Author's Note: Updates are here! And it brings the explanations I guess you've been craving for. I'm not saying anything, I'll leave you to read what happens. Also getting some info on how Chris is faring, some surprising revelations and another bit of development on Jill's mental state towards the matter. A turn for the better, a turn for the worst? Read to find out!

Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any of its characters, only my OCs

XII

Reason III: Existence

'Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults.' Anthistenes

Her voice sounded so distant, so faint, like a deafening cacophony. His vision was still spinning and blurry, his body felt like the heaviest rock in the world, and he felt as if his brain had been disconnected from his body. He had only regained awareness, he soon understood, but not mobility; he was still bound by numbness' shackles and there was no way he could break free of them.

Whose voice had he heard in some corner of his mind? It was so very familiar, a sweet and caring tone he hadn't heard in a very long time. Had it really been like that though? Had he really spent that long without hearing her, without hearing anything? When had been the last time since she had seen her, for that matter? He felt tempted to remember, to smile when remembering her image.

Something was wrong though.

And Chris convulsed in agony.

xx

July 20th, 2009

STATUS REPORT: 'Project 1960/013'.

Date of initiation: March 13th, 20XX

Date of completion: July 20th, 20XX.

Subject: Name unspecified.

Viral agents: G-virus Beta stain Gb847, PG/013.

Injection result: Successful.

Condition: Bonding process successful. Serum A-PG/013 to be administered regularly during initial phases of adaptation, which can cause instability. Beta Hetero Nonserotonin levels stable and under 7% of the expected 14%.

Subject status: Alive.

XX

August 6th, 2009

"So that's what you did..."

Jill took a moment to tear her gaze away from the report and looked at Wesker, whom to her surprise had apparently forgotten of wearing his usual sunglasses.

Or maybe it's been intentional? Nah, no way in hell he'd make it intentional.

Dispatching that stupid thought, she shook her head a bit and crossed her arms after leaving the stapled sheets upon the desk. Attempting for her intentions to go unnoticed, she examined his eyes with extreme care, taking in every detail that could help her in the future. She wasn't disappointed when the gleam in his eyes told her nothing; they were still blocked by an ice wall... if they weren't the ice wall already.

'I can use you now, but I know you'll use me as well...'

His words still rang in her ears, words that aroused doubt. How would she be able to use him? In what way? Perhaps it was asking for the impossible, but it was better not to force things. Everything in due time, as it was usually said.

"We tried not to mess up, as you might understand," Sherry said, allowing a bit of humour. "It was a long and complicated process, but one worth the time."

"How did you recover me? The last thing I remember is..."

When Wesker didn't finish the sentence, Jill's head perked up and she stared more intently at him: was it true he didn't remember? Had he lost some of his memories? Her assumptions were gone the same moment they came, but they stayed in the back of her mind as she found herself unable to banish them from her mind.

"Pain; that's the last thing I felt," he finally said, the statement making the tension rise.

Before replying, Sherry pursed her lips. "I believe you'd need to have in mind a bit of background to understand that. You mightn't have noticed yet, Wesker, but this is an underground complex that belongs to the world's second largest company, Rho Biological."

"I wasn't born yesterday, let me remind you," the person in question replied, edgy. Sherry rolled her eyes, sighing in exasperation.

"Alright, alright, maybe you did notice the first fact. Just making sure."

"Wasn't Rho Biological one of the companies that belonged the Consortium?" Jill intervened.

"Uh-hm," Sherry hummed with a nod, "it is indeed. That is how we could keep track of your activities with Tricell... although I have to say I wasn't really fond of them." Jill rolled her eyes at Sherry's remark, almost scoffing.

Heh, who would be fond of them aside from Excella, someone as crazy as him?

"So all this time I was competing against you, too? It was true that Tricell was in quite the tense relationship with Rho Biological, but I didn't imagine it was you who was pulling the strings of the company," said Wesker, and Sherry shrugged.

"You learn all you can, don't you? But really, I didn't see it fit to intervene and, if you want me to be honest, I'm not fond of the idea of developing bio-weapons either," she replied, emphasizing the last bit with a grimace. "I also have to say that I wasn't aiming to stop you."

"You weren't aware of what I was doing, that I assume?" Sherry shook her head, silent, and Wesker shrugged. "The less you know, the better; one less problem I have to deal with. So you were after Excella?"

"Yes. Even though companies like 'The Agency' were aware of Tricell's activities and the bio-weapon development branch working at full pelt, our role was a bit different. I decided to take the... the peaceful path, to put it like that? Though that path doesn't exist, I tried to imagine I was doing the right thing.

"As I was trying to explain before, I, along with another group of people, decided to go on a small 'recon' trip around Kijuju and the nearby zones; our tense relationship with Tricell had to be because of something, right? We stumbled across the volcano after a few hours. When we found you, we saw all signs of having been burned and such... but we didn't find you inside the volcano, but outside. You were lying unconscious at the foot of a steep slope."

Jill frowned, memorizing all pieces of vital information.

He... he made it out of the volcano on his own? Good God...

Wesker made no comments towards Sherry's words and kept silent, looking as if he was slowly digesting everything she'd said. Jill decided to ask a question herself, decided against it, and then settled for it and went to ask it. This time, she didn't stop herself.

"What about the treatment? The changes to his body have been scant; only the scars are present." Sherry's features mellowed somewhat.

"That you'd have to thank my father, and it's also a bit ironical."

"Are you referring to the experimental strain?" asked Wesker.

Sherry nodded, serene, but she shifted her stance.

"'Even in death, as long as some portion of the host remains, the virus can reconstruct the rest of its body and bring it back to life. During this process, there is a brief period where the host appears, for all intents and purposes, dead'. I memorized everything in that letter, every single sentence. It was the most important thing of all I had."

"It's a bit ironical, yes, but I'm used to it. What almost killed me has done the opposite... It wasn't unexpected," said Wesker with slight nonchalance. Jill made a mental note: experimental strain? "What almost killed me has done the opposite..."? Did it concern any regenerative abilities of some sort? And if that was the case, was Wesker referring to the virus that gave him his inhuman abilities?

"What about G? What's this new strain?" he then asked. "And how come you found that note? I made sure it fell in no-one's hands except mine." Sherry left her hands inside her pockets, a humble smirk spreading across her young features.

"Remember the many times that, as a fifteen year old, I didn't dare to go out of my room nor I wanted you to come in?" she asked with a small laugh. "It was because of that: I had taken some of your notes of the G-virus and was researching on my own. I found about the positive effects and the huge negative ones, and I specifically focused on the regenerative ability the virus granted the cells. When I modified the sample I had inside my locket, I was able to bring out that sole effect and apply it to this investigation. There were no rejections."

"How did you modify it?" Jill inquired. "As far as I know, the virus itself was really unstable. Modifying a strain would be difficult, if not impossible."

"Well, you've seen dead people walking on the street and it's been frequently said that that was impossible," Sherry replied, the dark tinge in her voice making Jill frown. "Even so, you're right; it would've taken too long. Fortunately, the sample was one of the virus in its initial stages, so we still had time to intervene in its perfection process. It was the 'Gb847'."

"Have I read that you also used Nonserotonin or was it my imagination?" Wesker then piped up. "What were you trying to do? Transform me into a Tyrant of some sort?"

"Not at all," Sherry quickly replied. "We didn't start the project until a week after we got you back. The Uroboros pustules that still remained were eating away your body, since -now that I know- it needs organic matter to keep itself alive, and they almost left you skin and bone.

"The Nonserotonin played an important role in the project: since it was the hormone that was needed to create the Tyrants, with a bit of T-virus we managed to restore your body mass whilst the experimental strain did its work. Too much of the strain would've proved fatal, too little of it would've made everything go down the pan. Luckily, your body tolerated the hormone and kept its levels stable; it wouldn't surprise me if we can't find it anymore. We... then had to sow the skin together in some areas."

"Hence scars like this one?"

Jill felt as if she had been slapped. Was he ignoring her or was he really going to show something like a dreadful scar in front of her?

Come on, he's got to have some pride! I don't think he'd show something like that, not even -and especially- when I'm around! Still... maybe he wants me to see? But why? What would that-?

Before she could finish the thought, Wesker rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and showed his forearm with an angle with which Jill would be able to see it completely; at least, that's what she thought. Was that also intentional?

Nevermind that... My God...

Sherry, being the one who had treated him, wasn't surprised; that much Jill could see. With a mild frown and her eyes wide, she stared at his skin, which was something close to dreadful. There were two shades of skin sown together by a thick black thread and by the looks of it, it seemed as the skin had grown over the thread, leaving it deep under it... possibly even under the flesh.

No, wait... it's not thread! It's the scar itself!

What a misjudgement! But because of the distance, it was difficult to discern reality from appearance, and Jill wasn't going to step one inch closer, not at all. The black scar snaked around his forearm and went up to the back of his hand, where the skin was of the shade Jill remembered it to be. It was almost as a scene taken out from a sci-fi movie, but hey! Wasn't her life like a movie already?

Jill examined Wesker's face, looking for any similarities between that scar and his forearm's, but she found none; at least, not in the healing method. Also, the scarred side was almost as tanned as his healthy side, only slightly darker, and there was no visible scar, scab or thread that kept the two sides together. Also, Jill knew about the serum he still had to take, and it seemed it was helping that particular scar to heal. She gulped: was it really the same throughout the rest of his limbs?

"Hence scars like those," Sherry nodded, and Wesker lowered the sleeve again. "The same happened with your features." Jill chewed on the inside of her lip, lowering her head.

"I guess they'll heal, won't they?"

Her head immediately snapped up. I have NOT said that just now! Thank goodness I was only musing upon it and didn't talk too loud... I'm dead if he's heard it.

But Wesker only cracked a smirk, a gesture that was of little consolation, if not none, to Jill. "They will; of that, I'm sure," he said with a short nod.

"Even though many of your earlier traits are gone, you still have formidable strength and stamina. You can't complain, can't you?" Sherry replied with a humble smile. "Sorry I didn't tell you about this before; there was still too much to go through."

Jill knew it'd be long, and very long, before the knot in her stomach was undone. Then she remembered something, a question that needed to be answered.

"I don't care if this a bit random, but who killed Ivanov?"

"Few days ago, wasn't it?" Sherry asked Wesker, who shook his head in a disapproving manner that triggered a smirk from the young woman. Jill gaped at him.

"So it was-"

"You really don't remember?" he asked her. "You were scared to death when you saw me. Yes, it was me who pulled the trigger instead of you. We're after Gionne, and without relent."

Jill cocked an eyebrow, a gesture that belied her feelings towards the revelation.

It was you who pulled the trigger and per ende the one who saved me! Impossible... I'll have to ask him about that sometime or another, but it'll have to be soon. And... maybe it was also him the one who left the rose...

"We also took out the rest of the dealers: Mikhail and Gil. Only Greene and Janssen are left," Sherry added with a nod. "We'll need something in return for that." Jill stiffened.

"Hey, I didn't ask for your help, alright? In fact, if you hadn't been there, I wouldn't be here in the first place," she replied, bewildered. Sherry smirked at Wesker and chuckled.

"She's easy to joke with, I'll give you that."

Oh, how Jill's pride hurt after that remark.

"If I hadn't been there," Wesker intervened, "none of this would've happened, possibly, but I wouldn't have offered the necessary help to keep Redfield alive. I suppose you wouldn't have been fond of the fact of losing him for good, am I right?" Jill found herself without a witty reply: Wesker was right.

He always has to have the last word, huh? God, I'm also being too reckless; I can't think about what I'm saying... and it's happened twice in a row already! Focus, Jillian, focus!

"Speaking of, there's been a breakthrough on his state," Sherry piped up, and she smiled -smiled!- at Jill. "I knew you'd like to hear it. In any case, he regained consciousness for a few minutes last night. "By the looks of it though, it doesn't seem like he'll remember anything when he finally wakes up."

Jill smiled inwardly, feeling a bit of warmth spread throughout her chest. "Chris' memory might not be good sometimes, but he has an great photographic memory when it comes to images. It'll nag him some time or another."

"That's it for the good news," Sherry said then, "because there's also a piece of bad news." Silence reigned for a short moment, a very uncomfortable silence which washed away all hope from Jill's heart.

"Let's hear it," Wesker acknowledged.

"After that period of consciousness, a series of random mutations took place," Sherry explained, and then sighed, her eyes darkening.

"Describe it, every single detail."

"I swear it was the worst thing I'd ever seen as of yet. The virus became unstable and the mutations affected his muscle mass, mostly in his arms. Most of it literally melted away as if an acid had been poured upon it and then the virus reconstructed the lost tissue in a grotesque way: the pustules tried to wrap itself around his arms and act as the muscles' surrogates. It didn't work, and it kept going like that for a scant thirty seconds or so, a non-stop cycle."

Jill waited for everything to sink in. Was the virus giving Chris such a hard time? Was this what really happened to viable hosts?

My God... I can't believe what that would've been. Please, Chris, hold on; we're doing as much as we can.

"There were no visible deep wounds or lacerations in his arms, so the only and most solid hypothesis I have is that there might've been torn fibres or ligaments. The virus tried to act upon those injuries whilst at the same time was unstable." Sherry folded her arms across her chest after shrugging her shoulders lightly. Jill felt her heart sink and swallowed hard to keep the sudden queasiness from taking its toll.

"In thirty seconds and given the speed of the virus, much more than that might've happened," Wesker reflected, his tone dark. "It is reaching a period of instability, something describable as natural. How is he now?"

"He looks the same as before the mutation -no injuries, no skin anomalies aside from his initial greyish shade- but he's lost some mass, mostly in his whole upper body. After that, the vitals were once again stable," Sherry replied. She looked at Wesker. "I think you'll have to share the PG with him for a while."

"Will it cause the same effects as it did with this 'experimental strain' you mentioned before?" Jill asked. For some reason, she sensed Wesker had seen the question coming, since he was the one who replied to it.

"Most likely."

"You know which effects I'm referring to, right?"

"If you mean both types of effects, I'll only refer to the most logical ones: yes, the PG will stabilize the virus' mutations and will keep them at bay. I dare say it'll work out perfectly, even though nothing assures its success," he said, evasive. Jill frowned again.

He's avoiding something, I know he is. I also meant the effects the strain caused on him: would Uroboros give Chris the same abilities the strain gave Wesker? If the PG can work on both viruses, then it means the strain and Uroboros have to be related, one deriving from the other; either that or they have a common predecessor.

"Although we're short on doses. I have the precise number for you; I don't think I'd have enough for both," Sherry added, averting her gaze.

"That's neat," Wesker said sarcastically. "Then it all leads to one thing and one thing only, although..." He looked at Jill, who felt her gut clench even more than it already was. "I'd like to hear it from you; for that, I'll provide you with some information: early studies on Progenitor determined that it was impossible to take the Progenitor flower out of its natural habitat since it was unable to produce the virus someplace else."

Jill kept silent, her thoughts racing.

Origin of the flower: Africa... It's unable to produce the virus outside the garden where it was found... PG is a serum that stabilizes the 'experimental strain'... The 'experimental strain' is possibly related to Progenitor... Progenitor is needed to--

"It's impossible!" she exclaimed at last, backing away and taking a hand to her mouth. Wesker wasn't fazed by her reaction: he didn't smirk or make a caustic remark; it seemed to have hit him more than Jill had thought.

"Yes, this is the biggest predicament of all. If we want to prevent Redfield's possible death, we must return to Kijuju."

xx

For a long moment, her heart stopped. His hands upon her waist, his breath against her skin, his chest against her back; nothing else was necessary to make panic course through her. Then, her heart quickened all of a sudden, uncomfortable with such closeness. What was he trying to do? Seduce her?

"You've got control now, not me..."

Impossible, it was simply...

So short. Then, it all vanished.

XX

August 11th, 2009

Almost another week went by since the fateful day when Jill learned of their inevitable return to Africa. It was like a return to the past, a travel through time that would only bring pain and suffering to her mind; it would all remind her of the agony, the despair and the horror she had lived for three long years. She didn't want to remember; she wanted to forget about it, to banish all thoughts from her mind.

I've sounded a bit egoistical. This is not about me, it's about Chris. He went to incredible lengths just to find me, he did the impossible, he almost killed himself in the attempt. I think it's time I did the same; after all, I owe him too much.

That much was true.

At the moment, Jill felt helpless, unable to do anything for her partner. His survival was up to him for now, but Jill couldn't shake off an uneasy feeling. Chris had shared her pain countless times, he'd helped her go on another bunch of countless times; now that it was time to repay him, she could do nothing. Frustrating? More than that. It was something close to humiliating.

She'd do something, alright. She'd be strong, for herself, for Chris.

She lifted her gaze and fixed it upon Chris' calm face, trying to be as calm as he seemed to be. Much to her surprise, Sherry had allowed her a few moments with him without -and this was the important part- Wesker knowing. Jill had to admit Sherry was a very different kind of person. At first she'd wondered: how could someone like her be with someone like Wesker? It was then, out of that question, that Sherry showed herself lenient and told Jill about her past.

Jill also learnt it had been Sherry who had left her that small note, and also learnt that it was Wesker who it had referred to. The answer to the question of why she had left that note there remained unknown; Sherry hadn't said anything about it.

"Maybe you'll learn why soon," she had said with a short smile. "Maybe you'll also learn to see things from a different point of view. There's nothing black and there's nothing white: we are always grey. Have that in mind."

For a brief moment, Jill's mind went back to that conversation: "We are always grey." Jill knew what Sherry meant by that, but there were also lingering questions, ones that had bugged her for the last few hours: did it also apply to him? Was that what he had tried to say? What did he want Jill to realize, if that was indeed his purpose?

I'm a bit confused, to be honest, and a bit intrigued, too. I don't know why though: I should know better than try to know about Wesker. But Sherry... she speaks of him very naturally, as if he hadn't been the person he's always been. For some reason, I can't help thinking about the Age of Enlightenment and its way of thinking: man is good by nature, it's society which corrupts him. I wonder... what if that's what happened to Wesker?

Jill shook her head hastily, burying her face in her hands afterwards.

What am I thinking?! Am I... am I implying that he might've been different? Goodness gracious, and I said he was insane! I should know better than doing that: he's done horrible things to us! Look what's happened because of him...

"You can't believe how much I need you to be awake now, Chris," Jill uttered without realizing. "I'm trying to be strong for you, but I need someone to talk to. It's all so different now, everything is like it shouldn't be, as if the world had turned upside-down for a while just to bother us. You might not believe this but... I'm having my doubts about Wesker." She paused, smiling sadly. "If you're hearing this, whenever you wake up, you can beat me to a pulp if you want to: I won't stop you. Forgive me, but I have to do it..."

Jill brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, ducking her head after that. Coincidentally, in the past she became familiar with the term 'tsundere', which came from the Japanese language and meant to describe someone who at first was cold and reserved with others but with time opened up to them and showed their kind side. Jill was a person who could tell when people where lonely or if something was wrong in their lives and always did her best to help them.

But now, it was different.

A part of her mind had related that term to who was with her, Wesker, but that was a stupid idea. Still, she'd seen a lot of evidence that proved that: it seemed Sherry was the only person he was comfortable around. Jill hadn't seen him smiling or similar -since it was a task close to impossible- but there hadn't been a single time when he had snapped at her. What was also true was that Jill had only been with them for a short time, so her assumptions were all based on what little evidence she had.

There was another reason why it had been a stupid idea. The other part of her mind had literally yelled at her to stay away from him, lest the painful memories of her days of suffering returned. In fact, sometimes they did, haunting her dreams and making her relive the horror to the extreme. Jill had witnessed how sadistic Wesker could be, but not when it came to physical damage.

His field of expertise was the human mind and exploiting its weaknesses. With only so much as speaking -Hell, even breathing!- he could instill terror in the calmest of people.

During the months of recovery after Kijuju, it was true that Jill had suffered from nightmares and sometimes hallucinations due to the remnants of the memories that were still in her mind. It had been as if those remnants had reconstructed themselves on their own and formed the horrible memories again for Jill to relive them.

After that, her mind had become stronger, much more. But one of the hallucinations wouldn't leave her head.

"Why can't I let go? Why can't you let go of me, dammit?! Why can't you disappear?!"

Jill cringed, remembering that illusion as one of the most horrible so far. She had many times tried to find out the cause of the hallucinations, why she had always had the feeling Wesker would be in them, why he had always tortured her so.

Was it true that Jill couldn't let go of his memory? Was it true that Jill couldn't let go of him?

Man, that made it sound as if I had feelings for him, which I do not.

Jill knocked on her head a couple of times, hoping the throbbing that then remained would help her be reasonable once again.

Hm... many people say that memories will keep haunting you unless you come to terms with them and accept them. If that's the case, does that mean I have to come to terms with Wesker? My God, not in my life! I know, I know, I've never been this resentful, but he's completely another story. I can't even deal with him properly and I guess I can say why: because he's different now.

In which aspects though?

Wait... didn't I just tell myself before that I would have to learn about him? Didn't I had the feeling I had to know? It's all so antagonistic I can't decide. Perhaps I only have to tread carefully; if not, I might step into the hole and trip over.

Jill raised a hand and took Chris', wincing at the pain that arose in her chest after feeling how cold her partner was. Frowning, she gazed at him again.

"I wonder what you'd say about this. Possibly that "No way in hell that's happening", but you never know. And no... it's not the time to think if it's Stockholm Syndrome or not." To her surprise, she chuckled at her own joke, even though it was nothing to laugh about. "Good God, it's unbelievable."

"If you don't mind me asking, what's unbelievable?"

Jill turned her head around quicker than ever before, having been startled by Wesker's voice, in which she would've sworn that she'd found a trace of curiosity.

"Damn, you scared the creeps out of me... How long have you been there?" she asked him, annoyed. He shrugged very slightly, as if with care.

"Long enough to hear a reference to Redfield here and a "No way in hell that's happening". Only that, I can guarantee."

Jill scoffed. "What? Now you're taking care of not eavesdropping?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping," he shot back, "but you're free to think whatever you want to. And that wasn't technically a conversation, if I might add."

Was that humour? I'm hallucinating.

"As long as there's a speaker, I would say there is. I was only... talking to myself, that's all," Jill replied, resting her chin upon her knees again. It had all been to avoid showing the colour her cheeks had acquired.

Damn, if he's heard that... it wouldn't surprise me if he came up with a mention to Stockholm. Nice going, Jillian.

There was a short moment of silence which to Jill seemed more like hours. She knew Wesker's piercing gaze was trained upon her nape; it wouldn't move anywhere else. If that was the case, a question came to Jill's mind: what could he be thinking?

"Everything's ready, we should leave now," he then said after that silence. Jill stood up from her seat, gave a sharp exhale and nodded. "He's coming with us too, so I recommend we leave for the heliport first."

"Alright, let's go then," Jill spoke with another nod. She fell in line behind Wesker when he turned and walked to the door, feeling her hesitation gluing her lips together to prevent the question she desired to ask from coming out. "May I ask a question?" First step.

"Go on."

"Back at Spain... why did you save me?" Second and final step.

And the rest was silence.

A/N: And there we have it, the beginning of a very, very complex relationship. Something I wanted to say: if you felt you weren't satisfied enough with the explanations I gave, I'm sorry; my science level is at a basic level, but I'll make up for it in the future when I study my genetics and virology degree xDDDD For now, this is the best I can do *is ashamed*

I want honest opinions on how well or badly I've built the foundations of the story and how do you think I've started with Jill's and Wesker's most strange relationship. It's got its ups and downs, and you'll see how everything changes.

Reviews are appreciated!^^