They headed straight to the central irrigation pool area, where a fight was already breaking out between the officers and a massive plant creature that was lashing out with its roots. The officers fired back, but their bullets didn't seem to do much damage.
"Why do the monsters we fight keep getting weirder and weirder?" Kevin complained.
Just then, Rebecca and Marvin rushed over to them.
"Allen, are you okay?" Rebecca asked, checking his body for any wounds.
"Yeah, relax, I'm perfectly fine," Allen said, gently patting her head.
"Good… thank God you're here. We could use some extra help," Marvin said, breathing heavily and sporting several scratches on his arms.
"Isn't that the same kind of plant we dealt with back in the Arklay Mountains?" Allen asked, confused as to why something like that would show up here.
The answer, of course, was Albert Wesker—he had brought a sample to Umbrella earlier and ordered research on it. But it seemed the sample got out of control, wrecking the facility and causing a containment breach.
"Have you guys tried burning it?" Allen asked Marvin.
"Yeah, we already tried Rebecca's idea—burning it with a flamethrower, even tossing a couple of grenades—but that just made it go wild. The damn thing started sprouting even more roots to attack us," Marvin said.
Allen then looked toward the creature. Sure enough, the plant looked different—bigger, its roots thicker, regenerating faster than before.
But suddenly, the ground beneath them trembled, and a massive root burst out from below their feet.
"Everyone, move!" Allen shouted as he quickly scooped Svetlana into his arms and pulled Rebecca to a safe spot to avoid the strike.
"Put me down," Svetlana said, clearly annoyed. "You know I can dodge that on my own. Why are you carrying me like this?"
Allen just grinned. "Heh. You're my woman—of course I'm gonna protect you."
"Tsk… but look at you now, you're getting dirty because of me. And I'm your bodyguard, remember? I'm the one who's supposed to protect you, not the other way around," Svetlana complained—though the small smile tugging at her lips made it obvious she wasn't actually upset.
"Okay, okay," Allen said as he finally set Svetlana down. Meanwhile, Kevin, Leon, and Marvin—who also managed to dodge the attack—got back on their feet without any injuries.
"You guys okay?" Rebecca asked.
"Yeah, we're good," Marvin replied, and the others nodded.
On the other side of the area, Nicolai was ordering his mercenaries to open fire on the plant creature with every type of weapon they had, all while recording the battle data to sell to Umbrella later.
"Any ideas on how we're supposed to take this thing down?" Marvin asked, wanting to wrap up this mission as soon as possible.
Leon spoke up. "What if we use plant toxins? I saw a few containers in one of the storage rooms earlier."
"That's a solid idea, Leon. Let's try that," Allen said, praising him. "Lieutenant Marvin, can you also call in a helicopter to strafe the plant? It'll give us some cover so we can move in safely."
"Hm… sure. I'll contact the pilots and request air support," Marvin replied.
After that, Leon, Allen, and Svetlana headed out to find the plant toxin Leon mentioned earlier.
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the entire facility. It looked like the Umbrella forces had started hammering the creature with a rocket launcher.
"Look! What is that? That looks like the plant's core!" Kevin shouted.
Marvin saw it too and immediately grabbed his radio. "Brad, Edward—your turn. Fly low and hit that thing, now!"
"Roger," Brad and Edward responded through the comms.
Both helicopters dropped to a lower altitude and opened fire on the massive plant.
DRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!
But instead of weakening, the creature went into a frenzy. Being blasted nonstop by rockets and minigun fire only enraged it further, and it began lashing out wildly in every direction.
Several police officers and a few of Umbrella's mercenaries were instantly killed as the creature's massive tendrils whipped through the area, tearing through anything—and anyone—in their path.
"Damn it," Marvin cursed as he ducked for cover with Rebecca and Kevin. He hadn't expected the plant to go berserk like this. But of course, he didn't just sit still—he grabbed his radio.
"Rita, I need you to bring the heavy-weapons supply to my location. Now."
"On my way, sir," Rita replied.
Not long after, Allen returned with Leon and Svetlana, each carrying several crates filled with plant toxin. They immediately noticed the chaos unfolding around them.
"Looks like things only got messier while we were gone," Allen said as he regrouped with Marvin and the others.
"Yeah… wasn't expecting this," Marvin admitted.
"We're gonna need something a lot bigger if we want that thing dead," Allen added.
"Don't worry—I already called Rita. She's bringing the gear," Marvin said before signaling the remaining officers to fall back and regroup so they could resupply once the weapons truck arrived.
Meanwhile, the two helicopters continued unloading nonstop fire, shredding chunks of the creature's massive roots under a storm of bullets.
And a moment later, Rita arrived, pulling up in a heavy weapons transport truck just as Marvin had requested.
Meanwhile, Leon tossed several bottles of herbicide toward the creature. They landed perfectly on its exposed core, causing the plant monster to writhe violently as the protective shell around its center began to peel open.
"It worked! Did you guys see that?" Leon shouted.
"Nice job, Leon. Looks like we finally have an opening," Marvin replied.
"Alright, everyone—gather up, grab your weapons, and blow that thing to hell!" Marvin ordered as more officers arrived.
The group rushed toward the weapons truck, each of them grabbing a rocket launcher. Even Rita joined in.
"Rita, do you even know how to use that thing?" Allen asked, genuinely curious.
"Hey, don't underestimate me," she shot back. "Just because I'm not out on the field every day doesn't mean I can't handle one of these."
"I'm not underestimating you," Allen said, lifting his hands defensively. "It's just… this is the first time I've seen you in field combat."
Rebecca and Svetlana chuckled softly, clearly enjoying the exchange. Allen really did have a habit of underestimating the women around him.
"Alright, on my mark," Marvin called out. "Leon, throw the rest of the chemicals."
Leon nodded and quickly tossed more bottles, assisted by Allen and Svetlana. Once the plant's shell peeled open again—its glowing core exposed—
"Now! Fire together!" Marvin yelled.
Whoosh!
Fifteen rockets blasted forward at the same time.
BOOOOM!!
A massive explosion erupted, engulfing the creature in flames. Nearby zombies and mutant monsters were caught in the blast as well, burning to ash.
"YEAHHH!!" The officers cheered as the enormous plant finally collapsed, blown apart into unrecognizable chunks.
"See, Allen? Told you I could handle a rocket launcher," Rita said smugly as she lowered the launcher to the ground.
Allen shook his head with a sigh—only to notice something moving behind her.
His eyes widened.
Swish!
CRASH!
A massive root shot out, nearly slicing Rita in half—but Allen lunged forward, grabbing her just in time and pulling her out of the way.
Rita froze, trembling. She had been seconds away from dying.
"You okay?" Allen asked, still holding her close.
"Y-You… you saved me…" Rita whispered, shaken.
"Good. Looks like you're alright," Allen said as he helped her stand properly. "Be more careful next time. These monsters are unpredictable."
"T-Thanks…" Rita muttered, her cheeks slightly red.
"You're welcome," Allen replied with a soft smile.
And after the plant monster was finally killed, Allen felt that the cleanup work around the area could be left to the other officers. He then regrouped with Rebecca in the back to treat the injured police members.
Three hours passed, and the disposal facility of Raccoon City had finally quieted down. The chaos from earlier had faded into distant, occasional bursts of gunfire—short reminders that the area was still dangerous, but nowhere near as frantic as before.
Allen was kneeling beside a group of injured officers, his gloves stained with antiseptic and dried blood as he carefully treated wound after wound. He worked with steady hands, sewing torn skin, disinfecting deep cuts, and giving vaccines to prevent further infection.
"Hey, Allen," a familiar voice called out.
Allen looked up to see Rita walking toward him. She looked a little exhausted, but unharmed.
"Yeah? What's up? Are you hurt?" he asked, automatically scanning her for injuries.
Rita quickly shook her head. "No, no. I'm fine." She hesitated for a moment, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "I just… came here because I wanted to see you. Is that… okay?"
"Of course it's fine," Allen replied with a small smile as he wrapped a bandage around the severed arm stump of an officer who had lost his hand during the attack.
Rita let out a quiet breath of relief and sat down beside him. She watched silently as he moved to the next wounded officer. There was something oddly calming about seeing Allen work—focused, gentle, and completely unfazed by the blood around him.
He stitched up another gash, wiped the area clean, then prepared a syringe of vaccine. Rita didn't interrupt; she just observed him with a mix of admiration and gratefulness.
After a while, she finally spoke up again.
"Allen?" Her voice was softer this time. "After this… will you have some free time?"
Allen glanced at her, noticing the faint pink tint on her cheeks.
Rita swallowed nervously. "I was wondering if… maybe I could invite you to dinner. Just to say thank you for saving me earlier. Don't—don't get the wrong idea, okay?" She waved her hands in a flustered gesture. "It's not anything weird. Just dinner."
Allen chuckled under his breath. "Hmm… dinner, huh?" He finished taping a bandage in place before standing up and stretching his back. "Sure. But I'll probably be busy tomorrow. How about Saturday? Two days from now."
He already had a date scheduled for tomorrow after all.
Rita blinked in surprise—then smiled, just a little too quickly.
"Saturday is perfect," she said, unable to hide the hint of excitement in her voice. "I'll contact you then."
Allen nodded. "Sounds good."
As Rita walked away, she kept touching her cheek, trying—and failing—to hide the smile growing on her face.
After Allen finished treating all the patients there, he stepped out to meet Marvin.
"Hey Allen, are all the injured officers taken care of?" Marvin asked.
"Yeah, I've treated them all and given them the vaccine. The rest is just sending them to the hospital for better treatment," Allen replied.
"Alright then, thank you," Marvin said sincerely.
"Oh, by the way, you guys can head back and get some rest. From here on, I can handle things myself," Marvin added.
"Are you sure that's okay, sir?" Allen asked.
"Relax. Most of the monsters are already taken care of, and all that's left is cleaning up the remaining corpses," Marvin answered.
"Alright, thank you then," Allen said.
"Hahaha, don't worry about it," Marvin replied.
Not long after, Allen returned to his apartment with Rebecca and Svetlana using his car.
After Allen left the water disposal facility, their car stopped for a moment in a quiet spot. Not long after, Ada walked up to the vehicle.
"Looks like you all had quite a bit of fun in there," Ada said, eyeing Allen and Svetlana, who were both covered in dirt in the front seats.
"Just shut up and get in already," Svetlana muttered. She clearly wanted to hurry home and take a shower—her clothes felt sticky from all the zombie blood.
"Haha, alright," Ada chuckled, then got into the back seat with Rebecca.
"So? Did you get what you were looking for in there?" Allen asked.
"Well… not everything, but I did get a good amount of what I needed," Ada replied casually.
Yeah—she was pretty pleased. With the equipment she brought, she managed to collect a ton of data she could sell later.
******
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