Hello and welcome to this new story! I don't know how well received it will be, considering that this is the first time I've contributed to this fandom archive. Anyways, I have no idea how many chapters this will turn out to be, but I will keep the readers updated.

I'd like to point out that the events of this story was inspired by the Moulin Rouge version of "Roxanne", though in that movie it was called "El Tango De Roxanne". If any of you have seen this glorious musical, you'll see the homage paid as the story goes forward.

This takes place after the events of RE6. I do not own Capcom or anything affiliated with them. Enjoy!

Roxanne- Chapter One: Prologue

September 24th, 2013

"Helena, are you sure you really want to go through with this? It'll take you a while to get back in, if they even let you back in. I just don't want you suddenly changing your mind—"

"There's no changing my mind about this, Leon. It's done," the now former agent spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. She had her phone propped up on her shoulder, doing her best to pay attention to the road while having this kind of conversation. Helena had just left from paying Hunnigan a visit. After filing a bunch of paperwork, Helena was no longer a part of the Secret Service.

She just couldn't take the guilt any longer. How on earth was she supposed to protect the world when she was the one who helped destroy it months ago? Helena kept telling herself that she wasn't the one to blame. That she was only trying to keep her safe. But when it turned out that Deborah died despite her attempts? She couldn't bear the thought of trying to help any longer. There was no telling what she would fuck up next.

Leon had called her the very minute he heard from Hunnigan that Helena was resigning. He thought that it couldn't be true. She knew better than to just give up. She was a fighter; that much he knew about her in the short period of time that they were together as partners. Helena could hear a soft groan coming from the other side of the phone, followed by a brief pause.

"Look, I obviously can't change your mind but will you at least tell me why?" He finally spoke up.

"I don't want any more blood on my hands," she replied in a deadpan.

"Helena, how many times do I have to tell you that none of this was your fault? It was all Simmons. It has nothing to do with you!"

"—I have to go," the brunette replied, knowing all too well that she really didn't want to go, but it was for the best.

"Helena!"

She frowned, saying her goodbyes before ending the call, "Take care of yourself. I'll keep in touch."

Only she never did keep in touch.

Helena threw her phone down at the passenger seat, tightly gripping the steering wheel as hard as she could. There was no need for her to stay here. Too many memories here at Tall Oaks to even consider staying here. She would pack her bags and leave. Where she headed to next… well, she wasn't entirely sure about that. What Helena wanted to do was leave the country, change her name and don an entirely new appearance and persona. Because if she faked it long enough, maybe it would stick and she could finally be at peace.

This wasn't exactly her strongest moment, but could you blame her?

It wasn't long before she arrived home; another place she couldn't wait to erase. Her house held too many memories; it was the Harper family home, inherited by the two sisters when their parents died in a fatal car crash years ago. The two sisters had been living here ever since. A part of her wanted to keep this house. The part that still wanted to hold onto the memories. But she knew that it wouldn't help her grieving process along any. That was why when she decided to quit her job, she put her place up for rent. Helena couldn't bring herself to go forward with selling the house. It would all but kill her to know that the place could never be hers again. Selfish? Yes. But Helena would never tell you she came without faults.

She parked her car in the driveway, turning off the engine. It took her a little bit longer to do certain tasks nowadays, like reach over to grab something. She was always in fear that something was going to grab her before she could grab whatever it was she was looking for. It wasn't healthy and she knew it. Helena took a deep breath, glancing over her shoulder at the backseat before reaching for her phone and purse in the passenger seat. Once she had her purse in hand, she dropped her phone inside and opened the car door. She did her best to get out, though her legs felt like Jello from the long drive. Once her feet hit the pavement, the brunette glanced up at the house with an expressionless face. She hated coming home now. No parents or sister to greet her. It was just Helena and her cat now. She made the trek up her driveway, digging in her purse for her keys.

This house was too big to be alone in, she considered as she reached the front door and inserted her keys in the lock. Though it only contained two bedrooms, (Helena and Deborah shared a bedroom during their childhood years, due to their parents' rather low income to support a four-person household), this place seemed a lot bigger when it was just one person living there. Helena made her way through the empty house, stopping just at the living room entrance, where it intersected into the hallway. Down the hall she could see a figure. A very familiar figure.

She knew better than to talk to her hallucinations. They would go away, as long as she didn't feed them anything. The brunette took baby steps closer towards her sister's hallucination, clenching her eyes shut. She had to get to the end of the hallway to reach her bedroom. Luckily, this wasn't the first time she had to deal with this. She memorized her steps, careful to not bump into the bookshelf between her room and the laundry room.

Tears slid down her cheeks, knowing what she would see if she made the mistake of opening her eyes again. She started muttering the Catholic prayer under her breath, just as she always did. Mrs. Harper taught her daughters this from a very early age; if they were scared, just say the prayer and whatever is bothering you will leave. This house had always been active with the paranormal. Sometimes, Helena wasn't sure if she was imagining Deborah there or not.

She opened her eyes only when she got to the threshold of her room. Her bedroom used to belong to her parents. But she and her sister had come to an agreement, and they weren't going to share a room in their adult years. The brunette chuckled to herself, remembering their argument of who was going to get the room.

"I'm the older sister, I should get first dibs," Helena teased as she and Deborah started moving the last of their boxes into the living room.

"Oh! How convenient is that? First, you get all the new clothes and I get all the hand-me-downs, and now you're getting the master bedroom?" the younger of the two scoffed, setting her box down on the floor.

"Don't get your panties in a wad. Besides, weren't you always trying to kick me out of MY room because you wanted it all to yourself?" she smirked, following suit with her own box before turning back around to head outside to the U-Haul. "Well now you have it!" She called over her shoulder.

Deborah growled in response, "fine! You unpack the rest of this yourself!" She spun around on her heels, sticking her tongue out at her sister just as she was heading out the front door.

Helena shook her head, flopping down on her bed. It had been hell unpacking all of this by herself. But a deal was a deal, after all. Deborah caved in and ended up helping; it wasn't until towards the very end, though. The brunette glanced over at her bedside table, taking a good look at the family photo that stood there. She was going to miss this house, there was no denying it. Her chapter here was over though, at least for now.

Which… reminded her that she needed to call the Real Estate agent. Maybe someone had taken the offer to rent here. The sooner, the better. She sat back up, reaching in her purse for her phone. Her brown eyes widened when she noticed that Leon had tried to call her three different times since she had been home. Leon. Her partner. She wanted to call him more than that, but it was obvious that it just wasn't meant to be. He was too busy chasing Ada to realize what he had standing right in front of him. Her attraction to him started right away. However, it wasn't until their plane ride to China that she realized that it was much more than an attraction. She had feelings for him. It didn't make much sense to her; she usually was very careful about falling for someone. This time… it was different. He was different. That, in and of itself, was another reason why she needed to get away. The longer she spent with Leon, the more attached she became. She was so close to admitting her feelings. So close.

She couldn't allow that, though. Her heart would be crushed into a million pieces. And there was no way that she could handle that, what with everything else going on in her mind. Leon wanted Ada. So she just shoved her feelings down and tried her best to forget all about it.

Helena unlocked her phone and went straight to her contacts. The Real Estate agent regarding her house was mixed into that list. Her fingers stopped, having to pass the L's to get to the R's. No. She can't call him back. Not right now. She quickly passed Leon's name in her phone and called her agent.

It rang a good couple of times before she answered.

"Ah, Helena! Good to hear from you. Listen, I have great news!"

"Is someone interested in the house?" Helena asked, her mood picking up some.

"As a matter of fact, yes. Start packing your bags. By the weekend, there is going to be a lovely couple wanting to view the house. Friends of mine; I put in a good word for you," the agent chirped. She was a happy-go-lucky middle-aged woman with a personality bigger than life itself.

"Great. I'll be staying with a friend until I know for sure that the house will have occupants. Thanks, Susan. I'll call you Friday," and with that, she ended the call.

Sherry Birkin had been Helena Harper's best friend through all of this. In the months since they first met, Sherry had befriended her and now the two are merely inseparable. She sent a text to the blonde in question, letting her know she'd be there Friday with all of her things.

Helena fell back against her pillows again, shutting her eyes for a moment to take everything in. Things seemed to be falling into place. But as Helena was trying to outrun her past, she forgot one important thing… your past always comes back to haunt you, one way or another.

Okay, folks. That's a wrap! Next chapter we'll be doing a time jump, so hold on tight! Leave me a review and let me know what you thought of this Prologue!