The characters from the game belong to Capcom. The OC's and story background belong to me.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
A/N: I'm not English native speaker, so you might find some typos or grammar mistakes, I do apologize for that.
Angelina was on her way home after leaving the hospital where Kate was, after Piers arrived to stay with Kate.
It was not an easy phase, and as she walked the streets she could see the looks of judgment about her attitude saddened her – that was the problem of being known in a small town, everybody knows everybody. Everybody knew who she was. Everybody knew who Kate was now.
She had never thought such a thing would happen to her after her decision to obey Chris's request, but Piers's disdainful look made her feel humiliated, and Kate's condition caused her immense discomfort, and she did not know how to fix the error and redeem herself from the bad choice.
And all their fame in Bohma began in September 2012.
Flashback
Central Plaza, Bohma
Angelina was sitting on a bench giving an autograph to a fan when she noticed Chris Redfield looking at her from afar coming to her direction.
She smiled at him and waved greeting him. As the fan left, Chris sat down next to her.
"Of all people, you're the one I never thought I'd be seeing here today. Do you want an autograph too?" She said jokingly
Chris giggled, "In fact it's really impressive that we haven't bumped onto each other in these four months I have been living here"
"What? Are you living in Bohma all this long?"
"Yeah"
"How come have you been living all this long and I didn't know that?"
"It was sudden move…and for Kate's advanced pregnancy we had to stay"
"Ah…so Kate's here too?"
There was a disappointment in Angelina's heart, but she disguised it.
"Yes she is, and our twins too"
"Twins?"
"Yes. Christian and Melissa"
Angelina smiled, "Aww, one of each?"
"Yeah… The Redfield twins!"
Angelina could see there was some change about Chris and she could guess the change was due to his fatherhood. She also could guess how a proud father he was as for the way he spoke about the twins and their names. – and more and more she could see how distant they were becoming.
"I'm really happy for you Chris…I'm a mother too and I know how much joy and intense moments the little beings bring to our life. It's a tough task too, but even the tiring is worth it. How old are they?"
"They're two months old, and you're right it's not easy dealing with twins…A first experience as a parent and already dealing with two is still scary as fatherhood doesn't come with instructions guide, but seeing them so healthy after almost losing them…"
"What happened?"
Chris looked away and sighed, "Never mind…All that matters is that they here, healthy and happy!"
"True…I remember when Olivia was that age, now she's a very curious unstoppable little girl"
"Time flies"
"It does! You're living one of the best phases that pass so fast Chris, so enjoy every second of it! Babies grow too fast"
"Yeah, I know…"
"So where are you living that made impossible our meet?"
"In the old house of Katarina..."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah..."
"All this long?"
"Yeah…ironic, isn't it?"
"Yes it is! Although I knew Kate inherited her property…And knowing that only makes me wonder how the hell we haven't met before?"
"Well, during the day I spend my time at the base of the BSAA in Edonia, then when I get home at the end of the day I stay home with Kate and the twins and due to the recovery of the labor, only now Kate and I began to go out for short periods of time"
"I see…so Kate had a difficult time to deliver the babies?"
"Yeah…but uhm…let's not talk about this, okay?"
"Sure. I'm sorry if I asked too much…"
"No problem"
"So uhm… now you live in Katarina's house? What an irony!"
"Yeah... but in the past months I learned another side of her that I stubbornly didn't want to see..."
"Did her diaries change your mind?"
"Not exactly, but I did read some things she wrote... but there were other things that made me see another side of hers and made me think that maybe she was not that bad...Certainly too intense and jealousy, but not the only one to be blamed for all the shit that happened…"
"I never really expected to hear you say that!"
"Tell me about it! But it's true... I somehow wanted to believe she was a disgrace because of the obvious results that happened, but gradually I saw that there was a long road and a range of events that led to the tragic outcome, but today I have no doubt that Christopher and Katarina loved each other and they loved so much that they did not know how to deal with so much love on all possible levels and types..."
"So now you think he never loved Angelique?" Angelina couldn't help but to take it personal
"I didn't say that"
"Well, but you now seem to be a defender of Katarina…"
"I'm not a defender of hers but I learned another version of the story events"
"And how can you be so sure it's true?"
"I'm sure it's true!"
"How?"
"I can't discuss that with you. Sorry"
Angelina let out a heavy sigh, but kept the composure as much she could, "Well…I really don't know what to say...but it's strange to hear that from you"
"Yeah, I know... but well, enough of me...Let's talk about you"
"Me?"
"So now besides a famous painter, you're a famous writer too?"
She smiled faintly, "I didn't mean to get famous, I just wanted to write a book"
"Artist soul..." he commented
"Yeah, and no matter how hard I try to avoid this, I don't seem to be capable to ignore this side of mine"
"It's a beautiful and interesting side, everyone has a gift, and this is yours. I like it!"
"It is true, I know everyone has a gift and you have the gift of courage and of saving lives"
He sighed deeply and looked away thoughtfully.
"Did I say something I should not again?"
"It's not that"
"You got so silent out of the sudden..."
"Don't take it personal, it's just that I remembered some things..."
"Sad things?"
"Never mind Angie... now tell me, how are things going in your life besides the paintings and the book?"
"Everything is fine. I have shared joint custody of Olivia so she spends some time with me and other times with George. Yesterday I took her to stay with him, because next weekend will be the birthday of his mother and she loves Liv!"
"Ah cool. I'm glad to know that you two keep a good friendship"
"It was not easy at first. He told me horrible things, but he redeemed himself, apologized and so did I..."
"I see... it's not really easy to reconcile..."
Chris' cell phone started ringing. The call seemed urgent as his face changed right away as he quickly stood up from the bench with a serious expression. The expression of renowned soldier took over him.
"Angie, get out of here now!" he said not disguising his concern
"What happened?"
"Creatures were seen in the desert of Arthena... I'm afraid the population of Bohma might have to be evacuated, and please warn as many people as you can while you leave" he said rushing away
Angelina did not follow Chris's advice and remained in Bohma. A risky choice, but that made her witness the mirror of time working.
Once again Arthena would be the center of a biological attack and this time launched by the Fleury's as people learned after the incident broke out in the news.
Angelina did not know the details but headed to the border of New Arthena and witnessed the panic of the people and the movement of some BSAA soldiers trying to contain the threat and stop it to trespass the border.
Going against the flow, Angelina witnessed events that became remarkable in her life, especially the frustrated attempts at restraint against the giant creature that formed along with smaller ones as it headed for the New Arthena border.
Chris, Piers, and other soldiers used all the arsenal they had, but the creature simply regenerated itself and did not seem to feel the effect of missile and firearm shots. Nothing seemed to be able to destroy the giant creature.
The people of New Arthena could not believe they would perish as Old Arthena did. They were now carrying the dirty bale and this time they could not blame Katarina.
The wickedness they saw in the world and all the biological risk involved was simply the result of megalomaniacs and evil, greedy minds that did not care for the innocent lives involved.
But amidst the desperate crowd, there was an incessant buzzer and shouting for people to clear their way and a van headed for the border.
It was Kate in the passenger seat screaming for people to get out of the way and a mysterious hooded driver.
As they crossed the fence that divided the cities, Kate and the mysterious figure stepped out of the van.
The hooded figure ran toward the giant creature as he freed himself from the long cloak, revealing to be a albino man, while Kate ran to the back of the van and opened the doors and shouted to Piers and Chris that there were special weapons there.
"Henry!" Chris screamed trying to stop the albino figure from moving on and insistently covered him with the cloak.
Determined and with great bravery, the albino approached the giant creature and defended himself from the small creatures that were trying to reach him, as he touched them they started to melt. He dodged the giant's attacks and with the help of the light grenades that Kate threw near the giant, this enabled the albino to get close to the giant and grabbed its foot with both hands firmly as the giant struggled and slowly began to melt.
It was midday sun, that sun that burns the skin even of people who are accustomed to heat.
But for the albino, who had freed himself from the long hooded cloak, that sun was the impending death sentence.
Large and deep wounds began to appear in the albino's skin as much as he sometimes seemed to regenerate himself, but even screaming in pain he remained clinging to the giant that more and more dissolved, while Kate and Piers fired with special weapons on the smaller creatures preventing them from attacking the albino or from merging with the giant.
Chris was shaken by the albino's sacrifice and screamed his name "Henry!" and in a disruptive movement he took the cloak off the ground and ran to cover the albino's staggering body in exposed raw flesh before he could even finish dissolving the giant. Chris carried him in his arms and told Kate he would take him to a dark place.
Henry raised a bloody hand to Kate and said something that made Kate start to cry.
Chris covered Henry with the hood and ran down an alley.
Piers continued to shoot at the remains of the giant that were trying to gather and regenerate itself.
Kate stared weeping at the alley. Immobile.
And in that moment amid the silence and paralyzed facing the chaos, Kate seemed to become another person by wiping her tears. She rose her head up and stared at the small creatures that multiplied from the pieces of the giant.
Some curious people stayed in the border fence, including Angelina.
She could hear Kate murmuring something that was not her fault and that she was not a witch.
With a determined and imposing composure, the young woman wearing a red top and black pants, and hair tied in a ponytail followed firmly to the back of the van and glanced at the audience.
A look that said she would protect them and would not allow the creatures to advance to New Arthena.
She wore a belt with grenades and a backpack that had a hose, and also took a shotgun and took the front line along with Piers.
Impressively Kate did not miss any shots and was unshakable with the attacks of the creatures that when they were hit they dissolved. When they finished exterminating the small creatures, Kate approached the giant's clump and ran the hose of the pack and began to spray it and at all the other organic remains of the enemies.
At the end, Kate talked to Piers and ran into the same alley Chris had entered.
Piers continued to clean the place as people celebrated the end of the threat, and started walking away.
Angelina stayed in the same place for a long time waiting for Chris and Kate, but she gave up the long wait.
A few hours later, Angelina was in a plaza near the border and heard a person announcing that the saviors were arriving, and a cluster of people headed to the border again to welcome them.
Chris and Kate walked hand in hand and clearly shaken without Henry, followed by Piers. They crossed the fence and walked to the BSAA extraction car that was parked a little further.
People were celebrating and thanking them for the help and forming a welcome corridor as Chris and Kate walked among them as if they were a king and a queen, who visibly devastated they supported on one another as they grappled with the pain of their mission accomplished.
"Long live the Queen!" One local shouted and others repeated after him
Obviously that was a figurative way since there was no royal lineage in Bohma anymore nor on the foreign couple, yet the exoteric characteristic of Bohma's population was known and maybe they believed it, or at least just for that moment that the revered couple of foreigners were in fact the most imposing figures in local history reincarnated.
Mirror of time.
In the past that population had rebuked and revolted against the sovereign who most dedicated her to them, and they blamed her for all the tragedies that had occurred.
In the present, that population was redemptive to an unknown young woman and raised her to the level of a saving sovereign.
Past and present united by the same cause, by the same effects, new consequences. A new cycle.
In the past that idolized soldier with a divided heart turned his back and condemned the women he most loved, and also the children who had no mothers left, and lived in an obscure glory.
In the present, that idolized soldier with a determined heart was redone from guilt and unjust condemnations, and the children being created and loved by the mothers, still fleeing from an obscure glory.
The iconic couple was back.
The trio.
Angelina watched as an important spectator the couple Christopher and Katarina reincarnated and they redeemed before the population who once they dedicated themselves even though they had no royal blood but descended from the most iconic and memorable figure that existed besides them: Henry the karmic guardian and protector of the Herbs Black.
End of Flashback
"What the hell happened here?" The redhead wondered as she realized the wreckage of the barn as she walked to the lake house
She looked around confused. Nothing else was changed. Had the barn been ruined for being old? Or was something else happening? After all, the old cottage where Chris had been was also destroyed by the force of the waters.
The past was being destroyed.
Angelina took a deep breath, and just thought of solutions.
Although she did not like the barn, she did not have the courage to remove it from where it had been for so many centuries. In a sense, she respected the meaning of it.
The old wood could no longer be reused, and now it was up to her to choose what to do with the new space that opens after the wreckage was removed. And so, she immediately called the only "friend" she had in that town, Mr. Lionel's former assistant, Jerry.
And while waiting for him, Angelina went into the house and went to take a shower.
Lying in the bathtub, loneliness was her companion, even though she was a free person.
Her daughter, Olivia, was with her father and would be back soon, and she could not wait to meet her beloved daughter again, and with all that was happening, she realized how far she was getting from the little girl she put in the world.
For a long time Angelina resented the separation she and Olivia had in the past due to Katarina's fatal blow, but now she had no rival and no one to blame for her own estrangement from her daughter. If she and Olivia were apart now it was her only fault.
George, her former partner and Olivia's father, was a good father and had also been a great companion while they were together, but at various times Angelina felt their relationship was more of a friendship than a couple, for she always felt that something was missing, even after years together.
Why did that beautiful redhead who had all the money she could buy and so full of artistic talents feel so empty inside? So chained?
It seemed that everything she did was not enough to fill that black hole in her soul.
The redhead took a deep breath and plunged into the water, and for a second she thought that everything could end there at that very moment.
She opened her eyes and let out the air, instantly arouse from the water for the intrusive, negative thought that crossed her mind.
She was not like that!
She could no longer live steeped in the bitterness of the past! Yes, Angelique died bitterly, though she did not show it due to her known docility, and the diary that chronicled her and Christopher's divorce proved how difficult it had been for her to subdue Christopher's decision to split and legitimize his marriage to Katarina.
Angelique did not accept the separation and always thought of interfering in the relationship of Katarina and Christopher, but she was always hindered by George or Maggy.
Flashback
"So here we are, once again in the shadows... Who would have thought that we would annul our union after having been so difficult to validate what we had..." Angelique spoke with a sigh
"We were young and dreamy" Christopher replied almost coldly
"We were in love! We loved each other..."
"Absolutely we had a beautiful love that generated a fruit that unites us forever"
"If it is forever, then why do you make so much of a question of canceling out what we had? You seem to want to forget at all costs what we live and fought... and suffered..."
"I'll never forget you, Angely! But things have changed... and in the name of so much suffering the right thing to do is to undone this record"
"Right thing to do? So you're saying that our marriage was wrong?"
"In a way it was..."
The redhead gasped, "So that's what I am, a mistake? Is Olly a mistake? And that's why you want to erase us at all costs so that Your society does not think the worst of you? More than they already do?"
"It's not that Angely... You're not a mistake let alone Olly! Please do not take it personal..."
"But it is personal, Chris! You just admitted that what we had was "in a way" wrong!"
"Angely... do not make things any harder... I do not think you're a mistake or even that it was wrong for us to have loved each other... but some circumstances were not right, we even married the hidden ones."
"When you were promised to someone else, wasn't it? For the wacky woman you play as a sovereign?"
"Angely..."
"You lied to me Christopher! You said she was just a court acquaintance. And then you said that you had only slept once! But she was pregnant with your child! So it was because her that you were postponing your return to the court, was not it? And now for you to get along with your conscience you want to take her so she does not get the reputation of being your mistress, right?"
"Angely, please... this is not it..."
"Isn't it? So I'm lying? Am I crazy?"
"You're not crazy, but you're seeing things on the wrong side..."
"You said you loved me... we made a promise in front of the lake that would be you and me forever! And now you want me to sign this paper that will nullify everything we had..."
"It will not cancel everything, this paper will not erase our story"
"A story you want to end!"
"I love her, Angely..."
"Do you?"
"I do!"
"You do not know what love is, Christopher. If you really loved her, you would not have bedded so many others, including myself... you lived with me to stay away from her... You coward!"
"I was immature and I made a lot of mistakes, so I want to change that"
"Then why do I have to be understanding and not her?"
"Because I'm going to marry her and I need your permission, and I'm going to prepare her to know about Oliver"
She rolled her eyes and snapped, "I do not want her to know about Oliver!"
"Why not?"
"Because he is my son"
"He's my son too!"
"No... he's George's son! And there's nothing you can do about it and not even your power can change that Olly is a Talbot!"
"A Talbot with the Reed blood"
"You cannot change the law..."
"I am the law!" he raised his voice
The redhead looked down and sighed deeply, disappointed, "So you and your society woman deserve each other!" she shouted back
"Angely..."
"I do not recognize you anymore! My Christopher would never have said that and never cared about social classes or society roles. But the power corrupted you and your chosen one is as despicable as you..."
"Do not make things any harder, please..."
"I'm not making it harder, I'm going to give you the divorce, because now I'm sure you're like two peas in a pod! But My son will not be a part of Your society! I do not want him in court! I do not want him in a snake pit! He does not need a witch-stepmother!" She took the pen and signed the papers," And his biological father was just anulled!"
(*)
Dear Diary,
I am suffering! How I am suffering!
I still cannot believe the dream is over.
It is still hard to believe that the promise of the lake was broken.
How could I have been so deluded that I did not recognize anything else than my safe harbor once was?
Where did those beautiful dreams and eternal plans go?
Where has the love of those young people gone?
Why does it have to be this way? Why?
My heart is aching so much! It hurts so much that I begin to believe that that sweet girl really died... died of sadness and bitterness. Of abandonment.
All she wanted was to love.
And all she has now is a huge hole in the place of a lost love.
I do not hate Christopher even though I try it… I simply cannot hate him
But I hate Katarina!
Yet I hate myself even more for not telling the whole truth about that witch!
I wonder if I had told him would that make him come back to me?
Did he really forget me?
Would he make me "the other one"?
End of Flashback
Angelina shook her head. She was already going too far with the daydreams, and Jerry could arrive any moment, so she hurried to get dressed.
As she sat at the couch in the living room, she heard a loud noise coming from upstairs and quickly she got up and ran to the stairs with her heart full of hope that it might be Chris.
A stupid hope! But, she was not really thinking straight.
Standing in the middle of the hallway, once more she heard the loud noise as if something had fallen on the floor, and realized that the sound seemed to have come from the "forbidden" room. Frightened, she walked slowly to the spot and unlocked the door with the key that was stored and hidden in a pot.
As she opened the door, her hand rose to her mouth as she saw Katarina O'Gregon's paintings lying on the floor, minus one: the secret picture that Angelique had painted of Christopher and Katarina hand in hand.
Katarina was wearing a red dress and staying to the left of Christopher who wore green, both seemed to be floating on waters of a river with imposing postures, and behind them on each side of them there was the partial image of a couple.
Behind Katarina there was a beautiful, smiling, tender-looking young woman with light, loose brown hair, wearing a white dress with a red ribbon around her waist. And behind Christopher there was a handsome young boy in plain white clothes, looking tender and smiling, holding a very simple fishing rod.
Paralyzed, Angelina had a strange thought about all the circumstances that were happening: It was the latent energy of Christian and Katherine moving the wheel of time, and the only ones able to destroy the heavy energy of Christopher Reed and Katarina O'Gregon.
Simplicity versus lust.
Angelina stacked Katarina's paintings in a corner and covered them carefully, leaving only what hung on the wall.
Apprehensive, Angelina felt that none of this was by chance and she knew that "she" was in debt to Katherine, and more importantly, would Katerina be able to "nullify" the Katarina that existed in her?
Angelina cleared her throat and left the room without locking the door.
As she followed the corridor to the stairs, she looked to the side and to the room that Chris had stayed, and entered. The door was open. His energy still seemed present in that place, and made her sigh.
"What is this?" She asked as she noticed a folded paper on the bedside table, "For Kate."
Even after reading the title, Angelina began to read the letter directed at the rival.
"Dear Kate,
The one writing to you is someone named Christopher Reed, and I know it's not me who you expect.
I'm sorry for the disconnected words, but it's hard for me to write to someone I do not know, but I feel I should even feeling anguished, because this body that writes this letter belongs to your boyfriend.
I'm so sorry that I cannot remember you and not even the children we have. I'm sorry I do not remember other family members or friends, or anything that refers to this century.
All I remember is the time of carriages, horses, castles, and luxury with my wife Katarina O'Gregon and our six children.
And so I apologize to you for not being able to return to you yet, and I ask you to understand me, no matter how difficult it may be.
I do not think it's fair to expect something and receive another.
And I also feel that I need time alone to relax, and to find myself again, in order to finally come back to you.
I, Christopher Reed, do not know you, but something in me feels that you are a strong girl and that you love your Chris immensely and that you will do everything for him, even wait for him.
I may be making an unfair and meaningless comparison, but my beloved Katarina always waited for me when I had to go to campaigns and go on trips, and no matter how long, she always waited for me with all her love and welcomed me with all the affection of a longing.
And just like you, she also gave me some souvenir to remember and to feel her at a distance, and out of respect for this gesture and this body that does not belong to me, I will continue to wear this medallion that you gave to your Chris, and with all my sincerity, I hope this helps me remember of you. Of us.
I know it's not easy to do what I'm going to ask, my own wife Katarina always complained when she knew I was leaving somewhere, so from experience I know that what I'm going to ask will not be easy for you.
I ask you to try to understand that I need this time alone, and that it is nothing personal about you. Do not be angry with me, let alone your Chris, but I assure you that he will return.
I just cannot guarantee you when, and so I cannot ask you to wait... forever.
It may even be unjust even to this request, since I cannot guarantee when his return will be, but I swear to you that one of my biggest fears is to remain trapped in this time that is not mine.
It's nothing personal, but I do not feel that I belong to this period, but since I'm already here, there must be a reason and I'll find that out, and so the return will be possible… mine or your Chris.
Hopefully your Chris!
I strongly urge you to be strong. And just as I believed in my wife's strength, I believe in yours.
I beg your pardon once again for making such a comparison between the two of you, when I do not even know you.
Best regards,
Christopher Reed"
Thank you McTamale for the review!
The title's name "Ne Me Quitte Pas" means Don't Leave Me in french. It was also based on a song of same name originally recorded by Jacques Brel, but the version I had the inspiration is by a female singer named Maysa.