(A/N) Alrighty, this is the fastest update I have had with this story for a while; a 3 month wait as opposed to a year. That's a record for me, seriously. On that note, we're four days into the new year, so Happy New Year! Hope you had a great 2019 and have an even better 2020!

Funny thing is though, on the last update, I also wished you all a happy new year; it was 10 months overdue, but I still said it. That's how long of a gap the updates have been on this story, wow.

This is also the longest chapter I've written for anything; 4,998 words according to the Document manager on here, not counting the author's note here and at the end. So, that's cool. I doubt every chapter will be this long, and I doubt that every update will be this fast (compared to my other updates I mean), but you never know. Chapter length depends on my mood and what I have in store for the chapter, so yeah...

In addition, I've been on Christmas break, which gave me more time to work on this. I start University up again in a few days, so who knows when I'll be able to work on it again, but you never know...

Fun fact: this chapter was really fun for me to write. If it's bad, I'm sorry, but I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it! Without further ado:

No flames please~! If you feel that some improvements could be made, don't be afraid to say so; tell what I did good and like I just said, improvements are good!

Disclaimer: I do not own these franchises, or their characters. Resident Evil belongs to CAPCOM, Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid belong to KONAMI and Final Fantasy belongs to SQUARE ENIX.

Chapter 9: Unforeseen Complications

The door opened with a creak, allowing the trio to finally exit the room that was once a blazing inferno; thanks to Sphinx, it was no longer so, as the man was kind enough to extinguish the flames for them, before he proceeded to attack them.

Leon had a feeling that they hadn't seen the last of the cloaked man, so they had to be careful; the man seemed strong, and capable of killing them effortlessly. Unlike their first encounter, everyone had to be in on what was going on; keeping them in the dark didn't help them prepare and strategise, which could be why they barely got any hits in. Since everyone had to be aware of this new threat, the agent had to tell Harry and the other two when they next saw them.

'But, how long would that be?' the agent thought, with a sigh. 'I hope they're -'

"Dad!" He heard Heather exclaim, as she ran up to the man she called 'Dad,' and embraced him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, just wet," he replied with a slight chuckle, returning the hug. "What about you? Did you run into any trouble?"

"Well..." she pulled away from the hug, then looked at Leon. "Are you going to tell them?"

Upon hearing that, James and Henry, who were busy checking if their soaked equipment was in working order, looked up at Heather and Harry, before looking at Leon themselves.

"Yeah, of course," the agent said, as he approached the group with Zidane in tow. "We had a brief encounter with a man who called himself 'Sphinx'."

"Sphinx?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. "Isn't that the name of the winged monster with the head of a woman and the body of a lion?"

"I don't know," Heather shrugged. "The guy looked and sounded human, but at the same time, he didn't even seem like it."

"Why?" Henry had spoken for the first time during that conversation, standing up as he attached his handgun to his belt.

"Somehow, he was capable of throwing fireballs at us, pulling weapons out of the air, and he could even change the weapon if he wanted to," Leon explained, surprised to see that there wasn't much of a reaction to what he was saying; not even looks of disbelief could be seen on their faces.

"Yeah," Heather spoke up again, sounding slightly shaken. "He turned a katana into a spear and threw it at me; hell, before that, I even shot the guy and he didn't seem fazed by it."

"Are you sure he was human?" James asked suddenly.

Heather and Leon looked in thought for a moment, then they turned to each other and nodded. The agent then spoke for them.

"He looked human in build, but we couldn't tell properly, since he had his face covered with a golden cat mask."

"A golden cat mask?" Harry repeated, thinking for a moment before shaking his head. "We'll keep a look out for someone who fits that description as we move on, since I doubt we'll get anywhere if we're just standing and talking."

"I agree, it's best that we just move on," Leon said, pointing to a set of double-doors ahead of them. "If we're lucky, that could be our way out of this building."

"It better be," Heather sighed, stretching as she approached the doors. "I'm sick of this place."

Henry nodded in agreement as he followed with James and Harry in tow. Zidane went to join them, but was promptly stopped by Leon, who had placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Leon asked. "You didn't say anything back there, and you usually add something to the conversation."

Zidane simply shrugged and looked down to the ground.

"Leon..." He started, his voice lacking the usual cheer it had. "I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he turned to face the agent with a small smile. "Thanks for asking."

"Just know that if there's anything bothering you, you can talk to me about it, okay?"

"Alright, thanks for worrying, but we've got more important things to worry about," Zidane motioned towards the doors where the others were waiting for them, then proceeded to make his way toward them.

Leon followed, finding it better to get somewhere safer before they discussed things further. Reaching the doors, he grabbed the handles and pulled them both down. Behind the doors was a very thick fog, and that was all that could be seen, a thick fog. Gripping each of their weapons, they moved forward.

The further they went, the more Leon noticed that the footsteps of his team were slowing down, well a few footsteps. When he turned around, he saw Heather, Henry and Zidane in the far front of the group, who seemed to also be looking at the two who were slowly being left behind.

"Hey, are you two okay?" Leon asked.

None of them responded, as they proceeded to walk at a snail's pace toward the four ahead. Looking closely at their faces, Leon noticed that they were frozen in horror. Henry appeared to notice this too, his face creased with concern as he called out to them.

"What's wrong?"

Still, they didn't answer.

Once they caught up, they stood frozen on the spot, expressions no different than before.

Leon repeated Henry's question, but still got no answer out of them. He was starting to feel concerned; this was too sudden. They couldn't have succumbed to the virus already...

"What...? How...?" Harry muttered, looking ahead, somewhat like a deer caught in the headlights.

Leon raised an eyebrow.

"Harry?"

"Welcome to Silent Hill," the agent heard Zidane say from behind him.

Turning around reluctantly, he looked behind him to see that Zidane had walked slightly ahead. His back was turned away from him, as he appeared to be looking at something. Approaching the blonde, he followed his gaze to have his eyes land on a welcome sign, that sign saying exactly what the boy had said: 'Welcome to Silent Hill.'

His hairs stood on end and he felt a chill run down his spine.

'...We're not 'ordinary' anymore. We have literally been down to hell and back again, we have fought otherworldly monsters that we thought never existed, even in our most demented of thoughts.

In that town, Silent Hill...my daughter, Cheryl, was stolen from me, and I'll never see her again, she was only 7 at the time. That was even worse than the monsters.

We've all been through similar events, excluding Heather; myself and James being the only ones to have actually gone to the town, Henry did on holiday, I believe. Henry was stuck in his room for days apparently, and every time he went through a hole in his bathroom, he'd see hell itself, the town of Silent Hill, while being persued by a psychotic murderer.'

Silent Hill? How were they in Silent Hill?

'We are situated on an island, made to emulate a resort town covered by a blanket of fog.'

Then it clicked. Where they were and, possibly, a theory as to why this place in particular was chosen for the sick simulation she created. To heighten a couple of member's stress levels and thus, speed up the development of the parasitic organism living within. He figured that it wouldn't work at first, since as far as he knew, it had only been Zidane and Heather to have had their eggs hatch and they didn't have any previous traumatic experiences with the town.

Well, he wasn't sure about Zidane, but he knew Heather didn't as Harry had told him during their first meeting. So, this was only intended to have an effect on Harry, James, and Henry, right?

Suddenly, a cry was heard from behind him followed by rapid breaths and hurried footsteps. Looking behind him, he saw that the sound had been made by Heather, who had collapsed on her knees and was clutching her head. The footsteps had been Harry rushing to her side to calm her down with James following. Henry was already knelt down at her side, rubbing her back in an attempt to provide comfort. It didn't look to be helping, but he tried.

"Heather, what's the matter?" Harry asked in a panic, as he pulled his quivering daughter into a hug. Henry still continued to rub her back and James just observed with a worried expression.

In response to her dad's question, Heather simply gasped before becoming limp in his arms. Upon seeing this, Leon sprinted over to the group and judging by the quickening footsteps behind him, Zidane was following.

Getting closer, he noticed that Heather was unconscious in Harry's arms. Fortunately, she was still breathing, albeit unevenly.

"Is she okay?" Zidane asked, as Leon looked her over for any injuries.

"I think so," Henry replied almost sounding uncertain, glancing at the worried Harry, then back to Heather. "She could be tired..."

"What happened?" Leon asked in confusion, as he took a step back after concluding that there were no visible injuries on her that could have caused this.

"I wish I knew," Harry told him with a sigh, trying to disguise his worry and keep a cool head. "We need to find somewhere for her to rest."

"Leave that to me," Leon said, as he looked his gun over to make sure the safety was off.

He had to be quick with this.

"Really? Are you sure?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I wanted to have a look around anyway."

"Umm, Leon -"

"But, the President's daughter...what about her?" James asked exactly what Harry was going to ask.

They looked at the agent with curiosity, as the agent simply said, "Well, we can't do anything while one of us is out of commission."

"Fair point," James said, looking contemplative.

"Okay, we'll get going then," Zidane piped up, turning around and sauntering past the agent. "Come on, Leon!"

"You're coming?" Leon asked with mild amusement, as he quickly caught up.

"Yeah, why not. I could back you up."

The agent chuckled. He didn't know why, but there was something funny about the kid just inviting himself along. If it were any other kid his age that did that, he would not be amused in the slightest and would have simply told them to go back. However, from what he had saw with his dodging and combat skills with Sphinx, he seemed experienced enough. That didn't mean Leon wasn't going to keep a closer eye on him, though.

Thinking back to the Sphinx fight, he remembered that the kid had near been strangled to death. After the ordeal, he seemed dazed and not as enthusiastic as before, which the agent found understandable. Not that Leon was complaining, but Zidane seemed to have gotten over it quite quickly; having his cheerful nature resurface. Maybe it was a resilience thing...

"Leon!"

Hearing his name being called out, the blonde turned to see James approaching the pair, stopping to catch his breath once he caught up.

"What's wrong?" Leon asked with slight alarm. "Has Heather's condition worsened?"

"No, I'm coming with you," he said, straightening up and gripping his steel pipe. "I think you'll need the assistance."

"It's fine, he's got me," Zidane reassured him, folding his arms above his head with a grin.

"I don't think a kid would be enough..."

"Fine, you can come, but on the condition that you follow orders," the agent then turned to Zidane. "You especially."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about me," the kid replied, holding up his hands in defence. "I'm capable enough."

"Let's just go, we don't have all day."

With that being said, the trio proceeded to make their way towards the welcome sign to see that there was a bulletin board supported by two wooden legs beside it. Pinned to it was a map of the town, which James knew all too well, a brown parcel and a note beside it.

The note read:

"Good for you, you made it!
I am going under the assumption that you thought this quest was going to be a walk in the park; unfortunately for you, it is not.
As you may have noticed, I was not jesting when I told you I based the island's design on the town of Silent Hill, my reasons shall be made known soon enough.
Also, you may be wondering where you can find the girl, since that is your objective after all.
You see, the path is not linear, meaning you will have to find her yourself; a linear path is not a very exciting one, is it?
How will you know where to look?
Fortunately for you, I will provide you with one clue that should be pretty straightforward.
And that will be all. One clue. One single clue. Then, you are on your own.
What could this clue be? A note? An object?
Either way, the clue will give you an idea where the girl is.
But wait, there is also a catch.
You may know where she is, but that does not mean your quest is going to be a walk in the park...
Getting to the location will not be made simple.
How? You have to wait and see.
Let us not delay this any further.
Open the parcel sitting beside this note; that is the clue.
To be a good hostess, I shall wish you luck.
~Your Saviour
P.S. - To help you out, take the map I have provided, as well as the pen; they will come in handy, I assure you."

Taking in what the note was saying, Leon felt that this was suspiciously generous. What was the catch here? From the corner of his eye, he saw James yank the map from the board, whilst Zidane grabbed the parcel and proceeded to shake it.

"Aww, this was so kind of her, it's not even my birthday," Zidane chuckled, as he felt around to get an idea of what could be inside. "I don't think it's Christmas either."

"That's the clue she mentioned," Leon stated, hiding his growing impatience. "According to the note, that parcel will give us an idea where Ashley is."

Without prompting, Zidane ripped the brown wrapping paper, revealing a pink plush rabbit in red dungarees. A yellow bow tie was sewn to its chest and a wide grin was present on its face. Leon looked at the toy in perplexion, as did the blonde holding it as he checked to see if there was anything of significance on the rabbit, or a rip to check inside. Shaking his head, Zidane turned to the agent and shrugged.

"So, we've just been given a toy to work with?" Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair. "This will get us nowhere."

"Don't say that, this clue is very useful if you think about it!" Zidane placed the toy on his belt and tapped it with a grin. "The clue could be as simple as this little guy being the lead character in a cartoon that kids liked..."

He trailed off with a frown, tapping his chin in thought. Leon simply stared, waiting for the kid to get to the point. Glancing at James, the agent noticed that he wasn't listening to their conversation and was instead engrossed in the map.

"...in an orphanage..." Leon heard the kid mumble to himself. "...or a studio..."

"Kid, are you getting anywhere with this?" The agent asked impatiently, shaking Zidane out of his thoughts. "We're on a time limit..."

"Yeah, I know," Zidane sighed, as he turned to the blonde reading the map. "Hey, James!"

Said man jumped slightly, looking at the monkey boy quizzically. "Yes?"

"Can I ask you something?"

James simply nodded, the puzzled look staying.

"You've been here before, so you would know what tourist spots and stuff are here, right?"

"How do you -" James looked unnerved, before Zidane cleared it up.

"That lady over the speaker...remember?"

He thought for a moment, then his eyes flashed with recognition.

"James Sunderland not only braved the horrors of that town, but also discovered a shocking revelation about himself, one he does not wish to share."

"Oh...right..."

"I'll get to the point; is there an orphanage here, or even a studio?"

James raised an eyebrow at this question, rubbing the back of his neck as he thought about it.

"An orphanage? Yes, I think so," he replied. "I'm not sure about a studio, why?"

"According to the note, this is our clue to find the President's daughter," Zidane told him, handing him the plush rabbit he un-wrapped. "But, it's just a toy, you know."

The man stared at it, before handing it back to the kid.

"That's Robbie the Rabbit," James stated, looking back at the map. "Lakeside Amusement Park's mascot, or the most well known one, anyway..."

Zidane's face lit up like a Christmas tree, as he turned back to the agent who stared slightly dumbfounded. Were they seriously holding her hostage at an amusement park?

Strapping 'Robbie' to his belt once more, Zidane approached the agent with a spring in his step.

"Okay, now we're sorted, Leon!" He said cheerfully, patting Leon on the arm. "Don't worry, we'll find her!"

"They're holding her hostage at an amusement park?" Leon couldn't believe how ridiculous that was, then again he shouldn't have been surprised; he'd seen weirder. Focusing on the situation at hand, he turned to the man with the map. "Where is it, James?"

"Just past Nathan Avenue," he replied, placing the map in his pocket. "But, we have to pay Jack's Inn a visit."

"We've got no time for -"

"Remember Heather, Leon?" James reminded him. "She is in no state to continue and we promised Harry we would find a place for her to rest."

Leon felt like he had been mentally slapped; how did he forget that?

"Yeah, 'we can't do anything while one of us is out of commission,' remember?" Zidane wrapped his arm around the agent, or as close as he could get to that with Leon being taller. "You said that not too long ago."

"I know..." The agent shook his head. "Let's go to Jack's Inn, not only would it be a place to have Heather rest, but we can discuss further plans."

"Right, let's go back," James said, as he started to walk ahead.

Zidane let go of Leon and went to follow, before Leon grabbed his shoulder.

"When we get to the Inn, do you want to be looked over for any injuries...?"

"You mean have my neck looked at," he replied, rubbing the area with a wince. "It kinda hurts, so I guess having it checked won't hurt..."

"Okay, let's go."

In a dimly lit room, a hooded figure sat on a throne crossed legged. Half of the face was covered by a purple masquerade mask with elaborate, golden patterns engraved into it; the other half of the face was covered by a purple scarf that matched the colour of the hooded cloak worn. Beside the throne, were two other figures wearing black hooded cloaks, one on each side. They simply wore gas masks to conceal their faces. Approaching the throne was another hooded figure; this one wearing red and using a golden cat mask to hide it's face.

Kneeling on one knee, he bowed to the figure on the throne, saying, "Ma'am?"

"Sphinx..." Saviour sighed, leaning back and folding her arms. "I have awaited your arrival."

"Yes, and I am very sorry to have kept you waiting," he replied, bowing even lower than he was originally. Fear was present in his voice and he shook on the ground.

In response, the self proclaimed 'Saviour' shook her head.

"You mustn't say such things, you must prove your sincerity through your actions alone," she looked down at her gloved hands, before standing and approaching Sphinx. "Words without heart are of no use to me."

Standing in front of him now, she placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Stand and look at me in the eye," she said with mild frustration, prompting him to obey. "Let us get to the point of your summoning, Sphinx. Do you have an idea as to why I have called you here?"

"Umm..." he stammered, before finally answering. "Is it what happened in the Inferno Room?"

"Correct," she turned around and sat back on the throne. "You almost killed them Sphinx, especially the boy..."

"Yeah..."

"...and the girl..." she took a deep breath. "I told you that no harm were to come to those three, they are pieces for later."

"I know..."

"So, why did you try to asphyxiate Zidane and impale Alessa with a spear?"

"Alessa?"

"You know who I mean, Sphinx..." she sighed in exasperation, collapsing into the cushions of the throne. In response, the two figures by the throne grabbed a large leaf each and proceeded to fan her.

"They thwarted our plans, master," Sphinx stuttered. "I thought I did good! I'm -"

"Oh, shut it!" Saviour stood, startling the cloaked men fanning her. "That little slip up aside, you did quite well. I am impressed..."

"Really?"

She nodded, sitting back down.

"You are being assigned a new task, one I think you might enjoy."

"I'm listening, ma'am..."

"I have come to regret what I have started and instead, I now opt to just get on with what I want to do," looking at both figures beside her, she looked at Sphinx. "I want you to bring me the monkey boy and Alessa, in what order is of no matter to me, I just want them here..."

"Alright, but what about...?"

"Leon...? Kidnapping one of his allies should lure him here, which is also something I want, so worrying about him would only serve to waste your energy."

"Right," Sphinx turned to leave, but paused. "Do you have their location, Saviour?"

"Before I decided against my original plan, I left them a note that should take them to Lakeside Amusement Park with the belief that Ashley is being held there. Whether they choose to follow that trail or not is up to them," Saviour pulled a small device out from her cloak. "If they do though, they will be faced with another small quest, before they get in. I am tracking them however, so no matter where they are, I will let you know. Be warned that I am also going to let our new creations out for some exercise, so be mindful of that."

"Roger."

And with that, Sphinx left, leaving Saviour with the cloaked men beside her. The room was filled with an almost tranquil silence, before her radio buzzed.

"Saviour, this is Kilo of the Autumn Squad reporting!" A voice said frantically through the speaker. "We have a problem, over!"

Sighing, she picked up her radio.

"What is it?" She growled.

"We appear to have a breach...miss..."

"What?!"

"Yeah...and the President's daughter has been taken..."

'It's just one thing after another...'

"You had one job..." Saviour breathed through her teeth, grip on the radio tightening.

"I'm sorry..."

"Find her, or it will be the underground for you...!"

"Yes, of course! Kilo out!"

Pressing another button on the radio, she released a shaky sigh.

"Delta, I have a role for you and your squad today..."

Getting to the Inn was easier than Leon had expected; there were no monsters, no obstacles, nothing that posed a threat. There were just a lot of buildings that he had no interest exploring. He just wanted to get to the amusement park and save Ashley, but it was necessary to allow Heather to rest first. They couldn't carry her everywhere.

So, while she rested, everyone was left to their own devices. Leon himself was just leaning on the wall by the door, observing his surroundings and thinking about what their next course of action should be. Next to him was James, who was reading the map intently to re-familiarise himself with the town. Zidane was sat on the other bed in the room, staring blankly at his unsheathed daggers, probably trying not to think about the pain in his neck; the pain, Leon found out after taking a look at it, was caused by a bruise starting to form. Heather was resting on one of the beds in the room with Harry and Henry sitting beside her. The former held her hand tight with a troubled expression on his face; it wasn't difficult to figure out what was bothering the man.

With the group not being in a state to progress, they were stuck for now. However, that didn't mean they couldn't plot what to do next.

"Okay, we need a plan," Leon said, immediately breaking the silence in the room.

Looking up from his daughter for the first time since they entered the Inn, Harry nodded in agreement.

"You said you found a note with a clue and a map?" He asked.

"Yeah," the agent replied, glancing at the pink rabbit plushie still resting on Zidane's belt. "They point to us heading to the amusement park."

"Oh...that place..." Harry mumbled, looking back down at Heather. "Let's hope we can find the girl..."

"We will," Zidane reassured, sheathing his daggers. "Right, Leon?"

"We have to," Leon replied. "If we don't..."

The sentence didn't need to be finished for the group to know what he was getting at. If Ashley wasn't found, she would be faced with an undesirable fate, they all would. Silence filled the room, before it was broken by James.

"I'll go and see what's ahead," he said, turning to the door. "I won't be long."

"I'm going with you," Henry suddenly offered, standing from his position. "It could be dangerous on your own."

"Be careful," Harry warned, before the pair left the room.

It happened too fast for Leon to intervene; now it was just him, Zidane, Harry, and an unconscious Heather in the room. It was quiet for a bit when Harry abruptly said something that made the agent's blood run cold.

"Henry coughed up blood while we were split up," he stated gravely. "I had a feeling it was something to do with the parasite, considering he has no visible injuries, but I wanted confirmation from you due to your previous experience..."

"You're not wrong," Leon replied, looking troubled himself. "The egg has hatched, so Henry has to remain calm, or..."

"He'll become a marionette..."

"Close enough," Leon sighed. "Heather is in the same boat..."

"She coughed up blood...?"

"Yeah..."

"What about Zidane...?"

"I..." Zidane hesitated, looking down at his hands. "...might have less time than you guys..."

Harry stood and looked at him with alarm.

"What?!"

"Yeah...I coughed up blood for the first time after Leon was thrown into my cell..."

"No..." Harry ran a hand through his hair. "Why...what does this woman want with the kids...my own daughter and some other person's child...they're probably worried sick!"

"I'm orphaned actually..." Zidane sighed and stood up to stretch. "Don't know who my real parents are, or where I was even born."

"Heather's no different," Harry looked over at her to see that she was still sleeping soundly.

"Wait...I thought -" Leon was interrupted by Harry.

"She's my adopted daughter," he clarified. "...I...found her in Silent Hill after my experience..."

Leon thought something was off with his delivery, but before he could ponder, he felt something in his pocket. When he took it out, he saw that it was a cylinder container with pills inside. He immediately recognised them as the pills Luis gave him before he died; these pills served to suppress the growth of Las Plaugas within its host, which bought him more time to save Ashley. He forgot he had these and was surprised that 'Saviour' hadn't taken them off him. But would they help? It was worth a shot...

"Hey, Zidane."

"Yeah?"

"Come here."

With a look of mild confusion, Zidane made his way over to the agent.

"What's up?"

"Here, take these," Leon told him, placing three of the pills in his hand. "Look after them, they should help."

"Leon, I know the situation sucks, but..." He looked at the pills closely, before trying to hand them back with a chuckle. "What are these? Happy pills?"

"No, they should buy you more time," the agent gave them back, closing Zidane's palm. "They suppress the parasite for a bit."

This got Harry's attention, as he approached Leon.

"I'm guessing it has dosage requirements?" He asked.

"Yeah, we'll wait for Henry and James before handing more of them out."

After the agent said that, the door opened with two concerned looking men emerging.

"Henry? James? What's the matter?" Harry asked.

"The gate to Lakeside Amusement Park is locked," Henry stated. "There was a note on the door saying that the key was around town somewhere."

"You're kidding..." Leon and Harry said simultaneously.

"No...and James..."

"Henry..." Harry looked on with worry, as did Leon and Zidane.

Henry didn't have to finish his sentence, as James held up his hands to reveal blood on them.

I hope things are interesting now. Also, I hope that this chapter was enjoyable. If there are any problems with it, let me know.

Improvements are appreciated, please tell me what I did right, wrong and how I can improve. If you would like, you could also favourite and follow this fic, as well as suggest ideas for future chapters. R&R and thanks for reading!