Chapter Text
“Mr. Kennedy, I had a feeling you'd make an appearance. Sorry, but I don't have time to spare.” Zeno’s words cut through the intense air spread between them after Grace’s collapse to the ground. Leon held his Requiem steady, leveled on the bastard half expecting him to make a run for it. The explosion of debris that rained down from the ceiling startled Leon as he reflexively flinched back to protect his head from any wayward shards of wood and metal. The whole room quaked with the force of something very big landing on the floor between him and Zeno. Hesitantly, Leon lifted his gaze to inspect the cause of the blast. Coughing as the dust settled around his feet, he peered through the hazy cloud that drifted around them making his throat itch with every weary breath. Through the haze, a dark figure rose to its full terrifying height.
As Leon's eyes adjusted, his brain began to process the painfully familiar details of the towering silhouette before him. His throat went tight as his stomach dropped out with a mix of dread and shock.
“Have fun.” The gritty rasp of Zeno's words were a mockery as he carried Grace's unconscious body away through the secondary set of doors in the conference room. Leon barely registered their exit as his gaze fixed on the blue-grey hue of leathery skin on an agonizingly familiar face. He felt wrong footed as he took a hesitant step back to steady himself. The slick black trenchcoat was shiny in the scant traces of light that gleamed off of it through the lingering dust that gathered around his massive arms and shoulders.
“Ty…?” The name felt choked off as his throat grew tight. Leon's mouth felt terribly dry all of a sudden as he watched the behemoth man that once stalked these blood splattered halls stomp menacingly towards him.
‘It can't be.’ Leon hastily reminded himself with the painful memories of all those years ago. The Ty he knew was gone. The man that saved his life, the Tyrant that broke free of Umbrella's stranglehold on his consciousness was dead. He died a long time ago, alongside the cop in Leon. They were both sacrificed to survive that hellhole.
This one was different. It's eyes- they were a menacing blood red compared to the gentle pale grey of the Ty he previously loved. Caught up in his frantic thoughts, Leon could only deflect the punch that was aimed at him using his hatchet to take most of the impact. His shoulders cried out in protest as the painful shocks echoed through his arms as he held off the strike. He wasn't expecting the second punch to follow. It made contact with his chest, sending him flying back into the broken plaster and water damaged wooden door at his back. A miserable groan left Leon's lips as he sucked in a breath that stuttered inside of his chest followed by a hastier second breath. His lungs didn't want to obey him as he dragged in gasp after helpless gasp. The Tyrant paused to inspect his writhing figure stretched out on the ground before continuing its approach. Leon adjusted his grip on Requiem and fired a shot at the unstable roof overhead. The floor above came down dropping rubble and the remnants of an old metal desk down on top of his head burying the Tyrant for now.
Leon knew that wasn't going to hold him for long as he shoved himself back up to his feet. He needed to get moving now. He ran as quickly as his body could reasonably accommodate in his current condition, sucking in a wheezing breath every few steps as he tenderly groped his aching chest. He was damn lucky nothing broke but he was pretty sure something was bruised from the impact. His back ached as muscles spasmed and twinged along his spine in aggravated protest.
“Fuck….” He rasped. The taste of blood made his tongue feel slick as Leon cocked his head to spit it back out on the ground. His feet felt heavy as he dragged them across the filthy floors of the East wing hallways. He navigated through all the damage to evade the heavy footfalls of the pursuing tyrant. Racing his way towards the stairwell that would take him to the second floor, he had to leap to cross the gap where the wooden planks had given way over the years. His legs swung loosely as his fingers clutched the upper floorboards for dear life, praying the nails and planks were stable enough to hold his weight. The Tyrant's footfalls closed in on the stairwell as Leon scrambled up the steps with a clumsy hoist dragging his ass up with the rest of him. With no time to catch his breath, he ran through the narrow winding halls towards the waiting room lobby. Those ominous footsteps had grown quiet. Their looming approach had faded away.
Leon held his breath. He didn't trust the tricks of bioweapons, particularly those of very intelligent bioweapons. He held his ground as his heart pounded frantically against his chest. Every breath ached as he permitted small gasps in an attempt to still his trembling hands. Requiem wavered between his fingers as he slowly lowered the gun and let his exhausted body sink to his knees.
‘It’s not him.’ It didn't make the pain he felt in his heart feel any less sharp. He couldn't bring himself to do it -to pull the trigger- to hurt Ty.
The years had passed and he's fought so many tyrants over the years, but none were like this. A spitting image of the man that saved his life from the mutated Dr. Birkin, and helped him navigate the horrors of that night. Ty stayed behind so he could escape. He remained in the self-destructing NEST facility, while Leon got away and reunited with Claire and Sherry. He saved them, and Leon never forgot that, or forgave himself for leaving him behind to fight alone.
‘I couldn't even save you.’ Zeno's mocking note taunted him in the back of his mind. His fingers balled up into tight fists as he fought off the tears that burned behind his eyes, and the painful lump that swelled up in his throat. He swallowed it down and forced himself to get back to his feet.
‘There’s no time to delay.’ He still had a mission to carry out, and he was going to ensure he stopped that son of a bitch Zeno once and for all.
Leon explored the surrounding buildings on the street along the R.P.D. while following some intel left behind by the BSAA regarding useful supplies. Ammunition depots, storage facilities that survived the fallout and other BSAA camps they lost contact with. It led him around a bit but he didn't mind when it was accompanied with some useful intel on the area and a shotgun to boot. He adjusted the strap over his shoulder as he walked the eerie silence of the streets. His hand remained close to Matilda on his hip. It felt fitting to bring her along on this mission after all these years. He started his first day with her by his side, and here they were again, both a little beat up and scratched having seen far better days but still fighting the good fight nonetheless. She was good for dealing quick blows to any of the wandering infected that still called these streets home. She didn't need much power to blow out a zombie's kneecap or deposit a dose of hot lead through their brains.
As he cut through a back alley that took him through a shopping center, Leon paused in his exploration when his flashlight beam lanced through the dark to find himself in an old clothing store. The shopping center was a quick shortcut to reach the next BSAA camp on his GPS which was why he had taken the route he had, but he never expected to wander in to find many of the mannequins and their creepy silhouettes still standing. Each were posing with the aged styles of the late 90’s. Men's coats and women's blouses were stained and tattered from age, moth bitten and weather worn. He scanned the racks of carefully arranged clothing that had clearly seen far better days with their once bright colors turned dingy and moldy with time. The smell was nothing to scoff at as it stung his nostrils in passing. Leon used the sleeve of his shirt to help protect his face the best he could as he squeezed by two racks of trousers towards the back entrance. Belts and coats lined the furthest wall with one section of carefully maintained shelves lined with plexiglass windows displaying various nice quality hats. Leon was genuinely surprised to find the windows were intact. As he pressed his palm against one that held a black fedora within, the surface gave with very little effort on his part. It had clearly grown brittle with age and years of stress from the elements. The fat shards fell with a distinctive clatter clearing the way to the accessory inside.
‘Huh, just like the one Ty used to wear.’ That is until a licker got ahold of it while trying to pursue Leon. The rookie back then had knocked it off of Ty’s head in his panic when the creature pounced on him from above. Leon had fallen to the ground and used the hat clutched in his hand to take the brunt of the bioweapon's furious bite that was aimed at his jugular. It gave him enough leeway to get his knee under the licker’s torso to try to shove it off. It took the thoroughly chewed up hat with it before preparing to strike at Leon with its set of terrifyingly sharp talons. Ty had stepped in to intercept the swipe. The claws nicked the Tyrant's arm but made barely a scratch in their aggression. Ty made short work of the creature as he squashed the licker's head with a well placed palm over its exposed scalp.
Leon felt a little guilty for the loss of the hat at the time, but Ty seemed nonplussed by its absence. He pulled the rookie back up to his feet as a strong hand caught Leon's chin to inspect him over for any signs of injury.
The memory was very bittersweet for the agent now as he observed the hat before him. He didn't really know why he did it exactly, but a crazy sentimental part of Leon couldn't stop himself as he took the item from the shelf. It was much cleaner than Leon was expecting. The fabric smelled a little on the stale side like it had been sitting in someone's attic for years but it wasn't anything a little air drying couldn't fix.
“If anyone asks, I'm just going to call you my good luck charm.” Not like anyone was really around to judge him for it as he placed the hat inside of his attaché case for safe keeping. Giving the metal exterior of the case an affectionate pat, Leon continued. “Alright, that's enough window shopping for one day. To that BSAA camp.”
It was just at the end of this alley judging by the location of the coordinates Sherry had given him. The orphanage wasn't far from there. He hoped the BSAA would have some useful intel at the next location that he could put to good use in his own efforts.
There was an uneasy weight to the air around him as Leon headed for the orphanage. As soon as he stepped away from yet another BSAA camp, he felt this unsettling sense that he was being watched. Making his way towards a basketball court, he felt the unpleasant sensation of eyes on his back snake down the length of his spine. He turned in time to see the familiar silhouette of the black clad trenchcoat of the Tyrant standing on a rooftop with the remnants of a helicopter at his side. Fear jolted through Leon like a sudden bolt of electricity as he watched the creature hoist a missile up into the air in a show of warning.
“Fuck me!” Leon cursed as he bolted away from the creature’s aim. He wasn't fast enough as the missile made impact with a nearby car. The concussive blast knocked the agent clean off of his feet as he was thrown across the ground. Briefly he lost consciousness sometime before his body hit the scorched asphalt. Stirring to his eyes struggled to focus as the heavy footfalls of the Tyrant's boots stormed the earth towards him. Several feet away Leon could see his attaché case had fallen free of his grip and was lying partially open. A box of loose 9mm shells was spilled out next to the hat he had tucked inside for safe keeping. Just beyond it, the blurry approach of dark boots closed the distance. Leon dragged himself across the ground towards the case as one hand reached out for the dark garment that had fallen free.
His whole body cried out in protest. Pain blossomed across his back and spread like a fire inside of his chest. Blood welled up between his lips as he struggled forward regardless of the threat that swiftly approached him. Every breath fought him. Even his fingers had gone numb through the pain that radiated through his whole body. He could barely utter a coherent sound through the choking breaths. His relief only came with a cold acceptance when his fingers clumsily gripped the hat and drew it closer to his chest. His skin burned where the lick of extreme heat left red blemishes of proximity burns that mingled alongside a fresh patch of road rash. He ignored it just as he ignored all the rest of his body as it protested his efforts. Rolling onto his side as blood spilled past his lips in drooling puddles that he lacked the energy to properly cough up, he clung to the hat as those ominous steps stopped abruptly by his head.
Leon didn't turn his head to greet the face of the creature, fearful of seeing those blood red eyes that weren't his Ty’s, looking at him with so much malice. He closed his own eyes as the sound of creaking leather grew closer. He expected to be punched or strangled to death. Maybe even a mercifully quick death with a broken neck. It didn't matter to him. He squeezed the hat against his chest with what little strength remained as he uttered, quietly, apologetically.
“I-I’m coming…hu-home...Ty.”
‘I’m so sorry that I couldn't save you.’ The burn of tears squeezed past his eyelids to stream down his cheek and trickle over the bridge of his nose. He sucked in a shuddering shaky breath as the strength in his limbs ebbed out of him all at once.
There was a sharp stabbing pain in his right arm that made Leon grimace. A firm press of warm fingers brushed over the spot almost as if in a show of apology. The area felt tender and sore like this wasn't the first puncture to penetrate the skin. Leon felt nauseous. His stomach churned with a rolling gurgle of contempt. A feeling he had grown all too familiar with lately. A side effect of his illness and the immense stress his body was under. With a groan, he turned his head to try to sit up to avoid the uncomfortable rolling of his gut. A large hand settled against his shoulder to steady him. Leon's eyes snapped open in a sudden jolt of alarm at the sheer size of the palm holding him still.
Expecting to find Gideon lurking at his side once again, the agent was ready to lunge at the bastard with a snarl on his lips. As his exhausted eyes shot open to inspect the cause of his present condition, Leon's vision struggled to process the black clad figure looming ominously over his body. Leathery wrinkles were deepened by the shadows of the metal shipping container that presently hosted the BSAA’s equipment, and stood as a shelter for Leon at the moment. Blood red eyes studied him thoughtfully. The agent froze as he stared back at the massive man where he knelt at Leon's side. It occured to him that he was laid out across some equipment cases with an emergency thermal blanket stuffed between his back and the hard cool metal surface. A medical kit laid open next to the BSAA laptop with half a dozen used med injectors thrown across the table beside bloodied rolls of bandages and an empty ointment tube for burns and rashes. Leon looked down to find his injuries he sustained during their encounter had been cleaned and treated. Several bloody rags were thrown aside in a trash bin along with an empty bottle of peroxide. The sterile smell of antiseptic was strong in the enclosed space.
Those red eyes bore into him as one strong hand held the agent still so he couldn't get up just yet. Leon raised his right hand to hesitantly brush his fingers over the leather clad arm that crossed the claustrophobic space between them. He opened his mouth to speak but the words wouldn't come. He was too afraid. Terrified that all of this was a dream and that he had truly been killed by the monster that was set upon him by Zeno.
As the silence stretched between them, Leon struggled to find his footing in these confusing turn of events. The Tyrant lifted his other hand to stroke his powerful fingers gently through the mess of Leon's hair. He brushed out the debris that had clung to the long disheveled strands until it fell lightly across the agent's forehead once more. His face felt cleaner than before. It lacked the tightness that dried blood and tear tracks would have left in their wake.
Eventually he was able to breathe the question that had been aching inside of his chest. “Ty….?”
The hand in his hair paused in its affections. Leon squeezed his eyes shut as fear cut through his heart with the anticipation of shattered hope. He dreaded it. Silently praying, he pleaded with the universe to be kind to him just this once. A shaky breath stuttered in his throat that he stifled down and swallowed thickly. The hand in his hair withdrew. A painful hollow feeling replaced the absence as Leon's head dipped in defeated acceptance.
‘I knew it.’ He didn't know what he was expecting to come about. Miracles weren't exactly in his wheelhouse. His heart ached. A tender agony that was far quieter than any physical wound could ever be. The brush of large fingers caressed the side of Leon's face as the Tyrant nudged his head back up so his chin was raised higher. Confused by the peculiar action, Leon opened his eyes to meet the Tyrant's scarlet gaze. His own vision had grown blurry as the sting of tears pressed against the back of his eyes.
The silence stretched. Leon's heart mourned in confusion. The hand on his chin didn't waver. Their eyes locked as Leon studied the crimson coloration that seemed so terribly wrong. It made him look darker and much more menacing. It didn't seem right. The Tyrant tilted his head as he drew Leon's head forward. The press of lips met his brow in a tender kiss. Leon felt a part of him break inside.
“Ty?” It can't be-
‘It had to be.’
“Ty, is it really you in there?” He begged aloud, turning his eyes up to meet that unsettling red. The quiet grunt that followed was accompanied by the smallest twist of the bioweapon’s lips in a ghost of a smile. His heart skipped inside his chest as it rattled excitedly against his ribcage. He couldn't believe it. Was it really true? Was the man before him really the same bioweapon from all those years ago? It didn't seem possible. There had to be some sort of explanation, some meaning behind why Ty was still here after- well, after everything. The NEST was destroyed. Surely he would have been taken with it. Not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but Leon was struggling to make sense of everything.
‘That’s a problem for another time.’ Right now he was just happy to see a familiar friendly face from those days. His hand cupped over Ty’s to keep that touch against his cheek a little longer. Leon leaned into it as his eyes slipped closed. A shaky breath rattled out of him in a raspy sigh.
“I missed you so much.”
The hand against his cheek didn't withdraw. Ty adjusted the position as his fingers lightly massaged the side of Leon's head in small controlled strokes of affection. It tousled the hair along the back of his head as those powerful fingers mingled gently among the long strands of his blond locks.
“....old….” The word was gutteral. A deep grunt that was drawn from within Ty's chest. It sounded a lot like the voice Leon remembered Ty having, but back then he had a little more control over brief sentences before the NEST explosion. Leon never did figure out why that was, or how he managed to speak the way he did, but he was glad to hear the words of his old friend. Smiling through the tears of relief that welled up in his eyes once more, he breathed carefully to try to dispel the wild rush of emotions that climbed up the back of his throat.
“Yeah, Ty. I got old. It's been nearly thirty years since we last saw each other.” Leon smirked up at the bioweapon as he teased back. “Look at you. You've hardly aged a day.”
There was a breathy sound like a huff of laughter that escaped the Tyrant's throat. To anyone else, it would be intimidating but for Leon, it was music to his ears. As much as Leon wanted to catch up with his old friend, he knew time wasn't on their side. They needed to get moving and make their way to ARK if he wanted to save Grace and stop Zeno. Luckily for him, Ty had collected his belongings from the street where the agent had collapsed. He even had the fedora cleaned up and neatly placed upon the attaché case waiting for Leon to retrieve it.
“This was for you, actually.” He awkwardly offered the hat to Ty once he had his guns returned to their rightful places in their respective holsters. The Tyrant inspected the accessory as Leon placed it in his large open palm. It looked like it should fit but then again, looks could be deceiving. Ty lifted the hat to rest atop his head where it rightfully belonged. The look was one that Leon will admit he dearly missed on the massive man. It just didn't feel right not having the hat to pull the whole look together again. Ty appeared happier for it as well as his thin lips quirked up into a small smile.
Satisfied that everything was right with the world once more, or as right as it could be presently, Leon straightened up to check over the map that Sherry had sent him earlier. There was a missed message from the aforementioned woman as she desperately tried to reach him in his absence.
“Shit. Sherry?” He called back to her over his headset. The signal wasn't the greatest at the moment as her voice crackled at first before the connection began to straighten out. He stepped outside of the shipping container hoping that would alleviate some of the interference as Ty followed closely behind. Leon adjusted the attaché case in his grip as Sherry’s relief came over the ear piece.
“Oh thank God, you're okay.”
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that.” He apologized. Ty reached a hand out to ruffle Leon's hair in a tender stroke. Leon was baffled by the sudden contact as he tilted his head into the touch to peer up at his companion with a curt raise of his brow. Red eyes observed him with a look of concentration. Leon didn't notice that Sherry had started talking again, a bit preoccupied with his big new distraction.
“-trying to reach you. Where are you? What happened?”
“Uh.” Leon glanced at the GPS on his phone. “Almost to the orphanage.”
“Leon?” Sherry sounded worried. “You've been in the same location for almost an hour. Did something happen?”
Ty’s hand continued to stroke through his hair carding it out of his face in a manner that Leon recalled he often did a lot back in the day. He never did figure out why exactly he liked it so much but he refrained from chiding the action now, despite how very distracting it currently was.
“Nothing for you to worry about. I can make up for lost time.” Sherry didn't sound impressed with that answer. Leon didn't feel like giving her the whole story just yet. He was still trying to wrap his head around everything so far as is. So with her worries abated for the moment, he focused on his new task. Ty was quick to switch his attention towards the direction they were headed with Leon swiftly leading the way towards the orphanage. Much of the building was torn to pieces with large chunks missing leading down to the ruined depths that he presumed would take him to ARK. It was one hell of a long drop down.
“Fuck.” Leon cursed as he peered into the foggy dark depths. The BSAA appeared to have set up a line leading down all the way to the bottom. The cable seemed structurally sound enough to hold his weight but he wasn't so sure if Ty would make it. “Let me go down first then we’ll figure out how to get you down after, okay?”
Ty grunted in agreement. Leon buckled the handle of his case to the back of his belt and began the long tedious climb down. The good part was, he could leisurely slide down all the way to the bottom on the cable. The bad part was just how fucking deep this thing went. He wasn't sure how Ty was going to get down or if he'd even be able to hear Leon if he were to call back up to him.
“Shit.” It was beginning to be a regular mantra for him today. Easing out a shaky breath, Leon focused on his current task. Long black vines and root systems wrapped around everything, weaving through the foundations of older structures and the tattered remnants of the subway stations that had fallen in the collapse. Visibility was shit all the way down here with a dense fog clouding up everything. When his boots finally hit the bottom, the ground was wet and muddy under foot. He was careful of where he stepped as a slimy moss like growth spread across the ground making it soft and uneven beneath his boots. The roots were dense here. Their interwoven coils were tightly packed together as they arched overhead, creating a canopy of sorts that barred much of the sunlight from reaching this far down.
“Ty!” Leon called back up towards the surface. The echo of his voice faded out into an uncomfortable silence. Leon gripped the cable and tried to give it a shake or tug to give some sort of signal back. It was heavy and the distance was quite far. He doubted it was doing anything back up by the tether point. “Do I have anything I can use-”
Actually he did, the thought abruptly occured to him. He drew the shotgun from its strap upon his back and aimed a shot at an adjacent wall far enough away to avoid a ricochet. He was hopeful the sound of the gunshot would draw Ty’s attention to follow after him. The blast ripped through the air echoing off the densely packed soil and rock all around him. Leon waited several minutes as he adjusted the gun back in place slung across his shoulder. Dirt tumbled down from the adjacent rock face as pebbles and debris rained down from above. The cable was untouched but clearly something big was coming down to the bottom. Leon ducked away in case more of the structures above were collapsing in. He darted several paces away towards a canopy of foliage that created a natural arch overhead. A massive black shadow collided with the earth close to where Leon had been standing previously. The ground quaked under foot as the silhouette of the bioweapon straightened to its full height. Ty strolled towards Leon without hesitation as crimson eyes searched the agent over for any signs of injury.
Leon greeted him with an approving grin. “Glad you could make it, Big Guy.” He had no clue how they were getting back up to the surface, but that was a concern for a later Leon. He was just happy he wasn't traversing this hellscape on his own.
Carnivorous plants. Leon really should have expected what was coming with all the roots everywhere. He distinctly recalled a similar species he had dealt with in the NEST facility back in the day. Ty had quickly taken to hunching his body around Leon with one arm snaked across the agent's torso. As restrictive as it was to try to navigate his way around, Leon appreciated the extra protection after one of the fucking plants laid a trap using its vines like trip lines. One bud that Leon had been eyeing up in his approach lunged for his chest only to be met with a shotgun blast. He never saw the second bud that was hiding overhead. It swooped down after Leon only for its prickly petals to latch onto Ty's armored forearm. With one bud already dealt with, leaking its acrid fluids across the squishy ground, Leon turned his attention towards the second bud. Ty pried it free to hold it in a tight strangling fist around the base of its stem. It thrashed frantically to escape as the tyrant wrestled it in alignment with Leon's shotgun. He fired as Ty retracted his hand from the path of the blast. The bud didn't stand a chance as its wilted stem hung limp leaking its acidic fluids onto the mossy surface at their feet.
Ty made his life a hell of a lot easier as they breezed through the subterranean forest of biologically enhanced botanicals. Before long they were at the front entrance of what appeared to be the doors to ARK. Leon was willing to admit he was a little stunned by the sheer magnitude of its size. To imagine something like this was beneath the city that entire time, it was a bit baffling. He pulled the switch to trigger the entrance. It greeted them with an automated voice that welcomed them into the facility. Ty had one hand pressed against the small of Leon's back just above where the shotgun rested from its strap as they stepped inside. The doors shut directly behind them as he radioed Sherry about the situation. It was unsettling to see the logos of so many bioterror groups lined up against the walls of the storage bay. It felt like walking among ghosts all over again.
“.....don’t….like….” Ty grimaced to himself as that possessive touch grew more protective over Leon. He didn't let the agent go far from him as those strong fingers hovered over him the entire time. Leon slowed his pace as he humored the bioweapon’s concerns.
“Yeah, I'm not exactly getting the warm fuzzies either, Big Guy.”