The three went into the next room, seeing a terminal and a monitor on the wall. In the terminal was an empty flask, which Natalie picked up. "Of course it's empty," she groaned. She then looked at the monitor. "And the needed areas are locked."
"That a problem," Devlin asked.
"Not for long," Natalie answered as she went onto the terminal and punched in some codes, the lock icons becoming unlocked. "Glad they never updated the codes. Alright, let's go... whoa. How did we miss that?"
"Miss what," Corey asked before looking at the glass panel. "Wow. That is one big flower."
"With one big 'fly'. Hope he didn't suffer for too long," Devlin said as they all looked at the scientist in the hazmat suit, crushed against the window by the mutated flower.
"Dev, you have that thing fully loaded, right," Natalie asked.
Devlin changed the tanks on his flamethrower. "I do now."
"Babe," Nat asked.
"Uh-huh," Corey said as he reloaded and cocked his grenade launcher.
"Let's go. Dev?"
"Got it," Devlin said as he took point, entering the room, aiming his flamethrower. "Alright, no giant Venus Flytraps to worry about at least," Devlin said as he walked in, followed by the couple.
They carefully walked through the Greenroom, trying to reach the lab within. When they did, Nat immediately ran inside, keeping the door open to talk to her fools. "Alright, we're all scientists here, meaning you all know what might happen if I'm interrupted."
"Just hurry up, Nat. Whatshisface is probably watching us, and I don't like how quiet and easy it was to get here," Devlin said.
"Point taken." Nat then closed the door, running over to the machine used to fill the vial. "What the- IT'S EMPTY?! SHIT!" She looked over to the chemicals. "Dammit. Well, Nat, let's see if you've still got it," she said as she walked over to the vials and began to organize them, looking for the correct ingredients.
Corey and Devlin were looking around the Greenroom, looking ready to attack whatever so much as shook.
"You're right, Dev. It's way too quiet."
"Not even a creepy horror movie theme to go with the ambiance. What could that asshole be pla- WHOA," Devlin went after he was tripped. Before anything else could happen, he grabbed the steel rails. He groaned as he was being pulled by something, looking to see that it was vines. He then yelled out in pain when thorns just popped out of the vines, stabbing into his ankle.
"DEV," Corey yelled before shooting at the vine, the Flame Round burning the vine away. The base of the vine shot back into the green between trees. Corey ran over, took out his knife, and cut the vines off of Devlin's leg.
"Tss. Damn, that stung."
"Could have been worse. Come on, let's look at it before more vines show up," Corey said as he lifted Devlin's pants leg. "What?"
Devlin looked at his ankle, eyes widening. "It's... already healed?"
"But look at all this blood. Where's the exit wound?"
"I felt those thorns go through my damn fibula bone. I should have a hole big enough to fit a quarter in."
Corey's ears perked up as he looked toward the tree. "We might have to think about that later."
Devlin looked up, eyes widening. "Cor, if we ever see a hippie going on about saving the earth, remind me to shoot him."
"Well, our labs did CREATE that thing," he said as he and Devlin stood up, preparing their weapons.
"That doesn't change the fact that we're about to fight a GIANT FUCKING VENUS FLYTRAP!"
The massive plant that looked big enough to devour a full-grown human roared at the scientists.
"AND IT ROARS?! WHAT THE FUCK," Devlin yelled.
The Venus's vines swung at great speeds toward the scientists, the two ducking in time to avoid the hit, but the vine went right through one of the massive, mutated trees, making it fall.
"CHRIST! NO WAY WE CAN TAKE A HIT FROM THAT," Devlin yelled.
"NO SHIT! BURN THAT BITCH," Corey said as he aimed at the monster plant, shooting flame rounds into its mouth.
He hit the mark, the rounds exploding and igniting the plant's screeching head.
"HOW YA LIKE THAT, SUCKA," Corey laughed.
Vines then collected above the Venus Flytrap before they began to swell. They then burst, water and nectar falling on the plant, dousing the flames.
"You gotta be kidding me," Corey went.
"LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU HANDLE THIS, YA OVERGROWN BLUNT," Devlin went as he ran up toward the plant and blasted his flamethrower, the plant screeching. "WHOO! NOW THIS IS HOW A REAL MAN GETS HIGH! HA-HAA!"
"DEV, LOOK OUT!"
"Huh?" Devlin looked to see a vine rushing toward him. "Shi-" It hit him point blank. There was so much force that even Corey could hear Devlin's ribs and spine shatter and break before he was sent flying into the metal walls, slamming into them before falling onto the ground face first, blood pouring out of him.
Corey's widened before he snarled. "FUCK YOU," he roared as he unloaded on the Venus Flytrap. He kept blasting as many Flame Rounds at it as he could, ducking to avoid the vines, and jumped out of the way when they slammed at him. However, when one of the vines slammed next to him, Corey looked down at the vine just as a thorn popped out. Then, the thorn shot out and slashed open his cheek.
Corey roared in pain as he held his bloody face before looking toward Devlin's flamethrower next to his friend's corpse.
He ran over to it, actually jumping over vines like he was on an obstacle course.
Just as he was about to reach the flamethrower, a vine stabbed through his leg, making him fall.
Still, Corey was close enough to grab the flamethrower just as the plant yanked him over to it, dangling him over its mouth. Corey was about to unload the flamethrower into its open mouth before glaring at it. He then dropped the flamethrower and aimed his gun. When the flamethrower landed right into the plant's mouth, Corey aimed.
"Boom."
Corey fired.
The bullet hit the tank of the thrower, causing it to explode, and completely destroying the plant.
The explosion sent Corey flying, the man landing next to Devlin.
He looked at the burning Flytrap, panting from exhaustion before sighing in relief. He then looked over at Devlin sadly before patting his back. "I'm sorry, brother."
"For what," Devlin groaned.
"OHSHITWHATTHEFUCK," Corey went as Devlin sat up with a groan, holding his head.
"Ow." Devlin then looked around. "Did we win?"
Corey stared at Devlin, dumbfounded.
"What?"
Corey lifted the arm he KNEW the vine struck. 'It's not broken.' He then patted Devlin's ribs.
"Uh, Cor, I'm not an anatomy dummy. What are you doing?"
"Dev, I'm going to sound like a major ass."
"Huh?"
"HOW THE FUCK ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?!"
"I beg your pardon?"
Corey sighed. "Dev, what do you remember in the past three minutes?"
"Three? I was using the flamethrower on that giant Venus Flytrap before a vine rushed toward me. After that, it's a blur. It was like dreamless sleep, honestly."
"Dreamless sleep my ass! You were dead!"
"I WAS WHAT?!"
"No man can survive what happened to you! Look at the wall!"
Devlin looked up, his eyes widening. He saw his dent in the steel walls.
"Devlin, I heard your bones shatter when that thing struck you. You should look like a rung-out rag right now. Hell, where are your injuries from the thorns?"
Devlin looked around his body before pulling up his pant leg after remembering he was grabbed there. There wasn't even so much as a scar. He then remembered something. "You asked about the last three minutes. Cor, what happened while I was out? Were you grabbed?"
Corey's eyes widened before he looked at his own leg. That was absolutely his blood on his leg, but his wounds were nowhere to be seen. He then reached for his cheek, not feeling the massive hole that should be on his face. He felt his blood, but not the hole or even the massive scar that would have been left behind. "What the hell is going on?"
Alfonso slammed his hands on the desk. "WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! WHY WON'T THEY DIE?! THAT FUCK, COREY, SHOULD BE TRYING TO MAKE SURE HIS CHEEK DOESN'T FALL OFF HIS FUCKING SKULL! AND DEVLIN SHOULD BE DEAD! WHY ARE THEY STILL-"
All three scientist's eyes widened at the same time before Devlin and Corey looked at each other.
"The R-Virus," they all said in perfect unison.
"Devlin... did you make us immortal?"
"I... I have no idea. The R-Virus is supposed to basically be the serum of both the T and G Viruses. It's supposed to eliminate the viruses and repair any... repair any damage done to the body caused by them." Devlin held up his hands. "Did I... Did I create the ultimate medicine?"
"Dev, if the execs found out about this... well, you'd either be promoted-"
"Or executed before they took the recipe. Lovely. . . And Alfonso has part of the incomplete formula. No way we can leave it in his hands."
"Well, since we can't be killed, it should be easier to take him out," Corey said with a smile as he helped Devlin back on his feet.
"Don't jinx it, Cor," Devlin said. "We have no idea what the limits of the R-Virus are. Hell, we don't even know how many T-Virus experiments he unleashed or how many failed R-Virus victims are roaming the facility. Even we could still get killed."
"As long as I kill that fuck first, we could be eaten by a mutated cow for all I care," Corey said.
"Mm. Mm? MRGH?!"
"What?" Devlin pointed. Corey looked, slumping over.
In front of the two was... a cow... with horns that would put a bull to shame... and most vehicles. It was eating some of the non-moving plants before looking at the two scientists. It then mooed before going back to eating.
Corey slumped over. "How the fuck did that even get in here?"
"Not a Zoologist. Not my problem to figure out. My guess is that it's R-Virus infected."
"Because of its non-aggression?"
"Yeah. Now that I think of it, those humans infected with the incomplete R-Virus were non-aggressive themselves. They were just begging for death because their bodies were growing at uncontrollable rates. Maybe the R-Virus won't be that much of a problem for us. We'll just put the victims out of their misery if we deem fit. No different from animal testing, I suppose," Devlin shrugged.
"Pretty dark, dude."
"Meh, we're Umbrella scientists."
"True."
A door opening was heard. "Alright, idiots, I finished the- WHOA! What the hell happened while I was in there?! And look at the size of THAT steak!"
"Steak, nothin'. We were amazed by its damned horns," Devlin said as he pointed his thumb at the cow's horns.
"Yeah, that's pretty damn impressive," Natalie said as she walked up to the cow, petting its side. The cow mooed in response before it went back to eating.
Devlin walked up and rubbed the side of its head. "Totally domestic. No signs of aggression. Seems totally healthy. The only flaw would probably be the R-Virus in her."
"Why would Umbrella be doing experiments on a cow of all things," Natalie asked as she brushed the dead plants off the cow's back.
"My guess, Umbrella-raised cow milk," Corey said as he knelt down and looked at the utters, the organ far more swollen than normal for cows. "Probably filled with more calcium and vitamins than regular milk. Might have been a cash cow for the corporation if successful."
"Really, Cor," Devlin asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't. I realized what I said the moment it left my mouth," Corey sighed.
"If the girls were here, they'd be making fun of you," Natalie said.
"I know. Thank god they're not. Anyway, we shouldn't get used to seeing something this wholesome. No way would that bastard let out just this pretty girl. I'm sure there're plenty of nightmares in the facility."
As soon as Corey said that, something wrapped around the cow and yanked the poor mooing creature through the wall it came out of. Moos of distress were heard before crunching a liquid splattering was heard.
"FUCK," Natalie went.
"GODDAMN," Corey went.
"HOLY HELL," Devlin yelled.
"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT," Natalie yelled.
As soon as she yelled that, all three scientists saw a red eye glaring at them through the hole. Its eye narrowed at the three before vanishing, followed by thunderous, quaking footsteps... and the roar... of an elephant. Moments later, the steps were gone.
"Oh, fuck no. Don't tell me," Natalie said.
"That... was a fucking mutated elephant," Corey said.
"Yeah..." Devlin took out and looked at his handgun before looking at the massive hole in the steel wall. "We're fucked."
The three finally left the Greenroom, Devlin and Corey taking point, Devlin aiming his handgun while Corey aimed his shotgun. Devlin then quickly switched to his sniper rifle to check further down the hall. "All clear this side. Corey?"
"Nothing to see here."
"Alright. Now we know to keep our guard all the way up," Nat said as she walked past the two, taking out her phone to see where to go next. "Nothing is good about an empty hall in a facility full of monsters. Mm, looks like we're getting closer to the Red Queen's Core. We're close to a few labs, too. . . . Shit."
"What," Devlin asked.
"We're close to one of the storage units."
Corey lowered his shotgun to look at Natalie. "As in one of those storerooms that are so big that you could fit an entire mall in it?"
"Or something the size of a mammoth," Nat said as he put her phone away, all three of them remembering the massive monster they saw.
Devlin looked at his sniper before looking at Natalie's gauntlets and then at Corey's shotgun and the magnum in his holster. "We don't have what it takes."
"What," Nat went.
"Our weapons. We'd probably waste every bullet we have on that thing, and I know the current capability of those gauntlets. I made the damn things. You're barely able to punch a hole through the wall, right?"
"Please." Natalie began to charge her fist.
"Too long."
"Huh?"
"You saw how fast that thing's trunk was."
"Oh, shit. Wait, it's charged." Nat then roared as she punched the wall. Her eyes widened when she saw that she only made a dent. "That thing tore through the walls like it was paper."
"Like I said, it's not at full capacity."
Nat then realized what Devlin said. "Full capacity?"
"Hm? Yeah. Your pretty much wearing the prototype. The finished product is supposed to be powerful enough to make you look like Hercules himself."
"And you know how to make it, don't you," Corey asked.
"I damn well better, seeing as I... oooh."
"You see, THIS is why I'm your partner, Dev. You're brilliant, but you're also an idiot," Corey deadpanned.
"Says the guy who could upgrade his guns to take out a tank."
"Hey, I don't HAVE the materials or the workstation for that crap."
"And I do?"
"Ah... shit."
"Hey, Tweedle D, Tweedle Dumb," Natalie said.
"OI," the two went at Nat.
"Need I remind you where we are," she asked with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
". . . Oh," they went in unison.
Natalie sighed. "Brilliant scientists, yet total idiots. Dev, while you work on improving my gauntlets, think it's possible you can give me the blueprints for the rest of the exoskeleton?"
"No."
"What?"
"Nat, I only made the gauntlets. The boots, goggles, and skeletal frame were designed by others. I couldn't tell you the first thing about them. I mean, if we had the blueprints, it would be a different story."
Nat sucked her teeth before she thought about it. She then took out her phone and held the map toward Devlin. "The scientists working with you on the exo-suit, were they in any of these labs?"
Devlin looked, eyes widening. "Hot damn. All three of them are there. Ah, but of course, they're scattered apart. The closest one would be the goggles."
"What do you know about them?"
"They're scanners. Night vision, infrared, heat-scanner; the works. They're supposed to be the best tactical vision goggles that the military would salivate over. Would make even a covert vet coom himself."
"Dude," Nat said in disgust.
"Hey, I'm just stating facts. It's also a high-grade scanner, able to analyze virtually any and all electrical devices and inform you of their status. What's broken, how much power is needed, and even its last use. It's basically an X-ray machine for... well, machines. That feature was designed to help with robotic manufacturing and maintenance. Honestly, saying it out loud, the goggles are perfect for you."
"No kidding. Why wasn't I part of the project? I'm one of the best engineers in our division."
"Key word: one of them. Apparently, the best in the entire division made them."
Nat's eyebrow twitched. "The best? It wasn't HER was it?"
"Her? Who her?"
"Nothing. Forget it. Let's just get my goggles," Nat said as she walked away.
Devlin raised an eyebrow before looking at Corey. "Did I miss something?"
"Nat has... or more than likely HAD a rival in the division. They were friendly at first until they started one-upping each other like crazy. It got even worse when they brought up their old boxing match."
"Pardon?"
"Oh, right. The woman was one of Nat's old opponents. One of the few who came close to beating her. Also one of her toughest fights. After that was brought up, things got ugly."
"HEY, MORONS, YOU COMIN' OR ARE YOU WAITIN' AROUND TO GET CHOMPED BY A ZOMBIE?!"
"Don't bring it up," Devlin asked.
"Don't bring it up," Corey answered with a shake of his head before going after Nat.
A lab door opened, and Devlin walked in with his handgun at the ready. He then noticed a person swerving back and forth. Upon closer glance, specifically at the hands, the person was obviously dead. The groan made it even more obvious.
Devlin knelt down, quietly sneaking up to the zombie, knife at the ready. He then grabbed the zombie in a chokehold, making sure his arm was perfectly below the chin to make it impossible for the zombie to bite him. Then, he plunged the knife into the zombie's skull, killing it instantly.
"You seemed way too prepared to do that," Nat said as she and Corey walked in.
"Gotta save ammo," Devlin said as he yanked his knife out.
"No, seriously, dude. That looked like something out of a movie or game. You sure you were never part of a gang? Latin Kings or something?"
"You really think gangsters use stealth like that," Devlin asked with a raised eyebrow.
Corey shrugged. "It could happen, man."
Devlin shrugged his shoulders before looking around the lab. He then saw a computer. Fortunately for him, it was still active, and Devlin not missing a chance to access it. "Tch. Firewalls. Wait. This isn't a firewall. . . . Alfonso."
Corey ran up and looked at the screen, ignoring Devlin as he was typing away at the computer. "Mother- This is the exact same virus he used to mess with my old laptop when we were kids! I knew he ruined my computer! I fucking knew it!"
"Not really important, Cor," Devlin said as he typed away.
"Oh, it is. Move, bro," Corey went as he pushed Devlin aside. Corey then cracked his fingers. "I've been waiting for a chance to make you look like a bitch." Corey then typed away, arguably faster than even Devlin.
Alfonso snarled before he tried to up his anti-virus, annoyed that Corey was keeping up with him. Then, he was getting frustrated when he thought Corey was actually outdoing him. Then, he slammed his fist on the desk when he actually lost to Corey, being locked out of that specific computer. "FUCK! SMIIIITH!"
Corey slammed his hands on his desk with a shit-eating grin on his face. "I always knew you were a bitch, Alfonso. Just like I always knew I was better than you. I always could take you, shitstain."
"Uh, can I look for the file now?"
"It's all yours, Dev." An alarm then went off. "That petty, spiteful, small-dick energy pile of- Fuck, I hate him," Corey said as he slumped over.
"Shit! Who knows what that will attract! I gotta hurry," Devlin said as he opened up various files.
Licker roars were heard.
"Oh, hell. Devlin, I know I am the last person who should be rushing you, BUT HURRY UP," Natalie yelled. Natalie then caught something. She looked to see it was Devlin's handgun. "Corey!"
"Yeah! You'd better not let us die out there, brother," Corey said as he patted Devlin's shoulder before running out with his girlfriend. It didn't take long for the sounds of gunshots to be heard.
"Oh, sure. No pressure or anything," Devlin said with a roll of his eyes. "Wait- JACKPOT! . . . What? . . . WHAT?! OH! WHOEVER YOU ARE, FUCK YOU! At least it's almost finished BUT WE WERE CLOSER TO IT WHEN WE LEFT THE DAMN GREENROOM! Hm? What's this? . . . Oh, shit. If Alfonso knows about this and releases it, we're dead. No way Nat would stand a chance against one of those things. . . Wait a minute. That's the-"
"DEVLIN, HURRY THE FUCK UP," Natalie yelled through the door.
Devlin took screenshots of the files before getting ready to bolt and seeing some useful chemicals.
"Dammit, how long does it take to look through a fucking file," Corey yelled before blasting the brains off of a Licker.
"No kidding," Natalie said as she shot a Cerberus's head clean off before punching a zombie's head with enough force to kill it.
The door then opened. "Cor, look away!"
Cor did as he was told, Devlin throwing something. A bright flash followed by a high-pitched sound occurred, stunning all the monsters in that direction.
"RUN!"
The three ran down the hall, getting as far away from the alarm as they could, running past hallways that had more zombies stumbling down before they could hardly hear the alarm.
After they caught their breath, Natalie looked around. "Wait, did we just run back toward the Greenrooom?"
"Unfortunately," Devlin groaned.
"Don't tell me," Corey groaned.
"We were closer toward the actual goggle prototype when we left the room."
"For fuck's sake," Corey grumbled.
Natalie groaned before taking a breath to calm herself. "Learn anything else that will make me wanna tear my hair out?"
Devlin sighed. "You had to ask."
"I had to ask," Natalie went in dejection.
"The T-103 series is finished."
"Oh, Christ," Corey went. "How many are in the base?"
"Four confirmed. Two of them are being scheduled to be sent to Racoon City. One of them being Project Nemesis."
"Well, at least we're not being completely fucked," Natalie said. "No way anything we have on us could handle Nemesis. That thing is WAY too powerful."
"Does the jackass have access to the other four?"
"If he did, he probably would have sent one by now," Devlin answered.
"That just means we have to hurry," Natalie said. "If that asshat wakes up just one of those things while we're stuck down here with a legion of monsters, we're dead."
"Maybe not," Devlin said. "We just need to get a certain Queen on our side. No one's authority trumps hers, save for an exec's. Last I checked, Alfonso needed my R-Virus in order to be an executive. Once we get her back online and give her back full control of the facility, we win."
"I like the sound of that. Still, we need better weapons," Natalie said. "I'm not about to try and take on a giant elephant that can lift and eat a cow like it was just a circus peanut."
"With ya there," Devlin said. "We're not that far from the lab where the goggles are. Let's move!"
"Yeah," Corey and Natalie went in sync before all three took off running toward the lab, hoping to up their arsenal even a little bit.
Meanwhile, Alfonso heard their conversation. "You think I don't have access to the Tyrants?" Alfonso then stood up and walked away.
He then appeared in a lab before walking in front of several tubes and standing in front of one. "I just wasn't ready to wake one up. But you idiots forced my hand," he said as he held up a syringe, the incomplete R-Virus bubbling within. "What happens next," he said as he stabbed the needle into the side of the container, injecting the R-Virus to mix with the T-Virus inside the Tyrant.
"It's on you fools."
Alfonso then laughed darkly as the Tyrant's eyes opened, its previous pitch-black eyes turning a shade of red, showing it was infected with the incomplete R-Virus.