Y/n studied the room, looking at the horror-esk christmas scene in front of him but more importantly trying to find where the demon baby went.

There was a skittering in the walls as Y/n approached the christmas tree where the coffin sat alone. He knelt down beside it running a finger along the the silk ribbon ribbon just as the santa claus mannequin starts singing a slurred mechanical rendition of Jingle Bells.

Y/n walked over to the Santa Clause listening to the song as it did stir some cheerful memories, then he hears it... The childish giggle... Not a demonic giggle but one of genuine glee.

Turning around he saw a small blonde child, maybe 6 or 7 years old playing with a toy firetruck underneath the tree where the coffin once was.

Y/n paused watching the little boys cheer turn to concern as he watched two shadows on the wall. The shadows mimicked a man and a woman, their argument started in hushed voices but quickly escalated into a shouting match; meanwhile, the boy sat quietly and played with his new toy.

I have to work... Work!...

Christmas!... Family?... Liar, just go already...

Y/n knelt beside the young child and the child turned to him and spoke in a sad tone.

Did I do something wrong?...

Y/n blinked and his hand was resting on the coffin now, the voices gone same as the child.

Then the Santa started laughing so did his elf, the deep belly laugh as Y/n looked at the scene with sorrow.

Please... Shut up...

The laughing was persistent, Y/n stood up with a dead expression and walked towards the elf whose head turns to look at him.

Y/n raised his hand towards the Elf and received a smack upside the head from Santa with a fire poker, which actually bent upon impact instead of harming Y/n. Then more laughing as Santa started laughing again and the baby from before was sitting on the coffin giggling with a red glow to its infant eyes.

Y/n started chuckling, he looked to the mannequins and laughed more. He looked at the baby and laughed harder, the fireplace seemed to really liven up with a hot light as the four of them began laughing with insane glee.

Y/n put a hand on Santa shoulder and another on the Elf's chair, the whole time laughing but Santa laughing slowed as he saw electricity rippling across Y/n eyes stretching to both hands.

Hahahahahah... Oh! Hohohoho. Haha. Ha. Ha. FUCKING HA!

A swift blue burst emitted from Y/n body as the three occupants: Santa, Elf, and Baby all took a hit from a enraged electrical surge resulting in all three exploding in a cloud of drywall like dust and cotton filler.

Y/n looked around the new dusty as hell room, pulling his hand off the chair the once red fabric had a large charred black handprint. He went back to the coffin and wiped the burning cotton off it and finally opened it to find... A standard, run-of-the-mill, could be found in any restaurant kitchen fire extinguisher.

Y/n looked at the fire extinguisher and the one fire in room, taking the device he pulled pin and unleashed the white cloud putting the fire out leaving the only light in the room was given off by the christmas lights.

Y/n had to use his dinky flashlight to reveal a tunnel behind the fireplace, small but narrow enough he'll fit through with some effort.

Getting halfway through the tunnel towards a grid of light at the end Y/n sighed.

If i have to go through memory lane again im gonna skull fuck this doll bitch...

Y/n stopped at the grate at the end of the tunnel, on the other side Y/n could hear voices from the other side.

Slowly he managed to get the grate off without making too much noise, standing up he found himself in a clinic or at least a patient recovery ward.

In the bed beside him a lady mannequin lays there with a bandage over her eyes with drawn on tears on her face.

Beyond the privacy curtain Y/n saw a male shadow and female shadow having a hushed discussion. Y/n lurked to the curtains edge accidentally bumping into the hospital bed knocking a clipboard off the front with a loud clatter.

The two shadows turn to curtain and rush at it, Y/n reacted by grabbing the mannequin and through it through the curtain hitting the two subjects.

Y/n grabbed one and balled up a fist ready to crush a skull when he saw Leon's face staring back holding a surgical knife ready to stab Y/n arm.

Y/n?

Leon?

Someone smashed a mannequin leg over Y/n head to no effect.

Get off him you giant bastard!

Y/n blocks Helena swing just for her to kick him in the face pushing him off Leon.

Helena wait! That's Y/n...

The kid you were talking about?

I was a soldier not a kid thank you...

Y/n stood up looking down at Helena, who checked him out.

So you a goth or....?

Helena...

It was the only thing that fit me.

Fair enough.

It was at this time Y/n noticed a collar around her neck as well as Leon's neck.

What's with the neck gear?

Donna strapped with 'explosive' collars...

We haven't seen them explode but im not wanting to gamble that chance so we've been in here looking for a mannequin arm and a key to the door...

She pointed behind her to a office door with a key hole.

Our only clue was something about internal conflict...

Not a lot to go on but fine by me...

The three of them look around but can't really find anything, they looked under multiple hospital beds. During the time they searched Y/n could have sworn he saw someone move behind the fogged glass of the office door.

Hey check this out!

Leon was standing over the mannequin Y/n threw earlier and the gown it had on had ripped revealed a separate plate in its stomach that with some effort was removable. Leon takes the surgical knife and removes the plate with a click and the three were introduced to a red light.

Y/n and Leon knew what it was but Helena lagged, only to be grabbed by Y/n shielding her from the land mine hidden in the mannequin.

This is a seriously fucked up game!

Leon was busy gathering himself up while Helena groaned seeing Y/n kneeling over her pulling a piece of mine shrapnel out of his face.

Helena looked over him with caution as he seemed unfazed by it, Y/n noticed and looked at Leon.

You did inform your partner here of my 'medical' Condition Mr. Kennedy?

Oh shit right... Y/n here is the single successful case of the B-strain Wesker was working on before his death... Y/n that's Helena from the USSS here to assist me in finding Ada Wong and what her connection is to all of this...

Y/n rolled his eyes and stood up, helping Helena up before she could protest.

Your communication skills suck absolute dick...

Y/n muttered as he approached another mannequin in a hospital bed.

So a bioweapon?

Technically yes.

Wesker's friend? Henchmen? Test subject?

If your inquiring as to how I obtained my viral status, by accident... Long story short: Mission was to terminate an Umbrella shipment, fight broke out, got cut and the virus got in my blood...

So you just happened to get fucked like that?

Y/n locked eyes with Helena, the doubt in her voice was apparent seeing the suspicion in her face.

Alright enough chatter we got to find a way out before-

Suddenly Leon and Helena's collars lit up and Angie's voiced echoed through the room with no certain point of origin.

Booorrringg~ let's keep the games going! Now Mr. And Mrs. Special forces only have 5 minutes left before KERPLOW! hahahaha

Leon and Helena looked at each other and moved quickly to inspect other mannequins.

Y/n ripped the gown open on one and was about to remove the stomach plate until he heard a heart monitor.

The beeping went on for a moment, looking up he could see the shadows around a hospital bed. A doctor beside a patient reaching up with a shaky hand, the doctor lowered their head and walked away revealing a little shadow, a childs silhouette, behind it who approached the elderly shadow.

The elderly shadow seemed to caress the childs shadow with love and comfort, it was a sweet scene until the heart monitor started to beep frantically and the elderly shadow hand trembles then falls as the monitor flatline. Doctors are seen rushing in preparing a defibrillator but Leon pushes the curtain aside just before contact.

Y/n?!

...What?

Did you find anything?

Y/n shook off his shivers and opened the stomach plate revealing an arm curled up within it clutching a puppet heart.

Y/n reached into the void and as he pulled the arm a set of metal fangs clasped shut on his wrist making him flinch and grit his teeth.

Y/n had gotten good at tolerating pain since the virus had taken effect giving him healing properties but things still hurt like the fucking devil.

I FUCKING hate this place...

He pulled his arm free and tossed the arm to Leon, the shoulder where the arm joint connected to the original torso had a key like tool attached to it. Leon used it to unlock the door just as he and Helena went through their collars went from red to green stopping the timer.

As Y/n stepped into the room the door shut behind them, Leon had the arm still as Y/n held the glass eyes in his pocket.

They were missing the head still but the office gave them their next clue spelt out on a chalkboard with a picture of Helena face at the white house, Leon holding a coffee as he talks to someone, and Y/n at work working on a car engine but the fourth photo was of a house only Y/n knew... His grandmother's cabin specifically.

Helena read the next clue out loud.

Only upon the haunted recollection will you find the head hung in the forgotten dwelling, But only once the investigator is ready for inspection~

That makes no fucking sense...

Maybe he knows?

Leon points over to a mannequin in a chair behind a desk, his arm propped up with a hole beside his lips for something.

It looks familiar...

It's a sherlock holmes puppet.

How do you know?

Stereotypical Holmes outfit... Plus every book on the shelf behind me is Sherlock holmes...

Okay so what? He's a complete mannequin... Unless she means he needs like what... Accessories or files or something?

Let's look around... Maybe something here will tell us more...

The three start looking around the old british themed detectives office, Helena opens some drawers to find them empty except one with a photo.

Y/n inspected the desk and found nothing of importance, just blank pages and various writing tools.

Leon pulled on a book and gave it a peculiar look before they all heard a click. They all froze in place listening to gears turn and lock in place... Then a loud thud of metal as the floor under Leon opened up swallowing him then shutting.

Leon?!

Helena and Y/n ran over to the hatch and tried to reopen it but as Y/n tried Angie's voice echoed in for a moment.

No no no no~ hahaha

Helena collar turned red as a warning, as he pulled his hands away the collar went green again.

I see how it is...

Well if we have to play her game then maybe this will speed it up?

She hands Y/n the photo she found of Donna, Angie, and the inspector mannequin as if meeting like friends but the mannequin has a pipe, a monocle, and a magnifying glass unlike it does in the room currently.

Helena stands up and begins searching the room but Y/n's eyes pause looking at a book on the ground.

The same book Leon pulled off the shelf before disappearing below, a red hard cover titled "Maria Callahan"

End of Ch.23

Quick Note: Sorry about slower chapters I've kinda hit a dull in my story writing were I have the ideas sto continue but struggling to build the connectors and story structure so it's taking a little extra editing time, literally I rewrote this chapter three times... Plus ive got a surprise im working on for later lol