Ada and Leon ended up in a sewer of all things as they searched for Umbrella and Annette Birkin, who was apparently behind the entire outbreak. Leon filled Ada in as they walked, telling about how Umbrella had been controlling the city for years with their underground labs and sewer tunnels. Honestly, it was all fucking crazy to her. Why would anyone want to create bioweapons in the first place? What did Annette get out of this sick hell?

But then again, she wasn't the only one behind this either. The entire corporation was making these monsters and viruses. And to make things even worse, Leon confirmed that Chief Irons was the one who let all of this happen, if he wasn't personally involved as well. He let them use the sewers and build their fucked up labs while he pretended to care about the city and those living in it.

Fucked up. All of it, but Ada knew whatever started this had to be. Nothing like this just happened without a batshit story.

And to top it all off, Ada had a run in with a giant alligator that was infested with that same fucking virus! Wonderful. Just wonderful. She was really starting to think that Umbrella was just insane at this point, because who would want a literal monster alligator crawling around in their secret sewer tunnels?

It didn't help her mood any that the entire area, as well as Ada now, smelled horrible. A fight in nearly waist high "water" was never good. Her entire lower half was soaked, as well as most of her upper, but there wasn't exactly a shower and change of clothes ready for her, so she dealt with the cold and the smell. At least Leon hadn't said anything about it yet. She could always thank him for that.

"I can't believe that our government is just letting all of this happen." Ada sighed as they waited in the little elevator. "That's who they're selling these bioweapons to, right? Or is it someone else?" She still wasn't so sure who all was involved.

"They don't sell the weapons." Leon clarified. "They sell the viruses that make them, and as scary as that mutant reptile was, the scientists of Umbrella are far worse."

Ada wanted to rub at her head with the headache this was all causing but resisted the urge just to keep some of her hair dry. "And one of them is Annette." She was starting to connect the pieces now. Annette made the viruses -there were several, apparently- and then sold them off to the crazy people who used them. That still didn't tell her who exactly she sold to or who had let loose a virus on Raccoon City.

They landed on another floor and the elevator doors opened. Ada let Leon lead the way, since he seemed to at least kind of know where he was going. At least, she hoped so. He led them down a short hall but as Ada stepped up to open the next door, wanting to scope the area for threats first, she heard a female voice just ahead.

"Definitely William's Handiwork..."

There was a blonde woman crouched over a grotesque corpse, looking far too casual for what she was doing. She wore a white coat that tipped Ada off that this may not be another civilian and she drew her gun. "Identify yourself!" Ada shouted, her eyes watching this person's every move. Leon came up behind her as well, his own gun out in seconds.

"Annette Birkin." He glared at her, his eyes telling Ada everything she had to know. She felt her own anger begin to boil up as well, but held it down. This was their woman.

Annette didn't even show a sign that she'd heard them, let alone acknowledged their presence. "Not enough time." She sighed as she stood. "Gotta dispose of it."

Ada wasn't sure what she was even talking about, but she wasn't exactly expecting much sense from this lady. "We're here for the G-virus." Leon called out, taking a step forward. This time, Annette actually looked at them, her face nearly smug.

"That's not gonna happen."

Oh, Ada really didn't like this lady. "That's my last warning." Leon took yet another step forward and Ada followed.

"Oh yeah?" Annette challenges as she flicked open a lighter -or a match? Ada couldn't tell- and the entire corpse lit up. Ada called out to her but it was too late. The doctor was already running and Leon followed quickly after her.

"Stop!" He shouted but flinched away from the corner Annette turned down when a gun shot rang out. Damn it! How did Annette get her hands on a gun?!

Ada rushed forward as more shots fired out, her heart spiking with dread at every shot that missed Leon just nearly. She jumped and tackled him to the floor, covering his body with her own, but then something hit her shoulder and she cried out as they landed. The pain was so much worse than a fall would've been. She'd been shot.

Her vision swam as she rolled onto her back, air coming into her lungs through gritted teeth. Everything was hot and bright and too much. More shots made her ears ring and she could barely hear Annette shouting something before it was quiet again. Her shoulder. Oh fuck, did her shoulder hurt. She'd been tased and pepper sprayed in training, but this was nothing like those had been. This was such a deep and lasting pain. It was almost too much just to breathe.

A hand was on her upper arm and the touch almost hurt as well with how sensitive she felt. "Ada!" Leon was beside her now, his tone worried but Ada couldn't care to look tough at the moment. He had a good reason to be worried.

"L-Leon..." She gasped his name out, trying to open her eyes enough to make eye contact but it was so hard to do anything but grimace. "Go. Before she gets away." She was practically pleading with him despite the very real urge to take those words back. The last thing she wanted was to be alone right now, but their mission was more important than that. There weren't any zombies that she could see but there would be more if Annette got away. "Please..." Her head fell against the concrete below her again as she writhed in pain.

Then, her vision blurred and went dark.


Leon hadn't intended to bring this rookie along with him, but now that he was staring down, watching her sleep off the pain of her gunshot wound, he had to admit that she was more than just useful. She saved his life, honestly.

But he couldn't let himself feel guilty either. She chose to jump in front of him and got shot in the process. Beating himself up about it was just going to waste the time he needed to get that sample. And there really wasn't much time at all.

He pulled out his communicator and dialed for Wesker. Thankfully, he picked up quickly, much to Leon's relief. Wesker usually was good about keeping their calls fast anyway. It would make this whole mission a little faster and then he'd finally be able to hightail it out of this damned city. Sure, Leon was a trash human being, but even he didn't want to stick around much longer.

"Leon Kennedy. Are you here to report that you've accomplished your mission?"

He always hated disappointing a client. "Sadly, no. I ran into Annette just now but she didn't have the sample on her person. It must be deeper inside of NEST." Which only meant more work for him.

"Will you need more time?"

Yes. Definitely yes. "Once I get it, I'll call for extraction." It was the best way he could phrase it. Who knew how long it would take, especially with Ada now out of commission for the time being.

As much as he hated to admit it, she made things easier for him. Sure, having her around was dangerous but like he said before, she was more than just useful. She was trained and smart enough to catch along to what he said but it didn't reach the point where he was worried she'd figure him out. He made sure that the rookie antagonized Annette and now that she got shot...well, he could safely assume they wouldn't be having any heart-to-hearts. As long as that didn't happen, Ada wouldn't be an issue.

But she was still unconscious and would be for a little while, probably. It was fine. He'd get the sample, check to make sure she wasn't dead, then leave. There was no other reason to hang around and help her, or anyone else they met, out of the city. Ada could get out on her own easily.

"I'll be waiting." Was the only replay and Leon cut off the line, putting his communicator away. Wesker was a patient enough person not to rush this. Leon always liked when his clients were patient.

Now, looking down at Ada again, Leon decided that she was as comfortable as she'd get and pressed forward. He shoved any worries or shame from putting the poor cop through so much trouble and focused only on finding Annette and getting the sample. Distractions made him sloppy and Leon S. Kennedy was never sloppy.

There was a ladder further down the hall but it sat in front of a large fan that completely blocked the tunnel he'd use to get out of this hall. He knew just the thing to get rid of it.

"I guess we'll see how you like getting hacked." He smirked to himself as he pulled out the EMF Visualizer he'd brought with him for this reason exactly and pointed it at the fan. Through the screen on the device, he could see where the power line to it went and easily hacked into the switch, turning the fan on. From there, he was able to manually spin it and only stopped once it overheated and broke, giving him a clear path to go down.

"Not a fan of good 'ol Viz, here, huh?" He said to no one in particular and began climbing the ladder.

How anyone could possibly travel through the underground sewers without Viz was beyond him. It took far too long for him to open the next few doors and get past the handful of zombies he happened to cross paths with. He was beginning to think that this was all working out in his favor, however, when he spotted Annette leaving through a room just ahead. He had her exactly right where he wanted her. The only issue was that Annette had somehow planned ahead.

"You've gotta be kidding me." He hissed as heavy footsteps crossed in the room to his left. He had just barely been in there, which meant that the lovely Mr.X was very close.

Leon opened the door swiftly and jumped through another dead fan he overheated, trying to get some distance between him and the tyrant. Sure, Leon had years of training in all kinds of martial arts, but there was no fighting that thing fairly. It was big and kind of slow, but that strength was something to really fear. He wasn't sure if he'd even survive a single punch from it, especially if it was well aimed. So, he ran as far away from it as possible.

And Annette ran from Leon as well.

It was a stupid game of cat and mouse. And even larger cat. Or maybe it was cat, mouse and dog? Whatever. He was trying so hard to just get in the same room with Annette while also avoiding the tyrant, but the bitch kept slipping out of sight and those thundering steps would never fade away. At least he managed to find out about a wristband that'd grant him access to NEST through some old reports a construction team left behind. If he could find that, then maybe chasing Annette wasn't a requirement.

And just with his luck, Leon came across the dead body that had it. He'd say it was too easy, but...well, nothing about this place was easy. He stepped into the large room and took the wristband, strapping it onto his own wrist. Good. This was progress.

Just as he started to stand up, however, the large metal door behind him began to close and he ran for the exit but it was too late. He was boxed in.

Annette's face looked at him through the little window on the wall, making him scowl. Of course she found a way to lock him up. The bitch didn't know when to call it quits. Her expression went from angry to proud as she smirked down at him like she had conquered a wild animal. "Now I know you'll never get your filthy hands on the G." The bitch sounded so proud of herself.

"Are you expecting applause?" He made a show of bowing and sarcastically replies, "Well done, oh wonderful Annette Birkin! However did you think of such a genius trap?" She didn't give him the satisfaction of glaring. How disappointing.

"I'll burn you and anyone else who tries to take the virus from me." With that, she sealed the window off with a metal slit and left. In that same moment, Leon realized that this wasn't just a box he'd been trapped inside of.

It was an incinerator.

The walls lit up as a low fire started just underneath the grated floor he stood on and he cursed aloud, fishing Viz out from his pocket and raising it to the walls. There were three individual circuits to break. And by the looks of it, he only had about a minute before that fire reached him. Perfect.

He waved the device through the air, activating the power line first and then breaking off the first circuit. Then, he followed each line and hacked through the pipes until he managed to get the second. He was running out of time and the heat was starting to get to him. The air was hard to breathe in without feeling like he was on fire already. He began to see heat waves raising from the floor and everything was burning hot. He followed the line as quickly as he could but his mental timer kept going down as he hacked and the pressure was getting to him.

A bead of sweat ran down his brow and he held back the urge to shout from the tension. He was finally on the last circuit as the fire began to lick up toward him. The moment the last circuit burst, the door began to open and he didn't waste another second in that room. The new, fresh air felt icy in comparison to the heat from before, but it was welcome for once. He took a short moment just to breathe, letting his heart settle again after that mess.

"Shit..." He stood tall again and wiped the sweat from his face. "That bitch knows what she's doing."

He rerouted the power toward the next door and passed through easily. He'd have to be more careful, then. Annette was a scientist but also a sadist, it seemed. She knew how to trap him and it damn near worked as well. Another slip up and he'd be leaving Ada on her own. That was something he really couldn't let happen.

As he walked across the next a short bridge, not sure where to look this time, the lights suddenly flipped on and he flinched away from them, blinking rapidly to adjust as fast as possible. Annette was back and standing inside of a control room, her lips pulled up in another smirk. Did she expect him get out of the incinerator or was she just so lost in her bloodlust that she didn't care as long as she got another chance at killing him?

"Those old lady legs making you tired?" He called out, his eyes glaring at her despite the joking words. He was sick of her stupid games.

"Taunt me all you want. I'm not giving you anything."

Desperate. She sounded so desperate to convince him he was wrong, that the G-virus was safe with her, but it was inevitable. He never disappointed a client. And this was starting to get a little personal as well.

Stepping forward, he tried another approach. If she didn't give in to mocking, then maybe she'd let something slip. "How's the husband? He still kicking, or did you burn him too so you could have the glory of creating G?"

He saw her jaw tense, but it was slight. Not enough for him to tell whether he'd been right or not. Shit.

"Interesting theory..." Was her only response. She pulled another level and a crate to Leon's left moved. He turned toward it quickly, not wanting to get suck in her trap again. It was connected to a larger crane that Annette was moving in the room. So, she planned to crush him.

He had to say something. Maybe he could still figure something out. Maybe- "I'll just get a sample from the NEST!" He called out, his eyes staying on the crate that was now landing harshly on the bridge he stood on. "There's no way for you to hide it!"

"Over my dead body." She hissed and the crate came forward. He didn't have time to even look up before his boots were carrying him backward, away from the the sound of scraping metal.

Coming toward him faster than he could even run away. He looked for some kind of way out, but then the platform was ending, leaving him nothing but a guard rail to catch onto. And he did, as the crate slipped past, just barely missing him as he swing his body out and away. He had a moment to look down at the mess below, a scrap yard. He definitely didn't want to land in that.

The rail began to bend backward and he cursed as it unhinged and fell, sending him down into the pit as well. He hit on his legs hard and then tumbled down, every sharp edge and corner putting a new bruise in his skin. He rolled onto even floor and finally stopped, alive but not in good shape.

He let out a shout as the pain coursing through his whole body, but mostly in his right leg. "Shit!" Leon hissed as he curled onto his good side, both hands landing around the puncture wound. They started shaking when he saw the long shard of metal sticking out of his thigh. Shit. Shit! That really wasn't good.

There was a moment to breathe, then he tried wrapping a hand around it to pull, but it was too deep and painful to move. He let go. Sitting up slightly, another groan leaving him at the strain it caused to his wound, but he couldn't just lay down like this. He didn't even dare to try pulling it again, knowing that he would only make it hurt worse and probably cut his hand in the process. There was no way he'd be able to get this out on his own.

Spots were forming in his vision and he took another moment to breathe. "Come on, Ada." It came out as more of a whine than anything, but he didn't care at this point. His throat was tight and just breathing was hard enough to focus on. He had to rest for a while. Yeah, that was a good plan. Laying back against the pile of trash and metal, he closed his eyes for a moment and just focused on the pass of air through his lungs.

Wherever Ada was, he hoped she'd find him.


A part of me really wanted to make Leon's section his own chapter, but I knew it wouldn't be enough content, so instead of two short chapters, I'll give you this half and half semi-longer one.

I love trying to figure out Leon's mocking comments that he made from RE4, since he's mostly based off of that version of him at the moment. He's very, very different from Ada, even with their job and morals being the same. Despite being a cool badass, he's still kinda dorky. Gotta love him.