Hello, dear readers!

Today I finished part II, so in order to celebrate, there's a extra update!

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51. Leon

Leon wasn't sure of what had happened. The unknown girl had attacked him, and despite her frail appearance, Leon had felt the impact as she had been a person as large as Chris. If it hadn't been for Claire's intervention, the situation would have turned grim.

The agent could not see Claire in the dark, but he could hear the sound of the struggle. He tried to find her with the light of his phone, but it was then that he noticed the intense pain in his arms and neck. The girl had managed to scratch him so that he could feel the blood starting to damp his clothes.

However, there was no time for him to think of his wounds. He was worried about Claire. The little visibility gave him a hard time, and between that and the monsters that he had to fend off, finding Claire was not an easy task.

Suddenly, something happened. All the monsters froze, and without any reason, they dropped to the ground, dead.

"Now that's odd," Leon gasped, "Claire?"

Leon looked around, searching for Claire, and suddenly, the lights of the courtyard flickered on, revealing the gruesome scene. Blood splattered all over the place, corpses - from both humans and monsters- lying on the ground. Leon felt a knot in his throat. He knew these people; they were coworkers and colleagues who had joined the party to share a warm time among friends.

Some minutes earlier, they had been laughing and wishing each other happy holidays, but now they were cold and lifeless. The agent searched his surroundings and found the body of the girl in white. She laid, spread on the ground. Her gray eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. Her white dress was now dark crimson, and a large hole in her chest seemed to be the cause of her demise. Claire was nowhere to be seen.

Leon searched the surroundings in desperation until he found her. Claire was unconscious on the ground. Her arms were scratched, the dress ragged, and her hands bloody, but at first sight, she seemed unharmed.

"Claire," Leon mumbled, rushing to the woman.

He lifted her and began patting her cheek gently.

"Claire...hey, wake up," he whispered, "come on, wake up."

It took some minutes, but the woman finally began to regain consciousness. Claire's cerulean eyes stared at him, seeming lost and confused.

Leon was about to ask her how she felt when he heard the sound of footsteps and voices. Looking at Claire's dress, the agent took off his jacket and threw it over her shoulders as he helped her on her feet. The woman was cold as ice, and her uncharacteristic silence made Leon worry, but he had little time to coax some words out of her. Chris and some BSAA soldiers entered the courtyard, pointing their guns at them.

The eldest Redfield seemed relieved to see his sister and his unofficial brother-in-law safe.

"Leon!" Chris shouted, putting down his machine gun, "Are you two okay?"

"Chris," Leon answered. He looked at Claire. The woman locked eyes with him and shook her head. "We are alright, more or less, just a little shaken."

"Yeah, I am not surprised," Chris said. His gaze fell on Claire with relief, "I am glad you two made it. The scene didn't look that good when we arrived, and I was starting to fear the worst."

Leon scoffed. Had he been in Chris's place, he would have feared the same. The scene wasn't an optimistic one.

"The B.O.W.s..."

"Dead," Chris said.

"Dead?" Leon asked, looking at Chris in shock.

Chris looked around and pointed at something nearby with his gun. Leon saw the nasty lizard-like monsters lying on the ground. Under the light, the beings looked worse than Leon had imagined.

"The area was mostly clear when we came through," Jill said, "both human and non-human."

"How?"

"Don't ask me, "Chris sighed, "but we'll find out. My men are scouting the whole area for clues and survivors if there are any."

It was wishful thinking, but Leon hoped that someone beside them had survived.

"The medical team is here. You and Clara should go and get checked. You are bleeding, Leon."

"It is nothing serious."

"Yeah, you might be used to hits, but I'll prefer it if you don't die. Don't worry. We'll take it from here- You take care of Clara. "

Chris placed his hand on Leon's shoulder, and the agent nodded.

"Okay," Leon replied, surrounding Claire with his arm. The woman twitched but didn't refuse the gesture.

"I'll call you later," Chris said.

"Sure, there is a lot to discuss."

It was a sad view, but the once festive hall had gotten turned into an improvised emergency center. Leon saw many of BSAA and Terra Save medics attending injured people.

At least someone survived.

The medics approached him, and much to his objection, they took Claire and him apart to be examined. Leon was the first to get out of the medical tent.

"Leon!"

Helena ran to meet him, followed closely by Hunnigan. Both women seemed relieved to see him.

"Good lord, are you alright, Leon?" Hunnigan asked.

"I am fine. It's nothing but scratches," Leon replied, pointing at his bandaged neck.

He'd received some dangerous lacerations, courtesy of his attacker's claws. It had aimed at the jugular, but his struggle had made the injuries less accurate.

"Leon," Hunnigan said, "What happened?"

"Christmas present from Mobius, I believe."

"Monsters..." Helena sighed, "We saw them through the cameras..."

"You did? So you were the ones making all that noise," Leon realized.

"Yeah, that was the only thing we could come up with to help you," Helena sighed, "Where's Clara?"

"Getting checked," Leon answered, "but it's taking a little too long."

It had been almost 30 minutes since they had taken Claire into the examination tent.

"They are making sure she is alright," Helena shrugged, "Nothing wrong in taking their time."

"I guess," Leon sighed, "Bad way to crash a party. Where's Sherry?"

"Mercer ordered her to escort the President to safety," Hunnigan replied. "Most of the agents got evacuation orders. A lot of people were hurt, and we still don't know how many deaths."

"Mobius targeted the DSO this time," Leon said, rubbing the bandages around his wrists. "You know what that means..."

"Clara..." Helena said, "shit..."

"What did Hopkins say?" Leon asked.

"Your orders are to go home," Hunnigan replied, "Stay low. Helena will escort you back. I will go back to HQ and...well, start looking into this mess."

"Okay, I'll wait for Clara," Leon sighed, "Helena, can you fetch the car and make sure it hasn't been tampered with while we were not watching. Mobius might have left an additional present under the tree."

"Okay, I'll be back asap."

Leon nodded. Helena and Hunnigan moved away, leaving Leon pacing in front of the tents restlessly. More minutes passed before a medic, a young man named Connor, showed up to talk to him.

"Agent Kennedy, right?" he said, smiling sympathetically. "I am sorry we took so long, but I wanted to make sure Mrs. Kennedy was 100% well."

"Yeah, I appreciate that," Leon replied, "so, how is she?"

"Minor injuries, but she will have some nasty bruises," Connor replied, "Other than dad, physically she's okay. However, the ordeal put her into shock. She will need rest and emotional support to come out of it."

"Shock?" Leon asked.

"I can't say I blame her. Tonight was a hell," the medic sighed, "I kept her for a while just to make sure she was responsive, and we could scratch out any neurological injuries."

"What's wrong with her?"

"As I said, she is in shock. She's not speaking and is more or less catatonic. "

"But she will recover, right?"

"Of course," the medic smiled. "Emotional shock is a natural state after a traumatic event, but with some pampering, I am sure she'll get back to herself."

Connor winked at Leon, and the agent wasn't sure of how to take that suggestion, but at least someone still had a sense of humor despite the grim situation.

"I understand," Leon nodded, "Does that mean I can take her home?"

"Yes. I am not a psychologist, but I believe she will recover faster if she is in a place where she feels safe. I will prescribe some sleeping pills, in case she needs them."

"Ah, thank you."

Leon made a mental note to ask Hiwamura before he considered giving her any, however. Connor smiled and, with a nod of his head, he walked away. Leon waited until the man was far enough before entering the tent where the medic was attending Claire.

Claire was lying on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She was pale, and the usual spark that he loved dearly was gone from her look. For a minute, Leon felt as if he was staring at the same woman he'd found in Wales two months prior.

"Hey," he whispered soothingly, cupping her face gently.

Claire looked at him with teary and tired eyes, and Leon feared for a moment that she was going through an amnesiac episode. She took her time to absorb his presence, and she finally gave him a grim smile.

"Leon?" she mumbled.

"Yeah, it's me," he smiled at her, "how are you feeling?"

Claire pushed herself up and looked at her hands. The medics had cleaned the blood from her, probably to make sure there weren't any unattended injuries, but judging by Claire's expression, Leon could tell the image of the blood in her hands seemed to affect her despite them being clean.

"I...am not sure. My head hurts..." Claire sighed, "Are you okay?"

Claire scanned him carefully, and her gaze fell on the bandages around his neck and arms.

"Yeah, compared to some injuries I've gotten before, this is nothing," Leon replied, "Minor scratches. I guess I owe that to you."

"Me?"

"You took that girl off my back," Leon replied. "It was reckless, but it saved me..."

"The girl..."Claire muttered, "Oh..."

Leon waited to see if Claire wanted to say something, but the woman just sighed.

"What happened after that?"

"Lights came back, courtesy of Helena and Marie, " Leon said, "BSAA arrived on site, but from what Chris told me, all the B.O.W.s were already dead by then."

Claire nodded.

"I killed the alpha," Claire said softly.

Claire looked at her hand. Leon intended to ask more, but the sound of voices outside the tent reminded him that it was not a safe place to talk.

"You must be tired. Come on. The medic said I could take you home."

"Home..." Claire repeated as if the word was something odd. "Yeah, I think I would like that."

Leon helped Claire down the bed. He picked his jacket from the nearby table and put it over Claire's shredded dress.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I hope Saya won't get mad about this."

"I am sure she values your life more than a dress," Leon answered, "Can you walk?"

"Why? Are you planning to pick me up?" Claire asked.

Leon smiled. Claire's face seemed grave, but the tone in her voice was slightly teasing. It was comforting to hear the hint of playfulness in her voice.

"That's not a bad idea," Leon smirked, "Maybe..."

"I am joking," Claire sighed, "I can walk."

Leon smiled. He knew she could, but that didn't stop him from putting his arm around her as they walked out of the tent and headed to the parking lot. Helena was already awaiting them in the car, and she seemed relieved to see Claire.

"God, I never thought I'd feel so relieved to see you," Helena said when Claire and Leon entered the car. "Are you okay?"

Claire smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, sorry about what happened."

"Why are you apologizing? It is not like you called those things here," Helena said as she drove to the main road and headed to the apartment building.

"Maybe I did..." Claire said, staring at her lap, "That Alpha came looking for me after all."

"Alpha?" Helena asked, looking at her through the rear mirror.

Leon, who was sitting by Claire's side, turned to her. The woman's expression had darkened, and he reached out, grabbing her hand.

"You mentioned the Alpha before," Leon said, "What did you mean?"

Claire stared at Leon's hand and took a deep breath.

"The girl," Claire replied after a pause. "She was the alpha..."

"What?" Leon asked.

Claire looked outside the window and pondered for a minute before answering. Leon felt her squeeze his hand nervously. Claire's clasp was uncertain, but he could get her message in the gesture. Claire was hesitant to speak. Leon squeezed her hand back and rubbed it with his thumb. It was a small act, but it was enough for her to know it was alright to talk.

"T-Lyssa α mutation," Claire explained. "It turns the infected into Alpha subjects. Their strength and power vary depending on the type of mutation, but there's one common trait. Alpha subjects can transmit the virus. It is a guess, but seeing as the monster died soon after the Alpha did, it was a T-Veronica variant."

How did Claire know all that? The answer was pretty obvious, but part of him hoped his suspicion was wrong.

"Claire...how do you know that?" Leon asked in a whisper.

Claire looked away from the window and locked eyes with the agent. Her azure eyes had darkened, and there was a hint of torment on her face.

"Claire..." Leon said, "did you remember something?"

"My memories are still fuzzy, but it is coming back," Claire admitted.

"So, you remember what happened during your 8-month gap?" Helena asked.

"Not everything, yet," Claire sighed, "but I remember enough. I need to talk to Adams and Hopkins as soon as possible."

"That can wait until tomorrow, " Leon said, "You already had a hellish night, and you need to rest."

"Resting isn't a priority," Claire sighed, "There will be more of them coming."

"How are you so sure?" Helena asked. "I mean...how do you know there are more?"

"There are more, believe me."

"Do you remember what they did to you?" Leon asked.

"My memories aren't fully back yet," Claire sighed, "I think I can recover them with some effort, but right now, I have a terrible headache."

"Then leave it. We don't need the info right now," Leon said, shaking his head.

"So, the strange girl..." Helena started.

"She was infected, like me. A successful α-mutation will create individuals with improved skills without causing significant variations to their phenotype. The lesser the variation, the better."

"In other words, the more human these beings are, the better," Leon said. He was careful not to use B.O.W in the sentence. Using the word would have intrinsically included Claire in the group.

"If there are no visible mutations," Claire nodded, "It means the gene inserted itself well in the genome, and the subject has incorporated it as an adaptive mutation."

"So the body will see it as an advantage and keep the gene," Leon said.

"Exactly," Claire sighed.

"How does that work?"

"There are two virus strains. Remember I told you that before, right?" Claire said, "The non-infectious virus, the one I thought was just a layout, is the T-Morpheus. It is a retrovirus that causes no infection, but it locates and marks certain sections in the genome with biomarkers. I don't know, for sure, how that works, but those biomarkers serve as a lead for the T- Lyssa, and the virus inserts the foreign DNA in that section. The rest of the story is pretty much how I already explained it before..."

"So the T-Morpheus introduces viral DNA from other viruses, and the T-Lyssa inserts the α-gene?" Leon asked.

"Yeah," Claire nodded, "You're getting good at this."

"Only because you've been teaching me," Leon replied, "This is big news. So the girl that attacked me..."

"Went through that cycle," Claire nodded, "T-Morpheus inserts viral DNA, then T-Lyssa introduces the α-gene. There are several stages, sometimes with multiple virions. I don't remember that part well."

"What happens if that doesn't work?" Helena asked, "I mean, that's pretty much luck. You hope that the first virus will choose the right place, but what if it doesn't?"

"Abominations," Claire replied, "Failed ones. Like the ones that attacked us back in Germany or the mall."

"What about the ones that attacked us today?"

"Those were implanted by the Alpha. It's a secondary infection, so the process is different."

"Implanted? So, these alphas are infected people that can technically create and control an army of B.O.W.s?" Helena said with shock.

"That's not new," Claire sighed. "Plagas had a similar effect. Type-2 Plagas can easily get passed from a spreader to multiple infectees, and type-4 Dominant type was capable of giving control over some B.O.W.s like Lickers."

Leon remembered that. He'd seen humans control Lickers once, on a mission in the East Slav Republic. Those were not good memories, but it proved Claire's point.

"I need to report my memories to BSAA and DSO soon. There's no saying when a new alpha will attack."

"You might be right, but you are in no shape for a conference," Leon said firmly, "As I said, rest first. We will talk about that tomorrow."

Claire let out a sigh, and Leon saw her pinch the bridge of her nose as if she had a bad migraine. The rest of the trip back to the apartment was silent. Each of the passengers was busy with their thoughts.

Leon paced around his bedroom, unable to sleep. The mix of adrenaline and worry prevented him from getting the much-needed rest. Part of him had hoped to receive a call from Chris as soon as he had reached the apartment complex, but being reasonable, he was sure that Chris would call in a more godly hour.

Leon stared at his reflection in the mirror. Bandages covered his neck, arms, and part of his torso. He had not lied to Claire, the injuries were barely deep scratches, but they still hurt. He was still stunned that a small girl could do so much harm, and he couldn't help but wonder what worse things were in Mobius's arsenal.

His thoughts got interrupted by a shy knock on his door. Claire pushed the door open and peeked her head into the room shyly. Even though they had cleared up their relationship status quite a while ago and that Leon had told her that she could walk around the apartment as she pleased, he noticed that Claire still acted as a polite guest.

"Hey," Leon greeted her, fishing his shirt from the closet.

"Hey, I didn't wake you, did I? I saw lights on..."

"Yeah, don't worry. I wasn't asleep."

"It's late though, are those bothering you?" Claire asked, pointing at his injuries. "Those bandages looked like they needed a change."

"Ah, yeah. I was going to do that tomorrow," Leon replied, "They are a little sore..."

Claire sighed.

"Sit down. I'll do it," Claire said, " The injuries might be superficial, but they can still get infected.

Leon snorted and obeyed. He knew how meticulous Claire was when it came to wound dressing. During their time together, post-Raccoon Incident, she had been the one to change and treat his shoulder.

"How are you? You got hurt, as well."

Claire sighed again, and she showed him her bandage-less arm.

"It's all healed up. My wounds must have absorbed some of the Alpha's blood, so I regenerated on the way home."

"That skill sounds handy," Leon said. He groaned when the antiseptic that Claire was using to clean his wounds made them sting.

"Sorry," Claire apologized.

"It's fine. I appreciate your nursing skills, but shouldn't you be resting?"

"Me? I had a mental overload. My neurons are too active for me to sleep,"Claire sighed. "I keep waking up after two minutes of sleeping."

Leon didn't say anything. He already knew that she was talking about her memories' return.

"Nightmares?" he asked.

"Yeah, some. Not like that's new. Nightmares are my eternal doom."

"The medic gave you some sleeping pills if you need them."

"I am okay. I would rather not use sedative-hypnotic drugs if I can help it. There, wounds are clean and dressed up."

"Thanks. You would have made a great medic, you know? You have a good hand."

"Do I? I guess all those years patching up Chris whenever he got into a fight served its purpose," Claire chuckled. "Now, put on a shirt before you catch a cold."

Leon snorted. He picked his shirt and threw it over his head. He then watched Claire put the medical kit back into the drawer, and when she turned to face him again, he seized the opportunity to pull her into a hug.

"Leon, your wounds," Claire said, alarmed.

"They're fine. I feel better this way..."

He saw Claire roll her eyes and shake her head.

"Even in this situation, you are a flirt," the woman said, but she didn't try to break free from his grip.

"Isn't that my trademark?"

"I guess it is."

"I know you are physically well, but what about..."

"Mentally?" Claire finished for him. "I guess it could be better. I am tired. Having those things come back like that was overwhelming."

"Want to talk about it?" he asked soothingly. "I can play the comforting husband's card if you need it."

"Husband's card?"

"I am legally your husband, so why not?"

"I don't have the energy to contradict you," Claire sighed, "Thank you, though. I don't know if I am ready to talk about some of those things, and maybe it is better if you don't know. I'll let you know what matters, some other things. I guess they are better forgotten."

Leon wasn't sure how to take that. He respected Claire's privacy, and he wouldn't force her to share anything that she wasn't willing to, but at the same time, he feared what that would mean for her. Keeping stuff to herself was putting another stone on her shoulders, and Claire already had enough of that.

"I understand," Leon whispered, "but if you feel like it is too much to deal with..."

"You'll be the first I call," she nodded. "I will. Well, it's late, I guess you need to rest, so I'll let you sleep."

Claire made a motion to get up, but Leon stopped her.

"Stay here tonight..." he whispered, taking Claire by surprise.

"What?"

"Sleep here tonight. It's not like we have not shared sleeping quarters before, and I think it might be helpful for both to be accompanied."

Claire pondered the offer, but she eventually nodded, and they both snuggled into bed. The pair spent a couple of hours talking until sleep finally caught on to them.