{•Chapter Twenty•}
A/n: We are nearing the end of this story! I do plan on having a sequel placed in Resident Evil 4. Not sure when I'll post it, but just know there will be another story on the way. Love you all!!!
~✨Celestial✨~
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*****
[Class A] breach detected. Lab quarantined until target is neutralized.
*****
"You've got a plan?" Gwen questioned as she shot the eyes all across the monster's body. It lunged towards her, swiping its sharp claws at her. The young woman dodged the swing and rolled between its legs to avoid being backed into a corner.
"Just shoot and survive," Leon said, firing shell after shell at the twitching eyes. "That's all I got."
Gwen's lips twitched up into a smirk. "I like it." She switched her ammo for the special rounds Marvin had gifted her. It took only two shots for the eye on the monster's back to pop, spurring out a strange, yellow liquid. "Gross. Really don't want to know what that is."
Leon ran past Gwen and circled around the creature. He shot the eye on its leg, but he ran out of shells. "Dammit!"
The young woman searched the room for anything to help and found a grenade. Before pulling the pin, she shouted at the blonde. "Leon, step back!" The officer backed away from the monster as Gwen pulled the pin and rolled the grenade across the ground. The projectile exploded right under the monster's body, now being consumed by flames. Even with its body set aflame, the creature continued to stalk towards Leon.
The archivist reloaded her gun and ran around to shoot the eye on one of the arms protruding from the monster's back. A few bullets later, the eye exploded. The creature groaned and stomped over towards one of the reactors. Piercing the metal with its claws, steam filled the room as it tried to rip the machine from the floor.
Leon took the chance to switch out his shotgun for his magnum and took out the eye on the monster's leg. It growled in pain as it released the reactor and fell to a single knee. Its back arched, the teeth in its chest revealing more eyes.
Leon grabbed the flamethrower and aimed it at the eyes in its chest. He pulled the trigger and flames erupted from the weapon. As the eyes burned, they popped one by one from the intense heat.
Unfortunately, the mutated man recovered and the teeth in its chest closed. Leon quickly backed away from the monster and repeated the same process. Gwen had managed to find a flash grenade and tossed it at the creature. It blinded the enemy and Leon used his pistol to take out the eyes on the arm and leg while Gwen dealt with the optic on its back.
The couple was able to send the assailant back to its knee and shoot all the eyes in its chest. When Gwen went to fire another bullet, the adversary's body collapsed to the floor. Unconvinced, she kicked one of its arms. "Is it... actually dead?"
"Don't know, but it looks like it," Leon said, withdrawing his pistol.
*****
Target has been neutralized. Ending quarantine.
*****
The automated voice stated as a nearby lift was activated. Leon and Gwen used the mechanism to reach the upper level. As they stepped off, they saw Anette struggling with her wounds. Leon saw the gash in her side, blood seeping through her pale blue shirt. "Jesus, that looks bad."
"Feels worse, believe me," Annette's strained voice said.
Gwen rushed over to the injured doctor and placed a hand on her shoulder as she kneeled beside her. "I can help with your injury. Let me-"
"No," Annette shook her head. "I won't let you do that."
"Look," Leon started. "About what you said... I don't know how much I believe it, but we're willing to-"
"Just tell me you'll destroy that G-sample," Doctor Birkin begged, the pain apparent in her expression.
Leon was taken aback at her request. "No. It's evidence. It's going to the FBI."
"You trust that bitch?" Annette hissed, eyes narrowing. She pressed a hand against her side as she pushed her upper body up against the wall behind her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" The officer wondered.
"She's not FBI, she's a mercenary," the doctor heaved through the pain.
Gwen's eyes widened in bewilderment at the news. "This whole time... she's been lying? I've doubted her for a while, but her credentials seemed legit."
"It's all fake. The badge, the card... She's gonna sell the virus. The G-Virus is gonna go to the highest bidder."
Leon couldn't believe Annette and stood up. "That's bullshit."
"Leon, you and I have doubted her since the moment we met her. If she isn't part of the FBI, we can't let her get ahold of the sample," Gwen said.
Leon fell silent, unable to respond to her. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to accuse Ada just yet. "We'll learn the truth soon enough."
Suddenly, Anette's body tipped over and crashed to the floor. Gwen gasped as she shook the doctor's shoulder. "Annette? Annette!" She received no response, but she knew Doctor Birkin was still alive from the slow rise and fall of her chest.
*****
Attention: Self-destruct sequence initiated. Use the central elevator to evacuate immediately to the bottom-level train platform.
*****
The computerized voice echoed throughout the large room. Leon took Gwen's hand and pulled her away from Annette. "We've got to go, Gwen."
Deep down, the young woman was battling her emotions. She wanted to save Annette just like the doctor had done for her four years ago, but she knew they needed to leave without delay. Swallowing hard, she nodded. "Let's go, Leon."
<----------<<<<<<<<<<
In the main shaft, Leon and Gwen spotted a familiar figure cladded in high heels and a crimson dress. They watched as she held up a device to the control panel of the central elevator. When Ada turned her head and spotted them, she approached them with a slight limp in her stride.
"We were just thinking about you," Leon said with a hint of sarcasm.
"That makes three of us. I was getting worried," the false agent replied with a small smile.
Leon glanced down at the metal walkway beneath his feet Before glancing at the vial in his hand. "Y'know, we make a good team, but I gotta ask you something."
"Something's come to our attention from a... certain someone," Gwen added.
Ada seemed to not be listening to either one of them. "The way's clear. Please, tell me you got it."
"Oh," the officer scoffed. "We got it."
The short-haired woman stopped in front of Leon and extended her hand towards him. "Let me verify the G-sample and we'll get the hell out of here."
Leon glared down at the outstretched hand. "Before we do that... we ran into Annette. She claims you're not FBI."
"Is it true, Ada?" Gwen growled at the older woman, fists clenched by her side.
A prolonged silence. By how quiet Ada was, they knew what Annette said was true. Gwen glared daggers at the woman as she stepped forward, hand resting over the pistol strapped to her thigh. "I can't believe we trusted you," she spat, venom dripping from every word.
"Oh, Leon, Gwen..." Ada whipped out her pistol and aimed it at the archivist. "Why couldn't you just hand over the sample?"
Leon stepped closer to Ada and inserted himself between the gun and Gwen. "Because I realized, as much as I wanted to trust you..." The blonde quickly drew his pistol and aimed it at the false agent. "I didn't. It took me until now to see it, but Gwen saw it from the very beginning. I should've trusted her."
Ada tilted her head slightly with a sigh. "I really hoped it wouldn't end up like this."
"And whose fault is that?" Gwen hissed, eyeing her with burning hatred. "Yours. Lying to us since the very beginning..."
"We were just some pawns to you?" Leon questioned angrily.
"Look, I am just doing my job," Ada said, a melancholic glint in her brown eyes.
"And I'm doing mine, so drop that damn gun!" The blonde's angry voice resonated all around them. "I'm taking you in."
Gwen could see how torn Ada's emotions were by her expression. She felt a small dash of remorse, but what she felt the most was hate towards the woman. Ada wasn't backing down, gun still raised and pointed at Leon's chest. "Hand over the sample, Leon. I don't want to hurt you or Gwen."
"A little too late for that, Ada," Gwen barks, sapphire eyes glinting with pure abhorrence. When the archivist saw Leon lower his gun, she was shocked. "Leon, what're you doing?"
The officer didn't respond and holstered his pistol. "Then you shoot me, but I don't think you can kill either of us."
Emotions tore at Ada's heart as she lowered the gun. Gwen went to take another step forward, but a gunshot stopped her. Blood splattered from Ada's shoulder as the bullet embedded itself into her skin. The archivist turned to see Annette leaning against the wall, the barrel of her pistol smoking. "Annette..."
Suddenly, the entire underground facility shook with a thunderous explosion. The walkway underneath them shook and parts of it were collapsing. Gwen fell
to her knees beside Leon while Ada lost her balance and fell over the ledge. "Ada!" Leon shouted, reaching out and grabbing her wrist before she could plummet into the dark abyss below. The G-Virus sample fell from the blonde's grasp once he stopped Ada's descent.
"No one gets that sample now," Gwen heard Annette say before collapsing, her body lifeless.
"Annette!" She shouted. It took all her strength to not jump over the gap in the walkway and go to the doctor's side.
"Leon..." Ada muttered, staring up at the officer with sorrow.
"Hold on... I think I can..." Another explosion rang out, more pieces of the walkway falling. "Argh! Shit!"
Luckily, Gwen was able to jump to safety before the walkway underneath her vanished. Ada glanced between the two, shaking her head. "Forget it."
"Shut up-I've got you!" Leon yelled with a shaky voice.
"It's not worth it."
"Don't do this..." The blonde muttered helplessly.
"Take care of yourself, Leon. Make sure to get Gwen out of here." Those were Ada's final words as her wrist slipped from Leon's grasp and her body fell into the abyss below.
"No!" Leon wailed, watching her body fall.
Gwen stands beside him, placing a hand on his back. "We've got to move, Leon! This walkway is about to completely collapse!" She helped him to his feet and they ran to the central elevator. Fortunately, Ada had unlocked it with a strange device and they didn't need another higher clearance chip to access the elevator.
The ride in the elevator was silent. Gwen stared out the glass lift and watched as fire consumed the facility. She glanced up to the walkway where they just were and placed a hand on the glass. "At least I got to thank you, Annette..."
Leon wrapped an arm around Gwen's shoulders, spinning her body around and hugging her tightly. "I'm sorry, Gwen."
"Why're you apologizing? You aren't the one who killed Annette, it was her own husband."
"No, I'm sorry for not believing you earlier. I guess... I wanted to believe so badly that Ada was on our side the entire time. Guess you're a better judge of character than I am."
"Or maybe it was just your hormones blinding you," the young woman snickered. "She was really beautiful. I'm kinda jealous."
Leon smiled as he continued to hug her. "Really? I think you're more beautiful and make a better partner. I'd rather have you than anyone else in the world by my side."
Gwen stared up at Leon's face. "As cheesy as that sounds, I love it. I gotta admit-I do love cheesy lines and clichés."
<---------<<<<<<<<<
The elevator reached its destination. Leon and Gwen stepped off and entered a room with numerous control panels and monitors.
*****
Nine minutes until detonation.
*****
The automated voice warned the two. Gwen tensed at the sudden announcement. "I hope that's enough time to find a way out of here."
"We'll make it out of here," Leon reassures the frightened woman.
Passing by one of the myriads of monitors, they saw the screen was on and spotted someone. Leon walked over to get a better look at who was displayed on the screen. "Who's that?"
On another screen was a clear, more focused image of the woman. Leon recognizes her clothes and called out to her. "Claire!"
"Can she even hear us?" Gwen inquired as she stood next to Leon and stared at the screen.
"Leon? Gwen? You're both down here, too?!" She gasped in shock.
Leon nodded as he leaned against the control panel. "Yeah, but the whole place is coming down. Listen to me. You need to get out. Fast!"
Claire's face vanished for a second as if she was staring at something. "Yeah. There's a way out. We can make it! Where are you both now?"
The speakers shorted out and the image turned to static. "Claire?! You still there?" Leon called out to her.
"Leon? Hey, Leon, you're breaking up..."
"Forget about us! Just get out of here!" The feed cut off, the monitor only displaying Leon's reflection. "Dammit!"
"We can't stay here. Who knows where or when the next explosion will go off," Gwen said, taking ahold of the officer's hand. "If we're not careful or quick, we could be caught in the fire."
"Yeah. I know Claire will be fine. We need to find that train platform and get the hell out of this place."
<---------<<<<<<<<
As Leon and Gwen were running for their lives, they were interrupted by an all too familiar and unfriendly face. "You've gotta be kidding me..." Gwen muttered as the tyrant blocked their path. Before she could grab her gun, the brute backhanded her. Her body smashed into the railing, knocking the air out of her lungs.
"Shit!" Leon cursed as he tried to help Gwen, but ended up being grabbed by the large man. The adversary tried to snap the blonde's neck, but an explosion caused him to drop the man. Leon fell to his knees and searched the flames for his girlfriend. "Gwen?!"
"Right here," she managed to sputter out as she caught her breath from the impact. Then, the metal walkway underneath them collapsed. They screamed in shock and pain as they landed on the floor below. Leon grabbed Gwen and pulled her closer to him when he saw a metal grating plummeting directly towards her. He used his weight to roll them both to safety before they could be crushed.
The two coughed as they struggled to get to their feet. "Gotta keep going...!" Leon panted as he managed to get to his feet.
Gwen pushes herself off the floor, coughing from the smoke. "Let's go, Leon!"
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