The village up ahead was eerily quiet as Rose navigated the narrow, winding paths, her senses on high alert. The DSO had trained her well, and when she got handed the manilla folder for this mission, she'd been excited to prove her skills out in the field once again. She'd been injured pretty badly in her last mission. An explosion had caused her to break several bones and she suffered internal injuries that resulted in no less than eight surgeries. She'd been out of commission for over a year. But then, she was cleared for duty and sent on yet another high stakes mission.

At first, she'd been annoyed at having been assigned a partner. She didn't need a babysitter. She'd been successful in her last operation, and the explosion hadn't been her fault. She was fully healed, aside from some phantom pain and stiff muscles. She had pills and herbs in her bag to keep her going. Leon had been just as excited to meet her as she was to meet him, but they kept a friendly, bantery relationship. They couldn't very well rescue the president's daughter as a united front if they harbored resentment. The shadows in Leon's eyes made her believe that whatever his reasonings were, he didn't want her there for both their sakes. She felt like she could trust him to watch her back, even if he wished he didn't have to.

She'd show him she could keep up.

She hadn't expected Spain to be so gloomy, either. The air was thick with tension, and every creak and rustle made her heart race. Leon was a few steps ahead, his posture relaxed yet vigilant. His leather bomber jacket his his broad back from her, but it wasn't hard to imagine his back rippling with the muscles he obviously had. She had to admit, he was attractive. His dark blonde hair always seemed to fall into his gorgeous blue eyes. His lips were full, and she liked the way he always had a quick one liner when something made him feel particularly saucy. She wondered if he'd always been like this, or if it was a coping mechanism. The psychologist in her was dying to pick him apart.

He had an air of confidence that Rose found both reassuring and intimidating. Leon stood by the edge of a rugged path, his sharp blue eyes scanning the surroundings with a practiced intensity. His tousled hair and nonchalant demeanor masked a relentless determination that had seen him through hell and back. He turned to Rose, flashing an aloof smile that sent a shiver down her spine—was it charm, or just a distraction from the darkness he carried within?

"Ready to save the day?" he asked, confidence lacing his voice.

Rose chuckled lightly, though her heart beat faster at their shared peril. "As ready as I'll ever be. Just keep your eyes on the prize, Leon."

"Oh, I am," he flirted shamelessly, winking at her. She felt heat flush her cheeks as she avoided his eyes. He flashed her a dazzling smile that would have made her younger self quiver. An old house was just up ahead and as they approached the porch, Leon turned to her just before opening the door.

"Stay sharp," Leon said, his tone shifting to one of urgency. "We might have company."

Rose nodded, her grip tightening on her weapon, determined to defend them both if it came down to it. It was obvious that he was expecting something she was not. Though she had heard plenty about Umbrella, it was kept as a tight knit-secret what happened. Leon had told her briefly what had really happened in Raccoon City and the story had stopped her heart. She felt for the guy, and was angry that Umbrella had basically gotten away with it scott-free. Though the company was finished, it wasn't enough. They moved as one, silently entering the house. The interior was dark and musty, the smell of decay hanging in the air. As they cleared each room, Rose couldn't help but steal glances at Leon. His focus and determination were palpable, and she found herself admiring his strength.

The last known location of Ashley Graham, the President's daughter, was enshrouded in a curtain of danger. Rose recalled the reports: a cult known as Los Iluminados had risen, kidnapping seemingly every outsider to use as hostages or worse. She couldn't help but think about what psychological scars Ashley would carry if they found her alive. Down the hall were two doors. One with a horrid bloody X painted over it, and the other down to the right was a rickety old wood. They went to the right and opened the door with ease. A fire was going, warming the small space to protect the inhabitant from the chilly September air outside. There was a man standing in front of the fire. Leon sent her a look over his shoulder.

Cover me, he said silently.
I got you, she replied without a word.

"Hello, sir?" Leon said, holstering his weapon in an attempt to look like less of a threat. As if he had created some kind of sin by entering this wreck of a house without the owners permission. He pulled out a photo of Ashley Graham as the man turned around. Rose tensed, watching the maddened red glint in the older mans eyes. He didn't look friendly. She wasn't afraid to kill a man-not anymore- but she still didn't want to have to do it. "Sorry to barge in like this," Leon continued. The man was mumbling something in Spanish, but it was too low for Rose to make out as he turned back to the fire to stoke it. "I'm looking for this girl..."

The man kept ignoring him, so she spoke up, repeating the question in loud Spanish. Still, the man kept mumbling and ignoring him. Leon's attention was caught on something underneath the table and he walked over to it. He crouched down to pick it up, just as the man stood up and grabbed an axe.

"Leon!" Rose shouted as a warning as the man raised the axe above his head. She brought her gun up at the same time, firing a shot at the man's knee. Leon rolled out of the way as the man dropped the axe in his attempt to keep himself on his feet. Leon was swift to get back on his feet and send a flying roundhouse kick to the man who crashed into the wall and fell to the floor, his neck easily broken. Rose stared wide-eyed at him for a moment before dragging her eyes over to Leon and approaching him. "Are you alright?"

"Fine," he answered. "Thanks for the warning."

"Of course," she responded breathily. "What were you looking at?"

"This," Leon answered, holding up the cops badge that had brought them here and whom had subsequentially disappeared. The badge had a photo headshot of the cop, and it was smeared over with blood. "Guess he took a leak on the wrong front yard, huh?"

"Guess so," she mumbled, turning to investigate the man who had attacked her partner. She began digging through his pockets like a grave robber. "I bet he's behind that other door. Maybe he's alive still? It hasn't been that long."

Leon made a noncommittal sound in the back of his throat as she pulled out a tarnished silver key. She felt cold all over as they approached the disgusting basement. The smell was horrendous and the walls were slick with some substance that she didn't want to know what it was. Leon and her flashlights lit up the darkened area, revealing horrifying crosses and bug like symbols made of metal and wood hanging low from the ceiling. The basement was stacked high with junk and broken furniture, deer antlers, and other unidentifiable trash. Eventually, they pushed aside a curtain of torn cloth and found a rotting body with flies flying around it already. Rose groaned in disgust as she shielded her nose with one hand. A radio was hailing for help between the static, and they rushed forward to grab onto it and respond.

"We read you," He responds urgently, and it's returned with urgent Spanish.

"Help me, they've got me," Rose translated automatically.

"What's your situation?" He tried again, but this time all they got in response was screaming. Leon huffed and threw down the radio, then sighed down at the corpse of the officer, giving it an unreadable look, his grip tight on his pistol. Their eyes met, and they shared a silent communication between themselves. This mission was a whole lot more dangerous than they had been led to believe. Rose squared her shoulders and offered him a tight smile, trying to convey a message of trust between them.

You can count on me, her eyes said.
I'm trusting you, his eyes replied.

They shared a grim look before Leon led the way back toward the stairs. The sound of someone walking around up there could be heard, and something fell onto the floor. "What was that?" Leon wondered aloud, but Rose didn't answer him, preferring to silently keep her eyes on their surroundings as they backtracked. Around the corner from the stairwell, the man from earlier came into view, stumbling and bloody, his body jerked awkwardly and squeaked from the wiggly thing on its head. It launched itself at Leon.

"No fucking way," he cursed, firing his gun at the man. His bullet missed the head, instead hitting him in the chest. It was too late to fire another round as the man collided with Leon, it's hands going around her partners throat. Rose ran forward, throwing so much body weight into her kick that she fell backward herself. She landed with a hard thud on the floor, sending shockwaves of pain up her arm from accidentally catching her fall with her funny bone. The dead man's grip loosened on Leon, though, and it knocked him off-kilter enough for Leon to kick him off and fired his gun again, this time there was a nasty splash of blood as Leon shot at point blank range towards the wiggly skull. Leon's good mood had thoroughly dissipated.

He turns to look at Rose before heading up the stairs. "If this is what I think it is...shoot them in the head."

Normally, they aren't supposed to shoot to kill except in dire situations. This was starting to look pretty dire, so instead of arguing by the book, she simply nods and follows his lead. As soon as they get back upstairs, they can hear someone else talking-loudly- in Spanish. "Shit, did he call for backup or something?" Leon mumbles to himself.

Another man runs down the hall towards them, and Leon takes him out swiftly without Rose even having a chance to raise her gun. He was in his element, his focus directly and only on his next step. As they were going down the hall towards the exit, another man flung himself out of a room, trying to wrap his hands around Rose's throat. She fumbles, nearly falling back when Leon turns quickly and yanks him off of her, throwing him against the wall and stabbing him in the head with his huge knife. Rose stares at him wide-eyed as he sends his glare toward her. "Watch your back," he snaps unexpectedly, before closing his eyes, exhaling and rolling his shoulders and mumbling an apology. "Let's go to the second floor," he says, turning to leave.

She tries not to let his sudden attitude change bother her. She knows very well the signs of trauma rearing it's ugly head. Leon was going through something right now that she would never be able to understand. Even as she was living in this new nightmare herself, she wasn't there when he'd been forced to become what he is. She could sympathize and offer her support, but she'd never truly understand. So, she let him set the pace and let him keep his peace.

Up on the second floor, Rose closes the door behind them and they approach a table laden with several lit candles. There's a cork board, some sort of documents...and a photo of Ashley lying unconscious pinned to the board. Leon presses his lips together before pulling out his communicator and calling their support-Ingrid.

"Hunnigan, it's Leon."

"What's your sit-rep, Leon?" Hunnigan asks, her petite frame coming into view on the small window. Rose pokes her head over Leon's shoulder, waving cheerfully at her long time friend. Her and Ingrid had been friends since she left the academy, where they had been partnered as agent and support ever since. Because Leon got Rose, they also got Ingrid. The darker skinned woman with the cute librarian glasses smiled warmly and waved at Rose while Leon got straight to business.

"It's likely Ashley's here in this village," he reports.

"Our intel was correct then, well done."

"We need a location on a nearby lake. She may have been taken there."

"Copy that," says Hunnigan as she types away on her computer.

"Something's happened to the people here," Rose says, sending a glance to Leon who looks very impatient. "They attacked us...like they weren't even human."

Hunnigan went to reply but fast approaching stomping came up the stairs and someone began beating against the door. It didn't take very much force to sent a wooden panel flying into the room. "Gotta go, talk later," Leon interrupts before snapping shut the communicator and stuffing it in his pocket. Rose had already readied her weapon and fires at the man forcing himself into the room. It doesn't matter, though, because when the door is busted down, not one, but four men rush in. Leon sighs and looks to the window. "We'll let ourselves out, then," he says and uses his jacket covered elbow to smash the window. Rose fires twice and backs up towards him, and he covers her. "Ladies first," he snipes oddly calm now.

Rose rolls her eyes but doesn't waste time arguing before jumping out the second-story window. Her body protests as she lands with a roll, but launches herself to her feet nevertheless just as Leon throws himself out the window to join her. "Let's get the hell out of here," Leon says and Rose nods, agreeing with him and following as he runs down the path and over a bridge. She eyes the blood streaked across the planks warily.

"Leon, I don't think the village is going to be much better."

"You're probably right. Be ready for anything."

As they moved deeper into the trees and closer to the village, the two began to notice fleeting shadows darting between the weathered buildings. A sense of unease settled over the team, but Rose felt a flicker of courage ignite within her. She would be Leon's physical backup, but she also had a unique role as the team psychologist. The lines between their duties were blurred, especially when it came to the man beside her.

"Leon," she started, her voice low. "I know you've been through a lot—"

"Let's focus on the mission," he interrupted, but there was a softness to his eyes that betrayed him.

With her training in psychology, Rose could see through the bravado. There were wars etched upon his heart and the darkness that haunted him was never far from the surface. As they pushed forward, she feared it would swallow him whole if he wasn't careful.

With each passing moment, that bad feeling that had settled in their guts grew. The growls of monstrous inhabitants echoed through the trees, crows cawing away like omens of death, and the air thickened with tension. Rose's instincts kicked in, and she took the lead, guiding them with quiet and careful footsteps around hidden bear traps. Leon followed, his eyes on her with a mix of admiration and uncertainty.

"You've got this," Leon said, his tone a mix of teasing and genuine praise.

"Only because you're here to keep me from dying," she replied with a smirk, but her laughter faded when she saw the distant look in his eyes. Escaping death together for the first time back there was a moment of triumph that should have felt exhilarating, but as they made their way to the gate of the village, Rose noticed the toll it was taking on Leon. The carefree banter had faded, replaced by a heaviness that hung between them.

"Leon," she coaxed, softening her tone. "You don't have to hide from me. You're not alone in this."

He stopped, frustration flickering like a candle before the storm. "I can't afford to let anyone in. You don't know what I've seen."

Rose stepped closer, her gaze steady. "I may not know everything, but I see you, Leon. You're not just some aloof agent. You're a person, and you're allowed to feel."

There was a moment of silence between them, and for a moment, she thought she'd gotten through to him. But then, she saw his eyes ice over and his barriers come back up as his easy, flirtatious smile slid back onto his face. "Isn't it a little early in this mission for you to try to get into bed with me, Agent Kidman?"

Rose rolled her eyes. He was sorely mistaken if he thought that redirecting her by flirting with her was going to work, he had another thing coming! Even so, she blushed as his insinuation and let the subject drop. He'd talk about it when he was ready to, and she would poke the bear every once in a while to see if he'd ever feel safe enough to open up to her. Leon opened the big wooden gate and again allowed her to step through first, after he'd checked to make sure they weren't going to be jumped.

Up until that point, the fog had been manageable. The atmosphere was certainly creepy, but now it was dense and threatened to choke her before she realized that it wasn't fog at all. Fog didn't smell like rancid meat and burning flesh. This was smoke. She hurried down the path as quick as she could without drawing attention and crouched behind a stone half wall, Leon falling in place right in front of her as he pulled out his binoculars to take a look into the heart of the village. It took a moment, but then he sucked in a breath on pure reflex. "What do you see?" She asked anxiously.

"They got the other officer," Leon said, still concentrating. Before he could say more, the officers screaming broke the relative silence and Rose listened in horror, poking her head over the wall to watch as there was a bright blaze to light up the surrounding area. She could just barely make out the image of a body flailing desperately on a pyre, his body up in large flames. Rose choked on her horror, and had to remind herself that she wasn't a noob. She couldn't react like this. Especially not when Leon had been so upset to bring her with him in the first place. Her right leg was already feeling stiff from running, and she hoped they'd get a real rest soon, or even better, find Ashley-alive-and get the hell back home.

"How many of them are there?" She asked, clicking the magazine release on her gun and counting her bullets. She had five left in this magazine and three more in her cargo pant pockets.

"A lot," he says shortly. "Come on."

He waves her in front of him while he covers her from behind. They stay low to the ground, hoping to walk around and avoid being detected. We go around the back of a house on the left, off a beaten path, or what could be classified as an alley, but get stopped immediately when a woman with a random kitchen knife turns around unexpectedly and spots us. She yells out, catching the attention of seemingly everyone in the village and they yell back, effectively catching us like deer in headlights.

"Here we go," Leon huffs and gives up any pretense of hiding by standing up. He rushes forward, knocking the knife out of the woman's hand while Rose shoots a man who'd run over with a pitch fork. It isn't long before they are forced up against a wall, surrounded on three sides by villagers. Rose looks around, shooting at the ones closest to her.

"Over here," she says loudly when she makes a hole in the village mob. She quickly ducks underarms as they reach to grab at her, and swings around the side of the house, making for the front door. Unbelievably, there's more coming after them from the other side. "In the house," she shouts again, backing up as Leon opens the door for them and hurriedly slams it shut again. He turns to an empty bookshelf and rams his shoulder into the side of it, tipping it over and trapping them inside, but more importantly, trapping them outside. Rose hurries to push over a cabinet to cover a window, covering all their bases.

Breathing heavily, Rose takes a moment to massage her knee, begging her leg to hold on a little longer. Who knew how long they would be stuck out here? They couldn't afford her to become a liability. She searches the house for anything useful and finds a dried herb to stuff into her medical pouch. She also finds a small cowhide bag of money-PTSA's, and pockets that too, just in case they could use it for something. Maybe she'd even keep one for her currency collection at home. She'd been to three countries-now four- besides the United States and had kept her exchanged monies in each of them. It was cute little reminder of the places she'd been, and it was a useful collection on top of that. If she ever went back to those countries and she really needed the money, she'd have it.

Not that she ever intended to come back here again.

They made their way upstairs to see what else they could find. The voices and yelling outside diminished, as well as the sound of banging fists on the front door. It made her nervous how suddenly the quiet had swept through the village. To their surprise, a shotgun was mounted on the wall, as if waiting for them. A box of ammo lay on top of a dusty old dresser right below it. "Awh, they left us a housewarming gift," Leon jokes as he picks up the shotgun.

As if the people outside had been waiting for a cue, they started yelling at one another again and the sound of a chainsaw revving up made their blood run cold. Leon quickly loaded the shotgun, his eyes darting around the room but the only things in here were the dresser, a cupboard with a flash grenade that Rose quickly scooped up, a bed, and two windows. One led to the village square and the other had rooftop access. Rose limped slightly as she moved over to the window with the roof access. She wasn't sure if she'd manage another swan dive out of the other one.

The sound of the chainsaw grew louder, accompanied by the guttural growls and excited cackling of the 'Ganado's'. The door downstairs was loud as it began to shutter under the force of their attempts to break in. Leon positioned himself at the top of the stairs, shotgun at the ready.

"We can make our way onto the roof, and over to the barn next door," Rose supplied.

Leon glanced back at her as the sound of the door bursting downstairs echoed up the stairs, then nodded. "Good idea. Let's move."

He fired a couple shots down the stairs to slow the advancing Ganados, then hurried to Rose's side as she opened the window for them. They climbed out of the window, carefully making their way onto the sloped roof. The cold air bit at their skin, but the adrenaline pumping through their veins kept them focused. They were horrified to see ladders being propped up on the side of the house, and Rose quickly went over to push one over, receiving an outraged scream from below. The chainsaw-wielding Ganado burst through the window, climbing out onto the roof after them, its eyes wild and red with rage as it peered out from the burlap sack tied around its head.

"We can't fight them all," Rose said worriedly as they quickly became surrounded again. Leon grunted as he fired the shotgun at the chainsaw guy, then turned around to do the same at a group behind Rose, who had ducked just in time to push another ladder away.

"Go, go!" Leon urged, running for the other side of the roof. Rose looked over at the barn roof in despair as her leg twinged with pain. Without saying a word, Leon grabbed onto her. "Jump!" He shouted as he pulled her along with him, catapulting them both over the gap from rooftop to rooftop. Her landing was softer than his was, as she landed on his chest, while he landed on his back. He grunted, but showed no other indication that he was hurt. Rose scrambled to her feet, eyeing a large hole in the roof as Leon followed her. He helped lower her down into the dingy hayloft, before dropping down beside her and taking a moment to catch their breath. "We need to keep moving," he said as he scanned for more danger.

"Yeah," she agreed. "They'll figure it out eventually." Just as she said that, there was a thumping above them, and banging on the barn door. "Oh, come on!" She shouted as a Ganado face-planted at her feet. She quickly stomped on his head and kicked him to the ground floor. More were gathering above them, peering down with infuriated red eyes, but none were as daring as the one she had just dispatched. The chainsaw guy made the jump to the rooftop and the others parted for him as he bent at the knees and jumped down onto the hayloft with them.

"Shit!" Leon shouted and threw down the shotgun to draw his pistol again. He didn't want to take the chance of accidentally hitting Rose. The two flanked the chainsaw guy and began firing simultaneously as he raised his weapon on Leon. She aimed for his head, shot twice, and Leon did the same. Blood soaked the burlap sack, and for a second, everyone was still. It was then that they heard the chiming of a church bell off in the distance. The Ganados above and below them paused, then began chanting and mumbling as they turned and left. The chainsaw guy growled and fell to his knees and then slumped to his side as the chainsaw clanged to the floor below.

"Let's go," Leon said as he propelled himself over the edge of the hayloft. He watched her carefully as she awkwardly made her way down the ladder instead of jumping. In the moment of peace, he grabbed her arm when she reached his level. "Are you okay?" He asked, eyes boring into her intensely, and his brows furrowed with concern.

"Fine," she repeated his response from earlier. But then she caved, knowing that bristling wasn't going to help them right now. "Just a little sore from a past injury. Nothing to worry about." He stared back at her as if he didn't believe her, then nodded, choosing to trust her. They went over to the barn door and lifted the wooden beam that was blocking it together, tossing it to the side and exiting out into the village square. Ganados were filing past them, entering a building on the other end that looked like a small chapel. A weird insect-like insignia carving was mounted on the door. Rose heard a man say 'Lord Saddler' as he passed, her ears prickling at the information and she stored that away for later.

Leon's shoulders relaxed when he realized they were no longer being attacked and he raised his arms. "Where's everyone going? Bingo?"

Rose huffed out a laugh, relieved to see carefree Leon come back. "El Repollo is more likely," she informed him. He gave her an inquisitive look, which she smiled sheepishly at. "It's kind of like their version of 'Hot Potato'."

"You just have this information in the back of your head, huh?" He teased. She shrugged, still smiling and happy to have a reprieve. She needed to sit down, so she slumped down on a porch step when the got a little closer to the chapel building and Leon went to test the door. It was locked up.

Leon's communicator beeped and he pulled it out as he walked over to sit next to Rose on the porch step. Ingrid appeared almost instantly, a film of static over her face like the reception was terrible. It probably was.

"Hey Leon, Rose, how you holding up?"

"Not dead yet," Leon responded while looking over to Rose, who was still massaging her knee.

"Glad to hear it," Ingrid chuckles. "I've identified a route to the lake. Look for a large windmill. There's a path to the left of it."

"Windmill," Leon sighs. "Copy that."

"Be careful," she responds. Leon stows the communicator away and rises back up to his feet, offering Rose his hand to help her stand.

"Come on, we gotta get Ashley."

Rose takes his hand and lets him help her stand. Her mind drifts to her pain pills, but decides that it's better if she conserves them for now. "Thanks," she says, smiling despite the pain she's in.

They move cautiously through the village, keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. The day is turning into evening, and it's so quiet now that everyone had gone. The only sounds were the crackling of the fire and their footsteps. "Poor bastard," Leon mumbles as they eye the stinking corpse on the pyre. Rose picked up some more PSTAS' on their way through, and found some chicken eggs she stored in her pocket as well, hoping they didn't crack in there. Leon looked at her weird when she pocketed them, but she just shrugged.

"What? You don't get hungry on missions?"

"Guess your stomach is stronger than mine," he says lightly. She huffs another laugh and follows him towards the only other path out of the village.

Hi Everyone! This story will follow the events of Resident Evil 4 (a blend of both versions of it). If you had a problem with that, you wouldn't be here to this point! Happy to share my story with you all, and I hope ya'll will comment and share your thoughts! Thanks for reading!