My great thanks to HighFlyingWings, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
2nd October, 2008.
"How much longer for the zoo evacuation?"
"At least two more days, sir. We're going as fast as we can, but it's still a huge place we're trying to evacuate here."
"I'm aware, soldier. Just get the job done, we don't know how much time we have." declared Colonel Geary, the soldier he was talking to saluting before leaving quickly.
The colonel glanced around at the HQ still being set up in Jefferson Park, which was at the opposite side of Blackwatch's Manhattan HQ, which was being set up at Battery Park down South.
So far, things were going fast, but were thankfully quiet. Both Blackwatch and ISIS were focused on getting boots on the ground, setting up their FOBs, while more and more Marines came to Manhattan ready for a fight that the Colonel knew they weren't ready for.
Not that anyone will have much of a choice once the infection starts spreading, unfortunately.
As it was, most of the ISIS troops were busy evacuating the local zoo, and trying to convince as many people to get out of Manhattan as possible.
The reputation of ISIS was useful for that, but even then, the vast majority of the population was still choosing to stay so far.
Colonel Geary understood, it was hard to leave's one home and way of living behind, especially when so far, there were no rampaging hordes of monsters in the streets.
The colonel glanced in the distance, seeing a group of news reporters filming ISIS setting up their HQ. They weren't allowed in the HQ itself, but the colonel had gone to them an hour ago to urge people to leave Manhattan until the all-clear was given, citing the risks of biological threats as the reason.
He sadly could not explain the risks caused by Blacklight. That was still classified and no one would believe him about a virus that could create zombies and monsters.
Not yet, at least.
He knew a number of news outlets were condemning his words, declaring that there was no reason to evacuate Manhattan despite the recent outbreak in Penn. Station, but there was little he could do for now.
This wasn't Raccoon City. The moment monsters start showing up in the streets of Manhattan, people will know about it. The news crews and even regular people posting on the internet would make sure of that.
Raccoon City was controlled by Umbrella from the start. Manhattan wasn't so easily controlled, however. Too important, too many people for that.
Still, at least the images of ISIS soldiers working hard to save the animals of the local zoo were actually good PR, even if people were already making jokes about it on the internet.
He doubted they'd make those jokes if they saw those animals infected by Blacklight-
"Sir!"
The colonel glanced towards the radio operator who had spoken up, heading towards him quickly. "What is it, soldier?" he asked.
"I've got a report of an explosion in the Upper East Side area, and-" he paused, before his face turned grim. "Sir, Blackwatch forces are fighting something in the area, and it looks like they are losing badly."
Colonel Geary pursed his lips, but he had received orders from Aeon.
And considering the area in question…
"Keep an eye on things, soldier, but don't send anyone of ours in. If that's what I think it is, then that's not for us to worry about."
"Sir?" questioned the soldier, confused.
"You've been briefed on Alex Mercer. He lives there."
The soldier paused, before understanding dawned.
"Right. Guess Blackwatch tried and failed to kill the guy, huh? I'll keep an eye on things, sir, but if it is him, then I'm not going to feel sorry for them when they end up facing a much bigger monster."
"Indeed. Keep me updated, soldier."
"Will do."
Colonel Geary walked away, frowning. Alex Mercer was either an incredible asset in the battles to come, or a glaring threat.
Hopefully, the Boss would be able to make sure the first turns out to be true.
If not… Well.
Manhattan might just get to see two terrors of the battlefield go at it in full.
Needless to say, no matter who won that fight, everybody else would lose.
-
3rd October, 2008.
"So, it's confirmed then?"
"I'm afraid so, yes." I replied to Leon, sighing as I talked through the phone. "Manhattan is infected by Blacklight, and we've got no way of actually doing anything for now because General Randall is stopping us cold at the White House and the Pentagon. He somehow managed to convince the President that he could get this contained quickly as long as he had the authority to do whatever was needed to get the job done."
"Shit." Leon cursed, before sighing. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Talk to the President, talk to Ashley, talk to whoever you can. I don't care, just try and get us the right to act. Things so far are calm, but I expect them to get out of control in the next few days." I rubbed my brow, scowling slightly. "At least the evacuation of the zoo is going well, and now that the outbreak is confirmed, ISIS is facing less opposition to a full evacuation of the island. Enough people remember Raccoon City, even if few know what really happened there, that we can use that to put some pressure on a number of people. But there's a lot more people at stake here, Leon, and something is going to give, sooner or later. Also, something is going on with Gentek, but we don't know what yet. Either way, all this is not good."
"Damn it." Leon grumbled, before his voice hardened. "Alright, I'll see what I can do on my side. Just make sure we don't have to nuke Manhattan, will you?"
"I'll do my best."
"Good. Seriously, ten years after Raccoon City… If I didn't know better, I'd say you were behind it!" he grumbled harder.
"Sorry, this is all Gentek and Blackwatch. We're just the ones stuck with cleaning this mess."
"Yeah, I can see that… Look, I'll call you back later, I've got a lot of people to talk with."
"And I've got a lot of work here too. Take care, Leon."
"I should be the one saying that, Aeon. Still, talk with you later."
The line cut off, and I put my phone in my pocket with a sigh.
"Aeon."
I looked up, staring curiously at both Claire and Ashcroft.
"I think we've found where Alex and his sister are." declared Claire, clear anticipation in her voice.
I smiled. "Good news at last. Alright, let's go. No point wasting time, we need to talk with those two."
"I still think that talking with a sentient B.O.W is crazy." grumbled Ashcroft.
"Does that mean that you don't want to come?"
"Like hell! This might be what we need to finally get Blackwatch, and through them, the truth of B.O.W's out there for all to see! I don't care if I have to sit with a walking W.M.D, he's probably still less slimy than some guys I had to deal with in the past for my articles. Now what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
I exchanged a look with Claire, before I chuckled and followed after them.
Say what you will of her, the woman had convictions.
And quite a bit of bravery, because for a survivor of Raccoon City to willingly go in the same room as someone like Alex Mercer had to take some serious courage.
Still, this was indeed an incredibly important meeting.
After all, I was going to meet what was arguably the most deadly being on Earth after me, Oedon, and Lucy.
Even if he was far from what he might become one day, that ought to be fun…
In a potentially explosive sort of way.
-
Dana Mercer, sister of Alex Mercer, stared at the images of the woman on her brother's computer screen.
Elizabeth Greene was the only other name in the files they were looking into, the other being her brother, and unfortunately, they knew very little about what made her important.
She glanced at her brother, who was staring at the images on the screen with disturbing intensity.
Something had changed in him, she knew that much, and it wasn't just that he was amnesiac. His pale blue eyes sent shivers down her spine everytime she looked into them, though for the life of her she didn't know why.
He was also different in countless more ways. The way he stood was somehow predatory, as if he was ready for a fight at any moment. He never blinked, not even once, and yet he was showing no discomfort about it.
She also had yet to see him eat, drink, or even rest for any moment. He was either out there, trying to somehow find out what the hell was going on with him, or he was here, waiting for her to give him a lead to follow.
She wasn't even sure how he was able to track the leads she gave him, her brother had certainly never been a soldier or anything of the sort, but…
Well, she remembered the way Alex had killed the soldier who had been with her in her apartment. It had been swift, brutal, and he had shown not even a hint of guilt about it.
She didn't blame him, he had been protecting her, but once she had had a moment to stop and think about it, she couldn't help but be worried for him.
Her brother was one of the only people in the world she cared about. She never knew her father, and with their mother's drinking problems, he had been one of the few people she had looked up to, one of the few she had ever loved. He had practically raised her himself, for goodness sake!
Which was why no matter what was going on with him, she wanted to help him. He was still her brother, the same man who had read bedtime stories to her when she was a child, who had been by her side whenever she was sick, who had always been here for her during her life.
The very reason she had come to Manhattan was specifically to pass time with him after he had left for this city once he got his job at Gentek five years ago, but at first she had had no luck getting to him, and then one day he had contacted her, pleading her to help him find all she could about the leader of Gentek, and sounding more terrified than she could ever remember him being.
Of course she had agreed in a heartbeat, how could she possibly not?
How could she have ever thought things would end up like this?!
Now some kind of secret conspiracy about a military group experimenting on people was after them, they both had to hide, and some kind of sickness was apparently spreading out there, connected to whatever it was her brother had been so fearful of, before he lost his memories.
The whole thing was terrifying, and Dana could admit that she was glad she could just lose herself in her work, in trying to find all she could about Blackwatch and Gentek, because otherwise she would have created a hole in the ground from sheer stress while she paced around the room in worry.
At least Alex is here, she thought, and that was still a relief.
The world had gone mad, people were trying to kill them, but she had finally reunited with her brother.
The one good thing to happen in this entire nightmare-
Someone knocked at the door.
For a second, both Dana and her brother looked at each other with equally flabbergasted looks on their faces, because seriously, the place they were in was at the very top of an apartment building, a place belonging to a friend of hers that was out of the country for the next year.
No one should be bothering them here.
No one should even know there was anyone here.
"Did you order pizza?" she asked hopefully.
"No." Her brother deadpanned.
"Well, there goes that hope." she muttered, her heart beating faster at the countless possibilities of who could possibly be at the door.
The thing was, if it was Blackwatch they wouldn't be knocking at the door. So who…?
Alex went to the door, throwing her look that made it clear she was to stay as silent as possible.
Her heart warned to see him so concerned about her, the fact that even with what happened to him he still was trying to protect her making her feel warm, but right now that was overshadowed by worry.
She saw her brother pause at the door, clenching his hands… and then he opened the door.
Before blinking in surprise at whatever he found there.
The lack of laser shots was reassuring, but it still didn't explain-
"Alex Mercer… And Dana Mercer. May we come in?"
Dana didn't hesitate, coming to the side of her brother to peer at the newcomers-
She paused.
Blinked in surprise.
"Wait, you're Aeon of ISIS!" she exclaimed, pointing at the very tall man currently smiling at them, surrounded by two women that she didn't recognize…
Actually, the red-headed woman seemed vaguely familiar, but who…?
"You know him?" asked her brother, his body tense.
"Err… Well I know of him rather, but…" she paused, looking at the three people at the entrance in confusion. "How did you find us? Wait, why are you here in the first place?"
"We're here for you, well especially him." Aeon nodded at Alex. "After all, I imagine that you both have a lot of questions… Especially when you wake up as something no longer human anymore, isn't that right Mercer?" he asked, looking straight at her brother.
Alex tensed, eyes narrowing coldly.
Dana merely blinked, looked between both, before turning to her brother. "Wait, what does he mean you woke up as something no longer human? Alex, what's going on?"
"How do you know?" coldly asked Alex, his eyes never leaving Aeon's calm black ones.
"Let's sit down, and I'll answer your questions." the man replied, not phased in the least by her brother's hostility.
The two men stared at one another, before Dana took Alex by the arm, forcing him to look at her.
"C'mon on. They are here already, we might as well hear them out."
Alex stared at her for a few seconds, before grunting and glaring at the three visitors, especially Aeon.
"If this is a trick, you'll pay for it." he declared, with such cold killing intent that Dana shivered at the sound of it.
The blonde woman at the side of Aeon swallowed, the red-headed one tensed, but Aeon himself looked amused, thoroughly unbothered.
"No tricks, only the truth." the man calmly replied, and after a moment Alex grunted and stepped back, letting the three visitors enter.
After all three were sitting, Aeon introduced himself and his companions.
The blonde woman was Alyssa Ashcroft, an investigative reporter, much like Dana herself was, which made both of them look at each other with interest.
The red-headed woman was Claire Redfield, and Dana almost jerked as she suddenly remembered why she seemed familiar: Claire Redfield was a member of Terra Save, a multi-national non-governmental human rights agency that often spoke up against biological weapons of war.
And of course, Aeon himself was the leader of the world-famous ISIS, the military arm of Insight Corp., focused specifically on fighting bio-terrorism and the like.
Dana explained to her brother that ISIS had come in on Manhattan, but that so far they had only focused on evacuating civilians and the animals of a nearby zoo from Manhattan.
"That's all well and good, but why are you here?" said Alex, pale blue eyes focused on Aeon like lasers.
Both Alyssa and Claire shivered slightly whenever his eyes met theirs, Alyssa especially, but Dana once again noted that Aeon himself seemed more amused than anything.
I suppose the leader of ISIS is made of sterner stuff than civilians, she thought.
"Answers, as I said. Claire? Alyssa? You're the ones who have been investigating Gentek and Blackwatch for months now. Why don't you explain things to them?"
The two women glanced at each other, before bringing out their laptops and then showing exactly all that they had discovered over both groups.
Both Alex and Dana leaned forward and listened attentively to everything that was said, eager to finally get some answers, and they certainly got that and more as they listened to everything from the incident in Hope, Idaho that brought the revelation of Redlight, the part that Elizabeth Greene had to play in that mess, the origins of Blackwatch and Gentek, and finally…
Blacklight, the new and improved version of Redlight.
By then, Alex had calmed slightly, far more focused on the revelations being told to him than the presence of the three visitors, but when that name was dropped he instantly tensed.
Dana gave him a worried look, but she was just as eager to hear what exactly her brother got involved in and what had been done to him.
And so, the two women told them of what they knew.
Of the study and development of a greater version of Redlight, of how the pressure put onto Blackwatch in Congress resulted in Blackwatch removing undesirable elements from Gentek…
And then the important part.
Alex deciding to flee from Gentek, having decided that the research he was making wasn't in fact for the betterment of Mankind but the opposite, of how he fled to Penn. Station with a vial of Blacklight as insurance, of how he was tracked down by Blackwatch through his cellphone… And how, when he was about to be executed by Blackwatch soldiers, her brother took the vial and smashed it to the ground in desperation.
Dana jerked, eyes wide, as they solemnly showed both of them the video recording from the security cameras of the station showing the whole thing go down, and how once the virus was free it quickly spread, killing everybody in the entire area.
"God, Alex…" she whispered, horrified, though she wasn't sure if it was because of the fact her brother was about to be killed, or if it was the fact he was essentially responsible for thousands of deaths.
Alex said nothing, his eyes utterly fixed on the screen, an emotionless mask hiding his thoughts on what he was seeing.
Finally, he spoke up. "You said that I wasn't human… That's what you meant, then. I'm infected by Blacklight?"
"Not just infected." said Aeon, speaking up for the first time in a while, his voice soft, his expression surprisingly solemn. "You are Blacklight. Born from the memories of a dying Alex Mercer, If scattered, because of his death. Thus, you are both Alex Mercer and yet someone… new. No human language has a good word for what you are, what you have become."
"So… I'm not human. I'm a virus in the form of man." Alex declared, his eyes still fixed on the screen.
Dana stared at him, her thoughts and emotions a mess.
Her brother had died… but hasn't? He still looked mostly the same… but he wasn't?
She clenched her hands together, her mind and heart unable to come to a conclusion on what to feel about all this-
Aeon tilted his head. "Yes… and no."
For the first time, Alex blinked, frowning at the man. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Aeon leaned forward, fearlessly looking into the pale blue eyes glaring at him. "Tell me this… Do you love Dana Mercer?"
Both Alex and Dana froze, staring up at him in shock.
Aeon didn't even blink, his expression firm and unyielding as he stared Alex in the eyes. "Well? It's a simple question. Do you love her?"
Slowly, Alex turned to look at her, leaving Dana to stare back at him with wide blue eyes, her heart beating faster than she ever thought it possibly could.
A corner of her mind noted it couldn't possibly be healthy for it to beat so fast, but the rest of her was utterly transfixed by the two pale blue eyes staring at her.
"A-Alex?" she stammered, wanting to say a thousand things and yet unable to voice a single one of them.
It was while staring into those pale depths that Dana realized, if Alex rejected her it would destroy her. She didn't care if he wasn't human, not really. As long as he was her brother, the same person who she owed so much to, that was all that mattered to her.
A thousand memories of her and her brother rushed through her mind, a thousand reasons why she loved him, why she would rather die than to betray him to the likes of Blackwatch and Gentek.
He was the one person she had come to cherish more than any other in the world, to the point that she went to Manhattan to get closer to him, spent months writing small articles for the money she needed to stay in the area hoping for the right opportunity to finally reconnect with him.
Even now, after everything… She didn't want to lose him.
She couldn't lose him.
She blinked, tears gathering in her eyes as the silence grew, as he kept staring at her in silence with an emotionless face, her lips wobbling.
Her vision got blurry, her mouth opening only for no words to come out, her throat closing and making her choke slightly-
"What if she got hurt?"
Dana blinked rapidly, noticing that Aeon was leaning forward even more, almost to the point of being getting into Alex's personal space, their eyes meeting and refusing to budge.
"Imagine it." Aeon whispered, his voice nonetheless carrying across the same room they were in with ease. "Imagine Blackwatch getting their hands on your sister, torturing her for information about you."
Alex's hands clenched.
"Imagine her screams of pain, imagine her blood splatters across the room, the cold laughter of Blackwatch soldiers over her shrieks of agony."
"Aeon-" began Claire, but Aeon raised a hand, silencing her worried words even as his eyes never left Alex's.
"Imagine her spit in defiance to the bitter end, even as they cut her apart, even as they make her scream in agony. Imagine-" his voice turned softer still "finding her broken, mutilated corpse-"
Alex punched him in the face, so hard a shockwave bloomed from the hit.
Aeon's head snapped to the side, blood flowing down his broken nose, before he slowly turned towards Alex.
And then… he grinned widely.
"Congratulations, Alex Mercer. You're still human enough to cherish those you love."
And Dana got up, slapped him, and then hugged her dumbass of a brother for all he was worth, crying on his chest even as Alex blinked in shock, his arms instinctively coming up and around her shoulders to hug her back.
Claire took Aeon out of the room, a scowl on her face, with a bemused Alyssa following suit.
-
"Aeon, what the fuck-" Exclaimed Claire, once she had dragged me out of the room and of Alyssa's hearing range.
Though the blonde woman was still visibly enjoying the drama from far away, if the look on her face was anything to go by.
"He needed it. No, they needed it." I calmly replied, feeling my healing kick in and fix my nose.
Claire scowled and glared up at me. I had to admit, she was truly beautiful when angry, though it wasn't the moment to point that out.
"And that was reason enough to say things like that?!"
I sighed. "Alex needed something to shock him out of his growing mindset that he was inhumane. He needed absolute proof of his humanity, Claire. Something that he couldn't deny, or reason away, or convince himself to ignore. Dana also needed proof that Alex was still fundamentally her brother. That no matter who or what he was, he still loved her."
I paused, then shrugged. "Also, there is little that can bring people together better than a common enemy. By acting like I did, I helped those two grow closer together, forcing them to acknowledge things that they otherwise would not dare say or mention. They needed this."
"It still wasn't right! They both went through a lot lately, and this definitely didn't help them relax!"
I gave her a look. "I promised them the truth, and it isn't always easy to hear. And you know what's at stake here, we couldn't let Alex convince himself he was some kind of monster. Far too many would die if that ever happened."
"Oh, so it's totally alright to manipulate their emotions, and emotionally hurt them both, if it's for the Greater Good?" she replied, sarcasm thick enough it might as well be a mace to bonk my head with.
"Not just the greater good, but for their own good as well." I said softly. "I told you. They both needed this, specifically because they would have never confronted it otherwise, not so openly, and in the end it would have festered and hurt them both all the more."
"Oh, and you knew that within minutes of meeting them for the first time?" Claire said, voice flat.
I sighed. "I'm no more human than Alex is, do remember that." I said softly enough that the nearby Alyssa absolutely couldn't hear those words.
Claire glared at me for a moment longer, before sighing deeply.
"You can't use that to excuse everything, Aeon." she said softly. "What you did was out of the line, no matter how benevolent the reasons behind it."
"I'll apologies for hurting them. I truly don't wish them ill, Claire." I earnestly declared.
Claire's eyes softened. "I know, Aeon. But the ends don't always justify the means. That's a slippery slope you don't want to fall into. And now, they aren't going to be all too happy with all of us, either."
I shook my head. "They won't be happy with me, but you and Alyssa can smooth things over with them pretty easily. Hell, I'm sure Alyssa will be more than happy to complain about me with them, since that woman's sharp tongue spares no one. As for you, well the way you dragged me out of the room will be enough that with some time working together, you and Dana can bond together. I'm sure that you'd like someone sympathetic to vent to about my flaws, and I'm sure Dana will be more than happy to trash-talk me after this."
Claire pinched her nose. "Aeon, I love you, but sometimes your intelligence goes all the way back into stupidity. Please don't manipulate people like this, just because you can doesn't mean you should. And please stop using yourself as a sacrifice, because now that I think about it, I'm not surprised your crazy plan involved you getting the short end of things."
I smiled wryly at her. "Well, it is me we're talking about."
Claire groaned. "One day, I'll find a way to stop you from trying to take everything on by yourself."
My smile turned warm. "I look forward to that day, then."
-
"Alex…"
"Dana, I…"
Alex trailed off, and Dana smiled weakly.
"It's good to see that even now, you're trying to protect me… Big bro."
Alex sighed, but hugged her harder. "I'm sorry, I just…"
She shook her head. "Don't. I'm just glad my brother is alive and well, even if apparently you're some kind of hyper-advanced lifeform or whatever the hell you're supposed to be right now."
She looked him in the eyes, making sure he saw the sincerity in her next words. "Whatever happens, you're still my brother, alright?"
Alex smiled, expression soft. "Alright."
"Good." she returned to hugging him, her head on his chest, and she sighed in satisfaction at the feeling of his arms around her.
"That went crazy pretty fast, there."
Alex's voice darkened. "You could say that. What he said was-"
"Way out of line, I know. Though now that I think about it, the way he reacted when you punched him… He was doing that on purpose."
"Yeah." Alex fell silent, before his arms tightened around her. "He's dangerous, Dana."
"Because he's actually capable of making you lose your cool?" she teased.
"Dana, I punched him in the face. I can bend steel with ease. And I wasn't holding back on that punch."
Dana stiffened.
"You mean-"
"I mean he took a blow that could shatter a goddamn tank and all he got for it was a broken nose that didn't make him flinch."
Dana fell silent for a long moment.
"Insight Corp. is one of the most powerful companies in the world, Alex." she said slowly. "They have influence all over the world, and ISIS is by all I've found out about them, which by the way is far less than even what I found on Blackwatch, one of, if not the deadliest private army on the planet. Better than most, if not all countries special forces, to give you an idea."
"So what's your theory?"
"I don't know. But I intend to find out."
"Good."
There was a knock on the door, and the two reluctantly separated.
"Enter." Alex said coldly, and their three visitors came in.
Aeon's eyes immediately fell upon her, and he began walking towards her with purpose.
She caught Alex tensing on the side-
And then Aeon did a perfect 90 degree bow, leaving both Mercers to blink.
"I sincerely apologies for my words, you two." he declared, and despite herself Dana could not find anything but true, genuine earnestness in his voice. "I was completely out of line, and if you wish me to leave, I shall do so immediately."
Dana exchanged a somewhat bewildered look with her brother, but he seemed no more sure on how to respond to that than she did.
Alyssa was watching the scene with raised eyebrows, visibly surprised by the sight of the leader of ISIS so willing to apologies, while Claire had a small, approving smile after getting over her surprise.
"It's… well, it wasn't alright, but as long as you don't do it again, I suppose we do owe you for all the information that you gave us?" said Dana, not too sure how to handle the 180° the man had just done, but deciding that not making an enemy of one of the most powerful men in the world when she and her brother were already fugitives was a pretty smart life choice in general.
Aeon straightened, a warm, relieved smile on his face that made her blink again. "Thank you." he declared, and again there was only genuine relief and joy at her words.
"It's… fine." She glanced at her brother, deciding to quickly move on from the rather awkward situation. "Anyway, what else did we need to talk about?"
"Actually I did have a question." her brother said, taking a step forward towards Aeon. "How the hell has your nose healed already? Hell, how did you take my punch with only a broken nose, considering how hard I've punched you?"
Aeon chuckled. "Asking the hard questions from the start, huh?" Before her brother could reply to that, Aeon nodded at him. "I can't tell you everything, but ISIS has been working on creating as many advantages as we could give to our soldiers. That includes a super-soldier program granting greater strength, regeneration, and more." he smirked, a white glow surrounding him for a second. "I also deliberately lowered my… let's call it force-field projection in order to let you punch me in the face."
Both she and her brother looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to be so… open and honest about things.
"So ISIS does have a super-soldier program… I wondered." mused Alyssa, shamelessly using the situation to learn more about Aeon and ISIS.
Dana had the suspicion that the woman, while at least partially loyal to ISIS, wasn't one to just be a good little slave.
That was… potentially useful.
"I would have told you, had you asked. Besides, Blackwatch has one, and we couldn't let them have one without doing the same too." calmly replied Aeon.
"Wait, Blackwatch has a super-soldier program?!" exclaimed Alex, a measure of concern in his voice.
Aeon nodded at him. "They do, yes. Shall we sit back, and get back into things? We still have quite a lot to brief you about, and that's going to take some time."
Both Mercers exchanged a look, but nodded.
From there, the meeting began focusing on the known capabilities of Relight and Blacklight, the former of which Blackwatch had managed to safely used to create a group known as the D-code Super soldiers, a group of 161 Blackwatch soldiers injected with a variant of Redlight which granted them a number of abilities.
Aeon went on to give some details about ISIS's own super-soldier program, in the name of cooperation and transparency, explaining the very different methods used to create them and how no, no viruses were involved in their creation.
Eventually, the meeting turned back to Alex.
Or more specifically, what he was capable of nowadays, and from then on.
"Wait, you've killed how many soldiers?!" exclaimed Dana, stunned to learn what exactly her brother got up to with his powers since he had woken up from the morgue.
Alex grimaced slightly, but held his ground. "They were trying to kill me, Dana. I didn't have much of a choice."
Dana opened her mouth, then remembered the Blackwatch soldier that had been with her when Alex found her.
She also remembered everything she had learned of Blackwatch so far.
She sighed, groaning slightly.
"Fuck. This is a mess… Alright, fine, but please tell me you didn't kill any poor bastards walking down the street or something."
Her brother shook his head. "I just killed Blackwatch soldiers, though I have no idea if innocents were armed during our fights."
"Wonderful." she sarcastically declared with a deeper groan, before shaking her head.
"Right, just… please be careful? It's one thing to kill those Blackwatch bastards, by all indication they're monsters anyway, but this is Manhattan, Alex. There are a lot of innocents caught up in this mess."
Alex fell silent for a moment, before sighing.
"I'll try."
"That's the best I'll get, huh?" she muttered, before looking up at Aeon. "And ISIS is busy evacuating people, correct?"
"Correct. We can't do anything else, not with the White House currently backing General Randall."
"Fucking politicians." she grumbled, and Aeon smiled wryly at her. "To be fair, Blackwatch is supposed to exist specifically for this scenario. It's just that, in this case, they are the ones behind all of this."
"Then we need proof. Evidence to reveal their crimes, right?" asked Alex.
"Got it in one." Aeon nodded at him. "And I'm sure you can help with that, considering your ability to get memories from those you consume, beyond just taking their appearance."
Both Alex and Dana stared at him, before Dana turned to look at her brother. "I'm sorry, what?"
"How do you know-" exclaimed Alex, but Dana wasn't going to budge. "Alex! What the hell is he talking about?"
Alex glanced at her, then sighed.
A moment later, Dana, Claire and Alyssa jerked as Alex suddenly took the form of a Blackwatch soldier, with only Aeon looking with calm interest at the scene.
"Holy shit that's freaky." muttered the blonde reporter, a sentiment that Dana thoroughly agreed with.
"So you can just pass yourself, memories and all, from those you-" Dana paused at the word consume, before deciding that no, she really, really didn't want to know. "take over?" She finished lamely.
"Yes." came the muffled voice of a Blackwatch soldier, who had been her brother a moment before.
Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it… Dana chanted in her mind, thoroughly freaked out.
"Right. Can we change the subject to something else? Anything else?" she pleaded.
Just because she loved her brother didn't mean all of this couldn't still freak her out, after all, and fucking hell but it definitely did!
"Well, we could talk about every other virus like Redlight and Blacklight out there, if you want?" declared Aeon, and both Dana and Alex stared at him.
Claire smiled wryly. "I think I'll take over for this one. You see, it all began with Umbrella, and…"
The ensuing discussion about the T-virus, the G-virus, the truth of the Raccoon City outbreak and more were as disturbing as they were stunning revelations.
Dana suddenly understood much better why groups like Blackwatch and ISIS existed if the world truly came so close to ending so many times.
Both her and her brother asked as many questions as they could, and considering that all three of their visitors had personal experience with the B.O.W's threatening the world, they all had quite a bit to say on the subject.
Unfortunately for everyone, the discussion eventually had to be cut short when Aeon received an urgent message.
After stepping out of the room to talk to what was apparently the colonel in charge of ISIS, he reinterred it with a grim look on his face.
"Right. I'm sorry, but I need to go back to HQ as soon as possible. We've got a situation on our hands."
"What's going on?" asked Claire.
He sent her a grim look.
"Elizabeth Greene just escaped the Gentek building with several Hunter-type B.O.W's, wrecking carnage on the way out. To make matters worse, she's already gone into hiding."
He looked around the room. "With a proper leader behind the outbreak… Things are about to get ugly, and fast."
Dana exchanged a look with her brother.
Considering all they had been told of the woman, this truly wasn't good news.
"What's going to happen now?" she asked.
Aeon looked at her in the eyes. "Now? Now the outbreak of Manhattan truly begins. And things are about to get much, much worse before they get better."
-
"Colonel, what's the situation?" I declared, once I arrived at HQ.
The colonel turned towards me, ISIS soldiers running around with noticeably more urgency than before, a grim look on his face.
"You want the good news or the bad one first, sir?"
I raised an eyebrow. "We have good news?" I replied, genuinely surprised by that.
In response, the colonel hit a button playing the recording from several cameras of Elizabeth Greene and a number of B.O.W's breaking out of Gentek's building before wreaking havoc on the military forces around the building, and then disappearing in the ensuing chaos.
My eyes narrowed.
"Well then. If nothing else, that ought to give Washington a reason to let us act, since this is going to land Gentek, and by default Blackwatch, into hot water. If we can add some of the files we have gathered over the years on top… Yes, that might just do the trick."
I kept staring at the images for a moment, before turning back to the colonel.
"And bad news?"
"Well, Manhattan is officially sealed off now as a result of Greene's escape, with all ways in and out about to be fortified to hell and back."
I grimaced. "Understandable, but it'll make evacuation harder. Until now, Blackwatch had only disapproved unofficially at our attempts at evacuation. Now, they might just give the order to shoot down our helicopters, citing the risk of infection spreading as the excuse."
"Hopefully, you can put pressure on Washington to allow us to keep the evacuation process going, or things will get even uglier than they'll ever be otherwise."
I nodded grimly. "I'll do my best, Colonel. Anything else beyond that?"
"Well, we estimate the current level of the spread of the virus is at around 3% of Manhattan's population today, with that number rapidly going up in the days to come. So far, few have shown symptoms of transforming into B.O.W's, and those few were handled by Blackwatch. Unfortunately, with Greene out, more and more people will turn, most likely when and where it will cause the most deaths, and spread the virus farthest."
"And we can't do anything until Washington gives us the green light to start doing something about all of this in person."
"Sadly yes, sir."
I sighed. "Figures. Right, I've got some calls to make, just keep an eye on things and tell me if something changes."
"Yes, sir. And about…"
I looked at the colonel in the eyes.
"Those two are with Claire and Alyssa right now. Hopefully, those four working as one will give us results. That's the hope, at least."
*************************************************
"Mr. President."
"Leon. I hear you've got something important to show me?" asked the President of the U.S.A, and father of Ashley Graham, from behind his desk.
Leon nodded. "Yes, sir. I got this intel straight from ISIS, it's about the Manhattan situation. There's been a development."
The President's face hardened.
"I heard from General Randall that some kind of leader of the outbreak has revealed itself? And I granted him the right to seal off Manhattan as a result of the risks that she would spread the virus to New York as a whole."
"Yes, sir. The problem is the origins of said… leader. Here, that should clarify things."
Leon put the laptop he came with in the office once he got the President's agreement, before giving him a briefing on Elizabeth Greene, with accompanying pictures from files straight from Gentek's database that ISIS had gotten their hands on.
And then he finished by showing the video recordings of said woman breaking out of the Gentek building's labs, before causing chaos thanks to the B.O.W's she had created to help her break her cell from the outside, using the growing infected from Manhattan as a pool of resources.
The President's eyes narrowed, a scowl on his face by the end of it all.
"I was made aware of a number of Blackwatch's secrets when I took the job, but I was informed that Patient 0 of Hope, Idaho had been disposed of following that utter madness in Raccoon City, and the changes, both political and… otherwise… in the U.S.A. following that mess making research into B.O.W's illegal. It appears as if news of her death were greatly exaggerated."
The president scowled harder.
"Or should I say completely false."
The president leaned back, a deep frown on his face, before sighing deeply.
"Damn it. If it goes out that the government was in any way responsible for what looks like one of the greatest clusterfucks since Raccoon City, the years of work I did while in this chair will be utterly shredded."
"Then why not simply blame Blackwatch and Gentek as rogue agents and traitors? A second Umbrella in the making?"
"Because no matter how much I may dislike them right now, Blackwatch is still the only group besides ISIS who can contain this mess. We need their manpower, ISIS can't handle a city like Manhattan on their own… Can they?"
Leon grimaced at the President's question.
The answer, sadly, was no, they couldn't. Not without Aeon going all out, at least.
They simply didn't have the manpower for it.
"And if we gave ISIS command of the Marines sent to Manhattan?" he couldn't help but ask.
The president raised an eyebrow. "You want to let a paramilitary group have authority over the Armed Forces?"
His tone of voice made it clear what he thought of that.
Leon looked drily at the President. "Well by the sounds of it, our national elite troops are one bad day away from going rogue, so…"
The President grimaced.
"So what? When it comes out that Blackwatch has gone rogue, our reply to the media for what we did should be 'Let a corporation's private army do the job?' We'll be the laughing stock of the world!"
"So what's the plan, Mr President?"
"The plan is that you'll investigate Blackwatch and Gentek while the outbreak goes on. Give me as much proof of them breaking the laws as you can get me. When the time comes, I'll bury Blackwatch for putting Manhattan at risk and lying to me. But until we can handle this outbreak, I'd rather not fight a three-way war over Manhattan!"
-
"So, we finally got the right to act."
I nodded. "Yes Colonel, Leon managed to convince the President that we needed to be able to act if this mess had any hopes of being handled. That's the good news."
The Colonel grunted. "And the bad news is everything else."
I sighed. "Sadly, yes."
Unfortunately, Elizabeth Greene being freed was proving exactly as bad a thing as we all feared.
A number of infected were out in the open, having turned a number of buildings into Hive nests which helped grow their number, create more powerful types of B.O.W's, and spread the virus around the area.
Blackwatch was already hunting those buildings down as much as they could, but unsurprisingly the death toll was swiftly climbing now that the battles were being waged all over the place and in the open.
Oh, and Claire told me that Alex Mercer rescued his ex-girlfriend and former Gentek employee, Karen Parker. Which only made things more chaotic, because to do so he had to destroy one Hive Nest and two Blackwatch bases along the way.
Needless to say, the last few hours were pretty wild, and it was only going to get worse.
"So, what are your orders, sir?"
I scowled, looking grimly at a map of Manhattan spread out on the desk in front of me.
"We hold the north for now. Let Blackwatch worry about the south, we need to get as many people out of here as we can. We've got the equipment to make sure that no one infected makes it out of here. Let's put it to good use. With the announcement of Manhattan's quarantine and the recent chaos, more and more people are flocking towards ours and Blackwatch's HQ's. We can't do much for people in the south, but we can at least set up checkpoints to direct and protect people headed towards the north, and slowly evacuate people from this mess using the northern roads. We're definitely going to piss of Blackwatch by letting anyone out, but fuck it, better piss them off than let more potential victims stay in this mess."
"Even with using the equipment we have, there's only so many people we can let out into New York at any given time. And the refugee situation-"
"The President will handle the logistics of the refugees, Leon confirmed that. Our job is to ensure that there are refugees in the first place, and that none of them are a ticking time bomb."
"It'll require us to split our forces." pointed out the colonel, with no judgement in his voice, just simple facts.
I grimaced anyway.
"I know, but we have no choice. I'd rather open as many ways out as we can while we can, than only just a few that are well-fortified. The military rapidly setting up in New York can handle anything that makes it pass us, worst comes to worst. They got Las-guns for fuck's sake, they better be capable of handling a handful of infected breaking past our lines!"
"Greene is definitely going to try and strike at us at one of those points… But that's part of your plan, isn't it?" he finished, a tone of realisation in his voice.
I grinned grimly.
"Appear weak where you are strong, strong where you are weak. I'm keeping the Hunters back from this mess for now for a reason. The moment that Greene makes her move, it will be time to strike, and then counter-attack. But I don't want to show off our cards too quickly. We're not fighting a mindless horde like in Raccoon City. We're dealing with one with proper intelligence. We have to keep some surprises in reserve, because we can be certain our enemy will do the same."
The colonel looked coldly at the map, eyes flickering across the various ways out of Manhattan in the north.
"Where do you think she'll strike?"
I hummed. "There are a few ways out… But I'd say at the bridge at the top of the northern territory. Oh, the others will be attacked too, but I think they'll be only diversions. That bridge up north is the farthest one from our HQ, and all the others essentially stand in the way of it. If she wants to break out, bogging us down by throwing disposable waves of B.O.W's at the other bridges sounds like the smartest move that she can make. It means she'll probably try and hide a number of B.O.W's up north somehow, but I suspect she'll use the underground for that."
The colonel grimaced. "A War Beneath 2.0, like back in Raccoon City, sounds inevitable then."
I nodded. "There are a lot of insects and the like underground. A perfect breeding place for all kinds of B.O.W's, ready to be unleashed when most effective against us."
I grinned. "Thankfully, we do have a secret weapon."
"Bloodtox?"
"Bloodtox." I smiled grimly. "The poison to Blacklight and Redlight. When we're ready to spring the trap that Greene is going to prepare for us, we'll pump the damn thing everywhere underground Manhattan, at least the parts that we control, and flush everything out."
The colonel frowned. "We aren't going to challenge them outright underground?"
I shook my head. "Again, we're not facing a mindless horde. I don't want to see what an army of Redlight or Blacklight B.O.W's can do when collectively controlled by someone with even some basic understanding of guerilla warfare while fighting underground. No, I'm thinking of just keeping some easily defensible choke points down there, but otherwise let the underground be for now. And honestly…"
I sighed.
"I'm just not willing to throw men down there with the numbers required to have a hope of winning, until we can make sure we can control the city above ground in the first place. Fighting a war on two fronts does not sound like my idea of a good time, especially since both fronts can work collectively together without any issue."
"You don't want to spread our forces too thin, I understand." nodded the colonel.
"If things go smoothly above ground, then maybe I'd be willing to spare the manpower for an underground assault. As it is, we're still not too sure how this outbreak is going to look like. Again, this isn't Raccoon City. Taking risks against a disorganised foe is one thing, but against a true hive mind? Some caution will serve us well, I feel."
"So, the plan is essentially to hold our ground, draw them in an ultimately foolish assault, and then counter-attack as hard as possible?"
"Pretty much." I agreed. "Of course, that depends on a lot of things, such as how competent Blackwatch proves itself to be. If they lose in the south, we'll have to take risks and actually go for outright assaults, or risk becoming overwhelmed by the number of infected Greene can claim from a fallen southern Manhattan. One advantage we have is that Greene isn't fighting one army, since we have ISIS, Blackwatch, and the Marines, so we can put pressure on her by using our own supply of troops if the other groups start buckling under the pressure."
The colonel sighed. "That's a whole lot of unknowns, sir."
I smiled grimly. "I'm aware. But we're still the ones who have to save the day, so we'll have to make do and pull off a win anyway."
"No pressure." the colonel deadpanned, and I laughed.
"No pressure at all." I agreed sarcastically, eyes grimly staring at the map of Manhattan before me.
Several spots were already marked with red signifying the infected.
I didn't need to be half as experienced in war as I was to know that, by the end of this, there were going to be a whole lot more red spots.
I could only hope that they stayed only as spots, rather than outright sweeping waves of red.
Otherwise, things might escalate in a way that could never be taken back.
In my mind, I saw a flash of a tall form floating over a burning Manhattan, cloaked in starlight, one hand holding a scythe high, the other holding a glowing holy sword.
For a moment that echoed across eternity, there were no sounds. The roars of countless monstrous throats ceased to echo in the night. The screams of the dying and the damned were silenced. Not a sound was heard, for all things, mortals and monstrous alike, to the very universe itself it seemed to all, fell silent in instinctive awe of the being that had come forth upon the world.
For the first time in the universe's history, divinity walked the world.
Such was the growing strength of evil that action needed to be taken to preserve all from Ruin.
And on that day, divinity answered.
It answered the cries for salvation.
It answered the cries for judgement.
The god cloaked in starlight looked down… And pointed his sword at the ground below.
A flash of light blinded the eyes of all-
And then cleansing fire was unleashed.
By the time the flames died out, the world could never be the same ever again.
Whether it liked it or not, whether it acknowledged it or not-
The Age of Man was over.
Now began the Age of Gods.
And the gods held no more patience for evil.
I shook my head.
This was not the outcome I wanted for this world.
Mankind, for all the horrors it had created on this Earth, deserved better than to be made to kneel.
Even if it was to save them from their own folly.
-
"It brings back memories, doesn't it Carlos?"
The man grimaced, eyes grim.
"Yeah, you could say that. Not good ones, either."
"I wouldn't know, I wasn't there in Raccoon City." declared the other man of our little trio currently staring in the distance at the clouds of smoke from battles between Blackwatch soldiers and B.O.W's down in the southern parts of Manhattan.
Me, Carlos, and Billy Coen were all passing a moment together, staring grimly at the explosions going off in the distance.
It was a rare moment where all three of us weren't busy, but for now, the colonel could handle things, and both Billy and Carlos were staying at the ISIS HQ.
And so, I took this moment to go see the two men, though admittedly we weren't doing much talking.
The sounds and sights of distant battles were a bit distracting.
"Trust me, I was more than happy to get the hell out of there myself. I saw a lot of good soldiers die in there. And they died because our leaders wanted us all dead."
Carlos shook his head. "I'm glad things will be different this time, though there's still Blackwatch to worry about."
Billy scowled. Considering his history, he had a rather personal grudge against soldiers willing to kill innocents just because they were ordered to.
"If they weren't such an important part of keeping this mess contained, I'd say fuck those guys."
"And since they are?" I asked, curious.
He grunted. "Then I hope they'll die well at least, since the more B.O.W's they kill before dying, the easier our job will be."
I hummed in agreement. "Say what you will about Blackwatch, they aren't stupid. Evil, sure, but not incompetent. They'll give Greene trouble as much as they can. And considering they are led by the same man who dealt with the first outbreak, General Randall has experience with Greene."
Carlos scowled. "I'd agree, but then I remember what Rebecca told me of what she got from the samples of Blacklight and Redlight we got so far, and I'm not so sure about that anymore."
I glanced at him. "You mean the traces of T-Virus in them? Well, Blackwatch was in Raccoon City. I'm not surprised they tried to use the T-Virus with the other viruses they already possessed to see how they would react."
I sighed. "Of course, the answer is that both Redlight and Blacklight B.O.W's are tougher and more prone to mutation, so that's just going to be great to deal with as time goes by."
Carlos snorted. "Sometimes, I have to wonder if we're protecting the world more from evil or stupidity. Seriously, making a virus like Redlight stronger?! How stupid do you have to be?!"
I shook my head. "I do admit that this world really does seem to equal evil with stupidity sometimes. I mean, why oh why are so many people eager to inject themselves with wild, not fully understood mutagenic viruses, I'll never know! But they certainly seemed eager to keep going."
"And it's not like it ever worked out… For anyone, really."
I shrugged. "Doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result is one of the definitions of insanity, and honestly, by that alone a lot of people should be considered insane in this world. Unfortunately, they tend to also end up with a lot of power, and so we're the ones left to clean up the messes of these madmen."
"Well, at least we've got our own trump cards nowadays." declared Billy with a smile, showing off his arm held within the confines of his power armour… and the glow of his Aura around that.
I smiled. "Thanks to Summer… the Huntress I mean, we've got Aura and Dust on our side. That's certainly going to be useful. Even if I had to train all of you lot back from the ground up to properly incorporate your new abilities in your tactics and strategies in battle."
"Well worth the asskicking we got from you, though. Personal force-fields enhancing us all into super-humans, on top of the actual super-soldier program? We're without a doubt the deadliest sons of bitches on Earth!"
"Except for Blacklight bullshit." I pointed out with a smirk. "And Hunter of the Dream bullshit. And-"
"Aeon?"
"Yes, Carlos?"
"Let us have our Dream, man. Let us have our Dream."
I chuckled. "Alright, but if you get killed for your arrogance, I reserve the right to tell you so the moment I come for your souls."
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. Don't taunt the god walking amongst us, or he'll prank us to death, before pranking us when we're dead. We get it."
"I trained you so well." I said smugly.
"Oh fuck off, Aeon. That prank with the ghost was just cruel!"
I scoffed. "Nonsense! Forcing you to survive against something you couldn't shoot was good training! And I'll have you know, Richard found the whole idea hilarious, and was more than happy to help me with it!"
Carlos gave me a dry look. "Uh huh. And you totally didn't put cameras everywhere in order to record the reactions of the ex-S.T.A.R.S members to one of their own coming back from beyond the grave as a ghost to prank the whole lot of us?"
"I dare say that Rebecca almost keeled over from a stroke when she first saw him." wryly pointed out Billy.
"I have no idea what you are talking about, and those recordings totally didn't make it to the other members of the S.T.A.R.S. in the afterlife. Of course not." I said with false innocence.
"Uh huh."
"Right."
I gave the two sarcastic men a dry look, then huffed with a grin.
"Careful, or I might get creative in pranking you both specifically." I warned.
The two elite ISIS soldiers stiffened in a way that made my grin widen.
It was always good to see that my training was working properly, and their survival instincts were definitely screaming in their ears right now!
If those instincts stayed sharp, they might even hopefully make it through this outbreak in one piece!
C'mon guys, I have faith in you! You can do it!
Or I might get very smug if I need to regrow a few of their limbs because they got too cocky.
Hell, I might even unleash Rebecca upon the poor bastards if they really fucked up! Ever see two grown men, hardened soldiers both, trembling and shaking like leaves before a woman barely reaching their shoulders? I did, and it was hilarious to watch!
Truly, no one should ever underestimate the medic!
Especially when she got trained in creating all kinds of poisons!
-
Summer Rose was quietly freaking out.
She was still a kick-ass huntress, one enhanced by literal gods and given immortality. So really, you would think she had no reason to freak out, right?
Wrong! Utterly wrong!
The reason for her freak out? Well, she was finally going on a big mission for ISIS!
Which would be great, after over a year of training, to finally get back into the field…
But this was just crazy!
Why did her first true deployment have to be in Manhattan, of all things?! Oh sure, send her to fight in a battle that might as well be worth the fate of one of Remnant's kingdoms on her first outing, that sounded fair!
Summer took a deep breath, and exhaled, holding her weapon, Iron Thorn, with both hands tightly clenched.
She wasn't alone, of course. This was a true, all hands on deck situation. Tanks, aircrafts, and all sorts of material were being sent to Manhattan, the other Hunters were on hand ready to act, and she had Aeon, a literal god, overseeing everything.
All things considered, things should be fine, right?
Her hands tightened further around Iron Thorn, before she sighed deeply.
The shadow of her defeat at Salem's hands was rearing its ugly head, bringing doubts and fear to her once far more confident heart. She knew it was foolish, she was far more prepared for this than ever, but her heart refused to listen to reason, and her mind refused to stop listing all the ways things could go wrong.
And it didn't help that there was an undercurrent tension in the ISIS soldiers around her. This scenario was the worst-case one, with only multiple Code Black, level Alpha-one happening at the same time being considered even worse.
Thankfully, there was only one city being threatened… but even that was still terrifying, when you considered the number of people living in Manhattan.
The fact that the first few days of the outbreak were spent simply evacuating as many people as they could convince to leave didn't help, as the lack of fighting had only led to greater frustration and curses sent at Blackwatch's way for stopping them from joining the fight.
Everyone was on edge, because this was the scenario which would test ISIS to its limits, and so far most of them all had spent time setting up bases, fortifying certain areas, and then waiting.
Waiting for things to go horribly wrong.
And apparently… they already did.
A leader of the outbreak broke out of the Gentek building, and now things were quickly escalating.
From what she had heard, ISIS soldiers were trying to fortify various positions underground as fast as they could, while above ground, the last several hours were filled with everyone being tense from the growing, but for now distant sounds of combat as battles were waged in the south.
Several buildings had apparently been turned into hives for B.O.W's, and now Blackwatch were trying to destroy them as fast as they could before more and stronger B.O.W's could be born.
So far, things were going relatively well, if by that you meant that dozens of Marines had died, a few tanks were destroyed, and ISIS HQ expected the death toll of Marines to rise into the hundreds by the end of the day.
Apparently, Blackwatch HQ was using the Marines as disposable scouts to locate and evaluate the defenses of any Hive building before sending in Blackwatch soldiers to destroy the targets.
On the one hand, it allowed the death toll of Blackwatch soldiers to remain low… On the other hand, those poor Marines were effectively sent to their death with no proper training to face B.O.W's of this caliber, and weapons that, while effective, weren't always up to the task of dealing with the stronger B.O.W's found guarding the Hives.
Oh, and to make things worse the man in charge of those Marines was at least somewhat in Blackwatch's pocket, so there were… tensions between the leadership of ISIS and that of the Marines.
The good news, so to speak, was that the regular Marines down the streets were quickly catching on the fact that ISIS troops were far friendlier and willing to back them up than Blackwatch ones, and so while the leadership obeyed General Randall's orders, the rank and file were slowly coming to the realization that their leaders were knowingly sending them to their deaths.
The fact that there already were a few disturbing stories going around about Blackwatch soldiers executing civilians was not making things better.
The whole thing kinda reminded her of the differences between Hunters and Atlas' Specialists, with one side loyal to the people of Remnant, and the other to the government of a single kingdom, except that in this case the Specialists in question were cold-blooded murderers on a level that made Summer sick just thinking about it.
All of which did not help the tension in the ISIS soldiers waiting for shit to hit the fan.
Well, at least we all have power armour and Aura, she thought.
It felt strange to wear actual armour with energy shields even now, after a year on Earth, but Aeon had insisted, declaring that relying too much on the finite resource that was one's supply of Aura was foolish, especially when they all expected this outbreak to last for days, potentially weeks.
There would be little time to rest and replenish her Aura if she had to keep running from one front to another to stop them from breaking, after all.
Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that, but if it did…
Well. Aeon's concerns weren't without merit.
"Worried?"
Summer glanced at her dimensional twin, who was sending her a clear knowing look through the front of her helmet.
Summer grimaced, but nodded.
"A bit. This is just… there's a lot at stake here."
"And what about your fight with Salem? There was arguably even more at stake then."
Summer exhaled, before waving at the city around them.
The still very much crowded city.
"True, but I wasn't surrounded by the people I was fighting for then. I was in Salem's territories then. This, on the other hand…"
Her twin nodded solemnly. "The consequences of failure are right in front of you, making it impossible to ignore, huh?"
"Yes." Summer simply replied, passing a moment to simply stare at a family passing by, the adults sending worried glance at the amount of soldiers from ISIS around the block they were in, while the young daughter, around ten years old, couldn't help but look widely around at the various tanks and military fortifications around the place, ready to rain death upon any infected coming their way.
Her twin put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"We'll pull through, I promise. And so will these people. Raccoon City didn't fall, Manhattan won't either."
"I really hope so."
"Major Rose!"
Both women turned, blinking at the sight of Aeon coming their way.
The man's eyes glanced at the huntress, gaze turning thoughtful for a second before he nodded at her.
"Summer. I've got a job for you both."
"Sir! What's the mission?" asked the Major, saluting.
"The BSAA is finally getting involved." Aeon declared, coming to stand before them both. "And Director O'Brian is going to put his HQ close to ours. Your job is to link up with him and his people, and see to it that they get a good understanding of the situation, while making sure they can work with us without issue."
"Babysitting duty, sir?" teased the Major.
Aeon snorted. "Be nice, Major. They're the BSAA, they're more competent and experienced than most in this case. Either way, I'm linking your team with some of their people. See that they don't die, but ultimately try and give them a good show of what we're up against."
"I'm somewhat surprised the BSAA is here at all. I can't imagine that Blackwatch was happy about that." mused the Major.
"Oh, they aren't, but they don't have a choice. The President has spoken, and they have to obey. The media are being kept away from the areas of battles for now, but they can still hear the fighting and see the burning buildings, to say nothing of the growing military presence on the island. The only reason the entire world hasn't seen B.O.W's all over the news yet is that the fighting is relatively contained… For now. That won't last more than a few more days max. When that happens… Like it or not, the world will change."
"And the BSAA?"
"The UN's way of keeping an eye on this mess. The UN remembers Raccoon City, even if the population was kept in the dark. Having an outbreak in Manhattan ten years after the last big one is making some of the higher-ups ask some serious questions about what it is in the US is seemingly causing these messes."
"Again, I can't imagine everyone in the US government is happy about that."
Aeon scoffed. "Hell no! Simmons is both furious and scared of what would happen if Blackwatch and Gentek are exposed, since he was hoping to use them to circumvent the laws against B.O.W. research. I already heard a few rumors of people in the Pentagon mentioning nukes to potentially control the situation here."
"Nukes?!" exclaimed Summer, because seriously the fact the nations of this planet had enough weapons of power great enough to destroy the world was still something that freaked her out, and the thought of those horrors being used was fucking terrifying.
Aeon nodded. "So far, it's only been referred to as a worst-case scenario of course, but the longer this outbreak goes on, the more I suspect Simmons to try and use a nuke. And General Randall might support him on it, depending on how things go during the outbreak. Needless to say, we'd all rather avoid that outcome."
"But shouldn't the use of a nuke require the President to give the go-ahead?"
Aeon pursed his lips. "Blackwatch might have lost favor in his eyes, but Simmons is still powerful and influential. Depending on how many people both Randall and Simmons can convince to back them up, it's not impossible that the President might be convinced that nuking Manhattan would be the best way to solve this outbreak, especially if it lasts for a while, destroying much of the island anyway and killing many of its people."
The two women contemplated that bit of news for a moment.
"Shit." cursed the Major, and Summer grimly agreed.
"Indeed. As it is, I have confirmed that the USS Ronald Reagan is making its way towards Manhattan, to help us all contain the outbreak. It should tell you something of how concerned the higher-ups are that they are sending a supercarrier here to help with the situation."
Aeon shook his head.
"Either way, you've got your orders. BSAA agents Parker Luciani and Jessica Sherawat are going to be working with you, at least until further notice."
The Major tilted her head. "Aren't they-"
"Yes, they were at the El Veltro incident."
The Major blinked. "Huh. Well, good to have some familiar faces then. Don't worry, sir. Me and my twin, and my boys and girls of course, got this mission in the bag!" She cheerfully declared, putting a hand on Summer's shoulder at the "twin" part.
Aeon grinned back. "Good to hear, Major. I'll leave you to it, I've got other matters to take care of."
"Hm, Aeon?"
"Yes, Summer?"
"How much can I show off my abilities around these BSAA agents, if needed?" Summer asked, well-aware than for the most part the Hunters were encouraged to not show off too much of their supernatural nature around non-ISIS people.
Aeon frowned, before sighing. "As much as you think is necessary. This outbreak isn't going to let us hold back much I fear, so don't let anyone die to keep our secrets. It's not worth it."
She smiled. "Alright."
Aeon nodded at them, giving them the details of when the BSAA agents would get there before leaving.
"Things are heating up, huh?" Summer muttered.
Her twin nodded. "Seems like it. Was bound to happen, really. Something like that can't be kept quiet for long."
"You've got some experience with those BSAA guys?"
"A bit. They're good people, and I'm sure that you heard a bit from Valentine, Redfield, and the others helping them out sometimes."
Summer nodded.
"They're not on our level, but they're still better than most, considering who trained them and the actual experience with B.O.W's they have. ISIS has a pretty good relationship with the BSAA, so really I'm glad to have some of their people join this mess. Better than more Blackwatch goons, that's for sure."
The Major sighed. "I'm just worried if they'll be up to the task, I suppose. This isn't a bunch of regular zombies we'll be fighting. If they want to keep up with us, they'll have to work hard. Still, I'm not saying no to more friendlies on the field."
Summer said nothing for a moment, and instead she looked down south, where the occasional trails of smoke could be seen going higher in the sky.
From everything she had been told, this was the calm before the storm.
She just hoped that she, too, would prove up to the task ahead of her.
Only one way to find out.
-
"You guys really upgraded your… everything, huh?"
Summer raised an eyebrow at Parker Luciani, who, alongside his partner Jessica, were looking around at the ISIS soldiers of her twin's team with fascinated interest.
She supposed it wasn't everyday you saw a whole bunch of soldiers in power armour carrying incredibly advanced weapons, even if you were born on Earth and part of the BSAA.
"You should know that ISIS doesn't believe in 'Good Enough'. We've got the best stuff, and we're going to keep having the best stuff. Sorry, but you boys and girls of the BSAA will just have to make do with our hand-me-downs." Teased her twin, the Major quite obviously grinning in amusement at the way that Parker was glancing at the various high-tech guns and materiel.
Parker snorted. "Yeah, yeah, ISIS has the best stuff ever, we get it. You lucky bastards…" The man shook his head, though the grin on his face took away any bite from his words.
"Hey, maybe if you impress them enough they'll let you use some of their stuff for a little while?" joked Jessica, before she rolled her eyes. "Men and their toys…" she muttered, though despite her words she did send considering glances at the ISIS soldiers around her.
The Major sniffed. "Sharing our stuff? With you barbarians? Bah, you wouldn't know how to properly sweet-talk a Grav-gun into blowing up a bunch of B.O.W's if it came with an instruction manual! Let the real professionals do the work, you can bask in our glory at the side!" she loudly declared, visibly enjoying the banter.
To be fair, most ISIS soldiers rarely had the opportunity to get into the age-old tradition of different military units bragging about who was better than the other.
Summer sighed. "Major, please don't taunt our new allies with their own inadequacies, we're all on the same side here, and we're supposed to be keeping an eye out for trouble while making our way to one of our checkpoints near Blackwatch territory."
"Well it's not my fault we're all awesome!" cheerfully replied the Major. "Isn't that right, everyone?"
"YEAH!" came the cheerful cry from the other ISIS soldiers accompanying them having listened with amused approval at their leader poking fun at the BSAA agents.
"See?!" smugly replied the Major.
Summer sighed deeply, amused despite herself when Parker and Jessica quickly began to try and fight back as much as they could in the growing banter between the two sides-
*KA-BOOM!*
-Only for said banter and her amusement to be brutally cut short when the sound of an explosion echoed in the distance.
"That was from the checkpoint." The Major's voice, previously full of mirth and smugness, was suddenly deadly serious, with just a measure of concern underneath.
"To all units, this is Checkpoint Delta, we're under attack! I repeat, we are under attack by Hunter-class B.O.W's, backed by waves of Walkers and a handful of Flyers-"
"This is Checkpoint Alpha, It's not just Delta, we've got incoming-"
"-Checkpoint Gamma here! There's a motherfucking Goliath here! I repeat-"
"-The entire frontline is under attack, to all units, be advised-"
"-B.O.W's spotted underground, I repeat, B.O.W's spotted underground-"
Summer exchanged a grim look with everyone around her, while the civilians in the street sent fearful looks towards the growing sounds of laserfire, explosions, and inhuman screams coming from the south, before quickly beginning to move flee from the fighting.
"Come on, on the double! We're almost at Checkpoint Delta, let's get there quickly!" shouted the Major, and immediately after there was no more banter, as they were all busy rushing in as fast as they could towards the frontlines.
This is it, thought Summer with grim determination.Once more into the breach… Time to prove that Remnant's Hunters are no less capable than those of Earth!
And so Summer kept running, deciding not to call upon her semblance quite yet.
She had a bad feeling she was going to need it quite a bit in the hours to come…
-
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we start to deal with the events of Prototype.
Not too much action so far, but then again it takes a bit of time for things to really get going for an outbreak like this.
At least we get Aeon and co. meeting the Mercers! Gotta admit, the whole thing with Aeon wasn't how I originally thought I would write the scene… But it actually made sense. Alex needed proof of his humanity, and the only thing that could be used for it then was his relationship with Dana.
And Aeon basically played the part of the bad cop, specifically out of a desire to force Alex to acknowledge his humanity, and because no one else could do the job (and survive it for that matter, because I'm not sure even Claire would have survived that punch.)
Essentially, Aeon balanced the need to have Alex acknowledge his humanity, with the need to have the Mercers be friendly, and ultimately made the choice that stopping Alex from thinking himself a monster was by far the most important.
It plays on both the strengths and weaknesses of Aeon: He wants to help, but tends to focus on taking care of things by himself, he also tends to be a bit too manipulative for his own good, even if he is the one to pay the price for it. On the other hand, Aeon isn't burdened by pride, so he's more than willing to bow and apologies for his actions afterwards. He may or may not have also used a bit of his Charisma and Empathy in order to let no doubts in Dana and Alex's minds that he really is sorry for hurting them (though do note he's sorry for hurting them, not for doing what he felt was badly needed in order to potentially prevent a tragedy such as Alex going off the deep end.)
And Claire does call him out on things, both his willingness to sacrifice himself, and his tendencies to shoulder everything, on top of being manipulative sometimes, even if it is for people's own good… Or should I say, the world's own good, in this case, considering how powerful Alex can become.
Also, some more planning on the part of ISIS and Aeon, with a vision of how things could end depending on how badly the outbreak goes.
And then I actually wrote a scene holding some old friends, Carlos and Billy, from RE3 and RE1 respectively! I figure it's been a while since we last heard of them, much less see a scene with them in it. They aren't hunters, but they are part of ISIS, and they've served well for around ten years now.
Also, since the result of the vote is a pretty clear victory (70%) for Summer being canon, that means that Aura and Dust is now a thing, and that Summer is officially around for the Manhattan outbreak!
I'll have to go back and edit the previous omakes as canon, though from now on I'll probably simply add a few thousands words more about Summer's story to the regular chapters. Which means bigger chapters in general for you all!
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, we continue to move onwards with things, and you can all expect things to heat up quite a bit, as Elizabeth Greene finally starts poking at ISIS's lines to see how different they are from Blackwatch soldiers…