One Man's Struggle
Prologue
A/N: Please note that this fanfic is a collaboration between me and BenSoulstone (my friend). Please read and let me know what you think. He can be found on Deviantart under the username BenSoulstone
Summary: Poor Mikhail just can't get a break, can he? As if avoiding certain death wasn't hard enough, now he has to get through problem after problem in the zombie infested city, meeting a few of the other unfortunate survivors along the way. Only... there are things so much worse than zombies in Racoon City.
Disclaimer: Resident Evil is the property of Capcom.
"Adios . . . " He muttered, pulling the pin of the grenade as the huge bioweapon known as the Nemesis lurched towards him. A few moments later, ex-S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine and U.B.C.S. Corporal Carlos Oliveira heard an explosion that had rocked the cable car, destroying the brakes. "Mikhail . . . " Jill said in despair, not knowing that he actually survived by letting the grenade roll a bit towards the Nemesis. She didn't see him, as a more important matter was ahead of the cable car, literally.
Mikhail awoke what seemed like minutes later, his body racked with pain. Groaning, he struggled to his feet, eventually standing upright once more. "How… How am I still alive?" He muttered, looking himself over. He was lucky to be alive, that's for sure. He ignored the burning pain in his body, and began to limp towards the Clock Tower. 'Maybe… Maybe I can reach the others in time.' He thought to himself, deep down wanting to continue to help them escape this hellhole. He didn't care about escape anymore, merely to aid those who were his comrades. Suddenly, a moan filled with death sounded in Mikhail's ear, and he turned. Gripping his side. He saw not one zombie, but two. The two flesh eaters looked pretty hungry, drooling and bleeding profusely. "You want a piece of me?" Mikhail said, looking around. He still had his M4A1, but it was badly burned and melted. He remembered his spare weapons, the Smith & Wesson M629 Classic Magnum and his SigPro SP2009 handgun, along with his trusty combat knife. He had very low ammo for the Magnum, so he would have to save it; that is until he thought about it more and smirked. Unholstering his M629 Magnum, he twirled it a little, and as the first zombie got close, pistol-whipped him in the right temple, crushing his skull almost instantly, causing the skull to fragment and puncture the brain, thus destroying it. As the other got close, Mikhail raised the gun, slammed it down atop the zombie's head, and then sent it back up in an uppercut style whip, causing the chin to shatter like glass. Both zombies fell atop each other, Mikhail smirking. "Still got it…" He muttered, before walking slowly back towards the Clock Tower, despite its distance.
As Mikhail continued on, he felt dizzy. Blackness tried to consume him constantly, as the sounds around him seemed to boom and echo, or sometimes not even happen at all. He groaned, taking bigger steps, trying to press on. 'Can't… Stop just yet…' He said in his head. He felt the grip on his Magnum loosen, and before long, he found himself lying with his back against a wall, sitting on the street. Breathing slowly, his consciousness left him. The wound from what seemed like an eternity ago had taken its toll, and he was losing blood. He would eventually die if not given medical treatment, although it was probably too late by now. But as Mikhail slipped into a black sleep, a figure stepped into the light. "You won't need these anymore, comrade…" the voice said, taking all his weapons and grinning evilly. Nicholai was so happy to finally see Mikhail die. It was more than he could ever hope for. "See you in hell, Lieutenant." Nicholai said, giving a mocking salute. With an evil laugh trailing behind him, Nicholai stepped into the darkness. Mikhail was now left totally defenseless and bleeding to death… All hope seemed lost.
The loud rings of the Clock Tower bell pulled Mikhail out of his sleep, Death feeling Mikhail slipping out of his fingers once more. Mikhail smirked at the thought, chiming in "The Reaper must really hate me by now…" His voice was very thick with his Russian accent as he spoke. Trying to get to his feet was useless, so Mikhail just sat there. Looking to the sky, he saw a helicopter. Not just any helicopter though; it was the one that was supposed to pick up Carlos and Jill! 'They're going to make it!' He could not help but smile with these thoughts, only to stare in wide-eyed horror as the helicopter was blown up. By a rocket from the Nemesis' rocket launcher, more than likely. "No! Carlos! Jill!" Mikhail cried out, his cry mixed with pain and anger, as he tried to get to his feet, once again useless. He groaned and cried out, even more aggravated at himself than before. 'I'm of no use to anyone… I should just sit here and die…' He thought to himself, sighing. Fortunately for Mikhail, his groans would not go unnoticed.
Cindy heard something, somebody groaning in pain. She went to investigate, holding her handgun tightly as she went to where she heard the groan come from. She came upon a slumped form, heavily wounded and still bleeding from what appeared to be three gunshots in his side. "Hey! Cindy, get back over here!" Alyssa shouted. Mikhail looked up, awakened by Alyssa's obnoxious voice. Cindy gasped as he looked up, and for a split second, she almost thought he was a zombie, as he was still bleeding from his mouth a bit. "Don't shoot . . . " He said, clearly in pain. He was still clutching his wound, not caring about the new ones the grenade explosion and the cable car crash had given him. Despite the fact he was so close to the hospital, something told him not to go inside. Up on the fourth floor, a familiar figure looked out the window, as if it was taunting Mikhail. 'Curse you Nichoali . . . ' He thought to himself, knowing that Nichoali was the one responsible for shooting him. "George, come over here, this man needs some help." Cindy said, looking at a man who was well dressed and carrying a suitcase of some sort. George inspected the wound a bit before opening the suitcase. Eyeing the contents, Mikhail let out a sigh of relief, knowing he'd be saved. George, being the great medical worker that he was, managed to fix Mikhail up and made sure he had some hemostat to help stop the bleeding. "Thank you…" Mikhail said before George, Cindy and Alyssa took off.
Feeling a lot better, Mikhail heaved himself onto his feet, and found that he was pretty much weaponless. 'I'll need something to protect myself… And somewhere to go. No way can I go to the hospital… Nicholai's there.' He said, before taking off into a light run down an alleyway. He did it just a little early, however, as Carlos Oliviera just happened to walk into said hospital, never seeing Mikhail. Moving down the streets as stealth fully as he could, Mikhail was pretty aggravated that his own comrade, Carlos, would ignore him. But he did not know that Carlos was looking for the vaccine to cure Jill Valentine of the T-virus. Fortune smiled upon Mikhail, as he stumbled upon one of his fallen U.B.C.S. brethren. "I'm so sorry…" He said, closing his eyes for a moment in despair. Searching the body, he happened upon a very sturdy and capable combat knife, a few grenades, a SigPro SP2009 handgun like Nicholai's, as well as a few clips of ammunition for it.
Grasping the handgun firmly in his hands, Mikhail continued down the streets, but stopped rather abruptly. Standing just down the street from him was the same monstrosity he had thought he had killed when he sacrificed himself: Nemesis. It had changed over the time between when he fought the monstrosity and now. The Nemesis was now bigger and had a multitude of tentacles sprouting from it. Mikhail knew he wasn't going to be much of a match against the brute a second time, so he ducked into the shadows. Nemesis had other things on his mind, namely the destruction of Jill Valentine. Grunting and growling under his breath, he walked right past Mikhail without even stopping to look around. He had a one track mind, and that was one of the most dangerous things about the bio-organic weapon. Mikhail stepped out of the shadows when it was safe to do so, and then continued down the street.
But something caused him to stop. He had a bad feeling deep down… As if something was bound to happen. Mikhail had not gotten too far from the hospital that Carlos entered, and he could hear a window crash, followed by a small explosion. 'Nicholai…' He thought, and then as he heard someone running out of the hospital, he could tell that the explosion was the first of many. Before Mikhail could get any further, the explosion rocked the streets. The force of the explosion flung him off his feet and into a wall back and head first. Falling onto his stomach, Mikhail blacked out.
The explosion had sent a shockwave of sound all around, and a car pulled to a halt near the unconscious Mikhail. Out stepped Greg, one of Umbrella's scientists that were beginning to show signs of possible insanity. "Oh my, what a perfect specimen to use against my creation… He'll provide entertainment along with the others." Greg said before picking Mikhail up rather slowly, and heaving him into the back of his truck. Starting the truck, he drove off towards Raccoon University, where things were definitely not as they appeared.
He grunted in pain, feeling a bump on the back of his head. "Where the hell am I?" Mikhail asked himself, getting up off of what looked like some sort of stretcher. It looked like some makeshift lab of some sort, two dead hunters were hanging from the ceiling. He picked up his beret which had laid on the other stretcher, a white sheet covering a body of some sort. Putting his beret on, he knew he should not, but he lifted up the sheet anyway. The figure of what was once a civilian looked more like a human shaped prune, all the blood seemingly drained out of his body. Footsteps caught Mikhail's attention, and he rose to his feet. Greg walked in, noticing that Mikhail had uncovered his previous guest. "Yes… He served his purpose, as will you." Greg said with a small smile. "What do you mean purpose?" Mikhail asked, following the man as he walked away from the stretcher.
"Brute force shouldn't be the only criterion for a weapon..." Greg said to Mikhail as he led him to a lab. The room was barely lit, most of the light was coming from a stasis tube. Greg stood in front of the tube, looking up at the thing inside. "It should also be beautiful, unique, and godlike." He said. Mikhail looked at the man with confusion in his eyes, before looking to the tube behind Greg. 'Is that… A human?' he asked himself in thought, only to notice that it was nowhere near human. "My creation shall have some fun once released. You'd be one of the tests, but now I notice you're with Umbrella. No point in him fighting a simple-minded mercenary… He could kill 20 of you without blinking an eye." Greg smiled evilly, only to find that Mikhail did not look scared. Mikhail charged Greg, tackling him down. Mikhail showed that he has had his fill of Umbrella as he proceeded to beat Greg until he was unconscious. Looking to the monstrosity, Mikhail narrowed his eyes. "I have a feeling we'll meet again. But for now… Adios." And with that, Mikhail exited the lab.
Greg moaned, groggily getting up a few minutes later. He found that his nose was bleeding, but the blood had dried and scabbed, preventing further blood from leaking. Bruises adorned his face, but he could fix that no problem. "I'll make that grunt pay for this…" He muttered, going over to Thanatos' stasis tube. "It is time to show the world just what a creation of sheer perfection can do… Go Thanatos, my child, and destroy all who stand in your way!" Greg shouted, as he drained all the fluid out of the tank, Thanatos breaking out shortly afterwards. Looking to Greg, he had knowledge of the fact that he was his creator, and had no intention of attacking him. He could smell the one who beat his master, and he would make him pay. Calmly walking towards the exit, Thanatos kicked down the door, and made his way after Mikhail.
Nichoali looked at his M4A1 as he put the C-2 on, ready for this last mission before leaving the city. "Just this one last mission and I'll be a -very- wealthy man..." He said to himself, chuckling a bit as he got ready for the Thanatos to get closer...
Thanatos traced Mikhail's scent well, and from what he gathered, this was a warrior among normal humans. He had killed many in his day, and he had beaten Thanatos' creator to almost nothing. If he had been human, he would have developed something humans call respect. But Thanatos was far above humans. Greg had told him that personally. Cracking his neck to either side as he walked, Thanatos narrowed his pupil less eyes, the scent of Mikhail beginning to fade. If he had the human mentality and speaking abilities, he'd be cursing Mikhail and ranting on about ways to kill him. He was nowhere near human, though, so all he did was growl and even let out a roar of irritation. If he had a human mind, he would surely argue that his creator should have let him out no sooner than when he brought the guest in. It mattered not, because in the end, he was going to find and kill the man. Stepping outside of the complex, he picked up the familiar scent, only to find that there were four masked humans in similar attire aiming guns at him. Slowly, Thanatos began walking towards them, an emotionless aura about him and a lifeless gaze in his white eyes.
The four men were told to take Thanatos either down or with them, because the samples of the T-Blood were vital to the creation of the Daylight. Without any words, the four mercenaries began to open fire. The bullets were having little to no effect on the Bio Organic Weapon, especially since he just kept walking forward. Bullet shells hit the concrete covered ground beneath the U.B.C.S. members' feet like rain, scattering all around as they were ejected from their homes in the guns and fired directly towards Thanatos, only to bounce off and away due to super strong skin. The men were sweating nervously, especially since their best weapons were not even bothering the mighty creature, he seemed bored and uncaring about the four mortals, although that was not the case.
"Calm down… You must give me your blood." A cold voice said quietly, aiming a sniper rifle towards the mighty Thanatos. Precision and years of honed training paid off, as the sniper had a clear, perfect shot at his target as Thanatos oddly stood still for a moment. Nicholai grinned, and pulled the trigger, firing. The shot was not exactly silent, but with all the other gunfire going on, it was less noticed. Nicholai had fired a canister of some sort, which exploded to reveal some type of vial. It punctured into Thanatos' right shoulder. It drained the necessary blood, but oddly enough it didn't drop. Thanatos' demeanor changed dramatically. All of a sudden he was highly aggressive, charging the four attackers in a blaze of fury. He killed the first with but a simple flick of his hand, his clawed fingers doing the rest as they ripped open his chest and throat, the force of the blow knocking him aside. The next would simply be impaled and tossed aside like a useless rag doll. Fingers stained with blood, Thanatos punched the third U.B.C.S. member with a closed fist, knocking him flat onto his back. The fourth U.B.C.S. didn't stop firing, even after he was ripped open and also thrown aside, barely alive. Nicholai watched with intrigue, smiling. 'Impressive.' He thought to himself.
The third U.B.C.S. member quickly jumped to his feet, having regained himself. Opening fire on Thanatos was not a good idea, and it only got him claws right through his stomach and back. Dropping his weapon, the man died slowly, as Thanatos decided to return to his master, and show him his wonderful kill. "Damn…He must be heading back to the man…" Nicholai said, frowning. The only surviving mercenary found his world to be nothing but pain and blood loss. Crying out in pain, he could not move from where he was thrown by Thanatos. The sound of feet made him scared, for he was afraid that the monster had come back. "PLEASE! HELP MEEEE!" The man cried out. "Shhh… It is okay, comrade. I will help you." An almost familiar voice called out to him. "Sergeant Nicholai! Help me! Please!" The man yelled, reaching out to his commanding officer. Nicholai smiled, unholstering his SigPro SP2009 and instantly firing it, a 9mm bullet wedging itself into the man's skull. "Nicholai!" A voice cried out, and Nicholai turned, to see Mikhail. "You sonovabitch!" Mikhail cried out, rushing Nicholai. But before he could get to Nicholai, he was already on the move. Followed was a short silence, ending it was Nicholai's insane laugh. "Shit…" Mikhail muttered, before taking off in hopes of finding Nicholai.
Rage was not the best word of choice to describe Nicholai's current mood. There probably was not any word in the English or Russian languages that could best describe the level of anger he had. 'How could that pathetic, injured man still be alive! It makes no sense!' He argued in his mind, gritting his teeth as he snuck around the University in search of Thanatos, as well as his creator Greg. "I'll kill both of them… Greg and Mikhail… With these little babies." Nicholai said with a smirk, as he planted his lovely little presents, better known as C4 high explosives all around the University. He was like a ninja in the shadows, moving about planting little bitty bombs as he looked for his primary target. The bombs helped him temporarily get his mind off of his hatred for Mikhail, as well as whoever must have helped him to survive.
The man dangled on Thanatos' talon-like fingers, still alive somehow. He was coughing up blood, which meant he would not be alive much longer. Thanatos looked down to the mere human, those inhuman eyes staring at their latest victim. The man's eyes looked up into Thanatos'. If Thanatos could smirk, he damn well would have then. The man's eyes showed deep rooted fear of death, excruciating pain, and begging for mercy. The human would find none from Thanatos. Thanatos walked into the room where Greg was last, and Thanatos' creator was still there. "Good, you have returned!" Greg said. "Record time, my son." Greg said with a big warm smile. "Now... Did you get the man that hurt Daddy?" Greg asked. Thanatos raised his clawed hand up, revealing the barely alive man, trying to talk but he couldn't muster up the strength to talk. "No... This isn't him. How could you kill this pathetic underling! He looks nothing like that man! Wait... He was one of that man's men... So he must of smelled similar." Greg concluded, gritting his teeth. "Dammit all. He's still out there. Well, if you don't get him, my son, our friends will." Greg turned his back to his creation. "Dispose of that one... And go out looking for him again... Wait for one second though." Thanatos had already snapped the man in half over his knee, thus ending his suffering before Greg said to wait. Thanatos did as he was told. Greg accessed the surveillance video camera footage, and found just what he wanted. With the right button combinations and commands, a photo of Mikhail was printed out. Taking it, he moved it in front of Thanatos, and like a master to his dog, showed Thanatos the man who attacked him. "This is the bad man! Kill -HIM-" Greg shouted, slamming down the picture. Thanatos, just as Greg programmed, had a photographic memory. He now knew Mikhail's face. Now with the proper information, Thanatos once more left his creator, to search for the man who caused him pain.
"I'll never eat honey again..." RPD officer Kevin Ryman muttered to himself as him and Cindy left the emission tower's station. He and Cindy were shocked to see the carnage there. She noticed a very familiar man nearby, his vest was stained with blood. "You..." she said to the figure, the man turning around. It was Mikhail, the wounds on his face roughly healed up. "Who's this? You know him?" Kevin asked Cindy, seeing as she did seem to know this stranger a bit. Cindy replied to Kevin "I don't know him that much, but George, Alyssa, and I found him near the hospital. He was wounded pretty badly..." A familiar, kind voice caught Mikhail's attention, and he smiled. "Ms. Lennox. It's good to see you again." Mikhail said, noticing her friend. "Who is this?" Kevin asked, the alcohol still present on his breath. "I am Mikhail Victor." Mikhail said. "But we don't have time for this. We have to hurry up and get out of here. Something very powerful is on the loose...Even more powerful than that one eyed monstrosity I faced..." He said with some worry in his voice. And it seemed his worry was well placed. For that monstrosity showed itself. It looked particularly at Mikhail, actual anger in it's eyes. "You two might want to go..." Mikhail said, before Thanatos seemed to growl, and started walking towards them. "Don't have to tell me twice..." Kevin muttered. Mikhail did not get the chance to meet Mark and David, for they had already noticed Thanatos and started to climb up the ladder, but they were too late to warn their compatriots. "C'mon! Move it!" Mark shouts, David close behind him. Kevin and Cindy kept running towards the ladder, Mikhail following but keeping an equal distance between Thanatos and his newfound friends, in hopes of stalling the behemoth.
As they climbed the ladder, Kevin was mumbling about something. "We sure as hell could use some of that Daylight stuff... Ya know?" Everyone blinked, confused at how Kevin just stated something so randomly correct. "Well duh!" Cindy says, sighing almost angrily. "Get with the program, Kevin." Cindy said, trying to remain nice and optimistic sounding. "Alright alright. Sorry, damn. Why don't you just give him the P-Base and V-Poison to protect, since he's Mr. Urban Commando." Kevin said, smiling drunkenly because he knew it was a good idea. "That is a good idea! Mr. Mikhail, sir. Will you please hold onto these two items for us?" She said, offering both vials. Mikhail blinked. "If it will help out, of course." He took them both and put the vials in one of his spare ammo pouches. "Well, we don't have time to stand around with our thumbs up our asses, MOVE!" Mikhail cried out, motioning his fellow survivors to get the hell outta dodge. They did not need to be told this twice, especially after all the crazy happenings that have ensued this fine day. "The last item... It's T-blood... whatever that is..." Mark said. 'T... isn't that what they call the most powerful bioweapons?' Mikhail thought to himself. "T-blood... it comes from..." Mikhail's words were drowned out by Thanatos' angry roar. "That... That is where T-blood comes from." Mikhail said, grabbing an M4A1 and turning around to face the monstrosity. Thanatos got ready to bolt at him, but Mikhail reacted more faster, opening fire and strafing to the left, more towards the open area away from the truck. A metallic sound was heard as something fell off of Thanatos, it was a vial of T-blood. Thanatos started to run at Mikhail, its arm ready to swipe at him. Quickly, Mikhail ducked down and ran past Thanatos, quickly grabbing the vial of T-blood, pocketing it. Thanatos wasn't too pleased at Mikhail dodging it. Mikhail saw a door next to the one Cindy and Kevin came from. "Go now!" He shouted to the others, reloading the M4A1 quickly as possible. Thanatos growled as it got shot at by Mikhail, as he was aiming for its right shoulder, right at its heart. Thanatos charged again, but this time, Mikhail had hit it with the butt of the rifle, stunning it for a while. He hurried on up to where the others were. A pier, the water was still and quiet, but there was no way to get across, as part of the pier was destroyed. A loud roar caught their attention as Thanatos started to give chase once more.
"Sink or swim!" Mark said before leaping into the water, the Thanatos following the five. Mikhail hesitated for a split second before diving in. He really didn't like swimming, let alone he didn't like water at all, but he had to jump in anyways. At first it seemed safe, that was until something caught Mikhail's eye. 'It can't be!' He thought to himself as he saw that there was a fin jutting out of the water. It was a T-virus infected shark, known better by the name of "Neptune". Kevin saw it too and muttered to himself "great, now we got Bruce after us..." However, luck smiled upon them as the two sharks decided to go after bigger prey, Thanatos.
Thanatos didn't know why they attacked, but they did. These fry, these pitiful creatures, attacking a mighty bioweapon like it. No matter how much they tried to knock him off the dock, they couldn't, as he was far too agile for them. That was until he was caught off guard when he saw the man who attacked his creator get away with his new friends. Thanatos roared with frustration as he started to run towards them, that was until one of the fish had pushed him into the water. Shocked, the Thanatos attempted to fight against these fry, determined to kill all five of those humans. It was too late for Thanatos, as the two sharks started to tear at its arm, turning the water red with Thanatos' blood.
"I'm not doing that ever again..." Kevin muttered to himself. David replied to Kevin "No shit..." Mikhail got up after wringing his beret dry. "Well, we need to get going... Daylight isn't going to make itself you know." He said.
Opening the door to the elevator passageway, Mikhail carefully went in. There was only a single zombie. 'Too easy...' He thought to himself as he got his M4A1 ready. But as he was ready to fire, something leapt out from the shadows and ate the zombie. It was a blue, froglike monster, a hunter gamma. "Shit..." Mikhail grumbled as it snapped a bit before looking right at him. He pulled out a grenade, having a good idea of how to destroy the hungry monstrosity. It leapt at him, its mouth open wide. "Eat this you sonovabitch!" He yelled, pulling the pin and throwing it right into the hunter's open mouth. Just before it could even get close to Mikhail, the hunter exploded. He chuckled a bit and said to himself "again, too easy..."
As the group of survivors led by Mikhail continued on, Mikhail stopped them by raising his right hand. "Hold.." He muttered as quiet as he could. The group froze, even Kevin. Though he couldn't resist scratching the back of his head. Mikhail gripped his M4 tightly in his hands, and crept forwards. Something didn't feel right. Someone was awfully close. He heard two pair of footsteps, narrowing his eyes. '...Wait for it...' He thought to himself, as the steps got closer. 'NOW!' he shouted in his mind, stepping out into the walkway, M4 aimed. Before he could pull the trigger, a fear-filled scream ensued from a young black man, who fell over in fear. "PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I'M NOT A ZOMBIE! AHHHHHH I DON'T WANNA DIE!" The man cried out. He was none other than Jim Chapman. The other pair of footsteps also made itself known. Yoko Suzuki stepped in the light. "Don't mind Jim...He's a coward." Yoko said with a small smile. "I AM NOT A COWARD! I just have courage issues!" Jim muttered, wiping away a few tears. "What the hell is wrong with you man! You almost shot me!" Mikhail really could tell that Jim's voice would wear on his nerves. "Not my fault you stepped in front of my sights.." Mikhail muttered.
Nicholai, as usual, was spying and snooping around. And his current target/watch was Mikhail. Nicholai noticed the rag-tag bunch of survivors. "Looks like you're leading a bunch of carnival folk, 'old friend.' " Nicholai said with a cold laugh following the statement. 'I wonder if he'll find my little 'gifts' that I set up all around...' Nicholai thought to himself, pondering. His view was so good, he could end them all right then and there if he wished. 'No... I have other plans for them..' He thought, before laughing once more. This time, his laughter was heard by Mikhail and the others. Everyone but Jim seemed startled. Jim was in severe panic mode. "OH SHIT! OH SHIT! IT'S THAT GRAY-HAIRED ASSHOLE THAT TRIED TO KILL ME! AHHHH! MY LIFE IS SHIT!" Jim began screaming and running around, causing everyone to get irritated. Mikhail could no longer stand it. Grabbing ahold of Jim, he stared him dead in the eyes. "Calm down... Or -I- will kill you... And I can be a lot worse than him.." Mikhail said, shoving Jim aside. Jim fell onto Kevin, who was not too pleased. He also shoved Jim aside. "Get off me, you fuckin' idiot." Kevin said with irritation in his voice. Jim regained his balance, trying not to cry. "Fine! Fuck you too, you drunken bastard! I hope you die by those reptilian frog things!" Jim said, gritting his teeth. "It'd be better than staying alive with you..." Kevin muttered, running a hand through his hair.
Suddenly, as if on cue, a Hunter burst in. Screeching, it leapt right for Jim, out of all of them. "SHIT!" He cried out. In almost an instant, the Hunter was knocked away from Jim. Mikhail stood in front of the cowering young african american, fists clenched. "He is not a worthy prey... Try me.." Mikhail said, cracking his knuckles. The Hunter screeched, seeing that the human was right, despite the fact it understood no English. Body language was enough. Charging Mikhail, the Hunter tried to claw. Mikhail grabbed ahold of the claw, but was overtaken and knocked down. The others tried to help, but Mikhail was quick to respond. "No, this bitch is mine!" He said firmly, before throwing the Hunter off him and almost knocking Jim over. "HEY!" Jim shouted, a bit scared and aggravated. Pulling a grenade off his belt, he waited. "Come on you slimy toad... Come and get your dinner." Mikhail said, narrowing his eyes. The Hunter charged, attempted to tackle Mikhail down again. However, Mikhail met this with a grenade shoved into the mouth. The Hunter was caught off guard, and froze for a moment. "Adios." Mikhail muttered, before pulling the pin, and kicking the Hunter with enough force that it flew out a nearby window. The explosion followed seconds after, the Hunter literally dead before it hit the ground. "So... You do have a use... Perhaps you will do as bait.." Mikhail said with a smirk. Jim blinked, then fainted. Mikhail chuckled. "Poor kid... Definitely not cut out for this..." Mikhail muttered.
Jim's fainting ensued a temporary silence as Cindy attempted to revive their fallen coward. But then, that cold voice of Nichoali's decided to speak up. "Impressive... But can you kill them all? And what about your comrades, did they tell you why they need Daylight? You want to know why?" Nicholai said, almost tauntingly. Mikhail narrowed his eyes. "Show yourself!" Mikhail cried out. "Why? It spoils the fun of being the man in the dark... Heh heh..." Nichoali responded. "Anyway... Your little friends need Daylight oh so badly because of the fact they are all infected! Yes, you are protecting a bunch of virus-carriers. They will eventually turn upon you if you do not give them some of the precious serum soon. It's almost too beautiful to ruin." He smirked before continuing. "In half an hour, this city is going to be obliterated by a barrage of nuclear missiles... Nothing will survive... Well, -I- will survive... While you will be stuck with your little circus freaks. The enigmatic plumber... The veteran that is somehow still strong... the cowardly little pissant... the airhead... Oh, and before I forget, the ever-loveable drunkard." Nicholai said, a laugh following suit. "I resemble that remark..." Kevin muttered, sighing. 'Wish I had some beer...' He thought to himself, Nichoali's remark only making Kevin thirsty for a nice cold one. Mikhail was looking all around. 'Where is that bastard hiding...?' he thought to himself, wishing he could just see a target. "I shall be kind, for once, and spare you seven from the death of being incinerated from the nuclear blast... For old times sake, 'comrade.' " Nicholai said, before flipping on his sniper rifle's red target laser. Deciding to toy with the group, he aimed for Jim's feet first, grinning. He pulled the trigger. The roar of the rifle firing the bullet was quite audible, and as the bullet struck right infront of Jim, he did almost a complete backflip to avoid the bullet, bumping into and knocking over Kevin. "Dammit all to Hell!" Kevin shouted, obviously very aggravated. Jim scrambled off Kevin, who unholstered his gun and began to fire in all directions above. "Show yourself, you cowardly sonovabitch!" Kevin shouted, ejecting a wasted clip and slamming in a fresh one, cocking his .45 Automatic very angrily. "Now now, Drunky. No need to get a temper." Nicholai said with an evil laugh, firing at Kevin some now. Kevin got hit in his right leg, causing him to cry out. But he noticed from where the bullet came, and quickly fired off a shot. Nicholai felt the bullet clip his left shoulder. "... That was a foolish mistake, my friend..." Nichoali said, his voice full of anger. Nichoali had not noticed Yoko for some reason. 'The quiet ones seem to just blend in... But I do recognize that little girl...' Nichoali thought with a big grin on his face, his anger fading. "Well, my old friend, it seems you even have an Umbrella worker in your ranks... Your genius continues to astound me..." Nichoali said mockingly, laughing once more. Yoko blinked. "Wha...?" She said, really confused. She wasn't the only one though, the feeling quite mutual. "I'm surprised she's with you. But she must of had her memory erased. Company policy afterall, comrade." Nichoali said, before firing off another shot. The bullet nicked Mikhail's right shoulder, causing a slight blood splatter. "I see your sniper skills have not faded, Nichoali." Mikhail said, smirking lightly. "You should come down and see if your hand to hand skills have been kept up to par..." Mikhail said, trying to goad Nichoali into coming out. "I'm not so quick to jump at a challenge, my old friend. I know you too well. Do not think of me as a simpleton like Oliveira. You should give me a lot more credit. Anyway, back to little miss Yoko. How does it feel to have your memory wiped?" He said with a smile. Yoko's eyes began to tear up a little, her memories fragmented and her mind confused. Nichoali's smile grew wider as Yoko teared up. "That's it... Let it all out. You're going to die anyway, at least I'm giving you a chance to feel something before you die..." Nichoali said with a chuckle.
Nichoali's little mind games were wearing Mikhail's patience rather thin. "Leave her alone Nichoali!" Mikhail shouted, clenching his fists angrily. "Heh, why should I? I haven't even gotten to the good part yet... Want to know why her memory was erased?" He said with an evil smirk following. Yoko looked at Nichoali, curiosity populating her mind as he seemed almost familiar somehow. Nichoali laughed a little, then continued his little chatting spree. "Because the experiment she was working on with William Birkin went wrong... The subject started attacking everything that got too close to it. I believe the subject's name was Lisa Trevor... Birkin was doing two things involving this guinea pig.. One was to study the G-Virus which he had found in her." He said, pausing for a moment. "The other... The creation of a more powerful strain of the T-Virus!" He laughed a little more, knowing that it was irritating the small band of survivors. He would not step out of the shadows just yet. He had so much more to tell. "Unlike the T-virus that has plagued this city, this new strain doesn't yield zombies, but superhuman strength, agility, and senses. It may also cause various physical mutations as well that can be easily concealed. But the death of Lisa Trevor didn't stop the experiment with the enhanced strain of the T-virus, for there was another subject... Unfortunately, the subject died. Supposedly the subject was a researcher for Umbrella..." Nichoali said, looking towards Kevin. "And you might know him very well, drunkard... Captain Albert Wesker..." Kevin narrowed his eyes angrily. "That's a bunch of bullshit! I'm not about to believe some coward that hides in the shadows!" Kevin fired off a few more times. "Heh, you don't know the whole truth... Not you, not Mikhail... Not even little miss Yoko... Only I do." Nichoali said, before tossing the now empty Sniper Rifle aside. Reaching behind him, he began to search through a black bag, about gym bag size. Pulling his hands back out, he held a few grenades. 'Time for some fun..' He thought with a big smile. Pulling the pins on each one, he heaved them all at once. "This kind of rain will hurt you kiddies!" Nichoali said with an evil laugh, as the grenades hit the ground all around them. "SCATTER!" Mikhail shouted, as he jumped for cover, followed by Kevin and David. Mark risked himself to tackle down Cindy and Yoko, shielding them from the blast. Jim tripped himself and barely avoided a piece of shrapnel into his face. "YO, THAT WASN'T COOL!" Jim shouted. Mikhail quickly rose, very very angry. "Oh, and by the way, I must thank you for getting me the necessary components for the Daylight though..." Nichoali said, as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, straight from the shadows. He quickly grabbed Yoko, and put his SigPro SP2009 to her left temple, holding her close to where there was no escape. Mark tried to get to her in time, but Nichoali was quicker than he looked. "Now hand them to me! I knew the outbreak was going to happen. Umbrella wanted the G-virus so badly they'd be willing to risk this entire city for just the one sample!" He said, smiling.
Nichoali smirked, the end of the gun still shoved against Yoko's temple. "And since I'm feeling so chatty right now... I'll go ahead and tell you why I'm here. I am to collect combat data from all the Bio Weapons, to acquire the Daylight..." He paused, giving Mikhail a close look. "And more importantly... Revenge." Before anymore could be said, the 'thoom' of rather heavy and large feet were audible. Everyone looked behind them, Mikhail turning halfway. Nichoali grinned from ear to ear. "Well.. It seems like Thanatos has found us... I shall enjoy gathering combat data from the rest of them.." Nichoali said, before kicking Yoko aside, slamming her into Mark, who caught and stood his ground with her. Nichoali then re-aimed his SigPro SP2009 for Mikhail, dead between his eyes. "But I will spare you from Thanatos..." Nichoali said, his cold look becoming a smile. However, it seemed that Thanatos had other plans. As if a sudden spark of goodness, Thanatos rushed, and moved dead past Mikhail, swiping at Nichoali. If not for Nichoali being in great physical condition, that would of been his head. He however got a nice scar on his left cheek, but he avoided death. "This isn't over! I will be back!" Nichoali shouted, before turning and running. "Revenge shall be mine!" And with that, Nichoali disappeared into the darkness that was Raccoon City.
Thanatos had saved the man who hurt his creator, just because -he- wanted to kill the man. Looking down to Mikhail, his eyes showed hatred and disgust. "Well baldy... Care to dance?" Mikhail said with a smirk. Thanatos could understand the English language, being human once. Just talking wasn't an option for a God of Bio Organic Weapons. Roaring in rage, as if to say "FOR MY CREATOR!" Thanatos attempted to and successfully smacked Mikhail with the back of his hand. Mikhail went flying like a rag doll, slamming into a few trash cans. Kevin aimed his .45 Automatic, and opened fire. Thanatos ignored the shots, focused on his target. "GO! He wants me!" Mikhail said. The group didn't want to leave Mikhail after all they had been through, but they knew he was right. With Mark leading, the survivors one by one left Mikhail to Thanatos. The last being Cindy. "Please don't die! We're going to come back for you!" She shouted back. Mikhail smiled, that the fact of her kindness. She reminded him of the S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine. "Take your time.." He said, full of sarcasm. "I've got a friend that seems to have issues to work out with me."
Mikhail took off, oddly quick for someone of his stature. Thanatos narrowed his eyes, and roared angrily, giving chase. 'There are times when I wish I wasn't the hero...' He thought to himself. 'Or made better choices.' He nodded to himself, running down a long hallway and avoiding random bits of fire. Nichoali's little grenade show had caught some of the building on fire, and it was spreading. It didn't seem to phase Thanatos. A beam from above them fell, aflame and unable to continue holding up, slamming right onto Thanatos' shoulders. Mikhail rolled to avoid it just incase, stopping on his feet, turning his head to the left to look back. Thanatos had not even buckled in the knees. The flaming beam simply balanced on his shoulders. His skin didn't even bother to burn. "Well, shit..." Mikhail muttered before breaking into a run once more. Thanatos followed, this time oddly walking. He wanted his prey to be tired, growing fed up with this chasing game. Reaching for the flaming beam with his left hand, Thanatos lifted it up and over, and heaved it like a spear towards Mikhail. Had it not been for his quick action of opening a nearby door and continuing running, it would have made him a shish kabob. 'For crying out loud... Why do they keep getting more determined to kill me?' He thought to himself, before stopping for a moment. He noticed something glistening in the light. Picking it up, it was a key card! And not just any keycard; it was Nichoali's! "Save this for later." He muttered, before turning to see a forearm head right for him. Ducking as low as he could, Mikhail's neck felt the oddly cool breeze as the arm rushed over his head. Breaking off into a run once more, Mikhail decided now he'd stop looking back. Thanatos roared, thrusting out both it's arms, slamming into and through either wall. As if it had lost it's mind or was trying to intimidate or frighten Mikhail, it ran after him, leaving rather large and long holes in the walls. 'Intimidation... Works for me!' Mikhail thought, increasing his speed to it's utter most maximum. Slamming one last door, Mikhail found just the place he had hoped for. Or would have if he knew what was to come before him. His run had become a light jog, as he was starting to grow tired. Thanatos head butted through the door, roaring once more. "Yeah yeah, big scary monster. Been there killed that." Mikhail said. Then he noticed something hanging from the ceiling a little ways infront of him. An electrical wire, looking big enough to stun even Thanatos. 'This could work..' Mikhail thought before dodging past the wire. Luck was on his side as he found the button to press. "Wait for it..." He muttered, awaiting Thanatos. With a roar, the huge creature charged Mikhail, only to run smack dab into the dangling wire in the nick of time for Mikhail to press the switch. Thanatos jerked for a while, before letting out a roar of defeat. Landing knees first, the behemoth of a B.O.W. fell forwards onto his face. "Taught you, didn't I?" Mikhail said with a smirk. Carefully, he checked the pulse of the monster, just in case. Finding no pulse, he chuckled lightly and left the hallway. 'They must've went up to the third floor...' He thought to himself as he got into the elevator.
Nichoali clenched his fists in anger. "Damn! You useless waste of a Tyrant! I could of done a better job with one leg!" Nichoali was fuming. Not only was Mikhail winning, but because of Mikhail, everything was falling apart. Because of his 'comrade', Nichoali now had a scar on his left cheek. Nichoali also lost his key card because of Mikhail, which further ensued his anger. "Someone is Definitely going to die tonight..." Nichoali muttered. "I'll just hunt down him.." Nichoali mutters, before disappearing in the darkness. Greg was fuming as well. Thanatos had not come back with Mikhail, let alone a body part to verify the kill. "Just what in the HELL'S GOING ON!" Greg shouted, slamming his fists down on his desk. Irritated, he tried to relax himself. "Calm down... You've still got what everyone wants, Greg. They'll never know." He said with a big smile. Looking down to a small briefcase of his, he patted it with his hand before deciding to try and check up on Thanatos. Accessing security through his computer, he found that his great creation lay there, seemingly dead at the hands of the U.B.C.S. Mercenary. "NO! MY CREATION! YOU SONOVABITCH!" Greg was clearly beyond pissed now. "I'll make you pay... I swear I will!" Greg shouted. Nichoali found himself crawling in the air ducts. Fortunately, they were big enough for human support. They probably expected air condition technicians and whatnot to be able to move around up here. Nichoali smirked, steathfully crawling along the airducts. He felt almost like he was re-living a past battle. Crawling through trenches, avoiding been seen by the enemy. In theory, that was exactly what he was doing. He had to be crafty and sneaky, otherwise it could ruin everything that had not been ruined yet. Looking below himself as he crawled, he was able to see through the occasional air vent cover. Zombies littered the university in certain rooms, maybe one or three, but never over four. Smirking, Nichoali continued forth, until he heard something. "Sounds like someone yelling..." Nichoali said to himself, and paused. 'That voice...It sounds... Familiar.." He thought to himself, before realizing who it was. "Greg..." He muttered. "And it sounds like the survivors have found him. Guess the rag-tag band of circus freaks can actually work together. I'm almost impressed..." Nichoali said with a smirk, going back to crawling. This time, he was headed towards the yells and rants.
"Well... look who it is..." Alyssa said, looking at Mikhail. He didn't say anything, just simply pulled out all three vials, handing them to George. George smiled and said "now we can get rid of the virus. I don't know how much we'll be able to make, but hopefully it'll be enough." He put the three vials in the incubator and turned it on, the three vials being spun in the small incubator. After five minutes, the power went out. "What the hell?" Mikhail said, getting up to check the incubator. No Daylight, it seemed like the end for his new friends. A loud click was heard, as if a door was being unlocked. He checked the door and opened it, and knew where he was. 'Here again... Back where I started at...' Mikhail thought to himself as he and the others walked around, picking up a few items. Jim walked past him, asking "what's up with this room, yo?" Mikhail replied "it's a makeshift lab... some crazy sonovabitch let that monster we were running from out right here..." The sound of the door locking grabbed Mikhail's attention. "He knows we're here..." He said. Jim looked at the white sheet and asked "What's this?" When he pulled the sheet off, he screamed, as the dead body beneath was revealed. Jim ran off to the door, trying to bust it open. The door didn't budge at all, leaving Jim in a full panic attack. Mikhail grabbed Jim by the shoulders and slapped him as hard as he could. "Pull yourself together! This isn't the time to panic!" He said, glaring at Jim a bit. Mikhail turned and walked down towards a small passage, knowing just what to expect in that room.
The group of survivors found themselves in a very big room, looking to be for experimentation. Mikhail knew this room all too well. "This is where that psycho Greg was... And where Thanatos came from.." Mikhail muttered, walking cautiously. "No need for stealth, Mr. Victor." Greg said, a small hint of anger in his voice. "I know you are here. You have come to die, and I will not stop the process. You destroyed my creation somehow... So now I will destroy you." The sound of a gun being cocked was audible, but that didn't stop Mikhail. Rushing ahead of the group, Mikhail's M4A1 found its sights locked onto Greg. The Umbrella scientist was clearly not there much anymore, and had even gone so far as to soil himself at the mere sight of Mikhail. "Don't make me kill you Greg..." Mikhail muttered. Greg smiled, and then began to laugh. "Just give us what we want... And we can all get out of here. We don't have enough time for your mind games." Mikhail said, cocking his M4A1 and aiming for wounds nothing short of mortal. Mikhail found that his was not the only gun aimed at Greg. Kevin Ryman's .45 Automatic found it's way beside Mikhail, and Mark Wilkins' trusty 9mm Handgun also found it's way on the opposite side. Three guns pointing at Greg. "Give us the damn Daylight, you glasses-wearing psychopath!" Kevin blurted out, obviously not in the mood. Mark simply narrowed his eyes. He wasn't in the mood for a witty insult, or talking at all. He just wanted to get the hell out of here. And there was no way this little shit of a man was going to stop him. "You fools... Even if I gave you what you want... You'd kill me anyway! They all would! They all want my precious life and secrets! IT'S NOT THEIR'S TO HAVE!" Greg shouted, shaking both his arms, and causing the suitcase in his right one to wobble and shake right along. Mikhail noticed the briefcase, and could tell that there must of been some reason he had it. But he wasn't one to rush into things that were this delicate... Not just yet, anyway.
"There he is..." Nichoali muttered under his breath, now being in the air ducts above Greg. Unholstering his SigPro SP2009 Handgun, Nichoali added a silencer as well as a laser scope rather quickly. Being a trained soldier can do that to you. Aiming ever so slowly as Greg continued to rant and yell with small moments of calm speaking to himself, Nichoali closed one eye, aiming. 'This guy was dead before I ever got here..' Nichoali thought, before squeezing the trigger. The silenced shot rang out nonexistantly, as the 9mm bullet flew towards it's target; dead center of Greg's head. Since Greg was not facing Nichoali, it went straight through the back of his head, and ended up going out the bottom of his chin. He dropped his suitcase, dead before he hit the floor, Greg's body began to convulse and choke on the blood regardless. Slamming onto the floor, it jerked a little and then there was a stillness. Laying in a pool of his own blood, Nichoali smirked to the survivors that were in the room. Nichoali smirked, deciding to taunt the survivors one last time. "Enjoy the next 15 minutes... They'll be your last.." He laughed a little, knowing they were all quite pissed. Especially since Nichoali just silenced their only real lead on information about Thanatos, let alone what the hell was going on.
Deciding it was time to go, Nichoali smirked and let out one last taunt. "Farewell, comrade." Nichoali said, giving a sarcastic salute. Quickly scurrying away into the darkness of the air vents, Nichoali made his way into the lab before the door to the machine storage room. Exiting the air vents, he grabbed the only sample of Daylight. "Yes! Perfect timing." Nichoali said. "Now... to set the presents." He said, pulling out the detonator. Pushing it, the timer said they only had 2 minutes and 30 seconds to book it. Getting to the elevator passage, Nichoali jumped down the hole. Landing, he made a break for the front square, where he had a chopper waiting.
Mikhail looked up where Nichoali was, and noticed a beeping sound. Narrowing his eyes, he noticed what he feared the most. "He's rigged the place with bombs! We need to move. NOW!" Mikhail shouted. Yoko rushed over to Greg's body, and pulled the briefcase out of Greg's hand. "He held onto this for some reason." She said, taking it. "Fine take this before you go, you'll need it" Mikhail said, giving Yoko the card key. Kevin and Mark leading, the survivors all left the room and headed towards the entrance/exit of the University. Mikhail trailed behind, wanting to make sure there'd be no more surprises. It seemed Mikhail was smart to do so. Familiar 'thoom' sounds seemed to follow him. Stopping, he turned. "Damn you things are stubborn!" Mikhail shouted, catching the attention of Yoko. "Come on Mikhail! We've got to go!" She shouted. David stopped, and grabbed Yoko. "We've got no time. C'mon! He can take care of himself!" David said, shoving Yoko infront of him and taking off, her keeping up with him for a while before ending up last again. Mikhail narrowed his eyes, and turned. Suddenly, it seemed that the fire from the grenades had followed Mikhail. The beams and ceiling above the path they took fell, blocking Mikhail's path with fire and debris. "Figures..." Mikhail muttered. Thanatos cracked it's neck to either side, roaring angrily. "Yeah, fuck you too!" Mikhail shouted.
Daylight, the only cure for the T-virus. She was sent to destroy it, the man with red eyes told her to do so. But with that bioweapon running around, she felt the mission was a bit too dangerous. "I'm sticking to doing research..." She muttered to herself, sitting in the back of a helicopter. The sound of somebody laughing alerted her attention. 'Hopefully it isn't one of the supervisors...' She thought to herself, holding her handgun tightly. Nichoali was laughing as he entered the helicopter, looking the Daylight over as if it was some rare, mystical item. "Finally! I shall acquire the riches I so rightfully deserve... After all the struggle... From killing most of the other U.B.C.S... Destroying Thanatos... Gathering all the combat data on the B.O.W.s... and finding that one S.T.A.R.S. member dead... It's all worth it!" He said smiling. And still, the man continued. "And most of all... Killing that asshole Mikhail. All these years, and I've repaid him for what he has done..." Nichoali said, running his gloved left hand up and down his nice little scar. She could tell that he was Definitely close to insanity if not already there. 'Getting the Daylight from him won't be easy..' She thought to herself. As the helicopter began to ascend into the air, it seemed to make the gray-haired man laugh even more. Nichoali continued to rant on about himself, she occasionally heard the words "genius" and even "sexy beast." She didn't even wanna think about that one. Since he was totally occupied with himself and piloting, she snuck up to the pilot section the best she could. Fortunately, he was in his own little world. Grabbing the vial as quickly as she could, she opened the side of the helicopter and flung the vial out. She quickly shut it, and sat back in the back seat, in the darkness.
No swear word was strong enough to express Mikhail's frustration as he saw how much time there was left on the bomb's timer. "If I make it out of here... Nicholai is going to pay dearly..." He grumbled, loading the M4A1 with a fresh clip. The Thanatos kept following him and the others. He had the others go on ahead while he fought it. 'Just a little bit longer...' He thought to himself, ready to jump out the window seconds before the place blew up. Once it hit 30 seconds, he shot at the Thanatos and ran to the window, jumping out, landing on the trailer just in the nick of time as the university was being blown up. As the university exploded, Mikhail was fortunate the find cover from the flying bricks and falling debris. 'I only hope the others made it out.' He thought to himself, waiting for the explosions to stop. He could hear Thanatos roar, but it was cut off in the middle, as if something fell atop him. "Stay down, asshole..." Mikhail muttered. Feeling his face, he noticed a few scratches on himself, along his arms mostly and mainly. "I'll live..." He muttered. Mikhail looked up a moment, sighing. But suddenly, something caught his eye. It was falling very fast, and it looked like a vial of... "Daylight..." Mikhail said aloud, finishing off his thought. It seemed that either Nichoali dropped his vial of Daylight, or someone dropped it for him. His timing was nearly too late, but Mikhail managed to catch the vial just before it began to hit the ground, right above and beside Mikhail's full arm length.
As Mikhail caught the vial of Daylight, he heard Nichoali's helicopter, and looked upwards. He could just barely see it as it flew off into the horizon. "...Coward.." Mikhail muttered, not saying because of the Daylight, but because of him leaving the mess he helped create. Mikhail pocketed the vial of Daylight, deciding it was best to save it and make sure it was kept safe. 'Something has to prove what Umbrella's really doing around here...' Mikhail thought to himself. "Mikhail!" A voice cried out, and Mikhail turned. It was Mark, with all the other survivors. "Thank God you are all alright." He said with a smile. The 8 survivors all stood beside Mikhail, knowing the worst was soon coming. Yoko was struggling to open the briefcase. "Damn this thing, it won't open!" She said, sighing. "Hand it here." Mikhail said, and Yoko did. Mikhail struggled to open it too, finding it really hard to. But then he looked at the briefcase more closely. "It's a puzzle..." Mikhail muttered. As if snapping to attention, Jim rushed over and grabbed the briefcase. "I love puzzles! Let me take a crack at it!" He said. "Alright...Make it fast though." Mikhail said. "Well, it seems like you -DO- have a use." Alyssa said with a smirk. Jim smiled lightly, and looked it over. "Hmm..." Fidgeting with the briefcase, he activated something hidden. A screen popped up, with a small keyboard underneath it. Text began to pop up on the screen, and it was obvious that this puzzle involved riddles. "This should be a piece of cake." Jim said with a big grin. "Okay, first riddle. The number of lives a cat has..." Jim smirked. "Too easy. 9." Jim typed in the number. 'CORRECT!' it read. "Two more to go!" He said with a smile. "Excellent work, comrade." Mikhail said with a big smile. "Yeah, go Jim go!" Cindy said with a cheery laugh and smile. "Yeah yeah. Whoop-dee-doo. Jimmy has his use. I'm an ass kicker and he's a puzzle freak." Kevin said with a small yawn. David just shook his head and sighed. "There's no time for insults, Kevin. Let the man work." George said. Mark nodded his head in agreement, with a "Damn right." to follow. The second riddle displayed itself. "Sunday's other brother." Jim stated it aloud, rubbing his chin. "I know that one! I used to do riddles while on security. It's Tuesday!" Mark said, with a small smile. "And if this is a number-based puzzle, it will be the number 2 as the next numeric answer." Jim said. He typed in Tuesday, followed by the number 2. 'CORRECT!' the screen read. Everyone was looking really excited and happy, except David. 'Don't have time for childish games...We need to get the hell out of this city before it blows up..' David thought to himself, folding his arms over his chest and leaning against a nearby wall in an almost annoyed state about him. The last riddle began to display itself. "What is the worst time to go to the dentist?" Jim stated, blinking. "I've never heard of this one.." Jim said with a small hint of fear about him. Suddenly, a helicopter flew overhead, distracting the group. They would never know that Jill Valentine, Carlos Oliveira, and Barry Burton all were within the chopper, escaping the inevitable destruction of the city. "That's a sign for you to hurry!" Kevin shouted, obviously a bit angry and cranky without his alcohol. "Alright, alright. Back off, yo." Jim said, beginning to sweat a little. He pondered the riddle for a while. Mikhail blinked, pondering it. "I... I have heard that one before. One of my men told it to me once. He wouldn't tell me until after I guessed. It's on the tip of my tongue.." Mikhail said, angrily sighing. It suddenly came to Mikhail, and he smiled. "A minute to two thirty." He said. Everyone blinked. "Are you sure?" Jim asked, scared even more now. "Yes, my friend. I am very sure. My memory is not as bad as people might think it." He said with a nod and big smile. Jim entered in the time, and 'CORRECT!' displayed across the screen. Automatically, the system plugged in 1, just because the riddle was hard enough. The numbers 9-2-1 displayed, and unlocked the briefcase. Eagerly, Jim opened the briefcase. Inside were 8 vials of Daylight and an injector device. "Well, it seems you all have a way to rid yourselves of the virus. As for me, the U.B.C.S. arrived after the virus was pretty much dissipated." Mikhail said. They each nodded, and one by one, injected themselves with the Daylight.
Having heard the explosion, a few of the remaining firefighters took a helicopter and headed over to the University. Obviously someone was still there to have an explosion ensue. "We're almost there." The pilot shouted, as they flew as fast as they possibly could. Coming upon the University's back square, one of the firefighters grabbed a megaphone. "Hurry to the front square! We can land and get you out of here from there!" He shouted, before the helicopter flew towards the front square. "Everybody! To the front square!" Mikhail shouted. The group of survivors began to make their way towards the front square, avoiding flaming death and debris. Halfway to the destination, a familiar roar was audible. "Go!" Mikhail shouted, shoving Jim and Yoko forwards, turning his back to the survivors. They all immediately did as they were told. Mikhail froze, looking all around. 'Come on out...I know you're watching me...' Mikhail thought to himself. About ten feet infront of him, Thanatos suddenly popped out, attempting to swipe at Mikhail with his clawed hands. Mikhail did a backwards roll, and fired off a few choice rounds. Of course the bullets didn't work, but they did stall Thanatos a second. Making a break for the front square, Thanatos decided to follow, but walked instead...
As Mikhail entered the courtyard, he saw the 8 survivors... and 4 other men. U.B.C.S. gear, and oddly unharmed. They all saluted their commanding officer, and Mikhail returned it. "It is good to see you all alive..." Mikhail said with a small smirk. "Well sir, we are -your- men. Hand-picked and trained by you." The obvious leader of the group before this said with a small smile. Mikhail smiled back. "Be that as it may... Are you prepared to fight alongside me one last time?" He asked them. "Yes sir!" They all shouted, in unison. "Lock and load, gentleman... Because here comes Death himself..." Mikhail said. They all did as instructed, and were ready right when Thanatos stepped into the light. Out of the blue, a voice cried out. "Hey, Mikhail!" Mikhail turned, only to catch a M66 Rocket Launcher, just like he previously had. David smirked. Mikhail returned the smirk, putting away his M4A1 and gripping the Rocket Launcher in both hands. "Ready..." Mikhail stated, the men readying themselves. Thanatos cracked it's knuckles slowly and tightly on the only claw left, then its neck, gritting its teeth. "Aim..." Mikhail stated next, his men taking aim. Thanatos roared, defiantly and confidently. "FIRE!" He shouted. The ammo that flew forth was a combination of 5.56 NATO rounds, 9mm bullets, and even a few grenades. For once, Thanatos showed weakness from the grenades. Mikhail aimed and fired two of the rockets. Thanatos roared, obviously hurt and pissed off. Kneeling, Thanatos was wounded, but not out of the picture yet. His men reloaded in unison, and kept on firing. Thanatos roared, more and more anger filling him. Thanatos charged Mikhail, and leaped. He thrust out his claw arm as violently as he could. Mikhail tried to avoid, but he was knocked aside like a rag doll. Fortunately, he was not scratched at all, so no virus was transferred to his being. But his back slammed into a wall, and he found that he had a cracked rib or two. Grunting as he fell onto his butt, he got back up to his feet as quickly as possible. Thanatos roared, charging Mikhail once more. Mikhail steadied the Rocket Launcher, and fired the last two shots. They hit dead on, opening Thanatos' chest up, and knocking him out cold, for the moment.
The helicopter finally landed, just in the nick of time. Mikhail had dispersed with Thanatos, if not temporarily. But he was wounded, and obviously he would be forced to stay. The 8 survivors looked to one another, and tried to decide who would leave, and who would stay. "I wanna help Mikhail..." Kevin said. Everyone was shocked! It seemed like Kevin had hated Mikhail, or more or less just didn't care. "...If the idiot's staying, I will too..." David said, smirking and folding his arms. "Hey! I'm not an idiot!" Kevin shouted. Nobody stepped up to take Kevin's side on that one. "Oh to hell with you all..." Kevin muttered. "Well... If you two are going to stay, I should stay just because he'll need someone more 'combat experienced' than either of you." Mark said, smiling. "Well, I want to interview Mikhail and get the big scoop behind Umbrella and his story! So I'm staying behind." Alyssa said. Once again, nobody objected to the statement made. "Well... Someone with medical skills will be needed, so I'll stay too." George said. A small silence fell between Cindy, Yoko and Jim. "Hurry up guys! We have room for only two people, and there's not much time before the city goes boom!" The firefighter with the megaphone shouted to them. "We're almost done, take a chill pill!" Kevin shouted. Looking back to the group, Kevin found that one was missing. "What the hell?" He muttered, looking to the chopper. Jim was already in it, waving. It seemed he picked an opportune time, since Thanatos just got back up. "Well, that takes care of one of us.." Kevin said. Now it was between Yoko and Cindy. "Well, I want to help stop that Nichoali fellow... As well as get my memories back." Yoko said with a soft sigh, knowing it was mainly selfishness that propelled her action. "That's okay. I don't mind staying. I can be of use here more than in the helicopter." Cindy said with a smile. Yoko gave all of them a small hug, and it was shocking that David hugged back, slightly. "Take care kid..." David said, lightly smirking. "Gotcha." Yoko said with a big smile. With one last look to her fellow survivors, Yoko took off for the helicopter. Once inside, the helicopter wasted no time lifting off and getting the hell out of dodge. "Well... At least we're not going to become zombies." Kevin said, smiling. Everyone else smirked. The six survivors decided it was time to help Mikhail out any way they could, especially since Thanatos was proving to be a nuisance.
Once the helicopter was gone, all hopes of survival were now gone. Mikhail was not fighting to survive anymore. He was fighting to kick Thanatos' ass! And it seemed that the creature was focus only on him. "Hold your fire men. There's no point in you wasting your ammo. This creature wants me only. Just fall back, and protect my friends if they need it." Mikhail said, dodging a few claw swipes just barely. "Hey! We can take care of ourselves!" Kevin shouted, shaking his fist at Mikhail in an angered fashion. "Sir! I know this is probably a wrong time to mention this..." One of Mikhail's younger soldiers stated. "Speak up, soldier!" Mikhail shouted, using his Rocket Launcher as a type of shield against the claw, it barely holding up against it, but still proving Mikhail cover. "Well, I heard Sergeant Nichoali ranting before we arrived... And he said something about the Daylight can pretty much eradicate any T-virus infected creature..." The soldier said. Mikhail blinked. 'Even Thanatos!' his mind shouted. 'But how am I going to get it into his system... his skin's thick as concrete..' Mikhail thought, doing a baseball type slide to get some distance, rolling back onto his feet. But then he remembered. He made that wound on Thanatos' chest. 'I've go two shots... so I need to make it as big as possible. No problem.' Mikhail thought with a smirk. Thanatos roared, and charged his adversary. Mikhail aimed, and fired one rocket. Thanatos sidestepped it, still going. He leaped upwards, and began to descend down upon Mikhail. Aiming the rocket launcher upwards, Mikhail closed one eye. He fired the second rocket, and it hit dead on. Mikhail rolled out of the way just in time for Thanatos' feet to slam through the concrete, sending chunks of concrete everywhere. Mikhail tosses the rocket launcher aside, pulled out the ampoule shooter, and loaded the only Daylight he had into it. As Thanatos turned and began to charge again, Mikhail aimed. "Adios..." Mikhail muttered, before pulling the trigger. The vial was propelled forwards at an amazing speed, it almost looking beautiful before it struck into Thanatos' open wound. Instantly, the anti-virus was administered to Thanatos' bloodstream. The creature ripped out the vial and crushed it in its hand, hoping to do the same to Mikhail. However, it seemed that today would not be the day. In an amazing show of flashing lights and miniature explosions, Thanatos was ultimately destroyed, leaving barely a limb or organ as proof that it once existed. Injured once again, the mighty Mikhail Victor fell onto his butt, sighing. "I need a vacation..." He muttered.
He looked up to the sky, seeing a missile soar over head. "That... that isn't a nuclear warhead..." Mikhail said, knowing the difference between a cruise missile and a minuteman nuclear missile. 'Either way, we need to find shelter quick!' He thought to himself, motioning to his men and survivors to a nearby manhole. Mikhail got to his feet as best he could, and it was Kevin and David who grabbed an arm, put around their shoulders, and helped the U.B.C.S. Lieutenant to the manhole. "Thank you both..." Mikhail said. "No... Thank you, Military Man." Kevin said with a smile. Once everybody was down there, a few web spinners were there. Mikhail, even injured, alongside his men were able to dispose of the pestering arachnids. "Well, I know this city pretty well… And it's best if we hide under the university. It's big and strong enough up above, so the sewer below will definitely be fortified." David said, nodding. Everyone fought this time, especially since they were Hunters. Spiders are one thing, but Hunters were once human, and some of the most vicious things that Umbrella could create. It seemed that Mikhail had taught his men the 'feed the hunter a grenade' trick all too well, for they performed the trick expertly. After the big brawl, the groups found what looked like a structurally sound and secure area, and made a small camp there. "Let me help you with your wounds, Mikhail." George said. "That would be great George. Thank you…" Mikhail said with a smile. "No thanks needed, simply doing my duty." George said, instantly going to work on Mikhail. Cindy stood by to offer assistance, as the worst was yet to come.
Nichoali smiled evilly. "This is too unreal! I still cannot believe how great this day is! I have the only sample of the Daylight... Mikhail is dead... Raccoon City has been blown to little more than dust... AND I'M GOING TO BE SO RICH! HAHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHA! I can't wait to plot what I'm going to do with all my money..." Nichoali said, grinning from ear to ear. Hearing the explosions only seemed to make him laugh further, going into one of his rants of being "a sexy, god of a man." as well as "the greatest genius in the known world." Just before Raccoon City was completely out of his sight, he pulled a little mocking salute. "Farewell Mikhail Victor... It hasn't been fun knowing you. Please, enjoy the suffering of being blown to SHIT!" He shouted to an audience of no one but himself. Lost in his own little world, Nichoali did not know that the last Daylight was gone... And would remain gone... Forever..
Please let me know what you think, all comments are appreciated.