Author's note: Hmm? I'm still alive? That's odd. Sorry it took me eons to update, I was busy.

Hotaru: Yes, Claire is such a whore.

SniperR: Well, sometimes people just can't hold back.

TommyK: Sure.

Evil: Won't argue there. I'm no fan of Chris, I just needed Leon to die. But on a side note, Chris had military training, whereas Leon did get training from the government. Unfortunately, also from personal experience, no matter how good a striker or grappler you are, you have to be into a certain mindset when you enter a confrontation. If you weren't, then you wouldn't know that a grappler can easily beat a striker and a striker could easily beat a grappler. That's all I'll say since it will ruin some points in the later part of the story.

Recap: Leon and Chris fight, leaving the former dead and the latter gravely wounded. Claire, after an interrogation, and an escort back to her apartment, snaps and fatally wounds officer Kevin Ryman, and then disappears. Detective Aya Brea, a close personal friend of Officer Ryman, is then called by the hospital to tell him of what happened to the lawman. At the same time, the police commissioner gets a call from a secret hospital that Chris Redfield has finally woken up, and may finally get to explain what just happened…

Chapter 5: "Eyes"

Her lips felt dry, gasping, longing for something to help soothe the swirling emotions within her. Aya stared at the motionless body blanketed in white, getting carted away by a young male nurse. The sound of the wheels seemed to grind into her mind, like nails tearing through some rough surface. She let out a silent gasp of air as her eyes followed them down a corridor, getting reminded of how the body underneath, just moments ago, had friends, loves, family. Aya then turned to the opposite end of the corridor, to find a middle-aged woman, her heart over her chest, watching the body disappear into a corner. Her eyes were red, like she was desperately trying to hold back breaking. "…" Aya's eyes connected to the woman's, silent, unbearable. A door by the woman was half open, and even in some distance, Aya could hear the soft whimpering of the people inside. "…"

"…Sometimes…these things just happen." Nurse Madison said as she approached Aya from behind, breaking off her gaze with the woman in the hall. "…" Aya, still silent, turned to see the small woman, her face a sad smile. She reminded Aya of her mother, always comforting. "…What exactly happened? Wasn't he already stable" asked Aya, her voice a hoarse whisper. "It was an embolism." Responded the nurse.

"…a what?"

"Sometimes…sometimes, when wounds leave punctures deep inside the body, even if we do manage to saw it up together again, there may be small…openings. Sometimes, when the puncture is in the lung, air could still escape from the opening…and enter the blood stream."

"…" Aya nodded, signaling for the nurse to continue.

"…Air, fills you up. And you suffocate from it."

"…"

"I'm sorry you had to go through that."

"…"

"…You know, sometimes, it's better to not be brave." Madison placed a hand on Aya's shoulder and smiled, before resuming her rotation. "…" Aya took a deep breath and looked at the end of the corridor. The woman was gone.

"It's good to see you again, Chris." Whispered the commissioner, his hands deep in the pockets of his trench coat. "I'm sorry we couldn't give you better accommodations." He then added, looking around at the Spartan hospital room that looked more like a prison cell, with dim lights, and only the barest of necessities.

"…I never thought I'd actually have to use one of these." Chris responded weakly. His eyes were still closed, his jaw barely moved as he spoke. What was left of his booming voice was now just a raspy murmur. The white bed sheet covered him to his collar, making the commissioner wonder what scars were glaring underneath. "The public isn't ready to know that one of the undersecretaries of defense nearly got killed, especially now that Mr. President seems to transfixed on waging war with everybody." Responded the commissioner.

"…How are you doing?"

"Fine. Fine, thank you."

"It's been a long time." Chris forced a smile.

"Yeah. Since Umbrella."

"Looks like I owe you another one."

"…Who's keeping count?"

"…" Chris managed to let out a small smile.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

With loud cries, both men jumped for the gun. "No!" Chris got it first, then immediately fell back to avoid colliding with the other man. He then got up, aiming the gun at the younger man, pulling the trigger as fast as he could. A shot went right through Leon's rib cage, but he resisted the pain, even though it seemed to grow tentacles and stretch forever into every nerve and artery in his system. Leon reached out, and grabbed Chris' neck, trying to isolate the windpipe. The pain however, made it almost impossible for him to concentrate enough on getting the job done, at least before Chris could get a fatal shot through. "Break…break…"Leon thought, bracing the pain, as he let go of Chris neck. A second later, he let out all his strength, and struck Chris on the face with the bottom of his palm. He missed his mark, hitting Chris on the lips instead of the nose. If it did connect, the nasal bridge would have been broken and then get pushed straight to the brain, resulting in what could only be described as a quick death.

"Chris?" the commissioner stepped closer, noticing the bedridden man'snose suddenly twitch.

"…"

"I'm sure that you wouldn't want the president's men coming here and beating the answers out of you. He does owe Mr. Kennedy quite a bit." The commissioner continued, referring to the deceased's suicidal mission to save the president's daughter. "I'm sure it would be much easier if you told me everything, and I'd relay the message for you. Save you the grief."

"Fuck you!" Chris managed to blurt out through gritted teeth, feeling blood begin to trickle from his mouth. He staggered back from the blow, blindly shooting straight ahead, only to end up hitting the far wall. It was easy enough for Leon to avoid the gunfire, though every step seems to be killing him even more, primarily from the blood loss. Even before he set foot on the compound, even before he got emotional, he already felt something wrong with him. As if he needed to keep his heart under lock and key, because there was something lurking in him and taking away his inhibitions one by one. He may have been drunk. Leon grabbed a silver letter opener from the desk with his right hand, and held it with the point facing downward. At that moment, he was to the right of Chris, and as the older man turned to aim the gun to his side, Leon let out a strong slash with his newfound weapon. It sliced violently across Chris elbow, making him lose his aim, but not the grip on his gun. The temporary setback for Chris gave Leon enough time to plunge the letter opener into his opponent's chest.

"Maybe he lost his mind." Chris suddenly responded, staring at the ceiling.

"You're kidding."

"…He just…came at me. Shouting…"

"…about what?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"He didn't make any sense."

"…" The commissioner took out his hands from his pockets and adjusted his belt buckle.

"I don't even remember much of what happened. It was such a blur…like a hammer across my skull."

Leon drowned out the painful scream of the older man, just as he attempted to drown out the pain that was slowly lulling him to darkness. "Groggy…groggy…can't…" Chris slugged the younger man straight on the face with his left fist, making sure that his endurance won't give out just because of a stab wound. Leon reeled to his left from the force of the blow, but instead of coming straight back at Chris, he made a full turn, and smacked his left heel on Chris' temple. The force sent him flying across the table, falling awkwardly over his leather chair. The move also made Leon lose balance, falling on his stomach right after his full turn. "Deep breaths…deep breaths…" the young man silently urged his body, as he felt his strength waver. That was when a small glint of hope shone in the corner of Leon's eye. Chris dropped the gun, and it was laid gingerly beside Leon's feet. "…gun…gun…get…gun…" He could hear the older man start to move back from the other side of the table. "Reach…for…Claire…I love you so much." With a loud cry, he grabbed the gun and nearly jumped up, just as Chris was still leaning on the edge of the table. Before the older man could even react, Leon let out a volley of blind shots, sending bullets that tore through Chris' collarbone, shoulder and ear. Only Leon's war cry drowned out the loud drums of gunfire.

"Part of you're ear is missing. Shouldn't something like that at least bring back memories?" the commissioner asked, hesitant to let Chris know exactly how suspicious he was of the entire situation.

"…I remember him shooting. Everywhere. Shooting."

"I'm sure ballistics won't disagree with you there."

Chris screamed in utter agony, something uncharacteristic, as he fell back, pulling the top drawer down with him. "Finish this!" Leon screamed internally as he let the adrenaline course through his blood. He jumped up the table, ignoring the blinding pain from the hole in his ribcage, and looking to finish the game. "Checkmate!" Chris gritted his teeth as he shot his arm up, pointing a brand new Smith and Wesson revolver at straight at Leon. Time pulled to a stop for Leon as he noticed the gun. It came from a small case that splattered to the floor along with a plethora of papers that was hidden in the drawer that Chris pulled out. With a sadistic grin, Chris opened fire, hitting Leon right through the stomach. Before the pain could even register to Leon's senses, another shot tore through his chest, and then another, and another. Crying out in pain, he blindly opened fire in one sweep of his arm as reprisal, lodging a bullet into Chris' abdomen. "Not enough…!" the older man thought as he resumed fire, now clutching his bleeding torso. The last two shots from Chris' gun came out just seconds after the other, one that went under Leon's arm, while the other hit him right through the neck.

"So you're trying to say that…it was diminished capacity. Leon."

"…I've known him for so long… I don't know why he would do something like this." Chris responded, his face a medley of confusion and anger. The commissioner could see the strain it took for the younger man to just talk. "What about Claire? Does she know?" Chris asked, his voice now riddled with concern.

"…Yes."

"…my God." Chris closed his eyes, looking like he forced back the flow of tears.

"We're still taking control of the situation. Making sure her grief won't cause us any trouble."

"…Keep an eye over her. You know how she can be."

"Yes. Yes I do."

"…Leon was like a brother to me."

The younger man's body twisted back in recoil. "…" His eyes opened wide, staring brightly at the ruined chandelier over them, and with one last gasp, he crumpled on top of the table, soaking it in his crimson. "…" Chris dropped the gun and fell back, blocking out the pain that stabbed across him. Between all the smoke of gunfire, the splattered blood and ruined history, Chris could do nothing but smile. He could hear that sound of the front doors opening, and the thud of loud footsteps that seemed to sense if something was wrong. "…Just in time." Chris thought, as he took one deep breath, and surrendered to the darkness.

"…I guess you need to rest. I'll come back some other time."

"…Take care of her for me. She's the only family I have left." Chris beseeched just as the commissioner was about to turn away. The commissioner tilted his head up for a moment, then bowed his head down, scratching the bridge of his nose with his index finger. "…"

"I was wondering by the way…" the commissioner started, still half-turned, not sure whether to face Chris or the door. "…"

"…Leon was…if indeed, Leon was under the influence of…something…"

"…"

"…and given you're background…shouldn't you have been capable of incapacitating Leon without taking his life?" The commissioner glanced at Chris, who's face stiffened at the sudden implicit accusation. "…I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time." The elder man then said, picking up his hat from a small chair by the door before walking out. "…"

Author's note: Hope you all enjoyed that. Drop me a line and tell me what you think. Till next time.