In Resident Evil Requiem, aside from the return of iconic characters like Leon S. Kennedy, another character from the past makes her comeback into the main series. She is Alyssa Ashcroft, one of the protagonists from Resident Evil Outbreak and a survivor of the Raccoon City Incident.
Although she may not be as recognizable as Leon, Alyssa is one of the characters who played a crucial role in the background events of Raccoon City. Today, we will take you to know more about her and her journey.
Who is Alyssa Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem (RE9)?
Alyssa Ashcroft is an American journalist, born in 1970, living in Raccoon City. She worked for The Raccoon Press as an investigative journalist. She was known among her colleagues as a fiery journalist who never gave up, with a goal to uncover the truths hidden behind the city’s peaceful facade.
Her childhood remains a mystery as no one knows for sure about her family background. However, her determination in seeking the truth suggests she grew up amid some kind of injustice, which may be the driving force that shaped her into the Alyssa we know today.
In May 1993, Alyssa began working for The Raccoon Press and became close friends with Kurt, a senior journalist investigating some experiments at a private hospital in the Arklay Mountains. Kurt knew Alyssa was not just a rookie journalist, so he invited her to help dig into this story. It was not just ordinary corruption but a virus experimentation project supported by the Umbrella Corporation.
The director of the private hospital was named Albert Lester, a man forced to choose between ethics and his loved one’s life. He was offered by the Umbrella Corporation to conduct experiments on a prototype drug, which was the T-Virus variant T-JCCC203. They claimed it was a new hope for terminal cancer patients, and Dorothy Lester, his wife, was dying from cancer. Albert accepted the offer and tested the virus on his wife. However, the result was not a cure but a terrifying mutation. Dorothy turned into a bloodthirsty creature, no longer human.
Alyssa’s friend Kurt initially investigated this and, realizing the situation was too big for him alone, invited Alyssa to uncover the truth hidden in this hospital. Unfortunately, this investigation ended in a tragedy unforeseen, as Kurt was brutally killed by the zombified Dorothy Lester.
Alyssa, who was also present during the event, fled for her life. She almost managed to expose all of Umbrella’s secrets, but her memories of the event were erased. Alyssa was subjected to a memory wipe by Greg Mueller, the head of Umbrella’s research team. He used a chemical to erase the reality she knew, making it as if nothing had happened, erasing her memories of the hospital incident.
After her memory was wiped by Greg Mueller, Alyssa gradually recovered, and over time, her journalism career began to flourish again.
She became one of the most notable investigative journalists in Raccoon City, with many impactful works, such as exposing Umbrella’s illegal chemical dumping into the Aimes River or investigating a notorious gun store heist linked to numerous underground groups in the city.
However, the case that forever changed her career trajectory was exposing Elliot Martin, the director of the zoo, for smuggling over 700 rare orchids hidden within Raccoon Zoo. Alyssa suspected that these plants might be linked to some experiments conducted by Umbrella.
This story became a hot topic among journalists, with even Ben Bertolucci from Resident Evil 2 stepping in to uncover the truth. Ultimately, he missed the opportunity, allowing Alyssa to become one of the most watched reporters in Raccoon City.
Events in Resident Evil Outbreak
Following is her story in Resident Evil Outbreak File 2, where Alyssa’s scenario is titled Flashback, a storyline players can choose to experience.
After the tragedy at the hospital in the mountains, where Alyssa nearly did not survive in her investigation five years earlier, local police investigated the horror it spawned. Under Umbrella’s influence, the tragedy was covered up, with the blame placed on Albert Lester, the hospital director who conducted inhumane experiments on patients, including on his wife, Dorothy.
Albert escaped capture and disappeared into the northern forest. The hospital was ordered shut, but Dorothy’s body was left in the derelict building. Not long after, she mutated into a giant plant creature hungry for any life nearby. Albert believed this creature was his wife and turned into a hooded murderer wielding an axe, targetting wanderers and tourists in the mountains to feed his mutated wife.
The Flashback begins when Alyssa, remembering parts of the hospital, flees the T-Virus outbreak to a cabin in the woods owned by Albert Lester, the kind man offering refuge and claiming to know a secret path to lead survivors safely out of town.
But when Alyssa and the survivors reach the suspension bridge in the mountains, Albert mysteriously disappears. Whenever they crossed the bridge, it collapses, cutting off all return routes to the town. The only path forward drives Alyssa and the survivors to a massive abandoned hospital in the woods.
There, Alyssa faces her fading memories, starting to recall the past upon revisiting the location. Amidst survival, she is pursued by a hooded man wielding an axe, killing indiscriminately. She and the survivors struggle against zombies, mutated insects, and carnivorous plants blocking the way. Alyssa must solve puzzles and concoct a special chemical to deal with the mutating plant once and for all.
Once the fight concludes, Dorothy Lester’s lifeless body is expelled from the giant plant, and the hooded killer hunting Alyssa is revealed to be Albert Lester. He deceived all survivors to the hospital only to murder them and provide food for his wife. In his final moment, Albert embraced Dorothy’s lifeless body tightly, choosing to die beside the one he loved, the sole thing he clung to in his heart.
Alyssa Ashcroft, having survived the hospital, managed to escape Raccoon City before the town was erased from the map forever.
Where did she go after the Outbreak?
After the nightmare in Raccoon City, Alyssa Ashcroft penned an exposé on Umbrella Corporation in a renowned investigative magazine. Titled “What is a B.O.W.: Blowing the Lid Off this Horrifying Secret Project,” this was not just any article but a vital catalyst that sparked the Raccoon Trials. These trials dragged on for five years and eventually led to the downfall of Umbrella Corporation.
In 2016, Alyssa Ashcroft re-appeared as a local journalist for The Dulvey Daily, a small-town newspaper in rural Louisiana. Her articles discussed the mysterious disappearances over two years in the area, events tied to Resident Evil 7. It’s possible Alyssa was on the trail of some hidden truth behind these disappearances.
Outro
There has been no official confirmation on the extent of Alyssa Ashcroft’s role in Resident Evil Requiem. However, what’s known is that she is the mother of Grace Ashcroft, one of the protagonists in this installment. From the trailers and released information, we know that Alyssa was murdered at the Wrenwood Hotel in 2018.
But the key question is, why was she hunted down? What secrets did she uncover? And how does her death connect to the main events of this installment? The answers to these questions await your discovery in Resident Evil Requiem.
