Word count 9,623
Claire carefully put Sherry down on the seats inside the cable car, letting her rest.
"Just hold on, Sherry, okay? You're gonna be just fine."
Claire glanced at Aeon who activated the cable car, before coming back to kneel next to her to smile at Sherry. Sherry smiled weakly back, before grimacing slightly as the runes suddenly glowed.
"Ah…" she whispered in pain.
"Aeon?" said Claire, glancing in concern towards him.
The man frowned, putting a hand gently on Sherry's face, before his frown deepened.
"The G-Virus has noticed it's not making progress with Sherry and it's trying to fight back. It's failing, but it's attempts aren't exactly gentle… Here."
One of the Runes glowed even brighter, and Sherry relaxed, the pain in her eyes fading.
Aeon nodded. "That should do for the time being."
"You ok?" gently asked Claire towards Sherry.
The young girl turned towards her, smiling slightly.
"Your jacket is so warm." she whispered, hands tightening around the red jacket that Claire had given her not long ago.
Claire smiled back. "My brother gave it to me. You know, it's supposed to be lucky."
Sherry's smile widened, before sighing softly.
"I don't know what I'd do without you." she admitted softly, her blue eyes flickering towards Aeon. "Both of you."
Claire almost scoffed, grinning back. "Are you kidding me? You were doing just fine on your own until I came along and got you into all sorts of trouble!"
Aeon snorted. "I'd say something, but honestly I really don't have a leg to stand on this one."
Claire grinned at him. "You did lead me into all sorts of trouble yourself."
Aeon scoffed loudly. "Says the girl who I found escaping from zombies! You were in trouble before we met, Claire!"
"I could have handled it myself!" she teased back, and Aeon opened his mouth to snark back, but paused, giving her a long glance before nodding once.
"Perhaps you might have..."
Claire blinked, a bit surprised at how quickly he admitted that, before mentally shrugging.
Instead, she looked back at Sherry, who looked amused at the byplay she just watched.
Claire frowned slightly when she saw something glinting around the girl's neck, her curiosity getting the better of her and causing her to reach out for the golden locket hanging from the girl's neck.
Sherry's eyes fell on it, a complex mix of emotions in her eyes as she did.
"It's from mom… for my birthday, last year." she whispered, Claire glancing at the engraved Sherry on it before turning it around.
"All I wanted was for her to be home more…"
Claire pursed her lips. "I know it seems like your mom doesn't care, but-"
"Now arriving at NEST." declared an automated voice.
Claire glanced up, exchanged a look with Aeon who she noticed took the Locket with a thoughtful frown, and then took Sherry in her arms.
She could ask about the locket later.
"It's ok, I've got you. Come on." she said kindly to Sherry, before making her way out of the cable car, Aeon taking point, weapon in hand.
"We're getting you treatment. We promise." whispered Claire as they walked forward. "Just hold on, Sherry. It'll be okay."
Claire tried not to think about the worst case scenarios, such as what would happen if the equipment they needed had been destroyed, or if for some reason the cure didn't work. Now was definitely not the time for such concerns. They'd cross that bridge if, and only if, it became relevant.
As it was, they entered the lab, Claire gently letting Sherry rest at what was probably an infirmary near the entrance of the base.
"Alright, now what?" she wondered, only for Aeon to point towards the screen of a nearby computer.
She read the message on it, a smile spreading wide across her lips as she did.
"... DEVIL Antiviral agent? That's it! That's gotta be it!" she whispered excitedly.
She went back to Sherry, kneeling at her bedside.
"Hey… Hey Sherry I gotta go. You stay right here though, ok?"
"We'll be back soon, we promise." gently said Aeon, before glancing at Claire.
Claire nodded, and together they left the room, closing the door behind them as they did. They couldn't lock it, but at least it should stop any potentially wandering zombies from spotting Sherry.
"Ready?" asked Aeon.
Claire nodded firmly. "Ready. Let's save Sherry."
Aeon smiled at her, and then they went into the facility, clearing out the cafeteria before entering the resting area where they found a second level ID pass, allowing them to enter the facility proper rather than just the entrance of it. They found a wide tower in the middle of a large empty room whose floor couldn't even be seen from where Claire was standing.
What caught her and Aeon's attention was a USS soldier's corpse lying on the ground nearby, a recording of his team comms exchange showing he had been part of the team sent here to retrieve the G-Virus and William Birkin… before everything went horribly wrong.
"Evidence?" asked Claire when Aeon put the recording in one of his coat pockets.
"Evidence." he agreed.
"At least we know the antiviral agent is in the West area." she declared, before pursing her lips.
The different parts of the facility needed to be reached by using retractable bridges, and they didn't have an ID wristband of sufficient clearance level to reach said area and open the doors afterwards.
They did, however, have what was needed to reach the East area…
She sighed.
"Come on then, let's see if we can find a way in. Unless your powers could allow us to reach where we need to go?" she asked hopefully.
Sadly, Aeon shook his head. "I might, but using my powers might cause the alarms to activate if we cheat our way into a restricted area, and that might activate the self-destruct system."
Claire grimaced but nodded. "All right then. Long way around it is."
Aeon patted her shoulder. "Look at the bright side: we're almost at the end. The tower in the middle of the room is an elevator for emergencies, so there should be a way to quickly evacuate from here if needed. If we are lucky, we might even find a way to get you and Sherry out of the city!"
Claire smiled. "Amen to that!"
Aeon snorted.
"Plant Zombies." incredulously declared Claire at the sight of the thing slowly walking towards them… somehow.
"Yup."
"Actual, honest to god plant zombies."
"Yup."
"... You don't sound surprised."
Aeon shrugged. "I knew they were looking into creating such things, and I've come across a different kind of plant monster before, so not really, no."
Claire let out a deep sigh.
"And now I'm never going to be able to enter a forest without wanting at least a shotgun with me..."
"At least it's not a big ball of giant snakes?"
"Excuse me, but what the fuck?!"
"Why are the plant zombies regenerating?!" complained Claire.
"Because fucking Umbrella, that's why!" replied Aeon with amusement.
Claire grunted.
Then she looked at the plant zombies that Aeon set on fire by an honest to God magic spell.
"... Can I learn how to throw fireballs too?"
Aeon smirked. "Maybe. I've got something of a job offer to you once this mess is done, whether you'll take it or not is up to you."
She glanced at him. "A job offer that involves learning how to throw fireballs?"
"Only the best jobs offer that kind of perk, I'll have you know!"
"... You know what? I can't argue with that."
Claire entered the frozen room where they would freeze the chemicals required to weaken Plant 43, the t-Virus infected plant experimented on by Umbrella, and the sheer cold of the room made her shiver immediately.
"Should have brought my parka..."
Aeon raised an eyebrow towards her, before waving his hand in her direction. Claire blinked when she suddenly felt comfortably warm, no sign of the cold remaining.
She smirked. "So, you can warm a girl up with only a wave of your hand, huh?"
Aeon smirked back. "Am I making you feel all hot and bothered, Claire?"
Hell yes, she thought but did not say.
"Careful, handsome. We're here to freeze things up, not make them warm and dripping." she purred.
Aeon snorted, but left it at that.
She understood. As fun as flirting with him was, they really needed to get back to Sherry as soon as they could.
If only there weren't so many detours getting in the way! She mentally grumbled.
At least Aeon managed to stop the spread of the G-Virus, or she'd be a lot more concerned for Sherry.
Now if only she could get that damn cure already…
Claire smiled when she finally used their new level 3 ID wristband to unlock the West area bridge.
"Finally." she muttered with satisfaction, eagerly walking onwards towards where the cure hopefully awaited.
She paused however, when they came across yet another dead USS soldier with a video recording of their mission, Aeon pocketing it with a smirk.
"You know, I have to wonder why they have so many recordings of their mission. Aren't these guys supposed to be top-secret operatives or something?" she wondered.
Aeon shrugged. "Honestly, it's either Umbrella's obsession with getting data about everything they do at work… or it's Spencer, Umbrella's leader, who just enjoys watching his people destroy and murder their ways across the world. Frankly, it could be either."
Claire scoffed. "Sounds like a great guy."
Aeon grunted. "You can say that again. The world would be an infinitely better place without that genocidal maniac in it." he muttered darkly.
They kept going in silence for a while after that.
The fact they found evidence of the US government seeking to buy the G-Virus from William Birkin via email correspondence on a nearby computer soon afterwards didn't help.
Claire let out a sound of frustration as her palms hit the sealed container where the cure was kept in, the damn things refusing to open.
Meanwhile, Aeon downloaded the entire data banks of the nearby computer present within what had to be the Birkins' personal lab, before coming to a stop by her side, taking the golden Locket he took from Sherry and inserting it in a perfectly shaped hole for it at the base of the container, who promptly opened itself.
"Huh… Look at that. Alright!" Claire said with a smile, eagerly taking the cure.
"Thank god… The antiviral agent, at last." she said, turning around and swiftly walking back towards the entrance of the lab.
Behind her, Aeon glanced at the Locket, then at the G-Virus sample left behind… and then walked after her.
That was for someone else to find, after all.
Their return towards Sherry was brutally interrupted however, when the heavily mutated William Birkin broke through the ceiling of the room in front of the lab and stared at them with mindless hatred.
Claire snarled, raising her gun towards the monster in front of her.
"You again?!"
Aeon however glanced behind them, as the nearby doors opened to show a battered but determined Annette Birkin who immediately rushed forward.
"William!" she shouted, catching Claire's attention as the blonde woman scowled at the monster that was once her husband.
"This ends now." she declared, before throwing some kind of chemical grenade at the monster.
The mutated William Birkin growled, falling to one knee as the chemical took effect, a giant clawed hand reaching out hatefully towards his former wife… and then the monster collapsed on the ground, unmoving.
Both Annette and Claire walked forward, staring carefully at the fallen monster, before relaxing when it didn't move.
"That was your husband, right? Sherry's father." asked Claire, staring with a complex mix of emotions at Sherry's former father.
"Yes. He was." Annette hesitated, a far-away look in her eyes, before she shook her head.
"I should have killed him when I had the chance." she said softly, voice thick with regrets.
"I don't know why, I just… couldn't do it." she finished.
Claire pursed her lips. "He was your husband."
Annette scoffed slightly, looking sad. "Honestly… We were more married to our work than to each other."
Claire frowned, turning to fully face Annette.
"And what about Sherry? How could you leave her all alone? And while Raccoon City was burning to hell!" she questioned.
Annette frowned at her. "I couldn't let my daughter grow up in a world with the G-Virus in it!" she exclaimed.
"But that's no excuse to leave her-"
"Ah!"
Claire's eyes went wide when the previously thought dead G-monster suddenly moved again, its giant right claxed hand grasping Annette and then sending her flying back to roughly impact the wall behind them, blood escaping her mouth from the blow.
"Annette!" screamed Claire, rushing to her side while Aeon began shooting at the monster behind her, muttering something about… Annette really not learning her lesson about dead foes?
She shook the matter away, kneeling next to the grimacing blonde woman, who painfully got into her feet and prepared to throw another chemical at the G-monster, who was now mutating even more heavily than before, leaving nothing of the once human being left.
"I'm sorry, William." she whispered, before the chemical hit the monster, making it growl and kneel in pain, while Aeon kept firing at it.
Claire, noticing a nearby console, immediately rushed to it and activated it, lowering part of the room downwards into a makeshift arena, while Annette stumbled and shouted in pain as her injuries made themselves known, whether she liked it or not.
"No." declared Claire at the sight. "Me and Aeon got this. You should take care of Sherry." she said firmly, giving the cure to the woman painfully getting on her feet once more.
"You don't know what you're up against." tried to warn Annette, but by this point Claire didn't care and went down the area where Aeon was fighting the G-monster. That thing needed to die. Sherry's father was dead, only a monster remained.
One that would happily see Sherry die herself.
Not if I kill him first. she thought, determined to see this monster dead or die trying.
"I have a pretty damn good idea." she replied, eyes fixed on the monster who was trying to hit Aeon- and failing badly.
"Whatever you do, don't stop until it's finished!" shouted Annette.
Claire looked at her. "Trust me!"
She looked back at the monster. "This ends now."
"[Class A] detected." declared the security system. "Lab Quarantine until the target is neutralized."
Oh, it'll be neutralized alright. she thought darkly.
She took out her grenade launcher and fired, the monster falling to one knee as the acid grenade hit and his body began to smoke, before flinching as Aeon's plasma guns fired and hit him in the face.
It got up with a roar, charging the man, who merely rolled under the monster's claws and fired in the glowing orange eyes at his unprotected back.
Claire narrowed her eyes, sending yet another grenade at the monster's way, and as the fight kept on going she didn't take long to notice that Aeon was deliberately making himself a seemingly easier target to the monster by staying close to it at all times.
Claire scowled slightly, not really happy by Aeon putting himself in danger for her sake, but grudgingly admitting he had a lot more experience fighting monsters than she did.
And to be fair, he didn't seem to have any difficulty dancing around the G monster, dodging or rolling under every swipe of the monster's claws with ease before firing more pale blue plasma bolts at the monster's weak spots.
To be fair to the monster, he didn't take that lying down, eventually trying to take various parts of the room they were in and throwing them at high speed at Aeon.
The first time it happened, Claire had frozen at the sight of a massive chunk of steel being thrown at Aeon, but the man didn't even blink, merely rolling under it and then immediately getting back up and firing without delay.
It was still anxiety-inducing to see the G monster throw massive chunks of steel, one after another, at Aeon in the hope of killing him, but seeing him evade them all without fear was also pretty awe-inspiring.
Claire's own part in the battle was thus relegated to fire support, sending a grenade at the monster every time it slowed down to give an opportunity for Aeon to fire at the weak points of the monster until finally-
It roared, fell to one knee, and the glowing orange eyes on his chest, back and at various points on his body suddenly grew in size… before exploding violently, the monster jerking in agony before falling face first on the ground.
There was a long moment of silence, before the automated voice spoke up again.
"Target has been neutralized. Ending quarantine. Service lift is now operational."
Claire let out a deep breath, before laughing slightly.
"Damn. Aeon… next time we fight, please don't try not to give a heart attack, the way you dodged some of its attacks were waaayyyy too close for comfort."
Aeon chuckled, relaxing slightly.
"I'm afraid I can't make any promises, most monsters aren't so polite as to give me the time I'd need to casually avoid all of their attacks, after all."
She snorted. "Yes, how impolite of them." she replied sarcastically.
Then she looked at the dead monster, let out a sigh, and then moved towards the service lift.
"Come on. We've wasted enough time on this, let's get back to Sherry."
Claire opened the door of the infirmary where Sherry was, finding Annette seemingly passed out while holding her daughter's hand.
She rushed forward, kneeling by the side of the bed, glancing at the unconscious Annette before looking at Sherry who turned her head towards her with a smile.
"Hey!" she said, relief almost overwhelming her at the sight of Sherry's face looking completely healthy.
"I knew you'd make it." said Sherry, her eyes flickering to Claire and then towards Aeon who stood with a kind smile on his own behind Claire.
"My mom needs help." continued Sherry, worry in her voice, and Claire once again glanced towards the woman half-collapsed on Sherry's bed, looking pale and weak, face twisted in pain even in unconsciousness.
Claire put a gentle hand on the woman's shoulder. "Annette?"
The woman woke up with a gasp, blue eyes confused for a moment before focusing on her daughter.
"Sh-Sherry… How are you?" she asked weakly.
"Ok…" replied Sherry, a concerned frown on her face. "But you don't look so good…"
Annette looked away, glancing towards a nearby computer and painfully tried to get up, before almost collapsing in agony as she gasped in pain, holding her wounded side with a deep grimace.
Sherry jerked into a sitting position, a fearful "Mommy?!" escaping her, while Claire rushed forward and gently took the woman and helped her stand up.
"Gotta look… at the screen…" gasped Annette, before doing so thanks to Claire helping her.
The woman eyes' flickered across the screen, before a relieved "Oh, thank God." escaped her.
"So, Sherry's gonna be alright?" asked Claire, wanting to be absolutely certain.
Annette jerked a nod. "She'll be weak for a little while, but… Yes, she's free of the G-Virus." firmly declared Annette, relief clear in her voice and eyes.
Claire turned to look at Sherry with a smile, squeezing gently the girl's left shoulder. "Did you hear that?" she happily exclaimed, Sherry giving her a relieved smile of her own in return.
That moment of relief and joy lasted all of 3 seconds, as Annette took a step forward before almost collapsing, putting a desperate hand on Claire's left shoulder while holding her side with her other hand, and then collapsing on the ground while repeatedly gasping in pain.
She lay back on the ground, face twisted in agony, while Claire and Sherry knelt by her side and Aeon looked down with a slight frown, before kneeling too.
"What happened to her?" desperately asked Sherry, fear in her voice.
Claire grimaced. "She was attacked by that monster-"
"Don't… Don't worry about me." gasped Annette, before coughing blood.
She put a hand in her pocket, taking out a wristband with the highest level of security access to it, before putting it in Aeon's hands.
"Take my daughter… to safety." she begged weakly.
Her eyes flickered towards Sherry, deep sadness and guilt clear in them.
"I'm sorry, Sherry… For everything." she whispered softly. "Your life is what's important now-" she continued, while Sherry began to cry while holding her mother's right hand tightly, before stopping as she grimaced in pain, weak cries escaping her.
"We can't just leave her here!" begged Sherry, turning towards Claire and Aeon.
Claire nodded. "You're right, we can't-" she replied, moving to take the woman in her arms, before pausing.
"Attention, unauthorized of a [Level 4] virus detected. Facility lockdown beginning."
"What does that mean?" questioned Claire.
"Self-destruct sequence will begin when lockdown is complete."
"It's the self-destruct code." grimly answered Aeon. "Probably in case the G-Virus leaves the building."
"Correct." gasped Annette, before desperately taking his hand. "Please… save my daughter."
She began to cough up more blood, and Sherry threw herself over her mother's chest, hugging her tightly. "No!" she shouted, voice breaking in grief.
Aeon's face tightened… before his eyes flickered towards the crying Sherry, and his face turned determined.
He put his right hand on the woman's chest, and the three women in the room gasped in shock when it suddenly glowed gold.
Then Annette inhaled sharply, her chest rising as she took a deep breath, the wounds on her body healing in seconds until she was once again fully healthy.
The woman blinked in utter shock, Claire and Sherry not much better themselves, but any words they might have said were cut off by Aeon leaning forward, a firm scowl on his face and his right eye glowing, while his left turned utterly black except for his outer pupil glowing gold and orange.
"Annette Birkin, let me be clear." he declared, his deep voice somehow echoing unnaturally while his eyes remained fixed on the woman before him. "This mercy I grant you now, it is born of the love your daughter holds for you and vice-versa, and your desperate attempt to try and save the world from the very evil you have created, even if it cost you your life. Make no mistake, however: Redemption is a long, painful road, and if you get to live now, that only means you will have the chance to pay the price of it in life rather than in death. If you are to forget yourself again, however, make no mistake: all the evils in the world will be a mercy, in comparison to what shall await you in the afterlife. Am I understood, Annette Birkin?"
Annette gaped at the man, her right hand holding her chest as she tried to understand what had just happened. "What… Who-"
Aeon's eyes narrowed. "I asked you a question, Annette Birkin. Am. I. Understood?"
Annette swallowed, before nodding firmly.
Aeon smiled, expression softening ever so slightly. "Good."
"Who… What are you?" softly asked Claire, before freezing when Aeon's glowing eyes snapped towards her.
The sheer power in those eyes… and the sheer weight of them… it felt like her entire life was witnessed, considered and judged in a second, and the thought that the outcome could in any way be considered lacking made her instinctively shiver, intrinsically knowing that would not be a good thing, even if she wasn't sure why.
Those eyes stared at her for a moment, before Aeon (if it was indeed him speaking right now) finally replied.
"Umbrella sought to create gods and to remake the world as they wished. They never stopped to consider the possibility that gods might already exist, and that they considered their frankly pitiful attempts at God-making thoroughly unacceptable by the already existing Powers That Be. The world, for all of its evils and suffering, was created by the collective will of all who lived upon it. I have no desire to see a group of megalomaniac fools destroy the fruits of thousands of years of accomplishment by Humanity."
He turned his gaze back towards Annette, who looked like everything she thought she knew about the world had been utterly crushed right in front of her eyes.
Which was rather accurate to the actual situation, honestly, Claire couldn't help but think despite her stunned shock.
"I am not much of a merciful God." Aeon (?) said bluntly. "So I suggest you do not give me reasons to regret this decision. It is in my nature to slay all Evils in the World, not to make them repent. I strongly advise you not to give me any further reasons to see you as one of those Evils. Just because I am Good, does not mean I cannot be cruel towards those who I believe have earned it through their actions. Consider yourself warned."
And with those words, Aeon's eyes stopped glowing.
The man blinked, shook his head, and then smirked at them.
"That aside, perhaps we should all make our way towards the nearest exit before this entire place blows up, hmm?"
Claire, Sherry and Annette blinked, before their eyes widened at the fact that, yes, the self destruct system had been activated.
Claire couldn't help but chastise herself for forgetting, even with… everything that just happened.
Hell, she couldn't even remember hearing the sirens blaring while Aeon (or the God possessing him?) had been speaking!
Understandable as it may have been, she had really been out of it...
Claire followed everyone into the elevator, which if the automated voice was to be believed would lead them to a train they could take to leave this place.
As the doors closed and they began descending, Claire couldn't help but glance at Aeon, the man looking utterly relaxed, seemingly uncaring of the imminent destruction of the base… or of whatever that had been back in the infirmary.
Claire Redfield didn't really think too much about gods, afterlives or anything like that, but the simple memory of those glowing eyes and that echoing voice kept crushing any hopes of rationalizing what had happened.
No matter how much she thought about it, her mind refused to think of… that Being as anything but an actual God, as if her very soul had recognized that what had been speaking in that room just couldn't be anything else.
So now she had even more questions for Aeon, but she could see from the look on Sherry and Annette's faces that they wouldn't dare to ask anything.
Sherry was looking at Aeon as if he was… well, a god, one who had just saved her mother's life, and the way she was hugging Annette made it very clear that Sherry knew her mother would have died without the literal divine intervention saving the woman's life.
And Annette herself kept glancing at Aeon with a mix of wonder and fear on her face, looking somewhere between incredibly grateful and deeply terrified.
Though there were a number of looks that spoke more of a scientist finally being able to answer a mystery that had never been explained before, and who was reviewing everything she knew through the lenses of her new understanding and coming to a number of conclusions that obviously left her shaken, but also… relieved?
Claire thought that was it, at least.
Either way, if she wanted answers, it was clear that she would need to ask for them herself.
So, taking her courage with both hands, she did exactly that.
Let it not be said that Claire Redfield was a coward.
Even if the possibility that a God was watching her- possibly even standing right there- made her incredibly nervous.
"So… Aeon." she began, before swallowing when he turned to look at her, a knowing, amused look in his eyes.
"That was…"
"My True, Divine self. I, myself, am his mortal incarnation, here on Earth to, bluntly speaking try and prevent a zombie apocalypse. So, to answer your question- yes, I am a god."
"Oh." replied Claire numbly, because really, what do you say when the handsome guy who you've been flirting with turns out to be a literal god?
Aeon snorted. "Don't think too hard about all of this, at least for the time being. For now, you should focus on getting out of here with Sherry and Annette. We can have a Q&A later, once this whole mess with Raccoon City is done and over with."
She nodded weakly, still trying to digest the fact that Aeon was a God- though considering his rather unique name, it certainly explained a few things- before pausing.
"Does my brother…?" she trailed off.
Aeon smiled. "Yes, he's aware. He and the rest of S.T.A.R.S."
"So that's why two of them now work for ISIS! And why they are so much stronger than they used to be!" exclaimed Annette, before the woman froze when Aeon turned to look at her.
"That's certainly part of it, yes." he replied calmly.
Claire blinked. "So you… what, have a way to train and empower people?" theorized Claire, and Aeon grinned proudly at her.
"Got it in one."
"That explains so much…" muttered Annette.
"Hmm…"
They turned towards Sherry, who blushed slightly before smiling at Aeon and Claire.
"Thank you for being so nice to me… for helping me and mom." she said softly. "I'm really glad I met you two."
"I'm glad to have met you too, Sherry." replied Claire, smiling back. "But save your thanks for after we get you out of this place."
Aeon opened his mouth, but paused when the elevator slowed down and opened.
"Right. C'mon then, let's get out of here."
Leon S. Kennedy took the sample of the G-Virus from the luckily opened container, feeling both triumphant at finally getting his hands on the proof of Umbrella's crimes, and disturbed at its very existence.
He turned around, walking back towards the center of the facility, a frown on his face.
Now that he had the sample, he couldn't help but think of a great many things…
And at the very top of that list was the woman who introduced herself as Ada Wong.
He blushed slightly at the memory of her lips meeting his, the kiss having been rather unexpected but certainly not unwelcome…
Which is what he would like to say, but honestly his instincts were screaming at him that something was wrong.
Leon didn't consider himself the smartest man on Earth, far from it, but he liked to think he wasn't a complete idiot. And he couldn't help but worry about what the sample weighing heavily in his pocket could cause in the wrong hands.
And he couldn't help but fear that Ada's weren't, in fact, good ones.
He remembered Aeon's words about the number of groups that would love to get their hands on the G-Virus, and he couldn't but worry: was Ada truly a FBI agent? True, she claimed she was, even had a badge and everything, but those could easily be replicated by an organization with the right connections.
It wasn't like he could spot a forgery even if it was, after all, he didn't have the training for that. For all he knew, Ada wasn't a FBI agent at all, but a spy using him for her own goal. The kiss she had given him, enjoyable as it had been, only served to cause even more red alarms to blare in his head. After all, he may have helped her, but he still was only a rookie cop, and she was apparently a FBI agent. What could she see in him?
… Okay, his recent break-up with his old girlfriend before coming to Raccoon City might have made him a bit paranoid, but he still couldn't help but worry.
He was almost certain Ada was hiding something from him, and that whatever it was he wouldn't like it. And of course, there was the other issue: what if she was an FBI agent?
Aeon had told him a great many things about how guilty the US government was of crimes against its people simply to get ahead in their research in B.O.W.'s, and one of the computers of the facility he was in had contained evidence that yes, the US government knew about the G-Virus and fully intended to get their hands on it.
If he did give that sample to Ada and she brought it back to her superiors, would it be used simply as evidence of Umbrella's crimes? Or, as he feared, would they use the G-Virus to create their own B.O.W.'s?
Leon didn't know. What he did know, is that he would sooner destroy that sample that let it fall into the wrong hands, even if that meant defying orders from a FBI agent.
So it was with a mix of anticipation, anxiousness and determination that he arrived in the central room, finding Ada in front of the central elevator of the place.
At the sight of him she smiled, carefully walking towards him as quickly as she could despite her wound.
"I was just thinking about you." he said casually, walking slowly towards her on the bridge towards the elevator.
"That makes two of us." she replied, before pausing as the whole facility shook.
Apparently, taking the sample had activated the self-destruct system. Leon frankly couldn't help but be satisfied that this place of horrors would go up in flames, only ashes left to ever show it existed at all.
"I was getting worried." she continued, and he smiled wryly.
For him? Or for her mission?
"Oh, we make a good team." he replied, pausing in the middle of the bridge. "But I gotta ask you something."
"Way's clear." Said Ada, waving at the elevator while making her way towards him. "Please tell me you got it."
"Oh, I got it." he said, glancing around at the shaking facility, bits and pieces of the ceiling falling apart, the weight of the sample now in his left hand reminding him of a grenade ready to explode at any moment.
"I've got to verify the G-sample before we can get the hell outta here." she declared, extending a hand towards him.
"Before we do that, I've got a few questions for you." he replied instead, Ada's hand falling to her side, her eyes narrowing ever-so-slightly.
"You're not actually FBI, are you?" he accused, hoping his instincts weren't misleading him.
It'd be pretty awkward, otherwise, though even if she was it'd answer only some of his concerns.
Ada's smile fell, and she shook her head slightly.
"Oh, Leon…" she said softly, sounding genuinely saddened, before she took her gun and pointed it at him.
"Why couldn't you just hand over the sample?" she said softly.
"Because I realized," he replied, his heart beating fast in his chest as he took his gun and pointed it at her, the worst case scenario clearly happening as he had feared, Ada not even blinking at the gun pointed at her, "as much as I'd like to trust you, I didn't."
"I really hoped that things wouldn't end up like this." she replied, eyes sad but firm as she stared at him.
"So that's all this was?" he questioned. "I was just some… pawn to you?" he spat, anger bumbling in his chest.
Ada flinched ever-so-slightly, but her grip on her gun didn't waver.
"Look, I was just doing my job-"
"And I'm doing mine, so drop that damn gun!" he interrupted, eyes hard as he stared down the probable mercenary/Spy.
"I'm taking you in." he declared softly, hoping despite knowing better that she would surrender peacefully.
Despite everything, the bandages around his chest and shoulder stood as proof that she wasn't heartless. She could have left him to bleed out on his own, but instead took the time to bandage his wounds. She had honor, he believed that much, and the thought of having to shoot Ada after everything this damned city threw at them felt wrong.
But duty, and the weight of the G-Sample in his hand, was a harsh reminder of the cost of failure if he did not stop her.
"Hand over the sample, Leon." Ada said firmly, before she shook her head slightly, her eyes never leaving his. "I don't want to hurt you." she said softly.
The two of them stared each other down, unwilling to back down…
Until the choice was almost taken out of their hands.
*Crash!*
Leon and Ada stumbled, a strong tremor shaking the facility and breaking apart the bridge they were on, Leon turning his head felt his eyes widened at the sight of the bridge behind him collapsing into the depths below, before returning to point his gun at Ada, who promptly did the same.
For a long moment, they stared at each other… and then Leon relaxed.
"Then you'll have to shoot me." he declared. "But I don't think you can."
Ada's eyes widened at the sight of him standing there, blue eyes staring straight into her brown ones without flinching.
She swallowed, her gun rising up… and with a grimace, falling back to her side.
He smiled, Ada looking at him with a mix of exasperation and shock, looking like she still couldn't believe he did something so monumentally stupid as to lower his guard and dare her to kill him.
And then everything went to hell.
The facility shook, a small bar of steel fell and hit Ada in the left shoulder leaving behind a bloody wound, and then the bridge they were on collapsed further, this time right where Ada was standing.
They both fell, Leon extending his right hand towards Ada as he screamed her name.
He barely managed to get her by the right wrist, before they both stared in shock as the G sample he had released to get a better grip on the bridge fell down into the depths below.
He refocused on the woman currently barely holding on through nothing but his own strength, gasping a pained "Hold on!" at her.
He tried to get her back up, but the bridge promptly fell even further, Leon swallowing at what little of it was left before the part he was on would fall too.
"Forget it." said Ada sadly, shaking her head.
"Shut up, I gotcha." he snarled back.
"It's not worth it." she replied softly.
"Don't do this." he growled, shaking his head at her.
She looked down at the depths below, before looking back up at him.
"Take care of yourself, Leon." she whispered.
He grimaced with effort as her hand slipped through his grasp… until she fell entirely.
"NOO!" he screamed, extending a hand towards her desperately, but all he could do was see her body fall into the abyss below.
He closed his eyes, the image of her falling form immediately flashing in his mind making him grimace as guilt tore at him, but as the facility kept on crumbling he slowly got on his feet, staring hard into the depths below for any hope of movement, before shaking his head.
Ada was… gone.
So was the sample of the G-virus, though he was actually happy about that.
The only thing left now was to leave this place, survive Raccoon City…
And then find a way to bring Umbrella to justice for all the lives they've ruined.
It was the least he could do in return for all the pain they've caused him and so many others.
Claire ran, Aeon, Sherry and Annette doing the same as they tried to make their way through towards the train which could get them safely out of here.
Of course, one of the doors in their way just had to be locked.
"Allow me." said Aeon, before he kicked the door in.
And a good chunk of the wall around it.
Claire blinked, Sherry gaped, and Annette began to mutter furiously to herself about the amount of force required to do that.
Aeon merely told them to keep running.
Thankfully, the train was not far beyond, and once inside they looked at the controls before Claire and Aeon turned around and made for the exit.
"Where are you going?" wondered Sherry.
Claire knelt in front of her.
"We need to get this train going. I need you to stay right here, ok?"
"Ok, I promise I won't move." Sherry replied.
"Good." Claire replied, getting up.
"Be careful!" shouted Sherry behind their backs.
"We'll try!" replied Aeon with a laugh.
They went inside the security room outside, as the train was on some kind of elevator platform and they needed to go up to use it to escape.
They couldn't help but stop and blink at the minigun casually lying on a nearby table, but Aeon focused on getting things moving while Claire took the weapon in her arms, certainly not about to complain about the added firepower.
"Claire!"
"What?"
She and Aeon glanced at a nearby screen, their eyes widening as Leon's face became clearly visible on it.
"Leon, you're down there too?" exclaimed Claire with a large smile, Aeon looking over her shoulder with a smile of his own.
"Well, look at that! How're you doing, Rookie?"
"Aeon! You're both doing alright! But the whole place is coming down. Look, you need to get out! Fast!"
"We know. We found a way out." replied Claire, glancing up through the window towards the train. "I think… I think we can all make it."
"Where are you now?" she asked.
"PZZT- Claire, are you still here? Aeon?"
"Leon?! I'm sorry, you're breaking up!"
"Don't worry about me! Just get outta here!"
"Leon! Leon!" she shouted at the screen, but the line went dead.
Aeon put a hand on her shoulder. "We need to go. He'll surely catch up or find his own way out."
She opened her mouth- and then paused.
"Are you certain?" she asked, because now that she knew who and what he was…
Aeon looked at her for a moment, before winking.
A glowing eye stared back for just a moment.
"He will."
She nodded. "Alright."
They went back on the platform, who now moved down towards the train tracks leading to the exit-
Only to be interrupted by a beastial scream.
*ROOOOAAAARRR!*
Claire's eyes went wide as some kind of monster, looking vaguely resembling the G- monster but even more mutated, suddenly fell down on top of the train and glared at Claire and Aeon with rage.
"Why can't you just die?!" she screamed, pointing her new minigun at it and firing.
"Do you want me to-"
"No! This fucker is mine!" she growled.
Aeon looked amused and… understanding?
Either way, he shrugged, muttered something about "Demon Fire Dog" and "Glorious supplex" and then went to sit on the train's entrance steps.
Claire wasn't entirely sure how the monster seemingly disregarded both the man and the train after that, but if nothing else it allowed her to keep fighting the monster without worrying about damaging the train or getting Sherry and her mother hurt. Oh, and he was providing moral support by insulting the monster and encouraging her.
Even if she had no idea what the hell he was referring to when he taunted the monster by calling it a "Discount Cleric Beast."
Either way, the new minigun certainly came in handy and was put to good use, each bullet popping yet more of the glowing orange eyes than the monster seemed to have dozens of on its torso, all the while she occasionally dodged its attempts at killing her.
The monster could leap surprisingly far, but even it couldn't fully take a minigun firing at full blast without flinching, and more than once Claire had the supreme satisfaction of seeing it faceplant hard on the cold ground of the platform they were on.
Also, the glowing orange eyes made for a pretty big weakness. Aeon certainly seemed to think so, if the way he kept complaining about "Shoddy, piece of crap monsters made of cardboard."
Though she'd rather not think too much about why he kept complaining about the absence of "Eye-lasers"...
At least he gave good advice on when to prepare to dodge or when to attack.
For the most part, at least. She was pretty sure "whack the monster's head into a bloody pulp with her minigun" was not, in fact, a viable tactic.
Probably.
Either way, she eventually managed to deal enough damage that the monster's remaining eyes seemed to pop, before what's left of it collapsed into a bloody mess on the ground.
Since the platform finally arrived at destination, she and Aeon re-entered the train, Sherry greeting them with relief, Annette merely nodding approvingly, her own relief better hidden.
"It's ok, I'm here." she said, hugging the young girl.
"We are getting outta here!" she declared, breaking the hug and then going for the controls of the train.
And then they were underway, finally escaping the facility at long last.
Claire let out a long sigh of relief. If she didn't end up with grey hairs after all this, it would be a damn miracle.
Leon went down the ladder, trying to reach the nearest escape route as fast as possible-
Which, naturally, is when his old friend the Mr.X Tyrant suddenly fell down right in front of him.
Leon took a second to boggle, wondering how the hell the damn thing managed to track him down here of all places, before shooting the monster in the head with his shotgun and passing him by while it staggered.
Running through corridors after corridors on fire, he was forced to stop when the way ahead suddenly caught on fire badly enough to force him to stop.
He turned around-
"Gack!"
- And then mentally cursed when the Tyrant took him by the face and prepared itself to crush his skull.
Leon desperately tried to grab for his gun-
When a nearby pipe exploded, the Tyrant releasing him while it staggered.
Leon fell on the ground… only for it to collapse, letting him fall into another path beneath him. The Tyrant, staggered by more explosions, could not stop him when Leon got on his feet and ran like hell.
Coming across a massive platform that acted as a wide elevator, he swiftly activated it, while around him the facility kept on exploding and crumbling.
His eyes went wide however when a mutated version of the Mr. X chasing him fell down on his platform, his right half on fire, not that it appeared to bother the Tyrant.
Leon immediately reacted, shotgun firing and staggering the monster, though it quickly recovered and tried to impale Leon and it's mutated right claws.
He dodged, throwing a grenade at the monster's feet before jumping away, taking cover behind some rumble that fell on the platform that was still descending further into the facility, an explosion heralding a pained growl from the Tyrant.
Leon immediately got up, unleashing even more firepower straight at the monster and dodging its charges every times it happened-
Until a number of explosions rocked the platform, and his eyes widened when, of all things, a rocket launcher fell down on the platform, already loaded and ready to fire.
How- no, not important right now, he thought, running and then sliding towards the weapon laying on the ground, quickly taking it, targeting the charging Tyrant while on one knee… and then firing.
*KA-BOOM!*
The lower half of the Tyrant fell on the ground, blood and gore spilling out of the remains of the once deadly monster.
Leon exhaled deeply, satisfied and relieved in equal measure despite the fact the facility he was in was still bound to explode any minute now.
He huffed.
I wonder what kind of hazard pay I should be due for after all this mess is done and over with. He thought with amusement.
"We'll call it even." she whispered, before turning away, grimacing slightly at the pain in her leg and shoulder.
Leon ran as fast as he could, trying to make it to the train right in front of him even as more and more of the facility crashed down around him.
Seeing a handhold, he ran harder… and then jumped.
For a terrifying moment, even as his hands held on, he feared that the speed of the train would force him to fall to his doom… but one last push with all his strength finally got him on the train, where he promptly collapsed in exhaustion.
Finally, he thought tiredly, free to just sit down and rest for the first time in… far too long.
For a moment, he just enjoyed his rest, before taking out the wristband that Ada had given him back in the cable car.
He scoffed slightly, smiling wryly.
"I can't believe I already miss her." he muttered.
Then again… that rocket launcher had been suspiciously convenient.
A part of him didn't dare to hope… but the rest couldn't help but be suspicious.
They had been at something of an impasse… but what happened had caused both of them to be separated.
Did she see what happened as an opportunity? But how could she have survived the fall?
His eyes narrowed when he remembered the G sample falling into the depths below. Had she hoped to get her hand on it somehow?
He sighed. He supposed it didn't matter, at this point.
She didn't need him anymore. If, indeed, she had survived, then she had no reason to show herself to him again.
And that rocket launcher…
A last debt to repay, perhaps?
He glanced down at the wristband… and then threw it out of the train.
Whatever the answers may be, he didn't have time to keep guessing. For now, he needed to get up, see who was in control of this train (he could only hope it was Aeon and Claire) and then…
Well. He would see once he was safely out of this place.
One thing was for sure, though.
Umbrella would pay for all of this.
This, he swore.
Claire turned, looking at Aeon, Annette and Sherry.
They had done it. They had escaped the facility… or at least, were well on the way to successfully doing so.
Claire opened her mouth… but Aeon raised a hand, looking out of the train car they were in with a smile.
"Hey Claire, an old friend joined back up at last!"
Claire blinked.
And then her eyes widened when Leon, covered in dirt, blood and bloody bandages around the right shoulder but alive and well, entered the room and looked at them with surprise, followed by a wide smile of his own.
"Claire! Aeon!" he blinked, then looked at Annette and Sherry.
He stared at Annette for a moment, who stared back in surprise, before his eyes flickered towards Sherry, who was hugging her mother, and his expression softened.
"Annette… and your daughter, I presume?"
"Got it in one." replied Aeon with amusement.
"Leon! It's so good to see you!" she declared, happily coming forward.
"Told you I'd make it." Leon replied with a small smirk, and Aeon smirked back.
"So you did. Great work, Rookie- though I suppose I can't very well call you that anymore, now can I?"
Leon snorted. "It just took surviving a zombie apocalypse for you to decide to change my nickname?"
Aeon shrugged, looking amused. "What can I say, I've got pretty crazy standards."
Leon opened his mouth to reply… but then the entire train shook, and Leon let out a muttered "Jesus." as they tried not to fall.
"What was that?!" exclaimed Claire.
"I don't know!" replied Leon.
"Our old friend, very probably." calmly declared Aeon, and Claire looked at him incredulously.
"I killed him!"
He snorted. "Well, obviously he came back anyway."
He paused. "Huh, so that's how it feels…" he muttered.
She scowled. "Leon, you stay here with Sherry and her mom. Aeon, come on, let's kill this bastard once and for all."
Aeon nodded, following after her.
They made their way into the train car beyond… before pausing, Claire's eyes going wide when the end of the train car suddenly disappeared, devoured entirely by a giant maw full of teeth who was chewing through the train with ease.
At her side, Aeon raised an eyebrow.
"Well, that's new."
He frowned, glaring slightly at the monster, before turning to look at Claire.
"Hey, do you want to kill it, or should I?"
Claire pursed her lips. A part of her would like to be the one to finally kill the fucker, but on the other hand it didn't really work the last few times…
She sighed. If anyone could do it, it was the god in human form at her side.
"He's all yours."
Aeon nodded, glanced back at the giant maw slowly but surely eating more of the train car, and then extended a hand.
A big ass scythe promptly appeared, making Claire blink.
"Okay, that's new."
Aeon grinned slightly, before walking towards the massive maw calmly, seemingly utterly unbothered by the sheer number of giant teeth staring back.
Behind her, Leon, Annette and Sherry stared wide-eyed, while Leon stared blankly at the giant scythe that had just appeared in Aeon's hand.
"I have… so many questions." he muttered.
Aeon, meanwhile, dodged slightly to the left to avoid some kind of fleshy appendage with claws at the end, before pausing right in front of the massive orange eye of the monster.
"You certainly aren't a Yharnamite beast… but I really doubt that Gerhman would have seen you any differently. Goodbye, William Birkin. Be glad that what awaits is Judgement, and not an endless Nightmare. Others before you weren't so lucky."
The scythe went down.
The monster froze… and then fell back, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
Leon, acting quickly, detached the train car it was on, and they all watched as the explosion of the facility's self-destruct reached it and then consumed both the dead monster and the remains of the train car.
"He's really dead this time, isn't it?" asked Annette softly.
"Yes. That scythe… it belonged to my mentor, once. Trust me when I say that anything it stabs or cuts won't survive it, G-Virus or not."
Annette nodded at Aeon's words, before sighing.
"Goodbye, William. At least our greatest mistake will die alongside you."
The train eventually left the tunnels to go out into the city above, somewhere in the upper north-west of the city, within the Railway Marshalling Yard.
They left it, Claire and the others honestly not sure what to do from here.
Aeon, however, immediately took his radio and reported the situation, while receiving a status report from ISIS and Lieutenant Branagh.
Apparently, the police station and its surroundings had been easily retaken, all the zombies in the area apparently having been thoroughly cleansed previously by both Aeon, Claire and Leon passing through the Police Station, to say nothing of the number of the dead B.O.W's caused by the Wolfpack.
Furthermore, almost all of the Umbrella soldiers in the city had been dealt with, and the rest were being tracked down and hunted across the city now that their bases had been taken.
A surprising outcome came when a handful of UBCS soldiers led by a man named Carlos Oliviera, who had apparently found a message left behind by a Umbrella scientist who clearly put the zombie outbreak on the shoulders of Umbrella, decided to join with ISIS and the RPD forces to try and help out where they could, not in Umbrella's name but as independent mercenaries.
Once Aeon was satisfied that the situation was well in hand, he led the group to a nearby building where they could rest and recover while waiting for a helicopter to be dispatched in order to evacuate Claire, Sherry and Annette.
Leon would remain, as the city desperately needed every police officer it could call upon.
And Aeon would obviously remain with the rest of ISIS to ensure the outbreak truly was done and over with.
As Claire looked outside the building they were in, her thoughts finally could return to her brother, now that the end of this nightmare was near.
After all, from the sound of it, the city was more or less pacified, or soon to be, so everything should be smooth-sailing from there on, right?
"Do you have your orders clear, Wolfpack? This is your last chance!"
"Objective confirmed, Wolfpack is on the move. Over."
"So, it's as he suspected."
"Looks like it. We've got our orders… and our secret ones. Let's move, everyone."
A Russian chuckled.
"Don't worry, dear client. I'll get the girl, no worry."
"Good. I look forward to hearing of your success."
Nikolai Zinoview smirked darkly.
A few last loose ends to tie up, and he'd be free to go get his last target.
And oh, was his client willing to pay up handsomely for young Sherry Birkin...
Truly, Raccoon City was one of the best (read: profitable) places he'd ever been to.
He was almost sad he'd soon have to leave it behind.
Almost.