With a small groan of discomfort from the position he had been in for the past hour, Leon's eyes fluttered open and they scanned the area around him. He rolled his left shoulder, feeling no pain whatsoever. On the floor beside him was his sliced up sleeve and a bloodied strip of gauze. One hand danced across the area where the bullet wound once was, not feeling a hint of pain or a drop of blood.
"Gwen..." Leon huffed, assembling the puzzle pieces in his mind. "You really are stubborn..." Speaking of said woman, the officer glanced around and realized she nor Ada was nearby.
Leon pushed himself off the wall and to his feet, wondering where his lover and the agent had wandered off. Ada's trench coat fell to the floor, forever being forgotten. "Gwen? Ada? Where are you?!"
Receiving no response from either woman, Leon grew worried. The young officer wandered off in search of Gwen and Ada. He ascended a small lift after having to summon it. On the upper level, he searched around and heard humming. Further down a small stairwell, he saw a figure reclining against the wall. The humming was coming from the silhouette in the darkness, which he followed without hesitation.
Flashlight piercing the shadows all around him, Leon found the owner of the gentle humming. "Gwen, why're you here? I thought something bad happened to you when I couldn't find you."
"Oh, Leon, you're awake!" Gwen flew to her feet and lost her balance for a split second, but she regained it before falling. "I'm sorry for wandering off. I was curious and wandered up the lift. Found a few things and sat down to rest. You've been out for an hour. How're you feeling?"
Leon sent her a weak, scolding gaze. "I told you to just use gauze."
Gwen pulled at the tip of her fingers, a habit she developed that gives away her nervousness. "I-I know. It's just you looked like you were in so much pain and I couldn't bear it. Yell at me all you like, but I don't regret using my blood."
The blonde rubbed a hand against his forehead, showcasing his frustration. "You're too sweet for your own good... How did you...?"
The archivist blushed, knowing exactly what he was asking. "Oh, um... just mouth-to-mouth. I knew you wouldn't take the medicine if I offered it to you when you awoke, so I decided to give it to you while you were unconscious."
Leon grinned in amusement, crossing his arms. "I almost did the exact same thing when you were unconscious from the fall, but you woke up before I could administer the medicine."
"Maybe I should've woken up a few minutes later," Gwen teased, her own grin sprouting. It dissipated when she remembered the items she found while he was unconscious and in the gun shop. "Oh! I found some-what're you doing?"
The moment Gwen went to hand over her findings, Leon closed the distance between them and backed her into a corner. Stunned into silence, Gwen only could watch as the blonde placed his arms on the wall behind her head, caging her in with his body. Her lapis eyes were wide and brimming with bewilderment as she watched every move Leon made. Her shoulders visibly tensed up when the man leaned in and his lips were mere inches from hers.
The heat radiating from Gwen's cheeks could put the sun to shame. She tried to form a single coherent thought, but her mind was a blank slate. Leon reprimanded his slight hesitation and pressed his lips against hers. Unlike previous kisses, this one was overflowing with passion, hunger, and greed.
In the four years she'd known Leon, Gwen never knew he could possess such deep, passionate love for her and her alone. In reality, he had been her lifeline in the sea of unknown. Unbeknownst to Gwen, the same could be said about her. She was Leon's beacon of light in the darkest of times and he couldn't live without her.
Leon pressed his body against Gwen's, causing her to gasp. The man took the chance and deepened the kiss, feeling her pale skin heat up under his touch. Her hands snaked up his sides and around his torso, clutching the back of his vest tightly.
The kiss lasted for what felt like hours but was only a few minutes, in reality. Forced to pull apart due to the need for oxygen, Gwen rested her head on Leon's chest, hands splayed across his back. The silence was shattered when the officer placed his hand on the back of her head, cradling it against his chest. "I love you. I hope you know that, Gwen."
The archivist nuzzled her cheek against Leon's chest with a loving smile. "Of course, I do, silly. I love you, too, Leon." Even though the couple was in the sewer, they enjoyed their blissful moment every second of the way. Though Ada was missing, the dress-wearing woman had escaped their thoughts for a few minutes as they shared an intense, hungry kiss.
Leon pulled away from Gwen but not before placing a quick peck on the cheek. "As much as I love this, we need to find Ada. Do you have any clue where she went?"
Gwen looked away for a brief second, shrugging her shoulders. "No idea. I was busy tending to your wound that I didn't pay attention to where she went. I did hear a couple of explosions, though. From what or where, I've no clue."
The blonde peered down over the railing, staring down at the sewage below. "Guess we're going down." Glancing back at Gwen, he smirked slightly. "You ready for some more swimming?"
"I'll make sure to keep my mouth shut this time," the young woman responded with a small grimace.
"Let's go."
The couple drop down into the murky water with a splash, pushing through pieces of trash as they followed the sewage system. The path divided, but one avenue was sealed shut. Behind the metal bars, Gwen was able to see a stairwell. "Think we can go through the right tunnel and reach the stairs?"
"We'll just have to see," Leon said, leading the way with his pistol at the ready.
They were able to reach the stairwell without incident. Leon and Gwen pulled their bodies out of the sludge, spotting a corpse leaning against the wall. Gwen refused to go up the stairs when she recognized the mask that obscured the man's face. "It's them..."
Leon was at the top of the small stairwell when he heard the archivist mumble to herself. "Who's "them"?"
"I recognize that mask from anywhere. It's the exact same one the men who killed my parents wore."
The officer eyed the body as he walked over to it. Squatting next to the rotting corpse, a patch on the man's sleeve caught his eye. "His jacket has the Umbrella insignia on it. Are you sure it was an underground lab and not the sewer you were taken to?"
Gwen nodded, walking up the stairs to join Leon. "I'm positive. I would've remembered the smell if this was the place. The lab smelt like chemicals and cleaning supplies. This is definitely not the place."
"We must be getting close if there are dead Umbrella guards here." Leon stood up and examined the other corpse not too far from the deceased guard. By the dead body was a video cassette with "Operation Nestwrecker (2)" taped to the side.
"Better hang on to that. Might be something helpful if we can find out what's on it," Gwen said.
"Yeah." Leon took the video cassette and turned when the sound of groaning startled him. A zombie dragged its body out of the room behind them. Gwen easily killed the monster, the single bullet being enough to cause its head to explode.
The duo pressed onward, maneuvering through the sewer system. Many of the sewage and construction workers' bodies were still in the sewer, creating a steady flow of enemies for Leon and Gwen to push through in their search for Ada.
Gwen had remembered what she was going to hand over to her boyfriend before he backed her into a corner earlier and kissed her. "I forgot to give this to you after we searched the gun shop. I found some shotgun shells for you and a grenade. But, uh... I ended up using the grenade on our large, scaly friend."
"I can't believe a single grenade wasn't enough to kill that thing. This virus must really be something." Leon remained silent for a few seconds before asking Gwen a question. "Do you trust Ada?"
"In all honesty, no. Her behavior, the way she handles situations... She doesn't look or act like a FBI agent, but she has the credentials of one."
"I'm a little skeptical of her myself."
"It's strange seeing a single agent working on an important case. If this virus is so important, wouldn't the government use all they could to retrieve it and not just send one agent?" Gwen inquired. "Her story isn't adding up."
"Yeah, but at least she's on our side," Leon stated.
"I'll give her the benefit of the doubt for now. We still need all the help we can get down here."
<---------<<<<<<<<<<
"Is this... a chess piece?" Gwen questioned as she found a plug in an electrical panel with a strange design.
Leon stood next to her and examined it. "It's a rook."
When the officer went to unplug the piece, Gwen stopped him. "Whoa. Hold on there, Casanova. If we remove this piece, who know what we'll shutdown. Let's forget about it for now."
The blonde released the tip of the Rook. "Okay. Where to?"
"Well..." Gwen glanced down the only way they hadn't tried. "Guess we're going straight."
They crossed over a metal platform, reaching a door with "Treatment Facility" printed in white with a red background. Leon pulled on the handle, an all too familiar locking sound reverberating. "Locked... Dammit."
"Guess we're taking the stairs," Gwen stated, noticing the stairwell to their right.
The two trekked down the staircase and ended up back in the murky water of the sewer. Gwen felt a chill crawl up her spine as she felt something graze her calf. "Please tell me that was garbage..."
Leon turned around just as a piece of garbage floated to the surface beside Gwen. He smirked at her. "It was."
The archivist sighed in relief. "Good. Wouldn't want to find any mutated snakes. An alligator is one thing, but... snakes are another."
"Don't like snakes?" Leon asked.
"Hate them with a passion."
"You're going to hate this even more," Leon commented as they reached a slope leading down further into the sewer.
Gwen gaped at the incline in disbelief. "A waterside of sewage... Beautiful..."
"No time to hesitate." The blonde man grabbed the archivist's hand. "Only one way down."
Without waiting for Gwen's approval, Leon dragged her down the slope with him. They splashed into the sludge, the young woman having her eyes and mouth sealed. She opened her eyes then her mouth, exhaling the breath she had held as they slid down.
"Argh... Shit!" Leon released Gwen's hand and ran his fingers through his partially wet hair.
"Literally," Gwen snickered, smirking at him.
Trudging through the sludge, the couple searched the sewer for another passageway. Further down the waterway, something splashed in the contaminated water. Leon and Gwen knew it wasn't water pouring from one of the many pipes draining into the waterway. The two stopped, pistols drawn and loaded. They exchanged suspicious glances before slowly creeping through the sewage, trying to make as little sound as possible.
The waterway divided, the right path being the only way the duo could go due to the left tunnel being sealed off. In the middle of the right tunnel was what seemed to be a large lump of flesh. "The hell is that?" Gwen muttered loud enough for Leon to hear.
"Not sure." Leon held up his flashlight, surveying the strange object.
Being the curious person she was, Gwen slowly crept towards the foreign object. When she was only a few feet from it, she felt something skim against her ankle. Her eyes snapped down to the water, unable to see what it was. "Was that another-" The object wrapped around her ankle, yanking her body into the water.
"Gwen!" Leon bellowed, searching the water for her. The pile of flesh reanimated, coming to life and rising from the water. With it, a tentacle-like appendage emerged with the woman trapped in its clutch. It raised her body to its mouth, spewing a strange substance over her entire body as it shrieked.
Leon shot the appendage wrapped around her body, forcing the creature to drop her. Then, he switched his handgun for the shotgun and was able to incapacitate it. He rushed to Gwen, pulling her body into his arms and going around the monster. As the officer escaped the monster up a stairwell and through a door, he heard Gwen's labored and raspy breathing. It sounded like she was having difficulty breathing.
At the base of a ladder near a cable car, Leon placed Gwen down against the wall. He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look up at him. Her hands weakly reached up and clawed at his arms, chest rising and falling rapidly. Her gaze was unfocused and shook as she tried to speak. "Blue..."
"Gwen, what the hell did that thing do to you?" Leon asked.
"Can't... breathe..." She managed to speak. "Blue... herb..." One of her hands fell to her hip pouch, but she was having difficultly opening it. Leon reached for the pouch, unzipped it, and searched for what she needed. He pulled out numerous of rolls of crushed herbs, but he couldn't find any blue ones.
Scavenging once more, Leon found another roll of herbs and uncurled it to see which kind they were. Luckily, it was exactly what he was looking for. Placing the piece of paper against Gwen's lip, he poured the herbs into her mouth. Even though she couldn't breathe, it was easy for her to swallow the blue herbs.
A few minutes passed and Gwen's breathing returned to normal. Leon's hands moved from her cheeks to her arms as he continued to stare into her lapis eyes. "How're you feeling?"
"Horrible, but I can breathe," she rasped while trying to smile.
"Do you think you can get up the ladder?" Leon questioned.
"I'll try." Gwen pushed her back against the wall, using it as leverage to get up. Leon noticed her struggle to get back onto her feet and helped her up. "Thank you, Leon."
"Just take it easy." He helped her to the ladder and allowed her to go first in case she wounded up slipping due to her condition.
Up the ladder, the couple enter what appeared to be a control room. The chamber was large and nearly vacant besides a few control boards, lockers, and a table by the door. The door closed behind them and Gwen reclined against the cool metal.
Once giving the room a good search, Leon returned to Gwen, who was still leaning against the door with a woozy expression. "You need to rest, Gwen."
"We don't have time to relax. We have to find Ada." Without a word, Leon turned his back to the archivist and squatted down. Gwen raised a brow in confusion at the officer's actions. "What're you doing, Leon?"
"Giving you a piggyback ride," he simply stated.
"Wha-no, I can walk."
"Don't be stubborn and hop on."
Gwen bit the inside of her cheek, sighing through her nose. "Okay."