The only places Saki could think of that had large quantities of undead and B.O.W.s were the NEST and the hospital. But she wasn't going to the NEST just yet—she couldn't take a chance on going berserk around people. Unlike the real Saki, she wasn't a true member of the Baneful Bloodline. She might have even less control over herself than they did.
So, the hospital was the best choice.
Fortunately, just as she suspected, the hospital was crawling with zombies and hunters, exactly like in the game.
Saki muttered under her breath, "I guess Carlos hasn't been here yet. Then again, without Jill, does he even have a reason to come to the hospital? And I killed Nicholai… so as long as he and Tyrell recover the anti-virus sample—or Bard—they should be able to secure a way out of the city."
Drawing her odachi, she started slicing and dicing her way through the undead, clearing one part of the hospital after another.
After she slew five zombies, her watch beeped:
Bloodlust: 25%
Saki froze for a moment, her eyes widening. "Holy fuck, are you serious?! That's a bit fast, don't you think?"
She gritted her teeth and pressed on. After killing five more zombies, her watch chimed again:
Bloodlust: 50%
Familiarity: 075%
"Okay… just a little more. We can do this," she said, steeling herself.
She slew ten more zombies, her blade flashing crimson in the dim hospital corridors, and then heard the dreaded message:
Familiarity: 080%
Bloodlust: 100%
Warning: Berserk Mode Imminent.
Her body began pulsing with violent energy. Red sparks flew off her skin as she doubled over, groaning in pain. Her adrenaline surged, her eyes going unfocused and wild. Then, with a mighty bestial roar, she lost herself to the transformation.
Her long black hair turned a stark, solid white. Her red aura exploded outward, raging uncontrollably, while her skin took on a reddish tint, as if her entire body had been stained with blood. Her lips twisted into a manic grin as she laughed darkly.
Her watch announced coldly:
Berserk Mode Activated:
Strength: 164
Perception: 38
Endurance: 42
Intelligence: 35
Agility: 166
But Saki couldn't hear any of that over the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears and her crazed, gleeful laughter.
Then she moved.
At supernatural speeds, she rushed through the hospital, her odachi tearing through everything in her path. She eviscerated zombies with single swings, ripped hunters apart like paper, and even the building itself wasn't safe. The slashes of her odachi cleaved through walls and floors as if they were butter.
The more she killed, the more the hospital ceased to exist. But she didn't care. The only thing in her mind was one command: keep killing.
"DIE! All of you DIE!" she howled, her manic grin widening as she painted the hospital in gore.
By the time she ran out of things to kill, half of the hospital had been reduced to rubble. With no more prey in sight, she dashed away, leaping from rooftop to rooftop until she finally landed just outside Kendo's Gun Shop.
Her watch beeped again:
Bloodlust: 0%
Berserk Form Over
Her raging aura flickered out, her heartbeat slowed, and her hair and skin returned to their normal colors. Breathing heavily, she steadied herself and muttered, "Holy shit… that was intense. It was like an adrenaline rush combined with a caffeine high—with someone else in control. Fuck… that was weird."
She exhaled shakily and rubbed her temple. "Hope Carlos and Tyrell weren't there. I don't give a shit about Bard…"
Her watch chimed again:
Familiarity: 100%
Stats Updated
Final Ability Unlocked
Berserk Form Removed
---
Name: Saki (Dexter)
Health: 4400
Bloodlust: 0
Strength: 112
Perception: 106
Endurance: 115
Charisma: 84
Intelligence: 100
Agility: 113
Luck: 84
Perks: S.T.A.R.S., Good Samaritan, Undead Slayer
Skills: Tsubaki Style Mortal Combat, Saki Style Swordsmanship, Parkour, Energy Manipulation, Swordsmanship, Archery, Unarmed Combat, Throwing
Abilities: Enhanced Strength, Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Endurance, Accelerated Perception, Xtatic Form
Familiarity: 100%
---
Saki stared at her new status and let out a relieved laugh. "Oh, thank God that's over. And seeing my current stats… I'm pretty positive William is screwed. Computer, explain the Xtatic Form."
The watch answered in its cool, mechanical tone: The Xtatic Form is a more powerful version of the Berserk Form. You will assume Saki's ultimate form with no loss of control, and the form can be triggered at will. However, the Bloodlust gauge must be at maximum. In addition, Endurance will still be cut in half, while Strength and Agility will double.
"Got it," Saki muttered, unscrewing a bottle of water from her inventory. She downed it all in one go, trying to wash away the pounding headache left behind.
But before she could catch her breath, she heard an unforgettable voice. There was no doubt—it was the voice of Ashley 1.0, A.K.A. Sherry Birkin, crying out desperately:
"Let me go! Let me go!"
Then came a gruff, angry snarl: "Shut up, you little brat, or else!"
Saki's expression hardened. She sighed, pulled her magnum from her inventory, and pointed it forward.
The instant Chief Irons dragged Sherry to the top of the ramp, Saki fired. The high-powered magnum round slammed into his crotch, dropping him to the ground in a screaming heap.
Without hesitation, she stepped forward, pinned him down with her foot, and delivered a final shot to the head.
She looked over to the wide-eyed Sherry and softened her tone. "Sorry you had to see that. I wasn't feeling very patient—otherwise I'd have killed him when you were out of sight."
She started walking down the ramp, Sherry nervously trailing behind her, clutching her arm.
Once they reached the gate to the police station parking garage, Saki grasped the bars with one hand. With a quick, brutal jerk, she forced the gate open. She and Sherry stepped inside, the child's eyes wide with both fear and awe.
"Oh no," Sherry whispered. "Where's Claire?"
Saki crouched slightly to meet her eyes and said, "She must've gone looking for a way out of here so she could look for you. Why don't we go to the main hall and wait for her there?"
Sherry hesitated, then nodded. "Okay… my name's Sherry, by the way."
Saki gave her a small smile. "I'm Saki. Nice to meet ya."
Sherry tilted her head, her nervousness mixing with curiosity. "Saki… you're really strong. And kind of scary."
Saki chuckled. "Thank you. I've worked pretty hard to get where I am."
Sherry giggled nervously, twiddling her fingers. "What should we do while we wait for Claire?"
Saki smirked and rested her sword on her shoulder. "I have a few ideas."
Together, they made their way to the main hall.
Claire's POV
Claire returned to the main hall to ask Marvin and Elliot for help, thinking they might know where Irons would take Sherry—only to freeze in her tracks. There, at the front desk, Sherry was calmly sitting and drawing in a notebook. Claire's eyes widened, and she rushed forward, wrapping her arms around the girl.
"Oh my God, Sherry! How did you get away?" Claire said, voice trembling with relief.
Sherry giggled softly, smiling up at her. "Saki saved me."
Claire blinked, pulling back slightly. "Saki? That girl Marvin was talking about? Where is she?"
"Making dinner," Sherry replied innocently.
Claire raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Making dinner…?"
She climbed the small flight of stairs, only to stop dead and drop her jaw at the sight before her. Marvin was manning a massive propane grill while wearing an apron, a spatula in hand and a look of complete seriousness on his face. Next to him, at another cooking setup, was a Japanese teenager working with equal focus and intensity.
That must be Saki, Claire thought, staring in shock.
Then Saki looked over her shoulder, her expression calm but commanding. "Almost done over here. How long on those steaks, chef?"
"Two minutes, chef," Marvin answered without hesitation.
"Wonderful. You need a drink?" Saki asked, adjusting a pan.
"The cola cold yet?" Marvin asked.
"Yep," Saki said.
Marvin held his hand up, and Saki tossed a can to him without even looking. He cracked it open and took a long, satisfying gulp before letting out a sigh.
Elliot walked up, rubbing his hands together. "Hey guys, when will food be done?"
Marvin's head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. "It'll be ready when it's fucking ready."
"How dare you interrupt us!" Saki barked in equal anger, slamming a pan down for emphasis.
Elliot flinched. "S-sorry. Oh, can you make my steak well done—"
Marvin immediately picked up a knife, his voice sharp and low. "I swear to God, Elliot… you say that shit to me again, and zombies will be the least of your worries. You get medium or nothing. Now get out of sight."
Eyes wide with terror, Elliot spun on his heel and ran as fast as he could.
Marvin shook his head, muttering as he flipped a steak. "Can you believe that shit? Well done… might as well have asked me to serve him steak-flavored rubber."
"The nerve of some people," Saki agreed, crossing her arms in annoyance.
Finally, Claire snapped out of her daze and shouted, "What the hell is going on?!"
Marvin turned to her, smiling as if nothing at all was strange about the scene. "Oh, Claire! Didn't see you there. Hope you're hungry—dinner will be ready soon."
Saki's POV
Saki and Marvin set the table together. With a flourish, Saki announced, "For tonight's dinner, we have steak, loaded baked potatoes, spaghetti, and—for those of you who shan't be named… cough Elliot cough—a side salad."
Marvin immediately shot Elliot a disappointed look, shaking his head. "Come on, man. This is why you were never invited to any cookouts."
Saki smirked and continued, "And for dessert, we've got banana pudding. Dig in, everyone."
As plates were passed around and everyone began eating, Claire looked down at her meal in amazement. "This is amazing and everything, but… shouldn't we be trying to get out of this town?"
Saki tilted her head, still calmly cutting her steak. "Well, how'd you get into town?"
"I drove," Claire said, her brows furrowing.
"Then drive out," Saki replied matter-of-factly, shrugging.
"It's not that simple," Claire argued.
"Apparently it is," Saki said flatly. "'Cause you got in with no issues."
Marvin set his fork down with a thoughtful look. "Me and Elliot heard of a way out under the station. We were trying to figure it out before all of you showed up."
"Yeah," Elliot chimed in quickly. "I gave all my notes to Leon. Haven't seen him for a while, though."
Marvin reached for his radio and pressed the button. "Leon, what's your location?"
After a few tense minutes, Leon's voice finally came through the static: "I'm in some kind of underground laboratory."
Marvin's eyes went wide, his tone shifting in surprise. "Oh shit—really?"
"Yeah," Leon's voice replied. "And there's some kind of train down here that leads out of the city. I just gotta figure out how to get it working."
Marvin leaned into the radio. "We'll come help you. We're on our way."
Turning back to the group, he straightened with purpose. "Alright, people. Looks like we've got a plan."
He led them to the statue at the back of the main hall and gestured at it. "We just gotta figure out how this opens."
"Yeah, we need some kind—" Elliot began, but he was cut off when Saki casually walked up to the statue.
Without a word, she balled her fist and started punching the floor in front of it. CRACK! Each blow splintered and shattered the tiles, breaking chunks of stone with sheer force. Everyone stared in shock as Saki continued, punch after punch, until she'd created a large gaping hole that revealed a hidden door.
She dusted herself off, stepped back, and with one swift kick, blasted the door open.
Without hesitation, she strode inside, tossing a glare over her shoulder. "Move your asses, people!"
That snapped everyone out of their daze. They scrambled to their feet and hurried after her, following her into the unknown.