Chapter 6: I Will Protect

Slowly opening the door, Leon had barely peered inside before a piece of wood flew past his head. Quickly shifting his sight, he saw a blur of movement as Ashley ran into the corner, turned, fell to the ground in desperation, and in terror, screamed weakly, "Don't come!" And with the last reserves of her energy, she lobbed another chunk of wood at Leon, who easily deflected the projectile.

Leon slowly leaned towards her, trying his best to be calm, and gently spoke to her in thankfulness that she was alive, "Hey, take it easy…"

She shied away from his outstretched arm, backing up into a barrel, still pleading, "No! Get away!"

Reassuringly, Leon knelt down to her and looked softly into her eyes to signify peace, "Calm down. Everything's going to be just fine. My name's Leon. I'm under the President's order to rescue you."

"What? My father?" she finally queried in hope, her eyes lightening as she smiled gracefully.

Leon smiled back, glad he finally got her to understand who he was and why he was there. "That's right, and I have to get you out of here. Come with me." And stretching his hand out again to her, she grasped it gently as he pulled her to her feet, slightly feeling the weakness in her body as she leaned on him for support. Flipping on his communicator, Leon called Hunnigan, who was desperately waiting for good news. "It's Leon. I've succeeded in extricating my subject," and he sighed in relief as he recognized that he did what was thought to be impossible at first.

Hunnigan then had a tone of excitement as she was ready for them to come home. "Good work, Leon. I'll send a chopper over right away."

"What's the extraction point?"

"There's another trail that you can take to get out of the village. The chopper will pick you up beyond there."

"Got it. I'm on my way," and with that, he took Ashley's hand with a small, warm smile and guided her from the terrible room she was doomed to soon die in. He led her across the balcony and came to the ladder where he first climbed up. Then a mischievous idea crossed his mind, and straightening his face to still look professional, he asked Ashley, "Should I climb down first so I can catch you if you fall? You seem to look very weak from this place, and I don't know if you may slip from the ladder rungs…" being truthful, but with ulterior motives.

Ashley stopped to think briefly, then answered tiredly, not thinking it through really, "That may be a good idea… thanks for the offer."

So Leon swiftly flew down the ladder, then he raised his arms up to catch her, looking ever so slightly underneath her skirt to see white panties with three hearts across the hem… which earned a well-deserved and well-aimed boot to his face, as she still stood at the top of the ladder, now with only one boot, pulling down her skirt to block his view, and Ashley menacingly growling, "I hope you wish to keep your balls, because it would be a shame to lose them!"

Taking the 'hint', Leon scowled and looked only in front of himself so he couldn't see under her skirt when she dropped down into his arms. Letting her go, Leon then became serious again, drawing his handgun, as he led Ashley by the hand behind him to protect her in case anything happened.

Running towards the chapel doors, a frighteningly ominous voice made them halt in the center walkway between the pews, speaking softly, but powerfully, "I'll take the girl…"

Leon stared viciously at the man dressed in violet robes, lined with gold, whose dark eyes seemed to pierce right through him. And growling protectively, he hid Ashley behind himself, and snarled back, "Who are you?"

The man motioned to the entirety of the chapel and spoke again, "If you must know, my name is Osmund Saddler, the master of this fine...religious community…" his voice being like a sadistic lullaby.

Leon began to back away, keeping Ashley far away from this… frightening man… Saddler. "What do you want?"

"To demonstrate to the whole world, our astounding power, of course. No longer will the United States think they can police the world forever. So we kidnapped the President's daughter, in order to give her our power, and then send her back."

Feeling Ashley convulse slightly, Leon turned sharply to find her clutching her throat, her voice fearful as she witnessed an unconscious flashback. "No..." And afraid of what it was, she fearfully whispered to him, "Leon, I think they shot something in my neck…"

Leon then faced Saddler again, this time with a look of pure vengeance as anger flowed through his veins. "What did you do to her?!" Leon spat back.

Saddler just ignored Leon's temper as he continued to exude a tremendous vibe of superiority, "We just planted in her a little...gift. Oh, there's going to be one hell of a party when she returns home to her loving father. But before that, I thought I might bargain with the President for some...donations. Believe it or not, it takes quite a lot of money to keep this church up and running."

He himself hating religion, Leon's voice took on a dark tone, "Faith and money will lead you nowhere, Saddler."

Then Saddler laughed, as if remembering something that was of peak interest. "Oh, I believe I forgot to tell you that we gave you the same gift." And with that, Saddler sadistically smiled as he motioned to Leon.

Leon was struck back when he remembered what he thought was a dream after he fought the titan at the lake. "When I was unconscious…"

"Oh, I truly hope you like our small, but special contributions. When the eggs hatch, you'll become my puppets. Involuntarily, you'll do as I say. I'll have total control over your minds. Don't you think this is revolutionary way to propagate one's faith?"

And hearing that, Leon became enraged. "Sounds more like an alien invasion if you ask me!"

Then the chapel doors flew open to reveal two robed men, obviously not like the villagers, armed with flaming crossbows aimed at Leon. Immediately, Leon grabbed Ashley's hand and dashed for cover as one flaming arrow struck a pillar where Ashley's head was the second before. Dodging the rest of the arrows by a slim margin, Leon and Ashley leapt daringly through a stained-glass window, and wound up in the storage area that was locked from the outside.

Looking around himself, Leon stood up, then helped Ashley to her feet. "You okay?" he asked carefully, hoping the fall didn't hurt her.

Ashley managed to stand with him, though it took her strength to do so. Fearfully holding onto Leon's hand, she nervously whispered, about to emotionally fall apart, "Leon, what's going to happen to us?"

Gently holding her up, Leon bravely replied, hoping that the strength in his voice might empower her, "Don't worry, we got into this mess, we can get out of it." And with that, Leon held her hand even tighter as they left the storage area and ventured into the pitch-black darkness of the cemetery…

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A/N: Hello, to those who maybe interested, I'm glad that my first RE fic has drawn many good reviews and has been added to many favorites' lists. As an author, I am curious of what others think of my work. So, if you could, in your reviews, please give me comments, compliments, criticism, or anything else you may think may help me improve. Thank you.

And if you wish, I have a trivia question for you: How do you get the Mafia costume for Leon? First person with the right answer gets a picture of a cookie. Enjoy!