages.

"At least they're inside," Alice said softly. "We should look around, see what else might be in here."

Even as she said it, her voice registered disbelief; besides the cages, the room was empty.

J.D shrugged. "I don't think this is the right room."

Rain sent him a look of pure exasperation. "Well then why the fuck are we here?"

He looked annoyed, opening his mouth to answer as Alice stepped forward onto the white tiles, further into the room.

"Look, Rain, if you—"

That's when the lights went off again.

J.D stopped talking immediately, the whole group drawing more closely together in reaction—

And then the lights, a series of red spotlights, turned on, casting a bloody haze over the room.

Inside the cages, the monsters were awakening.

A child's voice filled the room. "You have one minute to enter in the code."

Less than a foot away, a small tile in the metal door slid down, exposing a keypad.

Alice stared at the door, clearly not seeing it. "The Red Queen."

"I thought you shut that program down," Matt said, his voice hushed. "When—"

He trailed off as Alice gave him a significant look. "Obviously not."

"Sixty seconds begins now."

A small set of beeps replaced her voice, and the group turned to look at her as the things inside the cages begin to emit their own sounds, wheezing laughter and high shrieks filling the room around them.

Olivia looked back at them in panic. She had no idea what the code was, what she was supposed to say—

And then, suddenly, it clicked. She knew this room. She had never been here, but she had seen video images of it, from the reconnaissance she'd done for the doomed trip Archangelo had sent them all on—

They were supposed to have gotten here. This was where they were supposed to have ended up, to distribute the lab samples Archangelo had given them. They'd never made it, but they'd been given a code—

1541.

The numbers burst suddenly into Olivia's head, and she could have shouted with relief as she hurried past Matt and J.D to the keypad, the quiet voice adding, "Thirty seconds left."

She punched in the code.

A clicking tone filled the room, the beeping stopped.

She let out an audible sigh of relief, feeling the rest of the group relax slightly, as much as was possible when the things inside the cages were still awake, looking out at them—

"The door has been unlocked," the voice said helpfully.

The beeping began again as she added, "Twenty seconds left. Please enter the code."

Olivia turned to look at the group, her expression one of shock. "That should have worked, I don't know why—"

"Try again," Alice urged, her blue eyes wide and desperate. Her and Matt had pulled out their weapons, flanking Rain and J.D as they prepared for what was looking to be inevitable battle.

"Ten seconds."

Olivia did, turning around and punching in the code, her hands shaking—

And the voice said, deceptively, horribly pleasant: "That is the incorrect code."

The glass shattered.

xxxxx

Matt only had a moment to think, to plot, to strategize before the monsters leapt from their glass prisons and his mind reverted to a purely reactionary state. He noted blankly the biggest monster, still sleeping like a baby in it's cage, the glass still intact—

And then he was moving, lifting his gun and sending the first of his rounds into the monster leaping at him. It hissed, falling back slightly—

But then it was shrieking again, dashing forward, the bullets bearing little effect.

He glanced around him quickly, realizing the others were all having the same problem—and that both Alice and J.D had begun to shoot for the vulnerable red eyes on the monsters.

Feeling ridiculous for not having thought of something so simple before now, Matt did the same. The thing in front of him fell back again, this time with a measure of finality, and he stepped up, sending the remaining bullets into it's head.

As the monster fell limp and Matt slammed another clip into his gun, he allowed himself a small sigh of relief. Things were bad, but could have definitely been worse, and they were only slightly outnumbered now, at five to ten.

The flash of red across his vision brought his attention back to the scene in front of him and he swiped the back of his hand across his eyes, glazing blearily at the red liquid smudged there.

He felt sick when he realized it was human blood, and even sicker when he felt the first tinges of predatory blood lust overtake the disgust.

Looking to the right he saw Alice, her arm, bearing a formidable wound, pressed close to her side as she used the other to hold her gun. Blood was gathering freely at the surface of the wound, and against his will Matt focused on it, staring at the blood as it began to trickle steadily down her fair skin—

"Matt!"

Alice's shout of warning came to late, and the spider-monkeys were on him.

He didn't know what happened. One moment he was on his back, shielding his face with one arm as he used the other to scramble for a clean shot—

And then, suddenly, the gun was gone and he was standing, strong, powerful—

And he began to fade away, and even though a part of him realized what was going on, he could no longer stop it—Nemesis had already taken over.

xxxxx

Matt threw back his head and screamed, a bloody, primal sound. His eyes glowed a vibrant red in the hazy darkness, his face reddening and hardening, becoming almost scaly as he threw one hand out in front of him—

And pulled it back, a bloody, congealed mass which undoubtedly served as the monster's heart squeezing and bursting in his hand.

As the grimy blood splattered across the floor, Alice realized, beyond any reasonable doubt, that she was no longer looking at Matt.

She was staring at Nemesis.

Still shooting blindly before her she scanned the room quickly. J.D and Rain were up against the far wall, at least five monsters converged on them, Olivia slightly behind J.D. There was no way any of them would be able to help her, and she glanced hurriedly for another exit as she dug into her pocket for the loaded syringe Michael had given her.

Irately, she had the bitter wish that he was here instead of Olivia. She had done nothing so far, and Michael at least would know how to help Matt.

The thoughts vanished as she shot another round of bullets into the monster in front of her, not bothering to aim properly, only sending it back.

She heard Rain shout her name and glanced over hurriedly, noting, with an almost detached air, the blood and gore flecked over the brunette.

I must look the same, if not worse, she thought blearily. We all do.

"The door!" Rain shouted again, gesturing towards the metallic door adjacent to the room's entrance. Another of the monsters leapt at her and she ducked in reaction, it's stomach exploding over her as J.D turned to bullet it.

Alice turned, throwing a quick glance to the door. It was barely ten feet away, they could make it—

She turned to Matt again, preparing the suddenly heavy syringe in her hand—

And then one of the monsters leapt to his shoulder, sinking it's long fangs into his skin.

Matt, Nemesis, howled in rage, ripped the monster from it's skin and hurling it clear across the room, ignoring the sickly green fluid which spurted from the fresh wound.

And then he collapsed.

xxxxx

"Matt!" Alice shouted.

J.D spun, saw Matt collapse as Alice ran to him. She shot at the monsters which rushed them almost absentmindedly, barely driving them back far enough to look over Matt.

J.D felt and then saw Rain rush past him like a whirlwind, regrouping with Alice to cover her and Matt as Alice grabbed his arms, struggling to drag him over the floor.

Leaving him to stand and hold his own against roughly five of the tiny—but unfortunately, vicious—monsters.

He was no longer shooting for the eyes or any other vulnerable spots—he didn't have time, and he felt, not for the first time, a twinge of annoyance at Olivia.

She'd been completely useless since the monsters had escaped. She had dropped her gun in a moment of panic upon realizing how useless the bullets were and had spent the last five minutes hidden behind Rain and J.D as they struggled to fight off the fucking

mutants.

Rain had handled it surprisingly well. Despite her newfound ire against J.D, she obviously couldn't care less about Olivia.

As for J.D? He just missed Michael. He was still a rookie, but at least he knew what he was doing.

He bit his lip as he shot another one of the spider-monkeys, hearing a stifled shriek from Olivia behind him. In the corner of his vision he saw Alice slamming the door, Rain hurrying back. She was surrounded instantly, ending up near the center of the enclosure, three converged around her.

A luck shot pegged the monster's eye in front of him and it fell to the floor shrieking as J.D leaned forward to finish it off—

And nearly missed the thing's partner as it leapt at him, Olivia screaming at him to look out.

He ducked hurriedly, feeling the thing fly over him with a whoosh of air, and flinching automatically as it slammed into the class cage behind him, sending more glass to the floor—

And cracking the supple steel bar supporting the cage in two. One of the lengths skittered across the floor, coming to rest directly in front of J.D.

The monster was either dead or unwilling to clamber out of the cage, and J.D turned his attention to the ones in front of him, making a mental tally in his head. Ten monsters, and he'd taken out three, Matt had taken out three, Rain and Alice had both taken out one—

Which left two. One in front of him, the other by Rain. He lifted his gun, squeezed the trigger—

And heard the dry, rasping click of an empty chamber.

He was out of ammo.

He ducked in reflex as the thing flew at him, glancing about him frantically for a weapon as it pulled itself together, running at him again—

And then he focused, suddenly, on the bar in front of him. He lifted it hurriedly, testing the weight of it in his hands—

And then the monster was on him, and he could hear Olivia screaming—

And he whipped around, sending the makeshift sword through the monster's skull, impaling it and driving it into the wall.

It died instantly.

J.D glanced at Rain, who was searching through her pockets, obviously in frantic search for another clip as she backed off slightly from the monster pursuing her, and yanked the bar from the wall, letting the monster collapse limply to the ground. "Rain!"

She glanced over and he threw the bar, watching it fly through the air, the grayish blood still smeared across it shining grotesquely in the red lights—

She caught it easily, and, spinning around, drove it through the monster's midsection.

Sticky green fluid burst from the wound, and the creature let out a whiny, plaintive cry as Rain stepped away from the venom, bringing the bar with her.

The spider-monkey's cry died out gradually, leaving behind an stifling, hesitant silence as Rain looked up at him, both of their expressions anticipatory—

And then Olivia let out an explosive sigh, and they both turned to look at her. She gave them a small smile, opened her mouth to say something—

But she never got a chance to, because the sound of breaking glass filled the room and they all turned again to see the huge mutation step out of it's cage.

xxxxx

The syringe was heavy in her palm as Alice gazed at Matt apprehensively where he lay in front of her. Green fluid still gushed freely from his arm, and she wondered what she was supposed to do—whether she should let the venom bleed out of his body, try to cover the wound, or just use the syringe.

She fought down the slight, panicky flutterings of her heart as she gazed down at Matt's closed face, the skin still hard and veined. His closed eyelids were trembling, she realized with an air of resignation. It was now or never.

She prepared the syringe, her shaking hands going through the motions expertly and efficiently before she paused, posing the needle over the vein throbbing in his neck—

And then there was a sudden flash of movement and she froze automatically, staring at his shoulder where the skin had begun to crawl and bubble.

It peeled back slowly, exposing not bone, but a thick frame of steel as the venom spread out slowly and steadily, until all that was pouring forth from the wound was Matt's own dark blood.

Then the skin sealed itself over in less than five seconds, leaving not even a scar as Alice watched in disbelief.

Matt opened his eyes.

Alice stabbed him with the syringe.

It slid cleanly into his vein, and he collapsed as Alice released the trigger. She watched him anxiously as the veins in his face began to automatically recede, his skin color returning to it's normal flushed tone.

She let out a shaky breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding and backed up slightly, dropping the empty syringe on the floor next to her. Reaching forward, she used her hands to pull back the material of Matt's shirt, exposing his shoulder.

A tiny white scar existed now, marring once unblemished skin.

Matt had been poisoned. If he hadn't reverted to Nemesis, if he hadn't already passed into Nemesis at the time, he would have been killed.

From the time she had first even suspected Matt being sick in some way, she had never thought she would be thankful for the side effects a virus would bring about in him.

She was now.

His face was quiet, and peaceful as his features gained back their softness and color. Leaning forward, she placed the back of her hand carefully on his forehead, relieved to note that it was significantly cooler.

Sliding her hand off to the side, brushing his hair off his face, she dropped a gentle kiss on his forehead before she stood again, lifting her gun off the floor.

She felt the tiniest twinges of guilt as she stepped across the floor, but pushed them aside impatiently. Matt would be fine here. Safer than they would all be, anyway.

The silence her mind had imposed upon the room when she'd entered had vanished along with the numbing fear for Matt, and she could hear the sounds of shouting and breaking glass outside.

Grabbing the handle, she yanked violently to open the door.

It didn't open.

With a heavy sigh, she holstered her gun, and, using both hands this time, tried again.

Nothing happened.

The door was locked.

xxxxx

The monster ignored the shards of glass falling around him as it stood, muscles rippling powerfully, claws long on extended hands, and screamed.

Rain fought the urge to clasp her hands over her ears as she took in the powerful fangs the monster's shout brought into full view and backed up slightly, clasping the bar in her hands, feeling the weight of it.

She remembered Matt's reconstruction of his own run in with the mini-versions of this thing, and she remembered him mentioning they'd been impervious to bullets.

Which, of course, wasn't exactly a fucking problem right now. Her and J.D were both out of ammunition anyway.

But what she couldn't remember was hearing any way they could possibly take this thing out. Nemesis had been forced to rip the things apart in order to kill them, and they were about three times smaller than this thing was.

Still holding the bar in her hand, twisting it in her grip, she realized she didn't have any other options. Distracted by it's own fury, the monster would be easier to take down.

She took a few light, skipping steps forward, bringing the bar up—

And slamming it through his chest in a parallel motion, watching in a sickened disbelief as it pushed clearly through it's body, resurfacing somewhere near what could pass as it's thighs. It slid in easily, like a knife through butter, and she backed off slightly, triumphant in her victory and yet wary of such a simple solution—

A wariness which proved to be incredibly intuitive as the monster reached down, and, with a clawed and gnarled hand, ripped the bar from it's body.

Not out, but through his body, and Rain watched in disbelief as the exposed entrails simply hardened, scaled, blackened to become part of it's skin again.

It looked at her, red eyes glowing freakishly bright in the darkness, and she backed away automatically.

The expression in it's eyes was almost one of amusement—Like a cat playing with a fucking mouse—and Rain felt distinctly uneasy as she regrouped with J.D, feeling the tension emanating from his body in waves of heat.

"Thoughts?" he asked her, his voice strained.

"I'm thinking we're sort of fucked," she said flatly. "No weapons. Nothing to use on this thing."

The monster took a step forward, and Olivia, still behind them, let out a small shriek of fear. Rain felt a shot of annoyance run through her, and J.D ignored it, him and Rain moving closer automatically as they continued their quiet conversation.

She asked, almost conversationally, "I don't suppose you have a grenade or something, do you?"

He tensed, then, and she would have stolen a glance at him if her every iota of concentration hadn't been fixated on the mutation eight feet away from them. "What?"

"Shit," he breathed quietly. "A grenade. I have one. I fucking had one this entire time, I should have used it."

She shrugged. "No time like the present," she said simply.

"We need a decoy," he continued.

Another scream from the monster brought their attention back to it briefly. The amused look was all but gone from it's eyes, and it looked distinctly pissed, like a child preparing to throw a temper tantrum to gain attention.

They both looked at each other.

And then they looked at Olivia.

Olivia swore quietly as they turned back to face the monster. "You guys, I can't. I'm sorry."

J.D answered, his voice tense, "We don't exactly have a choice, Olivia."

Her voice was pleading as she responded, "J.D, please. I can't—"

"Fine," he said brusquely, cutting her off. "We'll all die then."

There was a strong silence, fraught with tension and anger and fear which filled the room, smothering Rain with it's intensity.

She was still pissed at J.D. But right now, she loved this. They worked well together, both of them. Standing here, feeling a grudging fear and resilient hatred towards the monster menacing them, harboring a not-so-secret annoyance towards Olivia, and feeling the waves of anger and tension emanating of J.D in waves was like revisiting all her past memories. This wasn't exactly some fucking vacation, but in the middle of a battle scene, fighting side to side with J.D, Rain was in her element.

And she loved it.

Olivia was quiet, shaking behind them, and even though Rain hated her for her weakness at that moment, she knew better than to involve herself in it.

The monster took another step forward.

Olivia spoke, her voice breaking slightly. "What am I supposed to do?"

J.D let out an audible sigh of relief, and said quietly, "Just run for the door. It's still open, and Alice is still in there—she'll cover you. So will I, and Rain."

Olivia looked exasperated now as she asked, "Do you really think this thing will actually be stupid enough to go for that?"

Rain, despite herself, couldn't help the smile that slid over her face. In a different situation, she would have been asking J.D that same thing.

Olivia was annoying, but at least she was intelligent.

J.D's tone, as he answered, held the same exasperation it often did when he was talking to Rain. "It's a mutation, Olivia, not a rocket scientist. And it's smart enough to know that you're an easier target."

His voice softened slightly as he added, "You'll be fine."

Rain kept her focus on the thing ahead of them, not trusting J.D to do the same, as they talked. Looking at it's face, she was struck by the wiring bound through it's eyes, flashing red wires she'd failed to notice before now.

When J.D spoke again, his voice was short. "Go."

Olivia broke from behind them, running for the door as J.D and Rain backed to the farthest corner of the lab, J.D pulling the grenade out and pulling the pin as they did so—

The monster leapt for Olivia almost instantly, Olivia skittering to a stop in front of the door barely in time, yanking the handle—

The door opened, and she slid through as the monster slammed into the open door, slamming it shut and rendering an awkward dent through the solid material—

And J.D threw the grenade.

The world filled with a sudden explosion of light and heat, and Rain could feel shards of glass fly into her, J.D's closeness as he made a vain attempt to shield her from the worst of it, tiny fibers of dust and smoke choking her as she slammed into the far wall of the lab.

Her ears were ringing as she pulled herself to her hands and knees, gazing out at the tiny burning embers surrounding a smoking, bloody carcass on the floor.

J.D stood above her, coughing, asking shortly, "You all right?"

She only nodded, letting him grab her arm and pull her up. "You?"

"Fine," he said, his voice lost in her head. He was shouting, they both were, and yet their voices were somehow tinny, echoing around her head. "That, uh, worked better than I expected."

"What now?" she asked, glancing around the room. With all of the protection this room had been so steadily equipped with, she had expected something to be in here; even a fucking trap door leading to another room or something.

J.D shrugged. "Let's check the monster."

She snorted. "I think he's dead," she said wryly, and he grinned at her.

"Nice observation, Rain," he said sarcastically, moving across the floor, looking at the monster. After a moment, Rain joined him, looking over the monster.

The thin red wires which had coursed through it's eyes surrounded a tiny microchip in it's brain.

J.D and Rain shared a look; and then, reaching forward quickly, J.D leaned down and ripped it out smoothly.

The lights flashed on, and a red light beamed down from an unknown location in the ceiling. Both adopted fighting positions, moving slightly to the side to cover all vulnerable points—

And then a little girl appeared in the light and Rain swore under her breath.

"You have reached Location Laboratory A9," the girl said, her voice formal, calm—the voice of an adult, and J.D connected it instantly with the voice they'd all heard over the loudspeaker moments ago.

The Red Queen.

"The laboratory hosts currently virus A-7, anti-virus A-9— and holds exclusive information regarding the location of anti-virus AV04."

The Red Queen turned to the wall, Rain following her gaze as a map was displayed over the white surface and broken glass. A tiny, blinking star indicated their presence.

"Directly underneath this room is Location Laboratory B18, where the anti-virus AV04 is carefully guarded by a multitude of computer security systems."

The Red Queen paused, and Rain felt an irate sense of familiarity with the child's sphinx-like ways of revealing information. She glanced towards J.D, but his face was blank as he concentrated on the map, obviously completely indifferent towards the computer program projecting it.

Of course, Rain mused, He didn't exactly have to deal with her fucking mind games four hours straight.

He'd been dead at the time. A zombie.

She felt a sudden pang of longing for Matt or Alice, who would have understood and sided with her firmly implemented hatred of the Red Queen.

At least it was an obviously pre-recorded version of the kid. With the way things were going right now, she didn't think she could have dealt with another appearance by the Red Queen herself.

"Due to your proven ability to bypass this security system, I am required to give you the code."

Rain forced herself to listen again, to pay attention despite the edgy wariness warning against her small hope for an actual answer.

"The code is four-seven-nine-two-eight," the Red Queen droned on solemnly.

"Four-seven-nine-two-eight."

And then the light went out.

Rain turned to look at J.D, her shock echoed on his face, and grinned. "Four-seven-nine-two-eight. Think you can remember that, J.D?"

He didn't even dignify that comment with a response, snorting instead. "C'mon, let's regroup. I want to make sure Olivia's doing okay."

And suddenly Rain came crashing down to earth, remembering what was going on. Remembering the situation they were in.

This battle had been unexpected, and, in a manner of speaking, welcomed. Yeah, they'd just blown half their ammo, but it had been worth it just to work out some of the tension of the last few weeks. And they'd finally gotten somewhere in their search for a cure for Matt.

But for a moment, Rain had forgotten where she was. She'd gotten caught up in the battle, in remembering the way things were, when her and J.D, Matt and Alice, Michael, and Kaplan would fight against Umbrella's monsters, would win.

She'd forgotten that things had changed. She'd forgotten that time had passed.

She'd forgotten that she was angry at J.D, and that she was struggling to hate him.

xxxxx

There were a lot of places in the Hive Alice wasn't comfortable with. She'd hated the stone corridor they'd entered through. She'd hated hearing the Red Queen again, and she was sure that, faced with the room she'd destroyed the computer program in, the room where she'd nearly been forced to kill Rain, she'd hate that room too.

Which she hadn't expected was exactly how uncomfortable one simple room could be depending on who was in it with you.

Now, for example. Matt was on the floor, unconscious. Alice sat next to him, holding his head on her lap. And Olivia sat next to her, looking teary and embarrassed.

"I just—I'm so sorry. I fell apart out there, and I feel terrible about it."

Alice nodded absentmindedly, glancing down at Matt. She wished J.D would come in—he would know what to say to Olivia. No comforting statements she'd tried had taken any effect whatsoever on the distraught biochemist.

When Olivia had first thrown herself into the room, the first thing they'd been concerned about was staying well out of the way of the door in case the grenade brought the heavy metal crashing inwards.

Surprisingly, it hadn't, and Olivia had been helpful, looking over Matt and checking for all the things her and Michael knew to check for and Alice had no clue about.

A few more minutes had developed into fifteen, and Olivia had begun a self-deprecatory rant on her inability to handle the situation.

"I know I shouldn't have come with you. I won't, next time. I just—"

"Olivia," Alice said quietly. The girl turned to look at her, and she gave her an exasperated look. "Would you stop apologizing? It's not your fault. Everyone freezes up their first time out there. We've seen things grown men run screaming from."

Olivia nodded, flushing. "I know. I just feel like an idiot."

Alice shrugged. "It's not exactly your field," she said honestly. "And you probably won't be here for our next mission involving any sort of battle." Olivia looked chagrined, and Alice continued: "When Matt's begins to undergo symptoms of the virus, though, or something of Umbrella's needs decoded—you're the best we've got."

Olivia nodded slightly, and Alice pressed on ahead. "People are good at different things, Olivia. It's no big deal."

She nodded again. "Yeah. Thanks, Alice."

She still looked perturbed over the situation, but she was quiet, and Alice figured she'd moved onto mulling things over.

Alice ran her fingers over Matt's forehead, engaging them in a small dance in an absentminded gesture of concern as she glanced at his face carefully.

He seemed fine; she wondered when he'd be waking up this time. Last time, it had taken him less than six hours to recover from the anti-virus's effects.

The door opened quietly, and her and Olivia's heads both snapped up as J.D and Rain, both looking weary, traipsed into the room.

J.D hurried over to Olivia instantly, checking over her quietly, and Rain gave him an annoyed, exasperated glance before returning her gaze to Alice. "Hey."

"Hey," she responded simply, and then added softly, "You okay?"

Rain, as she'd expected, looked irritated at the question. "Of course."

Alice smiled at her soothingly, adding, "You look like hell."

Rain gave her a surprised look before laughing despite herself, and Alice smiled at her. Rain had been irritable lately, and making her laugh was pretty much the only way of bringing her out of it.

Rain straightened slightly. "I have good news, actually."

Alice raised an eyebrow, and Rain smiled.

"We know where the anti-virus is."

End