RE Armageddon: Part III- Gaining Strength

by striker

Now reformed, the S.T.A.R.S. team is drawn into a deadly trap where they are not the only targets. Please read and review.

5. Let's Try This Again

Disclaimer: Resident Evil is the rightful property of Capcom. I in no way suggest that I own it. I also believe that the folks at Capcom have better things to do with their time than suing me.

Resident Evil: Armageddon

Part III- Gaining Strength

Chapter 5- Let's Try This Again

Written by: Striker

Chris stood at the kitchen table, dressed in his black attire. He was studying the floor plans, tracing the route through the plant. He wanted this mission to go without incident. More importantly, he didn't want a repeat of the last mission. Then he was messed up. He wasn't thinking straight. Now he had his head together. He wouldn't do anything stupid. Now, more than ever, he was concentrated on destroying Umbrella. Nothing could stop him now.

Chris looked up to see Jill and Claire watching him. They too had changed into their battle gear. Chris had instructed everyone to wear the same clothes they had worn to the last facility. Jill walked up to Chris. "Going over things before we leave?"

"Yeah. I want to be prepared for anything we run into. I'm not going to make the same mistakes that I made at the last plant."

"Still having regrets about the last mission?" Claire asked.

"That's ancient history. This time everything will be different." Chris picked up his Berretta and pulled back the top slide.

Claire looked at her brother inquisitively. "In what ways?"

"For starters, I don't plan to die." Chris hit the release button, the slide slamming back into place. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

The team assembled in front of the cabin. Everyone was dressed appropriately for the mission. Ark had on the same outfit he had worn to Sheena Island. Claire had decided not to wear her red jacket, but not after a heated argument with her brother. Rott stood on the porch watching Chris make his pre-mission speech.

"In a few minutes we will be heading off to another Umbrella base. This will be just like before. We get in, set the timer, and then get our asses out of there before the place goes up like a Roman candle. Now I know that some of you still have memories of the last mission. Let me guarantee you that what I did last time will never happen again. Now let's go and give Umbrella hell."

Chris got into the cockpit, placing his weapons in the space between the two seats. Jill climbed into the other seat. She had told Chris that she wanted to watch how he flew the copter. The real reason was she wanted to be near him. The others filed into the back. Leon, Claire, and Ark took one side while Carlos, Rebecca, and Barry got the other side. Chris started the helicopter up and took off.

It was three hours into the flight when Jill turned to Chris. "Chris, I may sound paranoid, but I have a bad feeling about this."

Chris looked at her, then back to the windshield. "So do I. I guess it's because whenever we thought everything was fine, something unexpected happens. Maybe its just force of habit."

"I hope you're right." Jill replied. "But I just can't shake this feeling that something bad is going to happen."

"You're nervous Jill, we all are. And I can understand why. After the shit I pulled last time, I wouldn't blame anyone for being on edge."

"This has nothing to do with you. It's from personal experience. Something always seems to go wrong, and at the most inopportune moment."

Chris smiled. "You mean like Murphy's Law?"

Jill gave him a funny look. "Murphy's Law?"

"You never heard of Murphy's Law?"

"No. Why? Should I have?"

"You should have heard someone say it at least once. It's only the biggest theory to why shit happens. Murphy's Law states that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. I have my own version. Mine goes like this. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and if it can go wrong, it usually will."

"I feel much better now." Jill said. "From what you said, we'll probably be facing a whole army when we get to that plant."

"Don't worry Jill, it could be worse than that. We could face an army of Tyrants."

She slapped him hard on the arm. "Don't even joke about that. I hope I never see another Tyrant in my life."

Chris turned to her. "If it'll make you feel better, if we do run into a Tyrant, I'll gladly get maimed, mauled, pounded, or tossed around so you won't have to."

"Will you do the same thing for me?" Claire chimed in.

Chris looked at her. "Hell no. You got Leon to protect you."

"But I'm your sister Chris. You have to protect me. It's what big brothers do."

"You're a big girl now. Besides, I thought you didn't need other people watching out for you." Chris turned back towards the windshield. Claire let out a sigh and shook her head while the others laughed. 'For our sake Jill, you better just be paranoid.'

The factory was silent. Silent only for the occasional moan that echoed through the desolate halls. Silent only for the sounds of shuffling feet over the tiled floors. Silent only for the inhuman shrieks that bounced off the concrete walls. Silent only for the unearthly hisses and clicking of claws as dark forms stalked the corridors. Finally, it was silent only for the sound of someone running through the halls, trying to stay alive. Besides that, the factory was silent.

A young woman around 22 ran through the plant, trying to find a safe place to hide. Her long, blond hair bounced up and down as she ran. Her green eyes were filled with terror. She had on a white lab shirt and blue jeans. She had been running all morning. She had arrived for work as usual but found it odd that the receptionist wasn't at the main desk. She had searched around before coming upon the body. It had been partially eaten and looked like the person it used to be was recently killed. She had then heard a sound behind her. She had turned to see what it was. It had been a zombie, its mouth covered in blood. She had run screaming from it, only to run into other terrors. Ever since, she had been trying to find a place to hide. However, it seemed that every room she entered had zombies or those other creatures. Now she knew of one place to hide, the power room. To get to that, she would have to go through the warehouse.

She ran into a bathroom, relieved to find no monsters inside. She walked over to the wall and sat down, resting against it. She was exhausted from all the running. Now she had time to think.

She began to talk to herself. "What the hell is going on? I know those people are zombies, but what are those other things? I've never seen them before in my life. This is just like what I heard happened at the Spencer Mansion."

She had heard the stories about the mansion and also about Raccoon City. She was glad that she wasn't involved, but now the same thing had happened here.

"But how? How did these people get infected? How did those creatures get here? This is just a chemical plant, what the hell happened?"

She began to cry, fearful that she too might become one of those zombies.

"No, you can't break down now. You have to get up and move. You have to survive."

She pushed herself up and moved to the door. She listened closely for any sounds of movement. When she didn't hear anything, she pulled open the door and took off for the warehouse.

Chris checked his position. It would only be a few minutes until his team would arrive at their destination. He checked the fuel gauge one last time. It had been four hours so far. He wanted to make sure he had enough fuel to get back home. There was over half a tank left, plenty to get back home. He looked over a Jill, who was fidgeting in her seat.

"Still nervous honey?"

Jill smiled. "Yeah. I just can get rid of that feeling. I just know something is going to happen."

Chris put his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Listen, we'll be landing in fifteen minutes. Try to relax. I don't feel like getting shot in the ass by you because your hand was shaking. Everything will be fine."

Jill giggled at his little joke. "I guess you're right. It's just that whenever I have a feeling like this, I'm right."

"Yeah, well…" Chris didn't finish his sentence. He was interrupted by an alarm going off, followed by flashing lights. "Shit."

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Barry yelled.

"WE'RE GOING DOWN, THAT'S WHAT!" Chris yelled back. He saw a clearing to his right and headed for it. "HOLD ON. THIS IS GOING TO BE ROUGH!"

Chris pulled back on the stick as the helicopter approached the ground. It hit with a thud, everyone getting shaken from the impact. Black smoke began to pour from the back. Chris checked the gauges until he found out what was wrong. "You have to be kidding me." He moaned.

"What's wrong? Why did we have to land?" Jill asked.

Chris pointed at the temperature gauge. "The engine overheated. It's just like a car, the engine gets too hot and the whole thing shuts down."

"This sure as hell better not be fate testing us again." Jill leaned forward and put her hands on her face. "You know Chris…"

He cut her off. "Don't tell me I told you so."

"I wasn't going to say that. I was going to say that I hate when I'm right."

"Come on, let's see why the engine overheated."

Everyone started to get out. Barry noticed that Ark was shaking. "What's wrong with you?"

Ark looked at him. "Nothing, just deja vu. I was in a helicopter crash once. I almost died."

"I was in one too." Rebecca said. "It was just like this one."

Upon hearing that, Barry got an idea. "Hey Chris, check the engine. I have a sneaking suspicion this wasn't a freak accident."

Chris walked over to the left side of the copter. Black smoke continued to stream out from the engine compartment. "This is going to suck." He mumbled. He tried to open the hatch, but pulled back his hand as soon as his fingers touched the metal. "AW DAMN!"

"A little hot bro?" Claire asked mockingly.

"Here, let me." Carlos pulled out a handkerchief ha always carried with him. He pulled open the hatch, catching a face full of smoke. He stepped back gagging. "It's all yours."

Chris waved the smoke away until he could see inside. "How the hell? The radiator hose is disconnected. It must have come loose while we were flying."

Barry came over for a closer look. He grabbed the hose, examining it more closely. "This couldn't have come loose. I checked the engine a few days ago. This hose was fine."

"Obviously not any more." Leon said. "How do you think it could have come off?"

Chris looked at the hose. He then noticed something. "Wait a minute, when a radiator hose breaks, it usually happens along the middle or snaps off above the joint. This looks like it came loose at the joint."

"That's impossible." Barry said. "That joint is screwed on. It couldn't do that unless it…" Barry paused. "Fuck."

"Unless it was tampered with." Chris said. "In other words, it was sabotaged. Someone messed with this engine."

"Wait a minute." Ark looked around at the others. "The only people who could have fooled around with the helicopter are," He swallowed, "Us."

Carlos put up his hands. "Don't go suspecting me. I never left the house last night."

Chris was staring at the ground, trying to think how this could have happened. "No, it couldn't be one of us. That's what Umbrella wants us to think. The only other place this could have happened was at the airfield." It suddenly came to him. "Son of a bitch! That little bastard!" Chris slammed the side of the copter.

"What about the airfield? What bastard?" Barry asked.

"Let's just say your friend should be more careful about who he hires. That guy who was filling up the copter must have loosened the hose."

"And we told Frank our whole plan." Barry hung his head. "God, how could we be so stupid."

Jill patted Barry on the back. "How could you have known? Don't beat yourself up over this." She then turned to Chris. "Can you fix this?"

"I don't know if I can. I was taught to fly helicopters, not to fix them. Besides, I don't think we have the parts or the tools for this. We're going to have to find some other way out of here. We also have another problem."

Claire followed her brother as he went to the cockpit. "What problem is that?"

Chris grabbed his guns, slinging the MP5 over his shoulder and grabbing the shotgun. "If that guy heard everything we said, then Nicholai knows we're coming." He turned to his sister. "I say we shouldn't disappoint him." Chris pumped the shotgun and shoved it into his back holster. "Grab your stuff and get ready to move out."

The group gathered up the weapons and supplies from the copter. They started walking towards the chemical plant, watching for any Umbrella soldiers that could be hiding in the trees.

Jill moved up to Chris. "What do you think Nicholai has planned for us?"

"I haven't a clue." Chris replied. "Knowing him, expect anything."

"You don't think he sent those Special Forces guys here, do you." Carlos said.

"Yeah." Rebecca added. "I'm scared. What if he has the place bobby trapped?"

"He's probably going to capture us, and then gloat like Wesker." Barry said.

Chris looked back at the group. "We won't know until we get there. Now be quiet, we're getting close."

The woman ran down the long hall. 'Just a few more feet.' She told herself. 'Just a few more feet and you'll be OK.' She failed to notice the ominous shape of a Hunter emerge from one of the rooms she past. It stared at her with hungry eyes before it started to silently follow her.

It took the S.T.A.R.S. team a half hour to reach the plant. They made their way around back to the loading docks. Jill moved up to the employee entrance and picked the lock. She stepped back and Leon took her place. He pushed open the door and began to step inside. Suddenly he stopped, his nose picking up a familiar odor. He covered his nose and mouth with his right hand.

He muttered one word. "Shit."

Chris came up beside him. "What's wrong?" Soon he picked up the same stench. It was the same stench he had smelled at the Spencer Estate, Rockfort Prison, and the Antarctic Base. "He didn't."

"He didn't what?" Claire walked up to join her brother, but her question was soon answered. "Oh God, zombies."

"Yeah," Chris replied, "He had the T-virus released in this plant. It's a trap."

"That's all the more reason to destroy this place." Jill said. "We have to stop the virus from escaping."

Chris drew his Berretta. "Then let's go." He stepped inside, followed by the others. They spread out by twos. They were in for only a few seconds when the moaning began. "Alright, let's take them out."

The team moved through the warehouse. Chris and Jill rounded a crate and came upon three zombies enjoying a meal. "Dinnertime's over." Jill said as she and Chris shot the monsters in the head. The three fell, blood and tissue oozing from the holes in their heads. Chris pumped two shots into the carcass, making sure it wouldn't get back up.

Claire and Leon came to an open space. "Leon, to your right!" Claire said. Leon turned to see a zombie coming at him. Leon fired one shot from his Custom Western, blowing a hole in the zombie's chest. Meanwhile, Claire had spotted a couple coming her way. She fired a grenade at the group. The zombies exploded in a shower of blood and guts as the grenade ripped through them.

"Nice one Claire." Leon said.

Claire looked at the body lying a few feet from Leon. "Not too bad yourself."

Carlos fired his MP5, cutting down a hoard that was approaching him. The zombies dropped, twitching as fluid ran from the holes. "Hasta la vista senior."

Rebecca was busy with two of her own. She nailed one twice in the chest before hitting it in the throat. The other she hit in the right shoulder and then in its left eye. She turned to Carlos. What she saw made a chill run up her spine. "CARLOS, BEHIDE YOU!" He spun around to see a Licker staring at him. He ducked just in time to avoid its razor-sharp tongue. "OVER HERE!" The Licker turned just in time to see Rebecca fire a round from her grenade launcher. The grenade hit its back. Its limbs shook violently as its spine was blasted apart. Rebecca walked up to it and shot it in the head.

Carlos walked up next to her. "Thanks senorita, I didn't even hear it."

"It's nothing. Besides, I owned you one."

Carlos looked down at the dead Licker. "First zombies, now Lickers. This is getting really bad Becky."

Rebecca yelled at the top of her lungs. "WATCH OUT, THERE ARE LICKERS HERE TOO."

"Lickers? Now we have to deal with Lickers?" Barry said to Ark.

Ark looked around the warehouse. "Great, they could be anywhere. We won't be able to see them until they're right on top of us."

Barry was about to speak when he saw movement to his left. He turned to see a Licker clinging to the side of a crate. It let out a hiss before leaping at him. "I don't think so." Barry fired his Python, catching the creature in its chest. The recoil sent it backwards. Barry followed it and fired another round as soon as the Licker hit the ground. The bullet entered its mouth and exited the back of its brain. "Chew on that." Barry spat at it.

"That had to hurt." Ark said. Suddenly a zombie grabbed him from behind. He yelled and elbowed it in the jaw, breaking it off. He then whipped out his Glock and fired point-blank into its head, blood spraying everywhere. Ark wiped the guck from his face. "This fucking sucks. There's no way this can get worse."

Suddenly an ear-piercing scream filled the room. "You were saying Ark." Barry said.

"Come on." Together, Barry and Ark ran off in the direction of the scream.

Author's Comments: The zombies return, AAAHHHHH. Told you they would make a return. And with Lickers joining the party, it's only going to get gorier. Just the way I like it. What, just because I like zombies dying in gruesome fashion doesn't make me a sadist. Does it? Well, I think that's a matter of opinion. Hey, how'd you like the fact that Chris called Jill honey? Kind of cute if you ask me. I just felt that I needed to put in some romantic shit. Also, Murphy really has something going with his law. And score one for women's intuition. By the way, I'm no expert about helicopter engines, so I may be wrong about the radiator stuff. If I am, sue me. On second thought, don't. Well, let's see what's up next for our heroes.

In the next chapter, the woman's identity is revealed. Of coarse if you didn't figure it out, you didn't read chapter 4. Also, the team discovers that Hunters are on the loose. Holy shit. You'll also find out a little of this woman's past. Stay tuned for RE Armageddon: Part III, Chapter 6- Who The…?