The scene becomes chaotic in an instant.
As we were about to head to the insect section, a cold shiver ran down my spine. The calm of the zoo was suddenly shattered by the sharp crack of a gunshot, followed by the desperate scream of an elephant. My gaze instinctively turned toward Oscar, the great elephant, who collapsed in his enclosure. Instead of rampaging in fury as one might expect, Oscar fell heavily to the ground, curling up like a wounded giant. The worst was yet to come as a hypodermic syringe filled with a green liquid was shot into the gaping wound of the animal.
"RUN!!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing through the zoo. The crowd, initially frozen in shock, finally started to move. A frantic panic gripped the visitors as they rushed toward the exits. The cries and sobs of children mixed with the desperate calls of their parents. I pulled Jill and Lisa close to me, pushing them gently to shield them from the surrounding chaos, before cautiously approaching Oscar's enclosure to assess the situation.
"Jill, call for backup and disable the zoo's cameras, now. Umbrella is likely behind this, but I still don't understand their motive," I said tensely. "Take Lisa with you, I'll try to stop Oscar before things get out of hand."
Jill nodded, her face marked by worry. She grabbed her phone, her fingers trembling slightly as she dialed the police station. "Gérald, promise me you'll be careful," she said, her voice betraying barely contained anxiety.
I offered her a reassuring smile, though my heart was heavy with concern. "I promise, Jill."
Lisa, still shaken, looked up at me, her innocent eyes full of worry. "Daddy… Is Oscar going to be okay?"
I bent down, placing a comforting hand on her head. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Daddy is going to do everything he can to help Oscar. Now, go with Auntie Jill, okay?"
As Jill walked away with Lisa, her trembling voice resonating on the phone as she urgently called for reinforcements, I focused on Oscar, who was undergoing a horrifying transformation. The hypodermic syringe injected into his wound seemed to have triggered a terrifying process.
Oscar's body began convulsing violently, his muscles contracting and twisting under his thick skin. His already imposing size started to grow at an alarming rate. Tendons and veins bulged grotesquely, giving his skin a taut and streaked appearance. His majestic tusks bent and lengthened, turning into formidable blades covered in a black, viscous substance oozing from their surface.
Oscar's once gentle and intelligent eyes turned a burning red, seeming to blaze with fury and pain. A low, deep growl emanated from his throat, a sound that made the ground vibrate beneath my feet. His legs, once sturdy and designed to support his enormous weight, transformed into more massive, muscular limbs, covered in bony plates, like natural armor ready to withstand any attack.
Oscar's skin began to crack in places, revealing eruptions of deformed flesh and new tissue growing chaotically, covering his body with bone plates and horns. He was becoming a true machine of destruction, a multi-ton colossus exuding raw power and terror.
As the mutation reached its peak, Oscar let out a roar of rage and pain so powerful that it made the air around us vibrate. The few remaining zoo visitors collapsed to the ground, their ears bleeding from the force of the scream.
The G and T zombies immediately sprang into action, carrying the unconscious people to safety, while I turned to face Oscar, who, in a fit of rage, reduced his cage to a pile of twisted metal debris. The abomination that Oscar had become stood before me, his glowing red eyes burning with fury and pain.
"You're about to meet your countermeasure," I said determinedly, summoning two G rhinos and four giant gorillas, their thick, muscular skin gleaming in the light as they appeared by my side.
The first rhino charged immediately, its massive body shaking the ground under its powerful hooves, its sharp horn aimed directly at Oscar. The impact was titanic. The rhino's horn embedded itself in Oscar's flank, who roared in pain but did not falter. The second rhino followed closely behind, striking Oscar on the side, adding colossal force to the assault that caused the elephant to stumble.
The four giant gorillas, titans of muscle and power, then lunged at Oscar. Two of them grabbed his hind legs, their enormous hands gripping the thick skin and bony plates covering the monster. The other two gorillas climbed onto his back, using their powerful arms to try to control his head, struggling against the beast as it thrashed furiously.
I took advantage of this distraction to launch my vines, wrapping them around Oscar's legs, tightening with incredible force. The beast struggled, shaking its enormous tusks and trying to free itself from the gorillas holding it down. But together, with the combined effort of the rhinos, gorillas, and my vines, we managed to bring Oscar crashing to the ground with a deafening thud.
Oscar roared and thrashed, his front legs clawing at the ground in a desperate attempt to get back up. The rhinos positioned themselves on either side of his head, pushing with all their weight to keep the colossus pinned down. The gorillas, growling and straining, immobilized his legs and head, their muscles bulging under the colossal effort.
With Oscar pinned to the ground, his movements becoming more frantic, I tightened my vines, wrapping them further to ensure his capture. The beast eventually relented, unable to fight any longer against the combined forces of my creatures and my own power.
DING
T-virus mutation or Oscar successfully absorbed, available in the factory.
1 Oscar will be produced every 20 days. You have 3 Oscars directly in the factory.
You will be able to instantly control any crow not under your control by simply touching it.
I released Oscar from his enclosure, watching as the effects of the healing process took hold. The gigantism persisted, but the mutant madness that had consumed him had dissipated. His eyes seemed to glow with a newfound intelligence, far deeper than before. I recalled my rhinos and gorillas back to the factory before gently patting Oscar's flank.
"Stay in your enclosure and don't move," I said calmly before vanishing in a flash, racing at an incredible speed in search of the one who caused this chaos.
In the blink of an eye, I spotted someone suspicious, easily intercepting them. But an invisible force prevented me from fully subduing them. I looked up to see Wesker's smug smile, the same man I had to release as compensation. He looked at me, a mixture of disdain and amusement in his eyes, as if he were watching a clown.
In a fit of rage, I ripped a pole from the ground and hurled it straight at him. The pole knocked him over, proving that indirect contacts and firearms could affect him.
"Leave the city or I swear I'll bury you in concrete and let Neptune devour you," I said coldly.
Ding.
The antagonist Wesker will leave the city and will not cause incidents for the host's loved ones without his presence.
I watched him get up, a bitter smile on his lips, before he quickly disappeared, leaving no trace behind.
"This is ridiculous; they give me power, but I have to wait for something to happen before I can act," I thought sadly, before returning to Oscar, now surrounded by police officers, their weapons ready to intervene.
"Stop!!" I shouted as I approached Oscar. The officers froze when they saw me, slightly lowering their weapons as they recognized me.
"You see, he's not dangerous," I said, placing my hand on Oscar's side. "It was a problem with a drug he received that would have killed him if he weren't so tough."
One of the officers, still skeptical, asked, "Are you sure he's under control, King?"
I smiled and waved my hand to reassure them. "Absolutely. Oscar's a good boy, aren't you, big guy?" I said, patting the giant elephant, who looked at me with calm eyes.
At that moment, Lisa and Jill appeared, Lisa running toward me before jumping into my arms. "Daddy! You really healed Oscar!"
"As I promised you, sweetheart, Oscar is healed," I replied, lifting her into my arms.
"Oscar, can we ride him?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Oscar gently extended his trunk toward us, and I grabbed hold of it. In a slow and delicate gesture, he lifted us up and placed us on his massive head. Lisa squealed with joy, amazed by the incredible view from atop Oscar.
"Daddy, we're so high up! This is amazing!" she exclaimed, her face beaming with happiness.
The officers, now relaxed, smiled as they watched us interact with the giant animal. "Looks like everything's under control, after all," one of them commented, fully easing the tension of the situation.
Jill stepped forward slightly, a mischievous smile on her lips. Striking a theatrical pose, she raised a hand as if to greet an invisible crowd and adopted an exaggeratedly serious voice, imitating her character as the secretary in the series Detective Raccoon.
"As expected from Commissioner King and Detective Raccoon, wherever they go, problems will be solved!"
She finished her line with a pose worthy of a 1950s actress, one hand on her hip, chin slightly raised, and a determined gaze fixed in the distance.
The police officers, already relieved that the situation was under control, burst into laughter, the hilarity spreading through the entire team. The tension of the moment was replaced by a general fit of laughter.
Meanwhile, perched on top of Oscar, neither Lisa nor I noticed the hilarity below. We were absorbed by the soothing feeling of observing the surroundings from our privileged position, far from the tumult and laughter, simply amazed by the breathtaking view and the moment we were sharing together.
I pulled out my phone and quickly dialed Wesker Junior's number. "Junior, can you contact the zoo and buy Oscar? Pay whatever it takes, and make sure it's done quickly, before others get involved," I said, sitting cross-legged on the head of the giant animal, with Lisa comfortably nestled in my lap. I gently tapped Oscar's head, mimicking strokes despite his thick skin.
"Thank you, Daddy. I'm so glad we came today," murmured Lisa as she began to doze off, her head resting softly against my chest.
A few meters away, a reporter and her cameraman continued filming the scene, their eyes wide at the incredible footage they had just captured.
"Do you realize what we've got here?" murmured the reporter, unable to hide her excitement. "This is pure gold! Commissioner King, the hero of Detective Raccoon, in action with a giant elephant and his little girl. This is going to go viral!"
The cameraman nodded, already checking the footage on his camera's screen. "It's solid. We need to rush back to the station. They're going to want to air this immediately."
Without wasting any time, they packed up their equipment and hurried toward their van, determined to be the first to broadcast the story that would set the city ablaze. Meanwhile, I was completely unaware of their actions, focused on Lisa, who was peacefully falling asleep on me, while Oscar stood still under the soothing strokes.
Back in my apartment that evening, I finally relaxed after the eventful day. Jill, Lisa, and I settled into the living room. Lisa was wrapped in a blanket on the couch, still marveling at the day's adventures, while Jill quietly flipped through a magazine.
"Daddy, today was so amazing! Can we go see Oscar again tomorrow?" Lisa asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"We'll see, sweetheart," I replied with a smile, "but for now, it's time to relax a little."
I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV, just in time to catch the evening news. To my surprise, the presenter announced a special report on the zoo events from earlier that day. The screen showed footage of our interaction with Oscar, followed by the scene where Jill delivered her line in full Detective Raccoon style from her brief appearance in the show.
"So, we truly have heroes," the reporter said on screen, her voice full of gravitas. "Commissioner King, a consultant for the Raccoon police, whom we affectionately call the 'Beast Master,' and his daughter Lisa, known as 'Detective Raccoon,' who we've dubbed the 'Jungle Princess.'"
At that moment, the screen briefly showed Jill striking a serious pose during her line, and I turned my head to look at her in person. She blushed instantly, realizing that her little performance had been captured and broadcast on television. Lisa, however, burst into laughter, pointing at Jill.
"Look, Auntie! You're on TV too!" exclaimed Lisa, her voice brimming with excitement.
I couldn't help but smile, seeing Jill try to hide her embarrassment while laughing herself. But before any of us could say a word, she was the first to start laughing, poking fun at the situation.
"Well, looks like I've discovered a new talent for acting!" Jill joked, shaking her head, her laughter becoming contagious.
Lisa, on the other hand, was over the moon, getting up on the couch to sit on her knees, bouncing with joy. "I'm a princess! A Jungle Princess! Daddy, this is so awesome!" she cried out, her voice filled with pure happiness.
I pulled her close to me, unable to hide my own pride at seeing how happy she was. "Yes, my little princess. And with Oscar as your friend, the jungle is your kingdom."
(Note: I hope you enjoyed this little chapter. For those who don't know, the zoo sequence is from Resident Evil Outbreak File 2. I thought I'd add a bit of action in this chapter ^^)