Italicized: Flashbacks
(_): Thoughts
Bold: Monster
POV: Jill Valentine | September 28th, 1998
Kneeling beside James, Jill tried anxiously to reawaken the fallen bioweapon. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened, though she was more focused on the fact that he wasn't breathing. Starting CPR, Jill tilted James' head back, pinching his nose while blowing three breaths into his lungs. She then began chest compressions, pressing down on his chest in an effort to restart his heart. And it worked. After only ten compressions, James sucked in air, his eyes shooting open to reveal green eyes. But he didn't move. He didn't speak. He only lay there, staring up at the ceiling. He didn't even blink. What the hell was happening here? Had he given himself brain damage by removing those things?
"James. You need to move. You needed to get up. We need to make it back to the subway. Carlos and the others are waiting for us there," Jill explained, shaking James in an attempt to get him moving. But he didn't respond. She instead turned back to the two implants lying on the floor. James' heart was beating, but his brain wasn't working. He was comatose. She had to do something to jolt him out of it and restart his brain. If her basic medical knowledge proved useful, he only had four minutes to live before his body registered his brain's death and shut down. Then he would be dead for good. No amount of CPR would change that.
Grabbing hold of the implants, Jill took a moment to examine the wires coming from them. Hundreds of tiny wires all connected to a single motherboard. Both were still active. An idea formed in her mind as Jill began tieing the wires together at the ends. After tieing over a dozen, Jill positioned the implants on either side of James' head. Gripping two separate wires in either hand, she positioned the tips of the wires over James' temples. Taking in a deep breath, Jill push the wires into his temples, jumping back in shock as an electrical charge ran through the implants. She was sent onto her back, sitting up instantly to examine James. No change. Shit. Try again. Jill decided it was worth a shot.
Getting to her feet, Jill straddled James' stomach, grabbing the implants before positioning them back over his temples. Taking in a deep breath once more, Jill pushed the wires into James' temples. She was shocked once more, but she endured the pain running through her arms as she locked eyes with James. He stared up at her blankly as his head twitched from the continued shock. But it didn't seem to be working. He was still unresponsive. He was gone. (Keep going. He's still got two minutes) Jill thought as she pushed the wires deeper into James' head. "AHHHH!"
Jill fell backward, her arms reaching down to stop herself from crashing into the floor. James quickly sat up, his breathing rapid as he tried to regain his bearings. Jill took a moment to acknowledge their current situation. She was now sitting on his lap. Jill's legs were wrapped around him while her back arched, her hands digging into the ground for support. His arms were wrapped around her, his hands holding her back to keep her from falling. Their eye contact remained unbroken as the two breathed heavily, both trying to recover from the shock the implants had given off.
Pushing off of the floor, Jill planted her feet on the ground and stumbled backward, slowly regaining her footing. Ignoring that situation, she reached down and offered a hand to James, who seemed more confused than anything. He reached up, accepting the hand as Jill helped pull him up. Once he was on his feet, she began with the questions. "What the hell was that? What were those things for? Why pull them out? Are you ok?"
POV: James
James didn't know how to answer any of her questions. His mind raced with ans-. (His. His. Me. I). Phrases that had once been foreign to him were now common. He didn't understand. What had Umbrella done to him? How had they trapped his mind so thoroughly? How had he been able to break free of the binds on his mind? And how had Jill revived him? His mind raced with the answers to her questions. "That...was me breaking out of Umbrella's control. I broke the implants. Broke the control. And yeah...I'm fine. I think,"
"So...you're not still under their...conditioning?" Jill asked.
"Not as far as I can tell," James replied. James. James. That was not his name. But it did seem very familiar. So familiar that it could be his name, and he just wouldn't know it. He shook his head. His mind was scattered. He was remembering things he had once forgotten. A man named Sirius Black. A castle. Hogwarts. His home. His friends. Hermione and Ron. But he couldn't remember their last names. He couldn't remember what the castle looked like inside. He didn't remember where he was from or how he ended up here. He was lost. He was broken. He turned back to Jill, who was watching him with concern. Jill. He could call her Jill. His smile returned as he remembered their current goal. The subway.
Jill also smiled, though she remained uncertain. "Good. I was worried for a minute there,"
James turned to the control room door, cracking his neck while reaching into the interior pocket of his jacket. He reached for something but didn't find it there. It was instinct. As if he would find a small stone or a stick just lying in his pockets. Instead, he grabbed what was actually there, removing a small device. It was a radio, which was no doubt tethered to the other radios used by Umbrella's Alpha, Bravo, and Delta Teams. James clenched his fist, crushing the radio into several pieces before depositing them onto the floor. James turned to Jill with a smile. "So...shall we?" He motioned to the door.
"We shall," Jill replied, reaching up to dip a cap that wasn't on her head. James let out a small laugh as he moved toward the door, opening it to reveal the same empty hallway they had entered through. James reached into his outer pockets and thought of the gun he loved more than any other on this planet. The Ravager. One of the most powerful assault rifles he had ever laid his hands on. The recoil was non-existent even before he had placed charms on the weapon. The reload speed was the quickest he had experienced. A holographic sight sat at the top, with a flip-mounted 3x magnifier allowing him to make precise shots from whatever distance, while the extended (and limitless) magazine let him unload on his enemies.
He turned to Jill, who was examining the gun with interest. "I don't have another one of these, but you can take a look at my arsenal and see if something pops out at you. Keep in mind that we're gonna need to stay loose and limber in case Nemesis or any other crawlies jump out at us. So try not to get something too bulky," James said as he removed a small book from his bag. A tiny black book that kept everything he had in his bottomless bag written down. He preferred everything to be cataloged in case he forgot what was inside when he needed to call for something.
"You have a lot of guns," Jill commented as she moved through the weapons he possessed. James kept his rifle raised as the two moved through the back alley that led to the nearby garage. "Decimator? Do I want to even ask?"
"No. No, you do not," James answered.
The two moved up the steps, turning left into the garage. Once there, James stopped and turned back to Jill. He took notice of her slender yet toned physique, along with her already possessing lighter weaponry. "I think you'd do best with a submachine gun or something a little more high-powered, like a grenade launcher. For a machine gun, I'd recommend one of the Tactical SMG's. The modifications to those make them three times more efficient and deadly than the ones on the market. As for a grenade launcher, I'd go with the Milkor MGL. Multiple high-powered rounds shot very fast. Three rounds a second or one-hundred and sixty or so a minute. And that's without reloading. And if you want something smaller that packs the same punch, I recommend the 50 Action Express desert eagle. That bad boy packs a punch so powerful that I'm sure Nemesis would feel so for a minute or two taking one to the face. May do some real damage if you unload it on him,"
"Could I get all three?" asked Jill, whose mischievous smirk led James to believe she had several mental images of Nemesis running through her mind. Not answering, James instead reached into his bag and pulled out a second holster, along with a harness. He handed them to Jill, who smiled as she went to work attaching the harness to the slings she had around her torso already. Once the harness was in place, she wrapped the second holster around her left thigh. With that done, James back inside and pulled out a silver 50 Action Express, which he handed to Jill with a smirk. "Thanks,"
"Not done," He reached into the bag again, pulling out the Tactical SMG, which was loaded with armor-piercing rounds that were launched at twenty-five rounds a second. James handed it to Jill, who attached it to one of the clips on the back of her harness. Next he removed the Milkor MGL, which Jill attached to the other end of her harness. She was locked and loaded for essentially any encounter. But she appeared to be suffering from the expected strain of all of the weapons on her person. To solve this issue, he displaced the weapons into the pouch on the right of her belt, right above her thigh holster. All except for the magnum, which he let rest in her left holster. "I shrunk the other ones and put them in your right pouch. Just reach in, ask for it, and it'll appear. Once you pull it out, it will return to its normal size. They'll shrink again when you put them inside,"
Jill examined the pouch with interest, opening it to reveal a shroud of darkness. "Hmm. Neat,"
"And keep them. They're all yours now,"
"Are you sure?" She asked, seemingly shocked by the statement. "I don't want to just take them if you need -"
"You'll need them far more than I will. And if we get separated, you should be equipped to deal with any situation. I'd hate for you to get cornered by Nemesis with nothing but a shotgun while I'm sitting leisurely nearby with enough weapons to counter a small army. Doesn't feel right," James countered.
"Fair enough," conceded Jill, who pulled out her new Tactical SMG. After familiarizing herself with the grip, the stock, and the sight, she aimed it forward, prepared for battle. They left the garage, moving onto Main Avenue. They cut left, down the cluttered road, and into a side alley that went around the debris blocking the street. They made it to the south side, though they were interrupted when a loud BOOM! erupted nearby. James spun around, aiming his rifle at the debris in the center of the street. The two found that the debris was no longer there. Instead, Nemesis stood at the center, his uniform torn to shreds. His ugly face shone brightly in the firelight, which made him even more disturbing to examine.
"Go. Get to the subway and get out of the city. I'll rendezvous with you and the others once I've put this thing out of its misery," said James, who began firing his Ravager into Nemesis' only good eye.
"I can't just leave you here!" Jill exclaimed.
"I'll be fine! Just get to the subway!" James replied, tossing the Ravager back into his bag. He tossed a spell at Nemesis, who was sent flying backward. James exchanged a quick glance with Jill, who took a deep breath. Nodding, she turned around and sprinted for the subway, where Carlos Oliveira ran through the door to meet her. The two moved back into the subway, sprinting down the steps toward the cars. James turned back to Nemesis, his eyes turning a shade of yellow while his veins began to bulge. Power flooded through James as he began to grow in size, reaching over nine and a half feet tall. It was time for a showdown.
The two bioweapons sprinted toward one another. James proceeded to slam his fist into Nemesis' ugly face, busting a tooth from the creature's mouth as said creature returned the favor. They were even when it came to physical strength and endurance, but James was faster when it came to reaction time and abilities. But it seemed Nemesis was luckier. James lost his footing, falling backward and to the ground. Nemesis dropped down, sitting on top of Potter as he began to reign blows down on James' face.
The bioweapon grabbed James by the throat, pushing him further into the ground before raising his right hand. A tendril formed in Nemesis' palm. It flew down into James' right eye, causing the man to let out a scream of gut-wrenching pain. The tendril sloshed around inside James' head, with a second tendril joining it through James' left eye. James was rendered blind as he let out a roar of unrelenting pain, his throat cracking as his body trembled from the process of regeneration. It was the most pain he had ever experienced in his life. So much so that his magic began to react without his knowledge. A ball of swirling red energy began to form in his hands.
The energy shifted from red to orange, to yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, and finally grey. A moment of pure agony fueled James as the built-up energy released in an explosion with the equivalent power of three hundred and fifty tons of TNT. The explosion sent Nemesis into the sky, his entire upper body disintegrating while his lower half flew off into the distance. Everything in a twenty-block radius surrounding him shut off, with the six city blocks surrounding him being reduced to rubble. James himself peered down at himself, noticing that his uniform had been reduced to nothing, leaving him with nothing more than a cloth around his waist. And his body had been torn to shreds, with a hole visible on his lower left abdomen.
His regeneration powers went into overdrive, the hole in his side healing first. His eyes soon followed, allowing with his brain and skull. Once he had the ability to see, James got to his feet, stumbling through the rubble until he reached what had been the subway station entrance. The entire building had collapsed. He pulled out his radio, switching it to the same channel used by U.B.C.S. "Jill? Carlos? Anyone read me?" No response. (Shit). Either the subway had been caught in the blast, or they had gotten too far out of range for the radios to be useful. He hoped it was the latter.
Turning back to the destruction around him, James took a moment to examine the rubble. With a wave of his hand, the debris rose from the ground, collecting once more into the structures they had once been. The buildings were repaired as best as could be, while the street itself was rebuilt. Given that Jill and Carlos had gotten to the subway, it was safe to say they would be alright. So he decided to carry on with his secondary objective. Protect Raccoon City. He would do that the only way he knew how. Repair the damage done as well as kill any bioweapons in the area.
Twelve Hours Later
James had gone through nearly twenty city blocks looking for any signs of survivors. He hadn't found any in the immediate area, leading him to travel toward the hospital, which he hoped to turn into a relative sanctuary. If he found any survivors after that, perhaps in the police department, he would lead them there. "Homenum Revelio" said James, who cast the simple spell with the flick of his wrist. As he stepped into the hospital, James was met with several human signatures. Three inside the hospital. Two inside the nearby police station. And a dozen or so scattered around the nearby streets. Given that he was in front of the hospital, James decided to start there.
Stepping up to the front doors of the hospital, James pushed against them only to find them sealed off. He moved around the corner, finding all of the windows blocked off by metal sheets. The emergency shut-down sheets. Pushing up against the one before him, it suddenly disappeared. This allowed him to vault the windowsill, which revealed an empty lobby. He turned to his right, where two signatures lay behind a locked set of doors. With a wave, the doors popped open, revealing Tyrell Patrick. The man had his rifle raised, ready to gun James down if need be. But upon seeing him, Tyrell lowered the weapon, letting out a deep sigh. "Thank god. We weren't sure if you'd made it out," He said, beckoning James inside. The man did, with Tyrell once more closing and bolting the doors shut. "What happened? Jill and Carlos mentioned an explosion. Didn't seem to kill the fucking thing, cause it derailed the train a few minutes later,"
"Shit," James cursed. So Nemesis had survived the explosion. And if that were the case, then it was safe to assume that Nemesis was still out there searching for Jill. Speaking of. He turned to the nearby bed, noticing that Jill was lying there, visibly injured but otherwise unconscious. "What happened to her?"
"After the train derailed, she apparently got into a scrap with that thing. It hit her with something, and she was infected. But she's fighting it off. Carlos is over there getting some rest," Tyrell motioned to the corner of the room, where Carlos was leaning back against the wall asleep. "Once he's rested up he plans to search the hospital for any signs of medicine that can help slow down or cure the infection. Last we heard, Dr. Nathaniel Bard kept a stockpile of the vaccine beneath the hospital. Hopefully, he'll find a supply underground. And I'm still trying to get in touch with anyone in the government with the clearance to stop the bomb they're planning to drop on the city,"
James' eyes widened. "Wait...bomb? They want to bomb the city?"
Tyrell offered a somber nod, his gaze turning toward the television sitting on the nearest counter. He flicked it on, revealing a static screen with subtitles reading "Attention all citizens. The missile strike on Raccoon City will occur on October 1st at approximately 7 am. The payload is designed to eradicate all biological material. You will not survive if you remain in the city. Evacuate at your earliest convenience. Repeat: Evacuate immediately." Tyrell turned it off. "Yeah. The broadcast changed six hours ago. We have roughly two days till things go tits-up here. Hopefully, by then we'll have cured Jill and gotten out of the city. Or we'll be roasted with the rest of the motherfuckers out there,"
"Well then, it seems we've all got a task. I'm going to make adjustments to the lobby to make sure it's secured and make it into a makeshift rescue center. I've located several survivors that just need to be relocated from their current spots. Once I've found and brought everyone here, we can work on getting everyone out of the city," James explained. "While I'm out you two can continue your work. You with the communications and Carlos with the vaccines. Once I've relocated everyone here, I'll join Carlos in the search,"
"Sounds like a plan. Normally I'd question how you located survivors and how you plan to make this hellhole safe, but given your abilities and skillset..." Tyrell smiled. "I'll just trust you'll figure it out,"
"Stay in here. Once I'm done restoring the lobby, I'll let you know. Then you can move out there and set up what you need to get into communications with the government," James explained. He didn't wait for a response, instead moving outside into the lobby. He stepped over one of the dozens of corpses lying on the ground, all of which must have been cleared out by Carlos and Tyrell before the emergency shutters activated. James displaced the bodies out of the city, clearing the lobby floor, which he cleaned with a simple cleaning charm. Turning his attention to the debris blocking the door, James cast "Reparo". The fallen pillar that had collapsed in front of the door rose, flying back to its original spot to the right. The ceiling was realigned as the pillar was set back into place.
He aimed his hand in the air and cast three distinct yet very important spells. "Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum". Blue energy flooded from James' palm as a fortified shield erupted around the hospital. "Protego Maxima. Fianto Duri. Repello Inimicum". The blue energy intensified until the bubble had completely surrounded the hospital. He then began to transform the lobby. James conjured many beds, sheets, curtains, and dividers that could be used by the survivors. He then conjured crates, dressers, several shelving units, as well as a few partitions to place on either side of the front desk.
Behind the desk was a small maintenance room, which James intended to use as a storage room for any important belongings they needed to be stored there. He arranged the storage supplies inside the side room while placing the beds in rows within the main lobby. James positioned the room dividers between the beds while putting small dressers at the foot of each bed for extra storage. With a simple spell, the sheets he had conjured fitted themselves onto the beds, while the curtains hooked themselves over the blocked windows. Next, he worked conjured two benches, which he placed on the wall opposite of the desk. After conjuring several water dispensers that he placed around the lobby, James was finished with the physical reconstruction.
All that was left was the protection of their new safe haven. He started with the basics. "Muffliato. Ingratus. Ingratus sonus. Praesidium" James moved to more complex charms and curses, which would ensure no one - even Nemesis - be able to enter the Hospital through the lobby. Though the entire Hospital was inside his protective bubble and all of the bioweapons inside had been obliterated, anything could still enter from underground. This left them vulnerable in case Nemesis or any other creature decided to venture underground through the NEST facility below. Or through the sewers.
"Tyrell! You're good to move out here!" James exclaimed through the doors. The swung open once more to reveal Tyrell, who carried out a number of files and papers that James didn't want to ask about. Tyrell took a look around the room, admiring the work James had done to make it livable for over two dozen survivors. "The room behind the desk is the storage room. If you have anything important that needs to be stored, throw it in there. The desk is all yours. As for beds, they're first come first serve, so grab one if you want some rest. Don't worry about any roaming zombies. I cleared them here just like I did at the police station. And this room is covered in protective charms. Nothing will get in or out without someone noticing,"
"That's good to know. I'll set up my stuff at the desk and get to work on trying to contact one of the blockades at the edge of the city," Tyrell said as he moved toward the desk. He placed all of his belongings there, taking a seat as he began to look through the notes he had on contact information. James turned to the room where Jill stay unconscious. Peering down at the watch he had on his left wrist, he noticed they had roughly thirty hours until the bomb was dropped. If he rushed, he could get the survivors to safety before venturing down into the NEST facility for a cure. And even if he didn't make good time, Carlos would be on a mission to retrieve an antidote for Jill. She would be fine. He would make sure of it.
POV: Oswell Spencer
"Sir...Subject NE-001 has gone rogue," said Dr. Julian Tango. Oswell Spencer gripped the arm of his wheelchair in fury, watching the replay that depicted Potter ripping out his neural implants The boy was now free, and there was nothing they could do about it. Potter was now out of Umbrella's reach and control, and that meant that Spencer's worst nightmare had come true. His greatest weapon was going to destroy his plans and ruin his name and work. If this continued, Umbrella would be in the ground within the year.
Spencer turned to his colleague, a grin forming along his features. "Julian. Prepare Project NE-α4 for conditioning. We want it to be as prepared as possible for him. He can't expect it,"
Julian examined him for a moment, before nodding and grabbing the intercom. He leaned into the mic as he announced the news to Lab 6, who would start on the project. "All personnel. Prepare for the release of B.O.W NE-α4. Security teams Delta-Tango and Foxtrot-Gamma, prepare for relocation," Spencer's grin expanded as the bioweapon in question was released from containment. One of their most perfect specimens. But they needed to be prepared for if NE-α4 was unsuccessful. They had work to do.