So, it's been a very long time since I've written a fanfic. Honestly, it's been a long time since I've written anything at all. I'm sure I'm a little rusty, so forgive any errors. Even better, let me know about them so I can fix them. After playing the Resident Evil 2 remake, I was inspired to play through the entire series. Now that I'm done, I can't get the universe out of my head! Especially Leon and Ada. I'm hoping to get this obsession out of my system by just letting it all out here. I'm going to do my best to stay true to the source material, but if you catch any incorrect information, please bring it to my attention so I can correct it. I'd also like to talk about the setting. I'm using the California State capitol building for two reasons: First, they always say write what you know, and I know Sacramento. Second, if you've ever seen the inside of this building, you'll understand why I picked it. It SCREAMS Resident Evil. Just Google "California Capitol Building rotunda" and you'll get it. While I have been to this location, it's been a really long time, so I'm mostly using Google images and the museum's website for reference, so again, I apologize about any incorrect information. I'll just be honest right now, and tell you that I'm going to make up a lot of the building's interior. That's all for my author's notes. I hope you enjoy the story! I would love to hear any and all input, so please review!

~~~Chapter One~~~

Leon stepped lightly down the wet sidewalk of a nearly deserted downtown Sacramento, gun in hand. California's capitol had been evacuated the previous day, when news of a B.O.W. Outbreak had reached D.C. Once the majority had been evacuated, the entire city had been quarantined. Every exit and entrance, blocked. It appeared as though no living humans remained. Even the zombie's numbers were low. The main streets had already been cleared by the B.S.A.A. As if punctuating this assertion, machine gun shots fired off in the distance. The evidence of what occurred could be seen in the carnage that was left behind.

Wrecked and abandoned vehicles blocked the roads. Storefronts and windows had been smashed to pieces. Bodies littered the streets. It was easy to imagine the chaos that lead up to the city's current state. Leon only had to close his eyes to hear the screams. According to his briefing, the incident began roughly around 9pm, the day before last. The first 911 calls came from the capitol building, making it a likely location for the initial outbreak. The yet unidentified virus spread quickly, and the city was enveloped in chaos. Fortunately, the appropriate authorities were informed immediately. Within 24 hours, a perimeter of barricades had been set up, and all survivors who made it out were sent to quarantine camps to ensure no infected were allowed to escape and spread the virus. B.S.A.A. officers had been dispatched throughout the city to locate survivors while clearing infected. Leon was here to find out what the hell happened to cause this mess.

"The one up side to this shit happening over and over is that we're at least getting more efficient about cleaning it up," Leon's mouth curled in a sour smirk. He was used to being alone among throngs of the undead, forced to fend for himself against hundreds of hungry foes. It was unusual for the veteran B.O.W. hunter to show up this late in the game. This looked like it was going to be a walk in the park.

The reason for his tardiness was that he had been out of the country on personal business. He'd received intel on the possible whereabouts of a woman he had been trying to track for months. His search had taken him to France, but the lead turned out to be fruitless. Just the most recent in a series of failed attempts. It was almost a relief when he got the call from HQ. At least this was a problem he knew how to tackle. Sidestepping a corpse, the special agent made his way toward the capital building. The state of the roads made it impossible to proceed in a vehicle, so it was necessary to navigate on foot. A nearby street sign indicated he only had a few more blocks to go. A voice sounded from his headset.

"Leon, what's the situation there?"

"I'm sure you can guess, Hunnigan."

The operations coordinator sighed audibly. "Pretend I have no idea."

Leon couldn't help but grin. In the years he'd worked with Ingrid Hunnigan, she had loosened her no-nonsense, business only persona a bit. It never ceased to amuse him when he was able to annoy her. "Well, as you can imagine, the city is a mess. On the bright side, the B.S.A.A. has done a pretty good job taking out infected. I haven't encountered any hostiles yet."

"Good. Let's hope it stays that way," before he was able to respond with sarcasm, she continued, "Have you reached the capitol building yet?"

"No, but I'm not far from it. I can see it up ahead."

"Proceed cautiously, Leon. My reports show that that building hasn't been cleared yet. It seems B.S.A.A. officers have only done a run through the main roads so far. As far as we know, the capitol building could be teeming with B.O.W.s"

"Yeah, that sounds like my luck," Kennedy grumbled. "Don't worry, Hunnigan. I've been in worse situations than this."

"I know, but that's no reason to let your guard down."

"My guard is all the way up. I promise. I'm approaching the building now. I'll let you know what I find," without waiting for a response, he added, "Leon out."

Broken glass crunched under his steel toe boots, as he stepped into the courtyard of the huge, white building. It was all pristine white columns and ornate molding, a giant dome rising from its center. If it wasn't surrounded by corpses and wreckage, it would be a lovely sight. The steps leading to the building's double doors were slick with blood. It was no wonder, seeing what remained of several bodies, strewn about. The entrance's double doors were half open, with what remained of a body holding the left side ajar.

"What a welcome mat."

Pushing the right side open, Leon carefully stepped over the zombie's dinner leftovers. The interior of the building didn't look much better. Looking over the large, circular room, it was clear that a massacre had occurred. The black and white checkered tiles were splattered with blood and remains. There were few bodies on the ground, but plenty ambling around the room, taking jerky steps on rotting legs. The intricately molded walls curved into a balcony overhead. Above that, the ceiling stretched up to form the interior of the huge dome he had seen outside, the very top made of glass, letting streams of sunlight into the otherwise unlit room. In the center of the room was a statue depicting three figures. It appeared to be a Queen, a man, and a child. The acoustics of the vast room made the soft moans of the scattered undead bounce around eerily.

Still at the entrance, Leon did a quick hostile count. There were at least two dozen that he could see. The hallways branching off the main room were likely to hold even more. Even if he was willing to waste the ammo, firing his gun would only draw more to his location. While the virus at work here hadn't been identified yet, it's effects seemed familiar. These zombies were reminiscent of those he had faced in Raccoon City all those years ago.

"Slow and stupid," he mused. "I can work with this."

Kennedy slowly crept his way around the perimeter of the room. His goal was the hallway to his right. It was as good as place as any to start searching, and getting out of the open would reduce his chance of being surrounded. Keeping his eyes on the zombies nearest to him, Leon continued forward, even going as far to mimic the movements of an infected to avoid detection. Nearing the open hallway, he was pleased to see it was free of B.O.W.s. Leon was about to congratulate himself on making it through undetected when a shrill scream echoed out from down the hallway he was about to enter. The tawny haired man froze in place. At once, every head in the room turned to face him.

"Fuck."

Leon made a mad dash away from the room filled with his new friends. He glanced into each open room he passed, searching for the source of the scream. While some held infected, there wasn't a living human in sight. The hallway filled with shuffling bodies behind him. There was no time to search any more thoroughly. To his right, a door marked "staff" came into view. Fortunately, it was unlocked, and the former police offer threw himself through it, slamming it shut behind him. He twisted the lock and turned to scan the room for something to block the door with. Instead, he found a gun pointed at his face.

"Well, well, well…" a low, velvety voice purred from behind the barrel. "Look who decided to drop in for a visit. I know you miss me, but now really isn't a good time."

Lowering the weapon, short, jet-black hair came into view, followed by piercing eyes and a cat-like smile.

Leon's breath caught in his throat as he stared at the woman he had been searching for the past six months. "Ada!"

The woman cocked her head slightly and smirked, "Long time no see."