A/N- At long last, I have returned! It's been a hell of a time that I've been away- I've gotten married to the love of my life and finally settled in to our new home. The new job is keeping me busy, however, so those are the biggest reasons as to why I've not been on too much or writing as much as I should. But now I have returned, and I can get this story going!

I'm very sorry for the long delay, but I'm finally out of the writer's block and have every intention to finish this story one way or another. I'm sad that it's not going to be as long as I thought it was, so things are going to start moving quick from here on out.

Thank you all again for the kind words and the favs. Each and everyone of you make me smile when I see the kind words that are written and feel so accomplished giving you all something to enjoy. My only hope is that I can continue to make you all smile in return and give you a story that does justice to the awesome character that is Albert Wesker and the Resident Evil gameverse as a whole.

Now go, my lovable lovelies! Go read and enjoy to your heart's content!

Jenna didn't come into her room the next morning.

Thinking maybe that something had come up, Julianna proceeded through her morning routine of showering and then looking for something presentable to wear that day. After combing and pulling back her red hair in a braid, Julianna opted for a white blouse with kimono sleeves, dark blue jeans, and her favorite black shoes. I wonder what Jenna plans for me today, she wondered, glancing outside. It was a bright sunny morning, so bright that the light from outside hurt her eyes. The cornflower blue sky had not a single cloud in the sky, which was a good thing. There'd been too many rainy spells, to begin with. Looking away, she started for the door before a curt knock cut her off. Maybe that's her right now, she thought with a smile.

Just as she headed for the door, it opened up slowly.

'I was wondering when you were going to show up," Julianna said. 'You're late this morning-" She stopped suddenly, seeing that the figure in front of her wasn't Jenna.

'When I see Miss Kelly, I'll be sure to pass that along to her." Wesker said, standing in front of the doorway. Julianna wasn't sure what to say. 'As it is, you'll have to settle with me."

'Wesker?" Julianna began, never expecting to see him this early in the day.

'Expecting to see someone else, were you?" he asked, a shadow of a smirk on his lips.

'Well… yes, actually." Julianna admitted. 'Jenna usually comes here."

'Indeed, but she's not here." Wesker said simply, taking Julianna's arm and leading her towards the door.

'Then where is she?"

'Miss Kelly is on a leave of absence and isn't expected back until next week. In the meantime, you'll be spending your days with me." Julianna said nothing in response, only stared at him in confusion. Jenna never mentioned leaving. Something didn't add up, but Wesker gave her no opportunity to question the matter further as he practically dragged her out the door. She didn't want to outright admit it, but there was a pit forming in her stomach at the thought of Jenna leaving without notice.

Once they were over the threshold of her room, Wesker released her arm and instead slowed his pace so that they were walking side by side. Julianna gave him a sideways glance, noticing that he was wearing his usual black shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants and boots, as well as his signature black sunglasses. His hands also were clad in black, making her wonder if he ever took them off. Someone has an affinity for black and leather, Julianna thought to herself.

If only it were his appearance that was causing her to have so many racing thoughts, particularly his actions last night…

He walked towards her rather than towards the door, coming so close that Julianna could do little more than freeze in anticipation an act of violence against her. To her surprise, no such thing happened. Instead, Wesker stopped just inches away from her, bending his head down to speak in her ear.

'I'd like to continue this conversation at a later time," he said, his breath wafting over her ear and causing her skin to break out in goosebumps, her own breath caught in her throat by his close proximity. 'Preferably indoors at a time where there are no interruptions." With that, he moved away, his hand brushing against hers as he went. Jolts of electricity went through her at the contact, intensifying the cold chills she was receiving…

That was nerve wracking enough, but the fact that he now was taking it upon himself to escort her to God knows where was even more so. She didn't understand this change in his demeanor, nor did she like it. But at the same time, Julianna knew better than to outright question him about it. Her teeth ground against each other; she hated feeling like she was walking on eggshells all the time.

'I take it that Miss Kelly explained to you the details of the virus you carry and why you're not to speak of it to anyone other than she and myself," Wesker began conversationally. Julianna gave him a sideways look.

'She mentioned it once or twice," she admitted. 'But never brought up speaking about it to you." You're not the easiest person to talk to in the first place.

'She's not the one you or anyone else here answers to," he said irritably, clearly displeased with this new information. He paused for a moment. 'It doesn't matter anymore. Since I can't have anyone who can correctly do their assigned tasks, I'll take on the responsibility myself." Julianna wasn't going to ask her next question, but it kept nagging at her until she could no longer bear it.

She risked asking, 'Did Jenna mention why she left?"

'She did not," Wesker confirmed. 'It doesn't matter, we will commence with our work with or without her aid."

'…I see," Julianna answered. They continued on in silence until they reached what Julianna thought was the dining hall where he surprised her once more by holding open the door for her. Julianna went through, but not without casting him a questioning look. I don't like how he's acting, she thought. Every inhuman instinct she possessed was going crazy, every fiber of her being urging her to get away from him. Julianna knew better than to even try it upon looking at the gun on his belt, an unspoken dare for her to try something even remotely threatening. She may be fast, but she knew from personal experience that Wesker was even faster. She almost didn't want to think just how strong he'd be if he was the same species as she.

Only when she'd turned her gaze to the room did she realize that this wasn't the dining hall that she was accustomed to. Actually, it looked nothing like the spacious room with long tables and what Jenna called a buffet. This room was different first and foremost in that it was small with only one table and two chairs made of cherry wood. It was dimly lit, whereas the main dining hall was filled with the natural light from the huge windows. That was something else that the room lacked- windows. It was painted a lovely shade of crimson with an unlit fireplace not far from said table which was already set for two.

If Julianna wasn't already on edge, she certainly was now.

Her ears heard the door close and lock as Wesker followed in behind her. She unconsciously stiffened momentarily as one of Wesker's gloved hands rested on the small of her back, his thumb caressing it lightly before gently (whoever would have thought he was capable of gentleness) and guiding her to one of the chairs and pulling it out for her.

Julianna glanced at him unsurely, but otherwise did as she was silently bid, scooting close to the table and looking down at her plate. It was filled with bacon, perfectly made sunny side up eggs, toast, and an orange which had already been cut in half. Orange juice and water sat opposite o the plate with silverware and a white linen napkin. Red eyes looked up to see Wesker take a seat opposite of her, a large hand reaching up to do something that she'd yet to see him do- remove his sunglasses.

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed into his reptilian orange-red eyes for the first time, confirming her original suspicions that she wasn't seeing things when she'd catch a glimpse of his eyes. Julianna blinked and looked back down at her food, mimicking his actions of digging in. An awkward bit of silence befell both inhuman creatures.

'So, Julianna," Wesker eventually began. 'What do you remember of your past life? Jenna has told me that you've been having vivid dreams of a place called Amarant." Julianna quickly chewed that which was already in her mouth, refusing to let him know that his question had taken her by surprise.

'I have," she started. No use in lying about it. 'I'm still unsure if they are pertinent to my memories as they are only of people I assume are from my past."

'You spoke a name when you were in critical condition," Wesker pressed. 'Ereavia. Who were you speaking of?"

'Ereavia is… was my sister, I think. That is what she keeps referring herself as anyways. There was someone else as well." Wesker, who'd been in the act of taking a drink of water paused and looked at her with renewed interest. 'A man named Riordan. I don't know much else about him except that he called himself my older brother. Jenna seems to be under the impression that both of these people truly are related to me even if I don't fully remember them."

'I see," Wesker carried on with drinking some water, the with his meal. 'And what of Eclipse?"

'I'm afraid I still only know as much as you do. I've not recalled anything which stands out as unique. But Jenna gave me a book which recalled the events of an outbreak in London some years ago."

'There was," Wesker confirmed. 'In 1888, the same year as the Whitechapel murders." Julianna's eyes snapped up to his, her ears listening to every detail carefully. 'It all began in the East End, the poorest part of the city at the time. It's not a secret that public hygiene were not the best in the world and living conditions were prime breeding grounds for viruses of all kinds to develop. However, some would argue that it was no accident which caused the outbreak of Eclipse in the first place.

'There was talk, several years after the fact, that someone had conspired to plant Eclipse into the main water supply as a means to send all of England into chaos. The only prime suspect was a man named Melchiah Menos." At the mention of this name, an image flashed before Julianna's eyes which lingered just long enough for her to make out a man with a pale face and black hair. Most piercing of all were his vibrant Payne's gray eyes. I've seen him before, was the only other thought that followed once the frightening visage of the man faded away.

'Rumor had it that Melchiah conspired with his common-law wife and the man who would become the killer known as Jack the Ripper to cause an outbreak that would wipe out the entire population of the East End as well as the reigning family at the time in order to ensure that they would seize control of England and Amarant as well through what can be considered as the first major act of bioterrorism in the eighteenth century.

'They were successful to some extent in that Eclipse managed to wipe out a considerable amount of Whitechapel's population in less than a month. All the while, the main public were too busy focusing on Jack the Ripper and neglecting to address the growing number of Sangs." Another image came into Julianna's mind, one which should have horrified her, but it only made Julianna more eager to remember more- an image of a mutilated woman lying at her feet, three creatures feasting upon her body…

At that moment, a full crystal clear memory played out before her eyes.

At that instant, a horrifyingly familiar smell assaulted her. It was metallic, almost as thick as the smog itself, but it was far more prevalent the closer she drew to the middle of the alleyway. Looking down at her shoes, Julianna could see that she was standing in a dark puddle, indeed close to where the source of the smell was coming from. Steadily, the young Advent knelt down to inspect it, shakily extending a hand to touch the liquid and hoping it wasn't what she was beginning to suspect it was. Once her slender fingers grazed the surface, she drew them back and flipped her hand over.

A knot formed in her stomach at the sight.

'Blood," she whispered, her hand starting to tremble at the realization. Her eyes wandered up from the puddle to the space in front of her, hoping beyond hope that this was only a horrible-

'Oh my god," she breathed, nearly falling back as her carmine eyes widened at the sight in front of her.

There, not very far from where she was originally walking, was the mutilated corpse of a woman that appeared to be in her late forties with dark hair and a horrified look on her pale face. Her eyes were already glazed over, indicating that she'd been dead for but a few minutes it seemed. But it wasn't just the sight of a body before her that frightened Julianna the most, rather, it was the shapes of three figures knelt over the body, their hands digging around in what had once been the lady's abdomen and pulling out what Julianna knew was organs and entrails before devouring them hungrily.

Her body shook pugnaciously as her wide eyes took in the appearance of these murderous beings- their faces were elongated more so than a normal person's should be, their fingers just as long with incredibly sharp looking nails at the tips. Their big eyes were unlike ones she'd ever seen before- the corneas were completely black as night rather than the healthy white as with others, and the irises red as blood. What had surely been strong bodies were now emaciated looking, their tattered clothing barely hanging onto them.

'What the hell are these things?" she wondered, falling back onto her behind in absolute terror. The sounds of flesh tearing and obnoxiously loud chewing was only intensifying it, the animalistic growls and hisses more demonic than anything else…

The memory faded away like fog, Wesker's voice bringing her back to the present.

'Little did anyone realize was that Melchiah wasn't only planning to take over London by poisoning the water with the infected blood of those unfortunate to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he also was conspiring to change himself into something that was only rumored to exist- an Elder Sang."

'An Elder Sang?"

'It's rumored that if a hybrid such as yourself was to drink the blood of a pureblood Advent woman, one can change into an Elder Sang and become more powerful than both Sangs and Advents together. And he, at last, experienced success first by killing his wife then by murdering Amarant's leader. But despite his best efforts, Eclipse wasn't spread any farther due to the interference of the leader's children. In retaliation, he sent those whom he created into Amarant, slaughtering every man, woman, and child without discretion. Those who were fortunate enough to escape were never seen nor heard from again." Julianna expected to have another flashback but experienced nothing. So much for that, she sullenly thought. At least I know a little more of what happened now, even if it's all supposedly a rumor.

'Does that refresh your memory anymore so?" Wesker asked, leaning forward on his elbows. Julianna met his gaze fearlessly, not allowing him to see just how much he'd made her think.

'Somewhat, but not enough to remember everything," Julianna admitted. It was a half-truth, but even if it weren't, she'd still say it to keep him from thinking that he'd managed to get into her head. She'd give him credit where credit was due; he'd managed to make her remember something whereas Jenna had been unsuccessful. Perhaps Wesker was useful for something anyways.

The glint in his eyes, however, sent a chill down her spine. If Wesker sensed this, he certainly didn't act like it. When she saw the ghost of a smirk pull at the corners of his pale lips, Julianna thought otherwise.

'Perhaps your time with me will change that," Wesker muttered cryptically, just loud enough for Julianna to hear him. She started to say something to that, but thought better of it and finished off her orange juice before rising to stand, which Wesker did as well. Even though the fire wasn't lit, Julianna couldn't help but feel as though the room had grown a degree or two too warm for her liking. She chose to ignore this and the strange fluttering in her stomach that had been churning up since she saw that look on his face. Wesker moved to unlock the door before pausing right as Julianna came up to rest beside him. Faster than she could react, Wesker grabbed hold of Julianna and pinned her against the door with his body, cutting off any possible escape by putting both of his arms on either side of her.

Her red eyes opened a tad wider than she wanted them to as she looked up at his still exposed eyes, not appreciating the new direction that this had taken. When he came an inch too close to her face, Julianna braced herself for the worst, prepared to fight to the death if she had to. They stated at one another for a long moment before Wesker spoke again.

'Now Julianna, why are you so eager to leave? Aren't you forgetting something?"

'Forgetting what?" To beat the everliving hell out of you if you don't get the hell away from me? Because I can do that right now if you want, she thought but didn't dare voice. He chuckled darkly.

'You just recalled something fro your past and you've not even thought to thank me." Wesker said simply, that gleam in his eyes doing little to alleviate that persistent fluttering in her stomach. Her eyes suddenly narrowed at the prospect that this was all over her failure to thank him for something she felt hardly warranted a thank you in the first place. But if that's what it took to make him back up without resorting to violence…

She'd acquiesce this one time.

'Very well… thank you," she grumbled.

'Again, without the poison," he commanded. Julianna just barely kept herself from rolling her eyes.

'Thank you, Wesker," she said, kicking herself mentally for it.

'Good," he said, moving back finally and moving Julianna out of the way so that he could open the door. 'And Julianna?" She looked back up at him. 'You really should smile more often. That frown of yours is quite unbecoming of you." With that, he replaced his sunglasses back on his face and exited the room. Julianna didn't even dignify that with an answer as she followed behind him, the food she'd just eaten forming into a lump in her stomach. Where are you, Jenna? She thought to herself. Where are you when I need you most?

A/N- I'll admit that this chapter was a bit hard for me for a couple of reasons. One is that I wanted to get Jenna out of the picture long enough for Julianna to get some time alone with Wesker. This leads me to my second reason- I know what's coming after this. I know what's going to go down very soon in the story and it's not going to be pretty. It's one of those things that I'm both anticipating and dreading writing because God knows I put Julianna through hell in my novel (Which if you'd like to read it, please let me know! It's still a work in progress, but it's coming along slowly but surely.), and I want there to be a moment when she actually doesn't have to worry about something going haywire for her. We'll just leave it at that.

Again thank you for the reviews and the favs. Please continue to do so and I'll try my best to get future chapters out as soon as I can!