Sinister-Red

Chapter 2: You Were Always Destined To Be Mine

“Argh….my head” Diedra let out an agonizing groan, moving her hand to grip her forehead but her arm couldn't move. 

“What?” she gasped, her eyes adjusting to the bright surgical lights that illuminated the area she was in. She then glanced down, her eyes widening at the sight before her. She was strapped to an examination table, her wrists and legs bound tightly, preventing her from making any sort of movements. 

“H-Hello?” She shakily called out, looking up and scanning her surroundings. 

She was in a strange laboratory, filled with specimens, opened cadavers, and vials and syringes filled with black writing veins. This place seemed inhuman and very much dangerous. 

Turning her head more to the right, her heart sunk in her chest at the sight before her. 

“Thomas!” She screamed. 

Thomas had been flipped upside down on an examination table, two IVs stuck in his arm, collecting his blood in a sealed container. 

“Let us go!” She shouted at the top of her lungs. 

Suddenly, heavy footsteps entered the laboratory, a sign that someone had heard her shouting and came to investigate.

“Professor Diedra Wilson” a low, rumbling voice rang along her ears. 

“W-Who are you?” Diedra stuttered. 

“It is such a pleasure to be meeting you once again, Professor.”

“Again? I've never met you in my entire fucking life! Let us go now!” 

The towering shadow loomed just beyond the darkness of the lab, their enormous silhouette moving carefully, studying her every reaction. 

“You don't recognize me? What a pity. I remember you though. Professor Wilson…the woman that introduced me to someone very close to my heart….y/n.”

Diedra's jaw dropped at the mention of y/n, her favorite student and alumni from a couple years back. 

“V-Victor…?” She gasped. 

Gideon emerged from the shadow's, a wicked grin plastered along his face. “Aww, so you do remember me. I should feel honored” he slowly approached her, his heavy footsteps sending a chillful wave down Deidra's spine. 

“Victor…what happened to you?” She questioned in shock, his appearance confusing her the most. 

Gideon approached the side of the examination table, his body leaning forward so that his face could stare down at her.

“Where is she?” He calmly asked.

“Who?” 

“Y/n.”

Diedra stayed silent, not wanting to give him the location of where you worked. She couldn't do that to you, especially when you two had gone your separate ways.

“Y/n please!” Victor's voice called to you as he followed closely behind you 

“Victor, leave me alone, okay!”

Victor quickly leapt forward, his hand grabbing your arm and spinning you around. “Why can't you tell me what I did wrong?”

You snatched your arm away from his grasp, anger clearly written across your face. “Fine, I'll tell you. The reason why I've been ignoring you is because you accepted that job at Umbrella. I told you, that place is bad news. I know for a fact they are doing experiments on people and building weapons to hurt innocents! But you didn't listen…you just went ahead and got the job.”

“Y/n…I did this for us!” Victor shouted, frustration cracking through his voice.

“So we could finally have a future together!”

His breathing became uneven as he stepped closer toward you.

“Don’t I get a say in my own damn life?!”

“No!” Tears burned within your eyes as you shook your head violently. 

“No, Victor….you did it because you are obsessed with human evolution.”

Your voice trembled with heartbreak, “You genuinely believe that the weak deserve to perish so the strong can rise!” 

Victor's expression hardened instantly, “You don't understand..”.

“No…I don't need nor want to understand you anymore. You don't care about us….”

Those words cut deep within him, his body sinking deep into the ground like the roots of a tree.

“You only care about creating something beyond humanity.” 

“Y/n…” was all that came from his mouth. 

“We're done.”

After you entered your home, he turned around and headed to his car. As he got inside, he gripped onto his steering wheel tightly, a boiling rage rising within him. Then he shouted to the top of his lungs, punching the glass window beside him, cracking it, and cutting his knuckles. 

“Ah…I'll show you y/n….”

“I'll show you the incredible things that I can create” his expression darkened with determination. 

“I will save this miserable world….even if you refuse to understand that” he breathed out slowly and then started his car, driving off into the night. 

The next morning came quicker than Victor expected as he entered Professor Diedra's office.

“Oh, hello Victor. I wasn't expecting you today? How can I help?” Diedra smiled pleasantly as she stood from her chair. 

“Uh…I um…was hoping you can uh email me my transcript for this class.”

“Oh…uh….of course….I will send you all the information tonight.”

“Thank you so much” Victor nodded in thanks and turned around to leave her office. 

“Victor, are you feeling alright?” Diedra asked with concern laced in her voice, hinting at his bandaged hand. 

“No…I'm not” he turned his head to her. 

“Oh, what happened, if you don't mind me asking?”

“Y/n…left me….”.

“Oh, I'm so sorry Victor.”

“I am too.” 

His fingers tightened around the strap of his bag.

“But it’s alright…” He lifted his gaze toward her again.

“She’ll come back to me once I create something capable of changing the world.”

A strange grin slowly spread across his lips. “Something extraordinary.”

Goosebumps crawled violently across Diedra’s skin.

The look in his eyes no longer resembled the brilliant young man she once taught. It looked fanatic. Obsessive.

Victor calmly adjusted the sleeve of his coat before heading toward the office door.

“I will await your email, Professor Diedra” He paused briefly.

“And thank you…”A faint smile crossed his face once more.

“For the wonderful four years you’ve given me.” 

Then he left the office. Leaving Diedra standing there in stunned silence as unease slowly settled into her chest.

“…My God.”

“I don't know where she is, Victor.” 

A long sigh escaped Gideon's lips after hearing her blatantly lie to his face. 

“I wonder what would happen if I entered a mutagenic strain into your body? Would it change your genetic make-up….or further degrade your body and twist it into something inhuman?”

The very words he spoke sent a tremor down her body. This wasn't the same Victor…he changed…. .

“You're fucking crazy….y/n made the right choice to leave you.” 

Gideon's expression darkened as he stood to his original height, a slow burning fury igniting in the pit of his stomach. 

“She saw what you were becoming!” Diedra snapped. 

“You were brilliant, Victor, but completely consumed by your obsession with evolution!” 

“And now look at you!” 

The laboratory fell silent again. Then Gideon let out another sigh. 

“How…disappointing” he turned toward the nearby table where several syringes rested within metal trays. Dark fluid moved unnaturally inside each vial. 

Diedra's fear immediately returned, “No….”. 

“Do you know why I've always been fascinated by human evolution, Professor Wilson?” Gideon flicked the vial with his index finger before turning around to approach the examination table. 

Diedra struggled violently against the restraints, tears overflowing down her cheeks, trying everything she could to get out of this situation. 

THUD. THUD. THUD. 

He leaned in close to her ear, his lips creaking into a devilish smile. “It's because humanity has always resisted progress…and yet….they always submit eventually.” 

“No!” Diedra screamed as the syringe entered her vein, agony exploding through her nervous system.

Blackened veins rapidly spread beneath her skin as her body convulsed violently against the table restraints. 

Philip entered the laboratory, standing by Thomas's drained corpse. Watching. Waiting. Listening. 

Slowly, Diedra's scream faded, her body going limp. Then her head slowly lifted, blank eyes staring forward. She was connected now to Gideon. 

Silence settled over the laboratory once more. Philip then stepped forward slightly and lowered his head toward Gideon. 

“Doctor Gideon,” he spoke calmly. 

“I have identified several additional subjects with promising compatibility.”

A faint smile spread across Gideon's lips as he pulled the syringe out of her vein. “Excellent, I'll prepare the blood samples generously provided by Thomas.”

As soon as Philip turned to exit the laboratory, Gideon leaned in close to Diedra's ear. “Where does she work?”

Diedra loudly gasped, her pupils dilating further as Gideon searched deep into her memories. 

“I wanted to tell you that I got a job at the CBR as their chief medical examiner!” 

“Oh my gosh that is amazing y/n! I'm so proud of you!” Diedra hugged you tightly.

“Thank you!” You giggled happily. 

“Ah. And how is Victor?”

Your smile faded at the mention of his name, “I don't know if you heard but he and I are no longer together.”

“Oh” Diedra nodded, already knowing this information, but tried to downplay it. 

“Yeah…he chose to work at Umbrella when I specifically told him not to. They're corrupt and the way they operate is inhumane. I'm shocked that they are still running.”

“Hmm, yeah, they are a shady corporation. I'm so sorry sweetheart that you're going through that.”

“Thank you Professor Wilson. I feel so ashamed to say that I miss him but…I don't know if I want to even ask him to come back…”.

“That is for you to decide my dear~”

Gideon’s eyes drifted open, a radiating warmth filling his cold body, “She yearned for me. Wanted me to come back…”. 

Diedra blankly stared at Gideon, her free will being controlled by his mind. “Do you wish for me to find her?” 

“Yes. Go to where she works. Document each finding and bring them back to me” he ordered her, determination written across his face. 

“As you wish, Doctor Gideon” she nodded obediently.

“And….bring me a lock of her hair” He released her from the restraints and turned to continue his experiments. 

“Ah, home at last” you sighed deeply, shutting your door behind you and kicking off your shoes. 

Yet, your mind kept racing with thoughts and questions. How was this possible? How can corpses with no vital organs and blood flowing could come back to life and mutate? 

Shaking your head, you went upstairs to change out of the dirt-ridden clothes you wore. 

“Jeez, what a fucking day” you let out a deep sigh, returning to your seat on the couch and pulled your laptop onto your lap. 

Typing away at your reports, you began to compare the notes Leon had provided to you. You jotted down the similarities, the location of the incision sites and markings, anything that could prove patterns. 

You had to collect enough data to present to your boss. You knew he told you to basically stand down, but that wasn't you. You had to do something before things got out of hand. 

“I fucking knew it!” You shouted to the top of your lungs as if the whole world could hear you. 

“I knew it had something to do with the T-Virus. Can't believe Umbrella after being gone for all this time is still fucking us in the ass.”

Gathering your belongings, purse, keys, laptop, hoodie, you rushed out of your home; of course locking it behind you to not let the creeps in.

As you got in your car, you called your secretary. “Hey Diana sweetheart, I am so sorry to be calling on a Saturday but do you know if the DSO came to pick up the cadavers?”

“Oh hello Doctor y/n! No worries at all! No, the DSO hasn't come to pick up the cadavers. They said they're gonna do it first thing Monday.”

“Gotcha, okay thank you! Enjoy your Saturday!”

“Oh? Alright, have a good afternoon doctor!” 

After you hung up, you turned on your car, and sped out of your driveway to head to your workplace. 

Once you arrived at your workplace, you shut your car off, pulled on your hoodie and grabbed your belongings.

“I can't believe I'm here at work on a mother fucking Saturday” you chuckled, proceeding toward the front entrance.

“Do my eyes deceive me?!” 

“Oh shush Walter, I am only going to be here for an hour at most” you smiled cutely at your favorite security guard. 

Walter let out a chuckle as he stood from his chair and handed you the key to the upstairs offices. “Just don't make a mess. Carla just cleaned.”

“Oh don't you worry, I'll make a mess and tell Carla to make you clean it!” You laughed, grabbing the key and flashing him a wink.

“Get outta here” he shooed you away with a laugh and sat back down to continue monitoring the security screens.

You soon approached the elevators, pressed the top floor button, and patiently waited for the doors to open. 

As you waited, a woman who seemed off entered the building. Her movements seemed erratic, inhuman even. 

Walter immediately stood from his chair, placing his hand cautiously on his weapon as she approached his counter. “Can I help you?”

“I'm…looking for…Doctor y/n” the woman spoke in a calm yet eerily manner. 

“I think you got the wrong place ma'am” he lied, not wanting to put you in any sort of imminent danger, especially when she looked suspicious. 

Overhearing the conversation, you turned your head towards them, your heart sinking in your chest when you realized who it was. 

“Professor Wilson?” You gasped, rushing towards her. 

Diedra turned to look at you, her pupils were pin point and her face seemed like it was drained of all its color. “It's been such a long time y/n” she smiled. 

“Uh…I got this Walter…thank you” you placed a gentle hand against her back and guided her to the elevators. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, don't worry" you gestured for him to relax. 

“I wanted to see how you were doing after all these years.”

“I'm doing fine Professor, why don't you come up to my office and I'll get you a bottle of water.”

“Oh you are too kind,” she smiled. 

“Of course, how can I not be to my favorite professor” you smiled and then looked up to see where the elevator was. 

As you were distracted, Diedra pulled scissors out of her pocket, took a hold of a long strand of your [Your hair color and what type like curly, straight, braided, etc.] hair and cut it. 

“Huh?” You turned to her, noticing her shifting in her stance and shoving something deep in her coat pocket. 

A couple minutes passed as you allowed Professor Wilson into your office and offered her to take a seat on any chair she preferred. 

“Here we go,” you smiled, handing her a cold water bottle from your fridge. 

“Thank you my dear” she smiled, opening the water bottle and taking a few sips. 

“So, how are things?” You gently plopped down on your office chair and awaited her response.

Her expression changed suddenly. Her pupils dilated further and her head hauntingly tilted to the side. 

“I haven't seen your radiant beauty in so long that I needed to see you for myself and of course…see how you were flourishing in your new job.”

Your soft expression disappeared at the way she spoke and tilted her head. It seemed all too familiar of someone you knew a long time ago. 

“Professor Wilson…are you feeling alright?”

“I am doing-” 

“-Just fine” Gideon hummed hungrily as he saw you before him. 

You looked absolutely ravishing and surprisingly adorable with the glasses you had on. [You can add your own special item if you don't like the glasses idea! Like imagine your character having something particular to your outfits or your likes lovies!]

“I've found you at last” he opened his eyes, a wicked grin curled at the corners of his mouth. He couldn't believe his very eyes when he saw you through Diedra's vision. 

“Okay” you nodded worriedly, standing from your chair and kneeling in front of her. 

You slowly grabbed a hold of her cheek, pulled down her lower eye lid and noticed strange black tendrils wriggling around. 

“Oh shit….”

Before you could react, Diedra’s hand suddenly snapped around your wrist with horrifying strength before slamming you backward against the nearby wall.

“Ah!” you gasped for air, struggling against her grasp. 

“Submit yourself to me willingly. If you continue resisting…” Diedra’s head tilted eerily to the side. 

“I will continue creating strains capable of infecting every person unfortunate enough to cross my path.”

Your eyes widened, breath hitching in your throat, “V-Victor?” 

Diedra’s lips curled into the same malicious grin that you once knew all too well, sending a wave of goosebumps across your skin. 

“Come back to me y/n” her voice softened. “And no one else needs to suffer.”

“No…this isn’t possible” you struggled against her grasp before using your legs to shove her backwards. 

Scrambling to your feet, you ran out of your office and down the hall to your lab. “Shit, shit, shit!” you cried out as you grabbed your ID and scanned it against the scanner. 

After the doors opened, you pulled it shut, looking through the reinforced glass window to see where Diedra was. 

Diedra slowly stood at the end of the hallway, Victor’s unsettling grin still stretched across her face.

“Y/n…..you continue resisting fate…”. 

“....yet you were always destined to return to me~”  

Quickly ducking down to your knees, you grabbed your phone from your pocket and called Leon.

“Hey, look who’s calling m-”

“Leon!” you cried his name.

“Y/n! What happened?!” he worriedly asked, his playful demeanor shifting to a serious one. 

“I need you to come to my workplace….my professor…she’s trying to hurt me or something!” 

“What? I’m coming, hold on!” 

After he hung up, you heard soft tapping against the glass window of the laboratory doors. 

“Oh fuck me…” your head slowly looked up to Diedra staring down at you. 

“Let me in~”

You rushed to your feet, slowly walking backwards as she tried to open the sealed laboratory doors. “Go away!” 

“Awww, my sweet y/n. I won’t stop until you are mine~” Diedra balled her hand into a fist and punched the reinforced glass, cracking it. 

You let out a yelp, rushing deeper into the laboratory and hiding behind one of the gurneys in hopes that she wouldn't find you there. 

BOOM

The loud sound of one of the laboratory doors bursting open echoed along your ears, soft taps of shoes entering after, a sign that Diedra had made it through. 

“Y/n, where are you~?” her voice hauntingly rang through space. 

You covered your mouth tightly, body shaking uncontrollably, a million thoughts running through your mind. You didn’t know what to do, especially to someone you’ve known for years. 

Diedra shuffled towards one of the gurneys, her balance now showing more unnatural movements. With a quick pull of the white sheet, she was presented with a male cadaver laying lifeless on the stretcher.

“Hmm” she let out a soft chuckle, using her hands to open his mouth. “I know those beautiful eyes are watching me, y/n….”. 

“....let me show you how much I’ve accomplished over the years~”

Shortly after she spoke, Diedra regurgitated a black viscous fluid into the male’s mouth.

You watched carefully from afar, a grotesque expression crossing your face. “What the?” you whispered to yourself.

As soon as she stepped away from the body, it began to convulse violently. Then a loud groaning sound erupted from his throat as he was brought back to life.

“Do you see it now, y/n?” Victor’s voice echoed through Diedra’s throat with unsettling calm. 

“Do you finally understand what I have become?” 

“For years, humanity has rotted beneath the weight of weakness…” her head tilted slightly.

“Humans have always been fragile. Calling me insane for envisioning something greater.” 

The corpse suddenly sat upright with a violent groan. 

“But look closely, beloved…” Diedra’s voice softened at the name she had given you. 

“This is not death” her fingers brushed carefully along the side of its face almost lovingly. 

“I have rewritten the limitations of the human body itself” a low growl vibrated through her chest. “I command life, infection, the very thing humanity fears most.”

Diedra’s eyes slowly lifted towards where you hid, “And through all these years…” A smile spread across her face. 

“....every discovery….strain…evolution….was built with you in mind~”

You watched her carefully, your body and face frozen with fear. 

“I wanted a world where nothing could ever take you away from me again” her voice lowered into something almost painful.

Silence filled the room briefly until Diedra’s smile widened further.

“But you abandoned me…” the lights in the laboratory flicked ever so slightly. “...you left me alone in a world too small to contain what I was becoming..” 

“Now look at me…...look at what your absence created” her expression darkened with obsession. 

“I have longed for your presence my beloved…..” a deep rumbling growl escaped from her chest. 

“....and now….I found you…..and I don’t intend on letting you slip through my fingers again~”

Without you noticing, the male corpse took a hold of you from above the gurney you were hiding behind.

“Ah!” You screamed, struggling against the corpse’s grasp as he pulled you onto your feet and dragged you towards Diedra. 

“There you are~” Diedra hummed as Victor would, using the back of her hand to carefully caress your cheek. 

“This can’t be real…you….you aren’t Victor…” you cried softly. 

“Oh….” Diedra tilted her head once more, Victor’s grin still etched across her face.

“I know you ache for me to consume every part of you…” her voice slithered warmly through the dim room as she leaned dangerously close to your ear. 

“After all…” A soft chuckle escaped her throat. “...I know your body better than anyone else ever could~”

A pleasurable chill shot violently down your spine, your legs trembling uncontrollably as a result. 

“Ah…” you let out a soft moan, a deep blush forming across your cheek. “No…it…it can’t be….you’re a monster!” you screamed. 

BANG

The head of the corpse holding you whipped back, their body toppling backwards onto the cold marble floors. 

Diedra’s head snapped towards the direction of the shot, her expression hardening. 

“Leon!” You gasped in relief.

“Y/n, come on” Leon gestured you to come on over to him with a tilt of his head. 

Ushering past Diedra, you rushed into his arms, holding onto his chest tightly. 

Leon immediately wrapped an arm securely around you, pulling you tightly against his body while keeping his gun trained forward. 

“You okay?” he asked lowly. 

You nodded shakily against him, your fingers desperately grasping at the fabric of his jacket. 

But the moment Victor witnessed you run willingly into this stranger’s arms…something inside him snapped. 

Deep within the hive connection, a violent surge of rage erupted through Gideon’s body. The emotion bled directly into Diedra like poison flooding into her veins. 

A deep animalistic growl rumbled unnaturally through her chest as Victor’s fury overtook her completely. 

“You cling to him…” Diedra’s voice trembled with restrained wrath. 

“....as though he could ever protect you from me” her hollow eyes stared directly onto Leon. 

Leon’s jaw tightened instantly, “Yeah? Wanna test that theory?” he flicked the switch of his Requiem weapon, a sign that it was loaded and ready to be fired. 

A distorted laugh suddenly escaped Diedra’s throat, but beneath the laughter was unmistakable jealousy. 

“I guess……..the next move is yours……Leon” Diedra shrugged her shoulders and walked over to a tray of surgical equipment. 

“Professor please, you have to tell us what we can do to help you” you pleaded with her, naively thinking that this whole situation was because she got infected with a virus and was exhibiting signs of delirium. 

Her eyes looked towards you, her hand picking up a scalpel ever so gently. “Do you know why I take delight in utilizing a scalpel, Leon?”

He remained silent, his expression unreadable but he was determined to protect you no matter the cost. 

“Because they carve through the human flesh without the slightest difficulty” Diedra smirked and traced the sharp scalpel across her neck. 

“No!” you screamed, pulling away from Leon and charging towards her.

“Wait y/n!” Leon gasped, rushing to stop you.

Blood dripped from her neck like a never-ending waterfall, her body going limp and falling to the floor like a marionette with its strings cut.

“No, no, no!” you cried softly, cradling Diedra’s head to comfort her in her last moments. “Please god no!”

Leon holstered his weapon, eyes heavy with sorrow as he watched you cradle her close to your body.

“Diedra…” you cried, tears dripping down your eyes. 

“I'm sorry y/n…she's gone…” Leon kneeled down beside you and gently caressed your back. 

“Who could have done this to her?” You looked at him with tearful eyes.

“I don't know..”.

“I looked under her eyes and saw black tendrils moving. They looked exactly like the tendrils in these cadavers here.” 

“Are you sure?” His brows raised in suspicion. 

“Yeah….I think she was infected with something.” 

Suddenly, black tendrils slowly slithered their way out of Diedra's neck. 

You gasped, watching in curiosity as they moved and squirmed around as if trying to find a new host. 

“Shit. I've seen this before” he leaned in closer to you to get a good glimpse at it.

“Really? Where?” you curiously asked. 

“In Valdelobos, Spain. I was sent there to rescue the president's daughter, Ashley.” 

“Holy shit. Wait, maybe if you search the cameras of the local airports, you could see who took a trip to that town? Find out who's been extracting the viruses from there and spreading them?” 

“I would have to search through hundreds of hours of CCTV footage, y/n. We don't have that kind of time, especially with this bio-terrorist on the loose.”

“Get Sherry to do it. I'm sure she can come up with an algorithm to find specific characteristics in people that seem out of the ordinary.”

“How do you know about Sherry?” Leon cracked a curious smile.

“I do my research, Leon,” you chuckled. 

“I can see that. And what specific characteristics would you want so that she can set the parameters?”

“Look for strange mutations and odd behavior. Typically, bio-terrorists give themselves away simply by looking different than the normal person or they act extremely nervous.”

“Are you sure you aren't a DSO agent?” 

“Leon” you sighed cutely, playfully shaking your head. 

“Just tell Sherry to do that. Now, help me with Professor Wilson's body…”.

Leon nodded, carefully grabbing her corpse and lifting her up to place her on an empty examination table, being careful not to let those black tendrils come into contact with his skin. 

“I'm going to step out for a second to call Sherry. Are you going to be okay?” Leon softly asked. 

You fell silent for a moment as you placed Diedra's cold hands on her chest, tears beginning to form in your eyes.

“No..” You fell apart quickly and rushed into Leon's arms.

“Oh” he gasped, not expecting your hug but ultimately wrapped his arms tightly around you.

“Hey…hey shh…it's okay…you're going to be okay” he whispered calmly to you, rubbing your back gently to ease your sadness. 

“I knew her for years. We’ve talked so many times. She even invited me to her fucking anniversary party….and now…she’s gone..”. 

“I know, but it’ll be okay.” 

“Oh my gosh, Thomas!” You gasped, pulling away from his embrace. 

“Who’s Thomas?” 

“Her husband…I-I gotta call him…he’s gotta-” you began to panic. 

“Y/n!” Leon grabbed a hold of your arms tightly. 

“Huh?” you snapped out of your racing thoughts. 

“Breath with me” he inhaled softly, pressing his hand gently against your chest.

You nodded, taking a hold of his wrist and following alongside him and taking a deep breath in. 

“And out” Leon let out a gentle exhale.

You also exhaled, shutting your eyes and trying to calm yourself down. 

“Good. Now, take a second to collect your thoughts and then call Thomas.” 

“Okay” you opened your eyes to look into his soft blue ones. 

“You can’t let yourself get this way, y/n. I cannot bear to see you get hurt because of this” he soothingly caressed your cheek. 

“You’re stronger than you realize~”

You smiled through your gentle tears, bringing him into another hug. “Thank you Leon….you’ve always been there for me and….I just…can’t thank you enough…”. 

“You need to thank me. Your presence brings me all the comfort I need” he chuckled, leaning his cheek against the top of your head. 

“Argh!” Gideon grabbed one of the surgical trays and launched it across the room with such force that it cracked a section of marble on the wall.  

Philip heard the commotion from the lab and rushed in, “Doctor Gideon, everything alright?”

“No…” Gideon growled lowly. 

“Nothing is alright, Philip.”

The laboratory fell silent. 

“Professor Diedra was merely a means to an end. She failed to obtain the information I required and now she is wasted flesh.”

Gideon’s breathing deepened, “But that is not what concerns me.”

The metal beneath his grip groaned loudly, “Leon Kennedy…” The name dripped from his lips like poison.

Gideon said nothing for a split second as Leon’s name echoed in his thoughts, then-

CRACK

The corner of his laboratory table folded inward beneath the sheer force of his grip.

“He held her!” a deep growl rumbled from his chest. “He touched her…and she ran to him” the words seemed to physically pain him. 

Glass vials along the table began rattling from the force of his agitation.

“When she was frightened…” Gideon’s eyes narrowed. “When she needed comfort…” his voice dropped even further. 

“She sought him….”.

Suddenly, his hand swept across the entire table, glass shatting across the laboratory floor, experimental samples bursting apart and equipment clattering against the walls. 

“That should have been me!” He roared in seething rage. 

Gideon’s chest rose and fell heavily for a moment….but then slowly.… a cold, calculating, and terrifying smile peered across his lips. 

“Very well~” he straightened to his full height. 

“If Leon Kennedy insists on placing himself between us…” A low chuckle escaped him as he turned to face Philip who remained silent but observant.

“Then I shall learn everything there is to know about him. His habits. His weakness. His fears” his smile widened even further.

“And then….” a hungry growl escaped him. “I will decide what to do with him.”

“Hey Sherry, can you do me a favor? Yeah, can you search through the CCTV footage of the airport in Spain after I rescued the president’s daughter, Ashley?” Leon spoke through his phone. 

“No, just find anything out of the ordinary. Like things that would tie someone to committing acts of bio-terrorism.” 

“Thanks Sherry, I still owe you one.” 

After Leon hung up, he looked towards you as you frantically called Thomas’s phone.

“Is he answering?” 

“No” you looked up at Leon who approached you. 

“Hmm…something must’ve happened to him. Do you know their address?”

“Yeah.”

“Send me it.” 

“Oh no, you aren’t going alone.”

“Y/n…” Leon tiled his head slightly. “You need to stay here.”

“I am not staying here and besides…I don’t want to find out what Carla is going to do to me after she finds the laboratory doors have been blown open” you chuckled, rushing past him to head to your office and make some calls about the damages to the lab.

After a few minutes of calls and getting reprimanded from your boss about the lab nearly being torn apart, you and Leon had finally arrived at Diedra’s address.

“This the place?” Leon asked as he put his Porsche in park in front of the home. 

“Yeah” you leaned down a bit to take a good look at the house for anything out of the ordinary. “There’s lights on but…why isn’t Thomas answering?” 

“Come on,” Leon said as he stepped out of his car and shut the door behind him. 

Doing the same, you shut the door behind you and followed him. However, this whole scenario was strange. Thomas worked from home and he always had his phone on. So, why wasn’t he answering?

As you both reached the door, Leon made the first knock, leaning back to check for any signs of movement.

“Thomas?” you called, reaching to grab the doorknob but the door hauntingly opened by itself. “What the fuck?”

“Stay close” Leon sternly said, pulling out his requiem weapon and loading it. 

“Okay” you nodded, following closely behind him, making sure to look for any clues of what had happened to Thomas.

Leon soon caught the sight of the blood as he entered the living room and lowered his weapon when the realization hit him.

“He was here…” his jaw tightened. 

“But someone made sure he didn’t leave on his own.” 

“What do you mean?” you ushered past Leon and stopped in your tracks when you noticed a pair of eyeballs on the floor and a pool of blood.

“Oh my gosh….” you covered your mouth in shock. 

A sudden ring emanated from Leon’s pocket, giving him a heads up that someone was calling him. 

“Hello?” he answered his phone, his eyes lighting up at the sound of Sherry’s voice. “Hey, that was quick. What’d you find?” 

You turned your body to face Leon, waiting for him to tell you who was responsible for so much destruction.

“Okay” he nodded, moving his phone away from his ear after putting it on speaker and scrolling through his messages to find the email Sherry had sent him.

“Y/n was right about the characteristics. I found one odd person that entered the airport and sent his photo to your email Leon.”

“Did you get a chance to get a facial recognition scan?” he questioned. 

“Yep. And I found out that his name is Doctor Victor Gideon.”

Your heart sunk deep into your chest at the sound of that name. “What?” you rushed over to him and looked at his phone, noticing a tall figure in a snake print coat ominously passing through the airport. 

“Oh fuck me…” you murmured underneath your breath, your body beginning to tremble. 

“Hey, you okay?” Leon looked at you worriedly. 

“Ah….” you shut your eyes tightly, the memories flashing through your mind of what happened in the lab.

“I know you ache for me to consume every part of you…~”

Those words echoed along your mind, but instead of Diedra saying it, you saw Victor standing there in the lab with you. Saying those exact words bit by bit. 

She wasn’t just infected with a virus, Victor was controlling her….and apparently he had finally found you. 

“Y/n? Do you know him?” Leon’s soft voice brought you back to reality. 

“No…” you lied, opening up your eyes to look at him. “I’ve never seen him before in my life.”

“Are you sure? You were shaking after Sherry mentioned his name.”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

Leon let out a gentle sigh as he took Sherry off speaker and asked her if she could find any relevant information about his place of business and if he owned any properties. And to also send a team of agents to his location to scan for any evidence that could be used to locate this Doctor Gideon. 

Once he hung up, he placed his hand against your back, “Do you want me to take you home?”

“Yeah….I’ve had a long day and….I want to be home.”

“Okay, let’s go” he flashed a reassuring smile to you before helping you out of Diedra’s house.

Once you made it back home, you changed out of your clothes and sat on your bed with a worryful expression written across your face.

How was this possible? How could Victor do all this? And why….did you lie to Leon about not knowing him? You knew everything about him. You dated him for fucks sake….but you couldn’t stomach telling him that…especially when you now knew that he would stop at nothing to obtain you. 

“Oh Leon” you cried out his name as you gripped onto your stuffed bear, wishing that you had the strength to tell him about Victor but you didn’t want him to worry more than he already was.

“How many subjects do we have so far, Philip?” 

“About forty, Doctor Gideon.” 

“Excellent” Gideon chuckled as he looked down through the observation window into a room that contained around forty chambers filled with Thomas’s spliced blood. 

“Begin by transferring the subjects into the chambers” he ordered, casually grabbing a file that contained the necessary sequences he had to follow to properly administer the strain into each subject.

“Also, make sure to properly connect the oxygen masks to their mouths, I wouldn’t want them to suffocate before integration with the strain.”

“Yes, Doctor Gideon” Philip nodded and went about to do just that. 

Gideon let out a low, hungry chuckle at the sight before him. He was on the verge of creating something far greater than Elpis. Something that would reshape the future itself. And when that future arrived….he would finally reclaim the one person who had haunted his every waking thought. You.