Here you go, folks; a final part in this small ficlet. I summon all my remaining tender-heartedness and fluffiness for this chapter.
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Ceremony…
"It's just a wall." She said, disappointment evident in her voice. "Not even next to a house."
"Heather…" Chris's voice trailed off, his eyes locked on the black marble, on the names carved onto it. "It's not just a wall." His fingers brushed over the stone letters, old memories painfully vivid.
"It's called a memorial." Jill said, crouching to speak with her daughter at eye level. "Every name here is the name of someone who died in Raccoon City." The wall stretched on for hundreds of yards, inscribed with a seemingly endless list. People walked past them, around them. Most were speaking on hushed voices. Some were weeping quietly, remembering the ones they lost. At the beginning of the wall, on the side, it had simply been written...
Dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Raccoon City Tragedy. May the world never forget the price thousands of innocents paid for the evil of a few.
"When the monsters attacked and they had to blow it up?" Heather asked. Jill nodded.
"It's so people don't forget." Jill told her softly. "Some things should never be forgotten."
"Look who decided to show up." Chris said, a hint of surprise in his voice. "Leon S. Kennedy, in person." He was fifteen yards away, speaking with an woman wearing a red jacket. Chris squinted a little, trying to see her face more clearly. She looked familiar, like he had seen her before…
"See?" Jill said, tapping his arm. "He's getting more personable. Or less, I don't know, stand-offish? He came for the memorial dedication, at least. And he's got a friend, too."
"Huh." Chris said. He glanced around, noting security. "I don't suppose him being here might be due to the President's little dedication speech later?"
"You know, sometimes you can be optimistic." Jill said playfully. "Even if it's not entirely the realistic thing to do. Pessimism didn't get us out of that mansion, you know." Chris opened his mouth to respond, only to be cut off.
"Can we go say hi to Mr. Kennedy?" Heather asked abruptly, tugging at Jill's hand.
"You can go over if you want." Jill said. "It's fine. Daddy and I'll be over in a minute."
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Heather watched for a few moments as Leon and the woman spoke, unsure if he was in a good mood. Impatience overrode caution within a few seconds.
"Mr. Kennedy!" The six-year old greeted him. "Hi!"
"I told you, call me Leon." He said, not unkindly. "Every time I hear 'Mr. Kennedy' I think of this really creepy old guy I met in Spain a long time ago. Scared me half to death." The woman laughed quietly.
"Mommy said I'm not supposed to call you Leon." Heather said. "It's disrespectful." Leon glanced over at the Redfields and waved before replying to Heather.
"Well, If Mommy's not around, you can call me Leon." He said in a hushed voice. "I promise not to tell." Heather nodded seriously, then glanced up at the lady in the red jacket. Leon noticed the curiosity.
"Ada, this is Heather Redfield." He said. "Heather, this is my friend, Ada."
"Happy to meet you." Ada said, sweetly. "I've heard a lot about your parents."
"Yeah. They kill monsters." Heather said casually. Leon gave her a look, making her modify her statement. "Well, not anymore, but they used to."
"Monster killing, that's hard work." Ada said sympathetically. "I can understand why they retired."
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Several hours late, at a nearby restaurant…
"A toast, my friends." Barry said, holding up a glass of beer. "To our fallen buddies. They died like warriors." Glasses were raised around the long table, a tinkling result of Barry's persistence. Chris and Jill, Claire, Rebecca, Barry and Leon, a gathering of Raccoon City survivors. Plus Leon's friend Ada, Barry's wife and one of their daughters, and Heather. Claire's boyfriend was off on business, or he would have been invited as well. Getting that many people from various States to meet the same restaurant was no easy task.
"Thank God that's all over." Jill said, sipping the iced tea. "Wesker's gone."
"I hear that." Ada murmured quietly into Leon's ear. "Be glad you never met him."
"I have to admit, Chris, I did think your complaints were childish at first." Claire said, smirking. "Saying how creepy your boss was and stuff. Little did I know…"
"Shock and amazement, I was onto something." Chris said, laughing. "Let's just hope he stays dead this time."
"How many people wish they could say that about their boss?" Barry grinned broadly. " 'Let's hope he stays dead this time'. "
"It's a well earned privilege." Jill commented, not smiling.
"We're a bit on the morbid side tonight, aren't we?" Rebecca asked, try to keep a straight face. "Seriously, if I wanted to hear discussions about wanting people dead, I could just start talking to Billy about politics."
"Not the thing to say here!" Barry guffawed. He pointed at Leon. "You do realize we have a government agent at the table?" Rebecca smacked her forehead and groaned. "Tell Billy, that if the men in suits knock on his door, say nothing!" Barry added helpfully. Leon sighed and shook his head.
"No worries about that." Ada joined in teasingly. "You should hear Leon talk about politics if you want rants about who needs to be eliminated. He's got a list."
"Oooh!" Claire laughed, making Leon groan. "Feeling disgruntled about how Congress and the administration have been treating the CIA?"
"Everyone in the Agency feels the exact same way, and for good reason." Leon replied seriously. "Enough talk about work, though." More laughter erupted at his response, and he realized his mistake. "I didn't mean it like that!"
"We're sure you didn't." Rebecca said, giggling. "But it was still hilarious." Barry started another line of conversation, much to Leon's silent appreciation. Ada twirled the straw around in her drink for a few moments, staring at the dark liquid as though fascinated.
"I hate to sound ridiculous, but meeting you two has been… encouraging." She said, looking at Chris and Jill. "You've both gone through nightmares—the absolute worst things that could have happened. Yet here both of you are, happily married with an adorable kid. You kept going and beat it all."
"Thanks," Jill said, touched.
"The Redfields and I, monuments to your good deeds." Leon commented in a hushed voice, making sure the others couldn't hear. "You should have gotten to make a speech right after the President."
"I'm glad you haven't forgotten, handsome." Ada purred.
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Several hours later…
"Time for us to get going." Jill said as Heather let out another yawn. "Our days of partying 'till one are long over."
"Ah, to be young again." Barry reflected with a brief air of sadness. "Young and dodging zombies."
"Or in my case, young and free of zombies." Claire laughed. "I'm not much older than your kids!"
"Savor every moment of it, little sister." Chris said, tossing a few bills down on the table. "We should do this yearly. It was great to get everyone back together." He glanced at Ada. "And meet new people."
"It's been a pleasure." Ada said courteously.
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Parking lot…
"It was good to see you again." Chris said, shaking the agent's hand. "Anyway, thanks again, for everything."
"Thanks for paying mine and Ada's tab." Leon replied. "I appreciate it."
"So, is Ada a CIA agent too?" Chris asked lightly, glancing over to the little walkway in front of the restaurant, where Ada was talking with Rebecca. "You two meet on some black-ops assassination or something?"
"No." Leon smiled faintly. "I met her in Raccoon City, actually, about thirty minutes after I met Claire."
"Haha, good one." Chris said, giving a laugh. "I can take a hint. Regardless, she's nice. Carries herself with a sort of suave elegance." Leon opened his mouth to say something, then closed it, shaking his head.
"I'll see you around, Chris." Leon said. He waved at Jill and Heather, who were sitting inside the vehicle, talking. "Mrs. and Ms Redfield, I take my leave." Heather opened the back door and leaned out to shout.
"Bye, Leon!"
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"So, did you like them?" Leon asked, revving the little convertible as they sped out of the parking lot. "They like you, that's apparent."
"They weren't exactly what I expected." Ada commented. "But then again, it's pretty hard to get to know someone by sitting around a table with them having steak and drinking margaritas." She was silent for a few moments. "Jill's tough, maybe tougher than Chris, even. Most people couldn't take it. Being a slave… being a tool, like that. I'm impressed." They drove in silence for a few minutes.
"Why'd you wait?" Leon asked suddenly. "Six years, nothing. Then you show up for a few hours in Spain, then vanish into the wind again for a few years. Then I find some notes and a map on my dresser. Another six months go by and you suddenly walk up to me at gun store, acting like you didn't have a care in the world."
"Because a trio in Africa did the impossible." Ada said, grinning devilishly, as though delighted by the memories. "Because for once, I underestimated and someone else over delivered."
"So thanks to them, your need for a disappearing act is over? You're not going be pulling any vanishing tricks in the future?" Leon asked, realizing her meaning—and that he probably owed the Redfields much more than he thought. Ada smiled, her lips parting in a silent laugh.
"Don't worry about that, cowboy." She whispered. "My days as a magician are over."
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I hope you all enjoyed. Please review!
My thanks to all readers and reviewers, and special thanks to Stardust4 and Kira131 for their encouragement. It's been a lot of fun writing this alternate ending.
And I hope everyone got the joke that the dinner party guests thought was funny. Leon said how everyone at the CIA was ticked off at certain politicians, just like himself—after Ada claimed he had a list of people he'd like to see dead— then he said 'enough talk about work' as though that's what they were doing at the CIA—planning to have certain people in the government knocked off. Ha. Well, it seemed like it would have been funny enough in a movie.
Oh, and the last part, in case it didn't make sense, meant that Ada had been keeping underground because Wesker was still alive and probably looking for payback after she backstabbed him at the end of Resident Evil 4. (She didn't give him the Los Plagas sample.) But after she sent Chris (via Leon) information about where to find Jill, instead of Wesker's efforts merely being hurt like she expected, they killed Wesker, unintentionally setting Ada free in