A/N: Ok, before I go on, I would like to give a very special thanks to fanfic extraordinaire Hello Captain for being my beta this chapter and for helping me out with some of Alexia's lines ( She's really much better at that kind of thing than I am, I am the person you go to if you want help with making someone sound more like a complete idiot ). Since I am aiming to keep the game's characters as much in character as possible, this was a big help to me! =D Thanks Captain! Couldn't have done it without you! =^.^= *Gives Hello Captain a salute*
Chapter 6
" Alright, any song requests now? " Veronica asked, finally allowing a tired Ash a chance to rest.
He dropped to the floor. Looked up. Regarded his ancestor in much the same way a student might a gym teacher who was assigning too many push-ups so soon after the last ones.
Much to everyone's relief, the music had stopped, casting the room into an uncomfortable silence.
" Well? " Veronica repeated, a little miffed that nobody was talking. The sorceress intensely disliked silence.
" Anything but Alison Krauss." Alexia moaned, miserable.
" Did I hear Alison Krauss? " Veronica piped up, excited. She turned to Alfred, a mischievous gleam in her eye.
Alfred shook his head quickly, horrified by the hint of what she wanted to do. " No! No anything but that! "
Hadn't she tortured him enough already? Sitting for over a half hour straight ( which felt more like five hours ) being forced to listen to the same song over and over again was enough to drive anybody nuts. And if I wasn't crazy before…
Veronica grabbed his arm and jerked him out of his seat. " I'll be needing a new dance partner, seeing as how my last one gave out." She gestured to Ash, who breathed a sigh of relief.
Alfred shot his sister a pleading look as he was dragged away onto the 'dance floor'. Is this…karma? Are we paying for all the bad things we did?
It would seem. Alexia replied. She was still trying to formulate that foolproof plan. Of course, actually having a plan would mean knowing Veronica's weakness. Alexia couldn't just walk up to her and inject her with a virus the way she had done so many others. In fact, a virus wasn't likely to affect a sorceress at all.
" Hey, y'all watch this! " Veronica giggled, flipping Alfred to one side while simultaneously swinging herself in the opposite direction. This turned out to be a bad idea. Veronica had overlooked the bookshelf, and the discourteous book holder refused to move.
Crash! She plowed right into it backside first, lost her footing, and fell in a wild rain of books. Several volumes from the higher level of the shelf hit her on the head. During all the commotion, she had lost touch with Alfred and he was flung free of the disaster, much to his relief.
Alexia gazed on in disbelief. Not only was Veronica loopy, she way also a klutz! No way…there is no way I can be descended from her! The woman was a genetic failure.
Veronica looked up from her seat in the mass of scattered books and splintered wood. Her expression was that of a guilty child when faced by it's parents.
" Um…I meant to do that."
" Then it worked rather well." Alexia scoffed, her tone biting. Such a pity her red-haired ancestor couldn't have pulled that move near a pit of lava.
Veronica pulled herself up, walked away from the mess. " Alexia, why don't you clean that up."
Alexia couldn't believe it. " I beg your pardon? "
Veronica had the audacity to make her clean up after her?
The new family Mistress looked annoyed. " Don't you have ears? Or are those fleshy pink things on the sides of your head croissants? I said clean it up! "
To further punctuate her seriousness, she lowered her hand and shook it low, palm clenched, as if rolling dice. When she opened her hand to 'throw' a slithering bolt of black magic shot forth and hit Alexia in the thigh, causing her to reel back.
" Very well then." The former ant queen muttered, " Your petulance is most unnecessary." Though the powerbolt had been a mere bee sting, she had no desire to further enrage her magically inclined ancestor.
As degrading as it was, she was just going to have to do Veronica's bidding.
More pissed than she could ever remember being, Alexia left her seat and began her task; mind swimming with thoughts best not mentioned, thoughts rated a strong 'R'.
Alfred was taken aback. " I don't get it, you're a sorceress, can't you just wave your arms and poof, the mess is clean? "
Veronica rolled her eyes, looking so much like the typical airhead teenager. " Yes, but that's not the point. I don't like her attitude. Besides, you people need to have something to do besides bask in the glow of the perfectness that is me." As she said this she ran a hand through her shiny red hair with the air of someone who thinks they are truly the greatest thing to walk the planet.
Alfred was not impressed. What a self-righteous snob. The instant she appeared in this house our lives went straight to Hell. He started over to assist his sister.
Veronica had other ideas. " That's her job! " She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and threw him back. " Don't worry, I shall think of something for you to do in due time." She turned to Ash. " You too."
Ash frowned but said nothing. What was there to say? He couldn't very well argue with her.
Once she felt that her family fully understood who was boss, Veronica turned away, putting her hand to her forehead. Something was bothering her. There was something she should be doing, something very important. Something she could not quite remember.
" Ugh. Think Veronica, think! " She said aloud, receiving odd stares from all the other Ashfords save Alfred who had long since mastered the art of talking to himself, " Something I have to do…there was the prophecy, and then the teacup…someone I have to take down before I can advance my plans…bollocks, why can't I remember? "
Alexia, Alfred, and Ash did not reply. At least, not verbally.
The door opened and Alexandra entered the room, Sultan at her heels.
" Aw, what a cute little girl." Veronica smiled. She had always had a bit of a soft spot for children, " And hey, ya even have a tiger cub for a pet. What's your name? "
Veronica's tone was friendly, but Alexandra could still sense the thick unease in the air. Her parents and brother seemed to be afraid of this strange new woman. Especially her mother. I've never seen her pick up a mess on her own.
" I'm Alexandra," Alexandra introduced sweetly, the politeness coming natural to her, " and this is Sultan." She reached down and patted the big orange and black kitty on the head.
Veronica cocked her head to one side, the golden sparkle in her hair at just the right angle to give her an almost heavenly, angelic appearance.
" You must be Alfred and Alexia's daughter, right? "
" Right." Alfred grumbled, and Veronica shot him a warning glare that could melt lead. " I wasn't asking you, Alfie." Turning back to Alexandra, she said, " I am Mistress Veronica Ashford." She kneeled on one knee and extended a hand, " I'm your great great great great grandmother. Or something like that. Wicked cool, huh? "
Alexandra was a little unsettled, but the woman seemed friendly enough so she took her hand in a shake. " Yeah."
She was startled when Veronica drew her hand back quickly, her face an odd mix of shock and awe.
" Well, what do you know? That's something I've not seen in…a long, long time."
" What? " Alexia had to know. She couldn't help but to be curious. After all, she had a natural thirst for knowledge and hated it when someone knew something she didn't.
What was it about her daughter that astounded Veronica so? Truly, the sorceress was spellbound.
In reply to the questions, Veronica's eyes went around the room once, twice, studying each Ashford in turn. Then she burst into laughter. " How terribly ironic! "
" What? " Alexia, Alfred, and Ash asked in unison.
Veronica waved a hand dismissively. " Oh, you wouldn't understand even if I told you. But your child is quite the rare creature. I have never seen anyone quite like her."
" Kindly enlighten us as to the source of your bemusement." Alexia pressed, trying her hardest to mask the displeasure she felt about being told she wouldn't understand something.
Veronica shook her head slightly, gently biting her lower lip in wonder. " I have never seen one this pure. This should be interesting. Very interesting."
" Please elucidate further, Veronica." Alexia asked.
Veronica shot her a disdainful look. " You know, for being a genius you sure ask a lot of stupid questions."
Alexia bit her tongue, holding back the millions of insults that came to mind. Instead she asked, " By what means did you come by this knowledge? "
" Phfft! Please, I got wired with your computer, remember? There were a few files on you…not much, which I find rather intriguing, but it did mention that you were a genius. Several times, actually. You named a virus after me. How very sweet of you. I'm flattered. Really." She rolled her eyes again, shattering whatever illusion the others may have had about those being heartfelt remarks. " Other people get their own cities. I get my own virus."
" What you saw in me, was it bad? " Alexandra asked, worried.
" Bad? " Veronica nearly choked laughing.
" I doubt it. That's mushy wushy Carebear Alexandra who sets all the dragonflies free and protects mice from the needle. Makes me wanna heave just thinking about it." Ash remarked.
Alexia narrowed her eyes. " So that's what happened to my dragonflies! Bad show, Alexandra. "
" But you were hurting them." Alexandra argued weakly. She wouldn't have mentioned anything at all if not for the fact that Veronica were nearby. Her mother had a violent temper about these things.
" That's just your problem," Alfred hissed, " You're too damned nice! "
" Already the stamp of failure is upon you! " Alexia agreed.
Veronica was thoughtful. " Well, it is something of a setback, but I think it could work to my advantage. After all, this one is a special case, if nudged in the right direction she could be…" No sooner had she gotten the words out of her mouth than she reeled back, like the victim of a shockwave from some invisible explosion, howling in pain. Landing on her butt, she put a hand over her right eye, massaging it gently.
Alexia moved in like a hungry vulture waiting until the prey was weakened. The instant that happened, the instant Veronica became too weak to defend herself, she would swoop in for the kill.
" Are you alright M'Dear? "
Veronica rose to her feet quickly, almost as if sensing her intentions. Nevertheless, she looked shaken. Fear flickered across her radiant eyes for just the quickest of moments. It did not last long though.
" I vit my thung." She winced, briefly tasting the sweet elixir that was her own special blood.
Alfred made a face, though it was not really a sympathetic one. " Ouch."
There was something different about Veronica's posture now, it was a little more serious, a little more disciplined,
Something's made her nervous. An ever so slight grin curved at Alexia's lips, That means something can hurt her. I must discover what or whom! Her eyes locked with Veronica's.
There was a certain ferocity in the sorceress's glare; a fiery ambition and rugged defiance.
Alexia was forced to look away, lest Veronica decide that staring was rude.
It proved to be a wise decision.
" Discord." Veronica spit the name like a swearword, with as much passion and sheer raw hatred as Alexia did the name Chris. Her glower could freeze Hell.
" She's at it again, she wants to finish it." Veronica went on, and the other Ashfords could have been chopped liver right then for all she was concerned, " We must go to my place of power, my old castle on Majika Island."
She turned to the others at last, the familiar dopey visage back in place. " Road trip anyone? "
" Road trip? To an island? " Alfred laughed.
Veronica ignored him. " Oh…roadtriproadtriproadtrip! " She cackled insanely, rubbing both hands together and bouncing up and down. She looked positively ecstatic.
Alfred turned to his twin. Am I the only one who questions her sanity?
I'll question it once I see some evidence of it!
" Lets…go! " Veronica snapped her fingers and instantly everything changed.
No library. No computer. No mansion. They were standing on a warm, sandy, tropical island which was apparently 'Majika Island'.
A soft breeze drifted by lazily, playing with the leaves of the tall palms and fronds surrounding them on three sides. Ahead was a large area of pale beach oddly devoid of all forms of plant life. It was this sparse area that Veronica was focused on.
" Wow, you can teleport! " Alexandra's cheer was met by weird stares from her parents and brother. She hugged Sultan tightly--the little tiger cub was spooked. " Calm down Sultan. It's alright. We're just…um…on a beach now. It's okay. Nothing's going to hurt you."
Her family turned away, disgusted.
Veronica never even noticed. She was too caught up in staring at the ground. " Hmmm…a lot has changed since last I was here, but I recognize it just the same. My old stomping ground. My fortress."
Her eye caught the lone volcano a few miles off in the center of the island, and another wave of familiarity overtook her. Mt. Fulcan. As beautiful as ever.
" There's no fortress here." Alexia pointed out, " Just a lot of beach and sand. No building."
Veronica didn't reply. Instead, she held both arms out like she expected to be handcuffed. As the other Ashfords looked on, she shut her eyes, the dialect of an ancient incantation scrolling through her mind. Her hands began to glow with an supernatural light.
Out of instinct, the other Ashfords backed up, some more gracefully than others.
Ash stumbled over a small fern and nearly fell on his rear end. Luckily for him, all eyes were on Veronica.
Abruptly the sorceress turned her palms up and lifter her hands skyward.
The barren ground before them split open with a thunderous crack. The ground trembled. And an elegant stone castle sprang from the earth; taller and taller by the second, until it was at last full size.
Lightning flashed the sky. A fierce icy wind blew up and cooled the whole area by the double-digits of degrees.
When Alexia gazed up it was to see thick, dark clouds spawning overhead, swirling in a mad vortex directly over the newly formed castle. Outward and outward they expanded, stretching from horizon to horizon, blotting out the sun and inking the world into an ominous gray twilight.
Claps of thunder exploded every few seconds, lending voice to the white and blue bolts of lightning webbing across the sky in random flashes of brilliance. Rain poured down in torrents.
A strange creature howled from somewhere in the distance, probably near the center of the island.
" Wow, that's a nice castle." Alfred marveled.
It was not an exaggeration.
Easily the size of any one of the England castles or palaces, the gray-stoned structure looked like something straight out of a story book with fancy black shingles, scary towers, and stone gargoyle dragons populating the all the corners and edges in evil, all-seeing poses. Encircling the entire complex--which easily took up a football field on it's own--was a sturdy, black metal fence ten feet high and with pointed tips ending in razors.
No way your average Joe would be scaling that anytime this millennia.
Veronica awarded Alexia an evil smirk. " As you were saying my dear? "
" I must concede that I found that most ostentatious." Alexia was forced to admit. Much as she hated Veronica, even she had to acknowledge quality when she saw it.
" Welcome to Castle Ashford rebuilt! " Veronica cackled, cuing several bolts of lightning to flash overhead in sync with her remark.
Showoff. Alfred thought.
Sultan jumped at all the noise. Alexandra had to work very hard to hold him now…he was one scared kitty cat.
" Cool! We get to go in there? " Ash gaped, excited by the prospect.
The red-headed sorceress rolled her eyes. " No, my plan was to stand out here all day and make dumb blonde jokes. Come on you twits, let's go. We have much to prepare for."
" Such as…" Alfred started.
" War." Veronica purred, swaying slightly like a drunkard.
" War? With Discord? "
Veronica nodded. " Last time I was not prepared. This time she's not going to catch me on my rump supping tea."
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Chris awoke to the symphony of rainwater dripping from leaves, running off tree limbs, and at last coming to sloppy, wet splashes in various puddles on the soft, moist earth.
He opened his eyes--impossible to tell how long he'd been out--and found himself staring straight up into the leafy canopies of tropical island trees. Overhead, the storm rumbled on with just as much force as ever before.
Huh? Where am I? How the hell did I get here?! And where are the others? Moaning in slight discomfort at the pain in his head, he managed to stagger to his feet and scan the terrain.
Jungle. He was in a jungle. It was so dark he could barely see. Plants surrounded him in abundance on all, sides, every kind of tropical fern, grass, and flower imaginable in an array of dulled colors punished by the dim light. Though he had no way of telling for sure, the logical assumption was that he was still on Majika Island.
Perfect, just perfect. A freak storm--just the kind of vacation he'd never fantasized. Something weird is going on here. Alexis was right, we have to regroup and get off this crazy island.
Chris took one step forward. Stopped.
Which way to go?
It was impossible to tell. One direction looked the same as another. With his luck, he'd wind up wandering in circles for hours, and…well…that would just not do. He had to find the others and quickly.
Or at least some shelter. Though the canopy of leaves and vines protected him from a good portion of the onslaught, he was still pretty wet and getting very cold very fast.
Shelter was starting to sound pretty good right now, especially with the darkening sky. If it got much darker he wouldn't be able to see anyway, being as how he didn't have a flashlight handy. There were a few back at the jet--never leave for a camping trip without one--but where was the jet?
Chris shivered. The thought of wandering about lost in an island jungle at night during a freak storm and with the owner of that strange inhuman cry lurking about was a very scary concept. He could run into a jaguar, python, wild boar, or anything out here.
Granted, he had been through much worse--and lived to tell about it--but a ravenous jaguar could kill him just as easily as one of those ugly-as-sin 'hunters' could.
The rest of his team were not idiots. Wherever they were, they'd be weathering the storm. Not even Alan would be foolish enough to be running about in all this. Besides, despite the unusual weather, this was just a regular island. There wouldn't be any zombies or other hideous mutations here. No evil companies. Even his luck couldn't be that bad. Could it?
As if in reply, a sudden rustle in the fronds to his left snared his attention. Straining his eyes, he could just make out some overly large ferns moving not twenty feet away.
That is not a good sign…His mind turned the possibilities: snake, monkey, bird, jaguar.
Slowly, so as not to startle whatever it was into attacking, Chris reached into his pocket. And for defense I have…a can of Powerbait. He could have slapped himself. Of course! This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation, not a raid on an Umbrella facility. Luckily, he always kept he always kept a combat knife in a specially designed sheath on the inside of his right boot, but the action of retrieving it would mean time bent over and vulnerable. Plus, he was still hoping to avoid confrontation.
Chris was scared. Not facing-down-Wesker-with-only-a-pocket-knife scared, but even with his years of experience thrashing zombies and surviving the attacks of Umbrella and it's competitors' various super-powered beasts, the odds of him going one-on-one with a jaguar with only a combat knife and coming out in a good light were not very high unless he happened to get extremely lucky.
As a rule, luck did not usually tend to favor him.
Keeping both eyes glued to the suspicious plants, he backed away slowly, thankful for the noise of the storm to cover his footsteps.
Maybe the thing hadn't noticed him.
Maybe his luck was changing.
Or not.
The back heel of his boot caught on a thick overgrown tree root half submerged in the ground and he went down hard on his behind.
The fronds he'd been watching swayed violently. Two glowing red orbs the size of soccer balls and of an unnatural brilliance floated above the ground. A sudden flash of lightning illuminated the face of some enormous creature sporting two thin white things easily as long as Chris was tall.
It took the S.T.A.R.S. captain all of half a second to figure out that these were teeth, and that he was in big, big, trouble.
When Chris jumped up right then he most certainly must have set a new world record for the fastest time a person could leap up, turn around, and run.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught just the faintest glimpse of the thing lunging. He hadn't gotten a good look at the thing. It was too dark and there were too many plants hiding it. However, of the brief glimpse he had seen, there was something not quite right about it; a certain weirdness to the shape of what must have been the head, but he wasn't going to stop and see exactly what that was.
On and on he ran, leaping all the fallen logs, sticks, and bushes in his path that threatened to bring him down.
The thing thundered on behind him, snapping trees like twigs and shaking the earth with it's footfalls.
Chris didn't know what it was. All he knew was that it was not a jaguar. Definitely not a jaguar.
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Jill trotted her way alongside a river. A river she had just happened to wake up near. All by her lonesome. Beyond weird that she had blacked out after the flash and woken up in a place totally unfamiliar.
Her only thought now was to find the others, had to get to the beach where the lack of foliage and trees would make tracking easier.
My god, I hope the children are alright. Her maternal instinct kicked in full throttle, making her a nervous wreck with worry for their safety.
The adults could handle themselves, but Seth was barely five and Crystal younger still. If they were alone it would be all too easy for them to get hurt, even killed. Kids that size would be easy prey for a predator such as a python or big cat…though it was highly unlikely a big cat would be on a remote island--they were usually found in the rainforests of South America--it was a possibility. She had heard of people illegally dropping off their exotic pets off on atolls when circumstances didn't allow them to keep them anymore.
Even if there were no dangerous predators around, there were still other hazards…what if they had fallen into the river?
Jill's eyes swept over the raging current like nervous radar. It was practically all white water. The powerful rapids were dashing chunks of wood against the jutting rocks with enough force to render them in splinters.
There was no doubt about it, if her kids had fallen into that raging hell, they were dead. Period.
The rain came down in sheets, plastering her red-brown hair to the sides of her head in uncomfortable wet clumps. Her clothes were soaked. She was already chilled to the bone and still the cruel kept blowing in her face, driving the water into her eyes and face like angry needles. Every progressing step she took was more uncomfortable than the last.
Still, she kept on doggedly.
Either side of the river was flanked by a jungle of green leaves and plant life. Jill kept imagining she saw eyes peering out at her. Just keep following the river. She told herself, electing to watch it's flow rather than think about what nasties might be lurking in the bush.
They say when you concentrate on one thing too long your eyes can play tricks on you. Focusing so hard on the river, Jill was repeatedly haunted by the images of one of her children flailing about helplessly in the water, being smashed time and again against the wicked rocks…no, mustn't focus on the negative. The kids are fine. They did not fall into the river.
She tried to think more positively. The kids were safe and with the adults weathering out the storm. Hopefully they were at least with Chris or Alan. Though she trusted everyone in the unit, her husband and nephew were the strongest and most well equipped to protect them. As an added bonus, Alan had excellent night vision. If they were all alone he had the best chance of finding them.
No, not alone…
However, just thinking that did not make it so.
Squish! Jill's left foot sank up to the ankle in a patch of particularly mucky mud. Muttering curses, she managed to pull it free, but not without a big gooey glob of mud twice the size of her foot itself hitching a ride.
Jill was freezing. She was wearing sandals and dressed for a very warm day. The temperature felt like it was in the forties now, and, thankfully, staying constant. Except fro the wind-chill factor. Every inch of her exposed flesh stung with the cold. If I don't find them soon, I'll freeze to death.
But against all logic, she was going to stay out until she found her kids. How could she think of herself in a time like this? Her babies might need her.
And so, with a single driving force behind her thoughts, she pressed on.
