Chapter 14: Relapse

The mansion was silent. And though the lights were all on, it still passed on like it was haunted. The feeling in the air was icy, maybe even supernatural, but Rurik didn't let it bite him. In fact, the Russian could care less. He knew the person he sought was in this luxurious home somewhere. The building had once belonged to a Tricell executive, but that all changed when he was hauled off for the lawsuit following Kijuju. However, Rurik could tell that the place hadn't had its owners in it for quite some time. Maybe the executive was off on business when he was apprehended by the BSAA.

No matter though. All the sources led HUNK here. He knew he was going to have to be extra cautious in dealing with the man he was looking for. He was dangerous, and there was no sure way that Rurik could trust him.

But we have a common enemy…now don't we? Rurik purred.

His boots echoed lightly on the marble floor of the first floor balcony. The spiraling staircase was elegant, looking in place with the large windows, exotic paintings, and expensive furniture. Rurik cocked his Desert Eagle. He took a moment to remember where his knives, machine gun, and shotgun were located on his body. He tore the gas mask off of his handsome face, strapping it to the waist of his uniform. Fresh, cool air hit his skin, and Rurik closed his eyes to take a deep breath.

He had to make wise decisions. He couldn't just wander around the mansion until he came upon the man he hunted. Rurik could already sense the prickling feeling on his neck that he was being watched. Maybe he would be lucky, and the hunted would come out and face him. If HUNK knew the man at all, he knew it was quite possible that he would.

Come out, come out…wherever you are…

Rurik smirked at his thought, feeling too much like the cat hunting the mouse. Then again, if he wasn't careful, he knew that the man he sought for would easily turn that around. Soon an icy cold feeling came from his back, and he could feel the dark presence looming from behind him. Someone was standing behind him, close to the front double doors he had used to enter the large home. The overhead balcony of the second floor made a large umbra spill across the first floor, and so Rurik couldn't even test that for the person's personal shadow.

"Well, well, well. What do we got here? It has been awhile…Mr. Death…"

Rurik didn't dare turn around. He stayed calm, standing in the same position he had frozen in. He icy grey eyes flicked to look behind him, but he didn't turn his head either. "Yes…it has been awhile…eh Jack?"

Claire rubbed her temples, feeling the headache forming even as she was filling out all the forms Regina needed. In her rush to get back to the states, Claire forgot to fill out the forms and a report from her service in Europe. She had called Regina back almost a month ago, and she had just received the papers yesterday from overseas. Heaving a sigh, Claire tried to keep focused on the forms as she sat in the break room at the BSAA HQ.

Her mind would only wander off however. Jill was in the process of having a session with Wesker. Chris had been in here with Claire, distracting her further until he was called to talk to Wentworth. She could tell that her brother was cleverly onto her and Wesker's relationship. It was getting harder and harder for Claire to keep it from them. Even though Wesker and her first slept together a few weeks back, that didn't mean they hadn't stopped there. Claire didn't have no idea how the days blurred together, but it did seem like it just happened the other day.

She could tell that days were getting longer, however. The BSAA were getting frustrated with Wesker's lack of remembering anything. The same went with her brother and the others. Claire feared that if something didn't break soon, something was going to happen…especially between Chris and Wesker. The hate had returned between them, and though Wesker remained calm in Chris's presence, Claire could tell there was something threatening there when Chris was around. Wesker would later tell her that she was seeing things, that Chris was not harassing him in any way. This in turn was causing a strain in Claire's relationship with Chris. She just couldn't help the feelings she had for Wesker. She just wished that Chris could understand it. And though Claire trusted Jill if she ever decided she needed to talk to her about it all, it still made her uneasy knowing what Jill had gone through in the past as Wesker's puppet.

And if all this wasn't stress enough, Claire knew that Leon would be coming in soon. She had no idea what she was going to tell him. Though they were only friends, she knew she had feelings for Leon, and she knew that Leon had feelings for her. They had kissed on a couple of occasions and had almost slept together at one time. Claire was torn by it. It wasn't fair to Leon. She knew all of this was especially unfair to Chris…

Maybe I went too far with Albert…After so many years of struggling, Chris…nor Leon doesn't deserve this…

Claire would try and put herself into Chris's shoes to try and feel what he was feeling. It wasn't as if she had to try hard, she knew the pain and anger and frustration he felt for Wesker. She remembered having it herself when Wesker was evil. There were even rare moments while she was with Wesker now that would cause her to hesitate, making her start to worry that this was all an illusion. There would be those rare moments where Wesker was studying something, and his eyes held a dark, cloudy storm within as if he was remembering things that he shouldn't be. She would be lying to herself if she said it didn't scare her.

"Are you alright, Claire?"

Claire jumped, not expecting anyone to show up in the break room at this time. She looked over at Rebecca, saw that Billy was with her. Rebecca looked thoroughly concerned for her.

"I'm fine. These forms I have to fill out for Terra Save are killing me!" she replied, faking a laugh.

"You are as white as a ghost. You look positively sick," Rebecca sighed.

"No, no. I'm fine, really."

Rebecca opened her mouth to protest, but Billy covered her lips with his hand. "Drop it, Becca. She doesn't want to talk. How about we leave her alone?"

Rebecca sighed. "Fine. You know where to find me, Claire…you know, if you need something."

Claire eased a weak smile. "Thanks, Becca."

The couple left, leaving her alone once more. Claire gave a soft smile, knowing that Rebecca and Billy were only meaning well. She thought back with a small laugh remembering a few weeks ago when Rebecca was annoyed with Billy on why he wouldn't tell her about his day off and where he had gone. Soon, the answer came clear as Billy had taken the time to get Rebecca an engagement ring. He proposed to her those few weeks ago. Claire and the others were extremely happy for the both of them.

Claire tried to focus on the forms, picking up her pen instead of tapping it on the table. It seemed to take her several minutes before she could start writing. She barely finished the first line of information, before she heard the door open again. She almost gulped upon seeing Jill this time. Jill eyed her, giving Claire the idea that she was suspicious. Jill walked calmly over to the table, drawing out a chair to sit down across from her lover's younger sister.

"Hey Jill," Claire mumbled, turning her head back down to the forms.

Jill didn't answer right away. Claire saw the older woman fold her arms and lean back in the chair, still peering at Claire. "You have been strangely distracted for weeks now. Care to share what is going on?"

It didn't surprise Claire to know that Jill was onto her. She was actually surprised Chris hadn't confronted her first. Claire sat down the forms and pen slowly, taking the time to think of wise words.

"Well, you know…everything. All of this that is going on here with Al…Wesker…and Leon is supposed to be coming in soon, and I forgot to fill out these papers from Europe."

"Don't play dumb with me," Jill sighed. "Don't think that I don't see what is going on between you and Wesker. Now, I am doing my best to keep Chris from believing the same thing, only to prevent anything bad from happening. I just want to let you know that you are taking a serious risk. I'm not here to try and stop you, but you have more than enough reason from all of our experiences to think twice on what you are getting yourself into."

Claire felt anger bristle from Jill's words at first, but soon it subsided into understanding. Jill was just trying to help her, more so protect her. She wasn't forcing Claire to make a decision. Claire knew that Chris would be a whole different story with this situation. Jill was right, and it made Claire feel very sick in the pit of her stomach.

"I…don't understand how all of this happened," Claire confessed.

Jill eased somewhat. "It's fine. It doesn't matter."

"But he isn't the same man he was…"

Jill shook her head. "No, he is still the same man. He will always be Wesker, no matter how he acts. You cannot forget that he has still killed thousands of people and kidnapped Sherry. He has a different mindset. How? We don't know. Dustin and his team believe it is because of the trauma he received when he died in the volcano."

"So, you believe he will remember and turn evil again?" Claire asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jill heaved a sigh. "I cannot answer that. All I know is that he is not a threat right now. It is still hard for me to be around him, but at the same time it is very easy because I know he isn't the same. However, there is a darkness to him even now that we must be wary of. I can work with him now, but if my fear towards him begins worsening…it's over."

Claire stayed quiet, taking in Jill's words. It was almost like Wesker was a chained pit bull. His old self was pulling and pulling on that chain. Soon it would snap, and the pit bull would be loose. Claire quickly shook her head. She had to believe that Wesker would remain exactly as he was now…the man she fell in love with.

But how can you be so sure that nothing bad is going to happen? Her second conscious asked.

"Do you fear him, Claire?" Jill asked, looking hard into Claire's unsure eyes.

Claire shook her head. "No…not anymore."

Jill twitched a hallow smile, moving to get out of her seat. "You should…"

Claire lowered her eyes, staring down at her forms until she heard Jill leave. She let loose a much needed sigh, feeling even more nausea consume her. She tried so hard to focus back on her papers, but found the effort to be straining. She decided she could fill them out at home. She jumped when her cell phone started to ring. By the ring tone, she could tell it was Leon. Twitching a smile, Claire answered it.

"Hey, Leon."

"Claire Redfield?"

Claire frowned. This wasn't Leon. It was a woman on the other end. "Yes, this is her. Who are you? And where is Leon?"

"I'm sorry; this is Ingrid Hunnigan, Leon's case manager. We met a couple years back after the Harvardville incident, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. It's nice to speak to you again. Is everything alright? Where's Leon?"

"Well, it's my job to call immediate family if something comes up."

Claire's heart rose to her chest, and her stomach seemed to twist into an agonizing knot. She slowly shook her head, dreading the worse news. "Wha…what?"

"Well, seeing as Leon only listed you as immediate family, I am obligated to call you above all others."

"What happened to him?" Even though Ingrid was trying to remain a professional tone, Claire could sense that the woman was stressed about something. This didn't help Claire's fears at all.

Leon, what did I tell you about trying your luck?

"He went missing yesterday around late evening. The Australian BSAA unit we were working with was able to locate him the following morning from a direct order of the President. Leon was able to complete his objective, but-"

"I don't care about his damn objective!" Claire barked, jumping up out of her seat. She noticed Wesker had just entered the break room and was now peering at her curiously. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of him at the moment and focus on Leon. "What happened to him?"

"I assure you, Claire, he is going to be fine. He will-ack! Leon give that back!"

Claire heard a shuffling noise and then she heard Leon's voice. She just about died in relief. She even had to collapse into her chair to catch herself. Oh God…he is alright!

"Geez, Hunnigan! You are gonna scare the poor girl! Why don't you just tell her I'm in the damn hospital?" Leon barked. "Claire?"

"Leon, you asshole! Don't scare me like that!"

"Well, it's not my fault I almost got blown up!"

"Blown up? How?"

"Well, I will tell you all about it when I get back over there. Let's just say that the man I was after was trying to kill me, and well, he accidentally blew himself up. I get a Medal of Honor for that, and I didn't even have to apprehend him."

"Geez! When are you coming back?"

"They want to keep me here for a week, but I am going to try and get out sooner…uh-oh…Hunnigan's giving me an evil look so that probably means that my effort will be in vain. But I only have a few cuts and bruises…and a few minor burns."

"We had to dig a shard out of in between one of your ribs, you jerk!" Claire heard Ingrid yell on the other side.

"Okay, well I need to get off of here. I will be sure to call you back later when things have settled down, alright Claire?" Leon stated.

Claire eased a smile, feeling her heart start to finally slow and relax. She was relieved to hear that Leon was alright, and would be heading home soon. "Alright. Take care, Leon."

She slapped the cell phone shut, thoughts and emotions buzzing like a raging hornet's nest.

"Is everything alright, dear heart?"

Claire smiled up at Wesker, slowly nodding. "Yeah, now. Leon almost blew himself up…the ass. I tell ya, he has got to be one of the luckiest guys…the things he survives."

Wesker kissed her on the forehead. "You looked like you were about to explode."

Claire chuckled. "I could believe that."

The door the break room burst open. Claire jumped, her and Wesker turning to see a very pale, very anxious Jill. "Both of you come on now! There's been an emergency relapse in Kijuju!"

Sheva stood almost lost on the central platform in the experimental facility. Josh was messing with the computer console not far from her, but all she could do was look up and down the mile long vertical drop. The platform was at a still right now, with several BSAA members walking about and talking. The countless, man-sized capsules were all in the process of being discarded professionally. Sheva closed her eyes for a moment, thinking back to the last time she stood on the revolving, elevator-like platform. She and Chris had fought a gigantic crab based BOW called U-8.

"What the hell?" Josh hissed, still hacking into the mainframe. Sheva snapped out of her thoughts, immediately going to Josh.

"What is it?"

"There is a whole other section below the bottom plate of this place. How big can this place get? Worse yet, the mainframe has locked my ability to hack any further. I thought we were able to get the CEO to unlock them all?"

"Could we believe him if he said so?" Sheva snorted.

Josh went to nod, but then something slipped onto the computer screen, flashing red. Sheva read it and immediately her heart dropped to twist with her stomach. Josh slammed his fist down on the computer board cursing out in Swahili.

"The system has been overwritten by someone else! They have released the capsules down below us! We need to evacuate now!"

Sheva and Josh started out, calling the other soldiers to quickly leave the vicinity. Even as they started back for the Underground Garden to get back above ground, they could hear zipping electricity, small echoing explosions, and a rumbling that overtook the entire tunnel.

Just as they made out into the blazing heat of the sun on level ground, it was too late. Majini were attacking BSAA members all over the place. Several breeds of BOWs were swarming about, and it didn't end there. Josh grabbed Sheva's wrist, yanking her forward as creatures started to pour out of the underground tunnel. Some she recognized like the Bui Kichwa, Adjule, and Kipepeo. There were even some Licker Betas crawling out of the base, and they were soon followed by a swarm of Reapers.

"What the hell happened while we were down there?" Sheva yelled, running with Josh to find some cover and call for backup.

"I have no idea, but it has to be the work of whoever was on the mainframe when I was," Josh seethed.

"But we have all members of Tricell in custody!"

"We don't have time to dwell on it! Let's move!"

At this time, the ground began to rumble. Out of the tunnel entrance burst a very large creature the size of house. It let out a screeching roar that sent a wind of rancid death in their direction. As Sheva looked over her shoulder at the BOW, she could only gather that it was a Komodo Dragon based weapon. It was covered in Uroboros, and slimy, whip and blade like tentacles consumed its body save for its gaping jaws and burning eyes.

"What if he is down in the Research Facility? We need to go stop him!" Sheva shouted, taking aim to shoot at attacking Majini.

"We don't know that for sure!" Josh argued, being grabbed by another Majini. Sheva was able to knock the attacker off, and the two of them worked together to watch their backs.

Kijuju was still across the large lake. There were only small shantytowns close by where the BSAA had made short cuts down into the Research Facility. Sheva, however, worried about how far backup was. The closet unit was an hour's drive. So unless they got some helicopters in, they would be hanging tight.

"Can we take the chance?" Sheva retorted, knowing the shantytowns were going to be swarming with BOWs shortly.

Josh took a moment to think in the maelstrom of the sudden outbreak. His adrenaline was flowing just as hers was. He cursed something, but Sheva could not hear it over firing at an attacking dog that came out.

"Alright! Take lead! I got your back, Sheva!" he called.

Rurik slowly turned around, raising in his hands into the air to show that he wasn't going to do anything rash. He still held onto his handgun, but looked Jack Krauser directly into his inhuman eyes.

Krauser looked mostly the same to Rurik, save for the severely scarred left arm he had. The arm looked normal, but the scars were so heavy, Rurik couldn't tell what was left of untouched to some kind of damage. There were the same scars of Krauser's face, but other than that, he was spotless. His eyes held this catlike severity, inhuman yellowish orange. Krauser was still large and bulky with his slicked back blonde hair. He wore combat boots and army pants, but no shirt. His chest was chiseled and strong, with no traces of war scars even though Rurik knew he should have had them.

Rurik decided to try his luck and be a smart-ass. "Well, it's taken me about a month to find you. Since when did you start hiding like a rabbit in the hole?"

"Oh, I'm no rabbit, Black Fox. They do still call you Black Fox right? I forget since you have so many nicknames. I remember they used to call you and Nicholai the Black and Silver Foxes," Jack chuckled, playing with a large, sleek combat knife. Rurik noticed some firearms on him as well.

"Sure, why not? It's an old name, but I guess I could humor you. Are you not going to tell me to drop my gun?" Rurik asked.

"Go ahead if you want to. It isn't like shooting me is going to solve your problem, Rurik," Krauser snorted.

"How did you survive Spain? I thought Mr. Kennedy blew you to hell."

"He did, but I came straight back. I guess the parasite likes me a lot," Krauser chuckled. "I'm not near as strong as Wesker, but I could be as time passes."

"Would you like me to get you some de-wormer to rid you of that nasty Las Plagas?" HUNK inquired, smiling.

"I like these worms."

"I bet you do, but they won't protect you forever."

Krauser grinned darkly. "Try me. Why are you here anyways, Rurik?"

"We have a common enemy. I thought I would try gaining your partnership. I know that you remember where he is located."

"Oh, you mean Nicholai? Still on that brother vendetta, are ya? Doesn't that get old?"

"Do you still work for Wesker?"

"Wesker is dead."

"Oh actually," Rurik said. "He is very much alive. He just can't remember who he is much less what he was."

Krauser was quiet for a moment, his grin only growing darker. Rurik remained calm, still keeping his arms raised, but his fingers held tightly onto the handgun. He watched the German-American ex-soldier think for a moment.

"So…do you want Ada dead too? I really hate that bitch."

Rurik smirked. "That would be a nice bonus."

"So, what really do you want besides your brother? They don't call you a fox for nothing," Krauser growled.

"I want the Red Queen. I am working for Corporation S. They are paying me good money to recover it for them."

"Taking advantage of Wesker's fall, eh? Smart man, Rurik. Then again, you and Nicholai have always been that way. I am always curious to see who the better brother is. Did Nicholai do something mean to you when you were little? I know big brothers can be jerks, but this vendetta of yours is almost twisted, Rurik."

"When I meet up with Nicholai, you will see who the better brother is. As for the vendetta, his is just as twisted."

"And what is in it for me if I help you?" Krauser inquired, flexing his scarred left arm and making HUNK wonder just what was up with the arm.

"You get one dead bitch, one dead Kennedy, and a place in S with lots of money," Rurik quickly answered. "I can get you something else if you like."

Krauser laughed. "If they pay as good as Wesker did, maybe I will consider it. Then again, I like taking advantage of this new power I have and doing whatever the fuck I want. How about we have a little battle, Rurik? For old time's sake? No deathmatch, just a little duel. If I win, I call the shots. If you win, then I will gladly show you where the Red Queen is at."

Rurik nodded. "Sounds good."

"So get your weapon ready," Jack chuckled, getting his body stance ready to wield the deadly knife.

Rurik was quick to get ready. He couldn't trust Jack in the fact that this was not a deathmatch, but it wasn't as if he had much of a choice either. He aimed his handgun at Krauser, knowing one good shot could always kill the man before him if needed.

"Yes, use the gun. You don't have to worry about it killing me," Krauser snickered, tossing the knife aside.

HUNK expected him to draw his own handgun, but soon he saw Krauser hold out his scarred left arm. In seconds, the flesh was being ripped away and the limb was growing bigger and bigger. Rurik was surprised, actually taking a step back as the large blade on the arm fanned out the length of Krauser's body. Jack started to chuckle, looking at his newly transformed arm.

"It has taken me a long while, but I have synced my body completely with the Las Plagas. I can now turn my arm back and forth at my will."

"I would say impressive, but it is rather disgusting."

Krauser slashed his arm out, making Rurik duck quickly. The blade came around, slashing one of the tall lanterns in the main hall right in half. "Let's dance, Mr. Death."

"What happened to this not being a deathmatch?" Rurik growled.

"Well then, you better start talking up some better deals then, Rurik."

Claire had helped them load up the plane with supplies. It would be long trip to Africa, even as quickly as they were moving. The closest airport was in Accra in Ghana. From there they would be loading up in a couple of helicopters to head to ground zero.

Claire had won a battle in order to even step foot onto the plane. Both Chris and Wesker both did not want her to come along for the mission. Claire was able to get Wentworth's approval, only because of her position in Terra Save and how close it and BSAA worked together. It wasn't as if Wentworth could deny her, and so she got aboard for the mission. She wasn't the only one coming along with Chris, Jill, and Wesker. Barry, Carlos, Billy, and Rebecca were also here. The only reason Rebecca was here was because the medic officers that were normally sent out into drastic situations like this were already over there. Rebecca was coming as medical support, not just defense. Billy was not happy about it at all. Chris was also issued commanding officer. Wentworth gave him twenty other BSAA members lead into Kijuju to help the West African branch that was already there.

Claire gulped, knowing that there were even some Terra Save units there to help with the recovery. Well, it seemed as though Kijuju had turned back into an infected war zone. Chris briefed them as the plane took off from the international military airport in D.C.

"Wentworth says that Sheva and Josh are missing. They were there when the relapse hit, but nobody knows how this happened. We need to locate them as we clear out the outbreak. Hopefully they are okay, and we can find them and figure out what the hell happened over there."

Claire had no idea where the feeling came from, but she had this sudden sickness form in the pit of her stomach. Her intestines seemed to knot and her heart fluttered way too much. In this dire situation, she could only hope that everything was going to turn out okay. She had the uncanny feeling that something very bad was going to happen once they landed in ground zero.

A/N: That's a wrap for this chapter! :) I hope all of you liked it! It was long and full of all kinds of things happening. So what did you think about Krauser's return? I figure I could elaborate more on the parasite in his body in later chapters. Oh and for those who have played RE: Outbreak File 2, then you know that Nicholai's real nickname was the Silver Fox lol. I just thought I would call HUNK the Black Fox. Next chapter is going to be completely full of action and horror yay! I know a month seemed like a big jump from last chapter, but trust me it was for the best in what is yet to come for not only the characters, but for everything else. So sorry about that lol. Well tell me your thoughts on this chapter! XD Thanks everyone for reading and reviewing! You rock!