Author's Note: Well, another update here. It's been dreadfully long since I last submitted one; I apologize, but the lack of time deprived me of writing. But anyway, here it is. Nothing much happens... kiddin', there's a lot of things here in one same scenario. Things aren't going to be good, I assure you. Enjoy the read!^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any of its characters.

14

All For Nothing

Wesker didn't know what had hit him, and that was surprising until he realized what was happening.

He was sent a good distance away from William after receiving one of the strongest kicks he'd ever felt, and the strength William now possessed was clearly inhuman. As he swiftly recovered in spite of feeling a raging pain in his chest, he looked at William, whom he saw breathing heavily, with difficulty, and trying to stand up without losing his balance. Then he yelled again, clutching his head between his hands and slamming his right shoulder against the wall in an attempt to palliate his pain.

Looking up, he found Annette staring in horror at him with Sherry behind her back. It was heartbreaking… to know that even your own daughter can be scared of you.

"Get… Get away…" With each passing moment, William found it more difficult to speak. He couldn't stand, he couldn't walk… not in his actual form. He was doing his best to keep his constant changing under control until there came moment when his whole body seared with pain, pain like fire of the deepest of the pits of Hell. He wouldn't resist for long; it was torture. When he felt something warm slide down his arm, he found it soaked in blood, even though it had been painless. A huge gash was opening, and they all knew very well why.

"Oh, God! William!" Annette was on the verge of breaking down, watching everything William was going through. The saddest part of it was she couldn't do anything about it: she had no vaccine, no nothing to make it stop. In moments, William would just become another mindless killing machine should nothing be done to prevent it.

Instantly, they saw William fall to the ground quickly with a loud oof, his arms pinned behind his back, and Wesker kneeling on top of him, syringe in hand. With a quick movement, Wesker dug the needle into his neck, rushing its contents into his bloodstream. For an instant, William grew stiff as he winced, but then he struck Wesker with renewed force and vigour, hard enough to release himself from his grip and crawl from under Wesker's body. With all the force he could muster, his leg connected with Wesker's hands, which had blocked the blow that would've certainly broken more than his nose. Without a moment's hesitation and striking from his side, William was about to kick Wesker when another bolt of agony struck his body and he cried in pain, the cry one of a monster similar to the one that was taking control of him.

Sherry sprung into action. Since the moment Trent's gun had been knocked out of his hand, she had been hatching plans to help her father and put an end to all this -if God wanted and she proved to be skilled enough. She had found an advantage to the situation: she was small and her good shape would prove useful to move and avoid incoming attacks. As such, she didn't hesitate a single second to carry out her strategy.

She dashed towards Trent, who was about to pick the gun up from the floor, and she kicked it further away with strength. She was about to start running towards it when Trent suddenly caught her ankle and twisted it, making her fall down with a dull thud. She bumped her chin against the cold floor, but it wasn't the time to worry about her injuries, and she blinked away the tears of pain. She fought and wriggled to free herself and Annette suddenly rushed to her aid, stepping on Trent's hand as she told her to hurry. Sherry, picking up the gun herself and leaving her mother, headed towards the struggling Wesker and William, suddenly finding herself with no idea of what to do.

She didn't know how to use the gun or even why she had it in her hand; her mind had gone blank in just a flash. Also, she didn't know why she was running towards her father, but she soon found out as she was only five steps away from him.

Annette, who had struggled to stand her ground against Trent to keep him from reaching Sherry, realized in horror what she was about to do. The momentary distraction gave Trent the opportunity to elbow Annette's ribs harder than before, and she cried out in pain and surprise.

It wasn't the time to bother with him; her daughter would be walking right towards her death if she didn't stop William. Knowing what he had done in Raccoon, Annette understood he wouldn't hesitate to do so again.

Birkin seemed unfazed by exhaustion, as if the concept was literally unknown to him. Wesker didn't expect otherwise though, knowing how rapidly the virus had started to act, giving him incredible strength and stamina… but at a very high price. Thanks to the serum he'd administered William minutes earlier, the virus' amplification process had been halted but with such a high quantity of the agent within his body, desperately struggling to trigger his mutation, the serum's effects wouldn't last long. And that was the exact reason Wesker had to work quickly; if not, things could go awry.

The situation was getting out of hand, and Wesker couldn't cope with that. As much as it vexed him, the more he thought about a possible alternative, the more difficulty he had to find one. He had almost nothing to defend himself, but he had to remind himself the reasons: weapons against William in his current state would be their doom, and he couldn't afford to cause him more physical strain. If he kept getting worked up, Birkin would eventually reach his limits and the mutation would start.

And the nightmare would repeat itself, with only one minor difference: Wesker wouldn't be in the sidelines this time.

When William was about to step forward again, he also stepped forward to restrain him, but his efforts weren't necessary. William stopped dead in his tracks, a sudden look of anxious horror across his features. Such emotions were practically non-existent for the monster that attempted to show itself again, so out of a quick deduction, Wesker thanked that persistence -almost extreme- was one of Birkin's best traits, because that was what would help him now, nothing else.

It was partly because of the spark of sanity that he stopped, but then Wesker noticed someone behind William, somebody shorter.

Sherry.

With determination that was faltering and strengthening at the same time, the girl was holding her father at gunpoint. She was clearly hesitant and afraid, unable to control the tremble of her legs; still, her arms didn't move, tense and ready. She kept her finger away from the trigger, but it was still close enough for her not to take more than a second to pull it.

Slowly, Birkin looked back, and Sherry found it difficult to avoid the gasp that threatened to escape her lips. She witnessed what the beginning of the mutation had done to his body, and her stomach churned. His shirt was completely stained crimson, and only a few patches remained white. Looking at his bloodstained jaw-line, the realization harshly hit Sherry: he had been about to bleed to death without a reason, without a visible injury that had been inflicted, and she didn't understand how he could still be alive.

"Don't you dare shoot, Sherry, not if you want to keep him alive." Wesker said in a threatening undertone, and Sherry couldn't agree more than she did already. Of course, a bullet to the head was a successful method to kill instantly, but she somehow understood the other meaning of that statement. Besides, she just wouldn't be able to do it, no matter for how long she argued with her mind. A sensible thought would be to shoot the same moment she saw her life endanger; the irrational one was to wait and to stand still. She couldn't kill her father, directly or indirectly.

What they didn't expect was what Trent did next.

"Stop!" Wesker felt a harsh but useful rush of adrenaline, and his first and only reaction was to step forward and attempt to push William out of the way.

Trent had approached Sherry from behind and it was his hand which was now closed around the gun's handle, his finger ready to shoot it. Sherry didn't have any time to react, and she could already see the outcome of her failed plan because of her carelessness. Wesker managed to push Birkin out of the way, but now he was the bullet's target. He suddenly stopped, slipped and attempted to jump back, but there was no way he could avoid falling down.

Trent slid his finger to the trigger.

They all heard a shot, but one that didn't come from Trent's gun at all.

Wesker looked up, Annette turned around, and they both saw a person who was familiar to the former.

It was Samantha, and the muzzle of her gun was trained on Trent's shoulder.

"It's time you died already, you goddamned son of a bitch!" she bellowed in fury and with surprising strength in spite of being breathless. Another bullet, and she hit Trent's other shoulder. The man stumbled to one side, standing up and turning around as he ignored the pain as much as he could.

Annette quickly approached the dying Trent and retrieved Sherry, holding her tightly against her chest away from his grasp. Sherry was trying desperately not to have a nervous breakdown; the tension was killing her. Her eyes were wide, staring solely at William, who had seemed to regain a few moments of sanity.

"You damned shrew!" Trent shouted in response after losing his composure. Samantha approached the group, gun still aimed at the man, and she bared her teeth fiercely at him. Trent slumped against the wall and didn't resist; it would be foolish to endanger his life further. Well, he was screwed after all; he knew Wesker wouldn't be merciful. He was just a cold-blooded bastard, and now his dislike towards the man spiked and reached higher levels.

"Wesker!"

He half-turned and the sight just struck him as a horrible surprise: William had fallen unconscious in Annette's arms, and he knew very well what that would cause. He was running out of time. His decision was instant.

"Samantha, I'll grant you the pleasure of finishing him off. As much as I would like to stay and do it myself, I have more important matters to take care of." He told her, his voice cold as ice. "Meet me at Lab 5; don't take too long."

"Gotcha." Samantha nodded sharply. Wesker got down to work: along Annette, he helped the unconscious Birkin up and they quickly headed down the hall, Sherry following closely. The pain in her ribs was intense and persistent, but Annette didn't have the time to attend to her wounds or even complain. If there was a time to show her strength and prove her determination, it was now.

Sherry desperately wanted to ask if William would make it out, since she worried to death and was aware of what was happening. The little knowledge she had about the G-virus had helped her understand. She'd collected the information from the many conversations she'd heard between the scientists that had treated her, and that was when it hit her.

She hadn't felt the virus's effects in more than an hour. What had happened?

She almost bumped into Wesker when he stopped suddenly, having the feeling they had reached their destination. In fact, they had: Lab 5 stretched out before them as they crossed the doorway. It was wide and full of experimentation tools, and she remembered that this same lab had been the place where she'd been treated.

"Sherry, look through that set of test tubes and bring me the one labelled 'Gene A', hurry." Wesker issued the orders swiftly, no trace of tension in his voice. "Let's lie him down here, Annette." As he indicated, they laid William on the long examination table. Sherry returned to where they were a couple of seconds later, vial in hand. "Keep an eye on him; if he moves more than he should, hold him down. We can't afford to make any mistakes."

"What's that?" Annette inquired, watching Wesker place the vial into a machine similar to the VAM in the Raccoon lab and punch in some codes. He didn't reply immediately, first focusing on activating the machine.

"A serum to stop the mutation or, at least, slow it down." He replied simply.

"But wasn't the virus too quick to be stopped by a vaccine?" asked Sherry gingerly, fearing Wesker's answer. "Besides, the mutations have already started!"

"That might be true, but how come William hasn't mutated once in this last month after he made it out of Raccoon City?" Wesker retorted rhetorically. "The only plausible explanation is because the virus entered a dormant state, just like it did within you, Sherry." He typed in a command and the machine whirred loudly, finishing its work. "The serum I administered him before will certainly prove itself to be an obstacle for the virus, thus slowing down the mutation process and, per ende, its mitosis. Its effects are strong in spite of their short duration. Believe me, Gene isn't as fast as you think it is; even a virus like this has its weaknesses."

Annette hoped he was right. She knew thinking about a possibility to save William at such a juncture was nothing far from impossible, but there were always ways to solve a problem like the one they had at hand. The serum was--

It suddenly clicked. "What's the vaccine made with?" she quickly piped up, her voice demanding. Wesker finally looked up from the computer screen and stared at her long and hard.

"Your daughter's antibodies." He said. "The serums I administered her were exactly the same as the one in preparation right now, although this vaccine is a tad more complex and, if God's willing to make it so, more effective."

In that moment, William coughed painfully, his breathing laboured and weak. His whole body tensed and he gave out a dull groan through gritted teeth. Wesker felt his impatience grow; the machine was taking too long for such an easy task.

Come on…

The more they waited, the worse William's state was. The virus was slowly starting to work again, and it wouldn't be long until it had spread throughout his body again. The only thing they could rely on was the antibodies Sherry had developed against the constant infections and Wesker's handy serums, but he knew they wouldn't last long enough against the frenzied nature of the agent.

The machine beeped loudly and Wesker procured the finished vaccine, approaching a now spasming William. With her jacket and her belt, Annette was desperately trying to hold the flow of blood from the gash at his shoulder with a makeshift tourniquet, but the blood didn't relent and William was paling considerably.

"Damn, it's too much!" she exclaimed, her voice quivering. "He's going to die if the wound doesn't stop bleeding!" She shook her head. "It's the third eye! He's not going to make it!"

As much as he wanted to say it, Wesker couldn't tell her to calm down; even he was under distress. They could hear the wet smack of the eye forming under his flesh, a sound that made Wesker's own stomach churn. Of course, he'd faced problems and creatures that were quite disgusting, but G-mutated organisms took the prize this time, and there was no arguing it. Wesker quickly proceeded to inject him with it and as the liquid slowly entered his veins, Birkin cried out in agony unconsciously. The serum was starting to have effect, a small reason to hope. Annette watched in awe, and Sherry just clung to hope.

Only with a miracle would William win the raging battle inside his body.

And now we wait… Wesker thought, crossing his arms and sighing inwardly. Come on, old friend: it's time you finished this.

But deep down, he knew William Birkin was already dead.

A/N: Alright. I have to say something: since I'm in quite a deep mess now that I've delved into the matter and discovered what Gene can do, and I've also noticed thing weren't going to go as planned, this story will be turning canonical in its own way at the end. I believe you can guess what's going to happen, but I'm just warning you.

As for Leon and the others, we will be returning with them soon. You'll soon know why Carlos is actually helping them (was that a spoiler? xD) and who set the whole thing up. Stay tuned for more!^^