Hello my friends and fans! I apologize for that long wait for this chapter, I've been unbelievably busy recently due to both a change in shifts at work and personal family matters. Again, sorry for the wait. But now, sit back, relax and read away!xxxooo

Flashback to November 17th 2019, over two years after the Louisana incident. Umbrella safehouse in Romania.

Ethan was in his private study that adjoined from his and Mia's bedroom and typing away on the keyboard of his computer. He was doing some work for a client that asked for his help to try and resolve a bugging issue with his software a couple of hours ago. Ethan had almost finished creating the code he needed to send him to fix his problem before he heard a knock on the side of his open door.

''Ethan?'' He heard the soft, caring voice of his wife Mia. Ethan turned his chair over to find her standing in the doorway, giving him an unreadable look. She had a lovely pair of brown eyes and long brown hair trailing down her shoulders and she wore a cream cardigan over a floral shirt and matching pants and white socks and bunny slippers ''Do you have a minute? I need to speak to you about something. Something important'' she asked him.

''Of course honey, just a sec'' he told her as he typed in a few more words into his keyboard and then clicked the send button on his computer ''There'' he smiled when he heard a 'ding' sound from his monitor. He then turned back to Mia ''Now, what is it you want to tell me?'' he asked her.

''In here, please'' Mia motioned him towards the bedroom. ''Okay'' Ethan got up and followed her into their room where she sat down on the end of the bed and patted down on the place next to her. Ethan got the hint and sat down beside her.

''Okay Mia, what do you wanna talk about?'' He asked her.

Mia just looked down at her knees for a moment ''Ethan, I...I...I'm sorry Ethan, It's just that-'' she paused and looked away from him to think of what to say next ''It's just so...it's kinda difficult for me to tell you this and I guess I'm just a little worried about how you'll react to it'' she awkwardly rubbed her arm.

''Hey, babe'' Ethen took her hands into his, forcing her to look directly at him ''Remember what we said over two years ago? We promised we wouldn't keep any more secrets between us''

''I know, I know'' Mia sat back up and walked away from the bed and started pacing back and forth in front of her husband ''It's just that, after everything that's happened between us in such a short amount of time. The Connections, Eveline, Lousiana, the Bakers and Chris moving us out here, Everything's just happening so fast...And I know you've been sneaking away to the shooting range with him and-''

''Mia, Look at me'' Ethan got himself up before she had a chance to finish her sentence and rushed to hold her hands again and held her chin up for her eyes to meet his ''You know why I'm doing this, to protect you. Chris told me what these kinds of people are capable of and you know it too! What if the organization caught wind that you survived the shipwreck and were out here with me?''

''They won't!'' Mia assured him firmly, although still a little worried about the thought of that scenario. As a former member of the organization, she knew first-hand what they did to loose ends. ''It's been five years since I last saw them, Ethan! As far as they're concerned, I'm dead''

''But what if they do find us? I wanna be able to protect you, Mia'' Ethan held onto her hands tighter ''I already lost you once and they'll have to walk over my bullet-ridden corpse for me to lose you aga-''

''I'm pregnant''

Ethan stopped himself upon hearing those two words from his wife. He froze in place, his eyes widening and he swore that his heart skipped a beat ''Y-You're what?'' he asked as he stepped back a couple of paces.

Mia slowly smiled as she caressed her stomach ''We're gonna have a baby, Ethan'' she revealed.

Ethan's mouth suddenly hung open and began to stutter out random words as his mind tried to absorb this new information ''But...I...we...you...us...how...?''

''I went to see the doctor today about the headaches and nausea I've been having lately'' She added as she looked at him with kind eyes ''She ran some tests and the results say that I'm due in nine months.

Ethan then began to form his lips into a bright smile and his eyes started to water in happiness ''Oh, honey!'' he shouted in excitement as he ran to her in a tight loving embrace.

''I knew you'd be excited'' Mia giggled.

''Excited?! Excited doesn't even begin to cover it!'' Ethan said, overjoyed with the news ''I was starting to think that after you became infected with the mold, It would've been impossible for us to have children but this...this is just wonderful Mia! Oh, I'm so happy, this is finally happening!'' he embraced her again.

''So am I Ethan'' Mia said lovingly with her head snuggling into his chest ''So am I''

''Wait until Chris hears about this'' Ethan whispered, earning a small chuckle from Mia.

End of Flashback

''Ding!''

The sound of the factory elevator reaching its designated floor snapped Ethan out of his thoughts. The elevator doors opened to remind Ethan of his current reality. His wife was gone, for good this time, and his daughter, the only family he has left was taken away by the very man who betrayed the family and took Mia away from him, Chris Redfield, Ethan's former friend now turned sworn enemy after finding out from Heisenberg that he'd been working for Mother Miranda all along. Once the doors opened, Ethan stepped out and walked down the dark path through the corridors of the factory to find out what Heisenberg was using it for. As he walked, questions began to swarm in his mind like a hive of angry hornets.

Why did Miranda want to kidnap Rose in order to conduct her ceremony? What exactly was the purpose of this ceremony? How did she convince Chris to help her and why did she need him to kill him and Mia? How could Rose have anything to do with the mold if he cured Mia years before she was conceived? Ethan didn't know. To him, nothing about this made a lick of sense, and whenever he tried to find an answer to any of them he just kept getting more riddles! Then he remembered what that old hag said to him back at Miranda's shrine coming back from Dimitrescu castle;

''It's only a riddle if you don't know the answer''

But Ethan didn't know the answer! That's what's been frustrating him! He was just sick to death of all these riddles and secrets, he just wanted someone, anyone to explain everything to him clearly in a way he could understand.

But the question that nagged him the most recently was why Heisenberg wanted to rebel against Miranda in the first place? Wasn't she the one who granted him those extraordinary powers and made him part of her inner circle? Telekinesis, Superhuman strength, eternal life? Did she infect him with the megamycete against his will and forced him to serve as one of her lords? Were there any downsides to his abilities that he didn't realize until it was too late and grew to hate her for it? Just like all the other questions on Ethan's mind, he didn't have any real answers, just speculation. He just thought that he'd save them for when he saw him again in his office later after he'd finished investigating the army he was assembling to fight the Lycans and the Umbrella PMC's lead by Chris.

Before long, Ethan found himself before another steel twin door. He pressed both his hands against it and with a slight grunt of effort, pushed them back to gain entrance to the other side. the doors lead Ethan to a large metallic platform overlooking an open space surrounded by various machinery. He leaned over the railing to see the steam towers exhaling their spirals of smoke and giant cogs and gears moving on the sides of the walls above a small body of water below which Ethan guessed was the waste runoff. He took a small breath of air only to let out a slight cough as some of the steam found its way into his lungs along with the musky stench of sulfur and burning flint. Ethan wouldn't exactly call himself an expert when it came to factories. In fact, the only other factory he's ever stepped foot into prior to this one was back in fifth grade, when his class took a field trip to the local candy factory in his hometown back in California. It amazed him how he didn't get diabetes that day, but he knew with utmost certainty that Heisenberg wasn't making chocolate bars or gummy worms here.

''Wait'' he said as he noticed what was dangling over the overhead conveyor belts moving over the runoff ''Are those...dead bodies?''

Ethan then turned his head to the far right side of the platform. He saw none other than the Duke himself, sitting at his trading stand right beside another pair of doors leading to the rest of the factory, seemingly preoccupied with a book. He had a small mop of brown hair on top of his balding well-rounded head. He had a pair of grey musky eyes and wore a dark blue waistcoat over a white polo shirt that was obviously too small for him due to his morbid obesity, you could see his bulging belly sticking out for anyone from space to see. He also appeared to wear a long velvet drape over his lower area and wasn't wearing any form of footwear. Ethan made the assumption that there wouldn't be any shoe size on earth to fit his fat feet.

Ethan slowly walked up to him and lightly coughed in his fist to gain his attention. The Duke shot his lazy eyes up from his book and sat up straight. He then smiled warmly when he caught sight of Ethan walking towards him ''Ah, Mr Winters! A great pleasure it is to see you return from that stronghold alive!'' he congratulated him ''And rumor has it that you and Heisenberg have buried the hatchet''

''You!'' Ethan pointed towards him with an annoyed expression. The duke placed his fat hand on his chest ''Me?''

''Yeah, you! I wanna talk to you!'' Ethan stopped a foot away from his stand ''You were working with Karl this whole time, weren't you?''

The duke then smirked ''You said his first name...so the rumors are true'' he replied, confirming his allegiance ''Welcome to the revolution, Ethan Winters! We're very glad to have you on board!''

''Why the fuck didn't you tell me?!'' Ethan asked.

''You never asked'' The duke shrugged ''How can one answer a question that nobody asked? And should it matter? We've brought you this far, haven't we? You've found all the pieces of your daughter now, you've completed your quest!''

''Well, how was I supposed to-'' Ethan then pondered for a moment, but ultimately found nothing to argue with his sound logic ''Well, I guess that sorta makes sense...But I have to ask; what's in it for you?'' he pressed ''What exactly do you get out of this?''

The duke just grinned whilst he rubbed his oversized hands together ''Isn't it obvious Ethan? He paid me for a service and thus I provided'' he answered.

Ethan then frowned in disapproval ''So that's the whole reason you're here; to make profits?!'' he shouted.

''Oh ho ho no Ethan, don't be such a cynic!'' The duke chuckled, letting his belly jiggle up and down as he laughed like a mall Santa Claus without a beard or red hat ''Financial gain isn't what swayed me over to the cause! You see, Heisenberg's family and my own family have been friends for decades. Bound by an old pact made by Karl himself and my own father, god rest his soul, to assist the other should the need arise. So naturally, when Karl came to me asking for my help, I just simply honored my father's name'' he explained.

''And what about Miranda? You want to kill her too?'' Ethan asked curiously as he wondered just how he would be able to fight her off, other than maybe sit on her.

The Duke then frowned slightly and pursed his lips with a small huff ''Kill Mother Miranda? Me? Of course not Mr Winters! I don't kill people'' he said ''I would much prefer to keep the peace, so to speak''

''What are you then?'' Ethan raised an eyebrow ''Some kind of Pacifist?''

''In a way'' The duke nodded ''You can tell that I am no revolutionary provocateur or trained gunman like you and Heisenberg. As we clarified this morning back at the castle, I'm only a simple, humble, peaceful merchant. A businessman. A man who makes his fortune selling his wares to the people. 'Living' people' Ethan'' he then slowly frowned as Ethan listened carefully ''We served this village for many generations and Miranda had the audacity to ruthlessly massacre my customers! Now, because of her I lost an entire region to transact!" he then took a second to breathe from his tangent ''You, me and Heisenberg know what has to be done, Ethan. She needs to die or we'll never truly be free and your dear Rose will be lost forever. So, as much as I detest the very idea of killing her, we must lay her to rest for the greater good...You understand, don't you Mr Winters?''

Ethan only gave him a knowing nod ''Yeah, I do. besides, it's not like I have many options coming outta my ears right now'' he replied.

It was then he noticed the book in the Duke's hands ''Hey, what's that book you're reading by the way?''

''Oh, this one?'' the Duke pointed to said book ''Quite a riveting tale I found during my travels, about a young boy in London who discovers he is of magical heritage and attends a secret school exclusively for gifted boys and girls like himself in order to master his newfound abilities''

''You mean Harry Potter?'' Ethan asked with a small chuckle ''You're seriously reading Harry Potter? Which book is it?''

The Duke then checked the cover '''The philosophers stone'''

''Philosophers stone, huh?'' Ethan smiled ''Good start to the series. I love the Harry Potter books! 'Order of the Pheonix' is one of my personal favorites, you'll love it once you get past the other four books''

''Four more books?'' The Duke asked with a little sparkle in his eyes ''Just how many books are there?''

''Seven''

''Seven?!'' he shouted ''How exciting! Perhaps once our revolution is complete, I should find the other six and meet this J.K Rowling chap for a nice spot of tea and maybe some scones haha!''

''You do know J.K Rowlings a woman right?'' Ethan told him with his arms folded.

''A woman who can write?'' The Duke widened his eyes in surprise. He then smiled once more ''How empowering!''

''Sure it is'' Ethan nodded before he realized he was getting a little off-topic ''But listen; There's something else I wanna ask you...Karl told me that he's building some kind of army down here in this factory to help him, me...Us overthrow Miranda. Do you know anything about it that you can tell me?'' he asked. The duke just leaned back in his stool with a calculating expression ''Remember what I said to you before, Mr Winters; there are some parts of the human imagination that are better off left...'Unexplored''' he reminded him of the conversation they had this morning back at the alter.

''Oh great, more goddam riddles. How very helpful'' Ethan sarcastically commented as he began to walk towards the door.

''However-'' The Duke added. This roped back Ethan's attention as he quickly came back to the stall ''However?''

''If I was as curious about learning more about the good lord's plan for Miranda as you are, the first place I'd look for information would be in the foundry'' the obese man hinted ''You'll find it past those doors, to the right, down the staircase and past another twin door on the far end of the hallway'' he instructed him "Heisenberg inspects his Soldat production at the end of every day. Perhaps the answers you're looking for lie in there"

''Soldat's?'' Ethan asked with a confused look on his face.

''It's what Heisenberg call's his...troops'' The duke replied ''You'll see them soon enough, I assure you''

''Well, thank you. Appreciate it'' Ethan smiled, glad that now someone was being clear with him ''Anyway, I've got some things I wanna trade with you'' he said, reaching into his backpack.

''Ah, of course! To business'' The duke nodded ''Oh, and Mr Winters; in light of your new friendship with Heisenberg I-''

''Just so we're clear-'' Ethan interrupted him ''Me and Heisenberg aren't exactly friends. We're just in a mutual agreement, a temporary association even, nothing more. I just need his help to get my daughter back and to settle the score with Chris!'' he clarified, recalling the time he impaled him with a sharp piece of metal the first time they met.

The duke raised an eyebrow ''Nevertheless, he's ordered me to offer you a discount on all future purchase's''

''Oh, great!'' Ethan smiled ''What kind of discount?''

''Ten percent'' The duke offered.

''Ten percent?!'' Ethan cried in offense ''I've been running around the village like a headless chicken, risking life and limb to collect those damned flasks and doing your's and Karl's dirty work by killing the other three lords and the best compensation you can offer me is ten percent!?'' he smirked coyly.

''But Mr winters, I-'' the duke began to stutter.

''I want Twenty-five percent, at least'' Ethan demanded.

''Twenty-five!?'' The duke blurted out in shock ''Outrageous! You might as well rob me blind right now!''

''Alright, Twenty then'' Ethan shrugged.

The duke then paused for a moment ''Fifteen'' he offered ''My final offer. Take or leave Mr Winters''

''Done'' they then both shook firmly by the hand in agreement ''But only because of our friendship. Now, what is it that you've got for me?'' the Duke asked whilst rubbing his hands together.

''Well, I found this'' Ethan handed him a large crystallized skull that once belonged to Urias ''Ah, the mighty Lycan alpha male Urias! Hard to believe that he was once the elder of this village before Mother Miranda took over'' he revealed.

''What?'' Ethan asked with his eyes widened in surprise ''You mean, th-that thing was the leader of the village?''

''Yes, indeed Mr Winters'' Duke smiled somberly ''A kind, wise and caring man until Miranda turned him into the hideous monster you know him as...A very tragic story indeed, almost as tragic as yours''

"I can imagine" Ethan nodded before reaching into his bag again "I also found this, is this worth anything?" he asked as he the golden engraved plate and handed it to the Duke. As soon the merchant saw the piece of special crockery, his mouth let out a short gasp and his face looked as if Ethan had just presented him with the world's biggest hamburger.

"Mr Winters!" the duke took the plate and examined it in his oversized hands "You haven't the faintest idea of what you've just found!"

"Um...An engraved Golden plate?" Ethan shrugged dismissively.

The duke shot his eyes up to him "Oh no Mr. Winters, much more than that." he said, still twirling the plate in his hands "I've come across many piece's of crockery made from precious metals in my time but this!...This is the treasured golden plate of Guglielmo!" he informed him enthusiastically.

"Gugli-who?"

"Guglielmo!" The duke shouted "One of the founding members of this very village! Thought to be lost for centuries...until now!" he exclaimed, holding the plate up to the lights on the factory ceiling.

"So, is it worth anything?" Ethan asked.

"Worth anything!?" The duke asked back "Why Ethan, it's essentially priceless!"

"How much?"

"Well..." The duke set the plate down beside the Skull and paused as he pondered the value of each item "I would say...40,000 for them both"

"Awesome" Ethan smiled.

"Anything is worth something to someone, Ethan" The duke smiled back.

After the Duke handed Ethan the rather large sack of Lei, he then used some of it to purchase some items from his stock to replenish the items he needed or was running out of; Three more bottles of medicine, six more shells for his shotgun, a couple more clips for each of his pistols, a dozen more rifle rounds and an extra pipe bomb.

"Arming ourselves to the teeth for our final battle tomorrow, are we?" The duke smirked as he handed Ethan the explosive "The customer is always right. Now, is there anything else?

"Oh, yeah. There is actually" Ethan reached back into his bag and pulled out the three chickens he had slaughtered earlier

"Ah, excellent Mr Winters!" The duke took the dead birds from his customer "I shall save these for later since this meal shall be for more than one this time" he said as he hung the chickens up on his stand by thier feet upside down "Well then, if that's all then you'd better press on with your adventure!"

"Alright, see you in Karl's office later Duke" Ethan nodded before he left towards the twin doors on the way to the foundry.

"Oh, Ethan!" the duke called to him before he pushed the door "There is one other thing I should tell you"

Ethan turned his head towards the fat merchant "What?"

"Heisenberg also said that he has a surprise waiting for you when you see him again in his office" he informed him.

"I don't really like surprise's" Ethan frowned.

The Duke grinned "Is that so? Oh well, trust me Ethan, I think you'll find this one to be quite...Pleasant"

Ethan could only nod back at him, deciding to take his word for it before he pushed the twin doors open and continue on his way down some more dark corridors and hallways, steam from the pipes attached to the walls occasionally huffing and puffing around him as he followed the pathway down the hall and made a turn on his right. Only to be met by a group of zombie-like monsters limping lazily towards him whilst carrying makeshift axes and maces made out of scrap metal. He gasped sharply in shock and drew his pistol out ready to shoot. But, to his surprise, the three creatures just limped past him without showing any form of hostility say for an inaudible groan and growl. Ethan also noticed the appearance of the zombies, they looked a lot like those other ones he encountered back in the dungeons of Dimitrescu's castle and Benevento's cemetery, only these ones were wearing gray rags and had what appeared to be a metal visor on its head that covered thier eyes. Ethan only watched his silence as the non-hostile zombies slowly limped down the hall behind him and out of sight.

''Nevermind the help, Ethan!'' Heisenberg's voice boomed throughout the speakers on the walls ''Completely harmless! These brain-dead morons wouldn't even harm a fly!...Well, unless the fly shot's 'em first! Haha!'' he laughed ''You wanna see the foundry right? Just keep going, you're almost there. And remember; look but don't touch!''

Ethan just sighed, put his gun away, and pressed onward down a set of stairs and towards another twin door. Sounds of clanging metal echoed throughout the halls as he went.

Ethan then began to ponder what exactly kind of army Heisenberg was building in this factory. He recalled The Duke saying something about 'Soldats' earlier. A german abbreviation for 'Soldiers'. While Ethan wouldn't call himself a linguist, he didn't exactly slack off in language class either. Was that a name for his resistance group? Could he be using this factory as a base to secretly train an army of villagers that survived the first Lycan attack to rise up and take down Miranda? No. Ethan did meet other survivors when he first came to the village but they all tragically died in that fire back at Luiza's house. He then thought about the domesticated zombies he ran into a moment ago. Maybe Heisenberg was rounding up some Zombies and Lycans and he found a way to tame them in order to fight for him. A possible theory, only he'd just said that these zombies were Docile, stupid, and weak. Ethan just decided to brush those thoughts aside and then slowly pushed the doors open to find a large room with workbench's and heaps of scrap metal littering all on the floor. Ethan then saw at the other end of the room a light wall with what looked like x-rays of the human skull and detailed, hand-drawn blueprints of the human body.

Ethan slowly walked up to the wall when a sound made him stop halfway-

"Buzzzzz"

A buzzing sound.

"What?" he whispered as the familiar sound grew louder and louder "Oh, no no no" he then quickly hid behind one of the workbench's and peeked his eyes from the corner to see a small swarm of flies hover from the door on the left from the light wall and suddenly morph itself into a figure wearing a black hooded figure had it's back turned from Ethan as it opened one of the drawers under the desk of the light wall, took out a clipboard and started scribbling something down onto it. Ethan slowly eased himself forward to get a better look at the figure.

"Hmm, Good. Very good indeed" A feminine voice hummed positively to herself "Over double what we usually produce in a day. Heisenberg will be most pleased with this report"

At that moment, Ethan's injured hand caught onto the top of the workbench and knocked over a sharp piece of metal. He grunted at the pain and his reflexes knocked over the piece of metal, making a loud clanging noise on the floor. Ethan quickly hid back behind the bench as the figure shot her head back in his direction.

''Who goes there?!'' she called out as she unsheathed a razor-sharp sickle-blade from her hip ''Come on out, show yourself! I know you're there. I can smell your blood'' she slowly advanced towards Ethan's hiding place, he slowly pulled out his 1911, ready to shoot as his heart started pumping rapidly

But before the figure could find him, all the lights and machines around the factory suddenly shut down.

''Again?!'' the girl groaned in annoyance ''If it's those stupid sacks of flesh again-" she sheathed her weapon back in her robe and put the clipboard away before she looked back at the workbench.

"Probably just a rat anyway" she shrugged as she turned back into a swarm of flies and flew out of the foundry to investigate the power outage.

Ethan blew a sigh of relief that he wasn't discovered before he pulled out his half-charged phone and turned on the flashlight "What the hell?! How can this be?" he asked himself

He recognized the woman's voice from before. It belonged to one of Alcina's three daughters! Though he wasn't sure which one it was but he sure didn't want to stick around to find out! However, his curiosity was peaked at those x-rays and notes on the wall. So he shined his light at that wall and gazed at the pictures of the inside of the human skull with a large metal object stuck to the brain and there were also ones of the ribcage with a small metal object where the heart should be.

"What the hell are you up to, Heisenberg?" Ethan whispered in awe of the x-rays and blueprints before he look down at the pieces of paper littered on the desk. He shone his light down on one of them to read it out. It seemed like a torn page from a journal;

Forth of September 1945

She lied to me! That evil, devious, vile She-demon tricked me! How could I, Heisenberg, have been so blind to her deception? When I returned to her from the frontlines, I thanked her for helping me crush those Fascist bastards and reminded her of her end of the bargain. But she just gave me that sick, disgusting smile and said that wasn't possible and then offered me a position among her inner circle, her 'Lords' as she called them. I had no choice but to accept but I should've known that once she injected that fucking parasite into my stomach, I was doomed to slavery to her for eternity just like those other three monstrosities that blindly follow her like mindless dogs! Especially that tall pale stuck-up bitch Dimitrescu.

I'll kill her.

I swear with whatever god is above us as my witness, I will kill Mother Miranda and take my life back from her cold, dead hands!

But not yet. Despite my rapidly growing powers in Magnetic field manipulation, she's still too powerful for even me to challenge. So I'll play along with her games and bide my time for now. I need an army to counter her Lycans. My partisans have all disbanded. Now that the war is over, they no longer have a reason to fight. Well, at least I have my father's old factory back. A gift from Miranda for my so-called loyalty. She may have the village but the factory is mine. There I shall plot my revenge away from her peering eyes. I need to find a way to beat her. If there's one thing I learned from the war, is that everyone has a weakness, no one is invincible.

After reading that last paragraph, Ethan began to think about the date of the entry; The fourth of September 1945...That was two days after the second world war ended!

"Partisans?" Ethan whispered in thought "Heisenberg's a world war two vet?!"

He then looked at the other piece of paper next to the one he'd just read and shone his light on it, using the slightly cracked screen of his phone to read the words. I seemed like an assessment of a project;

Body revitalization experiment log. Attempt #18

Date: 17th July 1980

Bela sent a new body to me this morning. As far as she knows, Alcina doesn't suspect anything yet. Good, the last thing we need is that giant spoiled bitch or her other bratty daughters discovering our plans and telling Mother Miranda on us! She's only been sending me boys and men they killed to avoid drawing attention to herself. The deceased male was named Oskar, looked to be about twenty years of age, he was the stable boy for the castle. Poor bastard fell down one of the village wells while intoxicated. Despite the cause of death, the body remained in good condition. After chest incision, I then proceeded to remove the heart and other vital organs.

After implantation of both the experimental Cadou reactor into the torso and the brainwave stabilizer onto the cranium, the results looked far more positive than the previous subjects. The adhering process began almost immediately, progressing twice as fast as Miranda's old method. I figured out that the problem I faced with the other subjects was that the ratio of meta-albumin in the artificial blood was too low.

The last phase of the experiment, the brain reactivation phase was the one part I had previously Struggled with before. However this time, I tried halving the voltage of the electrical current sent through the brainstem from 12000v to 6600v.

The overall results of the experiment was a complete success. The body sprung back to life the moment the reactor powered up! My genius once again impresses even me. But truly I have my 'niece' Bela to thank for, her assistance in my project has been vital. Now, after decades of research, I finally have my very first Soldat! But just one Soldat can only do so much. I need more, lots more. I'll have to write to Bela, asking her to send me more bodies whenever possible. Maybe I'll send her some more blood packs too as a reward for her loyalty.

"Wait, Bela?" Ethan asked himself before he put two and two together.

That hooded figure he saw before was Bela Dimitrescu, the oldest daughter of Alcina.

In that moment when he finished reading, the power came back on and then lights and machines started working again. But before Ethan had time to react, he felt something grab onto his shoulder forcing him to face Bela herself.

"Suprise, filthy man-thing!" she screamed before she threw Ethan down to the cold factory floor. Bela then stood over her prey "Looks like I was right, it was a rat after all!" she added as she brought her sickle up to strike.

Ethan used his good hand to search for anything to use. Luckily, his hand found a metal pole and before Bela could stab his chest, Ethan used the pole to block her attack. Locking her arm in place.

"Now, who are you? Another one of Miranda's spies or an unfortunate trespasser. Which one are you?" She asked while shooting him her glance of death, her teeth stained red with blood "Speak! Before I slice open your throat and stuff it with worms!"

"I-I'm neither" Ethan answered, still holding the pipe in the way of her sickle "I'm here because Karl invited me here to offer me a deal!"

"You DARE address the future king by his first name!" Bela growled angrily "It's Heisenberg! You think that you can just waltz in here like some-" She then stopped as she got a better look at his face. Her expression softened a little and she eased her grip on her weapon "Wait...You look familiar. Have we met each other before?"

"Yeah, we have" Ethan replied with a frown "Although I wish we hadn't," he remarked.

Bela then dived into his neck and took a long sniff before she gasped in shock "Ethan Winters!" she cried as she stood up and sheathed her blade away "Oh, a thousand apologies Mr Winters! Please, allow me-" She reached her hand down to help him up.

"I don't need your help!" Ethan spat as he slapped her hand away and got back up on his feet.

"Oh, I see" Bela smiled deviously "You must think I'm here to avenge the deaths of my mother and sisters, am I correct?"

"Well, aren't you?" Ethan asked with a confused look.

Bela responded with a short sadistic fit of laughter ''Certainly not!'' she revealed as she paced back and forth in front of Ethan ''Did you honestly think that that I ever cared for that giant, pale, narcissistic, ungrateful, vulgar, inbred Monster of a woman! Never! If I really did care one wit about her, I would've tracked you down myself and gutted you like a fish!''

''Like you tried to do back at her castle this morning?'' Ethan retorted, reminding her of how she behaved towards him before her supposed death.

''But I didn't!'' Bela insisted with a total look of innocence on her blood-stained lips, looking into his eyes with her own hazel ones ''All of that was an act! My intentions were only to suck enough of your blood to incapacitate you so that I could deliver you to this factory myself! I could never hurt you, Ethan! Especially not now after all you've done for me and Karl. Not only did you slay my whore of a fake mother but you took down Donna and Moreau all in the same day!'' she said in amazement before a playful smirk appeared on her face ''Though I admit, the plan at first was to kill and yet here you are...You're much different than any other man-thing I've ever dealt with before. You simply refuse to die, You've gone through all those trials and tribulations and despite all the pain you inflicted on yourself you keep going, all for the sole purpose of saving your daughter. Your tenancy is something I admire'' she clapped her hands together before she turned and walked over to the desktop ''And now, with all three lords gone Miranda will be left without a hole to crawl in after we rise up and take her throne...I only wish my other two 'siblings' were as strong or intelligent as I. A pitiful waste, really'' she finished.

''So, you're Heisenberg's spy?'' Ethan asked her after her speech ''In that room where he confronted me when I first came here, It showed your picture on his wall as 'converted'''

''As you can imagine, Alcina was never truly accepting of him and wouldn't let him near the castle'' Bela explained ''So someone had to put those vases and clues there for you to find''

''Yeah. Well, speaking of death-'' Ethan scratched the back of his head ''How in the fuck are you still alive! I saw you crumble to dust with my own two eyes!'' he pointed at her with his good hand. Bela just smiled warmly as she leaned her back on the desk ''Your daughter truly is something special Ethan, I can see why you're going through all this trouble to save her''

It was then it clicked in Ethan's head ''He used Rose to bring you back?!''

Bela removed her hood to let her blonde hair flow ''You'll find it astonishing what only a couple drops of her essence will do Ethan'' she answered ''When you killed me back at the castle, all I saw was darkness as my old body crumbled away to dust. I could not move, hear or feel anything. It was almost like I was paralyzed while asleep. When you sold what remained of my body to the Duke, he brought me back here where Karl remade my body with Rose's power, stronger than ever'' She said triumphantly ''He gave me a second chance for my undying devotion to his cause. He gave me something neither Alcina or Mother Miranda ever did...Freedom!''

Ethan then remembered what the last paper he read before the power came back on ''That's why you've been sending him those dead bodies. You're helping him build his army! His 'Soldats' is it?''

''Of course Ethan'' Bela grinned before an idea popped into her head ''Our army and our key to freedom!... You wanna see them?''

''I think I already did'' Ethan poked his head behind to where he saw the three zombie-like creatures earlier.

''Oh, not those Ethan" Bela giggled like a school girl ''Those are just the Haulers. The real Soldats are much stronger, they'll make those Lycans look like mere puppies! Come! I'll show you'' she grabbed him by the good arm and opened the desktop draw to get the clipboard she wrote on before. She then started to drag him away before the speakers screeched back on.

''Now now, child. Play nicely with our new friend'' Heisenberg warned them playfully. Ethan looked around the room ''Is he watching us? If so, where are the camera's'' he thought.

''Don't worry your highness'' Bela nodded back up to the ceiling as if to make sure Heisenberg heard her ''I won't bite him'' she then began to drag Ethan away again before she stopped once more and shot him a flirtatious look ''That is unless he wants me to'' she batted her eyelashes at him "In which case, I would be more then happy to oblige"

''Ugh, hard pass'' Ethan scoffed before the vampire girl changed back into the swarm of flies and pulled him by his arm with a vice-like grip out of the room and down another staircase, passed some more hallways, turning left and right so fast that Ethan couldn't really see where they were going until finally, she stopped in a smaller room and changed back into her human form. Ethan had to twist his wrist around to restore circulation when she let him go.

"Here we are, Ethan" Bela announced "Feast your eyes!" she pointed her hand ahead of her. Ethan turned to face a small window that viewed another bloodstained room with what looked like a man with a muscular upper body with some kind of metal plug on its chest where the heart should be and only wearing trousers in the center. Ethan looked closer to see that the man was facing downward with some kind of breathing apparatus attached to his mouth and his whole lower right arm below the elbow had been replaced with a large drill.

"Bela, W-what the hell is that?" he asked, pointing to the window. Bela just smiled and said "That is a Soldat, Ethan. Heisenberg's ultimate creation, his magnum opus and soon and the key to Miranda's undoing...Care for a demonstration?" she asked before she pressed the red button on the dash below the two-way mirror.

Ethan and Bela then watched as the room lit up as the conveyor belt on the roof delivered a small cage into the room. The cage's bottom then opened, dropping three Lycans onto the floor.

Ethan instinctively drew his gun and aimed for the pack of Lycans. Bela lowered his hands "Watch" she told him calmly.

From inside the lycan-infested room, the cable that was connected to the immobile Soldat's spine disconnected. At that, the Soldat roared to life with his drill spinning up and an ominous amber light glowed from the piece of metal his chest as he marched up to one of the Lycans and knocked it to the floor before the Soldat crushed its skull with his foot. This caught the attention of the other two Lycans, they growled aggressively and attacked the Soldat with one of them hitting him on the head with its club. The Soldat just puffed and as the Lycan was just about to hit him again, he grabbed its arm and ripped it clean off!

As the armless Lycan howled in pain from losing a limb, the Soldat impaled it from behind with his drill weapon, spilling blood and fur all on the floor. The Soldat then turned to the last Lycan, who was whimpering in fear and trying to back-peddle away from him but the Soldat grabbed it by the throat and began to choke the life out of the Lycan while Ethan watched in both awe and horror and Bela looked like she was watching a magic show! After a moment of choking the Lycan, the Soldat tightened his grip on its throat until-

'Crack!'

he snapped its neck in his hand. The Soldat dropped the lifeless Lycan to the floor and slowly marched back to his charging port as the bodies of the Lycans disintegrated as the lights turned off. From the showroom, Bela looked at Ethan and saw that his jaw was left in a large gap. Shocked beyond words at what he'd just witnessed.

"Please, close your mouth" she pushed his jaw back up "You might catch one of my flies" she joked.

"Ho-ly shit" Ethan commented as he turned to face her before the factory's PA speakers turned back on.

"Did you enjoy the show, Ethan? Sorry, the duke ate the last of the popcorn a few years back" Heisenberg's voice announced with a small chuckle. Bela giggled slightly in her mouth at that "Magnificent, isn't it, My soldat's, my ultimate creation! Combining the primal instinct and adaptability of the human body and mind with the strength and durability of the machine!... And now that you've seen for yourself what just one of them is capable of, Imagine what one could achieve with an entire army of them!" he shouted as Ethan and Bela turned to see from out of the window on the opposite side of the hallway. the lights turned on to reveal an exceptionally spacious storage space that housed thousands upon thousands of Soldats like the one they saw inside the testing room earlier. Ethan also noticed that some of them looked a little different, There were variations of Soldats that had both their arms replaced with drills instead of just one and there were also a few that had some kind of large helmet that strongly resembled the head of a hammerhead shark and there were even some who were completely encased in armor from head to toe! All spread out and lined up in rows by the hundred, ready to be activated and sent to battle.

"My god" Ethan whispered underneath his breath in both shock and amazement as he gazed down at the army of zombie/cyborgs below him "This guy's preparing for fucking war"

"I never asked to be part of Mother Miranda's council. She stole me, stole us, and forced us to be her children and to call her 'Mother''' Heisenberg's voice continued "We've spent decades as her slaves! Being forced to serve under that bitch's thumb. Can you even comprehend the humiliation we've had to endure?!...But no more. I've grown tired of all this fake family bullshit. These Soldat's are the fruits of my power and mind. With both these weapons and the power your daughter posses, we can finally rise up and take down that evil witch once and for all! Miranda believes herself to be invincible. That we're weak, vulnerable sheep to be herded and slaughtered for her own twisted pleasure and don't have the guts to fight back...And as always; she is wrong! We shall show her that nobody is invincible! She will learn that Heisenberg is NOBODY'S BITCH!... And you, Ethan Winters, will help us. Aren't you glad you made the right choice? Thank you Ethan, we couldn't have done this without you"

Ethan then turned to Bela after the speech "Quite the gifted speaker huh?" he asked her. She nodded "He's right you know. We've waited for someone like you for a very long time" Bela smiled "But I never would've thought it would be some foreigner from a distant land! But, as you Americans say; Beggars can't be choosers, right?"

"I guess" Ethan then looked down "Besides what other choice do I have?" he asked sarcastically.

"The choice is; you could join us and we'll save Rose together or you could leave and face both Miranda and Redfield alone" Bela answered "Of course, you know that last option would be suicide! For both you and your daughter" she added. Ethan looked away from her, guilt welling up in his heart. Bela could sense his growing doubt and cupped his chin in her hand "Listen, Ethan. I'm sorry we couldn't save your wife but we can still save your daughter. You have my word on that" she assured him "Now, come. Heisenberg will be expecting us in his office. The Duke's making dinner"

As Ethan followed Bela out of the showroom, he began to wonder if joining up with Heisenberg was really such a good idea after all.

''What have I gotten myself into this time Mia?'' he asked in his head.

Meanwhile in Mother Miranda's lair

A woman in an old priestess robe with a necklace of what looked like a fetus growing in a womb around her neck was busy preparing a nursery of her soon-to-revived daughter Eva.

This woman was Mother Miranda. She had beautiful, young, regal facial features with soft brown eyes and tied-back silver hair. She smiled warmly as she arranged the selection of wooden toys in the wooden crib before she stood up, admiring her work.

"Soon, my little Eva" she said " We shall be reunited. I've waited all these countless years for this moment, and once Ethan Winters is dead and the ceremony has been completed I shall hold you in my arms once more" she then looked up to the ceiling with an angry frown "And this time, not even he will be able to take you away from me again!"

Once she had finished, she heard a ringing sound from her old-fashioned phone in the next room. She sighed in slight annoyances as she went to answer it.

"Yes?!" she held the device to her ear.

"Ah, good evening Mother Miranda!" She heard Heisenberg's voice on the other end.

"Heisenberg" she smiled and sat down on her chair, tapping her golden fingernails on the table ''Evening. I presume you have some good news to share with me''

"Indeed I have. You'll be pleased to know that I've discovered who was planning to betray you" Heisenberg informed her "You were right all along, it was the treacherous bitch Alcina!" he lied.

Miranda frowned at the news "Dimitrescu" she sneered "I KNEW she was up to something. Her behavior at the meeting this morning was completely unacceptable!" she slammed her fist down on the table surface in anger.

"Indeed, it was mother" Heisenberg agreed "She and her daughters were building an army of those hooded freaks down in her dungeons to attack you at the ceremony and recruited Ethan to help them eliminate the other lords, offering him any of her daughter's hand as a reward!" he paused for a moment "I'm afraid he already got to Donna and Moreau before I found him...I tore him apart mother. I'd send you the body but...not much of him remained after Strum was finished with him" She then heard him begin to sob what she thought were real tears "I did everything I could to save them mother, I really did!"

"I know you did" Miranda replied, showing a small sign of concern for him in her voice "You mustn't blame yourself, Heisenberg. None of this was your fault. It was Alcina's!"

"Thank you mother" Heisenberg sniffed.

"And what of Alcina?" Miranda then asked.

"I took the Lycans to her Castle and burned it to the ground" he answered "They put up a damn good fight but I managed to dispose of the conspirators. They won't be a problem anymore"

"Good" Miranda nodded "May their deaths serve as a reminder to those who try to defy my rule. You've done well Heisenberg. I was right to put my faith in you to solve the problem" she praised him.

"You have my everlasting gratitude mother" Heisenberg said "Though with Alcina and her daughters gone, I guess that it's just you and me now"

"For now" Miranda smiled "But once the ceremony is complete, Eva will finally return!" she laughed softly and then cleared her throat "But before that, there is another issue far more troublesome that needs urgent resolving"

"And that is?" Heisenberg asked.

"A group of soldiers has infiltrated the village led by a man named Chris Redfield. Judging by the symbol on their garments, they must be from Umbrella. No doubt they're here to assassinate me before I can perform the ceremony tomorrow" she informed him.

"Redfield huh?" Heisenberg groaned "Another American, no doubt. You want me to kill them?"

"I do not want you to kill them, Heisenberg. I expect you to kill them! You are to follow my instructions to the latter!" Miranda shouted on the phone "You do remember what happened last time you disappointed me, do you?" she sneered firmly.

There was a short pause on Heisenberg's end before he answered "How could anyone forget mother? But rest assured, I will not disappoint you like that again.

"Very well" Miranda smiled "Now find and destroy the intruders. I don't care how it's done, just make sure it's done before the ceremony"

"Consider it done, mother" Heisenberg said obediently "I shall see you at the ceremony" he hung up. Thankfully, she was unaware of the angry Heisenberg's colorful profanities and creative death threats he used against her in his violent rant after he exited the call.

And that is the end of Chapter 2 readers! Sorry if this one's shorter than the last one, Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed it and don't forget to RR! Until Next time...Cheerio!XXXOOO