A/N: I'm back once more. Only have one review so far but that's to be expected with a new fic on the block. But I've never really been one to turn down a good challenge and I intend on making something that is worth reading by my fellow fans out there.

And reading S.D. Perry's work gave me a lot of inspiration. Giving a whole new perspective to the whole series that I never knew before, even after beating all the games multiple times. (Including Operation: Raccoon City and the REmakes)

So here's to giving it my best shot!

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil

Chapter 2:

"The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense." -Tom Clancy

His mind had gone completely blank for all of about two minutes. Despite his smarts he just couldn't grasp what his eyes were showing him at the moment. But the big bold sign before him said otherwise.

'Raccoon City?...This can't be real. I'm obviously having some kind of hallucination brought on by whatever I was injected with.' Ethan thought as he approached the sign and knocked on it lightly.

The metal rang softly, and the vibrations from tapping the post went through his hand and arm telling him that it was very real. 'Okay, there's a logical explanation. There has to be.'

Another car came down the road and pulled up along side him, a middle-aged man opened his door and spoke. "You okay?" he asked motioning to the truck the teen had been driving and the skid marks on the ground when he stopped.

Ethan schooled his features and nodded, "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. An animal ran across the road and made me jump." he replied.

"Be careful out here son, a lot of wildlife run through here when you least expect it." the man said back while looking around at the surrounding forest.

The teen nodded before something came to mind, "Hay, if it wouldn't be too much trouble. Can you tell me the date? I lost track of time while I've been on the road." He figured that it would be best to find out how long he was out so he could get a better grasp of what was happening.

"May 28th, 1998." replied the other driver before getting back in his car, mumbling something about kids partying too hard before heading off toward the city again. Leaving Ethan in stunned silence.

'May...28th...1998...' he ran his hands over his head as he felt a bit dizzy. How was this possible? It wasn't possible! There was no way he was plucked from modern-day 2014 and thrown back 16 years into the past.

He perked up when he recalled when the man that had been in contact with him had said before he was knocked out and back at the hotel where he had woken up. Looking up at the city in the distance, the teen headed back toward the truck and got back behind the wheel.

"That asshole better have answers when I get to where he wants me to go." Ethan growled under his breath as he shifted the Silverado into drive and pulled back on to the road. Getting ever closer to the city limits as he steeled his resolve for whatever he was about to encounter.

X

The forest and countryside gave way to tall buildings and a handful of skyscrapers. Busy streets and people enjoying their day passed by as the dark-blue truck strolled down one of the many roads and turning down on to another.

Ethan's grey-blue eyes scanned everything around him, a feeling of nostalgia crossing his thoughts the farther into Raccoon City he went.

Everything looked and sounded exactly like what he expected this place to be before Umbrella's experiments turned it into a necropolis. It actually looked like a rather nice place to live.

Picking up the slip of paper when he stopped at another red-light, he read over the instructions and found that the location specified was just one street up and two blocks East. The light turned green and he drove up to the designated street and turned down it. Slowing down before stopping in front of an apartment building that was five-stories in height and painted grey and white.

Pulling the truck into the small parking lot off to the side and into an available space, Ethan turned it off and grabbed the briefcase before stepping out and heading toward the entrance. Going through the small lobby and toward the elevator, he looked at the paper again and saw that he needed to go to apartment number 12 on the second floor.

Pushing the button on the lift, he rode it up to the proper floor and stepped off on to the carpeted hallway that lead to the apartment at the end. Keys still in his hand as he flipped through them until he saw one that said 'Apt.12/F2'.

Slipping the key into the lock and turning it until he heard a soft 'click', Ethan paused before reaching for the doorknob. 'The guy already has me at a disadvantage. How do I know if this isn't another trap?"

Mulling things over for a few seconds, the teen decided that he wasn't going to get anywhere standing in the corridor staring blankly at the door.

Taking a deep breath, he grabbed the doorknob and twisted. Pulling the door open and crossing the threshold and closing it behind him. What greeted him was a large dark room despite the sun being high in the sky outside.

Narrowing his eyes in an attempt to see through the blackness, Ethan kept his guard up as he took a slow step forward. Followed by another. His hearing strained to the max as he tried to pick up any sounds within the apartment that didn't belong to him. Hand sliding along the wall to his right in an attempt to locate a light switch.

When his fingers brushed against the familiar shape, he flicked upward causing light to blast away the shadows in an instant. Squinting his eyes from the sudden brightness, Ethan got a good look around his environment.

He stood in a small corridor leading farther into the apartment. Soft white painted walls on either side with a closet on his immediate left as he moved the rest of the way into the next room. Hitting a second switch revealed the living room with a couple of chairs and a couch all facing a small entertainment center and tv. A kitchen took up the other half of the large room with all the proper appliances and a bar separating the two sides.

Another door on the opposite end of the living room was open showing the only bedroom with a queen sized bed, dresser, closet and attached bathroom with a shower. All in all it was a pretty decent place. But this wasn't his reason for coming here in the first place.

Laying the briefcase on the bar, he searched every corner of the place for any sign of the one that had brought him there.

The apartment was completely empty save for the furnishings. Though, when he opened the closet in the bedroom he found a small black duffel bag on the floor in the corner. Curious, he picked the bag up and brought it out into the living room/kitchen. Setting it on the bar next to the briefcase before unzipping the opening.

What he had found made his eyes widen and his mouth drop open.

Stacks upon stacks of 100 dollar bills were stuffed inside. Taking out each stack and laying it out on to the counter, counting up the total as he went along until he finished at $50,000. "Holy, fucking, shit." he muttered flopping down into one of the nearby stools. "What the hell is all this?"

"Something to help get you on your feet." Ethan was on his feet, the stool being knocked over from the sudden movement as he spun around to face the voice that had spoken.

The tv flicked on by itself, static clearing as the sight of the very same man he'd seen in the cube-shaped communication device. His visage covered in shadows as he sat behind a desk on the screen.

"Alright, I've followed your instructions. Now I expect some damn answers." said Ethan with his fists clenched. "Why the hell did you bring me here? Or more precisely, how the fuck did you take me from reality into a world that's suppose to be fiction?"

"The 'how' and 'why' can both be easily explained. Though one is much easier to explain than the other." said the mystery man. "Are you familiar with the multi-verse theory?"

The teen nodded slowly, "The hypothetical idea that there are an infinite or finite number of other universes outside the 'historical universe' where everything is derived from. What does that have to do with..." he trailed off as everything he had seen up to this point caught up to him.

"Now you see, Ethan." said the man. "To answer your soon to be asked question; yes, you're in another universe outside the one you originated from. A universe where what you believed to be mere fiction is in fact as real as your own flesh and blood."

Ethan swallowed the lump in his throat while using the counter as a support to stay up. "...why?" he swallowed again. "Why am I here? Why take me from my universe and bring me to this soon-to-be hell hole?"

There was a pregnant pause that lasted too long for the teen's liking before the one on-screen spoke. "As I have said before, I brought you back to where you belong. The place you once called 'home' was never really your home. But more of a haven where you would be kept safe."

"That doesn't make any sense!" the teen shouted. "Just what the fuck is going on here?! And what does it have to do with me?!"

"Everything, my young friend." said the mystery man. "And I will explain everything to you, as promised. Go to the briefcase and take out the package underneath the folder."

Looking toward the briefcase he had brought with him, Ethan popped the latches open and pulled out what he had been told to. The package had a bit of weight to it from whatever was within it.

Tearing open one end, he reached in and pulled out a leather-bound journal that looked older than he was. The pages dirty and torn from age and constant movement. Several slips of paper were sticking out from certain sections looking as old as the rest of the tomb.

Turning it around in his hands. Ethan saw gold lettering on the spine that was barely legible, but he could make out the letters 'S.B-M.' despite how faded it was. "What is this?" he asked flipping open the first page and reading a little bit.

"It belonged to your mother, your birth mother." came the reply causing the teen to gasp. "It'll explain everything that you will want to know if my explanation isn't enough for you."

Ethan looked the journal over another moment before coming into the living room, sitting down on the couch and laying the leather-bound book on the coffee table before regarding the man on-screen, letting him know that he was listening.

Nodding, the unknown man began. "You already know the story of Umbrella, and the heinous acts they committed against the rest of humanity with their sick experiments through the use of the T and G Viruses. But despite what that gaming company portrayed in that universe, it wasn't the true story."

"Everything followed along similar paths, but the outcomes were far more different in the end. After Raccoon City fell, Umbrella used their influence to keep their darker secrets hidden from the public. Their power and money turned those that stood against them into outlaws that were hunted like animals."

"The members of STARS." the teen said catching on.

"Precisely. And while the world went on oblivious to their actions, the Umbrella Corporation gained leverage over the more powerful countries. When they had what they needed they were able to assume control over their governments. Any that defied them were either killed by their 'pets' or captured and subjected to torture and experimentation. They instilled great fear in the world, and it was all thanks to their leader...Albert Wesker."

"The co-founders of Umbrella were all killed by Wesker himself. And through that gained control of the corporation and all its resources. His ambition to becoming a god made his conquest over the globe nearly unstoppable if it weren't for a brave few that would not fall to his tactics."

Ethan smirked, "They fought against him, guess his plans weren't so fool-proof in the end after all."

The mystery man shook his head and sighed sadly, "Their efforts were effective, but with all of the resources that Umbrella was able to acquire it was hard for anything they did to make any lasting damage. It was an uphill battle that was nearly lost.

"Wesker took notice to what this group was doing and began taking action against them. Sending his personal army and the various experiments his scientists were able to create. The rebels fought back valiantly...but overtime their strength weakened. Until one by one they began to fall. Those that remained went underground so that they could regroup and come up with a more effective plan."

"It was around this time, Umbrella scientists had discovered a way to cross dimensions. Their experiments hadn't been successful when word of their efforts reached the rebels, but the mere thought of such a thing was enough to bring them out of hiding. They wouldn't let Wesker have this kind of power and allow his influence to affect other realities."

"A raid was performed against the main facility where the experimental devices were being kept, just as they were perfected and were about to be brought to Wesker himself to show the results. It was a bloody battle that the rebels were able to win, but not without heavy losses."

"Now in possession of the devices, the rebels locked them away in an undisclosed location until they could figure out what to do with them."

"Months later...one of our own figured out that she was pregnant. She was one of the head researchers on our side and one of the brightest people any of us had ever known. Her husband was a powerful fighter and was one of the leaders of the rebels, he never backed down from a fight. But with so many things going wrong and the world falling into ruin because of Wesker's tyranny, they couldn't risk their child being a part of something like that."

In the back of his mind, Ethan knew where this was going. "Are you saying that, my real parents were..."

"Yes, Ethan. Your mother and father were part of the rebellion against Wesker and Umbrella. And they loved you too much to put you through the hell that they were forced to endure. So they took one of the devices and used it to cross into another dimension, one month before your mother was to give birth."

"When you were born, your father made sure to gather all evidence of it to make sure it didn't fall into someone else's hands. They never wanted to let you go, but they wanted to ensure that you were safe and loved. You were left at the very orphanage where you had been adopted by the Mercers, they were heartbroken when they returned to our reality. Your mother was never the same."

The sheer gravity of what had been told to him was almost too much to bare. Ethan put his face in his hands as he felt tears prickle his eyes. He didn't know how, but a large part of him believed the story. Deep down in the pit of his heart he knew that it was the truth which made it all hurt even more.

Many times he wondered where he had come from and what his real parents were like. But in the end he forced it down with anger from the fact they had abandoned him when he was a baby. Only to come and find out that they had left him for his own protection.

"How do you expect me to believe all of this?" he asked glaring at the screen. "To make me think that everything I had ever known was a lie? That I was from some place else...another universe! How do you expect me to believe and accept this?!" he demanded.

"I never expected you to believe any of this right away. Which is why I made sure that your mother's journal was present to help fill in the gaps." said the man motioning to the book. "It has all the answers you'll need when we're finished speaking, if you need further convincing."

Looking down at the journal, Ethan looked back at the one that had spun his life on its head before asking the second most important question. "Why have you brought me here? If what you're saying is true, then why remove me from the safety I had been in?"

The unknown man sighed, "Because the rebels have lost the fight." he admitted leaving the teen speechless. "Wesker learned about our hidden bases and had them systematically wiped out. By the time we figured out what was happening, it was too late. Your parents were among the casualties."

"With what little people we had left, we managed to gather up the dimensional transfer devices and leave our doomed reality behind. Being sure to destroy all evidence of how they were made so that it would take them decades to attempt to recreate the technology. But we knew that it wouldn't last forever. That's when we came up with a plan.

"When we escaped, we programmed the device that teleported us back long before any of the events transpired. Several years in fact. And overtime we began to figure out ways to avoid our future from occurring, but now there are only two of us left, and neither of us are able to stand against Umbrella on our own."

"That's when we remembered you, Ethan. When you were born, you came into existence outside the reality where you were conceived. In a way, you never existed in this universe. Because of this anomaly, you became immune to any backlashes that would be caused by a time-displacement paradox like me and my associate will should things ever change."

"To sum it all up...you're the last hope for this universe. Your knowledge and skills are the only thing that will ensure that everything doesn't fall into ruin like it did before."

The stunned silence that he had been feeling before paled in comparison to this. Ethan couldn't seem to form words, despite his IQ he had been successfully struck stupid.

"I can understand that this is all overwhelming for you. I don't expect you to want to just openly trust everything you've been told, but you must see the evidence around you. You know what is coming, the events that will lead up to Umbrella's greatest folly here in Raccoon City. The STARS need someone like you to ensure that they succeed when Wesker attempts his rise to power."

Ethan said nothing, his mind working again at full as he tried to digest all of the information. He was suppose to be the salvation of the Resident Evil Universe? His supposed home universe? It was all too much for him to consider, anyone in his position would be in the same state.

"I...I need to think about this." he said after a while.

The man on the screen nodded slowly, "I understand. Take all the time you need and contact me via the communication-cube in your possession. But be weary, time is of the essence. The events leading to the fall of Raccoon City will begin soon. Until next we speak." the tv showed static before turning off, leaving the confused and mentally strained teen in silence.

X

Hours slipped by like seconds, the whole time Ethan spent thinking about the revelations he had been given while thumbing through his birth mother's journal. Everything the man that had contacted him had said looked to be the truth.

His mother had cataloged every event that had been mentioned leading all the way up to his birth. He even read about how she had fallen into a brief depression about her decision to leave him in another universe and time for his safety.

How much she and his dad loved him and hoped that he would forgive them for leaving him like that. And prayed that their problems didn't become his...so much for that happening.

Night had fallen over Raccoon City by the time he sat the journal down, leaning back on the couch and rubbing his eyes. There wasn't anything in any of the entries about who they were, and none of the female characters from the series matched up with the initials 'S.B-M' that he could think of right off the bat.

But considering everything that had happened to him in the last 24-plus hours he was surprised that he could even think in a straight line. Genius category or not, this situation was way too fucked up for anyone of any level of intelligence.

After a while, Ethan felt his stomach rumble and realised that he hadn't eaten anything the entire time this had all been happening. Deciding that trying to come up with a decision on an empty stomach wouldn't work in his favor, he grabbed his keys and a hundred from one of the stacks in the duffel bag and leaving the apartment.

Walking down the sidewalk, the warm night air refreshing on his skin and giving him a chance to clear his head for a short time. Heading down toward a nearby pizza place that was a few blocks away from the apartment building and sitting in a booth with a pepperoni pizza all to himself as he thought back to everything.

'Are my other parents worried about me? Are my friends? What are they doing right now?' he thought to himself as he put away three slices and working on the fourth. All the while looking at the handful of other people in the restaurant.

Happy families, friends, all of them completely oblivious to the hell that would rain down upon them in about two months. And in a few weeks the so called 'cannibal-murders' will begin and the STARS will be called in to investigate not long after that.

'I'm just one person.' Ethan continued to think. 'And yet all of this is being dumped into my lap like my opinion doesn't matter. My life was simple before, now with all this...I just don't know.' the teen dropped the piece of crust he was munching on and wiped off his hands.

Closing his eyes, he allowed his thoughts to overcome him. It was a form of meditation that he had learned a long time ago for whenever his thoughts became too much to focus on anything. Calming his breaths, he began to sifter through all the information he had been given and weighed the pros and cons that came with any choices he might make.

The outside world slipped by without any notice on his part as he delved deeper into his own mind. It was when he felt someone shaking him that snapped him out of his state before looking up at the waitress that disturbed him.

"Sorry, sir. But we're closing up for the night." she said smiling at him with a small blush on her face.

Checking his watch, he saw that two hours had lapsed and knew that he had to head back. Grabbing his leftovers, he left the pizza place and headed back to the apartment still in thought over what he should do.

It was obvious that the one that contacted him had a plan for him to be here if he chose to stay. Whatever that was he thought best to not know for the sake of his own sanity.

Stepping back into the apartment and locking the door behind him, he dropped back down on the couch as he went back to thinking. Falling into sleep without even knowing it until he awoke with the rising sun the next day.

By then he had considered all his options and came to a conclusion. It wasn't easy, but after thinking about all the variables and the entries he'd read in his mother's journal, he knew that there was only one choice he could make with the benefit to countless lives.

That, and his adopted fathers words from back when he was in high school came back to him; 'Sometimes, doing the right thing is never easy. You have to make sacrifices in life, but when it's for the betterment of your fellow man the choice is very clear. Especially when it comes to helping those in need. We all have choices in life, and in some contexts those choices define us as a person. Remember this if or when you're faced with these choices, Ethan. Because your choices could help a lot of people without you even knowing it.'

It was this piece of advice that lead him to picking up the device he had used before. Flipping the halves together and forming a whole cube and activating the connection.

"Hello, Ethan." said the man he had come to slowly hate in the last two days. "Have you given everything we talked about some thought?"

Ethan nodded, "I did. It wasn't easy coming up with a decision, but my adopted parents raised me to do the right thing when ever I was faced with the choice to do so." he admitted. "And that contributes to the here and know, so I will help this universe. My real parents fought and died for it, and I'll make sure that they didn't die in vein."

Nodding, the man steepled his hands together. "That's good news. I must admit that I was worried that you wouldn't accept."

"Don't think that there isn't strings attached on your part." the teen said stiffly. "If your supposedly helping me through this, I'll need supplies, equipment to help me and other survive what's coming. And how exactly am I going to do this? I can't just walk into the police station and say 'Hi, I can tell the future and your boss is a psychotic megalomaniac with a god complex'." Ethan said voicing one of the many main concerns he had come up with.

"It has already been taken care of. The folder within the briefcase should be more than enough to get you on the right track."

The teen looked over at said briefcase before going back to the cube. "And what do I call you should I have to contact you again?"

Chuckling, the man leaned back in his unseen chair. "Simply call me Oracle. Considering my own prior knowledge of what will happen should you fail. Though I have plenty of faith that you will not."

Ethan nodded, "Alright. What's my first step?"

"The file should contain everything you need. Good luck Ethan, I'll be in touch." said the newly named Oracle as the communication ended.

Setting the device on the counter, he pulled the manila folder from the briefcase. Something small and black fell out forcing him to catch it with his other hand. It was a flat, leather case that resembled a wallet. Flipping it open and feeling his breath hitch when he saw the contents.

There were two laminated sections on both halves. The top was a new ID with his picture and all his information. Though the birthdate had been altered to match up with the timeframe he now found himself in. But it was what was on the other half that really got him.

It was a second identification, a familiar insignia on one side with 'S.T.A.R.S.' proudly displayed over it. On the other side read; 'Agent Mercer. Criminal Profiler/Strategy Specialist. Alpha Team.'

Ethan stared at the identification for almost a minute before speaking to the empty room. "Well...this makes things a little simpler."

A/N: Another chapter down. And with it a great deal of answers. It may seem a little fast in some aspects, but I'm really trying to set the ground work for something really good. So just bare with me while I try to pick up some speed with this.