#bad ending: leon needs to spread the plaga

[citrine-elephant]

king plaga leon:

except, instead of the plaga taking over his mind, he's still got his free will. maybe the plaga is sterile or something and the instinct to breed is lost. maybe, he's treated with some fancy stuff rebecca whips up out of thin air and it's close to how sherry gained her regen abilities.

but leon ends up surviving a second encounter with las plagas. this time, he's permentantly paired with the thing and it ends up as a symbiotic relationship.

plot 1: leon ends up going through this huge emotional turmoil about how he somehow survived this long and there is still this fucking bullshit. no, it's gotten him. it's finally got him. but after he realizes it's benign to him, he's got hope. he refuses to go down without a fight and knows offing himself won't help a goddamn thing.

on the flipside.... he knows being a guinea pig for the government won't do shit, either. him and claire get in a fight about it and he loses it over how much sherry had to suffer and there's still hell on earth.

plot 2: similar to the above, except leon's able to hide it. the plaga can transform and regenerate him, so it's not so easy to do so. but he goes rogue and.... maybe he's able to form a mini part 2 cult, maybe he's just getting his friends together. who knows!

[kayayeteae]

If you got to write re4-part 2, what would you do?

This might get long so u get a read more lol

To preface—I’ve never played RE beyond playing bits of RE4 and then watching my brother beat it (I am a jumpy person with anxiety leave me be 😩). I don’t even consider myself an RE fan, I am in the most basic sense, an RE4 fan. So everything I say will likely get subverted because of some canon event I’m unaware of. ANYWAY.

I love RE4R because it’s overall a better narrative that lines up with current canon (I’m aware of some RE lore lol). It’s also just a better told story than RE4 in so many ways. So whatever I say will relate to remake.

Let’s say anything after the events of 4 have yet to happen, here’s the possible routes I’d take

The obvious—get plaga in different hands that’s not umbrella

The cliche—have Leon relapse with plaga

Not so cliche but pushing suspension of disbelief—have someone who is a carrier of plaga/asymptomatic carrier of plaga leave the island

Lastly, because I’m insufferable—Luis survives (some fucking how) and has a duplicate superior plaga with him (some fucking how)

Leon relapsing can be the most emotionally driven narrative if RE was no longer an action game. Like RE4, I imagine he’s struggling to control himself and it would be a race against time once again. Without the machinery that helped him cure it the first time, he’d kinda be be shit outta luck and it would be up to…idk Claire because she’s cool…or Ada because…it’s Ada lol to help Leon before he turns. Essentially, ur controlling anyone but Leon to solve it. But part of the gameplay is Leon surviving and being controlled and it gets slowly harder and harder but if u give into plaga controlling Leon gets easier. Then boom ur back in Spain, u learn that umbrella europe team left paper trails. Another branch is still researching plaga blah blah big bad is trying raise another cult bc cults are interesting. Marketing for this game would be painting Leon as an enemy like they did with Dante in DMC4 LOL.

Having another carrier is easy. Idk u learn that someone survived the village and is roaming some city as a refugee. Like idk maybe this person has plaga version 2.0 that can idk self breed and spread by contact. It’s pretty straight forward. Plot twist is that patient 0 didn’t know they were infected and no else did either. God that’s so cliche, you’d have to make a really good story for that to work. Either way they should end it by having a choice to kill the carrier/patient 0.

NOW IMAGINE IF LUIS SURVIVED (I do this everyday because I am unwell)—this would be very emotionally driven knowing damn well that Luis was involved with plaga (I think he’s involved with RE3 too which is cool). Idk he has another version of plaga because idk he was researching 2 different strains, and like it’s almost a war between two variants because Ada gave hers to someone. So like whatever Leon is fighting and shit and they’re like, the only way to beat this is with a stronger strain (and science). AND THEN, someone keeps dropping hints (it’s Ada cuz she be doing shit like that) like a trail to follow and then they’re like chasing this trail, but whomever is at the end realizes they’re being followed, so theyre hard to catch. Anyway like 3/4 into the game they catch them and it’s no one other than LUIS. And then drama ensues like “bitch I thought I were dead, wtf ur working on a different strain still??” and like u learn he’s still trying to make amends and has a new name and identity given by idk the US government because that’s just the kinda environment they’re in lol. Also Luis deserves to be petty, he should try and kill Ada. I would lol. She got the fuckin plaga anyway, sure I know it was not thru Luis but it’s SO UNFAIR he died and she got what she needed.

I stand by what I say about Luis that THEY CERTAINLY GAVE HIM A PHENOMENAL BACKGROUND FOR A SIDE CHARACTER. Idk his death was that more gratifying but also painful—that’s another essay I can write about

I’m not a writer so my ideas are really flat. But part of RE4s charm was its simplicity and stellar gameplay.

[fonulyn]

fon's 2021 in fic

so I said I wouldn't and I did, the story of my life :'D I also managed to start this post three separate times and each time tumblr wiped it before I managed to actually post it, so this has been a true major test of strength. but I did post over ~350k of fic this year and I do think it deserves to be celebrated, so here we go!

fics are organized by pairing, roughly in a chronological order from oldest to newest, but so that the ao3 fics are first and the tumblr ficlets after them.

there’s exactly 100 fics (whoo!) (okay some of them are super short but i am counting them all, try and stop me :’D). featuring:

31 Piers/Leon

24 Chris/Leon

18 ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

7 Krauser/Leon

3 Jake/Piers

2 Wesker/Chris

6 “others” (Patrick/Leon, Adam/Leon, Jason/Leon, Claire/Leon, Queen Plaga/Leon, Lickers/Leon)

9 Joe/Nicky

so. here you go. and here’s to hoping that 2022 will be an equally good writing year :3

Piers/Leon

you can have it (you know you've got it) | 3,8k | Leon pushes his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and spins around to face Piers again. “Nice place, Nivans,” he says, flashing a grin that’s so charming that it alone is enough to make Piers feel a little weak in the knees.

got something to tell you (that I never thought I would) | 2,4k | The one wherein Leon proposes no less than four times. (Spoiler alert: Piers says yes. Eventually.)

memories are made of this | 8,8k | Leon recovers and finally gets his cast off, they celebrate their engagement a couple of different ways, and are sickeningly domestic.

driving deep into your heart | 2,2k | Piers, the newly crowned champion of MotoGP, gets a surprise visit from his boyfriend.

so I confide in you (for nothing compares to you) | 20k | Leon is sent in to rescue the president's son from a cult, and ends up getting more than he bargained for.

all I wanted (all I'll ever need) | 3,3k | This was the best birthday Leon had ever had. At least right at this moment he could’ve sworn to that, as having Piers spread out for him like this was the stuff dreams were made of.

love will always find the way | 15k | Leon meets Piers' family for the first time.

saved my heart for you | 8,2k | In a way, Piers had two first meetings with Leon S. Kennedy. Only for the first one of those he had no idea who he was with was actually Leon S. Kennedy. That is how it started, anyway. The journey itself was much, much longer. And worth every single step.

when the air's too thick to breathe | 1,9k | It was Leon, unmistakably so, lying on the ground half hidden by the undergrowth. His clothes were torn, his hair matted with blood, and he looked so pale that it was almost unreal. Almost as if he was sleeping, not--

maybe he's born with it | 1,7k | The one wherein there's a bet going within the BSAA whether Leon is a natural blond or not.

all that I need is just one moment in your arms | 1,9k | Leon saves Piers' life and gets hurt. It scores him cuddles, though.

fall in love so easy | 1,5k | Piers brings pet names into the equation. Leon kind of loves it.

you're my fantasy (someone I'm made for) | 4k | The one wherein they enjoy the easy access skirts provide.

so much more (than falling in love) | 3,2k | Their holiday plans get disrupted by an amazing bathtub.

will you be by me? | 12k | Piers comes back home infected and mutated. As a cherry on top, he doesn't even remember who Leon is. Leon is determined to stay by him, to help him heal, no matter the cost. In the end, it is a story of love and recovery.  

no boundaries | 2,6k | They hide in a closet from a tyrant. They also get a little carried away.

never too much to ask for | 4k | The one wherein Leon learns how amazing hugs are.

and it takes me over again | 3,6k | They fight a giant snow monster, Piers gets a bad burn and Leon takes care of him.

you're feeding the fire within me | 7,5k | Piers and Leon get dosed with Rebecca's new Super-Viagra. It's fuck-or-die. And, boy, do they fuck.

stay until the end of life | 9,5k | After the plaga did a number on Leon's insides, leaving him slowly dying, there doesn't seem to be much hope left. Somehow, he gets there anyway, even if the road to recovery is a rocky one.

'cause everyone's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man | 3,3k | Leon walks in on Piers' private time, but in the end it's a win-win for everyone.

cleanse the wounds and forget the name | 2,7k | A new BSAA recruit just can't shut up, talking shit about everything important. When he starts shit-talking Leon, Piers simply needs to shut him up. With his fist.

nothing else remains | 4,4k | Leon might have a tiny praise kink. Just a little one.

only the courage to continue counts | 26k (ongoing) | RE4 au. Leon isn't sent to Spain alone but with a partner. Too bad he has a tendency to get attached to his partners way too easily.

winter lovin' (there's snow one like you) | 12k | Piers takes Leon on a snowy vacation in Lapland.

delete the ladder | 500w | Leon finds that the Sims has changed from when he last played it. It's gotten worse.

lessons in relaxation | 1,2k | Piers has slept beside his friends before, it's not a big deal. He can sleep anywhere. Except apparently now his big gay crush on Leon is making it A Big Deal. Thankfully Leon knows how to make him relax.

healing | 860w | The mission left Leon broken, bruised and banged up, and he's fully prepared to tough it out alone while Piers is on whatever mission the BSAA has sent him on. Except Piers has other ideas.

favorite uncles | 970w | Piers' niece sometimes gets to stay for a sleepover with them. They all kind of love it.

hot like hell | 755w | Not even a thousand degrees of sweltering summer heat can make Leon keep his hands off Piers.

under the rubble | 1,1k | Leon gets trapped in the basement of a collapsed building, and it takes him a moment to realize he's not alone. Truthfully, the company is the best he's had in ages.

Chris/Leon

kiss your eyes, caress your hair, kill that pain away | 5,9k | Glenn Arias kidnaps Leon because he reminds him of his dead husband. Leon is not having the time of his life.

when you don't look, you find | 3,5k | Childhood friends are reunited in 1999.

it is time to do something right | 2,6k | Being thrown into a wall came as no surprise at all. Leon didn’t even remember a time when he hadn’t been thrown around by these gigantic monsters, it had become more the norm than the exception. And of course Arias did it too, because why the hell wouldn’t he?

dance to the end of love | 1,5k | Chris tries to teach Leon to dance.

no space between | 1k | Leon passes out from exhaustion. But he gets cuddles, at least.

tell me that I'm okay, tell me that you'll stay | 1,8k | Chris finds Leon at the morgue with what's left of his team.

end of the road | 1,8k | The one where a life is lost.

sweet distraction | 2,6k | The one wherein Chris offers Leon an alternative to overworking himself.

change all that's gone before | 3k | For the first time, a mission gone sideways doesn't only earn Leon bruises.

you know I want you and you want me | 1,3k | “If we weren’t in public right now,” Chris says, so low that only Leon can hear. His hot breath hits Leon’s ear, and Leon shudders helplessly already before Chris goes on. “I’d have my head between your legs.”

you give me heart to carry on | 1,9k | Chris is in danger and all Leon can do is wait. It is hell.

take me through the night | 1,8k | Chris comes back home early and they celebrate accordingly.

dressed to kill | 1,8k | Chris enjoys some lace on Leon.

that sweet sensation of living in your love | 1,8k | The one wherein Leon helps Chris relax, in multiple ways.

(tho i am made of glass i am) safe in the palm of your hand | 1,6k | Chris is held captive, but Leon gets him out of there.

time for retirement | 730w | After they both get injured on a mission, Chris and Leon talk retirement. Maybe some feelings, too.

glasses | 511w | Chris likes Leon wearing glasses.

how much i missed you | 1,1k | Chris gets woken up for some sleepy midnight sex.

dance with me | 1,5k | Claire tricks Chris and Leon into taking dancing classes together. They're both going to owe her.

a cheap shot (but whatever works) | 1,2k | Chris learns that the new rookie broke his unbreakable record at the shooting range. He's got to meet the man who managed that.

glasses, take two | 400w | Leon likes Chris wearing glasses.

it's a roadtrip, baby | 890w | Driver picks the music. Everyone else complains.

dirty pirates know the dirtiest tricks | 910 | Chris hates that Claire makes him wear the stupid sailor costume to a Halloween party. After that helps him score a date, though, he might owe her an apology.

aches | 610w | Chris can't sleep.

ot3 (Chris/Leon/Piers)

been crazy for you, so long | 2,2k | The one where they fuck. Again. Fun times is had by all.

so good together | 2,3k | The one wherein Chris gets shown a good time.

here after | 2,6k | Chris is sick and gets taken care of.

so hold on tight | 2,8k | Leon gets himself injured on a mission, but at least he gets a little help from his boyfriends.

put me in a daze | 1,9k | The one wherein Leon gets fucked until he barely knows his own name.

with you by my side | 1k | Leon is sick and gets taken care of.

not giving up yet | 3,9k | Chris and Piers get in trouble. Good thing they have Leon, and his absolutely official obviously approved strike team.

all the things that matter | 3,8k | Piers is sick and gets taken care of.

we'll take on the world and wait | 7,4k | Someone from Chris's past kidnaps Piers and Leon to set him a trap.

and love shall heal the scars | 8k | Even at Leon's funeral, Chris and Piers don't believe that he is really gone. They're going to get him back. No matter the cost.

a little bit of caretaking | 700w | Piers comes home absolutely exhausted. Chris and Leon make it better.

happy accidents | 1k | Piers sends Leon a suggestive picture. Except he picks the wrong number and Chris almost ends up having a heart attack. He certainly ends up getting some, eventually, so he can definitely forgive that.

last chance garage | 830w | Chris, Leon and Piers have that garage. Even if Piers seems to be the only one who ever gets any work done, goddamnit.

it's not that bad | 400w | Chris is afraid of going to the dentist.

i could take you on | 520w | Leon is super sleepy and gets taken to bed.

enjoying the show | 640w | Leon is so effortlessly badass he has half of BSAA drooling after him.

sleep seduction | 1k | Piers and Chris try to trick Leon into sleeping more. It works.

shower shenanigans | 800w | Chris, Leon and Piers enjoy a post mission shower.

Krauser/Leon

slipping on a razor's edge (I hope you'll finally find me) | 4,8k | It's 2013 and Krauser has been dead for almost a decade. Except he hasn't.

hold on to what is never changing | 3,6k | The one wherein Krauser's back. Again.

when the light of the chosen has died | 1k | Every single movement sends a flash of pain through Leon and he grimaces, bringing his hand to his side. But there's no choice but to keep moving. No choice but to try to get away.

so came our time | 1,1k | The one with final goodbyes.

can't help but follow in spite of going insane | 2,6k | Krauser takes too long to kill Leon and Saddler intervenes.

can we pretend (that we end up okay) | 5,1k | Krauser keeps on coming back. Even worse, Leon doesn't want anyone else as much as he wants Krauser.

i'll keep watch | 820w | Leon is tired and overwhelmed but no matter what he does he can't sleep. Not until Krauser helps him.

Jake/Piers

(we don't have to fight) if I can take you home tonight | 1,5k | “Fucking hell,” Piers groaned, letting his head fall backwards onto Jake’s shoulder as a full-bodied shudder shook his frame. As an answer Jake tightened his hold of Piers’ hip with one hand, sliding his other palm down to Piers’ thigh.

all the things you are | 10k | Much to his shock (and displeasure), Piers found out the man he'd been falling for was an actual goddamn mercenary.

kiss before the fall | 3,6k | After they're back from the underwater facility, Piers and Jake can no longer ignore the mounting tension between them.

Wesker/Chris

you will feel it when all your love is gone (you will love it when all your love is wrong) | 3,4k | Tonight was the night Wesker’s plans would come to fruition. It was a pity, he thought, that tonight Chris would be walking into his death. Only eight years later, they meet again.

when the Master is slave to his life | 450w | Jill might not be in control of herself but she is still aware. And watching Wesker obsess over Chris is starting to get on her nerves.

others

maybe one day | Patrick/Leon | 725w | Surprisingly, Leon asks Patrick if he'd like to have dinner with him. Patrick eagerly agrees.

just a man | Adam Benford/Leon | 2,5k | If there is one thing that Leon S. Kennedy knows it's loneliness. Sometimes he needs help to cope.

without hope, without fear | Jason/Leon | 4,7k | Leon's eyes slipped shut, and when Jason leaned down and kissed him, he didn't stop him. Then Jason was between his thighs, kissing him again, and Leon let himself imagine it was Krauser instead.

hooked on you | Claire/Leon | 1k | Leon tries to convince Claire to stay home instead of going out for dinner.

on an all time high | Leon/Queen Plaga | 5,9k | The one wherein Leon gets thoroughly monster-fucked.

lost control | Leon/lickers | 3,1k | Leon didn't even know lickers had dicks, not before he found two of them fucking. He could've lived his life without that knowledge, but seems that interrupting the two means they'll now make him their target. And not in the we're-going-to-slash-your-throat kind of way.

Joe/Nicky

someone like you | 3,1k | No powers AU. The one wherein there is only one bed. Maybe not entirely by accident.

here sometimes | 1k | The one wherein they have a sleepy three am dance.

the man and his moon | 1,2k | The one wherein Nicky takes care of Joe after a nightmare.

gone so far already | 1k | The one wherein they kiss for the first time.

the fire within | 1k | The one wherein Yusuf gets his fingers into Nicolò’s long hair.

little wonders | 900w | The team takes a small break and enjoy a day at the market place.

someone to adore | 1,6k | The one wherein Joe is a charming vet and Nicky owns multiple dogs.

patchwork quilt of a life | 27k | A scrapbook of memories through a millennium, and a family adjusting to a new normal.

who likes short shorts | 720w | Nile takes Nicky shopping and they come back with some obscenely short shorts with... questionable things printed on the backside.

[re-diesirae]

Chapter 5

5. Leon

Leon walked in the darkness; his gun ready to shoot anything that could be a threat as he tried to find his way out of the tunnel. He had woken up a couple of hours ago and found himself trapped inside a tiny cell guarded by two men that, he guessed, were part of the terrorist group that had tried to kidnap Claire. The first thing he did after waking up was to look around the place, but to his dismay, there were no signs of the red-headed.

"Where did those bastards take her to?" he mumbled with irritation.

He was thinking of a way to break free when he caught the two men talking in whispers.

"What are we supposed to do with the guy?"

"That's what we are waiting to hear. The high-ups only ordered us to bring the Redfield chick. This guy just tagged along uninvited, but I bet they will find some use for him."

"Another lab rat," one of the men scoffed. "I pity him."

"He got it by himself. He shouldn't have interfered."

Leon heard the men laugh, but their laughter was interrupted by a soft slashing sound and a thud. After some seconds, the agent listened to the cell doors screech open, and a bright light pointed to his face. Leon raised his hand to block the blinding light and frowned at the familiar person standing in front of him.

"Ada?"

"So we meet again, Leon," the Asian spy said. Her lips curled into a playful smile, "here, from all places."

"What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't I be asking the same? From how I see it, I've got more reasons to be here than you do."

"I doubt it," Leon said, walking out from the cell and facing the woman, "These bastards took my friend."

"Ah, yes. The Redfield girl. I had heard that you were close."

"Do you know where they hold Claire?"

"No, why would I care about her? She isn't my mission."

Leon raised his eyebrow, and Ada smirked.

"I think she found her way out. She's probably running somewhere. If she's alive, of course," she added, "but from what I've heard, I wouldn't bet against her chances."

No, it would be a stupid idea to bet against Claire. She was a skilled woman that knew how to handle herself in a crisis. Leon frowned. He never knew what to expect from Ada, but somehow he could not bring himself to distrust her.

"You didn't answer my question. What are you doing here, Ada?"

"Work," she answered, "nothing you should know about, pretty boy. I was about to leave when I heard that you'd gotten yourself caught. It's been a while, so I thought I'd pay you a visit. Here..."

Ada threw him some things, and Leon caught them in the air. His handguns and holsters, and also his phone.

"I believe you will need those."

Leon put his things back into place and looked at the spy.

"Thanks. Care to enlighten me of where we are?"

"Sorry, handsome, but I can tell you how to get out, though," Ada said, "if you follow this tunnel, you should reach outside. Don't worry about the guards. There aren't many."

"Took care of them for me?"

"No, guards are useless in this place," Ada smirked, "until next time, Leon."

Before Leon could say anything, the Asian woman was already gone. He would never understand her, but the time and place were not the right ones to ponder about the subject. He had to find Claire, make sure she was safe, and figure out where they were and how to get out.

Just like Ada had said, he did not meet any other guards on the way outside. However, once he was out of the tunnel, things became less friendly. Leon crossed paths with a bunch of people infected with Plagas, or at least, that's what the man thought. They lurked in the darkness of the forest, waiting for any unguarded passerby to jump over him, but luckily, he had managed to kill them without problems.

After a few minutes of trying, he managed to contact Hunnigan. The signal was not clear, but hopefully, it was enough for her to locate his position and send help. In the meantime, his primary objective was finding the youngest Redfield.

Tracking down Claire would not be easy. She could be anywhere, but if he knew her well enough, the first thing the woman would do would be arming herself. The best place to do that would be a place where people lived, so finding a settlement would help him find her.

Leon searched for a town or anything similar as he navigated the forest, but so far, he had not found anything. Then suddenly, he heard a loud bang, and he saw the flames of an explosion raise from a short distance from his position.

Smirking to himself, he could only guess if that was Claire, but he did not lose anything by checking it out, and so he had found himself walking in that direction.

For what he could see, it was indeed a town, or at least what remained of it. The fire was starting to spread, and the whole place was like a giant torch. Suddenly a soft crack of leaves made his senses snap. He turned around quickly, raising his gun only to find a rifle pointing directly at his face.

"Leon?" a familiar voice whispered.

The blonde could not say how relieved he was to hear that voice again. He lowered his gun and watched Claire do the same with her rifle. Thanks to the light coming from the burning town, he was able to see the woman. Besides looking exhausted and quite beaten up with her thorn clothes and scratches, she looked alright.

"Claire, thank god. I found you," he said, relieved.

"Likewise," she answered.

Claire let out a relieved sigh, and he saw her lose her balance and stumble down. Leon made a quick spin and caught her before the woman could hit the ground.

"Hey, easy. What's wrong?"Leon asked with worry.

"Sorry about that," she replied, "I think I might have a mild concussion. I already had one when I woke up, but I think the explosion just made it worse. I'll be fine. We need to take cover, Leon. There were some nasty monsters back there, and honestly, I don't know if I blew them up, but I don't want to be around to find out."

Leon nodded. He trusted Claire's judgment, and if she thought the monsters were no good news, he believed her. Claire was in no condition for a fight, so the wisest decision was to avoid conflict for the time being. They needed a place to hide and rest a little.

"Can you walk?"

"I can manage, I think," she replied.

Claire pushed herself up with Leon's help, but her legs gave up almost immediately. The adrenaline rush she'd used earlier was fading away, and the rebound effect in combination with the concussion was hitting her hard. Leon was surprised that the woman was still awake.

"You don't look like you can..."

"Jelly legs had never been an issue before."

Leon sighed. He put his gun back in his holster and knelt in front of her, offering her his back.

"Hop on," Leon said.

"What?"

"You can't walk, and it will be much faster this way."

Claire wanted to argue, but despite her broken pride, she knew Leon was right. She could barely stand, and that would only be a nuisance in battle. Without complaints, the woman climbed on Leon's back.

Leon immediately noted how light she was. Was she even eating at all?

"You can take my gun, and you're in charge of hostile control. How's your aim?"

"As good as it can be, I suppose."

"You'll be in charge of snipping then."

"I can do that."

Claire let out a weak chuckle. He was glad that the woman was still good enough to have some sense of humor.

Finding refuge was going to be a challenging task, especially when they didn't know the area, but Leon was not going to give so easily. Claire needed a safe place to recover, and nothing would stop him from finding one. It took him several minutes and some perfectly executed headshots from Claire to find a small abandoned cottage that was barely visible amidst the vegetation. It wasn't the most luxurious refuge; in fact, it was pretty wretched, but it would serve its purpose as a suitable hiding spot.

He made sure it was clear of unfriendly visitors before letting Claire down. The woman thanked him and settled in a corner with her back against the wall and rubbing her temper.

"Let me look at that," he said, approaching her.

Leon wasn't a medic, and his knowledge of wounds and injuries didn't reach beyond the standard first-aid procedures, but he could at least try.

"Be my guest," she replied, letting the blonde look at her.

She had a large lump on the back of her head, and there were traces of dried blood behind her ears and neck. He didn't see any open wounds, but that only made him worry that damage had been more internal. Concussions could be tricky.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Honest answer? Like shit," Claire snorted weakly, making Leon smirk. It'd been long since he had dealt with Claire's singular sense of humor.

"I am serious," he insisted. "You had a severe blow on your head, and I want to be sure there is no internal damage."

"That's going to be tough without a tomography unless you have some fancy instrument in your pockets, Mr. Super agent."

Leon snorted.

"I assume it isn't too bad if you can still talk like that."

"I am fine," Claire sighed. "I am a little dizzy, my vision is blurry, and I feel like I might throw up at any time. I also feel drained, and I can assure you that a hot bath would be nice, but you know, I'm not complaining. I am still alive.

"Well, I suppose you sound ok; I'll check again later, though."

"Be my guest, Leon," she sighed, "I am a little confused right now. Would you mind telling me what happened? How's that you ended up here, too?"

"Well, I was supposed to rescue you," he snorted, "but things didn't go quite as planned. Chris is probably pissed at me now."

"Don't mind about Chris. He's pissed most of the time for no reason. He will live through it as long as we make it out alive."

"Yeah. Something is jamming my signal. I can't contact Hunnigan or any of the other services, so I have no idea where we are."

"Germany. Bavaria, most likely."

"Huh?" Leon asked, surprised, "How do you know that?"

Claire dug inside her pocket and pulled out a piece of cloth. She unfolded it to show him its contents, and Leon saw a small branch.

"Sorbus pseudothuringiaca," she said. "It's endemic to Bavaria. I found a lot of it in the forest while I was looking for the town."

Claire always found ways to impress him.

"I didn't know you had a nag for botany."

"It isn't my forte," Claire said, folding the cloth again and putting it away, "but I am still a biologist."

"So we are in Germany," Leon sighed, "shit. That was a long trip."

"Yeah," Claire nodded, "now we are trapped in a forest infested by murderous monsters. How fun, huh?"

"Don't worry. I am sure we can handle that."

"You don't say," Claire nodded, massaging her neck, "I probably hold the record for waking up in the worst possible places."

Leon did not reply. He had heard of Claire's misadventures with B.O.W.s, mostly from reports. They rarely touched the subject in their occasional calls. He knew the woman had gotten involved in a couple of cases lately, one in a soviet island and another one on an island in South America. The reports on both were vague, but he remembered reading Claire's name among the survivors.

"You're still as tough as you've always been, huh?"

"I don't know," Claire sighed, "Maybe I'm getting old for this."

"Hey, if you're getting old, what about Chris and me?" he chuckled.

"Ah, right. I didn't mean it like that, sorry. My concussion is making me say nonsense."

"Don't worry about it. You need to rest. Maybe you should sleep a little. I can stand guard."

"Yeah..." Claire agreed, closing her eyes. "Sleeping sounds nice. Wake me up for a switch."

Leon watched Claire drift into sleep after some brief seconds. Her head tilted aside, and he caught her before she slid to the ground. The man placed her head on his lap carefully and watched her. She had to be exhausted, and he could not blame her. He didn't know how long she'd been running around, fighting hostiles, and escaping while dealing with the side effects of a concussion. She was admirable, and she deserved the rest.

He watched Claire's sleeping face, and he suddenly remembered their time in Racoon City. Eighteen years had passed since the incident; back then, both had been rookies in zombie fighting, and now they were among the veterans. Leon had become one of the DSO best agents, and Claire had not only survived multiple altercations with crazy scientists, but she had become the leader of a movement working to counter terrorist advances.

Leon smiled to himself. Claire had changed since the last time they met. She was no longer the girl he met in Raccoon. She was more mature and serene now. Then again, she wasn't the only one who had changed. All of them had, and all of them had chosen their way to fight against bioterrorism. Claire, however, had chosen a path that was very different from the one Chris and himself had taken. She was a fighter, but from another kind.

"What the hell does Neo-Umbrella want with you, Claire?" he sighed, brushing a hair strand away from her face.

NOTE: if you guys want to come and chat about the fic, or just about CLEON in general. Feel free to drop by the discord and say hi! http://discord.gg/wr48UmENbx

[chika-the-terrible]

Elimination (Pt. 1)

Ada had decided to give Leon what he wanted. He still wanted to save the world, just in a different way than before. He would get into a lot of trouble if she didn’t enable him, anyway. So she fed him information. She told him where the terrorists were. She never told Luis what she’d found because she was certain there was no way to remove the plaga from Leon without his death. This went on for months. Ada knew Luis knew something was up besides her own missions, with how often she had to move them, but he didn’t ask. It was a relief he didn’t. At least Wesker didn’t seem to be catching on. She could be wrong, of course, but it was something. Yet this new information she’d found, this wasn’t something that Leon could possibly take on without serious repercussions. And sharing this with Wesker was out of the question.

Ada glanced up when she heard the telltale skitter of Leon’s mutated legs moving. He was almost here. She stuffed the pad of paper into one of the hidden pockets in her dress and turned, watching Leon appear from above and land safely on the concrete. If there was one good thing about those mutations, it was that they could stop a fall pretty well. Leon gave her a smile, one that still made her feel nice inside despite his changes. However, it was offset by the moonlight shining on his face, highlighting veins that had darkened because of the plaga’s influence, marring Leon’s skin.

“Beautiful night, ain’t it?” he asked, turning towards the Air Force Memorial. It had become their usual meeting spot since their agreement, the three twisting metal spires spiraling up into the star-dotted sky.

“I suppose.” Ada said, noncommittally. She took a seat on a nearby bench and Leon joined her. His crab legs were sprawled out every which way to keep from being sat on and their sharp edges glinted. His elbows rested on the top of the bench as he tilted his head back, looking up at the sky.

“Have you found any new terrorists for me to take down?” Leon asked.

“Maybe. I’m not really sure.”

“What’s the trouble?” His head turned towards her, the red eyes glowing in the darkness.

“What I found out, it’s bigger than I thought it would be. I don’t know if you should handle this by yourself, Crab Legs. Or at all.”

“Why not? Can’t be all that bad.” Leon shrugged. Ada pursed her lips.

“This new bioterrorism is rooted right in the United States Government.” Leon stilled.

“...Details, please.”

“Derek Simmons, the new National Security Advisor, used to be someone I knew. And now he has his hands on a new virus, called the C-Virus, and is testing it out.” Ada took out the pad of paper she’d been viewing before the other’s arrival, “This has all the details. Simmons thinks it’s a stupid idea for America to not keep experimenting with bioweapons in warfare and so he created this new virus as a backup plan.” Ada watched as Leon looked through the information, paper rustling every so often as he turned a page. Then he grew still again.

“Sherry’s involved?” His voice was like ice.

“Not that she knows, I think. They only used her blood to help enhance the virus. And she’s also still under Simmons’ protection.” Ada explained. She watched as Leon continued to read. Eventually he finished and handed it back to her. His mutated limbs were twitching, something they only did when he was angry or anxious.

“He’s not wrong.” Leon massaged his temples, “I hate that.”

“But you’re still going to try and do something about it? After all, if he ever manages to perfect the C-Virus, things could go horribly.”

“Of course I’m gonna do something.” Leon said. He stood up, his mutations helping to push him onto his feet, “Just need to figure it out a bit. Like how to get to China.” Ada tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, sighing.

“I could...pull a few strings.” she said, “As long as you agree to destroy the virus as soon as you get your hands on it.” She searched his gaze. It shouldn’t be much of a worry but there was a feeling about this that was disturbing her. Leon nodded.

“It’s my goal to keep these viruses from spreading. Why wouldn’t I destroy it?”

“Just making sure.”

“I know. But if you’re gonna pull a few strings, are you gonna help me out, too?”

“Perhaps.” Ada said, “I don’t like what Simmons is doing any more than you do. And our previous history did not exactly end well.”

“How do you know him, anyway?” Leon asked, eyebrow raised.

“He tried to ask me out. I rejected him. I get the feeling that’s stuck with him.” She didn’t tell him the whole story because if she did, she was sure Leon would get even angrier. Especially at her.

“And what about your employer? You gonna tell him about this?” Leon’s voice had grown deeper, a sign of his anger. While Ada hadn’t told him about who she worked for, he still remembered the things she did to steal the other virus samples. He was probably thinking the same thing here. Ada stood, shaking her head.

“No. This is too dangerous to give to them.”

“Strange how this is concerning you so much.” Leon murmured, “I get that it’s rooted in the government itself, but still. Is this a personal vendetta or something?” Ada paused.

“You could say that. I’ll let you know when I can secure passage for us. Until then, see you next time.” She walked away. In some aspect, Leon had been right. This was a personal issue for her. Ada knew Simmons and knew that this whole thing couldn’t go on. She may have been a mercenary but she knew Simmons was pushing it too far. And Leon certainly couldn’t do this by himself.

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[yumikire]

Obligitory Cuddling for Warmth Fic: DantexLeon Edition

Dante couldn’t remember the last time he slept. The last time he had eaten. The last time he had spoken outside his thoughts. Not since he had heard the plane Leon was on had gone down 72 hours ago. He leaves the guy alone for a few days to go take care of a job that couldn’t wait, and sometime in that time frame Leon goes and crashes a perfectly good airplane. Because only Leon could be on a plane for any amount of time before it decides it needs to make an emergency landing - read crash landing- that is essentially in bumfuck nowhere Siberia. 

The guy really needs to hire a chauffeur or something because he has the worst history with any type of motorized vehicles Dante’s ever heard of. Dante could make a game out of how many times in the stories Leon’s told him about his exploits with fighting infected that included the words, “and then I crashed ‘X’, into ‘Y”  and through ‘Z’.’”

Dante shakes his head, once again focusing on the ground that he had been scouring for a few hours in his demon form from above. From what information Lady had been able to procure, mostly via recorded audio from the plane to the closest airport, the small passenger plane had been, unbeknownst to the government, been smuggling samples of different strains of the Las Plagas virus right under their noses. Some of the samples got breached and passengers started getting infected. 

If everyone on the plane ended up infected and crashed into a populated area the virus would quickly get out of hand. Dante remembered Leon telling him about an incident at an airport once before. The fallout wasn’t pretty. So of course it was probably Leon who decided crashing the plane in one of the coldest and most unpopulated areas next to Antarctica was the best course of action.

Leon, who was most likely injured and alone in this frozen tundra. Not dead, never dead. Leon was one of the toughest humans Dante had ever met next to Lady and he refused to even contemplate the idea. Of having to deal with the loss of yet another person he loved. It was one of the reasons he had fought so hard not to be in this relationship at all in the beginning. Just friends who got to occasionally team up on jobs and have a beer or two afterwards. The problem was Leon had a way of burrowing himself under Dante’s ribs and into his heart, and before his brain realized what had happened they were together. 

Then a glint of silver and the smell of melting metal and smoke. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the plane definitely wasn’t going to be flying again. One of the wings was completely torn off and a patch of the right side of the hull had a large hole ripped in it. A small layering of snow covered the top so it had been down for at least long enough that the snowfall could accumulate upon the wreckage. For a plane carrying infected passengers, however, it was deathly quiet. No moans, no groans, no screaming, nothing but the sound of the wind constantly blowing past his ears. 

A quick look inside explained all he needed to know. Leon had taken care of it. At least he hoped it was Leon who had taken care of it, he wasn’t on the plane now. Dante rubbed his face with his hand, why wasn’t Leon still on the damn plane? Surely it provided better protection from the elements even with the hole in its hull. Not to mention it offered a better chance of being found when your boyfriend showed up! Frustrated he punched the side of the plane, leaving a fist sized dent in the hull then took a deep breath. He needed to keep his cool. Leon was a big boy and could take care of himself, he was no damsel in distress. Surviving all the countless missions he’d been on had proved that. If Leon was alive out there, he would survive until someone found him. 

Stepping out of the airplane he noticed a few different sets of footprints half filled in with snow. One set also had small droplets of blood dotting the snow around them. Following the trail to the back of the plane he found a body in the snow. Heart stopping for a moment he quickly reached down to brush the snow off. Just another infected, a bullet hole neatly through its forehead. Dante sighed in relief. The trail of blood droplets continued further away from the plane and into the woods. 

When he found the end of the trail his blood ran cold. Leon was laying on the ground just inside the entrance to a cave. A small puddle of blood around his right leg. Dante quickly rolled him over and placed his head to his chest, listening for a heartbeat while trying to ignore his own heart's panicked thudding echoing in his ears. He saw the rise and fall of Leon’s chest before he heard the heart beats. 

Dante didn’t really notice the cold, his demon blood keeping him running hotter than the average human. Leon, however, definitely was. In fact he was barely even shivering from it and Dante remembered enough vague things about hypothermia to know this wasn’t a good thing. Fire. they needed a fire. Carefully he moved Leon a bit further into the cave and away from the wind, covering him with his jacket hoping that would be enough for the precious few minutes he was going to take to gather firewood. Five minutes later he was back in the cave with a pile of wood he had set on fire using Ifrit, because hell if he had the time or patience to make a fire the human way. Then he was back over at Leon’s side. Moving him closer to the fire while he took a look at his leg. It looked like Leon had wrapped it once before, but the wound must have been bad enough that he bled through the bandages. Rifling through Leon’s pouches came up with another roll of bandages and he used those to rewrap the leg to the best of his abilities. It didn’t look nearly as good as the job Leon had done the first time. Leon who still wasn’t shivering. Only one thing for it then.

Taking his jacket off of Leon, he quickly and efficiently removed the man’s leather jacket and undershirts. Normally he’d make a wise crack or a wolf whistle to break the tension but the man below him was in no condition to appreciate it, nor was it the time. Once he was naked from the waste up, Dante removed his own dark colored shirt and sat down with his back against the cold cave wall. Next he grabbed Leon, tucking the man between his legs with his back against his chest.Then he grabbed both Leon’s jacket and his own, wrapping them around the two forming what he hoped was a mostly airtight cocoon. Then came the hardest part. Waiting.  

Some time later, a groan from the form beneath him and a full body shudder stopped Dante from running his hands up and down Leon’s body trying to force more warmth back into his body.

“Hey babe, human popsicle really isn’t a good look for you.”

“W-w-wasn’t a look I was f-f-f-ond of myself.” Leon stuttered out. Full body tremors now rocking his entire frame. Dante wrapped his arms around Leon’s waist whilst humming in acknowledgement. 

“When I didn’t find you on the airplane I got a little worried,” Dante admitted softly.

“S-s-s-ome of the infected had gotten sucked out-t-t of the p-p-p-plane when I landed it. Had to chase them down. C-c-c-ouldn’t let the infection spread.”

“I saw the hole in the hull. What kinda of nut job manages to crash a perfectly good plane,” Dante huffed out with a laugh.

“Any land-d-d-ing you can walk away from.” Leon replied, tremors still showing no signs of lessening.

“How long do you think we’ll be here before your friends arrive. The co-worker of yours, Chris? The guy who supposedly punched a boulder to death. He still owes me an arm wrestling match.”

“One of the infected on the p-p-plane was an undercover umbrella agent. He had a gps s-s-satellite phone on him. Used it to send coordinates to Hunnigan earlier. Hopefully it won’t be t-t-too much longer.” Dante felt Leon leaning more heavily into his chest, all the shivering clearly tiring him out.

“Hey, no sleeping until they get here. If I have to be awake for them when they get here so do you. Besides, who’s gonna protect me from the giant bears when they come back to reclaim their cave?”

“If I promise not to fall asleep will you hold me tighter? You’re s-s-so warm.”

Dante smiled, complying happily as he gathered the agent as close to himself as he could.

“I knew this was all just an elaborate ruse to get more cuddle time.” Leon huffed out a laugh. 

“What can I s-s-say. They’re just that good.”

Dante wrapped his arms around his waist and snuggled just that scant bit closer, putting his head onto Leon’s shoulder, willing more of his warmth to seep into his chilled skin. He’d keep Leon warm anytime.

[narukouzumakinamikaze]

I have detailed thoughts on Infinite darkness. disclaimer, these are first viewing thoughts, and also spoilers. like I said before, it wasn't bad, and you could tell what they wanted to do, but the series was rushed. we needed at least 6 more episodes of this series, and if not, at least those four episodes could have been stretched to an hour.

first, lets talk about claire. why was she in this series? he investigation was irrelevant the entire time. and its crazy because you know how they wanted Claire's investigation to matter, but the way they did it made it irrelevant to the plot. Claire being susipcious about the zombie's in penamstan makes sense, her wanting to investigate it works. but instead of using that investigation to flesh out jason and wilson, they instead jut made her find one dead person and then she was kidnapped.. instead of claire being kindapped, why not show us what it was jason did, show us what it is jason was doing for wilson, show is the firt troop that killed themselves and how quickly the others followed until jason was the only one left. have claire sneak in to wilsons lab where all the BOWs where and then have her be captured there, because it makes her active in the plot and it actually develops jason and wilson as characters

Jason... I'm not fully sure what Jason wanted to do. He said he wanted the world to know terror, and in order to do that he would expose the fact that the government are making bio weapons. Okay cool, weird wording aside, if i knew the world was making bio weapons i would be terrified. I'm guessing the knowledge would cause mass panic but that's understandable, but I don't think that panic would cause mass destruction or anything and would subside after a while. but Leon said Jason wants the world to burn, but Jason himself doesn't seem to want the world to burn, he just wants to expose the government. Leon made it seem like the attack on China where Shen Mei's family died was jasons doing, but how was that jasons doing??? Did Jason bomb them? And does Jason want to infect people? Or did he want people to panic and spread chaos? I don't know what he wanted to do or what he wanted to happen after exposing himself and they never actually clarified what his intentions even was besides exposing the government. They had Leon make it seem like it went much deeper, but nothing showed that it went aby deeper.

Which then goes in to jasons background. What was it that made him the hero of penamstan? Did I miss that or was it just a title that Wilson gave him? What was his relationship with his troops like? What types of missions did he do for Wilson? they kept showing that one flashback as if that flashback gave clarification or fleshed out anything. How did he cope with his infection and the inhibitors? why not flesh that out more to show us just how conniving Wilson is and give us more about Jason and his motivation on wanting to expose everything. this would have worked in tandem with claires investigation

And then we get his transformation... why did Jason kill Shen Mei?? Also, if he wanted to expose himself why did he go underground where Wilson was, instead of turning in front of the press, when he knew where they were.. his conflict with Leon also was pointless and didn't add anything to the story. like, it wasn't like the two's conflicting ideals was fleshed out. hell, we don't even know why Leon was so against exposing the government in the first place. Leon never once gave the impression that he cared about what happened or that he had his own plans to expose everything. he was just like, cool story, you still went against the government, and that was it. as if that was the most important thing to worry about. he never even expressed sympathy or expressed that they could do it another way. he just wanted to stop jason and thats it

Moving on to Shen Mei.. why did they not develop her. Yes we know she wants to expose Wilson for what he did to her brother, but that plotline could have been fleshed out. Jun See's condition is new to the series, why not flesh that out. Instead of Shen Mei wanting to expose Wilson, why not also have her want to look for a cure. Its weird that her only motivation was exposing Wilson. Why not steal the inhibitors and have her grandfather use his money to find a cure? Wouldn't that have made more sense than whatever it is they was doing? She could do more than one thing at a time. Also, her death was stupid, she didnt need to die. Shen Mei honesty felt like character that didn't need to be there, but her story was somewhat interesting it just wasn't given any focus. Almost like it was an afterthought.

also that chip situation, did they just think of it when they were on the submarine?. like, when did they realize that the chip could expose wilson? because if they had it the entire time, why did they never use it. i'm confused about that. and why did jason not want to use the chip anymore? why couldn't he use the chip and then use himself as a demonstration.

speaking of that again, when did jason decide he didn't want to use the inhibitors anymore? how come he couldn't use the chip and expose himself. did he end up going crazy? like, im confused at the decision to transform and the decision to not use the chip.

and lastly, there's Leon. did he not learn anything after Ben in re2 remake? it's almost like he wants to keep everything hidden and there's no explanation as to why he wants to keep it all hidden. is he really that Pro government? he says he will stop everything, but we know that's a lie because we know he lets Ada escape with the Plaga sample before this and he did nothing to stop her. there's no reason why Leon would not let Claire expose the government, because there's no reason why leon would not want everything to be exposed. they never gave a reason in infinite darkness and its never fleshed out in the games or the other movies, so it comes off as Leon just wanting to keep everything hidden to not make the government look bad and to do everything on his own, despite the fact that he let a sample go before the events of infinite darkness.

[ask-a-w]

[OOC: Long ass recap of RE: Vendetta]

The more I drafted the post, the more my review became a recap with my own personal snarky comments. So here is my recap of Vendetta for those who can’t see the movie yet and want to spoil themselves lol. Spoilers will be under the cut.

Let’s talk about the characters.

Leon is no longer the person we know. He’s ten times more cynical and jaded, an alcoholic, and really doesn’t care any more. He has essentially lost the drive to keep fighting. It’s a stark change from his RE6 self. In fact, he asks Chris, “How long can we keep doing this?”

Poor guy needs a long break or at least retire. IMHO, he needs to see a psychiatrist. He has issues. There’s a very brief line about his childhood which is like, the first attempt in RE history to have one of the main characters talk about what they were as a kid.

I don’t like Leon in this movie so it is relieving that he doesn’t have a lot of screen time. Focus is more on Chris this time.

Chris may look and have a different VA but he’s still Chris in terms of personality. Boulder Redfield shines in one instance when it should have killed him lol. Oh and Chris utilises Leon’s suplex move for one of the action scenes. It’s fun to watch.

Rebecca is surprisingly the voice of reason and raises so many good points! Too bad she doesn’t get to fight much in this movie.

Unfortunately, the RE characters succumb to a dose of stupid by not killing an infected person ASAP and instead, hesitate for many seconds until said infected is already on them. I can forgive Rebecca as she transferred from field ops to science work so it’s been years since she’s been on the front line. But Leon and Chris need to be smacked in their heads for their slip up.

The villain Glenn Arias, has serious issues. He should be BFFs with Carla and Simmons, if they were alive. Oh and he would make a good sparring partner for Svetlana. The villains lately have gone to the school of martial arts. It’s written in his wanted profile that he’s a master in hand to hand combat.

Enough about the characters, let’s talk about something else. The animation and music are beautiful, as usual. I have a dislike for slow-mo in movies and thankfully it’s minimum here. The slow-mo scenes in the movie are cringe worthy.

It’s more violent this time with generous amounts of blood and disembodiment galore so it’s not suited for kids.

So yeah, flawed characters, a beautiful looking/sounding movie, and now let’s jump to spoilers ‘cos I want to talk about the story! It’s gonna be lengthy so grab a drink while you’re at it.

The beginning of the movie has Leon walking into a morgue. He has a internal monologue about how when he was a kid, he wondered what he would do when he grew up and did not expect his life to end up like this. I feel a little sad for him and I have no issues there.

Next is Chris and his team infiltrating a base/mansion that Glenn aka weapons merchant of death is holed up in. Glenn has also taken over Tricell and Neo-Umbrella. Chris is asked for advice by a soldier. Chris says “Be willing to kill friend or family when the choice comes down to it.”

He doesn’t give the advice of shooting the undead in the head and also killing the undead right away. So, it’s no surprise his team gets killed by a kid zombie because they made the dumb move of asking a shuffling human being if “he’s okay”. *sighs*

Yep, we finally see a kid zombie! But the kid is there because his mom from the BSAA went under cover in Glenn’s mansion. Why would you bring a kid along to a house that has a known merchant who deals with BOWs??!

Also the kid can talk/respond coherently while infected. He’s the only that does so throughout the movie and it’s never explained why.

Oh and everyone but Chris wears helmets. I don’t know why. Maybe Chris’s head isn’t squishy like the rest.

There’s a female zombie that is crawling with just her spine and the rest of her body is gone. That’s some Evil Within inspired shit right there.

Anyway, Chris is naturally the only one that survives the mission. Two of his soldiers run into a supposedly empty corridor but there are wires criss-crossing everywhere so they get cut into pieces. That’s kind of impossible IMO but they’re obviously paying homage to the first live action movie with the infamous laser corridor.

Chris fights Glenn outside the mansion and the villain gains the upper hand before boasting that his new virus is so good it can discern friend from foe. Glenn also relieves Chris of his handgun but instead of shooting Chris’s unprotected head, he shoots in the general direction of Chris’s armoured back but Chris somehow ends up with an injured leg. Eh, I swore Glenn was pointing straight into Chris’s back instead of pointing down.

Glenn gloats some more and walks away with his minions that includes a blonde leather clad femme fatale whom I shall henceforth call FF because I can’t remember her name and also a Nemesis-Ustanak monster who used to be a human named Diego. Glenn then instructs the zombies to kill Chris.

BSAA helicopter shows up to save the day and the pilot doesn’t die. That’s a plus! Explosions ensue whilst Chris holds the body of the BSAA undercover agent and screams “Nooo!”

There’s a flashback of Glenn’s wedding day and his bride’s facial features as well as silhouette eerily looks like Rebecca. A fighter plane comes by and drops a bomb on the garden party. Yikes. Scene ends with Glenn bloodied and holding his wife’s disembodied arm as he screams “Nooo!” Oh boy, if any more characters scream no, this could become a drinking game but thank goodness it does not repeat.

Scene transistions to Rebecca Chambers in a lab running test simulations on which vaccine combination works best on the new virus spreading throughout the US in the past four months. Yeah, four months have past since Chris’s failed mission at Glenn’s mansion. A post doc student that looks much older than her comes in with coffee for both of them, kinda flirts with her, and Rebecca uses her Professor status to ask him to go check on something. I should note that Rebecca is breaking lab safety by drinking her coffee in the lab. RULE NUMBER ONE OF LAB SAFETY, YOU DON’T CONSUME ANYTHING IN THE LAB!

Glenn’s FF from before proceeds to kill the post doc student, infects the campus with the mysterious new virus via the airborne route through the vents. Rebecca is infected but thank goodness her lab test simulation is complete and one of them contains the perfect formula for a vaccine which gets manufactured immediately in another room within the building! So she stumbles out of lab, goes into another lab and injects herself with it and is cured. Of course, all her colleagues and friends have turned into shambling zombies. She blungeons her zombified post doc student with a fire extinguisher and stabs another undead fella with a pair of scissors. I shall attest that we do keep scissors in the lab so plus one point for that lol.

Rebecca hides in her lab and is apparently so thirsty that she lunges for a water bottle and drinks it with so much gusto. I’ve never seen someone drink water with so much vigour. FF tries to kill her by causing an explosion that shatters the protective glass barrier between her and the rest of the zombies. But Chris and the BSAA swoop in just in time to save the day. Chris and Rebecca are reunited after a long time.

So, the outbreak is contained and in the aftermath, Rebecca asks Chris why she is casually sitting outside beside a BSAA van instead of being in quarantine since she had been infected. OMG this is the first time I’ve seen a character speak sense! Chris brushes it off and says he needs her expertise and since she cured herself, quarantine isn’t needed. *facepalm* Rebecca makes a joke later in the movie about Chris being the brawn and she being the brains.

Rebecca has been mapping out the outbreaks and knows which populations are infected. She also suspects that the virus is linked to the Plaga used by the Los Illuminados years ago since the undead can be somewhat controlled and know friend from foe. It is one of the reasons why FF targeted the campus because Rebecca is too darn smart and knew too much. So, they go on a field trip to "consult with an expert”.

It’s time to go back to Leon aka the expert where he is currently on vacation in a random tavern in the Rocky Mountains. Leon is obviously not happy that his vacation is interrupted by Chris and Rebecca. His personality is a complete 180 so he’s a rude asshole that doesn’t give a fuck any more. The reason for drowning his surrows is that he was leading a team in DC for an op regarding the recent outbreaks but someone from the inside ratted them out so the whole team except him died. So, Leon doesn’t want to help any more as he is tired of losing everything. Hey, looks like the writers are touching upon that aspect of his life which the fans have pointed out long ago! It only took them 6 games and 3 movies to get there…

Chris and Leon almost come close to duking it out but don’t. Chris merely grabs Leon’s bottle of alcohol and Leon responds by pulling out a hip flask from his belt. Okay, that was funny to me. Chris makes a comment about Leon spending the rest of his week drowning his sorrows while Leon says “He doesn’t plan that far ahead.” At this point, I feel a tiny bit sorry for Leon after his bout of rudeness.

In the end, Rebecca is tired of both their shit, gives them a sample of her blood and tells them to get their act together to save the lives of the citizens at risk across the various states in the US. Apparently this new virus is lying dormant inside of everyone and is waiting to be triggered. They’ll explain more later. She leaves in a huff and heads to the washroom to calm down but that’s where she gets kidnapped by FF. Oh yeah, did I mention Glenn managed to track them all the way to the Rocky Mountains and is spying on them?

Chris and Leon talk about Glenn. Our villain ended up on the US government’s hit list for a lot of shady shit so the government dropped a bomb on his wedding day. I was a little WTF at this revelation… Leon makes a point on why he should help Chris take out Glenn when the government was the one who killed Glenn’s family. Wow Leon, I don’t know either, why don’t you tell me since you’re a government agent?

Their conversation gets interrupted by a random man barging into the tavern and Leon goes ape shit upon seeing him. I shall christen this dude as RM 'cos I can’t remember his name either. There are too many minor characters in this movie. RM is the rat who sold out Leon’s team to none other than… Glenn Arias. RM begs Leon to save his family 'cos Glenn has held them hostage. Leon doesn’t give two shits about saving RM’s family but Chris attempts to persuade Leon to do so since RM has been inside Glenn’s operation so he knows some secrets.

Before anything else happens, Diego arrives with a minigun and a small team of armed soldiers. No prizes for guessing what’s next, they shoot up the place. RIP tavern waitress. RIP RM as well. Leon and Chris have plot armour so they survive without a scratch. Oh and Chris notices FF carrying Rebecca away during the shootout.

Where do they go next? According to Rebecca’s map, it’s New York so off they go~ It’s unclear if it’s NYC and I know New York is pretty big so I’m not gonna say it’s NYC. But wait, RM passed Leon his phone before the gunfight which contains a memory card full of information about Glenn Arias. His phone rings and Leon gets freaked out upon seeing the name on the phone. He answers the call and surprise, it’s RM’s wife on the other line asking her husband if he found the man that would help them. A little girl squeals on the line and asks to speak to daddy. Leon remains silent throughout the whole conversation and RM’s wife becomes really suspicious and demands to speak to her husband which makes Leon hang up. The phone call somehow makes Leon agree to help Chris. Leon’s weakness 101, helping women/family members in distress.

Rebecca wakes up handcuffed in a room, dressed in a wedding dress. The room’s walls have gardens and flowers projected on them. There are a few guest tables in front of Rebecca and all the chairs have coffins on them which are shaking/shambling within. Glenn walks in wearing the same outfit he wore at his wedding. He comments on Rebecca’s intelligence on figuring out the virus and how much she looks like his dead wife, Sarah. He uncuffs Rebecca and remarks that he managed to reanimate all his dead guests in the coffins but since his dead wife was blown to pieces, only the arm remains.

Rebecca is understandably weirded out and proclaims her friends will stop him. Super long virus explanation time! In short, the infection contains three components: a latent virus that was spread via drinking water which was why Rebecca was so eager to drink from the water bottle earlier, a trigger virus that will… trigger the latent virus via a gas, and a vaccine that will nullify the effects to make the undead calm and obedient. Essentially, Glenn can control everyone more effectively than Saddler, I guess?

If it’s not obvious yet, Glenn wants to destroy/control the whole world 'cos the government killed his loved ones. I told you he would be BFFs with Carla 'cos one event made them really pissed… And his fixation with Rebecca can also make him friends with Simmons. So there you have it folks, the vendetta-vengeance-revenge plot is finally revealed.

Glenn points out that Rebecca is wrong and thanks to her blood sample, he managed to make the “A virus” stronger… through the power of RE science. Believe me, I was befuddled upon listening to his words that I have to re-watch the movie again to make sense of what he’s saying. Anyway, we have gone down the ATCG DNA sequence in naming the viruses! How “clever”.

Glenn takes Sarah’s arm and pulls off the wedding ring, intending to marry Rebecca. Of course she resists and he slaps her, saying he will replace Rebecca’s arm with Sarah’s… This man seriously has issues which could have been healed via therapy. Oh and it is also revealed that his two friends at the wedding, Diego and his daughter, FF, were brought back to life by Glenn. Apparently being brought back to life either makes you a big hulking Nemesis-Ustanak or a super sexy femme fatale with superior fighting skills.

At the same time on a BSAA chopper heading to NY, Leon and Chris read through the info in RM’s memory card which reveals that Glenn has the airborne vaccine in gas canisters labelled with a green symbol. Said canisters are hidden in Glenn’s hideout duh. Only a select few have already been vaccinated. They have to find the canisters to save the rest of NY’s populace. Oh and everyone on the chopper has been vaccinated with Rebecca’s concoction which would keep them safe from infection. I like Chris’s new team, there’s a guy with a mohawk, a dude with sunglasses, and a badass lady sniper. They need to show more female SOAs in the games and movies.

The trigger virus have been hidden in disguised water trucks. Needless to say, the gas is deployed on the ground via the trucks and shit goes down really quickly. The BSAA have to destroy the water trucks as well and they can conveniently be wrecked via explosives… I don’t know how an explosion won’t make the gas disperse quicker but it’s RE science at work once again. So, the BSAA has four objectives: Destroy the trigger virus trucks, find the vaccine, find Rebecca, and nab Glenn if possible.

The BSAA chopper finally touches down where Leon, Chris, and I think mohawk guy disembark. Sunglasses dude and lady sniper remain on the chopper to provide aerial support. The BSAA kindly loans out a Ducati motorcycle and a jeep. Leon calls dibs on the bike 'cos it’s the only vehicle in the franchise that he has not destroyed so far lol cool-looking. And surprisingly, he does not crash the motorbike at all for the rest of the movie. xD

It’s a long sequence of them destroying trucks and zombies. There is one moment where I want to smack Leon and Chris in the head. They find a van that shakes and growls. Who do they send to open up the back of the van? Mohawk guy. Who dies? Mohawk guy. What’s in the van? Two undead dogs that Leon and Chris can’t even land a hit on. Seriously, why would you open a growling van?! Why do you send an inexperienced person to open the doors?! That’s a death wish right there.

Leon decides to let the dogs chase him while Chris continues to fulfil the other objectives… If you’ve seen the teaser video of Leon on the highway, Leon does let two innocent drivers die when he shoots down one of the dogs. Those are NOT Glenn’s men at all. I guess it’s all part of the collateral damage.

Chris makes it to Glenn’s NY hideout and is joined by Leon on a motorbike. Apparently Leon rode up the stairs with the bike. Err… okay then. Again, if you’ve seen the teaser video of the corridor fight, that’s what you get along with a few more minutes of extra action of them shooting zombies in many stylish ways possible. That’s where Chris suplexes a zombie.

Both men eventually split up so Chris goes to find Rebecca while Leon goes on a zombie killing spree. Instead of getting her arm replaced, Rebecca has been injected with the new virus and only has twenty minutes before she turns/dies. I guess Glenn had a change of heart…?  

Chris finds her with minutes to spare, they go up to the rooftop office where Glenn is keeping the vaccine. Of course, Glenn doesn’t let them pass. It’s a re-match between Chris and Glenn. Both end up in a stalemate and land on a glass fixture where Glenn proceeds to smash Chris’s head against it approximately three times, causing the glass to shatter. This should have made Chris’s head crack open like a nut but this is Boulder Redfield who didn’t need a helmet when we first saw him. Chris throws Glenn through the opening in the glass where he falls down many floors and lands on the ground with a splat.

Thinking that all is over, Chris supports Rebecca and leads her to the office but villains don’t die easily as per rule number one of Capcom lore. Diego finds Glenn’s broken body and Diego activates his final form which are plaga-like appendages on its back. It is implied that Diego and Glenn merged to become that hideous monster that screams “Redfield!” in the trailer. I shall call this monster Glego.

Chris attempts to face off with Glego and looks like he’s about to lose when Leon comes charging in on his motorbike. Glego turns his attention to Leon and Leon keeps forgetting to aim for the big pulsing red heart that is conveniently located on all tyrant-like creatures. It is a pain watching Leon waste his bullets as he gets tossed around like a rag doll. Glego is about to land a final blow on Leon with his extendable finger-claws when he gets saved by Chris’s aerial support. In the mean time, Chris has found the vaccine canisters and more weapons… Oh goodie.

Badass sniper lady uses a brand new laser-ish weapon that punches a hole through Grego and five buildings. I’m not kidding about the five buildings. Who builds this kind of weapon?! Do you not care about civilians any more? Glego jumps and lands on the chopper, punches a hole through the chopper with said finger-claws and nicks sniper lady’s shoulder. Chopper starts losing altitude (as always), Leon revs up his motorbike and sends it off the rooftop into Glego. He shoots the gas tank in a big fiery explosion but Glego still lives. Pfft, you should know that fire and tyrants don’t mix.

Chris shows up with what I think is a grenade launcher which finally finishes off Glego. The chopper and its two occupants miraculously survive. They have broken the helicopter pilot curse! Rebecca inhales the vaccine and with seconds to spare, is cured.

The BSAA load up the vaccine canisters into the chopper and spray it all over the city. And for the very first time in RE history, the infected are cured and are turned back to normal. Well, they weren’t killed in the first place since they turned upon inhaling the trigger virus so I guess the vaccine reversed the effects. I’m not sure about the dead though. It’s never explained…

All of our heroes get on the chopper and fly off. Leon asks Chris how long they can keep doing this to which Chris replies with “I don’t plan that far ahead”. Haha, very funny. So err, I guess Leon renewed his drive to keep fighting? It’s really unclear. It’s not even said if he’s gonna save RM’s family anyway! Jeez.

You know, we are forgetting someone. We see FF finding her father’s mask on the floor. She looks into the camera and the movie ends right there. Great, I guess it’s a no brainer who is taking over Tricell & Neo-Umbrella.

There are no post-credits scenes and the credits aren’t as catchy as Damnation’s.

And there you have it, what I remember of Vendetta. If I left out some scenes, I found them either mundane or I really forgot them. 

Are there a lot of plot holes in the movie? Oh yeah. Should they end the series and let the characters retire? OF COURSE. Can’t you see how messed up and tortured Leon is? Is it mindlessly amusing and entertaining? It’s Resident Evil, when is it never cheesy and stupidly entertaining?

I still prefer Damnation and Degeneration over Vendetta though. 6/10 for me if you want me to rate it.

And boo ‘cos there’s no Jill, Barry, any of the characters from Revelations, Ada, Hunnigan, or any one from the DSO.

[thehallofgame]

Review: Resident Evil 4

Release: 2005

My Rating: 8.5/10

Resident Evil Review Series: 6/11

 Review Under the Cut:

              Resident Evil 4 is easily the most popular and enduring game in the series. Interestingly, it doesn’t have too much in difference with its predecessors or follow-ups but somehow it managed to get just enough right to snare a broader audience than usual. It still gets ported to every new system like clockwork and maintains enduringly positive reactions. After playing it for the first time (I don’t know how I managed to avoid playing it this long, either. I’d played virtually every other game in the series.) I have to say that while Resident Evil 4 is a good game there’s probably a serious case of nostalgia goggles going around when people talk about it.

              RE 4 did make some really bold changes, at least for this series which clings to its roots like a tree hanging off the side of a mountain. Discarding the frayed and broken plot threads left after Code Veronica the fourth numbered entry in the series left Umbrella Incorporated behind and let several years pass. Leon S. Kennedy, former hero of Resident Evil 2, returns with a brand new middle initial, personality transplant and fresh career. He’s somehow gone from rookie police officer and disaster survivor to elite Secret Service Bodyguard/ Special Forces Operative… It doesn’t make much sense, but at least Leon is consistent. Once again he’s starting his new job with a flaming disaster.

              The President’s daughter was kidnapped on her way back from university and Leon, her newly minted protector, is dispatched alone to rural Spain to retrieve her. Once he arrives there his local police backup is quickly dispatched by an angry mob of glowing eyed, pitchfork bearing villagers. It turns out that the entire region is controlled by an isolated cult called Los Illuminados. The cult isn’t much for science so the zombie causing T-virus doesn’t make an appearance, but they do have the next best thing: Las Plagas.

              Mechanically the Las Plagas zombies are the same as traditional zombies but because the Plaga is a parasite that takes over living people and binds them to the cult leader’s will there’s a deeper level of psychological and body horror taking place in this game than in the past. But don’t let that fool you into thinking this game takes itself seriously, or at least does any sort of job at making itself look like it’s taking itself seriously. Leon was mostly silent in the past, but now he cracks off color wisecracks and spreads Han Solo style sarcasm liberally on every conversation he encounters. Ada Wong also returns from Resident Evil 2. Her role in the core game is limited as she’s presented as a shadowy figure on a secret mission of less patriotic intent than Leon’s, but after completing the game two additional short adventures are unlocked to play as Ada.

              They are joined by Louis Sera, a mysterious gunslinging Spaniard who’s also being hunted through the hills and ruins by the cult, and Ashley Graham, daughter to the president. It is ultimately Ashley who takes the role of sidekick in the game whilst Louis and Ada breeze in and out as the story requires.

              Leon reunites with Ashely early in the story and the rest of the game is an extended escort mission. Luckily the escortee is an adult and written like one so her character doesn’t grate nearly as much as it could. Ashley is tough, smart, charming and surprisingly well spoken for a Capcom character. The doesn’t nearly make up for her being a fragile liability the entire game, but it helps.

              Tonally, Resident Evil 4 was the logical conclusion to the experiments Capcom performed in Code Veronica. The camera angle now firmly shifts to an over the shoulder shooter which, when combined with a red laser beam for sighting, massively improves the ability to aim over previous games. The only hang up is that said camera controls can be a little stiff and fiddly.

              Furthermore the game also uses tone and audio manipulation to its great advantage. For long stretches of the game music will play softly, only to gradually fade out to tense silence until the player chances to glance behind Leon and realize he has become surrounded by murderous villagers. Elite enemies have their own sounds that are used to signal their approach and make the player nervous. Those range from maddening, repetitive chanting of priests to quiet snuffling from faceless terrors.

              Despite having a new source of shuffling zombie nonsense Resident Evil 4 doesn’t skip on the inexplicably grotesque and over-sized abominations sent to track Leon down. There are massive set-piece bosses, giant invisible roaches and swollen, shambling humanoids that regenerate all damage until multiple parasites are shot out of their bodies. Omnipresent, however, are the hordes of villagers. They follow behind like a bad cold. If a cold carried improvised weaponry and could take multiple bullets to the head without going down. So not much like a cold at all, really.

              The villagers aren’t much in a fight, they’re slow and retain only a rudiment of intelligence. What they can do, however, is pick Ashley up and start dragging her away. As the president’s daughter doesn’t carry any weapon at all it is up to Leon to reach her before the zombie manages to carry her from the room. If the zombie gets away with the girl it’s an automatic game over (which is a little frustrating because Ashley is kidnapped and retrieved multiple times throughout the game’s story) and there is most definitely friendly fire so it takes a bit of care to line up the perfect shot to hamstring the villager without harming Ashley. You can order her to follow Leon or wait in safety. Occasionally Ashley can be ordered to hide to in a safe place during combats, or is needed to squeeze into tight places or be lifted to high ledges and openings. The game exploits these necessitates by having sniping sections to protect Ashley or by spawning enemies in the hallway the player left Ashely in while they went into the suspiciously large and empty room to fight the boss.

               Resident Evil 4 was also the culmination of the fast paced combat the series had been inching toward since Resident Evil 3. While the player still cannot move while aiming their gun the ability to aim freely and reload without opening the menu screen allowed for a more uninterrupted combat. This is augmented by the ability to switch from a firearm to the combat knife by tapping the left shoulder button for melee takedowns and to smash open crates and pots for item drops. The game also introduced a quicktime mechanic in combat to perform a kick or grapple on a close enemy by pressing the x button, but unfortunately combat was often too busy and cluttered, and the window to press the button, too short to make the physical take downs particularly useful.

              This game also jumped headfirst into the quick time event movement. Cutscenes and traps found while exploring are riddled with prompts to jab one or more buttons at once, or mash another button non-stop for extended periods.

That’s too bad because it could reduce the impact of several involved, difficult and well scripted encounters which this Resident Evil has more tools to fight than ever. Whilst a limited inventory makes a return Resident Evil 4 makes the available space much bigger to make up for the lack of any sort of storage system. There are several guns to choose from: the traditional handgun, shotgun and magnum as well as sub machine guns, sniper riffles and a “mine thrower” which shoots explosive darts. There’s also several one-use rocket launchers scattered throughout the game which are ideal for knocking down bosses. The problem with this is that enemies drop ammunition in response to the weapons you have in your inventory or those the player is about to acquire through the story and so in late game this can lead to an inventory choked full of small handfuls of every bullet type, and unlike previous games the player cannot reload from the inventory menu. Instead every gun must be equipped individually and refilled.

The glut continues with three types of grenades: flash, frag and incendiary which are different levels of efficacy against different enemies. Healing items also appear here, which includes the traditional first aide sprays and herbs (with a new gold herb that increases Leon or Ashley’s max health) as well a chicken eggs that restore just a bit of health. Thankfully keys, puzzle pieces and loot that can be sold at the store are in their own, separate inventory.

The store is a new mechanic for Resident Evil, but a useful one. A mysterious hooded and glowing-eyed merchant travels along the same path as Leon and sells weapons, scopes and stocks for those weapons as well as performance upgrades for the guns Leon owns. Occasionally the merchant also offers special items like larger inventory capacity and treasure maps that allow Leon to track down more saleable valuables.

While not perfect RE 4 ends up being a much tighter and more polished experience than past entries. The new story and quip slinging hero provided a convenient jumping in point for those who hadn’t played earlier entries in the series without losing the signature nonsense that give the series its B-movie charm. The game is fun, just a bit scary and difficult without being too punishing. Players won’t get stuck for long but will probably feel a solid sense of achievement after dropping sprawling, tentacled monsters. All in all it really is one of the best times to be had in the series, and certainly the most mainstream thus far. Was it the mind blowing horror experience I’d been led to believe? No. But it was more than worth tracking it down.