A/N: It has been a long time coming. But after updating several other stories I'm able to add another chapter to my largest one to date. And with the outpouring of PMs asking me to get this one started up again, I couldn't resist.

After everything that happened at the Planet, this installment is all dialogue, but a few things will come to light for Ethan that will make the next attack against Umbrella even more entertaining. And, as we all know, the war still has only just begun.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"We are twice armed if we fight with faith." - Plato

With Ethan carrying Rebecca, John supporting a wounded David, and Leon and Claire sticking close together, the six weary soldiers trudged off the screen and out into the gently blossoming Utah morning.

Sighing, Trent leaned back in his chair, idly twisting his onyx ring. He hoped they'd take a day or two to rest before heading to their next great battle. They deserved a bit of rest after all they'd suffered. If any of them survived what was surely ahead, he'd have to see that they were amply rewarded.

'Assuming I'm still in a position to bequeath gifts' he thought idly.

He would be, of course. If and when Jackson and the others finally figured out what part he was playing, he'd have to disappear, but there were half a dozen completely untraceable identities for him to choose from seeded around the world, each of them extremely wealthy.

And White Umbrella didn't have the resources to track him down. They still had money and power, true, but they simply weren't smart enough.

'I've managed to get this far, haven't I?' Trent sighed again, reminding himself not to gloat, at least not yet. It wouldn't pay to be overconfident, he knew. Better men than he had died at the hands of Umbrella. In any case, either he'd be dead or they would. End of problem, one way or the other.

Stretching his arms over his head and shrugging the tension from his shoulders, the satellite 'pirate' had allowed him to see and hear almost all of it, and it had been a long and eventful night.

A few hours sleep, that was what he needed. He'd arranged to be out of touch until about noon, but then he'd have to put a call in to Sidney, and the old tea-drinker would be nearly frantic by then, along with the rest of them. The mysterious Mr. Trent's services would be desperately sought after, and he'd have to catch the next plane out.

As much as he wanted to watch Hawkinson return and fumble through putting Fossil down, he needed the sleep more.

Reaching over and turning the monitor off, the one beside it chimed with a coming transmission. Expecting the video call, he shrugged off his exhaustion as he opened the window to reveal Oracle.

"Trent, sorry for contacting you at such a late hour. But I was hoping for a status report on the STARS team."

"There were a few bumps in the road, but they managed to complete their objective." replied Trent. Having seen the young Ms. Chambers slight of hand when she was being held captive by Reston. "Two of them sustained injuries that will take time to heal, but nothing too serious. I'll be sure to send you the video footage of what occured."

"It is much appreciated. I was engaged in another matter that needed my attention when they invaded the Planet. But everything should be ready for them once they've regrouped with their comrades over seas." said Oracle. "I will be contacting Ethan soon with new information that will help him and his friends. But I will give them a day to rest first."

"That would be most wise." said Trent before recalling something he had seen during the operation. "I believe Mr. Mercer is preparing to tell the others of his unique abilities. Various situations during their operation had him exposing them to his friends who will more than likely want answers."

Oracle was silent for a moment, "It was an inevitable event. Ethan's selfless nature would have him doing anything for those he holds dear, and he more than likely has concocted a cover story to tell the others. Either way, it's his choice in what he tells them."

Trent leaned back in his chair, "Do you believe they will still see him as he is, or a threat?"

"Ms. Chambers' feelings for him are iron-clad, I have seen them during their time in the Arklay facilities. As for the others...I believe that there will be tension at first, but also that they'd never turn their back on someone who has done everything in his power to help them the way he has." the benefactor replied.

"Given recent events, he may press for more answers when you speak to one another again." stated Trent.

Oracle nodded, "I'm expecting it. And I will give him some of the answers he seeks. But I cannot give him the full truth, not yet, even though it pains me to keep it from him like this."

The man leaned forward onto the desk before him, regarding Oracle fully. "You never did tell me your connection to the young man. Who is Ethan Mercer to you that you would go to such lengths to ensure that he not only succeeds with the others against Umbrella, but his safety as well?"

"We're all entitled to a few secrets now and then, Mr. Trent. I'm afraid, despite our trust and partnership, that is something I will be keeping to myself."

Trent smiled and nodded in understanding, "Very well, I will not bring it up again."

Oracle nodded back, "Thank you, my friend. Keep me updated incase something changes." with that the connection ended. Trent stood from his chair and stretched again before leaving his home office and heading to the kitchen to grab a drink before getting some much needed sleep.

X

Ethan rubbed his eyes and stifled a yawn before he checked the time to see it was just past one in the afternoon.

He and the others had gotten back to the hotel hours ago, and the first thing he did when they arrived was get Rebecca back to their room and take out all of their medical supplies to treat her injuries.

Giving her enough painkillers to numb the pain, and with Claire helping him, the traveler removed the bullet that had just missed her right kidney by an inch. When the task was done, he gave Rebecca a good amount of antibiotics to combat the small infection she had contracted and checked over the status of her concussion before leaving her to rest and help David with the shrapnel in his back.

Once the wounded were tended to, David had said that they should all take it easy and get some rest before they debriefed about what had happened back at the Planet. He and John retiring to their room while Leon and Claire had disappeared into theirs.

But Ethan couldn't sleep, there was too much on his mind. Most of which revolved around the small code book that had been in Rebecca's pants that had fallen out in the van on the way back from the desert. Each page filled with codes of various sizes along with where and how they were to be used.

It was a shock that the young medic had it in her possession and many of them wondered how she had pulled it off. But it didn't matter in the end, especially since they all walked away from the operation alive.

Flipping another page and examining more of the codes listed in the small book, Ethan looked up when he heard Rebecca groan softly in her sleep as she shifted a little. She had been dressed in just one of his t-shirts and her underwear so that she was comfortable and so that the bandages around her wouldn't be aggitated.

Thankfully none of her injuries were serious or life threatening, but the strain she put herself under had made things worse. Though everyone was just glad that she was going to be alright.

Taking a deep breath, Ethan tossed the code book on the other bed in the room before standing up from the chair he had been sitting in and making his way over to his lover. Sitting down beside her and running a hand through her red/brown locks.

'I could have lost her today...' he thought with a constricting feeling wrapping around his heart. Ever since he first arrived in this world he had never experienced true terror, even when facing the horrifying byproducts of Umbrella's viruses.

But to see the woman that he had grown to love since the beginning of it all in such a state and the possibility of losing her had scared him to his core.

A soft chiming sound coming from his duffel bag broke the thoughts that were brewing. Knowing that particular sound by heart, the traveler bent down and pressed a kiss to Rebecca's forehead before standing back up and heading to the bag and digging out the communication cube that he had hidden before going into the bathroom. Turning on the shower to mask the conversation that was going to take place as he activated the cube.

"Hello, Ethan." said Oracle as the image of the shadowed figure appeared on the three-dimensional screen. "I've heard about your recent operation to the Planet, it's good to see that everyone made it out in one piece."

"I take it your friend Trent filled you in on things?" Ethan asked pointedly.

The benefactor was silent a moment, "So you figured it out."

"It took a while, but it wasn't hard in the end." replied the traveler, "Having someone just show up out of the blue with information that would help stop Umbrella was questionable, but to have that same person have information about someone that supposedly shouldn't even exist in this universe? That's what tipped me off."

"I should have known that you would have connected the dots sooner or later." said Oracle, not bothering to deny the claim. "It is true. Mr. Trent is a trusted confidant of mine that has been of great help over the years. He has his own reasons for Umbrella's destuction, however, they are his own just like my reasons and actions are my own."

Ethan nodded, "I got that much when we last met him." he glanced away from the cube a moment before turning back again, "I want answers, Oracle. Ever since I took that serum back in Raccoon City, something is happening to me. I feel like...something is changing."

Oracle nodded slowly, "I understand your confusion and worry, Ethan. But believe me, there is nothing wrong with you, persay."

" 'Persay'?" the traveler asked, already starting to get frusterated. "What did you do to me?"

"I did nothing that wouldn't have already happened at a much later date." replied the benefactor calmly. "But I will tell you, albet not everything." the shadowed man leaned forward on the desk he sat behind, "Your abilities were passed down to you from your parents. Your fast healing and intelligence from your mother, hightened reflexes, speed and strength from your father."

The answer through off Ethan's thoughts a moment, "What? How...I understand the intelligence part, at least. But how do you explain the other traits? I'm pretty sure what I can do now would have shown while I was growing up."

Oracle sighed, "That is true...however, your mother was a very smart woman. She wanted you to have a chance at a normal life, so she created a serum to dampen the abilities that would have made you stand out and injected you with it shortly after you were born."

Ethan was stunned, putting the term lightly as he tried to digest the information. "I..." he ran a hand over his face as he tried to find the words.

"I know this is a lot for you. I'm really not surprised given the revelations that have been revealed to you since your arrival." said Oracle. "Which is why I didn't hit you with all of it at once. And with the fight against Umbrella coming to a head, I didn't want it to cloud your mind and distract you from what you and the other STARS were hoping to achieve."

"What did you have me inject myself with?" the teen asked. Pusing his emotions to the back of his mind so that he could focus on what he wanted to know.

Oracle touched something on his desk and a small window appeared on the three-dimensional screen. A molecular blueprint if Ethan wasn't mistaken. "Your natural abilities would have awoken overtime. But given the severity of the situation in Raccoon City I knew that you would need them if you were to survive and keep the others alive as well." the benefactor explained. "I had another serum created, one that would negate the effects of the one your mother gave you and unlock your true potential."

'This explains the aches and fatigue I felt after I took the injection.' Ethan's logical mind thought as he remembered the events after he'd taken the serum. Giving Oracle his full attention he scowled, "I don't know whether to thank you...or hate you right now."

"You're within your rights to despise me for what has happened. But despite your anger, you know deep down that you are a big player in the downfall of Umbrella. This world, and those you've come to care for, need you. I will accept your hate if it will keep you alive and help you succeed." The honesty in the man's words broke through Ethan's wall of logic and allowed his emotions to bleed through again.

Even though he'd all but been kidnapped from his original life, thrust into a situation that was now as dangerous as it could get...surprisingly, he wouldn't change any of it.

After everything he'd endured up to this point, it had been worth it in meeting the people who had become life a second family to him. People he would fight beside to the bitter end, and a woman that he couldn't see the rest of his life without.

Coming here may not have looked good at first, but now? He knew that in a way, it was all worth it in some way.

"There's just one thing I need to know..." he said, Oracle giving him his full attention. "Who were they? My parents. I have a right to know who they were."

"You do, and I want to tell you, Ethan." the benefactor said, deep emotion the teen had never heard before in the man's tone as he spoke. "It pains me that I've had to keep things from you all this time. But it is not without reason. And I swear to you, and pray that my word is enough, I will tell you everything you want to know when Umbrella's foundation is in ashes."

Even if he couldn't see the man's features to tell if he was speaking honestly. Something in the pit of Ethan's being told him that Oracle was telling the truth. And despite that he was being denied the answers he knew he was more than entitled to, he did trust the man's word.

Oracle had never truly lied to him. Albet cryptic, he had always spoke truth and only ever offered his aid in his own way that was both helpful and strangely accurate.

Taking a moment to let things settle in his thoughts, Ethan nodded again. "You haven't led me wrong yet...but you had better tell me everything when all this is over. You owe me that much."

"I owe you far more than you realize." replied the benefactor cryptically. "There is another reason for this call other than to check on your progress. I'm sending you coordinates for a safe house that has been set up for you and the others in Paris. If you hope to launch an assault on the Umbrella Headquarters, then you will need a place to set up before making your move."

The cube chimmed a moment later, letting the traveler know that the information from Oracle had been sent. "Their Headquarters will be guarded heavily, prepare yourself accordingly. I'll be in touch once you reach France."

Before Ethan could say another word the cube went dark, the sound of the shower still running the only thing filling the room as he slipped the device into his pocket and rubbed his face.

It may not have been much, but at least he had gotten some answers. It was better than nothing at all, but the teen vowed to get the rest of the truth, one way or another.

Stifling another yawn, Ethan stripped and got under the water. Washing away the dirt, grime and sweat that he had accumulated in the Planet. Closing his eyes and letting the warm spray relax his tense muscles and help ease his troubled thoughts that were still buzzing with the new information that he had been told.

The more he seemed to learn about his unknown past and who his real parents were, the more questions that seemed to appear. He read his mother's journal cover to cover a dozen times, trying to decode anything that could have led to their identity...but all he had were his mothers initials.

S.B-M

A part of him wanted to know who she and his father were more than anything, but another part made him hesitate. Made him think if it was worth to know in the end even if it meant nothing more than to give him peace of mind about his past.

'Should I just leave the past buried?' Ethan thought, resting his forehead against the tiled wall beneath the shower head. His old life was over, that much was for certain and there was no hope to go back to it.

Not after what he'd been through. Not after forming the bonds he had and the cause he was now fighting for. This was his life now, not matter how dangerous it was, he felt that this was where he belonged.

Turning the shower off, Ethan stepped out and dried off before wrapping a towel around his waist and heading out into the main room toward his duffel bag for fresh clothes.

"Ethan?" the traveler perked up and saw Rebecca sitting up in bed, groggily rubbing her eyes and blinking them as she looked around the room.

"Hay, sleepyhead. How are you feeling?" he asked, walking over and sitting beside her.

Rebecca smiled a little, "Sore. But better than I was before. What happened?"

"When we got back from the facility, I had you brought in. Claire and I removed the bullet that was in your lower back and gave you a good amount of painkillers and antibiotics to fight the small infection you got." he explained. "Your concussion wasn't severe, but I checked you every hour to be sure that there was no effects."

The medic leaned back against the pillows behind her and smiled again, "And here I thought I was the only doctor."

Ethan smirked back, "Figured I'd add another mark on my resume. Never know when it might be needed." he stood up, adjusting the towel he was still wearing, "Get some more sleep, darlin. You still need to recover."

Before he could take a step, Rebecca's hand reached out and grabbed his wrist. Asking him with her eyes what she wanted that he understood right away.

Heading over to the light switch and turning it off, Ethan headed back over to the bed, discarding his towel along the way before crawling under the covers. Rebecca sat up, slowly shedding the shirt she had on before laying back and cuddling into his chest wearing nothing but her panties.

The warm contact already relaxing her and lulling her back to sleep. "...love you..." she murmured, placing a kiss against the traveler's neck.

"Love you too, beautiful." Ethan said back, kissing the top of her head as he settled in himself. His own exhaustion finally catching up with him as he slipped into a dreamless sleep.

X

It was late in the afternoon the next day when everyone gathered in David and John's room. Ethan coming in carrying Rebecca and laying her in John's bed despite her protests that she could walk on her own.

When everyone was comfortable they spent the next couple of hours talking about what had happened at the Planet after they had gotten separated. David, Claire and Rebecca heard about the testing program Reston had but the others through and how they managed to survive all of the stages with the help of Henry Cole. Leading up to the man's tragic death at the hands of the Hunters before telling them about Fossil.

David informed them of what had happened topside. The fight against Umbrella's soldiers which ended up with Rebecca being shot. Ethan had tensed, anger spiking when hearing about it but was quickly calmed when he felt her hand on his back, letting him know that she was there and okay.

Once the accounts of their struggles were out of the way, David took out the code book that they now had in their possession. Looking it over briefly before speaking. "Before we get into our next step. There's something else that needs to be discussed." the former Exeter STARS looked directly at Ethan, everyone else doing the same, all of them knowing what was going to be brought up.

"Ethan, John told me about what happened back at the facility. And the fact that you survived the encounter with Fossil leaves a lot of questions." David continued

The traveler took a deep breath, knowing that there was no other way out. "Before I start, I just want to let everyone in this room know that I didn't know about my...condition before Raccoon City. And I was fully intending on letting you all know, there just never seemed to be the right time. Rebecca already knows the story, so now I can tell you."

Seeing that everyone's attention was on him, he spoke again. "You already know that I was adopted, and never knew my real parents. But throughout most of my life I've always felt different compared to everyone else. Stronger, faster, but for the longest time, I just listened to my adopted mother when she told me I was unique."

"Then came the time when I joined STARS, my unique skills helping me earn my place, but after Jill told me what Trent told her about, and how Umbrella was coming after me, I started looking for answers as to why. And while I was in Raccoon City during the outbreak...I found my answers."

"What did you find out?" asked David, both curious and worried about the young man and what he had learned.

Ethan sighed, "Umbrella was into a lot of different experiments involving gene modification through the use of their viruses, one such project was something called Project: Origin. An experiment that was dedicated to making some form of super soldiers they could later mass produce, only instead of injecting an adult they chose to inject a fetus while it was still in the womb."

"That's...christ, that's wrong on so many levels." Claire said, sounding beyond disgusted.

"How did you find any of this out?" asked David.

The traveler paced the room, "I was investigating for any information on Umbrella's secrets and managed to find an array of files at the hospital, which was how I was able to locate a vial of the T-Antigen. Project: Origin had a dozen canditates, all of them women who were about a month along in pregnancy before they were injected with a serum that would enhance the genetics of their unborn children...only six survived the procedure, and only one managed to make it the full nine months and be born."

John shook his head, "Just when I thought those bastards couldn't fall any farther on my shit-list." he growled.

Leon looked at Ethan and swallowed, "The survivor, the baby that made it to term, that was you?" he asked.

Ethan nodded slowly, "Apparently so. After my birth, there was a literal barrage of tests conducted on me to ensure that everything worked. There was even more forms of gene-therapy to help my body adapt to the changes that it would be going through as I grew. Though, their future plans for me wouldn't be happening."

He stopped in his pacing and looked at the others, "One of the doctors grew a conscious after seeing what I was being put through as an infant. So late one night, she kidnapped me from the facility Umbrella was raising me in and took me as far from the corporation as she could. Dropping me off at an orphanage and being sure that her tracks were covered...that was where I was adopted by the Mercers."

Everyone sat in silence, digesting everything they had been told bit by bit. Ethan hated himself for only being able to tell them the story he fabricated some time ago, but he reminded himself that it was better than the alternative.

"Do you know what happened to the woman that 'liberated' you?" asked David.

The traveler shrugged as he sat on the bed next to Rebecca, "I didn't find anything else on her. Either she got away, or Umbrella caught up with her. Regardless, it was because of her I got to where I am now." he felt his lover's hand slip into his and he squeezed it back. "But I did find details on what I was injected with while invetro. It was apparently a prototype virus that had yet to get a name, but unlike T it wasn't spreadable, which means I'm not contagious."

"That's good to know." said John, sending a subtle looks between Ethan and Rebecca.

"But why did you keep it from us after all this time?" asked Claire curiously and not in suspision.

Ethan scratched the back of his head, "After everything we went through in Raccoon City, telling you all that I was also one of Umbrella's projects long ago wouldn't have ended well. Like I said, I was planning on telling you guys, but there's a time and place for that kind of thing. That, and I wanted everyone together when I revealed it."

Leon nodded, "Makes sense."

"So now you all know." the traveler said, looking from each of them directly, "Thoughts? Fears? Questions?"

"I got one." John said seriously, before his face split into a mile wide grin, "Does this make Bec's your kryptonite 'superman'?" There was a brief pause before everyone chuckled at the lame joke.

"No, she's more than that." Ethan said putting an arm around Rebecca's shoulders, "I would say she would be my Lois Lane, but she's a hell of a lot smarter and prettier than that."

"Good answer." his lover said, kissing his jaw. "So, what's the plan now?" she asked looking at David.

The impromtu leader of their little crew rubbed his chin. "We'll take one more day to rest and recover. Tomorrow before dawn we'll head to the airport and get on the plane and head over seas to the others. We've been delayed long enough."

"Way too long." Claire muttered. Leon put a hand on her shoulder comfortingly and getting a greatful smile from the young Redfield.

When everything was said done, everyone went their separate ways. Ethan scooped up Rebecca in his arms again and carried her back to their room, the biochemist rolling her eyes, but didn't hesitated to lay her head on his shoulder and curl into him a bit more.

She didn't know why, but in that moment she started thinking about the conversation the two of them had the day before. About the future when everything with Umbrella was said and done, and she had to admit, the idea of the two of them having a family together had been on her mind for a while too.

They were still pretty young to be considering something like that, but given how their lives were, and how it all could end of any of them at any moment, there wasn't a point in wasting precious time.

"Ethan?" Rebecca asked after they got to their room and he set her down on their bed. "What you were saying, when we talked before the mission, about us getting married and all that. Did you really mean it?"

Ethan tilted his head at her, "Of course I did, darlin'. I wouldn't lie or joke about something like that." he sat down next to her, leaning against the headboard while pulling her into his side. "The two of us, a nice house, a couple of kids, and best of all no psychopathic corporations making deadly viruses and trying to kill us."

"It's a nice dream." the biochemist said lowly, her mind drifting to images of what her lover was describing.

"One I intend on making a reality." said the traveler making Rebecca look up at him, "I could have lost you today, and I don't intend on letting a single moment slip through my fingers." he touched the side of her face and smiled, "When everything is said and done, when we've buried Umbrella entirely and can have normal lives again, I'm going to ask you to marry me, Rebecca."

Rebecca was speechless, despite the warmth in his voice she could tell that he was very serious about this. "R-Really?" she asked, still very shocked but wanting more than anything to hear him say it again.

Ethan nodded, "I said it before, and I'll say it again. I can't see a life and future without you in it, darlin'. We've been through Hell too many times to count now, and things will get a lot worse the closer we get to taking down Umbrella. If we're throwing ourselves into the thick of it again, I'm doing so without any regrets."

His lover leaned up and kissed him hard, her tongue playing with his for nearly a minute before they separated and looked at one another again. "Sooo...is that a yes?" the traveler asked.

"Ask me again when we put those monsters down for good." Rebecca replied as they went back to cuddling on their bed, intending on continuing to rest in preparation for the trials ahead.

Tomorrow they would be in the air on their way to the missing members of their group, then their war against Umbrella would continue. But now the young couple had something to look forward to that would keep them in good spirits to the end.

A/N:...honestly, when I came up with the cover story Ethan was going to tell the others about his abilities I went with the name of one that many gamers know well.

The next chapter will be a transition into the 'Code Veronica' plot, as I said in the earlier A/N, the war has only just begun. And Ethan will be more than prepared for it when it reaches its climax.

Reviews always welcome, and I'll update when I can.