I was inspired to write yet another AU. This one is slightly on the back burner, but I wanted to at least get out the prologue so something is written and it is easier to get back to in the future.
Edit: It was inspired by this awesome AU, so check it out if you haven't yet. 😁
Chreon AU: What would have happened if Leon had a different path open to him after Raccoon City? While being hunted by the government, Leon and Sherry are found by another entity and offered another choice.
~~~~~
Leon Kennedy couldn’t forget the labs. Couldn’t forget the dead, the monsters. The videos he found. The betrayal he felt when he discovered the truth behind Birkins and what began Raccoon City’s ending.
It haunted him now as he hid with Sherry Birkin outside an abandoned gas station, heart pounding and bloody shoulder throbbing. Far too close, lights swept the parking lot and the nearby truck graveyard. Leon tightened his arms around Sherry, holding her close to his chest, as shouts rose and heavy boots stomped.
God, he hoped Claire got away. He hoped she found her brother.
Now he just had to protect Sherry. Somehow. She leaned into him, looking more confused than afraid. Leon understood. A week ago, he would have greeted them with smiles. Before Ben Bertolucci. Before William Birkin. Before the lab.
“Sweep the area!” A male voice. Authoritative. No hint of warmth. “They couldn’t have made it far!”
Gently, Leon kissed Sherry’s hair. She smelled like the cheap shampoo from the empty motel they discovered after Claire left them. With his bloody clothes, Leon hadn’t dared to approach anyone until he managed to clean off, and the barked orders outside assured him he made the right decision. What he didn’t know was how they had tracked them this far.
Please don’t have dogs. Leon peeked beyond their small shelter, watching a dozen soldiers swarm the parking lot. Please.
At least I no longer smell like sewers.
Since leaving the motel, these soldiers -- led by man with the sharp voice -- stalked them like Mr. X in Raccoon City. There was little time for rest, little time for Leon to catch his breath. Several times he needed to carry Sherry from one hiding spot to the next while those bastards hunted them. Did they know about Sherry? Did they know that the remnants of the G-virus ran through Sherry’s veins? What the hell did they know?
Leon couldn’t risk it. No matter what happened, he couldn’t let anything happen to Sherry.
Lights flashed in the gas station and in the garage beside it. Black, nondescript cars filled the road, circled the area. Leon eyed the truck graveyard. There were more lights there but the vehicles and miscellaneous items scattered offered a cover and possible routes to freedom.
After that… Leon had no clue. And it doesn’t matter. Keep Sherry safe. Nothing else matters.
“Leon,” Sherry whispered. Leon quickly shushed her. He kept her secure against him, looking around to make sure no one heard her. No change in the lights or movement of the soldiers. They were still safe.
Their cover was small but decent: good enough to hide from Mr. X and government agents. A small car with its hood still up not far from the truck graveyard, tucked by the far wall of the garage. Overlooked so far but not for long. Time to move.
Gently, Leon kissed Sherry’s hair again. Just in case. For the G-virus in her blood, they might keep Sherry alive, but Leon didn’t see much in his future.
“We need to move quickly and quietly,” he whispered in her ear. “To the trucks and the road beyond them, okay?”
Sherry swallowed and nodded. Such a brave girl. When they got out of this, Leon would make sure to tell her that.
“Let’s go,” he breathed.
The man snapped more orders but nothing regarding Leon’s and Sherry’s direction or indicating he saw them move. Leon crept through the shadows, keeping Sherry close. She didn’t make a noise, even when someone shouted behind them and a gunshot rang out. Leon flinched but it didn’t sound close to them, nor did it sound like it hit close by. What were they shooting at?
More shouting. That didn’t mean anything good. Leon clenched his jaw. It felt too much like Mr. X in Raccoon City, heavy steps forever behind him. His heart pounded in his chest so hard it made him dizzy and his shoulder throbbed and he was terrified, had been terrified for days, but he couldn’t stop moving. He had to get Sherry somewhere safe.
Sherry, so quiet and brave. She pressed close to him, warm and small and too damned breakable. Leon pulled her around another parked car, moving slowly toward the truck graveyard. Lights flickered there, each threatening a soldier and a weapon, and Leon was so scared he could barely breathe through it.
Somehow, impossibly, this was worse than Raccoon City. In Raccoon City, it was just him. If he failed, only he would fall.
I can’t fail her. I can’t fail her. It won’t be like with Marvin and Ada. I can still save her.
The trucks loomed tall and dark around them. More shouts in the distance. Sherry whimpered against his chest, and Leon comfortingly pet her hair with a hand he hoped wasn’t shaking. When light swept by them again, he pulled behind a large tire and pretended he couldn’t hear Mr. X stomping in the shadows.
I can do this. I got this. I can do this.
The shouting was getting closer: short, barked orders, moving away from the garage and toward the truck graveyard. Time to move. Keep moving, get to safety, no matter what. The soldiers’ footsteps echoed in the dark, monsters just beyond Leon’s sight. Leon clenched his jaw and focused on their path.
Sherry reached up and grabbed his hand. His chest hurting, Leon gently squeezed it. We’ll be okay, Sherry. I promise.
Gunshots rang out. Heart clenching, Leon yanked her behind another tire. Sherry twisted in his arms to hide her face against his neck, and he didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly. He felt her shiver against him, out of fear or exhaustion, he didn’t know.
It’ll be okay, Sherry. I’ll take care of you.
Fuck, did something escape from Raccoon City? Did something follow them?
Oh god. Was it Birkin? Leon couldn’t do it. He couldn't do it again.
“Leon,” Sherry whimpered. Leon tightened his grip.
He had no choice. For Sherry’s sake, he needed to power through. All of the noise was on the other side of the gas station. Whatever it was, it was a distraction. They could take advantage of it. Run, flee, hide. Move.
“Let’s go,” he whispered. Whatever it was, it was their problem now.
Sherry looked up at him and her face was ghost-white in the dark. Leon kissed her forehead. It was time for them to go. Be brave, Sherry.
They pushed up again and started to go. Something moved in front of them and Leon shoved Sherry behind him, whipping out his gun and --
Leon swallowed. Didn’t lower his gun. “I thought you were dead,” he said softly.
Ada Wong smiled at him, still wearing her red dress. She wore a new black coat, so he couldn’t see her wounded arm. “Hi, Rookie,” she drawled. “Looks like you’re going to owe me another one.”
Someone shouted behind them. Ada’s smile grew and she extended her hand. “Well, Leon?”
Leon stared at her, Sherry pressed against his back. Ada didn’t move, hand still open to Leon, and for one long terrifying moment, he was back in Raccoon City, he and Ada hanging over the pit, the metal cracking under him. He couldn’t breathe.
“Leon?” Sherry whispered behind him.
“Don’t be distracted! Don’t let them get away!”
Leon swallowed and reached out. Silently, he put his hand in hers. Ada’s eyes gleamed in the dark. “Good Rookie.”
God, he hoped he wasn’t making another mistake.