Chapter 18: Atlas Novus
"There was a friendly but naïve King
Who wed a very nasty Queen;
The King was loved but
The Queen was feared.
Till one day strolling, in his court
An arrow pierced the kind King's heart,
He lost his life and
His lady love."
The sky above was twinkling brightly on the dark island as Claire's worn boots crunched along the dirt path. The lack of major lit structures or nearby cities allowed the constellations to sprawl alongside the October Hunter's moon high overhead. The Lyra constellation stood out to Claire as her breaths bounced off the rockface to her right and left.
Lyra was the constellation of Orpheus, the mythical musician who wielded the harp from Apollo. Known for playing music so sweet it could soothe anger and bring joy to weary hearts among gods and men.
Claire turned her eyes away from the sky's harp. There was no music to be found while she noted the sounds of the wind that pushed through the rock faces around her. The steady tempo of her heart felt like the beats of a war drum that was loud enough to resound across Europe.
The hive of Claire's mind was tracking from one chaotic thought to the next. In the past, the Redfield household was known for its tempers, and although Claire made it a point to be the one to talk, she couldn't deny that her ire had come about in other destructive ways. One of the reasons she rode her motorcycle so fiercely into the night was to quiet the roar in her head. On a bike she had been freed, and when the wheels stopped rotating, the ones in her head would pick up again. When she needed it most, she would drop a gear and disappear.
Crouching lower as she neared the next encampment, she viewed a tall water tower that loomed like a titan near the cliff faces. The hastily erected tents below were flapping in a strong breeze that whipped the material steadily back and forth, like the ticking hands of a clock.
The shot of a sniper rifle cracked through the darkness, and her upper body recoiled sharply, her shoulder twisted back as the shot ripped through the skin below her clavicle.
Claire stumbled back into the rock wall with a shout, her hand slapping up to the skin of her chest before fire erupted along with her temper. With a wheeze, Claire caught the glint of gun metal reflecting across the site from the illumination of the moon.
The skin of her shoulder was already knitting closed with an itching sensation to her dermis. The exit wound on her back caused the back of her jacket to plume in a flame and she quickly reached back to smother it.
With the fire contained, Claire clenched her jaw at the sounds of shuffling feet. A group of Ganados rounded one of the boulders that split the pathway.
Her angry eyes caught sight of Leon whipping around one of the buildings in the distance. He had thrown a glance at her over his shoulder, the gleam of his teeth was a challenge bade out into the night.
Can you survive? Can you slow down the time you have left?
Claire looked to the enemies fanning out, catcalling to her in Spanish. Her expression twisted into a snarl as the sounds in the camp amplified. The sound of a heavier enemy's steps was far off but were nearing with haste. The clank of weapons and the growl of her enemies swirled around her as Claire cast her eyes up to the sky once more to consider the constellation.
Orpheus had no business in her night sky tonight, for it was the curling serpent of Ares that answered the call of her simmering blood.
Her ponytail whipped over her shoulder as the whirl of a Gatling gun reached her ears. Claire released a breath, and the fire rippled to life in both of her hands with an almost thoughtless command to her body.
The spray of ammunition pelted the dirt around her, and she was dashing forward with a pump of her limbs.
Claire was moving in and out of the darkness of the landscape as she flew into the clearing of the main camp. To any onlookers, she was a streak of red leading the chase of the Wild Hunt pounding after her while the stars above watched on.
Air pumped seamlessly through her lungs, and for a moment, she realized how good she felt. The pains, the aches, and the limitations of a weary body was a distant thought while she sluiced the distance across the camp. The twisting sensation in her wrists spread to her arms before it pressed into her chest.
A Hatchet flew over her shoulder, and the buzz from an electrical prod somewhere close by told her of the enemies close behind.
A ladder loomed ahead, the fire revealing the way up with the gleam of the rusting metal. As Claire reached for the wrung, Leon dove in from the open window panel of the building. His shoulder roll and crouch were neat when he used the momentum to unfold to his full height. His grab for her was lightning quick, and his hand was bunching up the material of her jacket at her shoulder blades. In seconds, she was being tossed into the ladder with force.
Leon's seductive laugh filtered through the small enclosure, and she wanted nothing more than to answer it.
More hands were grabbing at her back and hair as the enemies behind caught up. The heavy steps of the commando weren't far behind.
Leon's trotting steps backwards was a dance while she threw an elbow into the Ganado holding her from behind. Claire was clamping the skin of her bottom lip in her teeth and bit until she tasted blood. With a spin, she was spitting into the group behind her, and she exhaled a laugh with a mouth full of flames as they began to thrash in panic.
Her eyes sought Leon's and she gave him a look of pure vitriol as her smoldering fingers wavered between them.
Claire proceeded up the ladder before Leon could react, she couldn't get cornered in the small workstation. The Ganados were pushing past him as they jumped over the flaming carcasses of their comrades.
The redhead lifted herself to the top of the platform and turned into the arms of a Ganado screaming its victory as he lunged for her shoulders. Her hand was as gentle as a lover's when she cupped the Ganado's cheek. Her eyes were glimmering while she watched as the heat peeled the skin back on its cheek and the wisps of flame sucked down into its screaming mouth. Her other hand grabbed his shoulder and with a burst of force, she pushed the male Ganado down the ladder. His body smacked into the enemies below with a howling cry.
As Claire dropped down to the other side of the tall structure, she looked up to see more Ganados with shields and flails charging her. Her willowy form moved to the thumps of her heartbeat, and she felt the eyes of Leon on her somewhere from the shadows.
As if to answer intuition, a sniper shot ricocheted against the ground as she passed, and she zeroed in on a platform above where Leon lowered the gun from his eye.
He had made it ahead of her already.
Claire turned toward the Ganados surrounding her. She was slamming her fist into the first shield, the ripple of orange and white licked up the wood in front of her. She ducked around the swing of the second and third Ganado with ease, her hand wrapped around the chain of the fourth flail, and she laughed into the night as the metal became soft in her bursting hands.
"¡Avisar a los de mas!" She heard one female Ganado shout as she backed away in front of her. The woman's pale blue dress was dirty and covered in blood.
Arrows slammed into her upheld arm and the fire that followed made the enemies around her stumble back further as it combusted the ground beneath her. Encased in a semicircle of a dark star, Claire's cerulean gaze bored into the men and women in front of her. She was ripping the arrows out with ease, and they crackled in the fires beneath her.
Claire's boots had begun to melt around her feet when she stepped out and latched onto the closest Ganado in military garb. His head exploded, as if the parasite within understood that its end was near. Claire pressed her lips into a flat line as it flew toward her, the parasite's legs wiggling in fear from its last defense.
Claire caught the parasite in her fist and its squeals echoed across the clearing as she watched it writhe in her hands. The world seemed to slow for a moment as she observed it turning into the simple, dying cells they all were made of.
The shots from the Gatling gun sounded again and Claire grunted in irritation as she moved in a trail of fire forward. The hive of thoughts was whispering through her head while she touched the shoulders of all the enemies that she passed. Their burning screams were a marker for her speed as her eyes analyzed the military structures ahead. A red light within one of the buildings drew her closer.
Stepping into the open structure, Claire slammed her elbow against the button for the hydraulic system that controlled the door and turned as she heard the thuds of feet on the ground behind her.
Six Ganados had jumped down and stared at her as they reared their weapons. With a breathy chuckle, Claire ripped the throwing knife from her forearm, and the bracer began to melt as flames caught on the material. She quelled the fire on her arm with a simple thought, and the smoke curled toward her eyes.
The Seraphym Sebastian had given her miraculously held strong in her hand while she was slashing her arms open with the serrated tip. Flinging the blood on the ground around her, Claire was cutting off the piling enemies as the blood reacted to the air.
The whirling sound of another gun made her turn back when the door at her back wrenched open. The tall commando outside was roaring as the bullets began to spray toward her position.
Claire gripped Sebastian's throwing knife in her hand tightly and dove forward, running at an angle before she kicked off the wooden fence to her right.
Her thumbs were already sinking into the commando's red eyes when he fell back with her atop him. The commando's hand wove into her hair to yank her back, but Claire sunk her thumbs deeper while her hair was falling from its ponytail in his dirty fingers. The gun that clattered to the ground was barely heard over the Ganado's deep, raging screams turned to ashes in his mouth.
Leon's laugh caught her attention ahead, and Claire let out a huff when she stood slowly in response. Her hips were rotating in a smooth rhythm as she pushed forward into an area with more structures.
Two balconies sat on either side of the sand pit she stepped into. Two gates lay forward with glowing green buttons and metal double doors stood at the end, revealing a path into the tall building beyond. Claire's eyes seemed to zero in on the blood that lined the metal door's handles, and she felt the tapping at her head once more.
She was running out of time.
The handsome blonde agent stood on the left balcony waiting for her. His crimson gaze drinking her up with a feral look of his own when she emerged.
"What a vision you have become now, Claire." He called in a teasing tone.
Claire's answering smile was a threat of a woman who could bring countries to their knees; everything Alexia Ashford had hoped to be. Dark unchecked anger shined forth from her eyes as her red hair fanned around her shoulders in the messy curtain it had become in her fight.
Claire's wavering mind surveyed the male in front of her and she found herself wanting.
"I think you have something of mine." Claire returned to him, her voice was a breathy siren's song and not her own as she stepped toward Leon.
A memory flashed in her mind as she and Steve had sat in the snowplow when trying to escape the arctic. Alexia Ashford had been angry when she emerged from sleep and found her brother dead. Her edging madness was fueled by loss. Given the nature of the siblings' relationship and their upbringing, she knew that wasn't all of it, but the T-Veronica Virus responded well to strong emotion.
Steve had also proven that. He had kept his promise to protect her.
A duality was presenting itself: To protect or destroy?
Leon seemed to be surveying the thoughts across her face as they reflected on her features, his answering conclusion lit his eyes as he lifted his TMP and began to fire.
Claire had spotted the ladder to the above platform off to her left, and she danced away from the bullets as the thoughts of the regal, female tyrant left her mind. With a leap, she latched onto the eighth wrung of the ladder, and pulled herself up with the strength slinging through her bones.
"Female Tyrant…" Her mind seemed to echo as the power in her limbs came easily.
A slight scrape of material was the devil she knew knocking behind her.
Claire was ducking her upper half as Leon had delivered a forward slash at her back with his knife. With the drive of energy through her hips, she twisted around and dealt a powerful uppercut to Leon's chin, knocking him backwards toward the balcony he had greeted her on. The skin of his jaw plumed in flames, catching some of his dangling bangs in the process.
Leon let out an angry cry as he lifted a gloved hand to pat out the heat.
Claire dove forward and her burning hands aimed for the remainder of his tactical shirt. Leon reacted faster this time around and hooked his arms under her elbows before latching onto her shoulders. He fell backwards, and his foot centered itself on her stomach. The result tossed her over him and into the railing behind with a ring that reverberated the entire platform around them.
"Not going to have anyone to save you now, Claire." Leon said as he moved over her, stomping a boot into her shoulder as she tried to sit up from her prone position. His TMP was pointed at her face with a snic of the reloaded clip.
Claire laughed darkly as he pressed on the healing sniper bullet wound from before. She latched onto his boot with hot hands, the position oddly familiar to the one Wesker had her in on Rockfort.
"Do you think I came here to be saved?" She hissed as her hands flared around his ankle.
With her grip shifting to his calf, Claire squeezed hard until she heard a bone snap. Leon faltered in surprise above her before he was falling backwards at the lack of stability in his leg. Claire took advantage and lunged forward from her supine position to pin him back onto the catwalk. The fire on his leg was being snuffed out from her advancing form.
"I made it through Raccoon while you chased the little spy in the sewers." Claire's face was close to his, the fire in her hands died out and seemed to transfer behind her eyes. Leon flinched at the mention of Ada.
"I saved that little girl that you turned martyr for and chained yourself away when you thought you were protecting me. I would have died a hundred deaths to have you not treat me like the child you have!"
Leon made to reach for her, but she knocked his hand back and pinned his wrists near the sides of his head. His TMP slid further from them in the tussle.
"When you became the government's little lapdog, it was me that kept you stable! It was my home you used as a refuge. I made myself available! I picked you up each and every time you fell apart and reached for a bottle!" She was spitting as her beautiful face morphed into a mask of pure rage. "Yet, the part of you still hanging on in there thinks it was me that always needed saving?"
Claire released Leon's wrist as he stopped struggling. His chest lifted and dipped rapidly below her thighs while she straddled him. She reached forward and gripped his face within her hands, her singed hair framing his in a curtain when she leaned forward further.
"You knew more about the T-Veronica Virus at some point. You knew more about it than you ever dared to share. We could have faced this together, and yet look now where we are! Why are we here, Leon? It should have been you and I…" She had begun the rant shouting, but as the seconds passed, she could feel her rage morphing into the hard-edged truth that drove between them both.
Beneath the anger was her ever present fear and it began to leak from her cooling eyes.
"It was supposed to be you and I, Leon."
"I know," Leon's boyish rasp reached her ears. She was quietly sobbing above him as she lifted her head to his relaxed and cognizant features. "What I thought was protection, was nothing more than a cage for you. I should have told you—I should have told you about a lot of things, Claire."
Claire released his face as if she was the one who had been burned. Leon's hand lifted hesitantly in response, and when she just stared at him, he lifted it to push her hair behind one ear. He lifted the other shaking hand, and brushed the tears from her left cheek, smearing the blood that had splattered her face previously.
"I'm sorry for all of it. I've done so many horrible things here, Claire. I don't know if there is a 'back' for me. I wasn't in control, but I saw it all. I was so angry to see you in the castle. Prior to this, I was trying to build a future where you wouldn't have been hunted. What I found in South America opened so many new things for people living with a virus. I just needed more time, and… then I ran out."
Claire shook her head and let out a sad laugh as he said, "End it now. I will kill you if you don't, Claire. I don't want to hurt you or anyone else anymore. End. It. Now."
His voice was like gravel as he gave her his last request. The best friend she ever had, who had stared into many bowls of her poorly cooked meals, and just allowed himself to be present in her tiny kitchen after so many missions. The broken words between them settled into the silence that had locked him away for years.
Claire's anger was returning at his seemingly simple yet very hard request. That deeper part of her that raged on demanded his punishment. He had taken Sebastian from her, and in turn he needed to suffer. The inner battle waged within as she continued to see into their shared history.
His hands were warm on her wet face as he lifted her chin toward his. Spain hadn't been kind to Leon, and truth be told she hadn't been either.
"I…" Claire tried as his touch ignited that deep yearning she had for so long, but it was a touch too late.
Leon's lips pressed into hers, and she slammed her eyes shut in a gasp. His hands were clutching her shoulders, and his thumbs dipped to trace her neck as he pulled her forward.
Unlike their first kiss in her house, which was hesitant, and fumbling, this one was sweet and filled with those broken words. Their second kiss had been in the warehouse and was full of a malicious intent that was made to break.
Claire pulled away first and felt her heart break all over again. With a hand lifting to her lips, she stared down at the man who had held her heart first. Her chest was heaving when he opened his eyes. The uncertainty of the young man who met her in Raccoon stared back for the first time in six years. This was the man that was still beneath it all.
"Don't keep a man waiting, Claire." Leon said gently, grabbing her arm as he pulled his knife from his belt and tossed it away.
"Leon—"
"Claire—" Leon's lips began to quiver as she watched the muscles in his chest contract beneath her. "—I need you to do this. This can't keep going on—" Leon's grip turned blistering on her bicep.
Claire lunged for the knife beside them, but Leon's Plaga was back at the helm when he wrenched her back with his grip.
"Sorry but following a lady's lead just doesn't seem to be our style."
"You have a shit memory, Kennedy." Claire retorted as she turned her head to look into Leon's eyes. The wrath of Veronica Ashford stared out as punishment was weighed in their shared look. "I promised you a long time ago that we'd both get through this. One way or the other, you won't stay like this for long."
Heat exploded across her arms as her flames burst forward, and in their next struggle, the pair tumbled down from the balcony in a battle that rattled the arena with an eruption of fire. The stars above winked in and out above, like a great breath had been taken.
Sebastian stared at the creature ripping at the bars of the cell as he calmly tried to break one of the hands that were currently bound behind his back by his wrists and elbows. Blood was running down his neck from the deep cut in his cheek and he tilted his head forward to allow the blood to pour out of his mouth. His breathing remained steady while his mind circled the fate of Claire Redfield.
The Verdugo had been the last thing he had time to react to in the clearing of the ruins before Leon Kennedy appeared. He had been caught by surprise by the now obvious trap because he had been distracted. The Ganados in the clearing were easily dispatched, but just as Claire screamed, he had caught sight of the Verdugo charging from the darkness and he had hesitated.
The current overview of his ALICE Patrol Vest let him know that his main weapons had been taken, but he still had the two knives tucked into his hip and his left arm that he couldn't reach. Two grenades had been left on his belt, and the lower back pouch was weighty enough to suggest that his medical supplies had survived the journey.
He had only been captured once before, and it had been by design.
If he could unbind his damn hands and feet, he might be able to wash away the taste of failure in the back of his throat. The anger and pressure in his chest were doing him no favors.
Sebastian narrowed his eyes at the regenerator as it finally managed to bend the bars of the cell the Verdugo had dumped him in. He wheezed a small, quiet laugh as he held the creation's eyes.
How he would die had never concerned him before. One didn't volunteer for this kind of work without knowing that one day you wouldn't be fast enough, prepared enough, or focused enough for the next thing coming. Sebastian considered that he also hadn't ever cared for the plans of the future until he had met her.
The bars of the cell let out a twisting groan as they bent further to the strength of the creature, and Sebastian grit his teeth, lifting his head to fate before him. Claire had the house address, and if she managed to make it out of this hell, she could start over. He had already made the call for the preparations, and he had left her a gift.
He had whispered words softly to her in the massage room of the hotel with his chest feeling like it would crack from her admission. He had never heard those words aimed at him before, much less ever understood what it meant to hear them. However, like the many languages he knew, there was always a different way to say the same words, and the tiny, redheaded woman before him had made him think of every single version.
With the moments he had left, he considered his continued streak of broken records. Claire Redfield had been like a drug in his system, and like a junkie, he had wanted more. Her hesitance had been expected, but her submission and love had been a gift. One he knew he didn't deserve.
Sebastian found himself grinning when the shuddered, breathing laugh of the creature marked its push into the cell. Death had finally found him and in its wake, demanded its scythe back.
The slam of the doors far off made the creature pause as someone ran past in a stumbling blur. Sebastian had enough sense to catch the blonde hair of the agent as he tore out of sight. His eyes narrowed at the man's quickened pace, and the bloody footprints that were left in his severely disheveled rush.
The regenerator had pulled from the bars to track the movement in an excited moan, but as Sebastian heard the door at the opposite end of the prison block open and close, he knew that the agent hadn't meant to stay.
Wondering what the agent had been running from, Sebastian refocused on the creature that was turning back to him. It's body billowing as the parasites creeped beneath. It resumed its steps to push back into the cell and Sebastian tried again to angle his hands, but Leon's boy scout knots held his arms too close together.
The door at the entrance of the prison opened again, and it banged off the steel wall to create a reverberation throughout the prison. The creature grunted, as if it had enough of a mind to be irritated at the interruption twice in a row.
The sound of measured footfalls echoed down the row of cells as someone neared. The creature turned fully toward the figure.
Light began to flicker on the walls of the surrounding cells like the rising sun.
Sebastian lifted his head as he looked to the figure that stepped into view. His hazel eyes widened a fraction as he beheld the fire-stricken woman that stared serenely into the cell at him, ignoring the shuffling creature in front of her. Her lips lifted in a vicious smile before she cocked her head at the creature.
The regenerator let out a heckling call as it took its wobbling steps toward her.
Claire's attire told a story since the last time Sebastian had seen her.
The redhead's feet were nearly bare from the ankle down; the top portion of her boots remained around her leg, marking her like a woman who broke free of shackles. Her jeans were barely held together from the intact portion around her waist; the pants were nearly turned into shorts with how much fabric was now missing from the lower portion of her legs. Newly healed skin was poking through the holes of her ripped and melted red jacket. The blood that streaked her face in splatters didn't take from her beauty, and in fact only seemed to accentuate the fierce eyes that seemed to catch every reflection of the flickering heat lighting the prison.
Sebastian's eyes tracked to her palms that were cupped in a Mudra at her waist and the painfully bright white flames were wavering from her hands, as if waiting for her next command.
Claire seemed to study the regenerator slowly, as if she could see the parasites worming around inside the creation. She let out a heady laugh that made Sebastian shift on his knees; it was a sound that demanded attention. An imminent threat vocalized.
Sebastian felt irritation at the helpless feeling that streaked through him when Claire lunged and wrapped her slender fingers around the face of the creature.
At the same time, the regenerator had opened his mouth and angled its head to capture one of her wrists in its jaws, its arms twisting to wrap around her body. The blood that poured from the bite fell between them, and the small walkway was bursting into flames.
The curling inhuman moan of the creature filled the air while Claire remained silent, her eyes blazing in her fury.
Sebastian helplessly watched on as Claire's face didn't change or show signs of pain from the jagged teeth in her wrist. She was holding strong and managed to shove the creature to its knees with a crack.
The blood from her wrist was dripping into the abomination's mouth and down its emaciated chest. The fire plumed around them, and Sebastian watched the parasites emerge, their forms curling into a blackened ash along with the rest of the host.
The regenerator fell forward and spasmed while the parasites died, one by one. Claire lifted her wrist and flung blood onto its back legs as the door that Leon had disappeared into flung open.
The Verdugo had returned and was staring down from the door's platform at Claire. Sebastian began to yank at his bindings again while he whipped his head back and forth to look for something to use to fray the rope.
The thumping steps of the Verdugo filled the large room. Sebastian turned to see it charge off the platform and move for Claire with a flourish of claws raising. The redhead waited patiently.
"Claire!" Sebastian croaked, the blood in his mouth warbling his voice.
When the Verdugo dove with a reaching claw, Claire ducked gracefully into a crouch, and she rose to sidestep the tall creature with speed that marked the ever-emerging virus that sang in her blood.
Sebastian briefly noted that he had only seen one other person move like that; a man that even he would consider further before he ever engaged in battle openly. The same man who was most likely her next biggest threat.
Claire gave a twist to her hips and reached out to grab the long, trailing, ridged tail of the Verdugo. When she yanked backwards on the appendage, Sebastian watched on as the scales ripped through the skin of her hands. The Verdugo's tail lit up immediately from her smearing blood, and it rotated back to her with a scream.
Claire responded faster as she kicked the gurney that sat in the walkway next to her. With force that shouldn't have been possible, the gurney slammed into the executioner's chest with a sickening crack.
The creature's clawed feet dug into the ground for purchase when it was slammed back a few inches toward the bars of the opposing cell. Claire squeezed her right fist and the flames wicked out from her palm. The cooling hand was reaching into her jacket, and she yanked out the familiar Desert Eagle. Without preamble, she unloaded it into the thing's face while its back end began to fall apart from the fire running up its tail.
Sebastian knew now what Leon had been running from and he let out a bloody laugh while he leaned forward to spit blood from his mouth again.
Sebastian suddenly felt himself waver on his knees and his eyelids began to droop. He shook his head and looked down at the growing puddle of blood from the knife wound on his drenched side. He had lost quite a bit and knew that his time was running short.
The screech of the creature made him jerk and he lifted his eyes back up at the approaching steps. He released a moan as he took in Claire's beautiful form approaching slowly.
The fire in her remaining upturned hand created the same red halo effect around her hair he saw as a younger man watching from the shadows of Raccoon. She was every bit the raging archangel he saw in her then too.
Sebastian found himself bowing his head forward once, much like she had in the cell of Lugo. Even without the blood weakening him, he would have always bowed before such a sight.
Death bowed to Life.
Claire pushed through the bars as the creature had previously, her hand was held carefully away from her as she tilted her head down at him. His archangel was lowering herself into a crouch a few feet in front of him, and he stared at her with a soft smile lifting at his lips.
When she came to eye level with him, he looked into her eyes in the flame light and watched as her pupils dilated and shrunk to a pinprick repeatedly.
"Mine." She whispered in a breathy tone as she surveyed him.
"Yes," Sebastian affirmed to her with that note of pleasure streaking through him. He was licking his bloodied lips when he asked, "Claire, can you hear me?"
Claire said nothing for a moment while her eyes caught on the cut running from his cheek towards his ear, down to the blood on his chest, and then to the blood on his side. She looked last to the red pool beneath him, and her features shifted as she settled into a kneel.
"They hurt you." She whispered as her pupils fluctuated. She lifted her hand to reach for his side before she paused and looked at her hand. She made a fist and the fire extinguished quickly.
"It's just flesh wound." He probed as he leaned forward a little and forced her to hold his gaze. He glanced down at the bite on her wrist and found that it was already healing. She had gotten so much stronger in only the matter of an hour.
Her eyebrows were knitting in recognition at his reused joke and her soft hand was reaching toward the uninjured side of his face.
Claire was staring back at him as she cocked her head for a moment. Her eyes dilated once more, before they shrunk and stayed at their normal size. "You're dying. I can hear your heart, Sebastian."
"The Death cannot die." He said with humor entering his tone at the line he had only said once before. He shook it off and noted that she seemed to be in transition. "Unfortunately, it does fucking hurt though. Claire, hey, I need your help, alright?"
Claire took in a large breath while she reached down and pulled out a familiar throwing knife. She was quick when she stood and was moving behind him.
With a few saws in the appropriate areas, Sebastian felt his hands and legs break free, the blood rushed back to his fingertips. He didn't realize he was falling forward until her hands caught him to keep him upright.
Claire was moving back in front of him and was pulling at the straps for his vest, yanking it off with quick work. Her hands were shaking as his tactical coat was taken off next as well as his under armor. When he was bare chested before her, she pulled off her surviving backpack and reached in for the bottle of alcohol she had taken from the command center previously.
Dumping a large amount into the wound in his side, Sebastian was silent as the pain ran up his spine. He could only stare into her features as she quickly mopped up the excess alcohol on his side and lifted her hand back toward his skin.
Claire was giving him an apologetic look before the fingers of her hand erupted back into flames that were now more orange in color. Before he could utter anything, she pressed two fingers into the knife wound and he let out a shout but managed to stay still.
"I'm sorry." She whispered, pulling the fingers away after a few seconds. The flames died out around her digits again.
Sebastian looked down at the cauterized wound on his side and let out a breathy, pained laugh.
"So resourceful." He murmured and reached out his hand to grab her.
Claire caught his hand in a snap, and he paused with an instinctual warning itching at the middle of his back.
Claire was looking down at the hand before her shoulders seemed to drop. She was lessening her grip before she slowly let go and allowed his hand to remain near her.
Sebastian gave a tentative smile as he said quietly, "It's ok, Claire. Let go for me. I've got you. Let me take care of you too."
Claire was letting out a low moan when she seemed to fully settle back into her skin and she leaned forward to rest her head on his chest, her hands were bracing against his knees as she tried to hide the sounds coming from her throat. Her body began to shake as the eyes of Veronica Ashford settled back into the darkness.
Sebastian was wrapping his arms around her and gently pulled her back with him to the dirty wall of the cell. Not caring about the pain from the movement, he pulled her legs around his hips and held her close to his chest.
"Sebastian, I need the bandages, you're still hurt—" She said into his chest as she lifted her eyes to his.
Sebastian smirked as he wiped her tears and gave her delicate lips a light kiss.
"Are we not going to talk about the fact that I was the one that literally got captured this time? Are you not going to rub this in even a little?"
"I really thought about it, you know? I will say that if that creature wasn't splattered all over the walkway, he would be very pleased to know who he caught." She conceded with a small laugh as she returned his kisses slowly. Her hands were gently wrapping around his back and Sebastian felt a true contentment settle into his mind.
Using his thumbs, Sebastian tipped her head up. His brows were pinching together as he struggled with an emotion that he hadn't felt in a very long time. Gratitude.
"You saved me."
"You keep looking at me like you do, and I'll do a lot more." Claire retorted with a note of pride. She was stealing his lines this time with a pleased look. "What part of mine was confusing for you?"
Sebastian struggled with a grin and lost as he rested his forehead against hers.
Claire kept her forehead against his, but he felt her tense as she spoke next.
"I did some things out there, Sebastian. I fully enjoyed that power, and I killed so many of them. I was so angry—I was so worried about you—but so angry. If Leon hadn't run, I—He came back to the surface, and I didn't care that he begged me to kill him. I didn't care because part of me wanted him to suffer for what he had taken..." She trailed off quietly with her lips hissing out specific words in her claim on him.
Sebastian ran his right thumb along her jaw as he listened. He was studying the gentle slope of her nose, the cupid's bow of her lips and the way her slightly singed hair still glowed beautifully against her skin.
"At nearly every opportunity in these last few days, I have avoided taking life if I didn't have to. That wasn't anything to do with me, Claire. It was for you." His thumb wiped away the next tear that fell. "I made another error tonight that caused me to be captured. You called for me, and I wanted to answer." He rasped with that curling desire to consume her was beneath his words.
She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say, "I'm sorry—"
"—Don't." he said curtly, hating those words coming from her lips. "I'm not going to sit here and condemn you for killing, nor will I praise you, because I know you treat life differently, but know this, Claire. I will kill anyone I have to when it comes to surviving. I would slaughter this entire island for you."
"I yelled for you." Claire said then, circling back to the source of his capture. "I was a distraction and then I thought I wasn't going to make it in time."
Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment as he gave a slow nod. "I can't let that happen again. I—"
Claire pulled her hand back to wipe her nose as she began to stand from his lap.
Sebastian could see the look of guilt in her features. Wrapping his arms tightly around her waist, he yanked her forward into his chest again, causing him to hiss slightly at the pressure to the wounds.
"Sebastian—"
"I'd like to get through this to tell you who I am, Claire. What I can tell you is I knew what I wanted, and I made sure the chips fell in my favor. Always. However, when it comes to you..." He felt a loss for words for a moment as he stared down at her.
"Don't ever stop calling out for me. I will come every time." He finished, his hands gripping her back like she would disappear.
Claire gave him a sweet smile and she lifted her mouth to his once more. "Now, I can say the same, Mr. Smith."
She made to stand again, and Sebastian let her this time.
"3rd archon of the winds, spirit of air, angel of the waters of the Earth, and wielder of fire. Those who would harm the innocent shall be delivered from the rivers of smoke of Ariel." Sebastian murmured the continued lore of the archangel into the cell while he watched her grab her bag.
Claire was pausing for a moment before she pulled out more medical supplies and handed him an MRE to eat. Her eyes were drying up when she said, "I'd hardly call you innocent, Hunk."
Claire had moved to squat at his side, her eyes were assessing his wounded cheek before they met his gaze head on. Her smile was gentle, but the tone she used wasn't as she leaned forward and continued, "But I'd have burned this entire island down to find you too."
Death bows to Life, but Life would always surrender to Death.
Sebastian's answering grin held a little madness as he beheld the woman before him. "Careful, you're starting to sound like a mercenary now." His eyes dipped down to her hands for a moment. "I did notice that you've seemed to have mastered much more since the last time I saw you."
"Feeling a little intimidated?" Claire asked with a taunting lilt as she applied the disinfectant to his cheek and then the bandage.
Sebastian was marveling quietly at the events. No one had ever bandaged him up before and she had done so twice now. Rockfort had beaten the need for assistance out of all its recruits. The ones who didn't learn the lesson were buried in nameless graves.
He found he rather liked her gentle hands that could burn or heal.
Claire was gesturing to the food in his hand, and he chuckled as he ripped the disgusting food open.
"A little turned on actually." He finally responded.
He ran his tongue along the still bleeding cut on the inside of his mouth and took a bite of the packaged jambalaya, the wince that followed had nothing to do with the cut near his mouth.
"I saw Kennedy hightail it through here moments before you arrived. Nice gun, Red." His knowing look was pointed as he glanced at the holster inside her jacket.
Leon's Desert Eagle .50AE Magnum was looking a little worse for wear, but it seemed to rest best at her side.
"I also noticed that you seem to have a bad relationship with clothes." He continued with another bite of the food. His tone was casual and teasing.
"Hey," Claire said with a playful glint in her eye, she was wiping the blood from the skin of his chest and searching for other wounds. "I literally can't help it. If people would stop cutting, stabbing, shooting me, or ripping my underwear off, Sebastian, maybe I could actually maintain a wardrobe."
Sebastian's laugh was filled with male pride that he felt no shame over. Her eyes were lingering on him when he responded in a warm voice, "Apologies then. Carry on."
Claire gave him a twisting smile at the right side of her mouth before she reached over and scooped up a little of his food with her hand. She was pausing in her chews before she reluctantly seemed to swallow.
"Yeah." Sebastian muttered with a knowing look. "I swear it gets better with each bite though. Want some more?"
Claire graced him with an amused glint reflecting across her features.
"Well, bad news is you and I may be alone here. I think Tam is dead, and I lost sight of Bruce and Rosburg. We might not have time to save Leon before we're overwhelmed." Claire said as she finished her inspection of his body and moved to sit beside him against the wall.
Sebastian took her hand and gave it a squeeze. He pulled his communicator, flipped it open, and squinted at the screen. When it flickered to life, he let out a puff of air.
"Shit."
Claire leaned forward to see the message notifications he was beginning to read. Sebastian hit a button, and it was moments before the call connected.
"Good to see this call ID, Smith. What's your position?" Bruce's breathless voice yelled in greeting. There was no video. Sebastian listened as something crashed in the background.
"Prison blocks. Where are you?" He asked as he tried to stand, but Claire gripped his shoulder and gave him a look. He raised a brow at her, settled back to the floor, and listened to the gunshots that ripped through the device's audio.
"Engaging Saddler now, we got Kennedy on site. Rosburg's injured. Chainsaw injury…don't ask." Bruce huffed out in short bursts. "Could use a little help from the lovebirds if you could spare the time. We're just south of the labs on the base facility."
"Copy that." Sebastian said stiffly as he snapped the device closed and moved to stand again.
"Sebastian," Claire said as she gripped his shoulder. Her other hand settled on his thigh as she stared into his eyes.
"I don't like that look."
"They took your weapons, you've nearly bled out, and you're shaking. You need to finish eating before I even think of letting you up. You're pale as shit." Claire stated bluntly.
"If you think I'm going to sit here while you—" He started.
"No," She chuckled as she pulled the magnum out of her jacket again and placed it in his free hand. "I guess I don't think I could tell you to do that but let me lead you, Alpha Leader."
Sebastian licked his bottom lip and he suppressed a grin as Claire's eyes followed his tongue. He gripped the magnum solidly and gave her a nod. "After you then, love."
Claire gave him her sweet smile as she waited for him to finish his food. When she was certain he wouldn't pass out, she reached out a hand to help him stand. She was thorough as she double checked his bandages and ran her fingers over his skin softly. When she looked up at him and stepped back, he gave her a slow smile with a tilt of his head.
"Bruce and Rosburg could probably make it another twenty minutes if you wanted to look at the other issues I have."
Claire was lifting his shirt, tactical coat, and vest from the floor when she paused and gave that Redfield flush.
"Get it together, Sebastian. Plenty of time for that if we can manage to stop flirting long enough to live."
Sebastian slowly pulled his gear on and nodded with a feigned sigh.
The night was whispering around them while he allowed Claire Redfield to intertwine their hands and lead him forward. He was unsteady at first, but the training soon kicked in as he straightened. Truth be told, Rockfort had purposely injured him in worse ways to see if he could still run the training grounds.
He always finished the training grounds.
As Claire pulled him from the prison and checked back on him, Sebastian couldn't help but feel as if he was walking out from more than just a cell.
Claire's steady steps echoed in his head with trust, and he allowed her to lead him out from the solitary state he had built over time.
He had the thought that this was home, and he would protect it until the day he died.