Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Oh, God…” You whispered, clutching a gun against your chest. You didn’t know how to use it, you didn’t know how to protect yourself—but you couldn’t become one of those things—those mindless husks of Raccoon city, wearing the faces of people you used to know.  

Memories of your friends resurfaced—their frantic snarls, the sound and smell of ripping flesh.

You were apart of a special team; a group of bio chem students recruited by Umbrella Pharmaceuticals for an internship. For a week straight, you studied in one of their small, underground labs. They had provided everything—food, housing arrangements, entertainment—and so you greedily spent the opportunity learning all that you could. There hadn't been a need to go outside.

Ignorance was bliss.

Two hours ago, you were startled awake from a nap. Screaming echoed through the hallways, lights flickered, breaking glass reverberated off the walls. You opened your door, greeted to the sight of an animalistic figure ravaging through blood and torn limbs.

Zombie.

That’s the only word you could think of to describe it.

In a daze you stood, watching—unable to speak, unable to breathe. And then the figure’s eyes landed on you, muscle hanging from its bones and red teeth. 

You ran.

You didn’t stop to grab anything, you only ran, up the stairs and through the back door. The city was on fire. Buildings were collapsed, and cars turned over. The smell of burning rubber and skin stung your nose. You continued to run as more zombies swarmed, navigating your childhood streets in search of the safest place you knew—the police department.

But when you reached the precinct, you realized you couldn’t have been anymore wrong. You scrambled inside as zombies chased you, fumbling the door’s handles and stepping on glass—crying out as it pierced your slippers and your foot. Unable to walk, you crawled under a nearby shutter, pulling yourself towards a place to hide.

And that’s how you ended up here, tucked away inside a cabinet. Thankfully, a small pistol had been stashed away in its back corner. There were only three bullets—maybe you could escape and find more. But how far could you get now that you couldn’t run?

Could you even escape the city?

With a mixture of blood loss and adrenaline leaving your body, you began nodding off. It had been quiet for a while—no groaning, or shuffling of feet. How long have I been in here? you thought to yourself. Maybe this is all just a bad dream.

Or, maybe this is where I'll die—

Suddenly, the cabinet door swung open and a blinding light filled your vision.

“Are you okay?” a voice called out. 

You blinked hard, shaking free of your stupor. In front of you was a man in a police uniform—in front of you was a human! 

You nodded vigorously, overcome with relief, too overcome for words. 

“Good,” the man smiled, extending a hand. “Let’s get you out of there.”

You attempted to stand, hesitating as pain shot up your leg. He watched your face twist in distress, shining his flashlight over your foot to reveal a bloody mess of skin, glass and slipper. “That looks bad," he grimaced.

“It feels worse than it looks,” you managed to speak, "I don't think I can walk."

“I believe you,” he turned around and crouched. “Get on my back, I’ll carry you to the main hall—we can try to bandage you up there.”

“Is that really ok—"

“Hey,” he interrupted, looking at you. “I’m not leaving you behind.”

You stared into his blue eyes as they searched you. Somehow, you knew he wasn’t lying.

“Okay,” you muttered softly, reaching your arms around his neck while he grabbed your legs and hoisted you up. Even though he was covered in blood, he smelt faintly of shampoo.

You rested your head against his back, listening to the sound of his heartbeat as he walked. Tears began to fill your vision as it dawned on you that this wasn’t a dream. Monsters filled the city—your friends were dead, your family was probably dead. Everything you had come to live for was gone-

“Can't say I recommend pajamas for apocalyptic situations.”

His voice tore you away from your dark thoughts.

"Your outfit," he glanced back when you didn't respond. There was a sympathetic grin across his face.

"Can't say I recommend it, either," a choked-up chuckle escaped you. You held up your wounded foot, sniffling, "defense rating's shit, clearly."

He laughed. “I came with a change of clothes, if you want to use them.”

You gazed at your tattered sleep wear, at the last of your possessions. Something about this stranger made you want to move forward.

You wanted to survive for all those who hadn't. 

You wanted to live.

"Okay," your arms tightened around him.

After turning a corner, you were greeted by the warm lights of the main hall. He walked over to what appeared to be a first aid station, setting you down on a bench and tending to your foot.

“Leon Kennedy,” he said.

You flinched as he used disinfectant. “Huh?”

“My name," the man looked up, his blue eyes crinkled in amusement. “And yours?”

Chapter Text

“Sorry," Leon walked over, placing a pile of neatly stacked clothes next to you. “These are definitely going to be too big, but I managed to find some boots that look like they'll fit you.”

You gestured towards the thin material of your haggard pajamas. “Anything will be better than this.”

“True,” he laughed. “Um, so should I leave or-”

“Can you just turn around? I don’t want to be left alone.”

“Oh, yeah, for sure,” he quickly spun on his heel, keeping himself preoccupied by maintaining his gun. “So how did you end up here? In Raccoon City…”

You began switching into his clothes, unfolding a pair of light jeans, a navy button up, and a black windbreaker. “I’m a student at Raccoon University. Umbrella gave me an internship and for the past week I’ve been studying underground. I had no idea that-Ow!”

“Hey! Are you okay?” Leon rushed to help you, pausing as he took in the sight of your shirt over your head. He swiftly faced the other way, blush across his face and ear tips. “I am so sorry.”

“Don't worry about it," you chuckled. “I hit my foot while I was changing.”

“You were underground for a week?” He cleared his throat, hastily changing the subject.

“Yes, and no one even said anything to us about what was going on in the city—I still don’t know what happened, why there are zombies...”

“Me either, to be honest. I just got here myself.”

You finished putting on the jeans, cuffing their length. “Wait, so you’re not a cop then?”

“I am,” he let out a soft sigh. “Today was officially my first day.”

“That’s rough,” you placed a hand on his arm, giving a reassuring squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

Leon looked down at your hand, offering a warm smile in return. “Yeah, well, I’ll be happy when we get out of here.”

“Speaking of getting out of here, got any leads?”

“Check this," he pulled out a torn page, covered in drawings. “It might have something to do with the statues around here.”

You took a closer look, noticing a familiar lion statue—the same statue just up the stairs. You began limping towards it, quickly caught off guard by Leon’s arm around your waist.

“You wanna go up the stairs?” he asked innocently, grabbing your arm and slinging it around his neck.

You managed a small embarrassed nod, letting the cop support your weight. “I think these symbols in the drawing might be a clue.”

He helped you, watching as you switched the spinning panels in the statue’s relief. Crown, Flame, Bird—and then the grinding of stone echoed the hall. A medallion featuring a lion had fallen from the statue’s shield.

“Jesus," Leon exclaimed, excitedly heading back to the largest statue in the room—a goddess holding up a flag with three circular indents at the base of her dress. He inserted the medallion, and as if it was magic, the base transformed, barely revealing a secret room behind bars.

“Is this the way out?” you looked hurriedly to the page and back to the statue. “Then we only need two more!”

“It's worth a shot. I think I know where the other statues are too,” he started to walk, halting as he looked down at your injury. “Do you wanna stay here? I’d like it if you came with me but if it’s too hard on you-”

“I want to go,” you replied immediately.

Leon frowned. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, gesturing down to your new clothes. “I'm good now, thanks to a certain cop.”

"Alright then," he grinned and put his arm back around you. “Let's go."

The two of you explored all of the west precinct—collecting weapons, ammunition, medicinal supplies, and keys. You learned that Leon was only 21, the same age as you. He had driven to the city after being told to keep away, and at a gas station on the city’s outskirts, he met another human named Claire. They arrived together, but were separated by a truck that had gone out of control.

“Did she make it to the police station okay?” you asked.

“She did. I saw her in the courtyard not too long ago," Leon pushed open a door, pausing to take in the dark rain and blood drenched hallway ahead. He placed both hands firmly around his gun. “I don’t like the looks of this.”

Wind howled violently as he slowly took a step in. A flash of lightning revealed a large figure looming in the distance.

The stomping of heavy boots began echoing against the floor, growing closer and closer, until another flash of lightning revealed a massive humanoid with its arm cocked back and pointed for your head. Leon pushed you out of the way as the tyrant threw the punch—the force of its hand breaking a hole into the wall.

He aimed his gun at the giant’s face, pressing the trigger and firing three shots, but the monster was unfazed. Its emotionless expression simply turned towards you, pulling back its arm to attempt another punch. You barely managed to scramble out of the way as the fist flew past—and you didn't think you'd be able to dodge another.

Instead of fighting back, Leon sprinted for you. He grabbed your wrist and dragged you to the closest room—a room reading S.T.A.R.S Office on its name plaque. He slammed the door shut, and the both of you pressed your weight on the door to keep the monster out. For what felt like an eternity, you could hear the clacking of the tyrant's shoes pacing around the hallway. You expected it to try barging into the door, but the stomping grew dim—and then you couldn’t hear anything at all.

“What the hell was that..?” Leon collapsed to the floor, panting.

The giant was huge, maybe 8 feet tall—its skin was grey and warped. It had two arms, two legs, a torso and a head—it had a human figure.

“Whatever it was, it shattered the concrete wall in a single punch,” you sat down next to the cop. “And your gun didn’t even scratch it…”

"I know," he sighed, resting an elbow against his knee. “Fuck."

“Hey!" You beamed and Leon's frown quickly faded into shock. "That’s the first time I’ve heard you swear.”

He laughed, shaking his head dubiously. “What? Are you serious?”

You laughed too, amused by his dumbfounded expression. “I was just thinking that for all I’ve seen you go through in the past hour or so, you don’t swear nearly enough.”

“Pfft. I swear all the time, you just aren’t listening.”

“I listen attentively to everything you say.”

“Is that so?”

The dark atmosphere of the giant lifted as you both laughed. You laid back against the floor, staring up at the ceiling as you regained your breath, and after a minute, Leon joined you.

“Are you okay?” he broke the silence. "I'm sorry I grabbed you so roughly."

You turned your head towards him. “I would've been dead if it wasn't for you.”

“I don't know. Maybe.” His voice was soft. “I was... really scared when I saw it go to punch you.”

“Scared?”

He turned to face you. “Of course. Even cops get scared.”

You felt a blush creep across your face as you admired his handsome features—and to hide it, you gazed back towards the ceiling. “I’m really glad you found me,” you admitted.

You could see Leon smiling from the corner of your eye.

“Yeah, me too."

Chapter Text

You and Leon managed to successfully retrieve the last two medallions while carefully avoiding the loud stomping of the giant man-like monster. You arrived back at the main hall—hurrying to open the secret path and escape the monster for good. With each click of the medallions, the hidden room under the goddess statue became more and more visible, eventually revealing an office. It was small at first glance, but around a sharp corner was an elevator. You looked at it intensely, trying to find if there was any indication of where it would send you.

Leon leaned against the wall as he watched. “Hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

“We’re taking this thing?” You grimaced.

“Unfortunately we don’t have much of a choice," he frowned. “Whoever made the statue drawings seemed to think this was the only way out.”

You looked back to elevator, growing nervous at its olden style mechanics and flimsy gates. “I’m not claustrophobic, but this looks sketchy.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Not even in this creepy moving box of death?”

Leon laughed. “Not even in the creepy moving box of death.”

You sighed, pressing the elevator button. To your surprise, it responded automatically. The gate effortlessly slid back, revealing a polished and lit car.

“See? It’s not that bad,” Leon walked in first, holding out his hand.

You sighed again and more dramatically, letting Leon’s fingers wrap around your own as he pulled you into the elevator. He pressed the only button available, and within seconds, the gate was already opening to let you out.

The cop held up his flashlight, exposing a concrete staircase. A nearby handrail directed your eyes to narrow steps heading down—and without any other choices, that was where you ventured. After a few flights of stairs, you came across a passage leading to a corridor; steam and light wafted from it, but something else—something moving—caught your attention.

Leon saw it too. “What the-”

A loud clashing of metals resounded throughout the hall, followed by a voice. You couldn’t make out what the voice was saying, but it didn’t sound like a zombie—it sounded like someone in pain.

You glanced wearily at Leon and he gave you a confident nod back. You had to keep moving forward.

The corridor led to a walkway above a large expanse, full of dull grey machinery and pipes barely illuminated by lights far overhead. Leon looked hardly interested; he had already begun to dislodge a fallen cabinet blocking the path forward, grunting angrily as he tried to move its heavy weight. You moved beside him, bracing yourself and offering whatever feeble strength your arms could manage.

The cabinet finally snapped into place and Leon mouthed a silent thanks as he regained his breath, but as you stepped into the new room, a monster jumped before you.

Its shoulder pulsed in your face, a mangled mess of muscle, flesh and bone all curled around a hulking bloodied eye. The eye wept, spewing pus as it twitched—looking at Leon, and then at you.

An inhuman arm swung forward, grabbing you by the shirt and slamming you into the grate of the suspended path. You couldn’t breathe, you could only scratch at the monster as it picked you up and slammed you down again—collapsing the walkway.

You fell to the room below, just barely able to hear Leon shouting your name through gunshots—but the monster didn’t seem to care about what he was doing. The monster was still coming for you.

You struggled to get up, unable to escape as it grabbed you again. You could feel the monster's skin sticking to yours as it squeezed tighter—the smell of blood and rot overwhelming as its face reached closer.

And then you noticed.

The monstrous growth was attached to a human—a human you knew.

“Take this you son of a bitch!” Leon jumped from behind, plunging his knife deep into the pupil of the eye. He dug it as far as he could, hand sinking into its fluids. He jerked his wrist, twisting and shattering whatever the knife’s blade could reach—and then the monster dropped you, screaming out in pain as it staggered back, falling into a black abyss of machinery.

You fell against the floor with a loud thud, clutching your chest and gasping for air.

“Hey!” Leon rushed over, grabbing your body and taking it into his arms. “Talk to me!”

“I- I know that man," you managed to mutter through unsteady breaths, unable to tear your attention away from the ledge where he fell.

The cop gently cupped your bruised cheek, bringing your gaze to meet his instead. His blue eyes looked into yours, worried—nervous. "You know him?"

“His face-" you hesitated. That thing was a monster, but it had his face—there was no mistaking it. "That man was William Birkin. He was the one from Umbrella who gave me the internship-”

A ladder suddenly dropped down, its clatter echoing the room and interrupting your thoughts.

Leon broke eye contact first, looking up from where it fell. A crease formed between his brows. “Somebody’s watching us…”

"Then we'd better get out of here," you whispered.

Not realizing how much strength you had lost, you attempted to stand and failed—falling back against Leon, who seemed to be anticipating it.

He resumed what was now natural—his hand around your waist, and your arm around his neck. “When we get somewhere safer, will you tell me more about this Birkin guy?”

You nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Chapter Text

Leon helped you up the ladder and across the suspended walkways. At the end of them was a small work room; it was dimly lit, furnished with a simple desk, lockers, and more machinery you knew nothing about. The cop walked inside first, carefully surveying the surroundings before setting you down on a chair and propping himself on the edge of the desk.

“So,” he leaned forward, giving you all his attention. “You knew that monster?”

You folded your hands in your lap, staring at them as you tried to make sense of everything. “Yes. I don't know much, but that was the man who offered and funded the internship I was given. I think he was one of Umbrella’s main researchers.”

“He wasn’t like the other zombies,” Leon shook his head. “He was still half human...”

“It’s like-” you paused for a moment—excitedly clasping Leon’s thigh as an idea hit you, “it’s like his arm had mutated!”

He looked down at your hands and back to you. “Mutated?”

“Yes!” You nodded. “Birkin had us research mutations while in the lab, just simple ones though, induced mutations on yeast cells—like visible masses of growth or increased fitness. I hope its not connected."

The cop sighed, “I wonder if we'll run into him anytime soon.”

You looked back to the expanse where he fell, still feeling the pain of his encounter in your bones. "As curious as I am, I'd rather not see him again."

"Same," Leon grinned, giving you a small pat on the back. He hoisted himself off the desk, walking over and examining a nearby ladder. “I’m gonna quickly check where this leads, wait here.”

"Uh-huh," you scoffed playfully and gestured down to your injuries. “Because I can get anywhere without you.”

“Very funny,” he yelled, voice echoing across the concrete. One by one, the sound of his boots rang against the ladder’s bars—abruptly stopping and replaced by the bellow of grinding metal.

Just as fast as he had climbed up, he came back down. There was a wide smile across his face. "I think I found the way out."

Together, you hastily ascended the ladder, greeted by the sight of an underground parking garage. It was full of cars and barricades, but something different had caught the cop’s eye—a brightly lit exit sign hung above the parkade's gate. Leon escorted you over, fiddling with the gate’s control console and sighing when he discovered it required a key card to open.

“Damn,” he mumbled, giving the machine's side a smack. He turned to face you, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and freezing once they did.

"Leon?" You questioned hesitantly.

He slowly raised his gun. “You gotta be kidding me…”

You looked to where his gaze was fixed and saw a blur. A beast leapt forward, snarling with a set of blood soaked fangs. Leon moved you from its path as it charged, crying out in surprise as the dog-like monster pounced on him and sent his gun flying.

“Get off me!” he shouted, holding the maggot-infested animal back as it tried to bite into his neck. He desperately reached for his gun—hands only finding the concrete around him.

You remembered the gun from the cabinet and clumsily pulled it from your pocket, fumbling the safety like you had seen in videos and placing your finger on the trigger. You aimed for the monster’s head, scared of how close it was to Leon’s—but you had to shoot, you had to save him!

"Fuck!" you screamed, pulling the trigger. The recoil was stronger than you had anticipated, rocking your shoulders back and jolting your entire body—but the beast fell in return, organs splattering from its wound as it collapsed.

"Hey," an unfamiliar voice said before you could catch your breath, "stay sharp."

Leon reacted instantly to the warning—swiftly grabbing his pistol and firing another shot into the reanimating creature.

"Who's there?!" He called out.

A slender figure appeared from the shadows—a woman, concealed behind a long jacket and sunglasses. The click of her heels grew closer, revealing a gun pointed at the cop.

“FBI,” she said coolly, flashing her ID. The woman quickly switched her aim to the beast, firing, and snuffing out any last chances of revival. “Put down your weapons.”

You did as instructed, following Leon as he holstered his. “Thank you,” he looked down at the monster once more, “for your help-”

“Kids with guns? Surprised you made it this far,” the woman crossed her arms.

Leon glared, ignoring her comment. “FBI, huh? What’s going on here?”

“Sorry, that information’s classified," she begun walking away, glancing at you and then glancing again. She came to an immediate halt, lowering her glasses and peering into your eyes. “You’re from the project…”

“What are you talking about?” You flinched back from her gaze.

"Do yourselves a favor," she leaned in close, pursing her lips, “stop asking questions and get the hell out of here.”

You stared in confusion as the woman turned—the sound of her heels disappearing behind a door in the back of the lot. You were worried by what she said. What did she mean by the 'project'? Was she talking about the Umbrella internship?

It couldn't possibly have anything to do with the appearance of William Birkin, right?

“We have to go after her," you began limping in pursuit, stopping as Leon suddenly stood in your path.

He silently grabbed your arm, pulling you against his body and into a gentle hug. 

“I know we have to go, but just quickly... Thank you for saving my life," he whispered before you could say anything. 

“What?” you murmured awkwardly, blush spreading across your face. "But you've already saved mine so many times since we've met!"

He gave a small squeeze before letting go, "sure, but I'm used to firing a gun. I know you were terrified to pull that trigger."

“It wasn't nearly as terrifying as the thought of something bad happening to you," you confessed quietly.

Leon held your hand, leading you to the door where the mysterious woman vanished. He looked at the cuts and bruises canvassed across your skin.

“I know the feeling."

Chapter Text

Metals gates lined one after another, locked tight and keeping its imprisoned zombie convicts far from reach. You continued walking past, just able to make out the faces of the undead and watching as they mindlessly attempted to grab you. Common characteristics of the monsters were pale skin and pale eyes, which you guessed was due to lack of blood flow. Their mouths hung open, unable to do anything other than groan—and when you studied closely, you could see that their insides appeared to be just as rotten as their outside.

“Don’t look,” Leon pulled you closer.

“I wonder how they’re moving," a puzzled expression spread across your face. “Their muscles shouldn’t be able to contract without proper organ function…”

“You’re examining them?”

“Well-” You pouted. “Yeah.”

He chuckled. “I guess that’s the scientist in you speaking.”

“Hello?” A voice called out, bringing your gaze to the only lit cell in the prison.

Behind the locked gate was a man in glasses, dressed in clean clothes and seemingly unscathed. He sauntered over, perching an arm against the bars as he smiled. “I don’t believe it—real humans! Are we the last ones alive?”

Leon cautiously holstered his gun. “No, there’s a few of us…”

“Oh, that’s good news," he breathed out a sigh of relief and then hesitated. “Unless, of course, Irons sent you.”

The cop’s eyes grew wide. “Irons? You mean Chief Irons? Is he still around?”

“Who cares?” His smile faded. “Hopefully he’s somebody’s dinner by now.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, he’s the bastard that locked me in here!”

Leon scoffed. “I’m sure he had a good reason..."

“He did," the man took a long drag of his cigarette—flicking it to the ground and grinding it into ash. “I was about to blow the whistle on his corrupt ass."

Scraping metal suddenly echoed from the distance.

"Hey, I'll make you a deal," the imprisoned man grew frantic at the sound. He desperately searched in his jacket, pulling out a lanyard containing a card. "Unlock my cell and I’ll give you this."

The plastic in his hands read the words ‘parking permit’ in bold.

“There’s no other way outta that parking garage! Believe me.”

You gripped the bars. "But how are we supposed to open—"

“Shit! It’s coming," the man backed himself against the wall, shaking the permit wildly as the scraping grew louder. “C-mon’, don’t be assholes! You need this!”

The sound became so clear that you could hear something else—something familiar alongside it.

It was the stomping of heavy metal boots.

“Just get me the fuck outta here!” the man screamed as the wall exploded behind him. A giant hand reached out, wrapping its fingers around his skull and lifting. It dragged the man up and through the brick, taking a moment to let his legs dangle before disfiguring his head in a single squeeze.

“Oh, my god…” You slowly backed away, thankful for the gate that separated you. The man landed with a hard thud as the hand let go—his eyes hanging from their broken sockets and jaw displaced beyond its will. As quickly as the man and the giant had appeared, they were now both gone.

You were too busy staring in disbelief to notice the other footsteps approaching—but Leon spun around, pushing you behind him as he swiftly drew his gun. “Who's there?!”

“It’s just me, so you can put that thing away.”

You recognized the voice as she walked closer—and so did Leon, lowering his weapon. It was the woman you wanted to question, the woman from the parking garage.

“I don’t even know what happened-” Leon muttered worriedly. “It just… happened so quick.”

The woman looked at the fresh corpse, turning and glaring at the cop through her sunglasses. “I told you to get out of here. You wouldn’t want to end up like Ben, would you?”

“Ben?” You spoke up. “You knew him?”

She let out a sharp breath. “He was an informant. Had information of use to my investigation.”

“So what he said about Irons was true?” Leon asked—becoming annoyed when the woman turned away before he could finish. “Hey!" He grabbed her arm. "You can’t keep walking away from us!” 

She snapped away from his reach, offense clear across her features.

“We don’t even know your name!” Leon exasperated, dropping his hands to his sides. He let out a long exhale, easing his tone as he introduced you, and then himself—expecting her to do the same.

The woman let out a smirk in response, cocking her hip and nodding to the jailed permit. “Find a way out, before it’s too late—then we’ll talk. Name’s Ada.”

Just as in the parking garage, she turned—disappearing before you could ask any more questions. Ada had left you and Leon with an important task, and without it, there was no hope she would cooperate in the future.

“Well, I guess the deal’s on,” the cop peered at the card around Ben’s neck. Wasting no time, he grasped one of the bars and pulled with all his strength—groaning in defeat when the gate refused to budge.

“And I guess my question for Ada will have to wait,” you sat on a nearby desk. “Does the cell need a key or is it electronic?”

“Electronic, I think," he stopped fidgeting with the bars and began examining the panel next to them instead.  

You watched over his shoulder as he aimlessly muddled with its components—laughing to yourself at how clueless he seemed. “Here, let me try it.”

“You know how to work this thing?”

“Probably.”

He moved aside. “What would I do without you?”

“Get eaten by zombie dogs,” you gave a smart-assed grin before focusing on the power panel. You discovered that it was a rather simple mechanism; two electrical sources were needed to power the gate’s receiver, and all you had to do was complete the circuit that connected them. “It's missing some pieces. Don’t suppose you have anything we can use as a conductor, huh?”

The cop patted his pockets, producing only car keys and a pack of gum. “Sorry, but this is all I’ve got.”

Your eyes lit up at the sight of gum. You quickly grabbed it and let out an excited ‘yes’ when you saw the packaging.

“Big gum fan?” Leon joked.

“The foil backing!” You cracked out two pieces, one for you and one for Leon. “Aluminum foil is a good conductor of electricity.”

“I am happy that my gum could have been of some service to you, ma’am," he grabbed a piece and popped it into his mouth.

“Don't get too excited yet,” you buckled down, studying the panel further. “Let’s just see if I can make this work first.”

You tinkered with the device for a few minutes, taking a short break to rest your arms. You stole a glance of the cop—quietly admiring as he deftly maintained his gun, pulling it apart and putting it together. Without realizing, your gaze had wandered across his body and admired that too—appreciating how he filled out his uniform, and how his dirty blonde hair hung over his face. You gulped, forcing your mouth not to gape open at the sight—but then the cop looked up, his blue eyes catching you.

Your heart began to race.

You wanted to know more about him.

“Hey-”

“I was-”

You both laughed as you perfectly interrupted each other.  

“What were you going to say?” Leon leaned back against the wall.

You mustered the strength to finally look away and continue working on the circuit—rolling foil into small, wire-like pieces and fixing them into the structure. “Can you tell me about yourself?” you asked.

“Really?” surprise was clear in his voice. “What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

“Anything?” He let out a huff of air. “Okay, so, my full name is Leon Scott Kennedy, and I’m cop—I guess you know that. Lets see, uh, I’m blood type A.”

You chuckled. “Do you have family? Pets?”

“Yes, and yes. Although we’re not close—I joined the academy right after graduating.”

“What kind of pet?”

“A retired police dog. My dad was a cop, too.”

You managed to get one line of power running, and began working on the last. You took a deep breath. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

“No,” he replied softly. “I never was good at talking to girls.”

You whipped around to face him. “Am I not a girl?”

“But you’re different,” he smiled.

You gave a faux frown and turned back with a strange sense of relief. “Uh-huh."

A loud buzz sounded from the gate as you positioned the last foil. The bars automatically slid back, leaving the parking permit easily within reach—the gum package had worked.

“You’re amazing!” Leon pushed off the wall, giving your shoulder a squeeze before running in to grab the card. “Let's get the hell out of here.”

He knelt before Ben, ready to remove the lanyard—but something else caught his eye.

“What’s wrong?” You limped in after.

Leon slowly reached into the corpse’s pocket, holding up a small tape recorder. “Is this the information Ada was looking for?”

“I don't know, wanna find out?” You stretched over him, pressing down on the play button. The sound of static rang out from device, violently crackling and fizzing—eventually giving way to a voice, to Ben's voice.

“‘...but that doesn’t explain the rumors about the orphanage. I just find it way too coincidental Umbrella’s one of the benefactors.’

‘You told me this interview was about the new scholarship Umbrella set up,'" a woman replied.

“‘Come on, Annette. Nobody cares about that. They want to know about the G-Virus, and the-’

‘Where did you hear about this?’

‘-and that big fucking sinkhole in the city which, by the way, rumor has it goes straight to your underground lab.

‘This interview-.’

‘What about those university students you selected for their genes? The project to use them as G-Virus breeding tools-’  

‘This interview is over.’”

More static.

“‘Bitch.’”

Chapter Text

‘What about those university students you selected for their genes? The project to use them as G-Virus breeding tools-’

The words replayed in your head and a sick feeling pooled in your gut.

Leon seemed to understand, gently rubbing your back as if to say it’s okay. “We’ll figure out the truth," he said instead. “I won’t let anything happen to you, remember?”

A red light suddenly ignited the prison—followed by the same loud buzz you had heard just mere minutes ago.

You looked to Leon in panic.

The panel you fixed must have powered all the gates—every single cell was opening, and you couldn’t even recall how many zombies you had seen locked away.

“That’s not good,” the cop grabbed you forcefully, putting away his pistol and drawing the shotgun from his back. “I’m sorry, but we need to go now.”

You nodded. “I know.”

Leon blasted the monsters emerging from their cells while you desperately limped after—using your own small pistol to take out the few coming from behind. He sprinted forward as six swarmed, pulling a flash grenade from his belt and gripping its safety pin between his teeth.

He rolled it under their legs. “Close your eyes!”

You did as instructed, only opening them after the high pitched scream of the grenade's blast. Leon immediately took action, ramming the stunned zombies into the ground with his shoulder. He hurdled through the door—blown back by a fist erupting from the wall beside him.

It was the same hand that killed Ben. The giant from the precinct.

You rushed to help, cut off as the monster lunged through the brick for your throat. Fingers wrapped around your neck, squeezing, strangling—lifting you off the ground before you could grab your gun.

But headlights flooded the garage just as your vision began to dim. Tires squealed against the pavement and a SWAT truck slammed into the giant—freeing you from its grasp. Rubber smoked as the wheels continued to spin, only stopping once the monster was embedded deep into the wall.

You clutched at your throat, frantically searching for air, greedily inhaling as you found it. Leon hurried to your side, pulling your head onto his lap and bringing the SWAT truck into vision. Its door opened.

“Ada?” You coughed, managing to sit up.

The woman stepped out, heels clacking as she walked past. “Saving your asses—don’t count on it a second time.”

“You’re keeping score?” Leon scoffed.

Ada spun around angrily. “This isn’t a game!”

“Guys-” You interrupted, pointing to the vehicle as it jostled. Around its front you could see the giant’s hands curled into the hood and pushing forward—it was attempting to free itself.

Although you had begun to worry, the woman simply pulled a device from her jacket and pressed down a button on its side. She shook her head, “nothing dies down here.”

The truck exploded into flames, sending pieces of its metal across the parkade. Through the fire and shrapnel, you couldn’t see the monster anymore.

You looked in disbelief at the antennaed device in Ada’s hands. "A radio-controlled bomb?"

“Perhaps," she crossed her arms. “I take it you have the keycard?”

Leon sighed reluctantly, reaching into his pocket and producing the tape recorder from Ben’s corpse. “Yeah, and this,” he tossed it to her. “Really hoping you can explain.”

“Maybe after I hear it,” Ada carefully examined the cassette. “Let’s get out of here first.”

Leon fed the permit into the garage's console, letting out a held breath as it was accepted. The gate began to lift, and you eagerly limped out.

The city had only gotten worse since you last saw it.

Rain poured over the dark and abandoned place you once called home; bullet casings littered the sidewalks and flipped-over cars littered the streets. The limbs of humans, zombies—you couldn’t tell the difference anymore—were scattered among the trash, accumulating in piles as if they belonged there. You tried not to think about what happened to the people you knew.

Ada hung back listening to the tape. Leon approached, an apologetic look across his face.

“I’m sorry I let that monster hurt you,” he whispered.

You frowned. “You didn’t let it, you got hurt too.”

“That’s not-” His voice grew serious. “I became a cop so I could protect people—I want to protect you.”

“You’ve protected me since the moment we met.”

“That doesn’t matter-”

“It matters to me,” you grinned, giving his arm a tender squeeze. “I wouldn’t be alive if you hadn’t.”

Leon’s eyes fixated on you, searching your words, searching you. He shook his head—gaze softening as his jaw unclenched. “Yeah," he grinned back. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“I’m always right,” you joked.

“I dunno about that.”

“How rude!”

He laughed. “I’m also sorry my jacket isn’t warm enough. Your hands,” he gestured towards them, “they’re freezing.”

You looked fondly at the black windbreaker, reminiscing of when it smelt like Leon’s shampoo. “I like it though.”

“Actually, I wanted to tell you when you first put them on—they suit you.”

“They suit me? What do you mean?”

Rain slid down Leon’s face, dampening his hair and cleaning the grime from his skin. Red droplets formed beneath a gash on his brow. You reached up to wipe it.

“My clothes," he carefully grabbed your wrist, "they suit you."

Leon's hands felt different than before; warm, calloused. Comforting and nerve-wrecking. It felt difficult to breathe—

“Sorry to interrupt lovebirds, but the road's out.”

You quickly looked back to see Ada waiting, hand on her hip. “We’ll need to go though the gun shop," she said.

The cop gave a regretful smile, letting go and shyly rubbing the back of his neck. He turned to the impatient woman. “Was that the intel you needed?”

“Unfortunately, no,” she tried the shop’s handle, and then knelt to lock pick it. “Ben didn’t come through.”

“Well, what exactly are you looking for?”

With a sharp twist of her wrist and a click, the door opened. “For more info on the people responsible for this mess.”

You walked inside the gun shop, shaking away the heat from your cheeks. Leon had begun to scavenge for ammunition and you decided to focus on the situation, too.

“So,” you picked up a box of shotgun shells, stuffing them into the cop’s side pouch. “What’s the G-Virus? What did Ben mean by the project—the ‘breeding tools’?”

Ada crossed her arms. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Of course.” You followed her as she walked through the store and out the backdoor. “I need to know.”

“Umbrella, the pharmaceutical company that gave you the internship—they’ve been secretly making bioweapons," the woman nimbly ventured the backstreets of the city as she talked, while you and Leon followed close behind.

“They have two strains of the virus," she continued. “The T-Virus that turns people into mindless zombies, and the G-Virus that turns people into indestructible monsters.”

Leon helped you down a small ledge. “Explains the horrible things we’ve seen."

“That’s why I’m looking for Annette Birkin, one of Umbrella’s head virologists—and one of the developers of G,” Ada finally stopped. “This is how we get to her. According to HQ, this leads straight to Umbrella’s secret facility."

She stood before an open awning of rusted metal, crusted in filth and sludge. It led underground—the smell of rotten food mixed with shit wafting from its entrance.

The cop walked in first, illuminating the dirtied path with his flashlight. “Come on. The sewers are run by the city. How could Umbrella have a facility without the authorities knowing?”

“Welcome to corporate America,” she smirked. “Umbrella’s controlled Raccoon City for years.”

You recalled Ben’s tape and Ada's words. “Annette Birkin is the same 'Annette' from the interview, right? Is she connected to that monster—to William?"

“So you’ve seen what G can do, then,” the woman’s heels echoed the tunnel. "Annette is William's wife."

“That makes even less sense. Why would he be infected with the virus his wife helped created?"

“To escape Umbrella," she replied nonchalantly.

You stalled.

“What?”

The rocks by your feet began to jump as the ground vibrated—a loud groan shook the entirety of the sewer.

“Jesus,” Leon brushed dirt off his shoulders. “That an earthquake?”

Ada started to walk faster. “I sure as hell hope so.”

Chapter Text

The rumbling continued as you walked down the path.

Ada calmly glanced around, and Leon charged ahead, lighting the sewers’ nooks and crannies. Just as you thought the stench couldn’t get any worse, the cobbled walkway transitioned into a grate suspended above water. You looked down, watching as sewage and trash floated by endlessly—becoming extremely concerned when the path forward meant you’d have to wade through it.

Leon jumped in first, letting out a disgusted bleh as the water splashed onto his face. “You sure this is the right way?” he spat.

“Zombies is one thing, but this-” you jumped down into the cop’s arms—giving your own disgusted bleh when the sewage hit, “this is shit.”

“Nice,” Leon laughed, and Ada sighed.

“This is not the time for jokes-” she began to say, cut off by the rumble. It was the loudest you had heard it, the strongest you had felt it.

The two of you peered into the water, silently watching as it rocked back and forth. Leon swung his flashlight up, cautiously scanning—and then his beam was engulfed in green.

He froze, and you did too—stepping back to take in the sight of a giant alligator, the size of a bus.

“Get out of there!” Ada screeched from above, jolting both you and the cop to run. The beast snapped forward, opening its mouth and flashing its teeth—all you could smell was blood.

“Holy shit!!” Leon screamed as the alligator bit down beside him. He stumbled from the rush of water, and you frantically grabbed his arm.

“Run!” You scampered as the reptile came crashing down again, quickly glancing up and seeing a pipe blocking your path. Its label read ‘warning: flammable gas’.

“Leon!” You shouted, pointing ahead.

A plan seemed to instantly form in his mind. “Slide under!” he ordered.

Without questioning, you listened—dropping down alongside the cop and letting the water carry you beneath and past the pipe. You slid down a small ramp while the monster attempted to pursue. It lunged forward, sinking its teeth deep into the gas.

“Chew on this, you overgrown son of a bitch,” Leon aimed for the pipe, landing the bullet and igniting the beast’s body. Pieces of its flesh flew with the explosion, and you ducked—just missing a chunk of tongue.

“Haah!” Leon exasperated, resting his hands against his knees. He shook his head. “We just can’t catch a break.”

“I know,” you exhaled, wiping an unknown sludge from your cheek.

“Your foot- is it okay?”

“Not sure about okay, but it’s working. Though, I probably caught E. Coli walking through all this crap.”

Leon chucked. “How bad is it that catching E. Coli would be the least of our worries right now?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “Pretty bad.”

“Up here!” A ladder dropped down. You looked up to see Ada, the crease between her brows smoothing out as she saw you. You thankfully ascended the ladder, grateful to be on dry concrete again.

Ada immediately took on a cool tone. “Can’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“You said the virus turns people into monsters,” Leon resumed his position, walking ahead. “Not reptiles.”

She paused. “Fair point. I’m just surprised you made it in one piece.”

The shadowed path led to an elevator, and you winced when it looked even more suspicious than the last. Leon seemed to recall, mouthing a small ‘it’s okay’ and ushering you in.

“So, let me get this straight,” he pressed the car’s button, leaning back as it began to move. “Umbrella sells monsters like that to who, our military? Somebody else’s?”

Ada crossed her arms. “They don’t sell the monsters, they sell the viruses that make them—and Annette is the one who makes those viruses.” The elevator settled, stopping with a heavy screech of metal. "Scary as that alligator was, Annette is far more dangerous.”

Leon looked thoughtful as he walked out—but he didn't get far. His steps began to slow, stopping before the door leading ahead.

“Ada,” he spun around, blocking the path. “It’s about time you told us what 'the project' is.”

She frowned. “I will, but Annette-”

“I get the feeling that if you don’t tell us now, you never will,” he retorted, unbudging.

The woman clicked her tongue, removing her sunglasses. Her eyes were beautiful and brown—and now that you could see her whole face, you realized she was gorgeous. Leon seemed to have realized the same, flinching ever so slightly at the sight.

“Other than the G-virus’ superhuman abilities, it also has the ability to reproduce,” she started. “If the G infectee believes a human to be worthy, it will implant an embryo via oral reproduction. If the genetics of the virus and the infected are incompatible, the embryo will kill the host. If they are compatible, the G-virus will successfully assimilate itself.”

“Assimilate?” Leon questioned, and Ada held his gaze.

“The G-virus will take over its new host, and another monster will be born.”

You thought back to internship—the saliva in your throat so thick you felt you might suffocate. “So when Umbrella requested blood samples as a part of the qualifications-”

“William was making sure your DNA was compatible with G's,” she finished. "He had planned to use G on himself, sparking the creation of ‘a new world’ full of ‘superior beings'. Students belonging to 'the project' were to then be implanted within a controlled environment that Annette would oversee. They called G the ‘God-Virus’.”

Leon placed a hand on your back, but you could hardly feel it. What Ada had said explained so much—why so many applicants applied and why only three were chosen. “How do you know all of this?” You whispered.

“Regardless of how I know it, it’s the truth,” she unfolded her arms. “We can’t let Annette or Umbrella have the G-Virus.”

Leon looked to you and then pleadingly to Ada. “And we can’t let that monster get her.”

“We won't," she agreed.

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps echoed from behind the door, followed by a faint whispering. Ada eyes darted to towards the noise, and then she immediately bolted ahead—leaving you and Leon to scurry after.

On the other side was a woman; her hair was pale blonde and her skin was ghost-like. She hunched over top a corpse, holding her lab coat from touching it. "Definitely William’s handiwork,” she murmured to herself.

Ada pulled her gun, aiming for the woman’s head. “Annette Birkin,” she hissed.

Leon's eyes grew big at the name. "She's who we're looking for?"

The blonde ignored the threat, refusing to tear her gaze away from the body. “Not much time. Need to dispose of it...”

“We’re here for the G-Virus,” Ada walked closer.

Annette finally reacted then—a smirk curving her lips as a sneer escaped them.

“That’s not going to happen,” she replied.

“I’m warning you, Doctor.”

“Oh yeah?”

Annette reached into her coat pocket, flicking a lighter and throwing it on top of the corpse. The body instantly burst into flames—its embers distracting you from the fleeing woman.

“Stop!” Ada screamed, chasing after—halting as the sound of gunshots rang throughout the room. Just as Annette found her mark, Leon jumped—taking the bullet instead. He dropped to the floor, grasping at his shoulder as blood began to pool around it.

“You’ll never get the G-Virus!” Annette shouted with a smile across her face. She disappeared behind a dense vault door, and after it shut the only noise you could hear was Leon’s heavy breathing.

You fell to his side, ripping off your jacket and using it to stop the bleeding.

“Go!” You shouted at Ada—angry that Leon took her bullet, angry at 'the project', angry that Annette got away. You looked down, watching as Leon's blood coated your hands in red, feeling your eyes grow hot.

"Go catch her..." Your voice broke.

Ada didn’t refuse. She began pulling medical supplies from her pockets and taking off her coat, placing them next to you.

“Use these however you need,” she muttered before running off in pursuit. “Just make sure he doesn’t die.”

Chapter Text

The sound of Ada’s heels disappeared and the tears threatening to spill did. You pressed against the makeshift compress, shoulders quivering as the sobs consumed you. You knew that you shouldn’t cry—that Leon was the one in pain and that you had to do something. Yet your hands shook uncontrollably against him as you tried to keep the pressure. You were scared, terrified.

But you wouldn’t let Leon die.

You looked down to his face; his eyelashes softly fluttered, and his lips lightly trembled. Leon wouldn’t be scared to save me, you thought, and I—

You cupped his cheek—delicately as if he might shatter, cautiously as if you might hurt him. He leaned into your touch in response, and you froze.

I—

No. You stopped the idea. Now wasn’t the time to be in your own head—you couldn’t be in your own head.

“Damn it!” you whispered to yourself, harshly rubbing your arm against your eyes. You didn't know how to treat a bullet wound, but you scrambled to remember every bit of first-aid you did know: bandaging from sports med classes in high school, what you’d seen on medical documentaries, the emergency treatment course from the internship—they taught you what to do if a beaker overheated, exploded—what to do if glass had embedded itself. You gulped.

That would have to work.

“Okay...” You choked back the last remaining tears, desperately recalling everything you were taught. “Step one, check to see if the projectile went through.” You slid your hand under Leon’s shoulder, unable to feel any holes.

“Bullet’s still in there, alright,” you took a deep breath, “step two, check if you can see the projectile.”

You tried to smoothly remove the compress, but the jacket stuck, held fast by dried blood. Leon let out a whimper as you pulled it off.

“I’m so sorry,” you apologized to the unconscious cop. “It’s gonna be okay...”

You grabbed the flashlight from his hand, shining its beam into the wound and letting out a sigh of relief. Even though you couldn’t see the bullet, you also couldn’t see broken bones; the bleeding had mostly ceased, and other than grime around it, the injury looked to be a relatively clean one.

“It’s going be okay,” you repeated, this time to yourself. You checked his pulse—it felt a bit weak, but good, and the temperature of his skin didn’t feel cold, either.

You carefully reached around Leon, unstrapping his vest and removing it. Your fingers then moved to the buttons of his uniform, nimbly working to undo them and remove that too. All that was left was his undershirt, and you hesitantly ran your hands up his sides to pull the snug fabric off.

His chest was broad, sprinkled in bruises from the night. He had beauty marks and scars—some shallow, some deep. Your thumbs brushed against them and against the curves of his muscles as the shirt refused to give—the heat of his skin making you feel as if you should look away, or that you shouldn’t touch. A blush crept across your cheeks and you vigorously shook your head to get rid of it.

“God, I’m the worst…” you muttered sadly, sliding the rest of the shirt off and grabbing Ada’s supplies, “I shouldn't be thinking about that at a time like this.”

“Shouldn’t be thinking about what?” a voice murmured.

You dropped everything.

Leon’s eyes were open and his frail blue gaze was directed at you.

“Aren’t you supposed to take me to dinner before taking my clothes off?” he gave a weak grin.

You chuckled, eyes brimming with tears again. “You must be okay if you’re making stupid jokes.”

“Please don’t cry,” Leon reached up towards your cheek, and grunted when his shoulder stopped him. He tried to look at the wound, “is it bad?”

“I couldn’t remove the bullet, but everything else looked okay," you wiped away a few escaping tears, "I was about to bandage you up—you’re still bleeding a bit.”

“Thank you, I hope...” a look of guilt washed over his face. “I hope you weren’t crying too much because of me.”

“I only cried a bit,” you lied.

“But your eyes are swollen and red—"

"W-well," you instantly cracked under his gaze, “I was really worried! I mean, you were shot! And you lost so much blood—”

Leon glanced to your crimson stained hands and to the crumpled jacket next to him. His features softened, “what would I do without you?”

“Get eaten by zombie dogs,” you sniffled, and he laughed.

“I guess I owe you my life.”

“You don't owe me anything,” you opened a bottle of alcohol, dabbing it on some gauze, “let me bandage this up first.”

“This is going to hurt isn’t it—ahh!” He yelped in pain as you cleaned the area.

You placed a compression bandage over the bullet hole, offering a smile as an apology. “Do you think you can sit while I wrap gauze?”

"Maybe," Leon tried to prop himself up.

He didn't make much progress on his own. You took him into a hug instead, gently grasping at his back to help him sit.

"Sorry," Leon relaxed in your arms defeatedly, "I'm probably pretty heavy."

“It's ‘cause all the muscle,” you replied earnestly.

The cop shyly cleared his throat, leaning forward with his head resting against your shoulder. “I used to work out a lot at the academy,” he admitted as you began wrapping gauze.

"The academy—is that where all the scars are from?”

“Mostly. Some are just from being a stupid kid, too.”

“Have any good stories?”

“I’ll try and think of one,” he shifted his head, breath brushing against your neck. “I got mugged when I was 14,” he said finally.

“Seriously?!”

“I think I told you my dad was a cop,” he started. “I really looked up to him, and he made me want to be a cop too. So one day, I see this kid a few grades younger than me getting bullied by the local high schoolers.”

“You tried to stop them?” You tugged the gauze tight, and Leon let out a groan.

“Yeah, I figured I knew enough about being a cop that I could act like one. One of the high school kids had a pocket knife though,” he pulled back and gestured to a scar running down his abdomen. “I got stabbed, they stole my wallet, my watch, and I got in trouble.”

His face was across from yours, so close that your noses could touch. You quickly looked down to avert your gaze, continuing to the stabilize the gauze around his torso.

“I have a feeling that this story has a good ending though?” You asked.

“It does,” he resumed leaning forward, wearily resting his head into the nook of your neck. “The kid I helped and his mother visited me after. I came to learn that the kid was suicidal, but because I had stood up for him, he began to believe in people again—that he didn’t really want to die. The look of happiness on his face, his mom's face—I knew I wanted to spend my whole life protecting people.”

You secured the gauze with a clip and flashed a smile. “That’s amazing! I bet your dad was so proud.”

“He was,” you could feel Leon smiling too. “What about you? Any good scar stories?”

You grabbed the cop’s uniform, looking at the fitted sleeve and at the bundle of wrapping around Leon's arm. “None as good as yours."

“Really?” he raised a brow. “None?"

You borrowed Leon’s knife, sawing off the sleeve and wincing at the hack job you did. “I guess, maybe one.”

“Let's hear it,” his eyes lit up.

You let out a playful sigh, pulling down the collar of your shirt and revealing a bite mark scarred into your clavicle.

“When I was 12, I volunteered at a dog daycare. And there was this one dog—a Chow Chow—that just loved to eat other dog’s poop,” you began.

"Oh," Leon’s faced twisted, "oh no."

“One day, he was trying to eat, well, shit, and I tried to stop him—didn't go so well."

“I'm guessing—hoping that there's a good end to this story?” he asked.

“Nope," you shrugged, grinning as you reminisced. "If people see the scar, I usually say I fought off a wolf. Told you my story wasn't as good as yours.”

“Well, content-wise it's just as good,” he laughed. “You like dogs?”

“I like all animals,” you beamed.

"Really? I bet my dog would've loved you.”

“Well, I bet I would've loved him too."

The smile suddenly disappeared off of Leon's face. His tone grew serious, fists forming at his sides.

“I just really... really wish I knew you before all this," he said.

You rested his body against the wall, pulling the uniform over his arms. “Like, as kids?”

“As kids, teens, anywhere else before we ended up here,” he shook his head. “I wonder what it would’ve been like if we had met normally.”

You began doing up the buttons of his shirt, starting at his navel.

“I think we would be friends,” you answered.

He grabbed your hand.

“You think we’d be just friends?” Leon questioned, blue eyes piercing. He looked at you slowly, drinking in every detail of your face—meticulously reading, searching.

You spoke quietly, holding his gaze, “you don’t?”

“No,” he whispered carefully. “I think I would’ve have fallen for you.”

Your heart beat wildly out of your chest, its pulse ringing in your throat and in your ears.

“What if we met in a zombie infested city?” you forced yourself to ask.

He smiled.

“I think I would've fallen for you then, too.”

Chapter Text

Leon deeply inhaled, looking away for just a moment before meeting your eyes again.

“I've never fallen for someone so quickly before," he said, slow and deliberate. "Never felt like this before."

Your breathing hitched, hands no longer buttoning and resting against Leon’s skin instead. His muscles flexed beneath your fingers as he strained to sit up on his own, pressing the curves of his abdomen into your grip.

“Maybe it's because the world feels like it's ending?" You gulped.

"Zombies definitely make it hard to ask for your number and take you out on a date," he moved closer. “But hell or not, if I had found anyone else in that cabinet earlier..."

His nose lightly bumped against yours, blue eyes fixated on your lips.

"I know I wouldn't feel the same as I do right now."

Strands of his hair brushed along your eyelashes.

"How about you?" He asked.

You could feel his breath on your mouth as he spoke.

"Are you letting me this close just because it feels like the end of the world?" he leaned in.

You closed your eyes 

"No—"

Leon suddenly jerked, slumping against the wall with a grunt. Your hands became sticky with blood as red soaked through his bandages. He let out a pained sigh, “I’m sorry-"

“No, I’m the one who’s sorry,” you interrupted, quickly grabbing supplies to clean the wound.

“What do you mean?”

“I was about to take advantage of my patient,” you grinned.

The cop chuckled, muttering a quiet ‘ow’ as the laughter shook his shoulders.

You stopped the bleeding and cleaned the area, adding more pressure with gauze. Your fingers nimbly buttoned his shirt, reattaching his equipment.

“If we get out of here,” Leon whispered, “when we get out of here—when we're safe, can we try this again?”

You tried to read the expression on his face. It was serious—jaw clenched and gaze pleading. 

He looked towards the burnt corpse down the hall. “You deserve more than this..."

You gently cupped his face, pressing your lips against his cheek. He took a sharp breath in response, body tensing below you as you lingered. 

"Okay, but on one condition,” you slowly pulled away.

Leon’s hands reached forward, gingerly wrapping around your waist.

“And what’s that?” he asked.

“We’d better escape quickly then," you grinned.

Leon smiled back.

"You've got yourself a deal."

Chapter Text

It didn’t take long for the natural rhythm of exploration to resume.

Leon seemed to recover quickly, leading you throughout the sewer as if he’d memorized its layout beforehand, and you followed behind, limping as usual but slowly improving.

Zombies had a knack for ruining any kind of romantic atmosphere.

The rookie cop's confession felt like a distant dream. Although, some things had changed; Leon would smile if you accidentally bumped shoulders, and he enjoyed leading you by the waist and hand more than ever.

Earlier, he had caught you from a fall. When you landed in his arms, his hand accidentally brushed against your chest.

“Sorry!” He gasped, nearly dropping you into the sewage water.

“I know you didn’t mean to, it’s okay,” you laughed it off.

Leon’s face turned red regardless—even redder than when he saw you without a shirt. He couldn’t look at you without blushing for at least five minutes.

It was cute. Leon was cute.

But when this was all over, you wouldn't mind seeing the sultry Leon that almost kissed you earlier.

“Hey,” Leon nudged you, pulling you away from your thoughts. “Looks like another drop.”

You gave him a nudge back. “Should I prepare myself for any touchy-feely this time?”

"Is that what you want?" the cop scoffed, a smirk playing across his lips. "All you have to do is ask."

Oh.

You weren’t expecting that.

“Come on, we need to figure out where Ada went," he jumped down from the ledge, grinning as he held his arms wide open. "Everything alright? You seem a bit distracted right now."

Maybe Leon wasn’t as innocent as you thought.

The room you jumped into was brightly lit. Complex consoles lined the entire right side, and a large window lined the left. The room looked safe from a glance, but the snarl of zombies rang out above the soft buzz of machinery.

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Leon frowned.

“Me either,” you cautiously walked towards the window, peering out the dirty glass.

You squinted, making out piles of trash—rubble and concrete mostly—but something else caught your eye.

“Isn’t that…” Your voice trailed off as you began to recognize a slumped body in the dust.

“Ada,” Leon said firmly when he saw the same black haired woman as you. He looked up, eyes locked on the only door visible through the glass—white lettering reading 'waste disposal.’

The cop spun back, taking only a moment to examine the room before finding a map. “It’s not far from here,” he remarked and you knew what he meant.

We have to save her.

Leon wasn’t the kind of person to leave someone helpless. He saved you, a stranger, from a random cabinet—gave you his clothes and protected you all the way up until this point.

“Well then,” you grinned, one foot already out the door. “What are we waiting for?”

You regretted sounding so confident.

Somehow the sewers were even worse than the precinct.

Giant masses of flesh roamed the tunnels, bloodied and rotten, with arms that would attempt to grab. From a document you found you learned that they were called ‘G-Type Adults’ , the failed form of the G-Virus. You thought back to what Ada had said about the Virus—how if the G embryo was incompatible with its host it would kill them. You never even thought that the ‘embryos’ would become one of these.

With enough firepower, however, G-Type Adults were relatively easy to dispose. You and Leon continued forward with a few more close-calls than you would’ve liked, finding chess-piece styled electric plugs to open the waste disposal room.

And luckily, it didn’t take long to find them all.

“The knight should be beside the rook...” Leon scurried around the chess-piece contraption, muttering to himself.

You leaned against a nearby table, resting your foot while the cop worked away. “Do you know how to play chess?” You asked.

“You might not believe it,” A smile flashed across his face. “But I used to be president of the chess club in high school.”

You gasped. “No."

“You don’t have to act so surprised,” he laughed while you crossed your arms.

“It just seems a bit unfair that you’re attractive and smart.”

“Attractive?” Leon inserted the last piece.

The door whirred to life—its vault-like mechanisms spinning and releasing until the giant slab of metal unlatched and opened. A narrow hallway was uncovered; its small set of stairs leading towards a crimson lit pathway.

You slowly walked down each step, gun drawn how Leon taught you. “If we had to work so hard to open this door, she should be safe, right?”

“I sure hope so,” he turned the corner first, becoming engulfed in the red light. "So, you think I'm attractive?"

You started to blush. "Can we focus on finding Ada please?"

His flashlight revealed giants pipes, then vents, piles of trash, and finally a door with the words ‘waste disposal.’ He cautiously edged towards it, examining the lever beside—and then pulling.

“Damn it,” he sighed when nothing happened. “Need the power on first.”

You tried examining the door. “Were there any switches near the chess puzzle?”

“I’ll go check.” The cop started to jog away, and then jogged back.

"For the record," he leaned forward, speaking in a low voice, “I think you're very attractive, too.”

As quickly as he came back, he left again—grin wide across his face.

A small embarrassed giggle escaped your lips as he disappeared from sight, and you leaned back against the waste door in an attempt to still your excitement.

"Is it okay for me to be this happy right now?" You asked aloud.

“... injured … ba-... plan…”

You froze.

“He see- … easy to manipulate …”

Your body tensed at the muffled voice from beyond the metal.

“I’ll m- … kill him after…”

You pressed your ear against the door.

“He won’t be… a problem…”

“Can you hear anything? Is she okay?” Leon called as he jogged back.

You pulled away, trying to process what you had just heard. You opened your mouth to speak.

“Leon are you there!? It's Ada!” The voice screamed before you could say anything.

“Hold on!” The cop yelled back. “We’re here to rescue you!”

“We? That girl’s still alive?”

"What? Of course she is," Leon raised a brow.

“Whatever. Just listen,” Her voice grew stronger. “The two of you will need to split up to open this door. Leon, did you see those consoles in the previous room? You need to go back there.”

“But I was just there-”

“Go back,” Ada sighed. “And you …” She hesitated for a moment.

“Did you forget my name already?” You laughed awkwardly, a bad feeling washing over.

“There’s a room behind here. In the back right corner are switches. I need you to flip the second, third and fourth—the room is safe, I cleared it beforehand. A prompt will open on Leon’s console when you flip them.”

Leon frowned, moving in close to whisper, “I don’t like the idea of leaving you.”

“Please hurry!” Ada cried out. “There’s a shard of metal lodged into my thigh. I need to get it out—I’ve lost too much blood already.”

“She said she cleared it, it’ll be alright,” you whispered back, giving the cop a small nod.

“Okay, just-” He began pulling equipment from his belt. “Take these just in case.”

He handed over a knife and a grenade, placing them in your hands.

"I'll be okay," you put them in your pockets.

“But just in case-”

“I’ll hold on to them for you,” you grinned, spinning the cop around and pushing him towards the console room. “Now, go!”

You watched as he stalked off, unable to stop thinking about the muffled voice. Was it really Ada talking? Talking about manipulating and killing someone? It was easy to imagine the worst meaning of the words—but you tried not to. The woman already saved you twice before.

Maybe you heard wrong, you thought.

When the cop finally disappeared from sight, you began making your way, too. Finding the room Ada spoke of wasn't hard; It was just a few steps further than the waste disposal. You couldn't help but notice the dark window outside the room—it was impossible to see anything past its glossy black void. You tried to look in, giving up when all you could see was your haggard reflection staring back.

The bad feeling from earlier had manifested itself into the core of your stomach as you pried open the heavy door, only growing as the door shut loudly behind you. Much to your surprise though, the hall's crimson light lit the room in red. You could see perfectly out the window.

"Just quickly flip the switches and get out of here…" you mumbled to yourself as you looked around.

It was exactly as Ada had said. You found four switches in the back right corner, and you hurried to flick on the second, third, and fourth.

In an instant, the hum of machinery filled the room—red light disappearing and replaced with green.

The bad feeling deepened.

"That's weird." You slowly walked back to the door. "Leon must've just entered the prompt really fast."

You tried the handle.

It wouldn’t open.

You tried again.

It refused to budge.

"No, no, no!" You muttered frantically as you exerted more strength against the door.

You gazed up through the window, seeing Leon run back, pull the waste disposal handle and letting Ada crawl out.

"Leon! Help!" You screamed at the top of your lungs.

His head didn’t turn.  He couldn't hear you.

He looked worried as he glanced around. You could see him panic, his lips mouthing 'where is she?’ and ‘where’d she go?’

Ada mouthed ‘over there.'

And then you watched as she pointed down the hall—her finger leading Leon in the opposite direction.

Chapter Text

This was bad.

You tried shouting and banging on the glass but nothing seemed to grab Leon’s attention.

You started to question whether or not you even went into the right room. Perhaps flipping the switches did nothing at all and Leon was the one who unlocked the waste disposal.

Yeah, you thought to yourself. Once they went to the room you were supposed to be in and noticed that you were missing, they’d come explore this area some more and save you.

But then you watched Leon help Ada up.

As he hoisted her onto his back and began to walk away, her arms circled around his neck. She nestled against him, looking towards the room you were locked in—lips curled into a smile.

You felt like throwing up when you saw her on him.

You felt like throwing up when you realized Leon was in danger.

This was really bad.

From a glance, there were two exits: the door you came in and a doorway guarded by heavy shutters. You tried the door’s handle again—it was still locked—and when you tried to pry open the metal shutter, it wouldn’t move an inch. Breaking the window started to seem like the only way out.

You tried throwing whatever you could find at it—tools, bricks, scraps of garbage—but all merely bounced off. You began considering using the grenade Leon gave you, but you knew you’d probably lose a limb in the process. The last thing you could think of was shooting the glass, and that’d take one of your precious remaining bullets.

Regardless, you had to try.

You readied yourself—legs shoulder width apart, arms straight but not locked, and aim on the window.

“If this doesn’t work, I’m fucked,” you mumbled, and then you pulled the trigger—

A massive claw shot forth through the ceiling, crumbling concrete and knocking the gun from your hand. The bullet missed the window, ricocheting off into machinery—but it didn’t matter. The monster had already swung again and grabbed you by your hair.

You acted quickly, grabbing the knife Leon gave you and cutting the strands. Hair rained down as you fell hard against the floor—and when the claw attempted to swing again, you were just barely out of reach.

You tried to drag yourself from the center of the room, struggling as a burning pain began to take over your side and spread throughout your torso. You kept your head down, slowly reaching towards the throbbing and you let out a gasp when your fingers felt the stickiness of blood. 

This was really, really bad.

You managed to pull yourself up against a wall, trying not to look at the puddle of crimson you’d left behind. A giant gash had cut along your side and up your abdomen—it was impossible to tell where the wound began and ended through all the blood. You bunched up your t-shirt, using it to try and stop the bleeding. It wasn’t working.

Suddenly, a deafening growl rang out. It echoed across the room, reverberating across the concrete. You forced yourself to stand when the shutter began to shake.

A dent distorted the metal, and then another and another.

Claws pierced through the shutter, pulling it from the hinges and tossing it aside as if its weight meant nothing at all. When the dust fell, you recognized the monster blocking the doorway.

It was Birkin. Although you weren’t sure if it was Birkin anymore.

He was bigger than the last time you saw him. Birkin’s face now protruded from the chest, and a new, animalistic head had taken over. Other than his face, all of the scientist’s body was gone—replaced by masses of muscle and flesh, with enormous claws extending from the right arm.

The giant eye on his shoulder stared at you, pus weeping with every blink.

If Ada was telling the truth, then Birkin would try to-

You screamed as the claws swung forward with no warning, barely managing to dodge his grab. You ducked under his arm, limping out the doorway as fast as your injuries would allow.

The reason why Birkin has always tried to grab you is-

“He’s trying to implant an embryo...” you panted, stopping at a dead end.

You hadn’t even noticed the rain, or that you were outside, but you looked up taking in the sight of the sky. The moon illuminated your surroundings—a construction zone on a platform with edges that dropped off into a seemingly endless abyss. A crane held up a crate in the middle of the terrace, and you tried to hide behind it.

You felt sick to your stomach—skin slick with sweat and mouth full of bile. You didn’t know how you were standing; you thought you knew how deep the gash was, but you were wrong—it was worse, much worse.

Birkin followed your bloody trail, rounding the corner, beady yellow eyes hunting. You stumbled backwards as he walked closer, cautiously taking steps until you pressed up against a metal box. You braced yourself, using the box to hold your weight—and then your hand sunk down, accidentally pressing a button.

The sound of machines began to stir, and a siren blared from the distance. Yellow light spun from the metal box, and then entire pathway began to shake.

The crane moved, pulling the container from the platform. It wound back, and before you could process what had happened, the crane revolved—slamming the industrial sized box into Birkin’s body.

The collision rang out like a crack of thunder. That was the last thing you clearly remembered.

Blood spilt from your mouth as you coughed—suffocated you as it filled your nose and throat. You crumbled to the ground, barely able to make out Birkin fighting off the crate through blurry vision.

You didn’t know if he fell off the edge or not. Static was all you could hear and your eyes refused to stay open any longer.

Leon. You wanted to say his name before dying—that’s what was happening, right?

The ground was hard and cold, and pain had paralyzed your whole body.

Dying felt a lot worse than you thought it would. Somehow you always imagined dying of old age—that you would just slip away in the middle of the night, and not because some bitch trapped you in a room.

"Leon," You muttered.

We were supposed to escape together.

“... Interesting…”

A bright light filled your vision.

“Eyes are clear, no signs of turning.”

You felt a sharp pinch on your arm.

“Possible innate resistance? Has to be...”

You opened your eyes, gasping in a heavy breath and grabbing your side. You frantically looked down—there was no cut, no bleeding, but there was still claw marks in your shirt-

“You need to calm down,” hands pushed you back into a lying position. A woman hovered over you, hair pale blonde and skin ghost like.

“Annette?” You asked.

She didn’t respond but you recognized her. Annette’s fingers furiously typed into her keyboard, attention focused on the screen. She looked worse than the last time you saw her; purple bags had settled under her eyes and she was completely covered in blood.

“It’s your blood,” she said as if she’d read your thoughts. "From dragging you here."

You slowly sat up this time, taking in the small room you were in. It looked like a lab; equipment and papers were scattered across the counters, while cardboard boxes littered everywhere else. A trail of red led from the door to where you sat, and when you moved over, the bed beneath you was soaked as well.

“How am I alive?” You questioned aloud.

Annette paused, fingers hovering over the keys. “That’s a good question.”

Chapter Text

“You’re telling me that she took the cable car without us?”

“Yes. I told her to go through that door and press the switches.”

“But I didn’t hear anything about taking a cable car.”

“Won’t you just trust me?”

“Honestly,” the cop let out a sigh. “I don’t know if I should."

Leon felt tense under Ada’s weight. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about you and where you had disappeared to. 

It felt like just minutes ago that you promised to escape together. He believed that you wouldn't leave him behind—that you needed him just as much as he needed you. 

Something wasn't adding up.

“I’ve saved you twice and this is the thanks I get?” She hissed.

Leon sighed again, louder this time. He had never been known for his patience, especially when it came to someone he cared about.

“Look,” he tried to control the tone of his voice. “I’m grateful for your help. But I know her—I know she wouldn’t go that far ahead without me. I’m going back.” 

He crouched, beginning to pull her arms from around his neck, but her grip grew tighter, refusing to let go.

“Fine," she groaned. "It’s not like I can go anywhere with this leg—just make it quick.”

Leon scoffed.

“I’m telling you though, she went on the cable car-”

He didn’t bother to reply. He’d stopped listening.

The way Ada pressed against his back felt wrong—Ada felt wrong. She knew too much, her timing was always too perfect. Whatever her agenda was seemed more important than the fate of Raccoon City itself. So, why was she wasting time hanging out with ‘kids’?

He walked back to the waste disposal thinking about the answer like a game of Chess. 

If her goal meant checkmate, then did she consider you and him as pawns?

He opened the door, green light and the stench of garbage welcoming him back. He could feel Ada’s breathing stop just for a moment—after looking up, he understood why.

“What the hell?” The cop muttered, taking in the sight of crumbled concrete. He quickly let Ada down, running over with a flashlight and gun in hand. He stepped over the rubble, opening what was left of the door—and then his heart dropped.

“No,” he whispered.

Leon had never felt like this before—the pure fear and sickness that made his knees weak and lungs stop working. 

He didn’t feel this scared when he saw humans eating each other, or when he had been shot. 

Yet, he had to force himself to process the stain of blood smeared on the ground. He had to force himself to look at the clumps of hair scattered across the floor.

It was your hair color.

It was probably your blood.

He scanned the room, finding your gun hidden under trash and claw marks on a heap of metal. The blood was still wet—trailing out the doorway. 

You were nowhere to be found. 

“Fuck!" Leon swore, punching a nearby console. He knew punching it wouldn’t change the fact that he left you alone—that it wouldn’t reverse whatever terrible thing happened to you here. But he punched it again, hoping his knuckles would hurt as much as the guilt stung.

The machine stuttered from the impact, spitting out a few clunking noises before silencing completely.

He watched quietly as the green light outside faded to red—and then it suddenly dawned on him why he didn't think to check out this room before, why he didn't think you were here.

“Oh,” Ada gasped as she limped over rubble. “What happened here?”

“You don’t know?” Leon asked, standing upright and circling the room. 

She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Leon pointed to the dented console in the back right corner of the room—to the second, third and fourth switches flipped on. He drew his gun.

“Start talking.”

---

“Have you ever heard of innate resistance before?” Annette asked, eyes focused on the screen of her computer. 

“Not really,” you admitted.

“It’s when your body is naturally resistant to a virus—due to mutations, or alterations in the genome.” She tapped on her keyboard a few times, bringing up a model of a cell. “Essentially, it is immunity.”

She clicked on her mouse, letting a video play. 

“Normally viruses work by attaching themselves to a cell. They inject deconstructed versions of their DNA inside, assemble within the cell, and then lyse the cell—explode it—letting newly formed copies of the virus into the body to repeat the cycle.”

The video showed what she talked about as she explained it, and then she pulled up another video.

“Viruses all work differently,” she continued. “In the case of the G-Virus, the DNA that is injected into the cell has special properties—advanced healing, faster muscle movement, a plethora of benefits, really.”

You furrowed your brows. “Then why do people turn into monsters when the DNA isn’t compatible?”

“When incompatible, the G-Virus’ DNA takes over the host cell, transforming it into a mass of mutations—an abomination.”

She clicked on her mouse again.

“In extremely rare cases, the G-Virus’ DNA can enhance the host’s—providing them with the benefits of the virus without the virus taking control.”

The video began like before, showing how the virus injects its DNA—but the cell didn’t explode this time. The walls of its membrane seemed to thicken, and the cell danced energetically around the field of vision.

“This is a model of your DNA,” Annette said finally, nodding towards a microscope connected to her computer.

You looked to the vial of blood on the counter, and to the freshly prepared slides drying. These weren't videos she was showing you—they were real time projections.

“You are an extremely rare case,” she grabbed your hand. “With DNA so perfectly compatible with G that you’re immune.”

“What?” Your mouth felt dry. “You’re saying that I’ve been infected with the G-Virus?” 

Without blinking, Annette grabbed a knife and sliced your hand open. 

“What the fuck?!” You screamed, pulling back.

“Look,” she gestured.

“Like I’m going to fucking listen to you-”

“Just look.”

You scowled, reluctantly unclenching your hand. 

There was no blood, no cut.

There was no trace.

“The effect is even stronger than I would’ve imagined,” the scientist mumbled, grabbing a pen and madly scribbling notes into a piece of paper.

You couldn’t tear your eyes away—you had felt the pain of the knife, heard the ripping of skin, but it was as if the cut didn’t happen at all. 

“So then, if I’m infected,” you managed to say. “Did Birkin implant an embryo?”

“He tried,” she continued taking notes, no hint of emotion in her features. “Also, it’s not like you’re infected. You have immunity.”

“He tried?”

Annette sighed, blowing a strand of hair from her face. “You would’ve died if William didn’t implant one. Because of your innate resistance the embryo itself likely died—or ran away—God only knows. What’s important is that you’ve gained G’s powers.”

You looked down to your side—to the claw marks in your shirt, to the blood on the bed. To the lack of scars and to your healed foot.

You felt fine. 

You felt good.

The pale blonde woman crossed her legs, leaning over and looking into your eyes. 

"You," she whispered. “You’re what William was supposed to be.”

Chapter Text

“I said, I don’t know what happened to her-” Ada winced as Leon firmly grasped her shoulders—pulling her arms back and tightening handcuffs around her wrists. 

“Why keep lying about it?” He found her gun, sliding it far from reach. “There’s no way that those three switches are just a coincidence.”

“I only meant to lock her in.”

Leon scoffed. “Oh? So she'd eventually starve to death?”

Ada didn’t reply.

“Why?” He asked. “Why did you plan to leave her?”

Her eyes sharpened—gaze testing how Leon would react. “I thought it would be easier to manipulate you if she was out of the picture.”

The cop swallowed hard, face twisting. “What?”

“But you’re not as dumb as I'd hoped you were.” She sighed.

A sudden crackling rang out from Ada’s holster. Her eyes darted towards the noise, hands jerking at the cuffs.

“Rep-… Agent… -in.”

She pressed her arms against her ribs in an attempt to muffle the noise, but Ada was agile—not strong. Leon easily pushed her arms aside, finding a radio tucked beneath ammunition. It was the same one she used in the precinct parking lot.

“Report in Agent. Urgent update.” 

“Shouldn’t be so obvious next time,” Leon whispered. “You’d better answer him, Agent.” He pressed the talk button on the device—and then he pressed the barrel of his gun to her head.

“Agent, report immediately," the voice demanded.

Ada sneered as the cop clicked off the safety. 

“Dispatcher,” she said flatly into the receiver, “what impeccable timing you have.”

“No time for jokes. Urgent mission update," the voice replied.

“What is it?”

“The girl you were traveling with,” the voice described your appearance perfectly. “Turns out she’s more valuable than G.”

Ada’s breathing hitched—she looked up to find that Leon’s had too. 

“What do you mean?” She asked carefully.

“That girl contains both the virus and the vaccine.”

Leon's grip tightened around the gun, and Ada could feel his worry through the barrel.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath before clearing her throat and lying. “We split up.”

“I know. Surveillance cameras currently have her pinned at Annette’s lab. ”

“I was heading there anyways,” Ada subtly adjusted her hands—resting her finger resting atop a small button on her watch.

“Securing the girl alive is your utmost priority. We clear, Agent?”

Ada closed her eyes, brows knitting. “Crystal.” The static died abruptly after she spoke—silencing the room and ending the transmission.

“I knew it—she’s alive…” Leon murmured to himself.

“Looks like we have similar goals now,” Ada said coolly. “Shouldn’t we help each other out?”

“I’m supposed to trust you? After all this?” He pushed the gun into her hair. “How do I get to Annette’s lab?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” 

“Tell me, or I leave you here—you don’t have much of a choice, Ada.”

“You’d be surprised,” she smiled. “I’ll warn you, I’m very competitive when it comes to racing.”

“This isn’t a race!” Leon shouted, and her grin grew.

She pursed her lips, pressing down on her watch. “I’ll see you at the finish line.” 

Before the cop could react, a high pitch screech echoed the room and a blinding light filled his vision. He aimlessly reached forward, barely grabbing Ada’s wrist before it slinked away from his grasp.

“Shit!” He cursed, unable to tell his own voice apart from the deafening blast. It felt as if forever had passed until his sight returned—and once it had, she was gone along with all traces. The only evidence she’d been there at all were the empty cuffs placed in front of him, split cleanly down the middle. 

Leon’s shoulders dropped and he finally let out the breath he’d been holding. “She’s alive,” he repeated. “She’s alive… ”

He tried to collect himself—steadily inhaling and exhaling. When his heartbeat stopped ringing in his ears and drumming throughout his stomach, he realized something was in his grip—something he must’ve pulled from Ada’s wrist. He uncurled his fingers to find a small black bracelet lit up by a familiar blue screen.

He’d seen that hue of blue before—on a locked door, he recalled.

There was an area the two of you had come across while exploring the sewers, the same place that Ada wanted to go—The lab that Ada had been eager to find the entire time.

The cop spun on his heel, vaulting over rubble and climbing up stairs.

“This isn’t a race, Ada," Leon began running towards the cable car. “But there’s no way in hell I’m going to let you beat me.”

“I’m grateful to you,” Annette’s voice was soft. She continued typing frantically, eyes glued to her monitor.

You tried keeping up with what she was doing. She was modifying something—but it was advanced, complex—far out of your scope of knowledge. “What do you mean?” You asked.

“William was trying to implant our daughter,” she replied, focus unwavering. “I have no doubt that your distraction has spared her some time."

“You have a daughter? How old is she?”

“Twelve.” 

“Oh, fuck-” You quickly bit down on your tongue. 

Annette smirked. “That’s an accurate way to explain it. Through terms of inheritance, she’s somewhat compatible. However, Sherry’s DNA isn’t a perfect match to G.”

You frowned. “Meaning she’d-”

“Become like William.” Annette hit enter on her keyboard and the nearby machines whirred to life. She tilted her head back, letting out a sharp breath. “How long has that red light been flashing?” She asked, suddenly.

You looked to where her gaze landed, finding a small camera in the corner of the room. “Since as long as I can remember-”

Annette shot up before you could finish speaking. She grabbed a stapler and climbed up onto the counter—smashing the surveillance camera into unrecognizable bits.

“Oh my god! ” You watched as metal pieces flew by mercilessly, until all that was left were ripped cords dangling from the ceiling.

“Someone’s been watching us,” the scientist said in a huff, climbing down and typing a few more commands into the computer.

“Who?” You stood out of the way as she flurried around the room—grabbing supplies, grabbing a gun.

“The people who caused all of this,” her fists shook for only a moment, relaxing as a small tray ejected from one of the machines. From there, she pulled out two vials—one with a red cap, and the other with white.

“Umbrella,” Annette said finally. “They’re up to something more than you and I—something bigger than Raccoon City.”

You crossed your arms. “You're saying that as if you don't work for them."

“That was before they tried to kill me and my husband,” she exhaled. “These are rushed. Without trials, I can't even be certain that these are effective.”

The scientist held up both of the tubes.

“This red top contains genetically modified T-lymphocytes. Theoretically, it’ll target and kill all G-virus cells almost instantaneously, destroying mutations.” She slid it into her coat pocket. “I’ll use it to take care of William.”

"Wait—you're going to?" You grabbed her arm.

"Yes," Annette shrugged you off. “I’ve got a more important task to ask of you.”

Your eyes grew wide. “Something more important?”

“My daughter,” she pulled a worn photograph from her breast pocket. “She’s here, with another woman…”

You examined the photo. Sherry looked like her mother: pale skin, blue eyes and light blonde hair. 

“Please find her, and inject her with this.” Annette placed the white capped vial in your hands. “It’s not complete immunity, it’s-”

“A vaccine,” you gripped the tube.

"Thanks to your blood," the scientist gave a weak smile. “Hopefully she won't need it.”

“You’re really going?” You watched as she packed ammunition into her coat.

“The longer William lives, the further his mutations progress,” Annette reached over, securing a white bracelet over your wrist. “This will grant you access to all of NEST. Once you find Sherry, a biometric scan from her will unlock access to an underground train.”

“I get it, I’ll find her—but why don’t you save Sherry yourself?” You asked.

“Use the train to escape Raccoon City as fast as you can,” Annette ignored you, nodding to the monitor. “Your friend will be here soon.”

“Friend?" You ran to the computer, scanning the security footage. It showed a familiar, dirty-blonde and blue eyed cop riding in a cable car.

"Tell him I'm sorry about before," the scientist stood in front of the exit. She reached into her pocket, grasping the vial tight.

“G... and now you... cannot fall into the wrong hands," she muttered—and then she stormed out the door.

Chapter Text

Minutes faded into seconds, and seconds faded into eternity as you awaited the cable car. 

Annette disappeared, leaving you alone in an area you’d never been. You walked out of the small room, greeted by the sight of ‘Umbrella Corporation’ printed across pristine and shiny walls. Pale lights lit up a tidy reception desk, an office, and a few other door; NEST, as Annette called it, looked exactly like the internship lab. You took in a deep breath, noting that they even smelt the same—the scent of steel, disinfectant, and agar.

From a map in the scientist's lab, you knew that behind bulkhead doors was a vast room, one that housed a massive tunnel. You went in; cool gusts blew from the pitch black passage, reddening your cheeks and quickening your pulse. On the ceiling hung a thick cord, constantly pulling the cable car closer. Pulling Leon closer.

You were nervous. 

How much time had passed since you’d parted? It couldn’t have been more than several hours, but it felt like days. 

“Next car arriving in two minutes,” a voice called out over the intercom.

You sat on a set of metal stairs, tucking your knees towards your chest. Even though Leon constantly crossed your mind, you hadn’t thought about Ada since laying in the rain.

What if she was still with him?

There was no doubt that the cop went back to look for you—he would’ve seen the rubble, the blood, and your hair-

“Oh,” you sighed aloud, pulling at the jagged strands. You’d nearly forgotten about the mess that you were—chopped mane, ripped shirt, and clothes stained in blood.

How would Leon feel knowing that the G-Virus was a part of you?

The tunnel’s breeze suddenly intensified. “Please stand clear of the arriving car, ” the voice rang.

A cable car gradually emerged from the darkness, growing closer and closer with each blink. Butterflies in your stomach began to flutter—leg bouncing, and hands playing with torn fabric. You stood anxiously as the cords came to an abrupt stop, shifting weight from one foot to the other while the vehicle parked—its door pushing out and sliding to the side. 

“Hello?” You called loudly.

The overhead lights illuminated Leon perfectly as he stepped out. 

The cop was bloodied and cut from the night, left shoulder still soaked in red. His boots echoed against the floor as he started towards you, brows furrowed and jaw clenched.

“Leon, I-”

Leon wrapped his arms around you.

He pressed against your body, fingers reaching up and burying themselves in your hair.  

“I was worried,” he whispered, resting his head into the crook of your neck. "I was so worried."

Leon squeezed tighter as your arms barely circled around his back. You could feel the muscle through his uniform, his heart beating in his chest. His hands ran down your sides and held you at the waist. He pulled back, eyes half-mast as he watched you.

“Stop staring,” you mumbled shyly.

Leon reached up, delicately playing with a strand of cut hair. “But I missed you.”

He gently held your face, brushing his thumb along the top of your cheekbone—his gaze shifting towards your lips, and sharply inhaling as if he found what he needed. Leon moved closer, the heat of his breath on your skin. He tilted his face, eyes closing before his lips met yours.

And then Leon kissed you.

The kiss was soft and warm—cautious, as if to ask if this was okay. You deepened the kiss, and Leon jolted in surprise. He smiled against your lips, letting out a chuckle before kissing you again—taking your bottom lip between his and breathing you in. He tasted sweet, intoxicating. You never knew a kiss could feel so good.

“I’m sorry,” He muttered, breaking apart and resting his forehead against yours. “I should’ve never left you alone.”

“But I was the one who convinced you to,” you rebutted.

“There was a moment I thought you were dead,” his voice was low. “There was so much blood…”

“I-” Your side suddenly ached—a phantom pain. You moved, slowly reaching towards the spot where Birkin’s claws ripped through you. 

Leon took a step back, carefully examining your ripped shirt. He pushed it aside, gingerly running a finger along the exposed skin. “Tell me what happened,” he said.

You looked down. “But I’m worried you’ll think of me differently…”

“How I feel about you isn’t going to change so easily,” the cop tilted your face up, kissing you again. “Please, tell me everything.”

You told Leon about being trapped in the power room with William—how you almost died, and that Annette saved you after, bringing you to her lab.

And you explained the G-Virus. What Annette told you about it, and how you were now infected.

The look on his face said the words he didn't—that he was in the middle of blaming himself, mad at himself for leaving you alone. You placed a comforting hand on his arm, and thankfully, his expression eased a little.

"Bottom line is... I owe you a new shirt," you joked quietly.

"That is the absolute last thing on my mind," Leon half scoffed, half chuckled. "You can destroy all my shirts if it means you're still alive."

"What if I actually take you up on that?"

"Then I might start to think you just want me shirtless."

You both laughed, the mood lifting. The crease between his brows finally disappeared, but there was still something you needed to ask. 

"So, what happened to Ada?"

Leon sighed exhaustedly at the name.

"I guess it wasn't all some big misunderstanding, huh?"

“No," he said, shaking his head. "I found out that she's working for someone behind the scenes. While I was questioning her, she got a radio call saying that capturing you was now ‘top priority’, that you're the 'virus and the vaccine'.”

"Hmm," you thought back to the lab. “When I was with Annette, she suddenly freaked out mentioning that Umbrella was watching us from a surveillance camera.”

“Think Ada works for Umbrella?”

“That must be why she knew so much,” you crossed your arms. 

Leon brought his hand to his mouth, gaze pensive. “I won’t let her have you, and we can’t let her get the G-Virus either. Where is Annette now?”

You told him about the scientist’s plan to kill William and that she’d asked you to save Sherry as well. He blinked at you in response.

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Leon started, “the only way to escape is by an underground train, and only a biometric scan from this girl will unlock it?”

You nodded ‘yes’, and Leon pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well... I’m not about to leave a little girl stuck here, anyways,” he gave a small smile. “We’ll find her, and we’ll find the G-Virus.”

The cop began walking towards NEST—holding out his hand, and interlocking his fingers with yours when you reached him. 

“Even if it means something happens to me,” he spoke softly, “I’ll never let you go through something so terrible again.”

You tugged on his hand. “Don’t say that. What happened wasn’t your fault.”

“But-”

You tugged again. He stopped walking and turned to face you.

“We’ll get through this together,” you smiled. “We’ll survive together.”

Chapter Text

“Holy-”

“Shit,” Leon finished your sentence.

NEST was unlike anything you’d ever seen before—a gigantic open chasm that appeared to be from the future. You scanned the bracelet Annette gave you on a nearby console, watching as grates slid out from beneath and formed a walkway to the central hub in the distance. You cautiously stepped across, careful not to look down at the apparently endless void under your feet. 

“Claustrophobic and scared of heights?” Leon teased.

You frowned. “I can’t help it that I prefer my suspended walkways welded."

The hub seemed to be an elevator that led downwards. You kept in mind that this had to be the elevator that Annette talked about—the one that led to the underground train. But before you could take it, you needed to stop Ada from getting the G sample, and you needed to find Sherry. Separated from the main hub were two doors, the East Area and the West Area. Luckily, from the map you saw before, you knew that G was in the West Area.

“They’re here too,” the cop sighed.

A zombie staggered from the east door, growling as it heard Leon’s voice—but it didn’t go far without a connecting walkway. Its arms reached out, mindlessly chasing and running off the edge into the abyss.

“I-” Leon gulped, “I don’t think I heard it land.”

“Who’s scared of heights now?!” you sneered, knuckles turning white against the handrail.

“I know what’ll make you feel better,” he patted your back, “why didn’t the zombie cross the walkway?”

“Why?”

“Because they didn’t have the guts!”

You walked to the west console and scanned the bracelet. How bad that joke was and how enthusiastically Leon said it made you remember there are things worse than heights.

Leon laughed as the new bridge extended. "That bad?"

"That bad," you shook your head.

"I missed you."

You looked back, seeing the cop standing happily, a boyish grin wide across his face.

He'd already put your feelings into words.

"Me too," you smiled. "I missed you too."

Beyond the doors was a darkness just barely illuminable by Leon’s flashlight. The smell of blood was thick as you stumbled past a dead soldier—you’d seen another body with the same gear earlier. It didn’t look military. 

Lights suddenly flickered on, and you looked back to see that the cop had inserted some sort of power source into a generator. 

“You’re so resourceful,” you complimented, eyesight adjusting.

You realized you were inside another lab—albeit, this was much more advanced than the Annette's. Microscopes and reports were in equal amounts, all scattered haphazardly over desks. Across a partition was an operation style table surrounded in various technology and machinery you'd never seen before. You squinted, hardly making out constraints on a nearby trolley.

Leon scanned the area. “I'm more than just resourceful, you know."

"Really?" you teased. "What else are you good at?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised—"

A door further in opened automatically, the heavy scent of chemicals and dust following suit. HAZMAT gowns were lined up on a rack inside—you noticed that the door was labelled ‘Bioreactor Room’.

Leon furrowed his brows. "... Come on," he took a wary step in. “I have a feeling we’re close.”

An unnatural silence rang in your ears as you moved forward, drowned out by a sanitation shower, and then amplified by the auditorium-like bioreactor chamber.

Reaching the P-4 Level Testing Laboratory brought no comfort.

Pistons lined the walls, red glowing and pulsing softly around their cores. They led your eyes to three glass pods, each cradling their own grotesque masses—remnants of human body parts, floating and preserved. They looked eerily similar to Birkin’s G-Virus mutations, and the realization made you feel sick to your stomach.

For a moment you saw yourself in those tubes—bloodied eyes emerging from your skin, hands formed into claws.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Leon stood between you and the pods. He clasped your shoulder.

"That-" you muttered, "that could have—could—be me."

"That's not you."

"But what if-"

"You are you," he bent down to meet your gaze. "Virus, or not."

Leon knew exactly what to say, to ease the worry you'd been putting off.

You relaxed slightly beneath his hands. "You're right..."

Your arms, your legs, mouth, eyes—everything still belonged to you. For now, at least...

"Let's find the sample, let’s find Sherry, and then let's call it a day." He winked in an attempt to cheer you up. "If you're not too tired after, I can show you those other things I'm good at."

"Leon Scott Kennedy," you gasped, breaking out into a smile.

"You remember my middle name?" He asked.

"Of course," you said, matter-of-fact. "I also remember that you're blood type A, your dad's a cop, and so was your dog."

Leon shyly scratched the back of his neck, revealing pink cheeks hidden beneath his bangs. "Better find that sample quick," he murmured, following brightly lit guidelines on the floor.

They led him to a large storage unit built into the wall, donned in biohazard symbols and other safety measures. He approached carefully, pressing the only button available. The machine whirred, spinning until a single tube ejected from the holders. It was labeled G Virus.

“Huh,” he shrugged after pulling the vial out. “That was easy—”

“Attention,” an automated voice rang out over intercoms. “Unauthorized removal of a level four virus detected. Facility lockdown initiated.”  

“Uh,” you looked around nervously, “what’s that mean?”

“Self-destruct sequence will begin when lockdown is complete.”

“Oh, shit,” Leon groaned, starting for the door. He grabbed your hand and began jogging. “We'd better find that girl quick!”

You ran past the tanks and past the pistons back into the bioreactor room. Your footsteps rang loud and recklessly against the metal—there were just a few more rooms until you reached the central hub—

But then your knees began to wobble. 

The floor shook violently and the roof collapsed, raining concrete chunks mere yards away from you. The crash hit like a deafening blast, threatening to take you off your feet.

Leon quickly pulled out his gun. “You again," he spoke gravely.

It was William. 

He stood before you, evolving—all traces of humanity completely disappearing before your eyes. G had turned his cells into something beyond comprehension, something beyond your worst nightmares. The last of his face was ravaged beneath fang-like protrusions on his chest. Red dripped as blonde strands fell.

"Move," a voice demanded.

Annette emerged from the door behind you, limping and panting. “He’s mine,” she called out desperately.

Her hands were shaky as she pulled out a gun. 

"It's an acid round I modified using your DNA," her finger grasped the trigger. “It’ll disrupt his mutations! It’ll end all of this—”

Before she could react, a claw shot forward—wrapping around her frail body and squeezing until you could hear bones shattering.

“No!” Leon screamed, firing bullets into the arm. Blood splattered across the floor, but you didn’t know if it was hers or William’s. It wasn’t until the cop had finished his entire magazine that the monster tossed Annette’s body into a wall—denting it, staining it.

You ran to Annette, trying to stop the bleeding however you could—but this wasn’t a gunshot to the shoulder. There was no way to stop it.

“We have to do something!” Leon grunted as he dodged William’s attack. “I’m running out of bullets!”

You cursed, pulling apart Annette’s cold hands and grabbing her gun. If this acid round contained your DNA—your genetically modified T-lymphocytes—then theoretically it should kill the G-virus within him. 

“Sure hope you’re as good of a scientist as I thought you were,” you muttered under your breath before standing and shouting. “Hey, you!” The gun was readied in your hand, finger on the trigger. “Eat this, you stupid bitch!”

Time slowed to a crawl as you aimed and fired the round—spinning perfectly into William’s neck and exploding across the entire mass of his body. Acid burned through his flesh, melting him down to muscle and marrow. His eyes dissolved into hollowed sockets, and claws into liquid. His legs broke first, shaking the ground as he crumpled, and corroded. All that remained after the sizzling stopped was steam, and then a heap of orange.

“Annette…” You dropped to your knees, hovering beside the broken woman. 

Leon rushed over, grabbing medical supplies from his pockets. Annette's hand reached up to stop him.

“T-this-" she wheezed, coughing up blood and choking on it. “This wasn’t supposed to h-happen…”

“Don’t talk,” Leon whispered, but she continued.

“Umbrella tried to steal G… William injected himself with it to stay alive after they s-shot him,” red began to spill from her lips. “That woman, she’s working for them… s-she’ll sell it.”

“Ada,” you sighed.

“Destroy the G sample,” she coughed again, the light in her eyes beginning to fade. “A-and god, please save Sherry-”

Annette’s body fell limp—heavy and empty. She was dead.

“Attention,” the automated voice crackled across the intercoms. “Self-destruct sequence initiated. Use the central elevator to evacuate immediately to the bottom-level train platform.”  

If you didn’t hurry, you’d be dead too.

Chapter Text

Having the G-Virus made things easy—like controlling your breathing as you sprinted for your life.

You ran, through the sanitation and locker rooms, back into the laboratory—all while the automated voice continued to remind you of impending doom. Just past the lab's exit was the elevator, but you hesitated.

Someone was waiting for you in the distance. Her heels clacked against the grating as she stepped onto West Area’s connecting pathway.

“I was just thinking about you, Leon.” She pointed her gun at the cop, while the other hand beckoned slowly. “Hand over the girl and the G-Virus, won’t you?”

“Ada,” Leon growled.

The infrastructure began to crumble—shaking NEST and the bridge you stood on. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling, smashing against the walls and into the void below.

“Saving us,” Leon drew his gun, hand tight around the grip. “We were just some pawns to you?!”

Ada sighed, an annoyed smile forming on her lips. “Look, I’m just doing my job.”

“And I’m doing mine,” he shouted. “So drop that damn gun!”

“I'm afraid I can't do that.”

Ada’s finger curled around the trigger, pulling down completely—and then time slowed again, like when you killed William. Your senses heightened, skin growing sensitive to the breeze flowing over it. You watched as her bullet launched from the barrel, gunpowder exploding from behind as it cut through the air and towards Leon.

How could you save him? Just how long would this last?

A sharp heat blossomed across your shoulder as time seemed to resume—concrete beginning to fall again, and the ground proceeding to shake. You hadn't realized it, but you'd moved—you had taken the bullet for Leon.

“No!” Leon rushed over. He held you in his arms as red spilled from the hole.

“W-wait…” You muttered, abruptly grasping at your skin. 

The sensation was unlike anything you’d ever felt before. Similar to when a stomach rejects a food it doesn’t like, your muscles heaved in discomfort, pushing and pulling. You cried out in pain as the bullet dislodged itself from your flesh, ejecting out and against the grate—landing next to the woman’s heels.

“What…?” Ada took a step back, gun wavering in her hand.

You felt disgusted at first. What the hell just happened?

But then you looked up.

A smile had broken out on Leon’s face.

“I thought I almost lost you again,” he exhaled shakily—voice suddenly drowned out by a falling boulder.

The walkway collapsed beneath your feet, tearing you away from Leon. You rolled down the dangling bridge, but just before you could slip off entirely, Leon caught your arm, and you caught Ada. Leon steadied himself against the last remaining piece of the path in order to support both your weights—however, the G sample slipped out of his pocket in the process. The three of you watched helplessly as it fell into the depths below.

“Hold on,” Leon struggled. “I think I can pull you both up…”

The bridge continued to further deteriorate and decline. Although the G-Virus had expelled the bullet from your body, it hadn’t healed your shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound, dripping down your arm and onto Ada’s.

“Forget it. It’s not worth it...” she spoke quietly.

“Shut up!” You shouted. “Even if you’re an asshole, I don’t want to see someone else die tonight!”

Ada laughed at that, looking down before looking back to you and Leon.

“Take care of yourselves,” she said.

"Wait!-"

Ada fell from your grip. Without a scream or a whimper, she fell into the darkness.

"Even cool until the end," you murmured.

Like Annette, the woman who both saved you and tried to kill you was now gone.

You were thankful you couldn't hear her land.

Leon easily helped you up after, quickly hoisting the two of you onto the central hub before the whole walkway dissipated. You laid down for a moment, panting—like when you escaped death at the police station. This time you weren’t shy to look at Leon’s face. He appeared much more tired, purple settled under his eyes, skin sprinkled with blood and dirt. 

“No more taking bullets for me,” he whispered.

“If it means using this virus to save your life," you shook your head, "I can’t make any promises.”

"You're so stubborn," he chuckled softly.

“Attention,” the now familiar voice called. “Ten minutes until detonation.”

Leon stood and you followed suit.

"Let's get out of here," He nodded to the elevator, grin on his face. "I've got a deal to keep."

The ride down was smooth, despite the crashing debris. A glass partition showcased an enormous power core generating threads of lightning as it spun. The core cast the entire elevator in a red light, growing dim as you reached the bottom.

“Nine minutes until detonation.” 

“I know, I know,” you huffed at the voice.

“What’s this?” Leon ventured out and into a room full of security monitors.

One screen showed a faint image of a woman. “Who’s that?” You tried to look closer.

The cop rushed over to a control panel, pressing a few buttons until a monitor buzzed to life.

“Claire!” He shouted.

The woman on the screen was young, hair tied back messily in a ponytail. Once you studied the face, you realized you knew her. 

“Claire?!” you shouted too. How did you not realize that the ‘Claire’ he’d talked earlier about was your Claire Redfield. 

“Oh my god,” she looked into the camera and called your name. “You’re down here too?! with Leon?! I’m so happy you’re alive—just wait till Chris hears-”

“Chris? You know each other?” Leon questioned.

“I’ll tell you all about it when we escape,” you laughed awkwardly. “Listen, we need to get out! This whole place is gonna blow in less than nine minutes.”

“Yeah, there’s a train out! We can make it! Where are you two now?”

“I think we’re close, but we need to find a little girl-”

“You mean Sherry? She’s with me, but she’s sick—she was attacked by this giant monster-”

You spoke desperately. “Claire—a biometric scan from Sherry will start that train! I have a vaccine for her! We’ll meet you-”

“Where-?” The feed started to distort. “Hey, guys? You still t-... Hellooo?”

The monitor suddenly cut and you were left staring at your reflection.

“Think she heard?” Leon asked.

You let out a deep breath, remembering all the times you’d seen Claire struggle with technology. 

“She'll get the train running," you answered. "She definitely will."

Chapter Text

Explosions erupted in the distance, spilling fire over the underground laboratory.

You weaved between zombies and falling concrete—riding down lifts, climbing ladders and kicking through doors. Thankfully there was no second guessing where to go. The only path led to the train.

Amidst the chaos, you reached a quiet room. Leon walked forward cautiously, halting you until he’d cleared ahead. Earlier, he gave you his pistol in order to protect yourself; you clutched it tightly in your hands.

“Wait,” he said firmly.

You could hear something in the distance, something familiar. 

“Footsteps…?” You muttered.

A large figure jumped down from above, landing with enough force to jolt the ground. It stood up straight, trench coat unwrinkling, fists forming at its sides.

It was the tyrant from the precinct.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Leon cursed as he backed up. He reached behind, grabbing a flash grenade off his belt. “Close your eyes!” He shouted.

You did as he commanded, closing your eyes—opening them a moment later to find the giant stunned. Leon grabbed your hand, ducking under the tyrant’s arm and to the exit. The sound of the monster's boots began briskly following after, letting you know that you were hardly ahead.

The boiler room was sweaty, small and covered in an orange haze of fire. Leon tried to rush through it, hurrying as fast as he could to get out—but the path ignited into flames.

Embers pushed him back. Back into the tyrant.

The monster swatted you out of the way, slamming your body into the floor as it grabbed Leon by the throat. The cop struggled, writhing in the giant’s grip and trying to get footing on anything he could. His back hit the edge of the boiler, fencing catching onto equipment—and setting his shotgun off.

The boiler ruptured from the impact. 

Everything was set ablaze. Grates began to melt, collapsing as more combustions burst. You and Leon fell to a room below, scarcely dodging the metal that fell with you. After you’d caught your breath again, you looked up to see the tyrant become engulfed—smothered behind red and yellow lights.

“Do we have good luck or bad luck,” you panted. “I can’t tell.” 

“Me either,” Leon grunted as he helped you up. 

You staggered to the new area, quickly transitioning back into a jog thanks to G. Just beyond where you landed was a lift. You hastily scanned the hall, grabbing a nearby joint plug and inserting it into the lift’s controls.

Leon slowly walked up from behind. He was exhausted, still breathing heavily as he steadied himself against a handrail. “Now who’s being resourceful?” He grinned.

“Well,” you pulled the lever and started the lift. “If you’re not too tired after this, I can show you some other things I’m good at too.”

Leon abruptly stood up straight. “Tired? Who's tired?"

You raised a brow, unable to hide the smirk growing across your face. "Uh-huh."

Suddenly, a massive flare blew up the room where you fell—sending rocks flying into nearby supports. The shock crumbled them, snapping the metal beams in half and into each other.

“Oh, shit…” Leon spoke under his breath.

You followed his gaze—watching as the tyrant stomped out those blazing flames, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Its head turned towards you, body crouched and prepared to jump.

“Why won’t you die?” You readied your gun.

The monster landed on the lift, stuttering the entire platform—and then it stood, roaring out into the underground, its cry reverberating violently across the walls. 

Somehow the tyrant seemed even taller without his coat. Muscle protruded from its body, tightly bound in grey flesh, other than a beating heart-like organ in the chest. The entire right arm had morphed into a bloodied claw—enveloped in flames from the explosions it’d suffered earlier.

“Alright,” Leon began pumping shotgun shells into the beast. “Come on!”

You ran to the opposite corner of the lift, firing your last rounds into its back. “Yeah, come on you ugly freak!”

The cop took advantage of your diversion—reloading, shooting, and reloading again. The tyrant’s heart began spewing liquid-

But then it stopped spewing liquid.

You looked around, realizing that time had once again slowed.

A sense of danger overtook you, the same as before. Something bad was about to happen, you could feel it like an animalistic instinct.

“Watch out!” You dove—time resuming as you barely pushed Leon out the way from a falling boulder.

He gaped at you, brows furrowed. “You were all the way across the lift—how’d you-?”

“I think,” you gulped. “I think that the G-Virus lets me sense danger—I- I can’t describe it-”

“Four minutes until detonation,” The voice called over the intercom.

"We're running out of time—I'll distract him!” You darted towards the monster. “Just keep shooting!”

Leon let out a conflicted tsk, reluctantly holding up his shotgun and aiming.

Click.

Leon pulled the trigger again.

Click.

“No ammo?” He murmured.

The tyrant lunged forward, sprinting and then leaping towards you. Even with slowed time, you hardly managed to evade as its claws embedded the ground.

“What now-” You began to shout, cut off by another explosion from above. 

More metal rained down, slick and hot from flames, dropping a platform parallel to where you stood. Along it slid down a briefcase—hinges popping open as the case hit the lift. Inside was a rocket launcher.

Leon dashed, desperately grabbing the weapon and hoisting it over his shoulder.

“You know how to work that thing?” You asked nervously.

“In theory.”

“In theory?!”

The blast from the missile was deafening—completely obliterating the tyrant’s top half. What was left of its legs stumbled, falling lifelessly against the lift. Blood pooled beneath them, charred bones breaking off into the red.

Leon let out a long, shaky sigh. “Imagine if I was holding the launcher backwards by mistake.”

“You have arrived at the bottom level. ” The voice called out as the lift came to an abrupt stop. “Three minutes until detonation.”

“Ha, ha,” you rolled your eyes, pointing to a door with the words ‘exit’ clearly printed above. “This has to be the way out.”

Leon grabbed your hand, breaking out into a run. "What are we waiting for?"

Beyond the door were tracks—and the bright headlights of an oncoming train. It began gaining speed, and your chances of becoming crushed by concrete were growing by the second.

Leon pulled you hard, bolting as fast as possible to match the locomotive. He swung his arm up—catching a handrail and letting the velocity take him off his feet. Using all of his remaining strength, he pulled himself up and then he helped you.

The two of you crashed against the train’s door, sliding down, and sitting against its exterior.

“Are-” You panted. “Are we safe?”

“Maybe for now,” he exhaled, letting out a pained noise as he adjusted his wounded shoulder.

“It’s hard to believe you were shot earlier.” you leaned back, taking in a deep breath.

“It’s hard to believe everything that happened earlier.” 

The train entered a long tunnel, the sound of steady chugging echoing along it's walls. 

“Even so,” you rose, offering Leon your help. "I’m still really glad I met you.”

He took your hand—quickly standing, and backing you against the train.

“Me too,” he whispered. "I'm really happy I found you."

His lips pressed against yours—more aggressively than before—tilting his head to better fit you, and then opening your mouth with his. Just as his tongue found yours he let out a groan.

“Should find Sherry and Claire…” His voice wavered as he pulled away.

“We can,” your lips bumped his as you spoke. “Continue this later?”

He chuckled. “Before or after we take showers?”

“How about in the shower?” You teased.

Leon stepped back, blush hot across his cheeks. “You’re making it hard to be a gentleman.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” You laughed, opening the train door. “Shall we?”

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a bracelet similar to the one Annette gave you. He tossed it into the wind.

"Let's go."

Chapter Text

Claire was as pretty as ever—donned in her signature look of a red leather jacket and motorcycle boots. Her auburn hair was effortlessly pulled up, loose pieces framing her face as she smiled at you.

“You made it!” She ran up, hugging you tightly.

You’d known Claire and her brother Chris for a large portion of your life—it was hard not to know the Redfields when growing up in Raccoon City.

“Of course I did,” you squeezed.

“I'm glad to see you're okay,” Leon patted the redhead’s back. 

"I am," Claire let go, a worried expression taking over. "But Sherry isn't," she hurriedly led you to a cot. 

Laying down was the little girl you’d only ever seen in a picture. She was hardly breathing—skin turned pale and lips blue. Engorged veins webbed across her left eye, reminding you of William and the pod mutations. Sherry was infected with G-Virus—you could sense it.

You scavenged through Leon's side pouch, finding the medical supplies you'd stored earlier. You grabbed the white capped vial from your pocket, drawing its pearl colored liquid into a syringe.

Leon was watching closely. "Looks like you've done this before," he said.

You held the needle up, tapping the side and expelling any air. "The internship taught us how," you replied. "Annette knew I could do it."

"Mommy…?" 

Sherry stirred beneath you. She winced at the name, face squinching in pain.

"Shh you're okay," Claire lovingly stroked the girl's bangs. "You're going to be feeling better so soon."

Sherry’s features softened. She opened her eyes for a moment, watching you wearily.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, positioning the bevel above her upper arm.

Her consciousness ebbed as Claire continued to play with her hair and you injected Annette's cure into her muscle.

The vaccine worked unlike anything you’d ever seen before.

All signs of mutation began to vanish before you’d even placed a bandaid. A subtle flush returned to the girl’s cheeks and red to her mouth. Discomfort disappeared from her shoulders as they relaxed against the cot, breaths becoming steady and even with each rise and fall of her chest.

"Her mom made that?" Claire asked quietly.

You nodded. "It's a long story, but yeah."

"Speaking of long stories," Leon leaned back against the train, head tilted curiously. "You two seem close." 

You and the Redfields were close; kids of the same neighbourhood, similar in age and got along well. But it wasn’t until their parents passed away that you actually became close. You could clearly remember how you stood at the funeral—shouldering Claire’s tears and holding Chris’ hand.

"For starters,” Claire’s laughter interrupted your thoughts. “My brother is crazy in love with this girl."

Leon’s jaw dropped. "In love?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah," she continued. "He was her first kiss-"

You pulled Claire back, muffling her mouth. "She forgot to mention that it was from spin the bottle," you said breathlessly. 

The redhead stopped laughing, a mischievous smile spread wide across her face. She looked at your blush and Leon's furrowed brow. "Is there something going on between you two?"

The train suddenly shook violently. Claire held Sherry on the cot. Leon sheltered you.

“Jesus,” he exclaimed, looking to the back of the train. “What was that?”

"I'll go check it out," you offered.

"I’m not letting you go alone,” Leon shook his head and turned to Claire. “Stay with Sherry, we’ll be right back.”

The woman nodded, picking her pockets and handing you everything. “Please be careful,” she urged.

Claire’s cheery laughter seemed miles away as you entered the next car. The train chugged along seamlessly, eerily quiet considering the rumble you’d heard before. 

“This area’s clear,” Leon said, peeking through the back door’s window. “Looks like there’s still another though.”

Lights from the tunnel whizzed by, an indication of how fast this vehicle was going. Even though the lab had likely already blown up, it’d be a few minutes before the fire of the blast would reach you—if the flames would even travel that far.

“Could the shaking be the lab’s self destruction?” You asked anyways.

“I’m hoping. But after everything we’ve seen,” he waved you to the new compartment. “I doubt it.”

The next car was somehow creepier than the last. It was completely barren, other than a deep red exit sign at the very end.

But before you could explore, you were halted by a deafening screech—like thick, sharp nails dragging down a chalkboard. The metal door at the end of the train began distorting, warping until claws pierced through it. Sparks flew as a mass entered the new gaping hole, engulfing the entire exit and then the wall. A gigantic beady yellow eye looked at you—the rows of teeth surrounding it dripping in saliva.

“William…?” You muttered. “You’re supposed to be dead!”

Scarlet seeped into the exterior, coating the car in muscle and blood. You could feel it pulsating around your boots, growing stronger, growing closer.

You looked to Leon in panic. “Annette’s round failed—he’s going to swallow us whole!”

“No-” He grabbed his shotgun and began firing shells. “We can’t die here!”

Bullet casing littered the floor as you and Leon used everything you had. You switched from gun to gun, throwing the empty ones back. No ammo was useless—every weapon you had was becoming useless. You could feel the heat from William’s flesh, you could feel him beckoning to absorb you.

He was growing too close.

Tentacles shot out from behind the eye, exploding against the train walls and slicing off the roof. The damage collapsed the car’s structure, dragging metal against the tunnel and dragging wheels against the track. The impact threw you against the floor.

“We have to lose that car!”

You looked back to see Claire shouting from the adjacent carriage. She held tightly onto a rail in one hand, and held onto a conscious Sherry in the other.

The redhead inched forward, pulling back plating from where the cars joined and revealing the coupler. She began recklessly kicking at it. “The fire’s coming!” She yelled. “Get both of your asses over here—now! ”

The tunnel’s walls glowed in orange, and you instantly understood what she’d meant. 

The flames you were worried about were finally here.

You scrambled to stand, hurled back by the bucking train again. Leon grabbed your collar, just barely stopping you from impaling yourself on a busted pipe. Instead, you fell down beside the tapered bar, grasping it for support.

The cop’s face lit up when he saw the sharp edge in your hands—a plan formulating like you’d seen before. 

You knew to toss him the pipe. 

He caught it perfectly.

“Fuck you! ” Leon roared before running and plunging the metal into William’s eye. Birkin wailed, pus spewing across the train as the organ wept. His massive weight dropped, pulling the front of the car up above the tracks—and snapping the exposed coupling in half.

The carriage fell hard.

Leon’s body was thrown next to Claire and yours next to the monster. You could feel yourself decelerating—you could feel the ruined car falling back into the fire.

The cop strained to reach you. “Take my hand!” He called out desperately. 

Your fingers met his, but your hand was slick in sweat from the heat.

“I said,” Claire stretched over him, grasping at your wrist and pulling with all her might. “Get your ass over here!”  

She yanked far enough that Leon managed to get a better grip. He grabbed on as tightly as he could and pulled—dragging you up and into his arms.

You fell back against his chest, panting as you watched the detached carriage lose speed. William flailed as the flames ravaged him—shrieking out into the tunnel. Fire consumed him entirely, and after that, you couldn’t hear him anymore.

Dawn was beautiful.

The sky was clear and grass soaked in dew. Wherever the train had brought you was free from the devastation of Raccoon City—no barricades, no destruction, no zombies. All you could see was a long, empty road.

Sherry skipped happily along the concrete, all traces of having been sick gone. She looked at you and Leon. “So, are you guys like, boyfriend and girlfriend?”

Claire’s mischievous smirk returned. “Yeah, are you?” 

“Uh,” Leon shyly scratched the back of his neck. “You could call us that,” he glanced at you. “At least I hope so.”

“You can call us that,” you playfully grinned at the cop.

The redhead sighed. “Aww. What am I gonna tell Chris when I find him? He’ll be heartbroken.”

“Do you think that guy will give us a ride?” Sherry suddenly asked. 

"What?" You frowned. “Who?”

The little girl pointed to the distance—to a semi truck speeding down the highway.

You froze. “What if it’s not just the city that’s infected?”

“You guys get Sherry out of here,” Leon began walking towards the road. “I’ll go check.”

Dust flew up as the truck came into sight. The sun reflected off it's bug splattered grille and a horn blared over the sound of crushed gravel.

The semi wasn't slowing down.

"Leon! Move-" you shouted as the vehicle abruptly swerved out the cop's path.

A man hung his middle finger out the window of the truck, angrily glaring at your group before focusing back ahead and driving away.

"Well," Leon shrugged. “He was friendly.” 

"He was... human," you murmured.

Claire ran up, relief clear on her face. “Do you think it’s all over?” 

“I don’t know,” Leon began walking again. “But if it’s not, we’ll stop it—whatever it takes.”

“You’re damn right we will!” She responded energetically.

“Yeah-” You opened your mouth to say something inspiring—but your stomach rumbled. 

Loudly. 

Your companions looked at you with wide eyes, and then they all burst into laughter.

“Maybe we should find some food first,” Leon grinned, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“I want a sundae!” Sherry shouted. “With three flavors!”

“Hold on there cowgirl—three flavors? Why not five?” Claire giggled.

“And,” the little girl continued, “ten apple pies!”

You smiled. “I think you’re even hungrier than me!”

The sun was bright as the four of you walked towards it. You thought about the future—wondering if it’d be that bright, wondering what possibly could come after an incident like this.

“Whatever happens next,” Leon pulled you close. “I will always be there for you.”

“And I’ll be there for you too,” You whispered back.

In a day, you’d see something much brighter than that sun—an explosion, turning the sky red and hiding your hometown beneath smoke and ash.

You’d see the death of an infested city, the cover up of a grand scheme.

‘This’ was far from over.

Chapter Text

Claire set out to find Chris—leaving Sherry with you and Leon. After she'd left, it wasn’t long before you were ‘rescued’ by the government. 

You remembered it as if it were yesterday.

“We told you everything! Why are you doing this?” You shouted at the walls.

Government agents had the three of you detained—separating you from each other. They ran multiple examinations: bloodwork, MRI’s, X-rays, and even psychological tests. When they were done, security guards kept you in a cold and dim room, dressed in only a thin sterile gown.

“You didn’t tell us everything,” a deep voice said over an intercom. “We found something interesting in your labs.”

“What?” You flinched. 

“The G-Virus—sound familiar?" The voice laughed. "Did you really think the technicians wouldn't notice your puncture wounds healing instantly?"

You clenched your fists.

“We found G-antibodies in the girl too, but don’t worry—we’re taking very good care of her.”

“Leave Sherry out of this!” You erupted from the stool, knocking it over.

“Bottom line is, someone who can survive what you did has the experience we’re looking for. If you want to end this peacefully—you really only have one choice.”

“Just tell me what you want already,” you said angrily.

“Work for us,” the voice replied. “Your friend already agreed.”

“Hey,” Leon tapped your knee. “Is everything okay?”

You opened your eyes, remembering the cramped police car you were in. European music blared out over the radio as you let out a small yawn.

“Dozed off," you smiled. "Had a dream about the past-"

“Why am I the one who always gets the short end of the stick?” The cop driving complained.

“Yo, who are you two really?” A second officer watched you from over his shoulder. “Come on and tell us," he spoke in a thick accent. "You’re a long way from home—you have my sympathies.”

“Guess that’s a locals way of breaking the ice,” Leon muttered before speaking up. “You know what this is all about—our mission is to search for the President’s missing daughter.”

The cop laughed. “What, just the two of you?”

“I’m sure you boys didn’t tag along just to watch us do all the hard work, right?” You leaned forward, a pleasant grin on your face.

“Then again,” Leon sighed. “Maybe they did.”

The driver crossed over a rickety bridge, irritably pulling over after crossing it. He nodded to a rustic looking house, “just up ahead is the village. We’ll, uh, stay and watch the car.”

“Don’t want to get any parking tickets,” the second officer chuckled.

“Sure," you scoffed as you got out. “Parking tickets.”

“Geez, who are these guys?” Leon whispered, and you rolled your eyes.

“I wish they'd give us competent help for a rescue mission like this.”

“Did you say something?” The policeman peered his head out the window.

“You just worry about your parking tickets,” you shouted, already walking to the decrepit building. “We’ll take it from here.”