Chapter Text
Leon stumbled, his hacking cough filling the antechamber they were in.
Luis turns around quickly, and quickly jogs back to Leon, putting his hand on leons back as if to quell the parasite that was tearing through his system. The black veins were darker now, and luis could feel the parasite slowly moving around, excited in its closing proximity to its master.
Leon kept coughing for what felt like an eternity, when he finished, blood dribbled from his mouth, joining the small puddle on the ground. This was not looking good.
They were so close too, the huge chamber where Ashley was being held was up a couple room, the lab not being far from that, but Leons health has been degrading slowly for a while, his surpressant long worn off.
"Just leave me, go after Ashley, i'll-" leons voice interrupts luis's train of thought, before he coughed again in an attempt to clear his throat, "-be fine, I'm not the priority."
"It is the Prince charming that needs to rescue the damsel in distress, I am but the squire, sancho," luis replies, "you can do it Leon, we aren't that far from the lab, and what will Ashley say, you abandoning her right before rescuing her?"
Those last few words seems to invigorate Leon. Grunting, and leaning heavily on luis, he slowly stands up, with a slight hunch, and then checks his gun. Luis goes to wrap an arm around him, but Leon bats him away, "I'll be okay, let's just go."
---
They slowly open the door, looking around as they enter the giant room. Luis is looking around, noticing how there is almost no one here, which is quite surprising, looking at the fighting they had to do to get here.
All of a sudden, Leon sprints into the room, and before Luis can stop him, he's in the center of the chamber, about to pick Ashley up from a stone slab that Luis didn't notice before.
Then he just.. stops. As if frozen in time, hand reaching out over Ashley slack face.
He's straining to reach her, fighting against whatever force is holding him back.
The clink of his staff notifies them of his presence before they see him, saddler slowly making his way around to the other side of the stone slab, "you have come, my child." He says, smiling and he comes to a stop on the other side of Ashley, "and it seems you have brought a friend, as well." He looks up, locking eyes with Luis, who is still at the doorway.
Before Luis can move, or do anything really, someone grabs his neck and body, locking his arms to his sides with their grip. Luis looks up, a verdugo looming over him, as they lift him up and bring him to the center of the room, silent as always, with only the soft clicking of the mandibles to be heard.
Luis struggles, the verdugos grip tightening until he can barely breath, only letting up when he stops.
"What- do you want," Leons voice is straining, as if it takes great effort to even move his vocal cords.
"I simply wish to share this gift with as many as possible," saddlers voice feigning innocence and he walks over to Luis and caresses his face, smiling again, "a humble wish, don't you think?" Luis jerks out of his grip, earning him another tight squeeze.
"You see, we are all connected through the holy body, and now, your flesh and bone," his tone grows harsher as he walks around Leon, "your very *thoughts*, are already one with us," he dims to a whisper, leaning over Leons shoulder, a hiss ending off his sentence.
"Bullshit."
Luis could have sung in relief, knowing that Leon was still himself, but he settled for a boasting smile instead, the verdugo still squeezing the air out of his lungs.
Saddler, on the other hand, scowled, as he stood back up and recollected himself, "why, why do you reject serenity?"
He walks back around the stone slab, continuing to speak, "when you need only accept the gift? Like- *she did*." He grabs Ashley's face, tilting it towards Leon in triumph.
Luis paled, a strained *no* escaping his mouth, as Leon yelled out saddlers name, rage evident in his voice. Saddler began to laugh, anger flashing through Luis as he struggled in the verdugos grip yet again.
Saddlers laughing go louder, his voice booming through the room, "ah yes, the time has come... For this lamb to JOIN OUR COVENANT!"
Confusion is all Luis feels for a second, until he looks at Leon.
He's doubled over, a white knuckle grip on the slab as he clutches his chest, before straining his whole body, the plaga parasite beginning to hatch within him. Strained grunts of pain escape him.
Luis is struggling even more now, desperate to escape the verdugos grip and help his comrade. They've come all this way, they couldn't lose now. Despair breaks free from his throat in a strangled shout as he tries to peel the verdugos fingers from his body.
He couldn't see any way they could escape this, maybe this was the end, maybe they all were destined to become mindless-
A shower of bullets suddenly sprays across the room, killing the two female zealots and hitting saddler full in the chest. The spray then redirects to the verdugo, the multitude of bullets being too much, and it drops Luis in shock.
He crumples to the ground, and quickly tries to regain himself, looking behind him, wondering who the mysterious savior might be.
Ada wong. Of all people, which surprised him greatly, but as he glanced over at Leon, he had a feeling that Leon was not nearly as surprised as he was, though a flicker of astonishment went across his pained expression.
"LEON, go!!" Ada says, pausing the birage of bullets momentarily.
Leon simply nods once, and grabs ashley, hunched over her still in pain, but with saddler down temporarily, his forced transformation seemed to be paused as well.
Luis finally snaps out of his stupor, grabbing Leon on the shoulder and tugging him towards a side hallway, the direction to the lab, "this way!" He yells over the din of adas gun firing.
They run over to the hallway, saddler standing up to follow them, the bullets falling from his hand. Luis raises his gun and fires a couple times at saddler, the bullets seemingly having no effect on him.
Leon is crouched beside him, and wasn't going to offer much help, sheer determination being the only thing that's keeping him on his feet. Ada beat him to it though, her gun aiming upwards, and firing into the chains holding up a statue, finally slicing through them. The statue falls, blockading the entrance, and leaving them safe for now.
Luis runs over to the map on the wall, praying that he was right, because there was definitely no way they could turn around now.
Yes, there it was, the lab. Just down the corridor and they would be safe.
A grunt of pain causes him to look behind him, Leon had hobbled over to the map, regarding it as well. His hunched posture making it obvious that he wouldn't be on his feet for long.
Luis made as if to take Ashley from leons arms, the other man shaking his head fiercely. "Leon let me hold her, we won't get anywhere if you fall on top of her," luis's stern voice is enough to encourage Leon to reluctantly hand her over, Luis taking over the light weight that is Ashley.
"Okay, it's just down this hall, let's go."
----
By the time they reach the first door, Leon is softly holding onto luis's shoulder to stabilize himself. He is harshly murmuring to himself, occasionally muttering frustratingly for saddler to get out of his head.
Leon goes ahead to push the door open, but there is a barricade on the other side, preventing him. Before Luis can say anything Leon shoves open the door, snapping the rotted wooden barricade as he stumbles to the floor, a pained gasp finding its way past his clenched teeth.
He gets up though, and Luis feels another wave of guilt wash through him. He caused this. His friends are in pain because of him. He steels himself to the thought, while true, he had bigger fish to fry at the moment. He could still save them, the room ahead had everything he needed.
"We're close Leon, hang in there." Luis offers his shoulder again, and Leon grips onto it, all attempts at hiding his pain abandoned.
They slowly hobble towards the door, with every step, Leons weight is slowly added to Luis, his eyes falling to half-mast.