Hey everybdoy, I'm finally back with an update which happens to be the final chapter of the story before I show the epilogue as the last update for the story. I know it took forever to update this, but honestly, I wanted to make this really good because I wanted to end the story on a high note and I believe I did a good job with the last chapter here. So without further interruption, let's get to the chapter.
Chapter Summary: In the wake of the tragedy of Raccoon City, our heroes find themselves with one of the most difficult decisions they will have to make in their lives.
Bold-Guns/TV Broadcasts/Radio Talk/
Italics-Thoughts/Letters/Flashbacks
Bold Italics- Radio Responses
The helicopters began to slow down as they neared the landing zone of the temporary base. As soon as the helicopters landed, Eric hopped off the helicopter and went over to the one carrying the injured to deliver orders. Edd stepped off the chopper and helped Nazz out, receiving a smile in return. Jill followed out after and then came Leon. Edd wrapped Leon's arm around his shoulders and supported him off of the helipad. The four of them were met by a team of medics and were being evaluated with quick efficiency.
"Hey, take this one! His leg and arm are broken!" A medic ordered, pointing at Leon.
"I'm fine. My kid can carry me over to the tent." Leon protested.
"Sir, please humor me and get on the stretcher, we need to take care of the ones who are badly wounded."
"Dad, get on the stretcher, you really shouldn't be walking anyway. I'll take care of Nazz and Jill." Edd said.
Leon looked at him for a moment before giving a frustrated sigh. The medics set the stretcher down and Leon carefully placed himself on stretcher for transportation. The medics picked him up and began to carry him to the tent. Leon gave Edd a two fingered salute as he was carried out of sight. Edd waved back at his father before glancing at Nazz and Jill. The two of them were looking in the direction of the helicopter that carried Ed, Kevin and Chris. The medics at the chopper had grim expressions on their faces as they evaluated the three critically injured people.
"Hey, we should get over to the tent. We'll just have to wait and pray for them right now," Edd said, placing his hands on their shoulders.
"Right." Nazz said, almost inaudibly.
Edd, Jill and Nazz trudged over to the holding area where they could see massive crowds of civilians behind the gates. All three of them were beginning to wonder if they would see anybody they knew once inside the gate. When they stopped in front of the gate, it was almost impossible to hear anything the soldiers were saying as their voices were drowned out by the uproar of the crowds. After the three of them were cleared, a buzz rang out as the gate opened and they walked inside. Edd grabbed Nazz's and Jill's hands as he weaved his way through the masses to find an area where they could sit down. It seemed as though time slowed as the three survivors sought their resting place. They finally came to a large oak tree beside a massive tent that was packed with civilians. All of them collapsed against the trunk of the tree and watched as the other survivors searched for their families frantically.
Nazz leaned her head against Edd's shoulder and relaxed as his arm wrapped around her back. She kept her eyes peeled as she searched for her parents through the multitudes of people running around. All she wanted right now was to see her parents and seek comfort in their arms. Edd was wishing for the same thing. He just wanted to catch a glimpse of his mother and embrace her. Jill looked zoned out as she hugged her knees and scanned the horde of civilians. She felt restless and she knew it would be like that until she learned of Chris an Ed's status. Salty tears trickled down her face as another sob left her lips.
"How could this have happened?" Jill thought to herself. "Is man really that desperate to end itself with such a foolish biological weapon?"
While Jill continued to submerge herself in her thoughts, Edd and Nazz continued their search for their parents. Nazz's eyes darted from person to person until she finally caught sight of a man with dirty blonde hair. Her heart stopped and she stood up to get a better look. Not being able to wait any further, she dashed towards the man, ignoring Edd's words. She pushed her way through the crowds of people and was now standing behind the man who appeared to be searching for someone.
"Dad?" Nazz asked.
The man wheeled round and his eyes locked with hers. Frank McCreary was now face to face with his daughter who had been missing for the past few days when everything went to Hell. He wrapped Nazz up in a tight hug and a sob escaped him and tears trickled down his face. Nazz reciprocated and hugged her father back with a similar response.
"Thank God you're alright, Nazz. I was beginning to think the worst." Frank stammered.
"I'm okay, Daddy. I'm okay." Nazz replied.
"Nazz, it's just you and me now. Your Mother's gone."
"Mom's gone? Was it quick at least?"
Frank's shudder was the answer to her question and Nazz's tears began to fall even more. Edd observed the somber scene before him as both of the McCreary's were comforting each other with their loss. Frank looked up at Edd and stood up.
"Eddward, was it you who kept my daughter safe this whole time?" Frank asked.
Edd couldn't find any words to say. He did protect Nazz, but he had the help of his friends, most of whom were either dead or dying now. He gave a small nod and was surprised to see Frank's hand out for a handshake. Edd took his hand and gave it a strong shake.
"I don't have any words to express my gratitude, Eddward. Thank you for keeping Nazz safe these past couple of days." Frank said.
"No thanks is required, Mr. McCreary. I just did what my Dad would have done." Edd replied.
"Well, when you see your father again, tell him that he raised you well."
Edd nodded and turned on his heel to allow Nazz and Frank their space to grieve. He made his way back to the tree where he and Jill were sitting at and saw Jill embracing a man. The man was Barry Burton. Barry had pale skin, dark brown hair that was beginning to grey with age, brown eyes and brown stubble. He looked exhausted and his clothes were torn and dirty from his activity in the woods. Edd was stunned at first since he thought Victor said that all the other STARS members were dead. He hurried over to Barry who was having the life squeezed out of him by Jill.
"It's good to see you, Jill." Barry said.
"Barry, I thought you were dead. Leon, Chris and I came across your revolver in the woods and you were nowhere to be found." Jill rambled.
"Yeah, I'll explain that later. Have you seen Eddward or Leon around?"
"Eddward's right here."
Barry turned and came face to face with Edd. A look of relief spread across his face when he saw that Edd wasn't seriously harmed. He clapped Edd on the shoulder and gave him a grin. That was one thing Barry was good at doing when everyone was down in the dumps. One grin from the big man was enough to pick up everybody's spirits.
"It's good to see you, Eddward. I went back to the police department after I got separated from the group in the woods and found it was destroyed, so I thought you didn't make it." Barry said.
"Well I'm standing right here aren't I, old man?" Edd said with a light laugh.
"Yeah you are and by the looks of it you got a little roughed up. Although it looks like you handled yourself well, so good job."
"Hey Barry, you haven't seen my Mom have you?"
"Actually that was the reason I was looking for you. She's been checking the gate every time the choppers came back with civilians to try and find you. She should be around here somewhere."
Edd was able to breathe easy when he heard Barry inform him of his mother's status. He began to look around in hopes to find a woman with dark red hair but was having no success. Just as he was about to give up, he saw her. Claire walked out of the crowd and towards their position. She looked distraught, no doubt at being unable to locate him and Leon. Claire looked up and saw Barry standing beside Jill and that's when she saw Edd. She stopped dead in shock and Edd was looking at his mother with a small smile and trying with all his might to hold back tears.
"Hey Mom." Edd smiled.
"Edd!" Claire exclaimed, running to him.
Edd hugged Claire tightly as she got within range and could no longer hold back his tears. He could feel something trickling down the side of his face and knew Claire was overcome with joy at seeing him alive. The two of them broke apart and Edd gave her another smile.
"I'm glad you're still here, Mom." Edd said.
"So am I, honey. Where is your father?" Claire replied.
"He was taken to the recovery tent when we landed. He'll be okay though."
"Thank God. What about Chris? Is he okay?"
Edd's face fell at the question and he looked down at the ground. Jill wiped some fresh tears from her eyes at the mention of Chris once again. Neither Edd or Jill wanted to tell Claire about his condition and worry her, but they knew she would find out eventually and it would be best to let her find out before the last second.
"Mom, Uncle Chris… I honestly don't know if he'll make it," Edd choked.
"What do you mean?" Claire asked, worry beginning to fill her.
"Mom, he was impaled by a piece of metal and shot three times. I'm not sure how he's holding up right now. He was in a catatonic state when they got him on the helicopter."
"Where's the medical tent?"
"It's over by the landing zone, Claire." Barry informed.
Claire wasted no time and began to run in the direction of the tent. Edd chased after her with Jill and Barry following close behind. Claire and Chris have always been close ever since they could remember and it would devastate Claire if he were to die. Fighting their way through the crowds was fairly easy for the frantic group as they dashed to the tent. The four of them ignored the security blocking the entrance and pushed their way inside. The sight before them was grim. There were body bags on the ground filled with whatever Rangers perished on the mission. The scent of blood filled the tent and was staining almost everything in the tent itself. Edd felt nauseated at the sight and stench when it greeted him.
Claire's eyes spotted a couple of medics looking over someone in a cot near the middle of the tent. She was able to get a glimpse of Chris's hair and bolted over to the cot. The medics made to stop her but one glare made them stop in their tracks. They backed away from Claire and let her sit down beside Chris. Tears began to stream out of Claire's eyes even faster when she saw her brother patched up. Blood was beginning to stain the dressing that covered Chris and one of the medics quickly went to put pressure on the wound again.
"Is he going to be okay?" Claire asked, looking at the medic.
"Ma'am, we've done everything we could so far. He's stable at the moment, but he's lost a lot of blood and we're running low." The medic replied.
"Well get some blood and help him!"
"Ma'am, we're doing everything we can right now. He will be fine, but right now we need you to leave to allow us room to operate."
The other medic pulled Claire away from Chris and escorted her to the group. Claire wrenched her arm away and ran her hands through her hair. She tried to take a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down but was having trouble with her frustration and anxiety building.
"Claire, it'll be okay. Chris is too tough to go out like that." Leon said from his cot.
Claire's head shot up and she turned around to see Leon laying down in a cot with his arm and leg wrapped up in casts. She hurried over to her husband and hugged him tight. Leon flinched in pain from Claire's gesture but returned the hug as best he could. He wiped the tears from her face and gave her a comforting smile before turning his attention to the others behind her. Edd walked over to his father with Barry and Jill following him. Leon was able to relax now that his family was reunited. Jill sat down on the empty cot with Barry and gained Leon's attention.
"Barry, you're alive?" Leon asked with surprise.
"Course I am." Barry answered.
"Well what happened in the woods then? Jill, Chris and I found your gun but you were missing."
"Okay, I'll tell you what happened."
Barry started by telling them what happened on the mission when he was first dropped off with Wesker and the other STARS members. The team had traveled through the woods towards the factory but ended up getting separated when they were ambushed by a bunch of mutated dogs. The team took a couple of casualties when they were ambushed and decided to make their way to the facility when more dogs kept attacking. Barry broke off from the main element and was jumped by two dogs. In the process he dropped his .44 after he killed both dogs with a shot to the head. Barry made his way through the woods and came up on the main highway that led back to the city. He found an abandoned patrol car and took it back to the city to try and regroup with whatever officers may be at the police station, only to find it completely destroyed.
It was there that Barry decided to do what he could by rounding up civilians and keeping them safe from the abominations that were preying on them. He followed the instructions of the EAS that was sent out and got himself and the group of civilians he gathered up to a secluded area of a building and went to the roof when the Rangers came to evacuate them. When the Rangers brought them to the base, Barry attempted to explain the situation to the Rangers about the incident at the Umbrella Facilities and tried to get a team to go and search for his comrades, but it didn't pan out. The Rangers apologized for his predicament but they had their orders to only evacuate a city and if anything, his team was most likely dead if it was just a small amount being outnumbered by whatever was in the factory and the woods.
Medics came up to the group and asked them to leave to allow Leon to rest and to give them space to operate on other wounded patients.
"I'll be okay, and so will Chris," Leon said as they were ushered out of the tent by a medic.
A couple of days went by after the group had been brought to the makeshift base. However, it had also been difficult for many. Many members of the cul-de-sac were killed and those that had survived the terrible ordeal now had someone missing in their lives. The only other adult parent that managed to escape the city alongside Leon, Claire and Frank was Ed's father, Joseph. He looked like a defeated man and he was having a rough time trying to cope with the loss of his wife and daughter. When Joseph first learned of Ed making it out of the city, he rushed to his side and hadn't left it since he got there.
After a week, Kevin and Chris were cleared for leave and were welcomed back by the remaining members of the cul-de-sac. Kevin ended up hugging both Edd and Nazz when he saw them and let his tears fall. His combination of happiness and sadness were too much for him to hold in and he openly showed his emotions to them, which was something no one ever saw him do unless it was his anger that he was displaying. Within hours of Chris's and Kevin's return to the group, the base was evacuated to be relocated in a neighboring state, however, that wasn't the case for those that witnessed the horrors in the Umbrella Facility first hand. They were being taken to Washington D.C. for reasons they did not yet know. All they knew is that they were being dragged there against their will. Only time would tell what the government wanted from them.
"New reports are coming in about the incident in Raccoon City, Nebraska..."
Click.
"Raccoon City has made national headlines. Various reports from survivors have been evaluated and…"
Click.
"This shocking footage that was recovered from a news affiliate shows the final moments of Raccoon City, just before it was sterilized with a nuclear explosion…"
Click.
"Government officials have confirmed that the nuclear explosion has destroyed Raccoon City after hearing reports of a possible biological incident that occurred at Umbrella Facilities…"
Click.
"The government has not released any confirmation on whether or not the incident in Raccoon City was a possible terrorist attack…"
Click.
"Umbrella suffered a massive crash in the stock market today after the event in Raccoon City. Umbrella's crash may be the end of the road for the company…"
Click.
Ed's eyes fluttered a little as he heard a television giving reports on Raccoon City. He finally opened them and he noticed that he was now in a hospital room. The last thing he really remembered before blacking out was being carried out of the helicopter by medics so they could treat his wounds. He gave a groan as his eyes opened and began to regain their focus. A shuffling noise came from both sides of his bed and gained his attention. His eyes finally came back into focus and he was looking around at those he escaped the city with. On his left were Edd, Nazz and Kevin and on his right was Leon, Jill, Chris and his father.
"Hey guys, guess I was out for a while, huh?" Ed greeted.
"Good to see you're okay, dude!" Nazz smiled.
"Yeah, I've gotta hand it to you man, you're tough as nails." Kevin added.
"I'm glad you're alright, Ed. We were scared since the doctors told us you didn't have a good chance of surviving your wounds." Edd said.
"Well how long was I out?"
"You were out for almost two weeks, Ed," Joseph said, hugging his son.
"What's happened since then? What about Mom?"
Joseph looked at his son and opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. The shake of his head was all Ed needed to know of his mother's fate. Ed bit his lip and gave a shudder as more tears threated to fall from his eyes. He didn't think he could shed anymore after all the crying he did when Sarah and Eddy were killed. Looking up he could see Jill's face and it was one of sympathy but he could see joy in her eyes, most likely from him finally regaining consciousness from his catatonic state.
"Where are we?" Ed asked.
"We're in D.C., dude," Kevin answered. "The government brought us here and I think they wanted to talk to us to get a full picture on what the Hell happened at Raccoon City."
"Did they say when they would talk to us?"
"They said that they would talk to us within a day or so after you woke up." Leon answered.
"Okay."
The door to the room opened making the occupants turn to see who was entering. Barry came into the room followed by a nurse and another man with a badge of some sort on his chest. The three of them walked over Ed's bed to see that he was up and moving once again. Barry gave a nod to Ed before walking over to Jill, Leon and Chris. The nurse pushed between the remaining cul-de-sac kids to do a couple of quick examinations on Ed to test his coordination. While she was doing that, the man with the badge spoke up.
"I'm John Briggs. I'm here to tell all of you that the Department of Defense along with a couple other higher ups wish to talk with you as soon as possible." John said.
"How soon is soon?" Chris asked.
"When this kid is deemed able to walk would be great."
"Well you're in luck, Mr. Briggs. It seems that being in a state of rest for the past couple of weeks has done him well. He should be able to go by tomorrow morning." The nurse replied.
"Excellent. I'll arrange for a small caravan to escort you to the Pentagon tomorrow morning at 0600."
With that, Briggs turned on his heel and departed the crowded room. Once the nurse finished with her last test on Ed, she filled out some paperwork and told everybody they had to leave to allow him to rest. As everyone began to leave, Edd stopped and clapped a hand on Ed's shoulder.
"It's good to have you back, Ed. I'll see you tomorrow morning." Edd said.
"Yeah, dude. I'm glad you're okay," Nazz said, giving Ed a hug.
"See you tomorrow, big man." Kevin grinned.
The three of them left the room, leaving Ed and Jill alone. Ed was glad that he had good friends still remaining after the disaster. In a way, he was a little thankful for it. Without the disaster, he and Edd wouldn't have made strong bonds with Nazz and Kevin and they would most likely still have a negative opinion of them. He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt some weight on the side of the bed. He turned and came face to face with Jill. Ed gave her a smile and received one in return.
"Hey Jill, are you okay?" Ed asked.
"You need to let me ask you that first, silly," Jill said, kissing his cheek.
Ed's face heated up at the intimate gesture from the beautiful woman. He gave a hearty chuckle and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"Yeah, I guess I should. I was the one in the coma for a couple weeks, wasn't I?" Ed laughed.
"You had me worried, Ed. I thought I lost you back on that highway." Jill replied.
"I'm sorry, Jill."
"It's okay. You're still alive and that's what matters."
Ed nodded and leaned in, pressing his lips against Jill's. Jill's eyes widened briefly but she closed them and returned Ed's kiss with vigor. Both of them lost track of time as they continued their lip lock. When they broke away for much needed air, Ed had a large grin on his face. Jill stood up to leave before the nurse came back.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Ed. That nurse will be in a sore mood if I'm still here." Jill said.
She was about to leave but stopped when Ed's hand enclosed her wrist. Jill looked back at Ed and saw a playful grin on his face. He gave a hard tug and managed to make Jill fall on the bed. He winced a little as she bumped his bruised stomach but fought through the pain and wrapped his arms around her. Ed lowered his mouth to her ear and his voice became a whisper.
"I think she'll let you stay if I ask." Ed smirked.
Jill giggled at Ed's words and rested her head on his shoulder. Ed ran his hand through her hair and continued to stroke it until he fell asleep.
The SUVs were cramped for space as Ed, Edd, Kevin, Nazz, Chris, Jill, Leon and Barry sat inside of them. There was little elbow room and it was causing each of them to become claustrophobic. The sun was just starting to rise on the horizon as the vehicles made their way towards the Pentagon. The silence itself was beginning to become uncomfortable for the occupants in the car. Nazz was the first one to break the awkward silence after noticing Edd looking out the window as if lost in thought.
"Is there something troubling you, Double D? Besides the obvious, of course?" Nazz asked.
Edd turned to Nazz and folded his hands under his chin as he thought about her question.
"Back in Raccoon City, when I took charge of our group…" Edd began. "I, I fucked up. I tried to get you guys all out of there in one piece by having you follow my lead and that ended the moment I had us separate in the factory."
"Double D, that wasn't your fault. With all those things in the factory, I don't think there would have been much change if we stayed together. You made a decision and stuck by it and that's what counts. That's something you have to learn as a leader man," Kevin said, patting Edd on the shoulder.
"I know that, Kevin. It's just… with that decision I made to have us split up, I basically sent them to their deaths. God, it feels like I killed them myself."
"Are you looking for absolution?"
"Yes."
"I don't think we're the ones that you need to seek forgiveness from, Double D. I think you just have to forgive yourself."
"I don't know if I can."
Edd resumed looking out the window. As the vehicles turned off the freeway and onto the main road to the Pentagon, Edd saw something that made his heart stop momentarily. Outside the window stood Jimmy and Victor. Both of them were standing on the sidewalk and made eye contact with him as the car continued its journey. Edd rubbed his eyes in disbelief, only to see that Jimmy and Victor had vanished. His mind was playing tricks on him and it was eating away at him. He continued scanning the sidewalk as they drove by the buildings. The Sarah and Jonny came into view. What he saw had terrified him. Just like Jimmy and Victor, they both were looking him dead in the eye as he went by them. However, the thing that hit him like a ton of bricks was the state of their bodies. Both of their bodies looked as though they had been crushed. Both of them had blood trickling out of their mouths and nose.
Edd shook his head and took a deep breath as he realized what was happening. The dreams that had plagued him for the past two weeks were now making him live through his guilt at getting his friends killed. If this is what his atonement was to be in order to forgive himself for his choice, then he would see it through. The next two that he saw as the car rounded the corner was Parker and Eddy and they were sitting on a bench. Edd had to fight back his tears when he saw the two of them. Parker's head was missing, but it was instead sitting beside him on the bench. Eddy didn't look too bad, but he was deathly pale and there was a large red stain on his shirt over his heart, most likely where Wesker placed the final bullet.
The car was now a few blocks away from the Pentagon as it came to a stop at a red light. Some crowds of people began making their way across the street in the crosswalk. Edd looked out of the windshield and saw four more of his friends. They stepped out of the crowd and stood in front of the SUV. From left to right, Edd saw Garrett, Rolf, Colin and Carly. All of them were visible with their injuries that they had perished with. Garrett's mutilated body made Edd sick to his stomach as he was given the reminder that he probably suffered the worst death of the group. Rolf's arm was mangled and he had a clear bullet hole in his forehead where Kevin shot him to end his misery. Colin and Carly were standing side by side holding hands as they met his gaze. Both of them had bloodstains on their clothes where they sustained their injuries.
Edd rubbed his eyes and gave a shudder as he tried to recuperate. He looked up to see that the four of them had vanished before the light turned green. He shook his head again as he leaned back in the seat, trying to calm himself down. Edd felt a small hand work its way into his and turned to see Nazz giving him a comforting smile. He squeezed her hand tightly and she did the same. The cars pulled up to a gate and entered the secure area as the gates closed behind them. Ed, Edd, Nazz and Kevin all stared out of the car and at the large building that they had seen only on TV specials or movies. The SUVs came to a stop outside in a parking lot in front of one of the wings.
"This is where you get out." The driver said.
"Yeah, we're getting out." Kevin said.
Kevin opened the door and stepped out into the chilly morning air. Ed, Edd and Nazz clambered out next. Leon, Chris, Jill and Barry walked over to them and stood beside them as they waited for further instructions. John Briggs was walking towards them in a Marine Corps utility uniform.
"Mr. Briggs," Leon greeted, with a nod.
"Good to see you guys all got here on time. We'll be briefing you in the Army conference room," Briggs replied, walking back to the large building.
The group followed Briggs into the Pentagon and was greeted by multiple MPs. The MPs were armed and loaded to defend against anything should it somehow enter the Pentagon. One by one, each of them went through the scanner and got a pat down to make sure they were clean before given clearance to enter the halls. After they were searched, Briggs continued leading them down the large hallway that was filled with well-known Presidents, Generals, and historical buildings of D.C. The teens were actually absorbed in looking at all the pictures and plaques that occupied the halls. They turned left down another hall and continued until they came to a pair of large double doors with a plaque on the wall reading, "Department of the Army."
Briggs knocked on the door and was granted permission to enter. The doors opened and the group waltzed inside the large room. Briggs led them to a room down a small corridor to the right. He opened the door and ushered the group inside and had them take a seat. Once all of them were seated, Briggs stood at parade rest as he looked at them.
"I wasn't granted clearance to tell you what will take place during this meeting, but I do know that it will probably change your lives forever." Briggs said.
"Well our lives have been changed for a couple weeks now, Mr. Briggs. This probably won't add much to it." Leon replied.
"We'll see, Mr. Kennedy."
Briggs departed the room and closed the door behind him. When the door closed, everyone lounged back in their chairs as they waited for the meeting to begin. Their rest was short lived when the door opened again. Briggs entered the room with three other individuals. The Secretary of Defense, John Allen, along with a man and a woman stood on the opposite side of the table. Both the man and woman had on Army utility uniforms with an unknown badge on their left breast.
"Mr. Secretary," Leon greeted standing up at attention, with the others following suit.
"Sit down, Leon. You don't have to be so formal with me." John replied.
"Alright, John."
John motioned for the group to take their seats and handed out various files that were stacked in front of each of them. The files had their names on it along with some paper. They were looking at their personal files that the government had on them.
"Aw man, this is trippy as Hell," Kevin muttered, looking at the information in his file.
The file had everything. His first, middle and last name, his age, birthdate, social security number, addresses, list of family members and more.
"So what exactly do you want us to do, John?" Leon asked.
"I want you to write down everything that happened when you entered that Umbrella Facility in the woods. I want to see everything that you encountered, any Intel that may be crucial to our search, all of that good stuff." John answered.
"What exactly happens after this?" Barry asked.
"I'll answer all questions and tell you what your futures hold when you finish writing down the information I'm looking for."
Deciding to stop with the questions, Barry returned his focus to the paper that was lying before him. He picked up his pencil and began writing the long report of what happened the day the outbreak started and up to his moment of being dropped off in the containment facility by the Rangers. Since Barry did not enter the factory, he couldn't provide any information, so he finished his report first. He set his pencil down and leaned back in the chair as he waited for his comrades to finish their work. It was almost an hour later before everyone finished writing everything down. They placed the paper in their files and pushed them back over to John. John collected the files and stacked them on top of each other and placed them to his side.
"Alright, now for the reason you're all here," John began. "I also hate to say this, but you won't have a choice as to what will happen."
"Why? What's going to happen?" Nazz asked.
"To answer your question, it's because of this. Umbrella Facilities is affiliated with the government. Their job is to create new types of biological weapons for us to use against our enemies in war. When all of you entered that factory without government authorization, it was considered trespassing on government property."
"Okay, but I still don't see where you're going with this," Kevin said, shaking his head.
"What I'm saying is this. We can imprison you for committing a crime of trespassing on government property as well as coming across classified information."
"What the fuck? You can't do that!"
"We can, but I'm not done talking yet. We are willing to grant leniency if you do something for us."
"What would that be?" Chris asked, not liking what he was hearing.
"Now that we found out about Albert Wesker's betrayal with Umbrella, it's led us to believe that he's got other ring leaders hidden in the shadows ready to unleash a bioterror attack like in Raccoon City."
"Wait, that would make sense," Edd said, remembering Wesker's statement on the plane. "He said that there were other facilities like the one in the woods all over the world and he said he'd unleash the bio weapons from them. Granted he's dead now, but that definitely does make sense."
"Precisely."
John leaned forward and motioned for Briggs and the two other soldiers to step forth.
"Now this is what I was going to tell you. We'll grant you leniency as long as you fight for us against this threat of bioterrorism." John said. "Then again, you don't really have a choice either. It's prison, or join the fight."
"What is this organization?" Jill asked.
"The organization of special agents that tackle bioterrorism is known as BSAA." Briggs replied. "It stands for Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance. These two here along with myself are in that group. We're the elite team of agents from all branches of the military, even law enforcement and it's our job to stop bioterrorism at all costs to prevent any attacks like Raccoon City."
"How long would we have to serve for?" Leon asked.
"Until I deem it sufficient enough to let you all go, Leon."
"This is bullshit. Can't you just do some memory wipe or something?" Kevin said.
"No. There's no way we can erase your memory, at least not what you witnessed permanently. Your memory would come back fairly soon." Briggs answered.
Kevin smashed his fist down in his chair in frustration. The way he saw it was that they were all boned and there was no way out of it. He wanted no part in BSAA and there was no way he would subject himself to face those atrocious creatures once again. Glancing around at his group, he could see that all of them were thinking along similar lines. Silence filled the room and John leaned back in his chair, sipping on some coffee.
"You're dismissed the moment you make your choice. So what is it going to be? Jail or BSAA?" John asked.
No one answered the question. It was so quiet that a pin could be heard if it was dropped on the table. The silence was broken when a small click of a pen was heard. Edd had a pen ready to sign the papers to join BSAA.
"Where do I sign, Mr. Secretary?" Edd asked.
"Double D, what are you doing?" Ed whispered.
"The way I see it is that is my true chance for forgiveness for what happened to our friends back at the facility. I got them killed in there and they didn't deserve that. I owe it to them to see that Umbrella is finished, and if it takes years to bring them to their knees, then I'll do it. I'm going to fight."
John nodded and pushed the paper that required his signature on the dotted line for the BSAA enlistment. Edd paused for a moment as he had the pen over the paper and then signed his name. Clicking the pen shut, he set it down on the table and pushed the paper back to John. John nodded and glanced at Leon.
"You've raised a good kid there, Leon. You should be proud." John said.
"I am proud, John. Now hand me a form to sign. If Eddward's in, then I'm going in to back him up." Leon replied
Leon signed his name and returned the form to John. He stacked his form on top of Edd's form and took another sip of his coffee. Slowly but surely, each one of them signed the form and all it took was for a young man to give his philosophy of fighting for those he cares about. All the forms were now signed and tucked away inside their personal folders. John stood up and gave them all a nod before departing the room. Briggs closed the door behind John and turned to face them again.
"We've got work to do." Briggs said.
Alright guys that's the chapter, I hope it exceeded your expectations. I'm not sure when I'll release the epilogue but it's not going to be long so hopefully soon. At this time I would like to thank all of you for the reviews and reading this story. In all honesty I was a little surprised with the amount of attention it go for the Ed, Edd n Eddy catagory since when I started it back in 2008, these stories didn't get a lot of reviews. All in all, I think I did a good job with the amount I got. So thanks a lot for your awesome support and I guess I'll see you next time when I get the epilogue all ready to go. By the way, I know I was talking about lemons originally in this story, however with that insane purge that went down in late May and early June, I decided against it. So if you were looking for steamy action, you won't get it in the story, so I apologize for that.-CaptainPrice