"How's the family? Girls should be in college, right?" Albert Wesker's airy casualness was contrasted strongly by his cocky smirk and his inky black sunglasses, and even more so by Tobias' near-perfectly statuesque presence at the other end of the circular table. "And I appreciate you accepting my son into your family, I trust he's doing well?"
"You shouldn't be here..." The same woman that demanded if Tobias was a member of the Continental earlier stood up from her throne-like chair and tried to speak with authority, but Wesker dashed across the room, briefly flickering out of sight, only to reappear right in front of her with his hands clasped behind his back.
"Oh, believe me when I say that you couldn't be more correct, madame." Wesker replied completely calmly, despite his sudden movements. "Unfortunately the facts are true; the Syndicate is no longer under his command..." Wesker turned his head very slightly to indicate the still unmoving Tobias. "And he's correct on all of his points as well."
"Then why are you here, Mr. Albert?" She demanded, earning another glance towards Tobias from the man in her face.
"Wesker." He calmly corrected her. "Albert is my first name. Alexandra Wesker is my sister, the current leader of the Syndicate."
"I will not repeat myself, Mr. Wesker." She stood her ground with a hard glare at his shaded eyes.
"I'm just here to catch up with a former employee of mine, is all..." Wesker smirked slightly, once again glancing over at Tobias across the room.
BOOM!
Tobias inhaled slowly through his nose, then released it just as slowly after holding it in for a moment, the barrel of The Beast smoking from his sudden shot to Wesker's forehead. He was wearing his leather longcoat, and with his arm now raised with the menacing magnum, his wolf buckle glinted in the low light, and the ammo belts for his signature revolvers were now on clear display. Only Fenrir wasn't currently visible, but they all knew it was there on his hip.
"Ah, you're using the Ragnarok rounds, I see..." Wesker had barely stumbled back a step from the gunshot, unconcerned about the shocked gasps from the Council members that could see his head reforming back to normal structural integrity, the fairly large entry hole sealing closed as the pieces from the back of his head barely even reached the floor behind him. "You still haven't found an upgrade or replacement for them?"
"Toby." Wick was luckily seated near Tobias, so he stood up and carefully placed his hand on top of The Beast's barrel, speaking in a level voice and calm tone. "I'm only going to say it once: Not here, not now. It's not over yet... It's just over for right now."
Tobias' normal eye proved that his gaze, narrowed into deadly slits, never left Wesker's face. But neither he, Wick nor Wesker said anything for another ten full seconds. Only after that did Tobias lower The Beast and slid it back into his holster.
Without a word, he walked around the table and right past his nemesis for a moment of tangibly hopeful silence, only for Tobias to stop near the door just as Wesker turned to face his back with a triumphant grin.
"You do know that she survived, right? There's no need to go back to your Silence..." Wesker taunted, just as Tobias held up his left hand, cutting off his sarcastic comment as the hologram projector collided with the side of his face, and went right into Tobias' awaiting hand.
"I have nothing to say to you." Tobias replied in a voice that seemed to darken the room itself, chilling them all to the bone with the menacing note that the words carried.
"Good morning ladies, we are live for another edition of Mommy Knows Best! For those of you just tuning in for the first time, this is a parenting and life management show hosted by our panel of experts, and callers can ask us whatever they need a second opinion or some assistance with their kids, from infants to teenagers! I'm your host Michelle, and our panel of experts is accompanied in the studio by our favourite celebrity guest, the literal hot momma herself, Rize Darkwood!"
"Ohayo, privjet, hello ladies. Been a while, hasn't it?" Rize smiled at the other women around her amidst the broadcasting equipment and microphones. "While we wait for the first caller, how're things since we last talked?"
"The boys joined boy scouts in September, they've been tying knots into anything flexible that they can get their hands on." The mother to Rize's right recounted about her twin sons, laughing at the last part.
"Practice makes perfect, as they say!" Michelle laughed as well. "Not just for your boys, eh?"
"Well, I'm no expert with knots myself, but I do know their book has the instructions on ho to tie the knots, and by logical deduction, the reverse process should be in there also." Another mother shrugged. "At least they're not at the learning to drive point like Carly is. Her first road test is tomorrow."
"Oh, don't remind me..." Rize sighed. "Yuuki's driving is too much like Toby's. I still remember her instructor's lecture to her after she failed her first attempt at getting her M license for her bike."
"First caller on the line, you're on the air! What's your name, and what's your question?" Michelle accepted the caller with a press of the line's button.
"Victoria, and my question is for Julia, how do you handle the boys making such a mess with the knots? My boys are going to be starting boy scouts soon as well, so I'd best be prepared ahead of them."
"First thing you do is get a copy of the handbook." Julia explained after a moment of chuckling. "Ignore the badges, the rules, all that stuff. Go straight for the section about the knots. Get more practice in before they do, and you win by default. After that, I'd recommend working alongside them as they learn from the handbook, make it a way to connect to them."
"Exactly! If they know you can do the knots yourself, you can show them how to do it, without resorting to phone chargers and power cables." Michelle agreed. "If you can, cement them into staying away from the bad habits long before they form."
"And don't forget about dad either, let the boys go camping with dad for a weekend, spend that time for yourself. They'll have a blast, you'll have some peace and quiet. Win-win!" Samantha's addition to the topic earned a laugh from everyone, including Victoria on the phone.
"Thank you, ladies! I'll make sure to do that!" Victoria bade them goodbye and hung up.
"Speaking of husbands..." Julia turned to Rize with a sly smile. "I hear your new book's inspired by you and Mr. Winter himself, care to share the details?"
Rize laughed at the tease. "Oh, now now, sharing a spoiler is still spoiling the story for everyone else!" She leaned her elbow on the table and took on a husky purr to her voice, speaking into her mic while staring seductively at Julia. "But I won't deny Toby had a hand in the... inspiration for it."
All of the woman laughed, and a new caller came on the line, a man this time, James.
"My question is for everyone; As a single father, how do I keep up with running the house and still keeping my daughter happy?"
"It's not as difficult as you'd expect, James. Once you manage to get the house in order, the routine stuff becomes second nature, and you'll develop the skills you need over time. First, how old is your girl?" Michelle asked.
"She's fifteen."
"Ah, well, that's Rize and Laura's age bracket, teenagers are the ones that need the patience and trust of a parent." Michelle nodded in understanding, then turned to the two women taking a moment to think about their replies.
"It's a delicate balance of fun, firm, and friend when it comes to teenagers. You want to be there for them, but still need to discipline them when necessary, yet still spend time with them as a family." Laura began, still trying to think about her response. "Does your daughter have any particular interests? Hobbies that you two could do together?"
"She's really into music... but I don't know how to play any instruments." James' voice hinted slight shame and sadness, making Rize suddenly smirk at the line.
"May I ask about your wife? She was the one that got her into music, wasn't she?" Rize spoke gently, knowing insightfully that James' wife had died.
"Yeah, she taught our daughter everything she knows about music... Should I try to connect to her with music like my wife?"
"Don't just barrel down on this like a train. Start by just asking what she's listening to. Start small, build a foundation to base your relationship on." Rize explained. "Before I met Toby, I could barely sing scales. His love of music got me into at least learning the basics, and from that I connected to him even more when we would practice a mutually liked song, or when we both liked a new one we hadn't heard before. Once you and your daughter form that bond, I'd suggest learning to either sing or play a song that your wife and your daughter both really loved. Can you think of any that they did?"
"I think it's called Flower Dance... That's her favourite song she learned from her mother."
"I know that song, it's a beautiful piano piece." Rize smiled warmly, and that smile was audible in her voice. "So, if you can, try to learn the song on the piano, and surprise her with it after you get it just right. Okay? It's painful to lose a loved one, especially when you feel like nobody else can understand the connection that you shared with them. I think by doing this for her, she'll understand that you're still there with her, and that she's not alone."
"Thank you... I'll... I'll give it a listen right now. Thank you very much, Mrs. Darkwood." James bade them goodbye, and Rize let out a silent sigh, remembering the fateful day that Toby had showed up at the mansion back in Raccoon City with Alice's gun and T-Cells without saying a word ever again for over a year.
"Dayum lady, I got tears now." Michelle quickly blinked away the tears stinging at her eyes. "Oh, another caller! Name and question, you're on the air!"
"Alexandra, and my question is for Rize and Laura. I've got a teenage son, and he's really interested in a girl, but he doesn't know what to do or say to her about it. I don't know what advice to give him, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers."
Rize knew that damned woman's German accented voice almost immediately, and for a tiny moment her eyes flared dangerously with flickering red light. But thankfully none of the other women noticed because of her well-timed sip of coffee as Laura took the lead with answering the question.
"Well, first and foremost, tell him to just be honest to her. I think asking her in front of her friends, or with his friends behind him, is also a bad idea. Too much risk of embarrassment for both of them."
"Agreed. Rachael, one of my twin girls, actually had a boy do just that at the end of the summer. He'd met her with his friends while she was at work, but came back a couple days later to knock on our front door to ask her out for a coffee date. Now they've been together since then. Honesty is key, but if she doesn't return the boy's feelings, then he also needs to remember to let it go. It's just as difficult to ask out a girl as it is to accept a rejection and move on."
"I somehow get the feeling those aren't yours, Rize..." Michelle raised an eyebrow. "Who taught that little piece of wisdom to you? Was it Toby?"
"Actually, no. Yuuki taught Rachael that, and I totally stole it from her!" Rize laughed. "Now, Alexandra, may I ask you to try teaching your son that speaking to a girl he likes isn't any different than speaking to one of his guy buddies? Have him do some practice lines with yourself, or in a mirror, to alleviate the awkwardness when he actually goes in for the real deal? Sound like you can do that?"
"Absolutely, thank you very much ladies." Alex Wesker hung up the phone, smirking at Zenith seated across from her, laughing silently. "What? I had to improvise."
"I'm laughing at how she just openly admitted that she stole her daughter's line." Zenith shook his head with a smirk, knowing damn full well that his mother had no idea that her 'improvised' scenario was completely on the money, especially that Rize had also openly stated that Rachael was dating his clone, now going by the name of Zen. The truth of the matter flew over her head 'like a Boeing 747', as the old saying went.
A/N: Notice how Toby only spoke once in this chapter? His comeback to Wesker fit the scene so well that I had writer's block for two days because I was just like "how the hell to I top that?! It was so good!" and HNTDS suggested I give Rize some attention with a talkshow (this one was radio, not TV) and I even managed to slide in some Syndicate meddling at the end.