A Touch of Red
By evolution-500
Genres: Horror/Friendship/Romance
Feedback: Always welcome
WARNING: This story contains violence, coarse language, mature themes and disturbing imagery. Reader discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: KILLER INSTINCT is a property belonging to Rare and Microsoft while RESIDENT EVIL is a property belonging to Capcom. I do not own any of these characters.
Author's Note: So, for quite a while now I've been wanting to do a KI/RE fic. I'm kind of surprised there hasn't been any attempt to cross these two franchises over on here tbh, just because they are somewhat similar. I mean, granted, one is a fighting game and the other is a survival horror shooter, but from a thematic standpoint, there is common ground. Both are based around sci-fi/horror and deal with corporate espionage and corruption, although in KI's case it's a little more extreme. Because this is a crossover, keep in mind that some elements will be slightly different to fit in with KI's side, although rest assured it will still be pretty grounded. This story may or may not be connected to another story that I had worked on called "Zahn Und Klaue", if not draw elements from it in order to tell this particular tale, but awareness of what went on in either that story or the game itself and/or its sequels is not necessary. Because this is a crossover, the events of RE0 onward don't quite happen, including the Mansion Incident. However, a mansion incident will occur, just not the kind you will be expecting, plus some creatures and characters will be popping up every now and then in unexpected ways. All I ask is that you give this story a chance - if you spot any errors and/or have criticisms, please don't refrain from voicing them, and I will gladly adjust my story so that it's better, as long as the criticism itself is reasonable and that you don't flame. Saying "dis sux" or "this is shit" is not constructive criticism. If this story is not for you, then I completely understand.
*Also want to give a shout-out to Iago407 on the ultra-combo forums for making this suggestion here with regards to smells - thank you so much for pointing that out, dude! :)
Hope you enjoy the story, everyone! :)
Prologue: Claire
Raccoon City, Colorado, 2018
"ULTRAAAAA COMMMMBBBOOOOOOOO!"
Nineteen-year-old Claire Redfield grinned as the iconic cries of T.J. Combo and Chris Sutherland fused together and blared out from the speakers.
Seated on the couch in the den and dressed comfortably in a loose black t-shirt with red shorts, her blue eyes were glued to the television screen as she ate from a bowl of popcorn on her lap, watching a rerun of the Killer Instinct tournament. Brushing absentmindedly a strand of hair behind her left ear, she remained focused, even as she tied up the rest of her long auburn hair in a ponytail.
"SUPREME VICTORY!" Chris Sutherland rumbled.
"Jesus, Claire, could you lower the volume please?!" Her brother Chris called from the bedroom. "I can practically hear it all the way from in here!"
"Okay, okay!" Claire sighed as she grabbed the remote control and adjusted the sound, the commentators' voices dropping slightly.
Chris emerged from a doorway to the left in his grey S.T.A.R.S. uniform, his green vest unzipped, fixing up his short brown spiked-up crewcut hair with gel.
"Don't you have studying to do?" He asked, eying her.
Claire shrugged. "Just taking a break."
"Well remember to go back to work," Chris reminded as he finished up with his hair.
She rolled her eyes.
"I will, Dad," she replied sarcastically, looking back to the TV screen before pausing, sniffing the air. "What's that smell?" Claire then turned her head, sniffing again. "Are you wearing cologne?"
She watched as Chris shook his head wearily, not answering.
"Ooh la la, and aftershave?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're trying to impress your, ahem, partner," Claire teased, wagging her eyebrows. "What's her name? Jill?"
She watched as he frowned. "Yes, and that's all we are, Claire - partners."
"Uh huh," Claire deadpanned, unconvinced. "From the googly eyes she makes, she doesn't seem to think so." She then started to bat her eyelashes and look all doe-eyed at her brother, speaking in exaggeratedly high octaves, "'Ohh Chris! Can you help me open this locker? Ohh, you are soooo big and strong! TEEHEEHEEHEE!'"
Chris rolled his eyes. "That was NOT how it happened, nor did Jill sound like that!"
"She was practically panting like a dog!"
"Considering Wesker had us out for a mile-long jog, I'm not surprised." Chris then gestured to the TV. "You're watching that show again?"
"Of course!" Claire winked as she turned back to the screen. "You know I love it!"
He raised a brow. "You do realize that it is all fake, right?"
Claire gave a mock gasp. "No! Say it isn't so! You mean to tell me that the werewolf and dinosaur are all fake?!" She then sighed dramatically, putting a hand on her forehead. "Ohh, how can I go on? How will I ever cope?"
"You'll manage," Chris replied, zipping up his vest. "I'm afraid I've got to go, kiddo."
"Aww," Claire pouted, looking up at him with huge sad puppy eyes. "Do you have to?"
He shrugged. "Afraid so," the older sibling said. "I have to earn a paycheck, after all."
"Welllll, there is a way around it," Claire said, gesturing to the TV screen as it showed the logo for the Killer Instinct tournament, the KI symbol hard and metallic with sharp, stylized edges.
Chris frowned. "Forget it, kiddo."
"Oh come on, Chris, it would be totally fun! We could come up with our own stage names and costumes-"
"Claire, we talked about this," he cut her off tiredly. "For the last time, I am not going onto some stupid TV program and fight some dork in a rubber suit."
Claire then opened her mouth.
"And you're not participating, either!" Chris added, cutting her off again.
Claire frowned. "Oh come on! This is the Killer Instinct tournament we're talking about! If we win we can get whatever we want! Think of it, Chris - with my brains and your brawn, we can win the big bucks and not have to worry about the next paycheck for the rest of our lives! Plus," she added with a teasing smile and a singsong voice, "Jill will be even more into yooooou. Good looks can only get you so far, lover boy, but good looks plus a buttload of money? She'll be humping your leg and practically be BEGGING to have your babies!"
Chris scowled. "Gross."
"You know what I mean."
"Yeah I do, and the answer is still no."
Claire folded hers together, pouting. "You seriously suck."
Chris chuckled. "I love you too, Claire."
She stuck her tongue out at him, causing the elder sibling to roll his eyes just as the phone rang on the table beside the couch. Picking it up, he answered.
"Hello?" Chris then gave it to Claire. "It's for you. It's Rebecca."
Taking the phone, Claire held it to her ear as she munched popcorn. "Hello?"
"Hey Claire!" Rebecca greeted from the other end.
"Hey Rebecca! How are things?"
"Oh, they're good."
'I bet,' Claire thought somewhat bitterly as she took a drink of pop. Even though they had been friends since they were children, in some ways she was envious of the younger girl; not only was Rebecca working on a PH.D. in Medicine at age 18 with a lineup of offers from various pharmaceutical companies including Ultratech, but she also had a really cute boyfriend, one Leon S. Kennedy, who they both had met in university and was studying to be a police officer.
"Out of curiosity," Rebecca started, "have you heard about the new Sabrewulf plushies?"
Claire perked up. "There are plushies?"
"Yeah! You have to check them out!"
Pulling her laptop from her backpack at the foot of the couch, Claire opened it up and searched on Google, her eyes widening in delight at the blue werewolf stuffed toy.
"AWWWWWWW! IT'S SO CUUUUUUTE!" She squealed, lifting her head to Chris. "Chris I just found my new Christmas present!"
Chris raised a brow. "Don't you already have one?"
"No I don't. I have the deluxe action figure and the Happy Meal figure."
"Ah." Chris then checked his watch. "Shit, I'm gonna be late for work. I have to go, Claire. Remember, go back to studying."
"I will!"
He suddenly paused. "Oh yeah! I nearly forgot to give you these."
Reaching into his pockets, he pulled out some tickets, causing Claire's eyes to widen. "...Are those-?"
"They are," Chris nodded as he handed them to her. "Three tickets for the Killer Instinct tournament, evening show for tomorrow at six-thirty."
Letting a girlish shriek, Claire flew off the couch, catching him off-guard as he was pulled into a bearhug. It was a miracle that she didn't spill the popcorn or drop the phone.
"Chris this is AMAZING!" She said happily, crushing him in her grip. "How did you do it?!"
He grunted. "Barry knows a guy that works as a security guard at the arena, and because of him he's able to get tickets," Chris quickly gasped as he struggled to breathe, his face turning blue. "Claire you're crushing me!"
Claire hesitated, pulling away. "Oops, sorry." Her features softened. "Did I mention that you are the best big brother?"
Chris scoffed, rubbing his sore ribs. "I'm your only brother, dumbass."
Claire rolled her eyes. "I know!" She then looked at him seriously with a warm smile. "Still, thank you."
"Don't mention it, kiddo." Chris said, winking as he ruffled his sister's hair. "That said, I'm afraid I won't be able to join you for the show."
"Aw. How come?" Claire whined.
Chris shrugged. "Hey, it can't be helped. Captain Wesker is having us run the nightshift for tomorrow."
"Can't you get him to assign somebody else?"
He exhaled. "Afraid not. Sorry, Claire, but I'm afraid you'll have to go without me. Maybe see if Rebecca and Leon would like to go with you."
Claire nodded. "Okay," she replied. "Take care, Chris."
He winked. "You too, Claire. Catch ya later."
As he departed, Claire heard a voice from the phone, "Claire? Claire?! Claire what's going on?"
"Oh, sorry, Rebecca!" She apologized. "You are NOT going to believe what Chris just did!"
As she filled her friend in on the news, Claire turned back to the screen with popcorn and phone in hand, the announcer rumbling from the TV speaker.
"KILLER INSTINCT."
The next day
Claire looked out the window of Leon's green Jeep Wrangler as she sat in the backseat, watching the passing buildings and signs, the streets of Raccoon City lit up with flashes of neon.
"Comfortable back there?" Leon asked as he drove, Rebecca seated beside him in the passenger seat.
Claire nodded. "Yeah. I'm so excited to see this! I can't stop pinching myself! You?"
Rebecca nodded. "Yeah, I've always wanted to see this in person!" she said. "I wonder how a live action experience will compare. This will be interesting."
Leon regarded them both. "What is the deal with this program?"
Claire gawked at him as if he grew a third head.
"Are you for real?!" She exclaimed.
Rebecca raised a hand placatingly. "Hey, don't be too hard on him," the younger girl said. "You know he's not into KI and that he's relatively new to this area."
Claire sighed, conceding. "Fair enough."
"So what's the deal with this tournament thing?" Leon pressed.
Claire tucked a long strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "Well, initially it had been started by Baron Konrad Von Sabrewulf, the CEO of Ultratech, as a no-holds-barred martial arts pay-per-view program that was both televised and streamed live on the internet back in 1994 in Germany."
"I heard some things about him. Wasn't he a pugilist or something?"
"He was," Rebecca nodded. "At least...I think so? Supposedly there are videos of him somewhere online in some underground fight clubs, but it's been scrubbed clean. Whether it's true or not, who knows. Eventually he started up the tournament and for a time he had hosted and participated in it until he fell ill."
Claire nodded with her. "It's quite a shame, too," she added. "Not only was he a really good boxer and capoeira fighter, but he was really handsome."
"Really?" Leon said interestedly.
"Yeah."
"'Handsome' wasn't the word you used when you first saw his picture, Claire," Rebecca teased, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.
"Rebecca..." Claire said warningly.
"Oh? And what word was that, Rebecca?" Leon asked amusedly.
Rebecca then placed her hands on her face.
"'Ohh, he's so gorgeous!'" She said in a higher pitched girlish voice in mock imitation.
Claire lightly kicked the back of the passenger seat, her face blushing.
"Hey! Don't kick," Leon said as he eyed her in the rearview mirror.
She shrugged. "Sorry."
He then continued, "So what kind of illness does the Baron have?"
Rebecca shook her head. "Nobody knows," she answered. "It's a closely guarded secret. Not even the press could find anything. As far as I'm aware, not even Ultratech knows the full extent of his condition."
Leon clicked his tongue. "Sounds pretty serious," he commented.
Claire shrugged. "Perhaps. But who knows? Maybe he'll get better. I've been hoping to see him in person."
Rebecca gave her a suggestive look, a gleam in her eye.
"Ah, not in that way, Rebecca!" Claire said quickly with a blush. "Besides which, he's in his fifties - he's waaaaay too old for me!"
Rebecca giggled. "I'm just teasing."
Claire glared at her friend, part of her hoping to fry her with laser beams.
"So how does the CEO of one of the biggest pharmaceutical and robotics corporations in Germany, if not the world, end up here in Colorado?" Leon asked.
Claire looked up at the ceiling of the jeep.
"Well," she began, "I heard from a friend of a friend that he came here for some form of treatment after buying out Umbrella back in the nineties. Apparently he liked the view here, so he decided to move and have a castle built in the Arklay Mountains."
Leon scoffed. "A castle?"
"Yup," the redhead nodded. "One modeled after the one he has back in Germany."
She watched as he shook his head incredulously.
"Must be nice to own two castles," he said enviously.
"No kidding. From what I heard, the castle has its own private arena and is where a lot of the show is actually shot."
Claire watched as Leon thoughtfully digested the information in the driver's seat.
"Huh. Interesting."
"You'll love it, Leon," Claire winked, her smile widening. "The Killer Instinct tournament is unlike anything you've ever seen!"
After they found a place to park, Claire followed close beside Leon and Rebecca as they headed toward the arena. Looking over to them, Claire watched with a pang in her heart the more she watched them.
A lean young man in his twenties that stood at five-eleven and weighed one hundred and fifty-five pounds, his long dirty blonde hair done in a parted curtains style, Leon was dressed in a blue windbreaker, formal shirt and jeans. A complete and utter heartthrob, with his piercing blue eyes, short forehead, pronounced chin, long sharp and straight nose and chiseled features, he looked impossibly handsome, drawing looks from a lot of interested women they passed by, all of whom he had ignored in favor of the lucky girl beside him.
In contrast to him, Rebecca was a much smaller figure with a lighter frame, only five-three and only ninety-three pounds, with short brown hair cut like a boy's, her oval face possessing soft, gentle pixie-like features and sparkling mischievous green eyes. A tomboy, Rebecca wore green pants with a white and green t-shirt, her red sneakers clacking across the pavement.
Claire watched as the pair smiled lovingly at one another and held hands with a mixture of envy and regret.
If only she had been quick enough to-
She shook her head. Looking back to the pair, a soft smile spread across her heart-shaped face.
They look good together.
Claire was happy for the both of them, and she hoped they remained that way.
Besides, it was only a matter of time before she found somebody of her own.
Someday hopefully.
...Maybe.
Turning away from the happy couple, Claire looked toward Warren Stadium on South Raccoon Street, the Killer Instinct logo proudly displayed across the roof and on various posters.
Ignoring some of the ticket scalpers as they approached on the street, the trio continued on, then waited patiently in the long lineup until it was their turn. Fans conversed amongst themselves, each one wearing some article of clothing that either celebrated the tournament or some character that they had liked. Children stood by their parents, some of them carrying little stuffed chibi-styled toys representing their favorite fighter.
Leon looked around. "Why are there kids here? And why are they carrying around those toy monsters for? Isn't this a martial arts tournament?"
Claire watched as the attendant in the booth, a portly Caucasian man in his fifties, turned to face her.
"First timer?" He deadpanned.
She nodded. "For me too. I've never seen this live before."
The attendant grinned as he turned back to Leon.
"Believe me, fella," he said slowly, "you three will be in for a real treat tonight! There ain't nothing else in the world quite like it. You aren't ready," He then tore off the stubs, handing them some brochures. "Here are your tickets. Be advised, we have a no mobile phone policy, so please check in your cell phones and/or mobile devices at the front desk at the security counter. You'll be given a zip-lock bag to store them in along with a tag containing a serial number. Be sure to fill in your name, phone number and email address just so we have a way of contacting you in the event you lose your items. Also be sure to visit the confection stands and our gift shops, we should have the newest Riptor action figures and t-shirts available. Enjoy the show, kids!"
Leon blinked. "'Riptor'? What's a-"
"It'll say in the brochure," the attendant said quickly, cutting him off. "Next!"
As Claire, Leon and Rebecca entered into the stadium, a pair of speakers growled at them overhead with a hard-edged metallic voice upon moving through the door.
"Welcome."
Once the trio had finally gotten their snacks, they entered the stadium.
"Look at this place!" Claire gasped.
There were hundreds of thousands of people, the arena noisy and busy, the air thick with a multitude of different odors, a mix of the sweet and the sour. From the buttery scent of popcorn, the sizzling and scrumptious aromas of hotdogs and burgers to the foul scents of flatulence, B.O. or beer, it all coalesced altogether, reminding her of a circus.*
Candy-colored confection androids with smiling, cheerful faces wandered along the aisles delivering people their snacks and food trays, with one or two people sticking pieces of gum onto the back of their plastic heads. At one end of the arena, a fight broke out between a group of fans. Claire watched as a group of security guards entered into the stands alongside a pair of intimidating Theseus combat androids, causing the fans to cease struggling and cooperate.
Claire shivered.
"Are you okay, Claire?" Leon asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, I just...those Theseus androids always creep me out."
Rebecca nodded in agreement. "No kidding," she replied.
Developed by Ultratech and utilized by their own private security subsidiaries, the Theseus combat androids were massive, imposing two meter tall machines. Gold in color with glowing red eyes, supposedly they had been designed to resemble Greek hoplite warriors complete with skirts, leg braces, sandal-like feet and Corinthian helmet-styled heads with nose pieces, but to Claire, they looked gruesomely like horse skulls mounted on humanoid mechanical bodies.
Over their skeletal hands were some wrist-mounted cannons that were capable of firing both lethal and non-lethal rounds, the cannons themselves protected by a thick ceramic casing that guarded the forearms from damage. Viewing the machines as a whole, they looked absolutely terrifying.
As the androids wandered away with the troublemakers in tow, Claire unconsciously let out a sigh of relief.
"Let's get to our seats." she said. "I think it's in the front row."
Moving past the aisles, the wandering audience members as they moved in and out of their seats along with the occasional child, the trio descended down the stairs before finally arriving at their section, moving past a couple of seated people, uttering apologies every step of the way.
Once they got to their seats, Claire sat down along side her friends with popcorn and coke in hand. The entire arena itself was bordered by large walls with thick plexiglass windows, effectively separating the audience from the fighters and camera people within as they set up their equipment.
A holographic display flashed on above, showing some new advertisement, the triangular logo with a capital U in its center.
"Ultratech - Looking To The Past To Save The Future."
"So what do you think, guys?" Claire said loudly to Rebecca and Leon.
"A bit noisy!" Rebecca yelled back.
"Yeah," Leon nodded.
Rebecca then looked up curiously.
"What are you looking at, Rebecca?" Claire asked.
"It's strange," her friend commented.
"What is?"
Rebecca pointed up at the ceiling. "There seems to be some lead lining in places."
"Why is that there?" Leon wondered.
Claire shrugged. "Who knows," she said before looking at her friends, her blue eyes shining. "Are you excited?"
The green-eyed girl nodded, "I am!"
"How about you, Leon?"
"I don't really know," he shrugged as he thumbed through the brochure while eating popcorn. Taking a sip from his soda, he paused. "...There's a dinosaur in this?!"
"Yeah!" Rebecca grinned. "Riptor is my girl!"
"...And there's...a werewolf," Leon said disbelievingly.
Now it was Claire's turn to grin. "Yeeeeep!" She said, ending with a playful pop of her lips.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the main program will begin shortly," a man's voice said over the arena speakers. "Please enjoy the pre-tournament show."
People applauded as the lights dimmed, the sound dying down.
The arena suddenly went dark as club music started playing.
"'She is a killer.'"
When the spotlights flashed on, a group of women in dark, tight sleeveless bodysuits were at the arena's center.
"She is a killer.'"
"Ohh Ye-a-a-ah!"
The women started to dance and twirl seductively to the beat of the tune.
"'Such a feeling,
Such a feeling.
Such a feeling
Killer feeling.
(Ooh, baby!)'"
Claire blushed at the lyrics and the suggestive dancing. Peeking beside her, she watched as both Rebecca and Leon's eyes widened in mortification, the two bashfully looking away.
"'Such a feeling
Such a feeling
Such a feeling
WOOOOOOAAHH
'Killer, Killer!
Oh, she is a killer!
Killer, killer!
Oh killer!'"
The music started to slow, the lyrics now taking on an even more erotic turn.
"'Touch me, touch me, touch me...Feel me, feel me, feel me...'"
Claire's face was completely flushed in embarrassment as the dancers were doing increasingly erotic movements and gestures, the women feeling and groping themselves.
"Who the hell thought this was suitable for kids?" Rebecca said as she looked away, her face as red as a tomato's. "Are they trying to make us throw up?"
"'Touch me, touch me, touch me...
Feel me, feel me, feel me...
She's a killer.'"
'Killer, killer
Oh, she's a killer
Killer, killer
Oh, such a killer.
'Killer, killer
Oh, she's a killer
Killer, killer
Oh killer."
The show continued on for several minutes, the audiences mesmerized by the dancing, some more than others. Finally, after an uncomfortable period had passed, the dance - that was, if one could call it that, - finished, the girls bowing amidst loud cheers from the audience, the room lighting up.
Claire sat there, shifting in her seat.
"Umm...that was...interesting," Rebecca said under her breath.
"Uhh….yeah," Leon said.
As the stadium began to settle down, the lights started to dim.
"Welcome!" A cold, sinister, distorted, modulated and mechanical voice with a haunting echo said through the arena speakers.
People cheered as they heard the menacing voice of Chris Sutherland, Rebecca and Claire rising up to their feet as they joined in whooping, Leon looking at them in confusion.
"WHOOO!" Claire shouted beside her friend.
From the speakers, synthesizers hummed a low, crisp, ominous and brooding tune while the opening sequence played on TV screens directly over the arena itself, which consisted of metallic fonts over a black background.
A lone electric guitar started playing while an anvil clanged in accompaniment, the music continuing to build until finally the highly stylized and metallic title fonts appeared.
"Killer Instinct!" The sinister-sounding voice announced in conjunction with a solo guitar riff.
Once the song finished, the commentators spoke through the microphone as a new tune replaced it, a slow, orchestrated piece that was oddly reminiscent to the ticking of some gigantic clock that counted down ominously each time it clanged.
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! My name is Jeffrey Hart," one voice spoke.
"And I'm Bradley Ramone," another said before speaking at the same as the other, "Welcome to Killer Instinct!"
People cheered, the crowd going wild with excitement.
"Boy do we have a show for you tonight!" Hart said. "Before we begin, a little foreword from the CEO of Ultratech himself, Baron Von Sabrewulf!"
A holographic screen appeared overhead, showing a man seated in a wheelchair, his features obscured by a thick cloak with a hood, scarf and sunglasses, his gloved hands resting on his blanketed lap.
"Good evening, everyone," he greeted. "During the Tang Dynasty, the Chinese philosopher Confucius said the following words." Sabrewulf paused meaningfully, then continued on in a slow, deliberate and dramatic manner with certain words emphasized. "'The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential...these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.'"
He regarded the audience.
"The first time I heard those words, I was twelve years old, a gawky and shy child. Confucius' words had an impact on me growing up, ladies and gentlemen. Because of them, I strove to be the best that I can be, whether it be in life, in business, or the martial arts. What you will see tonight will probably shock you. Astound you. Perhaps, even terrify you. If you are of the faint of heart or have some medical condition that makes viewing this program impossible for you, you may leave. This program will be available for download on our website, YouTube and on Blu-ray and DVD. Please be advised, no one is allowed to record on their mobile devices. If you haven't checked them in, please take the time to do so and make sure all devices are shut off. You will be given ten minutes."
Claire looked around, watching as one or two people got up from their seats.
"Pretty strict security," Leon commented.
"No kidding," Rebecca nodded.
Several minutes later, Sabrewulf spoke again.
"And now for the main event. Enjoy the show, everyone!"