A/N: Hello all of my fellow Resident Evil fans, it's been a long time since I last updated this story, given my current work load and temporary loss of inspiration, I've come back from the brink to pick up where I left off.

And with the cliffhanger I left everyone at, it was more than a little unfair, but I intend on fixing that right now!

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.

Chapter 34:

"If I should fall, if I should pass, it's worth one last stand before the gates." - Unknown

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED."

"THIS AUTO-DESTURCT SEQUENCE CANNOT BE ABORTED. ALL PERSONNEL HAVE NINE MINUTES TO REACH MINIMUM SAFE DISTANCE."

The warnings and sirens continued to blared to every corner of the Umbrella facility, though with most of the staff either dead or reanimated, the calls went unheard save for those still fighting to survive.

In the foundry, the machines continued to pump and process molten steel and iron as they were programmed to do. The glowing ember pools in the vats were still, barely churning as more of the super-heated element metal was added.

The surface suddenly exploded into the air, a large hand burst forth, the flesh blackened with glowing red fissures running through, the fingers tipped with long, razor-sharp claws that were well over a meter long and three inches thick. All of which sank into the concrete wall beside the vat like it was made of styrofoam.

A second joined the first, both limbs pulling the massive being they were attached to out of the pool of molten steel as it let loose a bellowing roar of fury.

X

The code and the verification disk he'd found in the operating room opened the door just as Ada had said, the broad hatch opening into a short hall. With three minutes left, Leon dashed down the cold corridor, through another overwide door, a biohazard symbol emblazoned across the front, and found himself in the cargo room.

He didn't have time to stop and get a good look, his focus on getting to the elevator before the recording told him he couldn't possibly get out of the facility alive. Leon ran to the back of the wide, strangely red-tinted room, found the controls for the large warehouse-type elevator, and slapped the button for down, ready to jump in and go...

And nothing happened, except that a row of tiny lights ... perhaps twenty tiny lights over the elevator door started to flash in descending order. Slowly.

Leon reached forward and slapped the button again, feeling something like numb disbelief as the elevator crept down, pausing for what seemed like minutes between floors, as the alarms blared and the countdown to the lab's destruction ticked closer and closer to the end.

"Jesus!" He turned around, feeling like he'd scream if he had to wait much longer. And for the first time, got a clear look at the room he was in. The two tall, wide shelves that ran the length of the chamber held a very specific kind of "cargo" and although the half-dozen giant glass containers that lined each shelf held nothing but clear red fluid, Leon felt a chill just looking at them.

Each cylinder was large enough to hold a full-grown man, and it made him wonder what they'd been built for.

'Doesn't matter,' he thought keeping himself focused, 'They're gonna be blown to shit in a matter of minutes, and so am I if this goddamn thing doesn't hurry the fuck UP!'

He turned back to the elevator, almost glad to be angry, frustrated, to have something to feel besides loss. The ceiling over the elevator started to shake and rattle. Leon backed away, pointing his Magnum at the solid metal ceiling panel as it crashed down and out...

And the monster from the transport lift landed in front of him, the same demonic creature that had hurt Ada, that should have killed him...

Birkin.

The rookie cop prepared himself, because from the way it threw back its strange head and howled, the vicious, feral sound drowning out the buzz of the alarms, he could tell it had come to finish the job.

X

Ethan really couldn't comprehend the sheer amount of bad luck he'd encountered in the last few minutes. The Nemesis and the T-103 had been bad enough, a fluke that strangely worked in their favor.

But this? His mind just couldn't process any possible way to get him and the girls out of it alive as they stared down the rifle barrels of the elite USS team.

He needed a good plan...or pray for one hell of a miracle.

"Command, we got Mercer." said Lupo pressing her earpiece. "How do you want us to proceed?"

"Is he alive?" asked the one on the other end.

Vector stepped forward, getting right in Ethan's face. "Not for long." he slammed the butt of his assault rifle into the traveler's gut. The pain he was already feeling multiplying several times as he doubled over and collapsed onto his knees with a cry of agony.

"Ethan!" Claire shouted going to move when she found a shotgun aimed at her head.

"Not another step, bitch." Beltway said leaving no room for argument, "Drop the gun." the girl gritted her teeth and did as he demanded, her beretta clattering to the floor while the recon specialist sent a swift kick to the ex-STARS' chest and knocking him onto his back.

Lupo looked up, "Enough! Command wants him alive. They have something...special in mind for him when we get back to HQ." she motioned with her head, their demolition expert lowered his shotgun, moving in and grabbed Ethan by the front of his vest and lifted him up.

"This place is going to blow in less than nine minutes, we better get moving." said Four-Eyes after checking the computer strapped to her arm.

"What about the other two?" asked Spectre, his weapon not leaving the young woman and the blonde girl. Sherry ducking behind Claire more while switching her gaze from the Umbrella operatives and Ethan who struggled in the large man's grip.

Vector shrugged as he aimed his weapon at the girls as well, "I say waste them. No survivors." he said making them tense up and back away toward the elevator door that had closed when they stepped off.

"They...don't know anything..." Ethan gritted out as he grabbed Beltway's arm with both hands. "I just promised to help them escape. Let them go...you already got me so you don't need to shoot them!"

The pack mother narrowed her eyes at him, "They are standing in a hidden Umbrella facility that was never known by the public. If they didn't know anything about Umbrella before they do now, and no one lives knowing our company's secrets."

Bertha approached, pulling out her machete and placing the blood stained blade beneath the ex-STARS' chin. "Worked so hard to protect them, and instead you brought them to their death. It's quite amusing."

Ethan ground his teeth, he needed to come up with something and fast. They wouldn't hesitate to kill Claire and Sherry and he couldn't let that happen. He felt useless, in pain and unable to think straight, he couldn't let it go down like this, not to Claire or Sherry, they didn't deserve this.

He felt the anger bubbling inside him, along with something else he couldn't explain. A strange heat filled his body, centering mostly on his damaged ribs where he felt a series of cracks and pops. The pain he had been almost imobilized by faded away in seconds leaving him mentally shocked and confused, but at the same time his head became clear again without the pain clouding it.

As much as it startled him, he did his best to shove his curiosity to the side for now and focus on what needed to be done to survive this encounter.

Shifting his gaze around him, he saw a lot of places that could be used for cover, a couple of explosive barrels that weren't too far away and neither was the escape subway train. He also took in the USS team's weapons and other supplies, getting an accurate count in his head as everything clicked into place, he just needed to keep them distracted for a moment or two more so he could pull it off.

"You're the ones that are amusing." he said getting the attention of the Wolfpack. "Nothing more than glorified yes men who do the bidding of a company that isn't shy about picking off their own employees. How long before you guys end up laboritory experiments for their next virus, I wonder?"

"We're the best Umbrella has to offer." said Vector with a growl.

The traveler chuckled, "Best they have to offer? It's taken you how long to track me down? And I already managed to escape you once, what makes you think I won't do so again?"

"Easy, we got your friends. You won't make a move or they'll become 'religious' very quickly." said Spectre. His weapon still trained on the girls along with Vector.

'Only two guns on the girls.' the traveler throught while his mind worked hard. "Is that so, then I guess you're really no better than the limp-dick cowards that call themselves your bosses." he fired back. "Killing innocent people because you're paid to do it? It's pathetic."

Vector turned slowly, lowering his rifle and taking out his pistol and pressing the barrel to Ethan's temple. "Your talking some pretty big shit when we can end your fucking life right here and now."

It was a very dangerous game Ethan was playing, their faces were covered, but their body languages told him a lot of what he needed to get through this. Best case scenario, he could make it so that he, Claire and Sherry could make a run for it.

Worse case scenario, he'd end up dead, but the girls would have a fighting chance either way. It was good enough for him.

Being completely aware of the machete at his throat and the gun at his head, he started to subtly move one of his hands from Beltways arm.

"Enough of this." Lupo said already tiring of the situation. "Four-Eyes, take Spectre and see if you can get the train going, that will be our exfil." the scientist and sniper nodded as they moved out.

"Beltway and I will secure the prisoner. Vector, Bertha, deal with the spares." the squad leader ordered. The recon specialist and medic nodded as they turned their attention on Sherry and Claire.

Ethan turned his head and looked at Beltway, "You know, you guys really should stop underestimating me." he said calmly.

"Oh yeah, and why's that?" questioned the demolistion man.

"Because it'll have a nasty habit of biting you in the ass." his eyes flashed red just as a knife blade exploded out of Beltway's forearm from below. The sharp tip piercing up and out of his suits arm with a spray of blood, Ethan's spare hand holding the hilt as he rammed it in as hard as he could.

Before the man had a chance to scream, Ethan twisted the blade forcing him to let go as he drove forward, grabbing the USS soldier by his vest before jumping up and double kicking him hard enough to send him careening back and crashing into the barrels behind him.

Going with the momentum, the ex-STARS rolled back into a handspring that put him right between Bertha and Vector who had been turning around during the commotion. Ethan grabbed the end of both their guns, kicking the medic in the stomach and swinging his leg back to connect with the recon specialists' midsection as well as he torqued their weapons into the air so they couldn't shoot him.

The traveler lept up, kicking both soldiers away and drawing his Samurai Edge as he came back down and aiming it at Lupo who now had her weapon trained on him.

"You're not getting out of this." she said darkly as her team began to collect themselves.

Ethan gave a half-smirk, "That's where you're wrong." he reaimed his weapon and fired. The bullet heading toward Beltway who was trying to pull the knife from his arm, the bullet missing him...and hitting one of the barrel's behind him.

BOOM!

X

Leon turned and ran as the monster started walking toward him, each powerful stride thundering through the chamber, the echoes of its terrible shriek still spinning through the room.
Think!

The powerful shotgun hadn't been enough, he had to hit it someplace vulnerable, the eyes, use the Magnum. Leon was back at the door. He spun and fired, aiming the Magnum at the creature's face...

Except that the face was changing again, the jaw dropping, falling away as it screamed. Great jagged spikes of tooth or claw slid out from what was left of the mouth, from out of the top of its pulsating chest and as another scream burst out of its mutating throat Leon saw two new arms unfurl from its sides. The limbs snapped into place, elbows locking, thick worms of taloned fingers growing from the tips.

Bam! Bam Bam!

The shots grouped tight, blowing into the thin-stretched skin over its slitted left eye. The monster roared, this time in pain, and Leon saw shards of bone and pus-purple fluid splatter out, a small stream of dark blood obscuring the yellow ball of its eye.

It shook its head back and forth, flinging more liquid, squatting down on its haunches like a mutant frog and leapt into the air, springing up and right, landing on one of the seven-foot-high shelves with an animalistic grunt.

'Oh shit, how'd it do that?' Leon thought in morbid shock.

He couldn't see its eyes, couldn't see anything but its back as it slumped down, but it was changing again, he could hear the wet snapping sounds and see the knobs of spine rising up through the purpled flesh of its back.

He didn't want to see what it was becoming, but the elevator hadn't landed yet, and he had two goddamn minutes.

Leon grabbed another clip and slapped it home, then fired at what he could see, a shape with six legs, a shape that no longer looked like anything human.

The shot hit one of its muscular shoulders, and the creature jumped. Like some wild, spidering beast it leapt back to the floor, landing a few feet in front of him. Its chest had become a wall of strange teeth, of spikes that opened and closed as it panted, and when it screamed again, the sound was a demonic cry, resembling the dying screams of a thousand damned souls.

Leon got two shots off into the cluster of moving teeth and stumbled away, and beneath the constant blare of the sirens, he heard the bright and cheery ping of the elevator's arrival.

X

Delta team staggered back to their feet atfer the explosion that had thrown them all around. Ears ringing and disoriented, they regained their footing and assessed the situation. "Report!" Lupo called out, holding her head with a large crack going across her face mask.

Bertha was kneeling beside Beltway, or what was left of him. The man's corpse laid prone and had been charred from the blast, his suit burned away in several places along with his flesh showing the bone beneath.

"Beltway's dead." said the medic shaking her head standing back up. Vector looked down at their dead teammate, grip tightening on his rifle as he scanned around.

The STARS kid was gone, along with the two girls. "The target's MIA. I say we call open season, fuck what command wants with him."

Lupo nodded seriously, "Agreed." she pressed her earpiece, "Spectre, Four-Eyes, Beltway's down and the target escaped. Keep your eyes open for him, he can't have gone far."

"Roger, Lupo." replied the sniper as the three other members of Delta team spread out and started searching the subway terminal.

X

Ethan pressed his back to a crate and peered around the corner to be sure that they hadn't been followed. Claire crouched beside and Sherry beside her as they stayed out of sight.

"Who the hell are these guys?" asked the brunette.

"Umbrella Security Service, part of the company's private army. They were sent in to make sure that any evidence of what Umbrella was up to gets destroyed and doesn't get made public." replied the traveler keeping his eyes open. "And sadly, given everything the STARS uncovered about Umbrella, I'm their biggest target."

The young Redfield looked up at him, "Is there anyone in Umbrella you didn't piss off?"

Her companion shrugged, "Probably the cleaning staff, though I can't be sure at this point anymore." The pain in his ribs was completely gone now, and even though he really wanted to figure out the reason why this was even possible, he wasn't going to question something positive at the moment.

"It's two against five, they've got the advantage of numbers and firepower. And their sniper probably has the high ground." Ethan thought outloud as he looked around again.

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED."

"THIS AUTO-DESTURCT SEQUENCE CANNOT BE ABORTED. ALL PERSONNEL HAVE SEVEN MINUTES TO REACH MINIMUM SAFE DISTANCE."

"...and there's that as well." he finished when the automated message continued the countdown.

"What do we do, then?" asked Claire, anxious to get out of there before the whole facility became nothing more than a massive crater.

Ethan peered around the crate again and looked for movement, seeing a shadow cast on another a few meters away as someone came closer on the other side. "We need every angle, if we stay together and they corner us we're in trouble. I'll draw their fire, take Sherry and get on the train and see if you can get it going."

"What about you?" asked the girl worried. "You're hurt."

"I'm okay, you two are my prime concern right now." he replied as he switched the fire-selector of his weapon to burst. Reaching behind himself, he withdrew the pistol he'd picked up back in Irons' sanctuary and handed it to Claire as he kept a sharp lookout.

His eyes trained on the shadow that rounded the corner ahead that turned out to be Bertha, rifle leveled as she scanned around looking for them. "Keep your heads down and get ready." he whispered, "Go." the ex-STARS spun around the crate and opened fire.

The USS medic's head shot up before she ducked behind another crate, 9mm rounds peppering around her cover before she blind-fired back at him.

Attention now on Ethan, Claire grabbed Sherry's hand and they ran in the opposite direction while the traveler kept the shooter busy. The girls moving amongst the maze of crates and boxes as they doubled back toward the train.

Bertha ducked back down to reload as more rounds peppered around her cover, Ethan moved out from behind the crate and got behind another that was a little closer and provided a better vantage point. Firing a few bursts from his new position before taking the chance to reload himself.

That's when he felt it. A small pressure in the back of his head that was foreign to him, yet at the same time very familiar. It was like back at the training facility and then again at the mansion, like an instinct letting him know that something was off.

Reacting quickly, he jerked to the side just as something pierced the side of the crate where he had been crouched. Launching his elbow back, he was awarded with hitting a solid surface which was followed by a grunt of pain as the air shifted and sparked to reveal Vector stumbling back a step while his camo was deactivating.

"Your not getting away this time, kid." the recon specialist said flipping his knife to his left hand and drawing his sidearm with the other.

Ethan rolled his shoulders, keeping his pistol at the ready since his own knife was still in Beltway's corpse. "We'll see about that." his blue eyes flashed red again as he pulled the trigger.

Vector lept to the side and rolled to his feet before launching himself at the ex-STARS, firing his own sidearm in return and slashing his knife when he got within range.

Blocking the arm with the knife, Ethan kicked the USS operative's other hand to the side causing the next shot fired to go wide. Launching his left arm up and uppercutting the man hard enough to send his head back as he spun around and drove his elbow hard enough into his face to shatter one of the eye lenses of Vector's mask.

Bertha stood from her position, looking down the sights of her rifle trying to get a lock on the traveler while he and her team mate traded blows back and forth. When she found her opening she pulled the trigger.

X

Leon ran, around the shelf to his right, heading back for the elevator, and there were galloping, thundering footsteps right behind, he couldn't stop.

Another turn, back through the middle of the room...

And he was hit in the back, propelled forward and down as the beast rammed him, hot, rubbery flesh slamming him into the floor.

Leon rolled and it was on top of him, its dripping teeth poised to drive through his skull, its thick legs pinning him down. The tumor like an eye was still there, opening out of the shoulder, looking at him and he jammed the barrel of the weapon against its drooling chin and pulled the trigger, screaming, emptying the heavy rounds into its thrashing head.

The beast shrieked, flailing, falling sideways off Leon. In a flash, he was up and running, straight for the open elevator. The enormous, freakish animal was still howling as Leon sprinted into the lift and turned, hitting the control marked down...

And saw the beast shuddering, changing, screaming, and spitting chunks of bone and flesh and blood as it also turned and started for the elevator. It picked up speed with each staggering step, the door closing slowly, the terrible creature almost flying now.

Leon had the shotgun in his hands, pumped a shot and squeezed. The blast hit its barrel chest, knocking it back and the door closed, Leon was going down, and there was only a few minutes left.

X

Staying low and out of sight, Claire moved along the pieces of machinery and cargo crates scattered around the terminal with her new weapon and Sherry close to her as they made their way toward the train that would lead to their escape, their movement silenced thanks to the alarms blaring around them.

The last thing she expected in this already unbelieveable ride from hell was a squad of hitmen that was out for their blood. But now here they were trying to avoid getting blown to pieces and all shot up at the same time.

Seeing the subway train up ahead of them, Claire gripped her pistol a bit tighter as they moved closer, preparing herself incase she had to use it. Killing zombies and an array of other freaks of nature were one thing, but killing another human being? That was something she wasn't looking forward to.

But she didn't have a choice, they would definitely kill her without thinking twice, and Sherry too. So there would be no room for hesitation.

Both girls approached the bullet-like train, seeing no sign of the Umbrella operatives as they approached the door located on the side. Claire turned to Sherry and smiled, "Alright, we just gotta get this thing ready to move. Keep a sharp eye out, okay?"

The young blonde nodded, her face stern as the older woman opened the door-

Claire was thrown back, stunned when a fist connected with the side of her face sending her back several steps.

"Going somewhere?" said Four-Eyes as she stepped off the train leering at the younger Redfield.

Brushing the back of her hand along her now sore cheek, Claire glared at the bio-chemist while raising her pistol. "This place is going to blow any minute now, step aside."

The USS operative tilted her head, "Cute, to think that you have any control of the situation." she reached back and drew a combat knife in each hand. "You may have survived Umbrella's experiments, but this is the end of the line. For you and Birkin's little brat."

Sherry huddled behind Claire's leg as the older woman kept her weapon trained on Four-Eyes. "I won't ask again." she said, finger tightening on the trigger. A tense stand-off stretched between them before the bio-chemist lunged forward.

Claire fired, but the other woman was too close for the shot to hit home as she dropped low to avoid the bullet and coming back up with both knives slashing upward.

Pushing both herself and Sherry back, the younger Redfield avoided the bladed weapons. Bringing one of her long legs up and delivering a solid kick to Four-Eyes' midsection and knocking her back putting space between them again.

"Sherry, hide!" Claire shouted as she fired at the Umbrella operative again. The blonde girl nodded and ran behind a nearby crate, peering out to watch the two older woman fighting.

Four-Eyes dove out of the way of the coming rounds, rolling back to her feet and slashed her knives in various katas that forced the young Redfield to duck and weave in order to avoid them. One of the blades managing to graze her right bicep, slicing through the sleeve of her shirt and into her skin causing crimson to drip down the rest of her arm.

Claire fired at her attacker as she tried to keep distance between them as she tried to find an opening. The USS Operative managed to avoid the 9mm rounds, throwing one of her knives at Claire and forcing her to dodge behind a stack of empty barrels.

The bio-chemist put her remaining knife away, reached around and drew her submachine gun and let loose a barrage of her own that kept the brunette in cover and giving her the upperhand.

Waiting for a break in the gunfure, Claire stood up and fired the rest of her clip before dropping down to reload again. The distant call of the automated message that continued to play reminding her of the seriousness of the situation as she tried to think of a way out of this.

"You might as well surrender to your fate!" Four-Eyes called out as she approached where the young Redfield was hiding, weapon raised and waiting for her quarry to appear. "You and that STARS friend of yours won't be leaving this facility alive!"

Narrowing her eyes, the brunette looked at what she had taken refuge behind. Coming up with a longshot idea, she holstered her weapon and stood before slamming her full weight into the barrels.

The stack creacked and groaned before it toppled backwards, the Umbrella operative snapped her head up and barely had a second to think as the first barrel collided sending her crashing to the ground and her weapon clattering a few feet away. The rest soon following nearly burying her beneath them.

Clarie saw the bio-chemist wasn't getting up and looked to where Sherry had been hiding, "Come on!" she called out and moving over to the opening to the train, the little girl right behind her as they got onboard.

Running up to the controls and looking them over, finding them to be rather simple as she flipped a few switches. The console lit up with green lights straight across...except of a lone red one that was blinking on the far end.

It appeared that the subway was ready and all powered up, but the tunnel gate release had somehow manfunctioned and would need to be manually opened.

Cursing under her breath, Claire turned to Sherry's dirty and paniced face. "Stay here, I'm going to try and get the tunnel open."

Getting a hesitant nod from the little blonde, she ran out of the train and headed toward the front. Finding a series of levers and switches set in the tunnel wall and wondering which one that she needed to pull to open their escape route. Managing to find a red and white handle among the collection and slamming it down without a second thought.

The grating of metal on stone reverberated from farther ahead of the train, the massive gate that sealed off the tunnel slowly swinging open and filling the brunette with a powerful wave of relief knowing that freedom from this nightmare was within reach.

She just needed to find Ethan and Leon before-

Claire's thoughts were cut off when something slammed into her side sending her crashing to the concrere. The wind knocked out of her and her head aching as she looked up to see the unmasked, bloody and battered face of Four-Eyes.

"Now...you DIE!" the USS operative shouted, brandishing her remaining knife and raising it above her head to end the brunettes life.

Reacting quickly to the immediate threat, Claire snapped her hands out and grabbed the bio-chemist's wrists. Stopping the deadly strike barely an inch from piercing her throat and keeping it from going any farther, using a good amount of her strength as Four-Eyes kept applying more pressure to make the blade sink home.

Heart pounding loudly in her ears, adrenaline cutting off the pain of her head hitting the solid ground a moment before, the young Redfield gritted her teeth as she pushed back. The Umbrella operative may have had skill and training, but so did she, and there was one thing Claire had over her that she knew of for sure.

Height and strength.

Planting her feet, Claire forced her lower half to the right. The sudden move taking Four-Eyes by surprise as both women pitched over to the side. The brunette rolling with the momentum so that she was now the one ontop, angling the knife downward on her opponent and forcing all of her weight down onto it.

A strangled gasp escaped Four-Eyes like a hiss, the blade of her own weapon having come down and stabbing deep into her chest through her armored suit. Eyes wide as she tried to draw breath even though one of her lungs were punctured.

Claire hastily stood up and backed away, breathing heavily as she watched the Umbrella operative grasping weakly at the knife's handle. Unable to remove it as blood gurgled out of her mouth, choking in what air she could before going completely still after a few seconds that seemed to stretch on for hours.

She'd just taken a human life, albet one that was intending on ending her own but it still didn't take away the gravity of the action she had to take to save herself.

Blinking and shaking herself when the blaring alarms managed to remind her of how low on time she really was, she decided to worry about this later and turned run back to the train that no longer had an obstruction in the way...

Only to find another USS operative standing there with his rifle aimed right between her eyes.

The long optics of his face mask turning to the side and adjusting as he looked upon Four-Eye's lifeless body before going back to the young Redfield. "Big mistake, bitch." Spectre growled, finger tense on the trigger.

There was no way she could get out of this one, and at this range and where her attacker was aiming her death was a sure thing. A brief moment where Claire saw her life flash before her eyes. Memories of her family, friends, the times she shared with Chris. She also thought of Sherry, Leon and Ethan, and that there was nothing she could do to help them now.

'...I'm sorry...' she thought closing her eyes, a lone tear sliding down her dirty and bruised face.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Three loud shots rang out followed by the sound of a body hitting the floor. Claire slowly cracked her eyes open, only for them to fly open wide a moment later when she saw the sniper laying facedown on the floor with three holes punched through his back.

"Claire!" the brunette looked up and felt her heartrate spike when she saw Leon standing there. 9mm in hand with the barrel smoking as he lowered it.

"Leon!" she exclaimed, jogging over and embracing him tightly. The rookie cop wincing from his injury but managing to wrap an arm around her too. He looked down at the suited man who was going to kill her before pulling out of th hug.

"Who the hell are these guys?" he asked, his gaze shifting to the dead woman a couple meters away who had a similar suit on.

Claire looked down at the bodies, "They work for Umbrella, they were sent here to kill anyone who would expose what they were doing here." she looked back at Leon, "Where have you been? When we couldn't find you after you'd been shot we thought the worst."

Before Leon could answer the sound of gunfire could be heard somewhere else in the terminal making both of their heads snap around. "Ethan! He's out there fighting the rest of those guys!" the young Redfield said in horrified realization.

The rookie cop slapped a fresh clip into his handgun before drawing the shotgun he'd found a while back. "Is the train working?"

"Yeah, I finished opening the tunnel before those Umbrella goons attacked." Claire replied.

"Get onboard and get ready to punch it, I'll give him a hand." with that he jogged off into the terminal where the sounds of combat were the loudest. He may not have had time to get to know the member of STARS, but if he'd helped keep Claire alive all this time then he'd do his best to help him where he could.

X

Ethan heard the gunshot and felt all of his senses wake up at once, like the handful of times before. The rest of the world seemed to slow down around him as he leaned back, the bullet fired by Bertha going through the air where his head had been.

Vector threw his leg up in a roundhouse that he blocked with his right forearm, turning to the side to dodge another bullet fired at him from the other USS operative.

The recon specialist slashed with his knife, the teen deflecting it with his Samurai Edge, grabbing the man's pistol when it came up to shoot him in the head. Torquing the weapon to the side making the shot go wide before bringing his foot up and kicking Vector in the chest knocking him back a few steps.

Growling, the USS operative raised his weapon to shoot...only to find that the slide of said firearm was missing.

The traveler threw the gun piece aside raising his own weapon and emptying the rest of the clip at his opponent. Vector jumped back, throwing his knife while activating his cloak and vanishing from sight in a quick burst of light.

Ducking aside as the blade sailed past him and sank into a nearby crate, Ethan searched for any sign of his opponent, another gunshot echoed out and he spun around to avoid it. Yanking the blade that had been thrown at him free, the ex-STARS sprinted across the open space toward Bertha, his Samurai Edge registering several times driving her back into cover giving him the opening as he jumped up. Using a nearby barrel for leverage as he lept over and kicked the medic in the head sending her crashing to the ground.

Flipping up back to her feet, the USS medic reached back and drew her machete and started slashing. Ethan bringing up his pilfered knife and deflecting the blows from the larger blade, sparks shooting into the air with each strike that was perried.

Bertha lunged for the ex-STARS, machete held high to cleave into his head, but the teen had been faster. Dodging to the side at the last moment, grabbing the back of her shoulder and slamming her face-first into a nearby crate. The eye pieces of her mask shattering on impact and she staggered before shaking herself and turning to keep up the assault.

Freezing when she found Ethan's Samurai Edge aimed right at her.

The medic slowly lowered her arm, eyes blinking behind the shattered gas mask. "You can kill me, but you and those girls won't be making it out of here alive." she said darkly.

The traveler narrowed his eyes, "You're wrong, on both accounts."

Before Bertha could register his words, the ex-STARS suddenly dove to the left just as automatic weapon fire reverberated through the air. The medic's body shook when the rounds peppered her front, blood sprouting from each hole punched into her before she fell to the ground dead.

Ethan rolled around from his spot on the floor and emptied his clip into the empty space that had been behind him. Each bullet finding purchase as a stunned Vector suddenly decloaked and fell to the floor like his comrade had.

Standing back up, the traveler dumped the empty clip and slammed a fresh one home as he approached the recon specialist as he laid in a quickly spreading pool of his own blood. Gasping, gurgling breaths emitting from behind his mask as he attempted to reach for his dropped assault rifle.

The teen's boot stepping down on the outstretched limb and pinning it to the floor. "I don't think so." Ethan said coldly before raising his pistol and putting two rounds through the man's head.

Doing his best to shake off the fact that he had just killed someone at point-blank, the Traveler turned and headed off to find Claire and Sherry.

Bam!

A outcry of pain bellowed from Ethan as he fell to the ground, clutching the bullet hole that had been punched through his right leg.

From between two of the crates he had been moving toward, Lupo stepped out into the open with her sidearm raised. "You're not going anywhere." she hissed as she approached the downed teen.

Ethan gritted his teeth, pressing his hand to the bleeding wound as he reached for his dropped sidearm, only to have another round hit the floor between him and it making him pause.

The leader of Delta team looked at her now dead medic and recon specialist, her cold eyes turning back to him as she raised her gun and aimed at his head. "You killed half my team, whatever command had planned for you will be paradise compared to what I have in mind." reaching over her shoulder, Lupo withdrew a wicked looking hatchet while keeping her pistol locked between his eyes.

Despite his situation, Ethan spat back at her. "You don't scare me, bitch. Your team are nothing more than glorified hitmen. At least the zombies have an excuse, their mindless killing machines. But you and your team, are the real monsters. Killing innocent people for fucking money because some corporate asshole sitting in an office tells you to."

"Your nothing more than an asset, an expendable asset. How long do you think you have before your expended and Umbrella sends someone after you?"

The ex-STARS looked right into her burning gaze, "Your bosses, despite all their failsafes, have already failed. It won't end with me. The US Government already has evidence against Umbrella for what happened here, and it's only a matter of time before they take action for what they've done."

A smirk spread across his face, "I know the one holding your leash his listening to this, so I'll make this clear. What's left of STARS, are sure as hell not afraid of you. Not you, not your attack dogs, and sure as shit not the freaks roaming around from your fucking experiments. Your corporation's going to burn, because we've already started the fire."

There was a brief paused before a voice spoke in Lupo's ear, "Delta leader..."

"Yes, sir?" she asked pushing her earpiece and keeping her gaze leveled on her target.

"...Kill him."

Ethan saw her finger tighten on the trigger, the feeling of adrenaline flooding his system returned drowning out the rest of the world around him. Snapping his arm out, he slammed his elbow against Lupo's forearm sending her aim wide as the weapon registered.

Applying all his weight to his uninjured leg, he rolled forward into a half-crouch before launching forward. Narrowly missing the hatched that had been aimed for his head as he spear-tackled the woman sending them both crashing to the floor.

Not giving her a chance to recover, the traveler started raining blow after blow down on her. Fists connecting with her head and cracking her reinforced mask with each hit.

Lupo brought her arms up to block most of the strikes, bringing the handle of her hatchet down hard on Ethan's leg wound causing him to yell in pain before slashing the large blade upward.

A large cut appeared along the ex-STARS' vest, but the teen managed to stop the second swing that would have split his throat open. Twisting the arm he caught and forcing the USS operative to drop the weapon, he didn't see her leg coming up until it connected with the side of his head and sending him sprawling to the side.

Ethan rolled with the momentum and got back to his feet, stumbling when he put pressure on his wounded leg but managing to stay upright as he brought out the knife he acquired from his last fight. Lupo had gotten to her feet as well, hatchet and sidearm still in hand as she leered at him, ready to end things.

"Hay!" both combatants turned their attention to the new voice, finding Leon Kennedy standing there with a shotgun aimed at the Delta squad leader.

"Good to see you in one piece, Leon." the traveler said, keeping his eyes locked on Lupo who now looked between the two of them. As if trying to find the best way to either take the both of them down or find an escape. "Claire and Sherry alright?"

"They were attacked by two gunmen in getups like hers," replied the rookie cop motioning to Lupo, "Claire got one, I got the other before he could shoot her."

Ethan's glare on the USS operative turned sharp, "And that makes five out of six, your team's gone, Lupo. You're out numbered and outgunned, but you can still walk away from this."

The squad leader growled as she continued to look between them, "There is no walking away." She suddenly flung her hatchet at Ethan and fired at Leon. Both men avoiding the attacks before throwing their own right back.

A blast from Leon's shotgun struck Lupo in the side, punching through her armor and spraying her blood in the process. Ethan threw his knife, the weapon flipping end over end with the blade sinking into the base of her neck above her collarbone.

Lupo stood motionless for a moment, blood dripping from her wounds before she collasped to the ground.

Both the cop and the ex-STARS moved toward her, in Ethan's case limped, and found her to be in the same state as the rest of her team. "What was all that about?" asked Leon, trying to wonder why she attempted an attack that would end with her death no matter what happened.

"Umbrella doesn't look kindly upon failure." said Ethan as he staggered over to his dropped Samurai Edge and picked it up. "Her team was dead, mission a failure, she went out in one last ditch effort to cause some damage. She made her last stand."

Grunting when he felt his leg injury start to flare up, he did his best to stay upright until Leon moved over and kept him steady. "You good? That looks worse than the one I got." he said motioning to the wound.

"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED."

"THIS AUTO-DESTURCT SEQUENCE CANNOT BE ABORTED. ALL PERSONNEL HAVE TWO MINUTES TO REACH MINIMUM SAFE DISTANCE."

"I'll live, let's just get the fuck out of here." Ethan said as Leon put his shotgun away and slung his arm over his shoulder and helped him toward the subway tram where Claire and Sherry were waiting for them.

The young Redfield stood in the doorway of the train, her arm recently bandaged as she saw them coming. "Guys, overhere!" she called out as they drew in closer, "Ethan what happened?!" she said horrified when she saw the hole in his leg.

"I'm fine, come on we've got to get the hell out of here before this place goes up in smoke!" the traveler said over the alarms as they made to get on the transport.

BANG! CRASH!

The trio jumped when they heard the sound of steel being bent and torn from where it was housed and crashing to the ground somewhere behind the train toward the back tunnel. They all turned and looked that way and found the gate that sealed off the shadows laying in a mangled mess on the floor.

In the darkness, a massive shape moved. The echoing sounds of bone on gravel repeating again and again. Ethan had been immediately reminded of that moment back at the training facility with Rebecca when they were searching for Billy, he knew that sound all too well.

Footsteps. Heavy, long striding footsteps of something bigger than the average man.

'...there's no fucking way...' the traveler thought, pain in his leg completely gone as the bitter, choking stench of something burnt and charred reached his nose. The massive titan stepping out of the shadows, raising a huge pair of fists-

BAM!

The entire train rocked on the rails as it was sent grinding forward a couple meters. A second hit soon followed and the transport had moved far enough ahead for the beast to step out from behind it.

The only thing that could describe the sight before them could be considered a demon from the deepest trench in hell. Standing amost as tall as the train, skin burnt away from its entire body with glowing fissures spread along in various directions, a large, red-glowing tumor pulsing in the center of its chest.

On each hand that as bigger than a car door were long, razor sharp claws that could easily slice through solid steel. But it was the creature's eyes, white, soul-less and filled with primal rage, that struck the group the most as it locked onto them.

The mutated T-103 Tyrant growled deep in its chest, throwing its head back and letting loose a roar that seemed to shake the entire facility before continuing to stomp toward the survivors.

A/N: Out of one tight spot, and thrown headlong into another, then again not surprising with how Resident Evil does their work.

I know that a lot of you may have been expecting a bit more with the fight against the Wolfpack, but if you consider the following factors it makes sense; 1.) They underestimated their target, which is a grave mistake for anyone in the field. 2.) Ethan's changing on a level that not even he can comprehend, becoming stronger, faster, and more aware of his surroundings in combat. 3.) Delta team is human, well trained yes, but just mercenaries working for Umbrella. And given Ethan's intelligence, he was able to outsmart and out wit them, while Claire used what Chris had taught her to handle Four-Eyes.

This arc of the story is coming to a close within the next couple of chapters, after that it will follow S.D. Perry's work before going right into the game series plot again. Several of my readers have asked about possibly adding Code Veronica to the plot when the time is right and I'm still debating on it, since an imminent rematch between Ethan and Wesker is coming, but it's all a matter of when and where...

Leave your reviews and I'll definitely update soon, till then guys.