A/N: And then, ladies and gentlemen, there was chapter 4..... Sorry about it taking so long but I hope that those of you who were reading it from the start or even those who've recently found it continue to read it and review. I would like to say as I think I did in the first chapter, Saki, Jack and Mitch are characters I made up and therefore belong to me but all others are not. (I wish) And for those of you who were complaining that Leon's not blonde, sorry but I'm not gonna change it. -_- Please just work with me. And Carlos and Claire are NOT going to be a couple… I actually hate Claire but I needed her in this because of her knowledge about Alexia Ashford…. Enjoy.....
'Thoughts'
:Journal entries (they'll mention if its an entry)
Resident Evil: Simply Murder
Chapter 4
"This sucks," Leon murmured, lightly banging his head against the bars of his new cell. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly.
"To be you. Damn straight." Leon looked up, seeing the guard leaning against the wall near the door, a set of keys on his hip. "You better start praying that the pain doesn't last too long." It was the same guy who'd shot Saki.
"What're you talking about?"
"Don't you know? They were looking for you. Mitch mentioned that he wanted to use you in his experiments now." Leon paled.
"W-what?" He was suddenly having a hard time breathing. His head was still throbbing from his blow to the head, the bandage drenched in blood. He gripped the bars tight, leaning his head against them, closing his eyes. "No......"
"Then he's probably going to send you loose after your friends." Leon clenched his eyes shut tighter, fighting off his nausea.
'No! They can't. They won't...... I can't let them. I've come too far.' William Birkin's monster down in the old Umbrella labs flashed through his mind. A memory that he had tried hard to forget. 'I have to get away. I promised Saki.....'
"You can keep denying it, but I don't see what you can do about it, pretty boy." Leon looked up at him, giving him a death glare. Pushing off the bars, he turned, running his hands through his hair in frustration. He stiffened a bit as he heard a small jingle of keys. He looked over seeing that the man was just shifting his weight. "Hm? Oh, what? You want these?" He unhooked the keys, slowly walking forward. He smirked as Leon came closer to the bars. "You are going to die here and there's nothing you can do about --" He hadn't quite kept his distance as Leon grabbed his shirt pulling him forward.
"Give me the keys."
"You wish." He pulled his arm back so that he couldn't reach.
"I'm getting out of here. They are not going to do anything to me. I'll stop them." The guard suddenly felt the keys being taken from his hand.
"Stop what? A miracle." Leon's eyes darted , seeing Mitch with that horrible grin.... and the keys. Growling, he looked back at the guard before slamming the man's head against the bars, effectively knocking him out.
"That's for Saki..." he murmured. Mitch just looked from the guard back to his captive as if nothing happened.
"I heard you had met out first command, Albert Wesker." The said person walked in, sans his usual shades. Leon's blue eyes widened, fear clearly clouding them.
"Y-your eyes!" Wesker grinned, walking over and taking the keys from Mitch. As he unlocked the cell, Leon backed away, obviously stopping once he hit the wall. All he could do was stare into those eyes that he swore would give him nightmares for weeks..... if he had that long. With lightening speed, Wesker's hand came up, grasping onto Leon's neck.
"Guess what, Leon? It's time for your medication." He tried to speak but couldn't, lack of oxygen hitting him hard. He could barely register that Mitch now had his arm, rolling up his sleeve. As he did, he struggled helplessly as Mitch finally inserted the syringe into his vein.
"No....." Birkin's monster flashed through his mind. He suddenly wished it had killed him. As the reality of what was happening hit, tears formed, streaking down his face. "Stop....."
"Got you," Mitch said, trying to suppress his excitement. Wesker dropped him, watching him fall to his knees. Leon immediately doubled over, tears hitting the cement floor.
"So? How long?"
"I don't know. Shouldn't be too long," Mitch said, crouching down. Upon seeing him in his view, Leon shoved him,
"Get away from me!"
"You're in no position to be raising your voice."
"What are you gonna do? Kill me? Go ahead! Finish the job...." He looked down at his arm seeing thin streams of blood. "Oh, God....." Mitch stood, dusting himself off.
"It will consume him soon. Though what it will do, I'm not sure. I'm not exactly sure about the changes I've made. I hope its improved."
"Oh? Changing Birkin's work, eh?" Mitch turned toward him, slamming his hands in his lab coat pockets.
"Damn straight! I need some credit in this. Now if I did this right he shouldn't really change. It's more like enhancing. Birkin made it so that those infected would become dead, zombie-like beings with a sort of intent to feed. To kill. I'm hoping that I can make some sort of super army with this 'virus' if that's what you want to call it. They should have heightened senses, strength, and above all: no will of their own. They will listen to their....," he placed his hands on his chest, indicating himself, ".....master."
"Kill me....." Mitch spun, looking down at the boy.
"Hell, no! You've just become my most precious possession and I intend on taking good care of you." Still kneeling, Leon hugged his stomach, groaning in pain, his head drooping. Wesker crouched down next to him, grabbing his shoulder when Leon caught him off guard, swinging his arm. His fist landed square in his chest, sending him flying against the wall. Wide eyed, Leon stared at his hand, then grabbed his stomach as another wave of pain surged through.
"Son of a bitch....," Wesker mumbled, getting to his feet. "You won't be able to do that again, little punk." His eyes darted over as Leon starting screaming, grabbing his head. When he looked up he immediately glared at Mitch whose eyes widened.
"Amazing..." Leon stood, stumbling over as Mitch raced out of the cell. He reached the bars, clinging to them for support. His now blood red eyes glazed over in rage.
"I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you," he growled, his voice low and menacing. Mitch watched as Leon's eyes became slit like Wesker's. He then growled, sounding a bit like an animal. A bloodthirsty tiger.
"What was that stuff? Steroids?"
'This is incredible...... I'm going to be rich. To think how many nations are going to want this stuff.' Mitch noticed that Leon wasn't attempting to reach for him anymore. Cautiously, he took a step closer.
"Mitch.... What are you doing?"
"Leon?" He looked up upon hearing his name. "Hmmm... so far so good. I wonder.... Wesker, those photos." Wesker pulled out small security photos from his breast pocket, handing them to the scientist. "Leon, see these people? I want you to go and hunt them down. Search and destroy. Understand?" He looked up from the photos at Mitch before he turned and left the room. "Uhhh... well, that went well. Wesker, I want you to follow him." He sighed.
"Fine. I'd rather have killed Redfield myself but I guess watching is fun too," he said, retreating.
"Now the fun begins." Mitch smiled, looking down at the photo of Chris and the others. He pulled out his lighter, burning it. "Then I'll just have to get rid of you next, Wesker. Traitorous bastard."
---
After hearing a male screaming, the four tried to see where it would lead only ending up with a dead-end. They hoped to catch up to Mitch and the others but found them long gone and now they were wandering aimlessly down the long, empty halls.
"That scream before..... it was Leon. I know it," Saki whispered, biting her lower lip.
"He'll be fine. We'll find him."
'And what if he isn't, Chris? Then what? Find him dead? I'll kill myself if anything happens to him..... I... what's wrong with me.... Come on, Saki. You just met him....' She thought back to when he'd tried to calm her down in the aquarium hallway. 'He is really sweet. And cute.... Ack! What the hell am I thinking?! I might never see him again.... I could've saved him.... but that stupid man with his tranqs.'
"Hey, Chris, look what I found," Carlos said, pushing open a door. The office was dark but neat so there wasn't anything to trip over. Flipping the light switch, Carlos holstered his gun, walking up and searching the desk for anything useful.
"Anything?" Claire asked. She walked up next to him, reading the gold plaque. "Mitch Wagner."
"Well, well, looks like that disk might be here. Carlos, you and Claire will stay here and search. Saki and I will continue looking for Leon. Stay here. We'll be back."
"Got it, bro."
"Roger."
"Ready to go? ....Saki?" He looked over, finding her missing. Racing out into the hallway, he found her leaning against the wall near the door. "Saki..... don't do that. You scared me. You okay?" She nodded. "Okay, then let's go."
"About time. If anything happens---"
"Grown attached, haven't we?" She stopped talking, turning red.
"Well, yeah, I guess I have. He saved me..... a few times... He's so sweet and really cute." He laughed, feeling good about having a bit of a 'normal' conversation.
"Yeah, he's nice. Determined and too young to be mixed up in something like this. Like you and my sister. But I guess as much as I don't want admit it, you both have to fight now. Getting killed is the only other option. Life isn't going to be normal for you anymore."
"Who said it was normal to begin with."
"Oh, yeah?" She laughed a bit.
"Never mind." He laughed a bit himself, pausing when Saki suddenly stopped short.
"Saki?"
"Doesn't it feel like we're being watched?" She scanned the hall a bit as she spoke.
"Being watched?" She nodded. "A little. Hurry up." They started jogging down the rest of the hall, unaware of the pair of red eyes watching from the shadows. Red orbs gleaming, thirsting to spill blood. The figure then followed, hot on their trail.
---
"There has to be something here? Anything on the computer?"
"Nothing really yet. It's just been a few journal entries so far," Claire answered. "Hey, listen to this one:
I finally finished it. After spending weeks tampering with Birkin's work, I'm finally done. Too bad there's no way to test it. Jack doesn't want me to use any marine life saying that it might escape or something. Maybe I should test it on him. He's so --- so ---- Ugh! I hate that goody-two shoed bastard. He ruins everything. If he wasn't so damn useful I'd have killed him a long time ago. However, I just heard that the clean-up crew had brought in someone from Raccoon who'd arrived about an hour into their work. This is perfect. Jack isn't going to stop me this time. He's just the damn programmer! I shouldn't have to listen to him."
"Sounds like he's talking about Saki," Carlos cut in.
"Yeah, well, that's about it. Oh, wait!" There was a bit of clicking till a file saying 'G-Tyrant Virus' came up. "Bingo."
"Alright, Claire," he came up, looking over her shoulder.
"I know. You love me. Now let's see what we have here."
---
Entering a small study, Chris closed the door behind them. Looking around, there was a small desk, some shelves loaded with books on chemistry and marine life, and a side table which held a small lamp, its soft light illuminating the room. Also on the desk was another lamp along with some books and loose papers.
"There's no other way out of here," Saki said, walking in further. "I hope nothing was following us."
"Yeah...." A sudden knocking caught their attention. Chris motioned for Saki to stay quiet.
"Chris..... Are you in there?" Their eyes widened as they exchanged shocked glances.
"L-Leon?" He opened the door, catching Leon as he fell in. His sweater was gone, leaving him with a slightly torn, tight black T-shirt. Numerous marks were on his arms and chest, blood dripping. "Leon! Hey, what happened? Who did this to you?" He looked up, letting Chris see his eyes for the first time, a small grin on his face. Chris let go, backing up near Saki.
"I did." He leaned down, pulling a dagger from his ankle sheath. "It's the only way to be sure I'm alive anymore." He unconsciously traced the dragon design on the handle.
"Leon.... what... Mitch did this to you, didn't he?!" He looked up at her, seeing her eyes clouded in fury and sorrow.
"Master told me to kill you," he watched as
they tensed. Putting his hand behind his back, he locked the door, then with a
deadly gaze, he slowly began to walk toward them. "Time to say good-bye."
"Leon, no!" Saki screamed as he dove at Chris, dagger raised. Knocking the
weapon loose, hearing it clang to the floor, Chris was slammed down with Leon
on top. Grasping his throat, Leon slammed Chris' head against the floor,
choking him. Racing over, Saki grabbed his arm, almost getting slapped away. She'd
managed to dodge the second blow but the third nailed her in the stomach
sending her crashing against the desk. Getting up and walking over, he picked
her up by the front of her shirt, lifting her clear off the ground.
"Hello, Saki."
"Leon....... please...... don't do this...."
"Now where's the fun if I don't?" With that, he threw her into the bookshelf. She landed hard, books falling on top of her. Out of the corner of his eye, Leon saw Chris try to jump him so he turned, landing a swift kick to the side of his head. Chris slammed into the desk, grasping his skull in pain.
"Leon....." He looked over seeing Saki get to her feet. She stumbled, leaning against the mostly filled bookshelf for support. He waltzed up, giving her a feral grin. Then he suddenly glared, becoming more serious. He pressed his hands on either side of her head, trapping her.
"Yes, Saki?" he whispered, his hot breath on her neck. He grinned as she shivered.
"W-what happened to you? Why are you doing this?" He seemed to pause as if he was thinking.
"I guess I just enjoy giving you pain....."
"No..... you're not Leon...." He tilted his head, amused.
"Well, then, who am I?"
"A monster...." His eyes narrowed, telling her she had just made a big mistake.
"Monster, huh?" Her eyes widen in fear.
"Leon, please no." He suddenly backhanded her, sending her to crash into a small table, the lamp hitting the floor.
"I'm not Leon, remember," he spat bitterly. Chris got to his feet, blood dripping from the small wound he now had by his right eye. He charged, swinging his right fist only to have it caught. While Leon began crushing it, he drew his Glock 17, bashing it over the boy's head. Having already been hit there, he didn't take it well. "Bastard! That hurt!"
"Oh, and this didn't," Chris snapped back, examining his hand. Leon began to stumble a bit, the loss of blood catching him once more.
"You promised......." Leon, through his daze, snapped his head over, seeing Saki. She was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, looking up slightly. Her clothes were slightly torn from the beatings and glass and blood dripped down from her lower lip. Her bright red eyes were now clouded over, her body trembling. "You promised you wouldn't leave me. Now you've gone leaving the Leon from Hell in your wake. Pain? You've caused enough by leaving alone." For a moment, he just stood there, staring at her trembling form. "Kaze ga fuku tabi. Namida sae tobashite kureru." Leon shook his head, blinking repeatedly in confusion.
"W-what?"
"'When the wind blows, it blows away even my tears'," she translated, looking over at him. Leon suddenly shook his head again, rubbing his temple. He then clenched his eyes shut, breathing hard.
"Leon?" Chris edged forward. He calmed.
"Chris? Saki?" His voice was soft and quiet. He suddenly seemed exhausted, leaning against the wall. Saki was on her feet, ignoring pain, getting to Leon's side.
"Leon? Is that you?"
"Help me...."
"He's back!" Saki exclaimed. Chris bit his bottom lip.
"For now. No telling what'll happen. He better not hit me again," he mumbled.
"Kill me...... please....."
"What!?" Saki shrieked. He looked up at her, his still red eyes making her shiver.
"I-I'm infected. Mitch injected me with the G-Virus..... What happened? Why am I bleeding?"
"G-Virus......"
"No! You can't give up!"
"Saki! I'm the walking dead. It's too late."
"No..... don't say that."
"I'm sorry..... Chris, do something before I lose it again." Chris was speechless.
'I can't kill Leon. There has to be another way.'
"Chris....." He jolted, being pulled from his thoughts.
"Leon....---" The door suddenly crashed open, revealing Wesker in the doorway. All eyes turned as he raised a gun, smirking.
"I guess its true: If you want something done right you have to do it yourself." He pulled the trigger. Leon pushed Saki, the bullet just grazing his and Chris' head.
"Leon, move. I'll handle this." The blonde grinned, suddenly finding a bit of strength.
"No. You're not the only one who has a score to settle with him."
"You're suppose to be killing them. That's what you were told to do. Am I going to have to teach you to behave?" Leon's grin became a smirk.
"You could try...."
"Oh, I see.... well, don't think I don't have any tricks up my sleeve. Shall we?"
"Shall we what? Die? If you insist." Before Wesker could blink, Leon was in front of him, landing two punches across his face and in his gut before nailing a kick to his chest that sent him into the wide hall. Leon let out a short laugh, following him. As he got up, Wesker was kicked in the head, sending him further down the hall. Chris and Saki raced out just in time to witness Wesker slide down the hallway.
"Son of a bitch....... little punk...." Wesker continued as he got to his feet. He froze as he realized he was now staring face-to-face with the former blue-eyed ex-cop.
"You say something?"
"Yeah....." He gave a swift chop to his neck. " Good night." Leon's hand flew to his neck, his bangs hiding his eyes. He chuckled, slamming his fist into Wesker's gut. In turn, his arm flew up, knocking Leon in the jaw. He landed, doing a back flip, ending up kneeling. "Hmm..... You've improved. Impressive for it being such a short time. But still not enough." He drew a combat knife, about to slash the blonde's face when a shot rang out, the dagger clanging to the floor. Saki slid over, sweeping her leg across, tripping Wesker who landed on his back.
"We're still here, you son of a bitch," Chris growled, waltzing up near Leon who was still kneeling.
"You okay?" He stood, Saki following suit.
"Yeah....." Pressing off the ground, Wesker jumped to his feet. Slamming his foot down on the dagger. it flipped up. Catching it by the blade, he threw it, Leon moving his head and hearing a sharp thud followed by Chris' scream.
"Ahh! God dammit!!" Chris grabbed the handle, pulling it out of his left shoulder. Wesker gave them a small grin.
"I'll be back." He looked at Chris. "Don't worry, Redfield, you'll live. You always manage to." With that, he left, his laugh echoing threw the dim hall. At hearing the dagger clang to the floor, Leon turned on his heel, hurrying over to his injured friend. Taking off his shirt, Leon tore it into strips, making sure his blood wasn't on any of the ones he used for Chris' wound.
"I'm gonna kill that bastard," he murmured. He suddenly flinched, turning to see Saki with his blood on her fingers. "No. Saki, don't do that."
"Why?"
"I don' want you to get infected. You--"
"I don't care," she interjected.
"What?"
"You don't care if you die so why should I?" She stared at the blood stained on her hand.
"Saki..." He reached for her hand only to have her pull away.
"No! Don't start lecturing me! I...." She started crying, letting go of tears she'd held in for some time. "I love you. I don't want anything to happen to you, Leon!" He just stared speechless, his red eyes transfixed on her small form that was shaking from her sobs.
"Saki...." She looked up, tears streaking down.
"H-hai?" She gasped as a pairs of arms pulled her to his bare chest. Sniffling, she rested her head on its side and began tracing his faint muscle line causing him to shiver slightly.
"I'm sorry." He pulled away, cleaning her hand of the blood with a piece of his shirt. "There."
"Leon? You okay," Chris whispered.
"Yeah. Saki?"
"I meant what I said."
"I know. But I don't see how we can fix this. I---" He was cut short as Saki leaned up, capturing his lips with hers. Alarmed, he pulled away. "No, Saki! I love you but I don't want to chance giving you the virus!"
"Y-you love me?" He blushed a bit, realizing what he'd just blurted out.
"Well, yeah. A guy would have to be blind not to fall for a cute girl like you." She smiled, laughing a bit as she wiped her tears away.
"See, Chris? I told you he was sweet."
"Yeah and I hate to break this up but we should get going and meet up with the others." Saki blushed.
"Gomen nasai.....," she murmured. 'Way to kill a moment, Chris.'
"Where are they?"
"We found Mitch's office so they're searching it. We should get going. You are coming with, right, Leon?" He shot a glance at Saki before answering.
"Yes."
---
"They've been gone awhile, Claire. Come on. Let's go."
"Hold on. I have to finish this."
"What are you doing?"
"I'm transferring all the files to a disk and clearing his computer."
"Sweet." Carlos opened the door a bit, scanning the hall. "Well, I hate to rush you but I don't want to chance running into anything." She laughed a bit, remembering the Hunters.
"I know, Carlos. I understand."
"How much longer?"
"Calm down. I'm almost d---"
"Claire?" He looked over, seeing her staring at the screen confused. "What's up? Claire?"
"Huh?"
"What's that matter?"
"I just found this." She tapped on the screen. "It's another report."
"So?"
"It says they found something that's tied with Alexia Ashford's work..." she trailed off as she continued to read.
A short while ago our now first command, Albert Wesker, came to us with a find. It appeared that Alexia Ashford had finally risen. And here I thought she was some sort of myth thought up by that crazed man Alfred. But it turns out Alexander made twins. I wonder what ever happened to him. I haven't heard from him in ages. Oh, well...
Anyway, she'd been testing with the virus and from what I heard from Albert it was successful. However, the compound was destroyed. Chris Redfield was there, according to Wesker, and he'd activated the self-destruct sequence....---"
"Claire, hurry up."
"Yeah. I'm saving this too." After some typing, a disk popped out of the drive. Claire, in turn, took it and put in her side pack. "Let's go. Now all he's got on this thing are those crazy journals and Solitaire." Carlos raised an eyebrow at the said card game, then shrugged.
"O-kay." They left, entering the empty hall. "So.... you knew this Alexia?"
"Remember when Chris told you guys about his trip to Rockfort Island to come rescue me? She was one of the ones who were behind all the stuff that was going on."
"Yeah, I remember Chris telling us. Wasn't there a brother?"
"Yeah, she had a twin brother named Alfred. He was obsessed with his sister because he hadn't seen her in ten years. She was in a compound located in Antarctica, sleeping, waiting for her experiment to finish. She'd given herself her own virus and wanted it to produce slowly so it wouldn't kill her. Anyway, back on Rockfort Island, Alfred would dress up as her and he even imitated her voice. I actually thought it was her until I had seen the dress and wig. That and the fact that even though he wasn't dressed like her he still used her voice."
"Sounds like he needed a girlfriend." Claire laughed.
"Oh, yeah. Hey, did you hear from Chris that Alfred's grandfather helped organize Umbrella?"
"No. That son of a bitch's grandpa started this."
"Yeah. Sucks---" They came upon a room that appeared to have been a small library or study. The door was off its hinges, splinters scattered across the floor, and random books knocked off the shelves. "--doesn't it..."
"What the hell happened here?" Claire took a step only to jump and draw back at the sound of a small crack. Looking down, she found a pair of black shades.
"I don't know what happened.....," she picked them up, glaring at them, "...but I know who happened."
---
"Where are we going?"
"Honestly. I don't know."
"Chris!" the two exclaimed.
"What? Calm down. We--" Shots could be heard from behind. Looking back, the three spotted Claire and Carlos running toward them being followed by more T-virus creatures. These looked like what used to be a flock of penguins. Decayed muscles, some missing eyes or pieces of their beaks, and the smell they gave off was nauseating.
"What are you guys doing?! Run!"
"You, two. Go!" Chris yelled, firing upon the creatures. Leon and Saki broke into a run, the others following and keeping the monsters at bay.
"Oh, no!"
"Dead end! Dammit!"
"No, look, there's a door!" Carlos exclaimed.
"But it's locked!" The door had a small window that didn't show much and an 'X' right below it.
"Watch out," Leon said, moving Saki aside. He kick it, the solid door falling in. "After you."
"Hurry! Get inside!" One of the penguins slid up only to lose it's head, blood and whatever was left of it's brain splattered. The five rushed in, Leon and Carlos lifting and replacing the door behind them.
"Phew! That was close."
"Poor penguins......"
"Hey, Claire, want keep one as a pet?"
"Shut up, Carlos!"
"Okay, that's enough. Is everyone okay?"
"Define 'okay', Chris," Saki murmured.
"Hey, Leon, what happened to you? Where's your shirt?" Carlos then looked from Leon to Saki. "Ooohh.. Did Chris interrupt something?" he asked, smirking evilly. Saki blushed and Claire turned red, glaring at Carlos for the comment, being that she seemed to have her own crush on the ex-cop. She then looked at Leon.
"Oh, my God! Your eyes!" Leon frowned a bit, changing the subject.
"Where are we?"
"Away from the killer penguins."
"Poor penguins...."
"You're killin' me, Claire."
"Shut up, Carlos." Chris sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. The room wasn't that big and it was dark. There were a few tables with lab equipment and in the back was what appeared to be a cryogenic sleeping chamber.
"Wow... what the hell is this?" Saki walked over, wiping the glass covering to see through.
"It's a person." Chris peered through, eyes widening.
"Claire...."
"What is it?"
"Isn't that...?" She looked in.
"No, it can't be......"
---
TBC...
Index:
The line Saki says is from Chiho's song for Dragonball Z 'Okeari, my Boy' - 'Welcome home, my Boy' Its suppose to be a song from Bulma to her son, Trunks. I love that song so much! It's so sweet. I just had to use a line from it.... by the way, I don't own that either.... ^_^
Hai - yes
Gomen nasai - I'm sorry
A/N: Cliffhanger! Who could it be? Anyway, sorry again for it taking so long. I had a few projects and work so it was a little difficult but the next one is half way done so it shouldn't be as long to get up..... heheh... yeah... REVIEW! I love reviews! They make me want to keep writing otherwise I find it pointless and stop. If no one likes it then why continue, right? Anyway, next chapter will be up sooner then this one.... If anyone has any questions please check my bio for my e-mail and put FANFICTION in the subject cuz I might erase it by accident. (Oops) You can also check me out on DeviantART.com under 'Blue-eyed-Demon' Arigato gonzimasu! ^_^
Ja ne,
Hotaru Sasaki