Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil or any of the characters, and I certainly don't make any money out this! Apologies to those of you who have been following my story…it seems like forever since I updated. Too many things have been going on these past few months so I haven't been able to get enough time to sit down for long enough and concentrate on getting this finished. That, coupled with a massive case of writer's block and then indecision of exactly how this is going to end! Still, we're here now. And I lied about 20 Chapters – it's expanded to 21 (I think 10k+ words is a bit much for a single chapter). Clichés abound I'm afraid (originality isn't one of my strong points), but I hope it doesn't disappoint. As always, any feedback is appreciated!

Chapter 20 Slipping away

"Why are doing this to us?" Claire shouted in Elisabeth's direction, but the other woman ignored her, and continued to focus her attention on Chris who was still kneeling on the floor in front of her. He was breathing heavily, the colour slowly draining from his face.

Chris could feel the warmth of his blood as it escaped from the opened wound on his shoulder and crawled between his fingers, collecting in a viscous puddle on the cold concrete helipad floor. His body suddenly felt cold. He could feel the icy early morning air permeate his clothes and burrow aggressively into his spine. He shivered.

It was deathly silent. The soldiers that had now encircled them stood motionless, staring straight ahead. He glanced quickly at Jill who was standing a few metres away, her weapon now fixed on him. Her arms were shaking violently like she was trying to lower them, but some unseen force was stopping her. Her eyes, open and wide, betrayed her fear.

"Just hold on Jill." Chris said to himself.

"Elisabeth." he said quietly and softly, fixing his gaze upon her.

"Have you made your decision?" Elisabeth replied, her tone of voice was impatient. "Who's next?"

"I know Elisabeth."

"What?" she replied, her voice irritated.

"I know…knew Elisabeth. She wouldn't have wanted this. She wouldn't have done this." Chris said, moving his head slowly from side to side. "She was a good person who did some bad things, but all she wanted to do in the end was make things right. You are a good person. I know that it's Lazarus making you behave like this."

Elisabeth swallowed hard and looked straight into the deep blue of Chris's eyes.

"You and her…you're the same. You don't just look the same, you think the same. I know you too."

"I…I…" Elisabeth stuttered.

"I know you were sick…you were going to die. But you overcame it. You designed Lazarus for good, truly thinking you could help people as well as yourself. But now you know the power of Lazarus, and what it could do if it got into the wrong hands."

Elisabeth's bottom lip began to quiver. Her eyes darted around the figures standing on the helipad – first across to Jill who was now standing behind her, then on to Claire, Carlos and Rebecca. Her eyes came to rest on Leon's inert body that lay prostrate on the floor.

"But Lazarus was manipulated…" Chris continued, sensing that he had found a way in to her psyche. "…by Wesker, by Carter…these people took it away from you and turned it into something evil."

Chris slowly pushed himself to his feet, uncurling his spine. He was almost overcome by another wave of nausea as he felt a shot of pain, like a bolt of lightening, in his shoulder. Swallowing hard to try to dissipate the feeling, he then edged closer to Elisabeth who was still staring at Leon's body.

"Mexico was a terrible mistake."

He took another step forwards so that he was now less than a metre away from her.

"You didn't mean for that to happen, you just wanted them to understand what you had created before they closed you down, before you could finish what you'd started. Things got out of control; you made a mistake, that's all. You're not a bad person Elisabeth. I know you're not. It's not too late."

Chris tentatively reached out his left hand and gently placed it on her shoulder. Elisabeth flinched at his initial touch, but made no attempt to move his hand away.

"Come back with us. Help us."

"Help you?" Elisabeth said quietly.

"We need you Elisabeth; and you need us. It's not too late."

Elisabeth looked down at her hands. Chris noticed that they were trembling.

"There's a lot of blood on these hands Chris Redfield." she said while simultaneously raising her head to face him. Her arms then fell limp at her side.

"I know. You can't change what's happened, but..."

"I can change the future, right?" Her face hardened. "The person you knew – she's gone. You left her to die down there. She may have come from me, but make no mistake, she was nothing like me, not any more. That Elisabeth Badley died years ago. You don't know me Chris, because if you did you wouldn't be standing there right now, saying what you're saying."

"I don't believe that."

Elisabeth smiled and her eyes narrowed. "When I sent her to you, I had no idea she would be so effective. I wasn't sure that the great Chris Redfield would fall for a Trojan horse, the oldest trick in the book. But you didn't, did you? You knew what she trying to do, even if she didn't know it herself. You wanted to save her, didn't you?"

Chris sighed. "Everyone deserves a chance to make things right."

"Everyone? What about Wesker? What about me?"

"Even you, Elisabeth."

Elisabeth nodded and smiled. "Another time, another place maybe..."

She turned her back to him and looked at Jill, who was standing fixed to the same spot, her weapon still raised. Elisabeth could see the veins in Jill's arms protruding through her pale skin as she tightly gripped her weapon. She could see the pain in the other woman's face. Elisabeth felt some sympathy for her – she had just murdered one of her S.T.A.R.S colleagues, one of her friends. But she had brought this on herself Elisabeth argued. If she hadn't tried to escape while onboard the Methuselah, Ephraim Carter's research laboratory, she wouldn't have been attacked by the escaped bioweapon. And Elisabeth wouldn't have needed to use Lazarus on her to heal her wounds. And there was no way someone as strong-willed as Jill Valentine could be manipulated mentally unless under the influence of Lazarus. It was a cruel sequence of events that had led to this moment, but now they were here, there was no going back.

"You probably don't want to hear this, but we're actually quite alike Chris, you and I. We focus so much on what we want, what we think is the right thing to do, that we forget the small things. The things that are really important to us. And it's only when you come close to losing these things that you wake up to yourself, and to what you've done. Or even worse, what you should have done." She sighed. "But of course by then, it's usually too late."

"I know what's important. You've made me realise that these past few months." Chris said. "But I'm not going to let you take those things away from me."

Elisabeth glanced over her shoulder and smiled. Chris was a little taken aback by her smile. Strangely, there was no malice in her expression. "You are a good man Chris, you're unbreakable. That's why Wesker hated you so much. That's why he wanted you to suffer before you died. He wanted to break you."

She looked forward and the smile was replaced by a blank stare. "But I think you've suffered enough. All of you have suffered enough. There are things that I need to do now, and you will only make it difficult for me to do those things, whether you mean to or not." She looked down. "Jill – take him out."

"Jill…no!" Chris raised his hands. "You've got to fight whatever it is that she's put in your head!" Chris ordered.

"I can't Chris." Jill's voice trembled.

"Yes you can." he said softly.

Chris looked just over Elisabeth's shoulder and noted a small black object fast approaching on the horizon. Even from a distance, he recognised the distinctive outline of the S.T.A.R.S helicopter. He needed just a few more seconds…

"Yes, yes you can." Chris repeated, while trying to keep his voice calm so as not to alert Elisabeth to the helicopter's presence just yet.

Jill closed her eyes.

"Look at me!" Chris ordered. "Open your eyes Jill and look at me!"

Jill bit her bottom lip and fervently shook her head.

"If you wanted me dead, why don't you do it yourself?" Chris threw his words in Elisabeth's direction.

Elisabeth remained silent.

"I said why don't you do it yourself? Do you think that if someone else pulls the trigger, you're not responsible?" Chris taunted.

"Jill – do it now!" Elisabeth demanded.

Suddenly Chris's face was hit by a blast of cold air and fine debris, and he was deafened by the thunderous roar of helicopter blades.

"LEON! NOW!" he screamed.

Leon's body suddenly came to life and he sprang to his feet. He lunged forward and grabbed Elisabeth by her shoulders, trying to bring her down. For a moment she was startled but she quickly regained her composure and resisted, surprising Leon with her strength. She pushed him backwards with an effort and stared at his face. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"You're…infected. But how? When?"

Leon smiled. His formerly blue eyes were now a pale shade of pink. "Wasn't this part of your plan?" he sneered.

While Jill's attention was drawn towards Leon and Elisabeth, Chris leapt towards her and grabbed her wrists. Using his weight, he forced her backwards to the ground. They hit the floor heavily, painfully knocking the air out of their lungs. Almost instantly, Jill struggled hard to free herself from Chris's grasp. The gun in her hand fired, but the bullet ricocheted harmlessly off one of the steel safety handrails at the edge of the helipad. Chris straddled her, and repeatedly smacked her hand that was holding the gun on the floor until she released it. Blood poured from her knuckles where the skin had been torn open by the contact with the ground. Jill continued to struggle, her blue eyes looked wild.

"Jill." Chris said through gritted teeth. "Stop it. STOP IT!"

There was a burst of static on Chris's radio followed by a muffled voice.

"Chris, come in."

Chris released a deep breath. "Justin. Perfect timing."

"There are seven speedboats heading your way." came the harried reply. "ETA…two minutes maximum."

"We need to get off this rig Justin. Lay down some covering fire and land…"

"If I land now, you know we'll be exposed."

"Just do it. Watch out for the gas tanks. I don't want to have to get wet."

"Jesus Chris, I see them. If they go…there's going to be nothing left here but some twisted metal and a cloud the size of Texas. You'd better keep your heads down…"

The left corner of Chris's mouth curled upwards. "Justin…you've just given me an idea…"

The helicopter made a quick pass over the rig. The startled soldiers that had encircled the S.T.A.R.S looked up and fired at the fast moving object, but the bullets from their sub-automatic weapons were deflected by the helicopter's robust metal armour. They were now disorganised and seemed to look at one another for instructions.

"Take cover!" Chris shouted over his shoulder as he struggled to control Jill who was still fighting his grip on her wrists.

Rebecca, Claire and Carlos quickly glanced at each other before diving behind a number of metal crates stacked towards the edge of the helipad. Suddenly, heavy machine gun fire ripped up the concrete floor all around them. A number of the soldiers cried out as the bullets tore through their bodies, shredding their limbs. Chris threw his body flat on top of Jill's, protecting her head with his arms and hands. It took some time for him to realise that she had stopped struggling.

"I'm so sorry…so sorry." Jill murmured.

Chris pushed himself onto his elbows, his face just inches from Jill's. He looked down into her eyes that had returned to the natural calm state that he was familiar with.

"Jill?"

"I should have been stronger than that." she chided herself. "I remember everything…when I was on that ship…the Methuselah…she was there…I tried to fight it but…"

"That doesn't matter now." Chris interrupted. "We've…no, you've got to get off this rig. More than any of us. If what Elisabeth…the other one...said was right, what you've got in your blood could be the only thing that could stop Lazarus if it gets out."

Jill's eyes glanced downwards. She slowly reached forward and brushed her hand against Chris's injured shoulder. He winced and pulled back sharply.

"You're bleeding. You've got to get this…"

"It's nothing." he replied dismissively. "It looks a lot worse than it is."

"Hey listen…" a male voice interrupted them. "I hate to break up this 'moment' you're having, but we've got problems."

Chris and Jill looked up in unison, first to see Carlos who was looking at them impatiently, and then to the black-clad, blood-soaked bodies scattered across the floor that were beginning to pull themselves up onto their elbows and push themselves to their knees. Their clothes were torn by the large bullets that had penetrated their bodies and sliced their internal organs, and the fact that they were still alive confirmed their infection by the Lazarus virus. With each encounter, Carlos realised the soldiers were recovering from their injuries quicker. Someone was changing the virus, making it more effective, faster. He retrieved a small handgun that was attached via a velcro strap to his ankle and stepped slowly backwards until he could feel the cold metal of the handrail at the edge of the rig platform pressing against his back. He looked over the edge of the platform and down at the violent ocean below. The icy cold spray from a large wave that crashed against the rig supports stung his face, almost taking his breath away.

"Mierde." he muttered as he noticed two black speedboats pull up and secure themselves to the rig support. In the grey early morning light, he could just distinguish a number of figures moving on the deck. One of them looked up in Carlos' direction and fired a grappling hook that attached itself to the metal handrail immediately inches from his hand.

"We have got to leave. NOW!" Carlos shouted as he moved to detach the hook, but jumped back as bullets ricocheted off the handrail dangerously close to him. Carlos then looked across to the far side of the platform. He squinted as he focussed on the feint outline of grappling hooks attached to the metal handrails.

Chris was now on his feet.

"They're coming." Carlos' voice sounded panicked. He scanned the floor for another weapon, realising instantly that the low powered handgun he was holding was going to be of very limited use in this situation.

"Keep cool." Chris said. "Carlos – you get Jill and Rebecca on the chopper when it lands. We're gonna blow the gas tanks."

Chris then looked towards Jill who was now sitting upright and staring directly back at him. He held out his hand. Jill nodded appreciatively and took it, pulling herself up to standing. Chris grimaced as the wound on his shoulder tore open a little more, every beat of his heart rhythmically pumping more blood from the hole. He fought to keep the pain and exhaustion that inflicted his body at bay. In his mind, he repeatedly told himself that he would have time to mend his injuries and rest later. Now, his priority was to get the S.T.A.R.S to safety. If he didn't, no one on the outside would ever know what had happened here. No one would know the true horror of Lazarus if it were to be unleashed on the world.

"Erm Chris…" Carlos began. "…you do realise that we're standing on an oil platform. You can't just start a small fire here."

"He's right." Jill added quickly. "This is a working rig. We won't be just blowing those tanks - there's nearly an infinite supply of fuel here."

"But what about…"

Jill pre-empted Chris's question. "We definitely won't be able to use the guns on the chopper. They don't have the range. We'll get caught in the blast radius for sure."

"Okay." Chris nodded. "Do you have any C4 left?"

She shook her head firmly in response. "No. We used all we had to destroy the lab."

Chris took a deep breath. "Then someone is going to have to…wait…Claire?" Chris looked from side to side for his sister. "Where did she go?"

"I see her. She's over there, close to…Leon." Rebecca said as she emerged from a crouched position beside some splintered crates while gesturing to the opposite side of the helipad with her right hand.

Although his view across the rig platform was partially obscured by dust and debris torn up the attack of the S.T.A.R.S's helicopter, Chris could just discern the distinctive outline of his sister standing upright and exposed, looking towards two grappling figures. One of the figures was considerably larger than the other.

It was Leon and Elisabeth.

The S.T.A.R.S helicopter began to descend slowly. Chris struggled to remain standing against the strong downdraft.

"Carlos, get everyone onboard. I'm gonna go get Cla.…"

Chris didn't finish his sentence. There was a sudden flash of light followed by a deafening ringing in his ears. It took him a moment to realise that he was now lying on the ground, his arms spread at his sides. His surroundings began to spin furiously.

As his eyes began to re-focus, Chris looked up to see Rebecca's face a few inches above his own. She was talking, but her voice sounded muffled and distant, and he couldn't hear what she was saying. He realised his chest hurt. He felt winded, like he'd been punched hard, but he couldn't remember anything happening. It was only then he realised he couldn't move his body.

"Move!" he silently ordered himself, but his body didn't respond.

He felt Rebecca's hand brush against his forehead.

"Goddamit Redfield – move!" he repeated to himself in his mind. "You can't afford to be lying here like this – you've have to get them off this rig!"

He could see a look of concern on Rebecca's face as she yanked a clean white dressing out of a small canvas bag attached to her belt. She pressed it firmly onto his bare skin. Her lips moved, but Chris still couldn't hear her voice clearly because of the ringing in his ears.

"Claire – where's Claire?" he thought. He couldn't see her, and more worryingly, he couldn't move his head to the side to look around for her. He began to panic. He could feel his heart racing, his blood pounding through his veins at an uncontrollable and unsustainable speed.

Rebecca's head turned to the side and she began to talk to a figure just outside his field of vision. Seconds later, Chris felt himself melt into the floor and Rebecca and the unseen figure disappeared into blackness.

--

"So, when did it happen? When did you become infected?"

Leon Kennedy smiled as he took a step backwards and away from Dr Elisabeth Badley. They were both out of breath, their chests heaving with exertion. He raised his right hand and brushed his fingers through his red-streaked blond hair, pushing it away from his face.

"It looks you're in trouble Elisabeth." Leon said, his voice un-naturally calm.

"What?"

He smirked as he looked down. Elisabeth followed the trail of Leon's brilliant red eyes as they travelled down from her face, past her neck and chest, and finally came to rest on her lower torso.

She gasped. "Oh God."

Her shirt was dyed bright red with her own blood. It was torn open, and protruding from the bloody cavity were a number of rope-like, knotted tendrils. Elisabeth's hands shook and her whole body convulsed with disgust as she pushed her entrails back into her body and pressed her hand over the open wound. She forced herself to swallow as a foul taste - a mixture of vomit and blood – swelled up into the back of her throat.

"I guess one of the bullets from our chopper got you." Leon said as he began to slowly circle Elisabeth, who remained rooted to the spot. Her breathing became faster and more shallow. He stopped abruptly behind her. "That does look painful." he whispered menacingly in her ear.

Elisabeth turned around sharply and glared at Leon. "I've survived worse than this."

Leon noticed that the wound was already beginning to heal, the jagged edges of her pale skin were knitting tightly together. Within less than a minute, all that was left of the open wound was a bright red line and a patch of fresh pink skin.

"That's pretty impressive." he nodded. "I wonder…"

"What?" she snapped.

"I wonder…" he repeated, his eyes becoming ominous slits. "…just how much you can take before your body finally gives up."

"You've totally lost control…" Elisabeth's hands dropped to her side and she slowly moved her head side to side. "I can see that there's no going back for you now."

"Who said I wanted to go back? I'm stronger now than I've ever been. I can do anything. Beat anyone…and that includes you!"

"No matter what happens here Leon, your life is over." Elisabeth taunted. "The S.T.A.R.S, Claire Redfield – they've seen the real you."

The smile suddenly disappeared from Leon's face. His eyes opened wide, and the bright red colour of his irises seemed to darken to a deep crimson. His face became enveloped in shadow.

"YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT ME AND CLAIRE!" he shouted in a sudden fit of rage. He threw a wild punch in Elisabeth's direction. Although his sudden action stunned her, Elisabeth managed to dive to the side, evading contact by a few inches. She tripped and fell forwards, landing heavily. She groaned and pushed herself up onto all fours.

"They know what you are now Leon. What you're capable of." She spat out a mouthful of blood and clutched her stomach, realising the wound had re-opened. She pushed herself up to her knees, her shift in position tearing the wound open further. "You're not a man anymore."

Leon raised his fist and swung, but he froze, his fist inches from her face. The rage that had suddenly gripped him seemed to dissipate, and was replaced by confusion. He pulled back his fist and looked at it, seemingly transfixed.

"She got to you, didn't she?" Elisabeth teased.

"What are you talking about?"

"How did she do it? Did she confide in you? Did she make herself look desperate and vulnerable? Or was it the other way around? Did she take control?" She grinned, relishing the look of confusion on Leon's face. "Is that what you like?" she added in a whispered tone.

"No…shut up!"

"Did you enjoy it Leon?" In the corner of her right eye, Elisabeth made out a familiar black object lying in a dismembered hand amongst the debris on the floor. It was a grenade. "Did she ease your frustration?"

Leon shook his head, trying to erase from his mind the images of the evening he spent with the cloned version of Elisabeth back at S.T.A.R.S headquarters, not long after Claire had used the Lazarus virus to revive him after the Methuselah mission. He knew he wasn't himself back then, he didn't know why he did what he did. He knew what he was doing, but he felt like he had no control over his actions. He knew that it would hurt Claire, and the damage that he'd done to their relationship was almost irreparable. Elisabeth had planned to destroy the S.T.A.R.S slowly from within. Her copy had merely planted the seeds of distrust, while passively manipulating them all. Without the unquestionable trust that had bound them all together for so long, the S.T.A.R.S were made vulnerable.

"What did you enjoy more?" Elisabeth continued while surreptitiously shuffling to the right. "Sleeping with her, with me, or betraying Claire?"

"Shut up! I said SHUT UP!" Leon snarled while clenching his fists tight.

Leon could feel a powerful burning sensation growing in the pit of his stomach. He felt the heat envelop his chest and pass through his arms and legs to his extremities. Finally, it reached his head. The sensation made him temporarily light headed, but suddenly everything seemed still. Everything seemed so clear. This woman had caused all of this and she deserved to die. She had to be torn limb from limb, and each piece of her soulless corpse had to be scattered to prevent it reforming and causing more damage.

"You're rotten now, just like me." Elisabeth goaded, while shuffling further to the right.

Leon shook his head. "No no no…I'm not going to end up…"

"They're going to kill you Leon. The S.T.A.R.S, your friends, once they see you now, they're going to turn on you and cut you down without a second thought. You're little more than one of those monsters you all hunted on the streets of Raccoon City."

"You're wrong." Leon said firmly.

"Am I? Are you sure about that? What would you do in Chris's place? Would you leave your sister to the mercy of a monster?"

"I'm not a monster."

"Yes you are." she replied, shuffling. "But it doesn't have to end here. Come back with me and I will find a way to help you." Elisabeth held out her blood stained hand. "Take my hand Leon, I'll tell my soldiers to stand down, and then you and I can walk off this rig."

Leon detected movement in his peripheral vision. A number of black-clad soldiers were vaulting the metal railings at the far end of the rig. They were well organised and moved swiftly.

"Clever girl." he smiled. "It looks like your backup's here. A little late though."

Elisabeth smiled in response, and then suddenly threw her body forwards, her arms outstretched in front of her. Leon immediately spotted her target - the grenade. He stepped forwards and kicked it out of her reach. He then grabbed her by her throat and casually lifted her body into the air. She kicked wildly and tried to prise away the fingers curled around her, but Leon's grip only tightened. Elisabeth struggled for air, her face glowing red as a million blood vessels in her skin burst open, spewing their contents. Leon could feel his heart race with excitement.

"Just…like…I…said…" Elisabeth gasped. "You're…a…monster."

Leon took a few steps forward, effortlessly dragging Elisabeth's writhing form next to him. Eventually he reached the edge of the helipad which was marked by the twisted remains of a steel chain fence. He callously threw the woman to the ground and knelt beside her. Elisabeth coughed and heaved as fresh air flooded into her lungs as the pressure on her throat was released. She suddenly scrambled forwards, but Leon caught her by the ankle and dragged her back to him.

"Maybe you're right." Leon said quietly. He reached forwards with his spare arm and grabbed one of the steel chains hanging loose from the broken fence. He then proceeded to wrap the chain around her wrists, securing her to a metal post. "Maybe I am a monster."

Leon then stood up and walked a few steps to the resting place of the grenade. He bent forwards and picked it up, tossing away the dismembered hand.

"What are you going to do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Leon winked, before he turned and began to walk away. He took a couple of steps forward but then stopped suddenly and looked over his shoulder.

"Do you know who…what, you are?" he asked.

"What?"

"I said, do you know what you are?"

"And what's that suppose to mean?"

"The Dr Elisabeth Badley that I knew wasn't real, she was just a copy."

"What's your point?"

"How do you know that you're the real Elisabeth? You might be just another expendable copy, sent here to do her dirty work."

Elisabeth froze, her mouth half open, the response to Leon's question buried at the back of her throat. She watched in silence as Leon resumed walking.

"Am I real?" Elisabeth questioned herself. "How do I know? She didn't know…at least, not at first." She swallowed hard and shook her head. "There's no way I'm just a copy. I have memories – lots of memories. I remember everything." she tried to convince herself. "I would know. Surely, I would know if…"

A sudden burst of gunfire brought Elisabeth out of her reverie, and she switched her focus to the chains binding her wrists. She yanked hard, trying to loosen them from the post but they held firm. She quickly rotated her position, this time pressing the soles of her feet against the post. Again, she pulled on the metal restraints as hard as she could, the friction burning and tearing the skin on her wrists, but they still held her in place.

"Dammit!" she muttered, scanning the immediate area for a tool that she could use to help prise herself free. Apart from some random debris, there was nothing of use in the vicinity. She began to pull on the chains again, a feeling of dread growing inside of her. She looked over to the soldiers who were less than twenty metres away.

"HEY!" she shouted. "Over here! Get over here! Now!"

They began to run in her direction. Moments later, the first soldier was standing next to her.

"Help me get these off." she ordered.

The soldier knelt down and examined the chains. He ran his hand along their length and inspected the area where the chains were attached to the post.

"That won't work. Use your..."

Elisabeth was suddenly distracted by a sound just behind her. It was somehow familiar, and she turned her head to investigate. Her eyes were drawn to a small black object lying on the floor just a few metres away. It took a moment for the realisation of what it was to hit her.

"Grenade!" she shouted. "Use your gun to break these cha…!"

Leon, who was crouched half hidden amongst some smouldering crates a few metres away, watched as Elisabeth and her soldiers were enveloped by a fiery cloud.

--

"Chris? Are you alright? Say something!" Rebecca ordered. Chris stared back up at her, his eyes wide open, his pupils dilated. "Chris!"

He groaned and blinked. Rebecca's face and delicate features gradually came back into focus. Chris scanned his surroundings and realised he was lying on a canvas stretcher inside the S.T.A.R.S helicopter. He turned his head to the side and saw Jill sitting on one of the benches attached to the interior wall. She was hunched over, her head resting in her hands.

With an effort, Chris pushed himself upright. It felt like every muscle in his body was screaming out with fatigue.

Jill looked up sharply. "Chris?"

"What…happened?" he asked eventually.

"Grenade." Rebecca replied. "You're lucky – a few feet closer and…"

"I don't feel so lucky right now…" he smiled weakly as he rubbed his dry, sore eyes. "How long was I out?"

"Just a few minutes. Nothing to worry about."

Chris pressed the palm of his hand to his forehead and slowly massaged his brow. He felt the rough surface of a cotton dressing, and almost displaced it.

"Don't move that…you were clipped by some shrapnel. It's nothing serious, but it could get infected."

"Thanks Rebecca." Chris said softly.

She smiled. "But your shoulder…"

Chris took a deep breath as he scanned the helicopter interior. He realised that Jill and Rebecca were there – but where were Leon and Carlos? And Claire? Suddenly, memories of the encounter with Elisabeth Badley and her soldiers on the helipad came flooding back. His body stiffened with panic.

"Claire? Where's Claire?" he demanded as he reached out and grabbed Rebecca's arm, his voice almost frantic. He remembered that a number of speedboats – each one likely to be carrying Lazarus-infected soldiers - were approaching the rig. They must have reached it by now.

"Calm down Chris." Rebecca said, sensing his agitation. She winced as his grip on her arm tightened. "Carlos went to get her…them…"

Chris realised he was hurting her, and let go of her arm. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry" he murmured. He took a deep breath and pushed himself up to his feet.

"It's okay." Rebecca said. "Listen, Carlos said..."

"Wait …" Chris said, holding his right hand up in mid-air in order to silence Rebecca. He stood still for a moment, seemingly staring into space. "I can hear gunfire."

"It started just before you came to. Carlos carried you in here and then went out there to bring Claire back. She wasn't responding to her radio. And Leon wasn't…he wasn't…"

Rebecca looked sideways towards Jill. Jill looked down.

"How long?"

"Not long. A couple of minutes maybe."

Chris took a tentative step towards a large, dark green metal box that was pushed against the interior wall of the helicopter, just underneath one of the benches. He leaned over and ripped off the lid which fell to the floor noisily, and then rummaged inside. He pulled out a sub-automatic machine gun and a spare magazine that he rammed into his back pocket.

"I'm going out there." he said, as he turned sharply and made for the exit. However, Chris tripped forwards and had to grab the netting attached to the walls of the helicopter in order to steady himself.

"Chris, you're hurt. You can't…" Rebecca said softly. "Just let Carlos do it."

"No." he said vehemently, gesturing her away with his free hand. His shoulder burned, the pain intensifying with every intake of air. "Rebecca – I need you to make sure that Jill gets out of here. Both of you have got to get out of here. You know what you have to do."

Rebecca looked at the gaping wound on his shoulder. "Chris – you're still losing a lot of blood. I need to fix that wound properly otherwise you'll bleed to dea..."

"Don't worry about me." he interrupted, smiling. But his smile quickly faded. "I'm going to get Claire." He paused and swallowed hard. "And Leon"

"He's gone Chris. Leon's….gone. I don't think we can help him anymore."

"I'm not leaving him behind Rebecca"

"I know how you feel Chris, but…"

"The S.T.A.R.S never leave a man behind." he added quietly.

Rebecca shook her head. "You know I can't let you go in that state." She stepped forward and thrust her hand up against the cold metal of the helicopter wall, her arm barring Chris's path.

"I'll be back in a minute."

"I mean it Chris."

"Yes, I know you do. But I also know that you can't stop me."

Rebecca could see the determination in his blue eyes. His mind was made up, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. It was his sister after all. The one person he cared more about more than anything else.

"Rebecca….just let him go." a weary voice said.

Rebecca turned her head to face Jill who had stood up and was standing immediately behind her.

"Hey…" Jill said. "Don't be long Redfield."

Chris nodded before yanking open the helicopter door. He was faced with a scene from hell. The rig surface was shrouded in smoke from a number of fires that were consuming all combustible materials in their wake. Bodies and body parts littered the area; the formerly grey concrete of the helipad was now crosscut with rivulets of blood and pieces of torn, bloodied clothing. He could just discern Carlos' solitary outline pressed against the remnants of a stack of metal crates that were now twisted and charred. He was taking fire, the wood close to his head singed and splintering.

Chris took a breath and ran in his colleague's direction.

"Stubborn son of a bitch." Rebecca said quietly as she watched Chris disappear into the smoke.

--

Leon stood up slowly, seemingly oblivious to the commotion that had suddenly erupted around him. He moved to scrape a few errant strands of matted blond hair away from his eyes when he noticed them. Five soldiers, each dressed completely in black, standing menacingly silent and motionless in a tight circle around him. The figures' black balaclavas obscured all of their facial features except for their large red eyes that glowed un-naturally in the dull dawn light. He slowly removed his knife from the leather sheath on his chest.

"So…what are you waiting for?" Leon snarled between heavy breaths.

The black figures remained planted to the spot, staring straight at him, almost as though they were waiting for him to make the first move.

"I said, what are you waiting for?" he spat, his voice louder than before.

This time he saw the figure standing directly in front of him twitch. Leon smiled. Even though he couldn't see his face, he sensed his opponent smiling too.

Leon unconsciously tightened the grip on his knife.

"Are you ready?" he taunted, before he drove himself forwards, using both hands to bury the knife into the upper chest cavity of the soldier standing directly in front of him. The soldier emitted a brief gargling noise before crumpling to the floor.

Leon's sudden attack spurred the other soldiers into action. He struggled to evade the hands that that seem to grab at him from all directions. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his left side. He glanced down to a see the bare steel tang of a knife half-buried in his flesh. The nearest soldier stepped back, waiting for his reaction.

"Is that all you've got?" Leon smirked, before he nonchalantly pulled out the foreign metallic object. The small, elongate wound on his waist could be seen to close almost instantly.

Leon threw the knife back and it struck the soldier between the eyes, the force burying the blood-stained blade deeply into his opponent's skull. The soldier's head was thrown backwards with the impact, and he too fell to the floor.

"I guess so."

The remaining three soldiers set upon him again, this time with increased ferocity. Leon felt one pummel his side, trying to attack his most recent wound. But he felt no pain, only excitement. His strength seemed to increase with every passing second. He knew that he could them out any time he wanted. He knew that he was invincible. And he liked it.

Leon swung his knife wildly. He felt a slight resistance behind him as it made contact with flesh. He felt warm fluid splash across the back of his head and drip down into the nape of his neck. He turned quickly on his heel to see two figures crumple to the floor, each clutching their neck, eyes frozen wide open with surprise. The final soldier stepped back. The figure looked at the bodies on the floor, and then at Leon. They stood still and stared at each other, their bodies motionless.

The soldier turned and began to run. Leon shook his head and laughed.

"Why are you running way?" he shouted in the soldier's wake, before he aimed his knife and threw it.

A moment later, there was muffled thump, and the running soldier stumbled. The soldier then fell forwards, holding out his hands to break the fall.

Leon began to walk in the fallen soldier's direction. He could see the soldier's arms reaching, his black-gloved fingers clawing at the concrete in an effort to drag his weight forwards. Taking his time, and savouring his moment of power, Leon caught up with the fallen figure. He watched with amusement as the soldier continued to desperately pull his weight forwards.

"And things were just starting to get interesting." Leon muttered as he leaned forwards, first pulling his knife out of the soldier's back, and then grabbing the fallen soldier's shoulder. He yanked the soldier hard, flipping him over onto his back.

The soldier groaned quietly.

Leon leant forwards and tore off the soldier's balaclava. He gasped as he found himself looking down at a woman. A woman with Elisabeth's face. Against all her obvious efforts, the woman…soldier…who resembled Dr Elisabeth Badley began to weep. Leon suddenly realised how small she was compared to himself. He felt like he had just awoken from a dream, and that the events of the last few minutes had been performed by someone else, someone controlling his body.

The female soldier sighed loudly and her eyes closed. Leon stood up and backed away from her, unable to comprehend what he had just done. He looked down at his right hand and saw his large serrated knife drenched in blood. He turned to his right and noticed the slowly rotating blades of the S.T.A.R.S helicopter through the smoke. He saw a figure - it looked like Chris - quickly descend the ramp. Leon began to walk in his direction but he stopped abruptly, staring straight ahead.

"Leon?" a voice called from somewhere behind him.

His shoulders twitched.

"Leon." the voice repeated. "What is it?"

Leon swayed on the spot; his eyes glazing over. His senses felt stifled, like he was enveloped by a thick fog.

"Leon…"

Leon suddenly shrieked and doubled over while clutching his head. His vision became blurred and the sounds all around him were drowned out by the incessant beating of his heart that rang in his ears. He clenched his eyes closed, trying to calm himself. He then became aware of footsteps quickly approaching him from behind. Leon readied his knife and spun around, thrusting its sharp tip blindly forwards.

Hearing a gasp, Leon slowly unclenched his eyes to find himself staring directly into a familiar pair of large blue eyes. He quickly retreated backwards, pulling out the serrated edges of the knife from the folds of black fabric that enveloped the figure standing in front of him.

"CLAIRE!" another voice screamed.

Claire Redfield remained rooted to the spot. She swayed slightly and stared at Leon who was standing still in front of her, a look of disbelief on his face. His mouth was open and he was moving his head slowly from side to side. Claire then looked down at the growing patch of red on her chest. She had to touch it to make sure it was real, that this wasn't an illusion.

"Oh no…Leon…" she murmured.

"NOOOO! CLAIRE!" the other voice screamed again. Chris Redfield, closely followed by Carlos Olivera, sprinted across the rig surface towards his sister.

Claire looked at her right hand that she was now holding up in front of her face. She struggled to focus, but she could just discern the trails of bright red blood rolling down her fingers, onto her palm and finally her wrist. She could literally feel the life draining out of her body. Claire tried to steady herself by locking her knees, although all her strength quickly left her. She felt powerless as she stumbled backwards. Bracing herself mentally for the impact with the hard concrete floor, she gasped as she felt something break her fall.

There was an instant of darkness before Claire realised she was looking skyward into a familiar face. A strong arm supported her head and neck.

"Chris." she said softly. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry..." Her voice tailed off as she could barely muster the energy to speak.

Chris brushed away a few stray strands of bright red hair that had come loose from her ponytail. Claire's whole body tensed.

"Shhhhh..." Chris whispered, trying to reassure her. "You have nothing to be sorry about."

He pulled a medical dressing from his utility belt and pressed it against the small wound on her upper chest. Claire winced and gritted her teeth as Chris pressed down hoping that the special salve impregnated in the dressing would heal the wound in time, but he'd seen wounds like this in the field before. They were invariably fatal.

"Carlos!" Chris tried to shout, but the lump in his throat muffled his voice.

Claire began to weep.

"It's going to be alright Claire. Everything's going be alright…" Chris forced himself to say the words, even though he knew they might not be true.

"Chris…is she…going to be…" another voice stammered from behind him. It was Leon.

Chris turned his head and glared at the other man, silencing him. The venomous stare made Leon retreat a few steps backward as Chris returned his attention to his sister. He gently stroked her cheek.

Chris looked down at Claire. "It's going to be alright." he whispered again and again, his voice wavering.

Claire slowly reached upward with her right hand and wiped away a single droplet that was trapped in Chris's right eye.

She smiled. "You never could tell lies Chris." Her body suddenly relaxed and her arm fell limp at her side.