24 Resident Evil 1 Part 1

Word count 10,577

July 24th, 1998.

Rebecca Chambers of S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team looked up blankly at the ceiling of the room she was in, a room that she used to rest and recover from the horrible night that she had somehow lived through. She was on a bed in a room where the rest of what's left of Bravo Team were going to rendezvous in, that she and Aeon had found in this mansion.

She had no idea how long she had slept, but considering how exhausted she had been the moment her head had touched the bed, it had probably been a while.

A quick look at a nearby clock confirmed it. She had slept for over 12 hours, and it was probably night time again.

Sighing due to the stress of last night, she once again considered recent events in her life.

When she and Aeon had arrived, they had found no trace of the rest of her team, and as such they had ultimately decided to just rest in this room.

Well, she rested, Aeon had left her a note in which he warned her that he was going to investigate this place a bit, which helped explain his absence when she woke up.

She didn't really worry about him, for she was certain nothing this place could hold could threaten him.

It may be strange to have such belief in a man she had literally met just the night before, but fighting through life or death situations had a way of quickly forging bonds between people.

She smiled slightly as she remembered the nightmare she had in her sleep, of a giant snake about to kill her… before Aeon showed up, giving her a shotgun, and calmly telling her to stop wasting time and to kill that monster already.

She snorted. Aeon dealing with his nightmares by literally blowing them up sounded exactly like the kind of crazy thing he'd do.

Her fingers clenched on the shotgun she had kept close at hand. After how well it has served her last night, she couldn't help but find comfort in its presence...

"Rebecca!"

She jumped, rolled onto her feet, and aimed her shotgun towards the door, before freezing.

"Richard!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with joy at finding one of her teammates still alive.

He blinked, looked at her shotgun aimed straight at him, and she jerked back, blushing slightly.

"Sorry about that. I am just a little on edge lately." she replied, gesturing to her surroundings as an explanation.

This mansion was not exactly all that safe after all, considering what kind of monsters were around… but she still needed to rest.

Richard nodded, his eyes looking over her to check for injuries.

Technically, he had been assigned to her as a sort of guardian in S.T.A.R.S., considering her young age and lack of experience.

Well, she thought dryly,I probably have more experience than him now, at least when it comes to monsters.

Seeing that she was alright physically, he nodded, but nonetheless asked,

"You're okay?"

She smiled. "I'm fine."

Then she sighed. "I'm not sure if you are aware, but… Edward's dead. The monsters out there got him last night."

Richard grimaced. "I see."

He slumped slightly. "It's not much better on my end either. We got attacked by those… things, and we had to split up. The rest of the team is either in hiding or…"

He trailed off.

Rebecca nodded sadly. This was what as she had expected… and feared.

"We just have to find Enrico." he declared. "He'll know what to do."

He chuckled, though there was little humor to be found.

"What a horrible first assignment, huh?" he said softly.

She grimaced slightly. That it was.

But it could have been a lot worse if Billy and Aeon hadn't been here, her mind pointed out, and she had to agree.

All things considered, she got really lucky to have both men with her during the events of last night.

"First, we have to get to some place safe." Richard continued.

She nodded, taking her weapons, ammo, and equipment with her.

Aeon had put a Magnum on top of his note for her, saying he had found it nearby and thought that she could use a better (and bigger) handgun just in case, which meant that she now had a shotgun, her S.T.A.R.S. handgun, a magnum, several grenades, and all the ammo for her various weapons that she could carry on her alongside several healing items.

Richard gave her a long glance when he noted all the weapons and equipment she had, but she didn't even blink as she stared back, and he eventually just turned around.

"Any idea where the captain could be?" she asked.

"It's Enrico. I'm sure he's fine..."

She didn't comment on the way he trailed off.

She shared his doubts, after all.

Their captain was good, very good…

But she just couldn't imagine him being on the level of someone like Aeon.

Maybe Billy, and even then she had her doubts on that, too.

Nothing else to do but go out and try to find out the hard way, though.

She took point, opening the door and looking out at the corridor beyond.

She took aim with her gun immediately, hard-won instincts taking over as she saw the zombies and one dog outside her room.

A few shots to the head, and one shotgun shot to the dog, and she kept going, Richard behind her.

She soon came across a window with a zombie banging on it from the outside, and promptly shot him in the head.

No need to tempt fate by hoping the window would hold.

The next corridor had a hole in the ground in the middle, and she mentally noted it as a possible escape route when she noticed that it opened on a path leading downwards into the ground.

Taking a nearby submachine gun, she checked it for ammo, nodding in satisfaction when it had a full magazine, and then used it to kill the giant spider at the next corner.

She did grimace at the number of bullets required to take the monster down, though.

Aeon and his grenade launcher would have come handy right now, she noted with a grimace.

"These spiders are everywhere!" Richard warned her.

She grunted.

"Let's take another path, then!"

She opened a nearby door… revealing two giant spiders and a zombie.

Not wanting to waste more bullets, she took out a grenade and threw it in the room, before closing the door and backing off.

Once the explosion went off, she went back, killed another zombie, and checked the room, which was where the bar area was.

Richard did the same, before grimacing at the fact only monsters and zombies could be found.

"I had hoped the Captain would be here…"

"Well he isn't. So let's head back." she replied, firing at more zombies and a couple giant spiders coming their way.

As she tried to go into the opposite side of the corridor leading to the bar however, an impressive number of zombies and giant spiders, probably attracted to the noise of battle, appeared and began to come closer to them.

She grunted, looked at the incoming horde with a scowl, and then looked back at the hole she had noticed before in the ground.

"Richard! Go into that hole and let's get out of here!"

"Rebecca, you-"

"No time to argue! If we stay here, we're dead! Now move!"

They jumped into the hole, but when they reached the bottom, her eyes widened when she saw the two giant spiders in the caves waiting for them.

Taking her shotgun in hand, she shot the first when it had yet to move, before kicking the other mid-flight when it tried to jump on her.

Shooting it in its now visible underbelly, she looked back at Richard.

"Come on, we need to run!"

And with that, she ran onwards, while the sounds of monsters moving echoed behind them.

There might be a nest down there… damnit, I hate spiders… she thought with a scowl.

Going forward, they soon shoot down a group of zombies, before being attacked by bats.

After dealing with them, they noticed a ladder going upwards.

"We should be able to go above ground with that." Richard noted.

Rebecca nodded, though she was hardly optimistic that things would be better above ground.

Potentially the opposite, in fact…

No sooner had she left the ladder that her fears proved true, as they were attacked by zombies, zombie dogs, bloodthirsty crows, and even poisonous snakes.

Submachine gun in hand, she coldly killed them all, Richard doing his best to help with his handgun.

Once the area was cleared, they took a nearby elevator, only to arrive in a courtyard where they were attacked by…

"Giant bees now?! Really?!" exclaimed Richard.

"Everything in this place wants to kill us, if you haven't noticed. Everything." she replied.

A fact proven when even more zombie dogs, bloodthirsty crows, and zombies showed up.

Oh, and unnaturally aggressive snakes, too.

"This place is insane!" shouted Richard.

She snorted at the same time as she shot her shotgun straight into the open maw of a zombie dog.

"You noticed that only now?!"

Richard cursed when he had to get down to avoid a bloodthirsty crow diving for his head.

Rebecca kept on shooting at more monsters for a good 30 seconds as the damn things just kept on coming.

"There are monsters everywhere!"

"Then we are going into the building again!"

"There are more inside, too!" she replied.

"It's easier to mount a defense in a building. And we might find other survivors, too."

With a grunt on her part, they fought their way into the mansion, Richard slamming the door behind him.

"Well, we made it." she said softly.

She took a moment to worry about Billy and Aeon, before discarding that train of thought.

Billy was no doubt on his way to one of Aeon's safehouses now, and Aeon was… well, Aeon.

She tried to imagine his reaction to all the monsters outside.

And then she held back a snort when she imagined Aeon saying "Good! We're surrounded! That means we can fire everywhere without worrying about shots being wasted!"

Shaking her head, she turned the corner-

And immediately she fired her shotgun as her instincts took charge when a Hunter tried jumping on her.

The Hunter stumbled back, and she stepped forward, slamming the shotgun into his face and firing again.

Stepping over the now headless corpse of the Hunter, she grunted.

Hunters. Fucking great…

"Behind us!" came Richard's shout, and she turned, shooting at a Hunter who came out of a side-room.

Once it was dead, she sighed.

"You doing alright?" wondered Richard, throwing her a concerned look.

She smiled back. "I'm alright. Let's just keep going."

After dealing with more snakes that were inside the mansion, Richard grunted.

"It's going to be a long night… Something feels… wrong."

She glanced at him.

"Richard…"

"Hey, don't forget. We are elite members of S.T.A.R.S. If we remember our training and keep our cool, we'll be fine."

She looked at him.

Those words would be more reassuring if he wasn't speaking them as if to convince himself of it.

Still, she smiled at him. No reason to point that out.

"Yeah, you're right." she replied instead.

The next corridor had more zombies and dogs, and once again she was thankful for her shotgun's ability to quickly deal with them at close range.

Richard was struggling more than her due to his lack of firepower.

Biting her lip, she gave him the submachine gun.

His eyes widened.

"Rebecca, you-"

"Save it, Richard. A handgun just isn't enough to deal with these things. So take this instead and don't complain."

Richard stared at her for a long moment, before taking the gun.

"You know, I'm the one who is supposed to watch over you." he replied, a bit of amusement in his voice.

Rebecca shrugged. "I'd rather be able to take care of myself, if at all possible. No offense."

He chuckled. "None taken."

And with Richard now better armed, they kept going.

Not long after, they came across the entrance of the mansion, though it refused to open.

"It won't budge!" she growled.

Richard cursed. "Damn. I thought we finally made it."

He sighed.

"Well, guess we'll have to find another way out."

Rebecca nodded grimly, before glancing his way.

"You know all those bizarre incidents that have been happening lately?"

Richard grunted. "Yeah, you don't have to say it. I know that they are related to this, too."

"Those were no ordinary murders. This… all of this… is because of Umbrella. It is their experiments that caused this."

Richard looked at her. "You're certain?"

She nodded grimly. "Yes. I met with someone investigating Umbrella before coming to this mansion. He… revealed a lot of what was really going on here… and across various facilities in the world."

Richard bit his lip for a moment, before shaking his head.

"Doesn't matter right now. For now, our main mission is survival. Having all the information in the world won't do us any good if we're dead."

She frowned. "I know, but-"

"Don't worry, Rebecca. We'll deal with all of this later. But right now, we have to focus on our job." he assured her.

With that said, they kept going, walking up the stairs and killing any zombies or monsters attacking them.

Soon however, Rebecca looked out a nearby window and saw two people walk out of the mansion and into the forest.

"Who's that?" wondered Richard.

"They're going into the forest." she pointed out, frowning.

Were these people Umbrella? One of them was carrying something big on his shoulder…

Richard shook his head.

"Unbelievable. I wonder what they could be up to?"

She scowled. If they were Umbrella, the answer was nothing good.

They kept looking at the duo until they went out of sight, at which point Richard turned away.

"Let's move."

She nodded. "Yeah."

Entering a nearby door, they found themselves on a balcony outside, where they were attacked by a Hunter and then by crows coming out from inside the building.

Killing the Hunter, the crows managed to take her by surprise. She stumbled backwards, losing her balance.

Richard shouted her name as she went down before firing a few times at the crows.

Once they were dead or gone, he went up to her.

"Rebecca! You alright?"

She nodded, before sighing.

"It's probably just us now..." she said softly.

Well, Aeon too who was probably slaughtering his way somewhere inside this place, knowing him.

"Help will come." replied Richard after a moment. "I'm sure our Captain is here somewhere."

He smiled. "So don't give up hope. Besides, I'll back you up."

He helped her get back on her feet.

"And with me around, what could go wrong?"

She smiled slightly, though internally she worried that he just jinxed them-

She froze, noticing a shadow over them.

Looking up, she took Richard and jumped on the side with him, a massive snake like the one in her nightmare crashing on the ground where they stood.

Getting back on their feet, they looked at the giant snake, who stared back with hunger in its eyes.

"What is that thing?!" shouted Richard.

"Something we should be running away from!" she replied.

Richard took another look at the giant hissing snake and nodded.

"Agreed! Run!"

And so they ran, the giant snake hot on their heels even as they shot it repeatedly in the face while doing so.

Even as they went through corridors after corridors, she noticed the only weapon that really bothered it was her shotgun, since it took the bullets from Richard's gun like a sponge did with water, and she wondered if some of its bullet wounds healed up almost as fast as it gained them.

Finally, they entered a library, their guns pointed at the entrance they came by…

But nothing appeared?

They kept looking at it for a time, guns at the ready, but when nothing moved they slowly relaxed.

And that's when everything went wrong.

"Aaaargh!"

Rebecca jumped, her eyes widening in shock when Richard screamed, and they widened further when she saw him getting caught in the mouth of the snake.

Somehow, it took a different entrance into the library and sneaked on Richard when they had expected a frontal assault.

Raising her shotgun, she hesitated when she saw that Richard was still firmly caught in the snake's mouth, before deciding to shoot at its body instead of its head.

As she feared, its body's toughness was high enough to be incredibly resistant to gunshots, but highly resistant did not mean completely immune.

The snake began thrashing around, though she winced when some of Richard's blood went flying at her.

Then Richard shot his submachine gun straight into the mouth of the giant snake, which promptly threw him away, her teammate leaving a bloody trail on the ground as he bounced to a stop.

"Richard!" she shouted, before looking back at the snake.

It hissed at her, and with a scowl, she shot it in the face with her shotgun, and then when it slithered away while her shotgun ran empty, she took out the Magnum that Aeon left for her and shot that, too.

Both guns left bloody wounds on the monster, but sadly it still managed to get away.

Running toward Richard the moment the monster had disappeared, she knelt by his side, wincing as she took sight of his wounds.

The way that monster attacked him had left a massive wound over his left arm and torso, and there was something about those wounds that she didn't like.

Mostly because she heavily suspected him to be infected by snake venom now…

Richard chuckled weakly.

"I messed up good."

He sighed.

"Some backup I made."

"Richard…" she whispered, swallowing hard.

Was he going to die, like Edward did? And if so, would she have to…?

He looked up at her, smiling weakly.

"Don't make that face at me…"

He gasped, grimacing.

"We still… got to have hope…" he said softly. "Someone… will come and rescue us… I know it…"

He grunted in pain, eyes closing as a grimace of agony twisted his face, though he was thankfully still alive… for now.

She stared at him… and then clenched her fists.

She hated how helpless she felt, seeing Richard laying there, wounded and bleeding.

She had to be stronger.

She had to fight and survive, no matter what happened.

She'll prove that she had what it takes to survive.

No, to thrive, much like Aeon was capable of.

Despite the training she got… despite her intelligence… despite all that she had survived, it still wasn't enough.

Not by a long shot.

So be it, then.

She knew what needed to be done.

Once again, the only path forward became even more obvious.

She'll join Aeon, learn everything he could teach her and become a Hunter like him.

She will become strong, strong enough to not only keep herself safe, but others too.

Umbrella… Umbrella and other corporations like them were diseases in the world, diseases that needed to be eradicated.

So that's what she'll do.

She'll fight them, in every way possible.

Until the world was safe.

Or until she died trying.

Aeon had seemingly already sworn his life to that duty, after all.

She would not be found lacking.

Not by him… and not by anyone.

She began to help Richard, bandaging his wounds with a grim, determined expression on her face.

As Aeon himself said…

Never again.

Jill Valentine, B&E specialist of S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team, was having what she could only politely declare as a "really fucking shitty night."

First, her team had gone after Bravo Team, only to find their crashed helicopter with the pilot dead inside.

Then, they lost one of her teammates to a bunch of zombie dogs who tore him apart before her eyes.

After having barely survived running out of the woods and finding shelter inside a nearby mansion, they discovered that her friend and teammate Chris Redfield had gone missing during their mad dash for safety.

With only Wesker, Barry, and herself accounted for, she and Barry had separated from Wesker to investigate the nearby gunshots, hoping to find Chris.

Good news, it wasn't her friend she found.

Bad news, another one of her teammates was dead, having been killed and eaten by a zombie straight out of a horror film.

Oh, and that monster took several bullets to the chest without even a grunt, to the point that she had to run back to Barry, who had a Magnum, in order to kill it.

The fact it still took several shots to the chest before it died did not help.

And then, because obviously the bad news couldn't just stop there, her team leader, Wesker, had disappeared.

Leaving her and Barry no choice but to split up and investigate on their own.

She held back a sigh.

The mission hadn't started for more than an hour and already several of her teammates were dead, and several more were M.I.A.

So yeah, a "really fucking shitty night" was something of an understatement right now.

Stopping at the end of a corridor, she noticed a dagger on a table in front of her and took it.

At this point, she had a bad feeling that she was going to need every advantage possible to survive this night.

Turning around, she turned the corner in the corridor and-

"Shit." she cursed, backing away slowly from yet another of those human monsters… those... zombies…

Stumbling backward, she fell on her ass with a surprised grunt, before scrambling back on her feet again.

Stepping back, she grimaced when her back hit the table at the end of the corridor.

There was only one way out, the one this thing was currently blocking.

And she hesitated to shoot it after the number of bullets she wasted trying to do so last time-

*BANG!*

She froze, before blinking in surprise when the zombie collapsed forward, its head reduced to a mass of gore.

And behind it stood an incredibly tall man with a Magnum in each hand, his only visible physical features being two dark eyes staring coldly at the zombie, as the rest of his body was almost completely hidden inside a long black overcoat and a tricorn hat.

His eyes flickered to her, and she tensed slightly.

She could tell when she was being analyzed as a threat… and she wasn't sure what to think of the way he visibly dismissed her as a threat.

Oh it was subtle, but she was experienced enough to spot the way he had relaxed a fraction when his assessment of her was over.

The fact he had managed to kill that monster with only one shot, even when his guns were Magnums, did not help.

"Shoot them in the head."

She blinked. "What?"

His eyes glanced down at the dead monster.

"The zombies. Always shoot them in the head. It's the only way to be sure you killed them, a bullet or two in the head."

She blinked again, before looking down.

Well, now that he mentioned it, both Barry and her had shot them in the chest…

The man turned around and began to walk away.

"You can come with me if you want, do whatever you like." He said over his shoulder.

After a moment of indecision, she followed him.

If nothing else, she had a lot of questions, and this guy might have the answers.

She could really do with some right about now.

Looking at him again as they walked side by side, she once again marveled at how tall this guy was.

He had to be over six and a half feet tall, at least!

Still, that wasn't what mattered here. She-

"Jill Valentine of S.T.A.R.S., I presume?" he asked, glancing at her.

She frowned. "Do I know you?"

"We've never met, but I did investigate S.T.A.R.S. a while back because of your connections to Umbrella. Also, you quite literally have your logo on your beret."

She opened her mouth, closed it, and then opened it again.

"What do you mean, you investigated S.T.A.R.S.? And what's that about Umbrella?" she questioned, disregarding the comment about her beret.

He glanced at her. "We are currently in the Spencer Mansion, belonging to one of the founders of Umbrella Corporation. It also serves as a research facility for the development of B.O.W.'s, or biological weapons of war if you prefer. They create those weapons thanks to what they call the 't-Virus,' which heavily mutates anything living it comes into contact with, and can even bring back the dead as zombies. That thing I killed back there? That's one of those victims infected by the t-Virus. There was recently an outbreak of the virus in this region you see, since one of the more… intelligent B.O.W.'s that Umbrella created and then discarded came back for revenge on Umbrella… and all of humanity."

He paused. "Don't worry, it's dead. Me and one of the members of Bravo Team, Rebecca Chambers, made sure of that."

Jill blinked rapidly at the deluge of information.

That was…

"What the actual fuck?" she replied, because seriously, what?

He actually chuckled at her reaction, the smug bastard!

"You asked. Also, while we are on the topic of shocking revelations, your Captain works for Umbrella, always has, and he deliberately sent you all here to die in order to get combat data that he can then sell to other companies. So if you were wondering why he disappeared at the first opportunity, that's why."

Jill gaped at him.

"You- you-"

He opened his coat, and then took out a bunch of papers.

"Here's my proof."

Jill swiftly took the papers, and then began reading while he kept watch on their surroundings for hostiles.

She slowed down and then stopped mid-corridor as she kept on reading the evidence, all the documents showing the logo of Umbrella as well as legitimate signatures from her Captain among many others, the implications showing an unsettling picture of a decades-old corporate conspiracy and countless crimes against humanity, while her dread and rage grew.

And then she finished reading.

"Those sons of bitches!" she cursed.

Then she took a few deep breaths, and turned to look at the man whose name she still didn't know.

Time to rectify that.

"Who are you?" she demanded.

He lowered the top of his coat, revealing the most impressive man she had ever seen in her life if she was honest with herself.

A fact she would be interested in more if the latest revelations didn't make her want to kill something, or someone. Preferably Wesker, but this guy might work if his answers didn't satisfy her.

"The name's Aeon. As for what I am doing here, well let's just say that I have been investigating Umbrella for… a while, now. This place isn't the only one belonging to them I've been to, only the most recent. And after discovering all the monsters they created… and all the monstrous things they have done… Well, I've decided that someone needed to gather proof of Umbrella's evils as much as possible, so that on the day where that evil corporation can finally be brought to justice, the courts of law have all the evidence necessary to completely and utterly destroy them. So here I am, Aeon the Good Hunter, Monster Hunter extraordinaire, and investigator of Evil."

He smirked.

"Now, are we done with all the exposition? I've got stuff to do, after all."

She grunted, before looking at the papers in her hands.

"Why tell me all of this? And why so much info at once?"

He hummed.

"For your second question, because this place is a death trap, and if we are separated, I'd rather you have the knowledge required to survive… and that includes not turning your coat to any traitors, too."

She scowled, but nodded.

"As for your first? Well, you were sent into a death trap. I know how that feels, and if you ended up dying before the night is over, you should at least know why."

She swallowed. "That's fucking generous of you." she replied sarcastically, though she had to admit, he wasn't exactly wrong.

He shrugged.

"That, and I see potential in those of you S.T.A.R.S. members who aren't dead yet. If you survive the night, you'll very likely want to take revenge on Umbrella for trying to kill you and for all the other horrors they did, so I'm shamelessly giving you a recruitment pitch. And considering you just got betrayed, I feel that going for blunt honesty would be appreciated."

He smirked. "Am I wrong?"

She snorted.

"Well, you're certainly a bold one."

She looked down at the papers still held tightly in her hands.

She sighed deeply, rubbing a hand over her face.

"But then again, I can't say that you're wrong."

She looked down at the documents.

Proof that Wesker was part of Umbrella from his youth, proof of monstrous human experiments in the name of creating biological weapons of war, corporate leaders who are obviously megalomaniacs, an impressive amount of data showing just how utterly corrupt the authorities of Raccoon City were, and so, so much more just… casually handed to her.

And why not? She thought darkly. After all, what did this guy have to fear, when her own boss was trying to get her and her team killed?

She looked at him in the eye.

"What do you want?"

"You and your team's help and support against Umbrella and any corporations who do the same kind of shit that they do."

The reply was instant and blunt.

Despite herself, she was starting to appreciate that.

The lack of bullshit on his part was certainly appreciated after learning she's been played for a fool for a while now.

She gave him the papers back, and nodded.

"Well, I'll probably not keep my job after tonight even if I survive, so I suppose I can think about your… proposal. First things first, Aeon."

She narrowed her eyes at him.

"You are here to investigate this place, correct?"

He nodded.

"Good. Then I'll join you. I want to see with my own eyes if what you showed me is true, or if it's all just an impressive load of bullshit. Got it?"

He smiled.

"Welcome to the Hunt, Jill Valentine. Steel yourself, because it is going to be a very long night indeed. But if it is truth you seek… then by all means, stay close to me and I can promise you this, you will find all the truths you desire... and so much more."

And then he turned around and kept walking, putting the papers back in his pockets.

"So, are you coming?"

She followed.

She still had many questions and doubts.

She was, apparently, stuck in a real-life horror story, filled with monsters and betrayal.

There was a (very attractive) guy who may or may not lead her to salvation… or damnation, with said guy somehow mastering the ability to be both incredibly blunt yet equally mysterious at the same time.

But God damn it, she was also very fucking pissed, and completely lacked any fuck left to give after seeing several of her teamates die in less than an hour and learning it was supposedly all because of her team leader.

So she was going to find out the truth, shoot any fucker that stands in the way in the head, and get out of this apparent death trap with what's left of her team.

And then?

Well. If what she had just been told was the truth, she might just take this guy's offer of revenge with a smile.

She just hoped that Chris was still alive.

She saw him as a good friend, and she respected him greatly for his marksmanship and overall skills as a soldier, and she knew that he respected Wesker deeply.

If he ends up dead because of the very man he looked up to…

Well, Wesker better hope that some monster gets their hands on him before she does.

Because if she had anything to say about it, his death would be neither quick nor painless…

It would be the exact opposite.

Chris Redfield entered the next room of this insane mansion he found himself in, closing the door behind him and looking around the bathroom he found himself in.

His gaze stopped on the bathtub filled with water, frowning.

Why was it filled with water? There was hardly anyone in this place-

The bathtub suddenly exploded, water splashing everywhere as a zombie rose from where it was hidden.

Eyes wide, he shot it once, twice, thrice in the chest, and yet it hardly seemed to care.

Then a whisper that he took no conscious notice of made him look at the rotting head of the thing, and in desperation, he shot the monster in the head, once, then twice.

The second shot blew his brain out, and the thing fell, dead at last.

Chris staggered on the nearby bathroom sink, staring at the corpse before him.

Taking a few calming breaths, he sighed.

"Note to self: Shoot them in the head. Always shoot them in the head."

Equally unnoticed by him, a short, inhuman creature looking up at him from the ground nodded in satisfaction, before disappearing into white mist, its message delivered.

As they kept walking through the corridors of this place, Jill kept thinking of everything her new companion had told her.

And there was one thing that she needed to ask.

"Aeon, you mentioned working with one of Bravo's team members, Rebecca Chambers. Where is she?"

He smiled. "Rebecca? I left her in a bedroom in another part of the mansion. After the events of last night, she badly needed some rest. Though she probably is back on her feet by now."

She frowned. "Wasn't she a rookie? Are you sure it is safe to leave her alone in a place like this?"

He chuckled. "Don't worry about her. She learned a lot last night about fighting these monsters, I'm not really worried about her."

He paused.

"The fact that I left her with her S.T.A.R.S. handgun, a Magnum, a shotgun and several grenades, plus enough ammo to give her enough firepower to fight a small war on her own also helps."

She grunted. That was… admittedly a pretty respectable arsenal, that was certain.

Speaking of arsenal…

"Yes, that is, in fact, a grenade launcher on my back." he said with amusement as he caught her staring at it.

"Is that really required to fight these things?" she asked, because while they were tough, a grenade launcher was still-

"Oh, absolutely. Regular zombies are fine, except in high numbers obviously, but the true monsters of this place? Those, you need to have better have heavier weaponry to deal with, or you are in for a bad time."

She pursed her lips.

"Monsters like those dogs outside?"

He snorted.

"Nope. they're much bigger, and all around deadlier."

She grimaced. Those dogs killed one of her team and almost killed her and Chris, if there were worse things in this place…

Yeah, staying close to the guy with two Magnums and a grenade launcher was starting to sound more and more like an excellent decision all around.

Finally, they took a corner to where Kenneth's body was, and she flinched slightly at seeing her teammate half-eaten corpse on the ground.

Sighing, she stepped closer-

At least until Aeon's left arm barred her way.

She glared at him.

"What?"

His gaze stayed on her teammate's body.

"Wait for it."

She opened her mouth, ready to demand an explanation…

When Kenneth's corpse jerked.

She froze.

Slowly, it stood up, before staring at them both with milky, white eyes.

Eyes full of animalistic hunger.

"No…" she whispered, horrified.

"That's what the virus does to anyone infected. Unless their head is damaged or their bodies completely burned, this is the end result."

She swallowed at Aeon's cold, even slightly sympathetic voice, his eyes not leaving the zombified form of Kenneth as he began moving towards them.

"Do you want to grant him mercy, or should I?"

She jumped at Aeon's voice, staring wide eyes at him… before looking back at her former teammate.

Swallowing again, she raised her gun towards him.

"I'm sorry, Kenneth."

And then she fired.

A few shots in the head was all it took, and she was left staring at the headless corpse of her fellow S.T.A.R.S. member.

Aeon knelt by the side of his corpse, taking something that Kenneth apparently held.

She gently took it, seeing it was some kind of video recording.

Putting it in one of her pockets, she walked forward.

"Let's keep going. There's… there's nothing left to do here."

Aeon silently followed her.

For a time, they kept walking in silence.

Finally, she glanced at her companion.

"Did you ever have to…?"

Aeon turned grim.

She closed her eyes.

"I see. Guess that I don't need to ask why you want Umbrella dealt with, do I?"

He chuckled, though there was little humor in his voice.

"Never again." was his firm reply.

Jill's grip on her gun tightened.

The screams of her teammate Joseph as he was torn apart by those zombie dogs flashed through her mind, alongside the mindless hunger in Kenneth's dead eyes.

"Agreed." she answered softly.

And with that said, they kept going.

Coming across a staircase with a corpse nearby, Aeon's didn't even blink before shooting said corpse in the head.

Jill stared, but eventually decided to say nothing.

After what happened with Kenneth, the logic behind his action was clear enough.

"Should I do that to every corpse I see?" she asked.

Aeon nodded. "If you've got the ammo and you have to come close to them. They may be mindless for the most part, but some of them will try to play dead to get a better chance to strike at you. Either by laying on the ground and waiting for an opportunity to strike, or by deliberately falling on the ground when they take too much damage to make you think you've killed them… except you haven't. So double-tapping any corpse you come across, no matter how dead they may look like, is wise. I've seen ones lacking half of their body dragging themselves forward with just their arms, to give you an idea of how tough these bastards are to anything besides headshots and fire."

She grimaced. No wonder shooting them in the torso didn't do anything, if they could keep on living with half their damn body gone…

Eventually, they came across a corridor with two zombies.

Shooting them in the head, it only took a few bullets before they were dead for good.

Still…

"They are pretty slow." she commented.

Aeon nodded. "They are… or more specifically, those are. There are some who are faster and stronger, so keep your guard up."

"Understood. Any way of spotting those?"

He hummed. "If their skin is red, that means they'll be stronger and more aggressive. They'll require more bullets to put down, too."

She blinked but agreed.

Red skin, huh? Well, that should be easy enough to spot...

Then she blinked again as Aeon took a nearby arrow placed on a table, examined it, and then put it in one of his pockets.

He shrugged at her look.

"Umbrella's facilities have insane architecture. You'll see what I mean eventually."

She frowned but said nothing, even when he plucked a blue gemstone from the hand of a statue further ahead.

Though she didn't have to wonder for long, as when they made their way to a cemetery outside the mansion (and she didn't really want to think about why that cemetery was there, considering some of the documents he showed her) Aeon put the tip of the arrow he picked up in a hole on a grave, causing said grave to open and reveal a set of downward steps.

She stared at the newly revealed passage.

"What the fuck?"

Aeon huffed in laughter. "Told you."

And then he went down.

Following him, they found themselves in an underground room with four statues and a coffin suspended by four chains.

Aeon took one look at the place, nodded, picked up a book on a nearby pedestal and then walked back up.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Those four statues hold the chains for the coffin. We find whatever artifacts are supposed to go on them, we bring the coffin down, and get what's inside." he replied calmly.

She blinked.

"You think that there is something of value in that coffin?"

He gave her an amused look.

"Oh, my sweet summer child, you really have no idea on the insane ways of how Umbrella's greatest minds think, do you?"

She sighed. "I probably don't want to know, do I?"

He laughed. "Sorry, you're too late for that now! You've entered the rabbit hole Alice, and this one goes deep indeed!"

She grunted. "And the book?"

He turned it over, revealing the key hidden underneath.

"You know what? Nevermind. Let's just keep going, I want to shoot something in the face."

With one last smirk, he led her back almost all the way to where they had first met, using the key on a previously locked door.

One of the doors further ahead was locked to, but that one she used the lockpick that Barry gave her to open it.

Once on the other side, she flinched when she saw more zombie dogs barking at her, though they were thankfully held back by a strong steel fence.

"Shoot them."

She glanced at Aeon.

"Shoot them. They can't attack us here, but they might later on. No point leaving an enemy alive to try and attack us later."

She did as he requested.

And she had to admit, being able to shoot those damn dogs from where they couldn't hurt her was satisfying.

The screams of Joseph as dogs much like those tore him apart would haunt her for a long time, she feared.

Once they were all dead, Aeon nodded, a look of sheer satisfaction on his face that she could tell that there was a story there.

"You don't like dogs?" she wondered, trying to learn more of her mysterious new companion.

For once, he actually scowled, a dark look in his eyes.

And then he began muttering about a… giant dog on fire?

And lava?

What?

"Should I be worried about giant dogs on fire or lava?" she wondered, a little freaked out by the thought.

Regular zombie dogs were bad enough, thank you very much!

He grunted. "No. I took care of it… eventually."

He scowled, before muttering. "Though I swear if Umbrella creates one, screw holding back, I'll bring out the Holy Moonlight Sword to wipe the damned things from existence."

Then he went to pick up… chemicals for plants?

No question, Jill, she thought. You probably don't want to know.

The next room they came across was a bathroom where they found an already dead zombie.

Aeon looked at him curiously, before taking a bullet out of the torso of the body.

She grimaced, though he seems completely oblivious to her discomfort.

He hummed, studying the bullet with interest.

"Say Jill, among the surviving members of your team, who uses their S.T.A.R.S. approved handgun, and who uses a different weapon?"

She blinked, coming closer to look at the bullet in his hand.

As she did, she understood what he meant.

This was a bullet like one found in her gun, which meant…

"Either Wesker… or my friend Chris. Chris Redfield." she answered, looking at the bullet with hopes that it belonged to the second.

Aeon nodded.

"Then it appears that your friend might still be alive. If Wesker had been there, he would have known to shoot for the head from the start, after all, so this probably belongs to someone else."

She smiled, relieved. "Chris is one of the best amongst S.T.A.R.S. I wouldn't be surprised if he was still alive somewhere."

Aeon let the bullet fall to the ground, before nodding at her.

"Then let's keep going."

The next room they investigated had a shotgun, and Jill eagerly claimed it for herself.

"That'll certainly come in handy." she declared with a smile.

"Agreed." replied Aeon, though his eyes looked suspiciously at where the shotgun was placed on the wall.

Walking back through the path they had taken, as this was a dead end, they had just closed the door of the room where the shotgun was placed before the ceiling began descending on top of them.

Jill stared in shock at the trap.

"Oh God… what did I do now?"

"The shotgun was a trap." replied Aeon, surprisingly calmly under the circumstances. "I should have known that 'click' sound I heard was the trap activating… well, whatever. Let's get out of here, shall we?"

Jill, who was already at the door, shouted in panic. "I'm trying! The door won't budge!"

"Allow me."

And with that, he took her by the shoulder, forcibly moved her out of the way with shocking ease, and then kicked the door.

Jill flinched when it promptly exploded outwards into a thousand wooden pieces, though before she could say anything Aeon had already bought both of them out of the room.

"There we go." he said, still as calm as ever.

She stared at him.

"Just how strong are you? And what kind of experience do you have that a trap ceiling seeking to crush us didn't even phase you?"

He grinned at her. "Yes."

She blinked. "What-"

"Jill!"

She turned, eyes widening at the sight of Barry, who was staring at her, then at Aeon, then at the trapped room, then back at her.

He blinked. "How did you not get turned into a sandwich? And who is this guy?"

Aeon and she snorted. "Really? Me getting turned into a sandwich? That's your reaction to what just happened?" she replied.

He shrugged. "In my defense, I'm not used to seeing one of my teammates nearly crushed by a descending ceiling. And as for my other question?" he asked, glancing at Aeon.

"I'm Aeon. I'm here to investigate Umbrella. I trust that you saw for yourself the results of their work all over this place?" Aeon answered.

Barry grunted. "If you are talking about those monsters all over the mansion, yes I have."

"Barry… Apparently, Wesker is part of Umbrella, always has been! He deliberately sent us all to die, that bastard!" she declared, her rage at her captain apparent betrayal still very strong.

Barry blinked, taking a step back.

"What?"

Aeon took out the documents he gave her and offered them to Barry to read.

Her teammate took them and began reading, a scowl growing harder the more he read.

When he was finished, he gave the papers back to Aeon, a furious look on his face.

"Jill. How much trust do you put on what I just read?"

She glanced at Aeon, frowning. "Not sure. But it certainly answers a lot of questions I had since arriving here. So I'm going to keep following this guy around, and I'll see if what he said is true or not with my own eyes."

Barry nodded, before sighing.

"To think Umbrella could be so evil…"

"To be fair, the plot to have you killed for combat data has nothing to do with Umbrella. This plot has to do with Wesker planning to go rogue and wanting to use you S.T.A.R.S. as his guinea pigs. Umbrella would rather have none of you lot be there to see all this, after all." replied Aeon.

Barry flinched, looking with wide eyes at him, and she frowned.

What-

"What do you mean Wesker went rogue? He isn't working for Umbrella? But then, what he said about my family-"

Barry froze, paling.

Jill's eyes narrowed.

"What was that about Wesker and your family, Barry?"

He glanced at her, then at Aeon, swallowing-

And then his gun came up.

Stepping forward, she disarmed him and then pointed his gun at him.

She growled. "Talk. I already saw several of my teammates die in the last hour, and at least one other seems to be responsible for it. So you better talk, Barry, because I'm not in the mood for any bullshit tonight."

He swallowed, gaze flickering to her and Aeon equally, both of them looking grimly at him.

Finally, he slumped, eyes closing.

"I'm sorry, Jill. Wesker came to see me before the mission, telling me that if I didn't want my family to die, I needed to work for him… Or else. I thought… I thought that he was working under orders from Umbrella, so…"

He looked at Aeon. "But you said he went rogue?"

Aeon nodded. "As far as I know, this outbreak has convinced Wesker that Umbrella was going to burn, as its secrets will finally come to light. So I really doubt that Umbrella has anything to do with Wesker right now, because they are scrambling to try and control this outbreak, and Wesker himself is just about to jump ship. As such, I am… extremely doubtful that anything Wesker told you was true. And let me guess, he told you all that just before the mission, so that you wouldn't be able to contact your family to check on them?"

Barry nodded.

Aeon grunted. "There you go. Wesker was bluffing, using Umbrella's name for his own ends."

Barry digested that news for a moment… before cursing viciously.

Jill snorted, lowering the gun in her hand somewhat.

"So Barry, what now? You are as much a victim as anyone else here."

He nodded. "Wesker can go get fucked. The only reason I obeyed was that he told me it was either that, or I never see my family again, but if he is lying… Well, as I said. Fuck Wesker."

Jill smirked, before giving him his gun back.

Barry took it, looking at her hesitantly.

"Jill… I'm sorry."

She sighed. "Don't worry about it. You always made it clear how important your family was to you. The fault's on Wesker, not you."

She turned to look at Aeon. "Well, I can't say I trust you completely yet, but you seem to have been truthful so far. So I'll keep your offer in mind, though there are a lot of questions I'll want answered once we get out of this place."

Aeon grinned. "I told you. If it is truth you want, you'll get it. Just be aware that you might not like the answers you'll get." he replied, and his gaze flickered towards Barry for a second.

She grunted. "Maybe, but I'd still prefer knowledge to ignorance, especially when my life is on the line."

She turned back to Barry. "So, what are you going to do now?"

He opened his mouth, but Aeon spoke first.

"He should try and appear as if he was still listening to Wesker's orders at least for the most part. After all, the more confident Wesker is in believing that everything is going according to his plan, the longer he'll wait before making a move himself. And having to deal with the infected on top of someone like Wesker trying to kill us in a place like this would get ugly fast."

Jill grimaced. He wasn't wrong.

If Wesker actually tried to kill them, while they were stuck in a death trap like this one…

She looked at Barry, who grimaced too but nodded.

There would be time to confront the traitorous bastard later.

For now, they had to focus on survival.

"Do you guys know where Chris is?" questioned Barry.

Jill shook her head, though she smiled slightly.

"No, but we came across a dead zombie we think died at Chris' hands so we are hopeful he is still alive." she declared, before explaining what they had found and why they believed that Chris was still alive.

Barry nodded.

"In that case, you guys go on ahead. I'll go find Chris and warn him about Wesker."

She pursed her lips. "Barry…"

He held up a hand. "Please, Jill. It's the least I can do after knowingly leading us all into a death trap."

She stared at him for a moment, but seeing the mix of determination and guilt on his face, sighed and agreed.

They thus separated again, Barry trying to find Chris to warn him about Wesker, and Aeon and herself trying to find more proof of Umbrella's crimes, find Chris themselves, and hopefully find a safe way out of this place.

They eventually found a room with a dog whistle and a memo speaking of an important object being hidden inside the collar of a dog, and she grimaced at the news.

"Dogs. Why did it have to be dogs?"

Aeon actually snickered at that.

"Trust me, dogs are evil. I am just glad that someone else seems to get it!"

She glanced at him with amusement.

"You really don't like dogs, do you? You can deal with zombies, monsters, and trapped rooms without a blink, but the moment dogs get involved, you start grumbling."

He grunted. "Bad experiences with them. Far too many bad experiences."

She shook her head, but in her mind, she couldn't blame him.

Not after tonight.

Not after seeing Joseph being torn apart like that.

With her good mood now gone, they kept going, their paths eventually crossing with Barry's again.

Barry turned, pointing his gun at them, and she tensed… but a moment later he sighed and relaxed, and she followed suit.

"Jill. Aeon. Any good news?" he asked.

She snorted. "Beside the fact that we are still alive in this madhouse? No." she said firmly.

Aeon nodded in agreement.

"Can't say it's much different on my end either. We better secure our escape route first. There has gotta be a backdoor somewhere..." replied Barry with a sigh.

She agreed. "Alright then. Let's split up again."

Barry held up a hand. "Hey, hold on a sec. Look at what I've found."

"What?"

"A can of fizz." he declared with a smile. "It's sure to yellow and mellow those things."

He stepped forward. "It's yours. Hopefully you won't have to use it."

She took the acid shells. Certainly, that should work well with zombies. Still…

"What about you?" she asked.

He chuckled, holding up his Magnum. "Oh don't worry. I like the buddy system we have here."

She grinned. "I see. Thanks, I'll take it then."

He nodded. "See you later." he glanced at Aeon. "Both of you."

They gave their own farewells, and then kept going.

They were far from safe yet, and the night promised to be long indeed...

Chris opened yet another door, this one apparently leading to another balcony.

Standing ready to fire at the slightest noise or movement, he carefully travelled through the balcony to find…

He stiffened, staring at the bloody corpse sitting on a chair up ahead.

Running closer, he knelt, before flinching when he saw the face of the dead man.

It was Forest Speyer, the marksman of Bravo Team, or what was left of him at least.

There were deep cuts all over his body, as if some animals had clawed him to death… which could be entirely possible in this accursed place.

Chris slumped, closing his eyes in grief. He and Forest had been good friends, and often trained together on their marksmanship.

With his other friend having been killed by the zombie dogs outside, that made two friends dead in one night.

And the worst part was, he could hardly give either of them the proper burial they deserved…

Standing up with a long sigh, he kept going, finding some green herbs he could use to heal his wounds with if needed-

He turned, his attention having been caught by a growl behind him.

His blood seemingly turned to ice instantly, when he stared at the undead form of his close friend, staring back at him with only mindless hunger in his milky white eyes.

His hands shook, but he knew what needed to be done.

"I'm sorry, Forest." he whispered.

And then he fired.

When his friend's headless corpse fell back on the ground, he closed his eyes, swallowing hard.

"I'll find out what the hell is going on here." he promised softly. "And then I'll bring whoever is behind this to justice. I promise you that much, my friend."

And then he kept going.

He could only hope that Barry, Jill, and Wesker were still alive somewhere.

For now however, he needed to find a safe way out of this damned mansion and back to Raccoon City.

Only after that could he investigate properly what was going on in this place…

And who he needed to hold accountable for it.

He thus kept going, killing the occasional zombie standing in his way, until he opened the door to yet another corridor.

And promptly froze, as did the young woman on the other side who readied her shotgun to blow his brains out.

She relaxed slightly, the shotgun lowering.

"You…" she trailed off, looking surprised.

He smiled widely, relieved beyond words to find a survivor from Bravo Team.

"Chris Redfield, Alpha Team. We're here to rescue you." he introduced himself, noting that she must be the young rookie who recently made it to Bravo Team.

Well, she was the medic of the team, so it makes sense her teammates prioritized her safety.

And speaking of teammates…

He walked forward, finally getting a good look at the wounded she was watching over.

"Richard!" he exclaimed, before grimacing when he took in the man's mangled left arm.

"What the hell happened to you?!" he continued, kneeling at his side.

"Chris!" he gasped. "This place… get your team out of here… demons everywhere…"

"Don't talk..." whispered the young woman, looking concerned, before she sighed.

"He got bitten by a poisonous snake. But… the snake in question was massive, several times the size of a human being."

She grimaced. "He needs serum. I left it in another room, but I was worried about leaving him alone in this state."

Chris smiled at her, putting his left hand on her right shoulder.

"I'll go get it." he swore.

She nodded. "Please hurry."

He looked back at Richard. "Hold on. I'll be back."

After getting the directions from the young medic named Rebecca, he ran towards the room in question, quickly killing any zombies standing in his way, before taking the serum and running back to Rebecca and Richard, almost smashing the door of the corridor the two were hiding in in his haste, and giving the startled Rebecca the medicine.

"Here… you go…" he said, in between pants for breath.

Damn the size of this mansion! And its architecture as well, for that matter!

"Hope this is what you wanted." he finished more calmly.

She took and looked at the syringe, before smiling.

"Thank you."

She looked back at Richard.

"I'm going to give you a shot, Richard. Hang in there."

Quickly applying the medicine, Richard grunted before weakly holding up his radio.

"Here. Take it. And take care of yourself Chris, Rebecca…" his eyes closed.

Rebecca gasped, and Chris leaned forward. "Richard!" he shouted.

The young medic quickly checked for a pulse, before sighing in relief.

"He's okay. He's just unconscious." she declared.

He sighed too, before looking at her.

"Rebecca, it's not safe here. Let's get Richard to a safer place."

She nodded. "Right."

Rebecca carefully took hold of Richard, and with himself leading the way, they slowly went to the safe room where he had found the serum.

As she put him in a nearby bed, she once again checked Richard, before smiling up at him.

"Richard's doing better already, Chris. He should recover soon."

He smiled in relief. "Good. Richard needs you now."

She nodded. "As soon as Richard gets better, we'll go after you."

He looked at her, wondering how good with a gun she was…

And finally noticed not only the shotgun on her, but also her S.T.A.R.S. handgun, a Magnum like the one Barry had, a few knives and grenades, and an impressive amount of ammo.

He blinked. That was a lot of firepower.

Though he could certainly understand, considering what roamed around in this madhouse…

Shaking his head, he decided not to worry about her skills with firearms.

"Alright." he said instead. "I'll go continue my investigation."

Rebecca nodded, but stopped him before he finished turning away.

"Before you go, I wanted to ask, have you met a guy, a man not with S.T.A.R.S., somewhere in this mansion? Incredibly tall, wearing a long black coat? He helped me survive until now, so he could probably help you out too."

He frowned, shaking his head. "I can't say I did. What is he doing there?"

"Investigating Umbrella. There's the ones behind this outbreak, they've been doing monstrous experiments with something called the 't-Virus,' creating biological weapons of war. One of those things caused the virus to spread, and that led us to this mess. Chris… Umbrella has murdered hundreds, if not thousands of people already, not only here in our country, but also in many other places all around the world. And…"

She hesitated, but he wanted to know. Several of his friends died tonight, several more were M.I.A. He wanted,no, he needed answers!

"What?" he pressed.

"Chris, Captain Wesker is part of Umbrella. He has been with them from the beginning. We've been betrayed, Chris." she said softly.

He froze. Betrayal? From Wesker?

But he was… that…

Oh God…

"You're certain?" he demanded. "Absolutely certain?"

She grimaced. "Chris, I found documents and pictures where Wesker was mentioned or even present in Umbrella's various facilities. There isn't any doubt, we've been sent here to die, Chris."

He closed his eyes, his hands clenched into fists as he remembered the corpses of his friends.

Wesker caused this. Wesker, the man he admired, caused this. Played him for a fool all along!

"Wesker…" he hissed hatefully.

Then he took a few deep breaths, and calmed himself down.

Later, he promised to himself. Later he'd confront his traitorous leader.

But not now.

First, he needed to find the other members of his team, if they were still alive, that is.

If they were, they'd deal with Wesker together.

If they weren't…

His eyes narrowed.

Then he would avenge them.

No matter the cost.