AN: Next chapter is finally here! And thus we get to the heart of the Redfield vault! I know it's been awhile and I have been SUPER busy with work and what not and I deeply apologize for the delay. But here we go guys!

The swim through the tunnels was quiet and peaceful with the group. With Wesker's guarantee of the sea goddess's protection, they took things slow so they can observe the beauty around them. The crystal clusters along the ceiling, walls and rocky floor glittered and gleamed in a variety of colors. Alana stopped a few times even to get a closer look at one of the clusters, drawn in by their seemingly ethereal glow. Of course, Wesker and Chris were patient, knowing the others may want to stop at times to look around. Claire had long since gotten over her fear and drifted from her brother's side to swim down with the young girl.

"Hey Daddy, do you think any of these crystals have magic in them? Is that why they are glowing?" Alana asked her father, who floated over closer to the girls.

"Perhaps, I don't know. I can only assume so since there is no other light down here," Wesker replies.

"True. I've seen no light down here ever since we slipped into the tunnel. No signs of air holes either, so this was definitely a test of trust, otherwise if the person can't hold their breath long, it's game over," Jill pipes up with a nod.

"The crystals are bio-luminescent. Grandfather's journal said that these crystals contain small concentrations of magic and give off heat. The heat creates light." Chris adds.

"Cool!" Claire grins as she touched one of the crystals and indeed, it felt warm to the touch under her fingertips. "Oh wow... no wonder it feels so warm down here."

"Do you think we can take some of these- Huh?" Once more, Alana's Light of Arlathan lit up, meaning there was something nearby, something that could point them in the right direction. "Chris, Daddy, it's acting up again. Is there something near here that's hiding?" Holding it up, she swam over to where it was pointing and something wavered on the wall in front of them. After the illusion shimmered before fading away, it revealed a statue of a tall woman garbed in a flowing dress with long flowing floor length golden blonde hair.

"Whoa.. she's beautiful. Who is that, I wonder?" Jill wondered as she joined the others gathered around the statue.

Wesker however would smile a bit and swam closer to the statue, placing a hand on the right one that hung at the side. "... That... is Lady Oceania, Goddess of the Seas and Knowledge. They say her beauty is only rivaled by her sister, Alyssa, Goddess of Life," he spoke in a soft tone. "In legends, she lives in a realm where there is no air, only water as far as the eye can see. It is a realm only made for herself and those she deems as her protectors. It's called the Endless Ocean. If you think this tunnel holds beauty, they say that the realm has boundless amounts of it, thriving with all kinds of marine life and vibrant coral reefs."

"My grandfather wrote about the Endless Ocean. In his journal, he described many of those coral reefs and the life contained within. In one section, he described a family of dolphins, how they lived and how they hunted. He also wrote that everything creature in the Endless Ocean had its own purpose, living in perfect harmony with everything else. There was never too much or too little. He also described a vast, undersea palace fit for a Queen. Made of the most colorful rock, it seemed from the outside to be carved from the ocean floor. But, upon an inspection of the inner chambers, he learned that the palace is in fact magical. The outer courtyards and walls are designed to resemble the depths, whereas the inside is chiseled and decorated like marble. Even more interesting, grandfather wrote of some type of barrier that barred the water from the inside of the palace. He described it as a kind of bubble, of which swam through, exited into a breathable, dry hall accessing the rest of the palace. This 'bubble' prevented the water from entering the building, as if it were frozen in time..." Chris added in, gaining awed looks from the girls and a nod of approval from Wesker.

"Makes me wonder how Grandpa got all this information?" Claire says. "Did he actually meet her? Or did someone else tell him? Or did he find out through research?"

"I haven't a clue. Grandfather never spoke of his research to anyone. Not even father. If I had to guess, I'd say he actually met Lady Oceania. We have, certainly." Chris replied.

"When did we meet her?" Claire asked him, furrowing her brows together.

While they were discussing the origin of the information, Wesker seemed to tune them out as he stared up to the face of the statue as his hand remained where it was. He went oddly silent as something of, what seemed to be, longing appeared in his eyes. As if...

Son... I am here...

'Mother..?'

You are all close.. guide them closer...

'Mother... where are you?'

Keep going...

"...ker? ...esker? Wesker?" Jill's voice brought him back to reality, making him shake his head and turn to the others. "Are you okay? You seemed like you zoned out there."

"Probably having another of his visions... Captain's been coming in late complaining of headaches lately." Chris snidely remarked, to which Wesker gave him a slight glare.

"I'm fine, Redfield. Just..." Wesker turned back to the statue for a moment more before sighing and took Alana's hand, helping her onto his back once more. "Let's just keep going. The other hand seems to be pointing towards where we need to go," he says before swimming ahead of them a little.

Jill turned to Chris, perplexed a bit. "He's.. been off lately, ever since we came down here. And the way he stared up at the statue.. he seemed enraptured by it. And the way he spoke of her, it's like he's known her."

"Perhaps, but let's move on. I have more pressing concerns than whatever seems to be plaguing his conscience," Chris says before taking his sister's hand and following after Wesker with Jill picking up the rear.

As they came to a fork in the tunnel, the group looked both ways, wondering where to go. Wesker shut his eyes for a moment, focusing on the currents around them. "... When there's a current, it means there's an exit. Meaning.." Wesker then looked to the left. "We go that way." With a flick of his tail, he swam ahead of them, the lights of the crystals slowly fading from sight and Alana once more holding up her own Light to illuminate the slowly darkening tunnel.

"Chris, what do you think would be in the vault, besides the fortune? Do you think we'll find some more of Grandpa's stuff?" Claire asked him.

"Who knows? Grandfather was a pretty secretive guy. The simple fact that he built a vault, and so far underground, tells me that something extremely valuable in inside. As for what it could be, well... I couldn't even begin to guess..." Chris replied while rubbing his chin in thought.

Suddenly, a huge rush of water barreled into them. Wesker quickly grabbed Jill and Alana while Chris grabbed his sister, both guys holding the girls tight. "What the hell's going on!?" Jill yelled over the rushing current threatening to sweep them away.

"Alana, hold on as tight as you can!" Gaining an "Okay!" from the young girl, Wesker thrust out a hand and yelled out "RIPTIDE BARRIER!" Suddenly, a shield of water appeared in front of them, but the power of the current was making him strain to hold up the protection.

As the mighty current bashed into the shield, Chris could actually see cracks starting to form on the shield. "That's not good..!" he muttered. "Wesker, your shield!"

"I know..! I don't think this is just an ordinary current! I think something is driving and feeding it, for I can sense a massive amount of magic within!" Wesker buckled a bit as he felt his strength fading, the shield flickering as a result. "And it's really taking a toll on my powers! I can't..!" He ground out as he tried to pour more of his magic into the protection, but it seemed futile.

The shield broke...

As the water collided into them once more, Chris was suddenly dislodged from his spot on the cliff face and was being dragged away with his sister. "REDFIELD!" Quickly Wesker latched onto his arm, preventing him from being sucked away further. "Gotcha!" Jill also grabbed onto Chris's arm, hoping that the two of them would be enough.

"Hang on you guys!" Jill hollered, but to her horror, his hand had started to slip.

"It's no good, you guys! Let go or we'll all be sucked to who knows where!" Chris yelled back.

"Are you crazy, Chris!? Who knows where you'll end up! We're not letting go!" Jill shrilled as she doubled her grip on his wrist.

"It'll be worse for all of us if you don't let go! All of us could wind up dead, including the kid! I'm not risking you guys anymore than we have coming down here!" Chris argued.

"No! Chris please hold on! We can't lose you!" Alana pleaded.

But her pleas went unanswered. Chris's wrist was ripped from the grip of Wesker and Jill and both Redfields went tumbling down the tunnel behind them while Wesker, Jill and Alana was sucked into the one behind them, both parties screaming as they were yanked into the darkness.

{Chris and Claire}

Both siblings would be seen washed up upon a shore, moaning as they stirred, coughing up water. Soaked to the bone, they slowly sat up, Chris shaking his head, trying to clear his vision. "Claire, you OK?" he managed to say after clearing his lungs.

"Y-Yeah.. I think so," Claire coughed a bit before looking around. "Shit, we lost Wesker, Jill and Alana!"

"With the current like that, I'm not surprised. I'd go after them if I could, but we can't risk it. We need to keep moving. Besides, Wesker's with her. She'll probably be fine..." He paused for a moment in thought before adding "... Hopefully. But at any rate, we are close to the vault, so we can't stop." As he trekked up the path in front of them, he added to himself 'He'd better know what he's doing. If anything happens to her, I will end him!'

Claire looked ready to argue, but she thought better of it, seeing his point before making to follow her brother up the path. The walls and ceiling dripped with water, droplets smacking the wet stone, breaking the silence around them. The path seemed to slightly turn left and upwards and kept going until they came to a more drier part of the cavern, where wooden torches now lit the way. The warmth of them washed over the siblings, providing relief to them as Chris grabbed one of them off the walls. Keeping his sister close to him, not knowing what was around the next corner, the two cautiously approached now what appeared to be a solid black door. On the front of the door was an ominous looking skull with a red handprint on the forehead.

"What the hell is this?" Chris muttered as his hands traced the door, trying to find some sort of indenture to possibly open it. But it seemed airtight and there was no way to open the usual way.

"Chris, I don't like this..." Claire said with worry in her tone. She did not like the way that skull seemed to stare at them.

Just then, a raspy, disembodied whispered all around them... "What is the music of life?"

"Uh... 'Music of life'? What does it mean by that?" Claire wondered, rubbing her chin in thought.

"Well, that's not at all creepy," Chris scoffed a bit. Music of life... what did it mean by that? Was this some sort of riddle? Things just kept getting stranger and stranger...

AN: And FINALLY done with this chapter! I am so sorry for the wait! Life came at me full blast and I'm dealing with certain situations with my roommate. Hopefully, I'll have the next update soon!