A/N: Forgive me guys if this seems to be rushed, but lemme tell you all something. I'm not a fan of Resident Evil, nor the oversaturated zombie genre; I wish it would just let it die on its own since it's the same cliché every time! I'm also not into the horror genre either, especially since they're always going to be global destruction involving endless undead swarms triggered by a certain biological virus/experiment that went awry. I really wish it would have more desirable results like in "Warm Bodies."
I actually came up w/ this over a week ago when I reluctantly saw the original Resident Evil movie, and I feel this fic should do it justice. Then, my mind just randomly developed this idea for Rick's first bounty hunting mission; at first I thought of the PS2 game, Project Eden, but then it changed as I wasn't thrilled about it. It's almost as though my mind decides for me before I do and unfolds from there. I wanted to stop this idea but I later couldn't resist, so here goes.
A little after Captain Falcon's sacrifice, Rick has been spending some time at his fortress in Port Town since he received the mantle. Recently, he started training with Samurai Goroh in Planet Cryton on how to meditate as well as work as the legendary bounty hunter Falcon once was. Goroh was becoming less of an enemy and more of Rick's senpai; he seemed to admire Rick more than his archrival who constantly claimed he was betrayed by.
Rick woke up to a chirp from his key fob. And without trying to disturb Tinsel, he read through the message and readings the Falcon Flyer received. There was a list of assignments to choose from and this was Rick's first bounty hunting mission, One of them involved a mysterious outbreak known as the T-Virus in a distant location in Port Town. The space port was divided into halves, and the southern route was the most dangerous; similar to that of Mute City, as there are more intense crime rates there. Rick was lucky the late Falcon's fortress was located further north. There was a brief description from the Falcon Flyer as it picked up an assignment there. Still new to the advanced technology, he looked at his key and the text said about the T-Virus located in an underground, secluded genetic laboratory called the Hive. It was home to some questionable experiments developing weaponry, healthcare, technology and science. It also belonged to a rogue squadron known as the Umbrella Corp. According to the data, just five hours ago, the laboratory proceeded a massive shutdown, causing major casualties inside as each employee perished in various ways. It was a method done by it's artificial security system called the Red Queen as it followed the procedures to quarantine the lab once the T-Virus was released. The result could be deadly and astronomical affecting the entire surrounding area. If he's successful on destroying the Hive while averting any further collateral damage, then the money would be forwarded to him immediately.
Daring as he was, he chose this to be his first bounty hunting mission, although it was probably designed for more skilled hunters. Much to Tinsel's dismay he wanted to take on the challenge to prevent Douglas Jay Falcon's home world from being contaminated by the lethal infection, so it was actually done by honor rather than a blind choice. Being that she had no experience, Rick volunteered to do this alone without Tinsel nor the Task Force watching his back. After the briefing on Earth with his close comrades, Clank and Jody decided to discreetly track Rick by implanting a device within Falcon's helmet.
With him leaving, Tinsel stayed at the Task Force headquarters and described to Dr. Stewart she can't eat, sleep, or function well without him; as if her mind and soul went north and south. He actually is planning to make an antidote with the research he found from Clank and only what the Galaxy Police knows about the T-Virus; the latter had actually sent out a special team called the Sanitation Unit to investigate the Hive after the incident.
In the Blue Falcon GT, Rick followed the signal going off through the subterranean tracks to the secret lair. Upon entry, he noticed that although the Hive was leagues underground, it was a structure that towered as much as about 50 stories. He went to a lift which appeared to have been abandoned. Something tugged his mind and caused his head to throb. As he was holding it in agony it made him have a vision: Before he pressed the descending knob, he had a hallucination of the elevator malfunctioning, as the safety brakes shut down while people were screaming passed him before the lift plummeted to the ground miles below! He then saw a woman emerge from another one, only her face prevented it from going any further down. Lastly, the car switched gears and quickly rose, smacking the lady's skull and killing her instantly! Rick shook his head, clearing it from the repercussions it left. He decided that taking the stairs would be more safer since he realized the fastest way was the most dangerous.
He soon arrived in a skinny hallway past a large motherboard. He noticed that the leader, along with two others, have already fallen. The head of the group, Shade, had his own face sliced into pieces as their bodies bled. There was a narrow passageway and as soon as he entered it, the mechanical doors trapped him inside! The hallway turned green and there was a gigantic laser wall heading toward him! With cracker-jack thinking, Rick drew out a Glock and fired toward the barrier, shattering it. He panicked and braced himself, only to realize as soon as he got his breath he was still alive and unscathed. Using the Glock Falcon never used, the phaser fired toward the control panel at the back wall, disabling the codes and unlocking the doors.
He noticed more dead bodies while also some constant, distant moaning coming from the adjacent rooms. Rick assumed the T-Virus, the fatal byproduct of the corrupt Umbrella Corp, has turned the victims into flesh-eating zombies. Sure enough, they were as he fought off a few waves of them using his Glock at maximum settings, making the majority corrode and dissolve on contact. When the coast was clear, he laid down a small gadget on the ground and set an alarm. It let out a steady beep and the timer ticked away 60 minutes; this was something created by the Mighty Gazelle, as to obliterate the T-Virus threat from the universe entirely. Rick wanted to escape, but his heart told him there could be some survivors down here. Still, time was ticking.
Through the narrow passageways in the tunnels covered in wires, Rick activated a headlight on his helmet helping him see.
Meanwhile, there were three people, a man named Spence and two women, encased in a flooded chamber. One of the women who looked closely like a Goth, named Rain, was infected by bites and scratches from the undead infestation; her leg was covered in blood in which the monstrosities seemed to crave. There was a chirpy voice demanding the sacrifice of the unfortunate victim in exchange for their chances of escaping. They were in a heated dispute, until the other blond woman named Alice shot the TeleVid using a regular firearm. She continued to search for the anti-virus, hoping to cure her doomed partner. With her recent memories restored from her amnesia, she figured the antidote was present here since she had some flashbacks working here. Apparently, she used to be a promising researcher and active veteran protecting the Hive's secrets until the experiments involving the T-Virus went awry. She quit the job but unfortunately she was knocked out by nerve gas and could barely remember anything; her partner, Kaplan, felt the same.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on her side. As soon as Alice was about to accuse Spence, he turned on them and pointed a pistol toward her. He revealed he was the one who set off the T-Virus epidemic here, as an ulterior motive on ruling all the world and soon the universe, working for the Umbrella Corp all the while. With that weapon, the galaxy would fall and the megacorporation would be unstoppable. Little did he know that someone was eavesdropping from the other side of the door. When the traitor stepped out, he was ambushed by a nearby trespasser. "I won't let all of Port Town suffer from the likes of you."
"Huh?" Spence faced his assailant who gave him a sudden punch sending him into the pool below. He was then drowning in it as he was sinking like a rock.
It turned out the brawler was none other than someone who was desperate to look for survivors. Alice and Rain were astonished to meet up with Captain Falcon. He never revealed his true identity, and he felt hopeless on finding a cure, claiming to be irreversible. Alice tried to reason with him there is hope, though they should hurry on finding it. Rick picked up the blue supplement Spence dropped and reluctantly handed it over to his informant; he was skeptical since her memory was hazy. To prove it, she inserted the formula into Rain while Falcon rinsed off her body as best he could. Though she was growing paler by the minute, and even upchucked.
There was a sudden rumble and Falcon took out his Glock, aiming it at Kaplan. They immediately assured him he was on their side and not yet zombified. The looks were different as he had some bleeding teeth marks on his arms.
The group marched off. But as they did, they grew hesitant on allowing a bounty hunter into the mix. Yet again, they were ambushed by more zombies and Falcon joined the fray. After a flashback of his mentor sacrificing himself with Deathborn, he attempted to mimic his Falcon Punch. He reared back and released a right fist, connecting with a nearby zombie. It didn't work as it never had the same effect. Caught unaware, he was sicced by one. He was saved, but he was hyped on adrenaline, shooting off the rest of them with his blaster. The trio never saw anything like it! With keen precision, they were destroyed, but Rick was trying to hide his injuries. Alice questioned him; she noticed that Falcon didn't look the same as the previous one, with the lighter, less dense skin tone, pointed neck, and thinner stature. He seemed to rely more on agility rather than strength. In his defense, Rick blurted out that this was his first-ever bounty hunting mission.
Everyone looked at him in a puzzled manner, yet somehow only Alice knew. So, he had no choice but to reveal himself as the Young Captain Falcon, as a replacement to the original, Douglas Jay Falcon. He unveiled that he gave up his life after Deathborn was destroyed along with him and the Dark Reactor Core. It was thanks to Rick's skills and his Full Power Booster Fire that obliterated the threat and ended the war with Dark Million just a couple months ago. He sulked a little as he reflected. His reverie was interrupted as Alice urged them along since Kaplan's infection was mutating. She said before Spence's betrayal, he mentioned there was an anti-virus aboard a hidden train; however, the power was down, enabling all access and allowing the epidemic and the zombies to run amok.
Time was of the essence because they heard a tiny bee within the Hive, the bomb that was set to detonate within 20 minutes. There was hardly any time for another quarrel so Rick limped with the survivors, but the Red Queen had some nasty surprises left. Not allowing them to escape with their lives and spread the word, she unleashed the remaining undead onto them. The survivors, excepting Kaplan, were able to fight them off, but not for long. They kept gaining on the vulnerable duo as he and Rick winced in pain and kept losing their vision and focus. Falcon claimed he could still fight, but they weren't taking chances.
They hurriedly boarded the back of the train, but there was no power to run it. In one last desperate move, Rick ordered everyone to go deep into the car while he remains outside; Falcon wanted Kaplan to be healed first since he was their only salvation. He fixated onto the incoming swarm, and the Hive's most lethal experiment, the Licker snuck aboard. Rick's body grew tense as his fists clenched, closed his eyes, and his heart raced. With the remainder of the adrenaline, he let out a scream and his body glowed in vermillion.
As Kaplan was inserted the last experimental sample, he punched around the motherboard to get the train moving. It was actually thanks to Falcon's desperation attack feeding it with his own energy. That also drove the undead back. But the Licker destroyed the hub and entered it. The duo fired with as much ammo as they had, but Rick's impact finished the job, making himself as powerful as possible while his body was wearing down. The Licker was fried upon the tracks when it fell off! They were soon out of the tunnels with just a few moments to spare!
The implosion destroyed everything from within; including the Red Queen, the remaining undead and Lickers, and even some mutated dogs. When the carriage stopped, everything was silent while the foundation collapsed unto itself.
Everyone looked at their new savior, who went completely still. He then collapsed and nearly fell onto the tracks before Alice, Rain, and Kaplan caught him. They carried him and he almost lost his helmet. Taking it off, Kaplan was surprised on Falcon's new appearance; they all saw his real face.
"He's...just a kid. He reminds me of how young I looked. Before I lost my sister." That actually struck a cord in their warming hearts as they recalled how innocent and docile they were before becoming killing machines.
They were blinded by enormous spotlights and the equipment shown the Umbrella's logo. The head honcho demanded his troops to abduct the survivors, waiting to mutate them. But then, someone commandeered the officers to stand down; the Galaxy Police arrived. "Freeze! We got you completely surrounded! Drop your weapons! Surrender or we will destroy you! You've done enough damage to this world! Drop your weapons, now!"
Dr. James Marcus and his men obliged and raised their hands, sparing the individuals. EMTs arrived and they treated everyone's wounds, except for Rick whom they loaded onto a stretcher and in an ambulance; the Blue Falcon GT was also docked in a separate vehicle while the trio watched in awe.
Meanwhile, in an apartment within Mute City, the sun was shining through in a bright cerulean sky. Tinsel was sitting idly, waiting anxiously for her beloved to return. She received a soft knock on her door. She opened and noticed it was Dr. Stewart, the high-flying medico, standing before her and wearing a grim expression. She cried out if Rick is coming back to Earth and whether or not the mission was successful, but she got an answer she wasn't expecting; Rick is still in Port Town and transported to the critical care unit. She lost her breath as her mind raced. The doc explained what happened and he wanted her to ride in the Golden Fox through the warp gate. He also said that his offspring, Rodney and Luna, were waiting as Rick is being quarantined. They had to hurry before the infection manifests through Rick's unconscious body, otherwise...
They wasted no time, and if his prediction is correct, he could extract a blood sample from one of the healed survivors and insert into Rick's bloodstream providing him a probable fighting chance. And to add some extreme measures, he'll be surrounded by all three Reactor Mights, one from the Blue Falcon GT, and two from the Dragon Bird EX. They raced toward the gate that led to Port Town's more benign streets.
Dr. Stewart led Tinsel toward the ICU and she instantly saw Rick resting on a hospital bed surrounded by impenetrable plastic. She ran up to him, "Rick!" IV tubes protruded from his hapless body, while still having that same blanch look. "Oh, Rick..." Tinsel then burst into tears while she dropped next to his side, burying her face in the mattress. "Rick you can't die. Just like how you lost Haruka..." She eventually rose when her numb body stopped shaking, asking what the trio could do. Stewart said that one of the survivors from the Hive was generous enough to lend him some blood containing the cure of the T-Virus, though he's uncertain if Rick would fight it. All they could do is wait since he's already comatose and surrounded by the Light Mights.
Hours went by, and still no movement. Although there was Falcon's helmet, resting next to him on a nightstand. Alice, Rain and Kaplan offered to give it back to Falcon, and promised never to tell anyone about his true identity. Then...
As Tinsel was still resting beside him, his eyes fluttered. Without a groan, he opened his eyes and looked around. Dr. Stewart entered the room agog. When Rick saw him, he moaned, "Port Town..? Out of...danger...?"
"Yes. You made it, and Port Town is saved."
The meeting awakened Tinsel and she was very ecstatic to see her best friend alive. She hesitated, and the doc said it was alright for her to kiss him. They embraced each other passionately, and Rick muttered that he saw Captain Falcon encouraging him to rise up within the bleak darkness. His late mentor never wanted Rick to surrender to the T-Virus, and his essence somehow gave him the strength to do so.
They soon left the hospital, and the surviving trio couldn't thank Falcon enough for destroying the Hive and preventing an apocalyptic virus from spreading. Alice, Rain, and Kaplan wanted to continue their investigation for the Sanitarian Unit to see if there is more corruption from the Umbrella Corp in the surrounding areas, as well as neighboring planets. For saving her life, Rain asked if they would ever see him again, and Rick said he'll guarantee it before he proudly left within the signature machine.
A/N: Glad that's finally over with; I couldn't wait to get this out of the way since it kept nagging me so much.
Check out this awesome fanmade remake of the original Port Town - Port Town (Reploid Utopia Remix) by Silverreploid CLE. I'm sure it'll be used somewhere in the story since it represents Falcon's turf. This story would end w/ Captain Falcon's Theme from F-Zero GX. The main song would be Port Town from F-Zero Climax.
Btw, the destructive sequence kind of reminds me of Metroid Fusion when Samus blows up the Biologic Space Laboratory as she vanquishes the infestation of the X-Parasites. As well as Spider-Man 2 when Rick makes his Post-Victory Collapse.
Also, the cast for Resident Evil was confusing; I knew about Alice, Rain, and the traitor, Spence, but Kaplan was something else as was the Red Queen. I never liked the latter very much as I feel she always plays some nasty tricks on them. So aside from Rick, Alice is like the deuteragonist and Rain and Kaplan are the tritagonists.
Glad that's out of the way, so see ya.