I apologise to everyone who has been patient with me, in waiting for me to get my lazy arse into gear and update. Here it is finally. I hope you guys like it.

I do not own Resident Evil. It and all its characters (minus oc's of course) are the property of CAPCOM.

Resident Evil: Secrets Revealed

Chapter 24

Leon Kennedy and Ada Wong were not fairing well at all. It was quite apparent, and would have been to anyone else who might witness the battle, that it would only be a matter of minutes before their opponent defeated them.

The obvious outcome was no fault of theirs, the fact that the odds were stacked so highly against then. Wilforn could see that those odds were working towards the end, that inevitable avalanche that would bury them both in their own blood.

Wesker indeed possessed great physical abilities, he thought. The thing that animated him, the coursed throughout his body, was simply too strong for regular human endurance. The duo lacked the proper resources to stand against such an enemy. Short-range combat was no the answer, but it was all they had in their immediate arsenal.

"What am I supposed to do?" Lisa said. She was still standing in front of him.

Wilforn saw the remaining flakes of dried blood, sitting beneath her nose. She was supposed to be guarding him, preventing any escape attempt he might try to make. But she was restless, agitated; she paced on the catwalk in front of him as the fight drew closer to its inevitable conclusion.

She appeared unsure to him. She was a fawn in the woods, and yet unlike any that had ever lost its way before. Her head shook frantically, and he could almost count down the seconds that would lead to her next outburst. He would need to act quickly.

"Lisa?"

"Shut up!"

"What do you plan to do once Wesker has me?" he asked. "Will you allow him to continue this charade he's created just for you? Is your life really a thing to be toyed with so easily?"

"You must have mistaking me for someone else. I'm no one's toy!"

"You will be if you remain with him."

"And what makes you any different, Wilforn?"

He concealed the faint sting he was dealt at hearing her call him that. However he couldn't help but feel the building vibration that began to run through the catwalk. Her emotions were becoming increasingly unstable. Her rage was escalating, as well as her deep confusion.

"Are you referring to Umbrella– "

"You're the one that let them do it!"

"I couldn't stop them back then," he replied. "But I assure you, I never wanted to let you go."

" And what do you expect from me now, Daddy?" the last word was drenched in bitterness. "You want me to follow you out of here? You want me to be your good little daughter?"

"Lisa– "

"No!" the catwalk shook. "Everything you've told me might very well be true, about f… him. But you weren't there when I needed you. He was there for me."

"He's done nothing but manipulate you, Lisa," Wilforn said. "That is all he does. All he truly case about is himself and his own rise to power in this world. My work was always secondary to you."

"And yet you let me go!"

"I couldn't stop them."

"You didn't even try!"

"And there isn't a day that passes where I don't regret that decision. If there is one true tragedy that I've experienced in my life, that was it. Believe me, I wanted to stop them."

Lisa's eyes widened horrifically, boiling with rage and something near that of lunacy. "But, you, didn't!"

The railing on either side of the catwalk began to bend and twist. Lisa's telekinetic power was falling further into instability. Wilforn could feel the floor giving in a fraction; it bent inward, and then outward, metal shrieking as it was deformed beneath his feet.

He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, looking off to the exit behind him. His escape. If he was going to leave then he couldn't wait any longer. His facility would be wiped out within the next half an hour at the most. He had to convince Lisa to come with him or he might lose her forever.

"Don't stay with him," he urged. "If you do it will only lead to your destruction in the end. He'll use you until there's nothing left."

"Shut your mouth!" she snapped. "I…. I can't… I'm trying to think."

"I can help you, Lisa. He can't. I can teach you how to strengthen your abilities without lies. I will not fill your head with deceit."

"But he's… " she trailed off, the muscles within her face creasing sharply, as her hands clenched and unclenched. "I remember you, but I don't know you. I don't know any of you. Get away from me!"

"Lisa, please!"

"All of you, everyone, just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Wilforn was then thrown through the air, along with everything else within thirty feet. The last thing he saw was Albert Wesker's body, enveloped in smoke and fire, as the man plummeted into the darkness beneath the catwalk.

The mountain of panic that Ada had felt, at seeing the pin leave the grenade, had ceased the moment her feet came away from the ground. Has had everything else.

A blur become her reality. Wesker and Leon's bodies vanished as she travelled upward, all oxygen exiting her mouth as she was slung like stone for that short couple of seconds. She heard the blast of the grenade before her body ever made contact with the floor. And then all that dominated her world was pain, a pain that felt as if it would remain until the agonising end of her life.

Her back and her head struck what might have been a wall, her body coming to a stop with such force that she blacked out before landing in a crumpled heap. It might have been seconds later than she came to. Or minutes. Or hours. She couldn't know for sure.

Her eyes opened lazily, and from where she lay on her chest she did her best to scan the area. All that she knew for certain, other than the tremendous discomfort that plagued every square inch of her, was that things looked entirely different to what they had only a minute before.

The area where Leon and Wesker had been standing was burnt black; small patches of flame flickered on the ground. To the right of the catwalk steps the railing had been bent outward, over the expanse of nothing, breaking in that spot all together. Leon was lying on the ground, unconscious, not far from where he had been previously standing.

Wesker was gone.

The things had changed beyond that single point. The chamber's precise shape had been warped. The walls were deformed, bending outwards; deep cracks crawled in different directions across the metal, like a deranged circulatory system. The catwalk was near demolished also, torn in half near the centre.

Wilforn and the girl were also no longer in the chamber. Only she and Leon remained.

Is it over?

Still enveloped within the drunken haze, she lifted herself from the ground. She couldn't see her sub machinegun, nor could her mind function in a way that would tell her to look for it. Her head was throbbing, and all she could think at that time was that she had to get to Leon.

Her legs gave out for a second, almost planting her face first into the floor before she was able to right herself. She attempted to shake off the grogginess that had taken hold, but found that she couldn't.

She had to wake up, she thought. She had to pull her body from the sludge that had encircled it and get herself into gear before Wilforn's lab was pull down around her.

Come on. You can do this.

Her vision cleared only a fraction, which would have pleased her, had she not seen the figure that she now saw.

He had appeared out of nothing, and was now standing above Leon's sleeping form, Ada's blood froze, and she stopped moving. Her sluggish hand went for her Springfield, drawing it with less speed than she would have liked.

"Get away from him!" she raised the handgun to his head.

Daniel King wasn't smiling anymore. "Why?"

"Do it!"

"I could, you know," he said. "I could end him now. And I have my doubts about your shooting prowess right now. But this would be what you deserve."

Ada's head dipped, though she never took her eyes off of King. "You might be right."

"But?"

"But you're worse than I ever was, Daniel. Everything that I've done in my life has been– "

"For little sis. Yeah, the end justifies the means, blah blah yawn blah," he slouched, as if bored. "Maybe you're right about me, and I'm really this terrible thing that doesn't fit with the rest of the world."

She was getting tired of this. But even so, the threat of presented to Leon was very real. He had shown no signs of stirring and would be powerless if she missed her first shot. She couldn't miss.

"It was never an opinion, Daniel. It's a fact."

"But that's just who I am, Ada. I do the things I do because that's, just, me. There's really no other reason for it. The world is quite literally a playground for me. Except you, you repellent cunt of a woman! Everything I've done here is to make you realise that you will never be happy. Not as long as I'm still breathing."

"What happened back then," she said. "You brought all of that on yourself. You chose your actions, and I chose to put a stop to them. I was always a professional. You've never been anything other than a savage."

King smiled for the first time. "Careful, Ada. You might just hurt my feelings."

"Oh we wouldn't want that, would we?"

"And Mr Kennedy's life hangs in the balance. Can you shoot me before I open his neck?"

(Emergency. This facility will detonate in twenty minutes. All employees please proceed to evacuation train immediately.)

Ada's head seemed to triple in its savage aching at the sound of the automated mechanical voice. She fought to regain her focus as King's lips peeled back, revealed a grin that could slice through paper.

"Well you heart it. Everything's going down. I suppose I should bring this to a close. Ada. This is just for you."

Time seemed to slow, collapsing to a crawl as she watched King draw a short knife. He was still looking back at her, savouring her reaction as he prepared to go through with his last act of vengeance against her.

She pulled the trigger. And the gun jammed.

No!

In the fraction of time that fright had taken over her mind, she heard the gunshot. She wondered how she could have heard such a thing, as her gun had died within her hands. That was when she saw King stagger away from Leon. He was laughing.

She saw Leon rising to his feet, his sidearm firmly in his right hand. She felt a smile cross her lips before falling to her hands and knees. The impact against her body when hitting the wall had done more damage than she imagined. She just had no strength left in her.

"Ada!" Leon called to her.

"I'm ok," she replied. She didn't feel ok.

King wouldn't stop laughing. The volume rose to a howl, an utterly insane sound that chilled her spin, helping to sap her remaining crumbs of energy all the more.

"Nice one Mr Kennedy!" he said. "Not many people can play dead well enough to fool me. That was a one of a kind performance. If I had a hat I'd lift it to you right now."

Ada could see the blood, spilling out from a hole in his chest. The bullet had penetrated the heart. And yet King was still on his feet somehow.

The Rapture virus! That's why he won't die. Why can't he just die?

Leon's face conveyed the disgust he felt for King all to well. Ada knew that he was seconds away from firing again. He was indeed planning to kill King there and then.

"I don't see what's so funny, Phantom," he said, keeping his gun on King as he slowly stepped over to Ada. "You've got one last chance to give Ada that sample. If you do I might make this quick."

King raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, but you were awake when the announcement came through, yes? Did Wesker's beating make you deaf?"

"We have to get out of here, Leon," Ada said. "He's not going to turn it over no matter what we do."

"Well the option to shoot Mr Kennedy is still on the table, Ada. Who knows? I might just hand it over."

Ada's brow twisted. "No you won't."

"No. I really won't," he said. "The sample is my total liberation from any dependency I ever had on other people."

"Well get ready to be un-liberated, you piece of shit!" Leon said.

"Don't," Ada urged, as Leon began to help her up with his free arm. "We have to leave. We can't get into this now. They'll be another time. Isn't that right, Daniel?"

"As you say, Ada dearest."

It was a stalemate. King wouldn't advance on them anymore, not with the time limit looming over like an eagerly awaiting grim reaper. And Leon didn't have enough bullets in his gun to end things before the complex was destroyed. For now it was over.

She saw wrinkled form on Leon's sweating head; it revealed his powerful hatred for King. It was perhaps just as strong as her feelings toward him. And as much as they both might want to kill the man where he stood, they couldn't remain where they were any longer.

She let Leon pull her close, his arm wrapped around her waiting, keeping her standing. She saw his reluctant nod, right before he fired his gun, emptying the magazine into King's body.

King reeled backwards, the force of each shot sending him stumbling into the wall to the left of the open area of the wasted catwalk. Red gushing wounds dotted his chest, however the pain he showed from each round fired was only slight. And the grin never left his face.

He could have dodged, she thought. He knew it wouldn't kill him!

Leon was then helping Ada to the door. She watched as King stayed where he was, propped against the wall, as his torso ran with deep red against the black of his clothes. She forced her sleepy eyes to remain open, keeping them locked on him until they reached the shredded doorway that led out of the chamber.

"This isn't over, Phantom," Leon promised.

"Oh, I know it isn't," King chuckled, then spat blood onto the floor. "Be seeing you, lovebirds. Enjoy what remains of your time together."

I swear, Daniel. One day I am going to make a permanent end of you!

Leon heard Ada wince, and softened his grip around her waist ever so slightly. She had told him she was fine, but he knew she was quickly fading. He had felt the lump on her skull, bulging under her hair, and he knew that it was bad. He had to hurry.

He helped her over some rubble in a half collapsed passage. It wasn't the first sign of destruction from the battles that had so far been fought, no doubt between Wesker's people and many dangers that Wilforn had placed in their path.

Nothing was left standing anymore. Wesker's troops littered the ground, as did Wilforn's security staff, and the stench of death clung to the air. Leon would be more than happy to see the end of this place. All he had to do was make sure he and Ada were on the surface before that happened.

(This facility will detonate in ten minutes.)

"Ah crap!" that was the last thing he wanted to hear. "We need to hurry."

"The n-northern exit shouldn't be f-far," Ada slurred. "Wesker's men broke through Wilforn's security for us."

"Well it's better than nothing," he said.

"Leon, if we don't get out of here- "

"Shut up!" Leon snapped. He continued to near drag her between debris and bodies. "I won't hear that. I'm not leaving you here."

"I'm not getting any better Leon. Y-you stand a better chance of... of surviving if you- "

She was cut off once more, only this time Leon hadn't needed to interrupt her. They were both sent crashing against the wall to their left as they reached a turning.

Ada sagged against the wall, and Leon momentarily saw her limp hand struggle to un-holster her gun. She could barely keep herself from collapsing.

No! I'm not letting this happen!

He rose to his feet, raising his aching arms and firing off several shots toward the thing that had collided with them. The snarling T-virus beasts from the surface howled in pain as the rounds punctured its chest. It fell dead, just five feet away from them.

Leon kept the handgun in his left, using his right hand to hoist Ada up again. He felt some relief when her arm weakly snaked itself over his shoulder. She was going to make it. He knew she would make it.

They were moving again. However Leon knew that their ten minutes wasn't going to last forever; the seconds were now pushing to light-like speeds, and Ada's feet were beginning to drag along the floor. Despite every effort she was slowly losing her battle with the unconsciousness world that wanted her so badly.

Fortunately they were met with a glimmer of hope. They had passed into the northern sector, locating the elevator that Wesker must have used. The thing that would lead them out of the Tartarus they'd been trapped in.

Leon pulled Ada to the door. He slammed the butt of his gun against the button to call the elevator back down. He briefly wondered who had traveled up, since Wesker must have been the last person to use the elevator?

Who came through here? Thanks, unnamed jackass. Come on. Come on!

Within what was probably a short time, but what felt like an eternity, the elevator reached the bottom. The doors slowly slid open, and Leon was then helping Ada into the cubic interior.

They were then moving towards the surface. Safety was awaiting them both at the top. All they had to do was reach that safety in time.

That was when Leon felt an explosion beneath them. Had the self-destruct be triggered prematurely, he wondered? Had he misjudged the time?

"That doesn't sound good," he murmured.

"Wesker and his people arrived in several choppers," Ada managed to say. "If no one made it up before us then there must be something left for us to use."

"I hope so, Ada."

"Even if there is, I'm as good as dead to my employers now."

Leon couldn't hold back the regret he felt at failing to help her. The sample she had been sent after was lost, along with her employer's promise to help her. He couldn't imagine what she might be going through.

He knew now how much she had suffered in the past decade. Her entire life had been dedicated to finding her sister. And now it seemed that the dream of being reunited with her, of discovering the truth, was forever out of her reach.

No, he thought. This isn't done yet. I have to help her do this. I owe her too much. I can't give up on her.

Leon lost his balance when another explosion shook the floor beneath his feet. The floor felt as if it was sinking. His pulse quickened when he realised that they only had seconds before the floor gave out.

He looked into Ada's eyes, holding her close as she looked back at him. Despite her wounds - and the injury to her head, one that he was still extremely concerned over - an unwavering calm lay within her expression. She smiled at him. They both knew that they could very likely plunge to their deaths at any second, and yet it seemed that Ada had already made peace with this.

She slowly moved closer, using what little fumes she was running on to move. He felt her grip around his neck constrict. And then she buried her head into his shoulder. His heart drummed hard as he held her there, as the floor shook violently.

"Ada- "

"I know, Leon. I know. Just don't let go."

"I'm not going anywhere."

The door suddenly opened, and they were both looking towards an open area that was cloaked in early morning light.

A large helipad stood a few metres away from them. Relief pored into Leon's mind, pushing new life into his limbs. He saw two black choppers, sitting alone, eager to be made useful.

"Great. Let's go,' Leon said.

He was then moving again. That was when a section of the floor caved under Ada's feet.

He turned toward her, horror gripping every nerve as she began to fall. He drove himself into motion, falling to his chest just near the edge; his hand grasped for her arm, while his other went to the door frame, attempting to keep himself from being dragged down. His fingers found Ada's wrist, and the sudden jolt in his arm punished him with unforgiving pain.

As he lay there, looking down at her, he could see the look on her face. That knowing expression, the one that told a person that fate just wasn't in their favour. He knew she would never be able to pull herself up. Despite his injuries being less than hers, his own strength was wavering, along with his fingers that slid over her clammy skin.

"Ada! Ada... c-come on. Don't let go of me. You hear?"

She didn't speak. Her face told him everything, along with the shaking of her head.

"Don't even think about it! You said it 'Don't let go.' Well I'm not letting go!"

"Get out now, Leon," she said in a strained voice.

"No! You're coming with me! You got that?"

He fought to maintain his grip, even as he felt the stinging of his own tears. He hated the accepting mask that had fallen over her face. He didn't want to see it anymore. He wanted to see her fighting to survive. That was what she was, he thought. A survivor.

"We don't both have to die, Leon. Just... g-go!"

He was terrified in that moment. That fear, the one that wracked his chest to pieces, had been felt before. Flashes from six years ago assaulted his thoughts. Ada. Falling. He hadn't the strength to keep her from that terrible descent.

He was seeing it again. The woman who ruled his every waking thought was about to pass into that darkness forever.

No! No, no, no, no!

Leon felt possessed, as his hand became like iron around her wrist. And suddenly he was screaming, roaring through his own pain, slowly lifting Ada's weight upwards, bringing her back to him. Her eyes seemed to widen at this alteration to her fate.

"Your sister isn't dead!" he said. "You have to believe that. Don't give in just because some lunatic took this opportunity away. You are stronger that!"

He felt his muscles crying out for release, so much so that he thought his arm might depart from his shoulder. But he never let go.

"Leon," Ada said.

She was finally fighting, bringing enough force back from the dead to help pull herself from the brink. She brought her other hand upward, grasping the edge of the elevator and pulling with him.

Leon aided her the rest of the way out. His arm was on fire. He dragged her toward the helipad. The effort became more arduous than before, and that was when he noticed that she had passed out.

"Shit, no!"

He eased her down to the ground near the pad, lowering her gently onto her back. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow. But she was still alive. However with the impact to her head being what it was, the last thing he wanted was for her to fall asleep.

"Come on, Ada," he said. "Don't do this to me now. Ada!"

He was so consumed with his concern for her, that he didn't hear the numerous boot steps until they were almost ten feet away. And when he turned his head in their direction a cold panic rocked his entirely being.

"Agent Kennedy, sir," one of them said.

It wasn't the enemy. It was something else. It was his own people. Leon recognised their gear, not to mention a couple of familiar faces; the team that Hunnigan must have sent in search of him. The back up that he had wanted as far from Ada Wong as possible.

They had finally arrived. And Ada was unconsciousness.

They had lowered their weapons as soon as he had turned to look in their direction. They knew him, and he knew them. This, of course, was precisely the problem.

Fuck! This is...

There wasn't a chance in hell that he would be able to get her away from them. No matter what scenarios he skimmed over he couldn't see anyway out for her.

The priorities had to change for the time being. He couldn't torture himself with the possibilities. Not yet. She needed help more than anything else. Her freedom would have to take a step back for the sake of her life.

Making sure that she survived was more important to him than anything else. The consequences for his every action were nothing compared to that.

"I'm sorry, Ada," he whispered, as the team drew in.

I know this wasn't an action packed chapter, but I still hope you enjoyed it. And again, sorry for taking this long with updating. Please let me know what you think. Your opinions are always appreciated :) The next chapter will be the final. Hopefully it won't disappoint. If I've left anything unanswered so far its because I'm working on a sequel, which I hope won't take me as long to write lol. Bye for now.