Disclaimer: The Resident Evil characters, etc. all belong to Capcom. Just borrowing them for a bit. How I wish I owned you, Piers... I would never let you go. Or let you wear clothing.
Basic Summary: Ah, hell, I hate doing this. Piers has been saved by Ada, but surely, it can't just have been out of the goodness of her heart...? Seems she has a use for him, or maybe it's just her new employer that does...
Author's Note: Seems I'm not the only one who played through Ada's campaign (and Chris's, obviously) and went, 'she totally could've saved Piers after the events of the game'. That being said, I KNOW mine isn't the only story out there with Ada saving Piers as a big part of the plot. Feel free to let me know of other similar works and I'll happily list them here. I don't want it ever to seem I'm ripping someone off. Plus, I'd like to read the fine work of others who came to the same AWESOME conclusion I did. :)
Also, fellow fanciers of Ada n Piers interaction, please visit fyeahpiersxada . tumblr You'll have to remove any spaces and put the dot-com at the end, of course. Many thanks for Meowface20 for mentioning this fic there!
Pairings: Well, Ada and Piers will be spending a fair amount of time together... I honestly haven't decided how far I'm going to take that, though. Some mild Jake/Sherry when they come around.
Lanshiang Province, China
Seabed Laboratory Ruins, Coastline
New job... Considering who she'd just been hired by, Ada didn't figure that description would ring very true. It would be interesting, to say the least, so she accepted the offer with some coy remark about her schedule suddenly being wide open. But there was still too much of the old to be dealt with before anyone involved in the world of bioterrorism—in the shadows or out in the open—could call their next job or mission or assignment new.
It sure wasn't the first time Ada had been asked to retrieve a sample of the next new virus, after all.
She had the coordinates for the pickup. The target was at the underwater facility—oops, "oil field"—where Carla had been conducting experiments. Redfield had infiltrated the complex a few hours before; she knew that from listening in on BSAA communications. The shit had hit the fan somewhere along the way and contact had been lost, but the great Chris Redfield seemed as likely to die in the line of duty as Leon.
Better watch out for him, Ada mused. Although, it was going to be funny to see the look on his face if he realized 'Ada Wong' wasn't dead...
Well, this was new...
The facility was gone. Underwater structure or not, it was obvious even from the surface there had been massive damage below—an explosion, if the smoke, debris, and rogue flames dancing along the waterline were any indication. With that, she made her approach, her target becoming clearer and clearer. No briefcase with a vial inside—that'd be far too simple. She'd have settled for just the vial, really. Contrary to popular belief, Ada wasn't that picky.
No, the container this sample was sealed in was just a little bit bigger and considerably less secure. It could go at any minute. Ada slowed her pace and readied her weapon, just in case. She took quiet, careful steps.
Gazing down, she decided he still looked human enough; then again, so did plenty of the J'avo she'd taken down, even some of the ones that lumbered around on slimy, trunk-like legs, or dragged slimy, trunk-like arms. Behind their masks had been human faces.
In front of Ada was one such face. His left eye was closed, the right eye open but rolled up, with only the white showing. There wasn't really any eyelid left above his right eye so it wasn't surprising. The right side of his face and neck were marked with wide cuts, as if the skin had split from being stretched too thin. The right side of his shirt was shredded and his flak jacket was torn, his uniform was soaked; the khaki now dyed rosy red by a mix of seawater and blood.
He wasn't moving, aside from a twitch here and there, but Ada knew as well as anyone that no matter the virus, those killed by it rarely stayed dead. And with an arm like that, and everything that had caused it to sprout out of him, it'd take more than an explosion to drop him.
So now came the question: get the sample first then take his head off or vice-versa? The mission was to get a live sample...
Ada knelt. She kept her gun trained on his head and reached to check for a pulse with her free hand. She felt a slight jolt as she pressed harder with her fingertips—no pulse, just that little shock.
No, wait... There. It was faint but it was there—a weak little thump thumping hiding behind that strange electric feeling. And then his eyes were on her. He inhaled sharply, roughly—a raspy, crackling, gurgling plea for air.
Truth be told, it would've startled Ada less if he had attacked. Instead, he just looked at her, unnaturally bright eyes studying her as he tried just to breathe. It was as if he was desperate to place her in his memory—a memory that was probably fading by the second. She was never really there anyway, but he had no way of knowing that.
Ada was this close to squeezing the trigger when he did it—recognized her. It was her face, after all, that Carla had been wearing around while she wrought havoc on the world.
The only thing that kept her from shooting him in that moment was when he managed a hushed, strained, "Ada..."
And that was all it took for her to drop her guard and let herself think, if only for a second—a word—that he sounded like Leon.
A second too many, because weak as he was, he still had the strength to shock Ada, figuratively and literally. It wasn't the attack of a mindless, too-far-gone monster, either. Of course, she didn't have long to think on that; she was out cold in a heap on top of him just as soon as the thought entered her mind.
Lanshiang Province, China
Seabed Laboratory Ruins, Coastline
Ada's eyes fluttered open; she wasn't sure how long she'd been out. She forced herself up into a sitting position and looked upon the battered body beside her. She glanced over to her left and his right, to where her gun had landed.
Hearing her stir, he let out a shaky breath and asked, "How are you... even alive?"
"I could say the same about you," she remarked. "Looks like the BSAA has a bad habit of unjustly declaring people dead, wouldn't you say, Piers?"
"How the hell... do you... know my name?"
"Come on, up and at 'em," was all Ada said in response, snaking an arm around Piers in an attempt to stand him up. She had a feeling it would be a multi-step process, given the shape he was in.
"What do you want with me?" There was far more conviction and grit in Piers's question that time.
"Nothing, really," Ada said, flippantly, loosening her grip on Piers for just a moment, hoping he could at least stay sitting up on his own.
She took the opportunity to retrieve her gun and look over her phone. The gun was fine, the phone had seen better days. She gave the touch screen a quick test, cycled through her contacts, made sure none of her other data had been damaged, and finally, snapped a couple of pictures. Of Piers. Well, what do you know... It still worked, despite... Piers's Last Stand, or at least that's what Ada assumed he had intended for it to be.
He looked pretty pathetic there, chest heaving, that monstrous arm sagging, using nearly all of his strength to stay awake, aware, and in the, ahem, attached and upright position.
"On your knees," she instructed, after she'd determined he'd had enough of a rest.
He attempted a bark of laughter; it came out more like a cough. "Are we doing this... execution style?"
Ada managed a smirk. "Not just yet." She did her best to pull Piers to his knees without touching his right side. From shoulder to waist he was grey and sort of slimy; what wasn't mutated was mutilated.
"Then what do you want with me?" It seemed to be the one thing Piers was determined to ask without pause, without weakness.
"I told you, nothing." Ada offered her hand. "But I happen to know someone who does. Want something with you, that is. Or from you, rather."
Piers took her hand. "Aren't you afraid?"
"That'll you'll kill me?" She wrapped both hands around his and pulled. Hard. She nearly fell ass over teakettle getting him upright, but he was able to keep his balance, at least. Once she'd righted herself, she added, "That you'll turn and won't be able to control yourself?"
Piers narrowed his left eye. Couldn't really do that with the right one anymore, since he was currently lacking that eyelid.
Ada cocked her head to the side. "You'd have turned by now if you were going to."
It sounded convincing enough.
"We have to get going." Ada offered her shoulder for support.
Piers wasn't in any condition to refuse. He allowed Ada to take some of his weight and lead the way... wherever.
