Into the Clouds

Wesker had removed the hood from the mystery man and Chris could barely find his ability to breathe. 
All he really wanted to do was step forward and take his lover into his arms and beg forgiveness. The floor fell away. None of it mattered. Not even the hand on his arm or the sharp hiss in front of him mattered. His life had been restored. 

Rebecca wasn't far behind. She had instructed Carlos to go ahead and make sure Chris and Sheva were safe. Finding out the mess that Umbrella had left behind was becoming an enormous task. Finding out Wesker was involved only added to her stress.

“Whatever is the matter, Chris? I would think you happier with this little family reunion.” Wesker purred, his laughter echoing from the stone walls around them. “Jill, give him the greeting he deserves.” He added, knowing she had no memory of her lover, and would attack without restraint.”

Chris stepped forward, dragging Sheva with him. "Jill. It's me. It's Chris." He breathed, holding his hand out to her. "You don't how long...I've never stopped looking for you." He didn't care that Wesker would hear his voice crack. He knew that the other man delighted in his pain. He made it as far as touching her face before he found himself slammed face first on the ground. "Jill! What the hell?!" 
Carlos slipped into the room but not unnoticed by the yellow eyed monster who already knew he was there. He nodded, giving the signal that Rebecca and the samples they'd come to secure were safe. His nod fell short when found himself staring at Jill. It was then that his decisions changed. At least for the moment.

The fight was hardly an even match. Even in their years with STARS, Jill had always had the speed, Chris the brute strength. But now she almost seemed to be gone before Chris even made her position. This pleased Wesker. He smiled and cranked the dosage of Jill’s chest device all the way up. He wanted Chris’ life to fade from his eyes as he looked up into those of the woman he loved. “Do try not to die too soon.” Though he didn’t specify if he meant Her knight, or her lover.

"Jill..." Chris whispered his former fiancee's name as he held her tightly against him. He willed her to remember him. He ignored the blood rushing from his nose and ears. "Valentine... We were going to Greece. Remember? To get married?"
Sheva was struggling with whatever it was on her chest. "Hurry!" He shouted at her. "We're losing time!" 
"Move." Carlos shoved the small woman aside and grabbed the device. "Don't bruise this beautiful face, super cop." He ground out. " It would a shame. Huh?"

Rebecca arrived ahead of Chris and sheva to the hanger, gasping for breath. She skidded to a halt as she nearly slammed into Wesker's back. 
It was everything she could do to protect the samples she carried on her chest. 
"You're dying." She whispered. "Excella overdosed you. Let me help..."

Jill’s fighting eased slightly when Carlos’ fave came into her line of sight. “C-Car…los…” She forced his name out, but the brief moment of lucidity was gone and she started bucking again, one slender arm pulling free of Chris’ grasp and a lighting quick fist striking Carlos square in the jaw. 

Wesker’s head turned very slightly at the sound of Rebecca’s sweet voice, though only enough to pull her into his peripheral vision. “Help? You people and your help…” He was clearly mocking her good nature.

Chris couldn't help but grin as Carlos was forced backward, blood spurting all over the front of his uniform. "That's my girl." He grunted. His approval wouldn't last long. Jill's elbow landed squarely into his nose and he was forced to let her go, his vision swimming. 
Carlos wiped at his face and mumbled something at Chris and grabbed for his gun. Until they could hold her down again, this would be hell. "Where are you going, sweetie? You're not going to say you're sorry?" He shouted as he leapt over the fallen Chris with a grin. 

Rebecca reached out, her fingers touching his cool wrist. "Why did you let her do that?" She asked. "Was it because of what Spencer said? Are you trying to prove something?" She let out a shaking breath. "I can fix this. I made a serum. You just have to let me..." She was doing it again talking too much. She couldn't stop herself when she was nervous. They both knew she was about to launch into the serum's ingredient list. 
His jaw was tight and moving ever so slightly. She wasn't exactly sure what it meant. "Please?" She whispered. "I don't want to lose you. Even if you decided I'm not good enough..."

Jill halted again, her grey eyes meeting this of Carlos across the expanse of the ruins. The spark of recognition was there; she didn’t want to hurt him. But the other man, her gaze shifted to Chris and the moment of calm passed and she was reaching for her guns and firing in his direction. That was the man that every corner in her body screamed needed to die. 

“There’s only one way to know if you truly are worthy.” Wesker mused, finally turning to fully meet Rebecca’s hopeful gaze. “But you are not reckless enough to walk that path, are you?” He added, reaching a hand out and brushing her smooth cheek in an almost gentle manner.

The first bullet hit Chris in the thigh. He had been pushing to stand and was forced to his knees again. The next one hit him in the shoulder. This one had him cursing to the heavens.
Carlos grinned widely as he found his path to the backside of his former lover. The two of them were making this easy. 

"You know I'm not and you shouldn't either." Rebecca said firmly. "We could finish this right here. We could be on a deserted island drinking beer. Screw everything else." Her vivd blue eyes were pleading with him, searching his face for a sign that he was hearing her.

Jill was focused solely on Chris, Sheva didn’t matter to her, and Carlos had not been a part of her mission. Every instruction had been to stop Redfield. Her magazines were empty now, forcing her to simply toss the guns aside and run at Chris with frightening speed. Jill leapt into the air, her thighs closing around Chris’ head before using almost super human strength to toss him a toss the ruin like a rag doll. The former STARS officer seemed to be moving in for the kill when she hesitated again, holding her head as she screamed in agony. 

“Beer, really?” Wesker teased, the ghost of that smile that only she ever saw returning. “I think time in Africa has forced upon me my quota for hot, dry, climates.” He added. “A lake in Switzerland, perhaps? Or a river boat hidden along the Norwegian Fjords.” The way he spoke, it almost seemed as though Rebecca was getting through to him.

Carlos grabbed Jill's hands and pulled her tight against him. "It's okay, super cop." He breathed in her ear. "I'm here. You're safe." He'd always said that to her when she would wake up during a nightmare. "Wake up. Let's go get coffee and talk about it. Ok?"

Rebecca nodded, sliding her fingers into his. "That sounds perfect." She admitted. "Just us. Our own perfect world." She stepped close and rested her head against his chest. She'd forgotten about her serum.

The sound of his voice almost seemed to be working. Jill was calming down, until the device on her chest pumped the last of the serum into her blood. Her slender fingers reached to the knife in Carlos’ belt, struggling free once more. The guns had been one thing, but Chris would know that Jill was far more deadly with a knife in hand than any gun. She crouched down low now, hissing like an animal before she refocused her attention to the wounded BSAA operative she had once agreed to spend the rest of her life with. 
“Chris, you need to shoot the device on her chest! We’re never going to get her still long enough to pull irl it!” Sheva shouted, knowing he was the only one who could make the shot without killing her… of course that was before he had a bullet wound in his shoulder. 

Like Jill in the moments prior, Wesker seemed calmed for a moment. Not the maniacal monster who hounded Chris Redfield’s every step. His powerful arms slowly curled around Rebecca, noting how small and fragile she felt. Why did he feel the need to protect something so breakable? 
“And you think your serum is the way to this life you see us living?”

Carlos simply shook his head and held up his hand at them. "You know I think it's hot when you hiss at me like that..." He purred. "But maybe you should buy me dinner first?" Again he moved toward Jill, ignoring the danger he was in. His fingers rested on her shoulder, the distraction enough that he was able to grab her arm and force her to face Chris. He was not quick enough to keep her from stabbing him in the side however.

"It's a start." Rebecca said wrapping her arms tightly around his waist. The breath she released seemed as if it might make her tiny form collapse. "I was so worried about you. But...it's going to be okay now. I can fix this."

Jill continued to scream as Chris pulled on the device. Tears even dropped down her temples. It was both from the pain of those tendrils that ran deep beneath her skin being pulled loose, and the relief of knowing it was over now. One way or the other. 

“There is nothing to fix. What is done is done.” Wesker told her coolly. “Uroboros will be released. I have not worked toward this goal for this long to fall at the final hurdle!”

Soon enough all three people were lying on the floor. Chris was crawling toward Jill, his bloodied fingers on her face. "You're okay..." He breathed, pulling her into his arms. "We can go home..."

"It's not falling if you never jump!" Rebecca protested. "Goddamnit, Wesker! You can't just leave me like this!" She hated herself for sobbing into his chest. "Not again..." The whisper came out so soft and broken. Her shoulders began to shake.

Jill’s worn out body stiffened when Chris touched her face, the moment he pulled her into such an intimate embrace she fought with what strength she had left to pull back and look up at him. “Who… who are you?” She breathed. She was looking up into his deep sapphire eyes, frowning a little at the pull she felt towards him. 

It wasn’t the years that shocked Wesker in the moment, it was the fact he… cared. “You chose your side, I never forced you.” He breathed, gently tilting her chin back up, a gloved thumb sweeping the tears from one of her smooth cheeks. “We are at war, Rebecca, those you aligned with just refuse to see it.”

"You guys have to go." Carlos said firmly. "Wesker is planning a super spreader. You're running out of time."
"I'm not leaving her with you." Chris snapped. His chest aching. Nin of his injuries hurt as much as his broken heart.
"Then we all die here. You're choice." Carlos snorted.

Rebecca closed her eyes. "Come home with me. Let's have our own perfect world."

Jill smooth brown creased and she shook her head. “I did this… I’m sorry.” She breathed. Slender fingers hovering just above the would in one of Chris’ broad shoulders. “I don’t know what you did to him,  it Wesker wanted you dead more than anything. No… I should be the one to go after him.” She nodded her head in determination, then tried to push to her feet, only to have her legs give way and fall back into the arms of the man she didn’t remember. 

Wesker laughed quietly at the thought. “That’s what I am doing, creating a perfect world.” He replied, as though it were that simple. “One with no disease, no pain, just the strong and the deserving.”

Chris could taste the bitterness deep in his throat. It wasn't an unfamiliar flavor. They'd spent months arguing about Carlos and now it seemed he'd have to fight her for his memory.
Finally Sheva managed to get through to him and he turned away. "You hurt her and I'll make you wish a broken nose was all you have." He hissed, failing to see the other man's blood pooling on the floor.

Rebecca shook her head. "You can't do that with a virus... Not one that..." The elevator was moving. It was pinging on every floor. Chris had either beaten Jill or the other way around. "Albert. Please. Let's just go home." She begged, pressing a vial into his hand. "It's not too late."

Jill frowned at the comment. She was again fighting that feeling in her chest that watching this man walk away was a mistake. There was a pull that felt beyond physical attraction. “Why does he care so much?” She asked Carlos once they were alone in the crumbling ruin, him somehow keeping the knife wound hidden from her. 

“If that’s Chris, how do you propose explaining this to him?” He asked, his fingers closing over her own as she pressed the vial into his hand.

"He was your partner." Carlos said with a snort. "You told me all the time what a drunk and a bastard he could be. It got worse when you left."
He got to his feet and tried pulling her to hers. "Come on. We have to get you safe. As long as Weaker is still kicking, you aren't... "

"You know how much I love playing hostage." Rebecca breathed. Her eyes were locked on his face, trying to ignore the tremors in his fingers. He was losing control. He was due for another dose. Excellas poison has taken over.

Jill again stared in the direction Chris had left. That didn’t feel right. But all she had was the word of a man she DID remember, and DID trust. “He will have to kill me before I become his puppet again.” She swore, allowing Carlos to pull her to her feet. 

Wesker understood. They all had their parts to play. He grabbed Rebecca as the elevator doors opened, a hand around her throat as he held her tight against his chest, the the grip was far gentler than Chris would realise. “Well now, ready to sacrifice another team member?” He called as Chris and Sheva appeared.

"Good girl." Carlos said, gently pulling her along toward the elevator. "What do you say we get a rocket launcher and blow his ass to hell? Give him a little Raccoon city treatment?" He chuckled. 

Rebecca dug her nails into his palm. the serum vial shattered piercing them both. Whatever the tiny woman had given him had her now shivering violently and sweating.
"Give it up, Wesker! There's nowhere left to go!" Sheva shouted.
"it's over. You've lost again. Just realize it. " Chris said, stepping forward with his gun raised.

Jill did manage a smile this time. “Is he a fuckface too?” She mused, recalling the first words she had heard Carlos utter when saving her life. The first time of many. 

Wesker felt the trembling, though kept his cruel smile for Chris. “So slow to catch on, as always. You surround yourself with beautiful and brilliant women, knowing they will ultimately always be the ones to save your worthless hide. Tell me, how did Jill turn you away this time?” He was well aware that now he was supporting most of Rebecca’s weight, no matter how slight she was.

"That's right." Carlos grinned, tucking blonde hair behind her ear. "I could get used to this new style." He told her. "Makes you look even more like a super cop. I'll bet he hates it." He added with a snort.

"Don't think I won't shoot. " Chris growled. "I'm done with our game. I know about you two. Even if she keeps trying to say it's bullshit." He stepped closer, rage in his eyes. "What is that... Turns out about fair play?" He hissed, taking several shots at Rebecca, his fury filled mind unhinged and unable to think of the consequences.

“Why do you care so much?” Jill asked, her smooth brow creasing once more. Blonde hair aside, she looked like had barely aged a day since Carlos first came to her rescue. “He was just my partner, right?” Even as she said the words, something was gnawing away at her, telling her that wasn’t right. “And, are you saying brunettes can’t be bad ass super cops?” She added, shoving his shoulder playfully. 

That was the catalyst that would bring out the fury filled monster Wesker would ultimately become. Gone was the calculating, level headed mastermind. He flew at Chris, as had happened in the Spencer estate,  o more than a blur that was gone before Chris could ever hope to hit him. Sheva was the first to be tossed aside, then Chris was ragdolled about several times before Wesker’s fingers pushed all the way into the already seeping bullet wound in the other man’s broad shoulder. “I will take everything you love and let you watch as I destroy it.”

The door opened before Carlos could respond on yet another bloody scene. They were Chris's calling card it seemed. He wanted to curse and throw things but it wouldn't help anything. At least not yet. 
Sheva was trying to push to her feet, exhaustedly pointing towards the lifeless Rebecca. The vials she'd carried were now shattered on the ground around her.

Chris ground his teeth, holding tightly to Wesker's wrist. "So I was right." He laughed, spitting blood in the other man's face. "No wonder Excella wasn't good enough."

Jill airbed forward before anyone could stop her. Every the hero, she was at Rebecca’s side, shaking fingers hovering over the tiny woman’s seemingly lifeless body. Of course, she assumed it was Wesker’s handiwork.

Wesker smiled, the expression bordering on deranged. “Why would she be, when I had Jill to do with as i pleased?” He mocked. “No wonder you were so obsessed… she’s insatiable.” He purred. It was a lie, he had never touched Jill in that way, but he knew how to hurt Chris the most.

Chris's howl of rage was loud enough to be heard throughout the hanger. It was the pain that Wesker had been digging for in the first place. "I gave the order to leave Rebecca behind in the mansion!" He roared. "I knew she was alive and I didn't give a shit. I only cared about Jill!" He yanked Wesker hard against him. "I'm the one who shot her in the first place." He hissed in the other man's ear.
Wesker wouldn't get a chance to respond. Shave shoved a needle into his neck and shouted something at Chris.

Wesker has been about to pour further poison into Chris’ wound when he felt the needle, and then the almost euphoric surge through his body. “What did you…” He finally let go of Chris and stumbled, snake like eyes fixing on Sheva. Before any of them could stop him, he had advanced on her, his hand pushing through her torso in much the same way he had done to Spencer all those years ago. Chris had made a grave mistake in goading the beast.