/./././././././././././././././././././././././

Given the situation, Claire didn't know how she could keep her mind focused. Every step she took festered her anxiety, except this time it wasn't what was lurking around the nearest corner. She thought of Sherry, who should have never been in this situation in the first place. Then she thought of Pete, her headstrong assistant who only wanted to make his place in the company. Leon has been through hell and back, but that didn't ease her mind when she thought of leaving him behind.

Of course Leon would show up in the heat of the moment, as calm and cool as ever. Even when she met the young, naive, officer all those years ago - he did his best to keep a level head. Never to show and glimpse of fear when the odds were always against him. But, this was different. This wasn't the same, wasn't "wrong place, wrong time" - this was intentional, planned. Claire found herself completely vulnerable, and through back in a time where she barely knew how to go up against the nightmare. Before everything in her life spiraled out of control, the very night that had changed her life.

But it wasn't just her life on the line, it never was. There was always a bigger picture, a dire means that surpassed her own life. Almost made her blind to those around her, or rather those who she tries to keep away from her. Steve's memory flashed before her, again, reminded that he too was a small piece in the bigger problem. But, it wasn't like that - it never was. He was like many who perished for the cause and who wanted no part of it.

She was here now, and so were the few in her life that she refuses to lose. Claire picked up her pace, feeling the rush of wanting to be rid of this nightmare. To wake up from the horrific memory that the walls around her constantly remind her of. She thought of Sherry, Pete, and Leon - and continued forward.

Claire found herself exploring every corner and space she passed, hoping to find anything that could lead her to Sherry's location. Suddenly, a low mumble of voices shook her attention. Quick to check if her gun was loaded, she swiftly turned the next corner and began carefully treading down the narrow hall. Meeting only a closed door, Claire mentally noted the possibility and likelihood of a trap awaiting her. Still wanting to keep her location quiet, she slowly turned the knob - armed for anything that could come her way. Expecting to be swarmed, she was met by an eerie silence as the door swung open.

A pair of wide eyes met hers. One was completely disheveled as he was slumped against a wall, barely able to keep his head up. The other was quick to match Claire's as she stepped in front of the man armed with a pipe. Claire carefully lowered her weapon, breathlessly, "Sherry?"

The thud of the metal pipe echoed the room as Sherry ran into her arms. "Claire! You're okay! I was so worried-!"

"I know," Claire allowed herself a moment to feel relief. Knowing Sherry was with her, and she was in one piece was enough. Reality shook her back as she quickly continued, "We're running short on time, and we need to get out. I saw Leon, he was fine but we got separated a little while ago." Tilting to look around Sherry, Claire was quick to recognize the slumped man in the corner as she rushed to him. "Pete! Jesus, what happened to you?"

"Red?" Pete coughed, as his skin continued to grow paler by the minute. His forehead was drenched in sweat, fighting to keep his eyes opened as he slowly continued to slump closer to the ground. "Sorry, but I lost those checks. So much for early retirement."

"Pete!" Claire knelt down beside him, carefully trying to sit him back up. She waited until he looked back up at her to force a smile, "Don't worry. I'll just take it out of your paycheck."

Claire looked back up to Sherry, "What happened? Did he get infected from an injury?"

"I...I really don't know." Sherry admitted, kneeling down beside her. "We were fine, for a while. Then he began complaining about a bite? Or sting of some sort. We were alone and together the whole time, nothing happened so I didn't think much of it. Then I found this…" Sherry reached in her pocket to retrieve a dart. "It was on the back of his neck. He was getting weaker since. I...I don't know if it's poison or-."

He's infected. The dreadful thought that flooded Claire, and the realization on Sherry's face. We barely saved Sherry in time, I can't let this happen again. Claire fiercely cried out, pulling the bracelet closer to her. "What did you do to him?"

Claire waited for what felt like an eternity before a low cackle echoed through the bracelet before a low voice echoed through. "I helped him enter into the future. A world without fear, without error. A better world for the worthy."

Claire scoffed, she was in no mood for poetic games. The Redfield in her was fierce as she spat back, "If you're playing this little scenario thing right, then you have to tell me where I can help him."

"Darling, I'm just an observer. You are the one who's done this before."

"Done this before?" Pete weakly echoed, picking his head up as he frantically continued, "What does that mean? I'm pretty sure this never happened to me before?" He let out a loud groan as he sunk back into the floor, moaning, "Is this what cramps feel like? Am I becoming a woman?"

"You're going to be okay." Claire promised with a warm smile, before looking back at the bracelet, "What exactly did you give him?"

"Claire!" Sherry quickly grabbed her wrist, catching her attention. "She said you've done this before! She's talking about me. She must have given him the same thing she did to me…"

"Tick, tock, darling." With a final low chuckle, the voice faded out.

"Pete, listen you're going to be fine. I know where, and how, to help you."

"It's a virus isn't it?" Pete panicked. "Am I gonna become one of them?"

"No, I won't let that happen. I promise." Claire shot a concerning look back to Sherry, who was still wide eyed watching Pete. "We have to find a lab. It should be nearby and Leon would be heading in that direction."

"And leave Pete?"

"He'll be fine here, for now. You were okay when we left you, but it's best for you to stay with him."

"Guys, I can handle myself." Pete forced a smile, slowly perching himself up against a bedpost. "Just leave me with a gun and I'll go against the wall. I mean...I've seen the 'The Walking Dead', maybe I'll give off an aroma and they won't come near me or something, right?...But, really, you can leave me. Go together, it'll be safer."

Claire didn't budge a small smile this time. She knew the risks of leaving him alone, and vulnerable. It's the same ones she risked with Sherry all those years ago. But he wasn't a child, he was old enough to make that decision. Just as he did when he spoke out to protect her from the mercenary group. Reluctantly, Claire gave in, "Alright. We'll be back before you know it, ok? Just hang tight. I promise."

"Don't' let anyone in that isn't us." Sherry gently reminded. "Oh, except for Leon. You've seen him before, right?"

"Generally…" Pete smugly scoffed, forcing a teasing grin. "Looks like he stumbled out of the 'O.C'. Guess I've been watching too much T.V. You two better go, I'll just wait here…"

Claire knelt back down on the ground and welcomed Pete in a warm embrace, feeling the guilt sink in. She was on the team that hired him, and choose him to be her assistant. He had always looked up to her like a sister, and for the first time in a long time she felt the burden of that. The thought of knowing someone's very fate is in her hands. She parted from him and held out the magnum for him to take.

"This gun has a pretty big kick, should be able to push back anyone that comes for you. Just don't hold it too close to your face." Pete chuckled as he took the gun, then looked back up at Claire and smiled, "Thanks Claire, for everything." Claire gave him a small smile before she shifted her focus on gathering items to keep the door barricaded.

Sherry hesitantly approached Pete, bringing him in a quick embrace. If the circumstances were different, Sherry pondered, she would allow herself to feel something with him. It wasn't only because he was the first 'normal' person to ever talk to her, but the first to listen and not judge. Someone who was himself, someone Sherry hoped to still have a chance to get to know. "Hang in there. We'll be back before you know it."

Pete blushed a bit as he smiled back at her. "Anything for a friend of Red's."

Claire stood at the entryway of the door, waiting until Pete settled himself with the magnum. Sherry quickly grabbed the metal pipe from the floor and joined her there. With a quick nod, Claire took one final look before shutting the door behind her. Sherry stood by her side, worryingly gazing over at the door. "What if we don't find anything?"

"We will. We have to" Claire said as-a-matter-of-factly, running off without looking back.

Peering around the corner, the Serpent Man observed the two women dash off in the other direction. He waited a moment before swiftly following from a safe distance.

"Do you have a visual?" The voice asked him.

He stopped in his tracks, unable to shake the sense of familiarity as he watched the pair rush off. A pit in his stomach that made him second guess the purpose of his whole mission. Ignoring it as nerves, he shook off any doubt. "Yes, they just left the boy behind. I'll retrieve him."

"No." Alex commanded, firmly. "Let him remain. I want you to follow them. Bring me the Birkin girl, I need to rearrange the variables back in our favor. Go. Be sure to retrieve the cure, as well. Do not disappoint me."

He steadied his breath, well aware of the circumstances that wait for him if he failed. "Understood."

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

Leon was leaning against the wall, slowly trying to regain his breath. Dried blood now covered his once pristine uniform, some of it getting on his face as he wiped the sweat off using his sleeve. He stuck his hand in his pants pocket, quickly assessing how many shotgun bullets he had left. Six. Fuck. It took him way more bullets and time then he originally anticipated to get away from those creatures. At least they concentrated on me and not Claire. I made sure to create enough noise to pull them to me. Leon shut his eyes, briefly thinking of the alternate option. Of Claire and Sherry getting captured or worse. Thats impossible. Claire is a Redfield and coming from her and Chris, Redfields are basically indestructible. And Sherry is basically part Redfield and part Kennedy - if she learned anything from Claire and I, it's to be able to handle the worse.

Taking one last breath, he pushed himself off the wall and readied his gun again. He slowly turned the corner making sure it was clear before walking down the hallway. Leon kept following the hallway until he reached a heavy metal door. Pushing it, the door slowly swung open to reveal a boiler room of sorts. There were two huge metal machines and pipes flowing out of them into the walls. I've definitely been here before. Leon took a step deeper into the room, walking on the narrow catwalk between the machines when it finally clicked. Oh right! This is the room where I fought Dr. Birkin. He was definitely an eyesore. Chuckling out loud to his own pun, he stuck his head over the railing and looked down. A stench made his way to him which made him throw his head back.

"Ugh!" He shook his head, "That's disgusting. It smells like garbage." As soon as the words left his mouth, a realization came to him. The sewers. He holstered his gun, as he approached the railing again. Holding his breath, he took another look down below. Other than the stench, he noticed that bags of garbage about 30 feet down. There was water covering some of the bags. He ripped one of the buttons of his uniform and threw it down. A few seconds later, an audible "blop" of the button hitting the water echoed the room.

Well, I can just jump down into the water then! Then I can find Sherry and Claire and get the hell out of his shithole. Leon climbed onto the railing and sat himself down, legs dangling over the edge.

Wait. Leon paused. What the fuck am I doing? This is gonna hurt like a hell if I land wrong. There has to be a less painful way to get there. Shaking his head, Leon laughed to himself. "Kennedy, you almost jumped off a bridge into sewer water. Not your smartest move."

Leon shifted to place his feet back on the solid ground of the catwalk when something red at the end of the catwalk caught his eye. Following the red, his gaze landed on a woman in a red dress with familiar dark eyes.

"Well," Ada purred out, "you certainly have had dumber ideas."

Leon's eyes widened as he took in seeing Ada Wong standing in front of him. The shock of seeing her threw his balance off. He fumbled to regain his balance but still felt himself slip off the railing.

"SHIT!" Leon exclaimed as he fell down into the sewers.

/././././././././././././././././././././././././././././

"Are you sure you can do this?"

"I'm sure. I've done this before. Except this time the place isn't trying to self-destruct." Claire didn't waste time piecing together the serums needed for the cure. It wasn't too difficult, finding all the documents associated with it. Familiar wording and directions guided the two. She remembered it all too well from Sherry, and wouldn't allow Pete's fate to be the same. After passing by a few enemies, Claire couldn't help but watch as Sherry engaged in the fight. She had matured even at her young age, and struck without hesitation.

Sherry pensively paced around the lab, worried about any potential threat that could walk in. Claire and her had switched weapons so she could keep watch while she worked on the cure. She slowly wandered back by Claire's side, hanging her head. "I should have been more cautious. I should have kept a better eye on him, guarded him. I let this happen, I should have-."

"Don't go there." Claire cut in, quick to reassuringly hold her arm. It was words that echoed in her mind for the longest time. She wouldn't let Sherry sink in them. "Sherry, you did the best you could. Sometimes, we can't control what happens. It's okay to be scared. I was. I still am. But, right now Pete needs us. And we'll help him. We got to you, didn't we?"

Sherry hesitated, her eyes never leaving the floor. "How can you be so sure? This could be a fake, or we messed up-! What if he...You guys barely knew what was going on, you were just trying to survive. If it came down to it, can you really say that you two wouldn't have just left?"

I already did. Claire gravely thought, as the image of Steve Burnside flooded her mind again. She had to, because she couldn't save him. The monstrous creature that emerged, striking her. Chris struggling to pull her away from him, desperately trying to snap her back into reality. Watching him die right in front of her eyes. She'd be damned if history would repeat itself.

"Absolutely not! Sherry-." Claire was interrupted by alarm of the syringe finishing. Carefully removing it from the tube, she looked back at Sherry. Sherry slowly looked back up at Claire. Claire knew this was weighing on her, but that would have to be talked about later. "We better hurry."

"I think not."

The new, deep voice sent Claire whirling around Sherry. The masked figure from the fundraiser, her captor, was standing a few feet away from the pair. Defensively standing in front of Sherry, she put arm around behind her, carefully placing the syringe in Sherry's hand. "It's you…"

"Surrender the antidote or face the consequences." The Serpent Man took a step forward, carefully at a time.

"Like hell." Once Claire release her grip of the syringe, she shoved Sherry hard towards the door. Stepping in front of her, she shouted. "Sherry! Go! Now!"

"Claire!" Sherry cried, standing by the doorway. Watching as the Serpent Man continued to approach Claire as she tightened her grip around the metal pipe. Understanding all too well of what Claire was doing, she quickly ran off down the hallway hoping she wouldn't regret that choice.

He groaned, watching Sherry run down the hall. Retrieving his stun rod, the electricity sparked from the tune up. "You are just making my job harder, Redfield. It's like you're begging to get your ass kicked."

Claire steadies herself as she readies her stance with the pipe, "Come and try."

"You know, you're just making my job harder." Reaching around he whirled his stun rod, charging it. "It's like you're begging to get your ass kicked."

Claire sneered as she took aim and swung at the Serpent Man, only for him to dodge it and charge towards her. Claire only had a moment to jump a step back before he took a swing at her with the stun rod. She heard the electricity sizzling as it barely missed her. I have to get that out of his hand.

With all her might, she swung again at the Serpent Man. She grinned when her pipe connected with his side. He stumbled back but his grip on the rod remained. With a growl, he charged forward again jabbing his rod towards her. She used the pipe to deflect the rod, but he recovered from block quickly and swung at her again. All she saw was white as she felt the surge of electricity hit her. She let out a scream and jumped back, trying all she can to not just drop down in pain.

No. I still need to give Sherry time. With new resolve, she charged towards the Serpent Man. Dodging his swing, she swung at him again and this time hitting him square in the face. He stumbled back, adjusting the mask on his face. Claire wasted no time swinging at him again. This time he dodged her and tackled her to the ground. The force of her hitting the ground caused her to lose her grip on the pipe. Before she can try to grab it, she felt his hands close around her neck. She struggled to breathe as he held her tighter. She threw her hand out, trying to find her pipe. Come on, be there. Please. Her lungs were burning as she finally felt the metal pipe. She grabbed it with all her might as she swung it at his head. The force of the hit knocked him off of her and she saw his mask slide across the room.

She gasped for breath, holding the pipe tight towards her as she slowly approached the unmoving man. She readied for another swing as she made her way towards him. She started her swing - only to stop. Her eyes widening at the man laying in front of her.

That face.

She could never forget that face.

Still in shock, she didn't notice him grabbing his stun rod next to him and jabbing her again. She let out a shriek of pain as she fell to the ground, muscles still twitching from the shock. But once she was laying on the ground, she couldn't feel the pain anymore. Nothing made sense.

He was supposed to have been dead. A tear slid down her cheek as she slipped into unconsciousness.

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Ingrid Hunnigan didn't waste time, ignoring the headache she got from staring at the computer screen. For hours, at the very least, she furiously typed in all the data she could. Sorting through every inch of code that Leon sent to her earlier. Hoping to find a quick and easy solution, Hunnigan immediately shut that down - after all, this was Leon she was thinking about. Instead, she found deliveries and mountains of data of enrollment in different mercenary groups and their recent checkpoints. Some included gruesome exchanges between members about their habits, from rampaging villages all the way to sweeping previous Umbrella hotspots.

Her eyes widened as familiar locations flashed on her screen. All destroyed locations, including the Spencer estate and Raccoon City? There should be nothing left. Why would…?

Continuing within the files, Hunnigan's interests peaked at the file, 'Raccoon City Police Department Blueprints'. Expecting to find multiple strands of data from years ago, Hunnigan knew better than to ignore every file possible. She gasped as her computer screen flickered, flooding with raw video data. Examining closer, Hunnigan found herself looking not at floor plans but at a young man. Under hibernation, cell growths, mutated cells- a face connected to some scientific study that was above her head. Highlighted in the file description was an all too familiar name, almost like she heard of it in passing but nothing more. She quickly typed in Leon's number, a small part of her hopefully he'll pick up. When is went straight to voicemail, she immediately pulled up the next number she could rely on.

"Hello?" A groggy voice met the receiving end.

"Mr. Redfield? This is Ingrid Hunnigan, I'm so sorry to call at this time-."

"No," Chris' attention snapped back into reality, quick to respond. "What is is, Hunnigan? Any updates?"

"I'm...not sure. That is why I'm calling you. Leon sent me some data that I can't wrap my head around."

"What would I know? Apparently I don't belong in the intell department." Chris scoffed, still wounded from Leon's earlier insult.

"It's a name, it keeps coming up everywhere. Do you know a Steve Burnside?"

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Authors' Note: Wow, we are so sorry for the delay. Life's definitely been crazy for the both of us but we are trying to get more of a schedule when it comes to writing this story. We are approaching the end so hopefully we won't keep you waiting much longer. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

PS: Yourfaithfulsidekick (my co-author) has uploaded this story plus others onto AO3 so don't worry if you see the same story there as well!