Sebastian was livid as the latest report from Nightcrawler came in.
A clusterfuck of massive proportions! Why couldn't these fucking freaks just die already and spare me the goddamn headache!
Both Styx and Santiago were gone and the mutants were likely mere thirty minutes away from the R&D facility where Mia herself was.
The moment he heard the report, Sebastian had instructed the good security officer there to stand his ground and delay the bug-bitches as much as possible. Chief Gustaf was a solid and reliable man, but he and his goons stood little chance against the bloodthirsty B.O.W.s - a fact Sebastian understood well. The executive will toast to the brave man's courage tonight.
There was only one asset that could respond in a timely manner and hope to best the formidable freaks that was left in the region. The tall man in an expensive suit pondered whether it was worth using it.
Mia is resourceful. She would get both herself and the E-001 out, I don't doubt that… But should I squander the opportunity to dispose of these pests? I am not looking forward to the amount of ass-kissing I'll need to do… Then again, if I can put a stop to these freaks, the council will be pleased immensely. They have already caused way too much mayhem. I am starting to look in a really bad light from all these…'accidents'.
Sebastian nodded to himself, before gathering his wits and contacting an unsavory person with a satellite phone. As the call connected, the man spoke in a polite and submissive tone, to his own chagrin.
"Good evening, Director Dowell. I beg forgiveness for disturbing you at this late hour during your private time, but the situation is exceptionally...ahm... time-sensitive." The executive paused for a moment, hearing a gruff reply, before clearing his throat and continuing.
"I, on behalf of my organization, formally request immediate access to the B.S.A.A. Replica platoon stationed in Mauritania, for the purpose of elimination of a...ahm...a potential B.O.W. outbreak in one of our facilities. I understand that this is a tall order, especially on such a short notice, but rest assured that your many contributions towards global safety will not go...unrewarded."
A tense pause followed, until a confirmation was given, making Sebastian let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. Politely ending the call, the tall man poured himself some cognac as he lounged in his silky-soft armchair.
The price of this favor will no doubt prove to be exorbitant, as so many palms would need to be greased, not to mention Frank Dowell's own infamous appetites. Still, it was worth it, in the end. Having these freaks running around, causing havoc was proving to be most...embarrassing.
With the sandstorm left behind the moldy gang, the large vehicle crossed the rest of the distance towards their final destination with little trouble. No brutal chase or a violent ambush occurred, somewhat surprisingly. Everyone in the armored car half-expected to fight tooth and nail to get to their goal.
Before long, the Duke's team arrived at a small, abandoned town that once used to be a prosperous mining community, but like so many of its kind was left behind as the valuable resources ran dry. According to their stolen map, this ghost town, or more precisely - the mines below it, now served as The Connections R&D facility.
Leaving the car behind, the small group proceeded on foot, Millie joining them this time. The shorter, black-haired woman trailed behind, eyes narrowed in alertness.
Even though the first rays of the sun could be seen on the horizon, the night was still dark and visibility was almost non-existent. Every dilapidated shack they passed could've hid aggressors in them, making Ethan himself tense as he clutched his pistol tightly.
The Dimitrescu siblings' keen eyes were tracking every shadow, their amber orbs almost glowing in the darkness around. All three girls were also armed, not just with their melee weaponry, but with pistol sidearms, as well.
Nobody spoke or exchanged pleasantries as the moldy gang ventured deeper into the abandoned town. Wind, creaking wood and some unidentified nocturnal animal's noises were the only sounds that accompanied the party as they neared the foreboding mines.
Ethan suppressed a shiver as he gazed into the abyss that was the darkened mine's entrance. After Dulvey and that Romanian valley, he was hoping to never step foot in such a place again, yet here he was. At least this time, he was not alone - neither in presence, nor in sentiment.
Both Daniela and Millie stared inside the darkness with apprehension, fear clearly visible on their faces. The latter's woman's previously tough facade was completely shattered now as her metallic grey eyes were wide with nervous anxiety.
Even Cassandra, normally so eager for bloodshed, appeared to be somewhat unnerved as she clutched her sickle and the looted handgun possessively with her gloved fingers.
Inwardly, Bela was quite uncomfortable herself, yet outwardly she alone presented a calm and strong front in this small group. Dismissing every worry that gnawed on her heart, the woman took a firm step forward, breaking everyone else out of their own trance-like uncertainties.
The tense group shared a couple of reassuring nods and glances before entering the forlorn cavern.
The narrow, claustrophobic passages that followed brought little comfort or reassurance. Their only source of light was a small flashlight that was clutched in Ethan's sweaty palm.
Following along the main tunnel, the group kept wary of the numerous, half-collapsed mine shafts branching out along the way. Both Daniela and Millie jumped from every shadow, seeing an enemy at every turn.
A barely-perceptible motion at the edge of his flashlight's path caused Daniela to loudly gasp in fright, making Ethan himself sweat.
"Just a rat."
Bela's voice was firm, yet Ethan could feel that unmistakable hint of fear in it, nevertheless.
Finally, the group made it to some kind of a central chamber of the mine. Opposite of them, in stark contrast of everything else in this abandoned mining town, was a modern, bulkhead-like door. Numerous shafts branched out from this central location, making Ethan feel even less safe than before. This was a prime spot for an ambush.
The man rose a single palm up, motioning the rest to stop. Cassandra nodded in understanding before pointedly looking at Bela, eyes questioning. The blonde sister just smirked, before her left pinky finger transformed into a dozen or so flies, which were remarkably more silent than their usual buzzing insects. The flies promptly dispersed along the shafts, staying close to the ceiling, unseen and unheard.
Ethan gazed at Bela in silent fascination as she stood still with her eyes closed, deep in focus. Before long, her flies returned, reforming the pinky once again. The woman's smirk grew into a grin as she pointed her finger first at the rightmost shaft from the position, then towards the leftmost one.
"Four men, all armed, waiting for us."
"I'll gut the cowards to the right."
Cassandra was ever eager. Before Ethan could volunteer himself, Bela beat him to a punch. She looked at him with firm determination as she spoke.
"I'll handle the ones to the left, then. Watch that door, Ethan. I doubt whoever is behind it will take kindly to us slaying their friends."
The two older Dimitrescu took to their swarms once more, before swiftly gliding to their assigned shafts. Less than a minute later, yells of distress sounded out, which soon morphed into cries of pain and then everything returned to silence, once more. Just like that, four lives were taken, in mere moments. Ethan could only gulp at how deadly the sisters were, especially in such cramped quarters.
He had no time to ponder about the Dimitrescu daughter's lethality, however, as the bulkhead hissed open. Ethan wasted not a moment as he took aim and fired, with remarkable precision, that once again surprised the man himself. A guard tumbled forward, dead, likely not even realizing what had happened.
Two more stepped out, undaunted by the death of their comrade, small grenade launchers held out and aimed right at Ethan.
The blonde man's eyes widened in shock as two deadly canisters were hurled both to the right and to the left of him, leaving no opportunity for escape and enough time only for a single thought.
Is this the end?
What had happened next was even more mind-blowing. Mere inches from their intended impact points, the grenades stopped dead in the air, as if an invisible hand grasped them. A moment later they both were redirected and relaunched, by that same intangible force, back towards their original owners. This time they impacted with a clung, spreading poison gas that quickly made the security officers choke to death, an expression of horrified disbelief frozen on their faces.
"The fuck..?"
Daniela's shocked gasp behind him mirrored his own vocalized surprise, implying that she had nothing to do with that miraculous event.
Ethan had no time to process his mysterious salvation as three more guards rushed out - these ones armed with shock batons and equipped with solid-looking body armor, as well as gas masks. He was quick to squeeze a couple of shots with his 9mm pistol, but the kevlar vests they wore allowed them to shrug the small rounds off, even as they closed the distance.
Cursing, the man had only a moment to discard his handgun for the magnum and only a single shot to make before his attackers were upon him. He made it count, as the guard to the left fell in a heap, a massive hole where his heart used to be. Ethan barely had time to dodge the swing from the second guard's shock baton.
The last guard, a particularly large and powerful-looking man, was aiming to rectify the error of his predecessor. The brute's sparkling weapon was on a direct collision course with Ethan's head and the man could do nothing but put his hands in the way - just like he did so many times in the past.
The blow that came knocked more than the wind from his lungs. The electricity ravaged his body as it was flung away from the sheer force behind the violent motion, tumbling down in a spasming heap a couple of steps away. To add insult to injury, Ethan's magnum was knocked far away, out of reach. The bulky guard wasted no time in closing the distance and raising his baton for a killing blow.
Instead, a piercing shriek resounded across the central chamber, so powerful that it momentarily disoriented both guards, as well as Ethan himself, making him clutch his own ears in pain. Not a moment later, Daniela was standing protectively over his downed frame, her narrowed amber eyes filled with rage.
"Get your filthy hands off him!"
Recovering from the sonic assault, the last standing guards traded quick nods, resolute to finish this fight on their terms. Unfortunately, caught in the moment, they've forgotten all about the other two sisters.
With their own squad of ten reduced to mere two, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by three sisters with bloodlust in their burning eyes. Whatever resolve they had crumbled the moment they realized their predicament. The smaller guard dropped his shock baton and raised his palms up.
"I surrender! I…"
The three daughters would have none of it, however. There was no mercy to be found upon their blood-smeared visages, not today, not here.
In a whirlwind of black chitin and flashing steel, they were upon their victims. Nothing but mutilated and lifeless corpses were left behind as the Dimitrescu siblings finished their grim work in mere moments.
Once again finding his limbs responsive, the man did not miss a beat in raising up to his feet, recovering his previously-discarded weapons in the process. His muscles still burned from the electric current that went through them and his ears ringed from Daniela's inhuman screech, but he's gone through worse. Millie's firm voice placed the stupefying occurrence with the grenades as well as his most recent brush with death to the back of his mind, for now.
"Everyone's alright? Let's get going then, it's only a matter of time until this location is swarming with enemy forces."
As they proceeded inside the facility itself, both Bela and Daniela immediately went to Ethan's side, worry in their eyes. The man probably looked worse than he felt, with his spike-like static hair and seared clothing. He was quick to reassure the girls with a smile and a nod.
The group pressed on, now walking through the modern-looking halls and rooms, in stark contrast to the previous unlit and foreboding passages. The facility appeared to be deserted in a hurry, with random crates of equipment laying around and documents scattered all over the place.
Whether out of sense of self-preservation or simply because there were none left - nobody else impeded the battle-weary and bloodied group as they made their way across the seemingly abandoned underground base.
Upon reaching what appeared to be an office space, with several glassed rooms, Millie curtly split from the group, saying only that she would rejoin them later. Bela's narrowed eyes burned holes in the dark-haired woman's back, even as the rest went further yet. Ethan himself could finally appreciate the elder daughter's distrust of the Duke's right-hand woman. Something was definitely off about her. That was a quandary for later, though.
Soon, the group reached a wide passageway that went downward, even deeper below. At the end of the long hallway a pair of massive doors were open wide, as in greeting, allowing entrance into the next, final chamber.
Ethan felt the tension in the air mount as their small team crossed that threshold. The Dimitrescu girls shared his apprehension as their bloodsoaked sickles were clenched tightly and their mouths set in firm lines.
What greeted the moldy gang in the observation-like room was more than a little unnerving. To the right, in the middle of the room, an entrance into a lone cell was visible. Straight ahead, four people waited for them.
Ethan's grip on his pistol tightened, as a trio of guards took aim at him from the opposite side of the room, but held fire. A woman in a white lab coat stood behind them, with her side towards the group as she observed the cell through the glass. Her long brown hair obscured her face from view, but Ethan's blood chilled in his veins as she spoke in a confident voice that he recognized instantly.
"Hello, Ethan."
The man was incapable of speech for a moment.
True, Ethan was searching for his wife, but somehow, the situation here staggered him with the sheer wrongness of it.
Mia did not look like a captive or an involuntary worker. Her regal stance and air of confidence immediately betrayed her as something more than a mere prisoner.
"Mia…?"
His voice was weak, unsure. The man couldn't suppress a shiver as his wife kept staring through that glass, not gracing him with a look or a further word. Nobody moved an inch for two more tense seconds, everyone trying to get a read on the situation.
Cassandra made the next move. Her voice was full of violent rage and murder was plain in her narrowed eyes. The panicky guards swirled their sub-machine guns her way, their hands shaking in obvious fear. Mia didn't even blink.
"What the hell are we waiting for? Slaughter these worms and get to mother!"
The powerful middle sibling made a motion to do so herself, her sickle crying out for the blood of those who had wronged her so. Mere seconds later, the observation room would've run red with fresh human blood, if not for a dainty hand on Cassandra's wrist, stopping her dead in her tracks.
"Wait, Cass!"
The brunette growled, but obliged her elder sibling, for a moment.
In truth, Bela herself was dying to mutilate these spiteful humans that dared to run their vile experiments on her beloved mother, but she held herself, as well as Cassandra back, as she heard that single, whispered by Ethan, name. She owed that man too much to take away his chance to reconcile with his wife, no matter how heinous the woman in a white coat appeared to be.
"You mother is one strong woman, I have to admit. She was waiting for you all this time, never giving up hope, and here you are! Her little rescuers, here, at last!" Mia spoke with obvious mockery in her voice, even as she pointed her index finger inside the cell she still observed. "Lady Dimitrescu, I believe you have some visitors today! Do go in, girls!"
Something was clearly suspicious and doubt gnawed on Bela's mind, but it was completely overshadowed by her desire to see Alcina once again, so she dismissed it all as the trio of girls rushed into the cell, to behold their dear mother, once again.
Daniela shot Mia a nasty glare as she walked in; while Cassandra slowly slid her finger across her throat as she locked her gaze with each of the guards, in turn, almost making them piss their pants in fear at her blood-soaked visage and the obvious death threat.
Ethan was left alone with Mia and her security detail in the observation room. Gasps of shock and cries of joy were heard from the cell, but Ethan only had attention for the woman in a white lab coat, for the moment. She finally turned to level her own judging gaze at him. Her tone was more biting than ever before.
"And so a hero arrives to rescue a damsel in distress, once again! My, my, how you've grown into that role, Ethan."
It was beyond obvious that she was not happy that he was here. The man, still pointing his own gun at the cowed guards finally found his wit at that mocking remark.
"What the fuck is going on Mia!? Why in God's name are you here!?"
The woman looked taken back for a moment at his accusing tone, some fire in her eyes dying to give way to remorse.
"I am sorry, Ethan. There were… a couple of things I hid from you, all this time - for your own benefit! I was… a bit more than merely Eveline's caretaker. In a way, she was my child, as well."
Bitch, please. You never looked at me once as if I were your daughter.
Eveline's sudden voice in his head made Ethan's own thoughts scatter around even more. He felt uncharacteristic rage grip his heart as he stared at his wife with disbelief.
"Really, Mia? More lies, after everything I've been through for us? For you!? And you never thought I deserved to know about your past? All this could've been avoided!"
The shorter woman's eyes narrowed at that. She folded her arms and spoke, with her tone sharp and biting once again.
"You don't get it, Ethan. The truth would've seen me rotting away in a prison with a life sentence or ten. And the notion that you think this could've been avoidable betrays your ignorance, I am afraid."
Ethan could only grip his pistol tightly, even as guards kept pointing their own SMGs at him. The man grit his teeth as she continued, speaking like a professor giving a lecture to a bunch of unruly students, with derision.
"And this is the root of the issue… You really should've done as I asked, Ethan. Kept Rose safe and happy in London. Maybe found yourself a nice girl to keep you two company. A nice human girl." Mia's features hardened even further at that, as she took a moment to throw one hateful glance towards the cell's occupants, before continuing.
"Instead, you came all the way, fancying yourself a savior. But do you even know what you've achieved? Nothing."
The finality in that last word sent shivers throughout the man's body, yet his conviction was hardly overturned.
"Nothing!? We are free to leave this place now, Mia! The girls get their mother back! That's all the reason I ever needed to come here, and more!"
The woman only shook her head, while giving him a mocking grin and a mirthless chuckle.
"Ah...how I long to be that naive again! Truly, ignorance is bliss."
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Ethan was getting tired of her empty mockery. They didn't have time for this. Mia just inspected her nails as she responded calmly.
"It's my fault, I suppose. I tried to shield you from the harsh world. And now, here you are - absolutely clueless about what you've stumbled into." The woman leveled a harsh glare at him, as she spoke her next words with venom.
"The only thing you've achieved with your little escapades is disturbed a hornet's nest. Whatever you've seen along the way was merely the tip of the iceberg. You have absolutely no fucking idea about the true power and influence the people whose ire you drew with your actions wield. Free to leave this place and go where, Ethan? There is nowhere we can hide now that you've pissed them off. "
Ethan did suspect as much, however, yet he was undaunted.
"So they are powerful. So what? There are still plenty of good people who are willing to help us out. No enemy is insurmountable. Everyone has a weakness."
Mia finally lost her composure at that. Her rage was shocking.
"YOU STUPID BASTARD! It's not enough for you to risk your own life, but Rose's too!? You did drag her into this, you know!? All I ever wanted was for her to grow up free and happy!"
"She still can…" Ethan's voice was hardly most steadfast, as he did not expect that level of vehemence. Mia interrupted him promptly in her angry tirade.
"No, idiot, she can't! Rose will be forever hunted because of you now! I did everything in my fucking power to conceal her true nature. But now… Everyone will see how her fucking dad walked off being shot in the head. You dumb bastard…"
Guess someone filmed that little stunt. Oops.
Mia still wasn't done.
"And your new whore of a girlfriend and her little mama? Every fucking bounty hunter on the planet will be on their asses now. Good job saving everyone, Ethan. You truly outdid yourself this time."
The conviction and passion of her tirade actually made Ethan himself doubt his chosen course of action. Before he could answer, however, a growl of rage came from the cell. Cassandra was not happy.
"You bitch. I don't give a fuck about who you slept with, I am going to tear you apart for what you have done to mom."
Mia was waiting for just that reaction, however, and her clenched fist promptly slammed on a big red button that was right next to her, making Ethan believe that she chose that specific location intentionally.
Not a moment passed as the sprinklers in that cell activated, showering the small room in greenish liquid. Screams of anguish, followed by the thudding sound of bodies hitting the floor, made Ethan grip his gun even tighter, still aiming it at the closest guard. The idea that his wife had just hurt Bela and her sisters made his blood boil in his veins.
"What the fuck have you done!?"
Mia gave him a nasty smirk, before answering.
"Scared for the little bug-bitch, you scum? Don't worry. This strain of neurotoxin was designed to be non-lethal. She'll be fine as long as she receives an anti-dote in time. A-fly-in-a-bottle kind of fine."
The man couldn't believe this cruel woman was the same one he had loved for so many years. The one he went to hell and back for. The one that had borne his child.
"Why are you doing this, Mia? Just stop! Let's talk this over!"
She just frowned and folded her arms once again.
"Talk what over, Ethan? It's over. The only way forward is to submit. I am doing this for us, and more importantly, I am doing this for Rose. I've won quite a bit of leverage in the last week. They can still leave you and our daughter alone, if I can prove to them that I am worth more. Just sit tight until their forces get here and let me do the talking. Everything will turn out fine then…We can be happy again, the three of us! Think of that!"
Ethan inched closer, slowly, to not provoke the twitchy guards. The man
positioned himself near the entrance to the cell and gave the bodies there a look.
Lady Alcina, a mere shadow of her former self, greatly diminished in both size and stature was tied to an operating table, turned up almost 90 degrees, placing the gaunt woman in a vertical position. Her three daughters were lying on the floor around her, in obvious pain as the neurotoxin did its grim work on their bodies. Bela was looking at him with a pleading expression.
Ethan glared back at Mia.
"What about them, then? What happens to them, huh?"
Mia sighed in annoyance before responding.
"What do you think? I know you're not a stupid man, Ethan. Alcina herself can revolutionize medicinal science as we know it. A small sacrifice, for the greater good. Her 'daughters', however… I do not think we need them… and after all the havoc they've caused… A colleague of mine has expressed interest in a dissection; I see no reason not to oblige, not anymore."
Cold rage burned within, begging to be unleashed now. Ethan could barely contain it at this point.
"I can't let you do that, Mia."
The woman had rage of her own as she responded with that biting snark.
"Oh? So even after everything I've told you, you're still not willing to let that little fling of yours go? You would endanger everything, just to keep these filthy mutants alive? You still don't get it, do you? You. Simply. Cannot. Win."
The woman hissed the last four words with more venom than Ethan ever heard in his life. Regardless of that, he would not stand aside and let Bela, Cassandra and Daniela be sacrificial pawns in some deal with the devil. He refused to do that.
The husband did something he never expected himself to do. He aimed his pistol at Mia next. Ethan said nothing but the conviction in his eyes spoke louder than words.
The shorter woman narrowed her own eyes as the gun barrel was pointing her way now. Mia's voice was deathly quiet, barely audible.
"I see that your betrayal goes beyond a mere fling. Know that I truly do love you, Ethan, but I simply cannot let your pride and your...obsession endanger our daughter. I do this for her. I am truly sorry it came to this."
Ethan traded one last glance with Mia, his wife of almost ten years, as her next cruel words put a definite end to their loving relationship.
"Kill him."
The shock Ethan felt from the finality of that simple sentence was enough to cause him to hesitate for a moment, while the three guards obeyed the order immediately, their sub-machine guns filling him with lead.
Many of the small-caliber rounds were deflected by his body armor, yet the sheer amount of them pushed him hard against the wall, breaking ribs and rupturing organs. His unprotected arms and legs were perforated by numerous impacts, causing agony to spike all throughout his body. A single round to the side of the neck made him gurgle out blood.
Two seconds later, the guards ceased fire. Ethan felt like collapsing, yet something kept him standing, leaning against the wall, instead.
Jeez, how many favors do you want to owe me, daddy? Kill them already! KILL THEM ALL!
A powerful spike of invigorating energy shot out from his black, molded heart, energizing the muscles far beyond the norm and tripling the potency of his adrenaline. Black mold rushed forward from his veins to take over the severed muscles, temporarily restoring functionality to his limbs.
Despite how ravaged from this assault his body was, his mind has achieved a striking clarity of purpose, making time pass as if in slow motion.
With strength and speed he did not know he possessed, the critically injured man lifted his gun up, once again. In a lightning-fast movement that defied the limits imposed by human frame, Ethan dropped two guards that stood next to each other dead before the third one could even blink.
The last guard, nevertheless, aimed his SMG at Ethan's head now, determined to finish the monster off. Whether from divine intervention or from the simple fact that the man in question took a smoke during a sandstorm, his gun jammed at that most critical of moments.
"Fuck." was his last mumbled out word as Ethan adjusted his aim, dropping the guard dead with a clean headshot.
It was just Mia and Ethan left standing now.
The woman nibbled on her lips as she beheld the bloodied form of her vengeful husband, now aiming his deadly gun at her, once again.
"I can see that dear Eveline is being most helpful for once...curious. It won't change anything, in the end, however."
Just kill her daddy! KILL THE BITCH!
Ethan, ignoring the violent voice, only cared about one thing at that moment.
"The antidote, give it to me, Mia."
The woman scoffed, but produced four syringes from her lab coat pocket. She placed them on a table nearby, before turning away from the husband. Not sparing him another glance, completely unafraid, Mia proceeded to use a pass card on another door, closer to her.
She is getting away! Kill her now! NOW!
But Ethan simply couldn't end the mother of his child, especially after hearing her twisted logic that, nevertheless, made some sense to him. He knew Mia spoke the truth when she claimed that all of her actions were for Rose's sake. If not for Dimitrescus, he might have even yielded to her desires.
Before the door closed behind her frame, Mia couldn't help but let out one last biting remark.
"You're just making it harder, Ethan."
You'll regret that small act of mercy, you know? She will make you regret it.
The husband just scoffed, as he rushed towards the four syringes left behind by his dear wife. Wasting no time, he hurried into the cell before injecting them into the hearts of the four paralyzed Dimitrescu women, one at a time.
Not a moment after using the last syringe on Lady Alcina herself, his body promptly reminded him that he just, did in fact, receive 16 penetrating gunshot wounds, with 9 rounds still stuck inside his hands and legs. The unnatural energy that sustained him for the last minute was gone as swiftly as it arrived, leaving him dry and utterly sapped of strength. The man collapsed in a heap, not a single muscle obeying his commands. His job was done, however, and his prone form sighed in relief.
Thanks, Evie… you're a lifesaver.
You're...welcome...Ugh... so tired…need...a nap...
As darkness took them both, the man could only hope that his efforts were not in vain, after all.
Author's Note:
This will be one big author note :S
Firstly, sorry for the delay, but not only I was thinking hard about which direction I want to take this story to, I also reviewed my work chapter-by-chapter, fixing some typos, adding a couple of extra lines here and there, splitting paragraphs - hopefully improving the reading experience overall, for anyone else who would want to give this story a try.
This chapter marks the end of arc I (Rescue Alcina), with arc II adding more actors to the stage, as well as finally taking Bela/Ethan relationship to the next stage. The next villainous force which I mentioned at start of this chapter will be a bit of guest from some other game, but I do feel like it would be an exceptionally good fit for RE universe. I also did consider some feedback, and decided to add Chris/Cassandra relationship (Sorry Jill! :S).
I hope this chapter was worth the wait and provided satisfactory conclusion to the first part of this story. It was a bit bloodier than I first intended, but I felt like it was warranted, in the end. Hopefully, next chapter will not take a week to write :D I Imagine it will be mostly from Bela's PoV and will contain deeper insights at what exactly happened to Alcina and what awaits the moldy gang next.
I also want to express my deepest gratitude here for all the amazing comments you've left me along the way, my dear readers! Know that I truly appreciate each and every one of them and they do brighten my day immensely! If you have any questions, theories or suggestions, always feel free to share!