Resident Evil 4: Cursed Blood (Leon Kennedy x OC)

{•Chapter Seventeen•}

Amused at the expression on Leon's face, Salazar cackled loudly as he spun to face the agent. "Ah, Mr. Kennedy. So glad you could join us."

Leon ignored the taunting laughter as he stepped closer towards Gwen. There was no semblance of life or the beautiful gleam he fell in love with in her eyes. The once sharp and clear sapphire tint was now dull, showing no emotions at all. Leon stopped his advances when he saw how doll-like she was acting. He gritted his teeth and glowered at Salazar, anger searing through his veins. "What did you do to her?"

Salazar grinned as he stood beside Gwen. "It is quite fascinating what you can accomplish with the right mixture of chemicals. Her Majesty isn't quite in control of her body at the moment. You see, she is in a catatonic state and has no free will. She is our beautiful marionette."

"And you're the one pulling the strings," Leon growled.

"Lord Saddler is the one in control, not I. It was difficult giving her the injection, though. She truly is a fighter, but that will no longer be an issue very soon. Once the chemicals bond with the ones in her blood, she'll be under Lord Saddler's full control!" Salazar took Gwen's hand in his own while his smirk widened. "Now, I think you've lived long enough. Let's see if you can survive this time."

The ceiling begins to lower at Salazar's proclamation. Spikes emerged from the numerous of holes in the ceiling as it descended upon them.

"No!" Ashley cried as she cowered behind Leon. The agent looks at the ceiling then back at Salazar as he escaped while tugging Gwen along with laughter.

"Wait!" Leon tried to chase after them, but metal bars trapped him and Ashley in the room. He grasped the cold metal in his hands as Salazar's laughter echoed down the hall as he vanished with the woman. "Dammit!"

"Leon, what do we do? We're trapped!" Ashley screamed.

The agent glanced up at the ceiling once more and noticed four red gems. He grabbed his handgun and fired at them. Once shooting the red jewels, the ceiling grinded to a halt. Leon and Ashley sighed in relief, knowing they wouldn't be impaled by the spikes or crushed by the ceiling.

The girl's body tensed as they walked through the hallway Salazar and Gwen vanished down only minutes ago. "Did you see the way Gwen was acting? It was like she was a walking doll."

"I don't know how I'm going to get her back, but I'll make sure I do before Saddler takes total control of her," Leon declared.

Ashley fell deep into thought and lagged behind Leon. She wound up separated from the agent by a barred door. Now trapped in the hallway, she shouted for the man as a mining drill bursted through the wall. Two cultists sat atop the mechanical device, steering the drill down the hallway towards Ashley. She screamed at the top of her lungs, covering her head as she squatted down.

Leon used his rifle to kill the two men, which removed the bars from the doorway. Ashley scurried to her feet and rushed through the doorway as the drill continued down the corridor.

Inside the room and safe from the mining equipment, Leon found another grail in a chest. Unlike the previous chalice, this one had a decoration of a queen on the side. With both chalices and no idea as to what to do with them, the duo headed back into the hallway littered with portraits. They wandered down the only path they had left to travel.

Windows to their right and statues to the left. The curtains whipped through the breeze that blew through opened windows. At the end of the hall, cultists wielding scythes, shields, and flails blocked their path. "Stay behind me," Leon whispered to Ashley as he aimed his rifle and shot a single man in the head, killing him instantly. The gunfire earned the remaining cultists' attention. One man with a scythe pointed and shouted at Leon, commanding his fellow members to attack.