Well, I officially leave open the continuation that has been so requested. I hate to think too much about a story because it usually comes out kind of shitty, but, I have good ideas about this one.
Let's say that this chapter is just a prologue, there is some information but it is pretty vague and everything will be properly explained and presented.
Well, I don't know when I will update again, I hope it won't be long, but hey, I'll do my best while I'm in college. It's likely that I'll be able to update almost every weekend, but let's see how things turn out.
Thanks for reading, and enjoy!
The burning summer sun in that small piece of tropical paradise did not bother the man walking alone through the abandoned village. The silence that enhanced the sound of his footsteps made his body and mind fully prepared for anyone or anything that approached.
The man was wearing a set of military clothing. A ballistic vest with ammunition on the sides, a knife holster, and a small radio, along with a few zipped pockets. He also wore a medium-sized bag attached to the back of his waist. There was a mask slung over the base of his neck.
Anyone who saw him could tell that he was prepared for a conflict. Ready for a war, even. That was the feeling those powerful blue eyes gave off.
And it was exactly because of his physical and mental preparation that the man did not even move when people slowly approached him.
Despite the beautiful place, with a charming story behind it, the man knew well that this environment was somewhat hostile, and made the slightest movement with his neck to observe the bloodied people approaching.
Missing pieces of flesh, missing lips, blood covering most of the body and staining the clothes of what were once harmless locals.
A scene that, although the man had grown accustomed to, brought back bitter memories for him. The reason for his various nightmares, in which he tried very hard not to let his superiors notice.
Although, deep down, he already suspected that they knew, and just didn't care enough to question him.
Making sure that he wasn't being surrounded by the zombies that appeared so often in his dreams, the man holstered his pistol and reached for his knife. A long silver blade, double-edged at the tip, with a black handle. A combat partner that gave him a small increase in range, but unmatched lethality.
Getting into attack position, the man waited patiently for the zombies to approach. His sharp eyes stared unblinkingly at the first of the small group ahead while his mind, as sharp as it was, already analyzed the possible endings.
The first zombie approached. What had once been a man raised his bloody, grayish arms toward him, and it all happened in just a few seconds.
The agent pushed the zombie's arm to the side and in one swift movement, killed the infected with exquisite skill, taking another step forward and doing the same to the next approaching zombie while kicking the side of the leg of another one nearby, turning his body and landing a back kick on the last one, pushing him away and causing the zombie to fall.
The agent quickly kills the zombie he had knocked down to the side and throws his knife at the head of the one he had kicked.
Five seconds. Four bodies on the ground.
Damn... he was getting slow.
"Ghost." The radio on his shoulder caught the agent's attention, and he sighed slightly as he walked toward the zombie's body ahead to grab his knife. "Report."
"The village is empty. I ran into a few hostiles on the way, but nothing major. Doesn't look like the agents have been through here yet." The man replied, wiping away the blood present on the knife before putting the blade back into its sheath.
"Roger that. So, the virus has reached the surrounding villages. I can't stop thinking that all this shit could have been prevented." The male voice over the radio said, and the agent snorted as he ran his eyes around once again just in case.
He then started walking through the village, ignoring the few bodies that were walking through the houses and just making his way towards a large fort a few miles away still.
Getting into conflict with those zombies was not his mission.
"USSOCOM had no way of knowing. The job was reconnaissance, nothing more. They just sent one person." The agent replied after a while, moving into the dense forest that followed after the village. Cautious, his eyes didn't miss those blood marks cloaked to the ground.
"Where is the target?" The agent asked after some more walking. He stopped and crouched down, resting one of his arms on his knee as he observed the huge crater ahead.
The crater was the size of a village, certainly. There was a lot of blood at the base, along with human and animal bones and bits of limbs and flesh scattered about.
The nest of an extremely dangerous creature.
"Underground. USSOCOM managed to contain the situation somewhat. But at least 40% of the Amazon was destroyed and infected when Javier escaped. He must be recovering, so you have a chance. But be quick." The man on the other end of the radio said, and the agent pulled some vials from inside one of his pockets.
Three vials. All in a strong red coloration.
"Why red? I thought that girl's blood was enough." He asked, leaving the vials in his pocket again, but so that it was easier to pick them up.
"Well, as you can see, Javier ate quite a bit. Her blood slowed his regeneration a lot, but not enough. We prepared a stronger mixture, as there are indications that the virus may have mutated in some way." The agent looked at the bottom of the nest. There was a large cave down there. Probably where the monster was lying dormant.
"That's great. You didn't think to tell me this earlier?" The agent asked, picking up his pistol and checking his ammo. Special bullets, imbued with the blood of the girl mentioned earlier. Made in demand and especially for that type of creature.
"Relax. The bullets will slow Javier down and do great damage. But don't forget, to kill him, you will have to apply the vial directly to his human head." The radio shortly thereafter went silent, and the agent stood up.
Looking around, he scanned his surroundings. The Amazon rainforest was beautiful, a pity it was almost half destroyed because of that monster down there. It was certainly going to be difficult for USSOCOM and USSTRATCOM to cover that up. But, well, it wasn't his problem.
Taking a small jar from inside another of his ballistic vest pockets, he takes his knife and dips his blade into the light blue liquid inside the jar.
His superiors had worked hard to research biological weapons in those years, and, unlike most other "teams," so to speak, they did not send their agents into the field with only traditional weapons.
In special cases like that, they created their own weapons for different biological weapons. Only a few were made up to that point, since it was still new, difficult and extremely expensive. But, it was already an added advantage and good use of the information obtained regarding these viruses.
Sighing once more, the agent put on his mask and made his way to the base of the nest, skimming and running down the side deftly to the bottom.
As soon as he arrived, he observed the piles of bones and flesh. Piles that must have been at least four meters high.
This monster could destroy the entire Amazon forest if he let it.
Walking slowly towards the cave with his pistol and knife in hand, he ignores the smell of rot and death that surrounded him and focuses his eyes on the dark interior of the cave.
Raising his pistol with flashlight attached, he makes his way inside. There were huge cut marks on the wall, indicating extremely long and sharp claws. The cave itself must have been at least a few dozen meters long, indicating that the creature was at least twenty, thirty times bigger than he was.
The wide, expansive cave was also stained with blood, and the smell seemed to be even worse in there.
After walking for some time, the agent stops when he hears a noise. His hands were holding his pistol firmly pointed at the center of the cave, despite the complete darkness ahead.
The noise grew louder, and in reflex, the agent crouched down. Above him, two things resembling long, strong tentacles swiftly advanced out of the cave, burrowing into the piles of flesh and bone outside, and returning at extreme speed into the darkness of the cave.
The agent stood up and continued on his way, this time at a faster pace. It was obvious that this was the creature's regeneration process.
Ignoring the shattered parts of humans and animals around him, he ran down the cave until he came to a large open area.
There was water in a far corner, low lighting but enough to see the size of the place. It was huge. A small village could probably fit in there.
The agent crouches down and looks more carefully at his surroundings. From the marks on the floor, on the wall, and the degradation of the place, it was obvious that the huge creature with tentacles around it was the culprit.
The creature was immense. It had at least five legs around its large body, which looked more like a brain encased in bones, with a slightly elongated neck and a head like a crocodile head.
The creature was wounded. There was a large part on the side of the body that a large concentration of flesh was moving at great speed to regenerate the limbs that the creature had lost.
The Agent stood up slightly and looked around for some way to get down there. When, again, other tentacles moved toward him, he threw himself to the ground.
The tentacles missed him, but continued on their way to the end of the cave.
Well, this was as good a chance as any.
Taking one of the vials from his pocket, the man injects the red liquid into one of the tentacles with extreme force. The reaction was immediate. The creature roared loudly, struggling as it stood up in pain while the tentacle into which it was injected with the substance quickly crystallized.
Getting up, the agent shot at the creature ahead as the crystallized tentacle slowly crumbled into a kind of white powder, turning to nothing more than ashes as they touched the ground and quickly disappeared into a small puff of smoke.
Almost as if they were burned.
The creature roared again, and raised one of its arms wrapped with bones, attacking the agent at great speed.
The agent dodges and leaps down, sliding down the side of the wall and letting himself fall in free fall soon after, feeling bits of stone and dirt hitting him on the back of the head from the destruction surely caused by the monster's attack.
"Aaargh, me... kill you!" The creature said in a distorted voice, and it was then that the agent could see where the human head was.
Inside the crocodile-like head. Surrounded by thick flesh that was in a flower-like shape.
The monster raised one of its arms again, this one with what looked like a huge hand made of bones, and attacked the agent.
The agent ran to the side and dodged, using the narrow spaces of the huge cave to be able to move around the arm and, as soon as he had an angle, shoot at the exposed joint of the arm.
Each bullet that hit the monster's thick flesh seemed to stick deeper than an ordinary bullet, as well as burning and crystallizing a small area around the hit site. And with each small part crystallized, that part crumbled into ashes.
The creature roared and attacked with all its tentacles at once.
The agent ran to a narrower area, dodging one of the tentacles. Another one went through the wall and stuck in front of him.
The agent, realizing that more tentacles were approaching, stuck his knife into the tentacle in front of him and made a vertical tear. The liquid in which he had imbued his blade made the pain of that wound much greater and stronger than it would have been with an ordinary blade, and the creature quickly pulled the tentacle back.
The agent did not free himself from his knife still stuck, and so he was lifted into the air by the tentacle. He grunted as he held onto his knife with only one arm, but soon, from his back pocket, he grabbed a grenade and pulled out the pin, placing it deep into the tentacle's tear.
The creature struggled, and soon, the agent found himself flying in freefall to the ground, at least tens of meters away.
He groaned loudly as he felt his back hit the ground, and was stunned for a few moments, but as soon as he recovered, he stood up quickly in time to see the grenade explode inside the creature's tentacle.
The monster that once had the name Javier growled in a mixture of pain and anger, losing its balance on its long legs. Soon, however, the biological weapon attacked the agent again with its tentacles as it stood up and began to move toward the man.
The agent, instead of running away, began to run towards the creature while shooting with his pistol at the tentacles that were trying to attack him, more than once canceling the attack of such tentacles and allowing himself to close a greater distance.
That, until he ran out of bullets, which gave the opening for the tentacles, now with large chunks of meat missing, to attack him.
The first tentacle attempted the horizontal blow from the side. However, the agent, with excellent skills, jumped over the tentacle, recovering and moving at such speed that as soon as he put his feet on the ground, he dodged another attack, coming from another tentacle, by rolling down.
Another tentacle tried to attack him from the side, and he quickly ran close to the cave wall. The tentacle tried to pierce him, but the agent jumped up, ran three steps on the straight surface of the wall, and jumped again to dodge another tentacle that had tried to impale him.
The agent landed and quickly reloaded his gun. As soon as he did, he grabbed something else from his back pouch and threw the object close to the creature.
The monster moved to attack him, but everything exploded in a flash of light. The creature roared in a daze and lost its balance, giving the agent the perfect opportunity to run towards the monster's head.
However, to his misfortune, the arm that had the bone hand moved at great speed and grabbed him as he ran. The agent grunted as he felt the grip around his body, and watched with a strange glint in his eyes as the creature lifted him into the air and opened its huge mouth to devour him, though he was still stunned.
The agent, however, takes his knife and stabs between the exposed areas of the bone hand, feeling his knife penetrate the flesh of the creature, which roared loudly and let go of him in reflex.
However, the agent held onto one of the bone stakes that followed through the creature's hand, and soon, he threw himself forward, feeling his back scrape against the monster's arm bone, until it fell and rolled on the side of Javier's body.
Running forward, wasting no time, the agent threw himself aside when another tentacle tried to attack him, and taking momentum from a broken bone stake in the creature's back, he launched himself forward while grabbing another vial from his pocket, and as soon as he landed on the back of the monster's body, injected the liquid from the vial into Javier's body.
The bioweapon roared and struggled, but before the agent was thrown from the monster's body, he grabbed another grenade and removed the pin, leaving the grenade stuck in the part of the creature's flesh that was beginning to crystallize.
The agent fell and rolled on the ground, at the same time he heard the big explosion happen, followed by the creature's roar.
Wasting no time, the agent ran towards the human head of the monster while shooting at the stunned tentacles. Grabbing another stun grenade, he threw it forward and took cover behind one of the monster's bone arms.
The grenade exploded, he stepped out of his cover at the same time the monster let out a low roar of exhaustion and confusion.
With vial in hand, the agent injected the red liquid right into the center of the forehead of Javier's human head.
Both the monster and Javier's distorted but human voice screamed and roared.
The agent took a closer look at the deformed face of what had once been a wanted drug dealer.
Some of the man's teeth had fallen out, his skin appeared to be melted, having a rubbery texture. His eyes were opaque and his hair was nothing but a few hundred strands.
Javier's huge body was slowly crystallizing. After this, his body began to crumble. Ashes fell to the ground, and disappeared into small flames.
There was no longer any trace, except for the surrounding destruction and the blood that the agent drew from the creature with his bullets and stab wounds, that a monster had inhabited that place.
No pieces of flesh, no limbs, no bones, nothing.
The monster had been burned and disappeared without a trace. Now, all his superiors had to do was to send a team to clean up the place, and again, another biological weapon would be considered to have disappeared with no tracks.
No one would ever know what really happened. Not the civilians, not the government, and not the agents of other organizations.
And that was one of the reasons the agent was nicknamed the ghost. No one, ever, knew of his existence.
"Central, do you guys copy?" The agent asked, running his eyes slowly around him, now a little more reassured by having dealt with the threat, but still with his guard up. With those viruses, you could never tell what kind of monstrosities lurked in the corners.
Although, if there really was something there, Javier would have already consumed it to help his regeneration. And if it was some creature created from some virus, the mutations could be catastrophic.
"Yes, Ghost. Report."
"The target has been eliminated. I need a cleanup team at the coordinates I will send. Low scale." The agent said, walking toward the huge wall ahead and observing the cave above. He would have to do a little climbing to get out of there.
"Roger that. Get out of there as soon as possible to receive information about your new mission." The voice on the radio cut off and the agent lowered his head as he sighed in exhaustion.
And once again, his hopes of having a moment's rest were thrown down the river. Sometimes he wondered if he would do that until he died.
"And Ghost. Try to obey orders this time. You know you haven't been put down yet because you're the best we've got." The agent snorted in disdain, already making a mental map of the climb he would make.
"And as long as that is the case, I will continue to not give a fuck about it. As long as you guys keep your promise, I will complete the missions and you know it. Whether I follow your orders to do that or not, you sons of bitches bear with it." The agent said, leaning on a small deformity in the wall and propelling himself upward, beginning a climb at a speed that would leave athletes impressed. Not only for his agility, but for the fact that he was carrying military equipment, which made him even heavier.
He left the cave. He made his way out of that nest of death and sent the coordinates of the location.
He watched as some helicopters approached. He watched as a team of men in special clothing were dispatched toward the nest. He knew they would take care of everything and clean Javier's blood off the ground.
And, as always, the credit would go to USSTRATCON and USSOCOM. He had no doubt about that. It would help correct their mistake in the first place, and keep the organization he worked for a secret.
But even though he hated his bosses, the agent agreed with them on some things. The United States government was corrupt. Not for the most part, but there were many things that happened behind the president's back. Umbrella-related things.
And because of this, there was no way they could let either USSOCOM, USSTRATCOM, BSAA, or any other organization that claimed to fight bioterrorism get their hands on these viruses. It has happened before, and the consequence was disastrous.
This was exactly why they would completely eliminate the existence of such viruses. Sure, they would take some samples to make weapons to fight said viruses, or even antidotes. But these were cases apart. In a way, even rare.
And it was exactly because they eliminated these viruses, that they had to be discreet. Invisible to civilians and to the government itself.
It was working, so far. He hoped it would stay that way.
The agent got into one of the helicopters and sat down. This part always passed like a blur to him. Every time he finished a mission, he was assigned to another, and the small moment between one mission and another took him back to the unexplored places in his mind.
He always remembered why he was on those missions. And somehow it brought a certain comfort, despite all the rain of shit he was constantly going through.
It was even worth it. Especially when his bosses let him rest for a week or two and he could catch up on the news of the world outside of bioterrorism.
He would read stories about schools being built in places of low education. Security being put in places of high violence. Hospitals being built in places affected by bioterrorism or precarious situations where people were deprived of basic health care.
Sometimes he observed the reasons why he was there. He watched that woman with the bright smile become an important figure in TerraSave. He watched that golden-haired girl finish college. It was one of the moments when he broke the rules of his organization and got close to both of them.
He never appeared visible. He always stood in a building or two away, watching from the roof or from some room. It was as close as he could get, and already extremely dangerous.
For them, of course.
When he came out of his thoughts, he found himself in some room in a temporary facility.
His grayish blue eyes stared at himself in the mirror. His features had become more mature, more rigid. He was still extremely attractive. As the few women he knew in that line of work said, he was aging well. Although he still had youthful expressions, he had more mature features, which gave him a greater contrast.
He was aging like a fine wine, that's what one of them said, if he wasn't mistaken.
But the more time went by, the darker he seemed to get. The same happened with his hair. From blond, to brown.
Jesus... he didn't even know how long he had been at it. It was always the same shit.
Ignoring his thoughts and forcing himself to walk away, he soon walks through the room he was in, down the long, dimly lit hallway, to a medium-sized room with only one man sitting in front of a computer.
"You took your time, Mister Leon." The man said, pushing an envelope aside. Leon focused his gaze on said envelope, and soon made his way to the information on his new mission.
"What can I say? I had to get ready for our date." He said wryly, taking the envelope. But before he could check the information, the man stood up from his chair and placed two fingers on the envelope, making the agent look at him curiously.
"Albert has been running from us for a long time. It's almost as if he's a ghost of chaos. But this time, things are different. We have a chance to catch him. Or, the chance to infiltrate one of his labs. And for the first time in years, you will be working with someone." The man said, and Leon stared at him with a neutral expression for a while.
"Really? You want to reveal our existence? And all these years never happened for you? What happened to secrecy?" The agent asked, not being able to hide the surprise in his voice.
"Not exactly. The BSAA, of all the other organizations, has proven to be the most reliable. We have formed an alliance." The man said, turning and walking to a farther part of the table.
"This time, the enemy is someone phenomenal. Unlike any other bioweapon you've ever faced" Another voice chimed in, and the agent smiled in disdain as he saw the man in a suit approaching. A suit and gloves... how he hated that combination.
"Look who it is. To what do I owe the honor of your visit, your majesty?" The agent asked, bowing slightly and pretending respect. Something in which the man simply ignored.
"Ah, that sarcasm... Albert Wesker is the most dangerous being on the planet at the moment. And for that reason, we thought it best to get some help. The BSAA has a history with Wesker. And of all the organizations, it is the most likely to help us." The man said, putting his arms behind him and staring at the large screen in front of him.
"So we decided to send only the best. You, an outstanding fighter with knowledge of several martial arts, speed compared to that of a superhuman, and a unique ability that has earned you that nickname, Ghost." The man turned to the agent, who just shook his head.
"Aww, I'm flattered."
"And of course, the BSAA's finest. Chris Redfield." And there was the moment Leon was wanting to avoid, even though he knew it was inevitable. The moment he heard about the BSAA, he automatically thought of the big brother.
The problem was not working with Chris Redfield. Not really. The problem was knowing that Claire told him everything. And, knowing that they would read each other's file, it was obvious that the older brother would hold one thing or another against him.
He watched long enough to know the bond that Claire, Chris and Sherry had. Because, instead of him, Chris was the one who comforted them both. He was the one who listened to them both. He who helped them deal with the nightmares and the feeling of abandonment.
"Ah yes, the boulder puncher. Did he punch you in the face so you could risk having our existence revealed?" The agent asked, receiving as an answer, only a tired sigh from the man.
"Chris Redfield is an excellent soldier. His physical strength can be compared to that of a superhuman. Extremely versatile, vast knowledge of weapons, fast for a man of his size, and extremely resilient. Not to mention, he has fought Wesker before, and to date, he is the only one to come out alive."
"Yes, we all read the report of him punching a boulder in a volcano."
"With your combined abilities, and the special weapons we made for wesker by the blood samples, both his, and mine, it's almost a guarantee that you both can kill him, if you can catch him." The man said, and Leon arched an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.
"If?"
"We have the location of the last lab he was seen in. The chances that he's still there are high. But even if he isn't, the lab has valuable information. Like locations of the other labs and reports of the viruses they have created and plans to spread the superior race." The man said, walking a few steps toward the door, but stopping midway.
"You have two days to read the contents in the envelope and prepare" He turned and faced Leon with those same cold blue eyes, that same aura that thought himself superior and that irritated the agent so much. "How long have you been working for me?"
Leon snorted in derision.
"You mean how long have you been blackmailing me into working for you? Seven? Eight? What month is it?"
"Almost a decade. We've been working together for almost a decade. And at no time between that period have we done anything like this. And I urge you, Leon, not to let your emotions get in the way now. At best, Wesker will be killed, I will be killed, and you will be free to live a normal life. That's what you want, isn't it?" The man asked, but didn't wait for an answer, and soon, treated himself to leaving that room.
Leon just followed him with his gaze. Although he hated that guy, he respected his ideals. It wasn't often that he saw someone special willing to take his own life so as not to run the risk of falling into the hands of the wrong people.
Well, even if this guy wasn't like that, Leon would make sure to kill him as soon as Wesker was eliminated. So, ultimately, that guy was going to die anyway.
"This alliance of ours with the BSAA will be in extreme secrecy as well." The voice of the man next to him caught his attention, and Leon stared at him with a certain disinterest. What little humor he had now threw itself out the window.
"The BSAA has moved away from the other organizations. And because they are not the main focus of the public eye, it was possible for us to think of this alliance. But, know, that only a few members of the BSAA are aware of it."
"Say..." Leon began. "What happens when Wesker is killed and the viruses wiped from the world?"
The man arched an eyebrow at the question.
"Ah, I... I don't know. I think the organization continues. We helped a lot in the advancement of medicine in these years. I, for one, plan to change careers." The man said, and Leon just stared at him in silence for a few moments, until he sighed and turned away.
"Well, if that's what you think." That was all Leon said, just before he walked towards the door and left the room.
He sighed again as he left and ran one of his hands over his hair. He felt tired, but, at the same time, he didn't.
As he walked, he couldn't stop himself from taking a peek inside the envelope in his hands. The first thing he saw was Chris' file, along with a recent photo of him.
Although it had been years since he had first encountered the older Redfield, he hadn't changed much. Sure, he had become more mature, with more scars and a bigger scowl. But, he was still the same.
The next thing he saw in the envelope was Jill Valentine's file. Jesus, they didn't say he would be working with Valentine herself. A survivor of the Raccoon city incident, much to his surprise.
Leon was not very eager to work with them. He knew how they both felt about the infamous cop Leon Kennedy.
He was there when Claire and Sherry met with Chris. He was the one who had sent their location to him, via an unnamed source.
He saw Chris's expression contort into anger when Claire said she woke up, with no money, no direction and only Sherry by her side on an empty road and a single note written "sorry".
He didn't blame him, in fact, he understood well why he was angry and why Claire felt abandoned.
Argh, the whole situation made him relive old memories. Memories from years ago. Memories of when Claire was kidnapped and he broke rules once again to save her with Barry's help.
Memories of when he was assigned to eliminate biological weapons in the shadows on Shinjiku Island when Chris's team was in trouble.
The island with the largest concentration of biological weapons in the world, on which it has only not been destroyed yet because it was owned by USSTRATCOM in partnership with Umbrella.
Memories of when he had to locate and destroy samples of a virus called Las Plagas in a remote location in Spain. What was his surprise to learn that Jill Valentine's team was there?
That mission was a rain of shit. The president's daughter held hostage, a mercenary in search of the same samples as him.
Argh.
And of course, besides his missions, his mind went back to the beginning of everything. The beginning of his training. The difficulties he had to go through to get used to all this "change". And of course, the difficulty he had getting used to those excruciating feelings in his chest.
Shaking his head, Leon sighs once more and hurries his steps. He had only two days to prepare both physically and mentally for one of the most difficult missions of his career.
Although, of course, he didn't know that.
