Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to Capcom.
Chapter 1: Into the Unknown
Unknown place, unknown time…
On a barren wasteland, there stood an army of nocturnal monsters; zombies, demons, killer plants, vampire bats, ghouls, ghosts, goblins, and many more. Before them stood one lone man, a knight. He was clad in silver armor and an open helmet, showing the face of a middle-aged man with a brown mustache and beard. He held in his hand a steel jousting lance. The knight looked at the monster hordes before the shadow silhouettes of larger demons appeared behind them, one of them holding a young blue-haired woman in a white dress in his massive hand.
The knight raised his lance into the air.
"Sir Arthur is ready to do battle! Please wait for me, my Princess!"
With that battle cry, Arthur charges at the monster horde. It would have been considered suicidal facing such odds, but Arthur would do anything to rescue his Princess Prin Prin and has done so in the past, going through numerous demon realms to get her back. The knight threw his lance straight through a zombies head before shishkabobing through three goblins. He whips out a crossbow and fired an array of arrows that shot down some bats and a flying demon. Then Arthur throws a flurry of daggers into a group of ghouls before burning some ghosts with a holy torch. Some goblins try to blindside him, but Arthur throws a sickle that boomerangs around and struck them down before catching it followed by throwing an axe into a demon's face. Arthur continues to fight through the horde as he makes way for the shaded demon lords holding his princess hostage. Just as he gets within range, they merge into another unknown being before it vanished with its captive, causing Arthur to scream in horror.
"PRINCESS!"
Arthur suddenly finds himself in bed in his castle. He had a cold sweat running down his face as he had awoken from his nightmare.
"Huh… just a dream..." said Arthur.
"Arthur?"
Arthur looked up to see a young woman with straight blue hair wearing a white ornate dress coming in. "Oh, Princess..."
"Now Arthur, what have we talked about?"
"Sorry, Prin Prin, force of habit."
"It's fine. Just remember, you are my king now, and I am your queen."
Arthur could only smile. Time and time again, he had proven he was worthy of the princess after going into the Demon Realm alone to rescue her from her demonic captors. Astaroth, Satan, Lucifer, Demon Lord Samael, Hades, and Dark Astaroth, demon conquerors who had hoped to take over the human realm, but were stopped by the Silver Knight. After the last debacle, Arthur and Prin Prin got engaged and were married. They had a time of peace since then.
"Old habits die hard, you know?" said Arthur.
Prin Prin sat down next to Arthur. "Had a nightmare again?"
Arthur looked down. "Yes… you were taken again by those demons..."
Prin Prin could only blush in embarrassment. "Yes, well that seems to be a recurring thing for me, isn't it?"
"But it felt so real. It wasn't like all the others before." said Arthur. "I wasn't able to save you that time..."
"Arthur, it was just a nightmare. Perhaps you're just stressed out." Prin Prin assured. "Besides, I know you. You've never let me down, and I always have faith in you."
"You flatter me, my Queen."
"Well, you should get up. You were planning to train the kingdom's knights today, are you not?"
Prin Prin then leaves Arthur's room. After a moment, the new king gets up and headed for his dresser, where his newly polished armor was on display. The suit of armor had seen him through in many a vicious battle with the demon hordes. Sure it broke apart at times, leaving him in his boxers, but it always magically came back to him fully mended whenever he found a certain treasure chest. One could say it was enchanted.
Once Arthur donned his armor, he headed down for the castle courtyard. That was when he noticed something wrong. The castle was strangely quiet. Reason being was that no one was around.
"Huh? Where are the servants?" wondered Arthur. "Hello? Anyone?"
The Silver Knight was increasingly worried as he made a mad dash for the courtyard. When he got there, he saw it also empty, devoid of life. It was deathly silent as Arthur looked around, noticing what looked like pieces of ash blowing about in the wind. Something about it seemed unnatural even for him.
"What is this?" wondered Arthur.
"Ar.. thur…?"
Arthur turned to see Prin Prin standing there looking unwell.
"Prin Prin?"
"Arthur… I don't…" Prin Prin falls to her knees as ashen particles float off of her.
Arthur quickly runs up to and catches her in his arms. "Prin Prin! Stay with me now!"
Prin Prin doesn't hear as her eyes slowly closed just before her body disintegrates into dust blowing in the wind. Arthur could only stare wide-eyed at where his queen once was. He didn't have time to react when the ground below him turned into a dark swirling mass, sucking him in like quicksand.
Present day, somewhere in Japan…
The city bustled with activity as people went about their daily lives, getting to work, hailing taxis, going out for a bite, meeting others, following the flow of traffic, whatever. There was one individual who stood out like a sore thumb. Walking down the streets was a well-muscled man with dark brown hair carrying a travel sack over his shoulder. What set him apart from everyone else was that he was wearing a white karate gi with the sleeves torn off, his black belt tied tightly around his waist. He had on red fingerless gloves, a long red bandanna around his head, and was barefoot.
Ryu Hoshi is a wandering world-class martial artist trained in the Shotoken style under Gouken. For him, the art was his life and is always out seeking new challenges in his never-ending quest to be the best fighter in the world. For that, he continues to walk the globe to fight the world's strongest in order to test his own skills. It was a long and hard journey, as well as lonely. At first, Ryu was perfectly fine with that. Still, it never hurt to catch up with old friends, and he had gotten an email from Ken saying that he's been summoned to the Kanzuki Estate (he finally was able to figure out how emails work). If the Kanzuki Zaibatsu was involved, it must be important.
"Ryu-san! Wait up!"
Ryu stopped to turn towards a young woman with short brown hair wearing a Japanese college uniform consisting of a black vest with pink trim over a white button-down shirt, a black pleated skirt with frills, knee-high black sock and short boots. She also wore around her head a long red bandanna like Ryu and red fingerless gloves. One could think she's a female version of Ryu.
"You should be used to this, Sakura." said Ryu.
Sakura gave Ryu an indignant look. "Come on! It's been a while since I did this, Ryu-san!" said Sakura.
The girl was the self-proclaimed fan of Ryu, as he was her inspiration to become a fighter herself. While she was in high school, Sakura managed to mimic Ryu's Shotokan style to a degree, eventually making it her own, then impulsively went on a journey to find the man himself to test her skills. When Sakura met Ryu, she found he was more than what she initially heard about him and had a tough fight, resulting in her defeat. Still, she had gotten praise from the World Warrior, encouraging her to keep up with her training if she was serious about becoming a fighter. Of course, being a fighter had its annoyances, a certain red-clad blonde girl came to mind. Now, Sakura is a college student working a part time job at an arcade. For the first time in a while, she was able to travel with Ryu again.
"Think of it as training." said Ryu. He's always been used to traveling on foot.
"Sure… training..." muttered Sakura. "Still, I wonder what Karin wants now?" Sakura had a bad history with the Kanzuki girl in the beginning due to her obsession with her rivalry with the Shotokan practitioner, but they've more or less buried the hatchet between them.
"I doubt it's for a simple social call." said Ryu. "Last time it was about Shadaloo."
"It can't be, Ryu-san. You and the others put an end to them!" said Sakura.
"That may be true, Sakura, but they have ways of coming back." said Ryu.
They come across the large ornate gates of the Kanzuki Estate. Ryu knocked on one of the heavy doors, and after a moment, a man in a suit and tie opened the gate.
"Ryu Hoshi. Sakura Kasugao. We've been expecting you. Please come this way."
The two nodded and followed the man inside as the gate closed behind them.
Somewhere in North America…
It was late at night in the forest outskirts of a city where an unknown research facility resides. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, save for the trail of dead bodies littering the ground. Upon closer inspection, these bodies were undead. All of them suffered from several gunshots, some torn apart or even headless.
Inside the facility, two people, a man and a woman, ran through the laboratory halls after having killed several zombies and other horrors. They come across a hi-tech door and press themselves on either side of it on the wall as they held their guns at the ready. Giving each other silent signals, the two charge through the door with their guns pointed as they scanned the surroundings. It was a huge two-story room with delicate experimental tools and machinery with what looked like stasis chambers lining the walls. The second level looked to be a control and observation center.
"It looks to be the main area, Chris." said the woman. She was an attractive blonde with her hair tied in a tight ponytail and wore what looked like a dark blue spy catsuit, the front slightly unzipped to show some cleavage. She had a small submachinegun strapped to each of her thighs and a grenade launcher on her back.
"Looks that way, Jill." said Chris. He was a well-built man with short brown hair wearing a green and gray shirt with grey knee-padded pants and combat boots. He also had on black fingerless gloves and a green survival/ammo vest. Slung over his back was a combat shotgun and an assault machinegun. "These bastards just don't know when to quit..."
"Tell me about it." said Jill. "First Umbrella, then Veltro, Tri-Cell, now Neo Umbrella… when will it all end?"
"When we erase them for good." replied Chris. He touches the comm-link in his ear. "Beta team, this is Alpha team. What's your position?"
The two raised their heads when they heard a gunshot nearby followed by the sound of a dropping body. They look to see the doors on the opposite end of the room open up to reveal three people.
The first was a lean-built man with light brown hair partially covering his face wearing black fingerless gloves, a blue button-down with the sleeves folded to mid forearm, and black pants with black steel-toe shoes. He wore a black survival/ammo vest and an ammo belt, holstering a pair of handguns and a magnum with a shotgun on his back.
The second was a woman with long brown hair tied in a midknot ponytail wearing black shoes, blue jeans, and a black midriff baring tank with a red sleeveless jacket over it. Around her waist was an ammo pouch with a submachinegun and slung over her back was a sniper rifle.
The third was a bearded mustached middle-aged man with receding brown hair dressed in brown camouflage pants, brown combat boots, black fingerless gloves, and a red jacket with an ammo harness. Held his assault machinegun in his hands while his handcannon was holstered on his front.
"Right here, brother." said the red-clad woman.
Chris could only smile. "Good work, Claire."
"I trust that the trek went smoothly?" asked Jill.
"A bit rough, but Leon and Barry here cleaned up nicely."
"Not really into dirty work, though." said Leon.
"Come on, son, you've been through worse I'm sure." said Barry.
"You may have a point."
Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Claire Redfield, Leon Kennedy, and Barry Burton were five individuals who shared one thing in common: they survived through the horrors of the Raccoon City outbreak and since then fought bioterrorism wherever they went no thanks to certain organizations delving in bio-weapons. They all went through much hardships to put an end to the evil corporations developing these weapons known as BOWs (Bio-Organic-Weapon) before they could destroy the world. It was then the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, or BSAA, was formed to combat this threat, which Chris, Jill, and Barry were active members since they've experienced it firsthand. Leon was recruited by the government as a federal agent for the Division of Security Operations, or DSO, the government's anti-bioterrorism unit. Claire became a member of TerraSave, an organization made to help those affected by bioterrorism. The three powers came together to locate and wipe out all known traces of Umbrella and its affiliates to put an end to the virus-making terrorists once and for all. It took many months, but they've managed to neutralize all branches they came across.
"Our intel states this is the last American branch of Neo Umbrella. Once we clean up here, it will be the end for them." said Jill.
"Then let's give this place its demolition notice!" said Chris as he holds his gun up.
Just as they were about to move, an alarm sounded, locking the doors.
"That doesn't sound good..." said Claire.
The stasis pods lining the walls began to stir. After a few moments, something breaks out from one of the pods. It was a hulking green creature with reptilian traits and clawed hands. Everyone was quite familiar with this particular creature. Soon, more of them bust out of the pods, numbering twenty in all, surrounding the five.
"Hunters..." said Barry as he brings his machinegun to bear.
"Of all the miserable luck..." said Leon as he pulled out his two handguns.
"Brace yourselves!" said Chris.
That was when the Hunters let off inhuman roars before jumping at the group.
Chris shoots a Hunter through the head while it was in mid-jump, making it fall to the floor. Another tried to blindside him, but he quickly counters with a fist to the face, knocking it back. He follows up by taking out his knife and delivering a downward stab at the Hunter's face before it could get up. Chris then jumps back as another Hunter took a swipe at him, where he takes out his gun and shot it repeatedly in the face until it went down. Another hunter leaped at Chris who turned and pointed his shotgun at it, catching it by the mouth on the barrel before firing.
Jill side-steps a Hunter before shooting it point blank at the back of its head then knocked it down with a roundhouse kick. She jumps up to avoid another Hunter then drops down with a kick, pinning it before she finished it with several shots to the head. A Hunter jumps at Jill, but she grabs one of her submachineguns and unloaded on it before it could reach her, dropping dead at her feet. She then turned and shot a nearby Hunter, sending it plummeting over a railing.
Barry fired several rounds from his machinegun into a Hunter until it stopped moving. He staggers another with shots to the face then reared back and punched it full-force, knocking it down. When another Hunter came up to attack, Barry hits it back with the butt of his gun before unloading on it. The next Hunter to attack him gets downed instantly after getting shot in the head by Barry's handcannon he pulled out.
Leon dual-wields his guns, tagging a Hunter's limbs before focusing on the face, killing it. Running over, he shoots another in the face, staggering it where he followed up with a roundhouse kick, knocking it down, then quickly stabbed it in the head with his drawn knife. Leon turned in time to deflect a Hunter's claws with his knife before shooting it in the face with his magnum, blowing it away. Another Hunter rushed Leon, but he kicks it down onto its back and shot it in the head before it could get up.
Claire shoots a Hunter in the leg, making it drop to a knee before she kicked it away. She dodges another and counters with a knife slash followed by a few head shots. A third Hunter gets blown away once Claire grabbed and fired her submachinegun into it. She then switched out for her rifle and swung it like a club at a Hunter, knocking it down. Quickly flipping it around, she shot the rifle into its head. Killing it. The Hunter she took down earlier started to move, but Claire took out her handgun and shot it in the head, downing it.
The area was soon littered with the bloodied corpses of the Hunters, causing the alarms to die down.
"Everyone all right?" asked Chris as he and the others regrouped.
"For the most part." replied Claire.
"Always hated these things..." said Barry as he looked at their handiwork.
They were suddenly taken by surprise by a roar when a last Hunter they didn't notice appeared. It was slightly bigger than the rest and was a short distance away.
"LOOK OUT!" shouted Jill.
Before any of them could get their weapons up to bear, a loud crash from above sounded. They looked up to see someone had broken out through the glass window of the control center and was dropping down while holding something up. The Hunter was immediately floored when the stranger smashed what looked like a fire axe on its head, splitting it open. Upon closer inspection, it was actually a sledgehammer with two fire axes duct-taped on it.
The stranger stood up, revealing to be a middle-aged man with short dark brown spiky hair. He wore brown shoes, dark green pants, and a white button down shirt with a black leather jacket. Around his neck was a camera.
"Whew… the hell are these things? They're more annoying than zombies..."
"Hey, who are you?" asked Chris.
"And how did you even get in here?" added Jill.
"Oh, sorry. Name's Frank. Frank West, freelance photojournalist."
"That name sounds familiar..." said Claire. "Wait, did you cover that Willamette incident?"
"That's me. Hellish four days of my life." said Frank. "But I guess it's nothing compared to what you've all been through, huh?"
"More than you know..." said Leon.
"So why are you even here, Mr. West?" asked Barry.
"To get the next story, of course!" said Frank. "Got a hot tip that something was going down in this place. Had to do with zombies and the like. Even better is that the BSAA is involved, so it has to be major. Since I know my way around zombies, seemed up my alley, but I didn't expect these monsters."
"In any case, you really shouldn't be here. You're a civilian." said Chris.
"Hey, buddy! I've covered wars, you know!" said Frank. "In any case, mind if I could get an exclusive? People need to know the truth."
The survivors of Raccoon City look at each other before looking back at Frank.
"Maybe once we're done here." replied Chris. "Right now, we need to destroy this place."
"I'm holding you to that, buddy." said Frank. "What you all go by?"
"Chris Redfield."
"Jill Valentine."
"Leon Kennedy."
"Claire Redfield."
"Barry Burton."
"Okay then. Well, I'm gonna go take a few shots." Frank turns to take some photos of the carnage.
"Well he's certainly serious about his work." said Barry.
"And so are we." said Jill.
The five anti-bioterrorism fighters made their way toward the control room. While Frank was taking pictures, a black substance started forming on the floor. The freelance photographer turned his camera to see it through his lens.
"What the hell…?"
Curious, he started taking shots of the substance as it got bigger.
"Uh…. guys? There's something on the floor..."
Chris's party turned to see what Frank was going on about and saw the black goo.
"What… is that?" asked Claire.
"A new kind of BOW?" said Leon.
"I don't think so..." said Jill.
Another alarm sounded off.
"THE SELF DESTRUCT SEQUENCE HAS BEEN ACTIVATED."
"Wait, what!?" said Frank.
"Should've known a place like this would have a self-destruct mechanism!" said Leon.
"Everyone move!" shouted Chris.
They all went for the door, but it was unfortunately locked. The same was met with the other door.
"We're trapped!" said Claire.
"I refuse to die like this!" said Barry. He attempted to shoot the lock, but it had no effect.
"Now what do we do!?" said Jill.
As everyone scrambled to find a way out, Frank looked back to the black substance on the floor. When he looked at it, it looked like a sort of hole. Out of curiosity, Frank touched it with the defiler he had, and to his surprise, it passed through the floor. He reflexively pulled it back out, looking no different. He put it in and out a few times just to make sure, then called to the others.
"Hey guys! I think I found a way out!"
"Really?" said Jill. She and her group heard towards Frank.
"It seems to be some kind of hole!" said Frank as he demonstrated with his weapon.
"That's weird even for us." said Barry.
"Wait, are you actually suggesting we should just jump in there? We don't even know if it's safe or not!" said Chris.
"TWO MINUTES UNTIL EXPLOSION IMMINENT."
"You got a better idea?" asked Frank.
"He's got a point, Chris! I'll take my chances with the hole!" said Claire. She immediately jumped in, vanishing into the darkness.
"Claire!" said Chris, shocked to see what his sister did.
"I'm with her! Better than waiting to get blown up!" said Barry as he jumped in.
"Sigh… no choice..." said Leon as he jumped in after.
"Hurry, you two!" said Frank as he went into the portal substance.
"Come on, Chris!" said Jill as she ran and dove into the black substance.
"Oh, the hell with it!" said Chris. He jumped into the substance, disappearing into the darkness. Moments later, the research facility was engulfed in a fiery explosion.
To be continued…
Author's notes
The Resident Evil crew hook up with Frank West. Seems to make sense since they all had to handle zombies. Timewise this takes place after the events of Resident Evil 6 (don't consider 7 to be a real title anyway).
Next time, fighting in the streets!