Evil in REsidence

[Ada Wong]

Ada hesitated for too long. It was a beginner’s mistake, and one that she likely wouldn’t forget long afterwards.

The impending danger registered instantly, Wesker’s blurred movements appearing to sharpen and swerve into focus despite the weariness Ada could feel building in her limbs. Her attempts to fire another bolt from her crossbow were feeble at best, her fingers fumbling over the smooth metal and her only functional wrist moving far slower than her mind demanded. It was too late for her to dodge, too late for another one of her clever explosive arrows, and yet—

Teeth clenched in frustration, Ada gave up all hope of using the crossbow for its intended purpose, let it fall into the grip of her strongest arm, and swung it with all her might at Wesker’s face.

There was a nastily wet shredding noise as the bulky metal armament struck true, the familiar sound of skin and muscle splitting setting all the hairs of her body on end. The crossbow hit the ground with a loud clatter, and yet Ada didn’t have the time to feel satisfied— the strike didn’t appear to have fazed Wesker at all. He hadn’t deviated one centimeter from his original path of destruction, that same crazed demonic fire blazing in his eyes, and it was all she could do to raise her arms in a pathetic barrier as they crashed into each other.

Ada grunted, her nails raking futilely across his cheek as the heel of his palm smashed into her windpipe. She fell back, pain erupting in her lungs and a suffocating dizziness taking over, her arms helplessly drawn inward in a reflexive effort to protect her injured side. A ragged noise, somewhere between a wheeze and a sob, hissed past her teeth. Bleeding severely, the alabaster floor streaked with viscous crimson, Ada’s spirited efforts to stay alive at last seemed to be exhausted.

She stumbled drunkenly backward, attempting to go on the retreat, and was surprised by the cool rush of the fountain’s water lapping just above her ankles. She glanced down. The small pool was still seething and sizzling with the oily black substance that Wesker bled. A disgusted look appeared on the woman’s face as the necrotic fluid appeared to churn and billow beneath the tepid surface, the stuff dragging along the satiny red of her dress. Then, as her adversary stalked forward with all the confined savagery of a tiger’s tread, Ada felt inspired.

After a moment of grasping at the holster strapped to her leg, a gun-like gadget appeared in Ada’s hand. It shone like silver under the glow of the Nexus, whirring oddly as the spy inspected it.

Wesker, predictably, recognized the hookshot gun at once, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly what the little pest intended to do with it. The only suitable structure that she might propel herself towards would be the fountain, yet someone with Miss Wong’s skillset surely recognized the futility of trying to escape him using such miserable means. The woman was plainly grasping at straws; her eyes skittered around as she continued to back away from him, stirring deeper into the water, knuckles whitening as her grip tightened around the ‘weapon’.

Sssshfnk! The hook shrieked forward, the rope extending with a shiver of repeated mechanical clinks. Wesker dodged the metal trappings easily, whirling on Ada with the intent to crush her under his boot once and for all.

Striking the white ground with a grating screech, the hook jerked and fell slack once it failed to latch onto anything, razor-thin barbs glinting, and it was only then that the device began to reel the cable back in with exceptional speed. The hook whistled without a sound through the air, jolting violently as it sank into the meat at the bend of the man’s knee. Wesker hissed, leg jerking as he reached down to forcibly rip it out from his flesh.

Feeling impatient, Ada gave the damn thing a final tug to throw him off balance— a ploy which barely worked, only succeeding in returning his full attention to her— before darting through the shallow water to bowl him over with her full weight. This was met with mixed results, chiefly because of the difference in mass between the two, but with the hookshot’s help Ada was able to pull his leg out from under him, the pair crashing into the shallows in a rupture of roiling, splashing pondwater.

There was no need to speak, no last words Ada was particularly interested in hearing. Her broken fingers scrabbled at the man’s throat, thumbs digging into his adam’s apple as powerfully as she could muster, all the sensitive points that she had learned to exploit throughout the years. Pain lanced through her side as Wesker clawed at her, attempting to dislodge the woman from where she had him pinned to the ground, and still Ada held firm, boring down with all her weight onto her arms, trapping his head under the water and baring her teeth in a fierce grin as the lack of oxygen added to his frenetic rage. Spumes of lathery bubbles rose to the boiling surface, stained scarlet and inky black from the mixture of their blood.

To Ada, this struggle seemed to go on for years. In reality, it only lasted a few minutes at best. All the fight slowly leeched out of Wesker’s body, his angrily hooked fingers dropping from where they had dug into the wounds already inflicted, the fiery red light of his eyes waning as his eyelids fell shut.

For a long moment, all Ada could do was crouch there, her hands still in place to confirm this wasn’t another fake-out. Blood and tears brought on solely by pain dripped from her face, harsh pants ringing in her ears as she attempted to compose herself. Her shoulders heaved, her head ached, and almost every part of her was battered and bruised, her pale skin tinted all over with blooms of raw hurt.

A morbid compulsion prompted her to drag his body out of the water and roll him onto the white floor, her eyes alight like a fisherman inspecting a harpooned shark. He was heavier than she might have guessed from watching him fight, all corded muscle converted to deadweight, and she huffed as she dumped him onto the ground, stooping over to clutch at her wounded hip.

“Even in death you’re a pain in my side,” Ada said wryly, but froze when she noted the weak rise and fall of his chest. “Or… not.”

So, he wasn’t dead. Ada rocked back on her heels, taking a moment to consider the apparently unconscious man before her. It figured it would take more than a little dip in a pond to off Albert Wesker. A knife was soon clutched between her fingers, her grip tightening as she prepared to plunge it straight through his eye socket.

But, something gave her pause. The knife lowered, returning to a hidden cache inside one of her stiletto heels. Catching sight of her reflection in the water, Ada studied the dark bruises covering her bare arms, her face, and the wash of gore soaking through the fabric of her dress.

She ground her teeth together in irritation, marveling at her reluctance to end this all now. He certainly wouldn’t have hesitated. But the question remained… would it really end here? That mysterious figure, Omni, had advised her not to fear death. Not that she had ever truly feared it anyway, not in her line of work. Wesker had undoubtedly received the same spiel.

Ada was not an idiot. She understood that leaving him alive would likely serve as a greater insult than killing Wesker outright, and that he would not think twice about destroying her if she was unlucky enough to run into him again. That idea held some appeal, for sure, but again, priorities.

The knife returned and shifted in her grip, glinting dangerously. Again, she hesitated.

Killing him would sow permanent seeds of discord. The strategist in her turned it over in her mind, examining past experiences and times where Wesker had given away an entirely self-serving sense of mercy, but mercy nonetheless. And if there was one thing she held above all else, Ada mused with a soft smirk, it was returning favors.

It was decided. She would leave him here, insensible and heavily injured, but certainly alive. She needed to move quickly, now— there was no telling when the ‘beast’ would awaken. The blank vista around her was appearing more and more hellish by the second to her aching body, and yet she was not so keen to explore whatever further suffering her former employer might inflict upon her should he wake up. But, before she would leave…

Ada remembered the radiant, pulsing sphere given to her by Omni, and the pale being’s baffling words. If you desire it enough, you will find it. You will find that using it comes naturally. Just think of what you desire most…

The woman closed her eyes, feeling incredibly stupid as she pictured what she desired most in that moment. A cozy feeling spread from her chest down to her fingertips, spreading warmth like mild liquor down her throat. Her eyebrows knit together as she fixated on this idea for several long moments, only the sound of the fountain’s waters breaking her concentration. When she felt the warmth gradually beginning to recede, Ada opened her eyes.

A small note appeared in her hand with a glimmer of rainbow light, four words already written across it. Smiling faintly, Ada stuck it to Albert’s face with entirely too much satisfaction, patting his cheek lightly to ensure it stayed. There.

Don’t be a stranger. ;-)

Turning and with one last glance around, Ada chose a direction at random and limped westward.

SPARED THE ANGERY SUNGLASSES. GREAT FIGHT, FRIEND.