Extra 02
"I heard things didn't go well."
Manuela nodded numbly. After the failure of Chris' mission, they'd stayed just long enough to give the BSAA the t-Abyss samples, but neither the BSAA or the US government wanted to risk incident by having the trio around the base too long. They had been shipped back to the US post-haste, and it appeared that news travelled quickly, as Leon had returned back from his mission early, waiting for the three. He hadn't said anything upon their return, simply thanking the escorts and helping them inside. All of them had turned in early that night.
"You could say that," Manuela responded at last. Leon nodded in agreement, turning to look at Sherry, who had joined them. Rachael still hadn't left her room since returning, and he didn't need to be a mind reader to know why.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do to help?" Manuela shook her head and Sherry seemed to be lost in thought. Leon was about to speak again when Sherry spoke up.
"Can we talk? Just you and me...that is," Sherry asked nervously. Leon was stunned for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Manuela nodded, standing up.
"Come and get me when you're done," she assured, smiling softly, though it still retained the edge of sadness. She gently squeezed Leon's shoulder as she walked out of the room. Leon turned to Sherry, resting his elbows on the table.
"How can I be of service?" he asked with a small smile.
Sherry snorted slightly at his attempt to lighten the mood before shifting and leaning back in her seat. She seemed to think for a moment before she spoke again. "Chris didn't take it well."
"I can't imagine he would. He lost his partner."
"It was strange," Sherry continued, and Leon realized that she was deep in her own thoughts. "Before the mission, he seemed really strong and brave. Claire used to talk about him all the time in our meetings and letters. Constant praise, aside from the occasional joke because they're family," Sherry admitted with a laugh.
"She talked about how nice he was, and how she wanted me to meet him one day so I could meet the man who taught her how to defend herself. She owed her life to his training, so in a little bit of a roundabout way, I owe my life to him as well. Not that you weren't a part of that," Sherry amended, snapping out of her trance for a moment. Leon just smiled and gestured to continue. "I always looked forward to meeting him. After all, he and Jill...they started the BSAA. Sure, they didn't do the corporate overhead and crap, but it was the two of them that built the thing. I guess I kind of expected a bit of a hero when I saw him. And he lived up to it. Sure, he didn't exactly like us, but he was fair. And the way that the men respected him, you could tell it was because they trusted him, and he trusted them."
"I wasn't there when he told Manuela to get out, but I know he didn't just mean it at her. He meant it to all of us. Back in the room, before everything went down, he talked to us like humans. He sympathized with what we had gone through. But now...I think he just sees the virus. I may as well be a walking bomb to him. At least Manuela and me look human...God I can't imagine how Rachael feels right now…"
Sherry's words failed her and she brought her legs up to her chest, resting her head on her knees. Leon could see she was fighting back tears, and he walked over to her, gently wrapping an arm around her comfortingly. He wanted to say something to help her, but nothing seemed right.
"Leon...what's going to happen to us? If someone like Chris can hate us, what happens if people start calling for-"
"That's not going to happen," Leon interrupted quickly, his voice cold. Sherry turned in surprise and Leon fixed her gaze with his own."Chris is a good man, and he'll come to his senses eventually. He's grieving, but he'll move passed it. It might take time, but he'll get there. I don't know Chris personally, but I know that he's a stronger man than me. He'll come around. I guarantee it."
Sherry smiled thankfully, hugging Leon. The man just smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks Leon. It's nice to hear that."
"Let's go catch up with Manuela. I hear you two have been training a lot."
Sherry was always happy to blow off steam. The only thing she hated was all the preparation she had to go through if she wanted to give it her all.
"Alright, you know the drill," Manuela said with a light tease, trying to make the situation a little better. Sherry nodded, quickly stripping down to her underwear. The first time they had gone through this procedure, she'd been so embarrassed that she backed out. Since then, it had gotten easier, but she still couldn't meet Manuela's eyes while she worked. The slender and dextrous woman took the offered clothing, folding them nicely before setting them down next to a massive pile of clothing and equipment.
Manuela handed her a set of black leggings, which Sherry took gratefully, slipping into them quickly. The clothing was tight, but not too uncomfortably so. After making sure to adjust them properly, she raised grabbed the shirt that Manuela offered her without looking. Like the leggings, it was also black, and featured long sleeves and a higher neck than most of her wardrobe. Slipping into it, Sherry couldn't help but chuckle at the fact that she looked like a theatre techie with her colour palette.
"Now comes the fun part," Sherry commented dryly, spreading her arms out without prompt.
"I'm sorry we have to go through all of this," Manuela apologized as she lowered the custom armour padding over Sherry's shoulders. The particular design of the chest piece was a modified bullet vest, featuring more separate plates, which could each take more impacts, while not reducing her flexibility too much. "Tell me when it's good."
Sherry nodded in acknowledgement as Manuela's hands worked on the winches built into the suit. With each little tug, the padding grew tighter, supporting her body more. Each time a winch was just right, Sherry told Manuela to move onto the next one. Soon, the vest was in place and Manuela grabbed the next pieces of equipment; her arm padding. Sherry turned her arm as Manuela put her elbow pads on, followed by bracers for her forearms, and segmented overlays for her upper arms. Sherry smiled as she accepted her gloves, one of the few elements of the outfit she had choice over. They had been modified slightly to have grips built along the palm and fingers, but Sherry didn't mind.
Manuela dropped to a crouch and Sherry spread her stance while Manuela began putting her leg armour on. Sherry remembered the relief she had felt when they had told her that the lower half of her equipment would be lighter. Her lower legs were the most heavily armoured part, with both a shin guard and a calf guard. The upper portions of her leg were also armoured, but only on the front. They had initially tried putting armour on the back, but it had messed with her mobility too much, so they had scrapped that concept. They once again repeated the process of tightening the clips for all her limbs until she felt comfortable with the tension.
Manuela handed Sherry her gourget while picking up the final piece with a grunt. Snapping the metal neck guard into place, Sherry took the coat from Manuella easily, marvelling at how strong she had become. The off-white coat was one of the other features she had picked. It was fairly stylish, and she was surprised she had gotten away with it. Once again though, it wasn't untouched. The inside had a mesh to reduce the force of impacts, as well as resist stabbing and other types of attacks like that. Between it and the inner vest, she was protected from many forms of attack, but the whole thing weighed more than most girls of her age and size should have been able to wear. The G-Virus had changed that; while it was still heavy and stifling at times, her training was allowing her to handle it better and better. She giggled as she remembered Leon confiding the fact that a few of the guards had felt a little emasculated at her capability to wear heavier armour easier than they could. It helped her feel a little better whenever she had to sit through the whole procedure.
"Everything alright? Snug and tight?" Manuela asked, performing one last check. Sherry rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder with a smile.
"I'm fine mother. Jeez, between Leon and you, I can't have any fun."
"You'll get plenty of fun soon enough," Manuela retorted. "Besides, you know I have to spend just as much time with my uniform as you do."
'Yes, but you're not carrying a small tank on your body."
"No, but I am carrying a small medical lab. One slipped tube and I end up with a dose of coagulant when I shouldn't. Add the stab vest to that, and some days I wished I had your strength." Both women fell silent for a moment.
"It's kind of strange, isn't it?" Sherry asked quietly. "I get stabbed, and it's no problem. You get stabbed and you start burning up. But if I get burned, or poisoned, it doesn't end well, while you just purge the material."
"The Veronica virus is not like the G-Virus. It's not as strong, but it's more stable," Manuela stated quietly, gently putting a hand on Sherry's shoulder. "Living with the G-Virus is a battle of the body. You have to take care not to injure yourself. But the Veronica is a battle of the mind. I have to always make sure to be calm and in control."
Sherry nodded solemnly, smiling gently. She supposed it wasn't too bad, but she still didn't like the idea of having to watch herself like some porcelain doll. She had grown so much stronger than the young girl that had left Raccoon City. She had surpassed Leon in physical strength and endurance, but it felt like she was still weaker than him and Claire. Falling asleep in a safety proofed room every night only reinforced that.
Manuela seemed to understand what she was thinking, and took a deep breath, smiling. "Come on. Let's get out there so you can put this stuff to good use."
Nodding enthusiastically, Sherry grabbed her helmet. Truth be told, she was excited to get the chance to test herself again. She would blow them all away this time.
Both men waited nervously in the hall. Their job this time was to guard the door against the opposing force. They'd pulled the job a couple of times, but each run was getting harder and harder. Even so, they didn't spare a glance towards each other as they waited. When they heard the telltale clicking of a grenade bouncing off the wall, they both dived to the side, taking cover in the alcoves that ran along the hall.
Smoke burst forth, immediately obscuring their vision. One of the men poked around the corner, firing a burst of pellets into the smoke before taking cover just as the return fire struck the wall only fractions of an inch beside him. The panic on his face was evident as they hoped to be able to push back the attackers.
The other man whipped out, a moment of dread passing through him as he saw the figure approaching. Sherry had taken the point on this particular run, bearing a particularly large riot shield with unnatural ease. The shield almost obscured her body entirely, and she only barely had to crouch to stay behind it. Even with as much girth as it had, she was approaching rapidly, her team using her as a mobile cover element. In her other hand, she carried the paint magnum, firing quick shots at the exposed portions of the man. Despite the smoke, her shots were amazingly accurate, hitting the man around where he held his weapon. It occurred to him a moment before he lay down "dead" that she had probably heard his weapon going off and aimed at where she had heard the shots. He had to marvel at the fact that even with her helmet on and so much chaos that she could hear where he had been.
Once her teammates hit the other man with some well placed shots, Sherry eased her posture, pushing towards the door while the rest of her team fanned out. For a moment, she caught a glance of herself in the window of her shield. For all the times she'd worn it, her helmet caught her off guard. The faceplate was a distinctly separate bit from the back half, though the two sealed together when attached. Very little of her face was exposed, with only her icy blue eyes showing in the tinted glass. A flash of a red goggled mercenary flashed through her mind before disappearing. She could hear the slight gasp through her respirator as she pushed the thought away.
"Everything alright Big G?" one of the men asked, concern in his voice. They had all been instructed to immediately pause the simulation if anything went wrong, and there were many times in her early training she had been glad for it. Now, she just felt like she didn't want to hold back.
"I'm fine," she assured, adjusting her stance. Scooting up to the door, one of the men put his hand only inches from the button for the door. They met gazes and Sherry nodded. The man hit the button, and the door began to open upwards. Sherry didn't wait, and to everybody's surprise, she rolled under the door. Keeping the shield up, she smoothly rose to a stand, her hyper reactive senses kicking in.
Immediately identifying three enemy operatives, she whipped the Lightning Hawk replica towards the first one, scoring a headshot on the surprised enemy. She was able to get another easy shot on the second one while they were still processing the attack. For the third, she had to track a little in order to get the shot, but with how slow they were moving, it wasn't hard. By the time her team breached, they already had the upper hand. Sliding into cover, she temporarily freed her hand from the shield to top up her ammo. She had two shots left, but Leon had trained her well. With precision and speed, she was able to reload the gun in a matter of seconds. Topped up and ready, she grabbed the shield again before stepping out of cover, performing an advance around the enemy's side, trying to flush or flank them our of their entrenchment.
The guards fell back, ducking passed some of her shots, but soon her side was clear. She took a half step to regroup with her squad when she heard a sound to her left. Immediately, she snapped her shield in between her and the noise, batting aside the gun of her ambusher. Through the glass, she could see that one of the guards had hid off to the side, ready to flank a flanker. Not relenting, she pulled back the shield before grounding herself and throwing her weight into it. Picking the man up against the broad side, she slammed him into the wall. Hard. The cough told her he was stunned and as she pulled back, she watched as he fell to the ground, performing a quick headshot to make certain.
The rest of the engagement didn't last long, between her unstoppable assault and her squad's marksmanship and teamwork. Once the last "enemy" had been put down, everyone immediately relaxed. A few of her teammates helped the "dead" to their feet, laughing in celebratory ways. Sherry returned to the man she had slammed and helped him up. "Sorry about that."
"Damn, you hit like a fucking Mac truck," the man laughed. "Don't worry, the only thing hurt is my pride."
Sherry chuckled along, helping him take a few steps so he could regain his balance and orientation. Once he was back to capacity, he thanked her for her help, moving aside so her team could congratulate her. As the men and women flooded in around her, she felt a sense of pride swell in her. Looking at one of the cameras, she flashed a smile, her happiness unbidden. In that moment, she had surpassed the expectations of everyone, especially herself.
Sherry was speechless, and could only rush forward with a smile to embrace her long time friend, Claire Redfield. "What are you doing here?"
"I had some time off, and Leon here told me that you would be having a training simulation today. I wanted to see how you did. And let me tell you, you did great kid!"
"I'm almost 20 Claire, I'm not a kid anymore," Sherry protested, though she was smiling as she did. As she spoke, she noticed that Claire herself looked a bit more mature since the last time they had spoken. She'd lost some of the softness to her features she had before, but she still looked young. Her smile was as bright and hopeful as ever though, and her eyes still gleamed with an energy that Sherry could never forget in the woman.
"That's right! How could I forget?" Claire exclaimed dramatically, gently knocking her hand against her head. "Your birthday's going to be in a few days, right?"
Sherry nodded and Claire's grin grew wider. "I must just be able to stick around for it. Only just," she finished with a wink. "Where's everyone else? Leon told me there was another one of you here."
"Oh Manuela! Here, let me introduce you two," Sherry offered, grabbing the older woman's hand excitedly. Claire laughed as she was dragged along towards the locker room, where Manuela had offered to put away Sherry's outfit for her, claiming she "deserved to go and celebrate, not do laundry." Manuela was just coming out of the room as the pair arrived, surprised to see Sherry back so soon, and with company.
"What's going on Sherry? Who's this?"
"Claire Redfield. Pleased to meet you," Claire explained, offering her hand, which Manuela took, still slightly stunned by the sudden flurry of energy that Sherry had become. "You must be Manuela. Sherry's wrote to me about you a couple of times. Thanks for looking after her."
Manuela was silent for a moment as she allowed herself to catch up with the conversation. Her face lit up in surprise as she put two and two together. "You're Chris' sister," she blurted out before she could stop herself.
Claire's smile dropped for a second at the mention of her brother, but she was only out for a moment. "Yeah, that's him. I'm told you're a friend of Leon's?"
Sherry snorted a little, to the surprise of both women. Claire looked between the two in confusion while Manuela crooked an eyebrow in confusion. Sherry waived them off, composing herself, albeit poorly. After a moment, Manuela turned back to Claire. "I'm Leon's partner. We've known each other for about four years now. You've known each other for...eight years now?"
"I wouldn't say we've really known each other all that much. You learn a few things when you survive a zombie apocalypse together, but I was focused on finding Chris, so we didn't really get a chance to get to know one another before he became an agent. Still, he was there to get me help when I ended up in Antarctica."
"That's right! You were one of the people responsible for Alexia's death," Manuela realized, trailing off. Claire cocked her head, curious.
"Yeah. Though Chris was the one who actually fought her when she was mutated by the Veronica Virus. She-" Claire paused as she realized why Manuela had reacted the way she had. "You...you have the virus in you too, right? The Veronica virus, that is."
Manuela nodded. "I was born with a rare disease that would have cut my life short. My father used the virus to help me survive, but in the process, he killed dozens of girls in order to keep me from mutating."
Both of them fell silent as the weight of the Veronica incidents rested on their minds. Finally, Claire spoke. "I, uh, had a friend when I was in Antarctica. His name was Steve Burnside. Cocky, but he was really sweet. Well, when he got taken to Alexia's facility, we got separated and I uh...I found him. Alexia had infected him with the Veronica virus.'
Claire's voice broke a little as she remembered the incident, but she straightened up, composing herself. "He tried to kill me you know, but I managed to escape him. Alexia must have woken up around then, because she tried to kill me. She would have too if Steve hadn't attacked her. As thanks, she killed him instead."
"My last moments with him were holding him in my arms as he died. I remember being so angry at Alexia, and especially at her virus. I wanted to go after her and make sure that she would never hurt anyone ever again. Chris was the one to end up defeating her...in the end." Claire was silent for another moment before she met Manuela's gaze. "My brother's afraid of you. But I'm not. I saw what a human being can do in the face of the virus. He may have died for it, but Steve was human in the end. I have full faith that you are too."
Manuela looked at Claire in surprise, unable to form any words. Claire finally took the initiative, putting a hand on her neck. "Sorry, that was kind of heavy, wasn't it? I guess we both kind of just started talking. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks though." Claire just smiled before turning back to Sherry.
"Sorry about that. Guess we got a bit sidetracked. So, birthday girl, any big plans?"
"Uh, I hadn't thought about it," Sherry stuttered, caught unawares by the sudden change in topic. Claire tsked as she shook her head.
"You have to have have something you want to do. Come on Manuela, back me up here."
"She's right," Manuela agreed. "How about some new coats? I know you don't like your uniform."
"Or maybe we could get you a combat knife," Claire suggested, prompting surprised looks from both women. She shrugged with a smile. "My brother was big on teaching me self defense. Guess I kind of just picked up some of it along the way. But hey, whatever you want. Let's walk and talk."
Claire turned to lead them back outside when she caught sight of another person in the room. "Actually, I'll catch up in a moment."
Jogging over, Claire stopped in front of Leon, who was just smiling lightly at the scene. "Glad to see you could make it."
"Wouldn't have missed it for the world," Claire assured.
"I know you wouldn't. The only thing that could stop you is your work. But seriously, thanks for coming. Sherry looks happier than I've seen her in the past few days," Leon commented, looking over the redhead's shoulder to watch Sherry talking excitedly with Manuela. Claire watched for a moment as well, smiling at the woman she'd seen grow up from a little girl. After a minute, Leon spoke again, his voice low and serious. "How's your brother?"
"He's the reason I have time off. As soon as I heard what happened, I headed home to see if I could help him at all. With Barry still laying low in Canada, Jill was the last member of the S.T.A.R.S. team beside him and Wesker. He's...not taking it well. He barely sleeps and he spends all day coordinating missions between reading over the reports on the cliffs. It's not healthy. One of my friends at the BSAA told me that they're going to force him to take some time off before putting him back on the field, but I don't think he's going to get over it."
"If there's anything we can do to help, just ask. The base is open to you for as long as you need as well," Leon offered. "Chris is a good man."
"I know he is," Claire agreed with a sad smile. She lightly punched Leon's chest. "But hey, so are you." Glancing over her shoulder, Claire looked at Manuela before winking to Leon. "So's she."
Leon didn't have time to respond before Claire hurried back towards the two. "I'll talk to you later!"
He could only shake his head in amusement as the three women walked through the doors, chatting happily; a moment of quiet in the brooding atmosphere.
And there we have it. Another little side chapter. I felt like Sherry would take Chris' fall particularly hard, given how much she looks up to Claire, so I thought it would be nice to also give her a moment to shine, and show how much she's grown.