A/n: And now we finally reach the part of the game where discount Thanos stalks you. Hope you all enjoy this next chapter! Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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The two left the storage room and headed through the other door. "Ugh," Gwen groaned when they stepped out onto the balcony and immediately were assaulted by the downpour. "Why does it have to rain? This is like a bad horror movie."

"You can say that again," Leon said, swiping his wet bangs to the side and out of his face. He walked over to the edge of the balcony and descended the ladder.

"Hey!" Gwen shouted out to him. "Be careful! It might be slippery from the rain."

"I'll be care-" Leon was unable to finish his sentence as the ladder broke under his weight. He screamed out as his body fell and collided against the cement below. The broken ladder crashed only inches from his body, but he was lucky it didn't land on him. The heavy metal could've caused a fatal injury.

Leon groaned in pain as Gwen peered over the edge of the balcony with worry in her eyes. "Leon! Oh, god, are you okay?"

"You jinxed me..." He panted as he pushed through the pain. Even though his body was in pain, he still was able to tease Gwen.

The archivist rolled her eyes, knowing he was fine by his comment. "I said it might be slippery. Never said it would break!"

Leon sighed once the pain was gone and got up. His blue eyes traveled up to the balcony, where Gwen was on her knees and peering down at him. He stood below where the ladder was once mounted and smirked up at her. "You're gonna have to jump."

"Wha-are you out of your mind, Kennedy?! I could shatter my ankles from this height!" She whined in protest.

Leon laughed at her. "You're not gonna shatter your ankles. I'll catch you."

"Oh, no, you're not! You just fell, Sherlock!"

"I noticed, Captain Obvious."

Gwen rolled her eyes, knowing the name calling could go on for hours. "Not the point, Leon! I could hurt you more if you were to catch me."

"Gwen, I'm fine. Nothing's broken. The worst thing I'll get out of the fall is a bruise or two. Just jump."

The archivist bit her tongue, holding back her comeback. She knew she had to get down there somehow and this was the only way. "Ugh, shit... Fine! I'm coming down!" Gwen sat down and swung her legs over the edge. Her shorts were soaked from the rain and sitting on the wet cement only added to their soppiness. "Ready?" She asked Leon before jumping.

In response, the officer stretched both arms out. "Don't worry, Gwen. I won't let you fall."

"I might end up kicking you in the face by accident..." Gwen muttered to herself before jumping down.

Without incident, Leon caught Gwen in his arms with a smirk plastered on his face. "Told ya."

Gwen rolled her eyes and huffed. "Whatever, Kennedy." She tried to climb out of Leon's grasp, but it resulted in him tightening his hold on her in his arms. She was confused, staring into his azure eyes with her own beautiful blue ones. "W-What's wrong?"

"Do I get a reward?" He asked cheekily.

Gwen blinked owlishly at his question. "Excuse me?"

"Do I get a reward?" Leon reiterated.

"I'm not a princess, Leon, and this is no fairytale. If it is, it's a very shitty one." Gwen stared deeper into his eyes and realized she wouldn't be winning this round. She flung her head back dramatically before kissing him on the cheek. "There's your reward, my prince. Now will you put me down?"

"You missed," Leon stated stoically.

"I'll give you a proper kiss later. For now, we've got an electrical part to find," the woman replied.

"I'm gonna hold you to that." Leon set Gwen back onto her feet with his usual charming smile.

The couple could feel the heat from the combusted helicopter from where they stood. It seemed the rain was of no help in extinguishing the roaring flames. Leon grabbed a handle and pulled it. Rushing water was heard through the pipe, but it spilt from the rupture in it. "Shit. Guess we'll need to redirect the water to the left pipe."

"The only other way we can go is down the stairs," Gwen stated, gesturing to the stairwell behind them. "I'm not sure where that staircase leads."

"We better find out, then," Leon said.

Not wasting another second, the duo walk down the stairs and were greeted by the sound of banging. Leon and Gwen drew their handguns and waited for the door to burst open. The banging ceased as the door flew open and two zombies emerged from the boiler room. "Party out here, I guess," Gwen said, firing a few rounds. Leon followed suit and both monsters were dead.

Gwen entered the boiler room while Leon checked outside. The archivist found a key with a green club on the tip taped to a dry-erase board with "someone lose a key?" written in red marker and an arrow pointing to the silver object. She eagerly grabbed it and ran out of the room. "Leon!" The sable-haired woman found him by a bright yellow lever. "I found a key."

"And I think I found a way to redirect the water to the left pipe," he said as he turned the valve, creating a high-pitched squeal.

Back on the roof, Leon and Gwen were able to put the fire out. They left the roof and headed back inside the station, their soaked bodies chilled to the bone. Turning the corner, they spotted the helicopter. Gwen didn't see a way around it and wondered what they could do. "So, we put out the fire. How're we-"

The helicopter was suddenly lifted and tossed aside as if it weighed nothing, revealing a large man with gray skin and wearing a black coat and top hat.

"Jesus Christ!" Leon shouted, grabbing his pistol.

Gwen was more amazed at the sight of the large, bulky man. "He kinda looks like that one villain from-"

"We've gotta move!" Leon grabbed Gwen's hand and dragged her back to the roof. The towering man stomped after them, easily fitting through the small doorframe by bending down. The officer pulled out his shotgun and fired a single round at the brute's head. His top hat fell off, but the shell wasn't enough to stop him. "Shit...!"

Seeing Leon had to reload, Gwen grasped her pistol and unloaded an entire clip into the man's skull. He kept approaching, forcing the couple to back away. The assailant lunged out, fist aiming directly at Leon. The archivist grabbed and pulled him out of the way before the fist made contact with his face. "Forget him! We'll just have to go around him!"

The couple ran around the human tank and ran back inside. With the helicopter gone, the hallway was no longer blocked. While running, Gwen glanced back to see the man rushing towards them. "Definitely looks like Thanos in a noir-ish sense..."

"Really, Gwen?" Leon panted as they entered the waiting room. "Now's not the time to compare something chasing us to a comic book villain."

"You gotta admit, he kinda does look like Thanos," Gwen giggled as they ran through the main hall and to the library.

Leon eyes the man that was following them once he emerged from the waiting room. Giving another good look, he turned his head back around and opened the door to the library. "Yeah, he kinda does."

The duo though about running further, but both individuals were out of breath. They could hear the thundering footsteps, signaling the brute was closing in on the library. "Hide behind the bookshelves," Gwen whispered. They hid behind the shelves in the middle of the room, praying the titan would choose to go through the door and not up the ladder.

The door flew open with a loud bang, the only sign they needed to know the brute was entering the library. Gwen covered her mouth, eyes wide with fear as she heard him stomping around only a few feet away from them. Leon pressed his body against the bookshelves as he slowly crept to peer around the towering shelves. He saw the large man stopped in his tracks and searching around the room. Leon quickly ducked his head back behind the bookshelves when the adversary's gaze looked in his direction.

As the man stomped around the room in search of Leon and Gwen, the couple were able to dodge his line of sight by dancing around the bookshelves. Eventually, the brute left through the door leading to the lounge. The duo didn't move until they heard his roaring footsteps in the distance. Gwen uncovered her mouth, sighing in relief. "I thought he was gonna be in here all day."

"We can't stay here. We need to keep moving. I seriously doubt he won't just leave," Leon stated.

"Maybe we should go back the way we came. If he's patrolling the west side, the east side of the station is tank-free!"

Leon agreed with Gwen and left the library, passed through the main hall, and entered the waiting room. The booming footsteps were gone, symboling the man was still patrolling the west side of the station. The two were able to stop and catch their breath while thinking of where they haven't explored. Leon sat on the couch while Gwen paced back and forth in front of him. "We've been to the roof, the storage room, the balcony... Oh!" The archivist gasped in realization. "We haven't been to the interrogation or observation room!"

"How do we get to those rooms?" Leon asked, climbing off the couch.

"The stairwell by the chief's office! Instead of going up, we need to go down."

Leon knew where to go and led the way. They stormed past the art room and down the hall. Reaching the stairwell, they descended to the first floor. Immediately as they turned the corner, a window shattered. A zombie in a police uniform toppled through the broken window and flopped onto the floor. Leon didn't waste a second and rushed over to the monster. He slammed his heavy boot into the creature's head, smashing it with one stomp.

Gwen was in awe at Leon's sudden tactic change. "That was pretty impressive, Leon. Didn't feel like sparing a few bullets?"

"Thought it'd be easier and save a few bullets if I stomped its head in."

"What if it didn't work?" Gwen pondered, smirking slightly.

"I... didn't even think of that possibility."

The archivist's smirk grew. "Of course, you didn't. At least you're honest." After giggling, she searched around for something to seal the window and found some boards. Once it was boarded up, the duo wandered to the two rooms at the end of the hall. One door bore a red heart and the other-a green club. Gwen searched her pocket for the key she found in the boiler room and pulled it out. She unlocked the club door and pushed it open. She nearly jumped out of her skin when she spotted the dead officer's body curled against the shelves by the door.

Leon followed Gwen inside the room and found a jewelry box with an ornate design and two red gems on the lid. In the center was an alcove, seeming as if something could fit. An idea came to mind and he glanced at the archivist. "That red jewel we found-do you think it fits this jewelry box?"

Gwen turned around and examined the blue box in Leon's hand. She ran her fingers over the lid as she grabbed the red jewel from her pocket. Placing the gem in the slot, it clicked into place and the lid opened. Gwen's eyes narrowed in confusion as she took what was in the jewelry box. "A badge?"

Leon closed the jewelry box and placed it on the table. "Why would a badge be locked in a jewelry box?"

Gwen turned the S.T.A.R.S. badge over and saw something on the back. She pushed up on it and something popped out the top. "Is this...?"

"A USB drive?" Leon finished her question.

"Wonder what's on it?" The woman pondered.

"There's a computer in the S.T.A.R.S. office. It's connected to the armory," the officer said.

"And that's on the other side of the station where you-know-who is currently stomping around," Gwen sighed.

Leon didn't like the idea of going to the west side, but they had no other choice. "We'll have to be careful."

Gwen clipped the badge to the belt around her shorts with a frown. "I can't wait for all this to be over."

<---------<<<<<<<<<<

The moment Leon and Gwen entered the library, they heard the sound of a door flying open. The couple looked up to see the brute barge in from the storage room above and stomp towards the ladder. "Shit, we've gotta run!" Leon shouted.

The adversary jumped from the top of the ladder, shaking the floor as he landed. Leon and Gwen ran through the lounge and down the hall to the S.T.A.R.S. office. They entered the room and closed the door behind them, hoping the titan didn't spot them and would pass by the office without barging through the door.

Leon and Gwen walked over to the computer located outside the armory. The archivist unclipped the badge from her shorts and plugged the USB drive into the system unit. Typing away on the computer, she was able to open the armory. "Got it." The officer entered the armory and grabbed what he could.

While waiting for Leon, Gwen stood in front of the computer. When she went to take the badge back, a file appeared on the screen. She raised a brow in curiosity and clicked on the file. Inside, there was a single video labeled "Irons and Griffyn." Seeing the name that has haunted the archivist for years, she swallowed nervously as she played the video.

There was no audio and only showed Chief Irons and Dr. Griffyn standing in the hallway in front of the chief's office. By their body language, Gwen knew they were arguing. Unconsciously, she gripped the mouse tightly and felt the plastic strain under her fingers as her eyes remained glue to the screen.

"Gwen?"

Hearing Leon's voice, she quickly exited the video and pulled out the USB drive, placing it on the desk. "What'd you find?"

"A magnum. Not a lot of ammo, though," he said, showing her the powerful handgun.

"Good. At least this wasn't for nothing. But, where do we go from here?" Gwen wondered.

"I remember passing a door with a club on it earlier. It was on the first floor."

"Alright, then. We better-"

The heavy footsteps returned, silencing Gwen. They knew it was coming from the hallway and decided to wait it out in the office. When the footsteps stopped in front of the office door, Leon grabbed Gwen and headed into the corner office. They pushed aside the chair and dove behind the desk.

Suddenly, the door to the S.T.A.R.S. office sprang open with a loud bang.

(A/n: I know Mr. X can't enter the S.T.A.R.S. office, but I wanted to spice up this story a bit😉)