Disclaimer: I do not own Jonny Quest or Resident Evil and I am not making any money off of this. The original characters are my own, however.

Author's Note: My Spanish isn't all that good, so anything that is meant to be said in Spanish will be marked by at the beginning and end of the sentence.

I hope you enjoy this, please read and review for me. Thanks.

A New Nightmare

Chapter 2

By: Sigokat

Spain

The castle sat upon a hill overlooking the vast Spanish countryside. The sight could be considered beautiful if not for the creatures that lurked in the villages and surrounding forest. They were Saddler's followers and they did his bidding for him without question. The castle had been converted into a makeshift laboratory for Saddler's experiments; however he also had another facility on a nearby island as a backup in the unlikely event that invaders took over the castle. He had created his Psion on the island; however it had recently been transported the castle so Saddler could follow its developments more closely. He considered the Psion an extension of himself, almost as if it were his child. It was the only thing that he truly loved other then himself.

The castle was also used to hold ceremonies within the occult, which often included human sacrifices. He kept the dungeons well stocked with defiant villagers and travelers who wandered into his domain. Scattered throughout the castle were tapestries and artifacts bearing the Los Illuminados emblem. The main chapel had been redone; it was still a place of worship, but now only evil lived there. Saddler reveled in his power and he roamed the castle, admiring his work. He was a large man, well over six feet tall, he had been forty five years old when he discovered the Las Plagas and since injecting himself he has not aged a day. His skin was marked with the same visible veins and bloodshot eyes as the majority of the other Las Plagas recipients', however he felt that it did not detract from his charisma. In fact, he believed the power living inside him made him even more handsome then he had been. His long flowing robe skimmed the floor as he walked and his staff of the Los Illuminados pulsed in his hands, somehow brought to life with the powers Saddler possessed. An every watching eye adorned the top of the staff, veins vibrating around it in its seat.

When Saddler reached his main throne room he found one of his servants waiting for him. The man bowed as Saddler entered and did not look up again until Saddler spoke to him.

"What is it?"

"My lord, I have just received word that there are outsiders in the villages." The man trembled as he spoke.

"What kind of outsiders and which village?" Saddler pressed.

"They are some sort of archeologists, Lord Saddler. They are digging at the site of the first village….where the lake is." The man answered.

Saddler rubbed his chin as he spoke. "Hmmm. What to do with these people? Obviously they would be missed if they were to disappear and that would bring the authorities back here to snoop around." Saddler did not mention that he already knew of the team and had planted another one of his followers with the archeologists. He did not have to explain himself to an underling.

"Yes, My Lord." Mumbled the man.

"We will wait and watch. See what it is that they find. In the event that they discover the Las Plagas we will deal with them. They will make excellent prey for my son."

"Yes, Lord Saddler. There are Americans with them as well, a Doctor Quest and another man, Race Bannon. Also two children a boy and girl, teenagers I believe."

"I have heard of this Quest man. Perhaps he can be of some value to me. Send out two scouts from one of the nearby villages to the site. Instruct them to watch and report what they observe. However, at this time none of the people at the site are to be harmed. Do you understand? I will be quite upset with you if I find out that the scouts could not control their…hunger."

The man shook with fear, "Yes, My Lord. I shall not fail you."

Saddler waved his hand and the man bowed again, turned and fled as fast as he could without running. Saddler smiled at the man's obvious fear of him, he enjoyed instilling fear in others, even his servants.

"Well, Doctor Quest, let us see what you are looking for." Saddler mocked as he began to prepare for his next ceremony.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

Race landed the Dragonfly at the US Naval Air Base in Rota shortly after noon on Friday. The plane had been loaded up with supplies that they would need to participate in the dig with Estella. Jessie had been overly excited to see her mother again and Jonny was glad just to get out of the house and do something different for a while.

After the plane had been secured the Quest team disembarked and was met by Estella and one of her associates, a young college student named David. Upon seeing her mother, Jessie broke into a run and wrapped her arms around Estella in a tight hug.

"I'm so happy to see you, momma." Jessie said as she hugged her mother tightly. It was the first time she had seen her since the episode in Washington.

Estella, returning the hug, replied, "You too, honey. I'm so happy you are here."

Dr. Quest, Jonny, and Race followed and after a round of hugs and handshakes they got down to business.

"I'm very glad you decided to come, Dr. Quest." Estella said. "I think you will be a valuable asset to us."

"Thank you." He replied, "We are all happy to assist in any way we can."

Race walked up to Estella, "You're looking well."

"You too, Race." Estella replied.

Race turned away, "Hey, Jonny, come help me unload the Dragonfly."

"Sure thing, Race. Can I drive the jeep?" He asked, referring to the all-terrain vehicle that was loaded in the cargo bay of the plane.

"I don't think so, kiddo." Race answered.

"Oh, come on, Race, you said I could try it out." Jonny pleaded as he followed behind his bodyguard.

"Maybe later out at the site."

Estella spoke to Dr. Quest as Jessie ran off to help her father and Jonny. "Unfortunately, we have not uncovered anything of significant value as of yet. However, we are hoping to find something soon."

"Sometimes it takes longer; you of all people should know that, Estella."

"Yes. David here is very anxious to study some of the artifacts from the region. This is his first dig."

Dr. Quest turned towards the young man, who seemed especially nervous and almost in awe of Dr. Quest. "Is that so?"

"Yes, Sir." The man managed to stammer out. "It is an honor to meet you, Sir." He extended his hand.

Dr. Quest shook his hand and noticed the strong grip that he possessed. "Well, you are with the best; that is for certain."

David did not reply, he just nodded his head and stepped back a few paces.

"We have a long drive ahead of us, Benton." Estella said. "I doubt there will be much daylight left once we arrive. We may not be able to start any digging until first light in the morning."

Dr. Quest nodded and turned as he heard the Dragonfly's cargo ramp coming down. Once it was secure, he saw Race back the jeep down the ramp. "Looks as if we will be ready to go in a few minutes. I just have to grab my bags from the plane."

"Yes, of course. Whenever you are ready we can get under way and we have room in our vehicle as well for your extra bags if you need it."

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

Archeological Dig Site

The moon was in full view as Estella and the Quest team pulled up to the site. It was eerily quiet as they all piled out of the vehicles. The only sound available was the slow steady hum of the generators powering the tents, but even those seemed to be deafened by the overall presence of the forest. The rest of the archeological team had already called it a night and were either asleep or attending to personal matters quietly in their tents. Small slivers of light filtered out from some of the tents, however the only other light was being provided by the moon.

To Jonny it reminded him of some of the camping trips that he had been on with his father when he was younger. However, being in the middle of an unfamiliar forest, surrounded by quiet and the unknown bundled Jonny's nerves. He had hoped that they would have arrived during the daylight hours because he was sure the place would not have seemed as creepy if he was able to see it in the daytime. He sucked in his breath and was determined not to let the dark get to him, he was too old too be afraid, but more importantly he did not want anyone else to think that he was scared.

Estella led them to a large tent at the far end of the grounds that served as her base of operations. The inside was rather barren; a few tables and chairs, a small coffee pot and small refrigerator labeled 'food', and a map board that showed the layout of the dig site and camp areas. Also a small work station had been set up in one of the corners. A laptop, scanner, printer, microscope and other scientific instruments were strewn about it.

"I know you all must be tired, so I will make this brief and then I can show you which tents are for you." She went to the map board and began to explain the living area for them. Then she moved on to the site itself.

"The site is about a half a mile north of here. So far, we have discovered very little, but we are determined that there are artifacts in this area and will continue to focus our efforts here until instructed as to do otherwise. There is a lake, approximately 3 miles to the west; however I wouldn't recommend going there."

"Why not?" Jonny asked.

"It's probably nothing, but some of the locals that have been working with us have said the lake is cursed."

"Cursed? A lake?" Race asked as he rolled his eyes.

Estella ignored his blatant eye rolling and continued. "Yes, whether we believe it or not doesn't negate the fact that they believe it. It would be best if we just stuck to our area and concentrated on the dig. Now, I know you are probably all feeling the jet-lag, so I will show you to your tents and we can start fresh in the morning."

No one disputed what Estella suggested, so she led them out of the tent. After they retrieved their bags for the night, she showed them the tents. Dr. Quest, Race, and Jonny were sharing a tent with each other and Jessie was staying with her mother. The tents had been set up next to one another so they would be close in case anything major happened throughout the night.

Within an hour, the entire camp was asleep, unaware of the eyes that kept watch on the camp from the surrounding forest. Eyes that had recorded the arrival of the Quest team and would soon report back to their master with the news.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

Phil Corbin had secured a flight on a C-130 to Spain through one of his military contacts and was currently on his way. He had sent off a list of supplies he would need to one of his associates at the base and he was assured that the weapons and supplies would be there upon his arrival, including a vehicle for him to use. He had received another e-mail from the clandestine informant and attached to the e-mail had been more information about what to expect in the surrounding areas of the site, but nothing specific. He also received another map of the area with key villages and a large castle marked off. The castle sat approximately 12 miles away from Estella's dig site. According to one of the documents, the castle served as the base of operations for a local cult named Los Illuminados. He also learned, through the e-mail, that this cult had found some sort of parasite in a lake near Estella's site and had somehow managed to isolate it and infect the villagers with it. There was no direct link between the cult and Umbrella, but Corbin deduced that the secret organization wanted the plague for itself to develop another weapon.

The end of the e-mail contained a personal note to him, more of a warning then anything else. "Do not get complacent. Far more deadly and powerful things roam the forests there."

Corbin had traveled alone; he did not trust anyone else to help him in this matter. He decided that once he arrived in the area of the site he would spend time conducting a recon of the surrounding area before he approached the Quests.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

After three days at Estella's site, the Quests had finally settled in and adjusted to the time change. They had been keeping busy, however with the exception of a few pieces of pottery and one small animal statute; the team had not yet uncovered anything of value. Estella could see the disappointment that was beginning to affect the team and that morale was beginning to drop. She knew that the artifacts that she had been contracted to find had to be here, however so far there was nothing. They had found no evidence that a village ever occupied this land.

Estella sat down with Jessie to take a short break and do some catching up with her only child. She had noticed a subtle change in her daughter; Jessie had seemed more apprehensive and sheltered then the last time she saw her and she was curious to find out what was going on in her daughter's life. Estella had just taken a drink of water from her canteen and before she could ask Jessie how things were going back home one of her assistants called out to her.

"Doctor! Doctor Velasquez!" It was David and he was running full speed up to her. When he stopped in front of her he was panting lightly and took a few seconds to catch his breath. "We found something." He exclaimed, "We think there are more here as well."

Estella jumped to her feet; all thoughts of talking to Jessie were pushed to the back of her mind with this new discovery. "What did you find?" She asked, "Show it to me."

"What is it?" Jessie asked.

Estella ignored the question, "Jess, run and get Dr. Quest and the others. I want them to see this."

"We are at the northern end of the site." David told Jessie. "The area that we just started on the other day."

Jessie ran off to get Dr. Quest and the others and Estella and David went towards the site. "Any evidence of the village?" Estella asked.

"Well it looks as if we may have found what remains of some sort of structure; a small hut or house perhaps. We also found this." David handed Estella a small piece of rock and as Estella examined the stone she quickly realized it was some sort of fossil. All that was left of the organism was the image that it had imprinted on the rock. It looked like some sort of sea faring creature, vaguely resembling a small lobster or crawfish.

"It could be an undiscovered species." David acknowledged.

"That is possible." Estella agreed; she had never seen anything like it before. "We will have to conduct some tests."

"Great." David stated and he ran off towards the dig. Estella quickly followed behind him, anxious to see what else may have been found.

In the trees, the eyes kept watch. They wanted to take the camp now, but they had been ordered to stay away, just observe and report what they saw. Once the time was right, they would be allowed to hunt, or so their master had promised them.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

The Las Plagas infected villagers that kept watch over the camp were too enthralled with the camp to keep watch on themselves. There were only two of them and they kept their eyes fixated on the people in the camp. They effects of the plague reduced them to little more then walking flesh and therefore they could only follow the orders that they were given; so unless they were told to be cautious of their surroundings they would never think to do so on their own. Obviously their master did not think that a group of archeology students posed any threat at all to his physically superior slaves, even if they were intellectually inferior.

It was because of this shortsightedness that the two zombie-like observers did not hear or see their attacker approach until it was too late. Corbin attacked the larger of the two first, creeping up behind it and quickly snapping its neck; the creature slumped to the ground and did not move again. Its comrade turned and with a low growl lunged at the man, however he quickly sidestepped the attack and the creature tripped over its dead partner. It howled and began to claw its way back to its feet, pulling a small hand axe off of its belt and raising it to strike. Corbin back stepped and drew his silenced .45 semi-automatic pistol, aimed and fired. He aimed for the head and the first round hit the creature in the neck and the second exploded its eye, however it kept coming. It quickly closed the distance between itself and Corbin and raised its axe to strike. Corbin fired again, hitting the thing in the chest and again in the head. In a spray of blood the creature moaned and fell to the ground, dropping the axe on the way down. Corbin kept his pistol aimed at the creature for a few more minutes, ensuring that it did not get back up. When he was convinced that it was dead he went over to the other creature and placed two rounds into its head. These monsters, once local villagers, had probably welcomed real death in the end; however he still could not help feeling a pang of guilt for having to do it. That guilt quickly turned to anger, both at Umbrella and the mysterious cult that was surely working with the clandestine organization. He grabbed the bodies, ensuring he didn't get any blood on him, and dragged them to the edge of the wood line; placing them where he could use them as evidence to show the archeologists. He knew that the Quests would believe him; however it was the others that would need more then just the word of a government agent in order for them to believe.

He knelt down next to one of the corpses and withdrew a small syringe from his assault pack. Using every precaution to keep himself clear of the blood, he stuck the needle into the nearest corpse's neck and withdrew a sample of its blood. He discarded the syringe and stoppered the tube that contained the tainted blood. He secured it safely back in his pack and searched the site again through the trees. Within a few minutes he saw the Quests, along with Dr. Estella Velasquez and a young man walk into a large tent at the far side of the camp. A few locals mulled around the area, nervous expressions on their faces. They spoke quietly among themselves, but Corbin could not make out what they were saying due to being out of earshot. Soon the natives began to head back to the dig site to continue whatever tasks they had been assigned. He had a clear path to the tent; he stood and after glancing at the two corpses one last time he headed out into the open.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

Estella had been beaming with excitement ever since the discovery of the fossil. David had insisted on making calls right away, however Estella wanted to examine it first in order to ascertain its origins. The others workers were told to continue working and if they found any more fossils to report to her immediately. They were also told to keep their eyes open for any artifacts that may resemble the creature or any evidence that the creature had any relation to the long forgotten village.

"We should make the call now." David said as he followed the others into the tent.

"I'm going to conduct some initial tests first." Estella insisted as she placed the small fossil on the table and began gathering some tools.

"What is it exactly?" Dr. Quest asked, somewhat perplexed.

"It could be a previously undiscovered species." David answered.

"Huh?" Race mumbled. "To me it just looks like some fossilized lobster or something."

Estella ignored them all and began to treat the fossil with the tools and chemicals that she had been supplied with. She sucked in her breath as she studied it, anxiety and excitement taking hold.

Estella leaned back in her chair and smiled. "I've never seen anything like it before." She said.

"What is it?" Dr. Quest asked again.

"It's the Las Plagas, Doctor." A new voice said.

Everyone in the tent turned towards the entrance where the voice had come from and were shocked to see Philip Corbin standing there. He looked as if he was ready for war; dressed in jungle fatigue pants, black combat boots, a black t-shirt, and black leather gloves. He was heavily armed with a M4 rifle slung across his chest which was currently loaded, a pistol in a combat holster on his leg, and various magazines and grenades attached to his belt. His face and arms were dirty, as if he had been crawling around in the dirt for some time.

"What are you doing here, Phil?" Race asked. "And what the hell is Las Plagas?"

He ignored Race and directed his statement to Estella again. "Is this what they hired you to find, Doctor?"

Estella stood and stared down the agent. She swore lightly in Spanish under her breath and then spoke, "What is this all about? I don't have to tell you anything." Estella shot an ice-piercing glare at Race and then looked back at Corbin. "What are you doing here anyway?" She walked over towards the man, obviously attempting to intimidate him. "Has the US government come to steal our find?"

"US government?" David gasped. "Now I'm confused."

Estella stood in front of Phil and stared in his eyes as she spoke. "This man works for the US government. Obviously his presence here, and the fact that he is so armed, shows they want something here for themselves. Stealing other peoples' discoveries is what they do best."

"Phil, what's going on?" Race asked again.

"I was hoping that Estella here would tell you herself, however since she is reluctant to do so, I will." He stared her in the eyes for a few more moments and then looked past her towards the Quests. "She's been hired by Umbrella to excavate this site. She obviously found one of the fossilized Las Plagas, but it would only be a matter of time before she stumbled upon the living ones as well."

"Umbrella?" Dr. Quest gasped as he shook his head.

"Momma, is that true?" Jessie asked as she walked over and stood next to her mother.

Estella turned and walked back to the table. "Yes, but I don't see what the issue is. Umbrella is a well-respected pharmaceutical company with global interests."

"Since when is Umbrella interested in what a bunch of college students dig up in the remote regions of Spain?" Corbin asked. "They were obviously looking for something and hired you to find it"

"I don't give a damn what you believe." Estella spat back at the man. Her contempt for him was obvious.

"I can't believe you are working for Umbrella." Race stated.

"What's the problem?" David said. "I'm going to go make the call now. This man's presence doesn't change anything." David stepped towards the door, but was blocked by Corbin, who stared down the young man, making him cower and back away.

"I know you." Corbin said.

"What?" The other man stammered. "I don't know who you are."

Corbin's eyes narrowed as he studied the man, who was starting to sweat. "I've seen you before." He stared at the man for a few moments longer then spoke to the group.

"It's ok. I don't think that Estella knows about Umbrella's other enterprises. This was an opportunity for her, but she was deceived. There is a cult that operates in this area called the Los Illuminados. I believe that Umbrella is working covertly with this cult. The cult leader, a man named Saddler is responsible for the discovery of the parasites in a nearby lake. He contained the parasites and has been experimenting on the locals here with it. Estella, have you noticed any peculiar behavior among the locals? Any that disappeared or never came back to work?"

"Well, yes, but that doesn't prove anything. In rural areas like this, superstitions always dominant peoples' lives. These are simple people, farmers, they believe very strongly in their beliefs."

"These aren't superstitions." Corbin retorted.

Dr. Quest ran a hand through his graying beard and spoke, "How do you know all this?"

"An anonymous informant." Corbin replied. "I have documentation if you want to see it."

"Enough." Estella announced. "I will not be bullied into submission by the likes of you, Phil. Documentation means nothing to me. You're an expert at forging things to suit your needs."

"Estella, please…" Race started.

"No, this is insane. You want me to stop my work just because he shows up here." Estella exclaimed, flipping her arm in Corbin's direction. "I won't be bullied by him or you, Race. I guess your loyalty has always been with him."

Corbin had hoped that this would not happen. Estella blamed him and Intelligence One for her and Race's rocky divorce. Race was gone more often then he wasn't and she could not handle that type of life. Estella made her personal dislike for Corbin known every time she saw him. She even fought so adamantly that Race had given in and decided not to make Corbin Jessie's godfather when she was born. If she had only known how he risked his life to protect Jessie in Washington, perhaps she would feel different. In the end, it didn't really matter to Phil. He wasn't trying to win a popularity contest with Estella. He just wanted to make sure they got out of here in one piece.

"You want proof? Then follow me." Corbin said and he turned and left the tent.

"I think you should listen to him." Race said to Estella.

"This is ridiculous." Estella said.

"Estella, I agree with Race." Dr. Quest said.

Estella frowned, but finally acquiesced. She fell in line behind the others and walked out of the tent. They followed Corbin to the woods on the far side of the encampment. He walked a few paces into the forest and stopped. As the others gathered around, he knelt down and swiped off some of the leaves that he had used to conceal the corpses. The reaction had been what he expected; every one of the people present gasped in astonishment. Jessie stepped back and buried her face in Race's arms and Jonny stood behind his father.

Estella stepped forward, all the blood drained from her face. "You killed these people?" She asked.

"They were infected." Corbin answered. "They weren't 'people' anymore. They had been watching you camp and probably sending reports back to Saddler."

"How long?" Dr. Quest asked.

"I don't know. I only got here yesterday morning. I did some surveillance of the immediate area, including the lake. These are the only two that I found here at the camp. I'm sure it is safe to say that more will come when it is discovered that these two have not checked in."

"You said they were infected." David said. Even though he was somewhat shocked, he remained relatively calm for someone who has just been shown horror beyond anything in the movies. "Infected with what?"

Corbin stood back up; he instinctively placed his right hand on the grip of his rifle. "Las Plagas."

Estella tore her eyes from the corpses and looked at him; her personal feelings for the man gone for now. "How can that be?"

"I don't know how he does it." Corbin answered honestly.

"You don't know?" David mocked. "Then how can you know that it is Las Plagas?"

"You can test this if you want." Corbin said as he withdrew the vial that contained the corpse's blood. "I took a sample from one of them. I'm sure you will see that the blood is infected with Las Plagas."

No one made a move to take the vial from him so he put it back into his pack. "I'm sure that someone from the Los Illuminados or Umbrella can give us an answer though."

Race caught on to what the man was implying. "You're going after them?"

"I have no choice. This has to be stopped."

"You saw what happened last time…" Race started.

"Last time?" Estella asked. "What do you mean by 'last time'?"

"What about those?" Jonny asked, pointing to the corpses. "We can't just leave them here."

Race turned to the boy and saw that he was just as frightened again as he had been in the warehouse and he hated Umbrella even more for it. "We have to for now." He turned back to Corbin. "I'm assuming you have more supplies with you?"

Corbin nodded. "My truck is at the edge of the camp. I'll bring it around and meet you all back in the tent." He turned and jogged off in the direction of his vehicle.

"Daddy, I'm scared." Jessie said.

"I know, sweetheart. So am I." Race said as he hugged her close as they walked back towards the tent.

JQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQJQ

To be continued…