Resident Evil/Biohazard: Hostage Rescue

Rating: T

NOTE:

All characters of Resident Evil/Captain Commando/Street Fighter are under the copyright of Capcom. All characters of Martin Mystery are under the copyright of Marathon. All characters of Kara no Kyokai are under the copyright of TYPE-MOON. All characters of Spriggan are under the copyright of Hiroshi Takashige and Ryoji Minagawa. All characters of Jiraishin are under the copyright of Tsutomu Takahashi. The appearance of Kenneth "Kenny" Feng is under noctorro's jurisdiction. All others are under my jurisdiction.

Summary:

With Leon and the others safe and sound after being freed from captivity, Sho of the Commandos offered his assistance to lead the others out of the village before they ended up near an unknown house. What is inside that place? Will they be able to make progress in locating Ashley? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.

Chapter 4: Moving out


Outskirts of Unknown House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon and Kevin eyed the house near the well while Martin and Fujino proceeded to secure the Brass Pocket Watch over a well with the latter using her I-Cutter to cut the plank to cover the dirty water before the former began to grab it only for it to fall on top of the wooden 4x4 cover. If it weren't for Fujino, the watch would've been made dirty and it won't be sold to the Merchant for a high value. Yu and Jean searched the empty shack nearby, getting some pesetas.

"Looks like that place is our next target." Leon told Kevin, pointing to the house with a dirt path ahead.

"I agree with ya." Kevin told Leon. "Only except that there's another tripwire with some explosives on the trees." He pointed to the explosives tied together with a wire in the middle.

"Great." The blonde DSO agent. "Can't they come up with something original than that?"

"I can handle that." Sho calmly strolled towards the trip wire and drew out his ninjato known as "Lightning Light". The ninja eventually stood in front of the tripwire and eyed the dual explosives carefully.

Alright. Here goes nothing. The Ninja Commando swiftly sliced the trip wire with his ninjato fast that Leon and the others were not able to get a good look at the weapon or how fast the ninja went to cut the wire, making the explosives trap useless.

"Whoa." Kevin whistled when he saw Sho do the job. "That was fast for a ninja. Aside from what I've seen in some ninja action movies lately..."

"I know." Leon nodded, in agreement with Kevin. "But that can at least help us move on." He gestured to everyone to gather around him. Kevin told Martin and Fujino to get near them as well.

"So what's up?" Martin said after he handed the watch to Tea, trusting her to hold on it until they can see the Merchant once more.

"We're heading up that house." Kevin told Martin and the others. "Could be our only lead."

"About that..." Dan told the group that foothold traps were also near where the tripwire was.

Tea smirked when she saw the foothold traps. "Not to worry everyone." The British Spriggan stared at the traps and within minutes, the trap's jaws snapped up in an instant.

"How did you do that?" Eriko asked, surprised that the traps were activated despite the fact that no one had stepped on them.

"Trade secret, my dear."

"The next time we see those in the way, we can lure the villagers in to step on them before we get in the killing blow." Hiryu suggested.

Could be a good idea to do that next time. "All right, let's go." Leon said as he led them towards the group.

"Apologies." Sho told the group. "I did not pay any attention to the foothold traps since I prioritized the disabling of the explosives trap."

"It's all right, master." Hiryu told the ninja. "We make mistakes from time to time..."

On the way to the house, the group saw the skull sign on the side. It still gave them the chills.


L-shaped Hallway, Unknown House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


The group went up the staircase to the house before they got inside the L-shaped hallway of the house. As they walked down and made a right turn, Leon gestured to the group to stop as something was blocking their way.

"What's this?" Leon inspected the door that blocked their way. "Great, a puzzle?"

"What kind of puzzle?" Diana asked, looking at the strange door.

"Mind if I have a look?" Jill asked before she stepped forward, standing next to Leon while they looked at the door. It had two engravings of the Los Illuminados insignia on the door with a green circle-shaped thing in the middle of it. "Looks like a puzzle's being used as a security mechanism to protect the room of whoever's living here. A crystal ball."

"So how are we going to get inside?" Leon asked.

"Hey." Kevin called for Leon's attention. Once the latter turned around, the former told him. "I got some of the peeps to guard the back in case we're going to get some trouble."

"Good man, Kevin." Leon grinned and patted him on his right shoulder. "Thanks, Jill and I are going to check out the door here and see how we can get inside."

"Understood, Leon. Just don't get yourself lost in solving in that thing you hear? We don't have all day."

"Yeah, I know. The cult must've done this to delay our operation here in Spain."

Jill nodded, eying the green crystal ball. "Now do we go across this?" She placed her right gloved hand on it to see if it can move. Not to her surprise, the green circle moved a bit, making Jill check which direction it can go to. Left, right, up and down were the only places where she can move the circle.

I see.

The ex-STARS operative to move the crystal ball around. No matter where she went to, the brown-haired woman noted that it showed a representation of the Los Illuminados insignia. But the circle did not fully show the insignia like it did on the two engravings.

"Looks like we may have to replicate the engraving on the circle." Leon told Jill after she moved the circle back on its original position, making it show the insignia from an overhead view.

"And so it seems." Jill replied to Leon's assessment. "Where do we move this icon from here?"


Staircase, Unknown House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Yu and Jean were seated on the staircase on the unknown house. Even though they needed a break, the two ARCAM Spriggans were vigilant in ensuring Leon and Jill were protected alongside the others while making sure no one was going for a sneak attack against the group.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Yu told Jean, checking his Heckle & Koch G3A4 battle rifle. "Even with what Tea mentioned, I think something bad's going to happen to us as well even if we survive this mess."

"The word if needed to be emphasized a bit more, Ominae." Jean told Yu, his Franchi SPAS-12 shotgun slinged at his back. "I'm not scared of what the cult plans to throw at us."

"Oh yeah..." Yu grinned. "Especially when you have that... thing with you."

Jean raised an eyebrow while resisting the urge to smack the SPAS-12's buttstock on his left temple twice to make him unconscious.

"Whatever."


At the bottom of the staircase, Sho began to tell Kevin and the others on what he had seen so far in the area. Among them Geki, an ex-Street Fighter competitor who left the match after losing.

"You sure, master?" Hien was confused when the ninja told him and the other on Geki's presence. "But his clan's so secretive, why would he agree to work with the cult as a mercenary?"

"Times change, young one." Sho told him. "But you are right. I too am confused on the ninja's sudden change of heart."

"Do you who else is involved working for the cult?" Martin asked after he heard of Geki's involvement.

Sho nodded. "I have a few names so far, but I may miss someone since I've been infiltrating this area for a day when the Japanese government asked me to check on this place on behalf of the Americans."

"Never knew the PM thought of Los Illuminados as a threat." Hiryu heard Sho's answer.

"First of all," Sho began to tell the group. "among the mercenaries I've seen work with Los Illuminados is a Kei Amami. She's a known mercenary in the Japanese underworld who went underground for a short while when she botched an assassination job."

"You mean the Pure Wind Cult leader a few months ago?" Eriko asked. "HQ was really baffled when the job was messed up since a police officer was killed instead of the cult leader. We've been trying to track the suspect down with no luck back then."

Sho nodded. "There was someone else I spotted with her with Geki. I remember spying on two more people who I assume the cult had recruited for the kidnapping of Ashley Graham."

"Who are they?" Kevin asked the ninja, being curious as to who were working with the cult. This can make our work a bit hard...

"Well I know that one of them's the head of another anti-paranormal agency called the Creature Intelligence Hybrid Laboratory." Sho stared at Martin, Diana and Java. "I believe that some of you may be familiar with that organization."

Diana went pale upon hearing the CIHL.

I thought that I won't hear that organization ever again after what they did to me.

"Are you alright, young lady?" Sho asked Diana, seeing that she was very nervous. "You're nervous about that name."

"I... just had some bad experiences with CIHL before."

"Does that mean that the head of CIHL, Octavia Paine, is also working with Los Illuminados?" Martin questioned the ninja after Sho confirmed the involvement of CIHL.

Sho slowly nodded. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's working with them."

"Then it's possible that she's in league with them to see if they can work together to create artificial biological weapons." Hiryu told everyone. "Dammit, this'll give the Center and ARCAM some headaches."

"And who is the last mercenary involved?" Cammy went to ask the ninja commando to see if he can give a definite answer.

The ninja sighed, clutching the tsuka.

"He's an ex-American special forces operative. As far as I'm concerned, he was supposed to be killed in a helicopter accident a few years ago."


Control Room, somewhere in Spain


"ACHOO!"

Krauser sneezed loud. Good thing that he was alone inside.

"I don't have a cold." The American mercenary frowned. "I heard that if this happens, then someone's talking about me."

Nah. That can't be right!

"It's probably something else."


L-shaped Hallway, Unknown House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon and Jill had the basic of the wall-mounted crystal ball figured out and its relation to the two engravings. Now all that they need to do is to figure the directions they need to move the circle in order to get an exact copy of the Los Illuminados on it.

"All right, let's proceed with this." Jill said as she placed her left fingerless gloved hand on the circle. "I'll take the lead, Leon."

"Sure thing." Leon nodded. "After all, you're the master of unlocking."

Jill smirked. "Nice way of flattering my unlocking skills." She started to move the crystal ball by moving it upwards. "Hey." The woman pointed to Leon that the circle showed the icon from a different perspective.

"Doesn't look like the engraving." Leon said. "Better see if we can move the crystal ball to a different direction."

Jill tried again and moved the crystal ball to the right. "Right, the next turn should make the insignia look like the engraving here. I'll try moving this to the right."

When she moved the crystal ball to the right, the two noted that the wall moved out of the way and to the right to reveal a room.

"You get the others." Leon told Jill. She nodded and went off while Leon drew out his Silver Ghost.


Unknown Room, Unknown House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon went inside the room, sidearm drawn. Inside was a double size bed with an armoire next to it. On the wall was the frame of an unknown man with a hood to conceal most of his face, with the exception of his facial features.

"Creepy guy." He lowered his weapon, seeing that no one hostile was inside. A few minutes later, Jill had the others brought inside the room.

"You guys solved the puzzle, I see?" Jean commented, looking around the room.

"Ain't that obvious." Yu told Jean, rolling his eyes.

"Who's that guy?" Chun-Li said, observing the hooded man's portrait.

"Good question." Leon told the INTERPOL agent. "I've sort of seen him in some dream I had after I was knocked out."

"Looks like he's the big bad of the day." Martin chuckled, eying the portrait as well.

"Martin..." Diana glared at her stepbrother, reminding him that there was no time to fool around. "Don't joke around."

"Least we can do is to search around and see if we can get something useful." Kevin told the group before he began to search the room for ammo or pesetas. The others did the same as well. Eventually, some pistol and shotgun ammo was found with some pesetas.

"I got this." Java told everyone, showing them a key that had the shape of the Los Illuminados insignia from a small chest box.

"Good work." Hiryu gave the thumbs up to Java, the latter handing it to Kevin.

"I found something." Fujino checked the bed, seeing a note. It was written in Spanish, so she handed it to Eriko in the hopes of finding out what was exactly written on it. The detective frowned as she went over the note carefully...

As instructed by Lord Saddler, I have the agents in confinement, alive. Why keep him alive? I do not fully understand what the Lord's intentions are.I would, however, think he'd keep them separate; not confine them together as has been ordered. I don't expect Luis would trust a stranger, but if by chance they did cooperate, the situation could get a bit more for some reason, an unknown third party is involved, I don't think they'd let a chance like this slip. Maybe it's all Lord Saddler's ploy — leaving us vulnerable so that this third party will surface, if they even exist that is... It's an unlikely possibility, but if a prowler is already amongst us, then our plans could be ruined. I guess the Lord thinks it's worth the risk, if we're able to stop whatever conspiracy is at work. At any rate, it's the Lord's will trust his judgement as always.

"The village chief is in league with the cult." Eriko told the group. "Based from the note, it seemed that we can expect more trouble. It's signed by Bitores Mendez."

"He's the village chief?" Hien asked Eriko, who nodded.

"Great. Ain't that nice?" Jean sighed. "I'd say we find this guy and pump him for information."

"That's if we can find him." Yu told Jean.

"Alright?" Leon asked after things were taken care of. Tea nodded, indicating that it was alright to move on. Leon approached the door next to the bed, gripping his Silver Ghost.

"Cover me." Leon told Kevin, who nodded while he aimed his Glock 21 Mariner pistol at the door.

Once the DSO agent saw his partner cover him with his sidearm, Leon got the door open before he aimed his sidearm at the hallway.

Sooner than later, we'll need to figure out Mendez's specific agenda with the cult.


Hallway, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"All clear in the hallway, guys."

Leon whispered as he opened the door before he lead the others to the hallway. Too quiet. Way too quiet.

"Over there."

Fujino pointed to Leon a painting at the end of the hallway. It showed a bearded man in his late 40s with black hair and a bald head. The group felt tense when they looked at the painting. It was as if it was looking down at them very carefully, watching their every move.

"Creepy." Diana whispered, looking at the painting.

"I'll assume that belongs to Bitores himself." Martin told Diana. "It looks cool though. I wonder if I can ask Billy to take it back home with us?"

Without any kind of warning, Bitores appeared behind the group and used his backfist to smack Hiryu and Hien to the wall.

"Look out!" Jean warned before the village chief kicked him towards the Center agents, Java included, onto the ground. Yu was attacked with another kick, sending him to the wall. Dan had drawn out his Eickhorn-Solingen KM2000 to attack the tall man when Bitores did a palm thrust at his face, sending him to the ground.

"Dammit!" Chun-Li tried to execute a Tenshou Kyaku before the tall man blocked it. Furious, the INTERPOL agent went for a Hyakuretsu Kyaku. Even though the bald man took the hits, he stood up like it was nothing.

"What is this man?" The agent said before Bitores went for an uppercut, knocking her out. Cammy charged in and went for a Spiral Arrow. Bitores grabbed her legs and used her as a melee weapon by swinging her towards Jill and Eriko, knocking them out cold. Afterwards, Bitores grabbed Leon and Kevin by their throats and lifted them off the ground.

Fujino had gotten her I-Cutter when Bitores coldly told her. "Don't try anything or they get it..."

The SHADOW agent gritted her teeth when Bitores eyed the two DSO agents carefully. While the two agents struggled, Bitores' interest was raised when he saw Leon and Kevin's eyes turn red.

Interesting development we have here...

When Bitores saw this, he released his grip on the two men and watched them fall down on the ground.

"You two carry the same blood as us, it seems." Bitores told Leon and Kevin. "Nevertheless, both of you are outsiders alongside your friends." The bald man began to threaten them. "Just remember. If all of you become unpleasant to our eyes," Bitores then pointed his right index finger to Leon, followed by Kevin. "your group will face severe consequences."

Leon coughed and tried to get some breath while Bitores exited the hallway, heading back to the room the group had used to gain access to the house earlier.


Near outskirts of Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"It seems that they went over here." Kenneth told Ada after they arrived near Bitores' house, his USP Compact already drawn out.

"So they went here after escaping from captivity." Ada said before he drew out her grappling gun.

"Ummm..." Kenneth asked, seeing Ada with the grappling gun. "Mind if I ask what you're going to do with that?"

Ada grinned at Kenneth's confusion. "You'll see, my dear."

Kenneth rolled his eyes at Ada's last words before she fired the grappling gun and launched herself at the house, positioning herself in front of the window that overlooked the interior of the room Mendez was in.

So Mendez just went in? I wonder what happened prior to that?

For now, the orphan just waited on the house in case Ada would later need him.

Not that she needed any kind right now.


Hallway, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Kevin and Leon gasped in breath after they were dropped by Bitores. They were okay, but they felt the lingering pain of being nearly choked to death.

"Kevin! Get the others helped out!" Leon told Kevin as some of the others were standing up with Fujino's assistance.

"Where are you going?" Kevin shouted at Leon, helping Chun-Li and Cammy to stand up.

"Taking care of things." Leon got the Silver Ghost from his shoulder holster before heading back to the room. Before he got in, Leon handed the Remington 870 to Kevin.

Hiryu got up a few minutes after he got a beatdown, helping Hien before he saw Leon get back in the room with his sidearm drawn out.

"What's he doing?" The SHADOW agent whispered to himself after he saw Leon enter the room. "Is he going after that bald guy?"


Unknown Room, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon began to search the room for any sign of Bitores.

Come on! Come on!

The DSO agent could feel the adrenaline course through his veins when he got inside the room once again. Aiming the Silver Ghost left and right, it seemed all but clear. It seemed that the place was clear, but he was unwary if the man was around or just hiding.

Where is he? Where the damn hell is he?

Bitores attacked Leon by surprise, punching the agent from the side after the village chief had apparently been hiding to see if anyone was tailing him. Once more, the blonde man was taken down while being disarmed of his pistol. He felt Bitores step on his chest hard. Very hard that it was painful for him to try and get up in order to fight back. Leon fired his pistol, placing a hole on the forehead of the hooded man in the painting.

"Get... off... me!" Leon gritted his teeth while trying to get Bitores' leg and foot off his chest. The more Leon protested, it gave Bitores more fuel to the fire as he began to step on his chest harder than he did at first.

Until Leon heard three shots nearby, going for Bitores' chest. Seeing the bald man shrug the shots off and charge through the window to pursue whoever was responsible for putting bullet-sized holes onto his black trenchcoat, Leon gasped a sigh of relief as Bitores was no longer around to torment him.

"What was that?" Leon asked after he panted again and again to catch his breath as he began to get up from the floor.


Near outskirts of Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Kenneth went to hide among the trees nearby the house as a precaution before he saw Bitores jump through the window of his house and onto the ground.

Shit! What is he? Some kinda superhuman? The Chinese teen frowned. Unless he's taken the plaga, if I heard it right from Krauser and Wesker.

He crouched next to one of the large trees when he saw Bitores looking around. Unknown to him, the bald man went for a run to hunt down whoever was responsible for shooting him.

"Is he..." Kenneth whispered, looking at the running Bitores. Knowing that he may be in trouble, Kenneth opted to fade away while using the nearby forest to cover himself until he can regroup.

"Can't stay here. I better regroup with Krauser."

Kenneth frowned at this statement. But I better make it fast.

Once he was able to cover his tracks to get away from Bitores physically, Kenneth began to run down the forest.

Hopefully I won't run into Ada for now...


Unknown Room, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"You okay in there?"

Kevin shouted after he barged in the room, seeing the broken window and Leon on the side.

"I'm all right." Leon said after Kevin handed the 870 back to him. "Just got some surprise help on the way."

"That's interesting." Kevin replied, raising an eyebrow at his comrade.

Leon nodded. "Yeah. So how are the others?"

"They're alright. Most of them about to go and check the end of the hallway to make sure hostiles are clear..."

"Right. We probably should start making contact with Hunnigan ASAP."

"I'll agree with you on that one, Leon."


Hallway, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


As soon as Leon and Kevin were back in the hallway, they began to make radio contact with Ingrid once more.

"This is Leon with Kevin. Do you copy over?" Leon said on the radio as he began to initiate contact with Ingrid.

"Loud and clear, guys!" Ingrid replied on the line. "You guys alright?"

"Don't worry about us." Kevin reassured her. "You got something for us, Miss Ingrid?"

"Well, I got some information that can be useful..."

"If it's on the cult, then we've been told beforehand by our friends from INTERPOL and the National Police Agency." Leon told Ingrid in reply.

"I see." Ingrid nodded. "Well at least I don't have to explain about the Los Illuminados and all..."

"Aside from facing against the honcho of the village." Kevin told her. "He's involved in the mix with Ashley's kidnapping as well as the mercenaries hired by the cult to possibly hinder us in our SAR efforts."

"You two are all right there, right?" Ingrid asked Kevin.

"We are." Leon told Ingrid. "But he let us live rather than getting us killed. Said some things about having the same blood."

Ingrid was confused by what Leon had said. "That is interesting."

"I'm sure we can figure that out later." Leon told Ingrid. "Right now, we got more important things to do."

"Right you guys. Hurry and find the church."

"Understood. Agents Kevin and Leon out." Kevin said before putting away his radio. As he did so, he noted that the others were waiting after checking the nearby cupboard for a red herb.

"We're done?" Yu asked the two DSO agents, waiting like the others.

Leon nodded. "Let's go."


Forests, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


While Kenneth began to walk fast, he brought out his smartphone and began to make contact with Krauser.

"What is it, kid?" Krauser's face and voice was seen on the smartphone.

"I got together with Ada a while ago. Seemed that she was doing some stuff?"

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure," Kenneth shrugged. "but I saw her fire her sidearm into the house owned by Bitores Mendez."

"She WHAT?" Krauser shouted in disgust. "If he finds out that she's with us, it'll complicate our plans to secure the main Plaga from Saddler."

"Last I saw Ada, she took off and distracted Bitores by making him follow her." Kenneth narrated on what had previously happened to Ada.

Krauser sighed, shaking his head before looking at Kenneth. "Well, well. Least that tramp has her uses. Go see and find out if they moved Ashley around the village. Last I heard, she was supposed to be moved today."

"Right." Kenneth sighed as well. "I'll be on the lookout."

Dammit. This may also complicate things in helping Ashley escape. Kenneth pocketed the smartphone. I had enough of following Wesker for so long. If I'm going to help Ashley escape, I better do it before Krauser gets wind of it with the other mercenaries he recruited...


Dining Room, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


The group had arrived downstairs from the hallway to the main dining room of the house.

"Least we won't be hassled around here." Kevin said after he scanned the dining room. "Except for dust collecting around these parts."

"Seems they don't care for hygiene anymore." Diana said after she looked at the nearby dining table. "Is this what happens when you join the cult?"

"I don't think so." Jean told her. "There's probably something here that makes them do that." He looked at his right, seeing a short hallway with a door at the end near the staircase.

"Hold it." Jean told the group, approaching the door while aiming the SPAS-12 at it. Diana was about to stop him when Hiryu placed a gloved hand on her left shoulder.

"I trust the guy. And if it seems that there's something hostile behind that door, that I believe him."

Suddenly, Jean fired two buckshot rounds at the door and heard someone groan in Spanish. The French Spriggan agent took aim once again at the downed villager and fired a couple of more buckshot rounds at him.

"Die..." Jean murmured, seeing the villager groan in pain before his body dissolved away.

"I have a feeling that this is going to be a LONGGGG DAY." Martin said out loud as they began to search for anything they can take. Ammo, food. Whatever's not too heavy.

"Some of us will stand guard around here." Fujino told the group, arming herself with her own I-Cutter. Dan went to stand guard with Fujino while the others began to secure the dining room.

Finally. We can use a break before fighting resumes. Cammy sighed as she searched the oven in the kitchen, opening it to reveal a brown chicken egg.

A few minutes later, the sound of glass being smashed was heard when it came from the direction of the nearest cabinet. Leon had smashed it with the butt of his pistol to get an incendiary grenade. Pesetas were also obtained in the room.

"Looks like we're done." Kevin told Jill, seeing everyone getting anything they can obtain.

"Should we go now?" Jill asked the DSO agent.

Kevin nodded. "Yeah." He then approached the door next to the kitchen, porting the Steyr SSG P IV on his hands before he gently opened it.

"Looks clear..." Kevin murmured before he caught a sight of some hostile villagers outside. They were standing nearby and did not pay attention to the door being opened slowly. "Never mind. Hold it."

"What is it?" Jill said, leaning on the wall near the door.

"We got some customers waiting for us." Kevin whispered, peeking outside to check how many hostiles were standing.

"Problem?" Sho asked Kevin, approaching the door with his left hand placed on his saya.

"A lot." Kevin told the ninja before he shouldered the bolt-action rifle on his right shoulder. "But I can take care of it."

Peering through the Leupold scope, Kevin aimed the silenced sniper rifle at one of the villager's heads as he placed it between the door and the doorframe while leaving enough room for him to use the scope.

Gotcha!

The first shot rang true as the first 7.62 NATO subsonic bullet struck the villager at the back of his head. He went down on his knees and down on the ground.

"Alright." Kevin was quick to retract and push the bolt, reloading the SSG P IV before taking another shot at the second villager. He watched his head explode before being thrown on the ground, back first.

"Dammit." The brown-haired agent frowned. "I hear a damn chainsaw." He peered through the scope again to see a familiar villager with the sack over his head.

"Take this." Kevin fired the SSG P IV at the center of the forehead.

"Is he down?" Jill asked, her Beretta Px4 Type F pistol at the ready.

"Not yet." Kevin replied, seeing the chainsaw-wielding man get up from the floor. Snarling his teeth, Kevin fired his suppressed sniper rifle at the second Dr. Salvador down once again.

"I think we better go in hard." Leon advised Kevin, porting his Remington 870.

"He's down for now." Kevin told his partner. "But if you want to get in hard, now's the time."

"Ominae." Jean said, about to go out of the house.

"I still got some frags and incendiaries with me." The Japanese Spriggan agent told Jean. "I'll go and waste 'em on that chainsaw maniac."


Outside Dining Room, Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon got out of the house after he shouldered the 870, approaching the downed Dr. Salvador. The blonde man emptied the shotgun at him when he began to get up, knocking him back down. Yu and Jean hurled whatever frag and incendiary grenades they saved up at Dr. Salvador.

Leon covered his eyes and so did the two Spriggans after the grenades detonated near the man's body.

"Did we get him?" Yu murmured, aiming his G3A4 at Dr. Salvador. Leon began to reload his shotgun after he previously emptied it.

After taking a huge amount of bullets, buckshots and grenades, Dr. Salvador slowly struggled to stand up on one knee

"Good." Jean raised his SPAS-12 and fired two more shots at the kneeling madman..

"Il suffit de rester vers le bas." The ponytailed man murmured after he calmly fired his second shot into Dr. Salvador's forehead after firing the first shot into his chest. Jean checked him out carefully after he went down on the ground.

"Just to be sure." Jean emptied the shotgun's magazine on the downed Dr. Salvador, hearing him scream in pain before his body dissolved.

"That's one crazy SOB." Yu muttered. "Good thing we stocked up on some of the grenades..."

"Tell the others that the coast is clear." Leon told Yu.

"Right." Yu ran back to the house and began to inform the others that the second Dr. Salvador was taken care of.


Dirt Road, near Bitores Mendez's House, somewhere near El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


With the road near Mendez's house cleared off, it looked safe for the group to travel on by foot as the path would lead them back to the village where they first met before most of them joined forces.

"For once we get to walk without meeting any hostiles out on the way." Martin said on loud. "Aside from the ones taken out earlier."

Tea raised an eyebrow at Martin, safeguarding the ruby Jean had taken from where the body of Dr. Salvador was. She grinned at him and wondered if more mad men like the chainsaw-wielding man would drop rubies by any chance, meeting with a glare from the Frenchman.

"Hold it." Kevin gestured to the group to stop. Shouldering the SSG P IV again, Kevin took aim at a lone villager outside a shed before he fired the weapon.

Another villager came in charging towards the group with a dirty kitchen knife while Kevin began to reload the rifle with five 7.62 NATO subsonic bullets onto the chamber.

"AAAAHHH!" The villager came in to almost stabbing Kevin on the chest if Dan intervened and raised his right arm.

"Ack!" Dan yelled as the kitchen knife blade went in his right arm. Hiryu came in and kicked the villager away from him. Fujino came in and helped Dan onto the side before she got the kitchen knife off his right arm. Cammy executed a double knee stomp onto the villager's head hard to ensure she won't be able to get up.

Leon gave Fujino the First Aid Spray and sprayed it on the wound.

"Thanks." Dan thanked Fujino before he accepted the mixed herbs from Leon, still wrapped in the cloth. The Malaysian began to down the mixture down his mouth and throat.

So bland. Reminds me of the powered Chinese medicine back home. Shame that I don't have water...

Dan noted that thanks to the spray with some help from the herb mixture that his wound was not bleeding. In addition, the wound had completely closed up as if it didn't exist in the first place.

"You alright?" Leon asked Dan while Chun-Li checked the shed to bust a crate with a kick to get a red herb.

Dan nodded. "I'm alright. Thanks a lot."

"No problem."

"I'll be back." Kevin told the group, walking down the path a bit to fire the silenced sniper rifle to gun down a trio of villagers standing near the gate with perfect headshots.

Seeing that no one was blocking the way, Kevin waved Leon and the others towards his position.

"I got the path cleared up." Kevin told Leon as he reloaded his sniper rifle. "But we better move. There's something blocking the gate up ahead."

"Thanks." Leon gave Kevin the thumbs up before he told the others.

Java was told by Fujino on the gate after spotting a wooden 4x4 used to bar the gate from the other side. The caveman nodded and walked up to the gate, taking off the 4x4 and tossing it to the forest like it was a piece of garbage.

Hiryu and Hien moved in towards the gate, taking positions behind them while Leon, Kevin, Jill and Dan aimed their sidearms at it. Once it was done, the two beret clad agents pulled the gate doors to the side.

"Let's move." Jill went to move in towards the grounds of the El Pueblo.


El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"Hey."

Chun-Li murmured after she went through the gate.

"We're back in the village."

Leon stood next to the INTERPOL detective and told her. "Which is perfect. I recall seeing a church building that the villagers used when they heard the bell. That's our next lead to rescue Ashley from the cult's custody."

Several villagers appeared from the other path of the dirt path, blocking their way.

"That's if we can get pass through the welcoming committee since they're eager to greet us with open arms." Diana told the group, pointing out the villagers about to run towards them with various farming tools.

"I'm getting tired of this..." Kevin muttered, hurling a primed frag grenade at the villagers. Leon also did the same thing and hurled a frag grenade to the incoming crowd. A few seconds later, the same hostile crowd was taken out by the dual explosions.

Eriko raised her Sig Sauer P228 and fired it only at a few villagers trying to get up. Kevin and Jill raised their sidearms to fire at the same hostiles as well.

Leon assisted the pistol wielders and fired his 870 at any of the downed villagers with Jean after he fired his SPAS-12 at them. After firing a few shots from the two shotguns, the bodies began to dissolve.

"Why didn't you help us there?" Yu asked Tea, who was standing by the side.

Tea frowned. "Since those villagers have no sense of individuality anymore, my techniques can't work on them."

"Looks clear." Martin said after seeing Leon and the others kill them before they took the time to reload their weapons. Dan went inside the shed on the side and busted crates open with the butt of his SIG Sport 552 compact assault rifle, only to find a flashbang. Aside from that, Leon and the others found some pesetas and gave them to Tea, who gladly accepted her role as being in charge of handling the money for the group.

"Let's move." Leon said after he slinged the 870 and instead, drew out the Silver Ghost. The group moved down the dirt path, passing by the fire pit.

"Up there." Hien pointed out two villagers on the roofs, about to hurl axes at the group.

"Got it." Leon and Kevin fired their pistols at the axe-wielding assailants, watching them fall on the ground. Sho dashed in and stabbed their heads before they could stand up.

"There it is." Kevin pointed the church with the insignia seal on the entrance, next to the tower.

Leon went up to the church, trying to open the door before he found out that it was locked. "Damn. It's locked."

"I got the key." Kevin approached the locked door and placed the key into the keyhole, turning it clockwise. A clicking sound was heard when it was done. "Perfect."

The door leading to the interior of the church was opened, earning nods of approval from the group.

"I'll lead." Kevin said, being the first to get inside before the others subsequently followed. Hiryu was the last to go inside before he closed the door of the church.


Church, El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"Looks like it's clear." Leon said, lowering his sidearm when he saw that the only thing noticeable was a square-shared dining table with four chairs with a small box on top of two barrels next to a bookshelf. Jill brought out her combat knife and stabbed at the box nearby hard, seeing nothing inside. Jean tossed a box of pistol bullets in .45 ACP to Kevin after taking it from the shelf.

"And it's not really a church building at all." Kevin remarked. "Not that I have anything against it."

Martin told Java that a door was up ahead, the former peeking inside after opening it slowly. He mouthed an "all clear" to the others.

"Let's go and have a look see on what's next door." Sho gestured to Martin to step aside before he kicked the door with his left foot hard. When the ninja looked inside, he saw a lamp was hanging overhead a trapdoor with a wick still lit up. Seeing this, Sho hurled some shurikens on the lamp and saw it crash near the trapdoor. Flames began to burn for a minute before it died down.

"Just to be safe." Sho told the others before he opened the trapdoor hatch slowly. Eriko approached it and aimed her sidearm down before giving the all-clear message to the others and passing the dropped Spinel to Leon.

"Master, are you going first?" Hiryu asked his ex-combat instructor.

Sho nodded before he dropped down the hatch. A few seconds later, Sho shouted above that the pathway was clear.

"Just be careful when you get down or you'll bust an ankle." Hien warned as he went down the hatch next to Hiryu. Leon and Kevin followed suit with the others following. Java nearly had a problem coming down the hatch. To solve this problem, Chun-Li assisted the caveman by pushing him down his shoulders.

"You alright, Java?" Diana asked Java, seeing some cracks on the ceiling. Probably from the edges of where the trapdoor hatch was?

"Java had hard time getting down."

"We'll it shouldn't be a problem now." Chun-Li told Diana, being the last to get down. "Hopefully it won't be the last."


Pathway, Under Church, El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


The group were now on the passageway underneath the church in El Pueblo, which was literally carved from the earth. Candles were placed on both sides of the pathway on carved shelves to help anyone moving in the area to serve as illumination. As primitive as it sounds, it was the only way they can use to move forward since they don't have any skills or gadgets that they can use to light up the path ahead.

Already the area was beginning to feel unsettling to some of the people like Diana.

"This place is very creepy." Diana whispered, feeling scared that the Center agent didn't want to separate from the others.

"Even if the candles should go out, I can still see the path ahead of us." Sho told the group, volunteering himself to lead them. "My Ninja Eye will see to that."

"Ninja Eye?" Leon asked Sho, following behind him.

"I can use it to see the path ahead aside from looking for hostiles from within 500 meters."

"Everyone stick together." Tea reminded the group, walking down the path in silence while staying on the alert for any hostiles. They walked up and down stairs while walking down straight paths at certain times. It took a long few minutes for the group to trek towards an opening with a small pool and a lamp hanging on top. Some of the others opted to rest after Sho brought the lamp down via shurikens to ensure it was not booby trapped without harming anyone. Tea used her psychic skills to bring down the shining Spinels from the ceiling. The British Spriggan agent also got the Elegant Headdress from the ceiling, which somehow baffled her as she kept it to sell to the merchant.

"Did you ever consider enrolling with DSO?" Leon said after taking the Spinels from Tea. "We can use someone with your skills."

"No thank you." Tea smiled at Leon. "But thank you for asking. I have my place with ARCAM."

After a few minutes of rest, the group continued on walking down a path Fujino had found, leading them to a narrow pathway before they came across two blue flame pillars. And a very, very familiar person.

"Ah..." The Merchant said after he caught sight of Leon. "I got sumthin' that might interest ya!" He began to open up his cloak, showing some of his weapons and items.

"We're glad to see you and all..." Hiryu said, being confused. "But how did you get here? Last we saw you was back up there in the surface."

"He, he, he..." The Merchant chuckled at the masked SHADOW agent. "That, my friend, is a trade secret." He then stared at the group. "Do you need to buy something from me?"

"Probably." Kevin approached the Merchant. "But we got some stuff that we want to sell to you."

The Merchant grinned and chuckled. "Of course. Of course. Anything that you got of value with you right now is acceptable." Tea and Leon gave the Merchant all the Spinels they had.

"It seems you've collected quite a lot." The Merchant remarked, pocketing the Spinels. "All right. I'll hand it 18,000 pesetas in return." He gave Tea a pouch full of pesetas, which she gladly accepted.

"Right." The Merchant sighed after handing Tea the peseta pouch. "There anything else you want to sell to me?"

"Indeed." Tea replied, handing the Merchant the Elegant Headdress and the Brass Pocket Watch.

"Ahhh..." The Merchant said, seeing the two treasures. "I'll gladly buy those two at a high price."

"It's a deal." Tea told the Merchant, seeing that he had no problem "purchasing" them.

"For the total, it's 23,000 pesetas." The Merchant handed another peseta coin pouch to Tea. "Finding a pocket watch like this is hard these days. I'm glad that you lot didn't find this in some dirty well or something or I'd only pay you lot 1,000 pesetas."

"Wonder if there is anything else we can get from the merchant?" Dan whispered to Hiryu.

"Ah, who knows?" Hiryu shrugged his shoulders.

"How are the First Aid sprays you bought from me?" The Merchant asked, wanting to know details.

"They worked out fine." Kevin told the merchant. "You shouldn't worry. In fact, they're a lot better than the ones made by Umbrella."

"Thank Tricell for that." The Merchant told the ex-SPF officer. "He, he, he, he. I only heard from my dealers that Tricell's spray formula was based on Umbrella, except that they worked it out to make the wounds heal a lot better and faster."

"Speaking of which," Chun-Li approached the water. "do you happen to sell any bottled waters?"

The Merchant listened to Chun-Li's question before he nodded his head slowly. "Course I do. You think the only thing I sell here are weapons, ammo and medical supplies, strangers?"

YES! The immediate though of everyone in the group was the sign of affirmation with a slow nod of their own.

"All right." The Merchant went to check his backpack and asked the group. "So how many need to drink water right now?"


Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


A Spanish-made church stood on a hill on the outskirts of El Pueblo complete with a small cemetery in front on it. While observers may say that it is a Roman Catholic-based church, those in the cult know that the interior was renovated in order to serve the needs of Los Illuminados in worshiping the Plaga as their own god.

I can't believe that the cult used a church for their own needs. Then again, who am I to complain and question this? I'm trying to "help" them as a mercenary.

Kenneth stood outside the church, looking to see how the cult had secured the place. On the side, several of the villagers looked at him for a bit before they went on their business. They did not see him as a hostile they need to kill, unlike Leon and company.

"I didn't expect you to be around here, Mr. Feng."

The Chinese teenager turned around to see the hooded man, approaching him from the back. He noticed that the villagers bowed when he was around.

Looks like he's the main guy behind Los Illuminados.

"I didn't expect to see you here, either." Kenneth greeted the hooded man. "Mr..."

"I'm Osmund Saddler, head of Los Illuminados." Saddler introduced himself. "But please, feel free to call me Saddler."

"Of course, Saddler." Kenneth said, addressing the Los Illuminados leader as Saddler.

"I'm a bit surprised that you're here." Saddler stared at the Chinese. "I'd thought that you'd be with Mr. Krauser in the meantime. Not that I'm saying anything..."

"Krauser told me to check on things." Kenneth said. "Especially with the hostage. Not that he'd care since he's a mercenary."

Saddler was confused. "And why would Krauser want to do this?"

"Nothing really." Kenneth shrugged. "Probably except to see if this place is safe in case intruders were to make an appearance."

Saddler had a smirk on his face before he replied. "You have nothing to worry about. My followers will follow my every command, including the defense of this place to their deaths."

I surely hope so, if you want to live on... Kenneth raised an eyebrow carefully at Saddler's statement.

"But if you want to hang around and help with the defenses, then feel free to do so." Saddler walked away from the church, back facing him. "After all, it's one of the reasons I've hired you alongside Mr. Krauser and company."

Kenneth felt both a bit nervous and confused at the mysterious leader of Los Illuminados. The only thing that he learned from Wesker was that he wanted to rule the world by starting a Plaga-based invasion of the United States by infecting Ashley with a plaga before she would be "rescued".

At least, that was the supposed plan.

Kenneth went to look back at the church behind him. For one thing, he noticed that there was supposed to be a seal on the entrance in order to get it to open up. In the meantime, Ashley would be safe from harm unless Leon would come to the church area. He was told earlier by Krauser that she was being held up after being moved from El Pueblo.

"Should I stay or should I go to Krauser and tell him about the place?"


Pathway, Under Church, El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon paid up the Merchant 100 pesetas for bottled water after the hooded man had sold it for 10 pesetas a bottle.

"Nice to get one of these." Martin handed an open bottle for Java, who gladly accepted it. "I'm quite thirsty."

"I know." Diana said after she drank half of her bottle. "Not only that, but I don't think I've eaten for a day now."

"This concern is nothing for us." Yu grinned at Diana after he sat down on the ground. "Most of us are special agents and this thing's less of a problem. But right now... a break is nice."

"So what's the plan?" Cammy asked after she tossed away the bottled water. Littering would be one of the last few things the Delta Red agent would want to do, except that there was no trash can and no one would care if she threw the empty bottle away since the community didn't care about it anymore after they were placed under Los Illuminados influence.

"As usual, we need to continue moving on." Leon told her after he drank his bottled water before he paused in order to continue talking. "After our break, we'll need to get past that metal door there." He pointed to the metal door with his right index finger as he was leaning on the cavern wall.

"Who knows we're it'll lead us?" Hiryu said, relaxing on the wall next to Leon when he checked his Heckler and Koch G36C to make sure it was still okay. "A trap maybe?"

"Well we can't stop here." Hien advised him, holding the trigger grip of his Pindad SS-1M5 as it was slinged on his neck. "I don't think we can get help for a while..." The masked ARCAM Spriggan sighed. "Dammit..."

"I'll be taking my time to reload my weapon right now." Jean said as he began to reload his SPAS-12. "I'll be out of shells soon. Better ask Tea for some pesetas."

"Good idea." Yu went to check on ammo for his G3A4. "Oh wait, I forgot. I barely fired the thing 'cept for my P226."

Kevin sighed and went to get some ammo for the SSG P IV as he was running out of it; he had been using the silenced sniper rifle a lot to get the group out of hectic situations and it was proving its use. He passed some shotgun shells to Leon for his 870.

"Thanks Kevin." Leon gladly accepted the shotgun shells after he finished drinking up his water before he began to quickly reload the shotgun.

Fujino went to check the metal door nearby. When she turned the handle, the teenager moved the door forward to check the path ahead.

"All clear." She told the group, annoyed by the creaking sound of the door.

"It oughta be oiled up." Martin said. "If anything, that can give us away."

"Well don't you worry." The Merchant chuckled. "I can defend myself from here..."

Leon asked the Merchant. "Do you have something that you can use to defend yourself?"

"Well stranger. I got a Russian RPG-7..."

Chapter 4 END


PS - Alrighty! Hope you guys/gals enjoyed chapter 4 so far. I patiently await all reviews for this chapter, good or bad aside the other chapters in the story with Peacekeepers. Flames are going to be used for cooking my food and heating up my drinks.

Well it seems that Modern Warfare 3's official for a Fall 2011 release for the PS3. Oh yeah! I'm waiting for that ever since Modern Warfare 2, which had a satisfying ending but bittersweet ending for the good guys. But I feel like doing a fic based on MW2/3. Dammit! Ideas never stop coming to my head now that I've watched Licensed by Royal.

For the meantime, have a good time reading this chapter.