Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Phew, last chapter and the epilogue. I'm leaving the ending a bit ambiguous, sorry.
Claire eyed the exotic African flower she held in her graceful and soft hands while sitting on the stairs of the ancient ruins. "Aren't you a beautiful little thing?" the young woman asked all amused from the flower, tilting her head with a soft smile on her lips. For some reason she found the idea of the flower answering her amusing, though with all the crazy things having happened to her, a talking flower wouldn't be that far fetched idea.
The young Redfield woman felt lonely in the great stone hall where only the dead kept her company. They lied underneath the lids of their ancient coffins, their skeletons untouched for centuries. Now that she thought about it, only death resided in this hall...after all, she herself had died few months ago. This place would also become the last resting place of the two agents who had fought their way here against all odds.
Her blue eyes focused for a moment on the large door at the other end of the hall. She could hear gunshots and the pained screams and growls of Lickers. I recall fighting those beasts ages ago...with that man, Leon, Claire thought, recalling the two persons who had almost reached the hall. Back then she had been so young and inexperienced. SHe had entered that doomed city in search for her brother that she could barely remember now. Chris, thinking of that person no longer hurt so much. It was hard to believe she had faced countless horrors just to find the man who no longer had much of an impact on her life.
Claire gave a short laugh and let her gaze fall again on the flower she held in her hand, "I can't believe they made it this far," the red head whispered in melancholic tone before taking hold one of the flower's petals, "They should have stayed away...it would have been more merciful for us all," the Redfield sighed before pulling the petal off with an emotionless look in her eyes.
She knew she should have stayed away and just let Wesker deal with those two who had hurt her so badly. But, she had to see them one last time. They had not been able to save her.
During the past few months, her memories had slowly started to return to her and thought many of them had been painful, to the point it was unbearable, she had managed to endure them and as time passed, it became easier to recall her past life without breaking down. She had chosen to do this to herself and Claire knew she couldn't blame anyone else for her actions.
Chris was gone and she was as good as dead to Jill and the rest. Her place was with Wesker now and she'd learn to accept her actions, one memory at the time. It really was easier to cope with everything this way.
Wesker had kept her by his side constantly, teaching her to use her newfound strength properly and most effectively. Of course, she was no match for him in combat, but those who the Uroboros would change, would be beneath her.
The orange red petals fell one by one onto the stone stairway and Claire smiled sadly. She could move fast, endure gunshots and slashes like they were nothing...hell, she could even break a man's bones easily with her bare hands if she wanted to. But having such great power felt useless...she had no desire to hurt anyone and the idea of the whole world becoming infected by Urobotos still haunted her and felt painful. But what she wanted no longer mattered, after all she had submitted to Wesker's will. The fate of the world was no longer on her shoulders and right now, all she cared about was the new life growing inside her, the only life that mattered.
Claire discarded the flower in her hands when the last petal fell. That's right, Claire thought as she moved her hand to feel her stomach that didn't show yet any signs of pregnancy...however, she knew that there was her and Wesker's child growing inside her, the first naturally born enhanced human.
"I wonder if the kid will have my eyes or his..." Claire gave a short laugh as she fixed a straw of her red hair behind her ear. Her blue eyes had slit pupils and they glowed ever so slightly in the poorly lit ancient hall. The only good thing about her super human strength and speed was how they made protecting her unborn child so much more easier and the childbirth would be probably relatively easy.
The red head woman blinked a couple of times when the sounds of shooting stopped outside the doors. Either the agents were dead or victorious and Claire guessed the latter one. The heavy stone doors opened to the large hall but Claire remained still, not daring to look up at the people who had entered.. She didn't feel like she was in immediate danger and if her old friends decided to shoot her, she could simply dodge the bullets behind some stone pillar. She was unarmed, but then again she no longer needed weapons to be a devastating force.
If Leon and Jill only wanted her dead, she could live with that and even let that happen, but she no longer was responsible for just her own life. Her child was the one she held loyalty for, the one she wished to protect in the world that was about to change.
There were still holes in her memory and Claire would always remember the night she recalled Chris again. She had felt sick and disgusted with both herself and Wesker, but the blond man had held her and calmed her down and oddly enough, recalling Chris face and voice didn't hurt so much anymore. She remembered him now yes, but only hazily. The long history they had shared was no longer there. The nights they had spent together as children no longer existed nor the times he had comforted her.
He was someone who had been a part of her life and someone she had loved. But now, he was simply gone even if Wesker had killed him. It hurt, but not so much anymore.
Claire heard two people approach her and she didn't need to look up to know they were Jill and Leon with a woman named Sheva Alomar providing the two support the best she could through radio. She had watched the agents' journey through the live video feed and she had not expected to see her "friends" in a place like this.
Of course, she could have just stayed away and stay by Wesker's side and not get involved, but... a strong desire to see these people one last time had taken over her heart and soul. She couldn't remember everything about these two, but she recalled enough to know that these two had been extremely important to her at one point of her life, even if she had betrayed them and they her. They were the last people she had from her old life and soon enough, Jill and Leon would also disappear.
"So you made it this far," Claire murmured softly as the two agents stopped in front of her, their guns aimed at her head, ready to shoot if she did something unexpected. Only when she heard a safety of the gun being removed did she look up at the man and the woman who were staring at her with cold, yet shocked look in their eyes...but Claire could see that beneath the stoic expressions, Leon and Jill were overwhelmed with rush of different emotions.
Jill's eyes widened slightly in horror when she saw what had happened to her ex partner's younger sibling and she couldn't tear her eyes off Claire's animal looking ones.
"Claire...what on earth has he done to you?" She asked and Leon was just as shocked.
Claire let out a short laugh and stood up on the stairs, "just forced evolution, nothing more," she replied like was not a big deal, "I lost almost all of my personal memories due to this..." she said and pointed at her eyes, "but they are slowly coming back. At least I remember you two very well. I must say that I was very surprised to have you two of all people make it all the way here."
Leon grit his teeth in anger and took few steps towards Claire, feeling clearly betrayed by her actions. The young woman couldn't help but wonder if they had expected to run into her eventually. Do they want to kill me or arrest me, Claire thought, wondering if the two had planned their actions in case they ran into her. Surely they had been prepared since they knew Wesker was behind this all.
"Claire Redfield, you are under arrest for helping Wesker. Place your hands behind your head and walk over here, " Leon hissed, but Claire merely smiled at him in a slightly mocking and pitying manner, clearly having no intentions whatsoever to do anything like that. When Valentine noticed that Claire was not going to do anything they demanded her to, she frowned angrily.
"Why are you here and where is Wesker?" she asked and Claire went silent for a moment, as if trying to find a reason for her to be here.
"I just wanted to see you two one last time...to say my goodbyes. Uroboros will change the world and I fear there is no place for you two in it," She whispered, clearly believing that there was no stopping Wesker. There was no maliciousness or hatred in her tone; she was simply stating the sad and cruel facts, "There is no stopping it. That virus will devour the world."
"Like hell it will! We will stop Wesker no matter what, and you are coming with us Claire," Leon hissed and moved swiftly over to Claire to grab her arm, "I don't know what he has done to you, but there is still time to turn things around! Please, just come with us and help us stop Wesker," Leon begged her, clearly wanting to believe that she was not completely lost to them, "the Claire I remember would never give up...she wouldn't just watch the world burn around her and do nothing!"
For a brief moment, Claire actually considered her old friend's words, wondering if someone could still save her. But...she had no role to play in this anymore. She had promised not to stand in Wesker's way or rebel against him. She simply had no strength to do so.
"I'm not the Claire you remember, hell, I barely remember you, Leon!" Claire yelled and tried to get Leon to let go of her, but when the man just tightened his hold on her, clearly having no intentions of letting her go until he had talked some sense into her. Claire panicked and instinctively struck him hard onto chest, sending the BSAA agent flying backwards and towards Jill.
Valentine watched in horror how Leon landed painfully in front of her, only to swiftly get up. Still, the two didn't open fire...they merely aimed at Claire who looked just as shocked as them. The ponytail haired woman took hold of her arm she had used to hit Leon and she looked like she was terrified of her own power.
"I...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have come here," Claire murmured and glanced away, with sorrow reflecting in her blue eyes. "I can't help you. There is nothing I can do anymore. I have something I have to protect no matter what..."
At one point of her life, she had loved the man she had hit, but those memories felt hazy and distant now, almost as if they were from another life. If the two were strong enough to stop Wesker, so be it, she could live with that, but she had promised herself not to get involved anymore. Just when she was about to leave, she heard the door behind her open and close.
"why...isn't this one big happy family reunion..."
Claire turned her slightly to see none other than Wesker approaching her, descending the stairs to stand beside her to face the two agents. The blond man looked smug and amused, clearly enjoying the dramatic encounter his little pet and partner was having with her old friend and lover.
Only death and destruction awaited the two and the world, and she'd just stand aside and watch.
"Wesker!" Jill yelled angrily and aimed at Wesker instead of Claire who looked pained and sorrowful. She wanted nothing bad to happen to anyone, but there was nothing she could do.
These people had hurt her, she could recall that much, but she had hurt them as well. That''s right...she had betrayed their trust by giving herself to the blond man. But, they had not given her the benefit of the doubt either.
"What did you do to her?!" Leon demanded from the blond man who was behind all this. He was the reason Claire had turned out like this...he was the bad guy, not Claire.
The young woman cast gaze down when she felt Wesker's leather gloved fingers touch her neck and play gently with her ponytail. She couldn't face the two agents anymore.
"I just helped her to elevate herself above the common rabble so that she could fit in the new world," the blond man murmured and one could hear pure adoration in his tone,"and the best part is, that Claire here chose to do this to herself," the man told the two with dark and malicious look in his gleaming red eyes, "She risked death to become what she is...she chose to forget all the painful memories she had to bear..."
Claire closed her eyes and tried to endure the painful truth.
"I freed her of the pain she had to endure."
Jill grit his teeth in anger and she was seething. How could Claire do this to herself? To her brother's memory!? How could someone choose to have an amnesia? She had willingly turned herself into a monster.
"Jill...I'm sorry for everything that I've done," Claire finally murmured and held her head slightly, recalling a single memory that felt important. It was something her brother had told her to tell this woman. That's right, Chris asked me to tell Jill that he loved her, Claire remembered.
"Dear heart, why don't you run along and head to the ship? I don't want you to see me dealing with these two," Wesker almost purred at the red haired woman who nodded, turning around to ascend the stairs up.
However, that memory burned in her mind and she felt like she could be fully free if she got rid of it.
"Valentine?" Claire asked unsurely and stopped midway up, not daring to turn to face the woman who was disgusted with her for a good reason.
Jill didn't answer and Claire knew she was aiming her gun at her with the safety off.
"My memories of my brother are still hazy...but I remember Chris asking me to tell you something before he died..." Claire murmured. This was something she had not been able to tell Jill before. With this she would finally be free of her brother's ghost. A part of her just wanted those memories to stay buried forever, so that she'd never have to endure the pain. It was selfish and cowardly...but...it was what she wished.
"Chris said that he loved you..." the young woman finally whispered, barely loud enough for Valentine to hear her.
Valentine felt rage and blind hatred overwhelm her. This woman...this miserable excuse for a human being had cost her everything! Claire was the reason she had lost Chris in the first place and she had willingly let Wesker take her memories of her brother away. Even if those memories seemed to be slowly returning, she would never be the same person as before and no doubt she would never recall everything. Chris was dead and now the person in the world who remembered him the best, had willingly let her memories fade away. To Jill it felt like Claire had killed Chris herself...she had killed his memory.
She couldn't endure this anymore. She hated Claire more than anything else in the world. If she didn't exist..Wesker would never have become obsessed with her and thus Chris would have...
It felt as if the time itself slowed down and Jill could feel her finger tighten around the trigger of her gun...
"Jill don't!" Leon yelled in desperation, but she ignored him and the world around her.
She pulled the trigger.
The gun shot rang loudly in the hall and Claire instinctively crouched down so fast that Jill nor Leon could see her movements properly, dodging the bullet with little effort. The projectile hit the stone wall, leaving a mark on it and sending pieces of ancient stone flying.
Claire stared at the bullet hole, a slightly shocked look in her eyes that quickly turned into one of sadness. I see, she thought.
Jill was breathing heavily with a mad look in her eyes. However, her expression became horrified when she realized what she had done, even if Claire had dodged the bullet. She clasped a hand over her mouth. Leon put his hand on her shoulder and grabbed her arm to stop her from continuing, not that she was able to.
"Snap out of it, Valentine!" he hissed at her and they both watched Wesker move over to Claire with completely emotionless look on his face.
"Claire..." Jill whispered in terror when she saw the pony-tail haired woman hold her stomach a bit, as if it was her primary concern. It then dawned upon Valentine... Claire was pregnant. She might have killed an unborn child if she had hit her...even if it was Wesker's child as well.
Without a word, Wesker pulled Claire up and caressed her hand slightly. The man with black shades smiled at his lover who looked utterly defeated. There was sorrow in Claire's eyes, but she looked as if she had achieved an understanding of some sort, looking extremely calm.
"You were right, Wesker...it doesn't hurt anymore," the whispered before giving one last look at he friends, only to leave them behind the to deal with Wesker, "Please...make it fast if you are able.".
She was ready to have the last connection she had to real world get cut from her life.
I cannot believe I've finished with this too. It has been an eternity since I started with this and Cage of Misery, I'm so glad I've managed to finish these eternity projects. Thank you all for reading these.
