A/N: We'll start to jump time a little as I aim toward building the conspiracy. Shall we see a hero lose his way?

Orphan

Part Three:

-Something Wicked This Way Comes-

Chapter 19:

Out of Darkness

2006

Life with Weskers was easier than it should have been. It was a matter of training and determination and somehow? Love. Love was all over their time in that stupid slaughterhouse turned mansion.

Sherry watched him train and learned what she could from Alex regarding viruses. She trained, when he asked, beside and with him. She watched him get knocked down, bleed, and get back up. She adored him, admired him, admonished him for pushing too hard and found herself naked in his arms when the sun drifted down under the horizon in bath of gold and red.

She knew, in her gut, she should push him to get away from here...but she was happy. Somehow, some way, a Leon driven to clear his name and restore himself was a mesmerizing creature. She wanted nothing more than to stand beside him on the day he redeemed himself. She'd been in love with him, she thought, most of her life. Sometimes, she suspected she might have been born to love him.

It was trite. It was cliche. It was maudlin and meagerly romantic and permeated with the stench of too much girlish charm, but it was true. She loved him so much that she caught herself stroking his belly like a dog or something while he slept and watching his face. It couldn't end well. She knew that too. It couldn't end well.

She didn't care. She was going to keep him as long as she could.

The bad part was that he started to become something else.

It started out as a one man quest for redemption, but it rapidly became a man bent on revenge. As she watched, Wesker manipulated Leon into thinking he'd been the victim. He gathered thoughts and events and warped them somehow, making it evident that he was the wronged party. Did he believe that? Did he really think he was the betrayed hero in this rotten fairy tale of his?

It didn't take long to realize he did. Part of Wesker believed he was the injured party. Part of him really walked through life thinking he was the guy on a path to make the world a better place. It made him scary in a way she hadn't considered before because he was easily warping the world around him to his vision. He was taking the truth and making it muddled by eyes that were blinded with betrayal.

Leon started to believe in him.

The second she realized Leon was coming around to Wesker's side, she tried to find a moment to urge him to be careful. It was one thing to use the Wesker's for his plans for redemption, it was another to begin to believe in their work. Alex and Albert Wesker were geniuses. They were masterminds of manipulation. They worked around the truth until you started to wonder why you'd ever doubted them.

It was the moment Sherry started seeking the truth in secret. She went through their things when they were away. She was careful to learn the patterns of the security cameras in the compound and exercise the blind spots. She moved about like a ghost when she needed to, grateful to Leon for all his time spent teaching her stealth.

She found pages of ranting in Alex's diary. She found blurbs of old files in Wesker's desk. She found gathered notes between him and her father. Pleading from William for him to use control and caution. Annette's desperate attempt to stop the madness before it became a nightmare.

Her parent's weren't monsters - fools maybe- but not monsters. William eventually succumbed to Wesker's mania and followed him down into the darkness. Annette remained apart from it, worried about protecting Sherry while being drawn to the promise of the G-Virus being perfected. The truth was in black and white.

She wanted to show it to Leon, but they'd see her. They'd watch it happen. They'd never let her sway him that way. She was fairly sure they thought she was under their spell anyway.

Sherry knew Alex was playing her. She felt it every time they talked. She wanted a child and she wasn't subtle about it being Leon's and Sherry's. After that, Sherry doubled up on her efforts to avoid pregnancy. She started avoiding making love.

When she knew he was after it, she would find reasons to leave him to himself. The more she grew to resist him, the easier and clearer her vision became. At dinner one night, she listened to him talk about Simmons and the "subjective truth regarding the destruction of all man kind" and she came to a horrible conclusion - if she didn't find a way to stop it, Albert Wesker was going to turn his son into his protege.

Leon Kennedy on the wrong side of the fight was terrifying. He'd slaughtered over a thousand men himself in a single day or something...he was a machine. He was driven, ordinarily, by a desire to do good. What if Wesker convinced him that the good was "eradicating the weak to make room for the strong." What if he started killing in the name of a new world?

One afternoon, she broached the subject with him. He was lying in the sun with a book on his chest and almost asleep when he mused, "...maybe it's time for us to go."

Surprised, he opened his eyes and tilted his head at her, "...you're not happy here?"

It was the moment she knew that he was. He was happy here, in this place, away from the fight and the world and the rumors. He wasn't a weapon here, he was just a man...no...he was just a son.

Afraid that he'd forget about his mother and what she'd died for, Sherry went to her knees beside him. She stroked a hand down his chest and remarked, "I'm happy when I'm with you. I'm always happy...but this place...it's starting to feel like we've both forgotten what we promised here. Aren't you ready to start clearing your name?"

His hand slid up her arm. He smiled softly and petted along her bicep, bringing the tiny hairs alert in appreciation. She thought - nope. Touching is stupid. He's trying to distract you.

So, she rose from the ground and paced away. Surprised, Leon called, "What does it matter?"

Sherry turned, her eyes wide, and he added, "...maybe I don't clear my name. Maybe I stay here and we just...live. Would that be so bad?"

It was time to go.

He was almost gone.

She could see the shadow of who he'd been all over the lazy creature on the ground before her. He was losing focus, he was forgetting who he was, and Wesker was making sure to mold him into whatever parrot or puppet he was desperately seeking. She knew, if she stayed beside him, she would start to fall into the trap of it as well. Why? She'd never been able to stand against him. She didn't want to. She wanted him happy. She'd wanted, so long, for him to give up the fight and start a life.

But not like this.

He was unfinished. His fight wasn't over. He had to stop Simmons. He had to make sure those who'd framed him paid. He needed to protect the people in the path of a madman. He was hiding out here. He was letting Wesker convince him that revenge was a dish best served cold.

He needed to realize that the world beyond these walls still needed a hero.

How did she motivate him? How did she protect him? How did she make him see he was being used? But maybe that was all it was for him. He'd felt used and abused and betrayed outside these walls. Here? Here he was a prodigal son. He was treated with respect and adoration. Wesker made sure to teach him to fight and survive and channel all of his natural talent into making him a merciless machine.

He was happy here.

What did it mean that she wanted to take that away because she wasn't sure the world would survive without him?

If Simmons had his way, he'd manipulate his way into the White House. He'd assume control of the Senate. He'd lay the ground work for a coup that could leave the United States exposed to outside and foreign threats. She had no doubt that Derek Simmons, once a patriot, had sold pieces of himself to the highest bidder. What was his plan? To put a puppet in the place of the President and leave the country exposed to bioterror?

Maybe...maybe he assumed he'd run on a platform himself, unleashing viruses in areas to make the threat seem domestic. Maybe he meant to sell bioweapons as the cure for outbreaks like dogs or something. She pictured him preaching to the American people about the benefits of possession your very own B.O.W.

Scared of the undead? Buy your own hunter on sale today! Images of little kids using a hunter or a licker like a protective dog made Sherry shiver in fear. If no one stopped Simmons, would the country become a legalized breeding ground for B.O.W.S. Would they quickly replace home security systems as extension of the second amendment?

Jesus.

The reach of a man with the power of the President behind him was frightening.

Sherry backed up two steps. She glanced at the house behind him. She had no doubt they listened and saw everything. She needed a place to speak to him where the eyes and the ears of the Wesker's weren't watching and hearing every sneeze, gasp, and grunt of pleasure. She knew they watched them fuck. She knew they watched them fight. she knew they watched them sleep.

She knew.

She'd been a test subject all her life. She'd been watched from the moment Simmons had taken her in. She wasn't afraid of eyes watching her, but she was afraid of what it meant if Leon following in the footsteps of his father. He'd tear the world down in some insane attempt to save it.

She whispered, "...and what about me?"

He looked a little confused as she added, "...what about me, Leon? You promised to avenge me...if you stay here...if you do nothing...Simmons walks free. He gets away with framing you. He gets away with torturing me. He wanted you gone. Aren't you afraid of the reason why? He wanted you gone enough...to kill your mother."

That worked.

She watched it hit and leave a mark.

She nodded, "Yes. Your mother...you've let yourself become lazy here, Leon. You've forgotten that with you hiding out here, the rest of the world is exposed. He wanted you gone..." She hesitated and wanted to say it. She wanted to tell him that Wesker was likely in on that too. She wanted to remind him who his father was. But it was dangerous. It was so dangerous. So, she added, "...he's not the only one who wanted you gone...somebody is playing you. Can't you see that?"

He frowned.

She urged, feeling a quiver of fear, "We're not safe here, Leon. Not really. We need to go."

He rose from the ground, shaking his head, "You're being an alarmist, Sherry. They've been kind. They've protected us. They're helping me track down those responsible for my mother's death. They haven't offered violence or anything else. You said yourself he saved my life."

He shook his head again. The red of his eyes glinted in the sunlight. She felt an arrow of horror. Was it the virus in him? Was it over taking his common sense? She had no doubt it had done the same to the Wesker's at various points in their lives.

Alex seemed less a victim of her own machinations, but Albert was nearly deluded with self worth. He truly believed he had a greater purpose to rescue the world from itself. The progenitor in him was now in his son.

How long did Leon have before he became something else entirely?

Sherry urged, "Let's go...let's go now. Say goodbye and leave this place with me. OK? We can take what we know now and try to stop Simmons. We can clear your name. I'll help you."

Leon laughed lightly, "...you're being silly. We're safe here. You're safe here. You think I'd take you back out there? I can't protect you out there. I died trying, right? I won't risk it... I can handle my father."

My father.

Not Wesker, not anymore...now? Now it was my father. She was terrified it was too late to stop him from bonding to the man who'd once been the mortal enemy of the entire truth he stood for.

Sherry felt a seed of panic start. She moved toward him and grabbed his arm. Surprised again, he gave her an exasperated look as she shook her head, "...don't. Don't call him that. He's the reason you exist, but he's not your father. He was never that. Your mother died trying to protect you from him. Don't you see it? He claims he chose to stay away...but maybe she kept him away. You ever consider she was trying to spare you from the truth of who he was?"

Annoyed, he grabbed her arm and shook her with it, "...stop it! Listen to yourself, Sherry. She left the photo for me to find. If she wanted me to avoid him, why leave me the truth of who he was? You're being stupid here."

Hurt, shaking with it, Sherry tried one last time, "...maybe she wanted you to know who to get revenge against."

He froze. She nodded, rapidly, "Yeah...maybe she wanted you to know who to kill to avenge her. Damnit, Leon...don't do this. Don't believe in him...you know what he is. My father was just like him."

And then?

He killed her where she stood. He simply shoved her away and remarked, "Yeah...a monster, right? Like I am now...like you."

Sherry went still with hurt. He laughed angrily and started back toward the house, slinging his last remark at her like a weapon, "...you'd think someone who'd been turned into something else against her will would understand his plight. He didn't choose what he is, Sherry, he's just trying to exist within it. You should do the same. Your father was the monster...he forced himself on you to make you one. Mine? He hasn't forced me into anything. He just wants me to understand...our father's were nothing alike."

It was too late.

It was too late.

He was gone.

She watched him cross the grass toward the building. She backed up three steps. As if he sensed it, he turned toward her. She tilted her head, "...what happened to you?"

Leon sensed something on her because he warned, "...don't, Sherry. I mean it."

She backed up again. Her voice broke, "I should have protected you. I thought I was saving you. I should have listened...you didn't want this. You didn't want to be this...and now it's too late. He has you. He has you like he had my father before that. He has you and he has me...and he has the future right here. We've walked right into his hands. Can't you see it?"

She backed up again. Leon took a step toward her, "...what are you doing?"

She whispered it now, "...saving you."

She turned. She ran. She heard him shout and give chase.

She went through the woods like she had wings on her feet. She ran so fast that it might have made a mortal's lungs burst. She poured on the speed until she reached the wall surrounding the compound. She scaled it like she had feet made of suction cups. She went up, she went over.

She heard him follow, shouting her name.

She needed to get him away from here.

She had to get him away.

She wasn't sure how she knew, but if she stayed here...if he stayed here...she'd lose him forever. He'd Darth Vader and never be the man she loved again. The boy with a heart of gold was gone.

How did she stop the man from descending into total self destruction?

She ran.

She heard the pursuit and turned to find him close. Fast. He'd always been so fast. He reached for her and Sherry used what he'd taught her to fight. She stuck her hip in his way, grabbed his arm, and slung him over back. He went up and over in a nice hip toss, grunting as he hit the ground.

He started to argue against her and as he rolled over, the truth of the moment was clear.

She was standing in the woods with his gun that she'd divested him of as she'd thrown him. She was standing between him and the man beyond the rise. Albert Wesker stood with the gun on him and mused, "...will you shoot me?"

Sherry shook her head, "...go back...go back now. You're done with him. He's done with you."

Leon started to rise and she shouted, "I'll shoot him, Leon! Do you hear me? I will shoot your father."

What had the world come to?

Wesker mused, "...you'll miss."

To prove it, he just came at her. Sherry was ready. She ducked, he swung, and she shot him from close range in the side. He hit her in the face for it, and she kicked him in the stomach as he recoiled. She shot him twice in the chest as Wesker backed off.

Leon shouted in horror and she turned the gun on him, "I said stay down."

His hands came up. He quivered in the leaves, "What are you doing?"

Wesker started to speak and she beat him to it, "If you come after us, I will kill you. I know what you are...liar."

She hit him so hard in the face with the gun that Wesker went to his side in the dry crackling woods. When Leon shifted, she turned the gun on him again and commanded, "Walk. Now."

He shifted like he'd resist that and she warned him, "The next one goes in his head." She aimed the gun at his father's temple.

Leon shook his head and told her, "You won't. You're not a killer. Not like that. You wouldn't hurt me like that."

He started toward her. She turned the gun on him and wanted to shoot him to prove him wrong. He wasn't her Leon anymore. Her Leon was in there, but she needed time to find him again. She should shoot this one and prove him wrong.

She couldn't.

She lowered the gun as he approached and cooed, "See? That's my girl."

My girl.

She was.

She was his girl.

She'd always been his girl.

His girl needed to save him now.

He cupped her face and she leaned up to kiss his mouth. The second their lips touched, she told him, "...I'm so sorry."

He started to speak and his eyes rolled back as she swung the gun into the back of his head. It hit, he grunted, and he slumped forward into her arms. She hefted him up and over her shoulders without any effort.

After all, when she needed it, she had monster strength.

It was the one thing her father had left her.

She was hoping the gunshots in Albert Wesker would fester and leave him for dead. She stood above his body carrying Leon and spit, "...bastard."

She kept picturing him murdering her father. She wondered if that's what had happened. Had Wesker stood over William and injected him with G? It seemed like something he would do. She knew Wesker had murdered his way to power.

She'd read everything she could find in his office.

Whatever lies he told Leon, the truth was much more simple - he was never a man. He'd been born missing what made him one. He had no soul or something. He had no feelings. What was the word?

Psychopath?

No. No. Psycho meant feelings. It meant he could feel. This man? He was a sociopath. He felt nothing. Leon was nothing more than a possession. She would die before she let him take another man she loved.

She carried him through the woods and felt her heart shiver. Where to take him? Who could she trust?

But the truth was simple. There was only one person in the world besides Leon who could help them now. She had a tendency to run, sure, but she was their best and only bet now.

It was time to take one last chance on Claire Redfield.