Author's Note: Update that is due is right here, along with many many many things xD I won't say anything about this one, only that we finally switch to see and think like Wesker upon the matter; any guesses about what he might say? There are also things which reveal the changes Jill is going through just to be able to stand him. Okay, enjoy now!^^

XIII

Chess and Puzzles

'The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.' Albert Einstein

"Back at Spain... why did you save me?"

And the rest was silence.

xx

Silence.

That was the only thing Wesker replied with, since Jill had asked the question till they marched down the hall again after he collected the only item he considered valuable: the notebook where he many times used to write in. Before, he could've discarded it; now, Wesker felt he couldn't go anywhere without it. It was stupid to feel attached to a simple notebook, but its pages contained secrets nobody was meant to be aware of or thoughts and outlines he could use to make sense of dreams or flashbacks of his dreadful youth.

Before he decided to reply to Jill's question, Wesker allowed himself a few more minutes of silence. There was something nagging him and that, as he soon came to understand, was his behaviour in the last few days. He had accepted that he was a bit more 'human', since he also understood that there was no way his psyche would've remained unharmed after the incident in Africa, but he was already guessing that he was stepping over the line. What was the factor that influenced his behaviour lately? What was he trying to do, gain Jill as his ally? Foolish, that was what it was. But if that wasn't the case, why the 'bargains' he had agreed to stablish? He knew he was shackling himself, he knew he'd had to reply to her questions in one way or another, directly or indirectly... then why was he doing it? What was there to accomplish?

"Why did I save you? That's an interesting question indeed," he said at last without turning. "I don't even know myself. Perhaps it was because of an outburst, maybe it was a decision I made voluntarily; who knows? But I did tell you something before you fell, although you might not remember."

"What was that?"

"'Be careful'. That was it," Wesker replied, smirking at her. "You were scared out of your skin though, so it was expected that you didn't understand me."

"What did you expect me to do?" Jill exclaimed with a light snort. "After all these years and all the effort, you wouldn't be expecting a pleasant reaction. What would you have wanted me to do? Smile at you, perhaps?"

Wesker chuckled darkly. "Not then."

"What about now?"

"I'd appreciate if you did. After all, I'm not intent on harming you, not as I was before." Wesker stopped for a second, meeting her gaze, and saw how fiercely it gleamed. She was being bold, yes, but who knew if she was still fearful of him? Right now, there was no way of telling: Jill was nothing close to the open book she was before.

"It's hard to smile lately, if you ask me," she snapped, a dark scowl on her face. "Besides, why would you care? You've managed to leave me without even wanting to smile, so don't ask me to do it."

"There's no point in refusing to smile when you can, don't you agree?"

"God, why are you telling me this?!" she exclaimed in exasperation, throwing her hands up in the air. "As if you of all people understood a single thing about feelings!

"I of all people, you said? I understand more than you could ever imagine."

"What are you trying to do, humiliate me? Mock me?" Jill snapped, seemingly without wanting to hold back her rage.

"Perhaps, perhaps not." He smirked once again as he watched Jill's face contort with shock. "Here goes a question: why are you so intent on hating me?"

"Holy- Really, do you need an answer to that question?" Jill shot back. "Because you shattered our lives to pieces, that's why! I can't believe you're taking this so lightly; if you're mocking me, I have to say you must be getting a real kick out of it."

"I'm trying to help you and to my surprise, and indirectly, I'm trying to help Redfield too. Wouldn't that alleviate the hate, even if it was a bit?" Wesker said, resuming his walk. As he did, Jill fell in line behind him, running a hand through her brown locks.

"Well, I guess I could thank you, but that's not going to change anything." She sighed, showing how tired she was.

"Something wrong, Miss Valentine?"

"Nothing... forget it," she said, dismissing his question. "Again, why would you care? And I'm getting to the real deal here: why would you care? You're not going to be charitable soul that'll take pity on me, are you?"

The first reply to that last remark of hers was another of his typical chuckles, this one close to a wicked laugh.

"And I'm sure you won't be that kind of soul either, will you?" he said, dropping a hint that perhaps Jill would catch. "But that's a question I'll have to consider," he allowed faint amusement to tinge his tone, "but, if you must know, I have my reasons. I have told you before: we've both been in hell, you and me, but your reasons why were unfair."

Unfair? My tongue is slipping...

"Why unfair?" Jill questioned. "You should be thinking that I deserved my life to be so horrible. All this time you've wanted to see us suffer; I don't see why you would want to stop."

Wesker shrugged, nonchalant. "Oh, you make it sound as if I were a sadist."

"If I told you I had made that assumption, what would you say?"

"Nothing. What would you say if I told you I made the assumption that you were a simple-minded woman?" he asked in return, his brow creasing. Oh yes, she was simple-minded, just like Redfield was. Maybe self-righteous too, but that was nothing unknown to Wesker himself.

"I've been told that many times, although I can be quite open-minded too."

Wesker stole a glance at her, finding her expression to be one of a haughty person... somehow forced? Indeed, she was bold: no enemy of Wesker's attempted to negotiate with him in such a way, if this could be called 'negotiating'. Suspicion wouldn't leave his mind.

"Trying to prove me wrong?"

"I'm only telling the truth," Jill said, shrugging. "What about you? I'd like to know if you're being honest." He allowed himself to shrug his shoulders.

Honesty is not a card which I play very often; I prefer to keep it up my sleeve as an ace. I play it when the moment is right.

"Seek the truth if you must; it's my nature to lie once in a while," Wesker replied with another smirk. Keeping a close eye on her resolute gait, he watched her increase her speed to walk right next to him. For some reason, her behaviour and demeanour amused him, but also left him confused. Whilst he had lost a bit of the ice around his heart, it seemed that same ice was forming around Jill's: was it all going vice versa? Right as it shouldn't be going?

"Well, I am seeking the truth, to be honest, and I will do my best to discover it. Even if it means having to cooperate with you or... keeping up conversations like these. Everything has a price."

"You're bold. And how will you uncover that truth which thou seek?"

"Forcing you to be honest with me," Jill said, resolute. "Besides, if you aren't, I won't be either." Wesker dipped his head with a nod.

"True."

What am I trying to accomplish with this? It's futile, it's almost like I'm playing a joke on myself... one that hasn't got much entertainment. It wouldn't surprise me if this ended with terrible consequences. Is she plucking out what little courage she still has left to keep up with me? It's plausible; she has changed lately... but what would she want to keep up with?

"Tell me something," she intervened as if on cue. "Why do you have such a twisted mind?"

"I'll pretend I haven't heard that last adjective, Miss Valentine."

"I'm not taking that back, mind you, but let me rephrase that: 'complex' is better?" Jill said, emphasizing the last bit with a faint groan. As they went up a set of stairs, Wesker showed himself to be genuinely surprised at the use of that adjective. Complex? Since when would Jill use such a word?

"Why do you say so? There's nothing complex about me; in fact, I'd say you'd describe me as a single-minded bastard, or am I wrong?" he replied, hiding his suspicion. He was even tempted to smile matter-of-factly, judging by the way Jill's brow shot up in surprise.

"Which reminds me," she said, "why such an... obsession with-"

"You amuse me!" Wesker interjected. "Now you're trying to make me fancy a bit of introspection, hm? It's quite odd in you; it's as if you had the intention of figuring out something else about me, find quirks and habits or whatever details appeal to you. I have to say these questions are unnatural."

"They're not unnatural, they're logical, and I guess you've had in mind all these years that, to defeat your enemy, you have to know about him first," Jill replied.

'Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults.' One of Anthisthenes' many principles.

"So we're still enemies?" Wesker spoke with a chuckle. "You disappoint me; I had started to think distrust was starting to disappear." Jill frowned at him, seemingly indignant.

"I'll decide whether to trust you or not. I'm sorry if I've disappointed," she replied, her tone sharp. Wesker decided to play along: if there was something that really got to Jill's nerves, it was rhetoric, used against her or not. It'd be fun to gauge her reaction for sure.

"No need to apologize; I didn't ask for an apology, after all."

"These days..." she then reasoned out loud. "I don't know why, but they've been..."

"Yes?"

"What's gotten you so interested anyway?" Jill snapped again, turning her head towards him. So far, Jill had never met his gaze directly; it took him a bit aback that she had done it now. It was not only the fact, but the way she had done it: as if she was talking to someone else rather than him, as if it wasn't Albert Wesker whom she had in front of her. He noticed how she frowned; it seemed she was scrutinizing him, trying to find something else.

"Just that statement you failed to complete," he replied as he opened the door to the heliport. "Care to continue?"

They were welcomed by the typical summer ambient of a day of August: heat, a shining sun and a clear sky; there was no sight of the clouds that had threatened to bathe the city in a rainstorm. In spite of having his usual eye protection, Wesker made a faint grimace at the intensity of the sunlight; being in the dark for so long didn't quite help.

Jill also had the same difficulties, but he heard her mutter a low 'Nice weather'.

"Why the curiosity?" asked Jill, not losing the thread of the conversation. This was when Wesker questioned his own hearing: had he heard well or had Jill's voice sounded much more calm and warm, all traces of snappiness gone? In spite of this, Wesker found no reason to let that get to him, although it did manage to arise a question that kept pulsating in some part of his mind.

"It's only natural; we don't ask questions for nothing."

And this was the difficult part: how to explain the reason behind his curiosity without actually telling everything? This was one of the times when Wesker considered lying as the only solution, but it had to be sincerity for sincerity, nothing else. Besides, whatever ulterior motives Jill had, he was starting to figure them out. If he replied to Jill's question, not only he would reveal one of his most important secrets but also give Jill the clues she needed. He would show her he had a weak spot, and that was something Wesker couldn't afford.

"So, back to your earlier statement: these days have been... what?" he then asked as he and Jill approached the transport. Jill didn't reply immediately, but thought her words with care.

"Alright... these days you've shown yourself to be a bit different."

"As I suspected, introspection... Please, you've seen that I'm still myself-"

That's not true, and you know it-

"-so I don't know where you see the difference," Wesker continued in spite of his arguing thoughts. He noticed how Jill eyed him intently, and he did the same.

"It's mostly when Sherry's around," she pointed out, dreadfully hitting bullseye. At this remark, Wesker felt the biggest pang of indignation so far: how did she dare to say something like that? Of what importance was this to her?!

"She's just a colleague of mine, that's all," he replied, his tone cold and blunt. Without turning to her, Wesker clenched his left fist, the one she couldn't see, and narrowed his eyes. With cracked self-control, it was difficult to keep emotions like anger at bay-

Yet another piece of evidence which points at the obvious.

Jill made the wise decision of not replying to his last remark and got inside the small plane that had been arranged for their trip, Wesker following suit. At midway, he stopped and turned, catching sight of Sherry standing a few metres away from the foot of the metal ladder. The wind shook her hair violently, but Wesker could see her gaze from behind the blonde locks that danced before her features. Her expression was serene and hard, her eyes conveying the message in them successfully, and then she smiled at him as a farewell.

Before she could keep staring at him any longer, he proceeded inside the plane, feeling shame gnawing at him. What to be ashamed of though? Because with just one gaze, he had been reminded of what he was; also, he was reminded of what he was forbidden to do. But with the water up to your neck, your feet not touching the ground, what is there left to do? Either fight or surrender and drown. Both of them seemed difficult.

Which one to pick?

xx

It was almost dusk by the time they got there. The plane had managed to land near the very familiar dock where the Tricell Tanker had been stationed and the very familiar exit from the Research Centre. From then on, it had taken hours of work to get everything back on track because of the centre's massive size and vast electrical system, and even more hours to get the lab rooms ready. In one of them, they would keep Chris, who was still dormant and unresponsive.

It all brought back so many memories that Jill wasn't sure if she'd be able to take all the flashbacks that would surely assail her mind whenever they had the chance to. At the sight of the Monarch Room hours ago, Jill felt the first wave of memories passing through her mind, all of them accompanied by voices, bits and pieces of sentences and cacophonies: in short, as if she was reliving the horror once more. It'd be the same with all of the rooms of the complex, she had told herself, and so it had been. The memories she had thought she could banish from her mind came back, and with the evillest of intentions.

There was also something to notice in all this: Wesker. Since all involving the 'bargains' had started -without forgetting Jill's own interest-, they had taken a very strong interest in examining- scrutinizing each other to absorb the most simplest of details and gestures, since it was all about one thing and one thing only: knowing the enemy. With that information, they would predict their moves, their words, their actions and reactions. At least, that's what Jill had come to think: no matter how hard she tried, there were times when Wesker was still unreadable.

During their initial exploration of the Research Centre -as if they didn't know it well enough already-, Jill tried to see if any of the sights which were so familiar to both of them somehow fazed or forced Wesker to remember, but she found no signs of that. His expression and behaviour, both unruffled, caused momentary disconcert to arise, yet it was something Jill didn't consider unusual. Still, she had come to suspect he had lost some -or even many- of his memories: would being in Africa again cause some to come back? Would they change him into the Albert Wesker she knew? Not that he wasn't anymore, but if you asked Jill, she was already suspecting empathy was somehow starting to get to him. How to explain the fear she had seen days ago? Never in his life he would've shown that if it wasn't for a good reason, and even without a reason.

Jill crossed one leg over the other and sighed, trying to keep the impending headache from getting worse. It was not a headache caused by physical discomfort, but mental. Even though she was a strong person, she found it impossible to keep a single thought out of her mind.

That she was weak.

Wesker must've surely noticed how my behaviour has changed; it wouldn't surprise me if he made more witty remarks about it. I can't really help it though: it's the only way I can keep myself from collapsing in front of him; I can't let him see that I'm still... shaken by the past. I've even forced some emotions sometimes... I don't feel the same as always. I don't feel like I'm strong anymore.

"Don't pretend to be strong," Wesker had once said. Right now, as the sentence echoed in her ears again, she had to agree with it. At the same time though, it would be humiliating if he saw Jill was still easy to control or torture; Jill wouldn't allow her pride to be hurt, despite she wasn't an exceptionally proud person. With another sigh, she lowered her leg and buried her face in her hands, leaning on her knees. There was an unhealed hole in her chest, one that'd take too long and much to close.

She then glanced around the vast Monarch Room, getting a full sight of it from the main balcony. It was a room she had avoided to be in at all costs, but Jill now thought it was the only place that could give her a little peace of mind, as ironic as it was. It was a good thing though, since all the memories that came back to her mind convinced her even more of what she was doing and that it was the correct thing.

"Get yourself together, wake up! Jill Valentine!!"

When Chris' words rang in her ears, she wondered if she would have to do the same should he lose his memories. That was a worst-case scenario, but anything could happen.

"Why so crestfallen? And here I come with a piece of good news I thought that would lift your spirits."

Jill glanced -even glared- up front and found Wesker at the foot of the staircase, his arms folded across his chest and expression impassive in spite of the note of wicked amusement in his tone.

No matter what, it seems he still enjoyed seeing her distraught or doing whatever he could to see her so.

"I appreciate the sarcasm," she said, rolling her eyes and grimacing. To her surprise -did she have to be surprised?-, Wesker shook his head, dropping an initial hint Jill didn't know if to interpret her way or not.

"Please, that wasn't sarcasm in the least," he replied, "although I can provide you with some if you'd like. In any case, is your mind clear enough to hear what I have to say?"

Jill didn't reply as quick as she would've normally done, but measured his words with great care. "Alright, I'm listening."

As he spoke, Wesker approached her slowly. "The tests I ran were successful; so far, there have been no abnormalities. Despite this, we will have to work fast if we want- wait, let me rephrase that, if you want Redfield to be up and running in the next few days. Don't worry: I won't need your assistance."

"So I'm just in for the ride?" Jill snapped, jumping to her feet. "Damn, you could've left me in the States if you didn't want me here! Look, I'm going to do whatever it takes to get Chris safe, and you won't stop me."

"Whatever it takes?" Wesker echoed, amusement dripping from his words. "Wouldn't you like to say 'whatever I can'?"

Jill was taken aback for a second, both because of his words and the very small distance he kept between them. "What do you mean by that? I'm up for it; you must know by now."

"That I know, but it's not advisable to risk one's life as recklessly as your words suggest, is it?"

Before she continued, she choked back her next words and released a sigh. "Forget it, and fine: you won't need me. Then what am I here for?"

"To keep Redfield company, of course," he replied with a slight tilt of his head. "To prepare the serum correctly, I must go to the underground garden and start the investigation there. I won't be present most of the time, and I need someone as an intermediate. I believed you would be up for the task."

Jill's breath caught in her throat and she widened her eyes involuntarily, something that made her companion chuckle.

"You should listen better; I wasn't even done speaking when you intervened."

"There's no room for apologies, is there?" Jill snapped, narrowing her eyes. Wesker smirked.

"There isn't, because I didn't and won't ask for apologies. And, if I'm not wrong, you won't either, so it's all fair," he said with a shrug. Jill couldn't take anymore... which led her to make the biggest mistake so far.

"And what would you know about what's fair and what isn't?"

How Jill regretted saying that.

At least, that was her initial thought. Her stomach knotted with anticipation and nervousness, which led her to bite the inside of her lip, and a shiver ran down her spine. A long and tense silence reigned between them, a silence through which Jill wished she was invisible, but no sharp reaction came from Wesker, only a calm remark which made the curiosity in the back of her mind have a front-row seat once again.

"Well, I have quite an idea of what's supposed to be fair and what isn't," he said. This was one of those moments when Jill didn't know how to control herself. If he wanted to taunt her, then he was succeeding, but Jill wasn't going to let him step on her like she was the floor under his feet.

"You claim to have an idea of everything, don't you?" she shot back.

"I claim so because I've seen many things you'd never imagine," Wesker said in return. His tone wasn't blunt or caustic, but it didn't hide his indignation either. "Yes, I know many things and I consider many others too, although isn't that up to each of us to judge? For example, would it be fair to betray someone? You would say that no, it isn't, but I would beg to differ: it would be fair if it was for a good reason. What else...?"

"Would it be fair to torture someone?" Jill intervened, lifting an eyebrow. Wesker showed himself contemplative -maybe even faked it, then said,

"Perhaps it would, if one had a solid and sensible reason to do so. Obvious answers but alas, these two matters were relative; let's talk about absolutes or those that would seem to be: is it fair to rip someone away from their family? Say, a child? Five, six years old?"

"Good God, of course not!" she exclaimed, dreading the thought. "Every child deserves to have a family, that's for sure."

Wesker tilted his head once more. "Even though the education the child received warped his or her mind to the point of making it twisted?"

Jill took a sharp breath, staring at him in disbelief. What was he getting at? Sure, there were many examples of bad-mannered children in the world, but why use 'warped' and 'twisted'? She found some difficulty in replying to the question: it all depended on being idealistic or realistic, as Jill soon noticed.

"That's one of the most difficult things to answer to, correct? It all depends on being idealistic or realistic: which is the one you choose?"

"It also has to do with points of view and the person's mentality," Jill said, her tone somewhat pensive. "Someone would think that it'd be improper for the child to receive such education, but someone else would think that it'd be the best one he could ever get."

"We're getting somewhere, aren't we? Now you see there's nothing black and nothing white: it's always grey."

Jill lifted her gaze at him, remembering who had said the same ones: it had been Sherry. The questions came back to her mind: what was he getting at? What were his intentions? What did he want to tell her, if that was actually what he wanted?

"Consider what I was about to do before your partner foiled my plans," Wesker continued with a somehow wistful tone.

"That's different!" exclaimed Jill, almost enraged, but Wesker simply shook his head.

"Not any different than what someone else would want to do with us," he replied. "When change is necessary, it is; there's no arguing that."

"Change might be necessary, but not when it involves killing billions of people," she snapped, holding his hidden gaze.

"There's no room for idealism here, Miss Valentine; keep going down that path and you'll see how wrong you are."

She moved her eyes away, fixing her gaze upon the dark-tiled floor of the room, and frowned, contemplative.

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked him then. "Why are you making me think like this? It's as if you want me to change in the first place." Wesker didn't reply immediately, something which disconcerted Jill much more than she already was.

"It's just so that we understand each other. I can't ask for your cooperation if you still consider me an enemy, now can I?" he said before turning to leave with a lithe movement. Jill was left in a stone silence and almost dumbstruck: to understand one another? Before he could go, she asked,

"And why would you want that to happen?"

Wesker stopped at the landing of the stairs. "You shall see as time goes by." And he left without a sound.

Shaking her head, Jill bit her lip once again, feeling confused. When she opened her eyes, she spotted a small chess board resting against the railing and decided to have a look at it.

And how did this get here? Was it him who brought it?

The pieces were made of glass, the board of cold marble, and Jill instinctively reached for one of the four knights. She understood something now: this was a game of chess, the one she was playing, the one Wesker was playing. With each question, with each bargain he made a move; with every answer, with every thought, she made a move. The next question was: who would perform the checkmate first?

Without another word or thought, Jill hurried up to the control room and once there, out of amusement, she arranged the pieces in their respective positions and sides of the board and decided to make a move with one of the white pawns, a single square forward.

It's your turn now, Wesker. I'm waiting to see what you say next.

Jill left the control room seconds later. By the time she returned, a black pawn had been moved forward. It was a sign, a sign Jill surprisingly accepted with a smile.

Well, well... looks like someone is up for a game. Wonder how it'll end?

Their game was on.

A/N: Interesting things and behaviour, huh? Just you wait till the next chapter; it'll give a whole new perspective to this story... we're nearing THE moment xDDDD In any case, if you have any complaints about how this is going, I'd like to hear them. I don't want to rush the development, but I don't want it to get boring or anything, you know? Also, I'm going to put up a poll soon, so make sure to check out my profile; it's of vital importance.

Reviews are appreciated!^^