A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it guys? Just started playing RE: Revelations and it got my thoughts flowing again. This chapter is actually a lot smaller than what I had originally planned out, but I wanted to set the field for the fights that are coming in the near future. And with the remnants of both Bravo and Alpha together, coupled with what Ethan and Rebecca gathered from the training complex, things are going to blow over a lot quicker than what would have been expected.

But that doesn't mean things are going to be easy on Ethan or the others, afterall, nothing really stays the way you expect in the end.

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.

Chapter 17:

"A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week." - George S. Patton

It had taken a while to explain the entire situation to everyone, especially the Chris and Jill who only got a taste of it when the undead pack of dogs attacked them and killed Joseph.

Ethan told them everything, Rebecca jumping in and adding her own input at certain points as he explained what had happened to them the previous night. From the crash leading to their finding the Ecliptic Express filled with undead, the crash at the training facility and their fight for survival through the complex's hallowed walls.

He also told them about their encounters with the BOWs, including the Proto-Tyrant that nearly crushed them. Everything leading up to the confrontation with James Marcus and the leech queen before their escape before the facility exploded.

Both rookies had kept the fact that Billy had been with them to themselves, and showed the others the information they had gathered implicating Umbrella for everything that had happened.

"After we managed to escape, we followed Enrico's instructions and made our way here. Of course, after finding out that this place is just another front for Umbrella, we figured we'd find freaks just like back at the training complex." Ethan finished.

Jill looked through the last of the lab reports he had gathered the other night and shook her head, "I can't believe this...all this time the murders were the cause of people infected by this T-Virus?"

"Believe it." said Kenneth tapping the small camera on his right shoulder. "But it seems our rookies here had the worst of it. That big fucker with the swords for claws could have turned you guys into mince meat, but you managed to take it down. That's pretty damn impressive."

"So it was James Marcus' corpse that came back and released the virus for vengeance." said Chris catching up. "Looks like Umbrella isn't shy about turning on their own to protect their assets. We really need to find Barry and the Captain, in a group we could stand a better chance at finding a way out of this."

Ethan clenched his teeth, staring at the floor hard as he tried to think of whether or not to tell them the truth about Wesker. He figured that they wouldn't believe him, but he had found something in the labs that would definitely tip the scales.

But the repercussions of doing so could go both ways in terms of an outcome. He'd already changed things in big ways by keeping Richard and Kenneth alive, not to mention that he had already solved about half the puzzles and door locks throughout the mansion.

His mind turned as he weighed the pros and cons, and knew that the only choice that would benefit them and keep them from dying in this oversized tomb was the best course of action.

"Ethan?" the profiler blinked when Rebecca shook his shoulder. Looking around the room and finding the other three STARS looking at him oddly. "You were lost in your thoughts and haven't said anything in a while." said the medic wondering what was on his mind.

A sigh escaped him, rubbing his eyes as he prayed that he wouldn't regret what he was about to do. "We can't go to Wesker with this." he said finally getting stunned looks from everyone.

"What are you talking about? We have to tell him." said Chris trying to understand what the rookie was saying.

Ethan shook his head and reached into the pocket of his vest where he had kept the MO disk and the files he had gathered. "No, we don't." he said pulling out an old crumbled piece of paper. "I found this in Marcus' lab back at the training complex, amongst the files and a few shattered piece of equipment. I didn't really believe it when I saw it, but as the saying goes; 'a picture's worth a thousand words'."

He turned the paper around and revealed a picture depicting three men in lab coats standing together. Rebecca recognized the man in the middle was James Marcus, the one on the right she didn't recognize, but the one one the left...a gasp left her. The same being said for the three veteran STARS.

Same blonde hair, facial features and stone-like expression. But it was the ever present sunglasses that hit the point home for all of them. Handwriting on the back of the old image read; 'James, William and Albert - Arklay Facility 1988'

"This was taken ten years ago, at the same training facility were Marcus was assassinated by his subordinates, the same two men you see in this photograph. William Birkin...And Albert Wesker." Ethan said hauntingly calm.

"No..." Jill said stepping back in shock. "All...All this time. I can't believe this..."

Chris was having trouble taking it all in as well. Rebecca and Kenneth just as much but seeming to try and connect the dots. "Why didn't you show me sooner?" the medic asked her boyfriend, a little cross at him keeping something like this from her.

"I didn't really believe it myself. I thought that it could have been someone else, but after reading the name, and the fact that it is the same man just a little bit younger it all kind of clicked into place." said the profiler. "I know this is hard to swallow, but if you think about it, it all makes sense. How he reacted when the murders had started, how he tried to play it off like it was nothing to worry about and get us involved. He's been working for Umbrella this whole time, even before STARS was established in Raccoon City."

"So there was a cover up." said Alpha's point man gritting his teeth. "We just didn't know how high up it went. Wesker...he betrayed us."

"But this doesn't make sense." Kenneth said after a few moments. "If the Captain knew what was happening, why the hell would he send us out here if he was trying to keep everything quiet?"

Ethan tossed the picture on the desk and turned to the group, "That's simple. After the virus escaped and the number of victims started going off from what leaked out of the facilities, he knew that his hands would be tied and would have no choice but to send us in. And he knew what we would end up finding if we found ourselves in certain places."

He looked to Rebecca, "But I don't think he intended on us finding the train, or the training facility. And he defiantly wasn't expecting his old teacher coming back from the dead to exact his revenge."

Rebecca gasped, her face paling. "He...was sending us to our deaths! He must have been the one to sabotage the helicopter!"

"He must have been the one watching us from the security cameras back at the training complex. And when we managed to survive the zombies, the BOWs and make it to this place he knew the others would come." Ethan continued. "My best guess, he saw an opprotunity to pit armed and trained operatives against Umbrella's creations."

Silence filled the small room and gave them all a sense of dread. Jill swallowed a lump in her throat before speaking, "So, what do we do now? Barry's out there, and if Wesker is really a traitor..." she let the words hang in the air.

The profiler emptied out his pockets, revealing the two keys and three of the four death masks. "This whole mansion is like one big rubic's cube. You need to find keys and solve several puzzles just to get to certain areas. Before you guys got here I went through most of the building's interior and opened nearly all the doors. I'm still missing two keys, one engraved with a shield and the other a Sword, and one of these masks. These go into a small crypt in a courtyard behind the main foyer; the painting on the wall in the center of the stairs is actually a doorway that leads to it. Something tells me that there's something in that crypt that these masks open that will lead to our exit."

Turning back to the group, he crossed his arms over his chest as he thought of a plan of action. "Chances are, Wesker has no idea that Me, Becca, Kenneth and Richard are still alive or that we're all on to him. So this gives us an edge. And with Barry out there as well finding him and bringing him up to speed is crucial as well."

"So what's the plan?" asked Chris. Ethan raised an eyebrow and looked around, everyone was looking his way waiting for him to answer. "Face it Ethan, you've got the whole situation pretty much planned out, you know what we're going up against and how we can get out of this. Rookie or not, we're gonna follow your lead." explained the older man.

Nodding to himself, the teen pushed the trunk in the corner to the center of the room. Taking out the map of the mansion and laying it on the surface as the others gathered around. "The exit is here." he said pointing to the main staircase. There's a gated doorway behind it that leads farther down, one of the reports back at the training complex said that this place had a huge lab under it. The mansion is just a front and a residence for employees of Umbrella while they worked underground. The doorway leading out requires two keys that looked like large hexagons, chances are they're somewhere on the property hidden so that intruders can't find them."

"We have three main objectives. Find the keys, locate Barry, and escape. The infected that are still prowling around are slow and go down with headshots, but make sure they're brains are destroyed or they'll mutate into something a lot worse. If you encounter any BOWs, and trust me, you'll know them when you see them, aim for the head for quick kills or limbs to slow them down."

"How are we going to do this? We still have a man down." said Kenneth motioning to Richard who was still out cold.

"One of us will have to stay with Rich and make sure nothing happens to him, the rest of us will have to split up. two teams of two, each covering a portion of the estate. Find the keys and secure our passage out of here. If you find Barry, get him up to speed, we could use the firepower he's probably packing." said the traveler.

Rebecca drew her Beretta and checked her clip, "If that's the case, I'm coming. Any of you gets hurt you'll need someone that can patch you up." she explained. But Ethan could see the look in her eyes she was shooting his way that basically screamed 'You're not leaving me out of this, don't try and stop me.'.

"I'll stay with Richard, could use the rest." said Kenneth taking a seat at the desk by the wall.

Taking stock of their weapons and ammo, Ethan tossed the shotgun he arrived with to Jill along with ammo for it and a box of 9mm rounds. She and Chris would cover the bottom level of the mansion while Ethan and Rebecca would handle the second. With two teams working for the same goal it would cut their searching time in half.

Once everything was planned out, Rebecca handing the older STARS her radio since they had left theirs in the chopper when Brad took off without them, the two teams nodded to each other. "Be careful out there guys. We've already lost Edward, Kevin, Forest and Joseph. So stay alert." Ethan stressed not wanting to see any more of his friends fall tonight.

"Same to the two of you." said Jill. She was worried about the two rookies, even though they knew that the two of them survived something like this before.

Ethan smirked at her concern before turning to Kenneth, "Keep an ear on Richard's radio equipment. The snake damaged it, but we can still receive incoming transmissions. Contact us if Chicken-Shit Vickers comes back looking for us." The dark-skinned man gave him a thumbs up as they headed out into the corridor. The four STARS gave one another one last look before going separate ways. Ready to finish this quickly before anything else could go wrong.

X

Back in the drug room, Kenneth slumped in the chair he was sitting in. Wiping sweat from his forehead as he scratched at the calf of his right leg.

The point man's pant leg riding up revealing a blood soaked bandage he had put on himself little over an hour before. Concealing a jagged bite-wound just above his ankle given to him by one of the infected dogs outside.

Completely unaware of the virus now running rampant through his system.

X

The mansion was still very quiet, even more so now that a good portion of the infected workers had been put down a couple of hours prior. Footsteps muffled by the thick carpet, Ethan and Rebecca had the feeling of nostalgia as they crept down one of the many corridors the profiler had passed through before. Checking rooms he hadn't searched the first time he had been through in their search for keys to their escape.

'We need the two Stone and Metal objects to open the doors to the altar.' Ethan thought to himself. 'A completed one is in the crypt. The metal piece for the other is in Spencer's office with the stone portion in the tunnels under the courtyard.' No matter how he looked at it, they'd have to go after the final death mask...which was located in the attic.

Checking the grenade launcher on his back to make sure that it was secured, he also checked the spare shells he had for it and nodded to himself. Knowing that they'd probably encounter the Yawn again sometime soon, he'd have a pleasant 'surprise' for the large serpent this time around.

"Hay Ethan?" he looked over at Rebecca who kept scanning every square inch around them with her emerald orbs. "Do you think we'll get out of all this?" she looked his way and bit her lip, "I mean, I have faith in us. Especially now that the others are here, it's just..."

Ethan nodded as they slowed to a stop, "Yeah, we'll make it Becs. As long as we're all still breathing there's still hope, and as long as there's hope, there's a chance." He shot her a grin which got her to smile back. Turning to the door they had stopped next to, the hard wood very similar to the others in the hallway with an engraving of armor on the lock.

Pulling out the armor key, he slipped it into the lock and turned it until they heard a soft click as it unlatched. Tossing the key away since this was the last door he needed to unlock with it, Ethan pushed the door open, Beretta leading as he entered the next corridor.

The lighting was dimmer than the rest of the mansion, the usual smell of rot hitting them a little harder and telling them that something was decaying close by. Treading slowly through the vacant hall, the couple turned the corner and headed through a second door at the far end.

They barely made it though the opening when a clawed hand swung at them. A female Crimson Head forced it's way through, mouth open with a growling moan as it lunged at the two STARS. Ethan dropped into a crouch, grabbing the creature's arm and pulling it over his shoulder and throwing the mutated undead into the door frame with a loud crunch.

Rebecca raised her weapon and fired twice into the Crimson Head's skull to be sure that it stayed down before they moved on. "If I had known that all of this was in the job description when I joined STARS, I would have thought of another job." she said sending one last look over her shoulder at the downed creature.

"I bet, but if that was the case than we wouldn't have met." the profiler said honestly.

The medic smiled, "Good point." They paused at the base of a small flight of steps, large cobwebs surrounding the old, beaten door at the top that was left open. Exposing the dark interior of the attic.

Wood creaking under their boots, the two rookies approached the door, pushing it open wider and peering into the dark, dusty interior before moving farther in. Every surface was covered in dust and cob webs meaning no one had been up here in a long time. Ethan looked to the floor, kneeling down as he saw the dirt that covered the wooden planks had been disturbed recently. Large drag marks that led from the door and toward the back of the room.

"Something big passed through here. Something big." he said standing back up and switching to the assault shotgun. "Stay close."

Getting a nod from his partner, the two rookies made their way toward the far end of the room. Ears straining and eyes searching high and low for hostility. They were about halfway into the attic, searching shelves and crates for anything useful, when an all too familiar hiss resounded throughout the open space.

Ethan's aim snapped up just as a dark form loomed above them. "Rebecca!" he shouted firing into the rafters above. Another hiss was heard as the Yawn came down into the light. It's scaled body riddled with healed bullet wounds and burns, the gaping hole in its side that had been made from the traveler's grenade in their first confrontation revealed its insides but had long since stopped bleeding.

"Hello there ugly, you have something that belongs to me." Ethan said looking at the grip of his combat knife that was sticking out of the serpent's damaged eye socket. Racking the shotgun, he fired another round peppering the creature's hide. The Yawn hissed, mouth opening wide as it prepared to strike.

Instead it received half a clip of 9mm rounds straight into its maw curtosy of the young medic close by.

The rest of its body fell to the floor with a loud thud, raising its head up the Yawn opened its mouth. Fangs unfolding from within as it snapped forward, forcing the two STARS to leap away on either side or risk being snapped up in its mouth.

Rolling to their feet, the teens resumed fire. Being sure to move out of the way as the serpent began moving about the room. Rounds chipped away at the hardened scales, blowing handfuls off and causing fountains of blood to erupt with each hit. But it was just as before, they weren't causing enough damage to put it down completely.

Stopping to reload, Ethan grabbed the grenade launcher and swung it around in his hands. Bracing the stock against his shoulder as he took careful aim. When the Yawn stopped to move around a pillar he squeezed the trigger, the weapon kicking back like a mule as the explosive round shot through the air and connected hard against its side.

The following explosion blew a large chunk of flesh and muscle off the BOW, blood and burn skin splattered the walls as the large snake shrieked in agony.

Rolling his shoulder, the profiler took aim again as the Yawn spun to face him, mouth opening and fangs glinting in the light giving him the target he was looking for. Another trigger pull and the shell struck its unhinged, lower jaw. The creature's head snapped back from the blast, the lower half of its mouth blown apart.

The whole attic shook when the Yawn's body slammed into the wall, items falling from the nearby shelves as it collapsed to the floor. Its tail snapping around for a few moments before going still with the rest of it. A pool of blood already starting to spread along the floorboards under it.

Weapons still ready, Ethan and Rebecca approached the downed serpent. The older rookie giving it a swift kick in the nose and getting no response allowing them to relax. "Well...I was hoping to get a good pair of boots, how bout you Becs?" Ethan asked stepping on the Yawn's head and grabbing his knife.

"A new belt sounds pretty cool." she said with a slight grin, the small talk easing her down from the rush of adrenaline.

Pulling his blade free and shaking the blood from it, the traveler slipped it back into the empty sheath before going over to the large hole in the wall in the back of the room. Bending down and pulling out the fourth and final death mask. "Got the last one," he said slipping it into his pocket with the other three.

"You said there's a crypt that has a puzzle for these. If that's the case than that's where we should go next." replied the medic as they headed out of the attic and back the way they came.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Ethan pulled out his radio. "Chris, Jill, how you guys doing out there?" he asked when they entered the main corridor and headed back toward the entrance room.

"Good so far," came Chris' reply. "Found some extra ammo and we managed to find a key after solving one of those wierd puzzles you mentioned. The thing was hidden behind a wall with the piano acting as a way to open it."

The profiler smirked knowing which one the point man was talking about. "We found the last mask on our end, me and Becs are heading to the crypt to see what we can open up. If anything happens let us know."

"Will do, good luck guys." the transmission cut as they rookies entered the foyer and headed down to the door hidden within the mural on the wall. Giving each other a glance before pushing it open and stepping out into the night air.

X

'Things have certainly developed in unexpected ways.' Wesker thought to himself as he observed what was happening within the mansions walls from the labs beneath the estate.

The computer screen before him lit up with multiple windows that revealed different sectors. He watched as the STARS all moved about the building, solving each problem and dealing with the carriers still wandering about. The fact that they were moving about and doing all of this so quickly and efficiently piqued his curiosity not long after he had arrived in the labs, so he had gone through the footage already gathered and was a little surprised at what he discovered.

To find that a select few of Bravo Team's members had managed to survive long enough to make it to the mansion was a bit of a shock, but not nearly as much seeing two he hadn't thought would make it this far.

Leaning closer, ignoring what the other four STARS were doing, Wesker focused completely on the two young rookies as they left through the secret passageway leading to Trevor's crypt. They had managed to escape the training facility afterall, and were now linked up with the others. And since they all were moving about in a coordinated fashion, it was rather easy to say that Ethan more or less filled them in on what has already transpired.

He was starting to become a real problem. Not only had he managed to get him and Chambers through the other facility, but he had gone through the estate on his own and laid waste to the array of traps and puzzles designed to keep them from getting too far. And now most of Alpha Team was now aware of Umbrella's involvement. It was only a matter of time before they connected the dots and it led back to him.

"You've been very lucky up to this point, boy." Wesker said coldly as his fingers glided over the keyboard before him. "But your luck will run out, sooner or later." he pressed down on one last key as a window display appeared on screen reading; 'Specimen Release - Initiated'.

A small smirk appeared on the man's face, now was the time to test the BOWs against STARS and collect the data he had been waiting for.

Movement on one of the other screens grabbed his attention. A door slowly opening before the visage of Barry Burton slipped through, his signature magnum leading the way as he began exploring the storage shed that led to the residence building of the estate.

"Perhaps a bit of insurance wouldn't hurt." he said to himself before looking up at the specimen tank behind the console. The looming form of Umbrella's latest creation, the T-002 Tyrant, stood suspended within. Heart beating slowly as it slumbered, waiting to be awoken and unleashed on those that would stand in its path.

Testing this beings capabilities would be very beneficial, should any of those prowling through the mansion survive long enough to make it this far.

Turning back to the camera angle that showed Barry moving through the courtyard, Wesker stood up and headed toward the exit. The STARS may have advanced knowledge thanks to the over-zealous profiler on their side, but in the end it would make no difference.

One way or another, none of them would be leaving this place alive.

A/N: Plot twists and hard rights when you least expect it. Ethan's smart, but as Wesker said, his luck will run out eventually. Update should come a lot sooner, so keep reviewing guys.