Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. This week I have two chapters for you. Enjoy. Also, I don't think that Claire and Leon were together in any of the Resident Evil video games, but they're together a lot in fanfiction. Please review :)
Chapter Seventeen
Inside the Umbrella facility, the group stuck closer together. Which didn't work so well. Both Leon and Vincent and Cloud tried to stay very, very close to Claire, and Claire tried to stay close to Rufus, and it ended up as a cluster of slowly moving individuals.
Claire finally stopped walking, making sure to grab the President's sleeve so he wouldn't wander into danger. "Can we have a brief time-out?"
"What is it?" Cloud asked, beating Leon and Vincent to the question.
"It's irritating," she said. "And inefficient. And it's going to cause problems when the fighting starts." She stared at each of her would-be-protectors. "I'm not helpless." She pulled the Griffin. "I can shoot a bad guy with the best of them." She reholstered the weapon. "And I have a job to do – protecting Sir from danger. I can't do that very well with tall men flanking me."
She watched the eyes. Cloud seemed like he wasn't going to budge, but Leon's blue eyes flickered with worry. And Vincent's eyes, as always, were unfathomable. Then, simultaneously Leon and Vincent stepped away from her, both fanning out. Leon silently taking point and Vincent assuming flank position. Cloud didn't budge. If anything he got closer, but Claire decided not to press her luck with the delivery boy.
They started walking again. After a while, the signs of Umbrella were getting stronger. Leon signaled that there were two guards around the corner; Claire translated the signal.
Cloud looked at Vincent. "Can you handle it silently?"
Vincent was already assembling his Hydra for sniper purposes. He just finished when Leon quietly and efficiently took out both men with some spiffy gun they'd found in a chest. "Clear," he said.
Vincent bristled.
Claire touched his arm lightly. She didn't know why but she wanted him to know that she wasn't . . . terribly impressed? In need of him impressing her? She just didn't know. "Leon's a great a shot," she said, voice soft. "He used to be a cop, and the first time I met him he saved my life."
Vincent nodded. Then he brushed past her, body passing close enough to hers to spark an inappropriate-for-the-circumstances surge of lust. The party rounded the corner in time to see Vincent and Leon dragging the bodies into a dark corner.
Rufus strolled forward. "Take their uniforms. It might be helpful to disguise ourselves."
"Agreed," Leon said. He started stripping one of the dead men.
"I'm not changing," Vincent said. He found a position to stand watch and pointedly didn't look at anyone. Claire thought it was for the best – she was having serious flashbacks to her afternoon in the inn with Vincent.
Rufus looked at Cloud. Cloud looked at Rufus. Both clearly thought the other should disguise himself. "I think you should put it on, Sir," Claire said, dragging her thoughts from the gutter. "If they know who you are, they're more likely to expect the Turks to come. As much as possible we want them to think that we're on our own."
"Maybe you should put it on," Cloud said, eyes sparkling with hope. "Then Hojo wouldn't recognize you and –"
Leon, by this time was dressed, and came over. "Claire would look funny. This is a man's uniform, and she's too short." The uniform was blue, with a sailor look to it. It had a helmet, but Leon had apparently decided that after shooting someone in the head, wearing his face mask probably wasn't the most hygienic of ideas.
"Thanks," Claire said. She didn't add that she would probably not be able to stand the thought of wearing a dead man's uniform. And speaking of that, she felt a stab of anger at Hojo for hiring the men. For putting those two, relatively innocent men, in between himself and the ass whooping he so richly deserved.
"I'm not changing," Rufus said. He dusted his white coat, and flipped his fingers through his hair in an aristocratic motion.
For a few minutes no one moved, then Vincent opened the door and strolled through.
"Let's go," Cloud said. They left the remaining guard and uniform hidden in the shadows. It just wasn't worth the trouble of trying to force someone into it.
The Umbrella base didn't seem to be super-efficient on the inside. Apparently the majority of the guard was on the outside, protecting against assaults from various enemies who would be so stupid as to take the obvious route. The corridors were all plain, disinfected white, with the Umbrella logo here and there. Unlike most facilities, the walls weren't dripping with blood and the lights didn't flicker and give off sparks from exposed wires.
And after several corridors with no opposition, the party made its first major mistake of the day. They were strolling down a hallway when the telltale stomp of marching feet emerged. "Shift change," Rufus said, voice soft. "They'll be heading to the barracks."
"Fuck," Leon said. "We'll have to fight."
"Or hide," Vincent said. He twisted the nearest door handle, but it was locked. Without hesitation he started checking each door. The others followed suit.
They checked several doors, but each was locked. Then, suddenly, Cloud turned a handle and the door opened. Without hesitation, the group flooded into the room, closing the door behind them. They were barely in time. Claire let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Outside, she could hear what sounded like young guards yapping about an upcoming wedding for one of the soldiers.
That made Claire's chest start to hurt. She hated the thought that she might have to fight and kill one of those cheerful men just because Hojo was an asshole.
Her own thoughts were interrupted by a collective gasp from everyone else in the room. And seeing as the men were all taller, they blocked her view of the new horror. She sniffed the air, expecting the stench of Tyrant, but not finding it.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't our big brother," a man's voice said.
"And the President of Shinra," another man said, voice deeper.
"And Vincent Valentine," a third man said.
Cloud drew his Buster sword, bracing it for combat. Vincent aimed his gun; Leon raising his at the same moment. "So much for a quiet strike," Rufus said. He stepped back, clearly not interested in battling the three men. Claire stepped in front of him, just to make sure that he would be protected.
And she got her first look at the men. Two of them were almost identical, with silvery hair the same exact shade as Sephiroth's and mako green eyes. They were both slender, dressed in black. The older of the two had his hair half-hiding his face. The third man was taller and more muscular, with short silver hair and a cocky grin. Claire knew all three of them. She felt a smile blossom on her face. "Kadaj, Loz, Yazoo," she said.
Kadaj gave her a dismissing look, which she dismissed.
"Who are you?" Yazoo demanded with a sneer, which she matched with a wider smile.
"Claire Redfield," she said, without hesitation. When they had first started talking, she was afraid that they were going to have to kill someone. Now she knew it wouldn't come to violence quite yet.
"Aren't you the girl Hojo wants?" Loz asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Forget about him for a second," Claire said. She started across the room toward them. "I'm your sister."
Loz seemed the most moved by her words. "I don't have a sister, do I?"
Claire was by now a scant three feet away. "Not a real one, but I'm your adopted sister."
"Adopted?" Yazoo asked. He drew his gun, pointing it towards, but not at, her. "What does she mean, Kadaj?"
"Yeah, what's she mean, Kadaj?" Loz demanded, a plaintive whine in his voice.
"Good question," Kadaj said. He aimed a short sword toward her. "What do you mean?"
"I adopted your brother and he adopted me. That makes us siblings."
All three men turned to look at Cloud. Vincent and Rufus also gave Cloud a weird look. Cloud gave Claire a weird look. "I don't know what she's talking about."
Claire, completely unperturbed, got closer to her new family members. She knew that maybe she should feel more concerned, but she felt like they wouldn't hurt her. And she was the type of girl who trusted her instincts.
"Cloud didn't adopt you," Kadaj proclaimed. "So you're not our sister."
Claire blinked. "I didn't know Cloud was your brother too." She looked back at him, wondering if he knew about the adoption and was just pretending he didn't. It would explain his over-protectiveness of her. He was channeling Chris . . .
"He's the only one we have," Loz said, cutting through her thoughts. "And he hates us."
"You're the ones who hate me," Cloud answered, voice soft.
"You're the one who's always standing in our way," Yazoo complained. "All we wanted to do was bring Mother back."
"All you wanted was to destroy –" Cloud started to say.
"Sephiroth," Claire interrupted. "I adopted your brother Sephiroth. And he adopted my brother Chris. And I adopted his brothers: Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj." She spread her arms. "You guys!"
"Sephiroth!" everyone in the room hissed at the same time, mostly with disdain.
Claire felt a stab of irritation. "Yes, Sephiroth. Get over it."
Yazoo and Kadaj seemed more reserved, and from their expressions, they weren't getting over it anytime soon. Oddly, Cloud, Rufus, and Vincent looked the same way. Loz got over it fastest. "What's a sister do?"
Claire spread her arms. "Hugs?"
Loz, who suddenly reminded Claire of a very large teddy bear, glomped her. "I've never had a sister before."
"Well, I've had a big brother all my life, and I got to tell you, he's the greatest," Claire said. "But just so you know, a sister protects you from harm – even stuff you think won't harm you like slutty girls."
"I've never been on a date," Loz confessed.
Claire hugged him a bit tighter. "That's okay. You've got time. It's better to find the right girl first, you know."
Loz pulled back. "What do I got to do as your brother?"
"Nothing really," Claire said. "It's not like you have pre-set duties. It's more like, once you're a family, you stick together."
"Claire," Vincent said, hitting the cadence of her name just right to make pleasure sweep across her features.
She mouthed to Loz that she liked Vincent.
"You like him?" Kadaj asked. "Even though he's older than our big brother Sephiroth?"
Claire flushed pink. "Yeah." She lowered her eyes. "What's age got to do with it anyway?"
"He used to have a torch for Sephiroth's human mother," Yazoo said. "Isn't that a bit weird?"
"I used to think Chris's best friend in high school – a guy called Flint – was hot," Claire said with a shrug. "That doesn't mean anything now. Hakunah Matata and all that jazz."
"Hakunah what?" Loz asked.
"Hakunah Matata," Leon said. He put his gun away and crossed the room. "It means you have to put your past behind you and live in the moment." He extended his hand. "Leon S. Kennedy."
"He's a friend," Claire said.
"And you're our sister . . ." Kadaj said, shaking Leon's hand. "And you're going to protect us." He frowned, forehead furrowing. "Is that why you're here? To save us from Hojo?"
Claire bit her lip. "Actually, I didn't know you were here, but I'm glad I found you. You should get out of here."
The three silver-haired Sephiroth clones exchanged quick glances. "Why?"
"Because Hojo is planning on releasing his virus, and we're going to squish him," she said, motioning to the party. "And I don't want you to get hurt in the crossfire."
"You're more likely to get hurt," Kadaj said. "You said your name was Claire, right? Well, we just got orders to find you and bring you to Hojo immediately."
"Perfect," Claire said. She glanced at Leon. "Do you think it would work?"
"Better than wandering around aimlessly," Leon said. He'd been with her enough to know how her mind worked. "But do you want to put your new family in danger?" He eyed the three, silently wondering how Claire could consider these obviously dangerous people family, and wondering, just who in the name of Hades, this Sephiroth guy way. Her proclamation seemed to have a material effect on the others.
"Wait," Vincent said. "What are you thinking?"
"Wait," Cloud said at the same time, "When did you see Sephiroth for this adoption, and don't you know or care what he's doing?"
"Wait," Rufus said at the same time, "Does Sephiroth know that you work for the Turks?"
"Wait," Kadaj said, "You work for the Turks?"
"Wait," Loz said, "Would it be all right if I called you sis?"
"Wait," Yazoo said, "did you adopt Cloud too? And does Chris know that we're his brothers?"
"Uhhhmmmm . . ." Claire said in response. "First, Chris doesn't know that I adopted you guys yet, but if he finds out, he'll be cool with that. He really is the best brother ever –"
"Why?" all three silver haired boys asked simultaneously.
"Well, because he'd never let anything bad happen to me," Claire said. "If I need him, he's always there. And I know he's not here right now, but if he was, he'd be sticking me in a broom closet and going to squish Hojo for me." She held up a hand, stalling further comment. "But since he's not here, I have to do it myself. So let me just answer all the questions. The second part to your question, Yazoo, is whether I adopted Cloud, and the answer is yes, but I didn't know who he was. Sephiroth said he was a black sheep and a bit of a hot mess." She gave Cloud an apologetic look.
She took a breath, glancing lovingly at Loz. "You can call me 'sis' if you want." He beamed back at her, apparently tickled pink. "As for whether Sephiroth knows I work for the Turks, the subject didn't really come up, but yes, I work for the Turks. Reno and Rude recruited me. Sorry for those of you who didn't know. And sorry Sir if you didn't want me to tell anyone, but I should point out that you did bring the subject up."
Vincent and Cloud, in particular, looked stunned. Rufus, oddly, seemed pleased with her.
"As for knowing what Sephiroth is doing . . . the truth is, he told me his goal was to destroy the Planet, but we talked about it and he decided not to."
Everyone was stunned. Claire honestly didn't see what the big deal was. Sephiroth was a good person, and all he needed was a little love. No one – Hojo and Wesker excepted – was beyond redemption in her mind.
"As for your question, Vincent," she said, turning to address him. "What I'm thinking is that I'll have Kadaj turn me over to Hojo. Once I'm in the room, I'll "regain" consciousness and give him a bullet or several. Then, since we'll probably be in his main labs, I'll destroy his research, and sneak out with my brothers." And she'd check for an anti-virus to the J-virus swimming through her body.
"It won't be that easy," Loz said. "A couple bullets would never be enough. It would get messy."
"And you're not getting anywhere near Hojo!" Cloud exclaimed. "I won't risk it. The last thing anyone needs is a reborn Sep –" He cut himself off abruptly. "Although, maybe you think that would be a good thing?"
"What do you mean?" Claire asked.
Forget what he means," Leon said. "I got a better plan."
"So let's hear it," Vincent said. He looked oddly restrained, and Claire wondered if he really had dated Sephiroth's human mother. And exactly what did Sephiroth's human mother mean? Did he have more than one?
Leon detailed his plan. Cloud was the only one strenuously against it. Everyone else agreed it was a good plan.
Chapter eighteen
The fight was short and brutal. And when it ended, only the clones were standing. Kadaj rotated his shoulder back, tendons popping. "Kennedy is going to have to teach me whatever that was . . ." he muttered. He'd attacked the former rookie cop with a straight thrust, and Leon had someone grabbed his arm and planted his ass through a solid oak table. The torque of the throw had done painful things to Kadaj's shoulder.
Loz was rubbing a rather large lump on the side of his face. "I can believe sis hit me with her gun," he muttered. "She doesn't look like she could move that fast or hit that hard."
Kadaj grunted in response. "Well, you were attacking the President, and I guess he's her boss. Just think, she'd probably be responding the same way to save you from something . . ." He shrugged his shoulder again, resisting the temptation to Cast a curing spell. They needed to look like hell. "Yazoo," he said, voice taking on a commanding snap. "Call Hojo. Tell him we have a pleasant surprise for him."
"Sure," Yazoo said, voice slurred. He had a split lip and a purple face thanks to first Vincent punching him in the nose and then Cloud whacking him across the face with the flat of his sword. He pulled out his phone.
"Forget that," Kadaj said. "You sound like shit." He glanced at Loz, who was crouched over Claire's prone form. "Loz, you call."
Loz sniffed. "Sure."
Hojo ran down the hall. Loz had her. The Redfield girl. The one who was going to bring Sephiroth back in a helpless state. So he could harvest the child's organs to make the T-virus officially perfect.
Behind him a growing distance, Wesker strolled, aviator shades masking his beady red eyes. He felt a certain amount of disdain for the slimy Hojo. The poor, crazy scientist had no idea the true potential Claire offered. Wesker did. The girl had been exposed to the T-virus, the T-Veronica virus, the G-virus (only briefly), and Hojo's new J-virus. The various strands of virus, mixing and entwining inside her, beat back by an anti-virus every time made her blood the perfect thing. All he needed was a sample of her blood and he would be able to finally perfect a virus that would give him perfect control over the human race. And he'd use it on her first. And tell her to kill Chris Redfield.
Not that she would be successful. Mind-controlled puppets made for unimaginative soldiers. But her attempt would force Chris to kill her and that would make it all worthwhile. He couldn't wait until the elder Redfield showed up, grief-stricken at having to kill his own beloved sister. Wesker laughed at the thought.
Hojo paused in his mad dash, glancing back. "What's the matter with you?" he asked, voice a nasally whine.
"Just mentally savoring my impending victory," Wesker said demurely.
"Well, the girl is mine. We had a deal." Hojo turned away, making a mental note to have Kadaj kill Wesker. Something about the guy was just wrong. It was as if the blond man was scheming against him. Hojo wasn't going to tolerate that.
He yanked open the door to the officer's lounge and strolled in. What he saw made his eyes pop. Lying in a pool of his own blood was Cloud Strife. Kadaj's sword had pierced him through the back . . . And lying a few feet from the door, white coat speckled with blood, was the escaped Shinra president – the little upstart who had ruined everything with his stupid Mako cannon that had broken the shield on the Northern Crater. And Vincent Valentine – the jerk – was lying face-down, the back of his cape and clothes ripped open by a vicious slash that stretched from his shoulder to his hip. The wound oozed blood in a slow stream. And lying on the couch, surrounded by his puppets, was Claire Redfield. She looked a little worse for wear, but clearly wasn't dead and dying like the others.
Hojo clapped his hands. "Perfect. Cut off the heads of the others. And bring the Redfield girl to my lab." He turned to leave the room and seen Wesker coming. "Scratch that. I'd better just infect her now." He strolled across the room, stepping over Rufus's dead form. He passed Vincent, sidestepped Cloud, and reached for Claire.
And got shot. Between the eyes. At the same time, Loz imposed himself between Claire and Hojo, and punched him with his electric fist-thing. And Claire was lifted over the couch by Yazoo. And Rufus closed the door, locking it.
Vincent rolled to his feet and opened fire. Cloud sprang to his feet, tossing Kadaj his sword (which had been tucked between his arm). Hojo cast a healing spell. "What is going on here?" he demanded, only to be shot again.
And the real right was on. Hojo, sensing that he was hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched, kept trying to escape, but someone was shooting him constantly – nicely aimed shots that made his brain hurt. And Vincent was shooting him too. And his creations – Kadaj and Loz were viciously attacking. Rufus and Claire were shooting him too. From a distance, and both were being protected by Yazoo.
"Wait, wait, wait!" he hollered. But none of them listened. Instead, Leon pulled his Desert Eagle and started firing the more powerful shots, and Vincent broke out Death Penalty.
And in short order, Hojo was lying on the floor twitching. Cloud stepped over him and with a clean cut decapitated him. And then Leon left his sniper position and poured cooking oil over the body. "Light him up," he ordered.
And several people cast Firaga on the corpse, which they burned to a crisp. Then the door was sliced open, and several Tyrants strolled in. Simultaneously they raised their left hands. "S.T.A.R.S." they groaned.
"No, not S.T.A.R.S.," Wesker said. "Something else's and a Kennedy and a Claire."
The Tyrants, without a change in expression on their ugly, mutated faces, raised their hands again. "Something else's and a Kennedy and a Claire," they groaned.
Wesker did a small, exasperated headroll. "Kill them all, except Claire. Bring her to me."
The Tyrants responded by attacking. By some freak of nature, there was one Tyrant for every person in the room. They each picked a target and attacked. And the Tyrants were much, much tougher than Hojo.