29 Incoming Storm Part 1

Word count 9,350

Jill Valentine slowly opened her eyes, the vision she just witnessed fading from her mind yet staying firmly in focus.

Much of it, she could barely remember, and every time she tried to focus on a specific aspect of it, it slipped from her fingers like sand.

But not all of it. She remembered the god sitting on his cosmic throne, remembered the unyielding power of one who stood greater than even universes, and above all remembered the symbol that had appeared when the god had spoken.

Hunter.

Even now, just thinking of it brought the mental image of the symbol clearly in her mind, as if a lamp in the dark, giving her focus and purpose.

Taking a deep breath, she tried and successfully pushed all thoughts of the literal divine revelation she just went through aside for now.

Instead, she closed her fists, feeling the incredible strength her body now contained within it.

Jill was hardly a weak person, physically or mentally speaking, but even she had to marvel at the feeling of sheer power she felt thrumming throughout her whole body right now.

Slowly, she turned her head, her eyes meeting Rebecca's, a similar feeling of awe in them that she no doubt also had.

"Well, how do you two feel?" came Aeon's voice, and she blinked, before looking at him and Oedon who stood nearby, equal satisfied smiles on their faces.

Jill promptly blinked again, because now that she was focusing, she could tell that her vision, which had certainly never been bad before, had now become far better.

She was pretty sure it was outright superhuman level, in fact…

"Strong." whispered Rebecca, and Jill nodded. "Very strong."

Aeon's smile widened. "Good. As it should be, really, since you are effectively artificial demigods now. Keep in mind, however, that no matter how strong you may feel right now, that is nothing compared to what you can still become in due time."

Jill stared at him in surprise for a moment, because she really did feel incredibly strong right now, but then she shook her head.

She had seen some of what Aeon was capable of at the end of his time in Yharnam.

All things considered, he was right. For all the strength she now possessed, there was so much more to achieve if she trained hard.

Rebecca must have come to the same conclusion, because her own expression turned determined.

"Alright. So what now?"

Aeon chuckled, but it was Oedon who answered.

"Now, we must choose some more appropriate clothing worthy of the Huntresses that you have become." she declared.

She waved her right hand, and numerous clothes worn by mannequins suddenly appeared.

Jill tilted her head, a small smirk appearing on her face.

"You people really like long coats, don't you?" she pointed out, considering the amount of clothing that was presented.

"They're useful in several ways, such as having many pockets, and also to more easily keep tainted blood… or regular blood for that matter, out of your body." Aeon replied.

Then he hummed. "That, and each of them are reinforced in various ways to better handle claws and teeth, which is a must against both beasts and zombies. Notice the high collars too, to further help with keeping blood off your faces and put something between your necks and the jaws of, say, a zombie. As for the hat, again, it helps keep the blood out."

Rebecca grimaced slightly at the implied amount of bloodshed, but Jill merely looked thoughtfully at the clothes.

"And I take it the lack of true armor is for better mobility?"

Aeon nodded. "That too. Beasts are fast and usually stronger than you. So in order to survive, what is needed wasn't more armor, but better flexibility and mobility in general."

Jill nodded, before picking up a pair of sturdy boots, a long dark blue coat, and a fedora, Rebecca doing the same not long after but with a dark green coat.

Aeon waved a hand, and two mirrors appeared, letting the two women look at themselves.

Or, well, what little they could see of themselves, since with the high collar and hat, they could just see their eyes.

"Usually, Hunters also put some kind of face cloth around their necks and mouth, just in case. Or gas masks, if you want more modern equipment. Whether you decide to do so is up to you, though I will say that it has its uses, especially if you are in an area where you really don't want to smell anything."

"Like what?" wondered Rebecca.

"Like sewers… or rivers of blood surrounded by hills of corpses." Aeon replied dryly.

Rebecca winced, remembering some of what they had seen from his memories, and Jill was barely better herself.

As it turned out, no, Aeon hadn't been exaggerating that part at all, unfortunately.

"Right…" Rebecca said softly, obviously uncomfortable but also willing to accept the advice considering the personal experience backing it up.

Once they were both satisfied with their choices, Oedon made the other clothes disappear, and then went outside, sitting around a table that hadn't been there before.

"Right then. Let's talk about what we need to do from now on." declared Aeon, expression serious.

"First, no, I am not going to throw you into a simulated version of Yharnam anytime soon. I could, but frankly I'm not as brutal as Gerhman on this one, so I'll train you with at least the basics of the Hunter Arts before that. You hardly need training in general combat, so that will help, but you really need training in using melee weapons like axes, swords, and the like."

"Is that really necessary? I mean, I remember what I saw from your memories, but surely with modern weapons…"

Jill trailed off as Aeon shook his head.

"I understand where you are coming from, but to put it bluntly you'll need training with melee weapons if you want to truly excel on the battlefields Hunters are meant to fight in. Even with modern firearms, I can assure you that there will be times where you shall live or die simply because of how capable you are at fighting in CQC. And I'm not talking about just hand-to-hand fighting or knives/daggers, I'm talking about actual weapons, again, swords, axes, or anything else you have at hand."

Jill frowned, but ultimately stayed silent. If he believed it necessary, then so be it.

"With that being said, do you have any specific weapons in mind?" he asked.

Jill thought deeply on it, but Rebecca almost immediately answered.

"An axe for me, and also a shotgun… the sawed-off kind." she answered.

Aeon smiled at her. "A good combo. Perhaps lacking a bit in long-range, but as long as you can make it work…"

Rebecca frowned, before tilting her head.

"What about a grenade launcher-" the two exchanged a smirk at that "-and that Rifle Spear I remember you using in Yharnam?"

Aeon raised an eyebrow at that, but nodded thoughtfully.

"It could work… though you'll have to choose which ones you want to take at a time, since you won't be able to carry all of that and fight properly… Though the Messengers will help with that somewhat…" he mused.

"The Messengers?" Jill asked, before blinking as she remembered-

And then a group of them appeared near the table, bringing out cups of tea for them all.

Jill stared, but Rebecca froze… before slowly coming closer, studying them with fascination.

"I remember those from your memories! They are friendly, right?" she asked, looking with curiosity at the rather strange looking beings.

"They are." declared Oedon, a gentle smile on her face.

"These are Messengers, inhabitants of the Dream… they seek Hunters like yourself, to help and worship. Speak words, they do not, but still, aren't they sweet?" she said softly, obvious fondness in her voice.

"How can they help us?" Jill wondered, watching curiously, if a bit suspiciously, at the "Messengers."

Inhuman-looking beings had sadly been monstrous and evil more times than not, lately, and even if Aeon and Oedon obviously vouched for them, some scars run deep indeed.

"They can help bring objects from the Dream to the Waking World, and even acquire various items if you reward them with Blood Echoes in exchange." explained Oedon.

"Blood Echoes?" asked Jill, while Rebecca was by now extending her hand towards the Messengers, who gently took hold of it, looking like they were holding the most sacred thing in the world.

Jill had to admit, if only to herself, that the mix of awe and delight they had on their faces made them look surprisingly cute, like a bunch of children being amazed at something they had never seen before.

That, and it was hard to be fearful of them considering the rather adorable little top hats they all wear on their heads.

If the way Rebecca giggled was anything to go by, she thoroughly agreed.

"Blood Echoes are the dying wills of the dead. Consider them the DNA of the spirits of all living things, if you will. They hold the hopes and dreams of those who have passed, who seek to live on further through granting their strength to others. As such, if you kill something, the stronger and older the spirit of that individual, the stronger the Blood Echoes he or she will leave behind for you to claim. Then, you can come to me, and I will channel them into you, grant you a measure of their strength."

Rebecca looked up from the Messengers, looking wide-eyed at Oedon.

"So wait, we can consume souls?!" she exclaimed.

Oedon shook her head. "Not the souls themselves, more like the echoes they leave behind in their bodies, which is found within their blood. Their actual souls will move on to whatever their just reward is in the afterlife."

Rebecca calmed down, though now she looked fascinated. "So there is such a thing as the equivalent of spiritual DNA fascinating. Can I ask you more about that later?"

"Of course." replied Oedon, smiling brightly at Rebecca's curiosity.

Jill took all of what had been said with interest of her own, but ultimately was more focused on what weapons she could use.

A grenade launcher certainly sounded good, considering how useful one had proven in Aeon's hands, but beyond that…

Jill remembered the twin swords from that "Eileen" woman, one who was determined to bring mercy to those fallen souls that needed to be killed.

The Blades of Mercy, they were called…

That sounded rather appropriate to her own view of things. Anyone infected needed to be put down for their own good and for the sake of others.

She wanted to help people, after all… even if in this case, helping them required her to put down their infected forms.

So with that being said…

"As for me, I'll take a grenade launcher too, alongside the Blades of Mercy."

Aeon's eyebrows shot up at the name of the swords, and he stared at her thoughtfully for a moment… before nodding.

"If you are certain... Then alright."

Aeon looked at the Messengers, who immediately turned to look at him.

A moment later, they disappeared, before reappearing with both Rebecca's weapons and her own.

They took them, Rebecca cheerfully thanking the Messengers, much to their obvious joy, and Jill followed suit, more politely but no less genuine.

She would need time to adapt to the very… unique creatures, but it was hard to distrust them when they were visibly excited and eager to please.

"Good. With that done, let's get to the training to come." Aeon said firmly, and they all turned to look at him.

"First will be weapons training, obviously focused more on your preferred weapons, though I'll also train you with others, such as the las-weapons we mentioned to you in the briefing."

"Second will be combat training. That will involve simulations. Whether against B.O.W.'s or human enemies, such as those of Umbrella like the U.B.C.S. or the U.S.S., you'll get to learn how to fight against them all."

"And finally, when I'm satisfied with your progress, we will up the challenge. That means that I'll throw both of you into a simulated version of Yharnam with an objective to accomplish. Your training will not be considered complete until such a time as said objective hasn't been successfully accomplished… and you must do it without either of you dying in the attempt."

Jill turned grim at his last words, and Rebecca swallowed hard.

"Is it… is it likely?" softly asked Rebecca.

Aeon looked her in the eyes, his face seemingly carved from stone from how little emotion it possessed.

"Yes, Rebecca, it is. Time… and time again."

And it is on those grim words that their training began.

It very quickly became clear that Aeon was a master of every weapon in his arsenal. And not just a master, but someone so skilled, he made both Rebecca and Jill combined look like they were wet behind the ears recruits, as green as grass despite what extensive training and experience they both had under S.T.A.R.S.

That state of affairs, needless to say, did not last long.

Aeon revealed that the Hunter's Dream wasn't just as small as the floating island would indicate.

Instead, he took them across every different sort of terrain imaginable, from the coldest of tundras to the hottest of deserts to everything in-between…

On top of a truly grueling training regiment which made Jill's training with the elite of the U.S. army look like a walk in the park, he further talked to them about tactics, strategies, Hunter specific tactics, and even about Magic and the Arcane, and what the differences between the two were.

Thanks to his blood, they could use both, and they could even use the Blood Arts of the Vilebloods.

There had been quite a few jokes from Rebecca and herself about turning them into vampires.

Aeon's reply was a simple scoff, and more grumbling about "copycats" and "bastardized version of Vilebloods", and even further grumbling about the fact that Great Ones were playing around with blood long before the idea of vampires even existed.

It was Jill and Rebecca's opinions that part of his true reason for all his grumbling was that Oedon was the goddess of blood, and he probably felt obligated to defend her and the descendants of her people, who effectively were the Vilebloods, from what they understood.

Or at least, they were the ones who came closer than any others.

It was rather amusing, and the twinkle in Oedon's eyes, alongside the grin on her face, when they pointed out to her their theory all but confirmed it.

Of course, while Aeon apparently messed with time within the Dream to let them train longer, he still did let them go back to the "Waking World" in order to not disconnect them too badly with the real world, and things on Earth were… hardly ideal.

As Jill had feared, Chief Irons, the leader of the Raccoon City Police Force, had all but laughed at their faces when S.T.A.R.S. had given their mission debriefing, and not long after that, S.T.A.R.S. was officially disbanded, and their members got kicked out of the police force.

The only one remaining was Brad, their pilot, who had decided to not make waves and as a result, he got to keep his job.

After that, Barry left Raccoon City with his family, going all the way to Canada, while Chris spent some time in Raccoon City before leaving for Europe, seeking to find more about the European branch of Umbrella and their new B.O.W.'s Aeon warned them about.

Rebecca herself was sent into another city, though she quickly quit her career in law enforcement in order to take up studies into becoming a doctor with a focus on virology, intending to eventually work with Insight Corp to create a better and safer world.

The only one left in Raccoon City was Jill herself, who stubbornly refused to abandon her home.

Especially considering what Aeon revealed about what was coming...

The first day of training:

Jill greedily took a long drink from the water bottle Aeon had handed to her, wiping out the sweat on her brow as she looked at Aeon and Rebecca training with axes while Jill took a break.

The speed they were going at was unquestionably superhuman, though her newly enhanced eyes had no problem following what was going on.

Soon enough, Rebecca asked for a break herself, and Aeon agreed, the two coming her way, Jill giving the water bottle to a grateful Rebecca who drank from it just as eagerly as Jill herself did.

Jill took a moment to glare slightly at Aeon, who wasn't even out of breath, while both women were panting hard.

The amused glance and wiggling eyebrows he sent her in return made her roll her eyes, though she had to admit to wondering if his stamina worked for… other physical activities…

Rebecca finished drinking, all but falling on the grass underneath her in exhaustion.

"Damn it Aeon… drill sergeants everywhere would probably consider you their patron god in a blink if they saw your idea of a training regimen…"

He snorted, before shrugging.

"Hey, my mentor threw me straight to the wolves the moment I got my weapons. So honestly, you girls have it easy!"

Jill scoffed.

"Your mentor was as crazy as the rest of that insane city you come from, Aeon. The fact you are better goes to show you haven't completely gone native yet, which is a good thing, considering what we've seen from your memories."

Aeon grinned for a moment, before sighing.

"Unfortunately, we don't have forever to train you. Well, I suppose we do, if I mess with time, but I'd prefer avoiding creating too much of a disconnection between your time in the Dream and reality."

"As it is, we have… close to two months before you'll have to put your skills to the test."

Jill frowned, staring at Aeon, who now had a serious look on his face.

"Two months before what, Aeon?" she asked. "What will happen in two months?"

He sighed deeply, before looking her in the eyes.

"As you know, I'm the avatar of a god. That means I know many things… including hints about the future. And as far as I can tell, in two months, Raccoon City will have a t-Virus outbreak."

Jill and Rebecca froze, before standing up hurriedly, all exhaustion forgotten.

"What?!" Jill shouted.

Aeon nodded grimly.

"Why do you think we are trying to create a vaccine as fast as we can? Those normally take a lot more than just a few months to be properly created and tested. Unfortunately, the problem remains: we can't use it until it is proven to be required… when the situation at Raccoon City will be out of control of Umbrella, and they'll have no choice but to call the government for help."

Jill fell silent, before asking another question.

"Then, why did you say nothing during the meeting? If you had-"

"If I had, I would have influenced Barry and Chris's decisions. Both of them have their own paths to walk, and if I had revealed what I knew, it would have ensured that both of them would have stayed in Raccoon City, out of guilt, if nothing else, in the case of Barry. And I for one don't want to guilt trip people into going into what will be true hell on Earth."

Jill grimaced, thinking hard.

Aeon wasn't wrong. If he had said anything about that during the meeting, Chris, and most likely Barry, would have definitely chosen to stand up and fight.

Perhaps they would have even become Hunters themselves, to better handle the coming threat.

In short, Aeon would have changed their decisions for one where they would put their lives on the line… with just a few words.

Jill rubbed a hand through her hair in frustration, Rebecca biting her lip in indecision at her side.

Bringing in Chris is one thing, he probably wouldn't have too many problems, if any, staying in Raccoon City to help… Though then again, if he really was emotionally compromised, would it be wise to send him in what promises to be a horrifying, city-wide war zone?

Jill grimaced, the thought rather disturbing.

On one hand, she really wanted to have her friend by her side… on the other, if he needed time to recover from the Mansion, telling him about the upcoming outbreak would not help him at all.

And what about Barry? If he left the city to leave in peace with his family, that was his choice to make. Could she really put his life on the line, when he made it clear he wanted out of this mess for his family's sake?

The memories of seeing a picture of his smiling face, surrounded by his wife and two daughters, came up and she grimaced again.

Finally, she sighed, and exchanged a look with Rebecca.

Free Will, huh? What a headache it was, and that was with just one important tidbit of knowledge about the future.

Who knows how much Aeon knows about the future? Even now, he was no doubt keeping a lot to himself for one reason or another…

It suddenly became clear to Jill what faith was all about. It was about believing that a god knew more than you, and knew exactly what needed to be done to bring about the best outcome… even when that meant taking questionable decisions.

She couldn't help but wonder what Aeon knew about Chris's future. He had made it clear that Chris had his own path to walk, so he probably knew where it would lead…

Jill groaned. All of these future shenanigans were giving her a headache.

Finally, she took a deep breath, and nodded to herself.

"Alright. So we've got two months in real time before shit hits the fan. Needless to say, I am not going anywhere. I won't let my city fall without a fight."

She turned to look at Rebecca.

"Rebecca-"

"I'll be there." she said firmly. "I know I got redeployed, but when the outbreak hits, I'll return. Help in whatever ways I can."

Jill smiled, happy that whatever was coming, she won't be alone to face it.

Then she turned to look at Aeon, a grim look on her face.

"Alright. We've got two months, so let's put them to good use. I don't care what you need to do, Aeon. By the time the outbreak hits… We need to be ready for anything. So make us ready."

Aeon smiled.

Both Jill and Rebecca shivered at the sheer sadism of that smile, but neither broke eye contact.

This wasn't about merely training for an unknown, potential threat now. They knew exactly when and where they would need to fight.

Not for their own sake this time, but for that of the people of Raccoon City.

And they would be prepared.

And thus began the training regimen from Hell.

Day in and day out, they trained.

Everything from weapons training, to strength, stamina, and agility training (dodgeball took a whole new level when the one throwing the balls could launch them with the power of a cannonball), but also Magic and Arcane training, to just name a few of the topics they covered.

Compared to their previous instructors, even those from Delta Force that Jill had the privilege to train under, Aeon was absolutely ruthless, and he didn't shy away at all from injuring them.

With the healing factor they received from the blood of a god, on top of Aeon's own healing magic, both women quickly lost count of the times they got lacerations, broken bones, burns from spells, among many other sorts of injuries.

After all, when one could heal otherwise fatal injuries with ease, the concept of "acceptable tactics" tends to take a whole new level of hardcore.

Rebecca, at the very least, was fascinated by the potential of healing magic, and eventually learned to heal even grievous stab wounds with it, though she was still far from the level of Aeon himself.

Then again, that was true of every subject, as Aeon continued to easily kick both of their asses, even in fields where they were more capable at.

The time Aeon pulled off a shot that rebounded on ten different trees to hit a bullseye was one neither woman was going to forget anytime soon, if ever.

The fact that Aeon casually commented that veteran Hunters from Yharnam could likely do something similar didn't exactly help, though it certainly showed them what could become possible for themselves eventually.

And speaking of Hunters, Aeon also taught them about the Hunter Arts, such as how to create Hunter essentials such as Blood Vials, Blood Stones and Quicksilver Bullets, upgrade weapons with Blood Stones, or even the creation and maintenance of Hunter weaponry.

Their training also eventually included lessons in the Blood Arts and the Art of Quickening, the use of it brought many, many embarrassing moments where they ended up face first into the dirt, with Aeon laughing at their misery.

It also brought the revelation that yes, Aeon could, in fact, go even faster, as he hadn't actually used that technique during training.

Aeon, being Aeon, naturally decided that, the moment they were capable of Quickening without stumbling face first into the dirt, they should begin to spar… while never setting foot on hard ground, simply using the branches of trees to maneuver around.

Jill and Rebecca very quickly found themselves even more thankful for the healing factor in their blood, because they ended up upgrading their "face first into the dirt" incidents into "face first into a tree" incidents.

It was a lot more painful, needless to say.

And occasionally even more embarrassing…

Aeon fell over laughing on the tree branch he was on, somehow managing not to fall, while Jill kicked around, shouting for help amidst throwing insults at him.

Rebecca grimaced at the sight before her, as Jill had somehow managed to go through the tree and get stuck mid-way through it, leaving her free only to shout and wave her legs around.

With a sigh, she Quickened behind Jill, put her feet on the trees and pulled.

It was at that point the tree broke, leaving Rebecca and Jill to fall on the ground into a tangle of limbs and misery-filled groans while the upper half of the tree crashed nearby, Aeon's laughter only growing harder above them...

Yeah. Not their best moment.

And that was without even commenting on all the ways they ended up setting themselves on fire while practicing fire magic, or how many times they were covered in blood while practicing the Blood Arts, or…

Well, let's just say that the sight of Oedon, casually holding a fire extinguisher and spraying them with it because they had set themselves on fire, while both Aeon and Oedon were obviously holding back their laughter at the sight of their miserable states wasn't going away anytime soon.

The fact they all knew full well that either Aeon or Oedon could have put out the flames with a snap of their fingers didn't help.

Still, no matter the occasional embarrassing moment involved with their training, neither Jill nor Rebecca could argue with the results.

They were faster, stronger, more powerful, and all around deadlier than they ever were before.

A fact that was quite clearly proven when Aeon finally decided to throw them into a simulation.

No, it wasn't Yharnam, but of something far more familiar…

"Well, I'm not sure if I'm the lucky or unlucky one, here…" whispered Jill, staring at the train car she was in, hands holding tightly on her handgun.

Aeon, sadistic bastard that he was, had decided that, in order to properly celebrate their first month of training done (in Earth Time, at least), that he would send them into a simulation of what Rebecca and Jill went through at the side of Aeon.

The catch? Jill would take Rebecca's place, and Rebecca would take Jill's.

So here Jill was, in the train that Rebecca had first come across zombies in, while Rebecca herself had to deal with all the dangers of the Mansion Aeon and Jill faced… on her own.

Aeon had revealed that I.S.I.S., the military arm of Insight Corp., had a secret training facility where highly advanced simulated scenarios could be used to train.

Aeon called them the "Danger Rooms," mentioning he got the idea from a movie he had watched in the past.

Either way, the result was the same: Jill and Rebecca having to go through the danger of their respective ordeals on their own.

At least Aeon promised them that any situation that required two people to deal with had been removed…

Jill took a step forward, and immediately every corpse in the car jerked to life, their blank eyes turning to look at her with mindless hunger.

"Here we go again…" grumbled Jill, before raising her handgun, deciding to not make use of either her grenade launcher or her swords just yet.

*Bang!*

I looked over the two simulations playing out in the two "Danger Rooms" that I created, when I got inspired from watching the X-Men movies, allowing people to train using any given scenario one could imagine as long as the coding for it existed… and needless to say, that was no problem for me.

Sitting on a rather comfortable chair, I looked at the different screens showing both Jill and Rebecca easily slaughtering their way through every t-Virus infected abomination on their respective paths, a sense of confidence clear in their postures that hadn't been there at the start of the simulation… or back then at the incidents that took place in the Arklay Mountains, for that matter.

The result of witnessing the effects of their training as Hunters showing, no doubts.

True, I had called them huntresses, but that was because eventually, I would arrive at worlds like RWBY's Remnant, so it was better to use the female counterpart now to prevent confusion.

As far as anyone from Yharnam cared, they were Hunters to us.

And damn good ones already, though far from what they would one day become.

For all my perks, I could not make them grow as strong as I did as quickly as I can.

Especially considering that they were no Gamers in a target-rich environment like Yharnam.

Still, they were somewhere between level 40 and 50 as Hunters right now, which was pretty good for a single month of training.

True, I knew that going above that was going to be hard, and it would become harder over time as they slowly tried to close the gap that shows the difference between the competent and the experts, but I still was pretty proud of them.

And speaking of experts…

"So tell me captain, what do you think?" I asked, not even turning towards the man on my right.

"Well, those two are pretty impressive alright. I guess that new 'Hunter' project of yours is going pretty well so far, sir." replied Captain John Geary, a former soldier of the U.S. Army who ended up leaving after getting serious injuries on a mission that hindered his combat capabilities.

At least until Insight Corp. came by and healed him.

After that, he ended up joining I.S.I.S. out of a desire to pay back his debts in a more physical way, and became extremely loyal to the company once he was fully briefed on what exactly I.S.I.S. was meant to fight against.

There's nothing quite like discovering that literal monsters straight out of nightmares of the human psyche actually existed and posed a risk to burn the world down to convince you that, yes, picking up a gun and joining those who seeked to destroy them all was a smart life choice.

The fact that he had a wife and daughter helped, especially once he was made aware of how deep in this mess the U.S. government actually was.

At the end of the day, soldiers choose to become so for a reason.

For many, that is a desire to protect, whether their nation as a whole or their family specifically.

And if your own damned government would gladly use and turn you and your family into monsters, then obviously it was high time to try and do what was right on your own.

Or in this case, by working for Insight Corp.

I smiled at his words. "Indeed. They are far from what they'll one day become, but until then, they'll certainly do quite well against those inhuman threats that require a superhuman soldier to deal with. Or superhuman Hunter, as the case may be."

We kept looking over the simulations, noting a few interesting facts to bring up later from time to time, until Jill eventually used Fire Magic to burn down several infected.

The captain whistled slightly, looking impressed.

"Well I'll be damned. I know you told me about that kind of thing before, but it's another thing entirely to see it in person."

I chuckled. "You'll see more of it. We've got only one month until the anticipated time of the outbreak. I'm going to have to train even harder with the troops, Captain."

Captain Geary's face turned grim, eyes turning distant as he remembered the meeting held by all members of I.S.I.S. a month ago now…

A month ago, I.S.I.S. HQ.

28-year-old Sergeant Miranda White sat in the middle of the huge meeting room, one capable of holding all 150 members of I.S.I.S.

Her blue eyes looked around the room, a measure of concern in them, and despite herself, her right hand came up to play with a strand of her black hair absently.

I.S.I.S. had ended up recruiting 50 more soldiers in the last few months ever since the new year, and recently, they all had been given new weapons to train with.

She had to admit, being one of the first human beings to hold and use a laser gun, or lasguns as they were simply called, had been an incredible experience, and they had proven themselves quickly as an all-time favorite of every soldier she had talked with.

Incredibly robust, with the capability to shoot no less than 10,000 shots by power pack (which could be recharged only by sunlight in a pinch), with a rate of fire of 800 shots per minute when used at full auto, the ability to shoot at lower or higher outputs (at the cost of the power pack lifespan lowering drastically), and being affixable with bayonets among various kinds of attachments, the lasgun was without a doubt a beloved new addition to their armory.

And the same for its variants that were just as good in their own ways.

All of that without mentioning the plasma guns that were rumored to be in the works!

Or the new Hazmat armored suits, Cybernetic arms, Thermobaric Rocket Launchers… Or the fact that they even had tanks! Heavily armed tanks that make the current battle tanks of first-world armies look like toys!

I.S.I.S.'s tanks are modified M1 Abrams Tanks, equipped with much thicker and more resilient armor, a dozer blade that would help for clearing obstructions much faster, and the most noticeable feature, two additional thermobaric cannons mounted on the sides of the turret.

So yes, it was an exciting time to be a soldier in I.S.I.S. these recent months.

The catch, of course, was that such weapons weren't there just to look cool.

Anyone with a brain (and I.S.I.S. was far from filled with idiots) could tell that high command was worried that something big was going to happen.

So the latest training sessions had been filled with a measure of anticipation, as everyone waited for the other shoe to drop.

And considering what I.S.I.S. had actually been created to fight against, that meant nothing good.

She had served with I.S.I.S. for five years now. For five years, she was regularly briefed about the latest horrors waiting to be unleashed upon the world.

At first, she, like all new recruits, had thought it was a cruel joke of some kind, some kind of mean prank… but no.

The cold, harsh reality was, the world she lived in was far more dangerous than she had ever thought it to be. Monsters not only existed, they were actually mass-produced by human hands.

And it was only a matter of time before the veil of secrecy was lifted… and hell on Earth would be unleashed.

It had certainly gone a long way to make her loyal to the company, which had been established by people who knew about the horrors waiting in the dark corners of the world, and chose to try and help humanity be ready for them.

And so, she had trained. Alongside the others from I.S.I.S., they had trained for the day where all hell would break loose.

Thankfully, the people in charge of Insight Corp. were goddamn geniuses in many ways, and one of "The Holy Trinity," as the three people in control of Insight Corp. were jokingly and fondly nicknamed as, had created a number of rooms that he had nicknamed the "Danger Rooms" (a name that had stuck considering what went on inside) in which they could train against incredibly lifelike simulations of everything Insight Corp. could code into the computers handling said simulations.

So I.S.I.S. had been able to appreciate experiencing the full depth of the horrors of Bio-Organic Weapons without ever actually encountering any in real life.

It had been… terrifying to say the least, even when knowing it was all an incredibly realistic simulation.

Despite having been briefed extensively about their enemies, they had still not been prepared to face the "real" things.

Miranda shivered slightly as she remembered the putrid breath of a zombie that had managed to get the better of her, and effectively "killed" her.

It had not been the only time she got caught, and every single time she did, the memories of those incidents had stayed with her.

That was the problem with incredibly lifelike simulations. When you were caught, the real "you" was booted out of the simulation, but your simulated corpse was left behind, in order to show to everyone the fate that awaited them if they did get caught.

The reasoning with this was that if it happened in real life, you wouldn't freeze at the sight of the messy deaths of your teammates, and thus get killed yourself.

In all fairness, that was exactly what had happened at first to many, who had ended up freezing when they had seen their teammates being turned into puddles of gore… or worse, into zombies themselves that they had to put down afterwards.

It didn't change the fact that it was disturbing as hell to see yourself being torn to pieces… or becoming yet another mindless, shambling zombie attacking your teammates.

They got over it eventually… But it had certainly given her some serious nightmares for quite some time, on top of everything else.

Like the fact that she always reflexively grabbed for her gun whenever she saw someone sick while walking down the street. Even a simple cough triggered her instincts that the person who coughed may have been infected.

And she wasn't the only one. Everyone at I.S.I.S. who trained for at least a few months became paranoid about people becoming sick.

At least they had excellent psychiatrists at hand to help with that… and there always were the open doors of anyone from the so-called "Holy Trinity."

The Trinity refers to Lucy Miller, Aeon, and Oedon Muradasilova. The nickname had been given not only because of their looks (though seriously, having seen all three of them standing together, even Miranda who was always considered stunning looked plain in comparison), nor was it only because of their genius (though they certainly were geniuses. Aeon was known to dabble in astrophysics, and the last time he had decided to write a paper on the matter, the who's who in the entire field of Astronomy had apparently collectively lost their minds over it) but also because of the... aura, for lack of a better term, which always surrounded them.

They just literally felt different in some ways. It was only a faint feeling, unless all three stood side by side.

Lucy Miller had an aura of wisdom around her, as if she knew much more than anyone else about the secrets of reality, and she would always know what to do at any given situation.

Oedon Muradasilova had an aura of such peace and calm, that combined with her cheerful personality, many usually ended up in her office talking about their lives, relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee at hand before they even knew it every time they crossed paths with her.

The fact that she had a… unique hair color, to say nothing of her impressive height, only drew even more attention.

And her husband Aeon was the picture-perfect example of dependable, a fact proven many times as he often came to just pass the time with the soldiers of I.S.I.S., wasting hours just getting to know and help every man and woman in their small army with whatever problem they were currently having.

It was not much of a secret that many women had crushes on him, and much the same with the men concerning Oedon and Lucy.

Hell, many men and women, straight or not, wouldn't mind getting "friendly" with anyone from the Trinity.

Of course, it was an open secret that all three of them were involved with one another, as they sometimes caught two of them flirting with each other… or all three of them flirting at the same time, for that matter.

Miranda shook her head slightly, a small blush on her cheeks as she thought of joining all three of them in the same bed, a fantasy she had for quite some time, much like many others in I.S.I.S.

Just then, the captain finally entered the room, followed by-

Speak of the devil… she thought with amusement, as their tall, short-haired captain was followed by Aeon as they made their way to the podium.

All conversations in the room ceased at once, and everyone stood at perfect military attention.

Both men were highly respected by everyone present, and not just because Aeon was the one who gave the greater push behind "Project: FLASHLIGHT," which gave them their new guns.

"Ladies and gentlemen, normally, I would be the one to inform you of what you were gathered here today for. Unfortunately, the situation at hand is bad enough that I'm going to let one of the leaders of Insight Corp. itself speak of it. Sir Aeon, if you would."

The captain stepped back, saluting, and Aeon took his place.

That was something that caught everyone's attention.

Officially, the chain of command was such that Aeon was the "head" of I.S.I.S., much like Oedon was the Head Researcher and Lucy Miller the CEO.

Practically however, it was very rare for Aeon to so clearly take charge, preferring to let the competent Captain take care of things instead.

Whether in simulations or in the various missions Miranda did over the years, Captain Geary was the one who handled the overall leadership of I.S.I.S., while Aeon took care of the high-risk missions, sometimes with a QRF to provide backup.

The only times so far when Aeon took full command of the entire army of I.S.I.S. was during simulations, ones where usually the situation was critical and they were dealing with infected in a large, populated area.

In other words, when discretion was out of the window and it was time to bring down the hammer on whatever crisis could no longer be contained.

Of course, there were also the times where he had joined them in war games, him versus all of them, and Miranda shuddered at the memories of the last war game.

It happened in a desert area. At the beginning, they had been hopeful. After all, compared to a forest, there were far less areas to hide in due to how open a desert was, right?

(She swiftly banished the memories of the war game that did happen in a forest. The memory of being attacked out of nowhere and tied up to a tree like a sausage before she could even make a sound. That didn't happen.)

Well apparently, their sadistic leader had decided to show them the full error of their ways, because by all that was holy, the ensuing brutal takedown over one week of hell wasn't one that would ever be forgotten.

Seriously, what kind of insane, evil genius could successfully launch a stealth attack in the middle of a sandstorm?!

Aeon opened his mouth, and Miranda banished this topic from her mind.

Her well-honed instincts were screaming at her that she wasn't going to like what was about to be said, after all.

"Thank you, Captain. Now, as you have all heard, we've got a situation on our hands. Or more specifically, we will have one in a short amount of time. Tell me, I presume that you have all heard of Raccoon City? The home of Umbrella, where its mountains hold the medicinal herbs so well known for their incredible healing properties?"

There were many nods and sounds of vocal agreement. You don't join I.S.I.S. without also learning all that you could about Umbrella, considering the shadow war between Insight Corp. and Umbrella Corp.

"Well, I recently went into those very mountains myself to stop an outbreak of the t-Virus at its source." he said grimly, and there were quite a few grimaces across the room.

Meanwhile, Miranda's bad feeling in her gut was growing. This did not look like the satisfied look of one who succeeded...

"Good news, I helped stop the outbreak and turned ground zero into a crater. Bad news… we estimate that even with ground zero gone, the whole city will face an outbreak in two months... and it's a city of 100,000 people."

Miranda blanched, and she wasn't the only one.

This was… God... 100,000 people? Even a fraction of that number would be a hell of a hard time to contain, but 100,000-

She froze, the same realization in the eyes of many.

This was it. This was the moment when all hell would break loose.

The moment when B.O.W.'s would most likely no longer remain a secret, but truly become part of the world in full, with everything that it implies.

She gulped in anxiety as everything fell into place.

The new weapons, the greater amount of troops and equipment, everything.

The Trinity must have had suspicions that something like that was going to happen for months now. What brought this on didn't matter, not compared to the fact that they were right to be concerned.

"As such," Aeon continued after a moment to let them all digest the news, "training will be greatly increased for the next two months. The sessions will focus on urban warfare and dealing with numerous B.O.W.'s, alongside possible hostile involvement of U.B.C.S. and U.S.S. troops. I will be joining you in this training, both as commanding officer, and as part of a special unit taking on unexpected mutations born as a result of the wide-scale spread of the t-Virus."

Miranda's face turned resolved, much like the faces of everyone present.

This wasn't a simulation. This wasn't a single scientist from Umbrella going rogue and unleashing abominations on helpless civilians, as some of her missions in the past were.

This was one of the worst-case scenarios, a full outbreak in a highly populated area.

At least it isn't New York, she thought grimly.

A number of 100,000 potentially infected was bad enough, thank you very much.

"There is some good news, however." her boss continued, and Miranda perked up.

"First, thanks to me collecting samples while in the Arklay Mountains, we should have a vaccine ready by the time the outbreak hits. So no turning into a zombie for any of you." he declared, and a sigh of relief was released by everyone in the room.

Sure, they could still die a messy, painful death, but at least they wouldn't turn into an abomination with just a single infected wound.

"Secondly, you have, of course, all the military equipment you have been training to use lately."

"Thirdly, on a more… questionable note, it has been decided that, since we can't take such a large city back with just 150 people, no matter how skilled you all are, we in Insight Corp. will seek allies and arm them with the new las-weapons to help us in the coming battle. We sadly can't contact them too soon, not without Umbrella screwing things up, but we can do so once the first hint of the outbreak happens. That includes the Raccoon City Police Department, regular mercenaries, and elements of the U.S. Army."

He paused, before saying grimly,

"And yes, that includes Blackwatch."

Miranda grimaced at those words, a reaction followed by everyone who knew of Blackwatch and their reputation… which meant everyone in I.S.I.S., since they were one of the groups of interest they were all briefed about when joining I.S.I.S.

Those guys were fanatics, and thoroughly cruel ones at that.

And there were rumors that they had their own secret B.O.W. project too, which was a chilling thought if it was true.

Still, if nothing else, it showed how seriously the leadership of Insight Corp. was taking the matter if they were willing to go that far.

Of course, whether having Blackwatch around would be a good thing or not remains to be seen…

"Lastly, we have a timetable here. It is our belief that, if by the 30th of September we haven't made obvious progress when it comes to containing the situation in Raccoon City, the US government will wipe out the city with a thermobaric bomb. In other words, no matter the opposition, we have to take back a significant part of Raccoon City by the 30th of September, otherwise the USA will see the very first complete destruction of one of her own cities by their very own government's hand."

Miranda's blue eyes hardened. This was it, the first battlefield of a new kind of war, one which will determine whether humanity or its monstrous creations will prove to be the greater of the two in an all-out conflict.

She straightened, determined to prove to the world that no, humanity would not need to fear the monsters of tomorrow.

The world has its protectors… and soon, they would be seen by everyone.

And she had no intention of disappointing.

Let the monsters come. We will be ready!

Captain Geary shook his head, refocusing on the screens before him.

"Any idea about what new elements to add into the training sessions?"

I hummed, smiling slightly as I saw Rebecca throw a grenade straight into the open maw of a giant snake, which exploded into a blood and gore soon after.

"Well, we've been focusing mostly on humanoid B.O.W.'s. I think that it's time to switch things up. Raccoon City has a zoo, for one. Furthermore, I.S.I.S. will no doubt end up fighting a lot in the sewers, and that means all kinds of nasty monsters will be down there."

I closed my eyes for a moment, before reopening them.

"So that means giant spiders, leeches, ticks, and so much more. The whole damn animal kingdom can be turned into bloodthirsty horrors because of the t-Virus. We need to be ready for that."

Captain Geary grimaced, but nodded grimly in understanding.

"Understood. At least the Hazmat armored suits have built-in night vision, which would prove useful down there."

"Indeed. Though let's hope that we can go down in the sewers and secure a perimeter there. That would imply that the situation above ground is under control. If we have to send everything just to hold the line above ground…"

"Quite. But at least we can use the tanks and chopper support above ground. Down in the sewers, our options for massive firepower are… limited."

"That's what the grenade launchers, flamethrowers, and Thermobaric Rocket Launchers are for, Captain. And in the worst case scenario, you'll have me to call upon. I'll handle anything to refuse to go quietly into the night."

The Captain chuckled darkly.

"I almost feel bad for whatever or whoever stands in your way… almost."

I grinned, before turning serious.

"Of course, there is also the issue of 'stray shots' being shot in our direction. I wouldn't be surprised if Umbrella tried to assassinate me during the battle… or any other high-ranking leader of I.S.I.S. in general."

The Captain turned grim.

"True. Raccoon City is going to be a mess, won't it? We can't trust Blackwatch, we can't trust Umbrella's forces, we can't truly trust the US Army… and right now, as long as Chef Irons remains, we can't trust the Raccoon City Police Department either. It'll be a spectacular mess of conflicting agendas and clashes for supremacy."

"Well, I do have some ideas for how to deal with Irons. So we might be able to more firmly get the RCPD on our side. The next in line is Lieutenant Branagh, and he's a good man and competent officer. If he's in charge during the outbreak, we might get the police on our side, which would go a long way in helping us take back Raccoon City."

I sighed.

"As for Umbrella, the U.B.C.S. are probably dead men walking. Their CO is Colonel Vladimir, he'll probably make sure to give bad intel to his own forces, and then send them to die just so that he can get combat data for Umbrella's precious B.O.W.'s. The real concerns are the Monitors, because those won't die so easily. And of course, the U.S.S."

The Captain pursed his lips.

"You think that they'll send Delta Team and Agent HUNK into Raccoon City?"

He shook his head a moment later.

"Never mind. Of course they will. Intel says that they created a new Delta Team after the last one died in the Arklay Mountain, and there is no way they won't send the poster boy of the U.S.S. into this mess either."

He paused, before chuckling darkly.

"The Grim Reaper coming to Raccoon City… it certainly sounds appropriate."

I nodded.

"True. But then again…"

My gaze turned distant, no longer focused on the screens showing Rebecca and Jill coming closer to finishing their respective missions.

Instead, the image of an old man grimly holding a scythe flashed into my mind, the moon hanging low above in the night sky, its unnatural brightness illuminating two tall men facing one another with equally determined looks on their faces.

"... it wouldn't be the first time I denied Death its due. And it won't be the last."