Marvel and Beyond

Just as Marcus finished speaking, he turned into a monster-like creature.

But Max prepared long ago and tired from playing around, took out the bazooka he had obtained earlier and fired straight at the monster, trailing a blazing tail of destruction.

The sound of a huge explosion echoed violently, reverberating through the underground halls as the area shook, engulfed in raging flames.

"You can't even handle an RPG? What's the point of bragging about your so-called destruction plan?" Max retorted with biting sarcasm.

The Leech Queen fell to the ground, but Max knew better than to celebrate. Something like this couldn't be killed with just one shot. It could evolve if given even a sliver of time.

Without hesitation, he rushed to strike again and signalled Rebecca.

Both of them grabbed grenade launchers, loaded with explosive rounds, and unleashed hell. Bombs, bullets, and firepower poured down like a thunderstorm.

They held nothing back.

The Leech Queen had no chance to breathe under their relentless assault.

Her grotesque form writhed and flailed until it was reduced to nothing but scorched flesh and bone, then ash.

After emptying every last explosive, Max dropped the weapon with a frustrated sigh. "Let's see you mutate now."

He turned to Rebecca, his tone serious. "After taking down something like this, always double-check and strike again. Never leave room for a second round."

'In games, maybe that's not an option. But this is the real world. We can't trust developer pacing here.' He thought inwardly.

Rebecca twitched the corner of her lips.

'You sound like you've got a vendetta against the monsters,' she thought.

She wanted to ask more but chose to let it go.

The monster's corpse disintegrated into a mess of torn tissue, then nothing. Annihilated—reduced to ashes, not even a trace left behind.

A bitter irony; Marcus had died long ago, and now his doppelgänger had followed him to the grave.

Rebecca stood in a daze, staring blankly.

Max grabbed her arm. "Don't just stand there like a zombie. We're not done yet. Let's go. I'm exhausted."

He pulled her toward the elevator.

If this had followed the game's original plot, the Leech Queen would've regenerated and chased them. But some people didn't care for predictable gameplay and gave her no second chance.

The elevator ascended smoothly: no interruptions, no last-boss nonsense.

But halfway up, a loud, ear-piercing siren suddenly rang out across the facility.

Max frowned, voice low and grim. "Self-destruct sequence. They must've triggered the failsafe for the research base. We need to move fast."

With no monster tailing them anymore, their exit was smooth.

When they finally emerged from the Umbrella training facility, dawn had broken.

The sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the land in gentle golds and warm orange hues.

They walked to a hillside nearby, letting the breeze brush past them, catching their breath while watching the rising sun.

Max stretched lazily, then collapsed onto the grassy slope, arms behind his head. He patted the spot beside him, signalling Rebecca to join him. 

His eyes stayed on the scene before them, calm for the first time in hours.

From where they lay, they could clearly see a large, foreign-style mansion nestled in the valley below.

Rebecca pointed at it. "That's the mansion the captain mentioned, right? Do you work there?"

Max let out a wry smile, shaking his head. "Yeah. But now it's crawling with zombies."

She grew quiet for a moment. Then she asked, "What are your plans for the future?"

The smile on Max's face faltered. Her words struck harder than expected.

Only now did he truly register it, his time here was nearing its end.

He glanced sideways at Rebecca, and the weight of their journey pressed in.

He considered her a friend now. Maybe something closer, if the world had been normal. If she had been Jill, Claire, or Ada, maybe the parting would've been easier; he would've seen them again, sooner or later.

But this was Rebecca—the heroine of Resident Evil 0. And that was it.

She'd vanish from the timeline for over a decade, only returning in the animated Resident Evil: Vendetta. By then, she'd be a university professor, no longer the same girl sitting beside him now.

Even if he managed to stay alive for that long, it'd be years before they'd meet again—if ever.

Max sighed, the ache of separation already forming. The system had its rules. It didn't care about sentiment.

Rebecca noticed the shift in his expression. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he replied, though his voice lacked conviction.

"You look like you've got something heavy on your mind."

Max hesitated. Then said, "Not really. What about you?"

Rebecca studied him for a second longer but didn't push. She turned her gaze back to the mansion. "The captain should be there now. I'm going to meet him."

"Don't go," Max said sharply.

"Huh?" Rebecca blinked, caught off guard by his tone.

He continued, "Alpha Team will come today. They'll discover that the Bravo Team lost contact. They'll be sent to find you."

"But—"

"No buts," he cut in firmly. "You've done enough already. I don't want you to take more risks. Promise me you'll return to Raccoon City from here."

"With Alpha Team coming, there's no need for you to go diving headfirst into danger again. Go home. Rest. Maybe even take a long shower," he added with a tired chuckle.

Rebecca opened her mouth, then closed it. His sincerity was clear.

"Then... I'll do as you say," she agreed softly.

Max smiled at her, but just as he relaxed, she hit him with another question.

"You're going to the mansion, aren't you?"

He paused, then nodded. "Yeah. But it's different for me. Don't argue."

The conversation faded. Silence stretched between them.

"After we part... will we never meet again?" she asked, voice low and uncertain.

Her words struck deep. Women's intuition was always sharp when it came to these things and she'd picked up on Max's tension.

Max blinked, caught off guard, then murmured, "Who knows what fate has in store."

They stood up, slowly turning to face each other.

Max smirked playfully, though warmth lingered behind his eyes. "Live a good life. And if you can... leave this city. Keep what happened here to yourself. Don't trust anyone, not more than necessary."

Rebecca nodded, eyes lingering on him. Then Max extended his hand.

It wasn't just a gesture. It was a symbol for him, this was uncharted territory. He'd never had to say goodbye like this.

Rebecca looked at his hand for a moment. Then, instead of taking it, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his chest.

Max froze in surprise. Her heartbeat thudded quietly against him. The warmth of her breath, the subtle tremble in her arms, he felt it all.

Slowly, carefully, he hugged her back. One arm across her back, the other brushing her hair, gentle and protective.

Neither of them spoke. The silence between them said everything that words couldn't.

For that moment, time paused. No monsters. No missions. No countdowns.

Just two people: one farewell.

After a long minute, they slowly pulled apart. Their gazes met. No regrets. Just gratitude.

Rebecca glanced down the hill, then turned and began walking away.

Max remained, watching her disappear into the distance. A sigh escaped his lips as he instinctively reached for his gear, fingers brushing it absentmindedly.

His chest still held the warmth of that embrace. He couldn't deny the weight of what just happened. It was too intense.

If he wasn't careful, he could lose himself in these emotional threads: forgetting the mission, the bigger picture, the system.

Max stared blankly into space, letting the heat of the sun seep into him. Time passed unnoticed.

Eventually, the sun rose higher, and the warmth grew unbearable. Max stood, brushing off the dirt.

It was time to leave.

He made his way back to the room inside the Spencer Mansion, the place where he had first arrived.

He'd already cleared the path yesterday. For now, it was safe in the daylight.

Once inside, he tossed aside the scattered materials and cleared a spot to rest. But before he could sit down, the system's interface flared to life before his eyes.

A countdown had started.

Max sighed, eyes narrowing.

"Let's leave this place now."

With a single click, everything faded to black.

….

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