Swinging the door open, the hallway was dimly lit with a couple of bright lights in the corners of the hall. Turning a corner, there was a door to the server room, but they couldn't gain access to it since there was no power, so they moved on.
Leon's light traced the wall, where a long streak of blood was splattered onward. Leon and Jasper gave each other nervous glances before continuing further.
The small source of light they'd seen from the hall was coming from the vending machine tucked into the far corner, barely illuminating the next area they were in. The room was in disarray, mutilated corpses were sprawled all over the floor, and there was blood splattered all over the walls.
Leon shines the light around to investigate. In the middle of a the room, there was a small table with a golden object that caught his attention. It was trophy in the shape of a DNA helix. He picked it up and showed it to Jasper before asking, "Do you think this has anything on it?"
"Well, if it doesn't belong in the right place, then there must be something important," Jasper said as he examined the trophy. He flipped it over and spotted something written on it. "Here. You see it?"
Leon looked at the pattern below the trophy and nodded. "Yeah, I see it. That must be another code for the greenhouse."
"I think so too," Jasper agreed.
With the code memorized, Jasper and Leon decided to continue. Just as they reached down the hall, the sound of metal bending came from above, followed by a feral growl that made them jump. A creature came down from the vents and landed in front of them. It was the same creature they encountered at the station—a licker.
"Jasper!" The licker screeched as it jumped and pinned Jasper to the ground. He quickly fished out a grenade, shoved it into the licker's mouth, and kicked it off of him. Leon grabbed his shotgun and fired at the grenade. An explosion erupted, along with a screech of pain coming from the creature.
Before one of them could experience the feeling of relief, a screech sounded as another licker came down from the vent. Jasper grabbed his shotgun and shot the monster in midair as it tried to pounce at them. It cried out in pain and scrambled away. Leon fired another two rounds at its head before successfully killing it.
Leon and Jasper panted heavily as they eyed on the deceased creatures sprawled on the floor, before they finally let out a sigh of relief. Leon puts his shotgun away before rushing to Jasper. "You OK?"
"Yeah," Jasper nodded as Leon helped him up to his feet. "Never thought I'd see one of these things again."
"I couldn't agree more," Leon agreed, eyeing on the two deceased lickers.
They decided to continue as they walked through the door at the end of the hall. Swinging it open, it revealed another dark, eerie hall. Leon led the way with his flashlight and found another door that led to a stairwell. A groan sounded from the corner of the room and a zombie slowly stood up. Leon quickly shot it, making it flop to the floor before they began to walk up the stairs.
The stairwell was dark and they could feel the eerie atmosphere that sent chills down their bodies. As they reach the second landing of the stairwell, they jumped when a body suddenly dropped in front of them. Leon quickly shot the corpse's head before it could come back to life.
"Oh, for fuck sake, just stop it already," Jasper hissed.
Leon snickered as he walked past him. "Scared much?"
Jasper rolled his eyes at the blonde. "Oh please, don't even try to act like you weren't phased. You were just as scared as I was."
"But it was kinda funny seeing your reaction," Leon said, chuckling as Jasper playfully punched his uninjured arm.
They went through the door at the top of the staircase and found a room full of boxes and shelves inside. They were greeted by a groan coming from a zombie with a lab coat and Jasper quickly eliminated the monster with his knife.
The two of them scavenge the room for supplies. Jasper unlocked the door from across the room which leads them back to the lobby. Meanwhile, Leon found a rectangle-shaped device. It had two knobs on each side, three different diagrams on the front, and various antennas at the top. He grabbed it and showed it to Jasper. "Do you know what this does?"
Jasper walked over and examined the device in the cop's hands. After a moment, an idea struck him. "Yeah, this is what I need to get the power back on downstairs."
"So you're gonna go back?" Leon asked.
"Yeah," Jasper nodded as Leon handed the device to him. "You got the code, right?"
"Yeah."
"OK, so here's what we're gonna do: I'll go get the power back on while you go back to the greenhouse to put the code in. Then we'll rendezvous back at the lobby," Jasper instructed.
"OK," Leon nodded, processing all of the information for a moment before he looked at the detective. "I got it."
"Be careful," Jasper advised.
"You too."
The two of them split up to do their tasks. Jasper went back to stairwell and returned to the lounge area. He walked over to the radio box in the corner of the room that had the words MURF. He switched the device to the corresponding code and kept twisting the knobs until the line was alined. He placed the device in the middle and the screen turned green, activating the power.
He retrieved the device and explored the room again now that the power is back on. The door that was unactivated chirped as Jasper neared his wrist and hissed open. The room he entered appeared to be some kind of lab.
There were rows of lab benches on two sides of the walls of the room, bathed in pale white light pouring in from the large sheet of glass to his left. Ice and fog clung to the edges of the window and a layer of ice the equipment within.
Jasper moved through the rows of benches. Another window into the lab lit the next section of the hall, illuminating the corpse slumped against the far wall. Unsure that it was actually dead, Jasper slowly crept towards the body and quickly eliminated the zombie with his knife.
"Welcome back, Dr. Li. You have five new messages," the voice announced.
Jasper glanced at the computer on the desk in front of him, and the light blinking on the computer. Out of curiosity as a detective, he pressed the on button. The screen came to life, littered with desktop shortcuts. He found the messages in the inbox and began to read all of them.
Sender: Rick Mendoza
Subject: What's he up to?
Can you believe that bastard Cartwright? Cool your jets, asshole! Well, I guess he is the boss... For now. Anyway, have you seen my helix anywhere? I put the secret on the bottom. Let me know if you find it!
Sender: Bryon Cartwright
Subject: Busy guy, huh?
So you couldn't make our little meeting? Fine, don't worry about the Greenhouse inspection. Instead I'll give you something real simple to do: put together the budget estimate for the year after next. And get it done tonight!
Sender: Rick Mendoza
Subject: Are you alive?
We're under attack. People are dead. The East Area is cut off. We can't operate the bridge with the wristbands we have here. Where is that bastard Cartwright hiding?
Sender: Rick Mendoza
Subject: Please Reply!
Plant 43 is going wild! The Greenhouse is hell! We need to send someone in there before it's too late. Wayne, how do we stop this thing? You have to help us. Please reply!
Sender: Rick Mendoza
Subject: (None)
Do you remember Susie, the cheerleader? What a great gal. We were both into here. Of course, she wasn't into nerds... I still have to give you back those comics and games I borrowed. But you might have to wait a while.
Jasper stared at the messages with a sad expression before glancing at the scientist he killed a few moments ago. He assumed that the person was Rick. He shook his head before he left the lab and went back to the lobby.
Once he returned to the lobby, he saw Leon standing in the middle of the room. The cop saw Jasper approaching and asked, "How did it go?"
Leon dug through his pockets and pulled out the vial with green liquid inside. "I already have the solution, but it needs to be cool down. What about you?"
"I think I found a way to cool down the solution. It's in the lab I found," Jasper answered.
"Well... lead me the way, Detective."
***
Once Leon got the solution cooled down in the lab, him and Jasper finally made their way back to the greenhouse. Leon insert the cartridge into yet another machine, watching it as it disappears.
"Would you like to do the honors?" Leon asked Jasper, nodding towards the machine.
"I thought you'd never ask," Jasper smiled as he pushed the button, and the automated voice came again.
"Dispensing solution now."
The sprinklers flared to life, throwing more droves of liquid raining down from the ceiling again. They watched as the plants began to wilt and darken from the liquid. The ivy wrapped creatures slowed, screeching in fear and violence over the rush of water. After a few seconds, the three monsters dropped to the ground, their vines finally going still.
The corpse in the yellow hazmat suit landed on the metal grates with a thud beside the wilted plant that killed him. "Looks like that did the trick," Leon spoke.
"I think so too," Jasper agreed.
The two of them approached the door before the automated voice warned them, "Warning: You have dispersed a dangerous solution without authorization. Your actions have been logged and you may be subject to disciplinary measures."
Leon and Jasper exchanged nervous glances before cautiously entering the greenhouse. The thick singe of chemicals stung their noses as the air from the room rushed to greet them. They forced their way through the greenhouse to reach the body and grab the chip.
Jasper eyed on Plant 43, gaze narrowing on the yellow hazmat material and the small glow of light. Leon watched as he stepped over the plant, not wanting to disturb a single root or stem that may trigger a deadly response. Jasper leaned down to grab the purple chip and inserted it into his wristband. The detective looked down and nodded.
"Now we're one step closer to finding the G-Virus," Jasper said and Leon shot a small smile at him before they left the greenhouse immediately.
The duo made their way back to the large platform in the center. Jasper stepped up to the panel and pressed on the level three button, creating a bridge and connecting it to the West Area. "You ready for this?" Jasper asked Leon once he made his way down the steps.
"I'm ready when you are," Leon replied, determined. Jasper shot a smile at him before they crossed the bridge.
The door slid opened, revealing a dark hall. Leon turned on his flashlight and shined forward, spotting another dead soldier. Leon slowly walked over with his gun raised at the body and nudged it, but received no reaction. Once he confirmed that the soldier was dead, he found a video cassette tape beside the body and picked it up. "Hey. There's another tape."
"I wonder what's inside it," Jasper wondered. They walked further into the lab and found a doorway that looked like it had been bent, like something tried to escape the room.
Jasper noticed a rectangular machine on the wall that looked like the one he found in Section 1, and he pulled out the signal modifier. He tinkered with the radio for a little while before he matched it up, and placed it in the middle of the radio box.
The lights flickered on, and Leon puts his flashlight away now that the power was on. He noticed a TV with a cassette player beside it. "Hey. I found another player," he notified the detective. Jasper walked over to the TV as Leon slid the tape into the player, the television screen flickering on.
"Got eyes on the G-Virus," a man said with a hushed tone. Below him was a man wearing a lab coat and placing small vials into a metal briefcase. "We're going in."
A group of soldiers entered the room as the man emerged from the vents, jumping to the floor below. They raised their guns and aimed at the scientist, who grabbed the briefcase and held it close. One of the soldiers addressed, "Doctor Birkin, you'll come along with us quietly."
"You think I didn't know you were coming?" The man spat, his voice full of anger. "This is my life's work! I'm not handing over anything!"
"We have our orders, Doctor Birkin," one soldier responded. "I'll ask you one more time..."
Doctor Birkin placed his hand in his lab coat and grabbed a pistol. He aimed it at the soldiers, but one of the men pulled the trigger before the doctor and riddled his body with bullets.
"Stop! Hold your fire!" A soldier commanded. The man who shot Birkin released the trigger and lowered his weapon as the doctor's body collapsed to the floor.
A soldier approached the body to check the doctor's pulse, while another soldier beside him faced the camera and scolded, "What the fuck were you thinking?! Our orders were to bring him in alive!"
After checking the doctor's pulse, a soldier spoke to his communicator, "We're in, sir, but we had a snafu. Target resisted, we had to take him out."
"..."
"That's correct, sir."
"..."
"Roger that. Just the samples then." The soldier grabbed the briefcase and shouted to his men, "Let's move."
The screen went dark and the video tape popped out of the player. Leon took the object and placed it beside the video tape player. Jasper shook his head and rubbed his temple. "This doesn't make sense."
"What do you mean?" Leon questioned.
"Ada told us that Annette was the one who released the virus, right? But from the last tape we saw, it was the rats that must have spread it to the city," Jasper recalled. "And this Doctor Birkin... it's pretty obvious that he must be somehow related to Annette."
"But... Ada never mentioned anything about him," Leon told him, feeling lost and confused.
"Unless she's not telling us the full story," Jasper stated before continuing, "I know this might sound crazy, but what if Annette had been innocent all along? What if Ada was lying to us this whole time?"
Leon pondered over his words. What if Jasper was right? What if Annette really was innocent? What if they were chasing the wrong person this entire time? He had so many questions, yet so little answers.
Jasper sighed and grabbed the VHS. "Let's check out the rest of the area, gather whatever evidence we can find to expose Umbrella and get out of this hellhole," he told the blonde before walking through the operating room, Leon followed shortly behind him.
Departing from the bio-testing room, the duo wandered down the corridor through a decontamination room. They were sprayed with water and dried off within a few seconds by the fans. The two rushed through, making it to the end of the long hall and entering the next door.
The room they entered revealed a wide room in an octagon shape. Below the platform connecting to the other side was some kind of area meant for organization. On the center of the ceiling was the Umbrella insignia.
Together, they made their way across the bridge to the other side. They entered and were illuminated by red circular lights on the walls. In front of them were glass tubes with liquid inside, and inside the liquid was... something.
The first tube had two big red eyes, the same one from the creature they had faced. In the next tube was nothing but an entire hand developed. Then an embryo. Jasper was disturbed by the sight of the test tubes and stepped away, not wanting to trigger any deadly responses.
"Hey," Jasper perked up when he heard Leon calling him. "Isn't this the same place where Doctor Birkin got shot?"
Jasper observed the area around Leon pointed at and realized that the cop was correct, the chamber where Doctor Birkin had taken the G samples from was unlocked. "Yeah, it is," he nodded. The detective got puzzled when he found a blood trail but no signs of a body. "But where is he now?"
"Maybe he got turned into a zombie or something?" Leon suggests.
"If that's the case, wouldn't he be found by now?" Jasper pondered.
"I don't know, Jasper," Leon shrugged. "But right now, let's focus on find the G sample."
"You're right," Jasper nodded.
Leon walked over to the glass chamber and grabbed the only vial left. He surveyed the liquid trapped inside, still unable to believe how easy it was to retrieve the G sample. "I think I found it."
Jasper sharply turns his head with a look of disbelief. "For real?"
"Yeah," Leon replied as Jasper walked over to him and lets him scan the vial in his hand. "That was a lot easier than I thought it would be..."
"Attention: Unauthorized removal of a level four virus was detected," the automated voice played. "Facility lockdown initiated. Self-destruct sequence will begin when lockdown is complete."
"Easy my ass! Come on!" Jasper grabbed Leon's hand and dragged him out of the lab.
Reaching the bridge, Leon and Jasper ran across as fast as they could when a loud thud sound was heard from the ceiling. The two halted and looked up quickly. Something enormous came crashing through the ceiling. Metal pieces flew in all directions and a painfully familiar creature landed in the middle of the room, roaring thunderously as it spotted them.
"Shit. You again?!" Jasper asked exasperatedly as grabbed his gun and aimed it at the monster, Leon following suit.
This time, the mutated man was bigger and its face was no longer there. It had muscle covering it, all signs of human face gone as the tissue stretched out. Its arm was twice as big as it was the last time they saw it. The duo stepped back as the creature staggered forward.
"Move. He's mine," a feminine voice was heard from behind them and footsteps approached, walking past them. It was Annette, limping as she raised her gun. "This has to end."
She fired and the bullet exploded into an acidic liquid, making the creature wail in pain. Annette went to reload and Leon interrogated, "What the hell's going on?"
Annette ignored him, instead she limped towards the monster. "Sorry, William," she said as she raised her gun. "You left me no choice."
Another vial was shot from the gun, drenching the creature with the acidic liquid. Its body writhed in pain before it collapsed to the ground. Leon and Jasper approached the body as Annette stood behind with a melancholic gaze.
Jasper squatted down next to the creature, examining its mutated body. "What the hell is this? Why did you call it "William"?" He interrogated the woman.
"He was my husband," Annette muttered and shook her head, not taking her eyes off of the creature. "It shouldn't have been like this... It's Umbrella's fault—this whole mess."
Leon tore his eyes from the body to stare at Annette. "You're Umbrella, too. You're telling me you weren't involved in this?"
"Yes..." Annette admitted. "But we never meant for this to happen."
Jasper stood up from his crouched position and walked over to Annette, "Tell us everything—right from the start."
Annette was silent for a moment before sharing what happened. "After most of the G samples were stolen, William... he injected the virus into his body. Slowly, the virus transformed him into... this," she gazed towards the unconscious monster. "I should've stopped him when I had the chance, but... I just couldn't bring myself to do it."
The two males glanced at each other for a second before Leon clarified, "So you made this monster?"
"We made the G-Virus, but we never intended to—"
"You can spin it any way you want," Leon interrupted. "You're still responsible."
While Leon was talking to Annette, Jasper immediately noticed the monster's eye twitching and slowly rising from the floor. "Look out!" He warned them.
The monster snatched her body into one of its massive hands and lifted her up. Its clawed hand squeezed her, and a sound of bones crushing was heard before it threw her across the room.
"Annette!" Jasper shouted.
Leon fires a few rounds at the monster as its body mutated. Another appendage bursted out of its body and swung it at the officer. "Shit!" The monster changed its target towards Jasper and swung its arm at him, but the detective quickly dodged its attack.
All of a sudden, red lights flashed in rotating circle and an ear piercing alarm resonated throughout the room. Jasper looked back to see Annette hobbled over a control panel. The bridge they were on suddenly began to descend, bringing them closer to the reactor floor.
"What're you doing?!" Leon shouted, the two strategically walked around the monster to avoid being struck.
"We can't let him get away!" Annette yelled, her body slumped over the control panel.
Leon vaulted over the railing and landed on the lower level of the bioreactors room, Jasper following suit before the bridge reached the bottom. The monster roared and waved its claws at them as it was on the same level.
Jasper grabbed his shotgun and asked the cop, "Ready to end this, Partner?"
Leon nodded with a smirk, his shotgun at the ready. "I'm always ready."
"So how are we going to beat this thing? Distract and run?" Jasper offered.
"It worked last time—" Leon remembered, jumping to the side to avoid the monster's claws swinging at them.
Jasper did the same, "OK, I'll keep his attention!" He walked back to his right, the mutated monster keeping his eyes of the detective. "Whatever you do, just shoot the eyes!"
"Hey! Over here, you ugly piece of shit!" Jasper taunted and began to run around, keeping the creature's attention on him as Leon shot both giant eyes on its shoulder and on the leg. They both popped and the creature stopped on its tracks and bent down to regain itself.
Suddenly, a cluster of yellow eyeballs appeared on its chest. Jasper fired a couple of rounds at the cluster, but these ones were more resistant to popping. The monster roared and began to stomp towards Jasper. The detective dodged the attack and rolled between its legs before standing back up to his feet.
Leon ran past Jasper and circles around the monster. He shot the eye on its leg, but he ran out of shells. "I'm out!"
The detective searched around the room for anything to help and found a flashbang. Before pulling the pin, he heard a yelp from Leon and saw him getting pinned down by the monster. "Hey! Get away from Leon!" Jasper yelled before pulling the pin and rolled the flashbang across the floor. The projectile exploded right under the monster, blinding it for a moment. Leon scrambled to his feet and ran away from the monster.
Jasper tossed some shotgun shells to Leon and he caught them. Once he reloaded, he ran around to shoot the eye on its back. A few bullets later, the eye exploded. The creature roared and stomped towards one of the reactors. Piercing the metal with its claws, steam filled the room as it tried to rip the machine from the floor.
Jasper took the chance to fire at the tanks and an explosion erupted, making the creature wail in pain. Flames bursts from the machine, but the creature continued to stalk the duo even if it was still on fire. It swung its claws at them swiftly, but they dodged it at the right time. Leon shot the eye on its leg and Jasper on its shoulder, causing to growl in pain as it fell to its knee. As it regain itself, the cluster of eyes emerged from its chest again.
Leon and Jasper took the opportunity to grab their weapons and fire at the cluster of eyes in its moment of weakness. As one of the eyes were shot, they keep popping up one by one. The mutated man recovered and the teeth on its chest closed the cluster.
The duo backed away as the creature growled and swung its claws around. Jasper kept his attention on the eyeball on its shoulder. Suddenly, the creature walked away from them, stomping towards the bridge. Piercing through the metal with its claws, the creature ripped out a giant piece of metal as sparks of electricity flew out.
"Watch out!" Leon warned as the creature lifted it, and threw it at them. Luckily, it didn't hit either of them. Upset that it had missed, the monster leaped forward, jumping at Jasper who quickly shot the eye on its shoulder. The eye popped and the creature screeched, falling to the floor.
As it stood up, the duo didn't hesitate to pummel the creature with bullets. The monster began to wave his claws around in a hurried panic, trying to hit either, but they kept shooting at the newly exposed chest area. "Eat this, you son of a bitch!" Jasper reached down, grabbing a grenade off her belt. He pulled the pin and rolled it across the floor, right underneath the monster.
The projectile exploded, the monster let out a huge scream and fell onto its knees. Jasper went to fire a rain of bullets on its chest, the cluster of eyes exploded. A yellow liquid came flying off of his chest. He collapsed to floor and didn't rise. Finally, William was finished.
Jasper panted heavily, struggling to catch his breath as the same automated voice spoke, "Target has been neutralized. Ending quarantine."
"Good fuckin' riddance..." Jasper breathed.
"Jasper!" Jasper perked up at Leon's voice calling him, he saw him rushing past the monster and towards him before tackling him with a tight hug, making him stumble back a little.
"Woah! Easy there..." Jasper lets out a short laugh. "I'm OK."
Leon pulled away as he grasped his shoulders in a gentle but firm grip. "Are you sure? You're not hurt, are you?" He asked frantically, immediately scanning his body for any injuries.
"Yeah. Trust me, I'm fine," Jasper reassured him quickly before he asked, "What about you?"
Leon shakes his head. "Who cares?"
"I do, you dork," Jasper answered with a small chuckle, before pulling him into gentle hug. "I always do."
Leon froze for a second, before he returned the hug and immediately sank into the raven-haired's warmth. The blonde felt safe in his arms and he wished that he could stay like this.
But much to his disappointment, the moment between them was interrupted by the robotic voice as it spoke, "Service lift is now activated."
Jasper pulled away from Leon and said with determination, "Let's go." The two of them rushed towards the lift and the detective hit the button. The gate closed and they were lifted to the main platform.