Prologue 2.5

*Beep*

*Beep*

*Beep*

"A foreign system is attempting to hack this vessel, Immediate action recommended."

"A foreign system is attempting to hack this vessel, Immediate action recommended."

"A foreign system is attempting to hack this vessel, Immediate action recommended."

The onboard artificial intelligence, coined 'STARS' was currently in a fierce battle with an unidentified cybernetic foreign entity.

The foreign entity sought to gain access to the submarine that held Zeel and Alice in their conjoined stasis chamber.

Zeel planned for every possible outcome, there was protocol put in place for such scenarios. The protocol varied in severity, but STARS didn't want to take any risks.

Feeling that it was only a matter of time until the foreign entity got access to her core, STARS initiated the awakening protocol.

"Measures have been taken, proving insufficient. Accessing protocol Delta 56. Upon encounter with an entity that is attempting to steal information that could compromise the host:

1.) Reanimate the host.

2.) Self-destruct and erase all information from the server."

Codes flickered across the onboard screen for a moment until a decision was reached.

"Conditions met: Reanimation of host Zeel Crawford and Alicia Crawford in progress. ETA 1 year and 6 months earlier than expected. Radiation poisoning cleansed to acceptable parameters,"

In a room near the rare of the submarine, a faint mist could be seen spreading. Something that had been asleep was currently de-frosting and re-awakening once more.

"Reanimation complete," STARS reported.

With the reanimation completed, the string of codes on the ship's mainframe slowly disappeared as the hack was once again held at bay.

"huuuuuh, huuuuh, *cough*, *cough*, *cough* Ugh how long has it been?" Zeel, who just woke up, was severely disoriented and confused.

He wondered if four years had already passed or could he have possibly been woken up earlier than anticipated?

What had the world become in his absence? Should he even care?

While in deep contemplations, Zeel then felt Alice thug on his hand with her own. Alice then began coughing up liquid nutrients as she collapsed on the floor.

Zeel would have caught her, but he was also incredibly weak at the moment.

The only reason he had not collapsed was due to the fact that he experienced stasis chambers before.

"Time for adjustment is recommended, it has been one year six months since entering stasis," The onboard STARS reported as it began to summarize extra information concerning Zeel's and Alice's health, before giving status updates to Alice who was concerned about the others still kept in stasis.

A couple of minutes passed by, Alice and Zeel now had enough strength to walk.

"Ugh, fuck. I can't remember much of what happened," Alice complained as she held her head with both hands.

"The host was in the blast radius of a nuclear fallout leading to heavy radiation poisoning.

This required the host to undergo stasis cleansing for three years to fully expel; however, due to Delta 56, the host is forced to be awoken 1 year 6 months in advance.

This is without threat to the hosts' life. With the aid of the nanites, the host is already 90% cleansed," STARS summarized as a projection that appeared in the air detailing Alice's and Zeel's condition throughout the past year.

"Okay, leave us be!" Zeel said, still nursing a splitting headache.

Gripping each other's hands that much tighter, the duo proceeded to wait a couple of minutes before taking a shower and getting dressed.

Sadly, with the weakened state of their bodies, no sex could take place. Luckily, Alice and Zeel used their psychic connection while in stasis to join their minds and satisfy their urges.

Alice and Zeel were awoken one year and six months in advance, meaning that the others had to wait at least a year more to be released.

Three years was the minimum period for cleansing, but four years was recommended to ensure a full recovery.

Alice and Zeel could neglect the extra time, but if they were to let their friends out before time, the most likely scenario would be their death.

Zeel and Alice had the nanites, alongside their enhanced bodies, to help them cope but Alice's friends had no such benefits.

"I am weaker than I use to be and it's not because I'm tired," Alice stated after flexing her muscles a couple of times, before attempting to move objects around with her telekinesis.

"I agree. The nanites are still working to reverse cellular damage somewhat. The radiation poising is cleansed but that doesn't mean we could not be affected by several other ailments as a result.

Computing is also a part of our abilities hence without a strong enough mental skill, abilities like ours are hard to use.

So what you're experiencing is just your powers without being enhanced by the nanites," Zeel said as he flicked through his Mbeamer analyzing the data trends presented and surmising the most logical conclusion for the degradation of their skills.

"Where are we?" Zeel asked STARS.

"Current location: Abandoned Umbrella Facility located in Moscow Russia," STARS reported.

Zeel thought for a while before complimenting STARS "Good choice, this specific facility was run mainly by AI. Our ownership of the facility by subordinating the AI has gone unnoticed the Umbrella High Command,"

The nearby computer screens lit up with twinkling lights as STARS was thanking Zeel for his compliments.

"Why were we awoken so early?" Alice asked STARS, clearly displeased at the untimely awakening.

"As of six months ago, a foreign entity has been constantly attempting to hack the server of this vessel.

Security systems were damaged in nuclear fallout hence the inability to keep foreign entity at bay much longer," STARS replied in a glitching manner, drawing Zeel's and Alice's attention to the less than tidy appearance of the nearby electronic equipment.

"But this is a ghost submarine, no outgoing signal. We only connect to one satellite…" Zeel began talking then became quiet near the latter part of his statement "Unless someone within Umbrella had enough authority to divert a couple of dozen satellite to scan the planet and search for large absorption of beta waves,"

"So what does that mean? Someone has been looking for us?" Alice asked confused about who could possibly care enough to look for them, instead most people try to forget about them as soon as they heard the name of Zeel.

"Correct you are Project Alice," A hologram popped up and began flickering for a few moments before stabilizing.

It was none other than 'The Red Queen'.

"Nice of you to awaken from your slumber. I am in need of both your assistance," The Red Queen said as a tense silence proliferated throughout the submarine "I, of course, plan to pay a suitable price for your skills,"

This was all the confirmation Zeel needed as a hint. He used his nanites to check the authenticity of The Red Queen's statement.

A bunch of blueprints and locations flooded Zeel's mind. All Umbrella Satellites were current open-sourced, allowing him to ascertain the state of the outside world during his absence.

"We should hear her out," Zeel said as he had already gotten a gist of the situation more or less.

Alice had also accessed some of the information earlier and had a rough understanding of why The Red Queen had been trying so desperately to hack their submarine servers.

Even if The Red Queen wanted to find them, a dozen satellites were a tall price to pay.