The True Nature Of Things

Chapter 1

William Birkin had agreed to go on a date with a friend of Axel's, Wesker's current flame. Her name was Blanky and he had been somewhat nervous of the arrangement. He had been nervous of pretty much everything ever since the G-Virus incident, but the idea of a date after the death of his wife seemed very strange to him. His gut turned and twisted as he sat opposite her in the small cafe they had met in. It was only when the waitress brought over his order of fried eggs that he seemed to feel more relaxed. Something about fried eggs made him happier and more content. He began to chow down, oblivious to the fact that Blanky had her gaze fixed firmly on him.

She had only ordered something small. Pancakes. She didn't want to over-eat and feel bad for the rest of the date. She was the one who had asked him, after all. The idea of ruining it by over-indulging was a silly one indeed. The two ate their food eagerly, Birkin somewhat thankful for the distraction.

"Feeling better?" Blanky smiled at him, wiping her mouth with a napkin after finishing her cup of coffee. She wore a dreamy look. She couldn't help it, she found him strangely attractive.

Birkin nodded. "Fried eggs are just amazing."

"They sure are!" Blanky laughed, laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them. "So tell me about yourself, Birkin."

William was in the middle of an egg-related ramble. Something about them set him off. "Glad they aren't Wesker's surprise eggs. He likes to spike them at random with weird stuff." He realized that she had asked him a question, blinked and raised his head to meet her gaze. "Name's William, uhhhh. I'm a scientist. I make viruses and used to work for Umbrella. I'm not sure if I still do, or if I'm more of Wesker's employee now."

Blanky nodded slowly. "A scientist, eh? I have great admiration for scientists."

"My greatest accomplishment was the G-Virus. But, I don't think it suited my body terribly well."

Blanky picked at her remaining pancakes on her plate, only a few crumbs but enough to poke absent-mindedly as she immersed herself in his story. "You poor poor man but your body went back to normal, right?"

William grimaced at the memory and looked away out of the window. "I have Wesker to thank for that." He felt that churning return to his stomach again. The memories of that time period were something he really didn't enjoy recalling. "He managed to save what was left of me. He worked tirelessly to bring me back to who I was before I infected myself with the G-Virus."

"Why did you do that in the first place?" Blanky leaned forwards, hanging on his every word.

"I had to." He looked up at her again, just for a split second. "I was going to die. My samples and research were going to be taken from me, I was shot and it was the only way I could save myself. The virus restored tissues that were lost. It did it's job, but it turned me into..." He paused, his mouth hanging open for a second as he pondered whether or not he should really tell her.

"What?"

"A monster." He let out an exasperated sigh. "It twisted and deformed my body into something that didn't even resemble a human."

"You don't look any worse off for it. You look fine now." Blanky smiled in an attempt to reassure him.

"Well." He looked away again. "As I say, Wesker was the one who saved me. But now I am technically working for him in return."

"What?"

"He doesn't do anything for free. He's not that kind of guy." He flashed her a small smile and poked at his empty coffee cup.

"Why, hes an even bigger villain than Dick Dastardly!"

"Oh, DD is a pussycat compared to him." William laughed and ran a hand through his hair before flagging down a waitress to order more coffee. "I'm surprised that he has gone so far with Axel in all honesty."