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:

Leon and company are now about to move in to secure Ashley from the hands of Los Illuminados. Will they be able to get her home or will trouble brew up once again? Stay tune to this chapter to find out.

Chapter 5: Raise the Bar


Pathway, Under Church, El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon raised an eyebrow when the Merchant told him that he could sell him an RPG-7.

"I'll keep that thought in mind. Thanks."

"Come back again, stranga..." The Merchant nodded when he saw Leon tell the others that they needed to move out once again. Kevin opened the metal door nearby and checked the corridor before gesturing to the others that it was clear.

"Come back again." The hooded man chuckled after he saw the group enter through the metal door.

Now what am I going to do to pass the time around here 'til those strangers come back and seek my merchant services?


Corridor, near Church below ground, El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Leon and Kevin led the group as they traveled through a corridor once again. Like the time they went underneath the church-like building, no hostile villagers were on sight to intercept them.

"What did the Merchant tell you about?" Kevin asked his colleague once they were in the corridor, taking the lead.

"Nothing much," Leon replied.

"Nothing?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he did say that he's open to selling a RPG-7."

"You're joking with me, right?"

The blonde man noted that Kevin didn't believe what he was told a while ago.

"There's a ladder." Leon decided not to answer Kevin, pointing out the ladder ahead. It was rusting away for one thing, showing its age. It had probably been placed there for many years now.

"How are we going to do this?" Yu asked, seeing that getting up the ladder to the surface was a potential death trap.

"I shall go up first." Sho said, offering to go up the ladder first. Thanks to his shinobi training, he was able to do so without a problem.


Pathway, near Small Shed, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


Sho got up back to the surface, surveying the dirt path ahead of him before he called out to the group back underground that it was all clear.

"Thank you master." Hiryu told the ninja after he climbed up the ladder to the surface.

"Not a problem young one." Hiryu guarded the only exit out as the others began to climb towards the surface as well.

I wonder if we'll have a break after that one...

Sho's left hand held the ninjato's tsuka tightly.

"Be on your guard." Sho observed the graveyard up ahead. "Danger is up ahead."

"How can you tell?" Hiryu asked the ninja commando.

"I'm just good."

Chun-Li and Cammy were among the last to climb up from the underground to the surface.

"Anything?" Jean asked when he got to port his Franchi SPAS-12.

"He said there's danger up ahead." Hiryu used his thumb to point to Sho, who kept watch.


Graveyard, near Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"What a scary sight." Cammy muttered after she arrived with the group to the graveyard.

"No kidding." Diana muttered as well.

"I wonder what we're going to see here?" Martin said, very excited to see another graveyard like in much of his usual cases with the Center. "Zombies busting out of their graves? Some kind of monster who's going to jump out of nowhere to attack us?"

"What's with him?" Eriko whispered to Fujino, wondering what's with Martin.

"Martin-san is really like that, Eriko-san." Fujino told the detective. "He's into scary stuff ever since he got into the Center with his stepsister, Diana-san."

"Hm... I see."

"What's with the symbols?" Chun-Li pointed out some of the symbols on top of the gravestones.

"Probably a family symbol or something." Hien tried to suggest.

A female villager tried to approach the group from the side very slowly, carrying a rusted kitchen knife on her right hand.

"Great." Kevin muttered, raising his Glock 21 Mariner and fired a few shots at the knife-armed villager after he spotted her.

Leon, knowing that he was a bit near the stunned villager, moved in and executed a sharp roundhouse kick. He then used his Silver Ghost pistol to fire two more shots into the downed villager's head to ensure she was dead.

"Incoming!"

Hiryu shouted, pointing out two male villagers moving in towards them.

Jill and Eriko raised their sidearms and opened fire to hit their legs in order to make them keel over in pain, allowing Chun-Li and Cammy to rush in towards the villagers.

The former executed a Lightning Kick strong enough to snap one of the villager's necks from the impact that he dropped dead.

As for Cammy, the Delta Red operative went for a Cannon Spike. After seeing the other villager go down, she went to step on his head hard. A few minutes later, the bodies of the villagers melted into nothingness.

"That was quick." Yu sighed, porting his Heckler and Koch G3A4 before staring at the graves. "So what now?"

Kevin lowered his sidearm and went to check out one of the graves, seeing a S symbol on top of both graves.

"S?" The ex-SPF officer was confused. "Do this mean twins?"

"Probably." Martin said. He went off to check another set of dual graves, seeing a V symbol. Diana and Java went off to see another set with a M symbol. Some of the others went with them except for Jill and Eriko as they had searched the shack to get some 9mm ammo, giving the lone .45 ACP box to Kevin.

"You hanging in there all right?" Jill asked the Japanese detective after she reloaded her Sig Sauer P228.

Eriko placed a smile on her face. "Don't worry about me, Jill-san. Although I have to admit that this is an unusual case my superiors have assigned me."

"I know that feeling." The BSAA operative told Eriko. "Considering the things I've went though hell and back."

"You ladies alright?" Leon approached them after returning from inspecting the graves when Martin and Diana called for him a while ago.

"We're fine." Jill told Leon. "Did you find anything?"

"Perhaps." Leon shrugged his shoulders. "We found some symbols on the graves. Three to be exact."

"Symbols?" Eriko asked the DSO operative.

"We're aren't exactly sure. They could be family symbols but we're keeping them in mind in case there's some kind of puzzle we need to solve later on."

"So up we go." Dan pointed to the group a pathway that showed the way to the nearby church.

"Another church?" Leon asked the DSO agent.

"Yeah."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Everyone in the group nodded as they went to walk the dirt path until a villager showed up with a stick of lit dynamite.

"Crap!" Kevin muttered. Yu instantly shouldered his G3A4 and fired a few shots at the dynamite-armed villager. He watched the 7.62 NATO bullets make their mark as the villager was shot in the right shoulder and on the forehead, going down before an explosion destroyed his body.

"Whoa..." Everyone covered their faces with their arms after hearing the explosion. They also heard the groans of two other villagers nearby as well.

"Good work." Hiryu complimented Yu for his work. "Looks like we don't need to worry about dynamite for a while..."

The group continued with their trek towards the church on top of the hill with Leon asking if anyone was hurt or injured.

"We're okay!" Jill told Leon after they made it in front of the church.


Front of Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"This is the place?"

Cammy asked when she looked all over the entrance of the church.

"I was told by that guy that Ashley's being held here supposedly." Leon replied to Cammy, also looking at the church entrance.

Eriko went to check out the church's entrance. Before she can even get in, the detective noted that there was no door handle for here to use.

"What's wrong there?"

Kevin asked the detective when he noted that Eriko did not touch the double doors.

"I don't think we can get inside." Eriko pointed out the doors. "And there seems to be some kind of socket where you have to insert an emblem. I think that it serves as a lock."

"Isn't that great?" Hien said sarcastically. "Now we need to find out where that emblem is and unlock the dang door..."

"Patience." Sho advised the young Spriggan operative. "When there is a will, there is a way."

"But where do you start?"

Diana went to check the metal door nearby and tried to get it open.

"Dammit." She muttered to herself. "It's locked."

"I could unlock the main door." Fujino suggested, about to get out her I-Cutter when Leon told her to stop.

"May not be a good idea." Leon advised the young SHADOW agent. "Let's go look for something." He then approached a dirt path leading to the side of the church.

Hopefully something that can work out for us without being killed in the process.

The path Leon was on led him to the back of the church, where a couple of villagers were seen prowling nearby. One of them had a stick of dynamite.

"Shit..." Leon was quick to shoulder the Remington 870 after holstering the Silver Ghost, already loaded with a 12 gauge shell. He pulled the trigger after he aligned the weapon's iron sights, firing the shotgun. The DSO operative saw one of them stagger a bit backward.

With this in mind, Leon advanced a bit slowly before he fired another 12 gauge shell at the dynamite-armed villager.

I'm getting tired of seeing dynamite.

He watched as the lit dynamite was dropped on the ground. It exploded, taking out the two villagers permanently. Leon was at a good distance away from the dynamite. He instinctively shielded his face, looking away from the explosion.

"Sure that was nasty for them." Leon murmured before he slinged the 870 on his right shoulder and rearmed himself with the Silver Ghost.

"What happened?" Jean said, being near Leon's back.

"Nothing really. Just got some villagers blocking the way."

"Hmmmm..."


Rear of Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"What the heck is this pedestal doing here?"

Leon saw a pedestal at the rear of the church, which had something mounted on top of it.

"Hmmm..." Leon approached the pedestal, aiming the Silver Ghost as he was not sure if anything would come to attack him. When he came close to it, the DSO agent saw a dial with something behind it.

"Something's behind the device." Leon sighed, holstering his sidearm. "And it's locked behind it. I wish someone would just give me an easier time here."

He began to check out the dial, which had seven oval-shaped button displays on it.

Hey now. Leon blinked his eyes twice when he took a look at the button displays. He noted that some of them looked familiar. Very, very familiar.

"They look like some of the symbols we've seen on the graves." Jean said, observing the dial.

"They do." Leon told the French Spriggan. "Where are the others?"

"Taking a short break outside the church."

"Right. Better solve this dial puzzle then." Leon told Jean. "I'll take care of this. I still remember all of the symbols we all saw back in the graveyard a few minutes ago. Shouldn't be a problem."

He began to start manipulating the clock-like puzzle while Jean guarded his rear.

"3 family insignia of the dead ringers." Leon murmured, reading the small insignia which was written somehow in English. That's weird. Why is it written in English?

Leon saw the green catseye gem that was hidden behind the locked gates.

"I wonder who put them there?"

Leon said to himself before he began to turn the dial. Turn it over the three circles... He then turned the dial, which did not stop until the dial arrow was over the V-shaped symbol. After the arrowhead was over the oval display, it glowed green.

"Green?" Leon was wondering why the oval display had glowed green after turning the dial. He then spotted another familiar symbol, which was the circle shape symbol.

"Another one there." Leon said, making the dial turn until the arrowhead was over the symbol. It glowed green as a result. He slowly nodded, knowing that most of the symbols he saw on the display were familiar.

"Alright. Let's go." Seeing the M symbol, Leon worked again on the dial and turned it until the arrowhead was over the symbol. "Looks like this thing can turn either three or four times."

How much longer? Leon said as he checked the non-glowing symbols. Better get rid of something since I can't get access to the "familiar" symbols.

Turning the dial until it was over the circle symbol and as a result, the glowing ceased.

"All right. Better get rid of this since it's blocking my way of getting the Z-like symbol." Leon murmured, making the dial move once again to the V symbol, making it cease glowing.

"Okay." Leon moved the dial once again until the arrowhead was over the Z symbol, watching it glow green. Leon nodded when he saw it.

Okay. Once more. Leon went to work the dial, making it turn until the arrowhead was over the V symbol.

The double gates opened up, enabling Leon to get a hold of the Green catseye.

"I got it."


Front of Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


"So you got that..." Kevin pointed to the Green catseye held by Leon. "I'm happy for you Leon, but I'm pretty sure that ain't going to help us get inside that church."

Leon had gotten back to the rest of the group and showed them the catsye gem he acquired.

"We could probably use it for something..." Leon insisted.

"Like the Beerstein." Tea told Leon. "You can hand it to me. It seems that it'll work like the other catsye gem we have."

"All right." Leon nodded.

"So it seems we need to head down there." Jill pointed to the dirt path nearby leading downhill away from the church. "At least it's near the church..."

"I suggest that we split up." Sho told everyone in front of the church. "The thing is how many should stay and how many should go down the path and secure the key to the church's entrance?"

The ninja's question was genuinely a good one. Everyone felt that for this task, they would need to split so that they can protect the approach to the church from the villagers while the others would further search and secure the key needed to get in the church.

"You know... That is a good question."


Unknown Control Room


"A pity that Jill had to be there..."

Wesker mused to himself, seated on his hi-tech chair after he had received word before that among the people deployed to Spain was his old STARS "subordinate" from his Raccoon City days.

He began to tap some keys on his armrest, using the spy satellite to locate Leon's group in Spain.

"But it doesn't matter now." Wesker said after gaining an aerial photo of the group. "As long as she'll be out of the way from my plans to get Umbrella up and running, she can't do anything to stop me."

"Krauser..." Wesker went to make contact with the ex-American soldier. "How are things on your end?"


Plank Bridge, near Church, outskirts of El Pueblo, somewhere in Spain


It had been decided by the group. Leon would lead the group down the dirt path and onto the plank bridge. Accompanying him were Eriko, Jean, Hien, Dan and Sho. The others went to stay behind and protect their rear in case the villagers would show up to hinder their progress.

Leon calmly raised the Silver Ghost and aimed the laser sight at one of the villagers, a female loitering on the plank bridge. He went for the left leg and fired off a shot. He subsequently saw the villager fall down from the bridge yelling in pain.

"That works." Dan told Leon after he had partially shouldered the SIG Sport 552 carbine.

"That way, we don't have to worry about prolonging a fight on this place." Leon told the SHADOW agent, leading the small group. "It's too dangerous and we don't have much room to maneuver ourselves in..."

The 6-man group continued on, walking carefully on the plank bridge until they saw two villagers blocking the way.

"I'll handle this." Jean told them when he shouldered the assault shotgun. Aiming the iron sights down at the villagers, the French Spriggan fired the weapon twice at them.

"Hmph..." Jean grinned as he watched them fall off the plank bridge like the first villager Leon shot in the leg a few minutes ago.

"A small gap on the plank bridge." Sho told the group as he saw the small hole. "Should be easy enough to jump over."

The group followed Sho's instruction. One by one, they jumped over the small hole without any problems.

"A small shack of some kind." Leon said as he went inside, noticing a piece of paper on it. "Dammit, it's in Spanish."

"Let me help..." Dan got to his O-Watch and went to activate the language translator, having a beam scan the entire letter before it presented the letter in English via hologram.

"What does it say?" Sho asked. Eriko and Hien gathered with Leon near Dan as he showed them the translated letter.

Regarding the fugitives, the apprehension of Luis is our top priority: the agents a distant second. What Luis stole from us is far more important than the girl. Unless we get it back, the girl will become useless to us. We must get it back to execute our plan to the end. If it gets to the wrong hands, the world would become a totally different place than what Lord Saddler has envisioned.

At all costs, we must not let it happen. Nevertheless, we're not letting go of the girl. To ensure that the agents does not get to her, I have locked the church door where the girl is being held. Anyone who needs access to the church must first get approval from Lord Saddler. There is a key beyond the lake, but it should be safe now that the "Del Lago" has been awakened by our Lord. No one will get across the lake alive.

Plus, our same blood courses through the agents' veins. It'll be just a matter of time before they joins us. Once they do, there will be nobody else left that will come looking for the girl.

"Great." Hien snarled in anger after reading the translated letter. "Now we've got a whole lot of trouble ahead of us..."

"Should we get the others?" Jean raised the question for the small group to ponder on. "We may need all the manpower we can get."

"We might..." Leon replied to Jean's question. "But I think it's best if we do that after clearing the rest of the plank bridge."

"I need some room." Sho told the group, telling them to get out of the shack. Drawing out his ninjato, he stabbed both small boxes. However, he saw that a snake was inside one of the small boxes.

"Heavens..." Sho said after seeing the snake, which was about to pounce on him. "Who placed a snake in there?" The ninja went to slash the snake, cutting it half before he saw the white Chicken egg.

"Better take this." Sho took the Chicken egg with him.

"What does Del Lago mean?" Dan asked. "I mean, I don't have any Spanish skills..."

"From the lake." Eriko told Dan. "It means From the Lake."

"Well what is from the lake anyway?" Leon led the group on the plank bridge once Sho got out of the shack.

"I wish I knew..." Jean mused as he and Leon took out one more villager loitering on the plank bridge with a pitchfork before arriving at the end, which had a door and a platform.

Dan approached the door carefully, opening the door slowly before he told the others it was clear except for the crows. Leon nodded and radioed to Kevin that he needed the others to meet him down at the dirt road and go through the plank bridge to do so.


Unknown Area, somewhere in Spain


When Leon regrouped with Kevin and the others, they entered through the door and saw several crows near some small huts.

"Where are we?" Diana murmured, not familiar with the area.

"I don't know." Martin told his stepsister. "But we need to move and find the key to get in the church..."

"Let's move." Leon told everyone. "Kevin, cover me at the front. The rest of you with small arms, take the sides and rear."

"Will do, Leon." Kevin nodded, his Glock 21 Mariner pistol already drawn out. The two DSO agents went to search the huts, finding a Spinel with some pesetas in tow before handing them to Tea as usual. Afterwards, they went to check out the double barn-like doors and pushed them forward.

"This oughta be easy." Kevin grinned, seeing no villager in sight.

"I only wish..." Leon murmured.


Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


"Why does this place remind me of someplace we've been to?" Leon murmured after entering through the open gate. Sho had entered the shack nearby and secured some pesetas after he surveyed the path ahead and told them that it was all clear.

"It's too fishy." Cammy commented. "Way too fishy."

"I probably will agree." Diana agreed with the Delta Red as the group walked down the dirt path. I wonder if enemies are going to be around...

The group had walked down the path for at least a minute when suddenly, they heard something big drop from behind.

"Dammit, the villagers." Kevin spotted some of the villagers from a high vantage point retreating after pushing a boulder down rolling from their rear.

"EVERYONE, RUN!" Sho shouted after he noted that the boulder was coming for them.

"NOT THIS AGAIN!" Hiryu shouted as well, running as fast as possible, not wanting to be squished alive by a boulder.

"Java getting tired on this!" Java yelled, not liking the fact that he had to run. In his time, he didn't recall that his fellow cavemen had to run. Maybe except from the mammoths.

The path the group was running on had a right curve, forcing them to make a jumping break there. Since they all did, the boulder smashed up onto the cliff face, breaking into pieces.

"Everyone okay?" Jill asked after she helped Chun-Li and Eriko get up.

"I'm fine." Fujino replied, dusting off her clothes.

"Me too." Hien replied, helping Dan and Martin up after jumping to the ground.

"More enemies." Kevin muttered, immediately shouldering the Steyr SSG P IV and checked out the area. "And the main path's wired with dynamite, but I clear it out."

"But won't we attract attention?" Martin asked Kevin after he was armed with the sniper rifle.

"Do it, Kevin." Leon told his colleague.

"Right." Kevin began to check the main path. "A villager's there standing near the dynamite. While it's suicide, I guess he doesn't care." He then checked the small shack nearby. "A villager's in there too. Probably waiting in ambush."

"What about over there?" Yu pointed out another villager just standing around in the small pond on the side.

"I'll check that out." Kevin scoped the villager standing on the pond. "Another one too. Standing in front of wired dynamite. Man these guys are really suicidal."

"I think we all know that." Cammy told Kevin.

"Just had to say it." Kevin turned his attention to the villager in the shack. He fired off a shot from the suppressed sniper rifle at the villager at the chest, seeing him go down. Seconds later, he saw the villager up and made a charge through the main path, setting off the dynamite trap.

"What the..." Jean said after hearing the explosion. "Boy, that was incredibly stupid of him."

"I doubt they have the concept of safety anymore." Kevin told Jean before he took aim at the villager standing on the pond. He fired a shot at the chest, watching him go down. Later on, he saw him made a mad charge to the dynamite trap.

"Another idiot." Yu sighed after seeing the second dynamite trap go off.

Kevin moved a bit forward and glanced at the left, seeing two villagers near another dynamite trap. He took aim and fired at the villager standing at the back of the trap before the man reloaded, watching him run to the trap. Since he "tripped" on the wire, the trap blew up and killed both of them.

"Least they saved us some time so that we don't need to disarm the traps ourselves." Leon said out loud after seeing what had happened. "We split up so that we can cover more ground and get any of the villagers who may still be hiding around here."

"Right." Kevin gave Leon the thumbs up. "Come on you guys."

"I hope I don't get in the water." Diana mumbled.

"That part's exciting, Di." Martin grinned at her. "I bet we can find some kind of other monster living in the water."

The party turned around after hearing some feet shuffling very fast. A crowd of villagers were running towards them.

"Incoming!" Yu and Dan hurled a couple of frag grenades towards the crowd. They then fired their weapons on the downed survivors to finish them off. A few seconds later, another wave arrives. Sho used his smoke bomb attack to disorient them before he began to use his ninjato known as Servant Sword to cut them up real good.

"HA! HA! HA!" Sho executed several ninjato strikes at most of the villagers, killing them one by one, followed by a high roundhouse kick onto one of the villagers trying to impale him with a pitchfork. He landed on the ground after the villager's neck was literally snapped thanks to the powerful kick.

"We gotta go..." Leon told Sho, heading towards the wooden platforms.


As agreed upon by the party, Leon and Kevin would take the wooden platforms alongside Eriko and Jill. Sho, Hiryu and Hien would scout the water as one group with Yu, Jean and Fujino as the second group. Martin, Diana and Java would rear cover support to Leon and Kevin with Cammy in case some stragglers were to sneak up behind them.

Thing seem to be good...


On top of cliff, near Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


Kenny had been keeping an eye on the party via binoculars, watching their every move ever since they left the church grounds due to a problem in getting inside without the proper key.

"I hope Krauser doesn't check in right now..."

The Chinese national and now covert operative continued surveillance on the party as he watched them prepare to cross over the wooden platforms.

Don't die on me Leon. Same goes with you, Kevin and Ms. Valentine.


On Pond, somewhere in Spain


As agreed upon by the party, they would split up into small teams in order to effectively scout the area in and around the pond while eliminating all villagers waiting for them in a potential ambush or trap. Leon and Kevin would be accompanied by Eriko, Chun-Li and Jill as they secure the wooden platforms built over the pond.

Sho would lead one of the two smaller teams alongside Hiryu and Hien with Dan and Cammy providing assistance. For the other team, Martin, Diana, Fujino and Java would search another section together with Yu and Jean. So far, so good. Things were going well with initial searches leading to no enemies...

"Ugh. Water." Hien complained. "Of all the terrains to operate in , why water?"

"Do not complain, young one." Sho had reprimanded the young Spriggan operative. "Think of this has a means of testing what you have learned from your elders."

"Apologies for what my brother mentioned, master." Hiryu told the ninja. "I am sure that he did not mean that..."

"It is all right." Sho shook his head. "We have other things to worry about after all."

"Hopefully we won't have to see anything around these parts." Cammy commented.

"I probably will have to agree."


On the other hand, Martin was quite excited in hunting down any potential hostiles with Java standing next to him. Diana groaned in watching her stepbrother "call for" the enemy's attention.

"Are those Center agents always like that?" Jean asked Yu, porting his SPAS-12.

"I honestly don't know." Yu shrugged his shoulders, porting his G3A4. "But intel says they got a good reputation in handling paranormal things." He then stared at Martin. "I think he's one of the exceptions."

A villager had been hiding under the platform, moving out to attack Martin and company when Jean took aim and fired the shotgun as a semi-automatic weapon. Tea did not say anything, staying silent.

"There still are stragglers hiding around this place." Martin mumbled, having the X-Rod materialize from the U-Watch.

Diana raised up her fists. "Yeah. No kidding."

It didn't long for Jean to finish his work.

"No need." Jean smirked. "He's done for."

"Then that means we probably got some more on the other side as well..."

"Up there." Tea pointed to a nest on the trees. "Something is hidden in the nest."

"All right." Yu nodded, firing a single shot from his G3A4. A pipe fell down from the nest and onto solid ground. He picked it up and gave it to Tea.

"How interesting." The psychic smirked.

The group led by Martin could hear some commotion and gunfire going on from Sho's side.


"SMOKE BOMB! SMOKE BOMB!"

Sho shouted out loud when he saw four villagers approaching him from all sides. He told the Spriggan agents not to bother initially since he had used his smoke bomb to disorient the armed villagers at first.

"Dammit." Hiryu muttered after he shouldered his G36C, aiming the reflex red dot sight at one of the disoriented villagers and fired a short burst through his carbine. He saw the villager go down after being shot in the head.

"Okay." Hien saw what his brother was doing, shouldering his Pindad SS1-M5 Commando carbine and fired as well at the disoriented villagers while they were confused by the smoke bombs. Most were down, except with one who was trying to get near Sho.

"Heh." The masked Spriggan agent smirked, his facial features hidden underneath his balaclava. "Just like in a shooting range."

"Look out!" Cammy dashed in towards the last villager, trying to use the sickle by stabbing the ninja's neck.

"EIYAH!" The Delta Red agent went toe execute a Cannon Spike, kicking him underneath the chin followed by an Axle Spinning Kick, striking him again before the villager went down on the ground completely.

"Just to be sure there." Hiryu approached the downed villager and fired a short burst at him.


"Are we clear?" Leon shouted with his Silver Ghost drawn out after hearing gunfire from his allies.

"I hope it'll be the last of them." Jill muttered after she got out her Beretta Px4 Type F pistol from her holster. "God knows how much ammo we need to conserve."

"I don't think so people." Kevin replied to Leon and Jill's concerns. The four-man group continued to walk down the platform with their sidearms drawn out when they spotted another dynamite trap ahead of Sho's group.

"Right, I got this." Kevin shouldered his SSG P IV and scoped the two villagers standing in front of the trap. He began to reload this sniper rifle before the DSO agent fired a suppressed shot at one of them. It made him mad and he charged straight for the trap, stunning the other villager for a few seconds. This gave Kevin enough time for him to fire another suppressed shot, aimed at the other villager's head. Kevin peered through the sniper scope as the villager's head exploded.

"Got him." The man smirked after seeing the villager's lifeless body go down. "Now we don't need to worry on another dynamite trap." But as the group continued on, there was a dead end and the only to the other side was a stairway going to the water.

"Hope you guys don't mind getting a little bit wet here." Leon told the group before walking down the stairway and into the water.

"I just wish I don't get sick later." Eriko sighed as she went in the water with Leon. Kevin and Jill followed to secure their rear. Good thing for them like the other two groups in the water, it only reached up to their legs. Leon led the others to get to the other platform, getting up the steps. Sho and Martin got their groups to the other platform as well.

"I see someone there." Sho told Leon, seeing a villager standing a few meters away from the last dynamite trap. Hiryu passed around some shotgun and pistol ammo boxes they found from the downed villagers.

"Can't they get anymore original than this?" Dan sighed. "Reminds me of the stuff I've heard in guerrilla warfare."

Sho hurled a shuriken to the villager's head, making him drop the pitchfork. He then saw the villager come running at him, detonating the trap after the villager tripped it by pressing his body on the wire.

"Looks like it's an all clear." The group was now in the clear.

"Yo." Yu tapped Jean on the shoulder. "Over there."

Except for a shack on the side.

"Let's do it."

Hiryu and Hien nodded in unison as they stacked up outside the shack, assault rifles at the ready before they stormed the shack. Taking the unarmed villager, the two masked teens began to pepper the villager with several 5.56 NATO bullets before he eventually succumbed to his injuries.

"All clear!" Hien shouted as he and Hiryu reloaded their weapons. Except for a box of pistol ammo and a hidden snake inside the crate, which they smashed open with their combat knives, the place was clear.

"We better move." Leon said after Hien handed him the pistol ammo box. "Thanks."

The group proceeded to walk along the path until they were confronted by big and tall steel gates. Java once more used his caveman strength to open them, enabling everyone to pass through.


MOM's Office, The Center


MOM had waited for Billy to show up, a few hours after being dispatched to conduct an investigation whether equipment malfunction was to blame when the two SHADOW agents were covertly inserted into Spain via aircraft instead of portal.

"Billy."

MOM noted the alien's arrival via hovercraft after exiting out of the elevator.

"Has there been any word on what caused the malfunction to our portal equipment?"

Billy nodded. "I almost thought that it was equipment malfunction." He then showed her an electronic handheld tablet. "Until I found this."

MOM nodded slowly, being interested in Billy's reply.

"Some of the circuits we found in the equipment were badly damaged." Billy began to explain. "It's as if someone knew what he or she was doing to them."

The black-haired woman sighed. "Can we have them immediately replaced, Billy?"

"I just had the request made." Billy replied. "But we won't have them for a while until a few days."

"We better operate under the assumption that someone's trying to sabotage our operations." MOM told Billy. "Tell the Special Reaction Squad that they need to secretly bring the culprit in, depending on how things will go with Martin and the others back in Spain."

"Understood, MOM. I'll get on it."


Another Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


The party had just went through the gate when they saw that at the end of the dirty path, it branched out into two different dirt paths ahead. This left the group a bit confused on where to go next.

"Where do we go from here?" Jill asked out loud, seeing the two paths ahead.

"We can split up." Martin suggested. "Have a few of us check out one of the paths while the majority of us head out to the other one."

"This may be the only course we have." Chun-Li told Leon and Kevin. "Considering how grave our situation is."

"We'll volunteer for this." Hien said, patting Hiryu's left shoulder.

"Same here." Yu said as well. Jean merely grumbled, but he was ready to support his Spriggan comrades if he has to.

"All right." Leon nodded. "But be sure to contact me or Kevin by radio if you guys spot anything significant. Got it?"

The beret-clad teens gave the thumbs up before they got Yu and Jean to come with them.

"You think they'll be alright?" Kevin asked Leon, seeing Fujino run off to join up with the Spriggans.

"I'm sure they'll be okay. Considering what I've seen with them so far."

"We better go then and secure the right path then." Cammy told the remaining party members. "Seeing as they'll secure the left path, it's best if we check out what's on the other side."

"Agreed." Tea said, sharing Cammy's sentiment. "As well we won't be wasting time while we wait."

The others nodded in agreement with Cammy's suggestion.


Left Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


"All clear here!"

Hiryu shouted as he told the group via hand signal that it was clear to proceed ahead. The two masked teens went ahead as the vanguard with Yu and Jean covering the rear. Fujino stayed in the middle, but was armed with her I-Cutter that appeared in the shape of a tanto.

"Anything up ahead?" Fujino decided to ask.

"Nothing." Hiryu told Fujino, running up the path alongside Hien. The two eventually saw a dead end, but it gave the small group a good view of the lake ahead.

"Get down..." Yu said as he dashed alongside Hiryu and Hien, getting prone. The two crouched in front of an old log. Jean was on their left while Fujino alternated between scoping out the lake and looking at the rear to make sure no one unfriendly was going to sneak up behind them.

"What's up?" Hiryu asked as Yu took out a pair of military-type binoculars and went to zoom in on a boat that in the middle of the lake.

"Holy shit..." Yu muttered. He saw two villagers hurl out of the boat one of the two corpses belonging to the Guardia Civil officers who had escorted Leon to the Pueblo before all hell broke loose.

"What are they doing?" Jean muttered as well. "Those bodies are floating on the water."

"Hey." Fujino then told Yu and Jean, kneeling next to them after hearing what they had said. "They're leaving..."

"Let's see what happens next." Hien suggested as the group waited. A few minutes later, they saw something emerge out of the lake. Something big.

"What the hell was that?" Jean was in shock when he saw the creature devour the two dead Guardia Civil officers from the lake's surface before it descended back into the deep.

"We need to head back ASAP and warn the others about what's in the lake." Hiryu told the others before he stood up and ran back down the hill. "There's nothing we can do for those dead officers except to make sure their deaths are not going to be made meaningless."

Fujino lagged a bit behind as she spotted some red leaves in the bushes.

Hm? The Japanese SHADOW agent walked towards the bushes and picked up a red herb.


Right Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


Leon and the others saw Hiryu arrive back as he ran towards them. Hien and the others including Fujino were also running as well. The second group were waiting near the shed at the end of the right dirt path when they heard something come out of the lake before it was all calm once more.

"Did you guys find out anything about the lake?" Tea asked Hiryu once she saw him.

"Yeah." Hiryu nodded. "But that's not all."

"Is there something in the lake as well?" Chun-Li questioned the Center/Spriggan agent.

"There was." Jean was calm, despite what he had seen in the lake. "The two remaining corpses of the Guardia Civil. They became food for whatever's lurking in the waters."

"Del Lago." Eriko told the assembled groups. "It is probably Del Lago."

"This is just great." Leon sighed, scratching the back of his neck. "One of the few things we need. A giant sea monster blocking our way."

"We found a few things as well." Tea told the first group. "Aside from herbs and a gold bangle with pearls on it."

"Here." Fujino showed everyone the red herbs she obtained.

"I can handle that." Leon took the red herb from Fujino. "Thanks." He began to take out the yellow herb his group found in a shack down near the end of the right dirt path. "I'll go take care of this."

"So what's the plan for crossing the lake?" Cammy asked the group. "Now that it's confirmed that some big sea monster's waiting to catch anyone trying to cross it alive and become monster food."

"We'll need to take out Del Lago anyway." Kevin answered Cammy's concern. "Whether we like it or not. It's not like we can just evade it and get to the other side of the lake without being caught out in the open."

Yu and Dan went to check out if there were any boats in the harbor for them to use. Meanwhile, Leon gave Kevin a tied up piece of cloth that had the red and yellow herb mixture.

"I'll hang onto this." Kevin told Leon as he began to make a radio call to Ingrid back in America.

"Hey, Hunnigan. I got some updates regarding the missing Guardia Civil officers."

"What about them, Leon?"

Leon took a deep breath before he replied to Ingrid's question.

"The bad news is both of them are already dead. Most likely killed by the crazy villagers like the first two we found in a bonfire."

"I see." Ingrid sighed after she heard the news. "This'll be bad news for the Spanish government when they hear about this... For now, see what you can do about securing Ashley Graham. I'll inform the people at DSO on this."

"Understood. Leon out."

"We got two boats!" Dan called out to the party. "You may want to look at them first."


End of Right Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


Dan led the party to the end of the right dirt path, showing them two motorboats. While the wooden construction looks to be really old, the Malaysian SHADOW agent informed them that the motor was still okay.

"So how many people can get on the boats if I can ask?" Leon asked, inspecting the boats for himself.

"Well two people would do." Dan said before he sighed. "But I guess three to four people can also work, but the guy in charge of steering the boat will need to move so that we don't fall off the boat and drown."

"But with this Del Lago thing out in the waters..." Sho told the party. "We will need to get rid of it before we can even have a safe journey above the waters."

"He has a point." Diana agreed with Sho's assessment.

"Since we have two functioning boats here..." Yu began to speak to the party. "Why not use one of them to face the creature while the other runs backup in case things do wrong?"

"I'll volunteer to go with the kid here." Kevin said, patting Hiryu's left shoulder for emphasis. "Hope you don't have a problem with that."

"Not really." The SHADOW agent sighed.

"I'll run backup here." Leon volunteered. "In case things happen."

"Same here as well." Diana said as well.

"Guess we're all set and done." Hiryu cracked his knuckles as he got on the first boat on and turned on the motor while Kevin got on board to check if the boat has any weapons for him to use against Del Lago.

Gotcha. The DSO agent grinned when he found a weapon that he can use against Del Lago.

Harpoons.

They were not that plentiful, but they're enough to deter Del Lago if it should try to attack them.

"Take these." Kevin and Hiryu handed their assault carbine and sniper rifle to Hien. "If the Del Lago thing's going to attack us, these may get in our way."

"Understood. I'll hang onto them 'till you guys give the all clear."


"You think they'll be all right?"

Eriko asked as she watched Kevin and Hiryu take off in the first boat, scouting the lake for any signs of Del Lago before they would eventually take it on.

"I'm sure they will be fine." Sho tried to reassure the Japanese detective, arms crossed and placed near his chest. "I've trained young Hiryu and Hien to be at their best. I am confident that he can handle things."

Yu crouched, also scouting the lake's surface with his binoculars in case there were things that the two didn't notice.

Come on Mark. Don't die on us out there.


Motorboat, on lake waters, somewhere in Spain


"Seems awfully quiet out there."

Kevin mumbled as he handled the first harpoon he can take. Hiryu was seated at the rear of the motorboat, navigating it by steering the rudder left, right or just letting stay still when they need to steer the motorboat straight past debris.

"It's way, way too quiet. It's probably just waiting for the right opportunity to get us both."

Unknown to the two of them, Del Lago was swimming underneath the motorboat as soon as it detected something move along the lake surface. A few seconds later, it began to jump and splash in front of Kevin and Hiryu, making the boat jump also before it landed back down on the water.

"What the fuck is that?" Hiryu said, gripping the motorboat engine as a first reaction. Kevin grabbed onto the wooden seat he was on.

The two failed to take notice that the hook fell down to the waters. It then got hooked onto Del Lago's tail, forcing the motorboat to move along with it.


End of Right Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


"What's happening to them?"

Sho asked after he saw what Del Lago had done.

"I think the motorboat's hook got caught onto it." Yu told the ninja. "For the meantime, they'll have to navigate with it or they'll be monster food in case they'll go down in the waters."

"Do we go and assist them?" Diana asked Leon, who was more than ready to get the motorboat engine started up.

"Not yet." Leon told the Canadian Center agent. "Back when the RPD was still around, Kevin's one of the best marksmen out there. Even when he got to the SPF. I'm sure he can handle this."


Motorboat, on lake waters, somewhere in Spain


"HA! Take this!"

Kevin shouted as he threw a harpoon into Del Lago. He watched the creature bleed after the said harpoon pierced its skin.

"Careful now!" Hiryu shouted as he steered the motorboat away from the various debris in order to avoid crashing into them. Kevin continued to hurl harpoons into Del Lago until it forced the motorboat to take a sharp jerk to the left as it made a fast dive.

"You okay?" Kevin asked the masked SHADOW agent.

"Never better." Hiryu gave the thumbs up. "We got company though."

"Take a harpoon." Kevin handed Hiryu a harpoon. "And start chucking them at Del Lago like no tomorrow."

The two began to hurl harpoons at Del Lago many times, watching blood spurt out of the creature before it dived underneath the motorboat. Followed by another trip where the two had to navigate thanks to the hook still being hooked onto Del Lago's tail.

"I think I'll get seasick." Hiryu murmured, controlling the motorboat while leaving the harpoon hurling business to Kevin. His hurls were accurate and since they were doing the job, Del Lago was beginning to slow down before it dived down.

"Well. Looks like Del Lago placed us in area of the lake where there's not much debris." Kevin commented, gripping a harpoon with his right hand.

"Thing is where is it going to come from?" Hiryu asked the DSO agent, looking around the lake and saw lots of water and not the small harbor where they took off from.

"Better keep your guard up." Kevin advised Hiryu as they began to look around carefully.

Dammit. I don't know if being here without seeing your enemy is worse than being off your guard without knowing of a big test tomorrow back in school.

Kevin then spotted Del Lago charging towards them. At least he can see the open mouth meant for him and Hiryu.

"Over there!"

Hiryu saw the incoming creature heading straight for them.

"Chuck the harpoons at it!" Kevin shouted as he went first to toss the first harpoon as far as he can towards Del Lago's open mouth.

Yeah. He saw that his work paid off when blood began to spurt out from the mouth. However, Del Lago was not running.

"Better hurl out more of this." Hiryu said as he landed another harpoon at Del Lago's open mouth. "I wish I had a box of frag grenades so that we can kill it faster..."

Kevin hurled Hiryu in chucking more harpoons. But they needed to do it fast as Del Lago swam closer and closer. Before it could even bite the motorboat, Del Lago swam underneath it.

"Oh brother!" Kevin shouted as the motorboat went for another ride.

"Del Lago's bleeding!" Hiryu told Kevin as Del Lago spurted blood from its wounds. "Looks like the harpoon worked!"

"No need to tell me that twice, genius!" Kevin smirked as he grabbed another harpoon and hurled it at Del Lago's rear. "Oh yeah!" He shouted when he saw the harpoon pierce another part of the creature's rear.


End of Right Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


"How are they doing out there?"

Leon asked the Japanese Spriggan agent while he conducted surveillance on the battle.

"They seem to be doing just fine." Yu replied to Leon's question. "Although I think your friend's having a lot more fun handling Del Lago than my comrade."

"That's Kevin for you." Leon sighed. "I bet he's boasting how a good shot he is in dealing with the creature."

"Aside from the fact that Del Lago's trying to make them dizzy? Not much."

Leon took out a pair of binoculars and joined Yu in observing Kevin and Hiryu's fight against Del Lago, hoping that the creature can be killed off.


Motorboat, on lake waters, somewhere in Spain


"Hang on to your seat!"

This was the warning yelled out by Hiryu as he tried to countersteer the motorboat against a pile of debris as the Del Lago began to take the two on a wild ride that may have made an ordinary man develop a fear of riding a boat.

"Why don't you stay still, you son of a -?" Kevin yelled out as he hurled another harpoon towards Del Lago's tail. He was lucky as it was the only place where he didn't get a good shot with the harpoon. But this time, he was able to do so.

"EASY! EASY!"

The SHADOW agent shouted at him. "Don't get carried away there!"

"This ain't a problem after all, man! I tell ya..."

Suddenly, the motorboat was smacked by Del Lago, sending the two of them into the lake waters.

"Ah shit!" Hiryu yelled before he fell into the waters first, followed by Kevin.


End of Right Dirt Path, away from main Dirt Path, somewhere in Spain


Everyone in the party went to get a closer look at the lake to see what was going on after seeing the boat overturned, but not too near for the possibility of Del Lago's attempt to attack them while doing so.

"Are they alright?" Hien asked, seeing Hiryu go down from the boat.

"I don't know! Just give me a second here will ya?" Yu shouted, carefully peering through his binoculars. "Dammit, where did they go?"

Chapter 5 END


PS - I got some legit excuses to the delay of posting this chapter. It's due to both university commitments, especially for an upcoming Pol. Sci. essay that I need to submit for this term, and playing LA Noire, which is so uber cool (And I recommend you to play it). Sorry about that. Hopefully I can get one chapter out at least for this August/September yeah?

As you may notice, I'm ignoring the blue medal shooting mini-game for obvious reasons. Otherwise, time to resume telling the story of RE4 with some alternate universe stuff in it.