Chapter Text
Finding out that your girlfriend was kidnapped on her way home from Massachusetts college hasn't been something Leon S Kennedy was prepared for.
On his way to his temporarily stay which in this case was an hotel, he decided to call Ashley to let her know he was back and that he wanted to visit her soon. While he knew calling someone in the middle of the night wasn't very smart, he knew Ashley's bad college sleeping schedule. Ashley would stay up to study or to wait for him to call to let her know he was alright. There had been times he stayed over and was surprised how long she could function without sleep.
He also knew that Ashley would be in D.C as she had told him before he went on his mission that she only had some exams to study for and didn't feel like studying in her dorm room. Leon had prepared himself for a one-liner the moment he heard Ashley's voice but frowned when she didn't pick up.
At first he thought nothing of it, maybe she was still asleep and so he sent her a quick message instead. However the moment he set foot in his hotel room, his phone rang, first he thought it might be Ashley but when it was clear it wasn't her he picked up before he had been summoned for a meeting with President Graham at the White House immediately.
Leon knew the President wasn't thrilled when Ashley announced she was dating him, one of his trusted federal agents. Leon even had the overprotective father talk with Mr Graham which had been awkward and uncomfortable for both parties. In the end the president had admitted that Leon was probably one of the better choices of a partner for Ashley. However that hadn't take away the fact that Leon and Ashley had a 7 year age gap.
It had taken Mr Graham a while to come to terms with his daughter's love life but finally he seemed to accept it and this is why, Leon stood in front of President Graham in the office of the White House at 4am in the morning.
Mr Graham had put all his trust in Leon that he would bring back his daughter, not only because of their personal relationship but also that Leon was one of the best agents he had.
A remote village in Spain was not the place Leon thought the cult would take the president's daughter to after kidnapping her from all the way in America. He was going to murder anyone who stood in his way from getting to Ashley.
He glanced out of the Spanish police car window as his thoughts quickly drifted towards where it always did when things became too silent.
Raccoon city in 1998… when he couldn't save anyone but this time it would be different.
Then his focus drifted down towards the picture he was holding.
A picture of a smiling Ashley glancing at the camera.
Mr Graham had given it to him as more of a professional protocol but they both knew it wasn't needed. Leon had seen much more of Ashley than he would admit to her father and her father rather not be reminded of that fact.
"So, tell me, Yanqui…"
Leon's eyes snapped upwards to the front of the car as one of the local Spanish police officer turned his head to look at him, "Why did you come to this horrible place? As close to nowhere that I've ever seen?"
Leon glanced at the two before vaguely saying, "Let's just say-looking for someone."
The cop grinned, "That someone must be very important. eh?"
Leon glanced out of the window silently as the cop had been right.
Ashley Graham was someone important. Someone important to him and to the USA.
He heard the cop speak to his partner who was driving, "The chief gave the orders himself. "Help him," he said."
This caught Leon's attention as he glances at the two cops again, "Well, I'm sure you boys didn't come all the way out here to roast marshmallows…or maybe you did."
The cops laugh before one of them commented, "You have a strange sense of humor. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret. Just between us. A lot of people have gone missing around here. And it's been that way for a while now."
Leon help but reply back, "Well, then…should be just another day in the office,right?"
The cop glanced out his side of the window before continuing, "I mean, last week there was a search for some missing hikers."
"I'm sure you'll do your best to help me..."
That earned Leon another laugh from the cop before the rest of the ride was kept in silence.
Leon wasn't much of a talker when his thoughts were about Ashley and her well being that he hadn't realized the car was slowing down as one of the cops spoke up, "I think this is it."
The cop turns to Leon, "Nature calls,eh? I'll be right back."
Leon watches the cop get out of the car before he lost sight of the officer.
A few minutes later the other cop spoke up from the car, "He sure is taking his time. Did he fall in? Maybe you better go and take a look?"
Leon said nothing as he opened the car door and got out. Might as well check if there were any signs of where Ashley had been taken.
"I'll watch the car. Wouldn't want to get a parking ticket."
"So much for helping me."
As Leon walked further into the bushes he noticed old abandon wooden houses as well as an unsettling feeling as he continued to walk in hopes of finding that cop.
"How far could he have gone?" muttered Leon to himself as he arrived at an rusty open gate door where one side of the door had broken off and laid on the ground. His ears picked up something that sounded like shrieking or gurgling sounds as he looked up to see a bunch of black feathered birds making those noises. It seemed they were mimicking the sounds they have heard which didn't make Leon feel any better.
He quietly made his way past the gate only to be hit by this smell of rotting flesh. In front of him was a deer carcass covered in flies. The deer had claw marks on its body that made Leon think another animal killed it.
Finding nothing else here he continued further up the path until he arrive at a wooden looking house where the lights were on. Maybe whoever lived here had seen the cop or maybe knew any information about Ashley.
His blue eyes then caught sight of some rabbit corpses on the ground. One rabbit had clearly been cut open by a large butcher knife. Then he saw a pile of garbage bags covered in flies. Whoever lived here didn't really know how to keep their place clean for guests.
He slowly made his way up the creaking wooden steps before pushing the door open.
"Anyone home?" replied Leon as he didn't want whoever lived here to get scared of him suddenly appearing.
There was no answer.
He opened the first door he saw and noticed he had arrived in a small bedroom. The room itself looked very unorganized and messy with food and shoes scattered on the floor.
The first bed he walked towards to had this small stick figure the same as he saw previously. He knew the kidnappers that took Ashley had been a cult.
He picked it up and inspected it only to figure out it was a "Crude Charm." with the the words written, "Judgment is Nigh."
On the opposite of the bed there were a bunch of dead flies but nothing that really stuck out to him. He decided to continue his search. He walked further upwards before taking a right turn and arrived at another door.
He slowly pushed it open and noticed there was cooking pot and a fire going. It seems someone was still here. As he turned his head he came face to face with a villager who startled him a bit. He watched as the villager turned and walked towards his cooking pot while muttering something in Spanish.
Leon decided to ask the villager some questions since it seems he was the only living person he had seen since he arrived at this place.
"Uh, sorry to barge in like this."
The villager seemed to ignore him and continue muttering something that Leon couldn't quite catch.
Maybe the villager didn't understand English.
He tried again in Spanish as the villager continued muttering something while facing the fire place where the pot of food was. Maybe the villager was just too passionate about his cooking.
When Leon got no reply he glanced around the room once more before something on the ground caught his eyes. A Spanish police badge by the name of Mario Fernández Castaño. The police badge was covered in blood. Then Leon heard footsteps behind him just as he turned around to see the villager had raised his arms up high ready to strike him with a butcher knife. He quickly countered it by using his own combat knife.
Then he gave the villager a brutal kick making his head slam against the stone wall before his neck cracked at an odd angle just as Leon took out his gun and aimed it at the body.
Leon then heard a loud piercing male scream.
"This is not good…" mutters Leon to himself before he noticed something shiny on the floor next to the villager's body. A hunter's lodge key.
After unlocking the door that needed the hunter's lodge key he turned on his flashlight before descending down the stairways. That's where he discovers the Spanish police cop Mario's body.
"Hey."
Leon shined the flashlight on the face and saw that something had taken a bite out of his neck. His eyes were bloodshot and his mouth was open in a scream with blood coming out.
Leon then heard the static radio of the other cop. He quickly grabbed it to try and communicate with the other cop but it was too late.
"The hell is going on?"
As Leon turned around to leave the place he heard a low thump.
"What was that?" he said mostly to himself as he reached the stairways only to see the villager he had killed a few minutes ago moving towards him with his neck still bend at an odd angle. There were little tentacles coming out of the wound on the neck.
"No fucking way." snapped out Leon as he aimed his SG-09 R gun right at the somehow alive villager before shooting him in the head.
"This just keeps getting worse…"
The moment he left the basement he saw another villager holding a shovel shouting something in Spanish just as Leon shot him in the head. The moment he shot the head it exploded just as more tentacle things appeared coming out of the body.
Leon didn't hesitate before taking a right turn and walking further up the stairs where he enters a room. He quickly locks the door behind him when he notices a wall of papers sticking to the wall. Then his eyes caught sight of a picture of Ashley Graham. His girl. He took the picture and analyzed it. Ashley was laying on her side and he saw no injuries on her.
He quickly contacted Hunnigan,
"Roost, this is Condor One."
"Hunnigan here. What's your sitrep?"
"The president's daughter-Baby Eagle. It's likely she's in this village."
Leon hears Hunnigan respond, "Our intel was correct, then. Well done."
Leon's eyes moved from Ashley's picture towards a different paper containing a map where a large red X is on, "Need a location on a nearby lake. She may have been taken there."
"Copy that. I'll see what I can find."
"Hurry up. Something's happened to the people here. My escorts are-"
Leon stopped talking when he heard loud sounds coming from the locked door as a large ax was breaking down the door.
Leon began walking towards the window as he hung up on Hunnigan, "Gotta go. Talk later."
Then the wooden door fully breaks down as three villagers appeared at the now broken down door. Leon glanced back at the window just as the villager swung his ax towards him.
"I'll let myself out!"
He ran towards the window breaking it before rolling down onto the ground and landing on his knee while facing the house. He glanced up towards the window to see the villager staring at him before he walked away without saying anything.
Once Leon was sure no other murderous villagers were following him, he began walking further up the path. He needed to get to the lake fast to find Ashley. She better be okay or he was going to cause hell.
Bonus:
Leon, Ashley and Mr Graham eating dinner together.
Ashley: Daddy could you pass me the salt?
Mr Graham and Leon both reach for the salt.
Mr Graham: …
Leon: ..oh, right she meant you…sir.