X~X
11
X~X
30, September 1998
"Someone was trying to get help," Elise said as she read some of the papers left behind in the treatment room.
"At least someone was," Leon stated, looking over her shoulder in a way that made Evan annoyed.
He hated how close those two were, and how quickly it had happened. It hadn't taken too long for him to get sick of them. With two other people in his family that acted the same way, a third was too much. He took the chance to swat at his sister's arm and she responded by kicking his shin. Evan forgot how hard she could kick. He rubbed at his throbbing shin as Leon tried to stop the smirk from forming on his face. It was funny how her brother thought he could mess with her and not get his back.
"Let's get to the lift," Evan grumbled as his sister gave an innocent smile.
"Remind me to never make you mad," Leon chuckled.
"I think you might have a hard time doing that, love," she grinned at him.
"Hey, I think I found your girlfriend!" Evan called to them.
"I'm sorry, he can be such an arse," Elise apologised for her brother. "How the hell did he get you to agree to marriage of all things?"
"Emotional blackmail," Leon answered, his instant response made Elise make a strange sound. "I'm not too upset by the end results."
Elise gave him a tiny smile at that. They headed into the room and right to where Evan was standing. His face was serious, knowing that something was going to happen. It was the waste disposal room, and Ada was laying there amongst the trash. How were they going to get to her?
"Shit, more puzzles?" Evan asked and Elise rolled her eyes in response.
She made a sound as she looked at the fuse boxes nearby. Yeah, another puzzle that would be difficult to solve with their expanding group. Her mouth opened when she went to say something and closed when a pair of hands landed on her waist and gently picked her up. Elise looked down at Leon as he sat her on the nearby table, his expression serious. Ah, he wanted her to stay there?
"I need you to keep me posted on what we'll need," Leon informed her, motioning towards her radio that was clipped to her backpack strap. "We can go grab it."
Elise hesitated before nodding. She didn't like the fact that she was being left behind, and Evan knew it. Still, it would allow him to talk to Leon without his sister overhearing him. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly when she simply gave the dirty-blonde man a gentle kiss to his forehead. She was still his sister.
"I'll be back," Leon quietly informed Elise.
"You two stay safe, all right?" Elise sighed, giving him a worried look.
Leons answering smile was enough for her to relax a bit. She had faith that he'd come back in one piece. Evan gave her a salute and she shook her head in amusement. Those two needed to get going. Leon led the way out of the treatment room and she went back to studying the secondary smaller area. There was a set of instructions talking about chess pieces. She reached to brush her fingers against her radio in worry. It was the best she could do. Her back let out a sharp pain and she leaned forward and soundlessly gasped. Alice had used a bullet that was going to cause her pain, didn't she? The pain intensified and she cursed her brother for not putting pain medication in the kit. It was going to be hell until Leon got back. Oddly enough, his presence made her feel peaceful like she was safe. She wasn't going to tell him, she didn't want to put pressure on him or make him feel uneasy. A pained grunt passed through her lips as her back started to burn from the entry point. It was going to be a long night.
X~X
"What made you like my sister?" Evan couldn't help but ask as he and Leon moved through the sewers.
"She laughed at a corny saying when she called me to make sure I wouldn't come in to work," Leon shrugged. "I had just been dumped by a woman that I was ready to marry, getting a genuine laugh out of a nice woman was wonderful."
That wasn't completely it, but it had been the start of it. Evan was giving him a look of disbelief and he simply shrugged. He didn't have to defend himself. He had Evan hold onto a valve they found and stopped in front of a safe. The side of it had the combination etched onto it with chalk. He swiftly opened it, and found a stock for his shotgun.
"She laughed, and therefore you like her," Evan commented, sighing in annoyance. "Is it the trauma that attracted you? My sister does come across as very soft, I've been aware of that for years but have you seen her kick?"
"I have, and she's just as soft as she comes across," Leon said, thinking back to the panic attack she'd had and the moments where she wasn't there in the present.
He was more than a little annoyed at Evan because of his tone when talking about his sister. He knew the man cared for her, it was just hard to tell. He watched as Evan took out a pistol and shot a zombie in the head, the uncanny ability to split them in two had to be a family trait. He put his gun down and winced at the pain in his shoulder. Good thing Elise was relatively light, it didn't put that much strain on his injury. They were going to have some difficulties in the future with his shoulder like it was.
"Don't make me an uncle so early," Evan warned him, noting the man's faraway look.
It increased at those words and he backed up a bit. He found the one man that wanted to be a father so young. Evan brought his hand up and rubbed at his temples. Annoyed at the two. Leon reached up for his radio and Evan fought the urge to pull the hand down. He didn't want those two to start making plans. His own might not even work. He was going to fight for his sister, but knew it was going to be next to impossible.
"Leon, something attacked a group of soldiers," Elise's voice startled the two. "It looks like the mutated man that attacked you earlier."
"Is there anything else?" Leon asked and Evan silently gagged at the semi-soft expression on the other man's face.
"Yeah, the virus was spread by rats into the water," Elise's answer was filled with a sigh that held traces of pain. "I guess being partially right is a terrible thing in this situation."
"It's all right," Leon informed her and Evan contemplated staying by the cable car to wait for them. "I'll radio you when we find a couple parts."
"All right, I'm on standby," Elise confirmed, going silent on her end.
"Again, don't make me an uncle just yet," Evan warned Leon. "There's items inside the first aid kit that you two should really use."
Leon was looking at him as though he was stupid. He raised his brow at the other man and got a soft sigh before he pulled out his soaked wallet and picked an item out from it. Ah, Evan did feel a bit stupid as Leon put it away, his face a bright red. It was just a precaution, but still nice to know he had them.
"Are you always this much of an asshole?" Leon couldn't help but ask, and he finally got a smile out of Evan.
"Here I was, worried that my sister would push you around," Evan chuckled. "Not many people will stand up to me."
"Not many people would fall for a girl within a day," Leon countered, his small smile enough to make Evans fall. "It's oddly funny seeing your expression fall every time I remind you that I really like your sister."
"Yeah but she's your-" Evan was cut off by a strange sound. "Fuck this place."
Leon couldn't help but agree with that sentiment.
X~X
Elise arched her back a bit and felt the burning pain slowly disappear. Her eyes closed and she wasn't in the treatment room anymore. The dingy sofa and retro TV let her know exactly where she was. The father sat in a recliner while the mother knitted something. She focused on it, noting the small nature of it. She was instantly horrified.
"Ma had been ready to have a child," the daughter's voice startled her and she looked over her shoulder to see the dark haired teen. "A baby sibling that I'll never get to meet thanks to her."
"She's still around, isn't she?" Elise quietly asked.
"You know the answer to that one, Cher," the brother stated from his spot by the TV. "Too bad that husband of yours isn't here, he would've made one hell of a target."
Elise had done such a wonderful job of avoiding that title for Leon. It was new, and they had just agreed to a relationship. She sighed and got up from the sofa. Putting her hands into the pocket of her old raincoat, knowing that her inner self was still stuck in this place. She caught glimpses of change, and she knew what it was from. Small items that reminded her of Leon. His gun, the jacket he had given her was hanging off a coat rack, and the distinct smell of him on her own. He was invading the inner workings of her mind, and she didn't mind it.
"Go talk to her," the mother said, instantly grabbing Elise's attention. "You might be able to reach her where others couldn't."
Elise hesitated before nodding. She had never wanted to come back to this house, and Leon promised she never would. She felt as though something was grabbing her hand and looked down. It was his glove, but only on her right hand, the one he always held. Her soft smile at the sight made the mother smile. She had always been a soft hearted woman, and loved seeing people happy. The father gained a small smile of his own at the sight of his wife so happy. It had been a long time since any of them had been happy.
Elise left the living room and wandered into the dark, dust being kicked up with each step as she descended down stairs she couldn't see. The unknown recesses, a secluded place where the first hive couldn't be bothered. She held a hand up and knocked on the metal door. Once, then twice, and then one last time. It slowly opened with a metallic screech and she sighed. It was the beached ship. That girl had quite a few memories of the place if she were able to recreate it in someone else's head.
"You came to visit me?" A childish voice asked, coming from an unknown source. "Why?"
"What do you know about the mold?" Elise asked. "How can I use it to protect someone I care about?"
"Infect them with it," the small girl's voice stated and Elise rubbed the back of her head before reaching forward and pulling the girl out from the shadows.
"Without changing them, Lilith," Elise quietly told the girl as she gently released her.
"You become a weapon," Lilith answered, her voice grave. "You know what's going to happen. You were spared once, Alice is making sure it doesn't happen again."
"I won't do that to Leon," Elise said, her hands fishing at her side. "I won't allow them to do that to me."
"An idealist…that's what you are," Lilith stated and Elise narrowed her eyes at the child. "But, it's nice that one of us hasn't lost our optimism. Keep those thoughts with you and maybe you might be able to make it out of this without losing him."
X~X
"Elise?" The sound of her name forced her back into the side room, sweat going down her face. "Is everything all right?"
"I'm fine, sorry for the late reply," Elise apologised to Leon, answering her radio immediately. "What's up?"
"We're returning, we found a flamethrower," Leon informed her and she paused for a few seconds.
"Flame…how the hell did you find a flamethrower?" She asked, her voice weak in disbelief.
"We unlocked the room for it," Evan's voice stated and she sighed.
That was going to end so well in their hands. She swung her feet as she looked down in thought. It was taking them a while to head back, and she was starting to worry. Yet, it almost sounded like they were having fun. The radio became muffled as it switched hands again. Leon's voice the clearest. She smiled when she heard him insult her twin. It was nice to hear him call out Evan.
"We aren't taking him with us to the beach," Leon informed her and she couldn't help but chuckle, allowing it to go through the radio.
"I wouldn't blame you for that," Elise stated.
"Don't you two dare make me an uncle yet!" Evans' warning made her grin a bit.
She sat back with that grin and closed her eyes a bit. Her back was burning again, and she wanted to ignore it for a few seconds. Her nose crinkled a bit as she caught a whiff of sewer. Out of everything she wanted to do when they escaped Racoon city, she wanted to take a shower the most. A blush appeared on her face and she opened her eyes. She could probably get Leon to join her, that way she would be able to check his shoulder. Make sure he wasn't getting an infection.
"Elise," she twitched a bit when her name was gently called.
It was like her thoughts summoned him. Leon stood in the doorway and caught sight of an amused yellow eye. His smile was relieved and he rolled his eyes at Evan as the British man brushed past with a grimace. They needed to move forward, save Ada, and he needed them to focus. Leon swiftly moved forward and took a place between Elise's legs. She leaned forward a bit and pressed a kiss to his cheek.
"Welcome back," she quietly greeted.
"I can get used to that," Leon softly said and she smiled. "Do you know where we can get an ID wristband?"
"No, I'm guessing Evan doesn't know either," she answered, frowning a bit.
Leon pulled her from the table and she held onto his forearm when she landed on the floor. He winked at her and moved to quickly solve the puzzle so they could get to Ada. The door slid open and they hurried inside. Elise paused to gather some of the herbs and placed it in the container for it. She was allowed to solve the power puzzle, easily flipping the switches and making it turn on.
"Wait, there's something moving above us," Elise stated. "It sounds like the mutated man from earlier."
"Then we need to be careful," Evan stated, pulling out his gun.
"Think you can lead us, baby?" Leon asked, and it took Elise a few seconds to realise he was talking to her.
"I can try," Elise confirmed. "You'll both have to make sure to move quickly."
"Yes, we don't all heal as fast as you do," Evan stated, looking towards her in thought. "How's your back?"
"Hurting," she answered before heading into the room.
Leon smacked Evan in the arm for that and hurried after her. She was looking up at the ceiling, her eyes slowly moving side to side as she tracked something. A gentle touch to her back made her give a quick glance. Leon's worried expression caused her to feel a little guilty. She had snapped at her brother, and her harsh state was showing in her vitals. They were bordering on red, and she knew that it was going to be a bad time once it fell into the red. It was when she was in Louisiana. Her head snapped to the side and she grabbed Leon before moving out of the way of a sharp claw.
"Jesus Christ!" Leon exclaimed as he looked back at the claws that were slowly retracting into the ceiling.
"Holy fuck, what is that thing?" Evan asked as Elise continued to move her and Leon out of the way of the claws.
"My guess is one of the scientists that created this whole mess," Elise answered. "To your right, and quickly."
The claw nicked Evan's shoulder as he swiftly moved out of the way. The claw hit something and a small fire broke out. Leon looked towards the twins and made a decision. He grabbed onto Elise as the mutated man roared in frustration in being unable to harm them. Elise frowned, the man was gearing up to break through the wall.
"I need you two to go after Ada," Leon told Elise.
"I'm down for that," Evan stated, moving towards the trash room.
"Kick his ass a second time," Elise informed him, giving his cheek a peck.
"What's my reward for a second ass kicking?" Leon asked as they heard the metal of the door screech as something hit it.
"That's up to you," She said, giving him a wink before heading after her brother.
Leon didn't grin, his focus on the mutated man that had finally broken through the metal door and was targeting him. He could grin happily about being given free reign on his reward. He readied the magnum gun and noted that the man had mutated further, more yellowed eyes were staring at him and it seemed the human intelligence was mostly gone.
"Ada, are you all right?" Those soft words brought the FBI agent around.
Dark eyes opened and looked around, settling on two identical faces. Great, her favourite British woman had multiplied. She hissed when she moved her leg, right the shard of metal in her leg. She was surprised when two pairs of hands began to help remove it and bandage her. The metal first aid kit had been kept safe from the sewage, and everything was still sterile.
"Can't do bullet wounds, but you can do metal shards?" Ada teased Elise, watching as a small smile appeared on her face.
"I've pulled my fair share of shards out of my legs," Elise told her with a light chuckle, finishing her bandages. "You run into Annette?"
"She tried to light me on fire," Ada informed her. "She got away…your sister was with her."
"Alice…nice to know this is where she's been skulking around," Evan dryly commented and Ada glanced at him.
"That's my twin, Evan…he's an ass, ignore him," Elise sighed, giving Ada an apologetic smile.
Ada found that she liked the gentle twin much better than her brother. There was an orange light on Elise's wrist and she caught sight of the vitals. Her mental was in the red, and her brows raised. That was one of the items in Alice's papers, one of the few good things she did for her younger sister in law. The watch was made to monitor the hive and allow them to keep themselves in check. She supposed that going through an apocalypse would really mess with the woman's mental health.
"We should head to the cable car," Ada stated, giving Evan a look.
Evan was smart enough to help the woman to her feet, feeling the agent's small hands grasping onto his biceps. Okay, he could see why Leon was constantly picking up his sister to feel her do the same. It felt as though he was stronger than he actually was, like he was her rock. Oh…oh no. He was not going down the way of a lovestruck idiot. He immediately put his walls up and gave Ada a polite smile before releasing her.
"Elise! Ada! Where are you?!" Leon's shout made them all jump a bit.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Evan muttered.
Elise shot her brother a dirty look before whistling and getting her arms full of bulky police officer. Leon's hand was on the back of her head and she closed her eyes for a few seconds, relieved he was all right. Ada watched with raised brows, something had shifted between those two again. She glanced at Evan and noted his expression. Even he thought it was too sweet. Ada smirked in amusement when Elise shifted her head a bit so she could look at the others. Her face still halfway hidden in Leon's shoulder.
"What happened to the mutated man?" Elise asked, her voice muffled by Leon's shoulder.
"I used a crane to knock him out," Leon explained, holding Elise closer. "Hopefully, that's the last of him."
"So, we should start heading to the cable car," Evan stated, pushing things forward.
Leon didn't want to release Elise just yet, his adrenaline was still pumping. He had almost gotten hit by the crane because the man had kept following close behind him. He did promise to come back to her, and kick the man's ass. Ada and Evan began to walk away, heading towards the cable car. Ada limped a bit, the pain in her leg almost taking her out. Evan caught her by the elbow and she easily steadied herself. He was quick to release her the second she tensed.
"It's got to be a family thing," Leon commented as he released Elise.
"It is," She confirmed. "We should hurry after them, they might leave us behind."
Leon was amused by that, feeling her grab his good hand and gently pull it. He winced at the pain in his injured shoulder when he brought that arm up to gently rest his hand on her hip. Evan and Ada were talking about the virus samples and what they needed to do down in the NEST.
"What a group we make, most of us have one foot in the grave," Ada commented.
"I guess I'm lucky," Evan shrugged.
"I could always push you off the catwalk if you want to join our club," Elise informed her brother, her eyes widening a little when the hand on her waist slipped downwards.
"You wouldn't," Evan stated, rolling his eyes.
Ada opened the cable car door with ease, the wrist band allowing them access. Ada stepped in and took a seat on the bench inside, she was going to wait for them to figure out their next step. If they needed anything that was left behind now was the time for them to head back and get it. Evan meandered in next and took a seat near the front of the cable car.
"So, we're heading in deeper," Elise quietly said, looking down into the depths.
"Yeah, are you going to be okay?" Leon asked and she blinked.
"I'll be fine, we have to go deeper," she answered.
"I've gotten everything we could up here," Leon informed her and she nodded her understanding. "Once we're out of here, would you change my bandages?"
"Yeah, no problem," she said, surprised he thought she wouldn't. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Let's just say, my last partner didn't like to be physical outside of sex," Leon winced, and her cheeks turned a bright red and she scratched her cheek a bit. "That's why I might seem a little too physical."
"I like it," she quietly admitted, gently checking his bandages as they were and tightening them a little. "We should head inside huh?"
"When we get out of here," Leon started, but trailed off. "Nothing can be set in stone with us…can it?"
"Evan's gambit was a last ditch effort," Elise admitted. "But I hope it's enough to at least allow me some semblance of a life with you."
Elise's gentle admittance made his heart skip a beat. He wrapped his fingers around hers and brought her hands up to his lips. He would like that, even if he was unsure of how everything was going to go after they got out of raccoon city. Her sad smile was enough to tell him she wasn't optimistic about it. His hands gently released her's and they headed into the cable car.
"You two done?" Evan asked while Ada gained an amused smile. "Let's start heading down."
"I can't wait for the FBI to raid umbrella headquarters and take those bastards to justice," Leon stated as he took a seat near the middle of the cable car and patted the seat next to him for Elise.
"I agree, but to be clear you're not working in official capacity," Ada informed him, watching as the British woman closed her eyes and leaned on her boyfriend to get some rest. "This is a federal case. Once we get the G-virus, I'm back on my own."
"Oh, you can't be serious," Evan stated, frowning at the woman.
Leon had scoffed at Ada's words, but then gave Evan a sharp look. The British man seemed nervous about something. Elise softly muttered in her sleep and he looked down at her. He had wrapped his arm around her waist. He was keeping her still so she could rest. He had rested quite a bit when his shoulder had been shot.
"Trust me," Ada sighed and Leon frowned at that.
"Then you need to trust us," he commented.
"Look, if I didn't you'd all be dead," Ada pointed out to him.
Leon's arm tightened around Elise and she stirred a bit before falling back asleep. Her mental vitals slowly rose to orange, a part of him was relieved to see that. Ada noted the expression on Leon's face and that wasn't the response she wanted. She needed to fix the situation quickly.
"I needed your help, and I was right about you two," Ada stated, and Evan smirked a bit at how easily she saved the situation with a few quick words. "If you can secure the G-virus I can make sure what's happened here can never happen again.
"You said it yourself, it's a federal case," Leon stated, getting mixed signals from the woman.
"I"m a liability now," Ada said, looking down at her leg. "If I'm going to finish this case, you're the last hope I've got."
"We aren't going to leave you here," Evan informed her.
"I will be fine, don't worry about me," Ada told the group.
"Now arriving at NEST," a voice informed them.
Leon gently woke Elise up and he smiled at her bleary expression. She was still exhausted, but she was still going. She was so stubborn. Ada watched as the three stood up, Leon having to help Elise get her balance when the car stopped. Ada held something out to the British woman. It was the wristband, she trusted the woman not to lose it. She grabbed onto the other woman's wrist and brought her down to kiss her cheek, a thanks for bandaging her leg. Leon blinked in surprise and Elise tensed up in confusion.
"Careful, she might just steal her from you," Evan said in disbelief as Ada let her go.
"Leon," Ada called and motioned him forward.
He got the same treatment and Evan wondered if Ada liked them both, even if she thought they were overly sweet together. Ada winked at the confused couple and they stepped out of the cable car. Evan sat back down, knowing he wouldn't be much help down in the labs.
"Are you…" Evan asked.
"Is that a problem?" Ada prompted and his cheeks turned a light pink. "Oh, so you both have the same ability to blush like she does, how interesting."
Evan wondered if he should've gone with them. This woman was going to be the death of him, his face was burning and his palms were sweating. He heard Leon say something outside and he decided he would rather put up with the beautiful FBI agent that confused him and flirted with the couple.