Happy new year! ^v^ sort of. This will be a fun chapter for me and probably no one else. I've kinda been hinting at this potential plot point for a while now so let's see if you caught the clues =v=
Song suggestion: Eleanor Rigby (cover) by Cody Fry
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Resident Evil and its characters belong to Capcom, and I'm pretty sure they're smart enough to keep it. Fair warning this chapter has Zombie scenes and with that comes Violence and descriptions of pain/injuries/medical stuff. There will be a summary at the end of the chapter for those that need to skip parts or would rather skip the whole chapter.
The sun was beginning to rise, illuminating the frozen snowy mountains of Europe. The pristine white peeks would have otherwise been undisturbed if it weren't for 6 well hidden figures among the frostbitten trees.
"How are we looking?" Chris asks while pressing a button on the device in his ear.
A bit of static picked up at first before eventually receiving a reply from Umber eye. "So far so good, seems our plan is working. This lab is still active." The sniper says through the constant humming of the electric device. "Take a look for yourself. There are some exhaust pipes to the far left of the building, they're producing steam still, so at the least, something is still running in there."
Chris flicks open one of the pouches on his tactical vest to take out a pair of binoculars to get a better look at the building. Sure enough it was just like Umber eye said. The build was active at the least. While Tundra's digging resulted in a resounding nothing as far as a lead for a possible mole goes, the information they did get left them room to agreed on a new plan. Two labs had surfaced from the lead they got in November, and HQ had scheduled raids for each. However, rather than go and do the raids in the order HQ scheduled, they decided to go to the second lab at the scheduled time of the first. If there was a mole the first lab would have already been empty anyways and this second one might still actually be active since they wouldn't be expecting a raid for another two weeks. The only people aware of the change in plan were the members of Hound Wolf squad, so it would be easy to play off as a miscommunication if they were questioned.
"Looks promising, Everyone, Double-check your gear," Chris says with a nod while continuing to scope out the building. These labs all looked the same from the outside, it's like every bioweapon manufacturer went to the same architect.
"If you got anything on your hands that aren't gloves stow it, looking at you Alpha," Umber eye jokingly reminds as he plays the role of the watchful guard while everyone got ready to move out. "The last thing we need is for you to lose a finger."
"Pretty sure Canine is more likely to lose a digit to the dogs at this rate," Chris replies with a short laugh as he puts his binoculars away. "My hands are clean. We're good to move out."
"What, are you one of those sentimental sort that keep their ring on their dog tag. you know, keep it close to your heart?" Lobo jokingly teased while placing a hand over his heart.
"Nah, never got around to buying one. Everything's been a bit hectic, so it wasn't exactly at the top of my priority list," Chris admits, and the others nod in understanding as a few chuckles could be heard.
"I hear ya," Night howl says while making sure his gear was in order. "That's why I use paper plates instead of doing dishes when I'm home. This shit's exhausting."
"I think you mean that's why you're still single," Tundra adds.
"Eh Fuck off," Night howl replies as the others laugh.
"Do I need to come down there and separate you two?" Umber eye asks. While the group would normally stick to a more no nonsense approach to missions, the duration of their unrelenting mission cycle was stressful, and the group understood the value of going into this with a calm mind. Taking a few seconds to banter a bit before staring down hell made the work a bit more bearable.
"No," the two replied while jokingly mimicking the tone of an annoyed teenager who was tired of being reprimanded.
Chris smiles a bit at this before shaking his head. "Alright guys, We've got one shot at this, let's make this count," he says after adjusts his gear while mentally going over where everything was to make sure it was all accounted for. "Umber eye, keep an eye out for any incoming threats. Let us know the second there are boots on the ground. Tundra, Canine. Make a scene to the west side of the building by sending in the hounds. They should be able to start clearing a path for us. Lobo, Night Howl and I will back you up and help you get a foot hold on that entry point. After that, the 3 of us will head in to clear out the building and gather information. You two will keep a hold on that entry point, so we can get in, and out." With orders in place Chris receives a cluster of confirmations.
Hell yeah. Rodger that. Understood. You got it boss. Let's go.
The group makes their way out of their hiding places and, thanks to the cover their arctic camo gave them, they managed to make it pretty close to the lab before they had to stop. A few quiet pops could be heard as silenced weapons were fired and the two guards by the door fell to the ground painting the once white snow a crimson red. Tundra and Canine followed orders and went in first, while Canine was leading a group of three k-9s. Canine released their leads as tundra opened the door just enough for the three German Shepards decked out in tactical gear to hurry inside. Shouts, barking growling and gunfire could be heard in response as the k-9s tore through the facility as planned.
As the signal is given for the remaining 3 to approach the door Lobo smiles to himself "It's showtime" The man says as he starts heading over.
Chris nods while trying to ignore the buzzing of radio static from his earpiece that was started eating away at the silence of the mountain.
"Well Jackie it's that time of year again," Says the voice of the male radio announcer through Emma's phone as the woman sat alone at the kitchen island of a quiet home in New York.
"Right you are Jim, It's another beautiful New Year's Eve," The female radio host replies with her usual chipper tone. "In a few minutes we'll be greeting the dawn of 2023. Do you have any New Year's resolutions?" the woman asks her cohost.
Emma looks over to the microwave clock as the woman spoke. The bright-green numbers showed 12:48pm. Right. Time zones. New Years had already come and gone but she wanted to at least try and listen to the usual show...
"You're up late," Charlotte points out with a slight frown which causes Emma to jolt as she didn't hear the woman come downstairs.
"Huh? Oh, sorry. I didn't wake you up did it?" Emma asks as she moves to turn down the volume on her phone a bit more.
"Nah, I just needed a glass of water is all," Charlotte says in return as she makes her way over to the fridge to get something to drink. "What are you doing up?"
"Nothing. It's just... After moving into my last apartment and meeting Chris and the others. Staying up for New Year's became a tradition that I looked forward to each year. Somehow he'd always manage to be there..." Emma explained before remembering who she was talking to and that she probably didn't actually want to know. A short quiet huff of a laugh crosses her lips. "Never mind, It's stupid." she adds with an attempt at a smile.
"Kinda yeah," Charlotte replies but all the same she moves to take a seat at the bar a few chairs down from Emma.
The silence between the two was interrupted by the talking of the radio hosts. "Let's get back to the music while we wait," Says the male radio host before an over saturated medley of an outro was played, transitioning into a soft orchestral arrangement.
Emma smiles a bit while listening to it. "Well, I never thought I'd hear a radio station play a cover of the Beatles during new years instead of the original."
"That's oddly specific," Charlotte points out.
"Hm. well no, It's not so much that," Emma says while slightly bobbing her head. "There are just a few songs that seem to have an unspoken agreement in the music industry, where the original is king. Like 'All I want for Christmas is you' by Mariah Carey, There are covers, some are pretty good. Doesn't matter, unless you're getting paid by the label you play the original. Or um, oh, 'Imagine' by John Lennon. You always play the original at some point during new years."
"Ah, look at all the lonely people," the vocals loudly lamented.
Charlotte seemed to be listening and muttered quietly under her breath. The words were too soft for Emma to fully hear.
"Hm?" Emma hums while raising a curious eyebrow.
"Nothing," Charlotte says in return.
Ah, look at all the lonely people
The soft ping of a sniper rifle could be heard echoing through the mountains. "Alpha, hurry up, we have a pile up on the east side. If any of those scientists are infected we're going to have a hoard of Crimson heads on our hands." Umber eye impatiently continues to watch the building and clears out anyone trying to go in or out. "Alpha Come in," he says trying to get any sort of response. Nothing. "Shits," he says quietly under his breath before activating the communicator again. "Canine, Tundra, do you have eyes on Alpha, Lobo or Night Howl?"
"Negative," Canine replies.
"You're second in command, what's the call," Tundra replies.
"Hold for now," Umber eye replies before muting his mic. "Come on, where are you..."
Chris quickly shuts the door to a large storage room where he, Night Howl and Lobo were taking a second to regroup, reload and head out again. He winces as the static in his earpiece gets worse forcing him to take it out of his ear. "Shit... I think my earpiece is acting up."
"It's not just your end cap," Lobo says while making a similar wincing expression before attempting to reach out to the rest of the group. "Tundra? hey what the shit, are you hearing this too?"
The static remains and no answer was received. "Looks like we're dark, Bastards must have something set up to jam the signal,"Night howl says before reluctantly removing his earpiece as well.
"Tundra? Canine! ... Shit," Lobo gives up as well at this point and takes out the device to keep it from completely messing up his ears. He needed to be able to hear. Hearing the sound of footsteps could be the difference between being shot and taking down a hostile.
"We have two choices then, call this a bust and torch the place, or keep pushing on and gather more intel," Chris says as he lays out their choices. He was in charge of the team, but their opinions were still important. Forcing them to keep going when they wanted to leave would end in a disaster.
"Like hell. You said it yourself, this is our best shot," Lobo replies while focusing on reloading his weapon.
"If we can just get to a computer room that's still intact," Night howl says as he seems to share the sentiment.
After hearing both answers Chris nods. Alright, stay sharp. If they're cutting our communication, there could easily be an ambush," Chris warns before reloading his rifle and side arm pistol.
Yes sir. Got it.
"Let's go," Chris says and with that, he reopens the door to lead the way further into the building.
Down the hall, to the right, down some stairs, through a corridor. The 3 quickly navigated their way around the building where warning sirens had been going off since the moment they started trying to take over. An occasional ping or pop would be heard, and a fire fight would ensue. Luckily, the BSAA operatives were much better trained, and it was rather clearly a one-sided fight.
"Door to your right," Night Howl says, and the others nod to signal that they heard.
"Breach in 3, 2, 1," Chris counts down before kicking down the door and going in first.
A loud ping rings through the air as a bullet ricochets off the metal door frame a few inches from Chris's head. Acting on instinct it only took a few seconds to find the source of the fire and retaliate with a shot in return. The bullet tags a scientist in the shoulder who quickly crumpled to the ground from the injury. The scientist seemed to have been alone in the large spacious room the far wall of the room composed of the mountain side the building had been built against and large steel doors marked an area where the group dug into the mountain for additional hidden space. Aside from this, a few small testing stations, several ventilation shafts and an observation window that allowed occupants of a second floor lab to see into the space, occupied the spacious testing facility.
"Jackpot," Lobo says with a smile that quickly fades as a loud buzz of a button being pressed could be heard. Sure enough the scientist that Chris shot was down but not out, having pushed themselves to stand enough to press a large red button on the control panel by the testing station he'd been hiding by.
Night Howl was the first to act delivering a killing blow to the scientist to prevent any further meddling that could put the team in danger.
"Shit, what the hell did that do," Lobo asks annoyed while looking around for any sort of clue.
"Take a guess it's the best we got for now," Chris replies before signaling to Night Howl to move. "Start gathering what you can from the computer systems. We'll check for samples."
"On it," Night Howl says as he hurries over to start digging through what he hoped would be an easy to hack computer.
"I'm on your 6 cap," Lobo replies and follows behind Chris.
While the three got to work, the loud unrelenting warning sirens had covered the clicking sounds of shifting tumblers falling into place. The grinding of metal rubbing against metal was finally audible as the tall steel doors creaked open allowing frosted air to exit the fridge like area and into the testing facility.
"Oh no..." Lobo says under his breath as the Rhythmic thumping of large footsteps could be heard and felt growing closer.
A horrid distorted screeching filled the air as a towering creature came into view. A warped hunchbacked figure, roughly 8 feet tall covered in blistering boils and feathers ambled into the room, pushing past the heavy door with easy. Long sharp claw like fingers dragged along the ground. A face, if you could even call it that, was visible though partially concealed as a thick metal visor was bolted to the creature covering where its eyes should be. Drool dripped from a single mouth that sizzled and hissed as it splattered against the concrete floor of the lab. As the creature screamed once more it was as if 4 voices were competing for dominance and trying to drown the others out before blindly swiping at the tables in its way to clear a pat.
"Open fire!" Chris shouts and the scatter to take cover and shoot at the beastly amalgamation of the once great lords.
Ah, look at all the lonely people
"Let's start that count down Jim," Says the female host of a phone on the counter of a small home in New York where it was currently almost one in the morning.
10.
The mechanical hum of the automatic fire of multiple guns echoed in the spacious concrete room. The creature howled in pain before reaching to grab and throw a desk clear across the room at the group.
"Look out!" Chris shouts as they each duck out of the way to take cover. Other than the similar flimsy desks the open room left them exposed.
9.
"Shit," Nighthowl cursed under his breath while trying to stay out of rang of the creature's claws.
"It's going to charge!" Lobo shouts to alert the others to move once more.
8.
Once more the trio dodged out of the way, this time scattering, so the beast wouldn't be able to target all of them at once. They were sitting ducks, they needed help. Night howl's eyes darted around the room before noticing a few ducts and pipes near a large ventilation grille.
"Cover me!" Night howl says before making a run for it.
7.
Sure enough as the request came to ear the two others obliged, targeting the creature and firing at it to try and keep its attention. A distorted roar of anger comprised of multiple voices erupted from the creature's throat as it held it's head up to scream at the ceiling. Night Howl hurried past while rifling through his gear to take out a long dark red flare which he then lit and threw at one of the ventilation Grilles.
As a stroke of luck it landed perfecting and the smoke produced by the flare was pulled into the ventilation system.
6.
"What the hell..." Umber eye says under his breath as he sees the blood-red smoke mixed with the steam exiting the vent. "Canine, Tundra, prepare to move in, something's wrong."
"Got it," Tundra replies.
"Yes sir," Canine says in return.
5.
"This shit just won't die!" Lobo shouts annoyed while working on reloading with the last magazine of bullets from his vest as Night howl provides suppressive fire. Another desk was thrown at the group before the amalgamation began to charge and blindly swipe their claws around in hopes of hitting one of them
"Regroup and fall back!" Chris shouts to try and get the others' attention. They needed to get out of here while they still could. "plant explosives, if we can't kill it with a gun we'll have to drop a building on it."
"We're so close, I just need 30 seconds," Night howl says while trying to look around for a computer that wasn't busted at this point. This was some new variant of a tyrant and they needed the data on how it was made to prepare for combat in the future.
4.
A well aimed bullet strikes the visor on the rampaging beast causing the metal plating to crack and fall to the ground. where 2 eyes were expected, 7 were revealed. two blue, two yellow, two dark brown, and one hazel eye.
"Are we staying or going," Lobo barks at the two as he starts to move back towards the door like Chris instructed.
3.
"30 seconds, that's it," Chris says, taking his time to aim and make sure each bullet counted since they were running low on ammo. Meanwhile, Lobo moves to guard the door and prevent it from being blocked.
"This is gonna be a long ass 30 seconds," Lobo says in return before aiming and firing at the creature once more.
2.
The monstrous Amalgamation reels back in pain once more though the bullets seemed to merely sting and burn rather than do any form of significant damage. As if it knew the 3 were on their last leg the beast let out an unrelenting scream of anger before charging forward with clawed fingers at the ready to strike the heavy weapons specialist.
1.
Chris could hear a ringing in his ears as a sharp pain erupted from several points in his chest. breathing was that much more difficult as he coughed up blood. In a split second decision, upon seeing his team was once more at the mercy of the jaw of death, his feet acted without prompting and moved to put himself in the path of the beast to save his friend.
Time had frozen at that moment as he was impaled by the claws of the monster, but that did not last as time regained its hold on his mind.
The beast slammed it's pray against a wall, knocking him free of its claws before rushing forward to smash into him and through the wall.
"Happy New Years!" The radio hosts loudly announced to the quiet room.
"There, now go get some rest," Charlotte says as she moves to get up from her seat. a panicked shout and sobbing was heard from the guest room Emma was using and shortly after the door flew open as a crying Rosemary hurried over to Emma and clung to her.
"Hey, shhhshshsh, what's wrong Rosey?" Emma asked as she moves to hold the sobbing little girl. "Did you have a bad dream?"
Rose nods, rubbing snot and tears into the woman's night shirt. An attempt was made to speak but the words were hysterical gibberish.
Emma continued to hold the child all the same while gently running a hand through her hair and swaying to rock her in an attempt to comfort her. One word stood out in the mess of an explanation.
Monster.
"You had a bad dream about a monster?" Emma asks to see if she heard that right and sure enough Rose nodded.
"I-it was really big, and had lots of eyes, and had acid drool, and it was covered in bumps, and feathers, and, and," the child tried to explain once more before whimpering sobs took over again. "And it h-hurt Chris, and it was scary."
Emma listened while continuing to sway. "That does sound scary." She cooed quietly. That would be pretty frightening to have a dream where someone supposed to protect you ends up getting hurt... "It's okay though, it was just a dream. You're here. You're safe. I won't let any big bad monsters get to you okay?"
Rose continued to cry but nods to show she heard the woman speak. Emma looks over to Charlotte with an expression of apologetic guilt since this was more noise after midnight and the younger woman seemed to want to go to sleep. Charlotte shrugs in return while crossing her arms while looking around the home with a disinterested expression.
eventually the sobbing calms down enough for the child to speak again. "... Can you check under the bed?" Rose asks with a hint of fear and embarrassment in her tone.
"Alright," Emma agrees without any further fanfare to the request. the poor thing was already terrified from the nightmare and being in a still mostly unfamiliar place probably wasn't helping.
'*'*'*'*'
Everything was dark. he couldn't see. Yet slowly but surely light came into view, a brilliant white light as the darkness that surrounded him faded away like wisps of smoke. Chris winced as he moved to hold up a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding light of the void he found himself in.
"Hello?" Chris says as his voice echos into the nothingness. "Where am I?" he asks under his breath.
"Chris?" he hears in response. He could see the silhouette of a figure approaching him, as his eyes began to adjust the silhouette became more defined and color set in.
Chris stared in terrified awe as the man in front of him was none other than the late Ethan Winters.
"What are you doing he-" Ethan paused before realization dawned on him. "Oh. Oh no. Chris... You're not supposed to be here..." He says with sorrowful regret.
"Where is 'here'? What's going on? you," Chris asks as the string of questions come to mind. Maybe he really could bring Ethan back...
"Died." Ethan says which got Chris to pause.
The realization was slow but eventually did set in. "... oh."
"I'm so sorry," Ethan says with a sympathetic expression. "But, for what it's worth. it's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too," Chris says while still trying to process this. He died?
"You barely look like you've aged at all," Ethan admits with some confusion. Rose looked like she was almost seven based on her last visit. "How long has it been?"
"About two years, Rose just turned two a few months ago," Chris replies with a forced smile.
Ethan was confused but nods. "And Mia?"
"um... she uh." Chris cleared his throat. Ethan had only known a lie. and the man was dead... he seemed alone here wherever it was, aside from the presence of a child looming in the distance though she seemed to refuse to approach the two... would it really be right to shatter the lie he'd died for... "There's not really an easy way to say this but, She got arrested. She worked for the woman that kidnapped your daughter. She was on the Eveline project. the BSAA was able to give her a pardon for that so long as she cooperated and helped us find the people that she worked for but, she didn't. stop working for them..." "Whether it was intentional or not we don't know, but Rose became another attempt at whatever project Eveline was a part of. She's facing multiple counts of bioterrorism along with counts of child abuse, neglect and willful endangerment."
"Mia? My Mia?" Ethan asked with a mortified expression. "No, that can't be right," he adds as denial set in. His Mia was sweet and kind and loved kids. she went to Europe to take a job as a nanny. She was in an accident and got lost.
"She lied to you from the beginning, and never stopped," Chris says while forcing a neutral expression. "She's a bio-terrorist that would assist with experimenting on children, I'm sorry." If there was one thing Ethan deserved after everything he's been through, it was to finally have someone be honest with him.
That hit pretty hard. Ethan was silent for a while before moving to sit down and think it over a bit longer. "... Is Rose safe?"
Chris nods and shifts to sit down next to Ethan. "Emma's doing a good job watching after her..."
"Emma?" Ethan asks with an attempt at curiosity.
"Yeah, I took your advice, about not waiting until I had one foot in the grave," Chris says with a short sad chuckle. "I'm not sure if that was the right thing to do anymore... She's going to have to raise two kids by herself now because I keep messing up."
Ethan listen quietly as Chris processed where he was and everything he was going to miss. He knew the emotions well enough. He listened as he explained what happened and how he'd adopted rose. He listened as Chris explained memories of watching her grow up, and the guilt that always mixed in with any pride he felt as he watched her grow and learn. about her condition and how he and Emma were doing what they could to help Rose. He talked about Emma, and her stubborn perseverance and capacity for patient kindness, how they had a child.
"I'm never going to see them again... am I?" Chris asks and Ethan remains still.
"I know the feeling but. At this point, you just have to trust that they'll be okay," Ethan offers in return. He certainly knew the pain well enough.
"How am I supposed to believe that? I wasn't able to do what you asked of me... I'm not going to be there to protect her, any of them," Chris says while holding his face. If he's dead, would the BSAA even let Emma keep Rose?
"You did more than I could have asked for," Ethan says in return, hearing that Rose was aging like Eveline was alarming. he never meant to put that pressure on Chris, yet he was trying all the same.
"How can you say that so calmly, you should hate me," Chris points out with an upset and almost angry tone as he worked through the stages of grief. "I took everything from you."
"I don't hate you," Ethan replies in return as he notices dark smoke that Chris was unaware of in his emotional state. "You didn't force me to do anything, I took the detonator myself. I walked back there by my own choice. It was my time to go," Ethan's rebuttals in hopes to give the man a sense of peace. "But It's not yours. not yet, you have work to do."
"What?" Chris asks confused before noticing the smoke as well as it climbed from the floor of the void and started to envelop him.
"Keep looking after her for me, okay?" Ethan asks with a sad smile.
"Ethan!" Chris shouts while reaching out as the sensation of falling fills his mind and darkness plagues his vision once more.
'*'*'*'*'
A week had passed since new years. The calendar on the wall displayed a happy wintry scene as the crossed out dates showed it was now Saturday, January 7th. On the main floor of the home Emma was happily listening to the radio using a small phone dock that was modeled to look like an old fashion radio from the 60's. The baby was wiggling around while laying on his stomach, exercising his motor skills while Rose was showing the infant her favorite toy and explaining why it was the best and why he was not allowed to play with it.
Emma was tired but content as she focused on cleaning up around the home. Chris would be home soon. he was usually only gone for 3 or 4 weeks at a time lately. The peaceful homely scene was interrupted as knocking could be heard at the front door. hearing this caused Emma to look over at the clock which read 7:43 pm. It was a bit late for visitors...
"I can get it!" Rose says as she moves to get up.
"Rose, stay with Piers for me," Emma instructs causing the girl to stop in her tracks. Once she was sure that rose would do as she was told, Emma cautiously walks over to the door and looks through the peephole. Standing outside while nervously shifting his standing position was Gary. Seeing this causes Emma to relax.
"Gary, It's good to see you, Happy new year," she says in greeting. "Come in, it's freezing outside."
"Thank you um," He steps inside and waits for Emma to close the door before speaking quietly. "You're needed at the BSAA."
"What?" Emma asks confused.
Gary paused while forcing a neutral expression. "Chris, he um... He's in pretty bad shape."
hearing this caused her heart to sink. "Bad shape what does that mean?" she stammered out as her expression looked like a deer in headlights.
"He'll make it but, hound wolf came back in rough shape. he's been in critical condition since Monday and only just stabilized on Thursday, they're patching him up, so he should be good to go home now."
"Monday, and I'm just finding out now?" Emma says stunned. How many times has this happened? How many times has he come home beaten up only for her to never know.
"The doctors figured it would be better to wait to tell you," Gary admits with a slight frown. "They want to talk to you."
Emma looked from the door to the living room where the kids were. she needed to go get him, but it might be a bit much for Rose to see Chris beat up if she had a nightmare about that only a few days ago...
"I'll watch them," the man says seeming to read Emma's concern and hesitation. "go." he adds while making a slight gesture with his head.
"Thank you," Emma replies before hurrying around the house to get ready to leave.
"What's going on?" Rose asks nervously.
"I just need to go and pick up Chris is all, I'll be home soon." Emma replies as she puts on her coat. "Gary is going to stay here while I go get him. help him keep an eye on your brother okay? be good."
"Okay," Rose replies though her tone shows she's still unsure about this.
"I'll be right back I promise," Emma says before giving Rose a peck on the top of her head and hurrying to grab her purse and head out to the car.
The drive felt like it took an eternity. He'd been in critical condition for that long and no one told her? What did critical condition even mean? Will he be okay or is this a permanent damage situation? What happened? The questions flooded her mind as she did her best to remember how to get to the large tucked away headquarters. Sure enough she'd been expected and after checking her ID the guards at each guard station would let her get that much closer to the building.
She quickly parked and hurried into the building and tried to find her way to the medical wing. She felt like she was going to be sick. Where was she going? What floor did she need to go to? She'd been here before once or twice, but her panicking made it hard to focus. Right, no, left here. was it the first floor or the second?
"Ma'am," says a voice causing Emma to turn and look for the source. And older man in uniform walked over. "Are you supposed to be here?"
"I'm looking for my husband, I was told to go to the medical wing, but I'm not sure where that is," Emma admits as the panic and anxiety she felt was evident in her tone.
"Name," the man says in a monotone voice.
"Chris Redfield, sir," Emma replies hoping that they'll point her in the right direction.
The man was quiet for a bit before walking past her, "This way," he says while keeping his attention on the path ahead of him.
"Thank you," Emma replies. it took a moment, but she started to register that the man looked familiar. It was the man she met with before a few years ago to hand in the tip about Veronica.
The director continued to wordlessly lead the way back down the hall, to an elevator down another corridor until the scent of rubbing alcohol and sterilized plastic became more pungent. clipboards were attached to the walls by doors with different names on each record for doctors to check. as they walked through the halls the wooden doors slowly were replaced with stronger and more fortified materials and the hospice feel of the area was replaced with one of a high security containment facility.
outside one of the doors was a doctor who was pacing back and forth.
"Director Romanov, Sir," says the doctor.
"I take it this is Redfield's door?" the director asks and gestures to the well locked metal door.
"Yes sir," the doctor confirmed as Emma looked around mortified. What on earth. Why were they locking him up like this?!
"Well, here's the other one. I'll be on my way," the director says before turning to leave.
"Ah. so. You're Emma I take it?" the doctor asks.
"Yes, Where's Chris, what is going on?" Emma asks as she was kinda quickly becoming done with this. The guy risks his life day in and day out, and he was being locked up?
"Right. He's in there. Before I can let you in we kinda need to go over a few things. you're probably going to want to sit down so come with me please." The doctor requests.
"...fine," Emma reluctantly agrees and follows the doctor.
'*'*'*'*'
A quiet consistent beeping could be heard causing Chris to slowly become conscious though he kept his eyes shut. Moving hurts, breathing hurts. Everything hurt. Even then he eventually pushed himself to open his eyes and look around. Sterilized white walls and medical equipment surrounded him. Where the hell was he? How did he get here? he shifted to try and move only to find he could not. while it hurt he pushed himself to crane his neck only to see that his arms and legs were tied down to a bed.
His breathing began to rapidly labor and the beeping became more frequent. Where was he? why was he here? why was he tied up. he pulled on his restraints again and again while shouting for anyone to hear him to get him out of here. the clink of metal snapping came to ear, causing his shouting to stop as one of his arms were finally free. Acting quickly he moved to remove the equipment attached to him and started untying his remaining arm and leg. well, no wonder those weren't moving. one of his arms was in a cast and his opposite leg was bound in a some odd combination of a brace and a cast.
Chris winced as he pushed himself to get up anyways and hobble forward to try and figure out where he was. at the end of the bed he had been tied down to he found a medical chart. it was mostly gibberish. he scanned over the paper finding a logo at the top that looked like a globe with the letters BSAA over it next to it was a name.
Chris Redfield... Was that his name?
Broken shoulder. Replaced rod in left femur. Multiple puncture wound to chest. Likely concussion. Stitches to right temple. What happened to him...
he ditched the clipboard and hobbled over to the door and tried to open it with no success. it was locked. He pounded his fist against the door. "HEY!" He shouts. "LET ME OUT OF HERE!" He demands while beating the door but with no success. "Fucking hell..." he says under his breath while looking around. even the windows were barred off...
His eyes darted around the room. If he could just find something thin and flat he might be able to unscrew the bars.
'*'*'*'*'
"Retrograde Amnesia?" Emma asks while trying to process everything the doctor had told her so far. She was rather glad the man insisted on going back to his office to talk about this and having her sit down. This was, a lot.
"yep, with that, a broken shoulder and leg, along with multiple full torso puncture wounds, among other things, he's going to be out for a while. We manage to repair the more of the internal injuries to stabilize him, we almost lost him a few times but, he's a fighter through and through," The doctor explains while looking over the charts and records.
"Oh my gosh," Emma says while holding her face.
"Normally when they come back injured we have medicine and chemical treatments that we can use to fix them up in a matter of days but, due to the amount of trauma his system is under it would be wise to let him heal the rest of the way at a more natural pace."
"Okay, so. He's going to be getting therapy to help with this right?" Emma asks in return.
"Right he'll need to come in for physical therapy after the casts are removed," the doctor replies with a nod.
"A psychologist," Emma says with the beginning hints of annoyance. "He lost his memories can we go back to that part."
"Right um, not to worry. Retrograde amnesia is rarely permanent. It might take a few months, but he should start remembering as he experiences familiar settings and people. Things like sound and smell tend to be good triggers for bringing back memories. So, that's a good place to start." the doctor explains.
Hearing this just made her want to scream at this point. Holy heeecking hell. Why is she having to push for this. "He has PTSD, Night Terrors and now reoccurring amnesia from head trauma. He needs a therapist." Emma reiterates.
"Well that's certainly something that can be looked into," the doctor replies. "Now we are aware of the previous incidents of Amnesia which resulted in losing track on him so rest assured we've taken every precaution to make sure that did not happen again this time."
"So the metal door with no windows," Emma says while mentally restraining herself.
"Well the room has windows, they're just barred for his safety, and we made sure he's properly restrained this time, so he doesn't get out of bed." the doctor replies.
They tied him to the bed, hooo lordy give her strength. It was probably necessary, that's kinda a normal thing unfortunately that doctors have to do for unruly patients but knowing that he was tied up in a metal bunker while they weren't willing to give him the help he needed did not help right now. Especially when considering the somewhat horrifying implication that this is not the first time they've had to do this to patch up Chris.
The doctor gives a tired sigh thought his expression remained sympathetic. "I'm not sure if he's awake yet, but we can go in and see him. We'll look into getting help with the amnesia part but for now, He's not himself. Or at the least he doesn't remember who he was. That's why I wanted to talk to you before I let you in there to see him." The man says while maintaining a patient tone. "If we're lucky it won't be as bad as last time but, in case he doesn't recognize you. It's better to let him remember on his own rather than just hand him the information since, failing to remember after being told who he's expected to be, can cause issues like guilt and lead to bouts of depression... especially regarding important people like family," The doctor further explains before looking at the charts again. "We have a record of him going through this before, it took him 6 months to get back the more of his memories once we managed to find him." He says while flipping between pages. "Just make sure to keep him away from alcohol and monitor his intake when it comes to medications and nicotine."
Emma listens quietly and nods. As much as she wanted to be upset, this was the doctor speaking as a professional, and she did want to help Chris recover.
"Now, that's not to say you have to pretend to be someone you're not." The doctor clarifies, "If Chris starts asking questions, and he's showing signs of remembering on his own it's okay to help a little, just don't dump everything on him at once. use your best judgement."
Again she nods. "Alright..."
"Let's see if he's awake then. if he's doing okay. If his vitals are still stable, then you'll be cleared to take him home. He'll be put on medical leave until the BSAA deems he's well enough to return." The doctor explains as he moves to get up.
Emma silently gets up as well to follow the man out of the office down the hall to the metal door from before. She wasn't sure what she felt right now. Mad, Sad. Glad that he's not dead at the least. it was too many emotions all at once, so instead she felt nothing.
The doctor entered a code on the pin pad attached to the door handle and opened it to let them both into the room.
"He's probably very tired still so we should try not to wake," the doctor stopped in his tracks as he saw Chris standing on the windowsill with the metal clasp of the clipboard in hand that he likely ripped off to use as a makeshift tool. 3 screws were laying on the floor beneath him and, thanks to the medical gown he was wearing, his bare behind was in full view.
"pfft. ha. hahaha," Emma started to laugh at the somewhat ridiculous sight. Even without his memories, he was still Chris.
hearing that caused Chris to turn to look over his shoulder. two people had entered the room. one in a lab coat with the same initials of BSAA embroidered on the chest while the other was a laughing woman with brown hair and tired eyes. It took him a moment before he realized why she was laughing and moved to close the back of the gown with his one good hand, causing him to drop the makeshift tool.
"What the hell are you doing out of bed? you should be resting," the doctor says mortified by the fact that Chris was standing, he should not be doing that he just had multiple surgeries.
"Where the hell am I? who are you people," Chris asks annoyed as he moves to get down off the windowsill.
"Careful," the doctor says as a panicked warning. the last thing he needed was to have to sew more stitches into this guy because he fell and cracked his head open on the way down. "I'm Doctor Thaddeus Clay, I'll be in charge of monitoring your recovery."
Recovery? from what? well, surgery clearly but what made all this necessary? a ringing in his ears caused him to wince but as quickly as it came it left. think about something else. "And you? You don't look like a nurse?" Chris says while looking the woman over. Tired eyes. Disheveled hair, clothes that had a few stains and a well-kept wedding band. It looked kinda familiar, but he wasn't sure why.
"That's probably because I'm not a nurse. My name's Emma," She replies and waits to see if that was enough.
"Then why are you here?" Chris asks with a slight frown.
"I'm just here to help get you home," Emma says in return as she tried to keep the doctor's advice in mind. she'd be dumping out the liquor cabinet the second she got home.
"Before you leave we just need to do a few quick tests then we'll give back your personal items, including your day clothes," the doctor replies. "so if you'll just lay back down we can get started."
"Like hell, you stay the shit away from me," Chris says while making sure to keep a distance between himself and the crazy man in a lab coat. With that, he looks at Emma."You want to help?" He asks rhetorically, "Then get me the fuck out of here."
"If you want to leave then you're going to have to listen for a minute and do what you're told" Emma says with a frown as a memory came to mind. "so cut the crap, it's time to go home."
Even if it did happen again. I'm pretty sure if you told me to cut my crap and that it was time to go home... I'd be willing to bet I'd listen.
While he was still recovering, and only remembered the auditory segment of that memory, he recognized it... He said that... he told her to say that. Chris grew silent while trying to process this. Who was she? He couldn't remember, but something gnawed at his mind telling him that she's important, he could trust her, but he didn't understand why.
It took a second but a much quieter calmer voice was heard from the confused man. "... Okay."
"Let's get this taken care of then" the doctor says while trying to keep his surprise about Chris's shift in attitude to himself.
It took a good hour, but the doctor was able to complete the required tests and clear Chris for medical rest at home. However, monthly check ins were required, and they were welcomed to visit if any complications or new symptoms appeared. While his clothes and personal items were returned to him, he was also given a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, so he could change out of the hospice gown since his normal day clothes would not fit over the cast.
"I hate this," Chris says with a deadpan expression while sitting in a wheelchair that Emma had to push since he couldn't do that himself with only 1 arm. He didn't remember much, but he was learning that he hated the feeling of being useless.
"It won't be forever," Emma replies though she wasn't sure if she was telling him that or herself.
Chris frowns to himself while trying to puzzle over who this was. She was important, and he trusted her... was she his sister? Did he have a sister? His mental questioning was cut short as he felt the wheelchair stop moving.
"Right, it's January... it's cold outside," Emma says as she stares out the glass doors that lead to the parking lot. she thinks about it for a second before moving to take her coat off. "You're going to need this more than I do," Emma says as she moves around to drape her coat over Chris's lap and tuck in the side, so it would work as a make shift blanket. "There, much better," she says and gives him a smile before walking back around to work on getting him out of this heaven forsaken place. If she saw that director guy again she had a few choice words for him.
Chris watched this action with some confusion seeing her smile at him like that caused his heart to skip a beat, and he didn't understand why. his puzzling returned while Emma helped him to the car, as he tried to push himself to remember only to come up with nothing.
Thanks to his leg he had to sit in the back seat of the car at an angle but before long they made it to a quiet suburban neighborhood and parked in the 2-car garage of a 2-floor home at the corner of a Cul de Sac.
Emma was absolutely drained at this point. It was after 10 PM, but she finally got Chris home. It took a bit of work to get him back into the wheelchair and over to the door but from there it was as easy as opening the door and rolling him through.
"Hey you're back," Gary says with a smile while Rose peeked around the corner of the living room.
"Rose what are you doing up still it's well past your bedtime," Emma points out as Chris watches the child run from her hiding place up to her room while quickly whining out a list of excuses and complaints.
"Piers is asleep in the swing, so I didn't want to move him," Gary admits with a short chuckle.
Right she had a wedding band, so this must be the husband? Chris thought with a raised eyebrow.
"Not a problem, thanks so much for watching them while I was gone," Emma replies with an attempt at a smile though her fatigue and sadness showed all the same.
"Any time," Gary replies, "Are you going to be okay, I can stay and help." the man offers.
"It's okay I can handle it from here," She confirms which just leaves Chris confused once more as Gary went to get his coat.
"Have a good night, sir," Gary says with a nod before moving to leave.
"I'm in a wheelchair with two casts how good is it supposed to be?" Chris asks in return.
Gary chuckles at that but leaves all the same, closing the door behind him.
"Well, your stuff is still set up in the basement, but I don't think you can get down there right now," Emma admits as she moves to push him towards the living room. "The doctor said they can take your cast off in a few weeks. so, hopefully, the couch will work for now." As much as she just wanted to snuggle up next to him and hold him that didn't feel appropriate since he didn't know who she was anymore. For now, she'd consider it a small blessing that they never got around to moving his stuff back to the master bedroom.
He was set up in the basement? Okay, so. She was his landlord? It sounded like he rented out space at the least. Chris looked around the unfamiliar space before his eye stopped at the infant in the baby swing that was fast asleep. Two kids and no signs of anyone else living here... "You're raising two kids on your own?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. Not that he didn't think that was possible, but he supposed that explained why she'd rent out the basement.
Emma's sad smile returned. "No, I am married." she admits. Please remember...
"So is your husband a night shift worker or something?" Chris asks while trying to piece together the last of the puzzle this woman presented as she helped him get set up on the couch to rest for the night.
hearing the question got her to pause. How to answer that... The doctor said not to dump everything on him at once and let him remember on his own... "He's away because of work for the time being," Emma replied feeling that was more or less the truth. She made sure he had enough blankets and a few comfortable pillows before speaking again. "I need to get the kids ready for bed, if you need anything, shout, and I'll probably hear you," Emma offers as she walks over to the swing to pick up the infant.
"Right. See you in the morning then," Chris says and watches as she leaves.
Emma heads upstairs and puts Piers down in his Crib before going to check on Rose who was waiting in her bed with a nervous expression.
"... Is Chris gonna be okay?" Rose asks quietly.
Emma moves to sit on the side of the bed. "He'll be okay." She confirmed even though she didn't know if that was the truth or not. she hoped it was. "Chris had a bit of an accident is all." The woman adds to try and explain.
"A Accident?" Rose parrots back with confused concerned. "Like he fell down the stairs?"
More like he got impaled multiple times and thrown through a wall, but that was not an answer to give to the 7-year-old equivalent of a 2-year-old. "Yeah, like falling down the stairs. but he hit his head really hard," Emma explained. "You know how sometimes in your cartoons the characters get super dizzy and fall down, then they end up acting silly and confused for a little afterwards?" Emma asks and Rose nods. "It's like that. He's going to be silly and confused for a bit. We just have to let him wait it out okay?"
"Okay," Rose replies with a nod. "Can I still have a bedtime story?" she asks with hopeful eyes.
"Sure," Emma replies in return. A book about the adventures of a super smart dog and their cowboy friends was taken from the bookshelf and the bedtime ritual began.
Meanwhile downstairs, once Chris was sure that Emma had left he threw the blankets off to the side and forced himself to get up, so he could look around. He needed to figure out what was going on. He hobbled his way around the couch then over to the kitchen table to take a breather. his eyes scanned the area for anything familiar while trying to think of a plan. he needed to get to the basement somehow. If his stuff was down there maybe he'd be able to remember something.
As he looked around his eyes eventually stopped to stare at a small metal house sitting on the Kitchen Island.
"It's cute... A candle holder?" the memory played though, similar to last time he couldn't see the memory only hear it in his mind.
"More like an incense burner. The shop said they're called a worry hut. you write down things that are bothering you and put it in the hut to burn it," he heard himself explain in the memory.
he could hear the memory of Emma's laughter... It sounded happier than what he heard back at the hospital.
"You don't have to be rude if you don't like it," while he couldn't see the scene, he could hear an almost playful tone to his voice that seemed foreign.
"No that's not it, I love it," the memory of Emma's voice said and just like her laughing, her voice sounded happier back then too, compared to what he'd heard over the last few hours.
She loved it... he remembered writing on a piece of paper that was burnt to a crisp.
I think I have feelings for her
Chris moved to hold his face with his good hand as a sense of embarrassment washed over him. Cool. Great. That adds up. He had feelings for his married landlord and apparently still does. God, he was pathetic...
wanting to be rid of the embarrassment that came with the realization he shifted his focus back to the basement.
As Chris tried to make his way down the stairs to the basement Emma closed the book she'd been reading to the child. "And they lived happily ever after, The end." Emma says as Rose Yawns and shifts to get comfortable in bed. "Good night Rosemary," Emma says as she leans forward to give the child a peck on the forehead then got up to put the book away.
Rose looked around a bit before replying "... goodnight mom."
Emma smiled at that before heading for the door, turning the lights off for the child, so she could sleep. the woman made her way down the hall to the master bedroom closed the door behind her. with little concern for changing her clothes she crawled into bed clung to a pillow and began to sob to let out the stress and pain this situation was putting her under. How was she going to do this? She still needed to work, but she had to take care of the kids and with Chris's memory gone she'd have to try and figure this out on her income only. Luckily, his account was set up to pay the mortgage every month automatically and since he was on medical leave he'd still get paid. She needed to figure out the bills and food and doctor's appointments, and the list just kept going. Even with all of that the worst of it was, He didn't remember her at all...
It took some effort but by the time Emma was curled up in bed, Chris made it down the stairs. He looked back at the stairs realizing this was probably going to be much more difficult going up. It was too late to worry about that now though. Instead, he hobbled his way over to what looked like a bedroom just without the bed. there was a dresser and night stand. it was all pretty plain and bare bones.
"Guess I'm not one for decorating..." Chris says under his breath while looking around. he eventually finds a button which releases a hide away frame and allowed a bed to fall into place. he nods at that. It's an efficient use of space. probably helped if he had anyone visiting. there was a door to the back that he stared at for a moment as he debated if his curiosity was worth dragging his leg further into the basement. Curiosity won in the end as he shuffled his way over to the door and managed to get it open. inside was a study. shelves full of books lined the walls along with some storage space and a safe to the back of the room. This looked promising. he made his way over to the desk and tried to sit down. As he did so, a bright orange square of paper caught his attention. Red Ink formed the words 'DO NOT FORGET' which seemed to shout at him as a warning that came far too late.
Chris let go of the paper and moved to hold his face as tears began to leak from the corners of his eyes. Do not forget, he warned himself, but he couldn't remember a thing.
so, how are you holding up? doing okay? for the stress sensitive I'll let you know here that everything will be fine. it's gonna be a bit of a ride though.
as for the creature. I did my best to try and figure out the eye colors of the different lords. Miranda's were pretty blatantly blue, and Lady D's were also pretty blatantly yellow but Moreau and Donna gave me a run for my money. I think Moreau has darker eyes, so I went with dark brown and Donna's eye isn't quite yellow, but it didn't look super dark either, so I went with Hazel.
Chapter Summary:
Chris and Hound Wolf Squad go to check on more leads. in an attempt to get ahead of the mole the swap which labs they were going to visit instead of following orders. they planned to use miscommunication as a way to avoid suspicion. Chris Lobo and night howl go in while canine tundra and umber eye take care of guarding the exit to make sure the escape route was secured. While inside Chris Lobo and Night howl square off against an amalgamation of Lady Dimitrescu, Lady Benivento, Lord Moreau and Mother Miranda. The amalgamation was about to land a killing blow on Lobo, but Chris takes the hit. Chris wakes up in the void and Sees Ethan. both come to the realization the Chris died. They talk for a bit and Ethan gets news on what's happened while he's gone while consoling Chris. Chris eventually stabilizes and is resuscitated causing him to leave the void. When Chris wakes up, he has lost his memory. Emma eventually shows up to get him and take him home. he's skeptical until she uses the phrase he told her to say. this triggers the audio of the memory only since he's still recovering from being dead. It's enough for him to trust her, so he goes home with her. through a series of events he starts getting memories back mostly from when he was a teenager and a few more recent ones regarding Emma leading him to believe Emma is his landlord who he had, and still does have, feelings for. That she's married to an absentee, and she's raising two kids alone. Chris thinks he's single since he never got around to buying a wedding band.
