RESIDENT EVIL: BASILISK

CHAPTER 6:

A TALK IN THE MOONLIGHT

I won't bore you with the details of what happened afterward. First, we had to make our way up a mountain road where the Majini were attacking us, including one persistent bugger who was using a mounted Gatling gun. Luna had a potion that restored my flagging magical reserves, much to my gratitude (she called it an Ether, after the medicine from the Final Fantasy games). At the top of the mountain, we were picked up by Dave Johnson of Delta Team in a BSAA jeep. But as we made to rendezvous with Delta Team, well, a bunch of Majini on motorbikes decided to make their presence known. Thankfully, said jeep had no less than two miniguns, and two wizards as well. We had to shoot our way past a roadblock that the Majini made up too. And then we had to make a risky jump across a broken bridge. We made it, but a few Majini on motorbikes pursuing us weren't so lucky.

We made it to a nearby village where Delta Team was going to hook up with us. As it turned out, they'd encountered nothing too nasty. I guess if Irving got free, he might have unleashed a few BOWs to occupy us with. I remember Excella bragging about the Popokarimu, which looked like the massive bastard incestuous mutant offspring of a bat and a caterpillar, and the Ndesu, which she said was a ripoff of the Spanish 'El Gigante'. Jill later explained, via our mental connection, that El Gigante was the name Los Illuminados gave to a Las Plagas-enhanced mutant human created through experimentation. You know that troll in the move of The Fellowship of the Ring? Yeah, like that. Poor Leon Kennedy encountered no less than four of the buggers, and survived. Hell, he prevailed. With at least one encounter being while he was shepherding the president's whiny daughter.

Captain Stone had received authorisation to investigate Tricell holdings in the area, which meant the oil refinery. For the time being, we were to look into how badly Wesker and Excella affected the local tribes. After that, we were to infiltrate Wesker's base. We were resting here for the night: it had been a tiring day, and we couldn't do much more than we already had. And Wesker, while he could accelerate his plans, could only do so much to hasten them. In fact, I was sure he'd want to see to Chris and Jill's deaths personally, and would want them to arrive before he enacted his plan. And if they died, well, then he'd do it anyway.

A side-effect from the viruses Jill and I were pumped full of was that we didn't need as much sleep. Hell, we could probably function without it for days on end with less side-effects, but the crash afterwards would be pretty big. So Jill and I opted to take the main watches during the night.

As I took over from Jill, I saw Sheva standing not far away. I found my eyes drawn to her rather attractive rear, clad in khaki shorts. Mmm, callipygian, I thought to myself.

Eyes front, soldier, Jill said in an amused tone through our mental link. Clearly, I'd accidentally sent that to her through our connection. It normally takes some conscious effort to do so.

Hey, you're callipygian too, I sent back with a laugh. And that battlesuit is very flattering.

So is yours, Harry. Let's just say that if I wasn't with Chris, I'd be on you like a zombie on fresh meat. I heard her flinch from her unfortunate metaphor.

Yeah, well, I ain't getting in the way of you and Chris, I sent back. I could do without the pair of you kicking my callipygian arse.

Laughter echoed up the line, laughter that we probably badly needed after today's events. "Couldn't sleep?" I asked Sheva out loud as I approached her.

"I could for a time," she said. "But…the nightmares. Chris is lucky, he's got Jill to help him through those. And I guess being a survivor of the Spencer Mansion and Rockfort Island is nothing to sneeze at. But…I've my own bad memories. We each have a universe of our own terrors to face(1). I heard that once in a TV show."

"…Is it about your parents?" I asked.

The dark-skinned woman nodded. "After they died, I was sent to live with my uncle. I ran away from home, and fell in with anti-government guerrillas. It was while I was with them that I learned about Umbrella releasing BOWs in the plant they worked in. But later, when I was fifteen, I learned from a government agent who I met that the very group I was working with were planning to buy a BOW from Umbrella, despite the fact that I thought they were opposed to Umbrella as well as the government of the time. I helped stop the deal, and I was given a new life in America, including an education. After that, I joined the BSAA."

"You sound British, not American," I pointed out.

"My mother was a British expat," Sheva said(2). "While we spoke Swahili more often at home, she taught me some English." She looked at me. "I'd ask what keeps you up at night, but given what you've said, I'd be surprised that you can sleep at all."

"I'm surprised Chris and Jill can sleep, given what they've seen. Jill showed me some of the stuff she faced, and it's pretty nasty shit. I've grown used to nightmares. Hell, there's even a creature that brings your worst memory to the forefront. Pray you never meet a Dementor, Sheva. Anyway, I still have nightmares. I've just grown used to them."

"You don't have anyone?" Sheva asked.

"No. I actually broke up with the nearest person I had for a girlfriend years ago," I admitted. "Luna knew her. Ginny accepted that, though it was hard as hell to do, especially when her mother and her brother, my best friend, got involved. After that, I had a 'friends with benefits' relationship with Luna. We broke off the 'with benefits' part years ago, before she married Rolf Scamander." A bitter chuckle wormed its way out of my mouth. "My mentor, Dumbledore, he once told me love was the most powerful thing in the world. But the truth is, I'm not sure I can feel it anymore, partly thanks to him. Thanks to him, people I loved died who didn't have to. That's part of the reason I joined Ragnuk: to fill the void in my life. I wanted to be free of the expectations of being the Boy Who Lived. But…it hasn't helped. All I can do at this moment is focus on stopping Wesker and Excella. They killed the people I was working with, and they intend to unleash a bioweapon on the world. What other reasons do I need?" I sighed. "What about you? I mean, do you have anyone?"

"Not really. Josh is like a big brother, but I haven't really got that many people. Haven't had much time to, I guess. Anyway, we've got a mission to finish. And like you, I'm in it not only to stop Uroboros from being unleashed, but also, well, to get revenge on Umbrella. I mean, I know it's not a professional attitude, but…one can't remain completely detached and objective. Or else you're just a machine, no better than some of the BOWs the BSAA have fought."

"Yeah, Jill showed me some of them through her memories. Like the Tyrants, or Nemesis. Or the Hunters. Scary shit. I mean, I've faced down a Basilisk and a dragon, but I don't think I want to have to deal with something like the Nemesis. And she told me of some of the shit other survivors of Raccoon went through. But I get what you're saying." After a while, I said, "You know, after this shit is over, let's sit down, have a drink in a pub somewhere, and trade tales of crappy pasts and BOWs."

"I know a really good one," Sheva said.

I nodded, before saying, "Try to get some rest, Sheva. We've got a big day tomorrow."

"I'll stay out here for a few more minutes," she said. And she did. We stood there, looking at the moon, until finally, she retired to the building we were using as accommodation for the night. And I stayed there, for the rest of the night. It wasn't uneventful. Twice during the night, a group of Majini would approach, and I'd send Cutting Curses their way. But it was relatively peaceful.

Of course, well, you know that cliché about the calm before the storm? Well, it's a cliché for a reason…


As it turned out, our suspicions about Wesker and Excella affecting the local tribes in the marshlands was right on. They had become Majini. Worse, they seemed to be enhanced Majini, more resistant to bullets, even spells. Occasionally, there'd be massively tall ones.

In one of the villages, we came across the diary of a young man. I scowled as Sheva read it out, as did the others. Tricell had tricked the village into receiving 'inoculations' against disease, which, in all likelihood, were actually injections of Las Plagas. The young man's mental state deteriorated as the diary went on.

After Sheva had finished, Jill looked at Chris. "Peter Smith's journal, remember that?" Jill asked.

Chris nodded solemnly. On my questioning look, he clarified, "Peter Smith was the animal keeper at the Spencer Mansion. He kept a diary that we read when we investigated that mess. He got infected by the T-Virus, and you could see his mind beginning to waste away. In one of the last entries, he said, 'Fever gone but itchy. Hungry and eat doggy food. Itchy itchy Scott came. Ugly face so killed him. Tasty(3).' And then, for the last entry…"

Jill concluded, "It had 'Itchy. Tasty'."

Sheva grimaced in disgust, a grimace shared by me. Luna, meanwhile, was nodding. "They have the diary in the BSAA library. I've read it. That was one of the slower-acting forms of the T-Virus he was infected with, as it took several days. Umbrella had vaccines, though. I'm surprised they didn't use them. Then again, considering the Spencer Mansion outbreak was caused by Dr Marcus…maybe he destroyed them."

"Umbrella's not exactly caring about its employees," Jill said with a scowl. "We can all attest to that…"


We had to make our way through an execution ground. Well, more like an execution lake, complete with homicidal crocodile, presumably mutated by Las Plagas. Thankfully, a spot of Apparation bypassed that little problem, much to the bemused frustration of the Majini.

Soon, after going through a tunnel, we came to a small passage between a couple of hills, something I'm not sure I could even call a valley. We were near the oil refinery, and a few tents with Tricell logos on them were present.

As we did so, we got the call from HQ. They'd finished interrogating Irving. Enough pressure on the little bastard had him squealing. Delta Team found the small cache of evidence he had hidden in the oil refinery, directed there by HQ. We had proof that Excella was collaborating with Irving.

Now, I forgot to mention that Excella wasn't actually the head of the entirety of Tricell, so I sort of made a mistake earlier. My mind's got a fuckton of viruses buzzing around it, so sue me. Rather, she was the head of the African branch. That being said, that meant she had a lot of pull in the company. She was such a politically-savvy woman, she might as well be the head of Tricell. She also had significant influence with the BSAA. But with the evidence we got now, we could move in for the kill, so to speak.

Already, she was trying to get the BSAA to order us to retreat, according to HQ. But HQ stuck to their guns. They didn't tell her she was going to be arrested: no need to make her accelerate her plans. Instead, they just said that the investigation was ongoing. Apparently she tried to make out that Jill and I couldn't be trusted…but wouldn't give a reason why, and only claimed that she had her sources when she was asked how she knew of us.

Even so, we all knew we were entering the endgame. Umbrella and its legacy had poisoned Kijuju for long enough. We each had a stake in this, a too-personal stake, but one that would ensure that we would fight to the bitter end.

Wesker had murdered my comrades and turned me into a guinea pig.

Wesker had betrayed STARS, and Jill and Chris' comrades, turning the former into a guinea pig.

Umbrella had killed Sheva's parents, and its remnants were killing her people.

And Luna? Well, Wesker and Excella had hurt me. And Luna is scary when something truly rouses her ire. I remember that one time Theodore Nott and some of his buddies harassed me and Luna after a date, tried to molest her. The last I heard, he was still having trouble re-learning his toilet training, and how to speak.

Josh and the others in Delta Team were going to work to secure the oil refinery completely, before following us. And now, the clock was ticking before Wesker's insane plans consumed the world…

CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:

And there you have it. A bit of nice interaction between Sheva and Harry, some pathos, and some shades of things to come. There'll be a timeskip to the underground garden for the next chapter, which won't be written for a while.

Review-answering time! I'm perversely pleased by people's reactions to my hypothetical pairing of Pettigrew and Umbridge. Buy your own brain bleach if you don't like it. :P

Reishin Amara: Sadly, relationships should be more than about looks. Lucius Malfoy is an unrepentant bigot, and Bellatrix Lestrange is a fucking lunatic. I looked up that pairing in the pure Harry Potter fanfics. There seems to be (through the pairing search) 12 stories in English of that pairing. And Lupine Horror, unlike me, is eminently more sensible, only doing so many stories at once, albeit with longer chapters.

1. The Doctor tells Ace this in Doctor Who: Ghost Light while trying to explain why he brought her to the very haunted house she hated, a century before she destroyed it. Ace retorts that she wants to face them on her own terms.

2. I think this helps explain away two things: why Sheva's skin is a lighter colour than many other natives of the area, and why she speaks English with a British accent, despite being educated in America. I'm strongly considering having her mother be someone who fled Voldemort's war in 1980.

3. Although I consider the remake canon, I actually preferred the original translation of this last barely coherent part of the keeper's diary from Resident Evil. And the name wasn't pulled out of thin air: apparently the diary has 'Peter S' on it in the game.