Author's Note: These extras may contain both plot relevant and plot irrelevant segments to the other stories that I will be doing. If anything important is done in any of these chapter, they will be briefly summarized prior to any chapters that rely on them.
Extra 1
"Captain, she's here."
Chris Redfield turned away from the map on the table to look at his guest. He tensed for a moment reflexively, though he hid it better than Jill did. He couldn't spite her the gasp though, given her history with the B.O.W. The aforementioned creature stood by the doorway, lingering as if unsure of their permission to walk forward. Manuela and Sherry were just behind her, dressed in their military fatigues. He had heard of their...unorthodox division. He hadn't met any of them personally, but it seemed it was time for that to be remedied. All the soldiers present watched the newest arrival nervously, splitting their focus between their tasks and their security.
Chris straightened authoritatively to address the newcomers. "Hello. I'm Chris Redfield, and this is my partner Jill Valentine. You three must be Rachael Foley, Sherry Birkin, and Manuela Hidalgo correct?"
"That's right. Leon mentioned you to me a couple of times," Manuela returned as she stepped through the door, gently guiding Rachael beside her. Chris nodded, remembering his one contact with the man. It was him that had alerted Chris to Claire's location when she had pursued Alexia. It was the same virus that had been inside that maniac that now coursed through every vein of the Hispanic woman in front of him. From what he'd heard and read, she had significant control over it, and her powers were still growing. He'd seen Alexia's "control" though, and how that ended. No matter how well intentioned, none of the viruses could be called anything more than destructive. Still, while she had retention of her faculties, he had no intention of fighting her.
"I remember Agent Kennedy. His help was appreciated in locating my sister," Chris thanked honestly. Claire seemed to think him trustworthy, so if he trusted these women, he would give them a chance.
"So you're Claire's brother? It's nice to finally meet you!" Sherry exclaimed excitedly, offering her hand to him. Chris accepted it automatically, but he could feel the unnaturally firm grip beneath the otherwise human flesh. He hadn't personally fought the G-Virus himself, but he'd heard Claire describe what it could do, and how hard it had been to put down Sherry's father. Like Manuela, he'd heard that her powers had been growing, and that her regenerative capacities were powerful, though not quite as volatile as her father's. Still, he'd read the notes about how they were trying to avoid causing her grievous injury, just in case that triggered a more drastic mutation.
"Claire talked about you a lot. Seems she really took a shining to you," Chris commented. It was true. The two had kept in fairly consistent contact over the years, and from what he could tell, Claire had become rather protective of Sherry. She had nearly shipped back from her field work when she heard that Sherry was going to train to be an agent, but once she learned Leon would be supervising her, she calmed down. It took him a moment to realize the dead space in the air, and he turned to see Jill gazing stonily at Rachael, who returned it with equal silence and intensity.
"Hello again Rachael," Jill finally spoke, breaking the silence. Chris tensed, ready to grab his pistol if need be. He hoped it wouldn't come to that.
"Hello...Jill," Rachael returned awkwardly, and Chris cringed slightly at the voice. The other two sounded perfectly human, but he supposed it wasn't a surprise that the only one who hadn't bonded with the virus sounded inhuman. Rachael's voice came out in an almost gurgling fashion, words fading into a slithering sound towards the end as her mouth failed to articulate. With each little movement, he could see her flesh ripple from its lack of solid bones, the cartilaginous sections grating passed each other easily. Unlike the others, she hung back, eager to avoid contact. She seemed to sense the uneasiness in both him and Jill quite easily. "I am sorry...about last time…"
Jill nodded slowly, idly touching her neck. Chris had seen her after the Zenobia Incident, covered in lamprey like bite marks. When they finally left the ship, she'd been woozy from blood loss. A number of those bites had been due to Rachael's constant attacks. Rachael seemed to notice what they were thinking, shifting nervously under their gazes. Chris frowned, but Jill's expression lightened as she saw the woman's discomfort. "It's alright. You weren't yourself at the time. I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
Rachael nodded slowly, and the tense air seemed to clear. "Why don't you all take a seat. We have a lot to discuss."
The three took Chris' offer, taking their seats around the table. Chris himself didn't sit, but Jill sat to his side, trying to be as encouraging as she could. Summoning his presence, Chris fixed his gaze on Manuela, as she seemed to be the leader of the unusual trio. "So, do you know why you're here?"
"The US agreed to allow the BSAA to examine Rachael in hopes of finding a t-abyss antigen by cross-comparing with Jill's blood. I was sent here to be her caretaker, but I'm not sure why they requested Sherry's presence." Sherry perked up upon hearing herself mentioned, and she looked to Chris in expectation of his answer.
"I asked that she be brought here. Since I would be meeting two of you anyways, I figured it wouldn't be too much more to ask that Sherry be brought along as well. I wanted to meet the three of you."
"I'm sorry Leon isn't here right now, but he had some business to attend to," Manuela apologized.
"That's alright. While Leon's presence would have been nice, I mainly wanted to meet you three. Seeing as you three each survived the world's most deadly biological weapons," Chris pointed out, a hint of anger in his voice. Manuela noticed that his fists were gripped a bit tighter, but he was still exercising remarkable restraint. Jill seemed to notice as well, taking over.
"The point is that we wanted to learn more about you three. You are quite unique after all. We read some of the reports, but we wanted to know a few things. If I remember correctly, you met Parker, did you not?" Jill asked, turning to Rachael.
"That's right...he was one of the ones to rescue me. Him, Raymond, and CIPHER. He seemed like a nice man, despite what happened."
"He's pretty easy going. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes jokes about it next time you see him," Jill assured. Parker hadn't suffered as much damage from Rachael's attacks, as she seemed to focus on Jill. That and he had been carrying the shotgun. Jill wondered how much of the incident Rachael remembered, and thought about how best to phrase it. "I do have to ask...how much do you remember from the ship?"
"Not a lot. I remember everything up to my death, but after that, it's a blur. I do remember some things. You and Parker occasionally...I'm still sorry. I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?"
"Nothing that a little bit of time in the infirmary couldn't heal. I did shoot you a few times, so we'll just call it even," Jill joked, clearing the air. Rachael laughed slightly, the sound best being described as a wet cough, but it got the point across.
"Captain Redfield," Manuela gently interrupted. Chris quirked an eyebrow at the formal title, but turned his gaze to the woman. "You were the one to kill Alexia, right?"
Chris nodded. "Yes I was. It was a tough fight, but I had some serious firepower on my side."
"Leon told me a bit about what she was like, but it was only what he heard. You were actually there."
"Her mutation borrowed heavily from the ants it was created from. At first, she was mostly human, but the virus mutated once she took enough damage, turning her into a hive monster. Eventually, she split into an aerial form before I killed her with the Linear Launcher. It turned out that she hadn't bonded as perfectly with the virus as she thought she had, seeing as it still mutated." Manuela nodded as she listened, her expression unchanged. "I'll have to dig up my old report for you if you want all the details. I'll request a copy for you once we're done here."
"Captain…" Rachael started quietly. "May I ask you something?"
"That depends."
"I was lead to believe that Raymond and CIPHER are both under your custody…"
Chris nodded as he realized the unspoken question. The two men had indeed been brought back to the BSAA HQ for interrogation, and to decide what to do with them. They had both assisted in the retrieval of one of the most valuable biological assets they could ever get, but both men had a history. Even so, the two men couldn't reasonably be released, even if they were trusted. The mission in Eastern Europe had made them some large enemies, and Chris had his doubts that even the two's skills would be able to save them from their location being leaked by their former employers. So for now, they were being held, both for everyone else's and their safety.
"That's true. We also have the man known as DOZER in custody. Currently, all three have been exceptionally cooperative with us, and their chances to be released from custody are good. We'll likely end up bringing them into the BSAA though, simply to protect them." Rachael nodded, seemingly relaxing at the reassuring news. "I would like to take the chance to talk with them after all this."
"As would I," Rachael agreed. "I barely knew them, and yet I owe my life to them. If it weren't for them and Parker, I'd likely still be at the bottom of the sea."
Chris watched as Rachael's face shifted slightly, her features adapting a somber expression. Even though the muscles didn't quite manage to perfect the motion, it only leant more weight towards the emotion he could see on it. Sighing, Chris relaxed his shoulders. "I wouldn't worry about them. From what I've heard, they're probably only going to be in questioning a few more days. I'll put in a good word in order to speed up the process."
Rachael nodded her thanks, and Chris allowed a smile to creep into his face. Sherry glanced over at the wall behind the pair, noting a regional map. Looking around, she realized that everyone else was busy looking over maps and reports in what she could recognize as the formation of an infiltration plan. "What are you guys doing?"
"While Rachael did give us a key advantage to fighting bioterrorism, there are still people out there we need to get. We may have found a lead on one of them," Jill explained. Chris gave her a questioning look, but she gave him a reassuring look. "How familiar are you with the Arklay Mansion Incident?"
"I don't really know that much," Sherry admitted. "Supposedly, that was the first outbreak of the T-Virus, before it hit Raccoon City."
"Chris and I were part of the team sent to investigate the mansion after Bravo team went missing. Barry Burton and Albert Wesker were the other members of our team. As it turned out, Wesker worked for Umbrella and nearly had us all killed just so he could collect data on the creature's combat strength. While there, he was killed by a Tyrant, but somehow came back. He's been causing outbreaks wherever he goes, and they've only gotten worse."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" Manuela offered. Jill was about to answer, when Chris interrupted.
"That won't be necessary. Too many operatives will make it hard to get the drop on our target. Besides, Jill and I have personal stakes in this. In any event, they'll want to get a look at Rachael, and I doubt that they'll be done by the time our insertion window arrives. You three are needed more here."
Manuela nodded. "Is there anything else we can help with?"
"I just have one thing," Chris stated solidly. Jill eyed him cautiously as he continued. "You have to understand that I have a history with bioterrorism. I've heard good things about the three of you, but I've seen a lot of good people die as well. Having three people in front of me who each carry a virus responsible for hundreds," he glanced at Sherry, "of deaths or even thousands," he finished, looking to Rachael.
Sherry rubbed her arm nervously while Rachael went completely silent. Manuela fixed Chris with a harsh glare, but Jill beat her to the punch. "Chris! That wasn't called for," she hissed.
"I want to be clear. I trust the three of you. What I don't trust is the viruses in each of you. At a moment's notice, any of you could lose control, becoming a threat to any number of innocent people. I want to believe that won't happen, but I've lost too many people to Umbrella. And I'm not the only one. Claire lost someone she cared about to the Veronica virus. Once he was infected, he tried to kill her. No one is immune."
The room was silent as the words sunk in. Manuela seemed to want to say something, but was unable to find the words. Sherry seemed to pale at the thought that Claire had lost someone.
"But you have to remember that each of you have the potential to save a lot of people too," Jill reminded softly. "Manuela, you saved the President's daughter, and once the antigen is done, the anti-abyss will save even more. We've already seen you do more than almost anyone else to fight bioterrorism when and where it appears. Just because a few people made mistakes, doesn't mean everyone will."
Chris nodded. "I agree with that. While I may not like the idea of anyone walking around while infected, all three of you have already made great sacrifices and strides in countering bioterrorism. I hope we can work together in the future to end this once and for all."
The sound of the speakers interrupted the conversation. "Agents Redfield and Valentine, report for deployment."
"Guess that's your cue."
"We'll talk more after the mission," Chris promised. "If this goes well, we might very well ask for your help afterwards."
"Good luck, both of you." Jill nodded her head in thanks, following quickly after her partner, who was already out the door. Manuela knew from experience that when it came time for a mission, haste was of the essence. Glancing around briefly, she noticed a map on the wall, very similar to the castle that she and Leon had gone through in Spain. It had been rough, but they had made it. Just the thought of it was enough to make her feel confident that Chris and Jill would do just fine.
Manuela stretched as she stepped onto the mat. After dropping Rachael off at the labs for her daily examination, Sherry and her had elected to head to the sparring arena in order to keep their physique up, as well as vent some of the stress both felt about Chris and Jill's mission.
With a deep breath, Manuela reached to the floor, testing her joints. In the time since learning of her infection, it had reformed her body in many ways. As she reached for her toes, she could feel the muscles of her legs stretch with ease, even as the density gave them more definition. Only three years ago, her body had been frail and weak, but now she could hold her own against trained professionals.
But the change was nothing compared to what she had seen in Sherry. The younger girl had gained significant muscle mass, quickly eclipsing Manuela in strength. Most of the time, she hid it underneath her thick coats, despite assurances that it didn't look bad. While at first Manuela and Leon had been able to train her, it soon became apparent that Sherry needed training in a specialized fighting style. Though she was still faster than most people, she stilled paled when compared to Manuela in terms of speed, and so they had called in a professional in order to teach her a more direct style. Looking across the mat, Manuela was happy to see that Sherry had stripped off her coat in favour of the lighter sparring gear. It was even better to see that she didn't seem to care about the other people in the arena, who were doing a less than stellar job of hiding their interest in the two.
"You sure you're up for this?" Sherry asked nervously. Manuela chuckled softly, shaking her head. Ever since her massive muscle growth, Sherry had grown very cautious ever since her own strength had eclipsed Manuela's.
"It'll be fine," Manuela assured standing up. "Just relax."
"Alright," Sherry agreed hesitantly, rocking back and forth a little to ease her nerves. Both women briefly checked their equipment before edging towards each other. Already Manuela could see the results of their separate trainings, with Manuela taking a bit of a lowered stance, loose and ready, while Sherry stood taller, arms close to her body, muscles tense. Manuela took a breath, readying her attack.
Jabbing forward, she aimed a low, quick strike towards Sherry, expecting the woman to dodge. To her surprise, Sherry did no such thing. Instead, she ground herself firmly, swinging a hard right hook. Manuela's fist impacted Sherry's stomach, which barely budged even under the impact of her attack. Rolling with the momentum, she managed to reduce the impact as Sherry's fist found her side, practically tossing her aside with the force. As she rolled, she realized that if she had been a normal human, the shot might have taken her out of the fight, but her increased speed and endurance had saved her. Rolling to a stand, she regarded Sherry with new found caution. Sherry was simply smiling over her fists. "You've been training."
"Of course. Can't have you showing me up all the time." Manuela smiled as she sized up her opponent. It seemed that Sherry's resilience had increased greatly, preventing Manuela from trying to take her out due to powerful hits. A war of attrition was right out, as she doubted that she could dodge Sherry long enough to even see her falter slightly. She would have to rely on tactics to get the upper hand. Quickly, she dashed forwards, feinting quickly. Sherry threw a shot, but Manuela quickly struck her arm, knocking the attack inside instead of risking the chance of taking it. The attack unbalanced Sherry, allowing Manuela to get in close. Ducking low, she ducked under Sherry's second strike, grabbing her around the waist. While Sherry was strong, she wasn't heavy. The action startled Sherry, who tried to rebalance instead of pummeling her back like she should have.
Twisting, she brought Sherry down, hard. Luckily, the padding prevented either of them from sustaining too much injury. Still, Sherry took the brunt of the impact, gasping in surprise. Manuela didn't allow her a reprieve though, quickly pinning Sherry beneath her. "Uncle?"
"Never," Sherry promised with a smile. Suddenly, she brought her legs up beside Manuela, wrapping them about her waist before launching herself upwards. Her legs acted as a fulcrum, causing Manuela to fall backwards and slam into the padding. Rolling with the motion, she pinned Manuela's legs against her chest before grabbing her hands. With all of Manuela's limbs pinned, she pulled her legs out before applying her weight downwards, trapping Manuela.
For a moment, Manuela struggled, trying to escape the pin, but she gave up quickly. With a sigh, she tapped the padding and Sherry removed her grip, rolling to the side with a laugh. Manuela sat up, stretching. "You've improved a lot."
"Only in terms of my body. You're still a better shot than me."
"That might be true, but you've really improved. It's just the difference with how our viruses worked. I couldn't be anywhere near as strong as you. Besides, while Leon and me are good fighters, it's nice to think that we'll have someone covering us."
"You'll really think there'll be a place on the team for me?"
"Of course. Leon's a bit more of a sharpshooter, so he needs clear shots, and I'm better with mid range. With the combination of the three of us, we'll be able to handle anything they throw at us," Manuela assured. Sherry nodded, sighing. Both of them turned as they heard a small cough behind them. A man stood behind them, and at first Manuela thought they were in trouble, but the smile on his face said otherwise.
"Couldn't help but watch you two fight. Mind if I take a round?"
"I'm a bit tuckered out, but if you want to Sherry, I'd love to watch." Manuela smiled to her companion, who just shrugged calmly, barely tired from the fight. Sherry jumped up to her feet, already getting back into form. Slinking off to the side, Manuela watched with a smile as the two got into form. The man was quite a bit larger than Sherry, and taller. His body told her that he was an avid fighter, and his form was good.
He didn't stand a chance.
And neither did Chris.
The news hit the base hard. When the captain returned, battered and silent, it had been shocking enough. The empty spot beside him had been even worse. Manuela hadn't even had to ask; Chris' grim silence was enough.
The only words he had spoken since returning were urging the search crews to look everywhere. No number of assurances could placate him, even when the teams told him that they would search for weeks if they had to. It was a promise that she felt sure they would uphold if necessary, considering how everyone respected both Chris and Jill.
After the crews had gone, she had seen the defeated look on his face. With nothing he could do to help, he'd headed to the med bay in order to have his wounds looked at. She had come to check up on him, and found him sitting silently on the bedside while one of the infirmary staff tended his wounds. Chris didn't even look at the man as he worked, staring into the tiling of the floor.
"How's he doing?" Manuela asked, intercepting the man once he was done. The medic sighed.
"He took quite a beat down from what I can tell. Nothing that won't heal, but he's not normally like this. Every time we had to drag him down before he always joked about not needing fixing. He was never silent."
"It's impolite to talk behind someone's back you know," Chris pointed out from his bed. The medic paled and nodded, walking away to attend his duties. Manuela was about to follow him out when Chris spoke again. "I want to talk to you."
Manuela stepped into the room nervously. Chris looked up from the floor, fixing her with a hard, even gaze that made her shiver slightly. Even when they had been in the mission room, he had only felt disapproving. Now he felt positively lethal. She wanted to say something but the words dried up in her mouth before she could think of anything. Finally she managed to force the words out. "What did you want to talk about?"
"He was there. The bastard was there before us," Chris spat venomously. Manuela was confused as to who "he" was for a moment before remembering what Jill had told them. Her eyes widened as she realized that he was talking about Wesker. The only one outside of the base who had been infected and lived to tell the tale. "He killed Spencer too before we even got there. Ran him right through with his bare hands."
Manuela paled at the description. She'd known that Wesker was evil but that was just... horrific. Chris didn't stop, gripping his fists tightly. "We didn't stand a fucking chance! He dodged our bullets for Christ's sake! He came this close to killing me!"
Chris slammed his fist into the table, causing the whole thing to shake violently. If he had hit any harder, Manuela was sure he would have broken it. As it was, she was sure that it would bruise nastily come the next day, but it was the least of his worries. "Jill...damn it, she...I'll get him for this."
Manuela wanted to ask what Jill did, but decided it wasn't her place. She did wonder, however, what Chris had wanted her for. She waited patiently as he breathed in and out angrily. Finally, he leaned forward tiredly, and his voice came out hollow and flat.
"I will destroy this virus, if it's the last thing I do," Chris promised, looking up at Manuela. The deadly look in his eyes was back, and his expression was dead serious as he spoke intently. "I will hunt down every last infected creature on the earth and kill it. And if any of you step out of line, or pose the least amount of threat to anyone, I will not hesitate to kill you. There is nothing good about the virus, least of all those it chooses to bond with. I'm only giving you one chance, for all the people you've helped. But know that my aim is as good as my word."
Manuela nodded quietly, feeling fear coil in her stomach. Part of her wanted to say this was just his reaction to the sudden loss, that he wouldn't dream of doing it, but another part of her knew it had pushed him passed the tipping point. He'd made it clear that he didn't trust them before, despite how much they'd helped. The virus was the factor. At this point, they weren't friends, or allies. They were people who harboured the object of his pain. He wouldn't kill them because they were bad, but because of what they had in them. The potential to harm and kill others.
"Now, get out of my room," Chris commanded quietly, laying down on his bed. He groaned with pain as he lay down, letting out a tired sigh. Manuela nodded, though he didn't see it, before leaving the room. His words haunted her mind, distracting her so much she didn't notice Sherry trying to get her attention until she was bodily seized.
"I heard you went to see Chris. Is he alright? Jesus, I mean…"
"He's alive. But he's...he's not happy. Sherry, I need to tell you something…"
And thus we reach the end of the first extra. I actually really like Chris, believe it or not. But if RE6 demonstrated anything, Chris can become rather vindictive and angry. I'd daresay that his drive to destroy the virus challenges and surpasses Leon's. He was very close to killing Carla at the end instead of capturing her, so I don't think it's that weird to think that he'd threaten the virus trio (nickname pending). Unlike Carla, though, they're actually good people, so it's more of a close scrutiny thing. In any event, since they work primarily for the U.S., they won't encounter each other much, but it will come up later for other stories. With that said, I hope you enjoyed!