Questions
Even though he knew that Aconite was uninjured due to her virus, it didn't stop him from demanding to give her a quick once over before they headed for the castle.
Thus they returned to the hut they'd reunited in where Aconite removed her shirt, not bothered by her lack of a bra, and turned two of her fingers into short claws.
Hearing a squeak, she looked to Ashley, who covered her face with her hands, the younger woman's face beet red.
"Is there a problem Ms. Graham?" she asked as Leon examined the ring of blood signifying where his fiancée had been impaled, the spike went through her in a downward angle from the shape.
"Nite," Leon whispered as he traced his fingers along the circle on her back.
"What is it, Leon?" she asked, looking over her shoulder at him as she cut her shirt with her claws, ridding it of excess fabric and turning it into a midriff top that would just barely cover her breasts.
"This wound would have destroyed most of your lower organs, you sure you're okay?" he asked in concern, pulling out a bottle of water and taking a cloth strip to wash the blood off.
Ashley gasped in horror at this, getting over her embarrassment at the older woman's lack of modesty to stare at the blood ring on her stomach.
Aconite grimaced at the statement, knowing that her organs were still stitching themselves together, and sighed.
"I'll be fine, Leo, I promise. True, this is the worst wound I've received to date, but I've already regenerated 90% of the damage. Give me another," she paused as she focused on her injured insides, "twenty minutes, and I'll be completely recovered." she estimated as she pulled on her shirt.
Leon frowned at her answer, knowing that she was probably right, but he still worried.
Aconite was the strongest person he knew; nothing would ever change that; it didn't matter what hit her; she always got back up, but she still felt pain just as deeply as everyone else.
In fact, there were times he swore she felt pain on a greater scale than normal humans.
Leon leaned forward and rested his head on her shoulder with a sigh.
"Leon?" she muttered in confusion, feeling his arms wrap around her.
"Please be more careful, I know that you can heal from practically everything, but I don't like knowing you've been hurt," he whispered, pulling away finally so they could get going.
Aconite's eyes softened, her crimson eye revealed as her "eyepatch" reverted into tendril form and sinking into her skin.
It wasn't often Leon got like this in the six years they'd been together, but it occurred typically when she'd been hurt, and he knew about it.
Ashley felt like a voyeur as she watched them; it was like they had eyes only for each other.
It seemed unprofessional for a couple to be partners, but she really didn't know enough to have a point to complain.
Aconite terrified her, knowing that the older woman was a B.O.W., but in the same breath, Ashley had never felt safer.
"You have questions, speak," Aconite ordered, snapping Ashley out of her thoughts as the agent cracked her neck.
"Um..."
"I'm not going to bite, kid." Aconite joked as she sipped at the water bottle Leon gave her, Leon leaving the pair for the moment to speak with the Merchant.
"You said that you carry all the known bio-weapon viruses, how is that?"
Ashley questioned, recalling the older woman mentioning it when she removed Leon's plaga.
A grimace overtook the B.O.W.'s face before she sighed.
"It's true; I was first infected with the T-virus when I was a young child. After the Raccoon City incident, I was trained as a... let's go with the word 'spy.' My job by order of the President was to infiltrate Umbrella facilities along with other companies if they came under suspicion and ensure that outbreaks didn't happen."
Aconite began as she sat back down, her gaze distant.
"Should you be telling me this? I mean, isn't it classified?" Ashley inquired as she sat beside her.
Aconite chuckled at that, shaking her head.
"No need to worry, as the President's daughter, you have a bit more leeway when it comes to classifieds, just don't mention to anyone but your father that you know. Besides, I think that since you're involved in a Biohazard zone, you deserve to know."
Aconite assured her before continuing, "Anyway, I got my hands on the G-virus from my godsister Sherry, who'd been infected with it during the Raccoon City outbreak. I'm actually a virologist, Ph.D. and all, so I was studying both my T-virus and the G-virus in an effort to find a cure. Not for me, been too long, and the T-virus is bonded to my D.N.A."
"But for others," Ashley whispered as she looked down at her hands.
"Yes, ran into a problem, however." Aconite smiled bitterly, "Using a sample of the T-virus I swiped on one of my missions, I learned that my T-virus strain was mutated. Compared to the sample strain that I obtained my virus was completely different. Maybe from the amount of time, it was in me, or something else, I don't know."
That discovery had driven her nuts, as at the time, she'd thought her blood could be the key to a cure.
"Learning this, I gave up on that subject. But when I was about to destroy the original strain, I forgot about my strength in my frustration and shattered the vial. I honestly thought I'd just caused another outbreak in my lab when my virus reacted. I don't truly remember what happened, but thanks to my security cameras, I know what did."
Ashley jerked in horror, she couldn't imagine the panic that must have caused.
"I apparently 'exploded,' as in my human form dissapeared and I turned into a mist I'd only seen once before back in 1998 when my father was killed by an infected. While I was in this 'mist form,' I hunted down every bit of the virus I'd released and consumed it. It was through this event I discovered my ability to assimilate new viruses into my own."
Aconite leaned back and rested her weight on her hands, her smile no longer bitter.
"Originally, I only had my 'shield' and 'blade,' if we reference Prototype, but after I consumed the untainted T-virus, I gained my 'claws.'"
She explained as she transformed her arms into the three forms.
"I had my security system that I'd stolen from the same facility as the virus sample, White Queen, I call it, scan the lab for any trace of the T-virus other than myself, and to my astonishment, the scan came back clean. Learning this, I had White Queen contact your father and told him what happened."
"I can't imagine my father was pleased to learn about this," Ashley muttered, her father was a good man, if strict at times.
"You have no idea, I got chewed out for an hour before he remembered that my lab was near the Arklay crater, well away from any civilization. I had too in my panic if I'm honest. After he calmed down, we began to theorize that I may be able to consume and assimilate other viruses as well. I was given a tentative order to investigate this, so I went with Sherry's G-virus since her mother Annette had neutralized it, Sherry is a carrier of the G-virus like I'm a carrier of the T-virus, but not contagious. Rather, our viruses focus solely on our bodies to keep us in top form, I think, is the best way to put it."
Ashley stared at her in amazement, Aconite was unlike anyone she'd ever known.
"So how did you take the G-virus from Sherry?"
"I took a sample of her blood and injected it into my self. True, Sherry and I are not the same blood type, so that could be very stupid, but I didn't have many options. For the record, Sherry is O type, and I'm A.B. negative. Anyway, upon introducing the 'invader' to my system, my virus once again consumed it. I didn't develop any new weapons, but I gained my 'web of intrigue.' The reason being is that the sample wasn't large enough for a new weapon. Not that it was my intention."
Aconite snickered as she wondered what was taking Leon so long with the Merchant, idly switching on her 'hunter sense' to make sure he was okay.
Seeing that he was still with the Merchant, she continued her story.
"After I reported my success to your father, he told me to consume any virus I came across on my missions. So I did. I came into contact with the active G-virus first, to which I gained 'hammer fist' and 'hunter sense.' Then I got my hands on the Progenitor virus, which is the source of all the viruses, from a lab belonging to Oswald Spencer, who started all this shit, and learned that my father had been an experiment from the documents I found near the sample. Sadly I didn't run into Spencer, or I would have consumed the asshole."
"Your father?"
"Albert Wesker, one of the Wesker Children. They'd been taken from all over the world, legally or otherwise. Hundreds of children, most of them dying shortly after being injected with the Progenitor virus. Those who survived were given the surname 'Wesker' after the project head. The documents I found showed only 13 were successful. My father among them. I doubt he even knows that he was an experiment."
Aconite sighed; she was still conflicted about that fact.
"But haven't you told him?"
"No, my father died in 1998, but thanks to the Progenitor virus in his system and exposure to the T-virus, he revived like me. I haven't seen or spoken to him since he died in my arms. I don't know how much of his original self remains in the Tyrant born from his body, and I don't really care to find out. He betrayed me, and I haven't forgiven him for that."
The agent sighed, running her hand over her braid.
"Not to mention the fact that we are not on the same side of things. He's still working for Umbrella, or maybe he's with someone else. I don't particularly care too much."
Ashley was silent for a few moments, thinking over the information.
"I'm sorry, I can't imagine what that's like." the younger said before changing subjects, "What did you get from the Progenitor virus?"
"From Progenitor? I gained my 'whip fist' and 'hive mind.' 'Hive mind' more or less is as it sounds, I say that I'm not able to infect others, but it's because I choose not to. If I did, I could create a 'hive' of infected that answer to my call. I do have one, currently, but it's just Leon and me, and Leon's virus isn't active. I only wake it when Leon is infected with something, like the plaga."
Ashley nodded at the description, "What about Veronica?"
"Ah yes, Veronica, I gained that sample from Claire who was taken hostage by Umbrella after a raid on a Paris facility. It was also how I learned that my father really was still around, as Claire and her brother Chris ran into him during that incident. My father was after the Veronica virus, and he got it by taking the body of a teenager named Steve Burnside. At this point, I'd told the other Raccoon survivors to bring me samples of viruses if they could since many are out for Umbrella's destruction. The virus's actual name is T-Veronica, but I tend to drop the 't' in it. I can manipulate fire formed from my blood using it, on top of gaining 'thermal' and 'infected' vision."
"You didn't tell me about the 'infected' vision, Nite." Leon's voice came from the doorway, making Ashley jump while Aconite merely shrugged.
"I rarely use it since I need to be exposed to fresh infected. I can track the Ganados now since I've consumed the man from when we first arrived and Mendez. Although, I've discovered there are two strains of plaga, the man from the house was of the submissive strain, while Mendez is of the dominate strain. My guess is that it allows for drones and commanders. You ready to go?"
Aconite asked as she stood, moving to stand next to him.
"Yes. Ashley, are you ready?" Leon questioned, making the youngest of the trio nod.
"By the way, didn't you take a sample from Manuela Hidalgo?"
"Yes, but other than a slight boost to my strength, I didn't gain much. Speaking of her, I wonder how she's doing." Aconite answered as they headed for the gate, pulling Mendez's eye from her pocket.