Disclaimer: Resident Evil and everything else associated with it belongs to Capcom. This story however, belongs to me.
Resident Evil: Armageddon
Part I- Prelude to Destruction
Chapter 3- Chance Meeting
Written by: Striker
"Ark, what is taking you so long? You said you would call me a while ago."
Leon stared at the message his friend had sent to him by E-mail. It was brief and to the point. It read.
Dear Leon
This is Ark. You were right about the whole Umbrella thing. There was a factory on Sheena Island. They were doing some horrible things. According to Rott and Lily, Umbrella had kidnapped young boys from around the world. I then found out the scientists were extracting the brain fluid from the boys, while they were still alive! This fluid was then used to make Tyrants. I managed to blow up the island and escape. By the way, Rott and Lily were two children I rescued. They lost their parents, just like Sherry. I also found some documents concerning Raccoon City. They may be important. I don't know when I can contact you again, but I'll try to call you soon to see where I can find you. Umbrella has been on our tail ever since we got to Europe. I'll try to get back to the states as soon as I shake those pricks. See you then buddy.
Your Friend
Ark Thompson
That message had been sent five weeks ago. Ever since then, Leon had been waiting for Ark to call him. Whatever Ark found, Leon knew it would be valuable in their crusade against Umbrella. He remembered when he had contacted Ark. It was while the government was trying to cut Leon a deal. Leon had at first thought that they wanted him to keep silent. He was surprised when they asked for his help. It seemed that the U.S. government didn't know of Umbrella's experiments. The fact that they had to destroy one of their own towns because of Umbrella's accident had really pissed them off. Leon had thought about saying yes. He didn't because of two things. The first was that he knew he couldn't do this alone. He needed Claire's help, and the help of her brother Chris. He also hoped that by Claire finding Chris, they would find the rest of the S.T.A.R.S. team. The second thing was Sherry. He knew she needed someone she trusted to look after her. After Claire had left to find Chris, Sherry had been depressed. Claire meant a lot to her. She looked up to Claire as somewhat of a mother. He couldn't leave her, she didn't need to worry about two people going off to surly get killed. He had said no to the deal, expecting the guy not to take no for an answer. He received a second shock when the man accepted his answer. The deal, the official had told him, was still there. All Leon had to do was call them. It was when Leon was about to leave that he ran into his old friend. He was surprised to find out that Ark had a job working for the government. Ark had heard about the situation, but didn't believe any of it. Leon had then asked Ark to go to Sheena Island to see for himself. Leon had found out about the island, but couldn't go because of Sherry. Ark agreed. Leon had given Ark his E-mail address so they could get in touch after Ark was done investigating.
"I guess you believe me now, don't you?" Leon mussed. That had been in November. Now it was January. "I just hope I get to tell you I told you so."
"Hey Leon."
Leon turned to see Sherry come into the den. He smiled at her. She looked so cute in that little pink dress he had gotten her while they were in Miami. He was amazed by how well the twelve year old was dealing with their current situation. They had been constantly on the move. Umbrella had been trying to get their hooks into Sherry. Leon shuddered when he thought of what they wanted to do to her. She had become very valuable because she had been infected by the G-virus. He had done everything to protect her, and that meant staying one step ahead of Umbrella. They were currently in Buffalo, living in a three-bedroom house that he had rented. He could afford it, due to the $500,000 that magical appeared in his bank account. Leon knew who had gave him the money, and why. He also figured that Ark had something to do with it.
"Hey Sherry. How are you doing today?"
"Find. Whatcha reading? Is it from Claire? Is she coming here?"
"No, it's just the letter Ark sent me."
"Oh." Sherry lowered her head, her hopes shattered.
Leon's heart ached as he watched her. It had been three weeks since he had gotten the E-mail from Claire telling him she was in trouble and to tell her brother. Leon had an easy time calling Chris. Umbrella had been watching him for a while. Claire had found the name of the hotel Chris was at, and a simple search over the net had provided the number. Leon had called the hotel and got Chris. 'Boy was that guy pissed. He sounded like he was going to kill someone.' Leon thought, remembering Chris' reaction. Soon after, Sherry had been waiting for Claire to call. She would ask almost every day when Leon thought Claire would call them. "Soon Sherry," Leon would say. He had done this in order to keep Sherry's hopes going. What he chose to keep from her was his fear that Claire may be dead. Chances were that Chris may have been too late, that Claire may have been dead before he got there, or that both had died escaping from that prison.
What was the name? Rockport, Rockcourt, Rockfort. Yeah, Rockfort.
Leon pushed the thought from his mind. He didn't want Sherry to see him like this and ask him what was wrong. He had to believe that both Claire and her brother were both alive. With that thought, Leon decided to cheer the young girl up.
"Don't worry Sherry, Claire knows my E-mail address. I'm sure she'll send a message anytime now."
"But what's taking her so long?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe she forgot your address. Maybe she forgot about us. Maybe she's dead." Sherry looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
"Don't say that. She probably hasn't tried to contact us because Umbrella may be after her. She's probably afraid that Umbrella will trace the message to us."
"How do you know?"
Leon could see that Sherry had the same fear that he had. She was also looking for Leon to comfort her.
"I know because I believe that she's alive. You have to believe too, Sherry. We can't lose hope that both Claire and her brother are fine. Do you understand?"
"I do. I just wish she wouldn't take so long."
"Look at it this way. You remember Ark, right?"
"Yeah."
"Well, right now I'm waiting for him to contact me. It's a safe bet that by now Ark has found some people to help him. Now, who went to save Claire?"
"Chris."
"Right. So when Claire comes here, Chris will be with her. Also, Claire told me that Chris has friends who are after Umbrella too. Chances are good that Chris' friends..."
"Will have friends of their own." Sherry could see where Leon was taking this.
"That's right Sherry." Leon knew that Sherry was smart. That was one thing he liked about her. Leon continued. "If I'm right, then when we finally all get together." Leon nodded to Sherry.
"Then we'll have enough people to beat Umbrella!"
"Now that we know that, all we have to do is be patient and wait. We'll win Sherry, it'll just take time."
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know kid," Leon sighed, "I don't know."
He didn't know how long this battle against Umbrella would take. It had taken to long already. For him, the fight began at the end of September, when he had escaped Raccoon City with Claire and Sherry. He knew this whole thing had really started in July when Chris and his allies had discovered what was going on in some mansion in the mountains. Leon prayed that this war would be over soon. It had to. He knew that those fighting Umbrella were tired. He knew this was taking its toll of the survivors, and there was no telling when any of them, himself included, would crack. That's way he hoped that both Ark and Claire would get in touch with him soon.
"Hey Sherry, you hungry?"
"Yeah."
"Good. Go get ready and we'll go out for lunch." Leon knew that Sherry needed something to take her mind off Umbrella.
"Can we go to McDonalds?"
"Sure thing kid. Now go get ready."
"OK!" Sherry was about to leave the room when she stopped and turned to Leon. "Leon, I hope Claire comes back to us soon. I miss her." With that she left to brush her teeth and comb her hair.
"I miss her too."
Leon missed Claire just as much, if not more, than Sherry did. He remembered when he first had met Claire. It wasn't the best time or place, to say the least. He had been driving for hours. He had been assigned to Raccoon City, a small city in the Pennsylvanian Poconos, because of the strange murders. He had left New York City earlier that morning. He was glad that the city was in the Northern part of Pennsylvania. He didn't favor the seven-hour drive to begin with. He had arrived at night, yet he found it strange that he hadn't of seen anyone out. That's when he saw the body. That's when he was attacked by zombies. After that, it was a blur. The next thing he could remember was running into Claire and saving her from becoming lunch. After that, they had escaped in a cop car to head for the RPD. If it wasn't for that unwanted passenger, they wouldn't have crashed or separated. He was relieved when they ran into each other in the S.T.A.R.S. office. He was also relieved when they managed to escape from the lab and the train.
After the three of them had gotten out of that zombie-infested city, they had managed to find a place to stay. It was a small city a couple hundred miles south of Raccoon. The name of it was Hazelton, and it was there that they had made their plan. Leon had told her to find her brother. They both knew that they would need Chris' help. Claire had decided to stay a week or two before she left. It was during that time that Leon had gotten to know her. He also started to develop feelings for her. He didn't know if she felt the same way, so he didn't tell her. Besides, he had his heart broken already by one woman.
Ada. The brief time he knew her, he had managed to fall for her. Hell, he even took a bullet for her. He still had the scar above his heart, a grin reminder how close he came to dying. He was devastated when he found out who she was and how she had played him for a fool. Ironically, she fell for him and sacrificed her life to save him from the Tyrant. Tears came to his eyes as he recalled how he felt as she died in his arms, confessing her love for him.
'She's dead Leon, get over it. Besides, you have to worry about Claire now.' Leon thought as he shut off his computer. 'And when she, her brother, and our friends get here, then I'll take Uncle Sam up on that little offer.' He then walked out of the den to get ready.
Leon had on his green and yellow striped sweater and blue jeans as he came out of his room. He saw that Sherry had changed into a pink sweater with flowers all over it and a pair of sweatpants.
"Ready Sherry?"
"Ready!"
Together they walked to the front door and got their coats from the coat stand. Leon out on a black leather jacket and Sherry put on her "Made In Heaven" jacket Claire had given her. They then walked out, Leon locking the door behind him, and got into Leon's jeep. It was like the one he had driven into Raccoon, but a different model. Leon started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. He started to whistle to himself, unaware of the major event that was to come.
Leon pulled into the McDonalds parking lot. Sherry hopped out and started to skip towards the door.
"SHERRY, WAIT UP!" Leon called out.
Sherry stopped and waited for him to catch up. "Sorry Leon."
"It's OK. I just don't want anyone kidnapping you. Claire would kill me."
The two walked into the crowded restaurant. A few minutes later, a yellow VW Beetle pulled up in the space next to the jeep. A young woman got out and looked around. She looked around 18 and had on a orange sweater under a brown jacket. She also had on a pair of blue windbreaker pants with white stripes running down the sides, and a familiar red bandanna wrapped around her brown hair.
"Finally, I'm here. Boy am I hungry." With that said, she walked to the restaurant.
Leon sipped at his soda. He looked over at Sherry, who was playing with her toy from her happy meal, a Matchbox car. Leon was going to get the Barbie doll, but Sherry wanted the car instead. 'I guess she's a tomboy. I bet Claire was just like her when she was 12.'
"Sherry, get ready. After I dump our trash, we're leaving."
"OK."
Leon took their tray to the trash bin and dumped the contents into in. He turned and bumped into another person.
"Sorry, miss."
"No problem." It was the young girl. Leon stared at her, a funny look on his face. Confused, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"No. It's just that I have this funny feeling that I've seen you somewhere before."
"Well I don't think I've ever seen you in my life. Maybe you have me confused with someone else."
Leon could see she was getting nervous. "You know, you may be right. I'm sorry if I'm making you nervous."
"You don't need to apologize." She said, seeing how this guy was trying to be nice. "The truth is, I'm a little nervous because I just got into town, and I don't know where anything is."
"Hey, I can tell you where you can go to get a room." Leon felt that he needed to make up for startling her.
"That would be great! I was just about to leave."
"So was I. By the way, I'm Leon, Leon Kennedy." He held out his left hand.
The girl took it as she introduced herself. "My name's Rebecca Chambers. Nice to met you."
Suddenly it dawned on him. Now he knew were he had seen her. He had found her picture while searching through the S.T.A.R.S. office. "Aren't you a member of S.T.A.R.S.? And aren't you a friend of Chris Redfield?"
"How did you know?" Rebecca was surprised that Leon had known who she was. She was also shocked that he knew about Chris.
"I'm a friend of his sister Claire. I met her in Raccoon. She went there to find him, and I was sent there to be a police officer with the RPD. I found your photo in one of the desks in your office."
"What sister? Chris never told us he had a sister. What I did hear was that we were getting some new recruits." Rebecca thought for a moment, then she remembered. "I heard that one of them was named Kennedy, but I left soon after."
"Well, I guess I'm lucky to run into you like this. Right know we're waiting for Claire and my other friend to get in contact with us."
"Who do you mean we?"
Leon looked over to Sherry, who was waiting for him. "Hey Sherry, come over here."
Sherry quickly ran over and after seeing Rebecca, grabbed on to Leon.
"Rebecca, this is Sherry. She's a little girl I'm looking after. Sherry, this is Rebecca, a friend of Chris."
"Hi" Sherry said, still clinging to Leon.
"Hi Sherry." Rebecca could see Sherry didn't trust her. Rebecca didn't blame her. The way things were, you couldn't trust anyone.
"Let's go." The threesome walk out of McDonalds and into the parking lot. Leon stopped and turned to Rebecca. "So, tell me about yourself and why your here."
"OK." Rebecca then told Leon and Sherry how she had left Raccoon shortly after the mansion incident. She wanted to get away from Umbrella, to put it behind her. Finally her conscience had gotten the better of her. She felt guilty for walking out on her friends. After she heard of what happened to Raccoon City, she knew she had to help take down Umbrella. So she decided to get in touch with Barry. "Barry had told me where he took his family. I was going to head up to Calgary, when I decided to stop here for the night."
"Is Barry a friend of Chris?"
"Yeah. Those two go way back. Hey, you should come with me. If your a friend of Claire, and Claire's Chris' sister, and your a friend of me, then your a friend of Barry too."
"Maybe I will." Leon was relieved. 'Finally things are starting to go our way.'
At that second, as if fate was saying yeah right, a black van with an Umbrella logo on it screeched to a halt in front of the restaurant. "HEY," the driver yelled, "THERE SHE IS, AND SHE'S WITH THAT KENNEDY GUY! GET THEM!" The side door opened and four men dressed in black rushed out.
"SHERRY, HEAD FOR THE JEEP!" Leon yelled. Sherry shook her head and ran for the jeep.
One of the men rushed at Leon. Leon ducked his punch and countered with a shot to the stomach and a right hook to the face.
Rebecca, meanwhile had dodged a punch herself. "Come here you little bitch," her attacker sneered. Rebecca's face went red as she responded by kicking him in the groin with her left foot. The man gritted his teeth as he doubled over, grabbing his injured body part and cursing. Rebecca then picked up a near by wastebasket and brought it over the man's back, dropping him to the ground. "Call be a bitch, will ya." Rebecca spat. Suddenly another one of the attackers grabbed her from behind. "GOTCHA!" the guy said. "You think?" Rebecca replied. Just as she had learn in a self-defense course at the RPD, she brought her right foot down on his. He yelled as his grip loosened. Rebecca clasped her hands together and spun around, delivering a might hammer blow to the poor man's face.
Leon watched as Rebecca's assailant was sent stumbling into a picnic table. "Nice shot." Leon's attention snapped back to his second opponent. The guy lunged with a left jab. Leon stepped to the right and brought his left knee into the man's stomach, driving the air out of him. A left elbow to the back of the head and that fight was over.
"LEON! HELP!"
Leon looked over to the jeep. The man he had first dropped was now trying to pull Sherry from the jeep.
"SHERRY!"
Leon rushed to the jeep and gave the guy a shot to his ribs. The man spun around, staring Leon in the face. "Leave her alone." Leon growled, his face twisted in anger. The man responded with a right cross. Leon caught his arm, locking it into an arm bar. Leon kneed him in the stomach and drove his head into the window of Rebecca's Beetle, the glass shattering from the impact.
Rebecca watched, eyes wide. "HEY, YOU RUINED MY CAR!" she yelled furiously.
"I'LL PAY FOR IT LATER!" Leon roared as he threw the guy , whose face was bleeding from the deep cut in his forehead, off of him.
"FINE!" Rebecca yelled back, kicking the man who she had hit with the trashcan in the side as he was trying to get up. The man then rolled away. holding where she hit him. Rebecca then sprinted over to her car. She threw open the door and pulled out her Berretta from the glove box. Leon had also reached into his jeep, pulling out his VPK 70 from under the driver's seat.
"Oh shit. GET BACK TO THE VAN!" The driver yelled to his buddies. All four men dashed back to the van and got in. Leon and Rebecca both ran after the van as it peeled out. They ran into the middle of the street and saw the van turn back to them. The driver gunned the engine, as to tell them he was going to run them over. The van then shot towards them.
"I don't think so asshole." Leon said as he and Rebecca raised their guns. They opened fire, pelting the van with bullets. The driver cut the wheel to the left, lifting the van on its right side. Leon saw this and aimed at the front, right tire. He fired, blowing the tire. The van went into a wild tumble. Leon and Rebecca ran as the van flew past them. It slammed into the streetlight, coming to a halt. Soon gas from the ruptured tank began to flow from the van. The driver side door opened as the driver, face cut from broken glass, tried to climb out. Leon walked to the van and stopped in front of the spreading gas. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter he always carried with him. The driver's eyes widened as Leon lit it, and then dropped it on the gas. The fuel ignited as the flames raced to the van. The driver tried to escape, but was too late. Leon turned and walked away, a grim look on his face, as the van exploded, killing the Umbrella agents in it. Leon approached the girls, who were both shocked by Leon's actions.
"I think we should leave." He then turned to Rebecca. "Rebecca, I think you should stay with us. It looks like Umbrella wants you taken out. It'll be safer for you at our place."
Rebecca nodded as walked to her car, looking back at the burning van before getting in. Leon ushered Sherry to the jeep and got in himself. They both pulled out as people began to emerge from the surrounding buildings.
It was 4:30 by the time they got back. Sherry had shown Rebecca to the spare bedroom. Rebecca had settled in, and went looking for Leon. She found him on his computer, looking at his mail.
"Hey Leon, thanks for helping me."
Leon turned to her. "It was nothing Rebecca."
"Please, call me Becky."
"OK, Becky."
"Leon, about what happened earlier. Why did you blow up that van."
Leon turned back to the computer screen, his face blank. "I had to sent Umbrella a message. I had to tell them that we're not playing around anymore. Now we're playing for keeps."
Rebecca looked at the ground. "I guess your right. I guess it's the only way."
Leon closed his eyes. He knew Becky wasn't used to this. This war they were in would hurt her the most. He only hoped that she wouldn't be forced to kill anyone during their struggle. He was going to say something when he heard a tone.
DO DO DO DEE DO DEE
Leon opened his eyes. A 'You have new mail' box had appeared. He opened it. It was from Ark. It said.
Leon. I finally got Umbrella off of my back. Call me and we'll arrange a meeting place. my number is 555-2856. I look forward to seeing you. Ark.
"Who's Ark?" Rebecca asked.
"That friend I told you about. Looks like we'll be getting some help."
"Can you trust this guy?"
Leon saw her concern. "Sure I can. We were in police school together. If I can trust anyone, it's him."
"Whatever you say." Rebecca was less than optimistic. She thought she could trust someone too. In the end, he had betrayed her and her friends. Thank God he was dead.
"Listen, tomorrow I'll call Ark tonight and see if he can meet us later on. I want you to go to Barry's house and see if he's there. If he isn't, find out where he is."
"Alright Leon, I'll do that." Rebecca turned to leave.
Leon looked at the computer, then back at Becky. "Hey Becky."
"Yeah?" Rebecca turned to Leon.
"You did great today."
Rebecca smiled at Leon. "Thanks." She then turned and left the room, the smile still on her face.
Author's Comments: Talk about intense. If there's one thing to say, it's that these guys know how to have a good time. Also, a few things to mention. Unlike the other chapters in this part, this is the only time two characters will run into each other by coincidence. Also, I put Raccoon city in Northeastern Pa. because of evidence I found on a Resident Evil website. In case you're wondering, Hazelton is a real city. It's also the city I'm attending college in. McDonalds is also one of my favorite fast food places to eat at. I also took the liberty of showing what I think happen to Leon based on his Epilogue from RE3, and tying it into how I think Leon ran into Ark. Be sure to look for this deal to show itself in another part. That's it for that.
Next, we'll see what Barry has been doing. We all know by now that Barry has found a new hideout for the team, but where is it? In the next chapter you get a personal tour of the S.T.A.R.S. future new home. All this and more in RE Armageddon: Part I, Chapter 4- Setting Up Shop.