Author's Note: Hello everyone! I have returned to share with you another chapter ^^ I think it was a little rushed during my final read through so it may not be as refined as I'd like, but it's still a good progress forward! And sorry for not updating as frequent, I've been working a lot because...I'm saving up for my trip to Japan and I'm super excited! (I'm also hoping to complete this before I go lol). Thank you everyone for the views, reviews, follows and favorites!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Resident Evil Franchise, all rights belong to Capcom! Any grammatical errors or inconsistencies that you may find I do hope that you can forgive me and that my chapter is still readable and enjoyable. Anything obvious that needs to be fixed I will go in and redo it when I can. Happy reading everyone!

"Go and talk to her."

Ethan's voice was grating on Karl's ears as the man was constantly provoking him with his meddlesome behavior. Karl glared at Ethan after the man had carefully stepped down onto the floating platform that Karl was standing on. Karl seemed offended that Ethan even dared to join him on his platform when he was nice enough to provide Ethan with his own. "What are you going on about?"

"Don't be an idiot." Ethan shot back at Karl who refused to respond causing Ethan to let out a sigh under his breath. "You know, we're going up against Miranda."

"I know." Karl sarcastically replied. "And should we fail, should she begin her ceremony with Rose, it'll be all over." Karl paused before continuing. "For us, for your kid, this whole village…and who knows. Maybe even the whole world should Miranda decide that she's not content with simply ruling this little region of the world."

"Yes, our only option is to succeed…but say we don't?" Ethan wanted to believe that they could win, but he was unsure what they could do against such power that far exceeded their own. "Say we don't make it, or say only a few of us make it out alive after defeating Miranda." Ethan turned his head to look at Karl. "…say Selena doesn't make it."

Before Ethan could blink, Karl had lashed out and grabbed Ethan by the collar of his jacket and yanked the man toward him, startling Ethan due to the sudden action. "I'd be careful about the next words that come out of your mouth, Winters."

"It's hypothetical, you moron." Ethan swatted Karl's hand away as he adjusted his jacket to sit evenly on his shoulders. "…Selena can't defend herself. What would happen if Miranda decides to go after the weakest in this little messed up group of ours." Ethan took a second before retracing his words. "What if Miranda goes after Selena simply because she turned against the woman? Selena, in Miranda's mind, is her most loyal creation…one that she was planning to keep around after all of this is over. I'm sure that woman would go straight for Selena once learning of her betrayal."

"…Selena is many things." Karl turned to look at the back of the blonde woman's head, watching as she seemed to slightly shiver from the sudden breeze that drifted upward before looking around in the dark of the never-ending depths of the factory. "But weak is not one of them." Karl waved his hand in front of him causing a platform to rise for him to step upon, and with each step he took more rose to meet his descent. "I bet Selena could very well go toe to toe with the witch if she had the right cards to play. Maybe even bring someone back from the brink of death if she'd only have confidence in her abilities. We just haven't seen it yet, kid."

"If she has that type of power hidden within her…then we may just stand a fighting chance." Ethan said as he continued to follow down the makeshift steps before stopping just a bit away to give the two Lords some space to talk. His mind finally registered what Karl had just called him. "I am not a kid!"

"To us you are." Karl nonchalantly waved Ethan's statement off. "I'd go so far as to say, to me, you're nothing more than a baby trying to crawl for the very first time."

"I don't want to talk to you." I spoke up, already knowing who had joined me on my moving platform. "I stepped on my own level for a reason."

"I know, Selena, but I want to talk." Karl said as I felt the heat of his body the moment he came to stand incredibly close beside me. "Though my actions haven't shown it since you stepped foot back in my factory…for what it's worth…I honestly am sorry." The volume of Karl's voice trickled to a mumble with each word he spoke. I turned my head to look at the man beside me and saw him scratching the back of his neck nervously with the help of the passing dull factory lights. "For everything."

I bit the bottom of my lip and turned to face forward, nervously wringing my hands together. "It's been years since we've talked like this…without it turning into a screaming match or developing into a pointless argument."

"I know." Karl dejectedly shuffled in his spot.

"You've let your factory go." I commented on my observation.

"I know." Karl chuckled. "I kind of just gave up trying to keep up appearance…who was I trying to impress anyway?"

"Impressive army though. All your hard work paid off." I complimented. "Have you at least been eating well? Taking care of yourself?"

"Not any proper meals." Karl continued our small talk. "I've forgotten more times than I can count how much I've forgotten to at least eat something or how many times I've lost track and gotten a good night's rest."

"Still as ridiculous as ever I see." I giggled followed by Karl who joined in a second later. When our light laughter died down, I smiled sadly back at the ground. "…I can't say that I forgive you just yet…we've lost so much time because of you jumping to conclusions and ignoring me. Though I suppose I'm at fault as well for not trying hard enough…and I can't say I'm not still angry. But I will say that I missed you a lot…missed spending time in this factory even if it was a complete mess."

"I missed you annoying me when I worked. It was so…deafeningly quiet without you around. Thought I was going insane." Karl scoffed. "We…we can make up for lost time, right?" Karl offered with a slight hint of hope. "No matter how long it takes for me to clean up the mess I created, I'm in it for the long run. Not making the same mistake twice in this lifetime."

"Not if we die tonight in our attempt to stop the ceremony." I gloomily pointed out.

"Don't say that." Karl pleaded. "We're stronger together, isn't that what you've always said? What you've always believed?"

"Against Miranda's monsters, sure, but we're going up against the very woman who created us. The very woman who has immeasurable power at her command with just the flick of her wrist." I pointed out.

Karl shuffled anxiously in place, from the corner of my eye I saw the man open and close his mouth. Debating with himself on what to say next. "How…how long has it been since you've done this?"

"Done what?" I asked as I cocked my head to the side.

"Been away from your greenhouse for this long?" Karl elaborated, his eyes visibly looking concerned over the rim of his glasses that had slipped further down the bridge of his nose. "I'm sure Ianto and your guardians are worried sick about you."

"I never stayed away from my home this long, not since…" My voice tapered off, not wanting to bring up the past any longer. If I continued to bring up what happened all those years ago…I don't think we could ever move forward to mending our friendship or starting a relationship. We can't build our future on the pain of our past. "My guardians…they would've been worried sick, but they were the ones who urged me to come here."

"Once we pick a fight with Miranda, all hell will break loose." Karl said before quickly adding in. "They can protect your home while you're gone. We'll go back for them, I promise."

"Can't protect something that's not there anymore." Speaking it out loud, and accepting their sacrifice, weighed heavily on my heart. "The greenhouse we worked so hard to build together, my people, the village, Ianto…my ever faithful guardians. They're all gone, Karl."

"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Karl's voice had gone up an octave, the news coming as a bit of a shock for him.

"While you were away, we came up with a fail-safe plan. No one wanted to fall victim to Miranda or have Miranda destroy the only pure, safe, place in the land. So in the event that death is inevitable…that there is zero chance of survival, it would be by my hands that I preserve the memory of the land and its people at its purest moment instead of it falling into the hands of corruption." The corner of my lips pulled up as I stared off into the black abyss in front of me. "They sacrificed themselves so that we may have a fighting chance."

"So much for a vote of confidence…" I heard Karl mutter under his breath before I heard him take a sudden intake of air. "Wait, by your hands, do you mean?"

Right on cue the palm of my hand, hidden by our bodies when I had moved closer to prevent Ethan from seeing it, began to glow. Pulsating the brighter it got and when Karl had tried to reach out to take my hand he had flinched and recoiled from the sudden heat.

"Your whole body is vibrating with pure energy, Selena." Karl whispered in astonishment, mesmerized by what his eyes were seeing, before panicking as he reached out without fear and squeezed my hand causing the light to diminish. "Are you crazy? You absorbed every living thing in your greenhouse!? You're like a walking nuclear bomb, Selena! Do you have any idea what that's doing to your body?"

"Do you?" I shot my question back without missing a beat. "Because I sure don't. It's a miracle it worked to begin with and to be honest, Karl, I'm afraid. Afraid of keeping all this pent-up energy in me for so long. I can feel it wanting to be let out, slithering invisible wisps escaping my body against my will and it's taking so much to reign it all in." I bought my hands up to my face, seeing it tremble and shake. "I can feel it wanting to be let out. Anxious to be put to use…and it scares me." I took a deep breath to compose myself. "But if we want any chance of defeating Miranda, I have to take control. We need to do whatever it takes to get that win."

"I wouldn't have asked you to fight Selena and you know that…" Karl grumbled. "Why would you go to such lengths?"

I took a glance behind us back toward where Ethan stood on the level above us, his eyes quickly looking anywhere but where we stood, indicating to me that he had been attempting to eavesdrop or at least was incredibly curious about what we were talking about. "You've been around test subjects, you know he's an interesting case."

"Knew it the moment I set my eyes on the man back at the old church. Him and his daughter. The man's been through the wringer and not a scratch on him…" Karl's eyes trailed to Ethan's left hand which was missing two digits. "But the man's mutation is failing him. He's taking so much damage that his body can't regenerate fast enough." Karl matched my tone of voice. "Doesn't answer why you would go to such lengths for a stranger."

"Honestly, Karl, it's like you don't know me at all." I couldn't help the prideful smirk as I looked up at Karl blinking a few times dumbfounded before shrugging his shoulders.

"I forgot who I was dealing with, clearly. Completely slipped my mind." Karl snickered, joking along, and just like that, we fell into the familiar comfortableness that I thought we had lost all those years ago…kind of. Suppose it was more of a habit that came naturally to us. But I could tell Karl was trying to choose his words carefully just as I was, it was a comfortable yet awkward atmosphere. "You truly think you can help him?"

"This is undiscovered territory." I shrugged my shoulders. "But I can at least try, right? If it works, Ethan doesn't have to know, and if it doesn't? Well…maybe it would be just enough to help prolong his life for me to find another way to help him so that he can have a chance to watch his little girl grow."

Karl suddenly burst out laughing, startling both myself and Ethan as the man beside me seemed to have found my answer quite humorous. "Oh, how I've missed your ever-optimistic outlook on life, even when things look this grim." Karl's laughter slowly winded down, and a second of silence passed between us before I heard him speak once more. "God, I've missed you…missed this." There was a strain in Karl's voice, his whole body seemed to deflate, his voice coming out as a slight whimper. As if he was suffocating on his words as I felt his thumb rubbing circles on the back of my hand. "…I am so sorry Selena."

"I know." I know now that I wasn't the only one who suffered, as bad as I am for thinking this, I was happy that I wasn't the only one deeply affected by the separation like I always assumed. I gave Karl a gentle nudge to gain his attention, giving him a cheeky smile when he looked my way. "And you can make it up to me if we make it out of here alive."

"When we make it out of here alive." Karl corrected, gently letting go of my hand before shuffling closer to where I stood. "We should be getting close to the bottom."

"I didn't realize how far your factory actually goes." I commented as I felt the temperature drop the closer we got to the bottom.

"The elevator makes it easier to travel, and gives the illusion it doesn't go that deep, but with how these guys wanted to remain hidden? The elevator would've been of no help." Karl stated as the platform we were standing on came to a slow stop, hovering just above what looked to be a canal that seemed to flow through the bottom of the factory.

Karl was the first to step off before offering his hand out for me to take.

"Thank you, Karl." I graciously took up the offer, placing my hand in his as he assisted me off the platform, making sure that I wouldn't slip or fall into the deep water below our platform. I had only taken a couple of steps off before I heard a sudden yelp. I turned back around just in time to see Ethan almost fall on his backside with how high the platform had been raised. If I were to take a guess, Ethan had tried to step off gracefully but instead got tangled around his own feet when the platform moved too quickly, disorienting him which caused such a clumsy dismount. If Ethan hadn't regained his footing there's no doubt in my mind that he would've fallen into the water. "Behave, Karl." I whispered to the man who continued to hold my hand.

"Truce means I don't kill him. Doesn't say anything about me needing to play nice." Karl argued. "Winters been annoying me ever since I decided to conduct a little experiment of my own, I'm just paying back what's due."

I shook my head at his childish behavior before looking around, expecting someone to greet us, but only seeing a metal grate and concrete walls. Not quite what I imagined when Karl had said he had some unwanted guests in his factory. "So…what now? I don't see anyone."

Karl let out a humorous huff as he lifted his arm, palm facing upward before his fingers swiftly curled inward. "Knock, knock."

I heard the groan of metal movement from behind and when I turned to look over my shoulder I saw the large platforms we were previously using as transportation fling itself at the concrete wall in front of us. The panels smashed it into pieces and created an entryway for us to walk on through without issue. I let out a strained cough after accidentally inhaling the dust that had been kicked up. I squinted through the dark, trying to fan away the dust in front of my face, and catching the shadowed outline of a person standing not that far from us.

When the dust began to settle and we were able to register what had just happened we could see who the person was on the other side of the wall when our eyes adjusted to the surroundings. His expression seemed to match our own shocked ones, we were all standing there mouths agape, eyes wide open, like a deer in headlights.

"…Chris?" Ethan was the first to speak and break the silence, which caused all hell to break loose when the man Ethan knew recognized the company in his presence.

Chris was quick to react as he drew his weapon and pointed it in our direction causing Karl to step in front of me at the sudden threat of a gun.

"Drop your weapon, Chris." Ethan cautioned, his voice carrying out throughout the darkness of the factory basement. I saw Ethan's hand carefully reach for his own gun but never draw it.

"Drop my weapon?" Chris asked in shock and disbelief as he continued to point his gun at Karl. "Are you out of your damn mind? Do you know who this man is? Who he associates himself with?"

"I know exactly who this man is, but you have to listen to me!" Ethan took a glance in our direction before looking back at Chris. "We've come to a…momentary truce."

"A momentary truce!?" Chris asked skeptically. "And for how long will that last?"

"Until we reach a consensus on a plan that doesn't involve my daughter." Ethan said.

"And if a consensus isn't met?" Chris's brow rose as he waited expectantly for Ethan to give an answer that would justify him lowering his weapon from Karl.

I watched Ethan's jaw tense as his hands clenched up into fists as he stood firm in his conviction. "It'll be met."

Chris scoffed at such a childish response, his arms lowering just a bit as he addressed Ethan. "And how can you be so confident that we can all agree to a plan that doesn't end up with a knife in our backs?"

I stepped out from around Karl. The man attempted to reach out to pull me back behind him, but I sidestepped his attempt as I drew the attention of Chris toward me with a small wave of my hand. "Hello again, fancy meeting you a second time. Though if I remember correctly, there were more of you the last we met."

"Sinclair?" Chris's eyes widened in recognition, the threat from the barrel of his gun now completely turned away from me. "My assumption and based on the information we gathered, you never leave your home."

"I have my reasons." I assured with a smile. "Important reasons."

"You know him?" Karl questioned from behind me as I simply nodded my head.

"Chris Redfield. We met not too long ago." I answered. "He and his men stumbled across my home by accident, guns raised, and was poorly judged at first to be a threat to my home and the people living in it." I let out a silent giggle. "My boys would've ripped them to shreds had Ianto not intervened and persuaded them that Chris and his men weren't a threat at all. They had bigger fish to fry."

"Oh!" Ethan's sharp explanation caused the two bulky men that I was situated between to look in his direction. "Ianto mentioned that I was the second outsider to visit recently, the first being memorable. Something about being dressed in all black and wearing some type of weird gear on their bodies." Ethan stared judgmentally back at Chris. "Should've known that was you."

Chris sighed in disappointment before looking at Ethan as he holstered his gun. "I told you to leave it alone, Ethan. You never listen. You're only going to get in the way."

"What do you care, Chris?" Came Ethan's sharp reply. "You killed my wife, you son of a bitch."

Karl whistled as the tables were now turned, two of us now in the middle of a dramatic confrontation. "What family drama have we stumbled across this time?"

"Shush." I reprimanded Karl as we silently listened and watched the two men confront each other.

"You think I'd kill Mia? That wasn't her." Chris was appalled by such an accusation. "It was Miranda."

"…What?" Ethan was taken aback by such a revolution as I watched him stumble just a bit on his feet.

"She changed her appearance and pretended to be Mia. It seems she also survived being shot, so now I'm here to finish the job." Chris revealed as he walked up to what looked to be a large tank that was fitted with a few modifications.

"Bullshit." Ethan seemed to not want to believe the words Chris was saying as he rushed over to where Chris was and forced the large man to turn to look at him. "Why didn't you fucking tell me right away!?"

"Because I knew you would want to be involved!" Chris yelled back as he seemed to twist Ethan's arm which had grabbed him up and shoved him away. "This job is hard enough without civilians getting in the way."

"But the man's not a civilian in the first place, is he? Not with how well the man has handled himself in our world." Karl shrugged his shoulders. "Had you simply told him all this in the first place, who knows, he and his little Rose probably wouldn't be here in the first place…probably." Karl chuckled knowing full well that it made no difference, if Miranda wanted that child she would've found other means to obtain her. Karl took a step toward the other two men, his attention more on the weapon behind Chris. "Impressive weapon, planned to use it against me were you?"

"If I wanted your opinion I would've asked. Stay out of this." Chris warned as Karl held up his hand in surrender and took a step back.

"Why us, Chris?" Ethan's desperation showed, wondering why such misfortune was befalling his family. "What the hell is going on?"

"I guess I owe you an explanation." Chris relented as I went over to Ethan to try and calm the man down who seemed to be falling to pieces before our very eyes, leading him toward a rusty barrel behind Ethan to sit and rest.

"You guess?" Karl couldn't help but comment as he tried to sneakily maneuver his way back to further inspect the tank.

"I still can't get over the fact that you killed his wife right in front of his eyes…" I muttered to myself. "I mean, you may have known it wasn't Ethan's wife, but as far as Ethan knew? He just saw his wife murdered right in front of his eyes by a person he trusted."

"I didn't have a choice, we were worried that Miranda would infect Ethan and his daughter so we had to act, and fast. We couldn't risk Miranda knowing of our plan and escaping with the two of them before we could get there." Chris continued to defend himself before rounding his attention to Karl. "And you, last chance, you're not involved so stay out of this." Chris growled, causing Karl to react back with his own in response.

"No, but we are." Karl sarcastically said. "If this truce is to work? No secrets. Our paths were intertwined since the beginning, what with Miranda taking an interest in that Winters child. So, care to share with the class how this all started?"

Chris took a hesitant second to reply, not quite sure how trustworthy we were before raising his hand to rest over his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I must be insane to even consider working with such dangerous bioweapons." We heard Chris mutter to himself.

"Miranda's fucking insane. All these monsters and freaks…this is her life's work." Chris began to explain things that both Karl and myself already knew though we did take a little offense in being clumped together with the mindless monsters that terrorized the village, but it would seem Ethan was just completely in the dark. To him, it was just a woman who kidnapped and dismembered his daughter. "Some sort of experiment with the mold."

"The mold." Ethan took a second before I saw his eyes widen. "Like Louisiana. Goddamnit." Ethan cursed. "All this time, I thought I could save my family…I can't escape from here…I can't do anything!"

"That might not be true." Chris leaned against the tank, reaching into the pocket of his jacket, and tossed a phone in our direction which Ethan easily caught. "Take a look at this." I leaned close to Ethan as I saw an image of Miranda approaching the ceremonial site. "My men sent those pictures a few minutes ago."

"Miranda." Ethan stared at the picture of the woman.

"Keep looking." Chris advised as Ethan swiped left to see other pictures that were taken. Two of Miranda and then the last two being a close-up of the yellow flasks held in her arms that Ethan had been collecting.

"Rose." Ethan suddenly hopped up onto his feet in a panic. "Holy shit, we've gotta go!

"Relax! My men are monitoring the situation." Chris assured Ethan. "So far it seems she's simply preparing."

"Ceremony won't start till it's dark." I spoke up. "We have time, Ethan."

"But you don't understand." Ethan argued. "They have my daughter!"

"You don't get it, Ethan." Chris shook his head as he gently pushed Ethan back. "You don't stand a chance against Miranda by yourself."

"Which is where my help comes in." Karl confidently said, causing all of us to look in his direction. "Deny me all you want, but I have an army at my command, you special agents have your big guns, and Winters…" Karl looked at Ethan for a second, not knowing what impressive thing to say to make the man seem just as impressive as the rest of them. "The man killed our so-called family with just a gun and a knife."

"And we can trust you to not turn on us, how?" Chris sarcastically remarked. "You, who calls Miranda, Mother."

"Think again, Redfield." Karl grounded his teeth. "I want that bitch dead just as much as anyone here, if not more. You've been on this case for three years and seen the horror and destruction she's caused. Try dealing with it for several decades." Karl scoffed. "Hell, try dealing with it your whole life."

"How the hell do you know about what we've been doing for the past three years?" Chris glared at Karl.

"I know more than you know. The Connection, Louisiana, that little failure…what was her name? Yeah, probably everything that is even remotely connected to Miranda, I know. I've done my research." Karl proudly smirked. "So, your angle, you want Miranda killed and the mold destroyed so you can finally put this case to rest, right? We-" Karl gestured to where I sat. "just want freedom. And we couldn't do it alone, so let's work together muscles. You need us."

Chris rolled his eyes at Karl's remark. "I need you? Why would I when we have this." Chris gestured to the tank behind him. "Ethan controls this, I have my men. I get rid of you now and I don't have to worry about you stabbing me in the back."

"Such hostility." Karl teased. "You and I both know that that tank was meant for me with how you reconstructed it so that I couldn't have complete control over it. I also know about the explosives you planned to plant beneath my factory." Karl looked toward an area in the dark. "I suggest…if you want my help, you'd leave my factory and my army alone."

"Is that a threat, Heisenberg?" Chris questioned and Karl rose to his challenge.

"Not a threat, a promise. You blow up my life's work that I prepared to take on Miranda, and this truce crumbles." Karl folded his arms. "You get neither my help nor Selena's. We'll leave you to fail, and I will take great pleasure in watching you fail from afar without lifting a finger to help you."

"Why you-" Chris's fingers were itching as I watched him reach for the gun at his side.

"What is this accomplishing?" I asked as I stood up from where I sat, brushing the bottom of my dress down before walking toward the two men who were close to being chest to chest the more they tried to rile each other up. I patted Ethan on the shoulder in passing before going over to try and push my way between Chris and Karl. "We're wasting time trying to establish who needs who or who's more powerful. A baby's life is on the line, the world even, and a dangerous woman needs to be stopped." I looked up to Chris and then to Karl before turning around to look at Ethan in hopes that they all try to see reason. "Let's just…play nice. Just this once."

"Selena can keep Karl under wraps." Ethan suddenly added in. Suppose his silence was him still letting the information sink in that he was living with Miranda for a while without even realizing that it wasn't his wife. Or that he was never truly free of whatever horrors he experienced in Louisiana. "I just want my daughter back."

Chris seemed to look me up and down, studying me for a second as he did back when they first paid my home a visit before surrendering. "If we're going to try this truce out, then I suppose I'll trust you both." Chris then glared at Karl. "But any sign that you'll turn on us I will put you down."

"I'd like to see you try…" Karl muttered under his breath as he leaned back against the tank. "So, what's the plan, captain?"

"If this truce works, we need honesty, so scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Chris turned to address me, and only me, while ignoring Karl completely. "Being of this region, I'm hoping you can help, we're searching for something to finally put an end to this mess."

"My help?" I pointed at my cheek, confused by his implication that I knew something that would help him.

Chris nodded his head while I saw Karl go over to preoccupy himself with inspecting the tank. "We're looking for something. The main source that started this mess, and we need it destroyed."

"Main source that started this?" I hummed. "The…cadou?" I responded, knowing that only that was the source of all our powers, and grew confused when Chris shook his head from side to side.

"That thing is the source of your power, but not the source of Miranda's. The thing that created the cadou. The cause of what happened in Louisiana and the thing that infected every person in this village. Something called the Megamycete." Chris began to explain what he was looking for. "It's a giant super-organism that we suspect to be beneath this very village. A fungal root."

"Super-organism? A fungal root under the village…" I furrowed my brows in confusion before perking up. "I think I may know about the very thing you're talking about."

"You do?" Karl's distant voice came from behind the tank.

"Remember the cell we were always kept in back in Miranda's dark laboratory?" I looked to where I thought Karl was. "We were so young at the time…but I remember seeing something strange when we passed through the dark cavern the day we were finally led out into the village."

"So you think it's there?" Chris asked with slight hope lacing his voice.

"I know it's there." I nodded. "Recently, Miranda called me to meet her there."

"Back in that room?" Karl's head popped back out from around the tank. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"We weren't on speaking terms." I pointed out. "She asked me there to talk about the upcoming ceremony…she has this twisted reality that I would become her daughter's guardian." I shivered at the recollection. "Being back there…I didn't realize how it would affect me." I wrapped my arms around me for security as I could feel my tongue begin to trip up as I started to stutter in fear. "The-the memories came flooding back of our time there…and I was a-afraid of being forced back into that room…even if I knew Miranda just wanted to talk to me…the feeling of fear still lingered. The horrors I've witnessed…it took a lot not to show Miranda how scared I truly was being back there."

"Then that's where we need to go." Chris nodded his head with conviction. "There's still a little time before the ceremony begins and we need to come up with a plan that won't get us killed." Chris placed his hand under his chin in thought, you could see the cogs in his brain turning as the three of us waited for him to speak up. "Ethan, you stay here with Heisenberg. Help him get his army ready to confront Miranda." Chris then turned to look at me. "Sinclair, you'll come with me. Take me and my team to where the Megamycete is located so that we can finally put an end to this."

"You-you want me to take…you?" I asked in a bit of a panic.

"You're the only one who can, Sinclair." Chris reasoned. "We need to pull out all the big guns. Only Heisenberg can activate his army and Ethan needs to stay here to prepare to confront Miranda. Only you know the location of the Megamycete."

"But I just said-" my panic began to grow and it only worsened when Chris ignored my plea and continued to speak to Karl and Ethan.

"Then that's where we need to go." Chris nodded his head with conviction. "There's still a little time before the ceremony begins and we need to come up with a plan that won't get us killed." Chris placed his hand under his chin in thought, the cogs in his head turning as the three around them waited for him to speak. "Ethan, you stay here with Heisenberg. Help him get his army ready to confront Miranda." Chris then turned to look at Selena. "Sinclair, you'll come with me. Take me and my team to where the Megamycete is located so that we can finally put an end to this."

"You-you want me to take…you?" Selena asked, her voice pitching up in volume at the thought of needing to go back to Miranda's underground laboratory.

"You're the only one who can, Sinclair." Chris tried to reason. "We need to pull out all the big guns. Only Heisenberg can activate his army and Ethan needs to stay here to prepare to confront Miranda. Only you know the location of the Megamycete."

"But I just said-" Selena tried to speak but Chris was already in the process of mapping out a plan that they could follow without listening to Selena's protest.

"You two," Chris addressed both Ethan and Karl, the latter looking on with half-lidded eyes as Karl shifted his weight to one side and practically used his hammer to prop himself up. "will stay here, do as much preparation as needed and we'll rendezvous at the ceremonial site."

"Looks like we're a team now, papa." Karl smirked at Ethan after beginning to tune Chris out as he began to break down what the plan was.

"Wonderful…" Ethan sarcastically replied as the man continued to listen to what Chris had to say.

Karl grew bored easily, at first his attention was on Chris, and was trying to humor the large man, but it was then diverted when he realized that Selena had grown silent. To the two men who continued to converse, it may have looked like nothing was wrong, but Karl knew Selena better. Karl noticed her shallow breathing, her line of sight diverted to the ground, hands clasped tightly in front of her as she twiddled her thumbs together. Selena was in distress and was close to having a breakdown while trying to hold everything in and remain composed.

Karl started to move away from the men and gravitated toward Selena who failed to notice that he was even walking up to her.

"Hey," Chris called as he moved to step in front of Karl. "we're not done here."

"What more do I need to know?" Karl sharply asked as he pushed past Chris who placed a hand on Karl's shoulder to gently push him back to prevent him from stepping forward. Karl rolled his eyes before responding. "All I need to do is bring the big guns, distract Miranda, or wound her enough, and you two will handle the rest, right?" Karl swatted Chris's hand away, his focus continued to remain on Selena as he made a beeline toward the fidgety woman. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more pressing matters to attend to."

Karl stepped up to Selena, an inch of space between them as he tilted his head to the side, staring down at the blonde woman, and waited for her to notice him.

When she showed no signs of acknowledging him, Karl concluded that it was worse than he thought. Outwardly she seemed to be holding her emotions well, but she was trapped in her own mind and Karl needed to snap her back to the present before it developed into a full-blown panic attack.

"Where's your mind gone to, Selena?" Karl whispered and he was still unable to get a reaction from her. Karl lifted his hand and snapped his finger right in front of Selena's face. Selena flinched at the sudden sound before turning to look up at Karl, blinking a few times in astonishment causing Karl to smile sadly down at the woman. "You back with us?"

"Ye-yes." Selena squeaked as she started to fidget more in her spot. "Yes, I'm here."

"What were you thinking about that's making you react this way?" Karl whispered, and just as Selena was about to answer, Chris and Ethan came to join them.

"Selena." Chris caught both Lords' attention. "You and I will head out now to rendezvous with my squad. With your assistance, you will lead us to the location of the Megamycete."

"I…I don't know if I can do that…" Selena muttered.

"Can't? Or won't?" Chris was defensive, almost distressed at the prospect of being so close yet so far and the one person who can help is saying now that they can't lead him there. "We need your help, Sinclair. Only you can take us there." Chris was about to step forward before Karl maneuvered his body to stand between them, his back to Chris as his attention remained focused on Selena.

"Give us a second, Redfield." Karl warned which went right over Chris's head.

"We don't have a second, Heisenberg." Chris argued. "The more time we waste, the less our chances of defeating Miranda." Chris demanded. "Now, why can't you do it, Sinclair?"

"I understand that, but just give us a damn second to talk." Karl was trying his best to remain calm and not lash out because he knew that wouldn't help the situation to try and help Selena take back control of her emotions. They may not see it, but Karl knew Selena was distressed about going back to the place that haunted them to this day. Even Karl would not go back there else the memories he longed since buried would resurface.

"We have no time to get caught up in our fears, if we do, more lives will be lost." Chris was persistent and that persistence was beginning to grate on Karl's nerves. "I'm sorry Sinclair to be unreasonable, I cannot fathom what you've been through to want to rebel against Miranda, but right now we're soldiers. Mistakes or a second of hesitance can cost us. If we don't act now-"

"I said," Karl rounded on Chris and pushed him back to give them space. Gritting his teeth as he did. "back off you boulder-punching asshole and give us a second!" Karl yelled as he wound his arm around Selena and led her away without waiting for Chris to say a rebuttal.

Chris was about to go after the man who had laid a hand on him, but Ethan had reached out to stop him.

"Give them a second, Chris." Ethan defended, never raising his voice, but almost pleading with Chris as he too was worried about the woman who seemed in distress. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

When the two Lords put a good distance between them, being able to talk in a corner of the room, Karl made sure Selena was comfortable and her view of the two men was obscured by his body so that her attention remained solely on him.

"Selena-" Karl began to say but the blonde woman had already cut him off.

"I know!" Selena barked before recoiling and went back to wrapping her arms around her body once more. "I'm sorry…I just…I don't want to go back there." Selena whimpered. "I'd forgotten how dark it was down there, how suffocating it was." Karl saw the bottom of Selena's lip quiver. "It still smells, Karl…I could smell the dry blood that caked the floors. Hear the screams of pain echoing, bouncing off the walls…the pleading voices of the villagers begging for the pain to end. We haven't been back there since we were children." Selena furiously shook her head. "We escaped…we wanted to escape…why would I need to go back?" Karl heard a silent sniffle come from Selena as her hands lifted to wipe at her eyes and the next words out of her mouth broke his heart. "why do I have to go back there, Karl…"

Selena sounded so scared, and it made Karl realize how much damage was done and how much he needed to fix things as soon as possible. Usually, in times like this, it was through the comfort of each other that when they felt so lost they would cling to each other…and Selena attempting to comfort herself made Karl realize how much he screwed up when she didn't automatically reach out to him as he had with her in the past. He just hoped he didn't sever the bond they created and shared completely, that there was still hope to recover and repair it.

"Because only you can do this, buttercup." Karl's hope was visible when he saw Selena react positively to the pet name he had for only her. Her eyes widened as she looked up with tear-filled eyes to hold eye contact with Karl. "Back then we were weak children, but now? We're stronger now than we've ever been. That cell will never hold us ever again." Karl reached up to his neck and produced the skeleton key hidden beneath his dirt-stained white shirt. He kept it all this time as a reminder, of Selena's reminder, to him when he was broken. He reached out to Selena and placed the key around her neck, tapping against the skeleton key for emphasis. "We took back our freedom with this, never forget that. And we need your help now to take it back once more."

The waterworks started up once more, from the corner of Selena's eyes tears began to accumulate as she launched herself at Karl. Wrapping her arms around the man's midsection and silently cried to release all the emotions that had bubbled over and Karl, in reaction, protectively wrapped his arm around her tiny frame. Rubbing her back in comfort without caring that they had an audience.

While they gave the two Lords a minute to talk, Ethan's attention was elsewhere as he had gone over to the elevator to talk to the Duke that so happened to make himself comfortable. A most convenient time to appear as usual to do business. There was something on his mind that he'd been meaning to discuss with the merchant.

"Duke, why did you send me to see Selena? Thinking about it now, while I am grateful, all she's done is offer me solace and a safe place to rest."

"Because, Mister Winters," The Duke gave Ethan a knowing smile. "she needed someone like you to repair something that she had lost."

"Heisenberg." Ethan guessed after Selena had explained the strained relationship between the two lifelong friends.

"Indeed, if you had seen them in the past, you would feel the same way." The Duke hummed.

"How could you have known that things wouldn't have gone in the opposite direction? What if I never did what you asked? What if I had no choice but to destroy Heisenberg as I did with the other Lords?" Ethan questioned and the Duke simply gave Ethan a knowing smile.

"But you did what I asked. You went seeking Selena and you listened to her story as I knew you would…because you were curious." The Duke smiled proudly. "That one change off course, changed the entire outcome."

"Such a relationship should never have ended, and it was because of Lord Heisenberg's stubbornness, and Miss Sinclair's fear of pushing the man further away…that caused the two to never reconcile." The Duke turned to look toward where Selena and Karl were talking, unable to conceal his smile when the man saw Selena embrace the metal Lord. "But it's not like you don't benefit from this relationship, Mister Winters."

"What do you mean by that?" Ethan asked.

"Give her kindness, and she will return it ten fold. And should you need something from her, she expects nothing in return. So is the nature of Selena Sinclair. " The Duke pointed out. 'As well as her incredible gift.' The Duke thought before letting out a hum in thought "Aside from the people in the village, by giving her back something she cherishes more than anything in this world, she will most definitely give you back something of greater value to repay you for all you've done."

"My daughter." Ethan stated before the Duke shook his head.

"There is something else that you need, something that you are still very much unaware of." The Duke pointed out which was a cause for concern with Ethan.

"What else do I need?" Ethan asked.

"All in due time, Mister Winters. All in due time." The Duke knew, he knew the moment he set his eyes on Ethan Winters that something was wrong with the man. And because Selena was a wonderful friend and client, the Duke knew he needed to repay her for all she had done for him. "Now then, Mister Winters," Delivering Ethan to her front door was his way of repaying her. He gave her a solution to her problem in the form of this man. She would, in turn, repay Ethan's kindness with her powers, and Ethan? "Care to make a purchase?" Such is the way of a successful business cycle.

While Ethan was doing business with the Duke, Selena and Karl rejoined the group and Chris was hopeful when he saw Selena smiling in his direction.

"I apologize for how I reacted." Selena stared at Chris with determination. "I am ready to face Miranda."

Chris nodded his head, and just as Selena took a step toward him Karl reached to grab for Selena's hand, preventing her from moving any closer.

"Redfield," Karl was serious, he wanted to make one thing clear to the man who he was entrusting to watch over Selena while she was out of his sight. "absolutely no harm will come to Selena. We're at a truce, but if you leave her behind? Nothing will stop me from becoming your enemy."

Chris didn't dare say anything snarky in response as he nodded his head in understanding. With the display he saw, he knew the extent of their relationship and would never risk crossing the line. This woman is now in his care and would be protected until he reunites her with Karl.

The two men understood each other, that was enough for Karl as he then looked at Selena and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. His words were one of reassurance. A promise. "I'll see you when this is over."

Poor Selena, it must be so suffocating being surrounded by such strong male egos xD the boys love each other *sarcastic eye roll* it's gonna be tense, and while talking to my friend I came to a realization that I'm so close to finishing this story (minus the DLC chapter of course). Next chapter we're gonna see what Selena is finally made of and I'm super excited!

If you are enjoying my story and looking forward to the next chapter, then leave a nice little review, favorite, and follow! But, again, it's not necessary. Just reading and giving my story a chance is all I need and makes me incredibly happy. Thank you everyone for reading! I shall see you in the next chapter!
-SO