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Localization
This structure or entity is known in the Original Script as Raccoon City Destruction Incident. However, it appears under the name, "Raccoon City incident and Raccoon City Tragedy" in English localizations.
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The Raccoon City Destruction Incident, was a catastrophic viral outbreak that occurred between May and October 1998, resulting in the city's destruction in a missile strike. There was no single event that resulted in the city-wide t-Virus outbreak; it was in fact the result of a number of smaller outbreaks that combined together in their common locale.
History
The beginning of the end
Although the city outbreak became known in September, the May of that same year sealed Raccoon's fate.
On May 11, Dr. James Marcus, who had been resurrected by the Progenitor virus via a leech colony that Marcus had experimented on, enacted his vengeance on Umbrella for his assassination ten years prior. His vengeance was enacted by the spreading the experimental t-Virus around the Arklay Laboratory. While the laboratory staff protected themselves in HazMat suits, it became evident soon after that, it was already too late.[2]
The infirmary began treating staff members with swollen skin around the 13th, though they were only able to put bandages on the wounds of the animal keeper, whose skin began to display decomposition over the next few days.[2]
It was on May 14 that the Cerberus pack broke out of their cages, escaping into the mountains. Meanwhile, the laboratory executives became aware of the viral outbreak and promptly sealed-off the facility - a man trying to escape was consequently shot.[2]
On May 21 the animal keeper's sanity degraded so much that he murdered and then consumed his friend, Scott.[2] Martin Crackhorn committed suicide on June 3 in the hopes that he would escape the fate of his now-undead colleagues.[3]
An inevitability
Dr. Birkin's Underground Laboratory's waste, contaminated with the t-Virus, began to flood the newly-comissioned Incineration Disposal Plant P-12A, overloading on June 7, with the facility's staff becoming zombies the next month.[4] Before August 17, reports became apparent that monsters were in the city.[5] Umbrella began preparing for the inevitable, and its U.B.C.S. mercenaries were called into action on September 15.[6]
In the days before the Raccoon City Destruction Incident officially began, the Raccoon General Hospital was already being filled with cases of a "cannibal disease".[7]
S.T.A.R.S. investigation
Afterwards, from June to July, more reports of unusual deaths and mysterious wildlife sighted at the Arklay mountains were cited. Because of these reports, the roads to the Arklay Mountains were closed off by the police on July 9 and the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team, led by Enrico Marini, were dispatched to investigate.
Unbeknownst to either Umbrella or S.T.A.R.S., the viral outbreak in the Arklay region was deliberately engineered by James Marcus. Umbrella later sent a fax to their agent and head of security, S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team Captain Albert Wesker, into luring the S.T.A.R.S. Team into being killed by the now-rogue B.O.W's. On July 23, the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team's helicopter was forced to crash land due to an engine failure.
Around the same time, the Ecliptic Express train also become infected with the t-Virus via Marcus' leeches, screeching to a halt, to which Rebecca Chambers, a member of Bravo Team, discovers. Likewise, Bravo Team's primary pilot, Kevin Dooley, was killed by the escaped Ceberus pack, whereas the co-pilot, Edward Dewey, managed to survive the attack, but soon succumbed to his wounds upon entering the Eclipse Express, though not before warning Rebecca that there were zombies and monsters in the forest.
Wesker, alongside researcher William Birkin, observed the events, and also gave commands to the Umbrella investigative squad on the train until they met their own ends at the hands of Marcus' leeches and were promptly infected.
Bravo Team eventually managed to arrive at the Spencer Mansion, while Chambers arriving at the Umbrella Research Center with an escaped convict, Billy Coen. Wesker and Birkin were also surprised by Marcus' apparent revival, with Wesker departing to take care of the escaped prototype tyrant, leaving Birkin to activate a Gondola.
The next day, these events also forced them to activate the training facility's self-destruct protocol, to which Wesker also decided to leave Umbrella. Wesker also had to contend with an Ivan dispatched by Sergei for his disobedience, although the self-destruct devices activating allowed Wesker an opportunity to escape when Sergei and the Ivan were forced to block the explosions, also retrieving the T-A.L.Os B.O.W., an event which Rebecca and Richards briefly witnessed before being attacked by the Yawn B.O.W.
Likewise, Wesker himself led Alpha Team to search for the missing members of Bravo Team, and were then forced to hide out at the Arklay Mansion after the discovery of the Bravo Team's crashed helicopter ended in an ambush by Zombie Dogs that resulted in the death of Joseph Frost. Wesker then had Barry Burton lure the rest of his team into various traps, under the threat that Wesker kill his family if he doesn't do so.
Alpha Team members Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine later discover Enrico Marini in the caverns of the mansion, and reveals that he found some evidence of a traitor within the unit, citing that he managed to draw it down to two suspects, Wesker and Redfield. However, he is then gunned down by an unknown assailant (actually Wesker) and killed, although not before he hints that Umbrella was responsible for the disaster in his dying breaths.
Wesker then planned to steal the Tyrant for himself, also injecting himself with a prototype virus, having anticipated the possibility that the Tyrant would murder him when he released it. They later find the laboratory and find Wesker among the photos, causing them to learn that Wesker was in fact the traitor to the unit. Wesker then attempts to sic the Tyrant on them, but as he had anticipated, the Tyrant turned against him and impaled him before going after them.
Jill and Chris later wound the Tyrant and seemingly killed it, although it was revived shortly thereafter. Likewise, the prototype virus also allowed Wesker to survive the Tyrant's earlier attack, also embuing him with superhuman abilities at the cost of his humanity.
Jill, Chris, and Rebecca all escape after killing the Tyrant once and for all, as well as set the self-destruct device, with Barry Burton also aiding in the escape effort. Wesker, meanwhile, also escaped, and had ran a mile away from the mansion before the self-destruct device went off, also killing Lisa for good in the process. Afterwards, S.T.A.R.S. was disbanded after they supplied their report on the events on the Arklay incident, mostly due to Brian Irons' being paid off by Umbrella to cover up the incident.
Cause and effect
The sewer rats consuming the t-Virus samples.
By September 1998, Umbrella scientist William Birkin successfully completed his work on the G-virus. Intending on selling his creation to the U.S. military, Umbrella turned against him and sent a U.S.S. unit to recover the G-virus. They discovered Birkin in his lab preparing to escape, and during the subsequent scuffle, an overeager operative shot Birkin. As Birkin lay dying, the operatives took the virus samples and fled the lab through the vast, secret sewer system beneath Raccoon City, specifically the R.P.D.. Before his death, Birkin successfully injected one of the G-virus samples into his body and transformed.
Birkin then went on a rampage and chased the U.S.S. soldiers out of the lab and into the sewers, killing them there and destroying the vials containing the "G" and t-Viruses. The released virus spilled into the sewers and led the sewer rats to ingest it by both consuming it and feeding on the bodies of the U.S.S. The rats then began spreading it to the surface, while the rest leaked into the city's water supply, infecting the inhabitants of the now-doomed Raccoon City.
A hopeless cause
Zombies infest the streets
By September 24, the outbreak had reached epidemic levels in the city. Several people at J's Bar manage to escape the streets, which by then were inundated by zombies. Will, the bartender and Bob, friend of fellow survivor Mark Wilkins died in the attempted escape. The survivors destroyed a fuel truck and escaped to a small canal, where they met officers at the Apple Inn on the other side. The survivors used a bomb to destroy the zombies on Main Street, where the police in charge were killed or wounded. Elsewhere a helicopter carrying some 40 refugees crashed near the tram line, killing everyone. At 9PM, the Pentagon had the city quarantined and sent in the US Army to restrict civilian movement.[8] The roads were being barricaded by the following morning.
By September 27, Raccoon City was completely infected, and all semblance of normal life had been destroyed as crashed and abandoned vehicles and dead bodies littered the streets and several buildings burned out of control due to the collapse of the Raccoon Fire Department.
Hordes of zombies filled the streets and overran the last remnants of Raccoon City Police Department in a major battle on the city streets on the night of September 27, and soon after overran the police station itself, removing what was most likely the last safe zone in the city.
Umbrella dispatched their Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (U.B.C.S.) to assist the police. In reality, the U.B.C.S. were actually just pawns used by Umbrella while their inside man; Nicholai Zinoviev acted as their leader and secretly collected data. The U.B.C.S. fared little better than the R.P.D. in containing the zombies, with almost all those dispatched to the city killed by September 28.
"Last Escape"
On the night of September 27, Jill Valentine, recently resigned from S.T.A.R.S. returned to the city after investigating Umbrella with Chris Redfield and Barry Burton. The three of them made an agreement; Jill would continue her investigation within Raccoon while Chris and Barry would go to Europe to investigate Umbrella's main HQ, with Jill rendezvousing with them later.
When the outbreak hit, Jill stayed in her apartment while the zombies overran the city and the U.B.C.S. and police tried to keep them at bay. She decides to make a run for it and as a former S.T.A.R.S. member, felt obligated to help any survivors. Meanwhile, Umbrella had already taken steps to kill the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members, and deployed the Nemesis-T Type into the city amidst the chaos. The Nemesis kills Brad Vickers, but Jill manages to avoid the creature.
Jill later meets a U.B.C.S. member named Carlos Oliveira. Despite the fact he works for Umbrella and Jill despises Umbrella, Carlos takes her to his leader Nicholai Zinoviev, who doesn't seem to trust her at first. They make a plan to rendezvous at the Saint Michael Clock Tower, where an escape helicopter will pick them up by using a city tram. However, the tram wasn't working, so they plan to find tools to work the tram. While searching for tools, Jill had believed that Nicholai was killed so only Jill, Carlos, and a injured Mikhail Victor got the tram working and escape. However, the Nemesis attacked the tram and Mikhail sacrificed himself to save Jill and Carlos by using a grenade at the Nemesis. This caused the tram to haywire and crash into the Clock Tower courtyard. Jill managed to make a signal at the clock tower and the rescue helicopter came, only to be shot down by the Nemesis. The Nemesis infects Jill with the t-Virus and Jill is forced to kill it. Jill became unconscious and fell into a deep sleep, just as Carlos showed up where the two were fighting.
Newcomers
On the night of September 29, after Jill's infection, Claire Redfield and Leon S. Kennedy arrived in Raccoon City not knowing of the outbreak due to the lack of protection from the guards. The two met after Leon saved Claire from nearly being killed. The two headed to the police department, but were separated after a truck driver (who turned into a zombie after being bitten by a zombie moments earlier) crashed into their vehicle. Claire met gun store owner Robert Kendo, who was killed by zombies moments later, then she arrived at the police station and found injured R.P.D. officer Marvin Branagh. After searching the S.T.A.R.S. office, Claire saw a little girl who was being attacked by a zombie. Leon arrived and found the same little girl who ran away from him. Claire and Leon met up and decided to split up to find her. Under command from Sergei Vladmir, a helicopter airdrops its "t" pods, with T-00 hitting the R.P.D. and the others hitting the Dead Factory to attack a US Military team. Leon encounters the T-00, who seems to be following and attacking Leon wherever he goes. Leon enters the underground parking lot and meets a mysterious woman named Ada Wong. She is searching for a reporter named Ben Bertolucci who knows about the Umbrella Corporation.
Still in the Police Station, Claire meets Chief Brian Irons, who was supposed to watch over the mayor's daughter, but failed as she was was killed. Claire finds the little girl, who's name is Sherry Birkin. Both of Sherry's parents work for Umbrella and her mother tells her to go to the police station. Claire then was able to find a secret passage in Chief Iron's office. She finds the chief, who was attacked by an unknown monster, who implanted embryos in his body. She learned of Iron's involvement with Umbrella, and the fact that he refused to tell the truth about the Mansion Incident. She also learned about the G-virus and William Birkin, Sherry's father and creator of the G-virus. Irons then died after the embryos in his body hatched. Leon and Ada found Ben and learned about Iron's involvement. Ben was then attacked and killed by the same monster that killed Irons. Ada leaves to find Umbrella's lab to try to find her boyfriend.
While in the sewers, Claire and Sherry got separated and Sherry was then infected by the monster, who is revealed to be William Birkin, who transformed into the monster G after injecting himself with the G-virus. Claire met Sherry's mother Annette Birkin who told Claire about the G-virus. Leon pursues Annette and is shot in the chest. Ada confronted Annette and later came back to patch up Leon. Claire found Sherry, only to find out she was infected. The two continued on into Umbrella's Underground Lab. Leon and Ada made their way to the underground lab, only for Ada to be attacked by G. The tram leading into the Underground lab stopped midway and Leon went out to find out where they were, leaving Ada behind. Leon was able to make it into the lab leaving Ada behind. He learned from Annette later that Ada was a spy, but he refused to believe her. Leon was then attacked by the T-00 only to be saved by Ada. Ada seriously injured and stunned the T-00, but she was also "fatally" injured by the T-00. The T-00 fell into the blast furnace and Ada "died" in Leon's arms. Claire met Annette again in the underground lab. Shortly thereafter, Annette found and tried to reason with William, but she was fatally wounded. Annette gave Claire the information to create the DEVIL vaccine to save Sherry. Claire was able to see Leon on the surveillance cameras. She told him to get Sherry from the security office while she was going to create the vaccine.
Leon found Sherry and headed to the escape train in the underground level. As Leon was preparing the train he was attacked by the now mutated T-00. A mysterious woman, believed to be Ada, gave Leon a Rocket Launcher, which Leon used to defeat the monster once and for all. Claire finally makes the vaccine and heads toward the train. She was attacked by William again, but was able to defeat him. Claire reunited with Leon and Sherry as the train made it's way out of the lab. Claire injected Sherry with the vaccine and successfully cured her. However, William makes it on board the train and the train, detecting a viral outbreak, engaged the self-destruct system. Leon found the now severely mutated William in the back taking up half of the boxcar. Claire and Sherry tried to find a way to stop the train since the doors were locked. Sherry was able to reach the control panel and stop the train. The three made their way to the end of the tunnel before the train exploded. Leon, Claire, and Sherry finally escaped on the morning of September 30. Claire left the group to find her brother, Chris Redfield, while Leon and Sherry were picked up by the US Military.
Sometime that night, HUNK, who had survived in the sewers for nearly eight days made his escape out of the sewers and headed to the helipad to be picked up by a rescue copter. HUNK successfully escaped Raccoon City with the G-virus in hand.
Raccoon destruction
The city was totally destroyed.
On October 1, Carlos successfully cured Jill with a vaccine he found at the Raccoon General Hospital. The two left the church soon after to Raccoon Park and Incineration Disposal Plant P-12A, where Jill was informed that the US Army was preparing to launch a missile into the city. The two searched for a way to get out of the city before its destruction. Jill finally confronted Nicholai, who has stolen a helicopter to make his escape. Jill then confronts and kills the Nemesis once and for all. Jill had believed that there was no escape for them, until Carlos learns that someone is trying to save Jill and that a helicopter is on it's way to pick her up. The helicopter finds both Jill and Carlos. The pilot was revealed to be no other than Barry Burton.
After surviving the attack by T-00, Ada escapes the sewers and heads toward the Apple Inn to meet up with her contact. She finds out that he had committed suicide and Ada was then contacted by Wesker who seems disappointed in Ada for letting Leon escape the city. However, he changes his mind about Ada after seeing that she retrieved the G-virus. Wesker then gives Ada a hookshot gun and tells her that a helicopter is leaving Raccoon City and that the city is going to be destroyed. Ada leaves the hotel and makes her escape. Ada finds the helicopter, only to be confronted by Tyrant-T0400TP. She destroys the Tyrant and manages to get on the helicopter with the hook gun she receives from Wesker. The helicopter had Sergei Vladimir and an Unknown Umbrella Officer.
The missile then arrives and destroys Raccoon City completely.
Resident Evil Operation Raccoon City History
In the Non-Canon game, Operation Raccoon City, the events are a little different. Mainly the fact that the map of the town is different, some events are changed or removed, and Claire and Leon are executed by U.S.S. WOLFPACK and Sherry is taken with them. - Umbrella Security Service (USS) Delta team enters the Raccoon City Underground Laboratory, where they meet up with Alpha team leader HUNK. Their mission is to assist Alpha team in stopping Dr. Birkin from handing over his T-Virus research to the U.S. military and retrieve the G-virus. On their way to Birkin's lab, they find Birkin has paid numerous Umbrella Biohazard Countermeasure Service (UBCS) mercenaries to work for him while the deal goes forward. When they reach Birkin's lab, the doctor is shot, and HUNK and another Alpha leave with the samples. They soon find that Birkin survived the attack and infected himself with the virus. The Birkin creature proceeds to kill off most of Alpha team before disappearing; HUNK offers to go back in search of the sample. Not long after the battle, it becomes evident that the T-virus has leaked city-wide, and people are beginning to transform into flesh-hungry zombies. In what they see as a punishment by USS command, Delta team is ordered to remove evidence of Umbrella's role in the outbreak. Heading into Raccoon City Hall, Delta team meets with a UBCS mercenary and they monitor Nicholai Zinoviev; he is soon revealed as a traitor and attempts to kill Delta team. Later, the team is sent out around Raccoon Park to find the Nemesis-T Type, which has gone rogue. A second parasite is injected into its body in order to bring it back under control. Shortly after this mission is completed, the team is then sent out to the Raccoon City Police Department, ordered to kill any surviving police officers and destroy evidence linking the company to the outbreak. When this is done, the team exits the station, and soon after encounter Leon S. Kennedy, whom they begin to hunt down along with Sherry Birkin. After they find and corner Leon, Claire Redfield and Sherry, the game can end in two ways: in one ending, the team resigns from Umbrella over their abandonment during the mission and betrays them by letting the three live; in the other, Leon and Claire are executed and Sherry is sent to an Umbrella facility.
Other appearances
The Raccoon City Destruction Incident was referenced in two other mediums:
In Robot Chicken, Yoshi, after losing Mario and Luigi, tracked down their locations to either Vice City (from Grand Theft Auto Vice City) or Raccoon City. He chose Raccoon City, and wasn't able to find Mario or Luigi there before he was eaten by the Zombies.
In Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, the 1998 Raccoon City Destruction Incident was briefly referenced in one of the endings, where Wesker is put on trial and placed in a straitjacket and was questioned about his involvement in the 1998 Racoon City Disaster by Chris Redfield and Matt Murdock/DareDevil, to which Wesker openly gloated to "causing quite a mess there."
Sources
- ↑ The broadcast just before the credits in Resident Evil 3: Nemesis reports that the death toll is believed to have surpassed the 100,000 mark
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Resident Evil, Keeper's Diary
- ↑ Resident Evil, Researcher's Will
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Manager's Diary
- ↑ Another Side of Biohazard. Capcom. ISBN 4-8465-2307-1.
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Mercenary's Diary
- ↑ Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Director's Diary
- ↑ Resident Evil Outbreak File 2, "No Hope"
