Chapter 5: Nothing Stays The Same

Disclaimer: As always, Don't own Resident Evil.. Just own the games...

"Tell me, Dusty... What drives you? How have you not died? I've seen you lose fights horribly on the streets... But here, you are the best fighter I've ever seen... What keeps you alive here?"

The brunette pants loudly as the question roots into his skull, the answer coming out in a blood-filled rasp, "These things.. Aren't human.. Like you... You.. You.. Monster..."

Thomas attempts a quick rebuttal, but Dusty reels his head back and spits right in his face. The mutant swipes the liquid from his person and growls, spit flying from his lips as he does so. A quick fist sends Dusty's head into the wall, the man's body going limp from the pain.

The Asian turns and starts to walk forward, but a hand wraps around his leg, tripping the diseased human, "You're not getting away.."

Thomas turns around, his black hair rising up and standing on end as he spots his wounded nemesis leaning from the wall, an easy three-inch gash bleeding above his eyes. The blood is soaked into his skin, possibly from the virus, and the male jumps at Thomas, his fists ready to punch.

But his target dives to the left, then sends a tentacle into his neck, "Not this time bitch..."

Dusty drops instantly from the hit, not moving, yet not really staying still, twitching if you will. But before Thomas can do anything, his movements have turned into full-on convulsions.

"Damn it, I did not just kill you!"

Thomas can't believe what he's seeing.. Dusty planned this from the start... The move, the tentacle.. This mere human was able to play Thomas for a fool.. Get him to do what he wanted... Thomas Weidick has just been played by a mere mortal...

Thomas pulls out a knife from his back pocket, ready to cut his head off, but the knife is slapped from his hand, "Don't think so... Bi.. Bitch..."

Dusty slowly crawls to his feet, despite the kicks and punches from his rival. Blood-stained lips smile at Thomas and the newly mutated Dusty slams his fist into his head, sending three mini-tentacles through the crevice.

He screams in pain while Dusty smiles, "Well, seems you still feel pain in this form..."

Thomas pushes from his prone position and jumps at Dusty, who just raises his hand and slams the palm into the Asian's face. He flips backwards, landing on his neck hard. Dusty attempts to capitalize on the injury, but a sharp pain courses through his neck, sending his new body to the floor. He looks up through pain-stricken eyes as Thomas begins to roll around, holding his body and screaming in pain.

I don't remember hurting him that bad.. There must be something else...

11

"Come get me you fuck!"

Aya backs down the kitchen aisle, shooting at anything that can do some damage to the Neanderthal-Tyrant. A single bullet hits the gas-nozzle for the pressure-cleaner and the entire wall explodes, sending large pieces of metal and bolts of fire into the creature.

The redhead lets out a cheer of minor triumph, but she knows it's short-lived, as it survived having its flesh burned off, "Well, I know you're not dead..."

Almost as if to answer the unasked question, the monster chasing her walks through the flames, the evil sneer still plastered to its face. Aya frowns and jumps onto the grill station in the middle of the room, just in time to dodge a very large, very fast fist. Tile flies into the air as the mutated and skinless extremity withdraws, giving the female a place to land. She jumps off the heated pad and slowly backs up, emptying round after useless round into its skin. A single round finds the mark, right where its jugular vein should be. Blood coats its neck, but it doesn't faze the monster. In return, the BOW bends down to her level, drops its jaw, and roars as loud as it can, the sound shaking the inferior being to her back. Her jacket slaps her in the face as her enemy continues its shriek of rage.

That.. May have been a bad idea...

Neanderthal jumps up, its body tearing through the ceiling, then it drops back down. Aya growls and rolls back, her back popping loudly in protest. The creature slams into the demolished floor, disappearing in a large cloud of cooking gas, metal, and wood. The woman gazes down the hole, smiling as she has yet to hear the beast hit solid ground.

But the feeling of victory drops as she hears a very loud plop, signaling that her monster will live, "Fuck."

11

"God... Son of a bitch... Just kill me..."

"Can do... Bye..."

Dusty rolls forward as six distinct weapons, three magnums, two shotguns, and a handgun fire, their rounds wasted on the ground. The human-weapon runs around the six men and quickly disarms them all, then knocks them unconscious.

Once all the weapons have been collected, and placed on his person, Dusty says a silent prayer, "I hope you all make it out alive... Only things I want dead are inhuman..."

He turns to walk away, but his gaze is locked on the spot where his rival once was, but now is not. A million words cross through his mind, none fitting the situation exactly. Newfound powers, yet his sense of smell, as usual, still sucks...

Maybe this trick will work... thinks the male as he closes his eyes and covers his nose.

"Loud crash, 3 floors down... Three sets of footprints, one on the roof, one just outsid..."

Dusty growls and runs at the wall, shattering through it as though it was glass, his arms wrapping around the man instantly. The soldier gags, but is released as Dusty realizes he is not his target.

"Weidick.. Where?"

The grunt coughs and runs away, but a tentacle drags him back, "I.. I don't know.. he.. He..."

Dusty closes his eyes and throws the man down the hall, inevitably sending him out the window and down to the ground 33 feet below. Brown eyes look over the broken window frame and he smiles.

"Well.. He's not gonna see tomorrow in an upright and pretty way..."

Dusty closes his eyes, then flips into the air, just in time to dodge the flying tentacle meant to pierce his heart.. Again.. Through his glasses, the newly-mutated male spots the other down the hall, a scowl of pure malice plastered to his face.

Dusty drops and dodges another tentacle, amazed at his own increased speed, then smiles, "Seems you miss me, dear..."

Thomas growls, three more tentacles flying from his chest. The first two are easy to dodge, a simple drop-and-slide maneuver. But the third, the male clamps his legs shut, catching the muscular appendage before it did any real damage. Before Thomas can withdraw his captured body part, Dusty rolls to his left, pushes into the air using his arms, and flips his opponent using his own appendage. Thomas careens through the air, his body tucking to avoid the minor damage, and promptly flies through the window and wall.

Dusty relishes in the silence that his move has produced and he slowly turns to find where that loud boom from earlier came from, "Tis a joyous, joyous day to be me... Tis a really joyous day to be me I say..."

11

This is gonna sound so cliche later, but.. I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! It's going to kill me til I can't die any more! God Dusty! Help me!

Aya jumps to the left, then to the right, trying her best, despite the weariness now plaguing her every muscle, to dodge the punches and kicks from her own personal nemesis. Before Aya can do anything else, she is now falling backwards down a flight of stairs. Having chased the beast down that hole to make sure it was dead, the redhead found herself in an underground lake, surrounded by what appeared to be a metal donut-lab.. Now the neanderthal-looking Tyrant is chasing her floor-by-floor to the bottom of the lab. By now, Aya is completely out of ammo, having to resort to just staying alive.

"Wherever you are now, Dusty, could really use your help..." grumbles the woman as she continues running, having finally gotten back to her feet.

Aya screams in pain as the monster finally hits her. The large fist sends her flying forward, slamming her lithe frame into the thin metal. If it would've hit her any harder, the scientist is sure it would've sent her trough the metal, causing her to sustain more injuries. She tries to move, but her wounded left arm is pinned in the metal, sending fresh waves of unbearable pain through her body. Before she can even realize what's going on, gunshots and roars are being traded back and forth behind her. She risks the pain to look back, but can only see something jumping around the monster.

What is going on here?

11

Things to kill! WHOOP!

Dusty's smile grows with each magnum round that has been fired. The monster has yet to falter from the onslaught, but on the plus side, it's yet to touch him. The mutant human keeps running around the beast, reloading his two magnums as he does so. A fist flies at him, but he just jumps on it and runs up the Neanderthal's arm, firing round after round into its face. Darkened blood coats his person, but Dusty just shrugs it off and flips off its shoulder, slamming his left knee into the back of its neck. The red Tyrant falls forward, the point-blank shots seeming to have had some effect, though slight.

"Hey babe..." smirks the brunette as he walks up to the trapped female.

Aya leans her head back and smiles at him, "You do know not how glad I am to be seeing you."

Dusty arches an eyebrow, but gives her wounds credit for the second of poor English, just glad to have her back. The male grasps both rolls of metal and grits his teeth, pulling the binding items from her arm. Once Aya is free, Dusty picks her up and examines her injuries.

"Where'd the gash come from?"

The redhead looks at her arm and sighs, "When the tyrant knocked me back, I caught it on a tree... It's doing okay.. Not infected or anything.. The scratch above my left eye happened when I dived through one of the windows in the front of the mansion.. Seems they got turrets out front..."

Dusty nods and hefts Aya up a little higher, pressing her form into a more comfortable position for both of them, "What the hell happened to you? You were screaming like you were being torn apart..."

The brunette stops, every single moment of pain still fresh in his mind, "Um... I don't remember a whole lot... Went unconscious shortly after that, woke up hearing what I guess was that Tyrant crashing through the floor..."

11

Something is not right with him..

Her jade eyes rest on the large hole in his shirt and hoodie, but is focused more on the lighter-shaded patch of exposed skin, "Something happened to your chest.. The skin is discolored.."

She watches as Dusty winces when she touches it, the wound not yet fully healed from whatever caused it.. She attempts to ask him again, but decides against it, just happy to have him back. Dusty lowers her down a little, seeing as how she can walk a little now, and keeps his arm wrapped around her waist.

"So, where to? Your choice?"

Aya looks up at her friend and smiles, "Down.. I want to be as far away from that mansion as possible.."

Dusty nods and smiles, "Okay. Down we go!"

Aya stares at the six weapons strapped to his person and sighs, "Seems you had an eventful day.. Any chance I can get a few of those?"

The brunette smiles and slowly sets her down, then places the six weapons before her, "Take your pick..."

The redhead smiles at the arsenal before her, but eyes the blood on them. She shakes the strange feeling off and grabs the handgun and shotgun.

"Well, should've guessed... Get back Aya..."

By now, Aya has learned to listen to Dusty, so she quietly runs back and slinks into a corner, her guns in tow. Dusty slides his left foot back and runs at the wall, just as something busts through. The brunette flies back, a large fist rising from the debris cloud. Aya attempts to run at the beast, but Dusty calls for her to stand down. He cracks both knuckles and runs at the beast one last time. The monster tries to swing at him again, but Dusty just flips into the air and fires twice, both rounds connecting near their intended targets. The Tyrant roars in pain, swats Dusty to the ground, and stomps down on him.

Pain shakes through his body as ribs break, instantly heal due to the virus, and break again, "AGH! You're not gonna kill me! Not today!"

Dusty manages to slide an arm free and produces the usual three tentacles, slamming them relentlessly into the monster's leg. After several attempts, and multiple screams of pain, Dusty finally manages to tear a hole into its opposing extremity. Blood pours from the wound as the brunette shoves his hand into the muscle and skin, searching for the bone, tendon, something to get this leg off his person. A distinct crunch, followed by the monster falling backwards signals that he's reached his mark. The Tyrant stumbles back, and jumps through the ceiling, disappearing before Dusty can do anymore damage...

He flips to his feet, holding his chest, and looks over at Aya, to find her in a corner, "What's the matter? It's gone..."

The redhead backs away, trying her damnedest to get as far from him as possible, "Monster! You're not Dusty! Get away!"

Brown eyes dim as he realizes what he's done.. He's come back to her, but not as she wished him to be.. Dusty lowers his head and drops the guns, then slowly walks out, his heart heavy.

"I'm sorry Aya... I'll go."

Sure, there's a chance he can talk to her, get her to understand, but he's just so tired, maybe getting away for a bit can help him rest.

11

Thomas stands up from the ground, dirt and grass embedded in his hair and clothes, and a slight stinging sensation pounding his head. The Asian mutant rolls his neck, the vertebrate popping loudly. The small male turns around and stares up at the window he flew through, snorts, and jumps up toward it, his muscles contracting to provide the necessary force. Black hair wavers in the rushing wind as he tucks his body in order to roll through the gaping hole. Before the three soldier standing at the window can say anything, Thomas is at his feet and limping, his heavy footsteps shaking the entire floor, and a pain in his ankle growing with every step.

"DDUUSSTY!"

11

The brunette's ears perk as a faint scream descends from above, "Well, seems I was right.. It didn't kill him after all.. Oh well, more fun for me..."

Dusty gazes down at the floor, hoping he'd have the mutation allowing him to gaze down at the redhead he's left behind. But to no avail, as he's not Superman... He huffs in disappointment, but that ends quickly as the wall next to him explodes, the Tyrant resting its eyes on his form.

Christ.. Thought was gonna have just Thomas to worry about... Well, at least Aya has one less enemy stalking her...

Darkened eyes flash as the mutant jumps for the overhead lighting, using it to propel himself into the air, "Come and get me, if you can..."

The monster roars and raises its hand, trying to swat him from the air like a fly. But Dusty slams his arm down between the fingers, sending the appendage down, giving him one free shot at its face. But that hit never comes as the Tyrant grasps him with his other hand, catching the human by surprise. The Tyrant growls lightly and wraps its other hand around his upper body, completely covering the man. Dusty twists and turns around in its grasp, but is futile as he's getting nowhere and fast.

"Let him go now!"

The scream is faint, but close, and the voice is easy to distinguish, "Aya! Get away! Run!"

Shotgun blasts ring around the smaller BOW's cage, the grip releasing enough for him to slide out. Dusty pushes from the folded hands and drops right in front of Aya.

He looks back at her, "But..."

The redheaded woman just shakes her head, her green eyes wet with held-back tears, "Don't say a thing.. We need to kill this and now..."

Chestnut hair nods and he back-flips into the air, amazed he still has the monster's full attention. He releases his tentacles, then proceeds to wrap them around the mutated monkey's head. With a twist of his body, Dusty screams, the sound of skin ripping echoing throughout the buried lab complex.

Go on, say you hate me... Cliffhangers galore.. But I can bet most of you will be reading this after I post the next chapter...