Disclaimer: I don't own resident evil or any of the characters, and I certainly don't make any money out of this! I write for fun and that's that! It's taken me forever to get this chapter done, mainly because I wasn't happy with the way I'd originally intended the story to end. And I ended up doing two major re-writes which was annoying, but for the best (I hope). Anyway, this is the penultimate chapter (20 chapters seems better than 19. I don't like odd numbers!) and hopefully I will get the next done before the end of the year!

Chapter 19 Things falling apart

"You don't have to do this Leon." Chris said quietly. "Rebecca's smart, I'm sure there's something she can do to stop it. Or at least slow it down until..."

"You don't understand Chris." Leon interrupted, shaking his head sadly. "The thought's I'm having...these impulses...what's happening to me can't be stopped, or reversed. The antivirus just didn't work. I'm too dangerous to be around you now. To be around anyone. We both knew this could happen."

"But what you're asking me to let you do..."

"I'm not asking you Chris."

Chris was leaning back on the chair in his office, cradling his head in his hands. Leon was standing at the opposite side of the room to Chris, staring at the newly re-framed picture of the old Raccoon City S.T.A.R.S that hung on the wall by the door.

Leon turned away from the picture to face Chris. "Why do you keep this?"

Chris exhaled loudly and leant forwards in his chair, planting both feet squarely on the floor. He stared silently into space, pondering Leon's question. He knew Leon was trying to change the subject and he had no intention of discussing his fate with Chris any further.

"I mean, why do you keep it on the wall where you can see it everyday, when it must remind you of..." Leon's voice tailed off.

Without saying a word, Chris opened the desk drawer near his right knee and pulled out a half-full bottle of whiskey and two glasses. He placed the glasses on the desk in front of him and then unscrewed the whisky bottle top before pouring a small amount of the straw coloured liquid inside each glass. He picked up one of the glasses and brandished it in Leon's direction. Leon hesitated briefly, but then took the glass from Chris.

"It reminds me of where I came from." Chris said.

Chris lifted his glass to his lips and paused.

"And it reminds me how quickly you can lose everything." he added quietly before he gulped down the contents of his glass in one go.

Although his face was devoid of emotion, Leon could sense sadness in the other man's reply. Other than Chris, Jill and Rebecca, he had never known any of the S.T.A.R.S, but he knew what the organisation meant to them. He took a sip of the whiskey from the glass Chris had just given him, and was immediately taken aback by the burning sensation in his throat. He hadn't drunk alcohol for a while, and it didn't taste good.

Chris put the glass down and looked directly at Leon, fixing him with an unflinching stare.

"Claire's going to be heartbroken. Again. You have to tell her what you're going to do. Before the mission."

"LEON!" someone screamed.

"LEON! GET WITH IT!" The screaming voice was louder.

Leon blinked and suddenly realised that he was no longer standing in Chris's office at S.T.A.R.S headquarters. Instead of a glass, he was holding a powerful semi-automatic rifle. He quickly scanned the room and saw Jill struggling to free her arm from the grasp of a hand that was protruding through a jagged hole punched in the side of one of the numerable chambers that filled the underground laboratory. Leon noticed a fine trickle of blood on her arm where it had come into contact with the sharp surface of freshly broken glass.

"Let go of me!" Jill growled through gritted teeth. She was yanking her arm, desperately trying to break free from the grasp of the awoken soldier within, while her feet slipped on the floor that was now wet with the fluid that been released from the chamber.

Carlos ran forwards and skidded to a halt next to Jill. He tried to loosen the soldier's gnarled fingers that were securely wrapped around her wrist, but they held firm. For a brief moment he stared into the broken chamber, and into the face of the man - the supersoldier - within. His eyes were wide open and glowing red, their fiery colour exacerbated by the pale waxy surface of his skin. He shifted his focus from Jill to Carlos and smiled.

"Are you afraid?" he said calmly. "Because you should be."

Carlos paused. He'd heard threats before, but there was something about the way the soldier spoke that un-nerved him. He didn't have the voice of a monster, but there was something hidden behind those words.

"I don't think so." Jill said confidently as pulled the spare handgun holstered by Carlos's hip and aimed at the soldier's head. The soldier smiled, his eyes seeming to glow even redder than before.

Bang.

The soldier was propelled backwards as there was an explosion of red against the glass walls of the chamber. Jill was instantly released, and she stumbled backwards, struggling to retain her balance on the slippery floor.

"Fall back!" Carlos shouted as Jill gathered herself.

Jill looked up quickly to see a figure slowly emerging from each one of the hundreds of chambers lined up in the laboratory in front of her. They looked awkward and stiff at first, like creatures emerging from hibernation, but then they seemed to come to their senses and scan the room for their targets. Their glowing eyes locked on Jill and Carlos instantly.

Jill and Carlos raced backwards towards the closed elevator doors and with Leon and Rebecca, formed a ragged line against the back wall.

"They're coming!" Rebecca said, her voice shaky. She held onto her weapon tighter as she saw the first wave of soldiers begin to walk in their direction. They were slow at first, with tentative lumbering steps. With each successive step, their movements became more fluid and their pace quickened.

"Keep the line." Jill said calmly. "The moment the elevator doors open, we have got to get in there and get to the surface." She then glanced down to her arm that was becoming sore. Noting a cut and the trickle of blood that stained her t-shirt, Jill silently cursed herself for her own carelessness.

"We can't fight them all with these." Rebecca said, looking at the weapon in her hand.

"What's the matter Rebecca?" Leon replied, grinning. "Don't you like a challenge?"

Leon then closed one eye as he aimed at one of the approaching figures. He fired, and the figure instantly fell to the floor.

"Gotcha!" Leon smirked, his left fist punching the air at his side with satisfaction.

Jill and Carlos began to fire their weapons into the gathering crowd.

"Pick your targets." Jill said, straining her voice to be heard over the sound of gunfire. "Short, controlled bursts. Don't waste a shot."

Leon rolled his eyes and picked a new target. He fired, and the approaching figure fell heavily to the floor, just like the first.

"You don't need to tell me how to do my job, Jill." Leon said sarcastically.

"I'm not telling you how to do your job Leon." Jill replied, agitated. She fired at one of the soldiers that had broken into a sprint, and then turned her head to the side so she could face Leon. "I just don't want us to run out of ammo."

"I'm sure Carlos has enough for both of you." Leon muttered as he continued to aim and fire.

Jill caught Leon's snide comment and she opened her mouth to reproach him. However, Carlos gently tapped her on the shoulder and shook his head to the side.

"No" he mouthed, not making a sound.

Although she felt annoyed, Jill switched her attention to Rebecca who was standing a few metres beyond him.

"How you doing Rebecca?" she shouted.

"I'm good." came the instant reply.

Rebecca's voice was controlled and belied her fear. She couldn't understand why she felt so anxious this time. Maybe it was the overwhelming numbers - but she had faced situations as bad as this many times before with the S.T.A.R.S. Maybe it was the fact that this time, their adversaries looked human. They were human, not walking mindless clumps of rotting. She didn't want to kill people. Real people. Not if there was a chance they could be brought back.

Rebecca's eyes quickly scanned the room. With every passing moment, she noted more and more of the cloning vessels were compromised from the inside, filling the air with the sound of breaking glass. Countless figures of Lazarus-infected soldiers emerged from the debris and continued to scurry towards Rebecca and her S.T.A.R.S colleagues. She took a deep breath and quickly turned her head to see Leon standing firm a few metres to her right. He had a strange look on his face - almost a look of exhilaration. The corners of his mouth were curled in an expectant grin and he repeatedly shifted his weight from his left to his right leg, his blood full of adrenaline.

A sudden flicker of movement in the corner of her left eye drew her attention. She turned her head to see a male figure leap over a series of metal filing cabinets and bear down on her, extraordinarily fast.

"They're trying to flank!" she shouted over her shoulder.

Rebecca pointed her weapon and fired. The soldier's head snapped backwards and he fell to the ground like a dead weight, although another figure appeared immediately from the fallen man's shadow. Fighting back the panic, she fired again. The second soldier stumbled forwards, but quickly scrambled to his feet without taking his glowing red eyes away from her. She fired again into his torso. The entry of the bullet into the man's body was marked by a fine cloud of blood, although it barely slowed his pace.

"The bullets aren't stopping them!" she shouted.

"Aim for the head." Carlos replied. "It'll slow them down if nothing else."

Rebecca fired again and a red bloody graze appeared on her attacker's left cheek. Before she could fire one more time, she felt fingers roughly grab her shoulders and drive her back against the cold concrete wall, painfully forcing the air from her lungs. She felt her gun ripped from her hand and heard the clatter as it fell to the floor tantalisingly close to her feet. Although struggling to breathe, Rebecca focussed all of her energy in her right fist which she drove into her attacker's face. He stumbled backwards, shocked, but quickly recovered and readied himself for another attack.

Without hesitating, Rebecca bent over to retrieve her weapon while cursing herself for relinquishing it so easily. As she straightened up, she noticed that the magazine had fallen out. Her hand shot to her belt for a replacement, but she sensed the soldier, arms raised ominously, hulking over her small frame.

Rebecca clenched her eyes closed and tensed her body, ready to receive the blow, but already planning her counter-attack. She suddenly felt a firm push on her right shoulder that knocked her sideways. The momentum made her crash awkwardly to the floor. She groaned and sat upright while quickly inspecting the cuts and grazes left on her hands and wrists from where she had tried to break her fall.

An unearthly grunt drew Rebecca's attention back to the soldier who was now grappling with Leon. Neither man seemed able to gain the upper hand. They suddenly broke apart, and Leon drew his knife from the leather sheath on his chest. His assailant's red eyes glowed with excitement as they slowly circled one another like caged fighters, each daring the other to make the first move. Leon took the initiative and drove forwards, smashing the butt of his knife into his opponent's face. There was a scream of agony as the other man collapsed to his knees, a trail of blood pouring from his nose and down onto his chin. Without hesitating, Leon swung his knife in a controlled wide arc. The soldier pressed his hands to his neck and emitted a low guttural groan. Rebecca flinched as she saw a cascade of red pour between the fallen soldier's fingers and down his neck onto his chest. The soldier then fell forwards without putting his hands out to break his fall.

Leon took a step forward and stood over the fallen man whose breathing was now shallow and ragged. He bent over and grabbed his dark, wet hair, yanking back the head. He turned slightly to face Rebecca and smiled before plunging his knife into the exposed flesh of the soldier's neck and twisting, opening a large wound. The soldier gasped one last time before his eyes closed and life left his body.

"They can be killed." Leon boasted as he pulled his knife from the soldier's neck and stood upright. "You just have to know how to do it."

Rebecca watched Leon. She noticed that he was breathing heavily and there was fine sheen of sweat on his unusually pale skin.

"Who are you?" she said to herself as Leon turned to face another soldier approaching him.

--

Claire Redfield was leaning against the side of the elevator while staring at the electronic floor display situated just above the control panel.

"Why is this so slow?" she whined as she kicked the metallic wall with frustration.

"Claire - tell me exactly what you saw down there." Chris asked while checking and re-checking the magazine in his weapon.

Claire took a deep breath before replying. "It's a laboratory, a cloning facility."

Chris raised his right eyebrow and slightly titled his head to one side.

"Yeah, I know what you're thinking." Claire added quickly. "But there are hundreds of them. Fortunately, they all seem to be unconscious."

"Are they infected with Lazarus?"

Claire nodded. "Yes. It looks like a concentrated form of the virus."

"It's the most efficient way to do it." Elisabeth said quietly. She was looking down at the floor, seemingly unable to look directly at either Chris or Claire.

"What?" Claire replied tersely.

Claire found being enclosed in a confined space with the woman who had just tried to kill her brother sickening. The sound of Elisabeth's voice only intensified her feelings of hatred. If it wasn't for Leon, she would have finished her off on the rig surface. And she would have taken pleasure in doing it.

"It's the most efficient way to do what exactly?" Chris replied.

"If you have a subject infected with Lazarus - and clone this subject - the clone will inherit some of the Lazarus characteristics. They become normal genetic traits. It's…evolution."

"A bastardised form." Claire snarled through gritted teeth. "You still just don't get it, do you?"

Elisabeth finally looked up at Claire, her expression blank, her red eyes half hidden by the blond hair that had fallen loose around her face.

Claire sighed. "I'm just wasting my breath."

"So what happens if one of these clones is re-infected with Lazarus? Say, with a stronger, more concentrated form?" Chris asked.

"Then you really do have the potential for a superhuman." Elisabeth replied. "Although the psychological side effects are also likely to be intensified. Possibly on an exponential level."

"Why?"

"It's just more likely. I don't know why…I mean, I haven't studied this so I don't know for sure."

"Isn't this you life's work?"

"I'm a geneticist, not a psychiatrist Chris. I can predict how the human body will behave on a molecular and genetic level, but the mind...that's a completely different thing altogether."

"More lies." Claire said, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe Lazarus somehow re-activates an inactive gene. Something primeval in our genetic code that..." Elisabeth's voice trailed off.

Chris rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "What I don't understand is why would they want to clone a virtually uncontrollable army? I mean, what use is an army that won't do as it's told?"

Elisabeth sighed and stared at Chris.

"What?" he asked. "What else do you know?"

"At the lab I worked at – they were doing…other experiments."

"What kind of experiments?"

"I had nothing to do with it."

"What kind of experiments?" Chris repeated, his voice raised slightly.

"They found that that those infected were highly susceptible to suggestion. It was something to do with the psychological side effects of Lazarus. Some kind of chemical reaction in the brain maybe…I just don't know."

Claire snorted and shook her head in disbelief.

"What do you mean by suggestion?" Chris asked, his tone serious.

"Ever since the company's inception more than thirty years ago, their goal has always been to create the ultimate soldier. They started with basic genetic engineering – creating clones of their own scientists who were particularly gifted in one way or another." Elisabeth took a deep breath and looked straight at Claire who found her piercing stare uncomfortable. "They basically cloned people…bred them…for the specific skills that they wanted."

"How do you know this?" Claire asked.

"Because I'm one of them." Elisabeth replied, a tinge of sadness in her voice.

Elisabeth's squeezed her eyes shut, and Claire was sure that she could see a tear form and become trapped in one corner. Elisabeth turned her head away and blinked, removing the offending droplet of water.

"I found a file in a hidden room in the laboratory when we rescued Jill. It documented everything about me."

Claire looked at Chris. "Did you know anything about this?"

Chris remained silent.

"Why didn't you say something?" Claire's voice became raised. "We're on the same side Chris! You should tell me things like this."

Chris continued to star at Claire, unable to respond.

Claire took a deep breath. "You can share the burden sometimes you know. We're a team Chris."

Chris nodded.

"I know. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time."

Chris turned his head to face Elisabeth.

"So what about these cloned supersoldiers - if they're so mentally unstable, how is it possible to implant these commands?"

"You have to remember that Lazarus is virtually dormant until…"

"..until someone gets hurt, right?" Chris finished her sentence.

"That's right." Elisabeth nodded. "In most cases, it can take several months, or even years for any noticeable impact. So to begin with, these clones…or supersoldiers…are likely to seem just as normal as you or me, and they can follow commands."

"But if they get hurt in combat…"

"They'll deteriorate quickly. This is why they need these specific commands buried in their psyche otherwise like you said…they're useless. They probably won't know what they are doing. Even if they do, they won't be able to stop themselves."

"Just like Jimmy." Chris said quietly.

"Jimmy?"

"James McGarver." Claire interrupted. "Our man who was working at your lab. You know him, the man who you had killed."

"I had nothing to do with that." Elisabeth said quickly.

"Of course you didn't." Claire replied sarcastically. "The way you talk, anyone would think you were the victim in all of this."

"Take it easy Claire." Chris said softly. "How does it work Elisabeth? I mean, how exactly do you implant these commands?"

"Just like it is with a standard population of normal people, a very small percentage is susceptible to hypnotic suggestion…mind control…whatever you want to call it."

"So whoever they chose to clone wasn't selected at random, they looked for very specific attributes." Chris added.

"Yes. Like I've said, I can't explain why, but something to do with Lazarus makes people particularly susceptible. With the clones, it was during the mid- to late part of the gestation phase…that's when they're completely unconscious and unaware of what's going on around them but their auditory functions are active. They could be programmed to follow specific orders or even to respond to subliminal messages. Things that no one else would notice."

"Enough." Claire interrupted. "There's only one thing I really need to know Elisabeth."

"What?"

"Can they be stopped?"

Elisabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Their regenerative abilities are likely to be much greater than normal Lazarus recipients."

"Don't you mean victims?"

Elisabeth ignored Claire's remark. "You would have to destroy them on the cellular level, otherwise they will regenerate. And fast."

"Can they be stopped?" Chris asked.

"Everything dies Chris." Elisabeth replied, her voice quiet and controlled. "Everything."

The elevator compartment rattled as it finally ground to a halt. Claire's head snapped around to face Chris who was now staring intently at the doors that remained closed for what seemed like an age.

"Do you hear that?" Claire asked, tilting her head slightly. There was a popping sound, muffled by the heavy steel doors.

Chris nodded. "Gunfire. Get ready."

The door opened.

--

Jill stood firm as her shoulder absorbed the massive recoil from her sub-automatic machine gun as she fired into the gathering crowd of soldiers now just a few ten's of metres in front of her. She carefully picked her shots, each time aiming for the head. With each shot, her target crumpled to the floor.

"How's that elevator doing?" Jill shouted, straining her voice to be heard.

Carlos, who was still standing a few metres to her left, quickly glanced behind him. He saw a blinking light on the control panel situated on the wall adjacent to the elevator doors. The flashing red light indicated the elevator was still in motion.

"Not long now." he replied confidently.

The confidence in Carlos' voice was a lie. He had no idea how long the elevator would take; he was just hoping that it wouldn't be long because he knew they couldn't hold out too much longer. With each passing moment, the soldier's line was getting closer. For each one they seemed to shoot, two more would appear in their wake, casually stepping over the fallen bodies of their cloned comrades. If they could be kept at a distance, they had a chance. But if they got too close, they would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

Jill pulled over a filing cabinet that was pressed against the wall near the elevator doors. She wanted to keep some kind of barrier, no matter how insignificant, between herself and the approaching soldiers. She glanced to her far left to see Leon standing a few metres in front of Rebecca. He was alternating between shooting the approaching soldiers and lashing out at them with his knife when he allowed them to get close enough. Splatters of their blood stained his shirt and dripped down his arms onto the floor. Jill was equally impressed and disturbed by the ease of his movement and the apparent pleasure he was taking in the kill. She had never seen him like this before. Watching him now, she knew for sure that he was fighting on strength and innate skill alone, and that his normal control was lost. Except for maybe Chris, there was no one in the S.T.A.R.S who could better Leon in a fight. And for the first time, this realisation terrified Jill.

Her attention was tore away from Leon by the sound of approaching footsteps. She looked up in time to see three soldiers bearing down on her. She quickly reached to her utility belt and pulled out an incendiary grenade. Jill swallowed hard and then pulled the pin.

"Fire in the hull!" she shouted as loud as she could before throwing the small round object towards the three figures fast approaching her.

Jill covered her eyes with her left hand. She couldn't see the explosion, but she felt a blast of scorching hot air on her face. This was followed by the sound of screaming and the air became filled with the odour of burning hair and flesh. A thick, acrid cloud of smoke enveloped the immediate area, and slowly crawled between the broken cloning vessels towards her. She coughed as she inadvertently breathed it in, tasting its foulness.

Suddenly, a moving ball of flames ploughed through the smoke towards her. She took a step backwards as she realised it was one of the soldiers. Although his skin was still on fire, coated by the incendiary material within the grenade, he continued to run in her direction with his arms stretched out in front of him, his mouth wide open in a wild, protracted scream. She aimed her weapon and fired.

He kept running.

She fired again, this time the burning soldier's head was flung backwards with the impact of the bullet as it penetrated his skull. But he kept running blindly forwards towards her, seemingly oblivious of his injuries.

Jill continued to fire round after round into the soldier's body until the loud cracking sound of her gun firing was replaced by a series of empty clicks. She dropped her rifle and quickly reached to the handgun holstered by her hip and resumed fire, although now the soldier had leaped over the fallen filing cabinet and was standing immediately in front of her, staring directly into her eyes. Jill returned the stare, mesmerised by the red colour of his irises. The soldier suddenly lurched forwards and grabbed her wrists. He leaned into her so that she could feel his breath on her cheeks as he exhaled. The blackened skin on his face was beginning to blister and peel, revealing red bloody tissue beneath.

She tried to back away from him, but the cold stone wall behind her blocked her escape. Jill grimaced as the flames on his hands caressed the bared flesh of her wrists and the material of her shirt sleeves began to smoulder. The more she struggled, the tighter his grip became. He was excited, like a cat cruelly playing with a mouse before striking the final devastating blow.

"Welcome back…Jill." the soldier spat, his cracked, bleeding lips curled back into a mocking smile.

"Whaa….?" Jill was puzzled. How did he know her name? How could he know her name?

"Are you ready to die this time?"

"No." Jill thought. "I am not going to die down here."

Jill smiled, her reaction seeming to catch the soldier off guard. She concentrated all of her strength into her right leg and kicked him squarely in the groin. He sucked in a deep breath before he doubled over in pain, releasing Jill in the process. She kicked the soldier again, this time concentrating on his knee joints. The soldier fell to the floor.

She patted her smouldering sleeves and then quickly retrieved a fresh magazine for her handgun, slamming it tight into the compartment. Jill looked down at the soldier who was now curled up on the floor in a foetal position. Only moments ago, his skin was blistering, black and charred, but the flames had now subsided and already she could see patches of pristine pink flesh beginning to appear all over his body.

"They're not dying!" Jill shouted as loud as she could, managing to catch both Carlos' and Rebecca's attention.

"What?" they replied in unison, both of their voices sounded worried.

"They're regenerating already!" she replied while gesturing to the soldier on the floor in front of her.

Jill's eyes widened as she looked towards a number of fallen bodies that were starting to twitch and come back to life. One of them was now on his knees and tentatively trying to stand. Also seeing this, Rebecca glanced to the body of the soldier Leon had wrestled to the ground. The large knife wound on his neck had healed and his hands were beginning to claw at the floor as he regained consciousness.

"Here too!" Rebecca shouted.

Jill repeatedly fired her handgun at another approaching soldier who was crawling towards her over the twitching bodies on the floor. She had to empty the magazine in her handgun to stop his progress.

"This is just not strong enough!" she cursed her weapon, while simultaneously slamming in another magazine.

She looked almost longingly at her rifle that was lying idly on the floor next to her. Jill patted her pockets, searching for another magazine but despite her efforts, she had used all her rifle ammunition and was now solely dependant upon her handgun. She had a small number of grenades, although she realised that these would likely detonate the explosives she had set a few minutes earlier, killing them all. The soldiers kept coming and Jill began to panic.

Jill removed her final incendiary grenade from her utility belt.

"Fire in the hull!" she shouted, throwing the grenade a few metres in front of her.

A quiet explosion was followed by a blast of searing heat and more screaming. Jill turned her head to see Carlos. He too had used all of his rifle ammunition and was now firing his handgun.

"We're not going to make it Carlos." Jill said softly. She had unconsciously removed the detonator switch from her pocket and was holding it tightly in her left hand while rhythmically tapping it against her thigh.

"Don't say that Jill." Carlos replied. "I've never heard you say anything like that before…so don't start saying shit like that now." Carlos replied.

"We can't let them get out of here. They…this place…have to be destroyed. And if that means…"

"JILL – GET DOWN!"

Jill spun around quickly to see Chris standing almost directly behind her in front of the elevator doors that were now open. She smiled and breathed a sigh of relief before almost throwing herself to the floor and protecting her head with her hands.

Chris, followed by Claire who appeared behind him, fired into the mass of soldiers who were now little more than a few metres away. Many of them were riddled with gunshot wounds – in their heads, their torsos – but it seemed to have little effect on their mobility, or their apparent desire to reach them.

"GET IN!" Chris shouted.

Jill scrambled to her feet and ran into the elevator, closely followed by Carlos.

"Rebecca, Leon!" Chris shouted.

Rebecca heard Chris's call and immediately ran towards the elevator. As she turned, she felt a hand brush her back, but fortunately she was too fast. She all but threw herself into the elevator compartment and was caught by Chris. She looked up.

"Hey."

"Are you okay?" Chris asked gently.

"I'm fine, but Leon…"

"What about Leon?" a voice said.

Chris and Rebecca looked up simultaneously to see Leon casually enter the elevator compartment. He was covered with blood. Leon noted the concerned look on their faces and smiled.

"Don't worry, it isn't mine."

"Right, let's get out of here." Carlos said before pressing the single button on the control panel.

The doors began to close, their motion painfully slow. Just as the opening was less than a metre wide, the bright white strip lights in the elevator compartment and the laboratory were replaced by dull green emergency lights. The light on the elevator control panel went out and the doors froze.

"Oh God, what now?" Carlos moaned in frustration, looking upward.

"They've cut the power." Jill muttered.

"How can they cut the power?" Carlos replied. "They're animals!"

"We've got to get the power back on. There must be some way to access the facility's electrics down here. But where…?"

Claire stood forwards and began to fire through the metre-wide gap where the elevator doors hadn't completely closed. "Well, whatever we're gonna do, we better do it fast."

"I think there was a master control switch on the far side of the lab. I saw it when I was downloading the data from the server." Rebecca said quickly.

Elisabeth stepped forward from the back of the compartment. "Chris…give me a gun."

Chris paused, and then reached to his right hip for his spare handgun. He removed it from its holster and held it out in front of him.

"You can't let her have that…" Claire protested.

"Am I missing something here?" Carlos said as he inspected Chris, noting the heavy dressing wrapped around his shoulder. "Jesus Chris – you look like hell."

Carlos then looked across at Elisabeth, seeing that the front of her shirt was torn and bloody. He jumped backward when he saw the red colour of her eyes.

"She's one of them!" he said, aiming his gun at her head.

Chris gently placed his hand on Carlos' gun.

"I know Carlos, but it's okay. Trust me on this."

Carlos' hands began to shake. He looked at Chris, then back at Elisabeth. He had known all along that there was something not right about her…but why was Chris trying to protect her? His finger tensed on the trigger.

"Carlos…" Chris repeated. "It's okay. Lower your weapon."

"But Chris…"

"Carlos…that's an order." Chris said with authority.

Carlos breathed in deeply and lowered his weapon.

"Well, it looks like I've missed the big reveal." Leon added sarcastically.

"Enough." Chris said. "One of us has got to get back to the main control console in the lab and re-route the power back to the elevator."

"I'll do it." Jill said confidently.

Both Chris and Carlos's heads snapped around simultaneously to face her.

"No way Jill." Carlos replied. "Whoever goes out there probably isn't coming back."

"We're not leaving you. We're not leaving anyone behind." Chris said firmly.

"I'll do it." another voice said quietly.

"What?"

"I said I'll do it." Elisabeth repeated, her voice sounded shaky.

"I don't think so." Claire snorted. "Thirty minutes ago you were hell bent on world domination... " she jeered.

"Let me do this. I said I wanted to finish this, and I will."

Claire scowled at the other woman.

"I don't want to die Claire."

"You're coming back with us. You said you could help Leon…"

"Jill can help Leon."

Claire looked at her, puzzled.

Elisabeth pushed past Claire and Chris and stood at the threshold of the elevator compartment. Chris placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to do this Elisabeth." he said.

"Yes I do." she replied quickly in a hushed tone.

Elisabeth took a couple of deep breaths, psyching herself up as she looked at the mass of faces in front of her. There must have been at least one hundred soldiers between herself and her destination at the far side of the room.

"Jill." she said, staring straight forwards. "You have the real antivirus. You've had it all along. You have to survive."

"What?" Jill said, surprised.

"Cover me." she said, before she took a final deep breath and ran forwards, using her right shoulder to push the nearest of her foes out of her way.

In no time at all, Elisabeth felt hands gripping her shoulders from all directions. She raised one of her elbows, and smashed one of the soldiers in the face, knocking him backwards and clearing a small path. There was a loud bang and the hand that was gripping her other shoulder suddenly went slack. A spray of blood hit her face. Some of the blood dripped down her cheek and made its way into her mouth. She gagged at the metallic taste, and spat out the offending fluid.

Elisabeth continued to push herself forwards, dodging the soldiers as she went. Despite her recent injuries, she was virtually healed and still exceptionally strong and agile. Chris and Claire were successfully taking down the soldiers who were directly in her path, aiding her progress forwards. Eventually, she made it to the far side of the laboratory. She scanned the back wall and identified the main power switch on the control console that had been set to the off position. Elisabeth flipped the switch but there was a quiet sizzling sound. She tapped the small communication device in her ear.

"There's a short in the switch, probably all this water. I just need a few seconds to take the panel off and fix it. Hold tight."

"We're counting on you Elisabeth." Chris replied.

Elisabeth ripped the surface off of the control panel. Her hands were covered in a mixture of blood and sweat, making it difficult to grip. She tore out a number of wires and stripped away the plastic coating, baring the fine copper underneath. She selected two and twisted them together. Almost instantly, the power resumed and a bright white light replaced the dull green of the emergency light.

"Elisabeth – the elevator's back online. Get back here. We can cover you."

Elisabeth rose slowly to her feet while still facing the back wall of the laboratory. She was almost afraid to turn around.

"Elisabeth – get back here. Now!" Chris ordered.

"Go." she said quietly.

"You get back here Elisabeth, that's an order."

"Just go." Elisabeth repeated as she removed the comms device from her ear and placed it on the computer console next to her.

She took a deep breath and slowly turned around while looking down towards the ground. Eventually she looked up and was surprised to see that the soldiers had stopped moving. They were standing still in a ragged line in front of her, their eyes burning into hers, almost like they were waiting for her to say or do something.

Elisabeth looked past them and caught a glimpse of Chris who was standing just in front of the open elevator doors some way in the distance at the opposite side of the lab. He was gesturing wildly in her direction, trying to get her to come back. She shook her head slowly from side to side. Seeing this, Chris lowered his arms and stepped back into the elevator compartment. Although she couldn't quite see the expression on his face, she could see him nod. She nodded in response as his face finally disappeared behind the heavy steel doors as they closed.

The soldiers were still standing like statues in front of her.

"Welcome home Dr Badley." a voice said.

She scanned the soldier's faces, trying to identify which one had just spoken.

"Welcome back Dr Badley." an identical voice repeated, but this time from the opposite side of the room.

Elisabeth took a step backwards and realised for the first time that her hands were shaking almost uncontrollably. This moment had been a long time coming, but now that it was finally here, she was afraid. Although in one way, it was almost a relief. For a long time, she had been afraid to live, knowing that at any moment she could lose control, and her mind would be lost. After her fight with Wesker, she had lost control, and for a brief time she was consumed by thoughts of power and violence. What terrified her was that those thoughts were her own, but she couldn't understand where they had come from. And she couldn't restrain them. Somewhere deep down in her consciousness, she had wanted to take complete control of Lazarus and those infected with it. She had felt it was her right.

"Welcome back Dr Badley." A number of voices spoke this time, all in perfect harmony.

"My army." she said in a whispered laugh before she was blinded by a powerful light and deafened by an almighty roar. She could sense the ceiling collapsing all around her.

And then she felt nothing.

--

The elevator doors closed slowly and it began to ascend.

Chris looked at Jill.

"You okay?"

Jill nodded and smiled.

"Perfect timing – as always Redfield." Carlos said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Let me look at that shoulder wound." Rebecca said, stepping forward. She gently placed her hand on the dressing that had tightly bound the joint. The white bandage was stained with Chris's blood.

"It's fine Rebecca." Chris said, looking directly into her eyes while he simultaneously placed his hand on top of hers. "We can deal with it when we get back to headquarters."

Rebecca stood back.

"You've got to stop getting hurt. You're not as young as you used to be you know." she teased.

Chris smiled, and then tapped the comms device in his ear.

"Justin…come in."

There was a second or two of static, followed by a muffled voice.

"Chris…can…barely…you…"

"Justin - we need immediate evac."

"Okay…can…there…ten minutes." Justin responded, his voice clouded by static.

Chris looked at Jill. "You set them?"

Jill pulled the detonator switch from her pocket and nodded. "Just a few more metres and we'll be high enough."

Chris took a step backwards and pressed his back against the cold steel of the elevator wall while grasping the handrail.

Jill placed her finger on the detonator switch. She looked up, looking at each one of the elevator's occupants in turn. "I suggest you all hold on."

Jill pressed the switch.

There was a long, drawn out rumble and the elevator compartment began to vibrate violently. The strip lights on the roof flashed off and on repeatedly. Chris, Jill, Carlos, Claire and Leon stood in silence, each one holding their breath, afraid to breathe until they felt fresh air hit their faces.

A few moments later, the elevator stopped moving and the doors opened.

Chris took a few tentative steps forward into the accommodation block that was situated on the surface of the oil rig complex. It was exactly as it had been a little while ago – a number of single beds arranged along the length of the room, each with a small locker at one end that held a number of personal artefacts.

"Let's get to the helipad." Chris said, his voice echoing in the empty room. "I've had enough of this place."

Chris began to walk forwards, and the others followed suit. In the distance, he could see a pale orange light through the partially open door. It was dawn.

"Aren't you gonna contact Keller?" Carlos asked.

Chris and Claire gave each other a knowing look.

"Erm…later."

"What's wrong?" Rebecca asked. She could tell instantly from the tone of Chris's voice that something was out of place.

"Let's just get to the chopper first." Chris said, trying to change the subject.

They reached the far side of the room, and Chris pushed open the door, bathing the S.T.A.R.S in the gentle warmth of the early morning sun. They continued to walk towards the bridge that linked the accommodation block to the main rig structure and the site of the helipad.

Chris tapped his comms device.

"Justin? How long?"

"Hey Chris." Justin's voice was much clearer this time. "Give me seven minutes."

Chris stopped just before the bridge and looked around slowly. The rig looked different in the daylight, less threatening somehow. Still, he held his weapon firmly in his right hand. He knew they weren't safe until they safely onboard the chopper and off the rig.

The S.T.A.R.S walked forward across the bridge.

Leon stopped half way across and looked over the side at the grey water beneath. Large waves were crashing against the huge metal supports, and ice cold foam from the wave's hit his face.

"I think we can help you Leon." Claire said. "Elisabeth said something about Jill having the anti-virus. There must be something in her blood that…"

Leon shook his head. "I don't know Claire…I think it's too late."

"We have to try Leon. I know you came here to..."

"Hey – move it you two!" A voice shouted.

Claire and Leon looked up in unison towards Chris who was standing at the far side of the bridge.

Claire looked back towards Leon and gently placed her hand on his arm.

"Come on Leon. Let's go home."

Leon smiled weakly and nodded. "Okay."

They both continued to walk forward and eventually made their way to the open expanse of the helipad. Claire glanced at Chris who was now staring into the horizon, looking for the approach of the S.T.A.R.S helicopter. Carlos and Jill were standing in silence a few metres to the right of Chris.

"You know, when we get back, I'm going to let you cook for me."

"You are?" Leon smiled at Claire's comment. "Well, that's very kind of you."

"And when we get you fixed up, we're going to spend some time together. Just you and me." Claire reached for Leon's hand and squeezed. "Like we should have done a long time ago."

"Well, that's very touching." a familiar voice spoke behind them.

Claire turned around slowly and her mouth fell open. She watched, almost paralysed, as a solitary figure brushed past her and walked into the centre of the helipad.

"I didn't expect you all to make it back here. I suppose I'm the latest in a long line of people to have underestimated you."

Chris spun around and stood staring at the figure, open mouthed.

"You especially." The figure said, pointing at Chris.

"You're…." Chris struggled to speak.

"Dead? I take it I didn't make it?" The figure looked playfully from side to side. "Oh, I'm not here. What a shame!"

The figure brushed a few stray strands of blond hair away from her face.

"Elisabeth…" Chris murmured.

"So we're on first name terms now?" Elisabeth replied coldly. "She must have been good."

"Who are you?" Claire stood forward, demanding an answer.

"I'm Dr Elisabeth Badley. The real one."

Chris studied the woman standing in front of them. She looked just like Elisabeth; mid-length blond hair tied neatly back, well-defined facial features and an athletic physique. Instead of the S.T.A.R.S standard issue combat fatigues, she was wearing a dark, well-fitted wool suit and white shirt. She didn't appear to be carrying a weapon.

"So who was she?" Chris asked, his voice had now regained its normal control.

"She was me of course." Elisabeth replied condescendingly.

"A clone." Rebecca interjected.

Elisabeth turned quickly to face Rebecca Chambers.

"Ah, Rebecca Chambers. I've always wanted to meet you."

"Well I can't say the feeling's mutual." Rebecca replied.

Elisabeth smiled. "Yes, you're right Rebecca. She was a clone, although she didn't do exactly what I wanted her to do." Elisabeth looked at Chris and smiled. "It seems like she developed a mind of her own. That's very interesting."

Chris aimed his weapon at Elisabeth, who didn't even flinch.

"What do you want?" he demanded.

Elisabeth slowly raised her right hand, and almost instantly, a number of black-clad soldiers appeared on the helipad, encircling the S.T.A.R.S, their weapons trained on them.

"I want you to decide Chris."

Chris looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"I want you to decide which one of your S.T.A.R.S is going to die first."

Chris smirked. "You're mad."

"Decide!" she repeated, the smile disappearing, her face hardening.

"No."

"Choose Chris, otherwise I'll choose for you." Elisabeth glanced at Claire as she spoke.

"Then I choose myself." Chris lowered his weapon and took a step closer to Elisabeth. "Just do it."

Elisabeth laughed. "You don't seem to understand the rules of this game. I'm not going to let you become a martyr Chris. I'm going to make you responsible for the death of the resurrected S.T.A.R.S. Just like you were responsible for the death of the original S.T.A.R.S ten years ago."

A dark cloud seemed to pass over Chris's face.

"Just get on with it!" Claire shouted.

"Jill…" Elisabeth shifted her focus.

Jill's shoulders tensed at the sound of the other woman's voice as she called her name.

"Welcome back." Elisabeth said softly as she stared hard at her.

Jill found Elisabeth's stare uncomfortable, but she couldn't look away.

"Welcome back." Elisabeth repeated. "Now…I want you to kill Claire Redfield."

Jill shook her head. "What?"

"I want you to kill Claire Redfield. Now!"

Jill's arms began to shake, although she raised her weapon and pointed it in Claire's direction. She had no control over her actions.

"Jill – listen to me!" Chris said, his voice desperate. "Listen to the sound of my voice! You don't want to do this."

Jill's finger twitched on the trigger and a tear began to form in her eye.

"Chris…" she whispered. "I…can't…stop…myself!"

"Jill. Please…listen to me. She's put something in your head making you do this, but it's not you. Get control!"

Jill swallowed hard as the tear escaped from her eye and crawled slowly down her cheek.

"Get control Jill!" Chris shouted. "You're stronger than this!"

"I can't!" she replied.

Chris stepped directly in front of Jill. He held his hands up in front of her.

"Please Jill." He looked directly into her eyes. "Please. I…I…"

Jill's finger still wavered over the trigger.

Elisabeth shook her head and stepped towards Chris. She clenched her right fist and punched him in his injured shoulder with all the strength she could muster. Chris yelped and dropped to his knees.

"I'm disappointed with you Chris. Hell, for a minute there I thought you were going to tell her that you loved her." Elisabeth mocked. "A little inappropriate considering the circumstances, don't you think?"

She leaned forward and grabbed Chris by the dressing on his shoulder that had now come loose. His wound had re-opened, and his blood poured over Elisabeth's hands.

"If you don't decide, Claire is going to die first."

Elisabeth clenched the dressing tighter, making Chris wince.

"Last chance." she whispered into his ear.

Chris murmured something inaudible.

"What? Who did you say?"

"Leon." Chris swallowed hard. "Kill Leon."

Elisabeth released Chris and he fell forwards onto his left hand while clutching his shoulder with his right in an attempt to stem the flow of blood.

Elisabeth turned to look at Leon and shrugged her shoulders. "Jill – kill Leon Kennedy." she said matter-of-factly.

Her arms still shaking, Jill switched her aim from Claire to Leon. Claire noted a wry smile cross Leon's face before he ran forwards, taking everyone by surprise.

Claire flinched as Jill fired her weapon repeatedly until the chamber was empty.

Leon stopped mid-stride and clutched his chest. Blood poured between his fingers as the remaining colour drained from his already ashen face. He dropped to his knees and looked forward at Jill.

"It's okay…" he said quietly before coughing and spitting blood all over the concrete floor of the helipad.

Leon slumped forwards. He groaned as his face came into contact with the hard concrete floor. His body convulsed once before it relaxed and his eyes closed.

"So…" Elisabeth said. "Who's next?"