After finding a way to open the shutter and to bypass a door with a mechanical lock involving two levers, the trio found themselves in a large, open room with crates and barrels scattered about. The cargo was strewn through the room, no organization method used and just carelessly scattered and shoved into corners.
A construction vehicle with a flatbed and a claw on the front caught Gwen's eye. A glint of mischievousness crossed through her sapphire eyes as she smirked. "I think we found our get-away vehicle."
"I can drive," Ashley offered a helping hand.
"I don't see why not. Ashley, take the wheel. Gwen and I will ride in the back. We'll keep the enemies from overpowering us," Leon said.
Ashley smiled, unable to hide how happy she was that the two agents trusted her. She darted towards the front of vehicle while Leon climbed into the flatbed and offered Gwen a helping hand. She placed her hand in his and he hauled her onto the construction vehicle. Ashley glanced over her shoulder, watching as the couple reloaded their weapons. "You guys ready?"
"Let's blow this popsicle stand. I could use something more interesting," Gwen smirked as she met Ashley's amber gaze.
The blonde girl nodded with a wide smile, the vehicle's engine coming to life with a ragged but intimidating roar. "Let's go!" Utilizing the claw on the front of the vehicle, Ashley tore through the metal gate to access the tunnel. She drove steadily and at a decent pace through the tunnel.
Gwen held her pistol in both hands as she stood beside Leon. She could feel the vibration of the engine as they stood in the flatbed. "I've got a bad feeling about this..." Just as those words left the woman's mouth, a throng of ganados charged down the tunnel from where they had acquired the construction vehicle. "Called it."
The cultists dashed down the tunnel, their weapons swinging back and forth as they pursued the construction vehicle. When they caught up, the men hopped onto the edge of the flatbed and hauled their bodies upwards into the back of the vehicle. Gwen managed to stomp on a few of their hands and force them to let go, falling off and tumbling into a few more cultists. Leon used the firearm in his hands, blowing more men off the flatbed and killing them in the process.
"There's more of them!" Ashley shouted without sparing them a glance. More ganados jumped down and landed in front of the agents. Gwen shot both men in the head but regretted her decision when parasites sprouted from their bodies, swinging their sharp tails around wildly. Leon waited for the two cult members to line up and used a single shell to kill both parasites.
Out of nowhere, a truck came barreling towards them. The vehicle's horn echoed throughout the tunnel, causing Gwen to tense her shoulders slightly. She aimed her handgun at the oncoming truck and fired a few rounds into its engine. Flames erupted from the hood and grill as it rammed into the side of the tunnel before it could plow into the construction vehicle.
Gwen sighed in relief, seeing the truck had crashed. Her joy was short-lived when the truck returned for round two. "Oh, come on! Just blow up already!" She fired a couple of more bullets into the engine. The flames consumed the entire front-end of the truck and before it could ram into the back of the construction vehicle, its engine exploded and killed the man behind the wheel. The truck collided with the side of the tunnel before tumbling over on its side, blocking the passageway and killing a handful of cultists.
The construction vehicle suddenly lurched to a screeching halt. Gwen nearly fell over, but Leon snaked an arm around her waist to prevent her from collapsing. The archivist glanced around after the blonde had released his hold on her. "Why'd we stop?" She turned around to face Ashley, finally realizing they needed to pull a lever to activate the lift they were on.
Leon was about to hop out of the flatbed, but Gwen stopped him by latching onto the side of his shirt. His head snapped towards her, wondering what she was trying to convey. She nodded towards a nearby ladder and unclasped her hand from his black shirt. "I'll handle it. Just cover me."
"Will do." Leon prepped his handgun and remained in the flatbed while Gwen leapt out. She climbed up one of the ladders to the upper platform to reach the operating lever. Several ganados pursued the woman as she reached the top. Leon shot the enemies scaling the ladder to keep them away from the archivist.
After pulling the lever to activate the lift, Gwen turned to leave but stopped in her tracks when three cultists were blocking her way. She turned to head the opposite way, but there were more ganados.
Leon looked up and saw Gwen was surrounded. He realized how close they were to her and couldn't find a clean shot to kill any of the men. She backed away from the approaching men until she spotted one way to regroup with him and Ashley.
Without hesitating, Gwen dashed to the railing and hoisted her body over the bar of metal. She landed in the seat next to Ashley, startling the girl in the process. The midnight-haired woman apologized for frightening her as she sat down. "Sorry, but it was the only way down."
Ashley looked up to see the horde of ganados peering down at them with a few heading towards the ladders. "This elevator needs to move faster!" It seemed the lift had heard the girl's shout and finally moved, resulting in the cultists climbing down the ladders to be crushed.
Once the lift came to a stop, Ashley slammed her foot against the gas pedal and took off. Gwen lurched back in the seat from the sudden force and latched onto the leather to keep herself from falling off the construction vehicle. From the flatbed, she heard Leon's gun discharging.
Glancing back, Gwen saw the overwhelming amount of ganados pursuing them. "More uninvited guests." She gazed at Ashley and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Keep up the amazing driving." Then, the archivist joined Leon in the flatbed and aided him in killing the persistent men.
"Shit," Leon hissed as he ran out of shotgun shells. "How many of these bastards are there?"
"Don't know," Gwen sighed, knocking a man off the vehicle with a single shot to the shoulder. "It's like moths to a flame, and we're the flame."
Leon went to respond, but his thoughts were drowned out by honking. He grimaced when another truck came into sight and planned to hit them head-on. "Great. More trouble."
"Is that... armor?" Gwen's eyes narrowed at seeing the melded-together plates of metal covering the truck's exterior. The driver honked the horn again and the woman promptly shot at the engine. One of her bullets pierced through the metal plating, setting the engine aflame.
The truck's engine exploded, but the vehicle kept on its path as it barreled down the hill towards them. It rammed into the front, causing Ashley to lose control and the construction vehicle to veer sharply to the left. The three were thrown from the vehicle as it tipped over after crashing into a building.
Gwen groaned in pain as she landed next to Leon. Ashley pushes herself off the ground, placing a hand against her temple. "Ugh, my head..."
Leon recovered from the fall and brushed the dirt from his clothes as he stood up. "Talk about making an entrance."
"I'll say," Gwen huffed as she slowly got to her feet. She coughed when she accidentally inhaled a small cloud of dust.
"You two alright?" Leon asked as he glanced between the two girls.
"A little beaten up from the fall, but we're fine," Gwen responded.
"Yeah. I'm going to find bruises all over me tomorrow," Ashley added.
"Same here," the archivist said. She stretched and felt a tinge of pain in her back. "And might wake up with a sore back."
<------------<<<<<<<<<<<<
Once passing the merchant and through another door, Saddler greeted the trio. His maniacal gaze was mostly focused on Leon as he spoke. "I can feel them. Growing ever so strongly inside you."
"Saddler!" Leon bellows as he charges at the robed man.
Saddler raises his hand, which is enough to manipulate the parasite inside the agent's body. The Plagas inside Leon reacts to its master's call and brings him to his knees. As the vermin wriggled inside his body, the pain was overbearing and he fell to the floor with painful cries. Saddler guffawed at the sight of Leon being forced to his knees. "Perhaps you can resist, but you cannot disobey."
Saddler lowers his hand and pulls something out from under his robe. Gwen hadn't been paying attention to the man as he revealed the blowpipe and placed it against his lips. Her attention was solely focused on Leon, who tried to warn her through his excruciating pain. "G-Gwen...!"
But it was too late. A dart launched from the wooden pipe and the needle pierced the woman's neck. She yelped from feeling the small pinch and immediately yanked the dart from her neck. She glanced down at the small object in her palm and stepped away from Leon as she glared at Saddler. "You-!" She was unable to finish her sentence as the needle of the dart was coated in the same substance the ganado used to knock her unconscious in the castle. Trying to fight against the drug, she trudged towards Saddler, hand resting over the gun strapped to her thigh. She made it to the base of the steps before she fell to the floor, losing consciousness.
Leon tried to push through the pain and crawl to Gwen's side, but he couldn't budge an inch. Ashley gasped and ran to the woman's aid. "Gwen!" She fell to her knees beside her and placed a hand on the archivist's arm.
Saddler's amusement only blossomed further as he watched the scene before him. Raising his hand, he cut the moment short as he knew time was short. "Now, come to me, Ashley."
Ashley falls under Saddler's spell. Eyes red, in a trance, she heeds the man's call. As she steps over Gwen's body, Leon manages to toss a homing beacon on her back.
A burly ganado arrived when Saddler beckoned for assistance. The brute stood beside the man as he held Ashley's hand. "Do be careful with our goddess. She is quite fragile." The large man nodded and headed down the stairs as Saddler guided Ashley by the hand out of the room.
As the ganado hauled Gwen's body over his shoulder, Leon felt the immense pain subside and grabbed his handgun. Once the ganado reached the top of the steps, the agent fired a bullet into the back of his leg. "Not losing her again, you bastard."
The assailant grunted in pain and fell, dropping Gwen's body in the process. Luckily, he didn't wind up tumbling down the stairs until after dropping her.
With another bullet, Leon shot the man in the head and killed him. Holstering his pistol, the blonde slowly got to his feet and shuffled up the stairs. He fell to his knees beside Gwen, still feeling weak from the pain of the parasite. The first thing he did was check her body for any injuries from when the man dropped her. Fortunately, she was fine.
Leon was relieved to find she wasn't injured, but he wasn't sure when she'd wake up. He needed to get to Ashley quickly and pulled Gwen's body onto his back to carry her. As he adjusted her on his back, his eyes caught a glimpse of a note on a table nearby.
*****
Our Plan
Because of that agent we lost Chief Mendez and Ramon. Nevertheless, everything will proceed according to plan.
I must admit however, the loss of my loyal men is a bit disheartening. But I will deal with it.
Replacing that loss will not come easy. I must choose wisely; for the Plaga reflects the conscience of their hosts. If chosen poorly, they could betray me.
I need men who will swear their allegiance to me.
I've learned my lesson when Sera betrayed me. I will not make the same mistake again.
In this important hour, I cannot and will not have anyone stand in my way.
*****
"I wonder...where Luis...is..." Gwen's drowsy voice rang in Leon's left ear. Her warm breath brushed past his ear as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"You alright?" Leon inquired.
"Still...really tired..." Her head lulled to the side, it now resting against the blonde's cheek. "I think...the dart had... a lower dosage...than the...bolt..." Her eyes blinked tiredly as she tried to fight the drug in her system.
"You're still in no shape to fight. You better stay on the sidelines until the drug wears off," Leon stated.
"Will do..." Gwen's eye's closed, her body going slack against Leon's back. He cupped her thighs tightly to make sure she wouldn't fall off his back. Her arms hung limp around his neck.
Using his foot, Leon kicked in the door and followed the stairwell down to another door. From the other side, he could hear ganados mumbling and wandering around. Before proceeding forward, he placed Gwen down beside the door. "Stay here."
"Like I have...a choice..." Gwen mumbled.
"Heh. No, you don't." Leon unholstered his handgun and bursted through the door without warning.
In her somnolent state, Gwen could hear a mixture of gunfire, yelling, and groaning. By the painful screams from the cultists, she knew Leon was winning. She didn't doubt his skills and knew he could handle himself. All she would be in her current state is a burden.
When the gunfire and yelling ceased, the archivist pushed her body off the floor by dragging her body up the wall behind her. She leaned against the wall, using it as support to keep herself from falling. "Ugh..." She sighed. "Damn drugs..."
Gwen dragged her body towards the door and threw her weak body against it to open it. She ended up running straight into Leon and groaned from the impact. She took a few steps back, but she regretted it when the weakness in her body caused her to stumble. Luckily, Leon caught her before she tumbled. One of his brows arched as he kept his arm wound around her waist. "What do you think you're doin'?"
Gwen rubbed her nose, a small wave of pain flooding her nostrils from where her face slammed into Leon's toned chest. "What's it...to you, beefcake? I was..." Her voice trailed off as her eyes fluttered shut and she fell forward, her body being enveloped in sleep.
Leon sighed, lowering himself and Gwen to the ground. "You really are a handful sometimes."