The night began to creep into the streets of Edonia as the soldier walked through the blizzard. His hands were shaking, and his breaths hurted him like a pile made of ice. You could say he was lost, since he looked as if he didn't quite know where to go yet. But the truth is; he knew exactly how to walk those streets, he just didn't know how to walk the paths of what his mind told him. Edonia was not known to be a bed of roses to get through, he had quickly discovered, and it became nothing but more difficult as he carried a heaviness in his chest. He didn't know just where to go yet, but he would eventually find that out soon enough.

It was a very long time ago he had been alone in the same way as now; actually, he could not remember if it even had happened. But it was not the loneliness that was a problem this time, because there were far worse things to keep in mind. He had abandoned his captain; a man he looked up to so urgently, when he should need support now more than ever. Hell, he didn't even know if he only felt admiration for Chris anymore considering how he had felt in the last week, not to mention how he felt at this moment, or while telling Chris a last goodbye at the hospital; something that wasn't even heard. This was indeed something stronger than just 'looking up to someone', but he was too blinded by numbness to pinpoint exactly what it was.

The thoughts ate up his mind from inside of his head, and it had to stop now; it really did. And so he knew. He wouldn't be able to go on while thinking about this, so he shook his head, settling down in the middle of a snowy spot on the ground. He put most of his weight on his palms, which rested against the cold surface, sending chills up his arms.

"i… I can't think about 'what could have been' anymore. It's too late by now, I'm the one to blame for all this, and now I have to-"

Before he reached the last words he was interrupted by the feeling of a warm hand lying on top of his shoulder. Knowing that he was no longer alone out there caused him to fall silent. Short termed flashbacks of how it had ended up last time someone else had been near showed up behind his eyelids. It really hadn't gone well that time, and that time was the reason he even sat here in the first place. That moment was the reason why his captain had got hurt, which in order also had got himself hurt.

Fear was taking over his mind. The person who was behind him refused saying a word; the only sound the living creature did emit was its breath. Piers could not wait any longer to get to know what was going on, and why this person had come here to act this mysteriously, so he stretched his arms and attempted to get up, but was quickly stopped by the hand that had moved to his back.

"You stay right there, Mr. Nivans. We wouldn't want you to run off without me getting to introduce myself, now would we?"

So you could speak after all. Well, at least it sounds like a human being and not like some creature, I guess just answering him won't hurt.

"How about you let go of me first then? W-wait, how the hell do you-"

..Know my name. Do I know this guy? I can't remember ever hearing that voice. Does he know me? Apparently. Maybe I was wrong with this not getting into a mess.

The words had to continue inside of his head instead of being spoken out, since the yet unknown man silenced him with his hand. Piers was greeted by a smile and a pair of eyes looking back kindly. With a reasonable guess he would say that the man was probably in his early forties, dressed in what looked like something a hospital staff would wear, but somehow it was different. He knew he had seen it before, but for the moment his mind was practically standing still, not letting him get any sort of reminder.

"That's how a good boy should react, you see? Now will you stop yourself from asking me any questions for a while, and let me speak? If you can't do that I'm afraid I'll have to go on, keeping you quiet myself."

In the absence of anything else to do Piers nodded quickly to the man, telling him that he wouldn't need his help to be quiet. All he wanted was a couple of answers to this strange situation, and it was perhaps the only way to get it on. The physical grip that prevented him from doing anything released with some hesitation. Piers assumed that the look in his eyes was enough for the man to trust him; not fully, but still enough.

"I am Dr. Yuri Ivanov and I work at the research laboratory here in Edonia, but I believe a soldier like you already know where that is located, don't you? At least your captain do; Chris Redfield, isn't it?" He put his hand beneath Piers' jaw, tilting his head upwards to get a chance locking eyes with him again. "I haven't given you the right to speak yet though, so you just nod or shake your head whenever I'm asking you something. Understood?"

To hear the name of his partner he had left behind formed a heaviness in the chest. A rock that took him back to reality. Now it suddenly became a little clearer to understand, the man had something in mind. This was not just a coincidence, there must have been a reason for them to meet.

He didn't feel like following those rules, but it was probably the best that could be done at the moment, so he gave away a nod in response.

"Well, I think I have something to tell you, and I believe I owe you to do so.. Certainly you know about how your captain is struggling at the hospital right now, and you probably know why, but I'm sure you don't quite know who is responsible." With those words a grin spread at Yuri's lips, something that would make anyone realize what he was referring to, and not least Piers. A flame of anger broke out inside him, something that made it impossible for him to continue following the researcher's regulations.

"So it was you? Why the hell did you do that for? You have ruined ev-"

Yuri grabbed his shoulder before he let all his weight push him down to meet the ground to make the soldier helpless against him. Piers had no chance to push him away when he was already practically sitting on top of him, his voice getting cut off by all the weight that was on his body, as the chilly ground sent shivers down his spine, making him dedicated to the snow. It was as if the man's objective was to suffocate him, all the anger Piers felt for him had also been transported to himself; probably for breaking his rules.

"You think that was the worst thing that could have happened? You stupid kid. I'll make him go through a lot more pain if you refuse doing as I tell you, I have a lot of plans going on in my mind. The best thing you can do is keeping your mouth shut and listen to me, because I have an offer for you, and you will have to be alert while hearing my two options. Got that?"

I need to calm down. I can't let Chris down any more than I already have, whatever this man has in store for me, I will have to accept it. I know I do. And I know I will.

It was deadly seriousness that came from those words and it was true what the researcher had said; it was for the best to keep quiet. At least until he had heard about these 'two options' he had just been talking about. This wasn't the right time for any risk-takings and whoever didn't understand that was either a fool, or a person who didn't care.

"Now that you've seemed to calm yourself down for a while it should be an opportunity for me to tell you about this offer of mine. Option one is as simple as you walking away from here, but then your captain will get his life on the line for that choice of yours, trust me. Option two is that you become my… what should I call it… pet, or test-subject if you refer; and your captain will get away harmlessly. Being my 'pet' means you will be at my research laboratory, and you will go through anything I set up for you, no matter how much it will break you down. It's painful, absolutely, but if you want Chris' life to be spared you should choose it. If you're nice I may even let you speak to him through the phone, but I won't allow you to tell him anything about where you are or what you're going through. Believe me; that would cause major trouble for both of you. So what's your choice, kid? One or two? You are allowed to speak now."

The choice was already obvious. Piers would never allow himself to be the reason for Chris' death, no matter how much pain it meant to himself. A reply from him was expected, but the tears were hard to keep away, and there was actually no reason why they shouldn't fall this time. They prevented him from parting his lips and let the researcher hear what he wanted to hear. But it had to be done. This was just the beginning, if even that.

He was too gone in his own thoughts to even notice how Yuri started talking to him with his voice, or the way his hands gently stroked away Piers' tears from his cheeks. There was nothing to how he behaved that was possible to understand. But that was probably his attempts to snare his objects, and his object would soon enough be Piers. He had probably already understood what the choice would be, since he seemed trying to make Piers' feel comfortable to later on subjecting him to a series of tortures that nobody except himself knew about yet.

"I- I choose option two."

Without a word more Yuri smiled at him with that sneaky look that he more than often had used before he got up to grab Piers' arm firmly. "Wise choice, kid. Let us head towards the research facility then, shall we?" With a harsh push on Piers' back he started walking, quicker than the soldier could handle at the moment, giving Yuri a bigger reason to kick his legs from behind. He felt like whimpering in pain but tried not to do so, while trying to walk faster than he had done before, regarding how his body fell apart from the inside.

If letting myself break down is the only choice I have, then I'll accept it. I may even never see him again, but that won't stop me from doing all I can. I still care, I can't tell myself otherwise, and this is my only way of telling him it. This is what I deserve. I've turned everyone against me, and by now they have probably turned him against me too; I guess that's nothing more than fair, though. You'll never know it, but I'm doing this for you, and that's a huge reason for me not to quit. And I won't do it. I will go through with this.