RESIDENT EVIL: The Time is Now (Story board)

**lol...uh...ya, dunno...hmm...I wouldn't go so far as to say it had flare...but anywho...

(Continued)

The sapphire sword of legend sliced through the rank air, fluorescent light flashing off its streamline form as it sped towards Malconin's face. The head of Umbrella grunted in surprise at the Ninja's speed and hastily raised his left arm, deflecting the blade with his forearm and raising his pistol with his right hand, blasting off a shot that missed the Ninja by a long way, the assailent having rolled to the side at blinding speed.
Tao skidded across the broken glass as he landed and came to rest in a squatting position, sizing up Malconin as the bigger man threw his gun aside and drew one of the two katana's from his back.
He charged again, assaulting Malconin with a series of quick strikes, all of which Malconin met with ease, sparks flying as blade met blade. Tao faked a lunge at Malconin's face, pulling the blade back quickly and snapping his fist under Malconin's defensively raised katana, catching him in the throat, while at the same time, slamming his right foot into Malconin's knee hard enough to make it buckle.
As Malconin stumbled, his sword hand snapped up, the blade catching Malconin full in the face, sending him falling backwards, the katana spinning from his limp fingers. Tao backflipped away from Malconin, landing deftly, ready to defend himself, but Malconin didn't move an inch. Cautiously, he inched his way forward, blade raised in front of his face, ready to attack. He prodded Malconin with the toe of a boot and was rewarded with a hand snapping out, catching his heel and ripping him off his feet completely.
Tao landed hard, his sword spiralling from his grip as Malconin's iron grip began to sweeze his ankle, intent on snapping it like a twig. Tao lashed out, kicking Malconin in the face repeatedly with his free foot until the iron grip eased, then yanked his foot free, scrambling away to collect his blade. By the time he was standing in a defensive position again, Malconin was bearing down on him, the Umbrella Head's unmarked face twisted with rage.
Tao screamed as the katana sliced across his ribs, sending shreds of blue leather flying, and grunted as a boot connected with his chest, sending him sprawling into Drake, Paul and Raine. He clawed his way up Drake's body, unclasping one of the cannisters from his thigh as he did so.
"Please take this," he whispered fiercely. "In case I fail, you can finish the job."
He launched himself from Drake, headbutting Malconin in the head as he drove his blade into Malconin's stomach, wincing at the audible snap. Stumbling back, his stared wide eyed at his blade, snapped off six inches from the hilt, the other seven and a half feet lying like a discarded piece of trash upon the glass strewn floor.
Malconin's smirking face swam into view and Tao realised that what he had learnt over the years, what he had previously found hard to belive was true...this man was invincible against what would kill most men.
Throwing the useless sword hilt away, Tao raised one arm, taunting, goading Malconin into attacking, knowing that it would rile him and produce the desired effect. As Malconin roared like an animal and charged, Tao's left hand made its way unseen to one of the cannisters attached to his thigh.
Malconin's katana sliced through the air, the blow intended to decapitate Tao, but the blow never landed. The Head of Umbrella came to an abrupt halt, surprise registered on his features as his wide eyed gaze lowered to see Tao's fully outstretched hand holding one of the large needles, which was buried in Malconin's mid section, now empty of the green substance within.
"This can't be!" Malconin gasped fiercly as he stumbled backwards, dropping the katana to clutch the needle and rip it from his midsection. Malconin stumbled backwards, gasping for breath as his skin began to bubble and roil and steam began seeping from his body as it heated up.
His eyes boggled, one of them popping from its socket with the pressure and he screamed in agony, dropping to his knees. Malconin's melting skin began to detch from his body, revealing stringy tendons, flesh and bones.
With one last roar, his body convulsed, then exploded in a shower of sloppy flesh, sending visible green energy rocketing around the Mall. Tao stumbled backwards, eyes glued to the green energy asit flew around the Mall, making a beeline for the hilt of his broken sword, which began to absorb the substance.
Beside him, Drake screamed and dropped to his knees as similar green energy began to seep out of his pores and make for the sword hilt. Yet more energy smashed through the glass roof of the Mall, presumably seeping from Malconin's enhanced beings throughout the city.
Drake's body convulsed once and dropped to the ground, unconcious, Raine and Paul quickly rushing to attend to him.
Tao, in too much shock at seeing such supernatural occurances happening before his eyes, dropped to his knees, numbed, exhuasted.
The last of the green energy absorbed into the sword hilt with a hiss and a thin cloud of rising steam, and it was then, that Tao understood what had happened. Everything relating to Malconin had pointed to a key. Some kind of switch that would release a anti-virus gas and purge the city of the living dead plagueing it. That key, Tao realised, now sat before him. His broken off sword, the six inches of blade that remained attached to the hilt, literally looked like a large key...a large key that was now brimming with the energies needed to activate whatever device would release the gas.
Tao rose and groggily made his way to the key, picking it up gingerly and slipping it into its sheath, his hand resting on it protectively. A groaning pulled his attention towards Drake, who was rousing and beginning to sit up with Paul and Raine's help.
"Urgh," Drake clutched at his head. "What?...what happened? Why do I feel strange?"
Tao crossed to them, kneeling in front of Drake and placing a hand on the dazed soldiers shoulder. "You are free, my friend...you are human again."
The smile that twitched at Tao lips below his face plate disappeared quickly at realising his mistake. He had defeated Malconin and returned those enhanced beings back to their human form...but he had forgot to find out one very imortant thing. He forgot to find out the location of the device that would release the gas.
He rose and crossed through the void that once held the Malls glass doors, gazing out across the city as the sun began to peek across the horizon. Tao cursed himself for a fool, realising that rather than helping those here with his quest for vengeance, he had probably just doomed them all the more so, especially now that they were human again, and unable to defend themselves so easily against the monstrosities walking the city.

***hmmm...how are you all gonna deal with that, eh??...are the cogs turning within those brains???...lol...soz guys...gotta add some serious twists sometimes...I bet you weren't expecting the demise of one Malconin Valious, eh???

*Holy shock Now thats one hell of a plot twist, lol! Though it was fun being hunted...good thing I didn't have any powers though...anyways, onto the story

The cold metal blade pierced through her flesh, a sharp pain arousing inside her. Blood poured delicately around the edges of the wound, in the little lighting available, the katana becoming decorated in a dark ruby hue. Chrys took in the sight partially stunned…and completely horrified. Her wound itself was nothing but a flesh wound, it would heal in a manner of days considering at the exact last second, Kaseus only inches from piercing into her heart, with the nimbleness only a trained swordsman knew, altered his blade’s trajectory, stabbing through to Chrys’s left arm.

Another pain shot through her, it more of a pounding heartache than from her arm. The fact that he had chosen to spare her life stunned her…but at what she had done to him truly frightened her. He was smiling, rather weakly, a trail of blood worming down his chin, an earlier cough having stained his lips crimson, the impact of Chrys’s katana impaling him through his chest, ripping past skin, muscle, tissue, and scraping past his heart serving to be more painful that he had originally thought.

Instantly, Chrys withdrew her katana from his chest, catching Ice as he started to collapse forward, falling to her knees in the process, his head leaned lazily against her shoulder. Her arms wrapped around his waist, she leaned back, resting his head in her lap, her features growing grim, eyes glossy but strangely placid.

Groping along his leather jacket, Chrys zipped it down, not wishing to speak in fear her voice might break. Kaseus looked up to her through half closed eyelids, stopping her hand as she neared his wound. Coughing violently, he moved her hand aside, struggling until he finally managed a smile. “No point.”

“How?” Chrys was surprised at her voice, she had sounded like a child…a scared lonely child. She looked to Ice at a loss, hands gently stroking his ashen cheeks. “I…the explosion…you…how?”

“…Wanted it to be this way,” With an effort, he laughed. “All a matter of choice…”

Her head was starting to hurt…she was confused as to how she had mortally wounded him, why she even cared. Even now, Chrys found herself holding onto a hand, tightly gripping onto his fingers, wishing she could somehow make him better. “You wanted to die…? Crazy little bastard,” she joked weakly, tapping his nose as she leaned over. “Why…?”

He became sincere, reaching out a hand to her face. “Because I’d die before I killed you,” At seeing a tear roll down her cheek, he closed his eyes, digging into an inner pocket. “Don’t think on it too much, blood loss getting to me, I,” With a strain, he took from a pocket a silver charm bracelet, small jade crystalline shapes dangling from a platinum band. He slid it on to her wrist, gaze to the fire. “Take it as a gift from a dying man. Figure my child should have something to remember me by besides you referring to me as the ‘dead bastard’.”

Chrys laughed briefly, vision a blur. Gulping back tears, ignoring the blood spreading across her denim jeans, she cocked her head to Kaseus, speaking with a quiver. “Well,” She threw her head back, deep calming breaths to try and get back her cool composure before looking back to him. “Any last requests…?”

His grip on her hand tightened, Kaseus’s expression growing stern. “Don’t do it.”

Without any second commentary, Chrys knew what he was talking about. Her plan of purifying the city, cleansing out the biohazards and research, dropping a nuke on the damned citizens and survivors who might’ve had a chance. She shook her head, almost sorry. “I don’t know,” She nodded her head, closing her eyes. “I’ll,” At seeing him turn away morosely, she sighed. “I won’t.”

“Right…well, here’s something you can guarantee Ms. ‘I quit smoking’. One last cigarette…?”

Shoveling out her Salem’s from deep within her vest, Chrys placed a cigarette to his lips. “It would be my honor,” Smiling with repentance, she lit up his cigarette, Ice taking a long satisfying drag. Closing his eyes, his head fell relaxed on her legs, his fingers loosening their vice grip on one hand, Salem dangling from his lips, casually falling and growing lost into the mist as his heartbeat disappeared from her lap. For a second, she was only able to stroke his cheek, finding her voice after a long minute, she shoved her package of cigs into his fingers. “You’ll need these more than me, guaranteed where you –and eventually I- go there’ll always be some raging inferno to light ‘em…”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Chrys looked out into the forlorn landscape of the forgotten city, the air cool and crisp under a lightening indigo, leftover stars scattered, glittering in blissful ignorance and a thin moon waning under the slow coming dawn. A breeze brushed past her bare shoulders, braid whipping about wildly on the windy rooftop. Feet away from her was Kaseus, a strange serenity surrounding him as he lay on the rooftop, katana in one hand, cigs in another, the only thing Chrys could give him, her berretta, placed neatly into an oversized holster.

Despite herself, she found she couldn’t just leave him dead on ‘the blobs’ floor. Sure, Kaseus had been a bit of a bastard at times…but he was her bastard and she refused to leave him there to rot. “At least in death you got one thing not even I could grant you,” Planting a kiss gently onto his forehead, she whispered. “Peace.”

Getting up from his body, Chrys dragged her footsteps to the rooftop door, palm on the cut glass knob. “Goodnight Kaseus Alexander Rosewood,” Swinging open the door, she descended down a floor, getting off into the hall and finding herself an operating elevator.

Once inside, Chrys slammed a fist into the row of buttons, closing her eyes as she attempted to get rid of the tears streaming down her cheeks, the heavy shuddering of her shoulders, the horrible sense of mystification dwelling inside of her being. Pulling the red STOP button, her hand fell limply away from the cold toggle, head down to the carpeted dull orange floor. A strangled cry was heard, an anguished sob leaving her lips before Chrys screamed angrily into the bright fluorescent lights, feet stomping, nails digging into balled up fists as a wave of fury and misery covering her tired being, she, for once, at a loss…

Tao watched the the sunrise from the mall entrance, through a gap in two large buildings, a slight smile curving his lips behind his face plate, his worries about not finding the gas releasing device pushed to the back of his mind.
Beside him, Drake, leaning on Paul's shoulder blinked his eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the bright light, he finally having gained his bearings. "It's finally close to being over, isn't it? I...god it feels good to be normal. I can't say I won't miss some of the abilities that came with the enhancements, but god damn it is so good to feel human again."
Tao turned his sparkling sapphire eyes upon Drake, finally taking a good look at the man in the sunlight. He looked like hell, like a man drained of everything, energy, will, and soul...though, there was a renewed life within Drake, one that would only grow stronger as time went on, providing they proved successful in finding what they would be looking for.
"It is far from over," Tao replied as he turned his face back to the warming sunlight. "I thought my quest would end when I had vengeance, but I was wrong. To truly get vengeance on Malconin, I will have to help stop the abominations that walk these devestated streets." He turned back to Drake. "And for you, the road is longer still, it is for all of you," he added addressing Paul and Raine aswell. "To recover, mentally from all that has happened to you will take a long time. Until that moment, it will never be over. Your dreams, they will be haunted by visions of what has occured here, things you come across in everyday life will remind you of the horrors you faced. What has happened here will probably even stay with you until your dying day."
Drake swallowed audibly, his brows furrowing as his mind tried to deny what it knew to be truth. He would have to live the horrors forever, that he knew for certain. Having been personally touched by Malconin's evil ways, he knew the memories would be burned vividly into his mind, unto death.
Drake shivered. The Ninja was right, the road was far from over. Quite possibly, it would stretch on into the distance forever.

Berina's head swept around and she screamed in agony as the green mist enveloped her form, her body convusing horribly, at one time she felt as if she'd burst...she heard echoes of a deeper scream, not far from her...Liam, he was suffering as she was.

It was almost several hours before she awoke to the wierd feeling of being carried, she allowed her eyelids to flutter open and her eyes focussed upon Liam, now fully human, he looked down at her, "Seems we have to find who did this Mrs Valious..." Berina nodded, "Put me down...I know where he is..."
"He?" Liam paused.
Berina nodded and slid out of his arms, "I met him once...I know where he is...come on."

**Almost an hour later**

The sun continued to blaze over the horizon and a small breeze picked up to the south of the small group, turning, Tao felt the presence, Berina's figure stood abrputly infront of the suns rays, the wind rustling her hair ever so slightly. Tao also sensed her rage and mourning...he had finally met his match.

Tao gazed intently out at the figure of Berina, standing in the distance, the slight breeze blowing her hair about lightly. He had met her once, long ago, sensing what she was, and learning about her relationship with Malconin, she had been an obvious choice to go to for answers..answers he never got for obvious reasons.
He could sense the hurt within her now, the rage slowly building towards him, the man who had just killed the man she loved, despite the gargantuous flaws in his personality. A glint caused Tao to look down and to his right, at the hands of the soldier, Paul, who held the katana that once belonged to Malconin.
Tao looked up into Paul's eyes, sapphire sparkling in the rays of the sun. "No," he said quietly, shaking his head slightly. He turned his hooded head back towards Berina in the distance. "I will not use that against her...not even to defend myself. She has suffered enough."
Jumping down the steps of the Mall in one bound, leather cape fluttering out behind him on the breeze, Tao landed deftly and began walking towards Berina's location, his arms held at his sides with the palms of his hands facing forward in a gesture of peace.
He would not harm her, he vowed silently. If she attacked him, then so be it, but he would not harm her...She had suffered enough for Malconin Valious.

Chrys sat down against the copper red wall, a dazed look in her eyes, her tears from only minutes ago having dried across her cheeks. In between her fingers, a lit cigarette stood smoking, she not able to smoke it nor allowing herself to indulge. Instead, it was to serve as an incense, the smoke rousing up from the end soothing.

Crossing her left blood stained leg over her right, she grunted, the light straining her eyes, making movement an effort. Even worse was her arm, tightly bandaged with a portion of Kaseus's shirt. Burning out the cigarette against the wall, she sat up, crossing her legs into an Indian style sitting position.

Loading a magazine into the Desert Eagle she had 'borrowed' from Ice, Chrys spoke into the luminent metal box. "Let's analyze the facts for the moment, shall we? First of all," She pointed the loaded magnum to the door. "I just killed the father of my child who technically never existed to begin with. Even worse is," Her aim shifted to the side. "I feel I should at least be loyal to him but I only cared about him...I still love Paul which leads me to my last dilemma,"

Springing gracefully to her feet, she rotated the Desert Eagle briefly around her forefinger, holstering it elegantly afterwards. "How in the hell do I tell him the news...? And will he even care...my GOD!" Rubbing her cheeks in a rough circular pattern, she wiped her tear brimmed eyes, shaking her face wildly about. Cooling down, her compusure returned to an unstable cool. "Enough of this melancholy. Got things to do," Chrys hauled in the red toggle, starting back the elevator. "Places to go," Her stomach rumbled, Chrys making a face. "Bodega's to break in..."

With a chipper 'DING' the elevator stopped, Chrys arriving onto a familiar floor. She jogged off for several minutes, stopping in a room containing a row of computers, across it, ratty posters. She walked to the black enter key of a keyboard, a simple command needed for her to decimate the city. But her promise rang out in her head, Ice's dying request. Promises were meant to be broken...

She started to reach for the button, hesitating out of the problem she had with promises. She had to keep her word, it was her thing. Chrys tried again, recoiling with a sigh. Damn...

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Store, store, yes!

Chrys stopped in her run, already having wasted four magazines on her run from the station to a nearby 7-11, a zombie crowd around the metropolitan area, rising along with the sun. Apparently, it wasn't open 24-7 as thick heavy chains bond the plexi-glass doors of the unlit store. She cautiously walked past a burnt out police cruiser, two corpses still, bodies dead -permanently- on the ground.

Shooting off the chains, Chrys pushed her way into the store, AC running on high in the surprisingly well kept building. Switching on the lights, she did a quick check of the area, nothing out of the ordinary, freezers still in order, for once, a truly untouched store. A smile crossed her lips, a feeling of things slowly starting to look up.

Excited at the prospect of eating, she made the sign of the cross, sighing. "God Bless..."

Berina's teeth and jaw clenched as her thick boots crunched across the glass littered floor. A lone hot tear streaking her bronzed cheek, her hair bound tightly into a bun, her left fist clenched and her right hand hanging almost limp at her side, she approached Tao within the intent to severely injure, whats more was...she knew she would be well and able to, stripping the modifications/mutations had given her a new sence of power, a deadly power.

as shalimar woke up she looked out the window to find all of zombies were gone. she knew something was not right about this. she then moved her bed toward the dresser.the smell of roating flesh was nolonger amoned them.for this day seemed perfected. then she looked at bildo fast asleep with his son & wife.she only wise they didn't have to live this nightmare.

Sitting on top of an orange yellow cashier counter, Chrys crossed her legs, two empty bottles of Gatorade to her side, a package of powdered Hostess donuts in her hands, several prepackaged foods and candy wrappers scattered around her area. After two days of being unable to eat and one day of a below average meal, her stomach had started to pain her terribly, pangs of starvation echoing in her almost empty gut.

Rubbing her stomach, Chrys looked down to her still small belly. “You’re lucky I have to feed you or we would have walked right past here…” She almost laughed, she never imagined she would be talking to her unborn child…or that she’d ever have one.

Leaning back, Chrys tossed the now empty package of mini-donuts into an overfilled blue recycle bin towards the corner, popping open a drawer in the counter and after a bit of rummaging, took out a blue ballpoint pen along with a paper reading ‘To Do’.

She made a quick list for herself, looking it over briefly, after a second, satisfied as she stuffed it within her pocket. She was so use to following objectives by now that she had to make up her own for herself before she did anything. Currently, the only things she had in mind was a shower, a change of clothes, and finding out what happened to Paul and Raine.

It’s not like him to keep me worried all night…then again, Chrys slid off the table, sweeping wrappers and bottles into the trash skeptically. He was Mr. Spy last time I was with him…he was always off somewhere, I just never noticed. Snagging a dollar size bag of Skittles, M&M’s, and Big Red chewing gum, she shrugged off her thoughts, forcing herself back out into the pungent decayed streets of the city.

“Never gonna get use to that smell…” she said, rubbing the sourness away from her nose, no longer as casual as she had been in the mart. Taking out a Desert Eagle, Chrys walked through the metropolitan area cautiously, breaking off into a jog in an attempt to burn off calories and reach her destination faster.

Five minutes later she came to an abrupt halt, stopping outside the silver metal security gates over a Macy’s display window, the entrance door tightly locked. Well, I did choose to come from the back entrance, hope I wasn’t expecting it to be in open arms for me…plus, that would be a bad thing.

Coming to a bolted white door, most likely for deliveries or leading into a maintenance room, Chrys shot off the chains, kicking in the door and bolting it back behind her, walking coolly through darkness and past vague dome shaped metal objects, a steady humming heard from each. Brushing her hand along the wall, at feeling a light switch, she flicked it upwards, fluorescent lights beaming into what looked to be the boiler room of the mall.

Holstering her gun, no scratches or moans reaching her line of hearing, Chrys walked out from the room, out into the full blown pandemonium that had once been the prosperous and well renowned mall. Ignoring the forever still corpses and the occasional streak of blood across glass windows still intact, she scanned a map directory, trailing her finger through the fastest routes between destinations.

She nodded her head, eyes narrowed. Yes, that will have to do…and considering the –hopefully- desolated state of this place, guess I’ll be free to do as I please, everything free of charge! Raising an eyebrow to the sudden thought, Chrys skipped up the dirtied metal steps of the escalator to the second floor, running off of that and into Victoria’s Secret.

Picking out something to change into, she ran down the floors, combat boots slapping against cold marble and broken glass and jetting into a pharmacy, taking out only an Industrial size can of hairspray. Stopping at the Body shop, she picked out a few soaps, scrubs, and shampoos, a smile starting to curl her lips as she reached the still running fountain.

Not the cleanest of water, but its better than nothing, Hiding her dismay, Chrys slipped out of her bloodied tattered clothes, starting to scrub her soiled skin vigorously with a variety of scented soaps, unraveling her braid and emptying an entire bottle of some weird botanical shampoo inside it, humming to the invisible tune of Carnaval reggaeton all the while, the music running through her mind a gentle serenade.

Picking up her lighter and the can of hairspray, she walked from the fountain heavily covered in soapsuds and back to the Body shop. Lighting her lighter, she aimed it towards the onyx sprinklers overhead, can near the flame and at the ready. Letting out a steady burst, the spray ignited automatically, Chrys finding herself a makeshift flamethrower and a way to finish up her shower, the ice cold water falling from the ceiling. “Lovely…”

Finishing up in the mall, Chrys slipped into a new pair of clothes, unable to decide between hot pants or regular jeans, choosing a combo of both, one black denim leg regular with a flare, the other, cut short a few inches above her knee. She laughed at her quirky sense of fashion, slipping on a short sleeve black mesh top over a sky blue mid riff revealing top, gently wrapping a black long sleeve cardigan around her waist.

Picking up a small black knapsack, she emptied the contents of her Kevlar vest into it then walked over to the disarrayed gun shop, stocking up on shotgun shells, magazines, and any spare ammunition she could find, picking up a shotgun and two nickel plated Uzis, holsters accompanying each. Shotgun across her back, katana to her hip, Desert eagles by her waist and Uzis in close range, Chrys felt a sense of revitalization, as if everything was slipping back on track.

Clapping her hands together, the scent of honeysuckle fragrance surrounding her, she ignored her dripping wet hair as she made her way to the front entrance, figuring from there she would make her way to the hospital, check up on the others. However, feet away from the shattered glass remnants, she stopped, heart skipping a beat, familiar figures standing just outside the entrance.

Breaking off into a mad dash, Chrys crashed into Paul, hugging him from behind tightly, Raine jumping back startled at Chrys’s sudden charge. Paul looked as if he were about to have an attack, surprised by her run. Chrys, meanwhile, started to notice her surroundings, noting a strangely normal and highly pissed Berina, a...ninja standing but a few feet away, and Drake, a look of disorientation across his features.

Instinctively, her hand reached for the hilt of her weapon, glancing around cautiously. “Where’s Malconin?”

Paul, starting to comment, paused mid speech, answering her question. “Dead.”

Her hand slipped from the hilt, eyes widened. “What?! Well, good-”

Motioning to Berina, Paul silenced her. “Not a good idea.”

Chrys didn’t finish her sentence, figuring it wouldn’t be the time. She remembered but a day ago how Berina had come to Malconin’s rescue so considering she was here now, the murderer would have to be…she shook her head, hissing quietly in conversation to Paul. “HE killed him?! Or did Malconin die on the way to the hospice?”

Raine interrupted in the conversation. “No, that was a doppelganger, the real Malconin blew him to smithereens, then we were going in pursuit after you, but then Tao came along, killed him, and something about a key being lost, yadi yadi yada…”

Chrys glared to the back of Tao’s head, wondering whether she should intervene in the current stare down by Berina or pick up a lead pipe and start to assist her in whatever she had planned. It was all in vain…coming to the waste of the city, searching for the past four days, it had all been for naught. Without Malconin around, she didn’t know of anybody else with the technology or the genius to help her with her little dilemma…

Though he was a psycho so not like he would have helped me anyways, Going on this thought as something of encouragement, Chrys spoke humbly with a hint of sarcasm, eyes stark cold in the morning sunlight. “Ms. Valious…stranger, hope you don’t mind too much for the interruption but couldn’t you…beat up this guy a little later. Your husband…” She held back a few curses, forcing solemnity to her face. “May not be alive, but at least you can still try and fulfill his legacy, finding the key and fixing up this mess. Vengeance is…tempting, but perhaps it would be best to work on something else on the moment, burn out your anger on any beasties we might run into in the process,” Raising her hands behind her head, she shrugged, staring sideways into the mall. “Just a thought.”

Tao's boots made no noise as he crossed the glass littered floor towards Berina. His silent vow ringing through his head, he stopped when they were a mere metre apart.
Tao stared deep into Berina's eyes for long time, taking in all the rage and hurt he could sense wuthin her being, assessing her ability to destroy him, and finding he was not surprise at the power she harnessed within.
Slowly, Tao raised his right hand up to his tiger face plate, hesitating on the threshhold of grabbing it. He hadn't shown his face to anybody in in over six years, not since the burning of his village.
Steeling hismelf, Tao's jaw clenched and, before he could change his mind, he yanked the face plate up over his head, stripping the leather hood off with it.
Long, pure white hair cascaded down around his shoulders, freed of the hood that bound it. His boyish features softened, and he bowed his head slightly, feeling naked and vulnerable.
"For what it is worth," he began quietly, "I am sorry for the pain I have caused you." His face raised, his jaw clenching defiantly as he regained his courage with a thought. "But if you know anything about my culture, you will know that I could not let Malconin live. If you wish to punish me for what I have done, then I accept my fate."

Bildo woke up the rest still asleep even Roger. He looked around and saw Shalimar by the door. "Mornin, Whats up?" He asked her.

"i don't know.they seem to have left"

Leaving Tao and Berina to their affairs, Chrys turned back into the direction of the mall, the only thing stopping her, a gentle hand on her arm. Glancing back, she noticed Paul looking to her curiously. “Where you going?”

Giving a half smile, Chrys planted a light kiss on his cheek. “I’m gonna go check something out, alright? You stay here and make sure nobody kills each other.” she joked, partially serious. She started to walk but again Paul stopped her. Chrys arched her brow in wonder.

“Chrys, what happened to you all night? What were you doing at the station?”

She felt a lump in her throat appear, words suddenly not being able to form. Biting her lip, she shrugged, finally forming a weak smile. “I’ll tell you about it later. One more thing I have to do in the mall.” Before anymore questions could be asked, she shook her arm free, walking briskly through the broken glass entrance and back into what was left of the mall.

Following the route that she had painted out in her mind, Chrys walked with her hands deep within her pockets, stopping at the shattered glass entrance of a small store, electrifying pink neon lighting where the windows once stood. Stepping through the broken glass display, she threw aside multiple cell phones littering the vast blue ceramic counter, opening up drawers beneath the table and tossing aside box after box, stopping at a black one.

Ripping it open, Chrys threw away most of its contents, stopping at what looked to be a charger. Digging into her knapsack, she felt around the bag, pulling out a small platinum cell phone. It’s a start… Finding a wall outlet, she began to charge her phone, waiting a few minutes before she allowed a smile to appear, still able to receive some sort of single.

I hate when other people are right, she thought, rolling her eyes as she made herself comfortable on the countertop, phone in hand. Chrys held a bad tendency of never charging her phone, the battery always dying on her when she needed it the most. Dialing in a number, she waited patiently, surprised at hearing a sniffling on the other end. “So she can cry? Holy hell, the apocalypse has come….”

Abruptly, the low sobbing stopped, the stranger on the other end stunned. A Kleenex slipped from her fingertips, a scowl crossing her lips. “I…Chrys? Is this some sort of joke?”

Looking deadpan, Chrys examined her fingernails, leaning her head into the phone. “Please…I rarely, if ever joke. No, I just make biting sarcastic comments…Jade, what’s up? I’ve only been in this hellhole for the past four days but for you to be crying…what’ve you heard?”

Jade laughed and cried at the same time. “You mean besides your whole team crashing and burning in that city?” She laughed, a little less sad. “Not much. So what,” She adjusted herself in her office seat, lowering her voice and crouching down in her cubicle. “Is this some recording for you being dead or something else?”

“Yes, this is a recording that anticipates everything you’re going to say,” Chrys scoffed at her sarcasm. “No, this is real time and something’s gone down here, T-Virus related. The town’s a complete biohazard, zombies, Hunters and those long tongued…uh,” She snapped her fingers. “Lickers! That should’ve been easier but anyways, there’s even more bio products in the works.”

“Well, f*ck me, I’m surprised you’re still alive! Then again, you guys are few of the best and have enough weaponry to take down the Penta-”

“Correction,” interrupted Chrys coolly. “One, I’m the only one who survived from the whole squad sent here. Though, I’m not completely alone, found some survivors, bratty teen’s, ex-flame’s, mad scientist’s, trigger happy warrior’s, furious wife’s, and hey, a ninja while we’re at it. Though, onto my point, I need for you to find me a way out of here as I,” Chrys twirled the thin black charger cord around a finger, wincing as she spoke quickly into the phone. “May or may not have sent a nuke to detonate the city within the next twenty four hours!”

“YOU DID WHAT?!?” Jade was about to comment on her sanity what with the mention of the survivors she had ‘possibly’ bumped into, but the last bit shocked her beyond words.

“I don’t know if I actually did,” said Chrys defensively. She loosened the wire from around her finger. “I…uh, had one of those moments when I blanked out before I could make a decision. One minute I was standing in front of the enter key, the next I was running into a 7-11. The way back to the station’s a bit too crowded for comfort, so I can’t really check…”

“I see…” Jade mumbled beneath her breath what sounded to be idiot, shaking her head as she rubbed at her temples. Letting out concentrated breaths, she said after a long pause. “Let’s start in the order of things mentioned…the teams dead, except you. And you want me to find you a way out of here? And just how the hell am I supposed to do that?! I mean, bloody hell, the last transport out of that city was from a private company…several hours ago…?” She finished her sentence almost confused. Frowning, she continued. “Ignoring that oddity considering circumstances, my first priority is going to be to check if you’ve activated a nuke, ultimately managing to screw yourself!” she said perkily.

“Cute…” Chrys struggled not to break her phone, a little irate. “And just how long is this going to take?”

“Three hours.”

“Thirty minutes, that’s all you have. I can’t exactly sit on my ass here and wait for my phone to charge considering my comrades might not be too pleased with that,” Chrys looked out through the broken display windows, a faint growl heard in the distance, a flyer licking at her bare leg.

“Oh really, so you’ll have at least an hour of battery life? Huh, okay, well, I’ll call you between intervals of thirty minutes, keep your phone off in the meanwhile, when on, low ring, no vibrate. So, Chrys, sweetie?” Jade spoke smarmily into the phone, amusement in her eyes, “So what are you and the teen and trigger happy and the rest of the so called survivors you bumped into going to do that’s so important?”

Understanding what she was trying to get at, Chrys formed a sneer, picking up the crinkled flimsy paper sticking to her leg. “Don’t patronize me, smartass. I’m not making them up. We have to go find the anti-virus and fix the city.”

A long pause. Jade didn’t comment for almost a good minute, Chrys starting to wonder if she had gotten disconnected. A murmur was heard from Jade’s side. “No…” It grew prominent, confidence in her voice. “That doesn’t make any sense. You can’t just spread out this anti-virus and make everything skippy. I mean, alright, let’s use cancer-”

“That’s not a virus, Jade. And here I thought you were smart…” Chrys tutted in disappointment.

“Shut up and work with me!” Snapped Jade, deep in her thoughts. “Its almost like that virus in this way, if you catch onto it early, you go to chemo or they remove the cancerous section, and ‘yeah!’, your back to health. However, if it reaches a terminal stage, you’re gonna die regardless and there’s no turning point, no miracle healing item to make everything all better! What, is the anti-virus going to reverse decomposition at a cellular level, getting rid of the virus spiraling the brain, restore a pulse to the soulless things prowling the streets?!?” exclaimed Jade, almost shouting into the phone. “Nuh-uh, Chrys. Either there’s more to this than meets the eye and someone hasn’t given up all the facts or you’ve reached fairy world, where all your wishes come true!”

“You don’t say…” Chrys didn’t retort to her sarcasm, scanning the flyer wide-eyed. It was about two twin Dobermans being brought in, joining up with someone named, Omar at the pet store in the mall. The same day of the outbreak. She glanced around the area, the growls she had been ignoring suddenly ringing through her head. “Listen, I’ll call you back.” She turned off the phone, not waiting for a bye.

Creeping through the display window, Chrys took out a Desert Eagle, figuring until she could get her hands on a 9mm at the gun shop, she’d have to waste her good ammo. Walking around the second level, she reached the pet store, coming upon a bounty of either dead or zombified animals. Seeing two black dogs, she frowned, their anxious teeth almost having broken out of their cages. “Lo siento, puppies,” Shooting twice, she killed two of the four dogs, the other two in hiding.

Leaving quickly, en route to the gun shop, two snarling dogs appeared before her. Choosing a mad dash to the escalator, halfway down, Chrys stopped, a dog jumping down in front of her at the foot of the still ride, the other snarling behind her. They both started in a mad leap to their prey, Chrys taking out her newfound Uzis and firing in both left and right, taking down the approaching beasties in a good five seconds.

Blowing away smoke, Chrys holstered those in exchange for the magnum, calmly walking back to the T-Mobile store. Stepping through the glass, she was halfway to the counter when it reached her. A low menacing growl, bloody paws stepping across glass. Turning around slowly, she noticed a single black dog standing by the window. I miscalculated…? How?

The dog stepped closer, Chrys noticing a bloody collar, causing a frustrated groan of realization to leave her lips. Because Omar’s a friggin’ dog, Forcing back a slap to her forehead, Chrys jumped back, ripping her phone from the charger and bounding across the table as the dog leapt towards her. It smacked into the counter, she taking the opportunity to jump back over and run backwards to the window, taking careful aim. She fired, a ring bursting from her phone causing her to miss as she tripped over a box she had tossed aside, falling flat onto to the floor. Just then, her magazine slipped out, she needing to reload, Omar taking a running leap to her…

Suddenly a loud shot rang out as the dog was knocked backwards. Standing ten feet away from the prone Chrys, Travis held a smoking Desert Eagle. He and Lianne had managed to take a detour from the horde of zombies, but had been low on ammo after the fight. Travis suggested a trip to the nearest gunshop, when they heard a snarling dog. "You ok?" Travis said as he extended his arm down to help the woman up. He couldn't tell how but he recognized this woman from somewhere. Be it his past in the UBCS or SEALS he didn't know.

Berina didnt move a muscle, the reaction seeming more of a flinch, her blade flicking across in a diagonal movement, slashing Tao's untouched right cheek, "A momento of the Valious..." She growled as he took a step back in shock.

Chrys squinted her eyes in recognition of both the stranger and his female comrade. He was a bit before her time, but she knew his name…well, his last name anyways. Catching his helping hand, she eased herself up into an upright position, letting out a breath of relief.

“I’m as good as I’ll ever be…er, is it Russell? Last name, I mean. You look familiar to me…” Biting her lip, before he could respond, her phone rang in Fur Elise, interrupting the conversation. Turning it on, she held an apologetic look, holding up her finger as she answered with a hiss. “You have bad timing!”

“Oh, well excuse me! Shoot the messenger, why don’t you?” Jade smirked, taking a sip of Redbull. It was looking to be a long day…or evening where Jade was. Looking around furtively, she spoke lowly. “Well, I’m assuming you wanted me to find you an escape route on the down low. I found one…you can head to the docks-”

“No can do…” Chrys whispered, walking a little further off away from her rescuers. “The T-Virus affects virtually every living thing, ranging from humans to crows…plant life, even the depths of the ocean. The only reason why the whole world hasn’t become screwed was because of the effectiveness of the lockdown and the shutdown of the sewer line. Or in layman’s terms, I didn’t survive for four days to get eaten by a mutant shark!”

Jade nodded her head in understanding, kicking back in her chair frustrated. She closed her eyes. “Then going through Arklay mountains might not be the safest choice…though I doubt the virus would’ve spread that far,” She sighed. “I could always set up a helicopter outside of Umbrella, they’d have to have a good reason to fly over the city though considering all traffic within that area’s on lock as well. You’d have to spend quite a sum from your account in Zurich to get yourself a heli though there’s a little problem with it…”

Chrys groaned, slapping her forehead. Shaking her drying hair away from her face, she placed the phone into the charger, speaking tiredly. “What, did Umbrella find out about it and report me dead to the bank, closing my account in the process?”

Jade laughed strangely. “No sweetie…this is a good problem. It seems over the course of several hours the amount of money in that account has changed from one hundred thousand to exactly two point eight million dollars.”

The cell phone slipped from Chrys’s hold, falling in a clatter to the ground, the battery almost falling out in the process. A look of shock was visible in her eyes, she in bewilderment to what the hell had happened. Shaking, she squatted down slowly, putting the phone back to her ear. “Two things…one…is this a joke? Secondly…how?”

“Please, I rarely if ever joke,” mocked Jade, smirk across her face. She tapped the computer screen before her. “No, it isn’t a joke. Secondly, I hate when I find out that the world holds better hackers than even me…cause I’ve been trying to access this fu-”

Out of habit, Chrys rolled her eyes, taking the phone away from her ear as Jade shouted a series of angry profanities, angry at someone’s else being better than her. At hearing the yelling seize, she placed the phone back to her. “Alright Jade, what have you found out about the nuke? The anti-virus?”

“Still not certain about the former…as for the latter, I’m slowly stumbling onto something. I’ll keep you updated, trust me on that. Oh, and if I do happen to find a copter, you’ll have to go to the highest building within the city to catch it. Hunter’s leap so they would have difficulty reaching the level. Licker’s climb but the moisture in the air would make the building too slippery to properly scale. Stay alive while you can, I still gotta return your bike,” She laughed a bit. “Take care, Chrys.”

“Ciao, Jade,” She hung up the phone, slipping it on the side of her jeans. Turning back to her rescuers, she arched an eyebrow, slipping in a fresh magazine into her Desert Eagle. Looking almost guilty, she pointed in their direction. “Sorry, but standard procedure to most survivors. Quick intro, names Chrys Stonewell, either of you infected?”

"You know I've never really thought about whether or not i was infected. Not exactly number one on my priorities." Lianne answered sarcasstically. Travis looked calmly down the barrel of Chrys' Desert Eagle. "I was infected over three hours ago, but i was given an antidote. Malconin has some sort of Fail-safe in a lab near here, and we need to find him." Travis said as he checked the ammo in his clip.

Tao reached a hand up to his face, drawing it back and frowning at the blood on his fingers. His cheek stung, but his attuned mind pushed the pain away automatically. Tao was shocked, though, he supposed he should have expected such a thing.
Death, he was prepared for...having his face sliced open, however, caught even him off guard. Straightening his posture, Tao bowed deeply to Berina, then turned and walked away, knowing that, despite being a Valious, she would have the class to withdraw from stabbing him in the back, literally.
He glanced at Drake on his way past and motioned for him to follow, pulling up his hood with the other hand. "Come, soldier, we have work to do." He walked on, not really caring if Drake followed him or not. He had a task to complete, and nothing or no one was going to stop him getting complete and utter revenge on Malconin Valious.

"Hold the hell up! You randomly show up; tell some hair brained story; make me ooze green sh!t; and you just want me to follow you like we've been friends forever. I want this thing ended as much as you do, but honestly, can I get a name, a hand shake, something other then 'you've been looking for Mal ur whole life'." Drake liked the guy, that was for sure, but there was no way he was following a perfect stranger into a fight.

"They Left what the" Bildo said surprised.