My eyes snapped open a moment before V spoke.

"We're here." The others were already awake. I looked out the windows and saw that we were now flying over a forest. We passed what looked like a makeshift airfield, but I motioned for V to do some flyovers to make sure it was safe to land. We spiraled out, until we came upon a beach.

"Look." LIV spoke, gesturing out the window towards the beach. There was a black helicopter sitting in the sand. As we got closer, we could see the umbrella symbol on its side.

"That must be the bird the survivors took from the desert." V commented.

"Either that, or an Umbrella scout out looking for us," murmured LX.

"There is no radio signal coming from the bird, but…shit…" V sucked in her breath. Beta saw her hand tighten on the yoke. "I should have heard it sooner."

"What?" Beta asked.

V gritted her teeth. "Umbrella radio transmissions. I can hear them talking. They are waiting for us to land before they capture us."

"So what do we do? The second we start turning away they'll probably gun us down." Cross spoke calmly from the back. Beta pursed her lips.

"V, circle once more, like we are looking around - do they know who we are?" V shook her head, no. "It sounds like they just think we are survivors of the outbreak." Beta looked out the window.

"Then we set down. We won't survive if they fire on us in the air. But on the ground….we have a chance." Beta outlined the plan quickly and everyone prepared.

V took the helicopter close to the tree line, making as if to set down. It was about 9 feet from the sand when V suddenly twisted the yoke, twisting the helicopter hard left then hard right. The force of the blades created a burst of wind that surprised the soldiers waiting in the trees. At the same time, four clones spilled out of the helicopter onto the beach.

All four clones landed in a rough line. LX and LIV rolled into a crouch and their heads snapped up, eyes dilating. Their psionic blasts ripped through the trees, taking out the majority of the men under cover there. Beta lead the way, X and V on either side of her as they ran past the other two, drawing their guns….

/

As the clones on the ground dispatched the remaining soldiers stationed in the woods, V flew the helicopter up over the forest as another an Umbrella chopper rose up behind her.

"Thought I heard you over there." V muttered to herself as she worked the controls, dodging the gunfire from her attacker. The other chopper was relentless however, and one of the rounds hit the body of her helicopter, singeing her electrical system. She was loosing power fast. And then the missile impound indicator light went off.

"SHIT!" As she started to descend rapidly, V unhooked her chest harness and twisted the yoke right. As the chopper banked right, V opened her door and dove from the cockpit with all of her strength. The missile hit about two seconds later, the explosion throwing her farther away. V struggled to right herself as the forest rushed up to her and she hit the top branches pretty hard. However, thick fur trees helped cushion her fall somewhat. It still hurt like a bitch though when she hit the ground.

"Ow," V spat through gritted teeth as she rolled to one side. Her left leg was busted and she wheezed, spitting out blood. She was hurt pretty bad.

V realized that she was at the edge of the tree line, about a half mile away from where the the girls hit the beach. Looking across the beach, she could see their gunfire. She army crawled to the edge as the helicopter that had just gunned her down shot over her head, towards the other girls.

"I don't think so," V muttered between gritted teeth. She reached out a hand towards the helicopter and her eyes dilated.

/

Beta turned around as she heard the chopper blades approaching. Her eyes widened as she saw the Umbrella markings on the side of it.

Suddenly, the chopper jerked sharply and started to loose altitude. It veered and dipped, its blades hitting the sand and driving the chopper into the ground. Then the gas tank ruptured, hit the sputtering engine, and helicopter exploded. The girls ducked as shrapnel was sent flying into the woods.

"Everyone ok?" Beta asked as she straightened. The other nodded and LIV grinned suddenly.

"V is ok too. Actually she's better than new." LIV pointed across the beach where V was running over to them. Beta holstered her guns. "You guys stay here - LIV, see if you can hear anyone else approaching." She ordered as she ran past them towards V.

When she got to V, she could see V was scratched to hell, blood coating from her arms and legs. But as she got closer, she couldn't see any outward injuries on her.

"Glad to see you are ok. Chopper gone?" V nodded, then motioned to the downed Umbrella chopper.

"They saw fit to kill my bird. Thought I'd repay the favor. Took out their power -" V held up a hand and wiggled her fingers. Little bursts of electricity shot over her fingertips. "And got a pick me up."

Beta raised her eyebrows slightly. Looks like V was getting a handle on her evolved powers. Beta looked back at the other three girls who had gathered at the edge of the tree line. LIV caught her eye and grinned. LIV too. Beta wondered when LX and Cross were going to show theirs.

Or when her own would emerge…..

The most pertinent question now was: What they hell were they supposed to do now? Their helicopter was gone and it was only a matter of time before either Umbrella would track them down - Beta knew they could potentially track their psionic blasts. That or the undead would sniff them out.

Either way, they couldn't stay here.

(It may be at least a week before my next update, so I made this one extra long for you:) Oh and just to clarify, yes the clones have arrived in alaska before Alice does 6 months later.)