So, I'm starting to cull my stories a little, and have thus begun archiving three stories. All three will go into the Cauldron, while two will go into Final Fantasy Files.

This was not a decision I took lightly. I detest abandoning and deleting my stories. But the problem with these three were that they were sequels that I rushed into while surfing on the momentum of the original works, only for my motivation to leave me.

The first of these is my Resident Evil crossover Henry Ashford and the Wrath of Marcus. The original story, Henry Ashford and the Goblet of Fire, had Harry adopted by Alexia Ashford, and actually managing to be a decent morality chain for her. I had intended to write a series of stories leading up to the fourth game at least, but that tuckered out, sadly.

However, I do intend to return to a Resident Evil story one day, and one day soon. As followers of the Cauldron will know, I have been playing Resident Evil: Village, and I've been playing the remakes of the second and third games. While my initial effort Nimrod hasn't gone anywhere in its current form, I still have a few ideas.

For those of you who wanted to see more misadventures of Henry Ashford, I'm sorry. But at least the chapters are archived here in the Cauldron...

HENRY ASHFORD AND THE WRATH OF MARCUS

CHAPTER 1:

TAKING STOCK

In the middle of a forest, there was a train, currently stilled on the very tracks that should have been taking it somewhere. On the side of it was marked the logo of the Umbrella Corporation, as well as 'Ecliptic Express'. And it was being watched.

On a nearby hill, a young man wearing a white robe, and with long brown hair framing his handsome features stared down at the train. He could see through the eyes of his pets, the leeches he had sent to attack the Ecliptic Express, as part of his plan to take revenge on Umbrella. For the young man was not young at all: he had the mind and personality of Doctor James Marcus, housed in the frame of a colony of leeches, enhanced by the T-Virus. Years ago, Marcus had been assassinated on the orders of Ozwell E Spencer, but the Queen Leech he had been working on fused with his dying body. It took years for Marcus to be fully reborn, but now, here he was. Or at least his proxy was. His true body was back in the Executive Training Facility not far from here.

And yet, his vengeance had hit a snag. He had intended for all of the passengers on the Ecliptic Express to be killed, so that Umbrella would send a team to investigate. He wanted to play with them before he embarked on his plan to spread his leeches, and with them, the T-Virus, across Raccoon City, beginning the wave of an epidemic that would sweep the world, turn it into Hell. And yet, according to his leeches, there were four survivors on the train, survivors who had killed his children that had threatened them.

While Marcus was angry, he was also curious. The quartet stank of viruses, according to the leeches. And they had used what looked like magic to shield themselves from the leeches, and then set them on fire. He had the feeling the younger blonde had spotted him shortly before his attack.

He sent leeches to covertly infiltrate the dining car where they resided, and overheard a conversation. Improbably, the older blonde was called Lisa Trevor, but Marcus was sure that Lisa was a mangled monstrous wreck, not a statuesque blonde who looked like she could give a Tyrant trouble. The younger blonde was called Luna, and the brunette was called Hermione. It was when Hermione called the sole teenaged boy Henry that Marcus had a notion of who he was, especially when Henry said something about his mother, whom Lisa called Alexia.

Henry Ashford, the adopted son of Alexia Ashford. Marcus knew a little about the boy, if only because Wesker and Birkin, before they betrayed him, had visited him a few times, with Birkin railing against Alexia (as he so wearily often did). Apparently Henry Ashford was born Harry Potter, and was, supposedly, a child with the ability to use magic. Spencer had wanted to establish a secret project to graft magical ability through genetic engineering, and only Alexia had accepted, adopting Harry. It seemed that Spencer hadn't been going senile after all, as Marcus wasn't sure that the abilities he witnessed were part of any virus he knew of.

The quartet had sat back down at their table, and their eyes were currently closed, though Luna had apparently drawn some sort of magic circle on the table. His leeches couldn't approach them, being singed by some sort of energy barrier. Curiouser and curiouser, Marcus thought.

Still, they might be entertaining…or a severe setback to his plans. What was more, some new players were arriving. Marcus had sent his minions to attack a military convoy, and one of them had escaped, a prisoner who was even now approaching the train. And a group of special police officers, marked with a logo declaring them to be part of RPD's STARS unit, were only now investigating the convoy.

Marcus frowned. He wondered what the quartet were up to on the train…

In a blank white space that wasn't so much a place as an abstract concept, an octet of chairs were arranged around a central dais. Five of those chairs were currently occupied. Four of the occupants were female, while a fifth was male. All were naked, with bluish-grey skin with chitinous growths on their body, and save for the tallest woman, had lithe, athletic bodies. The tallest woman was a bit more muscled, though not enough to mar her attractive nature. Three of them were in their late teens, a boy and two girls, practically young adults.

The shorter but more elegant of the two women was frowning. "It seems that our saboteur is revealed," she said in a cultured British accent. "In fact, I suspect I know who he is."

"And what do you suspect, Alexia?" asked one of the teenaged girls.

"Well, Hermione, someone used leeches infected with the T-Virus to attack the Ecliptic Express. I am certain that no part of Umbrella uses leeches as BOWs. But there was one man who was obsessed with the leeches: Doctor James Marcus."

"Marcus is dead, mother," the teenaged boy said.

"He was reported dead, Henry," Alexia corrected her adopted son gently. "He was shot, and then thrown into the waste disposal system in that facility, along with one of his prized leeches. That is what Wesker said on the matter. But it would certainly fit his mentality to take revenge on Umbrella if he did survive somehow, by becoming a BOW. Of course, I am merely speculating, based on intuition more than logic and evidence. That is why I want you to Apparate to him, see if you can discern what he wants. If it is Marcus, I would imagine that his ardour rests mostly with Spencer and the remnants of his regime, so see if you can persuade him to ally with us. Do not take any unnecessary risks. The moment he tries to attack, get back to the train."

"I don't think it will work," the other teenaged girl, with a dreamy expression on her face, remarked. "I can smell the Wrackspurts on him from here. He's full of anger and hate."

"In any case, at least try to confirm who he is. Even if you only see his face up close, I can compare it with what photos I have on file."

Henry sighed. "Very well, mother. I have experience talking with megalomaniacs handling bioweapons. I mean, I was raised by you."

Alexia tittered at that as Henry vanished. Then, she said, "I have just received confirmation from Trent: STARS Bravo Team were just mobilised. You will probably have to deal with them, as they apparently recently made an emergency landing close to your location. Give them necessary information to survive, but be judicious."

Henry Ashford, born Harry Potter, was used to using Apparition by now. After taking himself out of the mental landscape where they had talked with his mother, he looked out of the window at their possible nemesis, perched on a hill. He concentrated, and soon, he was on the hill, a crack echoing around. The young man looked startled at his sudden appearance, whirling to face him. Then, the young man smiled. "Ah, yes. Alexia's adopted child. The one Spencer was so obsessed with. It's good to meet you at last, Henry Ashford."

"And who are you? Mother thinks you are Doctor James Marcus, back from the dead."

"And what gave her that idea?"

"The leeches. Marcus was obsessed with them."

The young man chuckled, before his features morphed into familiar ones. Henry had seen Marcus as an older man in photos. "Yes. What happened to me was a miracle, my Queen Leech fusing with me to bring me back from the grave. Does that satisfy your curiosity, Ashford?"

"Not all of it. Why did you attack the train? And are you the one responsible for the outbreaks in the Training Facility and the Spencer Mansion?"

Marcus' features became young again. "Well, to answer your second question first, yes. As for the first…it's just the prelude to my revenge on Umbrella."

"Umbrella is changing, Marcus," Henry said. "My mother is changing it. Or did you not notice that Spencer is not in charge anymore?"

Marcus frowned. "Your mother took over from him?"

"And Spencer is dead, along with Sergei Vladimir."

Marcus scowled. Then, after a moment, he said, "It matters not. My desire is not just to make Spencer suffer, or Umbrella, but the world, with me as its immortal god. I had such plans, plans Spencer interrupted. And I won't let you get in the way."

Henry whipped out his wand. "I met a man like you once by the name of Voldemort. My mother and I put an end to him. He thought himself a god and immortal too."

"Even if you killed this body, it'd be a waste of time," Marcus said with a smirk. "This one is merely a proxy, while I am…elsewhere. Have fun with my children. Oh, and the newcomers. There's an escaped fugitive from the Marines, and what looks like members of STARS coming. I look forward to the game I will be playing with you all."

Henry knew he wasn't going to get much more, so he Apparated back to the train and sat back down with the others, re-communing with them…

"It is Marcus, mother," Henry said as he reappeared on his chair in the mindscape. "And he is only interested in destruction. I could tell. He is like Voldemort."

Alexia clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Anything else?"

"He is definitely behind the outbreaks in the two facilities, and the attack on the train. He must have leeches throughout the forest, as he also had information on an escaped fugitive who was nearby, as well as STARS being around. He didn't go into detail, but somehow, something called a Queen Leech fused with him to bring him back to life."

Alexia sighed gently. "If he were no danger to me and mine, I would be declaring that a miracle, and something I want to study. Sadly, it seems that he is our enemy. Marcus was every bit as megalomaniacal as Spencer, he was just a bit more restrained about it."

"To be fair, Alexia, isn't Umbrella full of those types?" Hermione asked. "Including yourself?"

Alexia chuckled. She wasn't offended by Hermione's statement, as she was a self-aware megalomaniac, and what's more, she was a pragmatic one. "That is indeed the case. I at least try to be…benevolent. Once we are finished here, secure the train and destroy any BOWs or T-Virus infectees within. If anyone comes to the train, STARS or not, make sure they are either safe, or capable of defending themselves. Be wary of any Umbrella troops who board, though, they will be with the American branch, and Albert and William are not at all fond of me. If they are willing to listen, notify them about Marcus' revival."

"You said when you sent us here that Wesker's planning an expedition to the Spencer Mansion. What are we to do about that?" Henry asked.

"Marcus is the priority. Once he is dealt with, go to the Spencer Mansion. I have intelligence that Wesker intends to leave Umbrella. Cooperating with STARS will help me contain the damage that the fools in the American branch seem set on letting spread out of control. In any case, I am not letting all of STARS go in blind. As I told you, I have sent Trent to give a key member of STARS Alpha Team a vital piece of information. In fact, he should be doing this as we speak…"

Jill Valentine looked at the papers in front of her with a frown. The rather aquiline-looking man had bearded her in her own home, seemingly using what looked like a wand to restrain her in her chair (temporarily) and then somehow, according to him, make her home impervious to eavesdropping. He called himself Trent, and claimed to be a representative of the Umbrella Corporation. He had sat there, waiting for her to go over the papers, and answering some, but not all, of her questions.

And what these papers said were horrific. Umbrella had been doing bioweapons research. Worse, the recent killings in the Arklay Mountains were down to not just one, but two outbreaks in covert labs Umbrella owned. Not only that, but Albert Wesker was a fucking spy for Umbrella!

After finishing, Jill said, quietly, "Why approach me?"

"A number of reasons. The main is that, of all the members of STARS, you perhaps better than most understand the need for discretion, especially being the daughter of a thief," Trent said, steepling his fingers. "Umbrella owns much of this city and its officials. If we told your comrade Chris Redfield, he may have charged off like the proverbial bull in a china shop. He was known for disciplinary problems in the Air Force, after all. Rebecca Chambers is young and naïve. Barry Burton is going to be blackmailed by Wesker. Brad Vickers would panic. The allegiances of the other members are uncertain, and in any case, Bravo Team is already in transit. Indeed, the last I heard before I came here, contact was lost after their helicopter made a forced landing, albeit not a crash one. In all likelihood, you will be sent out tomorrow night."

"To the Spencer Mansion, so that Wesker can watch us die," Jill muttered angrily.

"Indeed. Keep in mind that while I work for the American branch of Umbrella, it is the head of the European branch I answer to, Alexia Ashford. She is moving Umbrella away from bioweapons. Not wholly, but her emphasis will be more on genetic enhancement and medical advancement. Unfortunately, the American branch have been reticent about this, and a schism of sorts has developed since she took over Umbrella from Spencer. Once the outbreaks have been contained, Alexia would like your help, along with the rest of STARS, in bringing the American branch to heel. She hopes that this way, any damage done to Umbrella in general is limited. If the American branch can't be brought to heel, then she will help STARS expose its dirty laundry."

Jill scowled. "Playing puppets to Umbrella?"

"It's better than trying to bring it to the authorities in this town, who are puppets to Umbrella's American branch. And Washington is riddled with their agents too. I personally don't like being a puppet to Alexia…but she seems to care about keeping fatalities to a minimum, if only to avoid bad publicity. She's heartless, but a pragmatist. You'd probably like her son and his entourage better: while sharing many of his mother's views, he has a better grasp of morality. It is he and his entourage you will probably meet. In all likelihood, they will meet some if not all of your Bravo Team. However, you may not meet them until the Spencer Mansion. Once you're at the Spencer Mansion, I would suggest telling Redfield at the very least if you can. You may need help in obtaining the keys, and once in the mansion, it's a moot point."

Jill scowled again as she looked at the list of the various keys. Some were 'Emblem Keys', with an emblem of a sword or something that unlocked various doors in the Spencer Mansion. There were Crests, Medals, even Death Masks. And there were lists of creatures Umbrella had been working on, like zombies, Crimson Heads, Hunters and the like.

"If Umbrella is responsible for this," she said, "I'll help. But tell Alexia Ashford, I do it for the people affected by Umbrella, not for her."

"Miss Valentine, I'm sure she doesn't care for what reason you do this, as long as you do it," Trent said. "Alexia will ensure that Burton's family is kept safe. Once they are, she will send a message to her son, who will endeavour to deliver it to Burton."

"Her son. Who is, how old?"

"Nearly eighteen. In the magical world, Henry Ashford gained undeserved fame at the age of one for surviving an instant death curse, something his birth parents probably had a hand in. During his brief time in it, he showed himself to be very resourceful and brave for his age. If there was anyone in Umbrella who I would rather have at my back, Miss Valentine, it would be Henry. He may be something of a pragmatist when it comes to morality, true, but he is considerably more moral than his mother, and actually steered his mother away from the megalomania that seems to infect higher-ups in Umbrella. Well, mostly. I must get going, or else I will be missed." He took most of the files away from Jill, leaving her the annotated maps of the Spencer Mansion. "I will give you the files again after your sojourn to the mansion, assuming you survive. I wish you the very best of luck, Jill Valentine." With that, he disappeared with a soft crack, like a whip muted, leaving Jill alone with her thoughts.

She rankled at having to be the catspaw of Umbrella, or at least their European branch. She knew that Alexia Ashford wasn't doing this out of the goodness of her heart. But all the same, she had to appreciate the heads-up. It was better than going in blind. Especially with Wesker a turncoat, and possibly set to blackmail Barry into doing his dirty work.

Jill sighed. Hopefully, after this was done, she'd be able to bring Umbrella, even if it was only the American branch, to book. That would give the victims of these attacks some peace…

CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:

So, there you have it, the story picking up, more or less, where we left off. You'll notice I took a leaf out of SD Perry's novelisation of the first game here, though instead of Trent bearding Jill in the RPD, I have him intercepting her at home. Jill's not happy with working with Umbrella, though she'll be considerably better once she meets Henry and his group.

No numbered annotations this time.