Chapter

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"You're fashionably late as usual." She breathed, wrapping her arms around his neck. She closed her eyes and found herself miles away. The space between this nightmare and this moment growing further and further with each passing moment. Somehow, it didn't surprise Claire to find Leon here, standing in front of her welcoming her with a warm and tight embrace. Of course he'd come, she thought over and over. She didn't even know how long she's been gone for - hours? Days? But here he was, standing right in front of her.

It wasn't until she heard his voice that she was snapped back to reality. Slowly pulling away, Leon's worrisome glance gazed her up and down. "Are you alright? Is your leg hurt?"

It ached, but it was moveable. That's what mattered right now, and that's all he needed to know. Claire quickly shook her head. "I'm fine." Even though she was happy to see him, something must have happened for him to be here now. "Leon, what are you doing here? How did you even get here?"

"It's a long story," Leon retreated back, his eyes quickly scanning the room. "But, have you seen Sherry? I was hoping she was with you."

Claire inhaled a sharp breath. Sherry. Here? Oh my god. She was taken. Has she been here all this time, and I haven't even known? That voice, that cry, I knew it sounded like her but it couldn't have been- was it? "I thought I heard- wait, how did you know she was missing? How long has it been since she's-?"

"You heard what?" Leon echoed, facing back to her. "I was with her before we got knocked out. I guess she must be playing her 'role' in this fucked up fantasy. But I do have to say," Leon smirked as he gestured to his police gear, "I still look pretty good in this."

Claire fought back a smile, a very small one at that. "Guess you're just as scrawny as you were then. But, back to Sherry, Leon- why was she with you? What were you two doing?"

"First of all," Leon defended. "I am not scrawny, this is definitely tailored because the very first thing I did when I took my uniform off was to burn it, except for my jacket. Second of all, we were searching for you! We found a lead at this mercenary camp in Germany of all places. We were trying to get some more intel to track down the group that was responsible for the raid Things took an unexpected turn and we got ambushed then knocked out. The next thing I knew, I woke up at old my desk, with a party hat on it. My phone was gone, my gun was gone. I was in the middle of an upload to Hunnigan when we got ambushed, I really hope she got the intel." Leon was about to continue when Claire shot a hand up.

"Wait a second, 'we'? As in, Sherry went with you to this mercenary camp? You took her out there?" Claire exclaimed. Her gut knew Leon would never willingly put her in danger, but she couldn't help but try to piece it together. When she first heard from Sherry that she wanted to begin her DSO training, both herself and Leon wasn't so easily convinced. She knew Sherry wanted action, eventually. But, her training has not even been over a year. How could she be out there?!

Raising his voice, Leon stepped closer to Claire. "You think I was happy about it? It's not like I had a choice in the matter, Simmons practically cornered me, what did you want me to do?"

"I don't know - punch him?" Claire suggested, shrugging her shoulders. "How could Simmons let her be exposed like that? They've been following us and her, Leon! Now that she's-!"

"Wait, following her?" Leon carefully asked, "Who's been following her?"

"Whoever put us in this fucking place, probably!" Claire exclaimed. "You've probably noticed that bracelet around your wrist, some woman uses it to track us and talk to us. I found files, Leon. She's been stalking members of TerraSave and you, me, Chris, Jill - and Sherry! She knows who she is, she has photos and everything! She's been planning this out for months, Leon, she knew exactly how to get to us...God, what if they hurt her-?"

"That's not going to happen." Leon said, as-matter-of-factly. "We are going to find her, and she's going to be alright."

Finally, taking a deep breath, she sighed. She knew worrying would only make matters worse. Sherry was here, somewhere and she would need to have a clear head in order to find her and a way out of this hell. Although, Leon didn't look as convincing.

Leon looked deep in thought, looking in every other direction. Retreating back to looking around the room, Claire knew he was probably just as worried as her. Of course he wouldn't say it, though. Claire carefully approached him, offering a small smile. "Seriously? You burnt the whole uniform?"

"Yes, I burned it." Leon said amusingly, looking back at her again. "Pretty sure the stench of zombie guts would have made it unbearable to keep anyway. Here, I believe I borrowed this from you." Handing Claire back her gun, she placed it back at her side.

"Thanks. I take it your outfit didn't come locked and loaded, either?"

"Not with a gun," Leon winked. Finding Claire's unamused reaction, he cleared his throat and continued as he reached for a shotgun that was strapped on his back. "But, I found this in a storage locker in the office. Figured this could go to good use. I was gonna use it until I saw you throw the magnum up here. I couldn't resist."

"Speaking of resistance, let's hope someone in red doesn't pass by." Claire couldn't help herself by bringing up Ada. She didn't like her right from the beginning. Maybe it was the way she completely toyed Leon around for years, but Claire still felt a sting of jealousy. She knew the two of them had...relations throughout the years, there was no denying that. Hell, it was one of the many reasons the two of them argued whenever they tried to pick up their own relationship. But Leon was right- if this was some fucked up recreation of that night, it's a very strong chance Ada could be here. Whether she'd be an ally or not, it's Leon's digression whether or not to trust her.

"You never know, I mean, she's probably already here." Leon read her mind, a small smirk stretching across his face. "I should go down to the cells, see if she's hanging around."

Claire knew he was joking, with that slyish smirk across his face. But that didn't stop her from reacting back. Moving her eyes away from him, she took out her handgun and began her way down the balcony hallway. "You do that. I'm going to look for Sherry and-."

"Oh come on, don't be like that." Leon caught her arm before she went too far. His voice deepened, as he said, "You know Sherry is more important to me. Besides, I just found you...I'm not losing you again just yet."

"Alright," Claire gave in. Snapping back into reality, she said, "We should try getting underground, she could still be there. Are you sure you didn't see anyone else on your way here? Pete is still out here somewhere…"

"Pete? Your assistant?"

"Yeah, he's the only one from TerraSave who made it- at least, from what we saw of the rest of them. We were together for a while, until we got separated. I haven't found him yet. He...He can handle himself, for now, but he's just a kid. I have to find him before he gets himself hurt, or worse."

"I'm sure he's okay, we'll find both of them. We better head out."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Sherry was woken by a bright, florescent light shining down on her. Shutting her eyes tight, she slowly tried rising up from the cot. Luckily, thanks to the G-Virus, she didn't feel sick or hurt. Still, her eyes struggled to adjust. "What happened?" Sherry carefully called out, "Where are we?"

"Hey! You're awake!" The excited voice was, thankfully, Pete. Rushing back beside her, a big relieved smile stretched across his face. "I was starting to get worried. I didn't really know what happened- you started freaking out and then you just passed out. I brought you to a room I found nearby. I barricaded the door, just in case I fell asleep. But, to be honest, I didn't really know what else to do. Are you okay, now?"

Sherry's vision cleared- a sense of deja vu coming over her. It was all too familiar to the lab room that Claire and Leon brought her to years ago. Sitting up, Sherry glanced behind Pete to find one of the metal desks pushed up against the door. "It looks like you took care of it. I'm sorry, but I'm fine. We really should keep moving. How far did you get anyway?"

"I'm not too sure, I think not far from where we killed that freaky giant spider." Pete bit his lip, carefully asking, "But, are you sure you're okay? I mean, not to sound invasive, but what was all that? Is there anything I can-?"

The last thing Sherry wanted to do was go into how nearly thirteen years later she still wakes up at night from nightmares of that fateful night. Besides, the only people she's ever really talked about these things to were Leon and Claire. Not even the counselors at the base knew how bad it got to her - even if they did, Sherry refused to share that night with anyone else. Sherry hesitated. "I...I'm sorry. Look, you've probably heard a bunch of stuff about me already. You probably can piece together what happened..."

Pete gave her a soft smile, "You give me too much credit. You can talk to me."

I can't talk to him about this, he'd never understand...

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Abomination, a waste of the government's budget- I've heard it all. It used to bother me, a lot. Although I never really told Leon and Claire what they used to say, they probably knew. DSO, BSAA, Simmons- they all had opinions of me. "Options", they used to say, of how they could "use" me. Experiments, field trials. I would have been locked up if it wasn't for Simmons giving me a way out.

I remember it was near my 21st birthday, Claire was convincing Simmons for me to actually "go out" when Claire told me about Jill Valentine's death, along with Albert Wesker's.

"Sherry, I've told you dozens of times," Simmons mused, shuffling through papers. "You know why you are not allowed to leave, birthday or no. I do not want this brought up again by your or Ms. Redfield, do you understand?"

Even though he's my legal guardian, I never really felt any emotional attachment to him. He was nice to me, strict, but nice. I think he pitied me, mostly. Like everyone else, and me just a child, he wanted the "right" to have a say in what happens to me.

"Sir," Sherry's voice cracked. "I-I understand, I just thought maybe with Wesker gone I could-."

"It didn't work for your sixteenth birthday or any other past ones, my dear." Almost like he cracked a cruel joke, he sinisterly smiled. "You think the threat went away with Wesker? He has agents, colleagues who'll be interested in obtaining you. Besides, we have no body. That is all speculation. Do not have Ms. Redfield or Mr. Kennedy press me again, Sherry. I will not tolerate it anymore."

"Sir, with all due respect," Sherry fought past her nerves, straightening her posture. "Do you honestly expect me to live like this for the rest of my life-?"

"You know, that's the thing with children, never like them to begin with." Simmons scoffed. "Never grateful for a single thing. I give you food, shelter, safety- and education that people slave over to pay for. I allow you contact with Ms. Redfield, Mr. Kennedy, and even their associates. Why, you've done so much for us- provided us with so many scientific advancements. Who knows, with your corporation, we could figure out how to finally put this monstrous virus to an end. And you want to go out there, and put yourself and the world at risk? And for what? Your amusement? I've had enough of your fantasies. You will never be normal, Ms. Birkin. Redfield and Kennedy, they pity you. Why else would they visit, every now and then? They know it. It's time you know too. Here, you're worth something. Here, you can help bring an end to this horror. My dear, what do you have to offer out there that you wouldn't give here?"

I justified his actions, years ago. He was just telling me the truth, I thought. I never did tell Leon and Claire what he said to me. Maybe I was afraid of them lashing out against Simmons that he'd pull them out of contact with me. But, really, I think sometimes it was because I believed him.

I used to blame Simmons, for locking me away for the government's personal use. That made me blame Wesker, for being the one who kept me in this prison. On the bad days, I wondered how bad it really would have been if Wesker took me. Everything he did was difficult for me to process; after all, it didn't match the man who was my father's most trusted friend- my godfather. What happened to him that turned him so maliciously? Would he have treated me so badly? This wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for that night. I blamed my father for the longest time, cursing every happiness we ever shared that was lost because of his devotion to his work. I blamed the G-Virus for completely stripping me of my humanity, well most of it.

I was tired. Tired of letting others dictate my life, telling me who and what to be. If it wasn't for Claire and Leon, I would have lost the rest of myself a long time ago. They gave me the courage, strength, and support to be better- who they believed me to be.

It wasn't until years later when Wesker's death was officially confirmed by Chris that Simmons pulled me aside. It was then he offered me a way out- to leave the government's hands, under the condition for working for them. I was so excited, I took it without a second thought. I wanted out, and I would do anything to do it. I was transferred to DSO, training under their supervision ever since. Leon, to say the least, didn't know what to feel about it. I think he was worried, maybe even upset for me accepting Simmons' deal so fast. But, it was my choice after all. I thought DSO would change things for me, for the better. It did, but it didn't stop the rumors about me, or their gossiping behind my back.

I knew the price I had to pay.

After all, I'm sure Pete's heard all about me by now anyway.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"No, you've probably heard enough about me anyway."

"Yeah, well...I heard a bunch of stuff about Claire being Chris with a wig before I met her and you know that's not true."

Sherry let out a laugh, easing her posture. "Well, that's a nice way of saying you have but you don't want to repeat it. Look, I'm sorry about what happened- it won't happen again. It's just...that voice, the one we heard? It sounded like someone — something I saw that night."

"Well," Pete offered, "if you want to talk about it, I can listen. If you don't, then I could just forget it. I'm good at both, you can ask Claire when we find her."

"Thank you, really, it means a lot." For the first time in a while, Sherry felt comfortable with Pete. Talking with someone her age, she felt normal. Maybe he wasn't like the others, maybe someday she could talk about it with him. But not now, not here. "We should get moving, did you find anything useful in here?"

"Uh, I think so. Hold on," Pete rushed over to the desk that still stood against the door. Opening one of the larger drawers, he pulled out a pile of papers. "I mean, I did find another pole but these were way more interesting."

"What are they? Files?" Sherry asked, taking the pile from Pete. "They look like logs or something."

"Yeah, they're about some mercenary group. Look at this!" Reaching for one of the papers in her hand, he pulled out a picture. In the picture, were a few men dressed in uniform along with the serpent man- the same one who raided the TerraSave party. Next to the Serpent man was an older man, wearing what looked like a logo or symbol that Sherry couldn't recognize. "The guy in the mask! That's the one who took us!"

Although, what caught Sherry's eye was the man standing behind him. A slimmer, younger man who looked all too familiar. It's that guy from the woods- the one who saw me, and let me go! "Yeah, I saw some of these guys. Leon and i were infiltrating their camp when we got caught. Hm...At least we were on the right track. We better hold onto this. Did you find anything else?"

"Well, I was hoping for a map but that's all I found. At least it was something useful, right?"

Together, Pete and Sherry moved the desk back against the wall. Sherry picked up the pipe, handing it back to Pete. She still had hers pretty in tact, plus she figured Pete needed to defend himself. "Alright, let's keep trying to head back up to the surface. You ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's do it!"

"Keep your guard up, anything can pop out…" Carefully heading out into the hall, she watched Pete steady his grip on the weapon. She felt better knowing she at least had someone watching her back. Leon, Claire, I hope you guys are okay. Don't worry, it's my turn to find you!

"Yeah, I'm looking out for the creepy stuff." Pete whispered while Sherry quickly peaked around a corner. Looking both left and right, Sherry nodded towards Pete before turning right with him right on her heels. With a quick look to the left and one last look behind him, Pete followed Sherry further down the corridor which is when the Serpent Man quietly stepped out from the dark hallway behind them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The Serpent Man carefully watched them until they were out of his sight. Swiftly, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small radio, moving it towards his mouth. "I'm position with Subjects 2 and 4. Ready to proceed."

"Excellent." The smooth voice said, "I'll be opening the doors now." A loud click echoed throughout the hallway, followed by the sound of doors slamming open. The Serpent Man walked over to the corner and watched two young people look quickly around their surroundings.

"Uhh, Sherry? Please tell me that sound came from our bracelets." The small blonde girl didn't get a chance to respond before the sound of grunting grew louder in the hall before seeing a wave of creatures running towards them. They slowly started to back away then the blonde grabbed onto the man's arm. "Run!" She screamed as she started running down the hall, pulling him along until he got his bearings and ran alongside her. The Serpent Man let all the creatures run pass him before he turned the corner and followed them down until they reached a larger circular room, with the two young people standing side by side at the end of it as the creatures slowly started to surround them.

"It's a dead end!" He heard the man shout after he swung his pipe at an approaching creature., "Which is actually quite fitting since that's exactly what we're gonna be!"

"Not yet!" The girl said between grunts as she knocked down a creature with her pipe, killing it in another swing. "Just follow me!" She slowly started making her way through the crowd with the man close behind her. With their backs towards him, he grabbed a dart gun out of his holster. He quickly opened up the compartment to see it was already loaded with a double-helix like syringe filled with a blue serum on one side and red on the other. This serum was the product of years of research, experiments, and trials with his boss.

All of this time had led to this moment. To finish what William Birkin and Albert Wesker had started, what would have been if Umbrella didn't intervene and force Birkin's hand to inject himself as he bled out in his own lab. But why would he be doing this? He took a deep breath as another headache was coming on. These headaches were coming on more and more frequently since this final experiment started. What was going on?

He shook his head as he closed the syringe back into the gun and raised it towards the young Birkin girl. This was a change in the plans after the cop and her were captured in Germany. Originally, the Redfield girl was supposed to be injected but the boss thought the Birkin girl would be more fitting. At the thought of Redfield, another shot of pain erupted in his head. Gripping his head, he took calming breaths until the pain passed. Was she the reasons his headaches were so bad again? Why did she seem so familiar?

He grunted in frustration as he tried to aim towards the girl but the man kept walking into his shot. His boss would kill him if he didn't get this right, but he was running out of time as he saw they were almost at a slightly opened door. He steadied himself and took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. Moments later, both the Birkin girl and man slammed the door shut behind them.

Sighing, he holstered his dart gun and took out his stun rod. Readying it, he walked into the large room and stuck all the remaining creatures until they were all dead on the ground. He place the stun rod back and took off his mask, brown hair temporarily blocking his eyes before he move it aside. Turning back to the all the dead creatures he smiled to himself, "That's it? I was just getting warmed up. That wasn't much of a challenge."

He moved himself over to the door they ran through, searching the creatures surrounding the door and the floor around them. The syringe was nowhere to be found. He wasn't sure who he shot, but he was sure he got one of them.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Leon and Claire walked side by side down the all too familiar hallway. They had their objectives - Find Sherry and Pete then get the hell out of this place. Leon was treading beside her, eyes glued to the passing windows. It was like he was trying to figure out what was real and what was the deception. The rain pelted hard against the immovable glass. They tried to break one of the windows before only to break the chair they tried to slam through it. They kept on trying to break it just shy of shooting it, but deciding against it to save bullets and for the small chance it was bulletproof glass and it would bounce right back to them. Claire pulled her attention away from the window and back on Leon. Even though he's been in the fight as long as she has, he's seen so much more. A part of Claire felt guilty for dragging him through another hell but the selfish part of her was so glad that he was here to help her through it. After all, he was her partner.

He still is.

"Hey," Claire's voice cracked, breaking the silence. "Look, I'm sorry I snapped back there in the library. I'm just worried about Sherry and Pete and I just want to get to the bottom of this and get out. Besides, she...She shouldn't be here again."

"I completely understand," Leon softly spoke, his eyes baring into her. "I never wanted Sherry caught up in something like this. It's why I was doing everything in my power to stop her from becoming an agent. I know it was wrong, but I just didn't want her out there. And I'm sure Pete didn't want to be out here either."

"Well, she's definitely stubborn. She's been hanging around you too much." Claire returned a small smile. "To be honest, I was on the same page as you. But, I'm not surprised. She's been wanting to be an agent for a while now. We can't stop her. Like us, she has to find and do what feels right to her."

"Oh I'm the stubborn one?" Leon echoed, playfully in a defending tone. "I am many things, but stubborn isn't one of them"

"You were always stubborn." Claire stated with a laugh. They slowly rounded a corner to see a door "There's the entrance!" Racing towards the door, Claire began pulling and pushing the door. "Of course it's locked. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I don't even see a lock," Leon kneeled down to continue examining the door. "How is that even possible? Is this electronically locked?", Claire simply shrugged as she felt the door and the wall for a control panel. Running a hand through his hair, Leon looked up to see above the door was a small window. Smiling back at Claire, Leon gestured to the window. "But I see a way though."

"Oh?" Claire questioned as she followed Leon's gaze up towards the small window and smirked. "Well, I mean, you look good and all but I don't exactly think you're as light as a feather."

"Oh, so funny." Leon rolled his eyes as he crouched down. "Come on, I'll give you a boost up. Just hang in the window to see if there is a way unlock the door from the other side. If not, I'll help you back down and we can figure another way out."

"Guess we don't have many options." Claire steadied herself on Leon as he began to holster her up.

"Let me know if you have a grip on the window "

"Yeah, yeah, just don't stare at my ass!" Claire teased as she reached for the window. As she steadied herself in middle of the window, she tried to get a good angle to look at the door from the opposite side. All of a sudden she heard a loud slam nearby. Shooting her head up, she stilled herself until she started hearing the moaning of creatures echoing. "Leon?"

Leon, already having his shotgun aimed, heard the moaning of the creatures getting louder. From the sound of it, they were coming from his side. Leon quickly turned around towards Claire's dangling legs, "Think fast!" He shouted as he gripped her feet and pushed her completely through the window.

With barely enough time to brace herself, Claire fell off and landed on her side. Quickly jumping back on her feet, she immediately ran to the door and tried to get it open. "Damn it, Leon!" She slammed her fist on the door, "What are you doing?"

Taking a stance, Leon readied his shotgun as creatures started to turn the corner. "I'm defending the door." Leon aimed his gun and let out a shot, which caused the creatures to falter and fall to the floor, "Can you get it open?"

Claire glanced around her as quickly as she could. There were no wall panels to be seen, the only way she could open the door was to force it open. She threw her entire weight into the door, trying to budge it at all. As she started to pull it, she felt it move but it snapped back into the frame. "It's stuck somehow! Just hold on I'll figure it out!"

"No!" Shots echoed as Leon exclaimed, "If you can't get it open, go! The sound of my shots will only lure more of them. You're gonna get cornered too. I'll meet you down there, I promise!"

She knew he was right, but she couldn't accept that right now. "What about you not wanting to lose me this soon? We can figure this out!"

Leon laughed, "I'm doing this so I don't lose you. I can't stay here any longer I need to move. We will meet up downstairs and you are gonna have Sherry and Pete with you cause you're a badass like that and you want to make me look bad."

She felt herself laugh as she reluctantly reached for her gun. "Leon! Be careful, okay?"

"You too, Claire!" Another shotgun shot rang out, "Now go!"

With one last look at the door, Claire turned around and ran off down the staircase, hoping Sherry and Pete were close and safe.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"That was close, huh?" Catching her breath, Sherry halted as she leaned against a concrete wall. Looking down the tunnel they ran from, she felt relieved to see nothing following them. "At least we have a head start, right?"

"Y-Yeah." Pete crouched down on the concrete, his face buried in his hands.

Sherry worryingly reached out to him as she watched him panting heavily. "Pete? Are you okay?"

"I-I don't know," Pete stuttered, as he struggled to get back on his feet. He was growing pale as sweat streamed down his face. Reaching for his back, he said, "I-I feel weird. D-Did I get bit, or something?"

Sherry's eyes widened as she saw the inflection on his back. A small, yet visible dart was stuck right on his neck. She hesitantly yanked it off, as she carefully looked at it. "Oh no...Pete, don't panic, but this was on your neck."

Shooting back, Pete ripped the syringe out her hand. Frantically shaking his head, he shot back up. "W-What was in it?" Sherry lightly shook her head. She opened her mouth but couldn't find any words to say. She knew what it looked like, but it couldn't be that right? Panicked, Pete gripped Sherry's shoulders tightly, his eyes wide, "WHAT WAS IN IT?" Falling onto his knees, he cried out in pain. "W-What's happening to me?"

"Pete!" Kneeling down in front of him, Sherry frantically tried to steady him. No, no, no. How did this happen? I have to get him help- wait, the lab!

"Pete, you're going to be okay. Okay? It's not too far, I know what to do."

I just hope I can make it in time.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hunnigan rubbed her eyes as she opened the door to her office. She couldn't fall asleep last night, there was too much running through her head. Simmons' constant presence, the TerraSave attack, the radio silence from Leon and Sherry, and the persistent communication with the BSAA. She knew she shouldn't worry about Leon and Sherry, but this whole situation seemed bigger than what they originally thought. She was working together with Jill yesterday at the BSAA headquarters, trying to gather whatever information they could about the different sightings of the mercenary group. Hopefully, she could find something to link everything together.

Yawning, she sat into her chair and touched her keyboard bringing the computer to life. After she logged in, something immediately caught her eye:

New Download from : Leon S. Kennedy

Do you accept?

Hunnigan instantly felt herself wake up and pressed the accept button. Moments later, various documents, photos, and videos filled her screen as the download continued.

"About time, Leon. About time."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-