Leon turned from you to a painting that was hanging haphazardly on the wall. He pulled it down, and it revealed a lever. Leon pulled it, and a door on the ceiling opened, which dropped a sort-of ladder. There was no way you could reach it, so you gave him a shrug. It wasn't your main priority.
Leon nodded, before exiting the room with you behind him. It was beginning to grow dark, a symbol of your third night on this cursed mission. Leon jogged down stairs, and to the front door of the house.
He pushed open the double doors, scanning the dusk. It was actually quite beautiful, until the whimpering of a dog caught your ear. You and Leon hurried to the sound, and you spotted a white, shaggy wolf with his foot in a bear trap.
"Oh, you poor thing," you sighed, walking up to the wolf.
Leon reached for the bear trap, and you scratched the wolf's ears in an attempt to distract it. He slowly pried it open, and the wolf whimpered, climbing into your lap while limping.
You gave him one final scratch, and he turned to look at Leon. He gave your partner a look, before dashing off into the darkness.
"Take care of yourself, buddy," Leon called gently.
"What a kind creature," you sighed, pushing yourself up.
Leon nodded, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small stone.
"You think that shop keeper will pay for this?"
You shrugged as he turned the Ruby in his fingers.
"He had such pretty jewelry for sale," you said, beginning to walk along the path. "A nice ring. Didn't want to waste money on it."
You made your way back to the gate at the front of the house, using your funny little key to unlock it. Leon was yet to comment on the ring. He instead pushed the gate open, and led the way down the dark path.
"Last night, I was taking a walk along the river, and I saw him together with a young girl..."
Leon looked over his shoulder at you, and you shrugged at him.
"And the look that he gave her made me shiver."
He came up to a dimly lit shed, and found shotgun shells inside.
"Cause he always used to look at me that way... And I thought, maybe I should walk right up to her and say,"
Leon was remembering a lot of shit he didn't want to remember as he came up upon the end of the little cavern you had been walking through.
"It's a game he likes to play... I'm in my ABBA era right now," you said as you came up on another gate.
Leon unlocked the gate.
"You've always liked ABBA," he said as he pushed it open.
You scanned over the dark village, trying to find the fastest way to the church. It was eerily quiet. Bad time to be singing.
"Look into his angel eyes..."
You whispered halfheartedly, eyes narrowed as you walked down the dirt path that led to the village's center.
"One look and you're hypnotized."
Leok spotted the church, and quickly began walking to it, until the tower next to it exploded. He pushed you back, and you grabbed his arm, watching as the huge building hit the ground.
"He'll take your heart and you must pay the price..."
You scanned over dark wolves that suddenly began approaching. Leon reached for his shotgun, and you grabbed your handgun from your holster. There were only four of them, but they were fast as shit. One launched itself at you, pinning you to the floor. You quickly ripped your knife from your belt, stabbing it in the neck, and then in the eye. You pushed it off, before shooting it.
Leon had killed the others, and he quickly pulled you to your feet. Uno problemo. The church was completely blocked off. You groaned in annoyance at the realization. Leon gripped your bicep, yanking you forward as he tried to find an alternative route. You swore that you could hear whispers and grunts. It felt like you were being stalked. You ended up going into a house that the collapsed building had missed, killing the woman inside, and then climbing through the broken window in the back.
Leon coughed, and you turned to him.
"You okay?" You asked, punching his shoulder lightly.
He nodded quickly. You approached the door to the church with caution, guns raised. You used your silly little key on the door, and it opened quickly. It was dark inside, and you suddenly heard a hissing sound. On the floor was a viper. You grabbed it with no hesitation, before snapping its neck.
Leon stared, before shrugging and turning back to his mission.
The church was dimly lit, with a table next to a window, and candles lit under a picture of the same man from the nice house. You walked into another room, which had an absolutely gigantic human skull, and several papers scattered across a long table.
Leon shrugged, and you shook your head at him.
I don't trust it. Stay alert.
He nodded.
Copy that.
You found some first aid spray, and some shotgun shells in the room, but not much else. There was a door on the other side, and you pushed it open.
"Hello, love!"
You whipped around, gun raised and ready, before you let out a sigh of relief. Just the shopkeeper.
"I have some new goods that might interest you."
"It's nice to see a familiar face," you jogged over quickly, Leon scowling.
"It's nice to see a pretty one," the shopkeeper chuckled as you walked over.
You scanned over what he currently had for sale, and reached for the bag of pesetas you had been collecting.
"I'd like the scope," you said, smiling.
"Huh. 5000 pesetas," he chuckled, and you handed him the bag.
He counted the money in front of you, before handing you back your bag and a scope. You tossed it to Leon, and he grumbled, before attaching it to his shotgun.
"Come back any time, love," the shopkeeper waved as you said your goodbyes, and left the spot.
You followed the path, Leon close behind.
"I don't like that guy."
"He's sweet," you said nonchalantly.
You came up to a large, grand building.
"That must be the real church," you muttered. "Let's get Ashley and get the hell out for extraction."
There was a graveyard in front of the church. A big, long graveyard. You and Leon chose to walk around it rather than through it, and up to the church gates. He pushed them open, and shut them once you wiggled inside.
He almost screamed in anger when the direct gate in front of the church was locked. Leon pressed his finger to his comm.
"Condor One and Two to Roost. The church is sealed up."
"And Baby Eagle?"
"No sign of her," you muttered into your comm.
"But," Loen spoke up. "They sure do have this place locked up tight."
"I see. I can think of one reason they'd want to do so."
"Oh, she's here, that's for sure. We'll find a way in," Leon looked up at the church. "Condor One out."
"Condor Two out."
Leon sighed, and your stomach suddenly became overrun with a sharp pain. You huffed, hand rubbing your tummy.
"Hungry?" Leon called, beginning to jog around the church.
"I guess," you followed behind. "Haven't had anything like that in a while. That just came out of nowhere."
Leon came up on an unlocked wooden door, pushing it open. You followed behind. Inside was a small room, dimly lit. Leon studied a lakeside map, and you picked up another photo of Ashley on the splintered wooden table.
"This says she's to be kept in the church until the 'appointed time,' whatever the hell that means," you let the picture drop back down to the table.
"Let's head for the lake then," Leon walked behind you, using a small key that he had apparently just come across to unlock a dresser.
He pulled a yellow diamond from the now unlocked drawer. You stared at it, before looking up at him. He was staring at you.
"Want it?" He asked, semi-teasingly.
"I want that ring the shopkeeper has. It's so pretty — My God! I'll try and trade for it next time we see him."
Leon sighed, tucking away the diamond, and walked to the wooden trap door on the other side of the room. He pulled it open, before pausing.
"Maybe we should look around, first," He suggested, and you shrugged as he let the door drop.
You exited the room, back outside, and rounded the church wall. You came up on a ladder, and Leon clambered up it.
"Anything?" You called from the ground below.
"Just a knife," he replied, before jumping back down.
You shrugged.
"Knife is a knife," you began to walk back to the room, and entered it casually. "Can you hear the drums, Fernando?"
Leon approached the trap door, not even looking over his shoulder when he hopped down. You followed down.
"I was so afraid, Fernando.."
"Can you not?" Leon whispered, not necessarily harshly.
He walked down the tunnel, leading you to another dirt path.
"We were young and full of life, and none of us prepared to die."
Leon led you to a locked wooden gate, which he unlocked, and then pushed open. He peaked around outside, before letting them close. He turned, walking the other direction. You followed.
"And I'm not ashamed to say the the roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry.."
Leon approached a bridge, giving a quick glance to the sign next to it, before opening his mouth.
"There was something in the air that night..."
You smiled, before adding on.
"The stars were bright, Fernando!"
"They were shining there for you and me," Leon continued, the slightest smile on his face as he crossed the wooden bridge.
"For liberty, Fernando."
The angry grunts of villagers startled you into silence, and Leon poked his head around the bridge.
He shot one of the men who had been on the roof, which in turn caused him to drop his torch, and light the surrounding area on fire. One of the villagers came charging, and you kicked him off the bridge, and into the depths.
"Not bad," he said, nodding towards your leg.
Two more villagers came charging, but Leon shot the barrel of gas on the bridge, sending them up in flames. As you began to jog up to the small house around the corner of the rock, you heard the unmistakable sound of a viper.
You spotted it as it lunged towards you, and you caught it in midair, your body flying backwards. You looked up from your place on the ground, to see an angry villager, about to swing an ax into your head. You would have screamed, but Leon shot him with his lovely little shotgun, causing his head to explode.
The viper squirmed in your grasp, and you quickly snapped its neck. Leon pulled you to your feet, and another sharp pain ran through your stomach.
"Ugh!"
Leon raised a brow.
"Do you... uh... need some privacy?"
"No, I..." you groaned. "Let's just get across the lake."
Leon gave your hand a squeeze, before letting you go.
"Is it.. um... girl stuff?" He asked hesitantly, approaching the wooden ladder.
"I don't think so."
You heard the grunt of an angry villager, and Leon quickly shot him down. It was another one of those stupid sky-villages. You spotted a stone cavern, and yanked Leon away from the village before he could start making sassy quips. Inside, there was a small cavern that had a little security system. You disarmed it, and ran deeper into the cave.
On the right, there was a sort of destroyed passageway, and Leon hopped up, you behind him. It led to the gate of another village. On your right, there was a humongous ax.
"Good luck finding someone big enough to use this thing," Leon said sarcastically.
You walked into the main area, which was mostly populated by crows. At the edge of the village, you spotted a big, black wolf.
You snatched Leon's shotgun, and took it out without a second thought. The grunt of another made you whip around, and you shot it twice.
When the coast seemed clear, you surrendered Leon's shotgun to him, and jogged towards a big, open, wooden gate. It led down to a shrine of sorts, and you studied it for a moment. It was like it was missing some sort of key.
You shrugged it off, and Leon took the lead, entering a sort of cave. Inside was a torch that burned purple. You stared, before following Leon down the wooden stairs of the cave, and to a door with an animal skull on top. He pushed the door open, and you found another room with a purple torch.
"There you two are!"
You whipped around, and chuckled as you jogged to the shopkeeper.
"There are enough weapons here to get a party going," Leon pointed out behind you, motioning to some pretty sweet handguns.
"How are you?" You asked.
"Lovely, now that you're here," His dark eyes flicked up and down your body as he chuckled. "Anything you need?"
"Oh, I do love your selection of jewelry —"
"C'mon, Stripes," Leon called, already jogging away.
"I'm sure I'll see you again," you said quickly, before running off to follow your partner.
Leon led you down to a wooden platform, and you poked his side when you landed next to him.
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" You asked sarcastically.
He shrugged, brows furrowed as he looked over the water in front of you. There was a slight creaking to be heard, and the occasional splashing. Something was out there.
Leon climbed the ladder that led back to the shopkeeper's platform with you in toe. You waved to him quickly as you jogged by, and Leon raced up the stairs on the right. They led to a heavy pair of double doors. He pushed them open, and ducked under the brush. He walked up to the edge of the cliff you were now on, and used his binocs to look out at the lake.
"See anything?" You asked.
"Boat with two villagers... just threw a body into the water. Fuck!"
"It's okay," you grabbed his bicep. "Chances of it being Baby Eagle are low — WHAT THE —?!"
Leon gaped out at the lake as you spotted something big, even from the distance.
"The hell was that?"
"What was what? Let me see!" You reached for the binocs as Leon swatted you away. "Leon!"
"Stop it," he said quickly, pocketing the binoculars.
He jogged over to the edge of the wooden platform, hopping off the edge. He landed on the platform below, and motioned for you to follow. He spotted a browned paper on the rock, and skimmed over it.
"We need fuel to cross the lake."
"That's kinda how it works," you shrugged. "The summer air was soft and warm."
"Oh, you stop that," he chuckled, jogging past you.
So far, for your last mission with Leon, this was going relatively well. By now, you would have made three threats upon his life, and he would have insulted your weight and your hair. But it was almost like you two were friends again. Like the incident had never happened.
He jumped off the platform, landing on the dock. He kicked open the barrels at the floor as you dropped down, before jogging to the boat. He bent over, inspecting the engine.
"C'mon, fill the tank when you're done!" He complained, standing.
"Says the man who eats all the eggs and doesn't put anything on the grocery list."
"This is different," Leon complained.
"Is it, though?"
He ran to the wooden ladder that led back up to the platform, and you shook your head as you followed behind him.
"The feeling right, the Paris night d —"
"Seriously, stop."
"I sing when I'm stressed," you complained as you followed him into a small cave. "Have to distract myself somehow!"
"Find another way," he said, coming up on yet another village on the outside of the cave.
You sighed, reaching for your cigarette pack, and when you looked back up, Leon was glaring at you.
"Leon, this is our last mission together. Do you really wanna spend it arguing?"
He sighed deeply, face still twisted in anger as he rubbed his eyes.
"Just wait for a while? You already smell like that Simbers," Leon spat the name with venom, whipping around to you.
"Logan smells like ass, I smell like —"
While you had been talking, Leon had begun walking. The floorboards under him collapsed, and he screamed as he fell to the ground.
"You okay?" You called quickly, peeking down the hole.
"Shit!" He pushed himself up out of the swamp he was in. "God damn it. It's one of those cow things!"
"I'm coming!"
"Stay up there!" Leon barked, pulling his shotgun from his back.
You knew better than to argue, simply walking around the gaping hole in the rotted wood and clambering towards your partner. You stole what you could from inside the shacks and huts, while also killing as many villagers as possible. You eventually found yourself and Leon meeting in the dirty swamp water, and he grabbed your bicep, yanking you to land. There was a locked shack, and Leon quickly shot it open with one hand.
That was a LITTLE hot.
Inside you found a chicken egg, a small key, and your engine fuel.
"This is what I'm talking about," Leon said, picking up the gas canister.
"That made no sense," you said, turning to him.
He gave you a side eye, before you both slipped back out of the shack, climbed up a wooden ladder back into the main village, and hopped back down into the swamp. You ran back to the mineshaft you had arrived in, narrowly dodging some flaming arrows, and dashed back to the lake.
Upon approaching the boat, Leon filled the engine with gas, and then hopped in. You followed as he yanked on the cord to the engine, and then sat back, stretching your arms over your head.
The large bag of spears on the floor of the boat didn't bother you in the slightest.
Leon began the rather peaceful drive across the lake, and you enjoyed the sound of the splashing water. Until the engine popped. One of your closed eyes shot open, and you sat up.
"Stupid —"
"I didn't do anything!" Leon quickly shot back, reaching for the cord.
He yanked the cord maybe three times, before a tremendous force shook the small boat. He went flying, and you grabbed him.
"You don't think..." you began, looking out into the water as you slowly released him.
You both violently scanned over the water, and you subconsciously creeped closer to the edge of the boat.
"Get back," Leon called.
You were about to argue, until a huge wave rocked the boat. You and Leon screamed, whipping around to see the water beast you had spotted earlier. It narrowly missed the boat with its large jaws and sharp teeth. It sent the boat flying, and you crashing into your partner as you both tried desperately to ground yourselves.
The wave made the engine start back up again, and Leon quickly took action. He shoved you back into the engine, and you quickly began to steer as Leon picked up the first spear, throwing it and hitting the beast in the tail.
You followed hot behind its trail, and suddenly, it whipped around, lunging at the boat. It narrowly missed, but it rocked the water, sending Leon crashing into your boot. You kicked him back onto his feet, and he went back to work, trying to slay the beast. It suddenly dove, and the boat slowed to a stop as you scanned over the water.
When it resurfaced, Leon grabbed another spear.
"Think you can swallow me whole, huh?"
"You really think you can do it...?"
The memories faded just as quickly as they came, and thankfully, you did not overheat. Suddenly, the creature came straight forward, and Leon threw a spear directly at its head. It dove under, and you resumed chasing it once it resurfaced. Leon continued the theme of stabbing it repeatedly, occasionally waiting for it to resurface, and then stabbing it head on when it tried to eat the boat.
"We're gonna sink at this rate!" You called over the sound of the engine as you narrowly managed to follow the creature.
"You wanna kill it, be my guest!" Leon screamed, throwing another spear.
The creature was now leaving a trail of blood behind it in the water, making it easier and easier to follow. It whipped around again, and you narrowly managed to duck under its jaws.
"The boat can't take another hit like that," you called, and Leon groaned.
He pulled his arm back, and sent the spear flying. The creature dove back into the water, before re-emerging as it let out a cry of pain. It splashed back into the water, a large area of red encircling where it once was.
Leon panted, before dropping onto the boat.
"Hey," you called, grabbing his arm.
He was soaked in sweat and water — not like you weren't a little wet as well — and he continued to breath heavily.
"It's okay," you said gently. "It's dead."
Was he that out of shape? No fucking way! There had to be something wrong with him. Maybe he was sick?
Suddenly, he let out a cough, lurching over the side of the boat as he vomited.
"Hey!" You called again, grabbing his shoulders.
He had vomited blood.
"Are you okay?" You asked quickly, concern evident in your tone.
He let out a pant, before shaking his head. He pushed himself up, before crashing backwards. He sent the boat rocking, but thankfully, you didn't tip.
His back pressed against your chest as he panted, eyes shut. He was unconscious.
"Oh, Leon," you sighed.
What the hell had him like this?
"I've got you, sweetheart," you said gently, as his head subconsciously turned into the crook of your neck. "I've got you."
Thank God for your mothering gene. You held the man to your chest as he breathed heavily, eyes wrenched shut in pain. He would wake up soon, you told yourself.
A sudden pain once again lurched through your stomach, and you groaned. Leon's hand raced to your thigh as he sat between your legs, letting out a grunt. He was asleep, but he was still worried about your well being. He gripped the soft flesh through his slumber, his face slowly relaxing.
And it was nice like that...
"Sacrificial wife. You will marry me. It begins now. When day breaks, you too will join our covenant. To share in my holy blessing... You will bear my brood."
Your eyes flicked down as a sudden pain erupted into your stomach, and you screamed.
Leon shot up, eyes shooting open. His sudden movements not only rocked the boat, but awoke you from your terrible dream. You both sat up quickly, eyes locked on each other. Leon's eyes flew down to his wrists as he quickly felt them up and down.
"Hey!"
His head shot up.
"It's okay," you told him. "You're okay."
He nodded slowly, panting.
"What about you?"
Your hand reached down to your lower stomach, and you shrugged.
"Been better. Could use some music."
He nodded, turning to look out at the water. He spotted a shed, and crawled towards the engine. He pulled it as you breathed slowly, rubbing the area that would occasionally swell with pain.
"Sweet Caroline..."
The boat started up, and Leon drove it into the boat house.
"Bum bum bum..."
He let it come to a stop, before exiting the small boat. He offered you a gloved hand, and you took it. He pulled you out of the splintered boat, and scanned over the boat house. You had lost some daytime. Time to make up for it.
A familiar beeping rang in your ear, and you greeted it.
"Condor One to Roost. Do you read me?" Leon asked, slowly creeping forward in the boat house.
"Condor one!? You've been radio silent for three hours. Are you all right? Is Condor Two with you!?"
"Yeah, we're fine. Wont let it happen again,"
"And the church?"
"Still looking for whatever 'key' we need."
"Were you two?..."
"WHAT?!" Your hand flew up to your comm. "No! That's dumb, and rude to suggest!"
"Copy that. I'm glad you're OK. Roost out."