Having returned to Marvin and been informed about Leon arriving at the station, Claire made sure the lieutenant was comfortable before taking off for the courtyard. Climbing the stairs in the main hall and heading down the East passage, she entered a reception room, presumably for the Chief, whose office she recalled Chris once telling her was down the hall past the receptionist. Just as she was about to unlock the door with the Spade Key, she noticed a safe behind the desk. Of course, she didn't have the passcode required to open it and she was certainly not a codebreaker… but maybe Rei could blast it open..?
"Hey Rei, do you think you could get this safe open with your fire?" She asked the spirit within her.
'Possibly. If you concentrate my energy on the lock or the door's hinges, I may be able to melt them off.'
Claire nodded before kneeling down in front of the safe. Heating up one of her hands, she began to trail her fingers along the metal and watched in fascination as the hinges began to melt away. "Cool…!" She grinned.
The safe door fell off as the metal melted. Inside, she found some bullets and a handgun part: an extended clip for a model she didn't own but wanted for a while, a police model of the Browning High Power. "Aces! What a find!" She quickly snatched the contents inside and stored the bullets into her pouch. She then looked at the part she acquired.
"Looks like a part for a Browning HP, if memory serves. Thank god Chris gave me those gun lessons…" She said, "I'll have to try and find the gun. And if there's one place I know it could be, it's the armory. That is, if it hasn't been snatched up already during the previous chaos."
'It's possible the cops may have emptied the armory defending the station. You should have asked Marvin earlier. That being said, STARS also have a separate armory. But you'll need a special key to access it, and only Barry knows how to open it.'
"Dammit. Well, time to go scavenger hunting then. The key has to be in the station somewhere." Claire said with an annoyed groan.
'Well of course, Barry would have had the sense to leave spares around, in the event any of the STARS officers lost their key. But you should probably go find Leon first. You'll need his help to explore a building this large. As an officer himself, he'll be more knowledgeable of the station than you.'
"That's true. Since I am a civvie according to Chris, I wasn't really allowed around much of the station unless he was with me." Claire nodded as she began to make her way towards where Leon was waiting. She left the reception desk and was going to follow the corridor around to the courtyard, but a door in the corner of the wall attracted her attention. So she walked over and entered it.
It was a storage room for various items that looked like they were part of the station when it was still a museum. There was a brochure on a chair detailing the conversion of the museum into the police station, and even had a story about one of the museum's more priceless artifacts, the Virgin Heart: a blood red gem about the size of a fist. The brochure also warned about the dangers of people becoming obsessed with it.
Next to the chair on a box was a keycard very clearly labeled 'Weapons Locker'. This must be used to open the station's armory. But, why was it here..? She picked it up and pocketed it. On the far side of the room was a statue of an old man wearing a crown. Its arm had been removed and was laying on a desk next to it. The other arm was holding a scepter that contained the gem the brochure spoke of. Try as she might, she couldn't remove the scepter from the statue's grip. However, it seems to be operated by something, as she noticed its hand was mechanical…
"Damn… I guess we need to find something to get this thing to move. Any ideas, Rei?" Claire asked, rubbing her chin in thought. "Looks like we need to find the arm and whatever else it's supposed to have."
'The arm is there, on the desk. It slots into the statue, but it appears it should be holding something, which is not here. It must be elsewhere… perhaps you can find a photo or something that will show you what you need.'
"Good idea. Let's leave the arm for now and come back when we found the item. Judging from the grip of the hand, it's something slender and rectangular. Like a book or something." Claire nodded. Unbeknownst to her, she'd already seen and passed the item in question, but didn't seem to remember doing so.
So for now, she left the storage room and went back out into the corridor. She was going to go to the courtyard, but yet again decided to detour, choosing to go to the Evidence Room on the other side of the station so she could use the keycard she found and get a stronger weapon… if there were any left.
She unlocked the West Office door from the main hall, passing by Marvin who was still watching the cameras on the computer monitor. Passing through the West Office, she entered the Evidence Room opposite the other office door. It was a small locker room that she assumed contained items pertaining to cases. Most of the lockers were empty, and the ones that weren't were locked. The keypad to open them was missing a couple keys unfortunately. At the back of the room was the armory that should have contained the weaponry the officers could use in an emergency.
The only weapon still remaining was a shortened, sawn-off M79 grenade launcher, modified to fire tear gas projectiles. However, this model appeared to have been re-modified to launch actual explosives. She opened the cage with the keycard and grabbed it. There was one pack of flame rounds left, and the gun itself was loaded with a flame round. She hooked the strap over her shoulder.
'Excellent. Now you have a real weapon to protect you from the zombies. That peashooter you're carrying is only going to be useful for so long.'
Claire nodded in reply as she looked at the launcher with a grin. Maybe it was her brother's knack for explosive weapons, but she loved the feeling of it in her hands. "Let's see those Lickers try to get close to me now."
'Don't get cocky. Overconfidence kills more cops than criminals.'
Claire nodded and took a calming breath. "I really should be getting to Leon now." She told herself, leaving the room and finally heading towards the courtyard from the second floor. When she got back to the corridor past the receptionists, she opened the door and walked down the corridor to the mesh gate at the end. Before she got there, she heard a helicopter rapidly approaching. And then…
SMAAAAAAAAAAASH!
The building shook and she nearly lost her footing as the chopper she'd just heard slammed headlong into the building, blocking off part of the corridor. She went outside to get a closer look at the crash landing, and noticed that the pilot was very clearly dead. The smashed up vehicle sparked dangerously…
"CLAIRE?!" A voice from the ground below called up to her over the thundering rain pouring down upon them. She looked down and saw Leon standing by the courtyard gate, Luna tucked safely in his jacket.
"Leon!" Claire called back, relief clear in her voice. She hurried down the stairs and towards the locked gate. "Hey, you're alright!"
"Same to you, Claire." Luna smiled and Claire reached through the bars, giving her some comforting pets on the head.
"Are you alright? The helicopter… it just came out of nowhere…" Leon asked, worried that she'd been injured from being so close to the crash.
"I'm fine, Leon. I didn't get close enough to get hurt. It's good to see your face though!" She replied cheerfully, genuinely happy to see him.
"That's good… I was worried for a moment there. I uh… I don't suppose you have a key to open this gate?" He asked her a question in return.
"Unfortunately, no… but maybe you could find one nearby?" But then she remembered. "Wait! I got an idea." She focused down on the lock and then focused on her magic. "...Rei help me out…" She whispered and Luna's ears perked up, hearing the name.
"... Mars…?" Luna whispered in shock.
But Claire's attempt to melt the lock failed. The rain was coming down too hard and was cooling the metal faster than she could heat it. "Dammit…"
"Relax, Claire. I'll find a key. There was a maintenance shed back there that I passed, but couldn't open because someone bolted it. These bolt cutters I just found will help me get inside. There's probably a key there. Wait here, and I'll be right back." Leon said, taking off back down the path.
Claire nodded and watched as Leon left. But she then felt a warmth from Rei. "What's up Rei? Did you recognize Luna?"
'Yes and no. Luna is Princess Serena's cat, but you would know her as Usagi, Serena's last known human form. When Leon stood close to us, I could feel some of Usagi's presence… I may be wrong, but I think she is watching him. She may choose him as her host…'
{Character Switch}
While Claire and Rei conversed by the gate, Leon rushed back to the shed under the bridge, with the bolt cutters in hand. "Alright, now I can get inside." He said to himself, cutting off the chains keeping the door sealed. Inside, he found a set of lockers, one containing an officer's uniform, and some ammo. A key hung on the locker door, and there was a corpse on the floor by the chest. Fortunately, this one appeared to be dead and not merely dormant.
He pocketed the ammo, took the key and then began to strip off his wet street clothes, changing into the uniform from the locker. It fit him perfectly, as if it was made for him. He checked the locker door, only to find his name engraved on it. "Figures~" He smirked to himself, before thinking about how he'd arrived and then sighed deeply. "This is not how I imagined breaking this in…"
Luna looked up at him in sympathy before hopping into his arms, nuzzling him in comfort. "I know Leon. This is horrible, indeed." She said solemnly. "But… there is light to our situation. Claire… she held Rei. Sailor Mars is here!"
"So it's true… the Soldiers exist, and they're still searching for people pure enough to possess, to become the new protectors of Earth…" Leon pondered. "I'm not surprised that one of them chose Claire. From what I've been able to tell from being with her, she's a good girl with a heart of gold. And I hear she was a bit wild as a kid, which fits Rei's fiery personality."
Luna smiled at that and nodded. "Rei always did have a temper on her, though it was rare. But Claire is a perfect fit."
When Luna first came across Leon, she was being attacked by back alley dogs, only for Leon to drive them off and take her back home to help her heal. At first, Leon believed someone tattooed the crescent moon onto her forehead and tried to clean it off, only to see it remain there. That was when Luna revealed she could speak after Leon's suspicions of her not being a normal cat, judging from the unnatural smarts she displayed at first. Being an animal person, Leon was easily able to tell that many of Luna's actions and reactions were not typical of felines. It made him highly suspicious of her, leading to her eventually speaking for the first time.
He was less surprised to learn that she was Sailor Moon's cat, than he was that she could speak, to which Luna was very surprised that he knew whom she used to belong to. That was when Leon dropped a bombshell on her: his family came from a magic line, much like the Redfields. His mother was a witch, but his father was a normal human and a former police officer for the RPD. He also mentioned that he'd learned his mother was royalty, but didn't know from where.
Needless to say, Luna knew she and Leon had been fated to meet. And she was glad she did. If there was one person she knew without a shadow of doubt Usagi would find a perfect fit… it would be him. Although he said he was nothing special, Luna felt he was being modest. Saving her from the dogs and being gifted with magic thanks to his mother, endowed him with a true sense of justice and lack of fear for helping others in need. Luna had a feeling her old friend and princess would find him more than enough for her.
After Leon had finally suited up, just strapping on his elbow pads, he left the shed and returned to the gate. Claire's eyes widened when she saw him and her jaw practically dropped. "Whoa… look at you, Leon! Looking badass there!" She grinned. "Did you find the key?" He was glad that the darkness and the rain prevented her from seeing him slightly blushing; he could tell that she was attracted to him.
"Good, you're still here. I have the key, and found my gear too." He said, pulling the key out of his pocket and unlocking the gate.
"Hey… you look really good in that uniform~ You have anything useful in those fancy pockets of yours~?" Claire shamelessly flirted, her tomboyish attitude shining through. Leon nervously chuckled.
"Sorry, no. Just ammo for our handguns. It's really good to see you're alright though." He replied to her, trying very hard not to blush at her comments.
Before she could flirt more, the helicopter exploded and burst into flame, setting off the station's fire suppression system and the emergency alarm bells.
"Shit… that's the dinner bell for them!" Claire hissed as she heard the moans of the undead all around them.
"We should move. It's not safe here, come on." He took the bolt cutters he still had and cut open the chains on the door next to them, so they could get back inside. Claire reached for her radio and attempted to contact Marvin.
"Marvin, we've got a big problem! We're surrounded by zombies! Marvin! Can you hear me? Respond! Marvin!"
But there was no response on the radio.
"Dammit! This is bad!" She said worryingly. "Rei, can you sense anything from him where we are?"
The windows near them smashed as undead began to pour through them. Leon grabbed Claire's hand and pulled her away. "No time for that! We need to go, now!" He practically dragged her down the hall back to the main hall, but they were accosted by zombies breaking out of a nearby room and blocking their path. "Shit! Time to fight!" He said, pulling his H&K VP70 and putting a few rounds into one of them.
"Couldn't let us go, could ya?!" Claire barked as she used her grenade launcher, turning a few more into flaming mush in a fiery explosion of blood and gibs.
"Where the hell did you get a grenade launcher?!" Leon exclaimed, surprised by her move.
"The Weapons Locker! Found it and it was the only weapon left! But that's not all I can do!" Claire smirked and turned to the remaining group of zombies shambling towards them.
'Remember not to waste too much of my power. I will help this time, but not every time.'
"I know." She nodded before concentrating on her magic once more, her hands bursting into flames again.
"MARS FIRE…. IGNITE!" A plume of red hot flames shot out from her palms like a flamethrower and incinerated the undead, melting them down into steaming piles of goop.
"Impressive! Remind me not to get on your bad side!" Leon partially praised.
"Let's just say I found a friend here to help me out." Claire grinned back at him before pulling out her grenade launcher again and began to blast the last of the zombies to bits.
So Luna was right about Claire finding Mars. Who knows who else was lingering around the station? If his companion was correct about Usagi trying to find someone… perhaps…
Moving on and re-entering the main hall through the busted shutter, Claire immediately went towards the Goddess Statue in the middle, to check on Marvin. He was lying on the bench and looked dead… but when she got closer and called his name, he suddenly came to life, holding his stomach as the pain of the bite hit him again. "Ugh…" He audibly grunted, then lay back down again.
"Well, at least the lieutenant is still alive…" Leon commented as he walked over to Claire, who had a look of sorrow on her face. So many dead or dying, and for what..?
"Marvin? How are you holding up?" Claire asked as she went to check on him. She could see he was still losing blood… maybe she could use her fire to cauterize the wound.
Leon took her hand and held her back. When she looked at him, he grimly shook his head. "He's too far gone… you can see it in his face. There's nothing you can do for him…" He whispered to her, so as not to allow Marvin to overhear him.
"Still Leon… at least I can help stop the bleeding. I… I hate seeing him like this…" Claire whispered back, almost pleadingly. In her heart, she knew he was right. But she still wanted to help in any way.
"It's pointless… leave him in peace. We should go… hey, what's with this statue? I never noticed those indentations before…" Leon added, changing the subject and dragging Claire's attention away from the wounded officer.
Claire walked over with him. "Hold up. I think I know what this is." She dug out the journal she got from Elliot and flipped it open. "He said this was a way out. And I think we need three medallions to open it. I have one, right here." She removed the maiden medal from her pack and placed it in one of the slots. The statue moved and some of the lower portion slid away, revealing bars behind the baseplate.
"...ugh… so… Elliot was right…" Marvin weakly stated behind them, proving he had been listening at least partially.
"Looks that way, but we need the others before we can get through… Lieutenant, are you gonna be alright here?" Leon questioned.
"Forget about me… just save yourselves. You both know it's too late for me… just do what you need to do and get the hell out of here…" Marvin replied, refusing assistance.
Leon sighed and took Claire's hand. "Come on… we should go find the rest of the medals."
Claire frowned but nodded before leaving with Leon. She hated leaving behind Marvin like this, but Leon was right. There was nothing they could do for him now. She felt Rei give her a mental pat for comfort.
'I know you don't want to hear this Claire, but this is a war now. Sacrifices must be made. Marvin is already dead… we can't save him from what is killing him.'
Clare nodded with a sigh as she continued to follow Leon down the hall. Luna was watching the interaction and her ears drooped at the sight of Marvin's condition. Fighting the Nega Moon seemed so simple back then…
"There's a statue just above the main hall with a medal. It's the lion statue. There is a unicorn statue with that last medal on the second floor, behind the library. It can also be accessed from the hall leading away from the STARS office. If the hall is blocked, we might be able to get through by going through the showers. The wall is weak and they connect to each other. Destroying the wall would give us access." Leon explained to Claire, revealing his knowledge of the station.
"Got it. Let's grab the lion statue first. And then we can head for the library and get the last medal there."
"Alright." He replied, walking up the stairs and behind the Goddess statue, where the Lion statue had been placed. "We'll have to figure out another puzzle to release it. Maybe Elliot's notebook has the code?"
"Lemme look." She flipped open the book and smiled when she saw the exact code for it scribbled onto the page. "Aha! Here it is! Try that." She showed the journal and Leon would get to work on it. A moment later he had opened the seal and retrieved the lion medal.
"Got it. Now we should go around the bottom floor past the Evidence Room. We need to get to the STARS office and check their armory. If there's anything left, we'll need that firepower."
She nodded in return. Luna took the medallion in her mouth and hopped down to the Goddess statue. With her paws, she fit it into the second hole. "Got it!" Luna called up to them. Part of the statue's base slid away again, revealing an entrance, but it was blocked by bars.
"Nice going, Luna! Two down, one to go!" Claire grinned as Luna scurried back to them as they made their way downstairs.
"Let's go through the West Office so we don't have to take the long way around." Leon stated. "You know, if things were normal, I'd have been stationed here…" He added as he spied his desk upon entering the office. Claire had left the locks on it. "What's with the locks..?" He asked, picking up the note and reading it.
"I see… so Marvin left this. Poor bastard…" He sighed again and opened the locks, working out the puzzle that the other officers had set for him. Inside were two weapon parts; a stabilizer for his VP70, and a speed loader for a revolver that looked like it would fit Claire's. "Here, take this. You might be able to use it." He said, handing it to her.
"Thanks." She took the speed loader and stored it in her pouch. "I could use this for later in case we get into a situation like back upstairs."
"I'd use it now, you don't want to get caught in a group of them and having to reload one bullet at a time. You'll be killed before getting to fire again. Trust me, revolvers are fucking slow to reload."
"Yeah." Claire nodded in agreement. "Anything else that we can find here before we move on?"
"There's a safe by Marvin's desk in that office over there, if you haven't already opened it. Might be something useful inside it." Leon suggested.
"I haven't yet. Let's go check it out." Claire said before jogging into the room and heading behind the desk.
Just like in the receptionist's room upstairs on the East side, there was a block safe next to the desk. It was locked and neither she nor Leon had the code. Rei knew this and accordingly acted, heating up Claire's hands again. "Watch this, Leon. Ready Rei?"
'Allow me~'
Claire then placed her hands on the hinges and they began to melt down in the heat. The door fell off and revealed its contents: a shotgun, a box of shells, a map of the station and a side pack. Leon took the shotgun and the shells.
"Groovy~" He stated, making a rather applicable movie reference. Claire had heard from Chris that Leon was the kind of guy to make such quips. She playfully groaned and rolled her eyes before taking the map and the side pack for extra storage space.
"Alright, now we have a clear view of where we can go." Claire nodded in approval as she scanned the floors.
"You'll only need that if you get separated from me. I'm pretty familiar with this station. Let's go to the staircase by the darkroom and head upstairs. We can get to the locker room/showers just off the second floor." Leon informed her.
"Alright, lead the way, officer." Claire teased him, allowing him to take point.
He slapped her arm playfully, grinning at her as they walked out via the other office door. As they did so, he suddenly stopped and held up his hand to stop her. Around the corner and breaking the silence, they could hear something scratching the ceiling… it was very distinctive. "Something's coming… down the hall." He whispered.
"... I know what that is. Let's just say my friend and I already met this thing…" Claire whispered with dread in her voice.
'Lickers… there is one down there. Move forward slowly and quietly. The creatures are blind, but their hearing is enhanced. If you don't make noise, you should be able to avoid it.'
"... Move slow and do NOT make a sound. It doesn't have eyes and it relies on its hearing to find its prey…" Claire whispered to him.
"Gotcha. I'll be careful." Leon nodded, sneaking forward and doing his best not to make too much noise. Then he had an idea. Taking an empty magazine for his gun, he tossed it back the way they came, hitting the drink machine. It made a loud clang and annoyed the Licker, which screeched and dived at the machine. "Go, now!" He whispered quickly.
All three of them hurried away from the Licker before it had a chance to realize it was just a ruse.
'That was a clever move, Leon. Distractions are a good way to avoid those creatures. I am impressed~'
Leon did not reply as he could not hear her, but he very briefly felt as if someone had placed a hand on his shoulder. He assumed it was Claire and ignored it, going up the stairs to the next floor.
Ascending the stairs and arriving on the second floor, the trio breathed a sigh of relief. "That was close." Claire said once she knew they were out of hearing range.
"Is that the only creature in here? Please tell me there aren't any more of those… did you see the size of those claws? Fucking Jesus…" Leon exclaimed.
"Tell me about it." Claire nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, we should keep moving before anything else shows up…" He said, pushing open a door and entering the locker room. Immediately both he and Claire were assaulted by the heat and scent of hot water. Someone had left one of the showers running, and it had partially steamed up the room. The steam might also have been contributed to from a busted pipe that was emitting steam in front of the entry to the showers. A valve handle was missing from the pipe. Beyond it, they could see that someone had already destroyed the connecting wall…
"Damn, we'll have to find a handle for this to shut off the steam." Claire groaned.
"Don't worry about that. I've got a solution." Leon replied with a smirk. He pulled a wrench from his pack and smacked the pipe repeatedly, denting it with each hit. After a few solid whacks, he'd crushed the pipe and blocked the flow of steam. "We should move now, before the build up of heat causes an explosion." He warned.
Claire nodded before jogging ahead of Leon, making sure they were not going to run into any more Lickers along the way. Zombies, she could handle, but those fucking hissing assholes… just the thought of them already made her squirm.
They passed through the showers quickly, not waiting for the pipes to blow. A corpse slid off the bench in the women's locker room, but did not come to life, much to Claire's relief. She was far more skittish of the undead than Leon was. Call it nerves.
Outside the locker room though, they would encounter yet another Licker, sucking blood from a dead officer near a broken window in front of the STARS office. Rain poured in through the window, soaking the floor and building up a large puddle.
Hisssssss…
"Dammit… another wall crawling bastard… let me handle this one." Leon whispered, unclipping a flash grenade from his belt and holding his shotgun in his other hand. He snuck up close to the Licker and flicked the pin of the grenade. He dropped it and covered his eyes, which was followed by a loud bang and a blinding flash of light. The sound confused the Licker and it fell off the ceiling, wriggling around on the floor. Leon then took the initiative, shoved the barrel of the shotgun into its hissing mouth and pulled the trigger. Brains and blood flew everywhere as its face exploded.
"Sayonara, scumbag."
"Nice thinking, Leon." Claire smiled and high fived him in response. "That was smart thinking on your part."
"Quick thinking will save your life as both an officer and a civilian. Since these things are sensitive to sound, it seemed like a good idea. Hopefully there aren't more of those things, I don't have any more flash grenades…" He replied.
"Let's keep going. I hope that ruckus didn't attract any more of them that could be lingering about." Claire replied as they kept moving towards the STARS office. Maybe she could find out what happened with her brother and the others.
The door was locked.
"Well, shit… we're not getting that open." Leon muttered to himself, cursing under his breath.
But Claire gave a sly smile. "Not necessarily… I can open it~" She smirked at him, removing a paper clip from her pouch. Bending it into particular positions, then snapping off a piece, she made an improvised lockpick. She then used the lockpick on the door and after a few moments, there was a click from the lock.
"How about that… where'd you learn to pick locks like that? They didn't teach me that at the police academy…" Leon asked.
"Learned it from a friend." She winked before the two went inside. Instantly, her smirk dropped into a solemn look. The office looked the way it did before shit hit the fan. Claire looked around with a sad gaze, her arms wrapping around herself. "... Like time just stopped here."
"I remember the last time I was here. It seemed so peaceful back then… even more so now. It's just… dead. I'm not sure what bothers me more, the dead silence… or that none of this will be here when this is over…" Leon said, rubbing his chin in thought.
"Leon… Claire… I can't imagine what you are feeling right now. I know this place has memories for you, especially for you Claire." Luna spoke up, rubbing against her legs in comfort. "I… I honestly don't know what to say to help either of you."
"Perhaps it's best if we look around quickly and then move on… I don't want to be haunted by the memories, and I suspect neither do you." He told Claire as he approached the desks. Jill's desk attracted him and he took a closer look. "Look at this photo… there's a man with Jill here, but it's not Chris… who could it be?"
"...That's her dad… before he got arrested for his crimes as a cat burglar. He died in jail sometime later…" Claire said. "Jill was given a choice: jail time with her father or go to the military."
"And she chose to join Delta Force, as I recall. They trained her as an EOD specialist." Luna added.
"Hmm…" Leon thought, before moving over and looking up at the wall. "Your brother left his jacket here… maybe you should take it with you. Is that guitar his as well? I didn't know he played."
"Yeah. He was going to teach Alana how to play more intermediate songs once he taught her the basics." Claire nodded as Luna wandered into Wesker's office, wanting to investigate.
"So this is Wesker's office. Rather organized, this one. Then again, with a military background as well, I am not surprised." She said.
'... Luna….'
"Huh?" Luna's head jerked up at someone calling her name. "Who…?"
'... Luna! Is that you?'
"It can't be…!" Luna gasped. "Usagi?!" That caught Leon and Claire's attention and they came running to the office. "Guys, I heard Usagi's voice just now!"
"What?!" Claire and Leon exclaimed.
'I'm here! Get me out of here! I hate the dark! Some jerk put me in here and didn't come back for me! Ugh, the nerve of him!'
"Let's check out his desk. Wherever she is or whatever she's in, it's gotta be in here." Claire urged Leon, who nodded in agreement.
"Alright, but make it quick. We won't be safe here forever." Leon said as he walked over to the enclosed office within the office. It was fairly small, but had enough space for a desk, a cabinet and a sofa. Presumably this was where Alana slept while Wesker worked. "Looks pretty plain to me… I don't see anything out of the ordinary…"
"Try the drawers." Luna said before starting to paw at one of them, trying to get it open. "Usagi, hang in there! We're getting you out."
'I missed you so much, Luna! I never thought I'd see you again! WAAAAAHHHHH!'
"Will you stop that? Crying is not going to help matters." Luna snipped at her as she kept pawing at the drawer she was working on.
'Some things don't change. Especially with meatball head here.' Rei scoffed.
'Rei?! Is that you?!'
'Who else would it be, ya big dummy?'
'I'm not a dummy! Ugh, YOU'RE the one who hasn't changed one bit Rei!'
'I guess you're still the same big mouth as before!'
"Ummm… is that… normal between them?" Claire blinked, hearing the whole argument, to which Luna sighed and nodded slowly. "Oh boy…" Only for the three of them to wince when they heard Usagi scream at Rei.
'AHHHHHH! "Serena's a dolt!" "Serena's dumb!" "Serena's a crybaby!" I'm tired of you labeling me like an idiot! I'm more mature than you!'
'Get real!' Then the three were treated to Usagi and Rei butting heads against each other, their tongues sticking out.
"Judging from the looks on your faces, I am so glad I can't hear any of the shit that's going on in your head, Claire." Leon frowned, walking out of the office after eyeing the armory. He remembered that Barry used the computer beneath the tv to access the armory door. So he sat down at the terminal and began an attempt to hack the machine.
"Oh my god, will you two just SHUT UP!" Claire yelled finally, causing the two arguing spirits to stop suddenly. "Look, if you girls really care for each other, you two wouldn't be fighting like this. Instead, you are arguing like little kids over who called who a name first! If you two don't mind, I want to get out of here alive! Now pull it together or so help me!"
'You heard her, dunderhead.' Rei insulted.
'Who are you calling a dunderhead?!' Usagi bit back at her, causing Claire to groan again and shake her head. Aaaaand there they went again…
'You're just jealous that I found a body first~' Rei retorted smugly.
'I have too! And he's over there!' Usagi pointed out, making Claire look up in surprise to Leon. 'Once you get me out of here, I can join him! Now hurry it up! It's stuffy in here!'
'Him?! The male?! Pfft… you must be joking, Usagi. A man can't be a Sailor. How long have you been snorting space dust?' Rei replied in mild shock.
'He's the perfect match, Rei! I can sense it!' Usagi smiled now, just as she felt the desk drawer finally come open. 'FINALLY!'
'You must be high, Usagi. A man, a Sailor? No way. They're not clever enough nor responsible enough for our powers… which is saying a lot, since YOU are barely responsible as it is…' Rei still couldn't believe what Usagi had said. Was she nuts? Had she literally been snorting space dust?
As Luna took out what appeared to be a golden palmed sized brooch with a yellow crescent moon on the front, a ball of pink light shot out like a bat out of hell and slammed into Leon's back, catching him by surprise. But then… his entire body began to glow with a pastel pink light.
'PERFECT! I knew he was the one!'
"Ow, what the fuck?! Did you pricks just throw something at me? The fuck is wrong with y'all?" Leon angrily retorted, rubbing his back.
But the glow began to get bright, and Leon found himself pulsating with power. Usagi had found her match. Smiling to herself, she was heard hollering…
"MOON PRISM POWER!"
The glow would blind the two of them for a moment as Leon began to transform as his body was merging with Usagi's soul. But what would shock them was when the light finally vanished…
No longer in the police uniform, the legendary Sailor Moon now stood before them. Instead of blonde hair, however, it was long, sandy brown locks tied in twin odango tails.
The uniform now consisted of a white leotard with a blue-collar that has two stripes on it, white gloves with three red arm fittings that reach just below her elbows, shoulder pads, and a pleated blue skirt with a puffy white belt sat above it, along with chest armor with a dark pink bow on top and at the back of her belt. She also wore a pair of dark pink knee-high boots with a white border at the triangular top pointing upwards with crescent moons, pearl dangle earrings with a crescent moon beneath, white-bordered red circular hairpieces (one on each odango), a choker with a gold crescent moon on it and a tiara with a red gem in the center. Her brooch was centered in the middle of her chest bow.
When she spoke, it was Leon's personality, but not his voice. "...what… the fuck… did you just do to me..?! I'm… me, but not me…"
'YES YES YES! Ha, take that Rei! I told he'd fit!' Usagi cheered, doing a little victory dance.
"Oh Christ… I've got you in my head now..? That's just fucking great… now I'm the one going nuts…" Usagi's body spoke with his words, but her voice.
'Oh trust me, Leon. That's what happened to me the first time I transformed. Luna told me to do this and well… you can see the result now.'
"Terrific… can't wait to wake up to this every fucking morning…" She retorted sarcastically.