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Description
A necessary SPOILER WARNING, don't read any further if you haven't played RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS 2 yet!

For those of you who have, a very special story that *could* be linked to my story Judgment Day, set shortly after its end...uh, whenever that's gonna be! Be warned the story below contains mature language! Don't let just anyone read it!

This work's title was inspired by the song of the same name by the late, great Roy Orbison...

******

In Dreams

The little girl ran like a demon was nipping at her heels...and that wasn't far from the truth.

The girl didn't run because out of fear...she had been through so much hell in her brief life of thirteen years, she and terror had long ago become distant from one another. But she could still be gripped by the primal need for flight from a horrifying threat. She had before. It was so now as the little girl ran, because if she stopped running, she knew it would be the end for her. She never stopped, she couldn't, not as long as she was here in a pale spectral mist that overwhelmed everything. The haze was persistent everywhere she went. Everywhere she tried to run to find some kind of safe place...

...to escape from the monster.

She could feel the monster very close behind now as she chased the little girl through the sewers, the destructive sound of her passage so loud and growing louder as she got closer. The girl heard concrete blast to pieces, the splashes of heavy debris into rancid water in the monster's immediate wake. Even louder, unfortunately, was the monster's roar as she spoke, only barely human in sound, full of impatience and hunger: "WHY DO YOU KEEP RUNNING?! YOU KNOW YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO GO, NATALIA! YOU HAVE NO REFUGE FROM ME BECAUSE I'M A PART OF YOU! VERY SOON YOU'LL WEAKEN, YOU'LL LOSE THE WILL TO RUN AND FIGHT ME! THEN I SHALL FINALLY BE YOU!"

Natalia Burton thought, No! I won't let you eat me! I WON'T!

She lost track how long she had been here, in this place that looked so much like the island her father Barry, her sister Moira and Aunt Claire saved her from. This spectral place shrouded in the strange pale mist. Natalia only knew she had been stuck here, separated from the adopted family she loved with all her heart and soul, and she couldn't get out.

But there had to be a way out, there just had to be.

She needed desperately to find a way out because no one would save her like Barry and Moira and Claire did. No one could. The girl was completely alone...except for that hellish monster. The thing that killed Lottie.

Natalia barely remembered that once the monster said she was the girl's friend. The other looked exactly like her, but that had changed. The thing was a predatory monster, relentless, endlessly hungry for one thing.

Her.

Natalia burst through the gate and out of the sewers, but where she ended up wasn't an improvement. She remembered being here before, this blasted landscape of condemned buildings and derelict cars and dirty streets and no hope, as lifeless and forbidden as Chernobyl. It looked exactly like that community that ceased to exist on that island she remembered. The mist overwhelmed everything here on the outside, as well.

The girl couldn't see very far ahead of her as she ran...thudding tremors from under her feet as the monster had almost reached the sewer exit directly behind her...

...and that was why Natalia Burton literally almost ran into the figure right in front of her. In spite of her instincts propelling her, she managed to stop in time before the collision. She took one look -- up -- at the sight in front of her and breathed an astonished, "Oh...!"

The person she saw reminded her of Moira, but only in a few ways. The young woman had black hair, but with striking blue accents to the fringes. She was dressed very casually in dark tones: she wore a sleeveless black Metallica tee, dark blue jeans and boots. The freckle-faced lady was very pretty, but clearly older than Moira and her other sister, Polly. And her eyes...her soulful hazel eyes had seen so much, Natalia thought, maybe even more than the little girl ever had.

The young woman lowered to one knee and smiled...she said, "Hi. Please don't be scared. I'm here to help."

Natalia responded urgently: "I don't know how you're here, but you've gotta run! There's a monster chasing me!"

The young woman felt the tremors of something approaching. She was unfazed. "A monster, huh?"

The girl almost cried, "I'm serious! I-I don't know WHAT she is, but she's so full of hate and she wants to catch me and...if she does, she'll eat me and I'll be gone. You need to run, too! I don't want her to eat you, either!" The concern for the stranger was so bright in her eyes, in spite of her own predicament.

The young woman didn't stop smiling, her presence full of warmth. "You won't have to worry about me, you sweet girl...but thank you." Her gaze fixed on the girl's eyes as she said, "Your family sent me, Natalia."

Astonished, the girl smiled so wide. "Really...? Wh-who are you?"

The lady introduced herself: "I'm Cheryl."

The girl suddenly looked so weary... "Oh Cheryl, I-I've been alone for so long...that monster always chasing me..."

Cheryl's voice quietly soothed, "You're not alone anymore, Natalia. I'm going to bring you back to your family. Okay?"

Natalia's expression flooded with relief...she knew instinctively Cheryl told her the truth. But then, the tremors grew worse with every second...the tumult of the thing pursuing her became deafening from the sewers. Natalia looked back, her face was full of shock as she breathed, "Th-the monster -- !"

Quickly, Cheryl Mason stepped forward to stand close to the girl, between Natalia and whatever was coming. The lady with black hair looked down at her and smiled confidently. "Everything will be all right, sweetie. I'm here for you."

"NATALIA!" The shriek tore through the misty air as the sewer outlet exploded. The cloud of dust obscured everything as heavy chunks of debris fell like hailstones. From the dustcloud...the monster stepped into view.

Surreally, the monster looked almost like Natalia. Almost. She shared similar features with the lovely girl, but her eyes were crimson and bright as hellfire...every piece of her clothing was white. Her hair was a brilliant blonde. The thing that only looked like a little girl came fully into view...and stopped dead when she saw her prey wasn't alone. And that shouldn't have been possible. The thing's pretty face became very ugly with an expression of outrage and hate -- she stared at Cheryl and shouted, "Who the hell are you?!?"

Cheryl looked back at the monster curiously...she hadn't quite expected this. With a bemused tone, she answered, "You took the words out of my mouth, whatever you are."

The monster began moving toward them again as she growled, "You shouldn't be here, but it doesn't matter. I want that girl, and you won't stop me!"

Suddenly the lady smiled. Cheryl challenged, "You want to bet on that, bitch? You'll lose. Think of me as the the magical princess who will make Natalia's dreams come true." Natalia gave Cheryl a surprised look as the lady asked the monster, "Now who are you?"

The monster slowly came to a stop...the thing that only looked like a little girl seemed to appraise the lady. "It doesn't matter if you see my true face...before I kill you and make Natalia's body mine!" It was then that the monster changed...her features, her entire body shifted and grew with the fluidity of liquid mercury. It only took seconds. When the transformation was done, the monster had become an adult woman, still dressed in a white suit...a woman of severe beauty, her predatory eyes still alight with fire, and she declared, "I am Alex Wesker."

"Huh." Cheryl didn't lose an ounce of her confidence as she stood in the monster's path. She felt Natalia cringe behind one of her legs at the sight of the thing's true face. Cheryl said, "I know about you and the shit you did a couple of years ago. I know you put Natalia and her loved ones through enough hell. That ends now!"

Alex Wesker's face twisted with hate as she shouted, "FOOL! I am the one with the power here!"

It took all of Cheryl's self-control to keep from laughing...she purred, "Power? You have no idea what power is, and I'm definitely in the mood to teach you."

The thing reexamined Cheryl with her predatory eyes. "But this is the domain of that worthless girl's dreams! Everything here is mine, especially her! How could you be here?"

Cheryl's lips curled with mirth. "Like Dennis Quaid said to Christopher Plummer, 'It was easy.' I just projected my self into Natalia's dreamworld." The thing stared at her. So did Natalia as she looked up at Cheryl. The lady looked down and told the girl, "Oh, sorry. Dreamscape was before your time, sweetie. But really, that's what I did. I told you I was a magical princess."

Natalia stared up at Cheryl with wonder. "Wow...!" That was why the little girl was so desperate to find a way out, yet she couldn't. It was why no one else could help her. But Natalia fully realized the lady was telling the truth, as amazing as it was, and her heart lifted as she began to hope again...

Alex Wesker was unimpressed and growled, "You are NOTHING, just like that little girl! You are nothing compared to me! I have transended Humanity! I HAVE OVERCOME DEATH ITSELF!"

Cheryl looked up sharply at Alex...she wasn't smiling anymore. She mused, "You honestly believe that. You know, that's kind of funny...not 'funny ha-ha', I mean. You're the one who's nothing."

Alex's fiery eyes flared with anger. "What?!"

Cheryl said, "I can see into others, which is a lot easier than putting myself in someone else's head. And looking into you, I really understand what you are. I get what Alex Wesker did to Natalia...but it won't happen like she wanted."

The monster roared, "I AM ALEX WESKER! Why do you talk about me in the past tense?!?"

Cheryl Mason crossed her arms as she stood in defense of Natalia...her eyes stared at the monster coolly. The lady from Silent Hill observed, "No, you're NOT Alex Wesker. That evil bitch wanted to transcend her own mortal chains and cheat death. She figured out how to copy and paste all the things that made her who she was. From her personality to her memories, which I'm reading like a book now." Cheryl was sickened by much of what she saw, but she was also enlightened in the process. "Alex believed she could transfer her identity onto another's mind in the form of a neurological virus. Just so she could live forever.

"But in order to really transcend, Alex would have had to transfer the true essence of herself, her immortal soul...and you have no soul at all. Really look at yourself, you represent a madwoman's customized viral code. All you want is to copy yourself over this girl's persona and take her over. But you don't have anything in you but that one driving need, do you? You can't imagine! You have no feelings that are really your own, and you won't unti you devour Natalia!" The monster's eyes were so wide...it couldn't think of anything to say. "You may embody Alex Wesker, but that bitch went to Hell when she got cooked crispier than fried chicken OVER TWO YEARS AGO!"

The thing barely managed to growl, "No...!"

"Oh, hell yeah!" Cheryl turned to disregard the monster completely toward Natalia...she lowered to one knee, in fact, as she put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Cheryl said softly to the girl, "I took a good long look at Alex's memories in that thing, Natalia. She chose you because you have a strong mind, because you can resist feeling fear." Stronger than even Natalia knew: Alex designed the transference to be complete in six months, but the amazing girl resisted it for another two years. Cheryl's hand sweetly clutched Natalia's shoulder. "But it was getting harder to fight it when you were awake, wasn't it?"

Natalia looked down, her expression full of shame. "I kept hearing a voice that wasn't mine. Sometimes I said things, did things, but I wasn't the one in control. I even read books I didn't like. I didn't know how to tell my family, and then...I fell asleep. Ever since, I've been stuck here."

In that moment, Cheryl Mason didn't know how to tell Natalia...the sweet, incredibly brave little girl hadn't just fallen asleep. She fell into a coma. In the real world beyond her dreams, Natalia Burton was lying on a hospital bed comatose, yet for reasons the best medical doctors couldn't even begin to speculate, also in a persistent REM state. Experiencing a dream that wouldn't (or couldn't?) end. But being in such a state for too long would ultimately cause Natalia permanent brain damage, perhaps even kill her, and a solution couldn't be found.

But there had to be an answer, and it had to be found before the little girl died. Barry and Kathy, her adopted parents, and her new siblings Moira and Polly were distraught and desperate to help their loved one. But Barry, a big bear with a bigger heart, remembered the extraordinary, haunted girl he met in Vermont. And Barry called Rebecca Chambers, who was Cheryl's lover...he knew the girl from Silent Hill could make many things possible, and he hoped and prayed Cheryl could do something to save his daughter.

Cheryl was there in the hospital room with Natalia in the real world. Rebecca Chambers and Moira Burton were also there, watching anxiously as it appeared that Cheryl had simply fallen asleep sitting next to Natalia's bedside. Rebecca and Moira kept their vigil as Claire waited with the rest of the Burton family in another room not far away.

In Natalia's dreamscape, Cheryl smiled gently at Natalia as she said, "You fell asleep as a defense without knowing it, sweetie. You had to devote all of yourself to resisting and fighting the virus here in your dreams. You are strong enough to keep resisting until this thing breaks down and fades away, but...it'll take too long." Her hand moved to cup and softly caress Natalia's cheek tenderly. "All you needed was a little help." Natalia smiled fondly back, so grateful...

...and Cheryl rose to look at Alex again. "Now that I'm here, I can make you go away a helluva lot faster. By devouring Natalia in her dreams you'll get what Alex Wesker wanted, but it works both ways! If you're destroyed here, the virus you embody will be rendered impotent and fade to nothing." Just like Dreamscape, she remembered.

The monster, the embodiment of the attempted transference of Alex Wesker's essence, snarled, "You think you can destroy me?! ME?!?"

Cheryl answered unkindly, "Oh, no. I know I can take you apart, piece by piece, and then burn and blast and stomp on what's left until you're GONE." The young woman from Silent Hill turned to the girl and asked, "What do you say, Natalia?"

Enthusiastically, eagerly, Natalia cheered loudly: "Kill that monster, Cheryl! Break her to pieces! BURN HER SO SHE DOESN'T HURT ANYONE ANYMORE!"

Cheryl purred, "Your wish is my command, sweetie."

The monster that called itself Alex Wesker began to stalk toward them only a handful of meters away as it screamed, "DAMN YOU BOTH! I'LL CRUSH YOU AND -- AAAGGHH!" But the thing didn't get far, its railing turned to a scream as Cheryl's eyes flared with ethereal blue light and at the same moment Alex was knocked off its feet to the ground. The monster angrily tried to stand, but with a gesture by the girl from Silent Hill, parts of the earth came alive and snatched hold of Alex's wrists and ankles, binding the thing!

Cheryl Mason stepped toward the monster as she declared, "Bitch, I didn't give you permission to move!" She drew close and loomed over the monster in white as it laid virtually helpless before her. Cheryl turned once more to Natalia as her eyes glowed with her mystical power...she counseled gently, "Hey...close your eyes, okay? This is gonna get VERY messy." She grinned with dark knowledge...

...Natalia smiled back at the magic princess...she did as she was asked and put her small hands over her eyes.

It just sounded messy to the little girl...and it didn't take long.

---

The real world. In Natalia's hospital room, Cheryl Mason awoke with a start and sat up quickly in her chair. Rebecca and Moira were there instantly. Rebecca knelt before Cheryl and gently held her lover's shoulders in her slender hands...her tone was so adoring and urgent: "Cheryl! Are you okay?"

Moira was beside herself with worry and didn't give Cheryl a chance to answer when she cried, "W-what about Natalia, is she okay?!? Were you able to help her?!"

"Mmmmnn..."

Moira looked quickly to the bed...and saw the beautiful little girl was opening her eyes, waking up. Moira breathed, "Oh, Jesus!" Her eyes were so full of love and fear for her little sister as she sat carefully on the side of the bed. "N-Natalia??"

Natalia Burton had slept for so long...it took a moment for her to realize she was awake. She wearily looked at her sister and managed, "Mmm...Moira...? M'sorry, I didn't want to fall asleep..."

Moira laughed and cried with elemental joy at the same time...tears spilled down the girl's cheeks as she quickly said, "Never ever ever say you're sorry for that, sis...! Are you all right??"

Her little sister smiled warmly and said, "Cheryl the Magic Princess killed the monster for me. I don't have to fight her anymore." Natalia finally sensed others were in the room, and she was shocked to see Cheryl and Rebecca drawing closer. Natalia sat up with surprise and, almost deja vu to how she reacted literally running into Cheryl in her dreamscape, she breathed, "Oh...!"

As Rebecca Chambers gazed at her lover with pride, Cheryl Mason separated from her -- but not too far -- to move close to the bed. She smiled and nodded deeply. "Hi again, Natalia."

Natalia beamed brightly at the lady from Silent Hill and said with pure emotion, "Thank you so much, Cheryl. Thank you for saving me from the monster." Moira looked at Cheryl too, and her cheeks were so wet...she couldn't come up with words big enough to express her own thanks to Cheryl for saving her sister, but the gratitude in her eyes was luminous.

Cheryl nodded deeply. "It was my pleasure, sweetie. You can go home and be with Moira and your family now."

Pure wonder and elation filled the dear girl's expression...Natalia asked, "I can really go home?" She looked to Moira and her small hands reached out...Moira moved closer as she reached out, too. Natalia said needfully, "That's all I want, Moira! To be with you and Polly and daddy and mommy...!"

Moira Burton laughed again as she cried and she said passionately, "Any goddamn thing you want, you've got it!" They already clutched at each other, but Moira changed that by lovingly pulling her little sister close into an embrace. Moira held Natalia and promised, "You're going home to stay, sweetie, and you'll always be loved and feel safe forever and ever..." Moira's finally said thickly, from the bottom of her heart, "I love you, little sister."

Natalia Burton didn't realize she had also begun to cry because of the pure happiness she felt as the girl rested her head on her older sister's breast. She closed her eyes and felt like she had lifted into the clouds. To be with her family, to be loved by them forever. The brave, wondrous girl's voice was full of promise, as well. "I love you so much too, Moira, I'll love you all forever. I'll never leave you again, never ever ever!"

And Natalia already knew without a doubt she was perfectly safe...she had a magical princess watching over her.

******

A story for those of you who love Natalia, and absolutely HATED the needlessly creepy and open Epilog to the game! You might have guessed reading this what one of my favorite movies is, too! But to anticipate you Freddy Krueger fans, DREAMSCAPE came to theaters *before* A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET took some of the same concepts and gave them a much bloodier twist. Ah, the 80's!

A big shout out to Lyssa-Nivans...she really hated REV 2's Epilog, too!

It must be said that RESIDENT EVIL is owned by Capcom and SILENT HILL is owned by Konami!

Giving credit where it's due!

XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek
XPS created by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:
Metallica Heather/Cheryl Mason by bosscrisscross
Moira Burton Prisoner by Adngel
Dark Natalia Korda by xJiLLxLxVaLeNtiNe

A special note: I'd downloaded Dark Natalia (and I used her in this art because she looks great, so don't give me any crap!) when MaMa JiLL had her here. I often download a model to test it before I favorite to make sure it works! But before I could come back and favorite, I had my troubles being able to get back on DA. I took for granted the model would be here by the time my problems were fixed. When they were, however, I saw JiLL took Dark Natalia off her gallery. :/ So because of that, extra thanks and mention to JiLL for her beautiful Natalia model!

Description
A necessary SPOILER WARNING, don't read any further if you haven't played RESIDENT EVIL REVELATIONS 2 yet!

For those of you who have, a very special story that *could* be linked to my story Judgment Day, set shortly after its end...uh, whenever that's gonna be! Be warned the story below contains mature language! Don't let just anyone read it!

This work's title was inspired by the song of the same name by the late, great Roy Orbison...

******

In Dreams

The little girl ran like a demon was nipping at her heels...and that wasn't far from the truth.

The girl didn't run because out of fear...she had been through so much hell in her brief life of thirteen years, she and terror had long ago become distant from one another. But she could still be gripped by the primal need for flight from a horrifying threat. She had before. It was so now as the little girl ran, because if she stopped running, she knew it would be the end for her. She never stopped, she couldn't, not as long as she was here in a pale spectral mist that overwhelmed everything. The haze was persistent everywhere she went. Everywhere she tried to run to find some kind of safe place...

...to escape from the monster.

She could feel the monster very close behind now as she chased the little girl through the sewers, the destructive sound of her passage so loud and growing louder as she got closer. The girl heard concrete blast to pieces, the splashes of heavy debris into rancid water in the monster's immediate wake. Even louder, unfortunately, was the monster's roar as she spoke, only barely human in sound, full of impatience and hunger: "WHY DO YOU KEEP RUNNING?! YOU KNOW YOU HAVE NOWHERE TO GO, NATALIA! YOU HAVE NO REFUGE FROM ME BECAUSE I'M A PART OF YOU! VERY SOON YOU'LL WEAKEN, YOU'LL LOSE THE WILL TO RUN AND FIGHT ME! THEN I SHALL FINALLY BE YOU!"

Natalia Burton thought, No! I won't let you eat me! I WON'T!

She lost track how long she had been here, in this place that looked so much like the island her father Barry, her sister Moira and Aunt Claire saved her from. This spectral place shrouded in the strange pale mist. Natalia only knew she had been stuck here, separated from the adopted family she loved with all her heart and soul, and she couldn't get out.

But there had to be a way out, there just had to be.

She needed desperately to find a way out because no one would save her like Barry and Moira and Claire did. No one could. The girl was completely alone...except for that hellish monster. The thing that killed Lottie.

Natalia barely remembered that once the monster said she was the girl's friend. The other looked exactly like her, but that had changed. The thing was a predatory monster, relentless, endlessly hungry for one thing.

Her.

Natalia burst through the gate and out of the sewers, but where she ended up wasn't an improvement. She remembered being here before, this blasted landscape of condemned buildings and derelict cars and dirty streets and no hope, as lifeless and forbidden as Chernobyl. It looked exactly like that community that ceased to exist on that island she remembered. The mist overwhelmed everything here on the outside, as well.

The girl couldn't see very far ahead of her as she ran...thudding tremors from under her feet as the monster had almost reached the sewer exit directly behind her...

...and that was why Natalia Burton literally almost ran into the figure right in front of her. In spite of her instincts propelling her, she managed to stop in time before the collision. She took one look -- up -- at the sight in front of her and breathed an astonished, "Oh...!"

The person she saw reminded her of Moira, but only in a few ways. The young woman had black hair, but with striking blue accents to the fringes. She was dressed very casually in dark tones: she wore a sleeveless black Metallica tee, dark blue jeans and boots. The freckle-faced lady was very pretty, but clearly older than Moira and her other sister, Polly. And her eyes...her soulful hazel eyes had seen so much, Natalia thought, maybe even more than the little girl ever had.

The young woman lowered to one knee and smiled...she said, "Hi. Please don't be scared. I'm here to help."

Natalia responded urgently: "I don't know how you're here, but you've gotta run! There's a monster chasing me!"

The young woman felt the tremors of something approaching. She was unfazed. "A monster, huh?"

The girl almost cried, "I'm serious! I-I don't know WHAT she is, but she's so full of hate and she wants to catch me and...if she does, she'll eat me and I'll be gone. You need to run, too! I don't want her to eat you, either!" The concern for the stranger was so bright in her eyes, in spite of her own predicament.

The young woman didn't stop smiling, her presence full of warmth. "You won't have to worry about me, you sweet girl...but thank you." Her gaze fixed on the girl's eyes as she said, "Your family sent me, Natalia."

Astonished, the girl smiled so wide. "Really...? Wh-who are you?"

The lady introduced herself: "I'm Cheryl."

The girl suddenly looked so weary... "Oh Cheryl, I-I've been alone for so long...that monster always chasing me..."

Cheryl's voice quietly soothed, "You're not alone anymore, Natalia. I'm going to bring you back to your family. Okay?"

Natalia's expression flooded with relief...she knew instinctively Cheryl told her the truth. But then, the tremors grew worse with every second...the tumult of the thing pursuing her became deafening from the sewers. Natalia looked back, her face was full of shock as she breathed, "Th-the monster -- !"

Quickly, Cheryl Mason stepped forward to stand close to the girl, between Natalia and whatever was coming. The lady with black hair looked down at her and smiled confidently. "Everything will be all right, sweetie. I'm here for you."

"NATALIA!" The shriek tore through the misty air as the sewer outlet exploded. The cloud of dust obscured everything as heavy chunks of debris fell like hailstones. From the dustcloud...the monster stepped into view.

Surreally, the monster looked almost like Natalia. Almost. She shared similar features with the lovely girl, but her eyes were crimson and bright as hellfire...every piece of her clothing was white. Her hair was a brilliant blonde. The thing that only looked like a little girl came fully into view...and stopped dead when she saw her prey wasn't alone. And that shouldn't have been possible. The thing's pretty face became very ugly with an expression of outrage and hate -- she stared at Cheryl and shouted, "Who the hell are you?!?"

Cheryl looked back at the monster curiously...she hadn't quite expected this. With a bemused tone, she answered, "You took the words out of my mouth, whatever you are."

The monster began moving toward them again as she growled, "You shouldn't be here, but it doesn't matter. I want that girl, and you won't stop me!"

Suddenly the lady smiled. Cheryl challenged, "You want to bet on that, bitch? You'll lose. Think of me as the the magical princess who will make Natalia's dreams come true." Natalia gave Cheryl a surprised look as the lady asked the monster, "Now who are you?"

The monster slowly came to a stop...the thing that only looked like a little girl seemed to appraise the lady. "It doesn't matter if you see my true face...before I kill you and make Natalia's body mine!" It was then that the monster changed...her features, her entire body shifted and grew with the fluidity of liquid mercury. It only took seconds. When the transformation was done, the monster had become an adult woman, still dressed in a white suit...a woman of severe beauty, her predatory eyes still alight with fire, and she declared, "I am Alex Wesker."

"Huh." Cheryl didn't lose an ounce of her confidence as she stood in the monster's path. She felt Natalia cringe behind one of her legs at the sight of the thing's true face. Cheryl said, "I know about you and the shit you did a couple of years ago. I know you put Natalia and her loved ones through enough hell. That ends now!"

Alex Wesker's face twisted with hate as she shouted, "FOOL! I am the one with the power here!"

It took all of Cheryl's self-control to keep from laughing...she purred, "Power? You have no idea what power is, and I'm definitely in the mood to teach you."

The thing reexamined Cheryl with her predatory eyes. "But this is the domain of that worthless girl's dreams! Everything here is mine, especially her! How could you be here?"

Cheryl's lips curled with mirth. "Like Dennis Quaid said to Christopher Plummer, 'It was easy.' I just projected my self into Natalia's dreamworld." The thing stared at her. So did Natalia as she looked up at Cheryl. The lady looked down and told the girl, "Oh, sorry. Dreamscape was before your time, sweetie. But really, that's what I did. I told you I was a magical princess."

Natalia stared up at Cheryl with wonder. "Wow...!" That was why the little girl was so desperate to find a way out, yet she couldn't. It was why no one else could help her. But Natalia fully realized the lady was telling the truth, as amazing as it was, and her heart lifted as she began to hope again...

Alex Wesker was unimpressed and growled, "You are NOTHING, just like that little girl! You are nothing compared to me! I have transended Humanity! I HAVE OVERCOME DEATH ITSELF!"

Cheryl looked up sharply at Alex...she wasn't smiling anymore. She mused, "You honestly believe that. You know, that's kind of funny...not 'funny ha-ha', I mean. You're the one who's nothing."

Alex's fiery eyes flared with anger. "What?!"

Cheryl said, "I can see into others, which is a lot easier than putting myself in someone else's head. And looking into you, I really understand what you are. I get what Alex Wesker did to Natalia...but it won't happen like she wanted."

The monster roared, "I AM ALEX WESKER! Why do you talk about me in the past tense?!?"

Cheryl Mason crossed her arms as she stood in defense of Natalia...her eyes stared at the monster coolly. The lady from Silent Hill observed, "No, you're NOT Alex Wesker. That evil bitch wanted to transcend her own mortal chains and cheat death. She figured out how to copy and paste all the things that made her who she was. From her personality to her memories, which I'm reading like a book now." Cheryl was sickened by much of what she saw, but she was also enlightened in the process. "Alex believed she could transfer her identity onto another's mind in the form of a neurological virus. Just so she could live forever.

"But in order to really transcend, Alex would have had to transfer the true essence of herself, her immortal soul...and you have no soul at all. Really look at yourself, you represent a madwoman's customized viral code. All you want is to copy yourself over this girl's persona and take her over. But you don't have anything in you but that one driving need, do you? You can't imagine! You have no feelings that are really your own, and you won't unti you devour Natalia!" The monster's eyes were so wide...it couldn't think of anything to say. "You may embody Alex Wesker, but that bitch went to Hell when she got cooked crispier than fried chicken OVER TWO YEARS AGO!"

The thing barely managed to growl, "No...!"

"Oh, hell yeah!" Cheryl turned to disregard the monster completely toward Natalia...she lowered to one knee, in fact, as she put a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Cheryl said softly to the girl, "I took a good long look at Alex's memories in that thing, Natalia. She chose you because you have a strong mind, because you can resist feeling fear." Stronger than even Natalia knew: Alex designed the transference to be complete in six months, but the amazing girl resisted it for another two years. Cheryl's hand sweetly clutched Natalia's shoulder. "But it was getting harder to fight it when you were awake, wasn't it?"

Natalia looked down, her expression full of shame. "I kept hearing a voice that wasn't mine. Sometimes I said things, did things, but I wasn't the one in control. I even read books I didn't like. I didn't know how to tell my family, and then...I fell asleep. Ever since, I've been stuck here."

In that moment, Cheryl Mason didn't know how to tell Natalia...the sweet, incredibly brave little girl hadn't just fallen asleep. She fell into a coma. In the real world beyond her dreams, Natalia Burton was lying on a hospital bed comatose, yet for reasons the best medical doctors couldn't even begin to speculate, also in a persistent REM state. Experiencing a dream that wouldn't (or couldn't?) end. But being in such a state for too long would ultimately cause Natalia permanent brain damage, perhaps even kill her, and a solution couldn't be found.

But there had to be an answer, and it had to be found before the little girl died. Barry and Kathy, her adopted parents, and her new siblings Moira and Polly were distraught and desperate to help their loved one. But Barry, a big bear with a bigger heart, remembered the extraordinary, haunted girl he met in Vermont. And Barry called Rebecca Chambers, who was Cheryl's lover...he knew the girl from Silent Hill could make many things possible, and he hoped and prayed Cheryl could do something to save his daughter.

Cheryl was there in the hospital room with Natalia in the real world. Rebecca Chambers and Moira Burton were also there, watching anxiously as it appeared that Cheryl had simply fallen asleep sitting next to Natalia's bedside. Rebecca and Moira kept their vigil as Claire waited with the rest of the Burton family in another room not far away.

In Natalia's dreamscape, Cheryl smiled gently at Natalia as she said, "You fell asleep as a defense without knowing it, sweetie. You had to devote all of yourself to resisting and fighting the virus here in your dreams. You are strong enough to keep resisting until this thing breaks down and fades away, but...it'll take too long." Her hand moved to cup and softly caress Natalia's cheek tenderly. "All you needed was a little help." Natalia smiled fondly back, so grateful...

...and Cheryl rose to look at Alex again. "Now that I'm here, I can make you go away a helluva lot faster. By devouring Natalia in her dreams you'll get what Alex Wesker wanted, but it works both ways! If you're destroyed here, the virus you embody will be rendered impotent and fade to nothing." Just like Dreamscape, she remembered.

The monster, the embodiment of the attempted transference of Alex Wesker's essence, snarled, "You think you can destroy me?! ME?!?"

Cheryl answered unkindly, "Oh, no. I know I can take you apart, piece by piece, and then burn and blast and stomp on what's left until you're GONE." The young woman from Silent Hill turned to the girl and asked, "What do you say, Natalia?"

Enthusiastically, eagerly, Natalia cheered loudly: "Kill that monster, Cheryl! Break her to pieces! BURN HER SO SHE DOESN'T HURT ANYONE ANYMORE!"

Cheryl purred, "Your wish is my command, sweetie."

The monster that called itself Alex Wesker began to stalk toward them only a handful of meters away as it screamed, "DAMN YOU BOTH! I'LL CRUSH YOU AND -- AAAGGHH!" But the thing didn't get far, its railing turned to a scream as Cheryl's eyes flared with ethereal blue light and at the same moment Alex was knocked off its feet to the ground. The monster angrily tried to stand, but with a gesture by the girl from Silent Hill, parts of the earth came alive and snatched hold of Alex's wrists and ankles, binding the thing!

Cheryl Mason stepped toward the monster as she declared, "Bitch, I didn't give you permission to move!" She drew close and loomed over the monster in white as it laid virtually helpless before her. Cheryl turned once more to Natalia as her eyes glowed with her mystical power...she counseled gently, "Hey...close your eyes, okay? This is gonna get VERY messy." She grinned with dark knowledge...

...Natalia smiled back at the magic princess...she did as she was asked and put her small hands over her eyes.

It just sounded messy to the little girl...and it didn't take long.

---

The real world. In Natalia's hospital room, Cheryl Mason awoke with a start and sat up quickly in her chair. Rebecca and Moira were there instantly. Rebecca knelt before Cheryl and gently held her lover's shoulders in her slender hands...her tone was so adoring and urgent: "Cheryl! Are you okay?"

Moira was beside herself with worry and didn't give Cheryl a chance to answer when she cried, "W-what about Natalia, is she okay?!? Were you able to help her?!"

"Mmmmnn..."

Moira looked quickly to the bed...and saw the beautiful little girl was opening her eyes, waking up. Moira breathed, "Oh, Jesus!" Her eyes were so full of love and fear for her little sister as she sat carefully on the side of the bed. "N-Natalia??"

Natalia Burton had slept for so long...it took a moment for her to realize she was awake. She wearily looked at her sister and managed, "Mmm...Moira...? M'sorry, I didn't want to fall asleep..."

Moira laughed and cried with elemental joy at the same time...tears spilled down the girl's cheeks as she quickly said, "Never ever ever say you're sorry for that, sis...! Are you all right??"

Her little sister smiled warmly and said, "Cheryl the Magic Princess killed the monster for me. I don't have to fight her anymore." Natalia finally sensed others were in the room, and she was shocked to see Cheryl and Rebecca drawing closer. Natalia sat up with surprise and, almost deja vu to how she reacted literally running into Cheryl in her dreamscape, she breathed, "Oh...!"

As Rebecca Chambers gazed at her lover with pride, Cheryl Mason separated from her -- but not too far -- to move close to the bed. She smiled and nodded deeply. "Hi again, Natalia."

Natalia beamed brightly at the lady from Silent Hill and said with pure emotion, "Thank you so much, Cheryl. Thank you for saving me from the monster." Moira looked at Cheryl too, and her cheeks were so wet...she couldn't come up with words big enough to express her own thanks to Cheryl for saving her sister, but the gratitude in her eyes was luminous.

Cheryl nodded deeply. "It was my pleasure, sweetie. You can go home and be with Moira and your family now."

Pure wonder and elation filled the dear girl's expression...Natalia asked, "I can really go home?" She looked to Moira and her small hands reached out...Moira moved closer as she reached out, too. Natalia said needfully, "That's all I want, Moira! To be with you and Polly and daddy and mommy...!"

Moira Burton laughed again as she cried and she said passionately, "Any goddamn thing you want, you've got it!" They already clutched at each other, but Moira changed that by lovingly pulling her little sister close into an embrace. Moira held Natalia and promised, "You're going home to stay, sweetie, and you'll always be loved and feel safe forever and ever..." Moira's finally said thickly, from the bottom of her heart, "I love you, little sister."

Natalia Burton didn't realize she had also begun to cry because of the pure happiness she felt as the girl rested her head on her older sister's breast. She closed her eyes and felt like she had lifted into the clouds. To be with her family, to be loved by them forever. The brave, wondrous girl's voice was full of promise, as well. "I love you so much too, Moira, I'll love you all forever. I'll never leave you again, never ever ever!"

And Natalia already knew without a doubt she was perfectly safe...she had a magical princess watching over her.

******

A story for those of you who love Natalia, and absolutely HATED the needlessly creepy and open Epilog to the game! You might have guessed reading this what one of my favorite movies is, too! But to anticipate you Freddy Krueger fans, DREAMSCAPE came to theaters *before* A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET took some of the same concepts and gave them a much bloodier twist. Ah, the 80's!

A big shout out to Lyssa-Nivans...she really hated REV 2's Epilog, too!

It must be said that RESIDENT EVIL is owned by Capcom and SILENT HILL is owned by Konami!

Giving credit where it's due!

XNALara created by Dusan Pavlicek
XPS created by Dusan and XNAaraL

Models:
Metallica Heather/Cheryl Mason by bosscrisscross
Moira Burton Prisoner by Adngel
Dark Natalia Korda by xJiLLxLxVaLeNtiNe

A special note: I'd downloaded Dark Natalia (and I used her in this art because she looks great, so don't give me any crap!) when MaMa JiLL had her here. I often download a model to test it before I favorite to make sure it works! But before I could come back and favorite, I had my troubles being able to get back on DA. I took for granted the model would be here by the time my problems were fixed. When they were, however, I saw JiLL took Dark Natalia off her gallery. :/ So because of that, extra thanks and mention to JiLL for her beautiful Natalia model!