Alexia sat in front of the vanity, slowly and methodically brushing her long blonde hair. It had been a little over a week since she discovered she was not this Alexandra Banks person, but Alexia Ashford. Kent and Umbrella both would pay for trying to fool her poor brother, for putting him through the torment of thinking she was dead. They would also pay for underestimating her, for thinking she would not remember her true heritage. Oh yes, they would pay.

As Alexia finished brushing, she laid the silver brush aside, and stood. The violet taffeta ball gown made low swishing noises as she strode across the room and walked out the door. But before Umbrella, she would have to deal with a certain prisoner that was being sent to the island. A girl, sister of the infamous S.T.A.R.S. member Chris Redfield. If she could find the S.T.A.R.S. agents before Umbrella did, why she would have Umbrella right where she wanted them.

A tittering laugh escaped her lips as she walked primly toward the monitoring room of the mansion. Since remembering who she was, Alfred had not allowed her to leave the residence. Alexia didn't mind in the slightest, she had no desire to subject herself to the mindless ramblings of the common idiots Umbrella had thrust upon them.

She took a seat at the large console and watched every corner of the island displayed on the monitors. Her gaze soon found the image she was looking for, that of a large black Umbrella chopper making it's way toward the landing pad near the military facility.

"Welcome to my parlor…said the spider to the fly."

Another tittering laugh escaped the woman's lips, harsh and cruel. Any semblance of Alexandra Wesker had disappeared…

Claire Redfield stumbled off the chopper, completely unaware of her surroundings thanks to the black bag currently draped over her head. It had been three days since she'd unsuccessfully tried to infiltrate that Paris facility and hope of finding her brother was becoming dimmer with every step she took away from the chopper. She had no idea where it was Umbrella had sent her, but from the saltwater smell that seeped through the cloth of the bag, she had to assume it was on the coast somewhere.

Claire tripped as the two guards pulled her down a set of stairs. She wrinkled her nose a at the musty damp smell emanating from below her. A few seconds later she was shoved forward and the bag was ripped off. She shook here head as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of her holding cell.

"Welcome to Rockfort Island."

Claire started to turn when a sharp pain exploded above her eye. She hit her knees, then fell to the floor. Claire moaned slightly as the entire room began to spin and then the blackness closed in and overtook her…

Alfred sat in his office looking over the transfer papers of Claire Redfield. The girl had infiltrated the Paris facility looking for information about her lost brother, Chris. Chris Redfield was one of the three S.T.A.R.S. agents that had escaped Raccoon City before the outbreak. He dimly remembered that their escape had been blamed on a security agent named Alexandra Wesker. He wondered if she could be some relation to the traitor Dr. Albert Wesker.

He had more important things to be thinking about, such as protecting his lovely sister and repaying Umbrella for the pain they had caused her. There was so much she had lost, thanks to Umbrella's treachery. Alfred had assured her that he would help her remember, but even if she could never remember she was with him now and that was all that mattered to him.

"Alfred, my love. Our new pet has arrived, hasn't she?"

Alfred lifted his head, a smile forming on his lips. His Alexia was in the residence's monitoring room no doubt and already knew the answer to that question. He reached out and touched the speaker button on the intercom unit that connected back to the residence.

"Yes, the guards just escorted her to the holding cell near the cemetery. She is completely isolated from the rest of the prisoners, according to plan."

"Good. You'll have to go see her for me, won't you?"

"I will."

"Do be careful brother, I've heard she is dangerous and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"I will Alexia, I promise."

"Very good, then I shall leave you to deal with the morons Umbrella calls employees."

Alfred beamed as the line went dead. Alexia was worried about him and proud of his work. He would do anything to please her…anything…

Far above Rockfort Island and roughly five minutes away, three large black combat choppers fly toward the island. Inside each chopper is fifteen soldiers of Brentwood Pharmaceutical's Host Combat Force, or HCF. Brentwood wants the T-Veronica virus at any cost and they have handpicked forty five men to retrieve it. Leading them is their best chance at retrieving the sample.

A former employee of Umbrella, former S.T.A.R.S. captain, and former scientist. The commander of the HCF is nothing short of a perfectionist. True he failed to bring Brentwood the combat data on the creatures from the Spencer Mansion and the scientific data on the Tyrant, but Brentwood would not allow one small failure to cloud his abilities. Oh no, not after he successfully retrieved both a sample of the G-Virus and Birkin's daughter. Not to mention that the Commander of the HCF had abilities no other human being possessed.

No, Brentwood Pharmaceuticals was quite proud of Commander Albert Wesker. They knew if anyone could retrieve a sample of the T-Veronica virus it was him.

"ETA?" Wesker's voice was cool, clipped, professional.

"Five minutes sir."

"Bring us in low for the air strike. One pass then we land, understood?"

"Understood sir."

A smile formed on Wesker's lips as he adjusted his sunglasses. A smile so cruel and cold a brave man would tremble…

Alexia narrowed her eyes, trying to discern the meaning from the pictures reflected back at her. Several choppers were coming toward the island and Alexia knew that no arrivals were scheduled for today. Her hand snaked out toward the com unit, just as the first round struck the island.

Her eyes flipped to the monitors as fires erupted near the bridge and military facility. More bombs fell on the island and with each hit fires erupted in their wake. Alexia hit the floor, plaster raining down on her head as a round hit near the front of the Residence. She scrambled back through the door as two more rounds fell on her home, each one that bit closer. She rolled into the foray just as the ceiling in the monitoring room collapsed.

"S.T.A.R.S." She hissed through gritted teeth, then shook her head. "No, they aren't that well organized…someone else."

She pulled herself to her feet as the sounds of gunfire erupted outside, distant gunfire. The resident U.B.C.S. were fighting the invaders. If the invaders were as well organized as she suspected, she had little doubt that they would soon overtake the forces of the island. The men Umbrella had sent them were inferior and fundamentally stupid. They were no match for the men who had the audacity to try and destroy her lovely home...

Alfred's head snapped up as the first round hit the island. His thoughts immediately turned to his precious Alexia. He bolted from the office, heading across the bridge as more rounds fell on his base. He froze as two fell near the Residence.

"Alexia…" He staggered forward. "ALEXIA!"

He broke into a run, his fear mixing with anger. He pushed through the garden gate, hardly taking in the damage the bombs had wrought, his mind was completely on his sister and her welfare. He slammed through the front doors, eyes searching the darkness within wildly.

"Alexia."

He fell to his knees, burying his head in his sister's lap. She had been sitting on the stairs, waiting for him. She had known he would come for her, as sure as the sun rose each day. As he looked up into her blue eyes, his fear faded.

"Alfred you didn't think a few puny bombs would scare me, now did you?" Alexia smiled, running her fingers through his hair. "It's alright, I'm fine."

"Who would dare such a thing?"

"I do not know my brother, perhaps when the fighting dies down you should investigate."

Alfred nodded slowly. Alexia always had the answers, as long as she was there he would never be alone again…

Albert Wesker stepped out of the chopper, adjusting his sunglasses. The base lay in ruins, various B.O.W. had escaped thanks to the bombing, and he was fairly certain that zombies would soon follow. He had lost only twenty men in the taking of the island, Umbrella's forces had been decimated.

"Find any information about Alexia and the T-Veronica virus."

"Yes sir."

Jonathon Avery, his personal assistant, snapped a salute and trotted off to do as he was told. Wesker nodded his approval, good men were hard to find. He scanned the area, noticing two large mansions in the distance.

"Well now, let's have a look, shall we?"

Wesker started walking, his long strides easily distancing him from his men. Not that he needed them around for protection in the first place, not when you possessed the power he had…

Claire moaned and pushed herself to her feet. Dirt dropped from the ceiling as the lights flickered and finally died. During her unconscious haze she could have sworn she heard explosions and gunfire, but she could have been mistaken.

She turned, backing away from the bars as the door creaked open. Heavy footfalls followed, stopping near the door to her cell. Silently she pulled a Zippo from her pocket, a present from her brother. She rolled her thumb over the ball of the lighter and a flickering flame greeted her a second later. The man standing in front of her cell door was none other than the same man who had captured her at the Paris facility. He looked at her for several seconds, before pulling something from his pocket. Claire took an involuntary step back. A second later there was the audible clanking of a key turning in a lock. The man pulled the cell door open, turned, and sat down heavily in a nearby chair.

"Damn." The man threw an empty bottle across the floor then turned his attention to Claire. "Go on, get out of here. This place is finished."

Claire stepped out of the cell, still cautious. She had learned not to trust Umbrella a long time ago, in a place called Raccoon City. That lesson had kept her alive this long and she saw no reason why it wouldn't keep her alive now.

"Might have been special forces, who knows." The man clutched his side, blood seeping over his fingers. "We didn't stand a chance."

"I don't understand." Claire moved toward the door. "What men?"

"The guys that attacked this island. I don't know what they're looking for but they certainly made a mess out there. One of the bombs hit the labs at the training facility, all kinds of freaky shit running around out there now." The man lifted his head, his eyes boring into hers. "You probably won't make it, but there is no reason for you to die like a caged animal. Now leave me alone."

Claire didn't press the man further as his head fell to his chest. Instead she quietly investigated the desk in front of her. The only two things of interest were a log of her imprisonment and a combat knife. The log told her that her capture and subsequent releaser was one Rodrigo Juan Raval, but little else. Before scurrying out the door, she examined the bottle he had thrown across the floor.

"Homeostatic Medicine." she whispered, dropping the empty bottle.

Claire thought that Rodrigo must be hurt worse than he was letting on if he needed that. She thought about asking, but headed his warning, and instead she walked through the door and up the stairs.

She wrinkled her nose at the oily smoke coming from the wreckage of a chopper several feet away. Just what the hell had happened here, a war? She shook her head, stepping around the wall. When one was dealing with Umbrella any manner of things could happen.

"Oh this is just the sight that I wanted to see."

Claire groaned, staring out across the open space of what she had first thought to be a courtyard. But it was not a courtyard, it was a graveyard. She glanced up at the sky as it started to rain, thinking that this night was just getting better and better as it went along. She stepped into the muddy grass and started across the graveyard toward a door at the far end, when a familiar sound stopped her dead in her tracks.

She cringed inwardly as the low moan sounded again. It was as sound directly from her nightmares, a sound she had hoped never to hear again. She turned slowly, standing near the wreckage was a zombie. Despite being in the middle of yet another T-Virus outbreak, no doubt surrounded by creatures of every shape and size imaginable, Claire couldn't help but let out a nervous laugh.

"Zombies, graveyard, rain, middle of the night." The nervous laugh erupted from her mouth again. "Bit clichéd don't you think?"

The zombie answered her by taking a shambling step forward. Claire knew better than to stick around and find out what it wanted. She backed away, heading for the door, when three more moans joined the first. Her eyes darted to the ground, the bloody things were actually digging out of their own graves.

"I really, REALLY, hate Umbrella."

Claire spun around, nimbly dodging the zombie that had been sneaking up behind her and ran through the door, slamming it shut behind her. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps. Now Claire knew what Rodrigo had meant when he'd said…all kinds of freaky shit running around out there now. Zombies definitely landed in the category of freaky shit.

She got her breathing under control and started to walk away from the door when she got her second surprise of the evening. Three shots peppered the ground just in front of her feet. Claire dove out of the way, taking cover behind an overturned jeep.

"Christ, give me a break…"

Several more shots pinged off the side of the jeep. Claire hunched down further and spotted something that just might come in handy. She snatched the berretta off the ground and leaned out from behind her hiding spot. She fired two rounds, one hitting the railing of the guard tower, the second took out the spotlight that was shining down on here.

"Ahhh! Don't shoot!"

Claire narrowed her eyes. Either Umbrella was hiring their guards young or she'd discovered another prisoner like herself. Seconds later a young man climbed down from the tower and trotted over to greet her.

"I thought you were a zombie." He smiled, making him look that much younger. "Bet you don't work for Umbrella."

"Good guess." Claire kept her gun trained on the man, if man he was. She figured he was younger than her. "Zombies don't open doors you know."

"Well this is kind of my first experience with them." The boy grinned again. "Name's Steve."

"Not mine." She finally lowered the gun. "Claire, Claire Redfield."

"Well nice meeting you babe, but I got things to do."

Claire stared at him as he spun around and headed for a large set of double doors just beyond the guard tower.

"Hey wait, where are you going?"

"Heard there were some planes on this island, figured on getting myself out of here."

"We should go together, it's more…"

Steve smiled, then waggled a finger at her. Claire stared at him like he'd lost his mind.

"Sorry babe, you'll only slow me down."

And with those parting words he disappeared out the door. Claire stood there for a full minute staring at the door like it would suddenly sprout wings and fly away. She narrowed her eyes and pushed through the door, determined to catch up with that boy and find out just what his damage was.

"I'd slow him down?" Claire snorted as she jogged toward a long catwalk. "Moron doesn't know the first thing about zombies, hell Sherry would probably be more useful to me now than him."

After several minutes of jogging Claire figured it was safe to assume she wouldn't be finding him any time soon. She sighed, her eyes trailing to a large mansion on the hill. She squinted and could just make out a second mansion built behind that. She sighed and headed toward the mansion, maybe she could find a way off the island or at least some way to contact Chris…