Extraction

Author's Note: Hi all! It's been a pretty long time since I have posted anything to this, and I am truly sorry to all of you who have been waiting with baited breath for the latest installment of Reign of the Blightbringer. Well, here it is for you, my friends. I hope you all enjoy this and look forward to the next installment in a week or two. And I mean it )

Author's Disclaimer: WarCraft and Resident Evil are copied trademarks of Blizzard Entertainment and Capcom respectively. I do not own either. Never have. Never will.

Leon Scott Kennedy walked carefully down the winding leaf covered path with his Blacktail firmly in hand. The crowd of trees stood tall and proud along the path, a silent audience to the procession as they made their way out of the pit that was this rural part of Europe.

Ashley Graham arched her head up and scanned her surroundings with wide russet eyes, every muscle in her body tensed up with fright and anticipation, as if some surviving villagers or cultists were about to pounce out of the trees and drag her away before her bodyguard could save her.

"How much further, Leon?" Ashley asked impatiently as she sprinted to catch up with him.

Leon grimaced softy and scanned the path and trees around them for a moment before replying. "I don't know. Maybe a few more miles before we get to the actual village."

"I hope not." Ashley complained. A sharp pain in her heel made her stop short and pause long enough to remove a great pebble from her brown boot. She wondered for a moment how stones that were big enough to fit in her hand managed to land into her boot while she was still wearing it without being aware of it.

"We can't stop yet." Leon said softly as he crouched low and replaced his Blacktail with the bolt-action rifle strapped onto his back. He rested his cheek on the butt and scanned the horizon for a moment more before signaling to advance. "Just think, in a little while, we'll be on our way home."

"I can't wait." Ashley said with a sigh of relief. "Hey Leon…" She began softly.

"Yeah?" Leon replied as he hopped over a log and helped the President's daughter over the log.

Ashley looked at her bodyguard and savior. She smiled so warmly that even the morning chill seemed to melt away and become a summer breeze. "Thank you."

Leon felt his heart melt and his arms wrapped tightly around his friend. "Anytime, Ashley." After a brief embrace, he slid his arms off of Ashley and said, "Now… let's go home."

The pair traveled carefully through the trees and foliage until they came across the familiar marshlands and winding mountain paths that Leon had traversed only earlier. The bloated corpses of dead Ganados floated in the water like flotsam as the two made their way across and finally into the great pen where Leon did battle with his first Gigante. The giant still laid where it fell, a silent testimony and monument of flesh to Leon's prowess, and a memorial for the four-legged companion who had come to save him.

Ashley's nose wrinkled as the stench of rotting meat invaded her nostrils. Flies were already making what looked like communities on the beast's flesh as her hands shot to her nose to cover her face. "Gross! Let's go, Leon!"

Leon raised a hand and silently walked over to the fallen beast. His nose begged for him to leave as well, yet he could not obey for the moment. He knelt down low on one knee and began speaking to no one at all. "Hey… I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me. You saved my life here, and I'm really grateful for it."

Ashley looked at Leon with an expression of confusion as her bodyguard talked to what seemed like the giant corpse.

Leon continued, "So anyway… thanks for being here. I wish I knew what happened to you, though. I really do."

Suddenly, as though to answer his request, a loud bark pierced the sky. Leon and Ashley's heads snapped in the direction of the bark as another one shot through the air, followed by the slender form of a white wolf dog.

At first, Leon and Ashley froze, thinking that it was another infected dog. However, the dog simply looked at them with wide brown eyes and let out another friendly bark as it approached Leon. The Secret Agent watched as the dog limped towards him and found himself laughing as he realized this was the one he was offering his thanks to.

"Hey!" He laughed as he knelt down again and began petting the dog, who responded by licking him. Leon laughed more as he felt the dog's wet and hot tongue bathe him.

Ashley found herself giggling as she watched Leon and the dog bonding. She looked over at the crimson streaks on the dog's leg and bent down to see if it was hurt. To her shock, there wasn't a scratch on the dog. The hair on the leg looked as though it was torn off by teeth, yet the pink flesh beneath was unscathed.

Leon chuckled and looked around the dog to determine the sex. His hands found nipples and he whispered, "Hey girl. You want a home?"

The dog yelped and licked his face again in response, causing Leon to chuckle again as he stood up and held his hand out to the dog. The dog licked his palm gratefully as Ashley stood up and said, "She's all right. But do you think it's a good idea to take her home?"

"Better than her staying her." Leon replied as the dog circled the Gigante's corpse on last time and sat on her hindquarters in front of Leon and Ashley. "Besides, it's a miracle that she lasted as long as she has."

Ashley found herself nodding softly as Leon whistled to the dog and began walking again. The dog barked in response and found her spot right next to Leon, as though she was always his loyal companion. Ashley found herself smiling softly at the scene and tagged along.

Christopher Redfield stood in the middle of Pueblo, surrounded by the unburied and rotting dead that Leon had left in his wake. His hands tightly gripped the handle and barrel of his LR – 300, which was equipped with an underbelly grenade launcher, as he rotated his shoulders. His entire torso and shoulders were protected by the new Dragon Skin armor that had been approved by the Special Forces divisions of the Military, but had yet to see actual combat. His nose wrinkled from the stench of the corpses and his eyes watered slightly. After all of the combat and strange things he had seen, he should have been used to death. But even this scene with human beings having bizarre tentacle masses where their heads should have been was too weird even for him.

Chris rotated his shoulders again and listened intently to the static on his earpiece. He had made contact with Leon an hour ago, and was now waiting impatiently for any sign of his young friend.

A sigh of relief had escaped his lips when he remembered that at least he wasn't the one who was sent on this mission, yet he regretted having such thoughts about his best friend's fortune. After all, it wasn't as though he just had an easy time too. He recalled all too well the mission he just returned from with Jill, and he had rather not dwelled on that either. All that matter was that Leon was safe, he had the President's daughter – ALIVE – and that they were going home.

Suddenly, Leon's voice crackled into his ear. "Chris?"

Chris snapped a hand to the piece and said, "Yeah I'm here."

"We're coming out through the house on the north end of town with the strange insignia on it." Leon said. "Do not engage."

"Confirmed." Chris said as he turned to the appropriate door.

The lock screamed suddenly and died just as quickly as it was undone. It was followed by the low creaking and moan of metal on wood and dust as Leon opened the door and stepped out with Ashley Graham and a white dog right behind him.

Chris found himself smiling softly and laughing as his eyes met Leon, whose expression of relief and joy must have mirrored his own. For the moment, they were not trapped in the middle of a body-covered street with a valuable target in hand. They were Chris and Leon, almost as though they were meeting for drinks at Bub's on the corner of D Street and 4th Street. The two agents and comrades walked over and embraced each other tightly as they laughed.

"Leon you son of a bitch!" Chris chuckled as they slid out of their embrace. "Nice to see you're still alive."

"Yeah." Leon said and turned to Ashley, "This is Ashley Graham."

Chris nodded to the President's daughter and extended a hand. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Graham."

"Ashley accepted the hand and said, "You too, Mr. Redfield."

"Call me Chris." The oldest Redfield said as he turned his eyes to Leon.

The younger agent was a mess. His clothes were covered in what looked like an inch of grime and dirt, and he could have sworn that the shirt was torn up somewhere.

Yet despite what he went through, Leon's face still looked so clean and pristine. He probably didn't have time to put on deodorant, but he must have smelled just like a rose.

However… something was missing.

Chris smirked and nudged at Leon, "Forget something?"

"Huh?" Leon frowned and looked down. He seemed to have all of his equipment and weapons. All of his gear was present.

Except…

"Aaaw shit!" He swore as he looked around frantically. His jacket! How could he have been that stupid?!

Chris laughed and said, "Leon… I would love to see Claire's face if you lost that, but…" He pointed over to a fence post, where a familiar leather jacket swung lazily.

Leon laughed as he went over and picked up the jacket. He examined it and frowned when he saw a sizeable bullet hole in the back. "Where did you find it?"

"On one of the bodies." Chris said as he watched Leon slide back into the jacket. "I don't know how you lost it, but you gotta take better care of your shit. Or at least pick it up when you find it."

Leon frowned as he stretched and replied, "I didn't see anyone with it."

Chris nodded as Ashley looked up and down her bodyguard, taking in his style. "Nice jacket." She complimented honestly.

Leon nodded, "It was a good luck charm from a friend."

Chris was about to talk before he was interrupted by the dog's barking. He turned to the mutt and asked, "Who's this?"

Leon performed an about face and said, "That's… that's Allyson. She's my dog."

All sound seemed to get sucked out by a vacuum for a solid minute before Chris started chuckling, which became great peels of laughter.

Leon blushed as Chris nearly doubled over and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You're going to Hell."

"I know." Leon responded as Ashley looked at both men, totally perplexed.

"What's the big deal?" Ashley finally questioned Leon, who blushed red.

"Allyson's… the middle name of my friend, Claire." Leon explained. "The one who gave me this jacket."

Ashley found herself giggling and laughing at Leon's response. Leon turned even redder at the response.

Suddenly, the laughter was broken by the sound of wood being cracked and splintered. Leon and the others turned to the sound, and jumped when they heard a second thunder of wood on wood and shouts in Spanish.

Ashley cringed as Leon and Chris raised their weapons. "The bad guys?" Chris asked as he loaded a grenade.

Leon nodded, "Where's the extraction point?"

"The farmhouse down the road." Chris said and pointed as another roll of thunder came in, followed by more Spanish.

"Ashley." Leon said in a calm tone. It sounded as though everyone left in the village and cult was about to pour after them. "I want you to run, okay?"
Ashley nodded softly and began to sprint toward the farmhouse. Her legs became jelly as she tried her best to flee from the approaching Spaniards, yet her will and want to live was greater than her fear, and carried her as Allyson followed.

Chris and Leon began to back away just as the gates flew open and scores of ragged villagers and cultists in purple robes came charging down the ramp at them. Chris let loose with his grenade launcher, killing a handful as Leon opened fire with his TMP. The pair began spraying mists of led into the crowd, causing fountains and mists of crimson to pour out of their victims as Ganados toppled and tripped up their comrades. The barrels of their weapons turned white as they sprinted and tried to provide cover and flee with their lives.

Leon could hear the chopping of helicopter blades as they slammed through the iron gate to the farmstead, and beheld a Black Hawk helicopter awaiting with Ashley and Allyson already inside. Chris loaded and fired another grenade down the narrow corridor and sent more Ganados and limbs flying as they backpedaled and charged at the Black Hawk, which was already beginning to take off.

The Ganados poured into the farm just as the Black Hawk was out of their reach, and many tried to leap or pounce for it. Leon looked down warily as the Spaniards yelled and cried out. Their crimson eyes stared at him with anger, and… what looked like… fear?... as the chopped made its ascent over the trees and flew away to safety.

The Ganados looked up and wailed in anger and horror as their hope for escape flew off into the horizon. One of them swore and exclaimed, "We have to flee!"

"No!" one cultist proclaimed, "We stand here!"

"What?!" aonother villager wailed, "Against them?! We're dead!"

"No!" another cultist defended, "We must do what we can to survive."

"Which is-" a third villager began, but was cut off by a new shape in the sky. A great black shape of a winged beast appeared and released an icy roar as it came into view. The villagers yelled in terror as they realized it was the skeleton of a dragon covered in ice and stretched tendons.

"Frost Wyrm!" One villager exclaimed in horror as more shapes appeared in the sky. Gargoyles and the Frost Wyrm descended on them screeching and roaring as the fangs and claws of the Gargoyles sliced into the crowd and the Frost Wyrm's breath froze and shattered rows of survivors.

Hundreds of Ganados fled for their lives into the forests and down the path, only to be greeted by swarms of rotting corpses, screaming in inhuman tongues and hungry for flesh. Ghouls.

From above the watch tower of Pueblo, Arthas Menethil watched the horrific violence unfold, and smiled softly as a woman in a black cloak appeared next to him. He turned to the woman and said, "Do you understand now, Ms. Wong?"

Ada Wong lowered the cowl of her cloak, revealing her face. Her skin was pale, and her eyes seemed to blaze with flashes of green. "Yes… my King."

Arthas nodded as they beheld the horrific scene of villagers and survivors were ripped to shreds. "Now… tell me about Leon Kennedy."