The smell of coffee drifted to Chris' nostrils, waking him slowly. He propped himself on two elbows and looked through the open door, spotting Jill in the kitchen. He sat on the edge of his bed, his feet hitting the cold wood. He watched Jill as she poured the coffee into the mug and set it at the table near a plate of breakfast.
"Morning, Captain." Jill smiled at him when she noticed him finally awake. He smiled and walked over to her. He sat at the table and watched her as she poured her own mug.
"Made us some breakfast," She smiled sweetly as she took a bite of a muffin on her plate,"I thought you could use some." He stared down at the plate of food and dug in.
"Thanks. It was very sweet of you."
"So how do you feel?" He stopped eating and stared at his mug of coffee, smiling at how much Claire loved coffee.
"I feel…better. I have some type of closure as to 'whys' of that night, you know. Even though I never forgive or forget. But now, more than I ever. I will continue the fight," As if on purpose, Chris phone rang, startling both of them out of them the small moment they were having.
"Yes, Redfield here." Jill raised an eyebrow and Chris put his hand up to signal it was from the BSAA. "Yes. Yes, sir. Not a problem. We can handle it." The call ended within five minutes and directly after, Chris filled in Jill with the details.
"They found another lab?"
"Yup. We're being sent in."
"Alone or with a team?"
"Team. They're a hundred percent sure this one's being used for testing and manufacturing, so we got back up."
"Nice. What time are we going in?"
"Mission briefing is at 5. The actual mission is at 7."
"Cool. I'll get our things ready." She didn't realize that Chris was following her until she actually got into the bedroom and Chris' arms wrapped around her torso. He nuzzled his face into her neck and he felt her smile.
"I want to thank you Jill for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you."
She turned back and faced him. She cupped his cheeks and planted a kiss on his lips. His hands trailed down her spine and found there way under her shirt. She smiled wickedly before pulling away.
"Without me, you wouldn't be getting ready." Chris sighed as he slumped his head when she pulled away.
She grabbed a bag and stuffed in a few extra shirts and knives and guns.
"Now. Go finish your breakfast. And maybe later, you'll get desert." He smirked at her as he went back and finished up before getting ready to go the briefing.
She lay face down with the black sheets spilled over her lower back; she still lay in deep sleep until a hand stroked her bare back and cool lips led a trail from her back to her neck. She turned and stared up at red eyes she had gotten attached to in a matter of days. She moved over and pressed herself against his body, burying her face into his chest, breathing in his sent.
"Good morning dear heart", he chuckled and wrapped his arms around her.
"Morning…" She paused for a second, wondering what to call him, "I actually have no term of endearment for you yet, but I'm thinking of one."
She looked up and plant a long kiss on his lips, which he returned. He grabbed her hips and lifted her so she was on top of him. She smiled against his lips, her hair draping around them like a black curtain. She hand reached down and stroked his chest.
"I think I should get now. After this many hours in bed, I tend to cramp up." She got up off Wesker and moved to the edge of the bed. She was about to get up, until his arms wrapped around her torso and pulled her back. She was on her back with Wesker towering above her.
"I would love if you stayed a little longer, however I guess it is my time to get up." He, without being held back, got up out of bed quickly and walked to the shower. Within five minutes, he was scrubbing shampoo into his hair, his eyes shut to keep it from falling in. The water fell around him, taking the shampoo with it. Unexpectedly, he felt a hand at his abdomen. His instincts took over, and quickly spun around and had his hand at the throat of the person behind him.
"Well if you're into this kinda thing too, I guess we can try it. Just go easy on me." He quickly let go of Claire and slumped his head down against her shoulders.
"Dammit Claire. I could've killed you." She slithered out of his arms and stood under the falling water, "But you didn't."
He shook his head laughing, "You are crazy. You know that." He planted a kiss on her shoulder, his hand already trailing down to her side.
"So I've been told." She grabbed his hand and led it to the top of his head. "Don't let me stop you from showering." Five minutes later, Wesker emerged from the steamy room alone. He got dressed and made his way to the kitchen. He was typing away when Claire entered the living room.
"Dear heart? How would you feel about joining me at the lab today?" He asked without looking up from his screen.
She gave him a strange look before answering, "You running tests today?"
"No. I just need to check up on some things I've been working on recently and I could use someone to make it bearable to be around those idiots."
She was hesitant answering and Wesker noticed it.
"What's wrong. dear heart?" He stood and got nearer to Claire, ready to use his charm to get her to join him.
"Nothing it's just...I-" He cut her off.
"You're not regretting anything are, dear heart?" He placed his hand at her lower back and moved it in circles, trying to comfort her.
"No no. It's not that."
"Then what?"
"Nothing. I'll come with you."
"Thank you, dear heart. I'm glad to know that." He smirked at her and planted a kiss on her forehead before returning to his laptop. "I have some extra clothes you might find to your liking in the shopping bags in the room closest."
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?!" She sarcastically noted, looking down at his STARTS shirt and her black underwear.
He stood up, grabbed her hips, and lifted her onto the counter, simultaneous burying his face into her neck.
"What's wrong is that, despite how delicious you look in that shirt, I don't want those lonely scientists thinking of you in any other way than you being mine."
She sat there, softly chuckling at the sensation of his hair against her chin, respond with, "Okay. I'll go get dressed."
She hopped off the counter and went to look for what she was going to wear. In the bags were a variety of black clothes. In the end, she decided on pair of leather jeans, a tight corset-like vest over her usual tank top, and pair of heeled boots. When she walked back to Wesker, he had already packed his laptop and files of paper into his briefcase.
"Ready? I suggest you take a jacket. Storm clouds are rolling in soon." He looked up and down his angel of darkness and smirked, pleased with how well they matched, a perfect pair. Claire returned with a long overcoat on and he reached opened the door. When the exited the apartment, Wesker cupped her face and gave her a brief kiss.
"Let's go, dear heart. We'll return soon enough." Then they made their way to the lab.
She had just finished strapping on her bulletproof vest when Chris came in, fully suited, with duffle bag filled with different weapons. He handed Jill two handguns, which she proceeded to tuck into the holsters at her sides, and she slung a sub-machine gun over her torso. When they were fully suited and armed, they stood in the large garage, filled with about 12 other soldiers and tactical vehicles. The pair made their way to their assigned car and got ready to set out. Chris stood at the hood of his car, looking out at the other soldiers, waiting to leave, when one amongst the crowd caught his eye. Leon, dressed in gears as well, stood talking idly with the others. Leon soon also saw Chris eyeing him down from here he stood. Leon walked over to Chris, but before he could say anything, Chris cupped his hands together around his mouth and made an announcement.
"Alright soldiers, gather around. Now this base we're going to infiltrate has been confirmed for creating and testing biological weaponry. Now when we go in there, stay together and watch each other's backs. We don't have confirmation of any new B. . but we can never be sure." Chris avoided looking at Leon the entire time.
"You'll be split up into 3 squads, each with its own captain. Gonzalez will be captain of Bravo, Fischbach of Charlie and I will captain Alpha. My squad will consist of Agents Valentine, Smith, and…" He finally returned Leon gaze when he said the last name "Ryan. Rest of you find your group. We leave in five." He stepped down and got into the vehicle, waiting for them to finally head out. Jill sat in the passenger seat. Out of the corner of his eye, Chris saw Leon get nearer to them.
"Chris. Look-" He was cut off.
"Kennedy. I don't have time for this. Get back with your squad."
"Listen to me. Look I'm sorry. Okay? I don't know why I associated myself with her. You know damn well I cared for her as much as you did, so stop acting like I'm one of those who did took her from you….from all of us."
Chris stared back at him with empty eyes.
"Kennedy. Get back to your squad. Time to set out." With that Leon stepped back from the car and watched as Chris drove away. He made his way to his squad and got ready for the mission ahead.
The strong smell of rotting flesh drifted to Claire nostrils, slowly bringing her to face the fact that she was in laboratory that was both possibly owned by Umbrella and used to make biological weapons, the same ones that gave her nightmares years ago, and she was in no danger at all. The countless shiny surfaces had notes scattered around. She was dozing off looking into an empty room, where she expected to see a creature but saw nothing. She was startled suddenly when a loud thump hit the glass that was separating the observation room from the holding cell. A green stump was standing. A hand rested at her shoulder and Wesker's voice filled the quiet room.
"Hunters. We've been improving the original design of them to be more lethal." Slowly, more hunters began emerging from behind the first that hit the window.
"Damn. How many are in there?"
"About 10. We have more elsewhere." She pulled her attention aways from room and looked at the clock that slowly ticked away, though it seemed not to have moved in the last ten minutes.
"When are we leaving? I can feel a migraine starting to come on." She stood up and smiled weakly at her attempt to get far away from where she sat. A small beep interrupted his response.
"Actually according to this message, I am needed elsewhere, but I do have a separate office where you can get some rest. I'll take you there on my way to the other wing." Before she knew it she was in a dark mahogany room with tall bookshelves and a place that looked good enough for a nap. She turned round and gave him a peck on the cheek before he left.
"Dear heart, if anything happens, don't leave the room, I'll come and get you. But if anything happens, and the self destruct has been initiated due to an outbreak, there are a some weapons in the closet."
"I'll be fine. Don't worry about me. Plus, I'm a superhuman, remember?" She grinned at him as he pulled her in for a long kiss.
"Yeah yeah. Just don't forget, that doesn't mean you can't die." He slipped out the room, leaving her alone, and made his way to the new experiment we was eager to try out.
Claire laid down on the couch before drifting off to sleep.
When she awoke, she was surprised to hear a loud buzzer waking her instead of her blonde-haired lover. She could hear an alarm in the distance and outside her door. She tossed off her coat that she had used as a blanket and made her way to the monitor that was the only light source of the room at the moment. The screen read, 'Security breach. Sector 1, 2, 3.' She had a full view of multiple hallways and she saw groups of four in tactical gear making their way down each one.
"Shit. That's where we were…" She checked the time at the bottom of the monitor, "fuuck, two hours ago!" She dashed to the closet and saw multiple weapons. She strapped a few knives to her back holster and at her boots, holstered two handguns at her hips, another in her cross body, before putting on her long over coat. She took a flash grenade and an assault rifle before stepping out into the corridor. She looked both ways before dashing to the left. She ran skillfully and carefully as she maneuvered the identical corridors. She tossed herself to the right as she heard gunshots ring out, only realizing moments later that they were anywhere near her, just echoing down the hall. She took a deep breath, picked herself up, and dash down the corridor until she busted into the room she and Wesker were in earlier.
The lights inside came on the second she came in; she knew they were long gone.
"God dammit Wesker," She turned back and from the corner of her eye she could see a group advancing to the hall from which she came. She pressed her back against the door and stayed quiet until she heard the voice of a man giving orders. I got to find the exit. The voice seemed familiar but she wasn't sure, for the mask worn muffled his voice. The few words she could make out was hall, search, and go.
The heavy thuds of their boots against the tiled floor getting closer signaled Claire, telling her she had to move fast. It's now or never, she thought as she pulled her hood over her face and stepped out from behind the wall, not sure about what was about to happen next.
Making their way to the entrance of the lab was easy. They had managed to get the guards during their shift switch. Fighting inside was a completely different story. The guards were well armed and it didn't take long before the entire laboratory was ringing and usual madness of white coats scattering took over.
Chris and his squad were the first to make it to the second floor heading down. Jill manage to get a lead onto were the main researchers were supposed to be heading their operations. Eventually, the got to a sector that seemed to be completely evacuated yet something about the place seemed odd.
"Tread carefully." Chris' stern voice filled the hall. Shots were fired when a group of Umbrella guards found Alpha Squad. Chris managed to take out 3 of the 5. The other 2 were taken out quickly from behind. From behind the dead guards, Chris could see one of Charlie Squads soldiers. As he got closer, Chris recognized the stride of the soldier's walk.
"What's aren't you with your squad, Kennedy?"
"Was told to find you. Said you needed backup."
"I didn't ask for any."
A voice broke through the already escalating discussion, "I did." Chris turned to see Jill kneeling on the floor near a fallen squad member.
"Shit." Chris made his way over, pulling off his mask as he bent down to his comrade.
"He's gone." Jill said as she finished looking for any signs of life in him.
A silence passed between them for a minute before Chris reached down and yanked off his squad members dog tag.
"Let's keep moving." From down the hall, they heard the echo of running footsteps and the sound of an opening door. "Move." They pulled their masks down and jogged down the hall, hoping to catch up to whoever made the noise. They got to where the noise was heard before Chris signaled them to stop. He sensed the presence of someone else. They weren't alone. He noticed a small space leading to a room where someone could be possibly hiding.
"Alright. Down this hall. Search each room. Go." Weapons raised, they slowly went to each door and checked the rooms, one by one.
They lowered their weapons until, they heard the click of shoes. They looked up to see a slender figure, dressed in black from head to toe, emerge from one doorway farest from them. They locked on the target, unable to see any features than the body figure and were ready to fire until they heard a heavy thud hit the tiles they stood on.
She didn't take a chance. The second she stepped out from behind the wall, she turned away, only looking to armed men for a few seconds before she brought her arm up, releasing the grenade from her hand. It flew and skidded across the floor before going off at the feet of the group. It gave her enough time to dash down the hall, where she'd come to find even more armed men.
Shots rang out towards her. She felt pain shoot up her side and she tossed herself to the floor. She grabbed her rifle and fired towards them, sending them scrambling for cover. She dragged herself to a standing position on the wall and shot to their direction once more before trying to run back to where she came from. It was no good.
They were running towards her from both directions. She stood there completely trapped, nowhere to go. Superhuman or not, she was severely outnumbered.
She looked forward, a large glass window that looked down to the floors below was the only place not blocked from the two sides. Here we go. She took out one for her handguns and shot at the glass, seconds before she ran and threw herself against it.
Glass shattering, gunshots, and shouting was all she heard as she plunged into the levels below.
Trapped like a hound. That was the description Chris used when he saw the black figure in a trance. Block from both directions. It was clutching it's side, despite the black clothes, blood was visible, as it was dripping to the floor. It drew its weapon. Then it raised its gun at the window, shots rang out, and the last thing Chris saw was the figure falling into the levels below.
"Shit," immediately he reached for his radio, "Bravo, this is Alpha, suspect in all black was spotted headed down onto lower levels. Keep an eye out. Consider dangerous. I want that person alive."
"Roger that."
Chris turned back to his squad, "Let's go see if we can catch up. There's no way whoever that was fell two stories without breaking something"
They walked down the hall to an elevator where the silence lingered until Jill broke it.
"Chris. What if that person is like Wesker? You know with the whole speed and strength thing?"
"I don't know. I don't think so. Wesker is the only one with the means to create something like himself. Even then, he would not let anyone have the level of strength he has. They would be a liability. Plus, he cares for no one but himself. Giving someone else that would be too generous."
God he hoped it wasn't someone like Wesker. Despite the number of people they had, it wouldn't be enough. He had to stay alive. He wasn't done getting revenge.
She was engulfed by air for a few moments before landing on a desk below. She landed, knees bent, her gunshot wound already healed. So far, very little activity was seen all around this level of the lab. She took her time finding an office she would hide out in. When she came to, she was looking at a computer monitor with multiple camera angles looking around one single room, the night vision was on. She was able to make out tiny figures that walked into the view of the cameras and Claire focused on three particular ones. They seemed familiar. There was something about them that she couldn't put her finger on.
A few moments later, the lights came on and all of the armed soldiers stood still, clearly shocked by the lights.
The door behind them rolled shut. They tried to get them open but their struggle was pointless. The door wasn't going to budge.
The one soldier that led the group looked up into the camera before removing his mask.
She stood stunned. Claire was looking into the face of her one and only brother.
"Chris…." She looked closely at his face. He looked worn down and tired, the dark circles under his eyes dramatically made his face look pale. She felt a tear slip from her cheek and land on her hand.
One by one the rest of the group took off their masks. Jill was next to Chris, and behind her was Leon. The rest were others she didn't recognize. She took her attention off the screen when a small message popped up from the corner of the monitor.
Hunters ready for release. Test 1. Recording progress.
Her mind began to race. Test 1. Hunters. There was no way in hell that would be a good thing. She looked back at the square where she could see her brother and the rest looking around for a way to exit.
There was a sudden movement from the group and they all had their guns raised. She followed to see what they were pointing at. At the other end of the room, a door lifted up and slowly Hunters began walking and crawling their way out. The Hunters didn't seem to notice the group until one member accidentally let his mask fall from his grip.
The second that mask hit the floor, all the Hunters snapped into attack mode and rushed at the group.
"Shit! Chris!" She couldn't bear the thought of watching her brother get torn apart on a screen. She noted the room and ran as fast as her superhuman legs could take her. She didn't care about anything else at this point. She had to save them, as they tried to save her. The second the door closed behind her, a second message popped up.
Tyrant ready for release. ETA 5 minutes.
Hunters. Chris remembered them well. In the mansion, it had almost killed Rebecca and him countless times. The green talons scratched the tile as they each stepped forward slowly, ignoring them until the clink of a mask hit the floor.
Their fat necks snapped towards them and attacked without hesitation. Chris jumped to the side, avoiding the talons by an inch.
Gunshots rang out from the group behind him. One fallen Hunter lay on the floor twitching and the rest began to spring into action as well.
"Don't let them attack you in groups!" He brought his knife up just as one landed on him. The knife pierced it's stomach and Chris tossed it off as he made his over to Jill, ready to fight the Hunters together.
The number of Hunters seemed to grow as there was no end to them. Jill and Chris stood back to back as the emptied their guns into them.
On the opposite side of the room, Leon stood with a knife in one hand and a handgun in the other, eliminating Hunters as they approached.
A loud yell pulled Chris' attention and he saw when a member of his group received a gash across his chest. He fell and he was surrounded by other Hunters who had waited for a prey to fall. That one second he wasn't focused, a Hunter took the chance to jump at him. Chris registered its movement too late and he felt as the sharp talons torn through his vest and slightly into his stomach.
As he fell to the floor, he saw that from the farthest side of the room a door unsealed and opened without a warning. A soldier looked at the door and back to Chris, without a warning he dashed to the door, leaving behind the Hunters and his team.
"Fuck! Jill! Leon! Get to that door! Go!" He clutched his stomach and tried to get up. A few moments later both Leon and Jill were at his side, lifting him, trying to get to the door, shooting a Hunter everytime one got too close for comfort.
They were five feet from the door when a loud crash came from the other side of the door. Out of the shadows came out a large, muscular, disfigured creature. In one hand was the soldier who ran away, impaled on three claws, lifted off six feet off the floor. They stumbled back wanting to get far away from that thing as possible. They didn't know how they were going to make it out of this one. The remaining Hunter began to circle them and the Tyrant stepped closer to them, dropping their dead comrade on the tile. It got closer and was ready to attack. They had no option to move backwards as the Hunters were closing in on them fast.
"Guys. Go. Get out of here." Chris was barely able to get his words out as he was quickly losing blood.
"Hell no." Jill's desperate voice shook as she spoke. There was no way she was leaving him.
The Tyrant got close and lifted his giant claws up and brought them down.
Leon shoved both Chris and Jill out of the way and anticipated the sheer pain of the claws tearing through his torso. The blow never came. Instead, multiple shots rang out from behind the group. They all turned to the back of the room and saw it standing there. The cloaked figure from before. It reloaded both handguns and shot more into the Tyrant.
The Tyrant, however, did not seem to notice the bullets lodging into his body.
"Get him out of here." The voice of the figure, her voice, reached them and they understood.
They grabbed Chris and got were slowly making their way to the exit. A loud roar came from behind them and they saw as the Tyrant slammed into her and sent her flying to the concrete wall near the exit. She hit the wall and slumped to the floor before picking herself up again and pulled out knives and ran towards the Tyrant. She leaped high into the air, too high for a normal human being, and landed on the back of the creature. She drove both knives into the shoulders of it and it tried to throw her off its back.
Leon watched as it reached behind itself and grabbed her and suspended her in front of him, grabbing her by both hands. It lifted her up and raised its clawed hand.
In one quick movement, it sunk it's claws into her and she dangled from the three claws that pierced her abdomen. Her scream, loud and full of pain, pierced his ears, and snapped him back into reality. She was done for. They needed to get out of there before it came after them.
"Jill! We need to leave. Let's go."
"We can't just leave her there! It's going to kill her!"
"Jill it's too late for her. Look at Chris. He's still alive. We have to save him!"
He turned back once more to the Tyrant and saw as the figure slowly pulled out a Desert Eagle from her holster and unloaded the entire clip it the face of the Tyrant.
They watched in awe as the Tyrant slowly fell to the side, along with the cloaked woman.
Both Leon and Jill relaxed when the saw no more movement from the Tyrant. The only thing they heard was the struggles and sniffling of the woman as she laid on her side, claws still piercing her abdomen. They saw as she lifted her feet and pushed away from the dead tyrant, claws sliding out, blood now pooling around her. Her face still remained cover and she lay still on her side.
Leon slowly walked to her, but stopped in his tracks when she lifted a gun to him.
"Stay there. Don't come any closer….Ughh..fuck." She grunted as she sat up. Blood ran down her hands that covered the wounds. "How...how is he?" She coughed out blood after she spoke.
"Leon, he's losing too much blood. We need to get him out of here." He turned around and helped lift Chris up off the floor.
He turned around to thank the person, but she was no longer on the floor but opening the door that had trapped them in the first place.
"Look...I know place where we can get him fixed up. But you have...to leave as soon as possible."
They stared in shock at her, both surprised by the fact that she was trying to help them and that she was still alive and standing, even though she had received three claws through her stomach.
She limped out of the room and turned back to look at them. "Those Hunters were genetically engineered to be more lethal than the last models. He'll bleed out before you get out of here."
Jill and Leon looked at each other, wondering whether they should take their chances.
"Look, you are running out time, he's running out of time. Now are you coming or not?"
"We're coming." Jill answered, seeing how much blood Chris was losing. Leon looked at her, questioning her decision. Avoiding his stared, Jill took a step forward and began following the hooded woman, hoping that she could help.
It took every muscle, every ounce of self control to stop herself from running to Chris and hold him in her arms. She hoped that the scarf she had wrapped around her mouth muffled her voice enough for them not to recognize it. With each step she took, a sharp pain shot through her stomach and up her spine. She had no idea that there would be a Tyrant there. When she arrived she was ready to see Hunters, but instead she saw Leon shove Jill and her brother out of the way of the Tyrants claws.
She tried her best to walk steady but she could feel herself tripping over her feet and stumbling over nothing. She got to an examination room and made sure it was cleared of both scientists and B. .
"Okay get him in there." The three rushed in and set Chris on a metal table. Claire searched the drawers and found some bandages and some needles and thread. "Here, this all I could find." She laid the things on the table and backed away when Jill got close.
A voice reached her when she finally leaned back on the wall, clutching the wounds that she could feel starting to heal.
"Are you alright?" She turned and saw Leon calm eyes set upon her. She remembered how many times he'd asked her that when the made it out of Raccoon years ago. She simply nodded.
After five minutes, Jill had stitched Chris' wounds the best she could and wrapped it in the bandages. He was starting to regain conscious. His eyes widened when he set them upon her. He reached for his missing gun and looked around for Jill and Leon.
Claire had to stop herself from running to him and tell him that he was alright and that she was there with him.
"Chris. It's okay." Jill stepped into his line of sight and tried to calm him. "She saved us. It's alright we're gonna get out of here."
"You guys should go. Now. Before-"
Chris interrupted her halfway, "before what? You decide to kill us?"
She stood silent. "Before they find you."
"Why help us? We were after you. I'm sure you know that." He was sitting up now. She could see his bandages we already beginning to soak with blood.
"Listen. You need to get out. The others won't let you go so easily. They could use bodies like yours. You think death is the worst thing that could happen to you. I'm telling you to leave, before it's too late." The way her brother was looking at her was full of hate and anger. If I take off the hood, how would he react? Would he stop looking at me like that, or would it intensify?
"I'm leaving. I suggest you do the same before the labs own security starts doing a sweep. This time I won't be there to help if a Tyrant comes around." Without another word she slipped out and tried to find her way out.
Wesker watched as his dear heart slip out from the room her brother lay in. She seemed tense. Maybe it was time to pay her brother a visit. Only until after he knew that his dear heart was still standing with him. He lifted himself off his desk chair and left his office.
Claire wiped the tears off her face as she walked up the stairs. She had been so close. She went to grab the handle of a metal door but it bust open, hitting her hand. She raised her gun, only to find Wesker on the other end.
"Claire! There you are. I was looking everywhere for you."
He drew her in for a hug. She let her gun drop to her side. He felt her tense up as he drew her in.
"Where were you? I saw you being chased on the monitors but lost you after you jumped off the third floor."
She looked him in the eye and in a split second made a decision that would change everything.
"Yeah just some mercenaries, I guess. I ran into some earlier but I took care of them."
She lied to him. He was losing her.
"Oh well. Those bastards didn't stand a chance now, did they? We should get going." He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her down a corridor until they reached a door that led to a regular looking holding cell. She turned back to look at him but that last thing she felt was a numbing pain in her neck. She tried to keep her eyes open, but nothing was there to keep her from falling into the endless void she had become so used to.
The second her eyes shut completely, he lifted her up and took her to a secure room. He had gotten her to trust him and he wasn't about to let Chris Redfield take that away from him.
He exited the room and locked the door behind him as he made his way to find Chris.
"C'mon. We're almost to the elevator."
Chris had regained some of his strength back as soon as the bleeding stopped but still needed help staying on his feet.
"Did-did any of you get a look at that woman's face? Maybe we can ID her on the database, back at the BSSA- fuck." He sighed out as he leaned against the wall next to him.
"Her face was covered the entire time." Leon responded.
They were waiting for the elevator to come down when a loud, arrogant voice had them all reach for their guns.
"She's wonderful isn't she? The perfect partner for someone like me. Not looking to rise to power. Not likely to betray me. Though seeing as you're on your way out, you could say otherwise."
"It was about time you showed up, Wesker. I was starting to think you sent your lackeys to do handle everything for you these days." Chris stood up as straight as he could.
"Well, I had to have some fun myself." He smirked and without a warning lashed out and landed a kick towards Leon, throwing him aside, his back slamming into the wall.
Jill shot out at Wesker, but he was too quick. He grabbed her arm, twisted it before flipping her over, easily tossing her to the side. Chris shot multiple times before Wesker's knee came up to his stomach.
Chris felt a gloved hand constrict around his throat and lifted him into the air.
"I am really getting so tired of running into you like this, Chris. Always, interrupting my plans. Always, changing the course of how I planned things. I'm sick of it.
Chris smiled, and choke out a few words be beginning to feel the strain of being strangled, "Maybe sharing your plans would help out, you know make sure I know what not to interrupt."
Wesker slammed Chris into the wall, before replying, "Hmmph. Cute. Reminds me of your sister. You'll have another thing in common with her soon."
He flung Chris to the wall farthest from him, creating crack in the wall. Blood started to drip down from Chris' stomach, onto the tile.
"Chris!" Jill dragged herself to a standing position and shot towards Wesker, more in attempt to get his attention of Chris and onto her. And it worked.
Wesker grabbed her by the collar before slamming her into the wall. "Jill….you were my favorite. Hope you know that. But honestly, now you're starting to become a nuisance." He brought another hand up, and hit the side of her head, knocking her out instantly. He let her drop to the floor like a ragdoll, and Leon got up in a panic.
"Mr. Kennedy. Shouldn't you be off with your little girlfriend in red. I mean I assumed you'd be together considering she completely ignored my order to have have you killed," Leon blinked in confusion, "See? So untrustworthy that one."
He barely had time register the knife that had been flung at him. It flew by his face and a sting flashed across his cheek.
He turned back, only to find Wesker's fist connecting with his jaw and his foot crashing against his knee. Leon heard a crack in his knee that was followed by pain. Before Wesker landed another punch, fires were shot at him again. This time by Chris.
He lay on the floor, propped up by one elbow, blood dripping down his lip.
"Well. You just don't give up do you, Chris?"
He walked over and lifted up Chris, for what he thought was going to be the last time for sure.
"Say goodbye Chris. For this is the last thing they are going to see of you." In his hand, Wesker held up a knife with a familiar logo on it. The three stars within a circle shined in the fluorescent lights as he held it in the air, ready to finally end what started in the mansion years ago.
But, he never got the chance. Instead, he slowly his eyes began to close and his head becoming light, all against his will. The last thing he registered was a numb feeling in his neck.
It was dark. She knew what had happened. She had felt that cool numbness too many times before to not recognize it. Her only question, was why?
He knows. He went after them. What else?
There was no way that Wesker would let them leave alive if he knew they were here, and had made contact with her, even if they didn't know it was her.
She had to get up. This was on her. But the more she tried to lift herself, the more she felt being dragged down. She had to, no needed to get up. She imagined herself waking up to find Chris body, lifeless and cold.
She imagined Leon, his eyes no longer looking at her with the particular sadness and yet content emotion in them.
She fought. Long and hard, until finally her eyes flew open, stinging immediately as the bright light hit them.
She sat up quickly and fell off the table, her body still weak from the anesthetic running through her veins.
She stood up, heavily supported by the wall, and looked around. Her weapons lay on the counter and she took them all, hoping she won't need them. One last thing caught her eye before she turned around to leave. A syringe gleamed under the lights. She checked the label and hesitantly stuck the syringe in her coat pocket. It wasn't fair. But then again, nothing was.
Before she left the room, she grabbed a piece of paper off the counter, hastily scribbled a message, and kissed it, leaving the scarlet print of her lips, and placed it in his briefcase. As she began to walk out, she noticed his jacket slung over the desk chair. She grabbed it and buried her face into it, taking in one last whiff of how he smelled. She dropped it back on the chair, before pulling her hood over her face and walked out into the endless halls.
It wasn't long before she both heard and smelled the fighting that was happening between Wesker and her friends. She began sprinting as quick as she could the second she smelled blood.
She turned the corner and her eyes laid upon Wesker, one hand wrapped around Chris' throat, and her old STARS dagger that Chris had given her years ago, in the other. It was pointed directly at his chest. He was no way in he going to survive that, especially with his current injuries.
With his back turned to her, she began to walk. One foot in front of the other. She walked past unconscious Jill on the floor, Leon and his oddly bent arm, and reached into her pocket. She lifted the syringe and slowly sunk it into his neck. She pushed the plunger down, surprised he hadn't turned around immediately and smashed her into the wall.
Slowly, Chris slipped from his grasp and slammed onto the tiles below, unmoving. Wesker slowly began to fall, but she lowered him as gently as she could, which wasn't much, seeing as how heavy he was.
She fell to her knees as his limp body thumped onto the floor, his head on her lap. His face looked peaceful, a look she'd seen only once.
She laid his head onto the floor and slid over to her brother who laid unmoving.
"Chris…." She pulled his head onto his lap and brushed his hair back. His breathing was shallow and his wounds were bleeding again.
"Im..soo..sorry this happened to you…" her tears began to fall onto his face.
From behind her, she heard a yell, directed towards her. "Get the fuck away from him!" A gun cocked and she felt the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of her head.
It was Leon. "Move. Stand up. Put your hands behind your back."
"No.I won't." Her voice shook as she muttered out her words, focusing on her brother's shallow breathing.
"I said-" Before Leon could finish his sentence, the sound of loud boots hitting the tile began to echo down the hall. "Shit." Leon ran over to Jill, who was now starting to remain consciousness. "Jill, come get up, we need to leave."
Only seconds passed before there was a wall of armed guards aiming their guns at them.
"Leon."
From behind him, a familiar voice spoke to him. When he looked at the figure behind him, he recognized the kind features of the face that he had become so used to since that day in Raccoon City. A face that had given him hope, one whose face shouldn't have been surrounded by raven black hair, but by the red that he had reminded him of the sarcastic and freeing person he had once new. But this face now began to change, blossoming with anger and sadness, it was almost as if it wasn't the same person. The once blue iris' now blazed a fiery red.
"Claire?" She saw in slow motion as a group of guards neared them.
"Leon, get them out of here. Please. I'll explain later. But get them out of here."
From the far end of the hall, a man stepped out from the crowd, he smirked a familiar, evil grin.
"Well, isn't this a nice reunion. I bet he's surprised to see you here, and fighting for the opposite side."
"Rodgers, you son of a bitch, do you ever get tired of ruining moments? It's really starting to piss me off." "Ms. Redfield. Just end them quickly before he wakes up and does it for you. Or I'll be happy to oblige." He took a step closer and she instantly drew her two handguns, triggering the wall of weapons behind him to do the same.
"You stay the fuck away from them."
"Such a shame. I knew you didn't have it in you. I always suggested we just stuck you in a tank to save us time, but he saw something in you. Unfortunately now, his experiment will have to got to waste."
Rodgers raised up his own gun, and she smiled. Shoot me. I'll show how much of an experiment I am.
A gunshot rang out and she felt no pain whatsoever. Unfortunately, that was because it had met its mark in the shoulder of the government agent behind her. He yelled out in pain as he crashed to the floor.
"Yeah, Rodgers…"
"Yes, Ms. Redfield?"
"You have just made the worst mistake in your life." She spun quickly, flinging her overcoat towards the crowd, and ran up the side of the wall, and leaped toward the group, two long daggers in hand.
She landed on top of one soldier and sunk her knife into his chest, not stopping to look as her other daggers slashed and injured countless other by the second. When her heels finally struck the tiled floor, she spun around and roughly placed her bloodied dagger under his chin, tilting him so he looked down at her.
"Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't turn your brain into scrambled egg and leave you here to be turned into a tyrant."
He seemed amused by her. "Can't think of one."
She smirked at his response, "Very well then." She did a quick spin, her knife slicing across his chest before she flipped the knife and buried into the left side of his head. She didn't look back as his body slumped to the ground. She flung her knife at a still moving body as she walked back to Leon, who stared wide-eyed at her.
His voice was shaky as he spoke, "I held your hand as you bled to death….I- No you. You are a clone. Is that it?" He was clutching his shoulder and slowing dragging himself towards the wall.
"I can't explain right now, Leon. Okay? We need to all get out of here, first okay? If he wakes up, we won't be able to stop him." She reached out and brushed some hair away from his eye. She didn't know what she expected, but it certainly wasn't the flinching Leon did away from her hand. backing away from her touch; she couldn't help but feel terrible.
"No. I'm not. Please. I- It's you said. When you kneeled next to me. You place your hand under my chin and whispered- you said-you said you needed me,"
His eyes widened as he recalled that moment.
"Now. I need you." He stayed silent.
"Leon? What's going on?" From behind Claire, Jill was getting to her feet. She sprang to her feet at the sight of his wound, completely ignoring the fact that the mysterious figure was standing above him.
"Turn to her. Show her who you are. If she still trusts you, then I will too."
"Leon..what are you-is it Ada?"
Claire turned around and responded, "Even better." She gave a half smile, attempting to hide the fact that she was scared shitless.
Jill's faced whitened. She stayed silent.
"Look please just- You all need to leave. Now. Whatever I drugged him with won't keep him last forever. It didn't take me long and I swear that he won't stay under much longer. Let me just help you."
JIll expression was unreadable.
"Leon, get on your feet. Whether she's lying or not, we don't have much time. Grab Chris.
Claire moved to help get Leon to his feet but he ignored her hand. Jill was already at Chris' side, trying to stop his bleeding as quickly as she could before they'd begin lo lift him. Claire rushed and got the elevator,
When the three entered, they looked back and expected Claire to step into with them, but instead she stayed out.
"I'll have to catch up with you guys later. If they see me, it won't go well for either of us," she took one last look at her brother, his bloodied body armor and his holsters emptied. "Be careful out there. There shouldn't be any B. above this floor but still. Take care."
Emotion flashed behind Leon's eyes and his lips parted, ready to speak, but the elevator doors began to close. Instead, he nodded as he took one last look into the eyes of the one he thought he had failed. Maybe he had.
The second the doors closed, Leon turned to Jill.
"What the hell was that? How can she be alive? How come you're not freaking out about this!? She was dead?! We held her as she bled out!"
"Leon...right now, Chris is all I care about. We can deal with….Claire...later. For all we know, it's not her. It's a clone. Made to get to Chris. If we get- When we get out of here, not a word of this to Chris. Understand? He's barely starting to recover from losing her. This will only make it worse."
"Jill.."
"Leon...I mean it. We need to look into this first."
"Fine…Jill what if it's really her?"
Jill paused and looked straight ahead, ready to get out of this damn laboratory, "Then she has some major explaining to do.
The second the doors shut, she sprinted down the corridor, following the multiple exit signs. She got to the top where the last of the BSAA members were starting to clear out and hide behind a pillar of the building. Despite the darkness, she could see where Chris was being placed on a gurney and Jill hopped into the ambulance. Leon stood to the side at a paramedics station where his arm was being wrapped from the gunshot Rodgers had inflicted. The chilly wind blew and Claire could smell blood lingering in the air. When everyone began to clear out, she was able to pick Leon out of the crowd, getting ready to get into his 1967 Ford Mustang. It wasn't until everyone packed up and left when Leon began to drive out of the parking lot.
Claire dashed out from behind the pillar and began to run after the car, quickly catching up. It's cool, you're fine. You've done this before. When she was right behind it, she jumped, landing on the roof and slipped into the open window. "
"Holy shit!" Leon's eyes widened and he slammed on the brakes. Claire immediately grabbed the handle above the window. Despite using her strength to hold on, she still slammed into the dashboard.
"Claire! What the fuck are you doing?! Are you insane!?"
"No. Just worried. Now drive." When he didn't immediately gas it, she looked over to him with raised eyebrows. "Are you going to drive or do I need to move over and drive for you?"
"OH I'M SORRY! I'm not used to people jumping into my car while I'm going 60 down a freaking street, Claire!"
"Don't sass me, Kennedy. Know get to the hospital."
Without another word, he continued driving. She rolled her window down all the way, letting the cool breeze surround her, like she used to when she'd go out with Leon. She immediately grabbed her phone as the silence was starting to be too much for her. She saw Leon tense up when she moved. It's normal for him to be tense. He doesn't trust me...Leon doesn't trust me. She couldn't help but feel hurt. She suddenly remembered, Crap, he can track my phone! She took out the microchip, cracked it, and tossed it out the window. She found her thoughts slowly drifting towards Wesker. Had he woken up by now? What was he thinking?
Seconds later they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. She quickly got out, not waiting a moment to see how Chris was doing.
"Claire wait," She turned to Leon before shutting the door behind her.
"Your...outfit." She looked down at her torn vest and bloodied coat. Despite the outfit being black, the red was slightly visible due to the huge amounts of it.
"Crap." She shrugged off her long coat and tore her vest off, leaving her in a black tank top. Still it wasn't enough. "Leon, pop open your trunk. I'm going to grab that spare jacket I left in your car after Rockfort." A small spark passed Leon's eyes before he popped open the trunk. She pulled out a long sleeve red coat. She shrugged it on and then turned to Leon, who was watching her with careful eyes. "Okay. That should be better. Let's go." They both began walking to the entrance of the hospital. Claire's head began to ache as she walked into the rush of madness that awaited past the double glass doors. Luckily Leon was there.
She saw her approach the front desk from far away. Jill barely recognized Claire, her bright red hair no longer there to easily spot her from a crowd. She watched as she talked to the desk clerk, only to be turned away. Jill had made sure no one would be allowed to see Chris. Not even family, She didn't trust this 'Claire'. She was almost 100% sure she was a clone, though Leon seemed a little more convinced than she did. Then again, he had soft spot for Claire.
She saw Claire walk away disappointed and took a seat in the waiting room. Jill needed more time to think about this. She wasn't sure about this 'Claire'. She wasn't about to take any chances. Jill looked behind her and looked at Chris. With one last look at Chris, she went out, and got ready to talk to Claire.
Claire and Leon stood up as Jill got close.
"How is he?Why can't we see him?"
"He's doing fine. Because if I remember correctly, about 5 months ago, I remember you lying in the snow bleeding to death as your brother here swore to destroy the same man you now seem to be currently working for." Her hushed voice only harshed the words coming out of her mouth. "Now I want you out of here. If you really care for Chris, you'll leave. In his condition, we don't know how he'll react to see the dead walking. Now. Please. Just go."
Jill could see the tears beginning to pool in Claire's eyes, and for a moment she was sure it was her, but that feeling was gone as quickly as it came when she remembered seeing that tall dark figure release a flash grenade from her hand, scattering them before they continued the chase for her.
Claire took a deep breath and responded, trying hard to keep her voice from shaking, "Fine. If-uhhh- you think that would be best. I'll go, just umm..let me know..please when he wakes up."
With that, she turned around and walked towards the exit, leaving Leon behind with Jill.
Leon stared at Jill as Claire walked away. "That was harsh."
"Oh I'm sorry for thinking about Chris' current condition and how this might affect him"
"Chris is a big boy, Jill. He can handle it."
"Are you sure about that Leon? Because if I remember correctly, you weren't there with us after she 'died'. Chris was a mess. You fall too easily for pretty faces that you think you know, Leon."
"Okay one. You need to stop remembering things. And second, I know Claire. This feels like it's her. The same one from fives months ago."
"Leon, what if she was already changed five months ago? What if we lost her the day she was taken? Plus, if you know her so well, don't you think she would have fought me just now? In order to see Chris? She was headstrong and stubborn. This person doesn't even to seem to be that."
Claire walked towards the front of the hospital and the took and immediate right and went straight into the locker rooms. Seeing as how it was empty, she took out a lockpick and broke into a locker. She managed to find a pair of scrubs and shoes. She slipped them on and grabbed a surgical mask before tying up her hair and walking back towards Chris' room. There was no way she was leaving this hospital before seeing Chris. So damn stubborn.She could imagine Chris telling her that as she slipped on the mask and walked up the hall, passing Leon who was sitting in the waiting area still, looking down at his stood near the desk closest to Chris' room and waited for Jill to leave. Within five minutes, Jill slipped out of the room and headed towards the cafeteria. Good, that should give us some time.She slipped into Chris' room and quickly drew the curtains closed and closed the door. She took off the mask and sat next to him. She watched him for a few moments taking in how worn out he looked. Tears began to fall from her eyes. She should've gotten there earlier. He didn't have to be so hurt.
"Chris. I am so sorry. I should've been there to help you. I shouldn't have been there with them, I should've been with you. Please forgive me." She held his hand, and in an instant his eyes flew open, his eyes locked on her. A small gasp escaped her mouth and she dropped his hand before backing away slowly. His eyes were filled with confusion and betrayal, a look she was sure she would never forget. It was then that Jill walked in, coffee in hand, she saw Claire and then turned and saw Chris staring right at her..
"Claire? What the fuck? I told you to stay away." Jill's anger was quickly filled with worry as Chris' breathing began to speed up and he heart monitor was going crazy.
"Claire, go. Get out of here!" Claire didn't wait. She slipped out right as the doctors rushed in and began to check Chris and eventually they put him under to stop him from having a heart attack. As she rushed back, Leon saw her and grabbed her arm, stopping her from entering the locker room.
"Claire what happened!?"
"He saw me. Leon, he saw me and had some sort of panic attack," His eyes softened as he noticed the tears falling from her eyes. "I- I need to get out of here. Jill was right. I shouldn't be here. He's hurt enough as it is, I'll just makes things worse. Leon I need to get out of here! I hate to ask but I don't have any money for a cab, can you sp-" He grabbed both her shoulders and locked eyes with her.
"Claire look at me. Calm down, okay? He's going to be fine. I'll drive you to your apartment and we'll see where things go from there okay?"
"Okay. Thank you, Leon. I appreciate it."
With that, they walked out of the hospital and got into his car. She looked at the hospital from the mirror and watched as it faded into the night, her mind not sure on what to be focusing on. The man she betrayed or her only brother who was probably dying at this moment because she made the wrong choice five months ago. She tried to make herself sleep, but her brain refused. It was a bittersweet moment when she realized how badly she wanted to feel that familiar numb pain on her neck that was usually followed with a peaceful state of nothing.