Clang clang
A faint scraping sound echoed abruptly through the underground passage.
Mero and Rebecca walked cautiously through the dim tunnel, descending from a hole in the floor above.
Mero's eyes narrowed as the sound grew louder. He looked toward its source.
They were standing on a half-suspended rock platform.
On the platform rested a stone coffin.
Rebecca stared in disbelief.
Two figures were also on the platform, both wearing STARS uniforms. Strangely, a female officer with a beret faced off against a middle-aged man in a red vest, as if a scene straight out of a police thriller. The woman aimed her gun directly at his head.
"Jill, Barry, what are you doing!?"
Jill Valentine's face showed a mix of shock and relief. She kept her gun trained on Barry while casting a glance over her shoulder.
Seeing familiar faces, she instinctively exhaled slightly. She knew that in this moment, anyone in a STARS uniform could be her last surviving teammate.
"Rebecca, stay back!"
Jill stepped closer to Rebecca, ready to fire the instant Barry made a wrong move.
"I know you're not like this. Why betray us? Why lead us into this mansion, Barry?"
"Uncle Barry betrayed us?"
Barry's silence in the face of Jill's accusation created an eerie tension. Rebecca wasn't confused, though Jill's words made sense.
"I…" Barry's face twisted with conflict, words failing him.
Jill and Rebecca understood immediately that he had a secret, but just because he had a reason didn't mean they wouldn't shoot. Rebecca lifted her Mossberg M590 shotgun, aiming at Barry.
Even the Licker couldn't withstand a point-blank blast at ten meters, let alone Uncle Barry.
Click!
The shotgun chambered a round.
"Don't do anything foolish, Uncle Barry!"
Jill's Samurai Edge could dodge, but with Rebecca's shotgun added, Barry's bulky frame stood little chance.
Behind them, Mero casually observed. His eyes caught a tall, imposing figure moving through the corridor.
The face appeared to be a grotesque collage of multiple women's faces. Iron shackles restrained her hands, and parasite-like tendrils twisted around her body.
This was a towering prisoner, almost like a miniature giant.
The clanging chains just now probably her doing.
Lisa Trevor.
Mero had heard her name before, described as an ultra-human specimen like himself, one of Umbrella's most prized experiments. He never expected to encounter her here.
"Chosen one?" Mero thought.
Though he hadn't met Lisa, arriving at the mansion revealed some of her story.
The mansion's architect was George Trevor, Lisa's father. When the mansion was completed, Spencer invited the Trevor family to vacation there. George died inside, and Lisa and her mother, Jessica, became subjects for Spencer's experiments.
Jessica's experiment failed, but Lisa adapted to the progenitor virus. Yet with more virus tests applied over time, she finally lost her sanity, her body mutating grotesquely.
She craved her mother. To soothe her, Umbrella researchers disguised themselves as Jessica. Lisa saw through the deception and believed the female researcher had stolen her mother's face. She tore the researcher's face off and fused it to her own.
Since then, Lisa developed an obsession with women's faces. Seeing the collage of skin on Lisa, Mero immediately recognized her.
As the shrouded figure approached, stepping out of the shadows, Jill and Rebecca's eyes were drawn to her.
Lisa passed by Barry, clearly uninterested in the large man. Her gaze fixed on Rebecca and Jill's faces, accompanied by a low, guttural roar.
Finding maternal faces… she set her sights on them.
Mero stretched lazily, pushing his hands forward. He muttered, "I'm just glad I didn't end up like her. You could almost say she's another version of me."
"Why ignore Uncle Barry?" Rebecca's eyes widened as Barry slipped away through the doorway behind Lisa, while Lisa showed no reaction.
Jill's heavy voice broke the silence.
"That's Lisa. She only wants women's faces."
Bang!
Lisa leapt, landing in front of Jill and Rebecca.
Rebecca fired immediately. Bullets riddled Lisa's body, tearing flesh, but none penetrated. Deep muscle and bone blocked the damage, and her wounds healed instantly.
Lisa's shackled hands struck outward, but one moved faster, grabbing Rebecca.
Rebecca stiffened instantly, her face drained of color. "Mero!?"
Mero blocked with one hand but was struck by Lisa's long, swinging arm. He was hurled off the platform, catching an overhead chain from the tunnel ceiling to hang in midair.
"Don't move. Even I have to admire her physiology. If you fumble, I can't guarantee you won't fall."
Mero smiled, licking his lips in excitement.
This was power forged from multiple viruses. All of Umbrella's experimental achievements had been poured into Lisa.
The arm Mero used to block Lisa tingled from the force. He believed that if Lisa were sane, not even Marcus' final form could match her. It was tragic that such a prime specimen had been ruined by Umbrella researchers.
"You… you okay?"
Rebecca fired to halt Lisa's next attack, and Jill added suppressing fire.
"Heh," Mero's quiet laugh came from behind, "just a broken arm."
"Ah!?"
"Don't worry, it's already healed. Hold on tight!"
Rebecca believed him; she had seen Mero recover from severe injuries at astonishing speed. When he had rushed out before, the injuries were real, even if healed quickly.
Mero kicked the chain on the wall and swung it, carrying Rebecca gracefully through the air above Lisa and Jill, landing at the passage where Barry had escaped.
Jill stared in disbelief.
How could a human handle this so easily? Normal people would be dead or chased mercilessly. Flying off a platform and swinging back safely at night defied reason.
"Hungry!" Lisa roared, slamming her fists into the floor.
The force chilled Jill to the bone. She quickly warned, "Rebecca, she's targeting you! The passage is behind you! Move "
Lisa lunged, cutting her off.