Edit - A/N: I made a mistake and uploaded the wrong document. That was an unedited transcript so it had so many grammar mistakes. So I apologize. Here is the edited version. It should be more coherent and offer more context than the last one. Thank you.
Chapter 3
The door at the back of the van closed as the last of the special cleaning equipment was set down onto the pavement of the parking lot. Jaune was thankful that the equipment actually had carry bags that he could use because he sure as hell needed it.
He grabbed one of the bags, a medium sized duffel bag that contained his personal equipment, and slung it over his shoulder. He took a deep breath to orient himself and calm his nerves. The stress from last night was still very much affecting him so he had to at least try to relax a bit.
Walking up to the driver's side, he scowled when he saw his supposed 'partner' for this job doing his usual thing in the car. He felt himself get annoyed when the man just kept laughing at whatever he read in that damn magazine of his.
"Not even gonna help me unload, huh?" Jaune said with a little bit of irritation in his voice.
The man didn't even give him a glance when the guy waved him off. "Nah, you got that covered."
Jaune shook his head in disappointment. "At least watch over our stuff while I go talk to them."
"That's not my job. I'm a driver, remember? How many times do I gotta tell ya?"
Rick was in fact, not just a driver. He was supposed to be the senior employee in this partnership of theirs and was supposed to be the one to show Jaune the ropes. But instead, Lazy Rick over here always insisted that he was just a driver and never did anything other than drive the damn company van and then laze around after.
Jaune had to ask the other cleaners for advice due to how the slob always went off somewhere to sleep.
He was just fortunate that the other cleaners were sympathetic towards him, he was the guy that had to deal with the shitworks and the lazy slob after all. They helped him as much as they could and Jaune promised that he'd make it up to them at some point.
Now, you might be wondering, 'Jaune, why hasn't the guy been fired yet?'
Well, the rumors at Headquarters say that the fat slob was related to the boss so the guy has had free reign with his laziness for years now.
The only saving grace from that guy being a nepo-baby was that he wasn't the type to lord over other people. He was just so damn lazy when it came to anything other than driving.
"Whatever." Jaune scoffed, walking away, deciding to not dwell on the issue anymore. He made his way to the entrance where people were already going in and out. Some gave him odd looks, others paid him no mind due to his workman's outfit.
A few officers walked past him and Jaune did a quick nod as a polite gesture, which they replied in kind.
Once he reached the main doors, he gave his work ID to the guard and let himself get patted down while another officer checked the equipment inside the duffle bag that he was carrying. It was standard procedure so there were no complaints from him. So when the man finished his inspection, Jaune promptly proceeded to the lobby.
The station's lobby was as fancy as one would expect from a Police Station that was formerly a Museum. It was huge, the ceiling extending up over the mezzanine floor where portions of said floor could be seen from where he stood. Jaune couldn't help but whistle at the place's grandeur.
And this wasn't even the first time he saw it.
Turning his attention to the police desk, he saw one of the police officers busily typing something on his computer.
Jaune rang the bell that was sitting on the desk and once the officer turned to him, he switched to the 'professional' demeanor that he always used when dealing with clients.
"Hi. I'm from Bartleby's Cleaning Services. We received a call yesterday about a sewage problem in your station's basement?"
The man looked clueless for a moment before speaking.
"Bartleby's?... hold on, let me check something." He then began to type again. As the keys clicked and clacked, the young huntsman distracted himself by looking around the lobby.
As typical of Police Stations, there were a lot of civilians minding their own business. Some were at the waiting area, some were being assisted by other officers and there were even others who were carrying various documents walking in and out of offices.
The busy atmosphere of the place reminded Jaune of his frustrations and reservations towards the law enforcement. But what he's seeing here was contradictory. These men in blue were trying their best in solving the killings… but somehow, everytime they go out there to do their jobs, they always seem to fumble around like chickens. Like they didn't even know what they were looking for.
Jaune had always noticed that the police were always in the wrong location whenever they searched for the diseased animals. Like that time he encountered two of the things near the Cider District. The police were called but they arrived a few kilometers away from the actual site.
It was like they were being misled.
"Ah, yes." The policeman spoke, prompting him to snap out of his thoughts.
"We did book a schedule for your company yesterday. Though it says here that there's supposed to be two of you."
"He's at the company van outside, preparing our equipment." Jaune lied. The lazy bastard was probably still glued to that magazine of his.
"Ah, I understand." The man nodded. "Well then, just fill this log sheet up and we'll have someone escort you to the stairwell. Standard procedure, so there's no need to worry."
Jaune did as he was told and wrote both his and Lazy Rick's name on the sheet provided before he returned it to the man.
"Alrighty then. Just go and wait by those seats over there and we'll get you started once your escort comes." The man said with a professional smile on his face. "Have a nice day now!"
"Thanks, you too." Jaune replied.
As he walked, the young huntsman shook his head. He had to focus on something else at the moment. All the retrospection was making him agitated.
He made his way to the seats where the policeman pointed to and sat on one of them…
And as he sat there, he couldn't help but feel the drowsiness creeping in as his eyelids became heavy.
'This was a losing battle.' He surmised. He turned to the side and saw his saving grace. A lone vending machine stood just beside the doors to the entrance of the police station.
With a grunt, Jaune stood up and headed to the thing and upon reaching he saw several options that he could choose from.
'Soda, juice, milk… ah. Coffee. Perfect.' He hummed. He picked the one that had the print 'Max Coffee' and hoped that this would be enough to jolt him back up.
With that done, Jaune got back to his seat and got to enjoying the bitter and sweet taste of canned coffee.
Though, even as the caffeine in the drink began to do its job, his mind wandered as he left alone in that seat. Recollections from last night began to invade his tired mind.
It had been five full days without any more news of deaths.
And he was feeling pretty great, thinking that the threat was finally over. That the authorities and the people at that Pharmaceutical company did their jobs and finally found a way to deal with this epidemic.
But no… He was wrong. He was very wrong.
Brutalized, dismembered, eaten… a string of new killings arose and Jaune could not help feel the weight of those lives on his shoulders…
He should have not stopped. He should have kept going. The blood of those victims were on his hands…
So that day, as soon as he was done with all the cleaning commissions, he immediately went home to grab his gear and dove straight into the forest to hunt once more. Law enforcement and City laws be damned.
From dusk till nightfall, Jaune scoured through the forest. Meticulously tracking them down based on the location of the bodies and the tracks they made.
And he did find them. Not even an hour into it.
There were six of them prowling a mile away from the lake. Marking these ones as the nineteenth to the twenty-fourth diseased dogs that he'd killed.
Just… how the hell were there so many of them?
Jaune took another sip of his coffee and massaged a headache forming. That same question had been in his head for weeks and he's no closer to any answer other than to theorize that these things were what constitutes as Grimm in this world.
It was laughably absurd. He knew that. These weren't literal creatures of hate and malice, these were living things infected by a disease.
Jaune shook his head and just tried to take his mind off of it… at least for now. He wanted to focus on the life he was trying to rebuild in this world but his mind always goes back to the damn forest.
And that warehouse… What the hell was that?
It was by chance that he found that place. He just ventured out too far from the city while painstakingly following a blood trail through the forest…
He could still remember trudging out of the forest and finding himself on a large clearing, a building just standing there as the light from the moon illuminated it.
He sipped his coffee again. The bitter taste, now more prominent than the sweetness.
A warehouse in the middle of a forest. Who would've expected such a thing?...
At first, he thought that it was abandoned. There were no lights, no movement, not even the sounds of people or machinery.
But he was proven wrong when he got closer and had a better look at the structure.
The place was clean. Like it had been maintained regularly. There was no rust on the roof, no vines growing on the walls. Even the lamp posts and light bulbs looked like they were still functional.
But why weren't they on?
He had continued to look around the area, inspecting the outside of the warehouse and the grounds around it. Judging from the various skid marks, the place had seen recent visitors. A lot too. He checked his map to see where exactly he was and found that he was two miles away from the city. Had he really traveled that far? Nevertheless, his map didn't show any paths or roads in his current location. But looking over to the front of the building, there clearly was a wide dirt road leading to the direction of the city.
Curiosity welled up within him as he wondered what lies inside the building. So he decided to act upon it.
He looked for a way in. But aside from the windows that were three stories up, there were no other entrances other than the doors on the sides.
It was actually when he approached the doors that the familiar stench of rotting meat hit his senses and that made him fear for the worst.
Listening into the door with an ear, he confirmed his suspicion as the familiar growls reverberated through.
He had honestly just expected just a couple of them. Four, maybe five. The things don't usually travel in packs. Instead they traveled in pairs. So at that night, Jaune had been filled with a false sense of security due to his experience in dealing with such pairs.
But once again… he was wrong.
Jaune tried to take another sip from his coffee but found it empty. He noticed that his hands were clammy and shaking. He tried to stop, but it was futile. Cold sweat formed on his forehead and his heart was racing.
He tried to calm himself down by drinking from the bottle of water that he pulled from his bag. It worked somewhat. But the memory still disturbed him.
For when he entered through the doorway, he saw dozens upon dozens of eyes look at him.
Blood was smeared all over the place and pieces of meat and bone covered the floor of the warehouse.
It was a god damn feast. A feeding frenzy of diseased animals, ripping and tearing through the flesh of men and women…
or what he assumed to be men and women. They were all too mangled to recognize.
He ran and closed the door behind him.
He didn't even bother trying to fight them all due to the sheer numbers of the things. He'd get swarmed if he did.
Oddly enough though, after that brief glance inside, Jaune recalled seeing what looked to be cages that were stacked deeper inside the warehouse. But that doesn't make sense…
Jaune shook his head. Whatever it was. He'll find out later.
Now back to his harrowing experience…
He remembered that as soon as he found himself outside, he made sure that every door was blocked. Logs, crates, rocks… he used anything and everything he could find to stop these things from escaping.
The howls and barks still echoed when he left. There was nothing else he could do at that time.
He promised that he'll come back later… and burn the fucking place down.
He just hoped that those barricades held.
Jaune took a deep breath after finishing the entire bottle of water, it only helped a little.
It was then that he remembered a trick that his friend and teammate taught him. Ren had always been a calm and collected person, it was him that Jaune often relied on whenever he felt overwhelmed.
One of such times was when they made it to what was left of Shion. The burnt village and the dead villagers really affected him and was losing a lot of sleep because of it. It was only when Ren confronted him that he was able to calm down.
Since then the guy had taught him a lot about being in control. To this day, Jaune was still thankful for that…
Briefly he wondered how his remaining teammates were… what happened to Nora? What happened to Ren?... He hoped that they were still alright.
Jaune took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Then he began counting. Each number, accompanied by an inhale and then an exhale. Slowly, he could feel himself become calmer as the numbers rose from one to ten.
But then someone interrupted him.
"Are you okay?" A voice of a girl asked.
He opened his eyes to meet the concerned look of a girl- no… a young woman. Short reddish-brown hair, leaf-green irises, and a small angular face that reminded him of a teenage pop-star.
"What?" Jaune asked, looking confused for a second.
"I've been calling out to you for a while now. Is everything okay?" She said, coming close to him. "You look really pale. Are you sick?"
Jaune blinked at her owlishly, confused at the current situation. "No?"
The woman only stared at him for a moment before she spoke again. "Is it okay if I check your temperature?"
"What?"
"Just a quick touch to the forehead. If that's alright."
"I…uhh… sure? Go ahead." Jaune didn't know what was going on. Who was this even?
The young woman then put a hand to his forehead and he saw her face scrunch. That made him worry.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, curious towards her diagnosis.
"You're cold." She then put a hand to his heart, which surprised him. "And your heart is palpitating…"
"Did you just have a panic attack?"
"I guess?"
"You guess? Sir, you need to consider getting to a hospital." She told him. Then she saw something to his side and picked up the can of coffee that he had just drank. She spun it to read the written print on the back of the can and she winced.
"...woah… look at all that caffeine." She commented before looking back to him, "How much coffee did you have today?"
"Two cups including this one."
"..." She stared at him as if he was an idiot. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"Ain't that a bit much?" Jaune looked at her exasperatedly. "It's just coffee." He shrugged.
"Trust me when I say that too much of something can be a bad thing."
"Tell that to my former headmaster.." He muttered.
"Sorry?"
"I said, 'I agree'. But come on… that last cup of coffee I had was just a cheap brew, this can't be that bad." He grabbed the can from her hand and read the label on it. Max Coffee… huh. Cool na- woah that's a lot of sugar and caffeine. No wonder he was palpitating.
"How is this legal?..." He said with a horrified look.
"Right?!" The woman practically yelled. "That's why you should get yourself checked."
"But I can't go to the hospital yet." Too expensive. Too time consuming. And he had bigger things to worry about.
"Why?" She asked, genuinely curious.
"I've still got a job to do here." Jaune shrugged.
"Ah. Yes… the sewer problem. Ugh…" He saw her shudder a little bit after saying those words. "Almost forgot about that.
"Yes…wait, how did you-"
"I'm the person tasked with escorting you there."
"…"
"..."
"What?" He asked, dumbfounded.
"I'm the person who's going to show you the way to the… ugh… sewers." She answered, followed by another shudder.
"Oh…OH! Umm sorry, I-I just- I didn't realize you were- uh.. can we do this over?" Jaune began to get flustered and fumbled around his words. He had just acted unprofessionally towards his clients. He tried to apologize for this but the woman just held up a hand and stopped him.
"It's fine." She waved it off. "Look, are you sure you're okay?"
Jaune wasn't okay. He was tired, stressed, anxious… and apparently high on caffeine. He was far from okay. But he had to push on if he wanted to keep his job. That line of thought brought his mood down and he deflated.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired from overtime." He said, looking down and sighing. He then grabbed his bag and slung it on his shoulder before he stood up and faced the woman. "So uhh... are we going or-?"
The woman had to tilt her head upwards to meet his eyes and in those green irises of her's was the look of concern. Her lips pursed as she just closed her eyes and nodded.
"Alright then. Suit yourself."
"Thank you. And sorry. I really appreciate the concern but I can't afford to lose this job." Jaune apologized. While it was nice that someone was actually concerned about him, this was hardly the time nor was it the place to do so. But he felt guilty for brushing her off. Here was a woman genuinely worrying about a stranger like him and he was more concerned about his job.
Being an adult is hard.
"If it's any consolation, I plan to take the rest of the day off after this. Get a little rest, maybe sleep till tomorrow." Jaune said, but in reality he was just planning to sleep until nightfall. He still had to go back to that warehouse to burn it.
That seemed to calm the woman. She nodded and gave him a little smile, which assured him.
"Right. The only person who knows your limits is yourself… as they say." She quoted.
"True that. But listening to others can help sometimes. I would have done as you asked had circumstances been different."
She smiled at that. Then she held her hand out. "Rebecca Chambers. Medical Specialist of the STARS Bravo team."
He took her hand and shook it. "Jaune Arc, regular blue collar guy from some cleaning company. But I guess you already knew that. Being a specialist and all" He grinned.
She grinned back in amusement. She then took a deep breath and beckoned him. "Come on. The.. ugh… sewers are this way."
"Not a fan of sewers?" He asked.
"Was I too obvious?"
Jaune chuckled as he followed her.
As they began to make their way through the station. Seeing as being quiet with each other after all that interaction was kind of awkward, the two fell into casual conversation as they walked.
"So do you always do that?" Jaune asked, closely following beside her.
"Hm? do what?" Rebecca glanced at him briefly.
"Walking up to strangers? trying to help them?"
"Mmmnn… depends, actually. I mean, I try but most of the time it's not actually safe to approach strangers that casually. People tend to take advantage of people like me."
Jaune looked at her with a surprised look. He had judged her to be the type to help people no matter who they were. The kind where they would always see the good in all things.
Jaune had some reservations on that kind of worldview but he still respected it in honor of his best friend.
"So why did you try to help me?"
"I guess it's because you looked like you needed it." She shrugged.
"That's it?" Jaune raised an eyebrow.
"Yep. That's literally just it. You're in a police station and as an officer of the law, I couldn't really leave you like that. I'm sure the other officers would have tried to talk to you if it wasn't me." She explained and it made perfect sense. It was like asking a guard why they were guarding something.
"Serve and protect. It's in the moto." She said with a shrug of her shoulders and a lopsided grin.
"Fair point." Jaune backed off. Maybe he was just overthinking it. "Thanks anyway."
"You're welcome." She said, but then her eyes snapped to something in front of her.
"Oh! it's right over here." Rebecca walked ahead of him and stood in front of a double door that had 'Authorized personnel only' painted on it. There was some kind of device on the side that had both what looked to be a card swiper and a keypad. Rebecca pulled out a card from her pocket and swiped it before typing the numbers on the device.
With a beep, the latches on the door unlocked and she was able to turn the knobs and open it. They found themselves in a gray hallway that was illuminated by several fluorescent lights on the ceiling, pipes and wires ran through the corners and into several holes in the walls where Jaune assumed led to the different parts of the Department. The loud hum of electrical machinery echoed through the concrete wall and even the sound of steam hissing could be heard just aways from them.
"This is the utility hall. The stairway access to the basement is just down that way." She said, pointing to a direction.
He turned his gaze to the way she was pointing and nodded when he saw the door. "I'm guessing this is goodbye?"
"You really wanna get rid of me that much?" She recoiled.
"N-no! I'm just-" He tried to explain but then the woman started laughing.
"Calm down! I'm just joking. I actually do have to follow you through the basement. My superior says that the actual door to the sewers has a scanner just like the one on the door. So as much as I'd like to not step into muck… I really have no choice."
"Literal 'Boss's orders' huh? I can relate… though aren't you special forces? This is grunt duty, why'd he send you?"
Rebecca thought for a bit and shrugged. "He said that it's a part of my training. Apparently my instructor blabbed to my boss that I wasn't good with stuff like sewers. Blood? sure. Mud and dirt? no problem. But sewage? I can't help but imagine all the stuff that's in it… eugh.."
"How do you handle it?" Rebecca turned to him.
"I just think of the pay. Jobs like this tend to net well since not everyone is willing to do it." He said, but usually it just gets saddled with him. "It pays the bill. Can't really get any better than that."
Rebecca's smile fell for a second before she gave him an understanding look. "Sorry. I guess I-"
"Stop." Jaune held his hand up to stop her from saying more. "None of that. It's my lot in life and I can understand that some people's got it better than I do. But never think that I'll consider you a bad person just because you're more well off. It's just how it is. We've just got to make do and move forward."
"Things will get better. I'll just have to work towards it."
Rebecca's eyes seemed to widen a little bit before her smile returned, though this time it was … softer.
"You're a good guy, Mr. Cleaner."
Jaune smiled back at her. "And you, Miss Police Officer. Now come on, I still plan on sleeping till tomorrow after this."
Rebecca just laughed and they continued on their way. Eventually they reached the end of the hall and the junior member of STARS did her thing with the scanner. With the sound of a beep and the unlatching of the locks, Rebecca opened the door-
"Jesus Christ!" / "Brothers, damn!" The both of them yelled at the same time as they were suddenly hit with the thick eye-watering stench of sewage permeating out from the bottom of the stairwell.
Jaune was the one to close the door as Rebecca actually recoiled and stumbled to a wall.
A fit of coughing from the both of them echoed in the hallway as the two tried to get the smell out of their senses.
"Oh God! I can taste it!" She coughed and gagged. "And I have to go in there?!"
"I- *cough* I'm gonna need the big guns for this…" Jaune heaved. He turned to her and asked her if she was okay to which she replied with a nod.
"Do you guys have personal PPEs here?" He asked her. "Because that right there is a health hazard."
"Tell me about it… and No." She shook her head.
Jaune took a deep breath to orient himself again. "Maybe you can talk your boss into just giving me the key and the code?"
"That's against protocol so that's a big no. Besides, If Captain Marini says that I needed to get used to this, I think I better listen. I'm not just about to give up because of some… ugh… sewage."
Jaune thought for a bit before an idea sprung up. He then looked her up and down and wondered if Lazy Rick's PPE could fit her. The gods know that he doesn't use it.
"Take a picture. It'll last longer." She glared a little bit.
"N-no! I just. Well I actually do have an extra PPE kit. I was just wondering if they'd fit you."
Her glare disappeared when he explained and then gave him an exasperated look. "Jaune, you're over six feet tall and I'm five foot three."
"It's not mine actually. It's… uhh from my partner. He's… five foot four? I think?"
"Is he not using it?"
"Not really." He shrugged.
Rebecca thought about it for a bit before nodding. "Alright. I think It'll do."
They both got back up at the lobby and Jaune headed out to fetch the additional equipment that he needed while she stayed behind to wait for him. She watched as his back became smaller until he disappeared amongst the crowd.
As she waited, she made herself busy by reading a newspaper that was dated today and immediately she regretted it due to the amount of bad news there was. More articles about the murders, more opinions about the politicians, more useless drivel that she already knew…
Rebecca sighed and put it down. She missed those days when all she had to worry about was homework and friends. Now all she could think about were dead bodies, dogs and viruses.
Jaune had been a good bit of distraction, she honestly didn't expect him to be fun to talk to ever since she first saw him have a panic attack several minutes ago.
He wasn't so overly professional nor was he rude. He honestly just felt like someone you'd make friends with easily. So she was thankful that he was able to take her mind off of work for a moment.
"Hey! Chambers!" Someone called out to her and she turned to see Brad Vickers and Edward Dewey making their way towards her. She panicked for a second after seeing Brad but tried to calm herself. Hell, the guy looked like he didn't even want to be there with how nervous he looked.
"Dewey, Brad… uhh hey?" She smiled awkwardly and cringed inside when her voice cracked. A little over a few weeks ago and after the intramurals Brad had mustered the courage to try and ask her out for a date. She was startled back then, caught flat-footed and off-guard by the sudden development.
Brad was a nice guy and at that time a good friend, but she never once considered dating at that time. Actually, she wasn't even interested in dating anyone even now. She was new, fresh and far too busy building up her career to worry about that.
So she rejected him. Gently. She told him her reasons, the ol' "It's not you, It's me." schtick but with more sincerity. The guy took it hard though and somehow the others found out.
It got… awkward. Brad would always go out of his way to avoid her and she didn't really do anything about it due to how uncomfortable she was about it
"Me and the boys are planning to go to Seventh Heaven tonight. Wanna come?" Dewey said, a confident smile plastered on his face. Brad looked like he just froze when he met her gaze behind him.
"Tonight?... Well, I can't. I've got uhh… some reports to do tonight. Haha..." She laughed awkwardly. "Gotta keep up with those reports, right?"
Dewey stared at him with a confused look before he shook it off.
"Come on, Rebecca. It's just for tonight. I hear Katie and the others from HR are going to join." Dewey tried to convince her.
Rebecca bit her lip, going out drinking really wasn't her thing. Sure, she'd gone out with friends back in college but it never really stuck.
She knew that Dewey and the other STARS members liked to go on their weekly bar hangouts to de-stress but for her, de-stressing meant a hot cup of cocoa in her favorite tank top and pajama bottoms while watching late night movies. She honestly does not understand how being drunk relaxes people.
"I'm sorry, really it's just that I really have to do those reports. It might be important to the recent investigation." She lied. She was actually going nowhere due to the garbage that Umbrella sent.
"Surely those can wait. There are, what? ten people working on that? Rebecca, we all see how you're always busy and the rest of us are worried that you might be overworking yourself. Even the Alphas don't work day in and day out on a desk looking at paperwork and pictures." Dewey said and then turned to his companion. "Right Brad?"
Brad being caught off-guard, fumbled with his words and nodded. "Y-yeah, even Jill goes out with us sometimes."
Rebecca frowned and made a contemplative look. She knew that Dewey's worry was genuine and that she HAD been working on the case obsessively after she saw those VHS tapes. But… 'Damn it.' She cursed in her head. She sighed. She couldn't just brush off their worries.
She was about to just accept it and move on but suddenly she saw Jaune walking in with several different bags. He saw her and she saw him smile before making his way to her.
"Jaune!" She accidentally yelled out, which caused him to stop and freeze due how sudden it was.
She winced. "Sorry." She then turned to her co-workers and gave them an apologetic look. "That's the guy Captain Marini told me to escort so uhh… I'll see you later?"
The two men were curious about her new friend but then wrote him off when they turned to her. "Is that a yes?" Dewey asked hopefully.
"Sorry Dew, I really just can't. Maybe once this investigation is over we can all hang out. But for now, we've got our jobs cut out for us." She then turned to Jaune who was just standing beside her quietly. "Speaking about jobs, I'm gonna go do what Captain tasked me with. Come on Jaune."
She beckoned to him and he followed after nodding a greeting towards the other STARS members. Once they reached the utility hall, Jaune was the first to talk.
"What was that about?" Jaune asked, curious about what went on at the lobby.
"Oh, it's nothing. They were just inviting me to go with them to a bar."
"This early? It's still nine." Jaune said, looking at a watch on his wrist.
"AFTER work. Who in their right mind would drink at this time of day?" She said, looking at him exasperatedly.
"Alcoholics?" Jaune offered.
She wanted to rebuke but relented when she thought about it. "Okay, fair point."
She then noticed the amount of bags he was carrying and for a moment she was worried that he might fall over due to the weight.
"Is that not heavy?" She asked, pointing to his bags.
"It is. But I can handle it." He said, shaking one of the bags to prove his point and the police woman nodded.
They reached the stairway to hell and Jaune then began to pull out various tools and cleaning devices. Some of which Rebecca recognized to be portable pressure washers and weirdly shaped brushes.
The cleaning soaps and liquids were set aside as Jaune poured some of those on what looked to be a scuba tank that was worn like a backpack. After that she saw him pull out something that was neatly folded into a plastic wrap and gave it to her.
"Here. Try to put this on and I'll help you seal it up."
She recognized it as a disposable PPE suit. She wore one of these once during her apprenticeship at one of Umbrella's Chemical Plants.
"It's alright. I know how to put one of these on."
"Really? That's unexpected."
"Yeah. I've got a bachelor's degree in Chemistry, so I've worn this kind of equipment in the past. Kind of nostalgic, actually." She said as she started to put the thing on.
"Wow… That's impressive. A special forces member AND a Chemistry wiz."
"Don't patronize me." She huffed. "It's because I'm good at chemistry that I got picked."
"I'm not. It's actually that amazing." He said, now beginning to put on his PPE suit. "Is being a cop your first choice?"
She paused for a bit. "No, not really. Initially I wanted to join Umbrella's Medical Research Division. But then Captain Wesker scouted me."
"Captain Wesker?"
"Alpha team's leader. He convinced me that I could do better as a specialist in the Police Force rather than, and I quote, 'Rot in a lab'."
"Yeesh. Sounds like a fun guy to be with "
"He has his moments." She shrugged.
"Does he?"
"Nope." She popped the P and Jaune chuckled. She checked herself as soon as she was done putting it on and then Jaune handed her some safety goggles along with an industrial gas mask. To which she put on.
Jaune did the same and turned to her, speaking with a muffled voice due to the mask. "You ready?"
She gave him a thumbs up and the both kf them opened the door. The gas masks worked to protect their noses but she could still remember the stench from before so she gagged a bit.
Jaune turned to her with concern but she waved him off.
They continued down the stairs and it was there that she saw how bad the overflow actually was.
The floor was practically gone. Murky black water filled the entire basement to the point that it reached a step of the stairs. Rebecca was very much glad that she was wearing the suit because had she just walked in here with her regular clothes, she might have just fainted.
"Didn't think it was this bad… Why is it so dark though?" Jaune said right beside her.
"The utility workers must have never bothered turning on the lights…" She guessed.
Jaune set the equipment down onto the steps of the stairs and rummaged through one of them until he found a flashlight. He shined the light to the area and found that most of the electrical equipment here was submerged.
Jaune then lowered the flashlight with a sigh. "No. They never turned it on because it was too dangerous."
Rebecca then saw him forward and stepped shin-deep into the horrid water. It didn't even phase him. She saw him continue deeper and stopped to look back at her.
"You coming?" He asked.
"Do I have a choice?" She sighed.
She reluctantly stepped into the murky water and followed her new friend. With the lights off, she had to stick close to him as he shined his flashlight over different areas.
They found the sewer door later at the farthest back of the room where several large pipes ran through holes in the walls. A lone red light shone above the door as if it indicated that this door had something sinister inside it.
"That isn't ominous at all." Jaune commented. "Seriously, why can't the emergency lights be all orange? Or yellow? Or green? Why red?"
"I think there are meanings to the colors but I'm not so sure what." She said, shrugging.
The two walked towards it and reached in just a few steps. She then pulled out her card, which she put in her PPE's pocket earlier, and swiped it onto the scanner. The typing came after and with the same beep as the last ones, the latches on the door opened. Rebecca tried to reach the door knob but Jaune stopped her.
"I think I should do this one. Try to back up a bit."
She followed his instructions and gave him her confirmation. Jaune nodded and with a quick tug, the door opened and a torrent of filth and sludge poured into the room.
"Agh! What are you doing?!" She said as she backed herself into a wall.
The sludge kept filling in as an unaffected Jaune stood over the door like a golem. It finally stopped after a few seconds but the whole room was now covered in thick sludge!
"Sorry about that. I can't do anything about the overflow if I can't dislodge whatever it is that's clogging it… Besides, Your job is done here anyway. You can go on up and grab a shower. I'll handle the rest." Jaune explained. He was right. Her job was done, but she'd feel kind of bad for leaving him here alone.
"It's alright. I actually wanna see what went wrong here."
"Are you sure?" He asked, voice laced with concern.
She nodded.
"... Right… okay, come on. I think I can see what's wrong from here." He beckoned her to follow him.
As they got through the door, she and her new friend found themselves in Raccoon City's sewer system. Arching ceilings, concrete walls and walkways, rat scurrying about… it was your typical sewer.
Jaune shined his light to something from afar. Something white and yellow and black and… ugh…
"What is that?" She breathed. It was a large slimy object. It was stuck on the bars that were built to stop someone from falling into a rainwater collector.
"Fatberg. All the oils, wastes and organic debris all combine to form into that. It's actually more common than you think." Jaune said.
"I think I saw this in a movie once." She said as she poked the disgusting thing.
"Huh. Now that you mention it, it kinda does look like those resin things that those xenomorph things secrete."
Suddenly her head snapped towards him, surprising the cleaner. "You saw Aliens?"
"I did. Why?" Jaune asked, tilting his head.
"Dude, I have been trying to get the rest of my team to watch that movie!" She excitedly yelled.
"Trying?" Jaune questioned as he got to trying his hand at breaking down the ball of fat.
"Yeah, but apparently they all preferred to watch sports on outings. I mean, I love basketball, but there's gotta be a limit y'know? Why does it always have to be sports? Why can't we just watch movies?" She complained. Though it wasn't as if the others didn't like to watch movies.
It's just that… their tastes don't really mesh with her's. And when they do watch with her they sometimes balk at how ridiculous the movie was. It was either they were too old and experienced or they rationalized everything they saw on the screen. Why can't they just turn off their brains for once and just watch?!
"Then they're missing out on a classic. Seriously. Ellen Ripley was bad ass." She saw Jaune shrug and push a giant portion down the rainwater collector below. The sewage then immediately began to pour through the opening and immediately began to eat away at the fatberg.
"And that final scene with the loader? Chills." He chuckled.
Rebecca just stared at him. Jaune was actually concerned for a moment until she blew up at him. "I know right?! And the freaking creature designs! Oof… I tell ya, Xenomorphs? Right up there in my top three fave movie monsters."
Jaune blinked under his mask. "What's your first?"
"The Thing from The Thing." She snickered.
"Mutant alien shapeshifter. Not bad." Jaune nodded.
"What about you?" Rebecca asked curiously.
"Terminators. Killer robots freak me out." Which for Jaune was ironic because one of his best friends had once been a robot. But then again, the slaughter of civilians at the cold metallic hands of the hacked Atlesian robots back at Beacon was a very… uncanny experience. Actually now that he thought about it he might have had a flashback when he watched that movie.
Rebecca grinned under her mask. It was at this moment that she considered Jaune to be cool in her books.
"You like horror movies?"
"Yeah, and action and suspense… all that. As long as it's interesting, I'll try and see it." He nodded and then continued, "There are a lot of cheap rental stores in the city so whenever I get some precious free time, I explore and find cool stuff." He shrugged. Though it was just him window shopping and not actually buying anything.
For Jaune, ever since he got this job, he'd been trying out ways to de-stress due to the amount of work he does at day time and night time. He tried comics once but never stuck due to how expensive they were. It really put into perspective how lucky he was to have parents that were well off.
Only cheap rentals scratched that itch. Just sitting there with cereal in-hand and a black and white movie playing was enough for him to actually relax… man, has he fallen far.
"Woah. So what else do you watch?"
And as Jaune worked, both of them got into quite a discussion about the different movies that they liked. Jaune was into pretty much the same things she does, those being horror, action, and thrillers.
They talked about the Terminator sequel, the Living dead series, the Romero movies, even all those weird B-movie copycats that she considers as guilty pleasures.
It turned into movie recommendations, where she recommended the more lesser known horror movies to him. Like Tremors and Killer Klowns from Outer Space!
He too gave her some obscure recommendations like the Critters franchise, the Evil dead movies and that weird attempt at making a 'The Thing' clone. She couldn't recall because she was having too much fun talking about movie stuff.
She didn't even notice that Jaune had begun to do the finishing touches to the basement and was only snapped out of her geek out when he turned on the lights.
And she marveled at how the place was practically spotless… the floors were cleaned and shined, the piping that ran on the walls and corners were wiped and dried. Jaune knew his stuff.
But wait, what about their dirty PPE suits?
It was then that she noticed that she and Jaune were already out of those things. She looked around and found that they were already being put inside a garbage bag where all the disposables were kept.
Had she… lost track of everything due to how much she enjoyed their conversations?...
Woah.
This has probably been the most stress-free of her since last week.
Briefly she checked her watch and saw that it was already twelve in the noon; they'd been in the basement for almost four hours! She's been practically in here for the whole morning!
"Wow. Time sure does fly." She muttered.
"You say something?" Jaune asked while he put away the last of his equipment.
"Nothing. So uhh… how do we do this finalizing thing? Do you report to the boss or do I have to sign something?"
"Usually I go to your supervisor and tell them that the job's done."
"Great! But umm… it's noon so everyone's probably out getting lunch." She eyed him subtly.
Jaune saw the glint in her eyes and smiled a little bit due to how it reminded him of someone he knew. She also did that expression whenever his friend wanted something but couldn't tell him. Luckily, all his experience with Ruby told him exactly what to do in this situation.
Indulge them.
"You wanna hang out some more?" He asked, an easy smile on his face.
Rebecca's face brightened and nodded. "Well, if you insist. I actually know a good place down the street. They've got killer steaks, you won't regret it."
Real subtle.
"Sure. Why not? I just hope my wallet won't be crying anytime soon." Jaune laughed nervously, pitying his wallet.
"It'll be fiiine, trust me. Now come on. You gotta be hungry after all of that right?"
"Can't argue with that. Let me just load my stuff to the van and we'll get to it."
Rebecca nodded and the two of them proceeded to head back upstairs and into the lobby. A couple of her teammates called out to her but she didn't hear them due to how excitedly she was talking to the cleaner-for-hire of all people.
Jill, Chris, and Dewey watched the two walk away side by side with perplexed looks. Moreso with Dewey.
"Was that Rebecca?" Jill asked, eyes wide with what she saw.
"I think it was." Chris nodded.
Dewey was just quietly watching them as they exited through the front door, a couple dozen thoughts running in his mind. "I thought she was busy…" He said in a small voice.
Outside, Rebecca waited for Jaune to catch up to her and the both of them got to talking about more pop-culture stuff as they made their way to the food place that she recommended.
And for the rest of the afternoon, the two just got into their own little world of movies and sometimes comic books, not realizing that just across the street someone was watching them.
The figure wore a trench coat and a hat, said hat obscuring his face. In his hand was a photo. Blurred and somewhat grainy but what was shown was clear.
A young man with blonde hair, wearing a green hooded jacket and holding a bloody butcher's knife. And around him were the bodies of the Cerberus that he had slain.
Trent smiled. And muttered "I found you… my Excalibur."
He watched Jaune laugh at whatever the girl named Rebecca told him, unaware of his planned role for the downfall of the evil that seeps in this city.
And then he walked away…
/0/
Jaune stood in front of the Warehouse with a frown on his face.
The building, still very much intact since he left it yesterday. The crates that he used to block the entrances were still there and holding strong. That meant one thing.
The dogs hadn't escaped. Good.
He shifted his backpack to remind himself that it still contained the jerrycan that was filled with the compound mixture of styrofoam and gasoline. Budget napalm. Or at least that was what the veteran guy in that Vietnam war movie called it. Very dangerous, Very toxic, and very flammable. He had to be careful with it. It was fortunate that there had been no further encounters when he made his way here.
Jaune had initially planned to just pour gasoline all over the place and light it on fire but he had to take into account that the surrounding area of the place was barren. There was nothing near the warehouse that could serve as fuel for the fire to keep going.
It would just fizzle out.
So figuring that there was no other alternative, Jaune had devised a new plan. A stupid plan.
He took a deep breath and sat the backpack that he wore on the ground. He opened the zipper and was met with the gallon that was filled with budget napalm, but what was looking for was the thing that was beside it. Kept inside a woven sheath was a machete blade.
Really living up to his alter-ego here…
It was new, just bought earlier today after his job at the Police Station. You can thank the flea market for that. The thing was practically beckoning him when he passed by it. It was cheap and probably made in a factory but it would do nicely for this stupid plan of his.
Jaune unsheathed the blade and inspected it. The blade itself was eighteen inches, almost half the length of Crocea Mors. The weight was unbalanced, as intended for its purpose for chopping through dense foliage or thick trees. The grip was just plastic but Jaune figured that it was probably the sturdier kind. The handle was short, only fit for one-handed use which would be no problem for him as he was used to it.
Jaune swung a couple of test swings to familiarize himself with the weight and after doing so, he pulled out his knife from his jacket and dual wielded the things.
"Oh this is gonna suck."
He stood in front of the door that he had first encountered back then and before he could enact his stupid plan, he cracked his neck and got ready.
Plan A was supposed to be just him burning the place down. But due to the myriad of problems and inconsistencies he just had to relegate it to Plan B. So the two plans switched, plan A became Plan B and plan B became plan A.
'But Jaune, what is the new plan A?' you ask.
This is the new plan A.
Jaune rushed into the door with both blades in hand, his only light source being the flashlight that hung on his shoulder.
The dogs inside immediately snapped their heads towards him and as they always do, began to run and lunge at him.
Jaune's aura flared as he felt several try to bite into him but it held on. And as several hung on to him, two died almost instantly as one had its neck pierced by the knife and the other bisected by his machete.
Jaune shook off those that still had their Jaws on him and proceeded to kill two more by splitting the head off of one that had been gnawing at his ankle and cutting the head off of another that tried to flank him.
More came and more died as he hacked and slashed his way through the dogs. Blood and gore covered him as his machete and knife eviscerated the animals. Those that managed to bite into either his arms were met with a shop from the machete or a stab from the knife. All attempts lead to death in anycase.
In the darkness, surrounded by monsters, Jaune Arc fought like a madman, cutting, chopping, stabbing through the echoing snarls and growls. He had stopped counting how many he had killed for the past few minutes in this madhouse.
Jaune felt his aura reserves dwindle into the orange zones, dangerously close to the red. He had to finish this.
And suddenly there was a brief lull. The dogs suddenly stopped attacking. There he was standing amongst bodies upon bodies of diseased canines.
Jaune took a moment to breathe, the cloth mask he wore making it hard but doable.
The light of his flashlight pierced through the darkness as he turned from left to right, then around to assess his surroundings. The remaining dogs seem to hesitate now, as they slowly crept towards him with dead baleful eyes or just hanging back snarling. He counted about ten left and that lifted his spirit. He was almost finally done.
As the dogs began their attacks again, Jaune also did in kind. In fact, he did so with even more fervor.
And eventually, the slaughter ended as the last dog's head was split open, the machete still embedded into its skull. Jaune pulled it out by force and the dog helplessly fell along its brethren.
And Jaune finally let out a tired exhale. His body relaxed as he sat himself down onto the floor, panting and letting the adrenaline run its course. His aura was in the red. He could feel it. Just one more bite and his protection was gone. And considering that these things were diseased, he really did not want to know what happens when their bodily fluids contaminate your wounds.
Thankfully though, his aura held strong. There were no wounds nor were there cuts on him, that was reassuring.
He took a few more seconds to catch his breath on the ground and then stood up. He put his knife back inside his jacket and just hand-carried his machete. The thing was useful, not really at Crocea Mors's level but it made for a brutal yet effective weapon.
He looked upon the bodies of his kills and finally made an accurate count of the number of dogs. There were about thirty-five of them- no, Thirty eight.
"Thirty-eight of these monsters. Adding it to the previous twenty-four encounters, that made.. good gods…" He thought out loud. "There were more than sixty of these things…"
Just the thought of having them running around the city made him shudder.
He then took the chance to look around the place and his eyes widened when he saw the familiar sight of vans that he had seen driving into Victory Park so many weeks ago…
All identical with the white paint job and the Umbrella symbol on the sides. He then turned to see what looked to be the cages that he briefly saw when he first got to this warehouse.
There were several metal cages just behind the vans. All covered in blood and had their bars ripped open. They must have been keeping these dogs in there… but why?
Looking closely at the bars, it was a no-brainer to think that the dogs escaped through here.
He then pointed his light to the spot where the dead bodies used to be, but all he found were scraps of cloth. The dogs had devoured them entirely.
Jaune just sighed. Feeling a pang of sadness due the loss of lives.
He looked around the area for a bit before he found a metal staircase that seemed to lead to an overseer's office just above the warehouse. From where he stood, it just looked like a room with giant windows that overlooked the warehouse. Figuring that there was nothing wrong with checking it out, Jaune made his way to it.
He stopped halfway up the metal stairs and once more scanned the entire warehouse on the elevated position that he was in. The warehouse was actually huge. It just so happened that he managed to attract all of the dogs to that one spot near the door that he entered through. From the furthest eastern part of the warehouse were several columns of industrial shelves that held the same crates as those from the outside.
This place had been used for storage of something before these dogs came. He wondered what the hell was inside these boxes for a moment before shaking it off and continued climbing the stairs. He'll find out as soon as he gets back down.
As he reached the door to the overlooking room, Jaune found that it was locked. He tried to turn it again as if hoping that it would magically open but no, it was truly locked. He'd have to break it if he wanted to enter…
He began to turn back and prepared to climb down the stairs before something stopped him.
"hhhh…." A small voice seeped out of the door behind him, and he spun. Slowly, put his head onto the door and listened. He thought that he was just imagining things, that maybe it was just the wind… but then the voice came again…
"Hhhhh…."
It was like ragged breathing.
Jaune then knocked on the door. "Hello? Is someone in there?"
As soon as he said those words, he heard something fall to the ground in a loud crash. The heavy breathing now became a full blown moan of pain.
Someone was in there. Probably injured or bleeding. Even if they were bit, he wanted to help. At least they'd find peace at a hospital.
"Stand back! I'll kick the door open! Just hold on!"
With a powerful kick, the door slammed open and the light of his flashlight illuminated the room. It was a lavish office space, the floor was carpeted and there were several paintings and pictures on the walls. Several drawers lined up the walls and a cleopatra couch was set over by the window overlooking the outside. In the middle of the room was a large oaken executive table and just below it was a woman slumped down in the pool of her own blood.
"Hey! are you- fuck… are you alright?!" Jaune crossed the room and immediately came to check on the woman. He turned her over and saw that she was incredibly pale, her eyes had rolled into the back of her head and she was barely breathing, no…she wasn't breathing at all!
Was he too late!?
He checked her pulse and sure enough, the woman was dead…
He sat there on the carpeted floor and lamented. He should have hurried, he should have checked. How long has this woman been hiding here? Hiding from the monsters while he ran away.
"Fuck!" He punched the ground and stewed in his anger… but then something caught his eye.
His head darted towards the woman and stared at her lifeless form. He could have sworn that her lips moved. With a perplexed look, Jaune moved closer to her and shined his flashlight to her face. Then he saw her eyes.
'That can't be right.' he thought. The pupils were rolled up a few minutes ago but now, they were staring straight ahead. There were a few strands of hair caked in blood sticking to her face and Jaune tried to brush it away to take a closer look… but then the cataracted eyes of the woman suddenly darted to him.
Jaune stumbled back in surprise and instinctively readied his machete.
"Ma'am?" He said to her, "Ma'am, Can you- … are you okay?"
The woman didn't say anything to him as her head slowly faced him with those milky white eyes. A strangled breath wheezed out from her mouth as she began to stand up. It was like watching a drunk person stand up. Slow, clumsy, and in a weird gait. And once she managed to balance herself, her arms then raised towards him, as if trying to grab him. She shambled to his direction and Jaune had to walk backwards to stay away.
What the hell was going on?
"Ma'am. Please, I can help yo-" Jaune dodged to the side when she lunged forward. He had expected her to fall over but no, the woman seemed to balance herself again and once more try to grab him with her outstretched hand.
Jaune then began to walk back to the door. Watching the… thing… in front of him. And as if knowing what he was trying to do, the woman's pace began to quicken as the slow shamble began to turn into a faster gait as she reached out her hands to grab him.
Upon reaching the doorway, he had to be careful to avoid accidentally falling as his foot touched the metallic step of the stairs... and as he did, he never took his eyes away from the woman.
Then he heard another crashing sound which came from the direction of the executive desk. There on top of the desk and just over the edge was a thick stubby hand. A large man in a suit then pulled himself up to the desk.
Jaune's eyes couldn't believe what he was seeing.
The man's face was missing. He had no eyelids, no nose, no lips. Only the bloody remnants of blood and meat hanging onto what was left of his cheeks. His lipless mouth opened with a deep groan and began to shamble towards him.
This is… this is impossible. He gritted his teeth as a thought dawned in his head.
Jaune quickly got down onto the ground floor and watched as the two people followed him out of the door and stumbled down it, the woman fell off to the side as the sheer weight of the man pushed her over as he fell down the stairs.
The man fell down flat on the floor, his stomach bursting open due to the nasty fall. But even still, he stood up, guts and organs hanging. The damn bastard was even limping with his arms outstretched.
On the side, Jaune saw the woman also stand up, but her arms were broken to the point that they bent around her back and hung unnaturally by the shoulder blades, several pieces of bone could be seen poking out of her collarbone and even then the woman was still trying to get to him.
A sickening clarity hit Jaune. The killings. These dogs. These people. This wasn't rabies.
This was a fucking zombie virus.
A/N:
Jaune's plan was:
Plan A: Kill them with fire!
Plan B: Rip and Tear!
lol
Jaune's Current Equipment:
(You can google the exact words I wrote here to see what exactly he's wearing or using. Just don't include the colors.)
= Hooded Field Jacket (Forest Green)
= Black Printless Shirt (Thrift store item)
= Gray faded worker's jeans (Thrift store item)
= Hiking Boots (Thrift store item)
= Chef Knife (Worn/ Chipped)
= 5$ Walmart Machete (Resold by a Scammer)
=Backpack (Thrift Store Item)
= Jerry can (Flea Market Item)
Okay so here's the real A/N,
This chapter was to set up Jaune's civilian life while establishing a connection to the main Characters so I hope you all weren't put off by the mundane life of Jaune Arc. This chapter also serves as a set up for future ones so… yeah.
And as you could tell, Jaune isn't exactly living his best life. He's practically a loser on earth due to him being a nobody. But being a nobody has its perks in this world. Let's just say that we're lucky that it was Trent who figured it out first.
So yeah, about Rebecca, you could say that she's the second main character for the Umbrella Conspiracy arc, So there would most definitely be a connection between her and Jaune. For now though they're just friends. Jaune finds her fun and She finds him interesting. That's just it for now. I'm still debating if they'd be something more in the future. But for now, friends.
To those who are wondering why she's acting like a nerdy college school girl here, It's because I took some creative liberties since in the books she is portrayed differently in each title. In the Umbrella Conspiracy, she was practically the same as in the game, a little innocent but headstrong. In the Caliban Cove story, she's more mature, more Jill-like in the story. I just wanted to portray who she was before the horror, so I..well. took some creative liberties with her.
As to the topic of the world of Remnant… I don't really know. What do you guys think? Should I really have them follow him to Earth? It's certainly possible since they have the relic of creation. Or maybe I should go with the Resident Huntsman Route? Where the rest of them watch Jaune's horrific adventures?
And for those who are wondering when the Mansion Incident will start, then wonder no further for the nightmare will begin the next chapter!
Alright, that's about it. So? What do you guys think?
Review Replies:
To Guest #3: He's certainly living the double life of a superhero, that's for sure. Downsides and all.
To Zancundo Fiend: Thank you very much. And I will try my best.
To NineYetis: It's the only way to make sense of a guy running around the forest with a bloody knife.
To fan fic fan 759: He will be going through the whole mansion incident and for now, Wesker does not know about Jaune being the Machete-wielding madman. And no, his semblance will stay the same at least for now. Maybe it will evolve in the future, but before that time comes, his semblance stays the same.
To Mistersnx, Baixiaochung2910, Morgan Arthur Drake and the rest who are liking this fic and looking forward for more: Thank you.
To Grannster10: No, the events of RE 2 has not happened yet.
To Etermax: (I'm used a Translation software to read yours so… sorry.) Gracias.
To dmitriivanadis: I mistook the heart button for a like button, sorry.
To the warrior of six blades:(Thank you so much for the lengthy reviews. They were fun to read. Now, to my replies to you.) Umbrella is still very much unaware of Jaune's identity. Moreso with his alter-ego.
In the story, it was mostly just a coincidence that his outfit managed to hide his appearance so well, and even with the advanced face recognition software that they have, they're just getting blanks due to him not even existing in every system. Even him living in a shitty apartment helps in masking his identity since he's not attracting any attention at all.
I've set up this chapter to be the breaking of his mask. With his discovery of the warehouse and subsequent assault on it, he most definitely was seen. Umbrella loves their cameras after all… and they're certainly interested in how he just slaughtered an entire horde of one of their most dangerous bio-weapons.
To Morgan Arthur Drake: Woah, Ark Thomson was exactly who I thought of first when I was deciding on his civilian outfit. It just seemed to fit the everyman character like Jaune so much.
And yes, HUNK will make an appearance… hell even Wolf Pack will be appearing. It'll just be after the Mansion Incident, to which you won't have to worry since the plot of RE is kind of short. You can skip alot of bullshit if you just use common sense there.
To Cloud Link Zero: All of them I suppose. That's why I plan for the Mansion Incident to be the prologue of the true nightmare that was the timeline between RE1, RE3 to RE2. Characters that were present during that time will make an appearance here, including those of Operation Raccoon City and Residen Evil Resistance.
Though there are some that I won't be considering though. Specifically RE:0 since it causes so much timeline inconsistencies.
To Robbeeyy: I'm actually still debating myself about that.
To Sir Lone: He didn't die. He only fell and got transported. No answer to the question of him going back yet but… I don't know. I'm really just wondering what you all think of that idea.
Fun fact about aura: It doesn't actually flash when it gets hit. It only flashes when it breaks. So no, Umbrella still has not found out about Aura.
To roxasduelwielder: Thank you.