Leon's eyes fluttered open. Slowly, the room and everything in it came into focus. He was lying on a bed, on top of the covers. What had happened? He sat up, suddenly aware that he wasn't the only one in the room.
"We need to talk." He surprised both of them, one of Krauser's blond brows raising.
"I-I'm infected with the plaga.. though I'm sure you already knew that. I cant fight it for much longer... I can already feel my thoughts slipping away... Please. Don't let it control me. If... if I change, I want you to kill me."
Silence hung heavy in the air. Leon stood, walking up to the blond.
"Promise me.. Jack. Please. I don't want to be a monster." Leon looked deeply into Krauser's eyes, his own shining. If he looked hard enough, he could swear he saw something in those icy depths...
"I promise."
Leon kissed the blond, hard and full of emotion. He pressed up against the older man, his hands on Krauser's large pecs.
"You need to know something.."
"How romantic."
Leon pulled back. He hadn't heard Wesker come in. The b.o.w. advanced on him, golden eyes burning with malice. Leon backed up against the wall, one hand reaching for his knife.
"As soon as Wesker got within a few feet, Leon drew the knife and thrusted. Wesker caught his hands in his own, the tip of the blade only inches from the b.o.w.s neck.
"So close. Admirable effort." Wesker twisted the knife, driving it into Leon's stomach.
"No!" Krauser rushed forward.
Leon's eyes widened and he looked down, his hands still gripping the hilt of his knife buried to the hilt in his stomach. Wesker smirked and vanished as Krauser reached them, just in time to catch Leon as he fell to the floor.
"No. Leon, look at me. You're okay." Leon met the blonds gaze, coughing painfully. Blood ran from the corners of his lips down his chin.
"Leon? Leon! Stay with me!"
Krauser's voice was fading in and out. He was vaguely aware of the knife being pulled out and his shirt being torn open. His eyes fluttered as he stared at the roof, Krauser working on the wound, somehow still semi-conscious. Leon's eyes fell shut. Maybe he could just slip away unnoticed... A rough shake had his eyes snapping open.
"Don't you dare give up. Not now." Krauser sneered, bringing him back.
"But... why...?" Leon choked out. His answer was a rough but chaste kiss that had his eyes fluttering. Krauser produced a first aid kid and began stitching the wound. Once stitched up, he covered it with a piece of gauze and taped it up.
"Jack!" Leon cried out as Wesker appeared behind the blond. He was too slow, turning in time to be backhanded with enough force to send him across the room. Leon crawled back pathetically as Wesker approached, grabbing the agent by the shirt and lifting him into the air. Leon struggled uselessly as Wesker flexed the fingers of his free hand, drawing it back.
Suddenly Wesker was hit with the force of a small explosion, causing him to release Leon and sending them both crashing into the floor. Leon pushed himself up on his hands, ears ringing painfully from the grenade. He could barely make out Krauser's shouts.
"Run Leon!"
Leon stood in time to see Krauser mutate, the skin of his left arm ripping apart to expose a deadly curved blade. Leon didn't hesitate, turning and running out of the room.
Gunshots embedded the wall around him and he turned, running down the hall. He had the faintest idea of how to escape this place, praying he took the right route. After two more turns he found a staircase up, taking the steps two at a time. He pushed through the door at the top, a blast of cool ocean breeze hitting him from the side. He was at some sort of facility on a small island by the looks of it.
The door behind him flung open and Leon spun around, knife drawn. Krauser stepped into the light and Leon let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank god your alright-"
Leon doubled over and gasped, his vision blurring. He couldn't get air into his lungs, couldn't get his body to move. He felt the familiar tingling pain shoot up his spine, making his body go shock straight. The knife clattered to the ground.
Krauser watched Leon's eyes turn crimson and glaze over, giving him a crazy dead look. His top lip pulled up in a snarl and he lunged at Krauser, bloody saliva falling from his lips. Krauser waited until Leon was within arms reach before hitting the agent in the side of the head with his gun. With a sick crack Leon collapsed to the ground at his feet, unmoving. Krauser picked up the agent. He had to hurry, Leon was already on borrowed time.
"Ahhhh!" Ashley screamed as the guards outside her door were killed and the door was flung open, revealing a very muscled blond man covered in military gear.
"Get away from me!" Ashley scrambled back against the far wall.
"Listen, Leon is outside, half dead. I need you to come with me, this may be your only chance of escaping."
"Leon? What happened to him?"
"He's wounded and the plaga is in a very advanced stage in its life cycle. We could have hours, probably less, before it lays eggs and he becomes a host permanently."
Ashley nodded. "Just tell me what to do."
When Leon came to, he could hear the faint beeping of machines and the steady clicking of a keyboard nearby. His eyes fluttered open, revealing a room full of monitors, machines, and equipment. Finally his eyes fell on Krauser, who was standing beside the table he was laying on. Their eyes locked and Leon forced a smile.
"Guess I'm not dead yet."
"Not quite." Krauser hit a few buttons on the keyboard before moving the operating machine into place.
"Ashley is in the other room. Her operation went well. She's plaga free."
Leon sighed in relief.
"This will hurt."
Leon could hear the steady beep of his heartbeat on the monitor increase. He bit his lip to stop from crying out. The laser was fire hot, turning his skin red. It only lasted a few minutes, Leon fought to stay conscious through the pain. Finally it stopped, the monitor flashing with bold red words: "OPERATION UNSUCESSFUL."
"W-why didn't it work?" Leon asked, afraid to know the answer.
"I don't know. Come on, damnit!" Krauser hit the monitor. They were wasting precious time. He restarted the operation, only to have the same thing happen again.
"OPERATION UNSUCCESSFUL."
"Jack.. I'm losing.. control..." Leon grit his teeth, the sickly familiar feeling of being controlled returning.
Krauser manually over-ridded the computer, moving the x-ray equipment into place and turning it on. He flipped Leon onto his stomach, the agents muscled contracting and spasming. He grabbed leather shackles, quickly binding Leon's wrists and ankles to the table. He turned up the power on the machine to 100%, pushing up Leon's shirt and pressing the tip of his knife into the agents lower back. He made a 6 inch long incision in the center of his spine. He restarted the operating machine, aiming the laser into the incision.
Leon let out an inhuman scream, his body writing against the restraints so hard Krauser thought they'd break. He leaned his weight onto Leon, trying to hold him still. The agents crimson eyes were brighter than the blood pouring out of his wound. With one final cry, he fell limp on the table, the only sounds coming from the steady dripping of blood on the linoleum floor, and the shrill flat line on the heart monitor.
Krauser looked at the x-ray, no sign of the parasite visible. The monitor screen flashed green: OPERATION SUCESSFUL. Krauser collapsed onto the floor. He was too slow. The operation that should have saved Leon's life had killed him instead.