Disclaimer: The characters in the video game series, book series, movie series, or any other conceivable series under the title of "Resident Evil" do not belong to me. Nor do any songs I happen to use in the writing of this story. All rights to Resident Evil belong to Capcom and the songs belong to the respective artists. I am merely a fan, so enjoy.

...

Vas Domus

XI

Virus

...

Claire ran.

She hit the ground flying faster than she ever had, but she didn't give it much thought, all she was paying attention to was Sergei angrily calling after her. His roar of a voice compounding with the stomping of his boots. It was time to get the hell out of here. She needed to devise a plan but first she had to lose the old bastard.

She briefly wondered where Wesker was. Was he safe? What if they were inflicting all sorts of terrible things on him? Was he even here? She hurriedly shook her head to clear such thoughts. He didn't care about her, he was the one who had tried to get rid of her in the first place. That manipulative, conniving bastard. How did she know that this entire instance was just a way to play her into his charade? It was certainly not beneath him, she was sure, to pull and tug on a woman's heart strings in order to get her to do what he wanted.

And she had let him do it. She felt sick, not nauseous sick, but heartsick. She didn't want to feel that way, she didn't want him to have that power over her. What if everything he had ever told her had been a lie? What if he wasn't even human to begin with? She felt so stupid, so easily used. Flashes of memories tried to argue with her and that the signs of his humanity had been there but she was jumping to conclusions in her disheveled state. The hallway ended abruptly and she was soon standing in front of a set of double doors. Her hearted pounded thunderously as she heard Sergei's footsteps. She could somehow, although she didn't contemplate how, hear his ragged and irritated breaths. He was getting closer and she panicked, pulling the doors open hard. The twisting of the doorknob with all the force she had exhibited caused the the wood around it to crack but she paid it no heed as she threw herself inside a dark room. She stumbled around quietly, looking for a place to hide without making an excess of noise. Her body froze as she heard a very faint shuffling of fabric not even five feet away from her. A table lamp was switched on and she peered down at one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen. A smile had lit her olive toned face that was obviously faked, and she was the first to speak.

"You must be Miss Redfield. What a pleasure to finally be able to meet you." She had a somewhat Italian accent but Claire couldn't accurately pin point exactly what region it originated from. The woman did look somewhat familiar though. The way she held herself was as if she possessed all of the secrets of the world, her confidence was nearly flawless, but her eyes were clearly deceitful. Something about this woman made Claire uneasy, she didn't particularly seem like a friendly person. Of course she was also sitting in the dark in the same building that some white-haired Russian had been chasing her around with the intention of destroying her body. That was kind of a dead giveaway. Still, on the off chance that the woman didn't want to harm her she decided not to pull anything reckless.

"Yes...who are you?" The woman laughed a bit at the confused expression on Claire's face.

"Just a friend. Tell me, are you running from something? You seem out of breath Miss Redfield." Her voice was a purr and she leaned forward as to show off more cleavage. A clear sign of an Alpha female. She was trying to make Claire feel insignificant, and the red head found it somewhat immature. It was like when she was in highschool and more developed, popular girls had tried to show their assets off in a clear display of trying to deter her from having more male attention. Normally Claire would have found it hard to feel insignificant next to a woman she barely knew, but there was also something about this woman that made her uneasy.

Maybe she really did feel insignificant but she didn't have time to think about that.

Claire didn't respond to her query, she really didn't know what to say.

"Perhaps..." Excella stood, her long legs carrying her around Claire, like a shark circling it's prey, "You are running to something?" Claire stiffened, and she noted the smirk of approval on the other woman's face.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, but if you'll excuse me, I really must be going now." She heard the distinct click of a gun in her ear as she went to step away and she froze. Damn it all.

"I wouldn't recommend that you do that, Miss Redfield." The dark haired woman purred, "You've been a very ungrateful towards my hospitality you know. Besides, I think you'd be much safer with me than him." Claire wasn't sure who she meant by 'him'. She assumed it was Sergei but..

Claire scoffed at that, figures that she'd be dealing with a bunch of batshit whackos.

"I wasn't aware that being kidnapped was something one had to be thankful for." Excella laughed at this, throwing her dark head back to reveal her long throat. Claire instantly wished she could grab the letter opener on the desk and stab her in that throat, but she just narrowed her eyes.

"I would hardly say that you were kidnapped. Do you forget who you were with before?"

Claire's eyes widened a bit. This woman knew Wesker? Was she one of his business associates? Did she..mean anything to him? Claire mentally shook her head and decided that she didn't really care what this woman was to him if anything. She wouldn't hesitate to disable her if she got in her way, even if an opportunity hadn't presented itself. Getting out of here was top priority and no attachment or jealousy could prevent that. This was probably all his fault anyway.

Her anger was unfounded, and she knew that. He was probably in just as much trouble as she was, if not more. That Sergei didn't seem quite fond of Wesker and she had to wonder exactly why that was. Perhaps Wesker had beat him to the top in the Umbrella ranks. She was sure he had beat a lot of people to the top. That was the most likely situation she could think of.

"I don't have to explain anything to you and if you think that a gun against my head is going to stop me from getting out of here, you're sorely mistaken."

"If that's the case why haven't you left yet, Miss Redfield?"

Claire knew when her bluff was called; okay, so maybe a gun to the temple put a bit of a damper on things.

Excella pressed the pistol into her skin almost painfully, "Let's take a walk shall we?"

Begrudgingly Claire walked along beside the woman, as if she had a choice. The barrel of the gun was a cold reminder of what she was up against. If her energy hadn't been nearly completely drained from being drugged earlier and her little spat with Sergei, she might have tried to subdue the woman but right now she decided it would be in her best interests to go along. Excella opened the doors to the hall and lead her down the long corridor and into an elevator at the very end. How hadn't she seen that before?

"Inside." She was pushed forward and hit the metal wall, reaching out to brace the impact with her hands. Excella slid in alongside her, lowering the gun to Claire's chest and no longer pressing it against her, and clicking a button on the panel that said "4B"

"Where are we going?" Claire asked, her voice just above a whisper. Before Excella could answer, a beep came from somewhere in her ample cleavage. It was only then did the redhead notice the thin wire that was connecting a transmission device hidden in her top to a receiver in her ear.

"Yes?...Why yes she is... Well stop stomping around up there at the loss of some pussy and get down to the basement. ...Yes, that basement you idiot." With an annoyed scowl she pressed her finger to the button in her ear. Her eyes turned to Claire, almost mirthfully.

"Isn't it so difficult to get good help these days?" Claire wanted to punch this woman in the face, to break that mocking smile and make her feel weak. A rumble signaled the stopping of the elevator and Excella pushed her out of the box with a rough shove of the gun. She kept it pressed to her back as they walked down a corridor that seemed it would go on forever. Claire's legs were burning and her stomach was tingling in a way that made her wonder if something was on the inside tickling it. She risked a look back at Excella who looked more than pleased to have a gun jammed into someone's shoulderblade and all the while smiling merely responded with, "Eyes forward."

Finally the long corridor ended at one single door. It was heavy looking and bolted with two different locks. The brunette reached forward and pressed the top button, then placed her hand on the scanner only removing it when the red light turned green. She then pressed the second button, a voice emitting from a tiny speaker.

"Authorization code, please."

"0982387222638879" Excella purred into the speaker. Claire wondered what would possess her to blatantly reveal the code right in front of her but then she realized that it didn't really matter. The handprint authorization along with a long numerical code that was most likely voice activated would prevent any intruders without proper privileges from entering.

The red light on that panel switched green and she pushed open the door. The room was very dimly lit and didn't allow for her to see anymore than six feet in front of her. From the way every click of Excella's impractical heels against the floor echoed, she could tell it was pretty empty as well. Before they could even step more than ten paces into the room the door behind them hissed open.

"I'll be taking her now, Excella." Claire's heart sunk when she heard that heavy Russian accent behind her. Any chances of getting away from this woman were shattered as that large hand wrapped around her arm.

"You should really keep a better eye on your playthings, Vladimir." The dark-haired woman said with a pout in her voice, "I really have more important things to do than catch your toys for you."

"Enough talk. Let's go." He bit back, wrapping his hand tightly around Claire's arm and dragging her alongside him as they moved further into the room. They stopped momentarily to allow Sergei to slap a pair of heavy handcuffs on Claire's wrists and she struggled against him.

"Don't make me drug you again, Miss Redfield. It would really be a shame to have to do that, I much prefer to play with my women while they are awake." He hissed against her ear and Excella's eyes rolled, but she said nothing.

"Touch me again and I'm going to rip your dick off." Claire hissed back and spat directly into his eye. As if by reaction his hand came forward to slap her, knocking her down onto the ground hard. She winced as her butt hit hard concrete and she decided that she was quite fed up with being tossed around and thrown down against her will. Bunch of jerks, didn't they know how to treat a lady?

"Enough. You don't want to damage her too much." Excella was clearly annoyed. He didn't know how to handle a hostage at all. He certainly lacked in handling women and Excella knew that the best way to get a woman-hostage or not-to do what you wanted was to cater to her. Sergei snarled and ripped the woman off of the ground dragging her along further. Excella followed.

Claire wondered just how much further until they got to where they were going. Just how big was this room? For a moment she wanted to ask if Wesker was here but she decided against it. Why was she so damn dependent on him anyway?

You were dependent on him for over half a year.

Claire scowled and forced her body to go forward. Suddenly they stopped and Claire's eyes were assault with a bright fluorescent attack. She stumbled backwards hitting the broad plane of Sergei's chest and throwing her arm up to block out the light. In her attempt she chanced a glance up at the Russian's face through under her arm; the look there made her want to run away. Soon her eyes adjusted and the room began to clear. She set her eyes forward, the sight she was met with caused her heart drop deep into the pit of her stomach. The audible gasp that escaped her made both of her captors smile with pleasure. She didn't see it though, all she could see was the sheer inhumanity of what lay before her.

There he was, attached to a large metal contraption. It resembled a cross with two vertical stands instead of one. His arms were spread all the way out, wrists confined with what appeared to be large spikes through them, blood dripping onto the floor with a sickening 'splat'. His shoulders were braced down with big metal loops and his legs were also being trapped under the same clasps but with two to each leg; one around his calf and the other around his thigh. His ankles were also bound as well as his midsection. A mess of blonde hair obscured his face and his head was slumped forward. Her eyes widened as she noticed that there were long violent red streaks along his body, ranging in different lengths and widths and he was covered in dry blood.

From the strained look on his face, it appeared that he had passed out from the pain.

"Isn't it beautiful, Claire?" Sergei asked in awe and her head snapped up at him in disgust, "You don't like it?" He said in a mock-indignant way that made her insides furl in anger, "It took quite alot of time to get it just right. I'm offended that you don't appreciate what I've done for you."

"What you've done for me?" She hissed. This man was insane. "What the hell have you done to him?"

"Oh as if he doesn't deserve all of it and more. Surely you've dreamt about the day when the man who had singlehandedly destroyed all that was sacred to you would be brought to his knees, have you not? Or has that changed with your feelings for him?" He grabbed her face so hard she could hear the creak of her jaw under the pressure. In a fear filled rage she pushed away from him, stumbling forward towards the battered man on the metal crucifix.

"A fine ending for one who believed himself a god." Sergei said, but she couldn't hear him. The sheer sight of Wesker being suspended so helplessly. His face contorted in pain, even in his unconciousness, it made her want to cry.

"This isn't even the beginning, love. He will pay for his arrogant, self-centered ways. . And you," He continued past his maniacal laughter,"Why you get a first class ticket to the show. Don't look so sad, love. After all, I'm sure your brother would have loved to see this."

An almost audible snap could have been heard in the room as Claire turned faster than the two of them could see. Mentioning her brother was the absolute last straw. Her own conciousness seemed to fade away as her eyes took on an almost unearthly greenish hue, and she broke for the tall man who had been mocking her. She propelled her body forward, her hand latching on to his throat and knocking him down to the ground.

She squeezed tighter than her own muscles could allow, and she wouldn't stop until his ragged breathing and struggling did.

...

The pain was intense and he could hear voices close by, but he couldn't recognize him. His arms felt like they would dislodge from his shoulders at any moment, and he stayed very still. He could remember being beaten to a pulp before he had fainted and that was all. Still, despite the sheer pain, he never broke, never screamed or even flinched. With every strike of that archaic whip that Sergei's lackeys tore across his skin, he kept his perfectly cool expression. It undoubtedly made the experience worse, but he refused to show them how badly it hurt.

He wanted to open his eyes but moving his head even a fraction of an inch made a terrible stabbing pain rip through his skull. His anger had fizzled with the entirety of the night's events and now he just realized that there wasn't much left to do. He didn't have the strength of the virus to help him and he didn't even have any of his ordinary strength left. All seemed lost but he wouldn't let it bother him.

All things had to come to an end, but that didn't mean that Sergei and Excella would get away with this unscathed. It never ended like that. Those voices kept wavering in and out, a male and a female arguing or fighting or something of the sort. He tried to ignore them and force his body to go back into a coma, he really didn't feel like being awake anymore.

"What the hell have you done to him?" He knew that voice, he had heard it everyday for so long. Claire. He wanted to break free now for certain, he didn't want her to see him like this, so weak, so useless. He couldn't bring himself to even lift his head. He hadn't felt this helpless and vulnerable since he was a child, not even when the Tyrant had thrust those claws into his gut had he felt this weak. The man was speaking now, but he didn't focus on it as he tried fervently to open his eyes or move something without even more pain spreading through his system. Suddenly a sharp screech pierced the air and his eyes flew open in surprise. As blurry as his vision was he could see under the strands of hair covering his eyes and he watched as Claire violently lunged forward for Sergei's throat. She was so fast, so strong it was almost like it wasn't even her but some crude replica of her. He narrowed his eyes, the pain behind his lids temporarily forgotten as he watched her ontop of him, her hands cutting off his air supply.

Excella just stood on the side looking almost smug, as if she wanted Sergei dead as well.

Where had this sudden rush of power come from? Maybe she was just that angry, but he doubted that anger could cause that to happen. Not even he had ever caused a reaction like that by emotion alone. Sergei finally untangled himself from Claire and threw her into a wall, the force of the throw cracking the wall and dribbling pieces of paint and dust onto her head. She seemed confused, the strange glow in her eyes fading away. Sergei was stomping towards her thrusting a long arm out to grab her by her throat and he lifted her almost two feet off the ground. Wesker watched with eyes wide as Claire's color began to fade in the struggle and her breaths came out shallow along with strained gasps and a small plea for him to stop.

He was going to kill her.

"Sergei!" His voice called out, sounding more broken and raspy than he would have normally allowed, "Let her go. You don't want her." He almost couldn't believe himself, here we was playing saviour again. His previous indifference to her was forgotten, she didn't deserve to be caught in the middle, it was his problem.

'Oooh, brave. Since when did you start saving damsels in distress?'His inner voice mocked, the sheer amusement it was finding was quite annoying but he ignored it. There were more important things to deal with right now. It wasn't just about Claire, it was the principal, Sergei had crossed the line for the very last time. He would find a way to get out of this, and he would make that bastard Russian pay with his own life.

His anger flared back up and along with it a determination that he had given up. He watched as the Russian dropped Claire on the ground with a thud and turned towards him, sick hunger flashing in cold grey orbs.

"Albert. Welcome back," Excella purred and for a moment he had forgotten that she was there, "Are you comfortable?"

"Very much so. You've been most hospitable, thank you." The smirk disappeared from her face and she strode over to Claire, ripping her up by her hair. She was clearly losing her temper at the fact that nothing she said seemed to bother him.

"I'm glad," She tossed Claire over towards him, just at his feet, "Tell me, Albert, are you in the mood for a game? I have a wonderful one that I am just itching to play with you." A long manicured hand slid under her dress and unsheathed a long blade from a holster on her thigh. She walked back over to Claire and sat down on her back with her legs crossed, reaching out for her hair and pulling her head up. Sergei made his way to the back of the metal stand with a sickly amused expression, but Wesker's eyes remained on the women before him.

"You see, darling, the rules of this game are simple," She slid the metal blade against Claire's forehead lightly, "I am going to slowly cut up your little friend and everytime she screams, you will recieve a little treat of your own."

"You sick bitch...You're going to pay-" Claire ground out, but Excella frowned and stood, baring her stiletto into Claire's back, recieving a grunt from the redhead beneath her.

"Hush. The adults are talking." Excella reached forward and grabbed Claire up off the ground and snapped her fingers. In an instance, two black clad guards hurried into the room with a stretcher. They pulled her from the brunette and fought her onto the bed, overpowering her easy enough-the entire night left her drained of all energy she might have had-and strapping her down with leather belts.

The guards stood there for just a moment as if awaiting further orders from her but she dismissed them with a wave of her hand. She took her time making her way over to the stretcher and Claire was still struggling against her restraints. Excella brought the blade down her thigh and cut upwards until her pants were reduced to nothing more than shreds, leaving her legs visible.

"Make sure you don't move too much. You don't want my hand to slip do you?" She said quietly, as if speaking just to Claire, who merely turned her head away from the woman to pay attention to the blonde just a few feet from her. Her eyes softened and she noticed his did to. No silent words were exchanged but she could see the apolegetic look on his face, and the internal struggle that was taking him over.

"Well, let's begin. Sergei?" Excella looked to the man behind the metal platform, the self satisfied smirk on his face was all the admission she needed. Without even so much as a warning, she slipped the knife into Claire's calf shallowly, slithering it upwards to attempt to peel her skin off. Claire hissed and bent forward to bite down into the leather across her chest. She wouldn't scream, she couldn't allow them to hurt him. Who knew what that huge thing he was strapped to was? It could be anything but she didn't want to find out. Warm liquid poured down her leg and she looked up towards Wesker who was struggling to escape vainly.

Excella smiled and bore down into the bloody flesh further, nearly piercing through muscle, blood casting an eerie sheen on the metal table. Claire let out a tiny whimper and a tear slid from her eye as Excella continued her ministrations.

"Are you having fun Miss Redfield? Does that sting? Surely you want to release some of that pain don't you?" She emphasized the last sentence by taking a swipe at Claire's thigh carving at the flesh there viciously. She couldn't handle it anymore and let out a shrill scream apologizing over and over in her head as Sergei chuckled and flipped a switch.

All of her pain was forgotten as she watched in horror as the metal device went to work.

...

He wasn't angry at her, she had to let out the pain somehow, and he was surprised she had lasted as long as she had. The sound of metal grinding together caused his head to snap up at attention. A loud screech accompanied the feeling of cold metal rubbing against his leg and he looked down. Gears spun and the section that held his right leg began to turn, pulling his knee along with it. His lower leg was being pulled beyond it's threshold and a raw burning sting radiated up and down his leg and he felt and heard a rather loud crack and the sound of flesh ripping. He bit down on his lower lip as broken bone shard tore through the skin and he clenched his eyes shut.

"No! Stop it!" He heard her scream in futility, but he was more focused on the pain, searing and terrible, radiating up his body. Not soon enough the gears stopped as the did the sound of metal grinding and he looked down at his leg. The knee was all but shattered and his foot was pointed at a rather awkward angle. Even if he did get out of this, he didn't know if he would ever be able to fully repair that leg, and if he didn't get out soon he was sure the rest of his limbs would be equally destroyed as well.

With wavering vision he looked towards the stretcher and watched helplessly as Excella tore through Claire's upper thigh with the knife, the redhead looked close to passing out. Excella grabbed a piece of flesh with her bare hand and pulled, tearing it up and almost off of her. He closed his eyes shut tightly as a loud scream echoed throughout the warehouse and waited for the grinding of metal to sound.

Nothing happened. He opened his eyes to see Excella doubled over on the ground holding her hand gingerly to her chest. Her hand was burned, and flesh bubbled and popped sickeningly.

...

What the hell was going on? Apparently Excella had forgotten about her fine brand of torture and the smell of burning leather permeated the air. Claire watched in surprise as her own blood perforated the leather strap in large sections. A realization and a strange feeling hit her like an oncoming truck.

When Sergei had bitten her earlier he himself had been burned; at the time she thought that it was some outside force but now...

Her blood apparently had some acidic quality to it, although how that was possible she had no idea. She wasn't even sure if she wanted to know but now that she knew this she could use it to melt the straps away. Despite the pain of the skin dangling off of her leg in chunks she wiggled around in order to get more blood on the strap. Finally it was weak enough and she pushed her body upward a small smile on her face as it snapped free. As she went to work on procuring some more blood she noticed that Sergei was making his way over to see what was going on. A shiny glint caught her eye and she turned her head. Excella's knife was still laying next to her on the table. She winced and pulled her arm up, bringing her palm along the blade with a hiss. The skin cut cleanly and she spread it along the strap across her chest. The leather began to bubble and burn away and finally she snapped it off.

"What the fuck?" Sergei mumbled, paying more attention to Excella than to her, "The burns..."

"R-R-Restrain her...you bumbling idiot! She's...getting away." Excella gasped out, the blood still on her hand forcing itself through her flesh to the bone. She leapt off the floor and towards a sink in the far corner, intent on washing herself clean of it.

Sergei's head snapped towards the stretcher and saw Claire scrambling to her feet, blood dripping off her legs onto the floor, sizzling as they hit the ground. Just how the hell was that possible, that seemingly acidic substance destroyed everything it touched but she was unfazed. She froze as he reached out for her arm and in a split second decision she flicked her hand upward to his face, blood landing directly in his one good eye. From the lamp she had slammed against it earlier and the flesh burning off of it now, she was sure he would be completely blind soon. He screamed out, wrenching one arm up to wipe his face off with his sleeve and she landed a swift kick with her unwounded leg into his crotch. He cried out and fell back onto the ground as she tore away towards Wesker.

"Wesker, are you alright? Don't worry, I'm going to get you down, okay?" She breathed, and his dim eyes seemed watery although she was sure she was imagining it.

"Cl-" His voice was cut out by the familiar sound of a gun firing and she watched in horror as blood seeped from the fresh bullet wound on his chest and dribbled down his torso. She turned around to find Sergei hunched over with a 9 millimeter in his hand, smoke was curling from the barrel and despite the pain he was in, he was pleased that he had landed that shot perfectly.

"NO!" She flew at him, faster than he could follow. Even if he had perfect eyesight he wouldn't have been able to see the furious woman coming directly at him. In a flash she was before him and his eyes widened to find every one of her injuries completely healed. She brought her leg up and kicked him directly in the jaw, sending him flying directly into the brunette behind him. They both slammed into the metal wall with unbelievable force and from the way Excella's neck was twisted, one had to believe that she was dead upon impact. Claire seemed to be unfazed and began slow strides toward Sergei who was covered in head to toe with his own blood with pieces of sharp metal jutting out from his back, courtesy of the shredded wall. His eyes were filled with something akin to disbelief as he watched her coming towards him. Pale skin seemed to fade into a greenish hue, and vine-like veins spread up throughout her body. Her clothes fell away, burning off into ash, and something black fell to the floor with a dull clunk. Her normally dull red hair was now a vibrant fire color, and her eyes were glowing a bright turquoise complete with a perfect golden ring in the center. His mouth was agape as she stood before him, in complete awe and almost reverence over this beautiful creature.

In the moment before she thrust her arm through his chest, he searched her face for any sign of regret or even humanity. He found none. Whatever this was that had taken her over had done so completely and his his last moments he realized that she wasn't even Claire anymore.

...

A/N: -sigh- I know...this one took an abhorringly long time to write, as the story comes to a close I find myself at a loss most times as what to put down. I am already planning on rewriting this entire story in the future, as I know that my writing seems to be lacking in comparison to other pieces. Also I'm in the process of getting all S's on Darkside on Very Hard lol. Plus combine that with my family duties, housework, my job and my fanart, I'm not very available to post flash-like chapters. Do not fret, however, this is the second to last chapter I think. I may add an epilogue or a flash forward to the sequel-which I am unsure of when I'm going to work on that but sometime within the next few months-but we'll see. Everything is basically on a 'we'll see' basis. I hope you liked this chapter and I know it was wayyyy overdue but the finale to this story may take even longer to crank out. Anyhow, read and review and thanks guys for your undying support. I appreciate it tenfold.

Heh. The word Virus in latin translates to...Virus...Lmao. Go figure.