Outside the park located far from the circus, a van was seen parking, and inside it were Lawrence and... *sigh* good old Carson, who is still in his usual helmet as they both were in civilian clothing.
"Can you get rid of the helmet for once, Carson?" Lawrence asked him.
"Come on, no one's going to suspect my helmet." Carson replied, "They'll just think of me as a cosplayer and move along."
"Right... Just why do you hide behind that helmet?"
"Seriously man, this helmet looks cool." Carson said, "Do I have to repeat this to you everytime?"
"I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if you have something hidden behind that helmet, something... like an anomalous face or scars from past missions or something."
"I'll let you guess for a long time what's behind my helmet, buddy."
"Mhm…"
As a moment of silence was observed within the van, Carson continued.
"So... Do you think Rodeo got thrown to a dimension related to video games, like say Warhammer, Borderlands, Wolfenstein, Resident Evil, Half-Life, Street Fighter, or Mortal Kombat or or or..."
"Carson! Shut it!" Lawrence snapped and yelled at him in annoyance, then sighed, "Look, we don't know where he is exactly, just hope he's alright."
"He's a tough kid. He'll make it." Carson added, "How's your Stand training going these days with Collingwood?" he asked.
"Great as always."
At that moment, from Carson's shadow emerges Miguel as he then sits in the rear of the van, the two notice his arrival as Lawrence begins to ask.
"Found it?"
Miguel nodded, "Si. Now let's head back to site-17, I need to give my armor helmet back to the technicians so they can check the photos and papers I scanned with my helmet's scanner."
"Well, we have a long road ahead of us to Site-17, so prepare for a long ride."
"And the circus?"
"Don't worry, we've already dispatched a containment team to the circus, they'll handle it."
"Alright, then let's move out."
Focusing on the road in front of him, Lawrence starts the engine and the van drives down the road as they were heading back to Site-17. Miguel didn't get his answers from Zoltan regarding Rodeo, but the fact that Rodeo might bring trouble with him was what concerned him most, as well as whether Rodeo would return or not.
Sitting in the backseat of the van as it drove through the streets, Miguel reflected.
'Amigo, just where the hell are you?'
——————————————————————
– Castle Dimitrescu, The Village, Romania, Europe, Resident Evil Universe - 9:00 AM –
Returning to the Resident Evil universe, Rodeo was in a room in Castle Dimitrescu, lying down on a bed since yesterday's incident, which involved jabs, hooks, upper cuts, and explosions, and him trying to persuade Miranda to keep him alive for one week of exploration in the village, but under strict supervision from one of the Lords or their minions.
Not only that, he recalls the G-man's warning was also something of concern that had him thinking since yesterday.
Who are these enemies? He already knows D4C, The Pillar Men, Hell Dimension & Scarlet King, and the Chaos Insurgency are threats in their own caliber and with the possibility of Whitesnake and Wonder of U being out there in the SCP world, then who could be these enemies be that the G-man mentioned about. It only led to raise more questions than answers, but he also needed to know what year it might be in the Resident Evil universe, given that the primary events of Resident Evil 8 take place in 2021.
"I wonder what year it is in this universe?"
Just when Rodeo questioned himself, he heard a small chuckle to his side, causing him to react and immediately turned around only to see the G-man seated on a chair and staring at him with a smile.
"Oh, it's you."
"Yes, it's me. I'm impressed by your yesterday's persuasion tactics in allowing Miranda to keep you alive for a week. You're lucky to be still standing at this moment, or better yet fate has plans for you it seems."
"Doesn't it always?"
"Indeed it is, but then again fate is a mysterious force that exists around us and can create some unexpected and incredible surprising scenarios, whether good... or bad."
"True," Rodeo nodded in acknowledgement, "Oh, and do you have any idea what year it might be in this universe?"
"You really want to know?"
"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!"
After a brief moment of deep thinking and introspection, the G-man ended up sighing, "Just this once I'll give you some information. It's currently June 2018, with the Dulvey incident happening last year and being covered up by the new organization Blue Umbrella. The event you're expecting to happen won't happen for the next 2 years, so this universe's timeline won't be affected much even if you stayed here or tried to make changes... for now at least." He explained, before adding, "But my offer still stands though... regarding being hired by me."
"Thanks for the information, and no, I'm still not joining you anytime soon." Rodeo said, shaking his head and refusing his proposal, "Look, you're a mysterious guy, and sometimes I wonder what your real motivations truly are, and it's hard to consider why you even do these things most of the time."
"Well, that's up to you and the Half-life community to find and theorize regarding what I really am and find out my motivations."
"We'll see."
Rodeo then rose from his bed and gazed out of the window to see the view of the village. It was a really beautiful sight to behold.
As Rodeo continued to observe, G-man added, "Mr. Rodeo, you're good at doing your job, but at the same time you make enemies no matter where you go."
"Then tell me who these enemies are."
"Again, I have my reasons for not telling you that, but I will tell you if you join me."
"My answer is still no, G-man."
"Alright then, but don't hold me responsible for the events that are about to unfold in the future."
Upon hearing his words, Rodeo glanced around and noticed he was no longer sitting in the chair.
"Annnnd he's gone, good grief." Rodeo grumbled, "Oh well, looks like I'll start my exploration today, the bandages and injuries are still there, but the sooner I explore and plan a way out of the village and get help, the better." he added as he walked over to the door, but came across Daniela as soon as he opens it.
"Hi."
"Um... Hi, Daniela. What do you want?"
"Mother gave me the task to keep an eye on you in your exploration even though you're injured and still bandaged... but I also decided to take the task just so I can pet your little cute triangle cat ears."
"Oh… of course."
"So, where do you want to start, Kitty?"
"One it ain't Kitty, it's Rodeo. Second, I'm starting with this castle first, then the village, then Donna, then Moreau, and finally Heisenberg, and then I'll make my decision by going to Mother Miranda. Simple as that."
"Then let's start."
'It's gonna be a long day today.' Rodeo thought before continuing down the hallway as he began touring the castle with Daniela following close behind.
During his exploration, he questioned Daniela, "So, what do you think of Lady Dimitrescu? Your mother I mean."
"And why should I? You just showed up out of nowhere and we barely know you, why don't you tell us about yourself first, and then maybe I'll answer your questions?"
Rodeo wanted to get on their good side in order to reduce suspicion for his escape plan and contact with the outside world for help, but knowing about the Resident Evil world and even its characters, he knew Daniela is one of the more crazier of the daughters so no doubt she will kill him without a hint of mercy.
"Alright, I'll tell you. You see, Daniela, me coming here was more of a way to escape from an enemy that had me pinned down."
"Mother did say you came crashing into the castle yesterday with injuries, so who was this enemy you dealt with? Will they come after you?"
"No, they won't come after me for now, and regarding the enemy, they tend to capture special types of individuals like me and use us as weapons to achieve their insane goals of seeing the world burn."
"Do we count as special individuals?"
"Yes, you do."
"If they ever try to come after my sisters and mother I'll tear them apart!" Daniela shouted vehemently in a rageful manner.
Rodeo couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "Anger and concern for your mother and sisters. Adorable."
"I'm not adorable. I'm scary." Daniela remarked with a confounded face.
"Whatever. Adorable." Rodeo said, rolling his eyes with a sly grin.
Daniela made a pout face as Rodeo gave out a small laugh. Rodeo continued explaining to her while they explored the castle, mostly focusing on the second, third, first and ground floors. Rodeo told Daniela that he worked for a group which contains special individuals like him, but when required ask for help. Rodeo kept the name of the foundation and its operations vague so that she doesn't learn too much or by chance disclose it to the rest, especially Mother Miranda, who Rodeo knows will make her suspect him even more about where he is from.
"So the ones you're working with, are they looking for you?" Daniela asked.
"I'm not sure. Maybe they are, aaybe they're not. It's hard to say."
"Why risk your life for people who you don't know at all and work for this group you mentioned?"
"Because it's the right thing to do, regardless of who they are, what they are, or whether they are close to you. There is always something worth fighting for, but sometimes you can't always guarantee that everyone will be saved."
At that moment, Daniela watched his hands trembling before it stopped in the next split second. At the same time, Rodeo stopped walking, and Daniela followed as she noticed Rodeo was looking at his hands and gripping them tightly.
"But you can only learn from the failure of the past to fix things in the future so that the past does not repeat itself, yet things get harder no matter what I do." Rodeo mumbled, "My enemies became more deadly and got worried for the ones I care about, chances are they might get extinguished and never to be seen again, and that's why I try my best and be desperate to become better and stronger than before. Just to protect the family I have made within the group in the unforgivable organization I work with."
"...My mother is not exactly our mother." Daniela stated, "We're not actually her daughters in blood, we are more like how you say... adopted by her. Even if we're not related, she does treat us like our own daughters no matter what, and if one of us gets hurt, she will show no mercy to that person, just like she tried to do to you yesterday."
Hearing her words, Rodeo gets flashbacks to yesterday's fight and chuckles, "Yeah, learned it the hard way, but she has every right to worry about you. Being alone without having anyone to care about you as a friend or family member can create some negative effects on the mind, such as being driven to insanity. You should be lucky to have a mother figure like her who's willing to fight for your safety."
"That's... very nice of you to say."
"I'm honest with my words when it comes to family, Daniela, they're important to me, and you know it's a little funny."
"What is?"
"The fact that we met and tried to kill each other yesterday, and now we're being honest with each other."
The genuine expression on Daniela's face suddenly twisted to a cold frown, "Don't take my honest words as a sign of truce or forgiveness for yesterday's events, Rodeo. We're still enemies even when you try to blow our mother up to oblivion, but once you decide on whether you wish to become a part of Miranda's family with the cadou, maybe I will truly forgive you."
"...Okay then." Rodeo nodded his hand with a hint of nervousness in his voice, "And about your sisters and mother, where are they?"
"Oh, Bela and Cassandra are sightseeing on the rooftops, and mother is in her room, why do you ask?"
"Just asking because I haven't seen them yet."
"Would you like to meet her? She might want to ask you about your injuries, since she did want you in a weak state to begin with."
"Yeah, I get it, we'll meet her."
"Then follow me." Daniela said, returning to her genuine expression and motioning him to follow her as she turned around and headed to the direction of her mother's chamber, and Rodeo followed from behind.