He swung the door open, nearly breaking the hinges from the door's frame when he reached the top step of the small stairwell. Immediately, three separate weapons were drawn on him. Jill Valentine and Leon Kennedy slowly lowered their weapons and sat back down in their seats when they realized it was only Chris Redfield that had madly stormed the main entrance to their temporary hideout.

"Where is she?" he asked in concern. He threw down the duffle bag that contained a few outfits, his backup weapon, some snacks and his passport. Three days ago he had received a message from Leon saying that Claire had collapsed during a simple mission. He also said that they had some information for him, but it wasn't the kind they had originally sought. Chris' eyes landed on his partner, Jill.

She set down the pair of Desert Eagles on the nightstand next to her. She was the first to her feet to give Chris a greeting, resting a hand on his forearm in an attempt to calm him. "She's all right, Chris. When she got back, all Claire needed was a full night of rest. It was probably just fatigue that got to her. None of us have been resting fully, you know that." Jill's beautiful eyes were lacking their natural fire; she, too, looked tired and worn out. He slid his hand up her neck, nestling her cheek.

"It's been rough the last couple of months," Chris sighed, looking toward the door that allowed access to the room Claire was using. It took all of his will not to barge in there and check on her. Rather than pace around the room like the overprotective brother that he was, he just forced himself to sit down. He glanced over to Leon, who looked slightly distraught as well. "What happened?"

Regardless of his undecided opinion of Leon regarding his sister, he knew Kennedy never lied to him or would hold anything from him. The ex-cop never gave the details about what happened to him in Raccoon City, but Chris respected that. Everyone in the Anti-Umbrella had first hand experience dealing with the T and G viruses. Hell, he and Claire had to deal with a completely separate virus in Antarctica. Each of them had their own nightmares to deal with, and sometimes he found himself staring at a wall, wondering if there was any way to leave the past behind. This was no way live.

They were always moving because there were more parties involved, showing high interest in the use of viral weapons. This had become bigger than Umbrella ever dreamed, but of course, everything was being done backstage. The world was completely blind to the ugliness that was roaming around, and Chris and his team did not sufficient credibility to fight against the newest players publicly. Rebecca and Barry were still in Asia, dealing with a small test lab that they had been informed of two months ago. Rebecca Chambers was their ace player at the moment because she understood the details of the virus to a degree that the others couldn't follow. Hopefully, when they return, she would have more information to put these bastards down.

He could have sworn the room dropped a couple degrees in temperature. Jill and Leon both looked at each other as though they were having their own private conversation. When Leon did not immediately answer him, he turned to Jill. "What?" he asked again. "Did I miss something? What happened back at the Holiday party when we were supposed to meet our contact?"

Jill leaned forward, rubbing the back of her neck. She rested her chin on her hands, looking at the floor in disapproval. "Leon and Claire had a run in. Chris," Jill said, looking straight into his eyes. "Wesker's back."

It took a moment for that little piece of information to register in his mind. It had been so long since Rockfort Island; he had become used to the idea that Wesker had disappeared. For him to come out of hiding now brought a whole new set of problems. And for him to target Leon and his sister first baffled him. "That son of a bitch," he said slowly, annunciating every single word. He looked to Leon. "Start from the beginning."

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Claire stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a pale green towel. She wiped the steam from the small mirror that hung above a white porcelain sink. For the life of her, she couldn't figure out what happened back at the winter party. She remembered Leon coming in for a kiss and then she blacked out. When she woke up, Leon had tucked her into her bed asking her to rest for the remainder of the night. Against Jill and Leon's wishes, she hopped out of bed feeling healthier than ever, and ate two full course meals during the next day. She had no idea what she would say to Chris when he came back home. Luckily, he had learned to calm down before he starting hounding her for answers whenever something went wrong, especially if it came to her wellbeing.

She began to towel dry her shoulder length hair. It had been so long since she cut her hair, she figured she was due for a change about a year ago. Rebecca had suggested layers, but Claire didn't mind as long as there was enough length to tie back into a ponytail. She looked at herself in the mirror; she was a bit paler than usual, but other than that she felt and looked just fine. Everyone was over reacting. She put on a dull gray turtleneck and knee high socks and jeans.

The moment she exited her room, Chris was by her side. "Did that bastard touch you?" he asked darkly.

Claire tipped her head to the side, and gave her beloved brother a goofy smile. "Come on, do you think he would have gotten away unscathed?" She lifted her hand up and pointed out her index finger, suddenly flicking her wrist up as though she had fired a gun.

"Did you now?" Chris's expression changed surprise with hint of pride.

"Right where his should have been if he had one," Claire said winking. She relived the moment in her mind. Now in hindsight, that was probably one of the craziest things she's ever done, but that single bullet said everything she wasn't able to say to his face when they last saw each other. She half expected Wesker to grab her by the throat again and throw her around like a helpless puppy. Claire frowned as she thought back earlier in the party. Before she was truly able to get a feel for her "mysterious dance partner", he had felt... normal. He was graceful, confident, and entirely too bold. There was a part of her that wanted to stand up against him, to show him that the average male couldn't touch her in such a way. But he wasn't the everyday type, now was he? The other part of her wanted to succumb to him. It seemed so easy to.

She was always into the hobbies that most women would turn away from, and it was because of Chris' influence that she grew up the way she did. She never faulted her brother for raising her as he did. In fact, she was extremely grateful. With the exception of Leon, no man had caught her interest. She didn't want a man who was afraid of her. She didn't want a dominating one either. Leon was right in between, and there was no other man that she felt comfortable enough to drop her guard around. He could rough house with her, and still keep her in check, but he could respected her strengths, admitting that he truly would be afraid of her is she ever snapped.

Wesker was the type to just take whatever he wanted. That was a characteristic that was scary yet alluring at the same time. She could still feel his hands on her at times. The touch was entirely different from what she encountered seven years ago.

Chris flicked her forehead. "I asked if you were all right," he said, apparently repeating himself.

Claire recovered and lightly slapped the back of his head. "Of course, I am. I'm standing here, alive and breathing, aren't I?" she asked with a huff. "I just had a black out."

The older Redfield put an arm over her shoulders, giving her an encouraging shake. "All right, I believe you. But I do want to ask you about Wesker. Did he tell you anything? Could you pick up anything from him explaining why he decided to show his face all of a sudden?"

That was the question of the year she had no answer to. "I don't know..." He had said very little to her; it was mostly his presence that bothered her more than anything. "He just said he wanted to test us out, especially me. He actually told me that Leon and I should have left the party, but then the Hunters attacked." Chris and the others were silent, waiting patiently for her. "There was something else that was strange." She looked to Leon. "The Hunters..."

"Yeah," he agreed. "They looked like they were almost tame."

"What do you mean tame?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.

Leon shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know about your personal experiences with those things, but whenever I ran into them, they were vicious and uncontrollable. But this group... it looked liked they were being told when and when not to attack us."

"At some point, they just waited," Claire added, crossing her arms over her chest now more confused than she originally felt. "Weirdest thing I ever saw."

Much to her dismay, that classic scowl was on Chris' face. Before he could say anything, she just pushed past him and walked into the open kitchen they all shared. "I think we can all agree that we have to prepare for anything."

"No argument here," Jill said.

"Obviously, Leon and I made it out of there alive, so now that the initial surprise is over, we'll be ready for round two," Claire said with confidence. Somehow, she just knew that this wasn't over. Wesker's hatred for her brother would never lessen or disappear, and it was more than odd that he didn't cause her any physical harm save for intruding on her personal space. The last time they had met, he had almost killed her. With only a few words that were exchanged, he had lashed out at her. Even without the added effect of his fiery eyes, she could see the rage that had been pent up inside of the ex STARS captain.

"Heh, when did you grow up?" she heard Chris say. "While you're in there, can you get me some water? Heads up, small fry."

"Yeah, sure," Claire said, keeping her back to Chris.

"Claire!" Chris shouted in alarm.

When she turned around, she saw the cup coming straight for her head. Chris had tossed it to her without realizing her attention was elsewhere. The moment she focused on the cup, things seemed to slow down.

Glass.

Wide brimmed.

Made in Taiwan.

Mark of light pink lip gloss.

Before she knew it, the cup was in the grasp of her outstretched hand. She looked at the glass in awe, wondering where the last few seconds went. "What the hell..."

Chris whistled to her. "Wow, nice catch. I was sure I would have given you a black eye," he said, rushing up to her. "No hard feelings, sis. I wasn't thinking."

Claire snapped out of her thoughts. She plastered a fake smile on her face, and stuck her tongue out at Chris. "Like that's news to me." She laughed when he put her in a light headlock, but the second he left the kitchen, she turned to the sink acting as though she were washing dishes. What she did was impossible. Claire looked down at the cup, unable to shake the feeling of coincidence. A small ripple of concern rooted itself in her mind. How had she done it? How was she able to see every single detail on the glass in the span of a few seconds?

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Short, I know. I've haven't had much in the way of a break at work, but I wanted to update what I had so far. I'm still writing, so don't worry about me not updating for a while.

Kris