Chapter Text
Chris Redfield should have never volunteered to try that damn prototype device made by Blue Umbrella. He'd forgotten what the device was supposed to do, but if there was one thing he did know, it'd only put him in the most utterly unimaginable scenario ever...
It'd put him back in time. Back in Raccoon City. In the year 1998.
Chris Redfield was in the year 1998 in the month of May. Again. In Raccoon City. Again. Back in one of the happiest months of the cursed year the Mansion Incident took place in.
A nearby newspaper laying abandoned near him in the lush spring grass of the park he'd woken up on confirmed his suspicions. The date was in big bold print at the top of the dirty white front page "THU 3RD MAY 1998' and under the date were articles announcing the latest news to the people of Raccoon City. News which to Chris was anything but new. He already knew all the stories that had just been reported without having to flick through, and he already knew how the unfinished scoops would end before anyone else would.
The whole situation felt like a dream. There was no way he was actually back in the 90s, in a city that should be destroyed. It was impossible. It was ridiculous. It was utterly insane. Time travel only existed in fiction.
Yet again, zombie outbreaks and giant mutant B.O.W creatures were considered all of those things, but they were very much real and Chris' entire life revolved around them.
Chris' mind snapped out of his thoughts. Thinking about the situation would only hurt his head because there was no way he could explain his situation. This sort of thing was for a scientist to think about, and he was no scientist. All he could do was hope to find a way out or hope that someone came and found him in this time.
It would be the most sensible thing to do.
But a tiny voice in the back of Chris' mind whispered to him like a devil on his shoulder, tempting him to act insensibly with a soft enticing, 'It's 1998. He's alive.'
Adrenaline coursed through Chris' veins and his heart thumped madly as the situation he found himself in began to shine in a new and brilliant light.
A light that he shouldn't go into.
'Wesker's here,' his mind whispered again as blue eyes subconsciously focused off into the distance where a certain police station would be after a few minutes of walking past blocks of buildings. Chris' eyes slowly looked upwards at the sky and his thoughts raged on, enticing him further to do something he really shouldn't. 'Judging by the colour of the sky, it must be dawn. So Wesker's probably alone in his office right now, finishing up reports before he sets off to meet up with me. Or rather, past me at my apartment."
His heart pounded harder, knocking against the wall of his ribcage, and his mouth went dry. In his mind, the whispering stopped, being replaced with vivid images of running over to the R.P.D, stepping inside, following the route to the S.T.A.R.S office and opening up that old wooden door and saying a hello to his lost love.
A love that he killed for the sake of the world.
As tempting as it was, sense came rushing back to Chris' and he fought against his urges with rational thoughts. 'I can't go to the R.P.D. because if those sci-fi movies about time travel are correct then if my past self sees me or if I let something important slip to Wesker, it'll have catastrophic events on the future and jeopardize the world.'
Despite his best efforts to convince himself not to go, a thought filled with despair and anger that came out of nowhere screamed, 'after all I've been through, I think I deserve to have this moment.'
Without a second thought, Chris brushed himself down, making sure he looked as respectable as he could in his tight black shirt, black combat trousers and black lace up combat boots before running a hand through his hair.
Then he sprinted off out of the park and in the direction of his old place of work with feelings of adrenaline and butterflies pushing him onwards. He still couldn't believe he was here, running down familiar streets with nostalgic smells of the Raccoon City bakeries and petrol stations paired with comforting sights of old haunts embracing him like old friends whilst people both young and old walked past him with bags of shopping or pets, giving him small smiles or nods of the head, whilst some tutted as he rushed past with mumbles of "why's he in such a hurry?"
Chris kept on running. The image of seeing his long lost Wesker in his mind, speeding him onwards. It made him smile. His smile only got wider when a warm spring breeze caressed his face, as warmly as Wesker used to caress him.
The man truly felt as if he was 25 again! As if he was simply running off to another day of work rather than rushing off to visit his lover whom he hadn't seen since nineteen years into the future from where he was.
His running soon came to a stop after a few minutes as Chris' pushed open the grand doors of the R.P.D. Seeing inside the old police station again brought tears to his eyes, so much tears that the receptionist he walked up too at the desk was nothing but a blur.
"Hello. How can I help you?"
The feeling of butterflies in Chris' stomach become stronger and his words caught in his throat. 'Am I really going to say this?'
"I..." Clearing his throat with a cough, Chris spoke, "I'm here to see... To see the captain of S.T.A.R.S. I need to speak with him."
Chris couldn't even bring himself to say Wesker's name...
"Have you an appointment with him?"
Chris had seen this problem coming. Luckily, he had something up his sleeve. As he did for every problem he faced.
"No. But I need to see him. Urgently. Regarding a case in the news. The one about the missing hostages. The captain of S.T.A.R.S stated that if anyone had any details, they came straight to see him. So, here I am. I want to speak to him and him alone."
The receptionist nodded and pointed off towards a door. "The S.T.A.R.S office is-"
"I already know where it is." Chris quickly replied with a smile. "I've been here before."
The receptionist opened her mouth to say something, presumably something along the lines of 'I haven't seen you here before.' But Chris sped off, not caring about what she had to say as he was here for one very special person only.
A mixture of colours and faces passed him as he sprinted as fast as he could along a familiar route until he reached the door to the room his beloved would be in.
Now he was actually before the door... Chris was finding it ever so hard to raise his shaking hand and grasp the door handle. He honestly didn't know if he would be able to cope with seeing Wesker again. Because as nice as it sounded to go and see him again, actually doing it was a different matter altogether.
As the old saying goes, 'easier said than done.'
'I'll just enter, say hello and pretend I forgot what I wanted to tell him. Then be on my way.'
Swallowing hard, Chris raised his hand, taking steadying breaths.
'In and out. No hanging around. Just a quick hello, then I'm gone.'
Grasping the door knob, Chris turned it and mustered up all of his courage as he opened the door and the butterflies in his stomach increased unbearably.