The Beginning of the End

Alfred Ashford cracked the door open to the labs beneath the large Ashford mansion. From this position, he could see his twin sister working away at a lab table that faced him, surrounded by stacks of documents. Alfred felt his heart drop at the sight of her in the middle of all the paper work. He knew she was going over the newest notes on the T-Virus that their father had given her to look over. The twelve year old had come down to the labs in the hope of spending time with Alexia, but seeing her now, in the middle of all that paper, Alfred knew she would not drop all the work just to be with him. Her research was to important to be put aside for him.

Alfred leaned forward, resting his head on the side of the door and watched Alexia, his eyes fixated on her. There was something about her working that made her seem beautiful to him. Perhaps it was the way her beautiful sky blue eyes darted across the pages, soaking in its information. Or maybe it was the way she brushed her golden tresses behind her ear and out of her face. It could even be the way she bit her lip slightly as she processed this new information. Whatever the reason, he was mesmerized by her.

"Can I help you with something, Alfred?" Alexia asked after a few moments, catching him watching her.

Alfred blushed slightly and walked stepped into the room. He smiled at her, loving the sound of her musical voice. "No, Alexia."

"Then what is it?" She stopped writing and looked up at him, her blue eyes meeting his identical ones. A slender eyebrow raised in question.

"I just wanted to spend time with you," Alfred said sheepishly, looking at the floor near her feet. Ever since she was appointed Senior Researcher Alexia spent more and more time in the labs and away from him. She was fascinated with the virus, almost as much as Alfred was with her. It was borderline obsessive with how much time she spent working on it these days.

A warm, but small smile spread across her delicate mouth. "I am working, my dear Alfred. I cannot be distracted right now."

"Of course, Alexia," Alfred said, looking crestfallen. While he was expecting this answer, he couldn't squash the small beacon of optimism in his heart. He needed this hope in this desolate Antarctic Umbrella Base, it kept him going. Without it, he would go insane.

Alexia smiled and waved him off. "I will see you tonight at dinner my dear."

He slowly backed out of the room and quietly closed the door behind him. The facility wasn't a good place for him, Alfred thought, looking around at the empty, and stark halls. He wished to be back in their home on Rockfort Island where they could go outside and play in the sun like they used to before Alexia began working. He hated the viruses that their father had pushed Alexia into working on for Umbrella. They had all but replaced Alfred as a companion for her.

Sighing heavily, he began to wander aimlessly down one of the facility's many deserted hallways. He could find some way to entertain himself.

Right?

Alfred stopped moving, not having realized how far he had wandered in the labs. He looked around and recognized that he was in the basement levels, somewhere that people rarely went. He was about to head back up to the main levels when he noticed a small hallway off to the side.

The hall was very narrow and off in such a way that it looked out of place, almost like it was added as a second thought. At the end of the hallway was a single door, so simple that it almost blended into the surrounding walls. Normally, Alfred would have passed it by but the lock caught his eye.

The lock was strange, not like a usual locking device. It had three indentations in it, all roughly the same size of slightly bigger then a nickel, but not very deep. Alfred ran his fingers along the surface of the locking mechanism in confusion. How did it work? And what kind of key is needed?

Alfred smiled. Alexia would know the answers to these questions because she knew everything! She would help him discover the secret to this door! It could be an adventure that the two of them could share! Excited that he found something that would force Alexia to pay attention to him, he retraced his steps and ran back to Alexia's lab.

"Alexia!" Alfred burst back into the lab, feeling the thrill of his discovery. "Oh, Alexia! I have to tell you of the discovery I just made-"

Alexia held up a gloved hand to stop him. The simple gesture stopped the words at the tip of Alfred's tongue in their tracks. "Alfred," her voice was soft but Alfred could detect the edge in it. "Haven't I already told you that I am working?"

"Yes, Alexia," Alfred hung his head, feeling shame wash over him. He knew she was disappointed in him and he felt horrible. The work on the T-Virus was more important then some silly discovery he made. He knew that and yet he still thought it might be pertinent to tell her. "I'm terribly sorry."

His twin didn't say anything, making the silence agonizing for Alfred. She was irritated. That was obvious. She was punishing him with her silence. He wanted to throw himself at her feet and beg for her forgiveness.

Two black shoes appeared in his field of vision as Alexia stepped close to him. Alfred tried hard not to flinch, believing she meant to strike him. But instead, he felt the soft silk of her glove rub against his cheek and he leaned into the touch.

"Look at me."

Her hand slid down the side of his face and under his chin, pushing his head up to look at her. When Alfred finally got enough courage to look at her, she rewarded him with a small kiss on the cheek. "We can talk later, if you still wish. But for now, I have work to do."

"Yes, Alexia."

For the next couple of days, Alfred contemplated the room. Why was it sealed off? The room was in such a secluded area that few people probably knew about it. And why did it need such a complicated lock? The lock was obviously made specifically for this mansion and this room. Custom made to make sure that only the person with all three pieces could access it. It must house some truly awesome secret...but what?

He wished to talk to Alexia about it but he didn't want to distract her unless he actually had some reason to. He couldn't just bother her about some locked room without having discovered the importance of it. If he did, she might be disappointed in him and Alfred couldn't bare to listen to her speak to him in that tone again.

The small inserts the lock needed in order to be opened didn't help his problem at all. He thought of everything and anything that could fit there. He had tried coins, small rocks, and various other objects he found lying around the labs and the mansion to no avail. Whatever the keys were, they were hidden well.

Alfred idly twirled his family's gemstone ring like a top and watched it spin along the mahogany desk he was sitting at. Spinning the bright blue sapphire ring was a habit of his whenever he was trying to figure out a solution to a particularly complicated problem. He wanted to find a way into that room.

Perhaps he could create a mold of the lock's indentations and find something similar that could fit, he thought to himself, spinning the ring again. That way he could at least have a better idea of what he was looking for. Alfred, seeing no other option, got up to go find something to make a molding in with when he stopped to put on his ring.

His ring! Alfred snatched it up off the table in excitement. The sapphire stone set in it was roughly the same size as the holes on the lock. Of course! Why didn't he think about it before?

Alfred ran down the stairs and through the labs with new determination. If this worked, he would be just one step closer to finding out what was in that room! These thoughts only served to speed up his legs, prompting him to take larger strides. He was almost flying through the deserted building.

He finally skidded to a halt when he finally reached the dark and empty hallway that ended at the door. His heart was racing and he took a couple deep breaths to calm himself, because while he was almost certain he had figured out the way into the room and he was bursting with this triumph.

With shaking hands, he pulled the ring off his finger and put the top of it, the sapphire gemstone into the indentation. Alfred jumped and gave a girly squeal when the ring slipped perfectly into place. That was the key! Now all he needed were the other two stones, the ones held by his father and Alexia.

His victory celebration was cut short by this thought. He'd have no trouble getting Alexia's gemstone but his father's...Alexander had always been very careful about where his broach which contained the Ashford diamond gemstone was kept. He never let Alexia or Alfred see it and made sure to have it with him at all times. The boy frowned. Why was his father so protective of the stone? Did that mean he knew about this room? And if he did, why was he keeping it a secret? What would he need to hide?

"Father?" Alfred knocked on the door to his father's study. He had spent the better part of the day pacing his room in an attempt to come up with an adequate excuse for why he needed the broach that contained Alexander's gemstone. Finally, he came up with a lame story, one that may work just because it would be so unexpected, but he didn't know for sure. He just hoped that Alexander was in a happy mood.

"Come in."

He quickly obliged. His father's office looked more like a library rather then an office. Shelves of books lined the walls, filled to capacity with the number of books each one held. Most of the books were old virology or biology textbooks from university that Alexander had used. Just this last year, he had been giving them to Alfred and Alexia to begin reading so that they could have a head start above the other people in their work.

His father was sitting at his desk, books spilling all over it. Pages upon pages were spread on top of them. He was wearing a fine dark suit, making him look every bit the aristocrat that he was. And there, gleaming in the dim light of the office just beneath his lapel, was the gold and diamond broach that Alfred wanted.

"How can I help you, my son?" Alexander said, leaning forward in his chair.

Alfred looked around the room, trying to look as uncaring as possible. "I would like to borrow your broach, father."

Alexander leaned back in his chair, a suspicious look on his face. "What do you want with my broach, Alfred?" His voice was very stern, too stern for such a simple request.

"Well, see," Alfred tried to look as innocent as possible. He sighed heavily. "I was looking through some of the art books that I have in my room and I was just thinking how wonderful the paintings seem. I wanted to create one of my own using the Ashford family gemstones as the subject."

His father stared at him, an incredulous look on his face. Alfred held his breath, waiting almost impatiently for his response. He willed his father to say yes, begged the universe to please let him agree.

"Why do you want to paint them? There are so many other artifacts in the mansion that would surely serve as better subjects."

"I thought you would say that," Alfred said, huffing and hanging his head a little dramatically. "I just thought it would look significantly more elegant if I used the gemstones. They are our treasures, after all."

"Alright," Alexander sighed heavily. He unfastened his broach and held it out to the boy. "You may borrow it, but I want it back as soon as you are finished."

"Thank you!" Alfred said, a little too excitedly. He took the broach and bounced to the door. "Thank you, father!"

Then, before his father could change his mind, Alfred dashed out of the room, skipping toward Alexia's labs. He clutched the broach to his chest and he descended to the labs, careful not to loose it. Now that he had it, he was never going to let it go until he got to the bottom of this mystery.

For the second time in week, Alfred barged into Alexia's lab too full of excitement to knock. "Alexia! Oh, Alexia!"

"Alfred," Alexia sighed, turning around from the table. She gave him a disapproving look. "Please stop bothering me. I need to do this work-"

"I am terribly sorry," Alfred said, not letting her disappointment deter him from achieving his goal. "But I need to borrow your gemstone."

"My gemstone?" Alexia's fingers brushed against the ruby choker around her neck.

"Please, Alexia," Alfred said, going over to her and kissing her cheek. "I promise not to bother you again if you let me borrow it."

"I see," Alexia giggled. She turned around and lifted her hair up. "Help me."

Alfred quickly untied the satin ribbon of the choker and took it off her. And just like that, he held all three of the gemstones he needed to get into the room. He wanted to jump up and down with delight. "Thank you!"

Faster then he had ever moved in his life, Alfred ran to the room in the basement. As usual the halls were deserted so he wasn't concerned of anyone finding him down there. Not wasting any time, he slipped all three gemstones into their places and heard a small clicking noise as the door's bolt slid back.

After a bit of pushing, the door slid open. Alfred took small steps into the room, dust rising around his feet as he moved. The room was small with a single box window on one side. It cast a beam of light into the room and onto a stack of papers that were placed on a single workstation. He could smell a sense of decaying and looked further in the room for the source of the stench. He quickly found it because resting against the far was was a decorated coffin whose top was slightly ajar.

He went over to the coffin to close it in the hopes that it would get rid of the retched smell but as soon as he got close, he came face to face with the skeletal remains inside. The sight of the decaying remains startled him, causing him to draw in a sharp breath. He coughed as the stale air scratched his throat and he backed away from the coffin. Shivering slightly, he turned his attention to the stack of papers on the workstation.

On top of the stack of papers was a leather bound book with the Ashford crest on the cover. Leaning closer, he could see the name Alexander written in fancy script on the bottom right corner. His father's personal book? He took it into his hands and flipped through it. Most of it was notes on the numerous experiments Alexander had worked on while at Umbrella. Or at least, that what it was until Alfred came across the last several entries.

March 1 1970

Yesterday I had a meeting with Father's friend, Ozwell Spencer. He spoke to me of a project in which Umbrella was looking for children of higher then normal intellect to see if they could become the perfect human beings. I asked to be part of the project but Mr. Spencer informed me that it would be far to complicated for me...I lack the brilliance of my father.

March 14 1970

Mr. Spencer's methods of acquiring exceptionally intelligent children seems too difficult to carry on for multiple trials. I know that Mr. Spencer has no interest about what I have to say about this whole project, but it seems as if their use of kidnapped children for this can't go on forever. I feel it might be beneficial to look into different methods...

April 30 1970

I, Alexander Ashford, have made an excellent discovery today. I have found the gene that regulates human intelligence! If only Father could see me now! I am sure he would be impressed.

May 1 1970

I spoke to Mr. Spencer about my findings but he brushed them off. I would talk to Father's other friend, Dr. Marcus, but everyone knows he's too busy with his virus research to listen to a scientist of my low caliber. Perhaps if I was more like Father they would take me seriously.

May 6 1970

Still thinking about Mr. Spencer's Project W, I have decided to create my own child, isolating this new intelligence gene and making sure it is expressed in the child. I will need to find someone with acceptable genes in order to do this...

June ? 1970

I have spent a lot of my time down in the labs creating my intelligent child. In order to ensure that the child has the intelligence gene, I used my family's ancestor, Veronica's DNA and merged it with my own. Now, the child grows down in the labs. If this works, people will speak of me the way they did of Veronica and Father! I will have saved the Ashford name!

July 24 1970

The embryo has divided into twins, one boy and one girl. I only hope that this female child will be Veronica incarnate!

March 28 1971

Alfred and Alexia were born only a week ago and already Alexia has shown exceptional intelligence. Alfred seems to only be slightly above average, pity...at least I have Alexia to work with...

The rest of the pages detailed the horrible mutations and work that Alexander used for his experimentation. Lab reports and daily logs listed the different types of treatments and injections he had given the embryo while it was still in its early stages.

Alfred's legs felt like jelly, his knees buckled under him and he collapsed to the floor, dropping the book. His eyes fixed on the pages in horror. He and Alexia were...accidents? Byproducts of an experiment created to help his father's reputation? How could he do that to them? To Alexia? How dare he lie to them!

He closed his eyes and put his head into his hands. They were freaks. Abominations. A product of inbreeding. They were already so isolated from the world because of their intelligence and now this? With trembling hands, Alfred put the diary back amongst all the other documents. Now that he had found out the secret, he almost wished he hadn't.

He couldn't sleep. Most of the night had been spent tossing and turning, unable to find an adequate position to sleep in. The words of the documents detailing his creation flashed across his mind over and over again, not allowing his mind to shut off so that he could sleep. How could Alexander not tell them about this? Were he and Alexia really nothing more then a way to cover up his lack of achievements?

After turning one more time in his bed and not finding comfort, Alfred kicked off the covers and stepped onto the cold floor. He had to speak with Alexia. She wouldn't be thrilled about being woken up at this hour but he needed this. It was the only way he'd be able to clear his mind and get any amount of sleep.

Though he was used to the mansion being cold due its location in the arctic, he shivered violently as he tip-toed out of his room and toward Alexia's. As he moved, the wooden boards moaned under his weight and he froze so that he could listen. Nothing but empty silence could be heard. Satisfied that no one had heard him, he continued toward Alexia's room.

He slowly opened her door, making sure that the sound wouldn't alert anyone to his activities. He moved into the room and sighed. The bright moon spilled into the dark room, falling perfectly onto Alexia as she slept in her bed. She looked angelic in the moonlight, her golden hair looking like a halo around her head. The vision of her like this took his breath away.

"Alexia," Alfred said softly, almost not wanting to awaken her from her peaceful sleep.

"Alfred?"

"Alexia," he whispered, shutting the door behind him with a click. He quickly kneeled beside her bed, taking her hand in his own. "I'm sorry to have awaken you."

"My dear, Alfred," Alexia said, groggily, still waking up. She propped herself up on her elbows. "What is the matter?"

"I have discovered something secret," Alfred leaned forward, his eyes bulging. He leaned close so that he could whisper in her ear. "Something terrible."

Alexia tilted her head to the side. "Oh?"

Alfred nodded, still speaking in a whisper. "Something about father. I just have to tell you."

"Lie with me," Alexia scooted over to make room in the bed for Alfred. He quickly slipped under the covers, thankful to be warm again. He snuggled into the bed, pulling the covers tightly around him and got comfortable. Alexia was watching him, waiting patiently.

"Remember how I asked for your family gemstone?"

"Yes."

"I found a room in the lower parts of the labs," Alfred explained. He scooted as close as he could to Alexia, glad that he could finally share this with her. "I could only access it by using all three of the family's gemstones. But I finally found out why it was hidden so."

"Go on," Alexia said, the spark of curiosity burning in her sky blue eyes.

"You and I were an experiment. Father combined his DNA with Veronica's and -"

"What are you saying?" Alexia's voice was harsh.

"Father lied to us. He genetically engineered us to be intelligent to improve his reputation in Umbrella. He is using us Alexia!"

"How dare you say that about father!" Alexia snapped, slapping the side of his face. "He would never do something like that!"

"Alexia, please," Alfred said, eyes welling up with tears. He held her hand and kissed her palm. "Please listen to me! I have proof! I found father's old journal!"

Alexia stared at him, her face hardening. "Show me."

Alfred jumped out of bed and made his way over to Alexia's closet. He quickly looked through it and pulled out her favorite robe for her to wear. Grasping her hand, he helped his sister out of bed and into her robe. "We will need a flashlight."

"I've got one here," Alexia picked it up off her side table and clicked it on.

The twins moved silently through the dark hall. Alfred paused to go back into his room and retrieve all the gemstones before they headed down the stairs to the labs. In almost no time at all they reached the hidden hallway that led to the secret basement room. Alfred took Alexia's hand and led the way to the door. Showing her how to use the gemstones as a key, Alfred inserted all of them into their correct indentations and pushed open the door.

"What is that smell?" Alexia asked, crinkling her nose in disgust. Alfred swept the beam of the flashlight to the corner of the room where Veronica's remains lay. His sister dropped his hand and took cautious steps to the coffin. When she finally looked over the edge of it, she gasped in surprise.

"That's the great Veronica," Alfred said, reaching for her and pulling her away from the disgusting remains. He didn't want her to be near it for too long because it was not worthy to be in her presence.

Alexia's eyes were wide as she followed Alfred away from the coffin. She looked somewhat upset so he quickly went to where he left Alexander's notes and papers. He took the journal and flipped to the entries in the the back.

"Here," Alfred held out the journal to her. "It's in the last couple pages. His lab notes are in the back as well."

Alexia roughly pulled it out of his hands and shoved the flashlight toward him. He held it so that she could read the pages, careful to make sure that no shadow fell onto them. She needed to see this herself. Alfred watched her as she read it, her eyes rapidly flying over the words.

Though Alexia kept her face emotionless, Alfred could see a change in her as she read the pages and the lab reports. A darkness had filled her normally bright eyes, a darkness that looked as if it reach further then just anger at their father.

"Alright," Alexia's eyes flashed dangerously. She gave her brother a maniacal smile, one that she often wore when experimenting on helpless test subjects only this one seemed permanent. He had never seen such a drastic change in her and it scared him. "My dear Alfred, this is what we are going to do..."

Oh, how I love the Ashfords! I might do a second part to this if I have time...but for now, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review!