A/N: Seeing the number of views going up so quickly is actually giving me a lot of confidence with this story. And thankfully we'll be getting into the actually story leading to the events of RE 0 and 1 very soon. But as I said before, I gotta lay the ground work so that things will make sense further down the line. Hence why I'm trying to get these first few chapters out as quickly as I can so I can get to the real good stuff.
This chapter here took a bit of work. Considering that a lot of certain characters' backgrounds are still a bit unknown even after you've read the books and played the games. But on the bright side, it gives anyone writing their own stories about them a chance to plot it out in their own way. Which is exactly what I'm going to do here.
Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.
Chapter 3:
"You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward." - Conrad Hall
June 2, 1998
The next couple of days had been spent going over the files Oracle had given to him in the beginning of this little adventure that he had been sent on. Ethan had also spent that time gathering food and clothes for his new apartment. The overall costs barely putting a dent into the sizable stack of funds that had been given to him.
He had also taken the time to familiarize himself with Raccoon City's layout, even visiting city hall and buying a map and plotting out key locations on it that he could recall from memory of the games.
If he was going to be fighting Umbrella, he wasn't going to be caught unawares of their operations and experiments.
On the map, he had a handful of 'safe zones' circled in various locations. The hospital and church was also circled with 'Danger' written over them. And Kendo's Gun Shop down on Flower st. had been marked as a priority.
But all these places paled to the one that he had finished marking. The Raccoon City Police Department. Considering what the building was hiding a huge lab for Umbrella underneath people's feet without them even knowing about it was disturbing, and it also led to one of the only secure routes out of the city when things fell apart. Needless to say it was considered 'High Priority'.
Staring at the map laid out on the kitchen counter. Ethan looked at his work, his attire for the day a simple black t-shirt and jeans as he drank a cup of coffee. Going back to the documents contained within the file he'd been given, he went through the various transcript papers depicting his achievements from the universe he came from, except they had been doctored in certain areas to match up with the time he now found himself in.
Everything from his education and medical records, to his various skills that made him a perfect candidate for what he had been signed up for in STARS were contained within. Along with another list of instructions telling him where to go at certain times for the next week.
First on the list was visiting the Kendo Gun Shop to pick up something to 'help him on the job'.
Finishing his coffee, Ethan grabbed his keys and locked up the apartment before heading down to his truck. Pulling out of the parking lot and following the streets until he was by a large basketball yard on Flower Street. The large sign above a specific building that was a known supplier for the armaments for Alpha and Bravo teams of the city's STARS branch.
Parking out front. The teen stepped out and regarded the shop for a few moments before stepping through the front door. The smell of grease and gunpowder greeting his nose as he stepped across the hard wood floors.
The walls and tables around the large room were filled with guns of various kinds. From rifles and shotguns, to handguns and knives. Behind the counter at the front was a wall filled with boxes of bullets and clips that fit every weapon in the room.
A man stepped out from one of the back rooms toward the front and stopped when he saw Ethan in the middle of the shop. "Hello there, son. Something I can help you with?" asked the unmistakable voice of Robert Kendo.
"Yes, I came to pick something up." Ethan replied producing a slip of paper that had been contained with the instructions and handed it to the gun shop owner.
Kendo read the slip over carefully before realization dawned on him. "Oh yes! I remember this particular order. I must say that it was an interesting request." He turned and headed into the back again for a few minutes before coming back out with a medium-sized black plastic case and setting it on the counter. "Whoever shelled out the money for this, must be your new best friend."
Looking the case over, Ethan popped the latches and opened the lid. The contents caused a smirk to appear on his face.
Sitting within a soft-foam casing was a custom made 9mm Beretta 92F, also known as a 'Samurai Edge'. The blue-steel of the slide, barrel and trigger guard was so new that it was almost black. The handle was a dark brown with a black grip with the insignia for STARS stamped in gold in the center.
Taking the handgun from the case, the teen looked it over with careful eyes. The weight in his hands was roughly 32 ounces without a full magazine, a fire selector was installed just above the trigger guard with two settings; semi-auto and burst-fire.
Pulling the slide back, and feeling how smooth and familiar the movement was as he did so, he took note that the barrel itself was about a centimeter and a half longer than the standard issue Beretta. Popping the clip out, he examined the rest of the weapon's interior before sliding it back into place. Causing the slide to snap back to its normal position with a resounding 'Click!'.
"She's a beautiful piece of work, Mr. Kendo." Ethan said with praise as he set the weapon back in the foam and began pulling out the clips for it that had been set in various compartments off to the side.
"My brother Joseph designed these specifically for the STARS here in Raccoon. Though the one that called in this order was very specific about this particular piece." said the shop owner. "The barrel is a little longer for added accuracy, the sights re-keyed to make up for the added length. The fire selector allows the shooter to fire semi-auto or three-round burst depending on the situation. Because of this addition, it was modified to accept clips larger than the standard 15-round magazine for the other models." he explained.
The teen nodded when he realized that one of the clips he had been examining were designed to hold 20 9mm Parabellum rounds. There were ten clips total, all of the the same length and waiting to be loaded. "How much do I owe?" he asked putting everything back.
"It's already been covered along with the ammunition." said Kendo reaching up to the shelves behind the counter and setting six boxes of 9mm bullets next to the case holding Ethan's new weapon. "Like I said, someone out there must be your new best friend, son. The amount of money for this was rather hefty."
Ethan thought back to Oracle, and how he said that he would help him throughout this future nightmare. 'Guess he wasn't kidding'. he thought to himself. Looking at the wall of shotguns, he approached a case that held a Remington M1100-P. "What can you tell me about this 12-gauge?"
X
An hour later, the teen walked back into his apartment with his new Samurai Edge, shotgun and a rig designed to carry both weapons and their ammo. Not to mention a couple hundred rounds of ammo for both guns that he immediately started loading into clips after setting it all down. Storing the spares on a shelf in the back of the closet in his bedroom along with the shotgun for later.
It cost him almost $1200 in total. But he knew that it would be worth it in the end.
After stripping the custom Beretta down, cleaning the parts and reassembling it. Ethan laid the weapon on the coffee table and headed toward the kitchen, digging out a bottle of water before moving over to the counter where the file and map of Raccoon City was still set up. Picking up the list of instructions he had been given and crossing off visiting the gun shop.
The next thing on the list stated, 'Report to the Police Department. Meeting with STARS Captain at 10:00AM on June 6th.'
Ethan felt a slight chill go up his back when he read the word 'Captain' in the message. The fact that he would be in the same room as Albert fucking Wesker didn't sit well with him, but he'd have to bare it if he was going to get into STARS and become part of the missions in the Arkley Forest weeks from now.
He was taken out of his thoughts when he heard a loud 'THUD!' from out in the hallway followed by several curses. Curious, he sat his water down and opened the front door and saw a girl around his age wearing a red tank top and skinny jeans kneeling by a cardboard box that had broke open on the floor with several books scattered everywhere.
"Here, let me help you with that." he said crouching down and helping her picking a few of the books up.
"Thanks, I didn't think this thing would be so heavy." said the girl standing up and giving him a bright smile. Ethan looked up and went to say something, but his voice died in his throat.
Before him stood a girl with a pixie-like stature and was about half a foot shorter than him with a curvey-athletic body. A head of reddish-brown hair cropped short on top of her head and a pair of expressive, innocent green eyes and cream colored skin that made her beautiful face stand out even more.
It took him all of three seconds to realize that he was looking at Rebecca Chambers, the rookie of STARS' Bravo Team.
Blinking, Ethan stood up as well and smiled back causing a small blush to appear on the slightly younger girl's face. "It's no problem." he said looking through the open apartment door next to them and saw a bunch of cardboard boxes stacked around with a small handful of furniture. "Moving in?"
The girl blinked as well before nodding, "Yeah, just got here today. A little difficult when your on your own though." she admitted stretching her arms a little bit. "Thank god that was the last box."
She looked at him and realized something, "Oh, Rebecca Chambers." she said introducing herself and holding out her hand.
Ethan shook his hand with hers gently, "Ethan Mercer. You settling in alright?" he asked handing her the books that were in his hand.
"So far. Being on your own isn't easy, but I made it through college okay so this shouldn't be too difficult." said Rebecca as she walked into her apartment and set the books down on a nearby table.
"I know what that's like. I've been here almost a week, it takes a bit to get used to." he replied looking around the apartment and seeing that it was almost exactly like his place, though the counter separating the kitchen was absent and a small table that could fit four was in its place.
The young woman turned to him, "You're new here too? What's the city like?"
Ethan shrugged, "Pretty decent. I don't have any complaints so far, though my new job starts in a couple of days so that might change." he said taking out his wallet and showing her his STARS ID.
Rebecca's eyes widened, "You're...working with STARS?" she reached into her back pocket and pulled out her own identification and showing him. The words 'Officer Chambers. Biochemist/Medical Personnel. Bravo Team.' written on the card under her personal ID. "I start around the same time you do, guess we're co-workers along with being neighbors." she said smiling.
"Would you look at that. Guess I won't be the only one at the bottom of the ladder at the office." Ethan said chuckling, even though he knew full well that she would have been joining her team around this time anyway.
"It would seem so." replied the young woman giggling as she began moving about her new home and putting things away in a certain order. "What made you decide to join?" she asked keeping the conversation going.
The older teen picked up one of the medical books and flipped through it absently as he spoke. "A number of things. My adopted dad was a cop and always taught me to protect my fellow man. While my adopted mom told me to use my knowledge to try and make the world a better place. Joining STARS seemed like the best way to combine the two."
Rebecca looked over her shoulder at him as she stood on a chair to put a couple of frames up on the wall, "Adopted?"
"Yeah. Was in an orphanage until I was five before I was picked up. They were great parents and respected my choice in profession." replied Ethan. It was a bold-face lie considering his situation, though he was pretty sure that his adopted parents would respect his choice to be where he was.
She was about to say something, but her foot caught on the back of the chair and causing it to tip backward, a yelp came from her as she fell along with it.
Closing her eyes and expecting her body to impact against the floor. Instead she found herself wrapped in a pair of strong arms and pulled against an equally hard chest. Cracking one green eye open, she found herself in the arms of her new neighbor.
"You okay?" he asked making sure that she wasn't hurt.
Face turning bright red from the position she was now in, Rebecca stuttered a few words before managing to utter a "Thanks." as he set her back down on her feet. "I have a bit of a clumsy streak every now an again." she said while trying to make the heat in her cheeks go down.
"It's no problem, you got everything under control here?" he asked fighting his own blush. The girl barely weighed a hundred pounds and was relatively light in his arms. That...and he accidentally got a good feel of her firm back-side when he caught her.
"Y-Yeah. Thank you for helping me." she replied smiling again. "See you at the office?"
Ethan nodded, "I'll see you there. Welcome to the building, Rebecca." He turned and headed to the door before stopping at the threshold. Looking back at his soon to be 'fellow Rookie', he knew that he really didn't know anyone and was just as alone in this place as she was.
And from what he could see, she was unpacking various things that you would normally see in a college dorm. Meaning that she had must have packed up and come here not long after getting out of school. Something he was also familiar with after he had graduated a year prior and into his own place right after.
Not to mention he could recognize the look in her eyes. She put up a brave front, but she was nervous about being in a place where she was completely on her own with no one else to be there for her. And even though she'll make strong bonds with her fellow STARS soon enough, she was still very much alone at the moment.
'She could use a friend...for that matter so could I at this point.' he thought before calling out to her. "Hay, Rebecca?" the young woman turned and regarded him. "There's this pizza place not far from here that has pretty good food. If you're interested, we could grab something to eat there."
Rebecca blushed again, "That's a bit sudden. Do you normally ask out random girls you just met?"
"Only ones that are as cute as you." Ethan replied, mentally kicking himself for letting that slip out without think. Lucky for him, he was rewarded with a much deeper blush from the girl in front of him and leaving her stuttering again. 'Huh, guess Matt was right about something after all.'
"Consider it a way for two co-workers to get to know each other before they actually start working. And since we're both new to the city we can at least have one person we know and talk to without feeling awkward." he explained seeing her get ahold of herself after a few moments.
Biting her lip while she thought, something her companion found rather adorable, Rebecca nodded to herself before responding. "Sure, that sounds great. Just give me a couple of hours to set up here a little bit."
"Alright, just come let me know when you're ready." Ethan gave her one last smile before heading back to his apartment. Flopping on to the couch and going back to loading his handgun clips to take his mind off things until later. It was then he realised what had just happened.
He'd just asked Rebecca Chambers out and she accepted.
"Oh shit..." he muttered dropping the clip he had been holding on to the coffee table and rubbing his eyes.
X
Closing her door, Rebecca leaned back against the wood frame hugging the picture frame she had been trying to put up to her chest as she recalled what had just happened.
The fact that she just accepted an invitation to a restaurant by a guy she had barely met was a bit outside her character. She was usually more cautious about things of this nature, but in this instance she couldn't help but agree to it.
Leaning off the wall, Rebecca went back to work reorganizing her new home as she let her mind wander.
At the age of 18, she'd graduated from college with honors in biochemistry. She'd joined STARS hoping to do some real good for the community, though the upper levels in the organization wanted to stick her in the labs given her skills. But she needed the field experience, and a part of her wanted to be a part of the action.
Coming to Raccoon City and becoming part of their branch of STARS as their medic was a dream come true for her, and she was going to do her best to make a name for herself.
She had been expecting to have a rather mundane day as she moved into her new apartment. But she never anticipated running into one of her neighbors so soon, only to find out that he himself was a member of STARS and starting out just like her.
Rebecca blushed as she recalled their conversation. She had to admit that he was very attractive, and from the time they spent talking he seemed rather interesting to say the least. Her blush deepening when she recalled how his arms felt around her when he caught her when the chair tipped over.
She was never able to find time to date while she was in school. Even when she did most of the guys either wanted to be around her for her brain or to try and get her into bed. But she never fell for it, she may have been young but she wasn't stupid when she saw the looks they gave her.
But when Ethan made the offer for them to hang out she couldn't help but accept. She couldn't explain it, but something about her fellow rookie made her feel like she could trust him. And he did make a good point, it would be nice to be able to have some one to talk to and make the transition of being in a new place easier.
After getting her living room situated, Rebecca looked at the clock and saw that an hour and a half had passed. Thinking back to Ethan's offer again, her stomach let out a small growl at the same time pretty much making up her mind for her.
Tossing the empty boxes in a corner, the young woman went into her bedroom and picked out some clean clothes and underwear from what she was able to unpack and went into the attached bathroom to shower and get ready.
A part of her was a little excited. Getting to know someone who would be joining STARS with her and possibly getting a friend out of it was great. And the fact that he was a looker, and a charmer at that was a bonus.
Dressing in a new pair of jeans, a dark-blue t-shirt and hoodie with her sneakers. She locked up her apartment before venturing a couple doors down to Ethan's place and knocked on the door.
A few seconds later, the older teen opened the door. Dressed in a pair of black cargo shorts and t-shirt and combat boots. "Hay, ready to get going?" he asked shutting the door and locking it behind him.
Rebecca nodded while trying not to look at how his shirt hugged his upper body. "How far is this place?" she asked as they walked to the elevator together.
"A few blocks down, not a very long walk if that's okay." he replied getting a smiled from her as they reached the ground floor and headed out of the building and down the sidewalk toward the same place Ethan had been frequenting for the last day or so.
Reaching the restaurant, they found a small table in the back and split a pie between them as they started talking about anything and everything.
Ethan talked about his life, altered in certain ways so that he didn't give away the fact that he was from another dimension. About his time growing up with his adopted folks and how they accepted his 'gifts' and taught him to use them to better himself as a person.
The two of them had a lot in common in that regard. Both of them were prodigies in different ways and had gone through school at a much more advanced level than everyone else.
Rebecca talked about her childhood and love for biochemistry. How being a medical professional had been a close second in terms of a major when she was going to school which contributed to her choice of profession when she decided to join STARS.
She was a little shocked to hear that her companion had an IQ of 152 which was a few marks above her own. Even joking that they had a combined IQ of close to 300 and were probably the smartest in their generation.
Ethan laughed with her saying that he had always been called 'Braniac' by his friends and it was good to know that there was someone else he could relate to.
Their food was finished without them even knowing, and before long the place was closing up for the night as they walked out the door and headed back to their building. Still talking and laughing along the way.
"He was really that bad?" Rebecca asked through her giggles.
"Oh yeah, total manwhore. Matt used to sleep with any girl that would fall for his cheesy pick-up lines." Ethan said shaking his head. "Hell, he considered himself an artist until he discovered that one of the girls he roped into bed with him turned out to be a transvestite vacationing from New Jersey."
The girl next to him burst out laughing at his friend's blight. "How did he take that?"
"When he woke up the next day and found out the truth, he freaked the fuck out and told me to never speak of it. Poor bastard didn't come out of his place for almost a week, changed his number because the 'woman' he had been with wouldn't stop calling him." he replied using air-quotes.
Riding the elevator up to their floor, they stopped by Rebecca's door before turning to each other. "I had fun tonight. It really took my mind off things." she said looking away from his gaze and blushing. "I never really do things like this, to be honest." she admitted.
Ethan raised an eyebrow, "What? Go out for pizza with a co-worker?" he asked with a small grin.
She rolled her eyes, "Oh, so this wasn't a date?" she asked searching his face incase he tried to lie to her.
"Trust me, darlin. If this was a date you'd definitely know." replied the older teen, his grin widening slightly. "I just wanted to have the chance to get to know you. Believe it or not, I never try to date someone unless I know that they're comfortable being around me."
He stepped a little closer, making Rebecca look up at him making her realise just how much height he had over her. Picking up her hand in his bigger one, "And...you looked like you could use a friend. So will you do me the honor of letting me be your first one here in Raccoon?" he asked kissing the back of her knuckles gently.
The young woman's blush darkened considerably from the gentleness of his words and actions. He wasn't anything like the guys she had met before. Everything he had told her tonight had been the complete truth and he hadn't even tried to lie to her. They were so much alike on an intellectual level, but at the same time she knew that he could cut loose and have fun too which made her want to know even more about him.
And because of that, the feeling of trust she had gotten from him before had gone up considerably.
"I...I'd like that." she squeaked out as she felt her heart hammering in her chest.
Ethan smiled as he took a step back, "I'm glad. I had a pretty good night getting to know you too, Rebecca. Hope we can do it again sometime." getting a nod in confirmation, he started heading for his apartment. Unlocking the door and turning to see his neighbor still standing at the threshold of her own. "Be seeing you around, darlin." he said before disappearing inside.
Rebecca watched him go before turning to open her own door, her face still red and heart still racing as she thought about how the night had gone.
And the bit of excitement that pooled in her stomach at the thought of spending more time with the other rookie that lived a few doors down from her in the near future.
X
June 6, 1998
The next four days had been rather tame. No real important events occurred for Ethan other than continuing to mark key points on the city map he had hidden in his apartment.
Though he was happy to admit that he enjoyed running into Rebecca every other chance when he was either out and about, or with them crossing paths when leaving their apartments.
It turned out that she rode her mountain bike around the block every morning for exercise around the same time he'd go jogging. Sometimes they would go together and grab a quick breakfast from a bagel shop a street over as they talked bout the upcoming day when they would join their new teams.
Both teens enjoyed the time they spent together, and had already formed a strong friendship in the short time they'd gotten to know each other. Ethan would occasionally tell her how cute she looked which caused the young medic to-be to blush and stutter.
He'd laugh at how easily flustered she got from the simple compliment, which she would respond by lightly slapping him on the arm and calling him a jerk. Though he could always tell that she never meant it.
Despite everything that was happening between the two future STARS, the day finally came for them to join the Raccoon City's finest.
X
Ethan stepped out of his bedroom wearing his new uniform. He'd picked it up the day before from the precinct and was rather impressed with the color scheme.
A pair of digital camo fatigues with cargo pockets, a long-sleeved forest-green shirt with the STARS emblem on each shoulder. Throwing on his rig and holsters with his combat boots completed the look nicely and made him look like a force to be reckoned with.
After a quick cup of coffee, he slipped his Samurai Edge into the holster and two clips of ammo into two compartments on either side before grabbing his keys and heading out the door.
At the same time, Rebecca came out of her apartment wearing her uniform as well. Dark-green capris and t-shirt with emblems on the shoulders with her medical stachels around her waist and a white kevlar vest with a red cross and the word 'Medic' displayed on her back.
"Ready to go?" he asked. She slipped her own sidearm into the holster on her right thigh before giving him a thumbs up.
The duo rode the elevator to the ground floor and went into the parking lot toward Ethan's truck. "You sure don't mind giving me a ride?" she asked as she hopped into the passenger's seat.
"It's called carpooling for a reason, Bec's." Ethan replied making her shoot him a look for the nickname he had been calling her for the last two days. "Besides, we're both heading to the same place anyway. It works in both ways." With that he started the Silverado and pulled out on to the street.
Following the path to the police station as they listened to the radio. Rebecca had her elbow on the door, head in her hand as she watched the buildings pass them by. "What do you think our boss is like?"
'An evil, manipulative bastard that belongs in the lowest pit of hell.' he thought in the back of his head. "Not sure. Heard rumors that he's intimidating and has a voice like ice. But he wouldn't have allowed us to join this city's STARS branch if he didn't think we were good enough for the job."
The girl nodded, "That makes sense. I'm still pretty nervous though." she admitted.
Ethan reached over and squeezed her hand reassuringly. "Don't worry so much. I'll be right there beside you the whole time." he said pulling into the 'Employee' section of the precincts parking lot and turning the truck off.
Both rookies walked up the steps and through the large doors into the main foyer of the building. Taking one of the stairs to the upper level and down a corridor toward a door that had 'S.T.A.R.S: Teams Alpha and Bravo' written on the glass.
Taking a deep breath, Ethan reached for the knob and pulled the door open. "Here we go." he said while mentally preparing himself for what was to come.
A/N: And we'll break here for now. I'm considering making this an OC/Rebecca pairing, and I know that this has been done countless times before. But considering Ethan's personality she seems like the best choice as a romantic interest.
Meeting the other STARS and Wesker himself is next, and another chapter or two after that before we get into the events of the games. So sit back, and enjoy the ride guys.
P.S. The reviews have been good so far, keep them coming and I'll update as quickly as I can.
P.S.S For the fans of my other fics, I'm still trying to work around what ever the hell a 'Type 1 Error' is so I can make updates again. Just hold on for a bit longer and I'll start back up with them again soon.
