Resident Evil Modern Warfare II: Operation Deadbolt
Chapter 24
Jill was on her way to debrief as Soap was running up to her.
"Jill? You've seen Doc Jansen around? She's not in her lab and no one seems to know"
"Hmm. Now that you mentioned it, She didn't even show up for breakfast at the mess hall. Not even for a cup of coffee. Barrera says she's been kind of...distant today. Maybe she's already at Ops for debrief." said Jill.
"Let's hope so" said Soap.
"We are getting new reports of an increased level of activity within the EZ. Our recon scouts have reported a change within the Tier 3 Red Zone. They've come into contact with yet another Dark Aether Rift around this area. However it seems like an Aether sandstorm is engulfing it. However not dangerous, it is advised you remain on your guard."
Ravenov then looks around at the sight of no Dr. Jansen.
"Where is Ava? Why is she not here in Ops?"
"No one's seen her today." said Soap.
"As I told Soap, something about seemed off. Distant. Like she was avoiding us to go elsewhere." said Barrera.
"Son of a bitch... Dr. Jansen is AWOL, I want her found and brought back NOW!" said Greene.
"I'll do another search" said Soap.
"Valentine join him!" ordered Greene.
Jill and Soap along with search teams head towards Jansen's lab again and her quarters on base to search for any signs of Ava to sadly no avail.
"Sgt. MacTavish, confirmation on Ava not in her room." said the Search team captain.
"Shite, nothing on her labs either. "
"Sir, we were able to check the logs, she made a trip to the EZ approximately two hours ago. Unknown info on where she's headed."
"Sgt. MacTavish? You found her?"
"Sorry, Rav. Search teams confirmed negative contact with Jansen in her lab or on base. Logs indicate she departed to the EZ two hours ago, destination unknown"
"Pizdets! What is she thinking! Check CCTV! I want Dobbs scanning the ground with everything he's got. Find Dr. Jansen!" said Ravenov.
Dobbs mans his drones as he scours the EZ for anything on Ava. As Greene is on the CCTV cameras, she finds something.
"Ravenov! I got her! Tier 3 Zone right in the area of the new Rift"
"What is she doing?" asked Ravenov.
Greene then saw Ava wave her hand and enter the rift tearing reality in half.
"I'm looking straight at it...and I don't believe it. She waved her hand, and...Reality tore from under her finger tips."
"I am on my way!" said Ravenov en route to the Rift.
"He's going in alone?" asked Soap.
"No. No he's not. Greene, I'm going in after them and I'm bringing them both home." said Jill.
"Solid Copy Jill. Good luck and check your six!"
"I'll be back" said Jill turning to Soap.
"You're not going in alone." argued Soap.
"You really think I can't handle myself now? That I can't do this alone?" asked Jill.
"Not without help. Let's head to Miller, get armed up.
Jill and Soap head to Quartermaster Miller to arm up.
"Miller, We're gonna need some firepower today. It's a rescue mission." said Jill.
"Well I definitely know where this is going. What do you need darling?" asked Miller.
"Have you ever seen the movie Aliens?"
"The Sigourney Weaver classic? Oh I think I know exactly what you need."
Miller breaks out a Holger 556 with a shorter barrel, a 40 round extended mag, a sturdy stock and the JAK Purifier under-barrel flamethrower Aftermarket Park along with the RGL Grenade Launcher.
"Go on and get your Ellen Ripley on Jill." said Miller.
"What about me?" asked Soap.
"Oh don't worry, I got something special for you too Sergeant."
Miller brings out a MTZ-556 with a 50 round drum mag, flashlight, and the JAK Limb Ripper under-barrel chainsaw Aftermarket Part.
"Now you're both ready to go to war." said Miller.
"Almost..." said Jill
Jill and Soap arrive at the Tier 3 zone stopping at a Wunderfizz machine stocking up on perks.
"Cheers!" said Jill as she and Soap down all the perk sodas.
Jill and Soap then head to the Pack-A-Punch machine to get their guns to Tier 3 upgrade. The two then reach the entrance to the Rift inside the Aether Sandstorm.
"It's go time Jill. We make entry, Secure our girl, and bring her back. No exceptions." said Soap.
The two share a fist bump for good luck and enter the rift ahead.
The two enter what appeared to be Al Mazrah yet again. But this time the area of the Zarqwa Hydroelectric Dam.
"On you Jill," said Soap.
Jill and Soap then get coms from Ava.
"It's...as beautiful as you promised...and so familiar...was I here before?"
"Together we drifted, clad in dreams and delirium, We were never far apart." said the entity.
"Ava! Do not listen to her!" shouted Ravenov.
"Ravenov!" shouted Soap.
"Sgt. MacTavish? Jill. It is good to see you both. Now come, help me retrieve Dr. Jansen."
The Horde of the Undead then see the trio's arrival.
"Contact!" shouted Soap as they all opened fire.
"Come, see through our eyes" said the entity.
"I...I'm ready" said Ava.
"AVA!" shouted Jill.
"We must stop her!" urged Ravenov in pursuit.
"Let. Us. In." said the entity as Ava entered the Aether storm.
"We cannot follow her into that storm. It will rend the flesh from our bones. What is that?"
Ravenov noticed an orb coming from the storm.
"Best we go after that orb." said Soap.
"Those orbs were ejected from the storm. Follow them. Perhaps you will find a way to weaken it." said Ravenov.
"Soap and I will split up, cover more ground and follow those orbs to speed this up.
"Rog"
Jill and Soap took shots at the orbs as they landed and formed into giant Aether crystals.
"Jill, orb is down, turned into a crystal. Same as you?"
"Yeah"
Jill then goes to touch to crystal with symbols flying out and landing on random spots. She took note to remember the order the symbols were.
"Johnny? Touch the crystal, you're gonna see some symbols pop up and fly out. Remember the order they're in. Seems to be important.
"Okay got it, now what?" asked Soap.
"I take it we find the symbols to shoot in the order they're in. Maybe that'll weaken the storm.
Jill does her first as it has some sort of reaction.
"Got it!"
"There is some kind of...wave passed through the storm. I think it is weakening" said Ravenov.
"Stop! Leave our memories intact." said the entity.
"It's all up to you Johnny. Finish this"
"With fucking pleasure"
Soap shoots his symbols in order as it was enough to break through the storm.
"The storm is weakening, soon it'll be safe to enter." said Ravenov.
"Let's head back to Ravenov at the bridge." said Jill.
"Do not approach us little lights. You do not belong here" said the entity.
The trio fought their way through and ultimately found Ava unconscious.
"She is still breathing. Kharasho, let's get her out of here." said Ravenov.
Before Jill and Soap could pick her up, the entity takes her instead and goes to form a Union with her.
"We are restored...We...Remember"
"Get away from her you BITCH!" shouts Jill
"Quickly, we must free her from the darkness before it consumes her completely" said Ravenov.
"Jill look! Those relics up there, the hell do they do?" asked Soap.
"Those relics. Johnny with me, we need to hold out and kill zombies near those things so it can take their souls!" said Jill.
"Be careful you two!" shouts Ravenov.
Jill and Soap head for one of the sigils and went back to back against the swarming undead until the sigil was filled.
"Ava! Can you hear me? We are going to get you out of here" shouted Ravenov.
"You will not take her from us...Not again..." said the entity.
"Head for the next Sigil!' Jill ordered.
Jill and Soap again held off the zombies until the sigil had enough souls to crumble.
"She belongs to us. We belong to her. Why are you ripping us apart?" asked the entity.
"Hang on Ava, almost done" assured Jill activating the final sigil.
"Ammo's running low" said Soap.
"You got a chainsaw don't you?" asked Jill firing grenades from the RGL.
"Keep fighting! You are almost finished!"
"You heard the man" Soap revs up the chainsaw and chops the undead to bits that get close.
Jill kept up with the RGL blowing bits off of zombies until the final sigil shatters.
"We feel her slipping from us. Our memories. Diaphanous. Incomplete."
Ravenov hits the final seal, shattering and revealing a more powerful variant of the disciple.
"The creature's control is breaking, Jill, Soap, to me!" said Ravenov.
"Little soldiers. You will never understand. You will not have the chance." said the Entity.
"Ha! We have destroyed greater beasts than that. Jill, Soap, Weapons free!" said Ravenov.
"With fucking pleasure!" said Jill blasting the disciple with the RGL.
However it calls for HVT reinforcements while also making it immune to gunfire.
"The creature crumbles. Our shadows cannot restore it's flesh." said the entity.
"Target those HVTs!"
Soap and Ravenov joined forces in gunfire to take out the HVTs restoring vulnerability to the variant.
"Finish it Jill!" said Soap.
"Okay, Let's do this. SUCK IT!"
Jill lands the final finishing blows with the RGL defeating the Disciple variant.
Jill then sees a Giraffe toy on the ground and picks it up.
"Ava?" asked Jill.
"Jill? Soap? Ravenov? What's going on? How do I know this place?" asked Ava.
"We've come to get you out of here and take you home with us." said Soap.
"Save your questions until we are safe, Ava. Follow me."
But before they could leave, The entity had one last trick up its sleeve.
It laughs as it calls in a massive horde of zombies about to swarm the four.
Jill helps Ava back to her feet and Ravenov hands her a sidearm.
"Move it doc! We gotta go!"
"This way! Come!"
Ravenov Jill, Ava and Soap start making a break for the exit until a blast from a Mangler's arm cannon cuts off Jill and Soap from the others.
"JILL! SOAP!" shouts Ravenov.
But with the horde incoming, Ravenov rushes Ava to safety much to her dismay.
"Come, once we are safe, I will return after them."
Jill and Soap were knocked down as they quickly got back up again.
"Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside."
Jill and Soap checked their corners as the zombies closed in.
"Corpses shift and offer room, a fate you must abide!"
The duo went back to back with Soap revving up the chainsaw and Jill aiming the flamethrower.
"Any ideas?" asked Soap.
"Thought we tried shooting our way out. Mix things up a little." Jill offered.
"Jill! Sergeant! We are at the far side North of you, quickly, I have visual on a rift back home."
The two see the path forward and indeed go guns blazing with chainsaws and fire fighting to the path to run for it.
Ravenov and Ava see the rift as they are attacked by the undead.
"Pizdets! Where the hell are you two?" asked Ravenov.
"Over there!"
Ava points at the duo running across the bridge.
"RUN FOR IT!" shouts Jill.
"Quickly! Before the entity seals it away. Ava, Go!"
Ava was the first to leave, then Ravenov and finally Soap and Jill, living to fight another day back to the EZ.
Back at base, the four we're in a room as Ravenov was about to prepare something to watch.
"We almost lost you, Ava. Your obsession with Grey's research almost got you killed. It is too dangerous to keep this from you any more."
"What is it?" asked Ava.
"Grey's last words to you."
The video message began with the date of August fifteenth, nineteen-ninety six as an older looking woman sat down as Soap and Jill assumed this was Dr. Elizabeth Grey.
"Ava. I went through this in my head so many times but...I'm still not sure what to say. But I can't do what I need to, without trying to talk to you. Even if it's just to say goodbye. I carried you, I gave birth to you, but your biological mother, was Sam, Samantha Maxis. She was the bravest, kindest soul I have ever met. And I miss her so much. We were all exposed to the Dark Aether, Sam most of all. One day she went into the Dark Aether...and didn't come back. This is why you are so important. You are bonded to the Dark Aether. It is in your genes. No one knows whether that could be something wonderful or something...dangerous. We are dying, but we can ensure someone will watch over you. We agreed Ravenov would be the best choice. Especially given his connection to you. I know the Jansen's will have given you the best life, but giving you up, at only three years old? I am so sorry. I'd like to hope there's a part of you that will remember me."
"There is" said Ava
"I love you Ava, goodbye"
Transmission ends.
"How could you not tell me the truth?" Ava asks
"I did not choose to be your father." said Ravenov.
"A father? Do you even think of me as a daughter? Or am I more of a liability?" asked Ava.
"Requiem took genetic samples from all of us. With or without our consent." explained Ravenov.
"Who the fuck did you people think you were to make these decisions?!" asked Ava.
"The entity. It's a reflection of you. A shadow. Born the same moment you were, and every time the veil between this world and the Dark Aether is lifted, its influence grows stronger! Please. You need to let me help you." Ravenov pleaded.
"Help me?! All you've done is LIE!"
Ava storms off.
"Wait, Ava wait, AVA! I'm sorry." said Ravenov.
"What the fuck!" cursed Jill.
"Requiem chose you to watch over her and you tell her to her own face you didn't choose to be her father? What kind of asshole says that?"
"Jill, you of all people would understand. You and Rose Winters. After Chris adopted her as she was only one years old did he choose to be her father? Did you choose to be her mother?" asked Ravenov.
Jill pulls out a sidearm and aimed it at Ravenov.
"Chose you fucking words real carefully!"
"Jill no!"
Soap stops her and lowers her gun.
"What Chris and I do with Rose is to hopefully raise her away from this life we live. I don't regret a damn thing about helping Chris raise her as my own daughter. I did choose to be her mom. Her dad gave her up to sacrifice himself. Her mom grew distant after being so distraught from losing her husband. Chris chose to be her father because he didn't want that child to be alone. Neither did I"
"Jill, that's enough" said Soap pulling Jill back only for her to swipe the grip off.
"If you're not gonna help her, stand the fuck out of my way because I will." she said storming off as Soap goes after her.