HIII! well, I hate to say it, but this is my first time delving into the crazy world of Resident Evil Fanfiction! ooooh -scary noises- lol. I've written stuff before, so I doubt this is going to read like the typical first-timer's drabble that I've seen way too much of lately, but it's not without it's mistakes and flaws. I read it over twice to make sure there weren't typos, but I'm pretty sure a few slipped through, and my writing style is crazy full of run-on sentences, so forgive me before you even start for that. I also like the idea of Rebecca being all girl-powery and what-not, really badass, since she's a bit of a wuss in the games. Also, a heads up, I HAVE ONLY PLAYED 1/3 OF RE:0, READ ZERO HOUR BY S.D. PERRY, AND HAVE MINIMAL KNOWLEDGE OF RE:1'S PLOT! SO DON'T KILL ME FOR PLOT HOLES IN THE RE UNIVERSE SINCE I BARELY KNOW IT! I wanted to wait to write this until I knew a bit more about RE's timelines so it's accurate, and not AU, but I was just too excited after reading Zero Hour, that I just went for it. So, forgive me for that too. Rebecca and Billy are the only characters from RE canon that i feel familiar enough to characterize, so I avoided everyone else, sticking in my own OC's to make up for the lack of developed side characters. I'd rather have people bish about that then about me not characterizing Jill or Chris properly. So with all that nonsense out of the way, I hope you enjoy, all you RebeccaxBilly fans! there's not enough love for this almost-coupling, so I am adding to it! 3
GIVE AND TAKE
~an RE:0 AU Story~
It had been almost 6 months since the mansion incident, and Officer Rebecca Chambers seemed to have assimilated well to her new life and new role. Of course, that was just what she wanted everyone else to think. She was very good at building up masks to hide behind, and this was her biggest yet.
Every smile she gave to every person she helped at the S.T.A.R.S. Personnel Office. Fake as the fur rim on her winter coat. She hated every second of it. Dressed up like a little doll in fancy work pants and conservative tops. She longed every second to be out on the field again in her Medic vest, facing the unknown. Her multiple brushes with death had done little to hamper this desire, as her frequent visits to the specially appointed personnel shrink was well aware of.
After the mansion incident, everything had just taken a turn for the worse. she, and all civilians living in and around Raccoon City had had to be evacuated, and so she was, away from everything she'd known, and all the bitter memories of her two nights in the heart of Umbrella's facilities, learning all their deepest, darkest secrets. She alone knew best how everything linked up, having experienced it herself, and she was often called upon to give seminars to new recruits being let loose on the biohazard zone that was now Raccoon City, to better prepare them for what was before them. But lately, she'd been getting less and less calls for seminars, and the word in the office (or what she could get of it) was that her information was becoming dated. New monstrocities were developing every day, evolving at a ridiculous rate. The infection wasn't spreading, not yet, anyway. But there was always a pall of doom overhanging fresh reports, saying that the biohazard lockdown walls couldn't contain the city forever.
"Officer Chambers, could you file this away for-"
"Right away Sir, I'd be happy to!" she very nearly grabbed the paperwork from the Lietenant Officer Riley, quickly rifling through it's contents so she would know where it belonged in the complex case file cataloguing system, a system only the very few and very bright could manage to keep track of without computer help.
"Snippy today, huh? Something on your mind?" Officer Riley leaned his elbows on the counter, smiling sympathetically. He knew all about her history, which was saying something, considering he'd only been stationed at the office for about a month or two. None of the other freshly hired field lackeys had bothered to, and frequently treated her like any other office drudge, albeit a very pretty and spunky one at that.
"Not really. Just preoccupied. New rumors just off of RCPD's line says there's a new runner in the streets. Something really big and super fast that's bullet repellant, at least up to .50 rounds."
she wracked off the facts mentally, her eyes going back and forth eagerly as if reading them off a paper. There was no doubt she was brilliant. Maybe a bit strange, and fixated a bit too much on the facts and statistics of the Raccoon City cases, but who could blame her, after what she'd been through. Her desk clerk job had been S.T.A.R.S. apology to her, since they obviously couldn't do what she truly wanted, which was to let her back out onto ground zero.
"Really? sounds fierce. Stuff like that always makes me feel a heckuva lot better that we're out here in the middle of almost no where, and the boys are doing the dirty work."
Rebecca's smile fell and her lips pinched together in a face Riley had quickly come to associate with dissaproval. It was adorable, coming from her, but also damning in that he hated to dissapoint such a pretty girl. She was only 19, and an orphan now to boot, but goodness. If he was only 10 years younger...
"Now, now, don't be a sourpuss. You're probably pretty much the only lady in the whole world who wants a piece of that crazy ass action."
"I want it because I've already had it. and let's just say, I might be a little...addicted to it?"
her voice was low and menacing, like her sentence was something his ears weren't meant to hear. he backed away slightly from the desk, hands up in defeat.
"You know what they say, Chambers. Curiosity killed the cat!"
Rebecca watched Officer Riley go, her eyes straying back to the file in her hand. It was old and smelled a bit musty, along with having a few dented and frayed corners. Probably meant to be processed and put into the new high-tech computer system. She quickly pulled up the appropriate program and typed in case peripherals. It was your run-of-the-mill homicide, unsolved, but still open due to newly discovered evidence, blah-de-blah. All of these cases were on the backburner now that biological genocide was quite literally banging on the doorstep. It was why her work now made her feel so useless. If she was out ont he field, gathering intel, then maybe her information would never be dated, and they'd always need her...
Her heart quite nearly stopped when her eyes fell on the last page in the file. it was obviously misplaced, since the paper was a different grain and color then the rest of the case paperwork. One corner was dark crimson, with what had to be blood, and the paper was mottled with rain smears. But the picture attached to the file seemed almost entirely undamaged, if a bit bent on one side.
His dark, glaring eyes stared up at her, his handsome face so menacing and angry...So far and away from what she remembered. This had been her first look upon the face of notorious William Coen. and it would apparently also be her last.
She slammed the case file folder shut, before she could get lost into that crazy enigma that was Billy and everything they could have but never meant to each other. She looked around warily, almost expecting Riley to have returned, to see how she'd reacted to his little prank plant, see how the psycho Chambers reacted to a blast from the past. But no one was around.
Just the quiet shufflings of the office, phones ringing. Like nothing had changed. But she knew it like she knew her own birthday, that something had changed for her. And nothing would ever be the same again.
"Uno, por favor." the man's textbook Spanish made the bartender's daughter smile to herself as she brewed up the village's signature drink, then set it down on the counter, already sweating from the glass in the midday heat. the man took the drink and sipped it daintily, looking around the mostly darkened room, filled with filthy no good types and tobacco smoke.
Looked more like 1839 then 1999, to him anyway.
But that's what it looked like anywhere south of the Equator, and that's where he planned to stay.
"Gracias." he murmured and placed several peso coins on the counter, along with a gracious smile to the bartender's daughter, who blushed crazily and hid her face behind her apron before taking the coins.
Well, that he could definitely get used to.
After finishing his drink he got up and headed for a back room labeled "Cuidado" in big red letters. Ignoring the legend, he marched right in and sat down in a lounge chair facing the tinted window, waiting for his big connection "Gordovio" or "Gordo" as many of the locals called him. He was the biggest arms dealer this far into the Chilean jungle, and just the guy Billy knew he wanted to meet, if he planned to do the unthinkable. It had taken him this long to decide, and who knew? maybe it had been too long. Too little too late. But he mustn't think like that now. He had to look large and in charge, and with a name like Gordo, he had a feeling this would be difficult to pull with this man.
He already had the plane ticket in order, legitimately, he was proud to add, working 9 hour days in the boiling sun for his keep. this was unfortunately the only way he could arm himself without being on record, something he obviously wanted to avoid at all costs.
Who knew if the quarantine was still up? News was scarce down this south, from the states, but he was pretty dang sure he wasn't going to go up and just find out. No, he was going back prepared. Luckily, Chilean airport security were easy to pay off, and flights into the heart of ground zero were obviously bound to be very cheaply funded.
"Ah, I was told you were a gringo, but it is clear our sun has changed that." a big beefy man with three extra chins lumbered out from a side door, patting his mouth with a napkin. He'd obviously just taken lunch, as the smell of ripe arroz con gandules filled the air. It made Billy's stomach churn. he'd eaten nothing but a tawdry loaf of bread that morning, offered out of the kindness of a villager's heart. To see this arms dealer living it high while so many families struggled made him physically ill.
"Good to see your english is better then most, since my Spanish is embarrassing. Can we do this deal or not?"
Gordo took his time sitting down in the large chair across from Billy's, stifling burps, almost as if Billy were a woman, who was unaccustomed to such piggish behavior and he was trying to be polite. the young lietenant grit his teeth in slight frustration.
"It depends on how well you are willing to pay, and how great your need is." the large man took a black suitcase out from under the chair and opened it, revealing many shiny black firearms. Billy struggled to hold back his excitement at seeing so many tools for destruction, but was pretty sure he failed. Firearms meant he'd be able to see her again. To keep her safe. There was no stifling that type of desire. Not anymore.
"I see your need is quite great. Let us see if you're willing to pay for just what these are worth to you, mi amigo."
Rebecca looked once more around he almost empty but homey apartment. It was small, but it had been her safe haven to run to at night, when the office hours had ended and she was left alone with her thoughts and deepest desires.
One wall stood empty, where it had once held papers she'd salvaged from the office about the closing of Billy's case, and 'ghost sightings' of the famous convict throughout the southern states and eventually Nicaragua. Scribbled tips she'd done on post-its of rumors and coordinates she'd overheard, along with case files from beyond RCPD lines, descriptive case files on the diverse types of monsters that were still being discovered daily. the ones she'd had hands-on experience with were already yellowing at the edges when she'd torn them down, case files she'd written up herself, in exhaustive scientific detail. she wasn't a biochem major for nothing.
Now, all the loose paperwork was stuffed in a box and hidden under the floorboards of the single closet, hopefully never to be found, or found when she wanted it to be. When she was dead and long past caring.
But that couldn't happen. Not yet, anyway.
she shouldered the duffel bag she'd chosen to accompany her on her journey, and patted her empty gun holster worriedly. That was the last thing she had to do before setting out. Sneaking back into the closed office and getting her 9 mm from the locked arms room in the basement. She was the only one who had to surrender her weapon at the end of the day, along with several other psychological cases in the office. She resented being categorized with a registered schizophrenic and a narcoleptic. She was hardly that hindered by her experiences. If anything, her senses were heightened by what she'd been through.
Careful not to trigger any of the alarms, she stepped quietly through the lobby, tucking the front door key into her pocket and making for the basement stairs gingerly.
She barely weighed 100 lbs, surely she could manage to make it across the lobby without making a sound. But of course, nothing ever went as smoothly as she expected it to. Before she was even halfway across the lobby and past her usual desk, Lietenant RIley was coming down the left hallway, and froze when he saw her.
He looked beat tired, exhausted beyond reason and for a reason. it was nearly 2 in the morning. But as he took in Rebecca's skulking form, he almost seemed to smile.
"Looking for something, Chambers? Forgot a file or a xerox perhaps?"
Rebecca tried to mentally plaster on her usual chipper attitude but she was too shaken to do so properly. So close.
"No, no, nothing like that sir. I'm pretty sure I was almost robbed earlier, and I was going to go get my gun, just to give me some leverage, in case it ever happens again."
Riley was silent for a moment, studying her, seeing the slightest of twitches on her upper eyelid. it could have been random, but knowing her, nothing was ever truly random.
"You're right. Young thing like you shouldn't be stuck up at your place unarmed in such a dodgy neighborhood. Surprised the Sergeant hasn't granted you a waiver for your weapon. You've definitely proven that you know how to use it."
"Protocol is protocol, Lt. Riley." Rebecca shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but failing. she was clearly spooked. but by what? the burglar story was a ruse, he'd've been an idiot not to know that much. But why?
He decided to wait it out and see, humoring the girl by heading towards the basement and her locked up firearm, keys jingling. she followed like a dog to a bone, blue eyes lighting up with anticipation. Yep. something was definitely up.
"You sure you're alright, Rebecca?" he'd tried not to use her first name out of respect, but now he was genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine, Riley. just a bit rattled, is all. I kind of miss the security of a gun by my side. It's hard to live without one after...well...you know..."
"I see." he stayed silent the rest of the way down the stairs, stopping suddenly at their foot, blocking the way with his arm. Rebecca knew that pose. Something was wrong.
"Anybody in here?" Riley barked, using his field voice to great effect. if it was any robber, they'd be scared shitless by now.
No one answered. the grate to the firearms locker swung open as if recently moved, ominous in the flourescent light.
Rebecca knew this silence. the silence that wasn't quite silence. The silence that was too loud to last for very long. And almost like clockwork, she heard it. A small almost indiscernable shuffle. her heart leapt to her throat and she very nearly jumped over the prone Riley, who almost shot her in his panic, ran into the locker, grabbed her 9mm along with a ridiculous amount of high grade rounds and packed up, spinning her gun towards the sound in the corner of the basement.
The movement was all way too fast for Riley to even compute properly, as he stared at the younger officer, fear in his eyes as she aimed at something he clearly didn't yet see over his shoulder. He spun, almost too late, as the thing was upon him, broken teeth mere millimeters from his pulsing jugular. Rebecca shot, twice, both of them hitting home into the creature's skull. Her shot was much improved since that first night. the thing fell to floor into a squelching heap, Riley's mouth open in shock as he flinched away from it.
"What the fuck?" he cursed softly, rubbing his neck where the thing's teeth had almost grazed him.
"It's a zombie. one of the infected citizens of Raccoon City. The walls have finally been breached...I'm not surprised to be honest."
she'd reached that calm place inside of her that had kept her alive for two nights in two seperate hell holes filled with just these types of bastards. she rubbed her gun affectionately before putting it back into it's holster, still warm from the shots. Peering at the corpse before them, she frowned.
"This one looks a lot less decayed...a lot more...human then the ones I remember. and it was way faster too."
Riley still hadn't spoken, probably too stunned to form coherent sentences. Rebecca had always known the man hadn't the stomach for this kind of thing, but this was getting ridiculous. Things were getting worse the longer they stood here.
"Look. the real reason i came back here is because I'm leaving. Going down to the borders of RC and from there, I'm going to do my best to get some recon on the newer monsters that are starting to breach the walls. You can come with me if you want-" she paused and chuckled a little as a small puddle of urine formed around Riley's ankles.
"Or you could stay here and clean that up. My bets going to be you're staying here. So I'll see you, soldier." and with that she bounced up the stairs two at a time, back to her little souped up car and out into the crazy deserted roads, ready to bust some zombie skulls.
Billy gripped the armrests of the rickety plane as it soared over the remains of the once opulent Raccoon City. His crazy pilot liked to do air tricks, and he was definitely suffering for it, his face paler then it had been since he'd started to run away six months ago, his stomach in knots.
"Muy bien, si?" the pilot shouted over the intercom. two of the other passengers sat in stony silence, fear in their big brown eyes. This clearly wasn't as fun for them as it was for the pilot.
Finally, they spiraled to a stop on the one working runway closest to the city, RCPD suits running around with serious battle machine guns.
"Wish I could get me some of those..." Billy thought longingly, tightening his grip around a blue duffel bag holding all the firearms he'd been able to con off Gordo.
"Landing now!" the crazed pilot crooned, going off into a tangent in spanish about exit procedures. everyone seemed grateful to be alive. Little did they know...
Billy kept the hood of his jakcet up as the RCPD surrounded the plane as the passengers disembarked. He'd been letting his beard and mustache grow, so hopefully that would be enough along with his golden skin to disguise him as just another overeager Chilean soldier for hire.
They passed over him, as expected, not even bothering to spot check his duffel. Success. Billy smiled, unable to help that sense of being one step closer to his goal.
Now, all that was left was to hole up somewhere nearby, and find her. before it was too late.
"Citizens aren't allowed past this checkpoint ma'am!" a S.T.A.R.S. officer told Rebecca sternly as she tried to sidle her way past the flourescent yellow cones.
"I'm not a citizen, Officer! I am one of your own! Officer Chambers, in fact! I have jurisdiction in all zero ground zones!" she flashed her faded credentials through the window. the guard seemed confused, waving her through while obviously trying to figure out why her name was so familiar. It almost made him sad to see her go, since pretty faces like that never lasted long this close to the contamination zones. In his mind, the women should be as far East as possible, having as many kids as possible to make up for how many had already died.
But Rebecca wasn't to know that as she kept on through the windy, overcast weather, past more checkpoints and getting ever closer to where it had all started.
Raccoon City.
She stopped halfway down one of the main roads when she noticed train tracks on the ground. flashes of that night on the train...meeting him for the first time...facing that danger together...
she floored it forward, trying to forget, and yet simultaneously striving to remember. Somehow, that first encounter was quickly fading from her mind, as if it had never happened.
The ruins of Marcus' mansion were soon in full view, charred and blackened wood and decrepit scraps of metal all that remained of the once beautiful if creepy facility. she noted the biohazard tape that surrounded the perimeter and laughed inwardly to herself. who were they trying to warn? Everyone knew by now that this is where the infection had first started and would probably still be at it's strongest. Besides, you'd have to be crazy and suicidal if you tried to get up that cliff or through the underground tunnels to get up there again.
She spat into the grass by her feet and got back into the car. It was getting a bit dark and she didn't trust the trees. she'd never trusted those trees.
Before nightfall she'd made it to the official headquarters of the S.T.A.R.S. unit, not that far off the RCPD one, closer to the walls themselves.
she was a bit depressed to find out she didn't recognize any of the members in this unit, all of the brave souls she'd fought alongside having been transferred somewhere quiet, like she had, or dead, or institutionalized at best. it seemed like he new manage of S.T.A.R.S. wanted only fresh, untainted blood out on the front. Calves for slaughter. It made sense, but Rebecca was having trouble digesting that fact.
"Who is your commanding officer?" a gruff seasoned S.T.A.R.S. Corporal asked as he pawed through a clipboard of paperwork, then staring down her credentials.
"I'm not currently assigned to a unit, but I was sent from the Personnel Office up by Laurent because I have experience here, and they thought I'd be an asset to the front lines, sir."
"Hm. Rebecca Chambers, is it? You were the first witness to the infection, it says here-"
"First officer to come in contact with infected citizens, sir."
the Corporal nodded dismissively. "Sorry to say I don't think we can use your expertise here. The virus has evolved significantly since the earlier days. The zombies are getting faster, stronger, more resilient. We're almost 100% sure they're being released from the Umbrella headquarters in the middle of the city, but all the 'copters we send out get shot down before they're within recon range."
Rebecca frowned. this was what she'd feared.
"I'm experienced in field work, and I'm an excellent shot, along with being an accomplished medic. I graduated with a-"
"Biochem degree, yes, I'm aware. youngest in your class. you were quite the talk of the town back in the day. You were Enrico's golden girl." the Corporal laughed.
"Thing is, you've already served your country, and much better then many full grown men twice your own age. I hate to say that it'd be a crime against humanity to send you back in there, Officer Chambers. It's way out of your league."
she'd never anticipated having to prove herself again,and didn't know where to go from here. Sighing with defeat she nodded. "I understand sir. it was worth a shot." her smile was strained at best as she got up, tucking her credentials into the breast pocket of her shirt.
"We could still use your expertise in programming and biochemistry here at headquarters though. We have a lot of inexperienced rookies here who could really use the help. It's something to do, I suppose. I'm sorry I can't give you what you want. It's rare to find an Officer ready and willing to go in there."
Rebecca bit her lip. if she stayed long enough to get access to key codes and equipment...
"Alright. Sure. I'll take you up on that offer, sir. Like you said, It's something to do. and I will be helping to a small degree." she shook hands with the corporal and tried her best to hide her dissapointment, something she'd become adept at.
"When are you all going to stop underestimating me...?" she whispered.
uggh finally done. I know this was a long ass chapter, but I got so into it! I doubt successive chapters will be this long. please, please review. I always get paranoid about entering other fandoms with my stories, and I never know how many fans will approve. send me approval love! 333 so I know I'm doing it right, and can keep doing it!