Miranda was pleased at how easy it was to convince Ethan to take care of her loose ends.

As she prepared him to leave for the village, she explained, "Karl wanted to experiment on Rose, to harness her power for himself. He had ties to the organization Chris worked for. He paid him handsomely to retrieve her, and you, apparently. The accident was no accident. Chris staged it so he wouldn't be implicated and he could get rid of the witnesses – the others on his team. He carried Rose right to them."

Ethans face was beginning to regain color, but at the idea of Chris being close, he paled again. "So Chris is here? That bastard, I'll kill him. I'll -"

"I'm sure he's around..." Miranda lied. "...unless he's succumbed to the Lycan's. Maybe he's already made it out of the village. I'm not sure. But of Rose. I am. She is with them. Look for the yellow flasks. Once you have them, take care with them and bring them to me."

Miranda pointed to the map, their fingers grazing as he spread it out on the table for her. "Start here. House Beneviento. But be careful – Donna may look weak but I assure you she is quite capable. She surrounds herself with her dolls, but make no mistake, they can be deadly. She can control them...and in part, your mind. Be wary of what is real and what is illusion created by her to divert and confuse you. After that, Salvatore is at the reservoir. He should be easy enough if you keep him away from the water. Alcina, here," she pointed north, "...she will be a challenge for you. She is quite powerful, as are her 3 daughters. They are sensitive to the cold, so if you can use that to your advantage, or bring Alcina outside, you have a better chance. But, be careful Ethan. Finally, Karl, in his factory, here." She pointed it out for him. "You will find him here. You may want to return to me before you take care of him. He is the most vicious of them all. Perhaps, I can help you with him."

"How do you know so much?" It wasn't accusatory – only curious.

"It's a small village."

Ethan nodded. Without looking up, he murmured, "Thank you...Mary. For everything. For helping me."

Miranda nodded...though she wanted to do so much more. While she had concealed her identity in this form; she was no stranger to him. She knew him. Knew the way he smelled, the way he tasted. Knew the feeling of his fingers running through her hair. In the skin of Mia Winters; she found a sort of kinship with Ethan.

She had kidnapped Mia and, with the help of some idiot villager whom she had since disposed of outside of Luiza's compound, held her in her laboratory, keeping her alive until she could return. It was only supposed to be a day or two there with him. She planned to kill him. At first, she could think only of how he had destroyed Evelyn, but she knew – Evelyn needed to be. She was a complete failure.

He was merely an inconvenience to her until he could be disposed of, but in that house...something changed. For over three weeks she stayed with him, as Mia. As the days passed, she found her plans had changed. Evolved.

She didn't want to leave.

For so long she had been alone. In that house, she felt the weight of her burdens and obsessions slip – though never fall. She still had her goals. But, with him, she enjoyed a piece of what she had been missing for the better part of a century. Until those fools nearly destroyed it all...led by him. Chris Redfield.

When the caravan was stopped outside of the village, she knew she would find a way to reunite with him. He was smart, he would see the footprints. He would follow Rose. She was careful with him during the attack...told Heisenberg everyone was dead inside to get him away from the van.

The cadou implantation was not part of the plan. When Heisenberg brought him back - seeing his chest open and bleeding, the idea struck her as she watched it heal. He was not like any ordinary human.

What would happen if he was blessed with the cadou? She had wondered. Certainly, he would survive. And if he didn't, well, that was alright too. And he did survive. While the others took weeks or even months to recover from the procedure, he was up and loading his gun to murder her family in mere hours.

Miranda watched him leave; it was all falling into place. She glanced at the clock. The sun was only hours from rising, and the Duke would be here soon. She had summoned Alcina only hours before to make the arrangements. She had to get him ready. The man that had become obsessed with her destruction, who had been looking for her, stalking her, for years. Unlocking the cell, she walked in stood over the unconscious body of Chris Redfield. He would be instrumental...alive. She needed him, the perfect witness; someone to attest to have been audience to her glorious finale...the death of Mother Miranda.

xx

Alcina cursed under her breath at the imposition. Why her? Why not that idiot Heisenberg? Or Moreau? And why did she need him alive? That Miranda would not tell her that set her even more on edge. She drug the man through the rusted metal doorway, flinging him into the cell. His back hit the stone wall and he moaned, regaining consciousness as she snapped the restraints into place.

Bleeding from the head and covered in brush and mud; he looked like he had been in the shackles around his legs and arms for months. She decided on the cell that had the additional chains and floor reinforcements she had designed for her earliest, most violent experiments. Miranda had warned her about his unbelievable strength. It took a triple the dose of sedative just to knock him out. And, just in case, she wouldn't have a Trojan Horse trapsing through her castle. Miranda was tricky, and Alcina knew it was not beneath her to have created such a ruse.

Alcina pulled up a stool and lit her cigarette, shifting uncomfortably on the splintered wood as she waited for him to rouse. The action felt empty; like she was pulling back air. It tasted like nothing to her.

His first words were low, slurred and spat in her direction. "Where the fuck am I?" Blood dripped from the cut above his eye that must have been reopened when she 'introduced' him to his accommodations. She thought of sampling it – but the moment was fleeting. She was far too disgusted to enjoy it.

"You are in my castle...and unfortunately in Mother Miranda's good graces, it appears." Her cigarette trailed smoke up into the dingy lights of the cell as he flailed on the floor against his restraints.

She heard the drag of metal before she realized it was in his hands. He had found his way to a small metal urn that had been hidden under a chair, which he flung at her. Effortlessly, she caught it, laughing. How childish.

"Get me the fuck out of here, you bitch!" Though his voice was strong and steady, his body betrayed him, tipping forward, obviously trying to hang on as the world spun around him. Miranda had pumped him full of drugs, it was fascinating to her how he was even conscious.

"Don't make me rip out your tongue, you poor excuse for a man!" She bellowed, standing briskly as the stool flipped into the darkness of the cellar. She approached him, her words slow and methodical; "And so you understand, I'd start with your teeth, just to get them out of the way." She hovered above him, enjoying the way he stared up at her, trying to intimidate her. "And the tongue is my favorite part, so I like to take my time as not to bruise the meat." She squeezed down on the metal urn, crushing it. "If you think your strength is a match for me, little boy, you can try what you're thinking. If you want to keep your head on your shoulders..." She released her claws for effect, the metal urn clanging to the floor. "...SIT!" Startled, he stumbled backwards into the chair. She enjoyed how visibly shaken he was, even if it was mostly due to disorientation from the drugs. "Good boy. Don't make me get out the collar."

Leaning over him, she whispered, "If you play nice, maybe I'll introduce you to my girls." She snubbed the cigarette out on his shoulder, slowly twirling it for effect. If it hurt, he didn't let her see it. She stepped backwards, eyes locked on his, before closing and locking the cell. "And, if you're especially good, I may let you keep all your...important parts." She let out a laugh and left him there, bleeding onto the floor. As she climbed the stairs, her smile faded into a disgusted scowl. Time was drawing short. Miranda told her to keep him alive – she didn't tell her how many pieces he had to be in when she dumped him on her doorstep.