After some traveling, the group found a secluded place out in the rainforest, allowing them a chance to take a breather, to restock on ammunition, and to listen to more of Manuela's story.
"When I was fifteen, I had been diagnosed with a fatal disease, the same one that killed my mother," Manuela explained. "So my father bought a type of medicine from a mysterious man."
"Do you remember what this man looked like?" Natasha asked.
"I only saw him once," Manuela said. "He had blonde hair and sunglasses. He was joined by a woman, I think she was Asian. She had scary looking eyes."
"Albert Wesker...and the woman must be Juri Han," Natasha said.
"Sounds like the Veronica Virus was used as some form of treatment," Leon said. "You seem to have recovered well from it."
"What's this about following directions?" Chun-Li asked.
"My father was told that this medicine could damage the brain cells of whoever uses it," Manuela said.
"It's not a medicine, it's a virus, a deadly one at that," Natasha said. "Anyone incompatible could have their mind taken over. It's honestly no different from the G-Virus, or anything else Umbrella had."
"True, even the Ashfords' researchers couldn't do anything about it," Leon said. "There seems to be no exceptions."
"That girl you mentioned before, Alexia Ashford," Krauser said. "What about her?"
"Alexia was placed in a state of cryomancey for fifteen years," Natasha said. "That seemed to nullify the effects of the virus. Honestly, with a treatment like that, she and Cap could have something to bond over."
"Still, Javier seems to have done a good job at keeping Manuela from turning into a monster," Leon said.
"How did Wesker get the virus?" Chun-Li asked.
"From the body of Steve Burnside," Leon explained.
"That's awful..." Chun-Li commented. She then noticed Manuela breathing heavily, immediately worrying about the girl. "Hey, Manuela, are you alright?"
"I'm fine...I'm just tired," Manuela insisted.
"Come with me," Chun-Li said, leading the girl away. Her main goal was to help Manuela recover from what ails her.
Leon took the story she told to heart, and it motivated him more to find Javier. Krauser had his doubts however, and worried things could get worse.
Later on, Leon and his allies came across Javier's base, with the former RPD Officer observing the area through his binoculars.
"I don't see many guards, might be all B.O.W.s that Javier is getting ready to unleash," Leon thought to himself. "Getting through may be tricky, but being inside is where we'll really need to be on guard."
"Leon..." Krauser said, getting the man's attention. "We should take care of the girl, before it's too late."
"What do you mean by that?" Leon asked.
"Think about it, Leon," Krauser said as he glanced over at Manuela, the girl in a state of discomfort as Chun-Li tried to keep her calm. "It's only a matter of time, before she becomes a threat."
"Javier knows something," Leon began. "He's been able to prevent Manuela from transforming. I have to take her with me, and find out how."
"Is it really worth it though?" Krauser asked.
"It is," Natasha said, the woman having come back from scouting the area for monsters. "We have a chance to learn more about this virus. Even more importantly, we have the chance to save the life of a young girl. Above all else, that is our duty, to protect others."
"And, that's not all," Leon pulled out a small pad and handed it over to Krauser. "Read that."
Obliging, Krauser read the text present on the screen, "Anti-Virus Protocol number 7600. Seems like you're under orders from The President."
"Leon's a bigger deal than he lets on," Natasha said. "He's even got partial trust from Nick Fury. Coming from him, that's a lot."
"Sounds like it," Krasuer said, almost in disbelief.
"This mission we're on is to eradicate this virus, once and for all," Leon said. "With your help I intend to do just that."
Krauser looked momentarily conflicted, many thoughts passing through his head at that moment. Thinking it over quickly, he focused his attention back on Leon, "I am a soldier. If your orders are from The President, then I'm on your side."
"You pull this off, maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. will hire you too," Natasha said. "The three of us can do more missions. Four if Chun-Li joins us more often. She's here under order from Interpol, but don't count that out."
"This goes beyond our country," Leon said. "Be it Russia, China, or anywhere, we stand together to keep this world safe."
"Yeah..." Krauser said, then formed a pact with Leon, gripping his hand for a motivational handshake. "Let's kick some ass."
"That's what I like to hear," Natasha turned over to the other girls. "Chun-Li! Manuela! We're about to move!"
"Okay!" Chun-Li said as she assisted Manuela, the girl insisting she was fine and began walking on her own.
"Let's go," Natasha said, leading the team down below.
"I gotta say, Javier really went all out on security," Leon said.
"He probably doesn't like door-to-door salesmen," Krauser added.
"Who does?" Natasha said.
"Is it a good idea to go in through the front though?" Chun-Li asked. "It seems too straightforward."
"I'm inclined to agree with Chun-Li," Natasha said. "In my line of work, I usually try to go with a more discreet approach."
"I feel like that works better on human enemies rather than B.O.W.s," Leon said. "Zombies have a keen sense of smell, and some of these creatures have incredible hearing."
"Plus, Javier already knows we're here," Krauser said. "We might as well just go all out."
"I suppose you both have a point, especially Leon," Natasha said. "With the heightened senses these creatures have, slipping past them would take a miracle. You'd need to be a master at stealth to pull that off."
"And we don't exactly have Solid Snake on our Squad," Leon said. "Or Gabriel Logan for that matter."
"Good names, but they pale in comparison to Sam Fisher," Natasha said.
"Wow, those are some legendary names," Chun-Li turned to the buff blonde man. "Hey Krauser, have you met any of those guys?"
"I've seen Logan a couple of times, I never really got to talk much to him though," Krauser said. "Same with Fisher, though I've seen him only once. He's highly ranked and a borderline freelance agent, so he doesn't show up much."
"That's interesting, and what about Snake?" Chun-Li asked.
"I never met the guy, part of me thought he was a myth," Krauser said.
"He's very much real, I've seen him only once myself though," Natasha said. "He reminds me of Wolverine in many ways."
"That's someone else I wish we had with us," Leon said. "A man like him would make a great teammate."
"Wolverine? Have you ever worked with him?" Natasha asked. "He's not exactly a team player."
"He's with the X-Men, and we did work together at least once, during the Black Arms invasion," Leon said.
"He doesn't exactly listen to the X-Men," Natasha said. "Even Cap struggles with getting him to cooperate."
"Even so, I'd trust a guy like him," Leon said. "He seems loyal enough to watch out for you."
"You all know so many amazing people," Manuela said.
"It comes with the territory," Natasha said.
"Chun-Li," Krauser said, getting her attention. "Do you know anyone who might be useful for this type of thing?"
"My friend Cammy White," Chun-Li said. "She's a Delta Red Agent from England. She's skilled enough to handle something like this, be it stealth or straightforward."
"We should get her for one of these outings," Natasha said. "Of course, according to Daisy, it seems like Chris Redfield is just as interested in her abilities as well."
"Seems like we may have some competition," Leon joked.
Suddenly Javier's voice came booming over the loudspeakers, "Welcome home, Manuela."
"Javier!?" Natasha shouted as she aimed her gun.
"And to my Guero friends...please accept my sincere gratitude for returning my daughter," Javier said as some zombies began to arrive. "Now bring Manuela, and kill the foreigners!"
"There are so many!" Manuela shouted in worry.
"Fine by us," Natasha immediately fired at the first zombie she could, taking it down while the others joined her in fighting.
"Be alert!" Krauser said as he used his knife to jam one zombie in the neck and aggressively pulled out, leaving the creature bleeding and dying.
"These aren't ordinary zombies," Chun-Li said as she kicked a few away.
"Yeah, they're part of Javier's army, the Sacred Snakes," Leon said as he fired. "What has he done to them?"
As Krauser fired at them, he hit one that had explosives strapped to its body, causing a large boom that took everyone by surprise.
"Careful, some of them are strapped with grenades!" Krauser warned.
"Fine by us, we can use them to our advantage," Leon said, firing at another grenade strapped zombie to set off an explosion.
"Just try not to be too close," Natasha said as she fired ws well. She then heard some noise coming from a nearby truck as more Sacred Snake zombies began to emerge. "Shit, there's more!"
"Let's run for cover!" Krauser said, grabbing the grenade off one zombie and throwing it at a group to cause another explosion.
They ran to take cover by some crates, but got ambushed by some Hunter Gammas, to which Leon blasted each of them with his shotgun.
"Those things are so terrifying," Manuela said.
"Well they're dead, but if we don't want to join them, we need to keep moving," Natasha said.
Leon led his team around the crates, trying to avoid the monsters. Unfortunately the giant crate burst open, revealing more enhanced zombies.
"Was he planning to ship these creatures off or did they just happen to find a good hiding spot!?" Chun-Li asked as she fired away.
"Could be a mix of both," Natasha said as she also fired. "It's true that some people will sell these zombies as weapons, but they're showing a lot of advanced intelligence lately."
As they fired, more zombies started making their way over. The risk of being surrounded grew greater, something Leon was quick to realize.
"We need to run!" Leon threw one more grenade for insurance as his team quickly ran past the crates and back toward the center of the main courtyard.
Upon arriving, more Hunter Gammas made their presence known, much to the irritation of the group.
"This is too much!" Natasha said as she opened fire. "If there's this much security at the front gates, then who knows what's waiting for us inside?"
"A chance we'll have to take!" Leon said as he fired away at the Gammas. "We knew what we signed up for."
"Pfft, no one told me, my bosses just threw me into this mess," Krauser mentally lamented as he fired away himself. "Extra pay or not, that was bullshit."
Leon took down one of the Gammas, but the other rammed into him, knocking the cop back and causing him to drop his gun.
"No! Leon!" Natasha ran in and kicked the monster, keeping its attention focused on her. "Over here you bastard!"
The Gamma tried to attack Natasha but she backflipped away and immediately pulled out her SMG to fire away at the monster.
"Leon!" Manuela went to help the man up. "Are you alright?"
"It's fine, I've had worse," Leon said as he stood up. "My gun."
"I got you," Chun-Li jumped over and kicked the gun up and to Leon.
"Thanks," Leon said as he caught the gun. "Come on."
"Where do we go from here?" Chun-Li asked.
"This way," Manuela said, gesturing to a door to the left of the main entrance. "I think there is an underground passage."
"Let's go," Natasha said as they ran toward the door.
"To think, Leon got this top secret assignment, with one of the The Avengers no less, and I was just thrown in there..." Krauser angrily thought to himself. "I do not like feeling replaceable."
The group was at the door in no time, but upon arrival of course, more zombies burst through, ready to attack.
"Hey look, it's our welcoming party," Krauser quipped.
"Oh, they really shouldn't have," Leon sarcastically commented as he helped fire away at the enemies.
The crate behind them burst open, revealing more zombies. While a seemingly troubling situation, Natasha noticed that one of them had grenades strapped to it.
"Clear out!" Natasha ordered. Everyone turned and saw what she wanted to do. Leon assisted Manuela in stepping aside while Chun-Li and Krauser took caution as they gave Natasha the room she needed to kick a zombie over and shoot it once to cause an explosion.
"Everyone inside!" Leon ordered as he helped Manuela while the others ran down the stairs, avoiding the rest of the zombies in the process.
Once down below, and away from danger, Natasha took a moment to check on everyone. "Are we all here?"
"Yeah, this is all of us," Krauser said.
"Talk about high security," Leon said. "And it's only going to get worse from here."
"For all we know, Javier likely still has plenty of dangerous B.O.W.s," Natasha said. "Let's try to be ready."
"We will," Chun-Li said. "Come on, let's keep going."
"Get your flashlights out first," Leon said as he shined his own. "It's dark in here."
"Like the dam wasn't enough," Natasha said as she shined her light.
"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?" Krauser mocked.
"Real funny," Natasha said. "Normally, I like the dark, it made my other job easier."
"You mean your spy work?" Leon asked.
"No one can spot me if I'm in the shadows," Natasha said. "I go in, and either retrieve a package, or eliminate a target, then I leave."
"I bet Nick Fury is glad to have you on his side," Krauser said.
"Many are," Natasha said, then heard something strange. "Keep your guard up, I hear zombies."
Leon flashed his light around and spotted a pair in a cell, curiously glancing at the sight. "What in the...?"
"What is this? A B.O.W. storeroom?" Krauser asked.
"Looks like it," Leon said as the group passed by more cells containing more monsters.
"This must be where they turned their prisoners into zombies," Krauser mentally noted before speaking out loud. "Well I'd rather not stick around for inventory."
As they approached a door, a wall suddenly came down and blocked the exit, startling Manuela and worrying the others.
"What now!?" Natasha asked.
"I think I can break through," Chun-Li said, then heard some doors open. "Oh don't tell me."
"They're coming!" Krauser said as the cell doors opened.
"Son of a bitch!" Leon brought out his shotgun and blasted at the monsters while Natasha assisted with her SMGs.
A few zombies fell, but plenty more remained and rushed in to attack.
"Hold your fire! I got this!" Chun-Li ran in and started twirling upside down while kicking the monsters aside. "SPINNING BIRD KICK!"
Leon in particular looked amazed by Chun-Li's abilities, "What a woman. I think I'm in love."
"Claire won't be happy to hear that," Natasha teased, earning an awkward blush from Leon and a look of confusion from Manuela.
"Claire and I aren't dating!" Leon nervously insisted. "Besides, I'm pretty sure Chris would kick the crap out of me if I tried anything with his sister."
"Tch, man up Leon," Krauser scolded.
Leon rubbed his head in frustration, "Can we move on from this? Geez, can't even tell a joke around here."
"Says the guy who can't take a joke," Natasha again teased, earning a glare from Leon while Manuela awkwardly rubbed her arm.
Chun-Li walked back over, dusting herself off and noticing the awkward tension. "Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing important," Leon immediately dismissed. "Let's focus on finding an exit."
"Uh, okay," Chun-Li turned toward the group's local native. "Manuela?"
'Huh?" Manuela snapped out of her thoughts. "Um, yes Chun-Li?"
"Do you know a way out?" Chun-Li asked.
"I think so, could you shine a light for me?" Manuela asked as she pointed to a specific location. "On the wall there."
"I got you," Natasha said as she aimed her flashlight.
Manuela found a switch and activated it. "There."
"Good job kid," Krauser said as the door opened.
"Quick, we must..." Manuela looked into the room and let out a very audible gasp as she backed away in terror.
"What's wrong?" Krauser peeked inside the room as well, his eyes widening in disbelief. "What the fuck is this!?"
Leon and the others looked inside and immediately regretted it. There were skeletons all around attached to a weird structure on the wall. The sight was very uneasy for Manuela and while the four have seen terrible things already, this was something even they did not have an easy time stomaching.
"These people..." Natasha looked around in disbelief. "Javier must have done this to them."
"Why would he...?" Manuela asked in terror.
"This is horrible..." Chun-Li held her stomach, almost wanting to vomit. "What the hell did we step into!?"
"We need to find this bastard already," Krauser said.
"What even is this stuff?" Leon asked as he attempted to touch it.
"Leon, no!" Natasha said. "You don't know where that's been!"
"I hope..." Chun-Li sounded like she swallowed something big. "I hope it's not what I think it is."
"Let's not think about it," Leon said.
"Leon, we stumbled into some nest full of blood and the remains of people, it's very hard not to think about!" Natasha said.
"Let's just move before we end up like these people!" Krauser ordered. "On the double!"
The group quickly made their way through the hall, doing their best to not look directly at the horrifying things they came across.
"God, it stinks in here," Leon said.
"I don't even want to know what that smell is," Natasha said.
As they continued along, they came across a pair of giant crickets blocking a door.
"This must be their doing!" Natasha said as she aimed her gun. "Kill them!"
The crickets tried to attack but the group opened fire and quickly extinguished them. A pair of zombies tried coming around from behind but Krauser was quick to shoot one in the face and stab the other in the neck, killing it instantly.
With that, everyone continued until they got to the other side, away from the room and into another jail cell area.
"Finally, we're out," Krauser said.
Chun-Li shuddered in terror, "I hope we don't run into anything like that again."
"Same here, that room is fucking disturbing," Natasha admitted. "Another thing that Javier will answer for."
Suddenly some zombies came bursting out of a nearby cell, to which Leon immediately shot them both down, "Getting real tired of these things coming out of nowhere like this."
"Yeah, it's just getting old at this point," Krauser said. "But, it can't be helped. Let's just keep moving."
They attempted to go through a nearby door, but it immediately shut and was blocked by bars.
"Shit! Again!?" Leon shouted.
"Through there!" Manuela said as another wall started closing. Everyone quickly ran and slid under the wall before it completely closed.
"That was close," Krauser said.
"Where do we go now though?" Natasha asked.
"Over there, I see a ladder," Leon said, gesturing to the corner.
"This thing better not take us somewhere creepy," Chun-Li said.
"Not like we have a choice," Krauser said as he walked toward the ladder. "Let's go."
Leon climbed up the ladder first, opting to be the one to scout the area. Once it seemed clear, he called the others.
"It's safe, but I don't know for how long!" Leon said. "Hurry up the ladder!"
"Ladies first," Krauser said, gesturing to Natasha.
"How kind of you," Natasha sarcastically stated as she went up the ladder as well.
"Manuela, you go ahead of me," Chun-Li said.
"Okay," Manuela obeyed Chun-Li's orders and climbed the ladder, with the Interpol Agent following.
With everyone up and above, Krauser took his turn next, keeping a careful eye out as he ascended, and looking back to make sure they weren't followed by anyone or anything.
Looking around, they seemed to be in the center of a building with a skyline attached to it. It was still quiet for the moment, though the group came across something concerning.
"Look," Chun-Li gestured to some dead men.
"Who were these guys?" Leon asked.
"My doctors..." Manuela confirmed. The sight of the men brought on tremendous grief to the poor girl. "This is my fault..."
"Hey don't say that," Chun-Li said. "You didn't do this to them."
"I might as well have," Manuela said. "I made them tell me how they cured my illness. And then my father..."
"I see..." Chun-Li said as she glanced back at the men. "Still, this was his doing, you should bear no blame."
"Exactly, and we promise we'll make things right," Leon said.
"What they said," Krauser added. "Now let's go before those guys pop back up."
"Seriously Krauser?" Chun-Li said. "Try to be a little more sympathetic."
"Look, there isn't anything we can do for these guys, the best thing is to find Javier and put him away for good," Krauser said.
"He has a point," Natasha said. "We need to find Javier fast, before anyone else suffers."
As they walked along, they heard a familiar yet discomforting noise.
"What was that!?" Manuela asked in worry.
"It's one of those skinny things!" Natasha recalled as an Anubis landed nearby, looking ready to attack. "Exterminate it!"
Leon fired at the monster, unaware that another one was attempting to sneak up behind him.
"Be careful!" Krauser aimed his gun and fired at the second anubis, but had a hard time connecting as the creature began leaping around.
"Stand still you stupid thing!" Chun-Li fired at the monster, and had little luck on her end.
The group dashed across the courtyard to find a different vantage point, then got ambushed by the Sacred Snakes zombies.
"I don't think so!" Chun-Li kicked one zombie into another, leaving the third alone for a quick shot to the head, killing it immediately.
Leon used his own handgun to quickly finish off the other two zombies while Natasha gunned down one of the Anibus creatures.
The second still leapt around, using the pillars to propel itself. It attempted to strike Krauser, but the man was quick to uppercut the monster, knocking it to the floor and proceeding to open fire to finish the creature off.
"Those creatures are fucking annoying," Natasha lamented.
"It's done, now the big question," Krauser said. "Where the hell is Javier?"
"There is one place I could look," Manuela said. "Somewhere I was never allowed to go."
"Take us there," Leon instructed.
Obeying, Manuela led the team through a door into another room. Curiously for the team, this room was full of different types of plants, both growing from the ground and from hanging pots.
"What is this?" Krauser asked.
"It's a greenhouse," Manuela explained.
"Seems more like a botanical garden," Leon pointed out.
"It looks really nice," Chun-Li said. "At least there's one place here that isn't creepy."
"Don't let your guard down, the virus affects plants too," Natasha warned. "Remember those weird walking plants from before?"
"Right...still, it looks kind of nice," Chun-Li said.
"Except that," Krauser said as he gestured to a bulb. "What the hell is it!?"
His question went unanswered when a Jabberwock landed nearby, startling the team.
"Not again!" Leon angrily opened fire on the monster.
"How many of these things does Javier have!?" Chun-Li asked as she assisted in firing. Fortunately the monster was quickly disposed of. "That was close."
"These things aren't as tough as they look," Natasha said. "Helps that they're slow. Still, this also means we might run into more, so keep your guard up. Don't take an easy win an excuse to get careless."
"We won't," Leon said as he reloaded his handgun.
"Let's hurry, we'll take the stairs," Manuela said as she began leading everyone. "
"Hold on, look," Krauser said. He gestured to a dead body among the plants on the ground.
"Who is that?" Chun-Li asked.
"I recognize him. He's a former researcher from Umbrella," Leon said. "Damn, I was hoping to ask him a few questions."
"Well he's no good to us now," Krauser said as he gestured to a staircase. "Come on, let's go up."
"Follow me," Manuela led them upstairs onto a railing as everyone cautiously kept watch.
Krauser looked back at the man, looking a bit worried and conflicted, "The moment he was useless, they got rid of him. Those in power have the biggest advantage."
"Krauser, don't dawdle," Natasha said. "It's not safe."
"Yeah, I'm coming," Krauser said, as more thoughts went through his head. "Tch, you think I can't look out for myself?"
They began crossing the overhead path, keeping an eye out for danger, and occasionally glancing at the giant bulb plant, wonder what it was.
"That thing really makes me uneasy," Natasha said.
"B.O.W.s ahead!" Leon fired at an oncoming Hunter Gamma.
"Geez these frogs can be anywhere," Natasha said. Another came up from behind, but she was quick to shoot it down. "What a pain."
"Look out!" Manuela warned as a monster came crashing down.
"Jump!" Natasha and the others jumped to narrowly avoid the creature, the weight of the impact destroying the rails. As they pulled away, the monster, revealing itself to be another Jabberwock, leapt back onto the rails.
"This thing again!?" Leon pulled out his shotgun and fired, with the others assisting in quickly killing the monster.
"We need to get out of here!" Leon said.
"Manuela, is the exit close?" Natasha asked.
"Yes, we must keep going," Manuela said as she led the group across the rest of the rails. Eventually they came to a descending staircase which took them back down. At the bottom however, they came across more plant monsters.
"These guys again," Leon fired at them while more Hunter Gammas arrived.
"I got this," Natasha said as she fired at the Gammas.
Manuela kept back as she would usually do, but her worry began to grow. Things were getting much worse the deeper this team went.
"They're all trying so hard...just like everyone else did for me" Manuela thought to herself. "I hope I do not lead them to tragedy. No, I shouldn't think like this. They're strong, I know they are."
"Zombies incoming!" Leon warned. Just as the team was about to fire, a Jabberwock landed behind the zombies.
"Great..." Natasha lamented.
Fortunately the Jabberwock assisted by killing the zombies in front of it as the creature advanced toward the group.
"Guess this big bastard wants to be the one that does us in," Krauser said as he fired at the B.O.W.
"I'm not surprised, I remember that monster that chased us in Raccoon City," Natasha said, firing as well. "It would kill any zombie in its path to get to us."
"Almost like having a friend that wants to brutalize us," Leon said as he finished off the monster.
"Or at least having common enemies for the moment," Natasha added as she made sure it was dead.
"The exit is over there," Manuela said as she ran to the door. "Quickly!"
"Whoa, slow down!" Chun-Li urged. "Don't be reckless."
"I'm sorry," Manuela said as she halted to a stop, allowing the others to catch up. "This door should take us to my father, if we are lucky."
"Luck has nothing to do with this," Leon said. "We're making it happen."
"Oh, yes, of course," Manuela said. The girl was clearly saddened by something, much to Leon's concern.
"Let's press on," Natasha said, hoping to move things along as she opened the door ahead.
The group entered a small hallway, with an immediate right turn coming up. While they were ready for anything, Leon was still concerned about Manuela.
"Hey, are you okay?" Leon asked.
"Yes, I am fine," Manuela said.
The group made their way toward an elevator, and used it to go down.
"Is it me, or are these elevators kind of small?" Chun-Li asked.
"It's just a short ride, you'll be fine," Natasha said.
The Elevator reached the bottom floor, and upon stepping out, Leon quickly shot dead two zombies and continued forward.
"Manuela, do you know what could be down here?" Chun-Li asked.
"No, sorry," Manuela said. "All I know is that father forbade me from coming here."
"He must be hiding something big then," Natasha said. "But our prior experience tells us we may come across some hidden laboratory."
They turned the corner and came across a pair of double doors. Cautiously they walked through to find what looked to be a large storage room full of crates.
"What is this place?" Leon asked.
"It sure ain't a guest room," Krauser said.
Natasha noticed concerning up above, "Look!"
Leon saw a pair of Anubis crawling above, fortunately they hadn't noticed the group yet. "Everyone be careful."
"Of course," Chun-Li said.
They carefully made their way through the room, keeping a close eye on the Anubis to ensure they did not pose a threat.
"Watch out!" Manuela warned as some Sacred Snake zombies made their presence known.
"We don't have a choice! Open fire!" Natasha said as the group shot down the monsters.
Unfortunately this noise did attract the Anibus, to which Manuela warned the group, "Up there!"
"Dammit!" Chun-Li fired at the incoming monster, keeping it away from her allies.
More of them started coming, everyone quickly ducking away and trying to put some distance between them and the monsters.
"You wanna play!?" Leon threw a grenade at the enemies, causing an explosion that took two of the anubis out.
"Nice work," Natasha said as she fired away with her SMGs, taking out the remaining monsters within seconds.
The dust was clear, no monsters in sight, at least for the moment.
"That was close," Chun-Li said as she quickly reloaded. "Let's keep moving before more creatures show up."
"We'll start by investigating whatever's behind that curtain," Natasha said, gesturing behind her.
"What's in there anyway?" Leon asked.
"Javier's secrets no doubt," Natasha said.
Leon felt a cold shiver go up and down his spine, "I have a really bad feeling about this. Everyone keep your guard up."
"You got it," Chun-Li said.
Cautiously, everyone opened the curtain to see what was on the other side. Needless to say, the answer horrified this group as they came across a terrible sight within the various jars.
"These are all human organs," Krauser noted.
Chun-Li did her best not to vomit, but the sight was a lot for her. "So...it's true about the Sacred Snakes."
Leon looked to another curtain, and found something equally horrifying. "The missing girls..."
"Huh?" Natasha looked and nearly gagged at the sight of the deceased group of girls. They unfortunately matched the posters. "Oh God!"
Manuela then felt even more sick as she keeled over, to which Leon rushed to her, "Manuela!"
"What's wrong!?" Chun-Li knelt beside the girl. "Is it this room!?"
"My body...it feels pain!" Manuela said.
Suddenly a new voice landed on everyone's ears, "Her organs must be transplanted regularly."
"Javier!?" Natasha aimed her gun.
"Wait, we need to know what he's talking about first!" Krauser said. He turned his attention to the man. "Explain!"
"It helps with the pain, keeping the virus at bay," Javier explained. "It's only for the first fifteen years."
"That means..." Chun-Li's pupils dilated in terror as she started piecing the puzzle together. "These girls...these organs..."
"You should have just let me die," Manuela said. "Then...none of this would have ever happened."
"No, I couldn't just watch you die," Javier said. "In nature, the predators who prey on others, only grow strong and thrive!"
"This guy is infatuated with the virus, he's lost it," Krauser mentally noted.
"You crazy, selfish old fool!" Leon shouted in anger.
"How many..." Chun-Li stepped forward with a look of malice in her eyes. "How many families did you destroy!? Huh?" She aimed her gun at Javier, looking ready to fire, though the man did not flinch. "How many of these girls were someone's daughters? Sisters? Cousins!? Did you not think for a second what you did to those people!?"
"What man wouldn't want to protect his daughter?" Javier asked. "Sometimes you have to step on others to get what you want."
"You're a monster!" Chun-Li tearfully shouted, the girl keeping her gun aimed. "You don't deserve to live! I'll fucking kill you right now!"
"Chun-Li, control your emotions!" Natasha urged.
"I will say this," Javier began. "Since you were all so kind as to bring my daughter back, I will grant your deaths meaning."
Suddenly everyone heard a loud roar, looking up as Javier stepped back and out of harm's way. Though the roof on top wasn't totally clear, they could still tell there was a monster waiting. Everyone ran back for extra space when the monster landed right in front of them.
"Didn't we fight this thing back in the village!?" Krauser noted.
"Leon!" Manuela called.
"Manula, don't come out! Stay in there!" Leon warned as he got his gun ready.
The monster roared at the group and charged at them, to which they quickly jumped out of the way. Everyone looked around and spotted the monster on top of a platform.
"Damn it! How are we supposed to kill this thing!?" Leon asked.
"Like we kill any other monster!" Natasha fired her gun. "Shoot it until it dies!"
The monster tried spitting acid on them, to which the group once again evaded.
"This monster picked a really bad time to mess with me!" Chun-Li fired without remorse alongside her team as they desperately hoped to put an end to this beast.
The monster fired some spikes at them, the group barely dodging as they continued to look for an advantage.
"Climb those crates!" Leon said as he ran to a bunch of stacked boxes.
"This way!" Krauser led the girls as they all helped fire at the monster. It was not going down easy as it began firing more acid at the group.
"I'm going in!" Chun-Li leapt over to attack but the monster was able to whack her aside, sending her flying against a wall.
"Chun-Li!" Leon called out in worry. He and the others leapt to another platform and fired at the beast from there. "Come on! We'll kill it from here!"
"How do you like this!?" Krauser shouted as he opened fire.
Natasha continued firing, though she worried if what she was doing was even having an effect. "This thing is practically invincible!"
"It's not, every monster has some sort of weak spot!" Leon said. "Aim for the spot over its head."
"It's a bit difficult to reach," Natasha said as she tried firing.
"Don't give me that!" Leon said. "If you can hold your own against Ultron, you can handle this beast!"
"Using my Avengers abilities in an argument against me, are you?" Natasha teased. "I'm actually kind of flattered."
"Hey, focus!" Krauser shouted as he kept firing.
Chun-Li stood up and fired at the monster from down below, getting the attention of the creature, "Come and get me!"
"Chun-Li! Be careful!" Natasha warned.
The monster leapt off the platform and focused its attention on Chun-Li, ready to strike at any moment.
It was here that Leon leapt on its back with his shotgun in hand, "Got you now!" Leon began unloading on the monster's weaker area, finally causing some damage to the creature.
"He's insane!" Krauser said.
The monster swayed around until it managed to launch Leon off of it, the man hitting the ground hard.
"Leon!" Natasha shouted in worry as she too leapt on the monster and fired at it with her SMGs, "How do you like this!?"
The monster grabbed her with its tentacle and aggressively threw her against Leon. Krauser leapt to the side of the beast and ran toward the others. "Hey, you okay!?"
"I'm fine," Leon said as he pulled himself up. The man looked furiously at the monster, "Dammit, we gotta take this thing out!"
"And fast, this thing is starting to turn red!" Chun-Li warned.
"Crap, I hope it's not transforming!" Natasha said in worry.
"There's no fucking way we're letting that happen!" Leon fiercely stated. "Kill it fast, don't let it have the advantage!"
The monster slowly stepped toward them, ready to continue its rampage. As it got closer however, the group began hearing some familiar singing.
"Sleep my love as the trees above protect you from the dark." Manuela's singing had caught everyone's attention.
"Manuela?" Leon asked.
"A great river will watch you as you dream until dawn." The monster had stopped attacking and focused its attention on the singing girl.
"Manuela! Get out of here!" Leon called out in worry.
"Manuela!" Javier's voice called from the intercom. "Stop singing!"
Suddenly Manuela fell over, holding her arm in pain.
"Manuela!" Natasha called out to the girl.
"I'm fine!" Manuela insisted. "I don't know why, but if I sing this song, it won't attack me!"
"Wait, is that why she was singing at the church?" Chun-Li wondered aloud. "That means she knew the monster was there!"
Unfortunately the monster slowly approached Manuela, worrying Leon even more, "We gotta save her!"
Chun-Li rushed in and kicked the monster in the head, hard enough to stun it while everyone else reached for higher ground. The fighter attempted to generate some chi for another attack, but the monster grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up.
"Ugh, let go you freak!" Chun-Li pulled at the tentacle in an attempt to free herself. She received assistance thanks to the gunfire from above.
The monster released Chun-Li and focused its attacks above, nearly hitting Leon with some spikes.
"Son of a bitch!" Leon jumped even higher as he ran across the scaffolding.
"Careful! Don't fall!" Krauser warned as he followed Leon. He along with Natasha joined Leon in jumping to another scaffolding, still firing at the monster as it fired acid. "This thing's really pissing me off!"
The monster fired more spikes, one nearly getting Natasha in the face, just barely missing and leaving only a scratch.
"That was close," Leon said.
"I've had closer calls," Natasha focused on her offense. "Let's end this!"
The monster leapt up onto a scaffolding, causing Leon and the others to jump back to the highest platform as they kept firing.
"Dammit, go to hell already!" Krauser shouted as he fired.
"We got this!" Leon encouraged. As the monster got in closer, Leon pulled his shotgun out and fired, hitting the monster once in the head, then focused a second shot on its weak area.
That seemed to be what did it as the monster weakly fell off the scaffolding it was on, seemingly dead.
"Is that it?" Krauser asked.
Natasha glared in suspicion, "Don't let your guard down, anything can happen."
The group came down from the scaffolding, not taking their eyes off of the monster.
"Wait, where did Javier go?" Chun-Li asked.
"Huh?" Leon quickly peaked behind the clear curtain. "Javier's gone!"
"We gotta go after him!" Krauser said.
Just as they moved, the monster returned to life and fired a spike attack at Krauser, impaling him in the arm.
"Krauser!" Leon shouted in worry.
"Dammit! Kill this thing!" Natasha ordered as she along with Leon, Chun-Li and Krauser fired relentlessly at it.
The monster screamed out in pain before it finally collapsed, fully succumbing to its injuries.
"Krauser!" Chun-Li ran over to help pull the spike out.
"Hey, are you okay?" Leon asked.
"Yeah..." Krauser said as Chun-Li pulled out the spike. "It's nothing."
Despite that, Chun-Li could see some worry in his eyes. "I'll help you treat that injury."
"Sure..." Krauser said, the man mentally cursing the situation. "How the hell did I let my guard down like that?"
Manuela slowly approached the monster, in spite of Natasha's warning, "Hey, be careful."
The monster still moved as its tentacle approached Manuela. However, it did not act out of violence, rather it was a tender situation. The monster gently caressed Manuel's cheek in a soothing way as it took one final glance at the girl.
"Mother?" Manuela asked.
"Did she say, mother?" Natasha wondered in disbelief.
"That thing...it used to be human?" Krauser realized.
For a brief moment, the monster's eyes looked more human, shedding a single tear before finally dying from its wounds. Everyone looked on in disbelief. Leon and Natasha were reminded of something that Krauser and Chun-Li finally picked up.
Monstrous as these creatures are, they were once human. Humans with families who loved them. That was the tragedy of the situation.
"I don't want to live, if it means others have to die," Manuela said.
"Manuela..." Natasha went to comfort the girl, though even she struggled on what to say. "Listen...this whole thing..."
Leon placed her hand on her shoulder, "It might be better to give her a moment. Let her process this."
For the moment, Manuela would be given time to grieve, but time was something these heroes could spare very little of.