The helicopter hovered at the end of the dock and Ada stopped and turned to look at them. "Ride's here. You coming?"
Leon clenched and unclenched his jaw before looking back at Ada. "I think we both know this is where we go our separate ways."
Ada turned to hide her disappointment and it was now or never. "I see," she said as she put one hand on the copter.
"Wait," Rose called out, and Ada and Leon both froze. "I'm going with you."
"What?" Leon rounded on her, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Ada smirked and climbed into the chopper, waiting patiently for Rose to follow her. Rose's loose hair was whipping around her, stinging her face and she and Leon were sharing the same look of despair.
"I can't go with you, Leon."
"What do you mean you can't?" Leon demanded, anger propelling him to take a step forward. "The mission is almost complete. Ashley's safe."
Rose shook her head. He was so willing to ignore her new flaws. "Look at me, Leon. You have to tell them I died. I can't go home."
"Yes, you can! We will figure it out, Rose, don't do this!"
"If I left with you they'd arrest me and put me in a lab! I'll die in there!"
"And you think working with Wesker will be any different?"
"I won't be working for him," she corrected, taking a step towards him. She wanted to touch him so badly. "I promise you, my morals aren't compromised. But I can't go back to the DSO."
Leon heaved a heavy sigh, closing the distance between them and capturing her lips into a kiss that made worlds collide. She gripped onto him like her life depended on it. Her knees went weak, and she weaved her fingers through his hair, pulling herself impossibly closer to him.
"Rose, we have to go," Ada called urgently.
Rose pulled back, taking his hand in hers. "This isn't goodbye. I'll find you again."
Leon's hand was still warm in hers, his touch like a lifeline she didn't want to let go of, even though she knew it was the right thing. But in that moment, as the helicopter's rotors roared behind them, everything felt unreal. Her heart hammered in her chest, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins, mixing with the ache of parting. She wasn't ready for this. She looked up at him, those dark eyes searching her face like he was trying to read her soul. The expression on his face was a mix of disbelief and heartbreak. It wasn't just that she couldn't go back—it was the weight of everything they had been through, everything they had survived together. She had always feared the moment where everything would come to an end—this wasn't just the end of a mission, or the end of a fight—it felt like the end of something far deeper.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, trying to steady her voice, though her chest felt tight and her throat thick with unshed tears. She didn't want to say goodbye. God, she didn't. But it was the only way.
Leon ran a hand through his hair, frustration and sorrow written all over his face. "You're not making this easy," he muttered, but it wasn't anger. It was a quiet, resigned pain. "I don't want to lose you, Rose."
Her heart squeezed. I don't want to lose you either, Leon.
Ada's voice broke through her thoughts again. "We don't have all day," she said, a little sharper than usual, her figure outlined by the faint light of the helicopter. "Either you get on this chopper or we leave without you."
Rose turned back toward the helicopter, her grip on Leon's hand tightening as if she could make him understand that this wasn't about running from him or abandoning him. She wanted to go with him. She needed to go with him. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized that she had already crossed a line. She had become something that the world couldn't understand, something they couldn't control, and she wasn't sure if she could ever return to the life she had before. The DSO wouldn't accept her. And she could never be that person again.
And yet—Ada. Of all the people she never thought she would be aligned with.
"I'll find you," Rose said quietly, giving Leon's hand one last, tight squeeze. Her fingers slowly loosened. "I promise."
Ada didn't wait for her to say more. With a small, almost unreadable expression, she motioned for Rose to follow her, and Rose moved toward the helicopter. She spared one last look at Leon. One last glimpse of everything they had been through together.
For a moment, their eyes locked, and she saw it—the quiet understanding, the sorrow, the finality.
She almost couldn't bear it.
As she stepped into the helicopter, the wind from the rotors whipped around her, making her hair fly wildly in all directions. Ada gave a terse nod to the pilot, and before Rose could even fully settle into the seat, the helicopter lurched upward, pulling her away from Leon, from the island, from everything.
Leon's stomach twisted into knots as he willingly let the girl he cared about fly away with the woman he'd thought he loved. Right into enemy hands. He hated that she had no options here.
"Better get a move on," Ada said as Rose settled into the helicopter beside her. She tossed a small keychain at him and he caught it in one hand. As the helicopter took off, he looked at the little teddy bear and scoffed.
"Cute."
~~/~~
Rose stood under the shower stream and let the hot water flow down her back. Her nerves were keeping her from totally enjoying the shower, but Ada had insisted. According to her, she smelled worse than a sewer. She supposed that was warranted, given how much she'd just been through.
Her heart was aching for the life she left behind already. She missed Leon. Hell, she missed Ashley. Things were going to be so different now.
Sighing, she turned off the water and blindly reached for the towel hanging on the wall. It was soft, and white, clinical. She toweled off her hair, and then her muscularly slender body before wrapping the towel around herself and stepping out.
The bathroom she was in had a mirror that stretched the entire expanse of the sink counter and she used the hand towel to wipe away the mist that had accumulated on the surface. She was startled by her own reflection.
Her hair was the same, dyed the way she'd had it before going to Spain, but her eyes had changed. They were now orangeish, almost the color of gold, but they were also rimmed in red. They weren't human eyes, and they disgusted her. She turned away, feeling the urge to punch something. Her body reacted before she could stop herself and her fist flew forward, smashing into the mirror and sending shards everywhere. Blood pooled down her wrist, and she was shocked to see she'd broken through the backboard and put a hole in the wall behind it. Oops.
Slowly, she pulled her fist back, examining the cuts and brushing away the glittering shards that had embedded in her flesh. She took in a shaky breath, turned on the faucet, and ran her injured hand beneath it, clearing it out. By the time she shut off the water to reexamine her cuts, there was fresh, pink skin already closed over them. "I guess that's pretty useful," she mumbled.
She turned and stepped out of the bathroom, peering into the bedroom she'd been deposited into. It looked like a hotel room. There was a full-sized bed with white sheets and comforters, four plush pillows, a kitchenette, a dresser, and nightstands, as well as a 32-inch flatscreen hung up on the wall. The yellow light of the lamp gave the room a warmth she hadn't been prepared for. "Ada?" She called out. "I don't have any clothes."
But Ada wasn't around. She sighed, making her way over to the door and standing on her tip-toes to peer out of it. She could see a hallway, long and impressive looking with expensive carpets, paintings, and light fixtures. She swallowed hard, wondering what she had walked into. It reminded her of Derek's house, the one she'd spent her teenage years in, and it made her uncomfortable.
She turned and tried the dresser first, before embarrassing herself. The drawer opened smoothly, and the scent of brand-new furniture wafted to her nose, a scent she probably would have never noticed before, but she could tell it'd never been used before. There were undertones of cleaning chemicals-lemon and bleach to be precise- but no human had slept in this room. "Great, at least I'm not intruding," she mumbled again, but this time she squared her shoulders and resigned herself to having to walk out into this house with nothing but a towel on.
She cracked open the door, poking her head out, and not seeing anyone she glanced around. The walls were adorned with framed photographs—smiling faces, lavish parties, and moments that felt both foreign and oddly familiar. She couldn't help but wonder who lived here and why she had found herself in this strange place.
Gathering her courage, she started to make her way down the corridor, her heart racing with every step. Each door she passed was closed, adding to the mystery of the home. Finally, she reached the end of the hall, where it opened up into what appeared to be a living area. Sunlight streamed in through large windows, illuminating the room filled with modern furniture and an impressive array of bookshelves lined with an eclectic mix of novels and art books.
"Hello?" she called out again, her voice echoing slightly. Silence answered her, amplifying her unease. She ventured further into the room, feeling the soft fabric of a sleek sofa beneath her fingertips. It was all so pristine; not a speck of dust or a misplaced item, as if it were staged for a photo shoot rather than lived in.
A sudden noise made her jump—a clang from the kitchen area caught her attention. She froze, torn between curiosity and instinctual caution. Should she explore more or retreat back to the safety of the bedroom? Before she could decide, a figure emerged from the kitchen, a tall man with tousled hair and a surprised expression.
"Oh! I didn't expect anyone to be up yet," he said, his voice warm but laced with confusion. He wore a casual shirt and jeans, and there was something undeniably charming about the way he looked at her.
"Um… hi?" she managed, clutching her towel a little tighter. "I'm not sure where I am."
He ran a hand through his hair, seeming to process everything. "Right. Sorry about that. You're at my place. I'm Ethan." He took a step closer, then hesitated, gauging her comfort level. "You were brought here last night, right? Agent Wong thought it'd be safer for you to stay."
"Ada? And what do you mean 'safer'?" 'Last night' had only been about two hours ago and she'd hopped right into the shower.
Ethan sighed, his expression shifting from surprise to concern. "Look, it's a long story. You just need to know that you're safe here. Do you want some clothes? I can find something that'll fit you."
She hesitated, still feeling the rush of adrenaline as the confusion blurred her thoughts. "I—yeah, I guess that would help."
"Okay, just give me a minute," he replied, moving back toward the hallway. She watched him go, her mind racing. What was going to happen to her? Why did Ada think she needed to be kept safe? Had she made a mistake by leaving the island with her?
No, because Ada had blown the island up shortly after they'd taken off. When she'd first seen the explosion, she'd clung to her seatbelt straps for dear life, terrified and pissed at Ada because she had no way of knowing how Ashley and Leon had escaped. But then, Ada had instructed the pilot to loop around for her own assurance, and they'd watched Leon pull Ashley out of the ocean and onto the back of a Jet Ski. They'd made it.
At least that was something.
Ethan returned quickly, holding out a loose-fitting t-shirt and some sweatpants. "Here, these should fit. I promise I'm not trying to put you in anything weird. Just something comfortable while you wait for Dr. Wesker."
Rose took the offered clothes, avoiding touching his hands at all costs. He was handsome, with side-swept bronze hair and green eyes. She padded back the way she came, intending to go back to her room, but the place was like a maze and she was so distracted by everything that she quickly lost her way. Where was Ada? Why had she left her here alone? And...she had to meet Wesker...the name gave her feelings she couldn't discern.
Albert Wesker was a bad guy. She puts bad guys behind bars. Or...she did. She wasn't sure what she did now. She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes, trying to focus through the frustration. She was about to retrace her steps and head back towards Ethan and ask him for help when Ada's voice brought her out of her head.
"Lost already?"
Rose whipped around, seeing Ada walking towards her, red heels muted on the matching carpeting. "Ada! You left."
Ada nodded. "I had to report to Wesker. He's waiting for you."
Rose's shoulders tensed. "I don't know if I want to meet him."
"He's the only one that can help you with your infection, Rose. He's...well, I'll let him explain it to you."
"I know your father," she confirmed but sent a sharp look to Rose. "You don't want to know him. He's not a good man, either, Rose."
The memory was like a slap to the face, intrusive and unexpected. "He's infected too, isn't he?"
Ada nodded. "You're a smart girl, Rose. Don't let it get you into trouble. Come on," she turned and walked back down the hallway from which she'd just come. Rose jogged after her, almost surprised to find that her new jog was more like running for her old body. She hated to admit that she was excited to find out what her new sprint would be like. She knew she'd sprinted back in Spain, but everything had been happening so fast already and she was so focused that she'd never actually had the time to take inventory of her new abilities. A part of her hadn't wanted to know, not while Leon was there to judge her...to be scared of her.
Ada helped her get back to the room she'd come from and closed the door behind them, waltzing into the bathroom to give Rose some privacy to change. She cringed when she unfolded the white t-shirt and grey sweatpants and realized there was no underwear, not that she'd really expected there to be. She heard Ada chuckle, having found the broken mirror and blood she'd just left in the sink. She hadn't exactly been thinking about being a good guest, but she felt heat rise to her cheeks in embarrassment for her behavior.
When she was done, she called out for Ada, and the woman nodded in approval as they made their way back out the door. "Wait, I'm barefoot."
"You'll be fine. Ethen keeps the house impeccably clean."
The silence stretched between them as Ada led the way down the hall again. Rose tried to count the turns, memorizing her way around, and itched to challenge her memory. It seemed they'd walked across the entire property, transitioning into a new one as they entered a side door and the house itself changed to completely different tastes. If the house she had been in before was lavish, this was a mansion more akin to a castle. The checkered floors were marble, pristine white, red, and black. The ceilings were well over two stories high, with chandeliers and double doors for the entrance hall they stood in. Rose peered outside a large arched window to see an expanse of trees stretching as far as she could see. They walked up a large staircase and Rose fought back the memories of every large staircase she'd gone up in the past few days. It was embarrassing how such a little thing could trigger her. She almost missed the way her leg used to ache.
The room Ada brought her to was large and circular, with clean marble floors and an ornately decorated red and off-white rug. A mahogany desk sat off to the right, and two walls were floor-to-ceiling windows, displaying the vast forest. "Where are we?" Rose gasped, not even noticing the tall, thin man standing in the shadows behind the heavy red curtains.
"The Spenser Estate," said Wesker, causing Rose to jump in fright. His leather shoes clicked on the floor as he revealed himself, walking towards her slowly but with purpose. Rose stood rigidly, glaring at him with mixed feelings. This man was a monster...but he was also her biological father. "Welcome to your new life, Rosemarie."