Kyrie opened the door to Annette's lab to find Mrs. Birkin herself waiting for them. "You're just in time; I've printed off all the information we'll need to synthesize DEVIL."
They both stared at her in surprise. "…Run that by us one more time?" Nero said disbelievingly.
"It's the codename for the G-Virus antigen. We'll need to get the main culture cartridge from another lab beyond here, so we need to get moving right now." She strode past them, and with a brief look between them, they followed.
"So…I gotta ask, why call it 'Devil'?" Nero asked the scientist.
"My husband was the one who gave the G-Virus its name; he was convinced that once it was finished, it would allow humans to transcend their own mortal limitations and become like God."
"A 'God Virus'? He didn't see the problem with that?"
"Therefore," she continued, as if she hadn't heard him, "the logical counter would be the Devil."
"You guys may be smart, but your mythology knowhow could use some serious work…"
After utilizing their keycard several times on doors along their path, they'd reached a place that Annette said was the Synthesis Room. They went inside, hearing the telltale moans of zombies an instant later.
"They're naked. Why are they naked?"
Mrs. Birkin didn't bother to direct her glare at him, since she was busy using it to aim at the undead (and unclothed) beings. "They've probably been here for long enough that their clothes have torn away," she said as she began taking them down alongside her companions. "What does it matter?"
"Just curious. Also, can't you just turn the machines on right now?"
"The vaccine is extremely sensitive to sudden movements or changes in temperature. Bullets wouldn't really play nice with it." Once the last zombie had fallen, the scientist picked up a small case from an operating gurney, withdrawing a small capsule and inserting it into a large inactive machine. "This will take a minute or so; see if there's anything around here we can use." She went to a panel on the wall and pressed a few buttons; the machine whirred to life.
"Nero," Kyrie whispered to him as they sifted through several scattered documents, "about what happened back there…"
"I don't know," he whispered back. "It almost felt like…you remember back during that attack in Fortuna? The first time my arm changed?"
"The one that put your arm in that sling?" She frowned. "You don't think that arm is…you know…"
He glanced at his arm out of reflex. It had returned to normal after the battle against the G-mutant, but that didn't make his unease any less intense. "When I Devil Triggered, it felt like I was in a dream, far away from my body. Maybe my human and demon sides are out of whack. I'll have to squeeze a few answers outta that Mar guy once we're done here; for now, maybe I better hold off on using that power for a while."
"I don't think he knows," she responded, setting aside a blank sheet of paper. "You saw how he reacted after Lady had been bitten."
Something caught his eye as he moved several sheets aside. He snatched it up, and found what was unmistakably a diagram of the Hell Gate. Urgent Memo: Regarding Monolith, the title read. His eyes scanned further down the page.
By order of Sir Spencer, all Umbrella researchers currently working on the G-Virus are hereby reassigned. You are to focus all efforts on study of the strange monolith and capture of the unnatural beings that have been found in proximity to the object. Any personnel who are killed during their duties will receive compensation that shall be distributed to their next-of-kin upon the first of the following month.
You are to keep all knowledge and study of the object's recent activity secret from the other branches of the company; anyone found in violation of this rule will be used in live testing against captured creatures.
Noncompliance with any of these directives shall result in termination of the employee's contract.
Have a nice day.
-Office of Oswell E. Spencer
"Damn…" he muttered, stuffing the note in his pocket.
"What, what is it?" Annette called over in his direction.
"Your bosses suck."
"I know."
The other three had just flipped a switch next to a shutter, which promptly rose up. On the other side were what looked like…writhing…bundles of ivy with a vaguely humanoid outline and blooming flowers for faces. One reared back, and they had to dodge a stream of foul-smelling liquid that began to sizzle upon contact with the floor.
"KILL IT WITH FIRE!" Leon yelled, firing his shotgun at the monsters.
Claire was already in motion, shoving a flame grenade into her launcher.
"You really gotta work on the nerves," Dante muttered as he drew his own shotgun.
KSHEW!
The mutated creatures were suddenly coated with fire. They hissed and gurgled, making to reach tendrils out to the humans before collapsing and withering as they watched.
"See? Claire's got it down."
"…Thanks, Claire," Leon muttered.
"No problem. I didn't know you were scared of plants." She grinned as his face began to redden. "It's actually kind of cute."
"I'm not scared of plants!" he insisted. "I just…don't like moving ones, is all."
"Well, don't you worry," she said, patting his shoulder. "I'll take out any other plant monsters that get in our way."
"My hero…"
Behind the shutter was a door that lead to a ladder…which was next to a wall covered in vines, open wounds, and what looked like a layer of saliva. Despite her promise, Claire didn't really expect to be able to blow up an entire wall, even with all her grenades. Instead, they descended as quickly as possible, exploring the next floor. The first few doors were locked, but one marked "Live Specimens" was not. She winced in expectation. "This might get ugly; everybody ready?" They nodded, and all three swept into the room, guns drawn.
It was fortunate they had done so. An angry, half-rotted ape, highly similar to the one Claire and Leon had already fought in the R.P.D. parking garage. This particular one's hair (what little there was left) was bright red. "Hey look. It's Dante's long-lost uncle."
The Devil Hunter, contrary to Leon's expectation, just shrugged. "Oh, please; Lady does better with the same material." He pulled the anti-tank rifle out of his coat. "Sorry, but when it comes to red coats, no one tops mine."
It roared, beating its chest before leaping at him.
BOOM!
He stepped to the side as the body flew past him with a massive hole in its chest, impacting the wall and sliding down. Both Claire and Leon were giving him a look like he'd said some horrible curse word. "What?"
"…You know what, I'm not even gonna start." Leon shook his head, looking around the room. "Hmm…not seeing any of the fast red zombies. You think-" He froze, staring at a row of large, rectangular glass cages.
They were covered in a thin layer of frost, distorting the images of the creatures inside somewhat. Even so, the form of one was unmistakable as the same type of lizard-like demons they'd fought before; though this one was missing its shield and helmet. He tapped the glass surrounding it nervously, but the demon seemed to be frozen solid.
Claire walked up to the same cage as well, looking at a computer terminal next to it. "'Subject 3. Hunter-type specimen captured within 20 meters of monolith on September 18th, 1998. Combat Rating: B. Three personnel lost in capture.'" She looked around the room; there were several containment cells of different sizes, but most were empty. Some of the empty ones had shattered glass and gaping holes in the cell doors; including an ape-sized hole in a cell door labeled "MA-54 Hanuman"… "…Let's get out of here before something decides to-"
A vent panel crashed mere feet from her, and she jumped back, drawing her pistol. A few seconds later, a creature dropped down to the floor.
"It's him…" Leon said, raising his own gun.
Birkin had found them again. It hadn't changed physically since their last encounter, but something about the mutant was different this time; it almost seemed like it had sought them out deliberately.
Dante was the first one to notice; there was a faint energy pulse coming from the mutant, and its eyes had become pitch-black. "Spiders just weren't hittin' the spot, huh? You added demons to the menu too?"
Claire was furious. "Just die, Birkin! We've got more important things to deal with than you!"
Birkin's skin shuddered, and it began to change once more. Its body hunched forward slightly as its skull began to lengthen, a jagged bone spike sprouting from its lower back. Its pointed teeth grew longer, and the human face on the chest began to descend, resting at the lower left side of the torso. The feet grew larger, webbing forming between the clawed toes; the spike was pushed out of Birkin's back by a tail that it was attached to. The elbow joints of the smaller arms swelled up, and the tail stopped lengthening; the spike grew two needles out of its sides. Birkin roared and leapt up, slashing downward with both large arms.
The group scattered to avoid the attack, and Leon's eyes began roving the room for something to help them. We don't have time to take him down with half our bullets! Come on, there has to be something…anything we can use! His eyes fell on a large glass tube that seemed to be filled with a light-colored liquid; the section of the wall it was attached to had a built-up layer of frost surrounding the tube… It must the stuff they used to-
"Leon!" Dante yelled at him as he and Claire put several bullets into the creature. "Rise and shine, kid; he's not gonna give us a time-out!"
I don't know if it'll work, but it's worth a try! "We need to lure him over by the tube on the wall! It's got liquid that could freeze him in place!"
Dante frowned. He wanted to make the beast dead, so they could have it done with; still, they needed to make up for lost time. "Okay. One distraction, comin' right up!" He pulled his new Devil Arm from out of his coat. "Let's whip this guy into shape!" He attacked the malformed monster, striking into it with the whip while leaning out of the way of its slashes. "That's right; get pissed!" He jumped backwards out of the creature's range. "C'mon, big boy; you wanna piece of me, you gotta come get it!"
The monster snarled, but rather than advancing, it leapt backwards onto the far wall. The Devil Hunter saw its smaller arms rotate backwards, the claws stabbing into the wall and holding it in place. As it hung up there, glaring at them, its large arms curled inward, the claws beginning to rattle.
"Claws incoming!" Claire called out. They leapt out of the way as several claws impaled the place where they'd been standing moments before. She chambered a flame grenade, noticing as she did that she only had four more. "Knock him down!"
KSHEW!
The flame grenade hit dead-on, and definitely seemed to get Birkin's attention. It leapt from the wall at her, and she had to roll to the side to avoid it; the tail, however, was in motion even as she moved. She had just stopped rolling when she saw the spiked tailfin coming straight at her eyes…
There was a loud crack, and Dante was in front of her, whip in hand as the tail recoiled. "You mighta got its attention a little too well, huh? Get to those pipes; I'll send it your way."
She nodded, running towards them as Leon covered for her with his shotgun. Both of them moved right in front of the pipes, waiting.
Dante grinned at the beast between him and the others. "Okay, we can do this the hard way." He whipped forward twice, and then crouched slightly before flinging himself forwards while punching with Tangaroa. He launched off his feet, spinning into his enemy like a drill as high-pressure water swirled around him, cutting into the creature's flesh and eyes. The force of his attack pushed Birkin backwards several feet; not far from the tubes. Dante landed on his feet, measuring the distance between their opponent and the target in his mind. Just a little closer…
The creature writhed and hissed in blind fury, swiping its arms and tail in all directions. To their horror, the tail slammed against the tube, cracking the glass; the fluid within began to leak slowly outwards. The monster felt the cold at the same time they did, and made to move away from the intense chill.
"Oh, no you don't!" Dante yelled. He swiped the whip upwards, and a wave of water rose straight out of the floor, slamming into Birkin and washing him backwards near the cracked glass. "Time to put you on ice!" All three poured bullet after bullet into the glass tube around the creature; the tube shattered, cooling liquid coating the already-wet Birkin. They retreated as the monster writhed, struggling to reach them. Every step that it took grew exponentially slower and slower, until finally the monster was as still as a statue, its arms splayed out threateningly.
"That won't hold him forever," remarked Leon. "Let's get back to searching the rooms for those ingredients; every second counts."
"Yeah. Just to be sure, though…" Dante swapped out the whip for the tri-chucks, slamming them into the ground. Several jagged crystals of ice formed over the already-frozen mutated being. "Okay, let's move before he grows a built-in heater or something."
After taking the main component of the G-Vaccine, Nero and the others left the room, unlocking another marked "Insect Specimens". Kyrie and he shared an understanding look; this was probably the best place they could hope to find "V-Poison". "This might get kinda ugly; Annette, we'll handle this place. You keep making that antidote and we'll regroup with you later."
She frowned at him, but didn't protest. "I'll be at a lab in the south corridor that has a machine to continue the procedure; I'll wait for you there." Annette walked down the hallway, sparing a brief backward glance before turning the corner.
Nero took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. "This'll be kinda new for me; will you be okay?"
"Yes. Lady's counting on us."
He smiled proudly. "Yeah. Well, whenever you're ready." They both entered the room.
Chaos greeted their eyes as incredibly loud buzzing assaulted their ears. Several rectangular glass cages, like the ones they'd seen in the factory, surrounded the edges of the circular room. Most were full of what looked like long-dead bugs, and others were empty altogether. However, in the very center of the room was a large hive dangling from the ceiling, with insects the size of dinner plates buzzing around it.
"Wasps," Kyrie muttered as she observed them. "It's a wasp nest."
"How can you tell?" Nero whispered back to her under cover of all the buzzing.
"The shape of the nest. Also, the bodies are longer and have more of a black colour to them."
"Huh. I guess that means we don't get any honey."
"Afraid not. How should we get the venom from them?"
That very question had puzzled Nero ever since the man in the cloak had rattled off the list of things they needed to put together. Should he just grab one of the little ones and drag it back to where the vaccine machine was? Or did they need to make it sting a giant sponge or something? It's too bad we don't have Dante here to freeze the little buggers.
"Nero, look." She pointed to a small machine on the far side of the room. Above it was the helpful label "Venom Collection". "It won't take the whole wasp, or it would probably just say 'wasp collection'."
"Which means I'll have to yank the stinger right out of 'em." He shrugged. "Well, better than trying to squeeze it right outta-" The buzzing grew more intense, and they saw several of the mutant wasps gunning straight for them. "Cover the machine! I'll do the grabbing!" The Devil Bringers appeared over his arms as he drew Red Queen, batting off several of the angry wasps.
Sir Nero, I believe my shield might help in this situation, Ascalon suggested in his mind.
It might block from the front, but if they got in behind it I couldn't do a thing to stop them. Sorry, but I gotta focus right now!
My apologies. Still, I shall be ready if you need me.
Thanks. At that moment, he saw an opportunity; twisting the handle of his blade, he spun in a circle as flames danced across his sword, cutting through several wasps surrounding him save for one. He hurriedly replaced the sword on his back and reached the ghostly arm of his Devil Bringer out, grabbing that one wasp and pinning it in the ethereal fist. Here goes nothing! He reached under the struggling wasp, ripping the stinger and several organs out. He threw the insect aside, where its movements rapidly began to slow as he ran to Kyrie. Nero tore away all the other organs save one that felt as if there were fluid swirling around inside. "Here's one!" he said, handing it to her and running back to the hive immediately.
She was not a squeamish person in general, having long become accustomed to the sort of damage that accompanied battles against demons. Even so, she felt nauseous holding the still-warm object as she brought it over to the machine, placing it inside and tapping a button on the side. The stinger disappeared from view as the machine sealed itself, and there was a loud whirring noise for several seconds before the machine beeped. "Toxin extraction complete," A voice announced from somewhere in the room."Venom production at 33% optimal level."
"Thirty-three percent?!" Nero yelled as he fought. "You gotta be kidding! These things could eat a cat, and one isn't-" He slashed at several more wasps before grabbing another and removing its stinger as well. He handed it off to Kyrie, getting back near the hive before they could turn their attention on her.
She put the second one in the machine, and it rumbled to life. "Toxin extraction complete. Venom production at 50% optimal level."
"HEY! Last time you gave us a third! What gives?!"
Kyrie was doing the math in her head. Assuming they all give the same amount, and the first one reached the level of 33%, and the second reached half… She winced. Of course…it probably had some left over in the machine…that would mean… "Nero, we need three more!"
"Three? Oh, for the love of-" He fended off the swarm of insects; they seemed to be growing in number. "Why didn't someone leave us a can of bug spray like back in the mansion?!" He managed to grab another wasp, removing its stinger and handing it off to Kyrie.
"Toxin extraction complete. Venom production at 66% optimal level."
C'mon…c'mon… Nero thought as he swatted left and right with his sword. Two more… He reached out both Devil Bringers to attempt grabbing two wasps at once. The right one obeyed instantly, launching the ghostly arm and capturing one of the angry menaces. The left one, however, did nothing. What? Hey, don't do this to me now! Setting aside his attempt to speed things along, he ripped the sting from the wasp abdomen and carried it to the Order Songstress.
Without fail, the machine announced its progress. "Toxin extraction complete. Venom production at 83% optimal level."
"Last one!" The Holy Knight hurriedly grabbed one final wasp, squishing its upper body before the electric weapon appeared in his left hand. It spat out a bolt of electricity, striking the nest and cutting off most of the buzzing instantly. "That should stall 'em." He took the abdomen over to the machine, removing the stinger and stuffing it inside himself. After activating it, it took only a few moments before its status update came.
"Toxin extraction complete. Venom production complete. Sample ready for collection." A hatch opened on the side of the machine, and a vial of yellow liquid was extended outward. Nero grabbed it, absorbing it into his Devil Bringer as his other hand took Kyrie's and lead them from the room. The buzzing was beginning to pick up again, and they only had seconds before the wasps returned, and in greater numbers. They threw the door open and hurried through, slamming it closed behind them.
Kyrie was panting, and Nero shook his head in disbelief. "That was nuts…"
"I wonder…why…they didn't…attack me?" Kyrie managed while trying to regain her breath.
"I dunno. But we got it!" A thrill of relief ran through him. "Only one more thing to collect, and we'll have Lady cured up in no time!"
Even as winded as she was, Kyrie couldn't help but smile. "That's…a relief…"
CHAPTER END
Dammit, I just missed it. I almost had this one ready to post when I was proofreading and I noticed a glaring plothole in the original draft, so I went back over it twice to make sure I hadn't made any others. Ugh.
Well, even with all that I might have missed something else along the way, so apologies for that. If you spot anything that's a little off, please let me know and I'll fix it up immediately. The next chapters I'm going to be writing in one big block, so I don't know if they'll be out daily; should things go as planned, though, it'll all be out before November. You're all awesome, and thanks for reading!